Jarrod Richey

Saints vs. Colts Questions

The Saints are headed to the SuperBowl after a very close, nail-biter of a game yesterday evening. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it is really still surreal to think that the Saints, not Cowboys, Eagles, Cardinals, Seahawks or some other NFC team will be fighting for the Lombardi trophy. It is just hard to believe that the former “Aints” are now ready to give it a go at a SuperBowl title.

Some questions that linger in this arm-chair quarterback’s mind are:

• Can the Saints stay focused through the hype and excitement of Pre-SuperBowl? The Colts have been there and done that. Ironically, the last time they were there, the Saints had just lost in the NFC championship to the Bears.
• Can Reggie Bush continue to play physical and upfield in his running style? They say he is healthy and he is obviously playing a more pivotal role in these last 2 games.
• Can the Saints convert on 3rd and short? If they run the ball will they run side to side or pound it up the middle. Will the Saints make good play calls on 3rd downs. It seems like 3rd and short has been more tricky than third and 9 as of late.
• Can the Saints convert turnovers into touchdowns and not just field goals? If you get turnovers against a Peyton Manning-led team, you better make them count. Couldn’t notch all those Vikings turnovers into points in the NFC championship game.
• Will the Saints fall on fumbles and not try to pick them up? Also will they not bail out the Colts with pass interference or roughing the passer calls after seemingly a 3rd down stop.
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Bryn Terfel, baritone

I was exposed to Bryn Terfel for the first time during my undergraduate voice study at Louisiana Tech University. There is a short list of singers that I will listen to for fun and Bryn Terfel is one of those singers on my short list. His warm and rich bellow-some sound leaves you wanting more. Whether he’s singing German lieder or American folk songs, Bryn Terfel is just that good. Read more

Jamie Soles Set List

Jamie Soles and his family came back to AAPC for a concert during the 2010 Auburn Avenue Pastors Conference. Jamie Soles music is saturated in the stories of the Bible from both the Old and New Testaments. His music narrates biblical stories and themes in catchy and connective ways. Some have called him, “James B. Jordan put to music.” As a young parent, I’m finding them a nice resource as we train our kids in the nurture and admonition in the Lord.

Anyway, here’s the list of the songs he did on January 5, 2010:

1. Psalm 1
2. The Way My Story Goes
3. The Patriarchs
4. Follow the Line
5. Keep the Feast
6. Land of Canaan
7. Nadab and Abihu
8. Korah, Dathan, & Abiram
9. How to Catch a Wife
10. Jerusalem
11. Weaned Child
12. Man Next Door
13. Chariots
14. Bethel
15. Bad Guys, Part 4
16. This Old Man (Revised)
17. Kings of Israel
18. Still Awake in Nazareth
19. Apostles Creed

I like to keep a record of who sang what at the concerts that I go to. Maybe you do to. That’s the reason I thought I’d post this. You can download some of his music on iTunes or order his CD’s from http://www.solmusic.ca

The Tonight Show without Conan O’Brien

Sarah and I both prefer to see The Tonight Show being hosted by Conan O’Brien if it were up to us. Growing up I would watch Jay and David Letterman just before going to bed, but started watching some Conan O’Brien in college during those years of later nights and later bed times. For a time we would watch Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report and then watch some of Late Night with Conan O’Brien before hitting the hay. We both think that NBC would be better off in the long run to keep Conan and not Jay, but that is a moot point. I just hope that he is on FOX or another network that puts their episodes online for free so we can follow whatever he ends up doing come this September.

I thought he was very classy in his exit and made some appropriate quotes to my generation’s high level of cynicism when things like this happen: Read more

Christmas Needs More Than A Day…

We celebrate our veterans for a day. We celebrate our nation’s independence for a day. Just about every governmental holiday is observed by a single day. As Christians, even if the government doesn’t see the significance, we need to make every effort to stretch Christmas and Easter to it’s full season of celebrating. Otherwise, some people might think that Christmas is no more special than Halloween or Valentine’s Day.

We give it a day! And we don’t even really give it that day. We are so partied out ahead of time that we don’t even want to do anything but exchange some gifts and eat all before the day is half-over. This year, we aren’t opening all our gifts on December 25. We aren’t exchanging stockings with some of our family until after the new year, which is still in the 12 Days of Christmas. We are planning some meals and special get togethers during these 12 days to try to have a blast and really party hard because we have great reason to party. We are salmon swimming upstream in a culture of Christmas fatigue. Christmas needs more than a day and that is how we are going to try to operate.