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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Thomas Jefferson

The king is dead. Long live the king.

Many comparisons have been made between the death of Michael Jackson and the death of his father-in-law Elvis Presley. I’m sure you’ve seen them and I won’t recount them here. So here’s my prediction:

Within a month, you will begin to see stories suggesting that Michael Jackson is not dead. He couldn’t handle the stress of the new tour. He wanted to drop out of site completely. We’ll see shots of what appears to be clandestine meetings between Michael and his children.

The seeds have already been planted. AP released a story about Michael’s death certificate and stressed that the cause of death was listed as “deferred.” This is obviously because the autopsy had not been completed, but you watch… that’s where it will start.

Also, why did the golden casket containing his body detour from it’s trip to Forest Lawn? No one seems to know where the final resting place is. Could it be?

Don’t get me wrong. I fully believe that MJ has truly shuffled off his mortal coil. This is more a comment on the current society of instant info and our Ethernet-in-the-belly-button lifestyle. Just wait. It’s coming.

>Not much in general to say lately. We’ve got our house on the market and we’re waiting. One week and no calls.

In the meantime, we’ve had some nice rains and Sherri’s roses have come out nicely. Not that she planted them or anything. They were here when we moved in. She rescued them because they were in pretty bad shape. The rains have helped. Midland water on roses does not do well. Too many minerals. So the better the rain, the better the roses.

I’m heading to Lubbock for the next four days. I’ve been producing the new release for Taylor Productions. RJ (Sonny) Taylor released a hymnal over 10 years ago. Every year he releases a supplement accompanied by a CD for education and edification. The first 5 were done by Darrell Bledsoe when he was in Houston. The next 5 were done with Ryan Christian at Richland Hills. I get to do #11.

It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve recruited 3 other singers to help me do it right. Lauren Mooney and Jill Riggan are both members of Best Friends from LCU. They sing like angels. For bass, well, there was never really a question. Gary Evans is amazing.

So, my first project with Studio 84 is taking me back to old school. A cappella again.

It seems the rumor mill is still alive and well. We’ve not tried to keep this a secret. At the same time, we’ve not gone out and shouted it from the mountaintop either. That being said, yes, we are seriously considering a move to Lubbock this summer.

I’ve had several people come up and ask me about it. I suppose it’s time to talk more about it. My job with Moyers Sound and Studio 84 is increasing in scope. Studio 84 is in need of someone to manage it. Things are about to take off there, with many plans on the drawing board. Instead of trying to find someone to oversee it all, Wally asked me if I would consider moving to Lubbock and doing it myself.

So, here we go again. This time, it’s a good move. We have not sold our house as of yet. That’s a big thing. We feel sure that God has something up his proverbial sleeve. I’ve begun to put together a website to help it sell. If you are interested, you can find it at 3306Dentcrest.com, which is the actual address of our house.

Sherri is applying at several school districts in the area, Lubbock, Frenship & Shallowater. We’ve made an offer on a house in Shallowater, so it would be very nice to get a job there. We’ll see.

If anyone has any suggestions or networking possibilities, please let me know. God seems to be on a roll with this one, and he may want to use you.

>This past week was a both a breath of fresh air and an exhausting experience.

My mother’s family is from central Missouri, the little hamlet of Middle Grove, about 30 miles north of Columbia. Her only sister, Margaret, is at home in hospice care after a long fight with cancer. We used the spring break from school as a chance for my family to reconnect with her and several other aging family members in Missouri.

The exhausting experience comes from the fact that the family no longer lives in Middle Grove. They’ve spread out in a 45 mile radius from Centralia to Mexico to Paris to Moberly. So instead of driving 2 miles to see the next relative, we drove about 50 miles a day after a 900 mile trip there. Then a 900 mile trip back. We are plum exhausted.

At the same time, what I experienced was refreshing as well. Certainly the family renewal was part of it, but we left Missouri with a new appreciation of the country lifestyle. The majority of my Missouri relatives are seemingly isolated from the changes of the world and the culture around them. They see the news and are aware of the issues, but they don’t seem to be touched by it. Certainly not all of them fall into this category, and some of those who do have felt the effects at times (my uncle lost his farm because of the Nixon beef policy). But on the whole, they seem to be set apart from the entire thing.

We spent part of a day riding through Amish farm country. We shopped (and spent too much) in an Amish store. After leaving the Amish region and heading back into “normal society”… well, things didn’t feel too different.

They still live in the same homes. The homes themselves haven’t changed in 30 years. In some cases, it seems like the same dog is still in the barnyard. It’s sort of an eerie experience, overall.

Don’t take that as an insult. Remember, I said it was refreshing. They seem to have a better grasp on the biblical idea of taking one day at a time. Little worry and less rush. Get up, feed the cattle, work in the field, eat supper, sit around telling stories, go to bed. Sleep in the same bed your grandfather built. Next day repeat same.

There’s a sense of peacefulness and continuity that we miss in our rush-toward-tomorrow society. Some of them may read this and laugh, wondering what old crazy Gary is talking about now. That’s okay. I’ve always been a little off. I hope that’s because I’ve got some Missouri roots in me. It sure felt like home to me.

>My son is in need of some extra cash and he’s learned about capitalism. So he’s asked me to sell this potato for him on Ebay. Here goes.

This truly unique potato is one of a kind. It’s a special spud. A two-toed tater. You can’t find a Murphy like this inside of Idaho or outside of Ireland. This one potato will feed at least one and a half people easily. This is one spud you don’t want to miss. Bid now and bid high!

If that doesn’t move you…

IT’S A MUTANT POTATO! Discovered in the south of New Mexico near White Sands, this potato grew from a small root into a two-headed terror. Nothing in Roswell can match it. The entire town of Lovington ran screaming into the night when this potato was unveiled. Buy it now and clear your block of any unsavory types. Simply set the potato on your porch and the let the hideous nature of this tater take it’s course.

Or maybe…

For sale! Special lover’s potato. This special spud was designed with two in mind. You may have missed Valentine’s Day, but this V-shaped potato will bring it all back. Not only is it “V” in nature, but the rounded edges give it the unique properties of a heart. This potato beats for you. Buy it for your love now, or be forever sorry.

Or could it be….

If one were to stand on their head while looking at this picture, one would see that this potato looks very much like a Star Trek insignia. The new Star Trek movie is opening soon. Buy this potato and wear it on your chest with pride. This spud will help you live long and prosper.

My son just said, “I think that’s enough, Dad.” Please help him learn about the American Way. Buy my son’s potato. Please.

If you have a heart and wish to bid on my son’s potato and preserve his faith in justice, freedom and the free market system, follow this link to Ebay and bid high. My starving son thanks you. Well, actually he’s not starving or he would eat the stupid thing. But he thanks you anyway. (Bidding available through Mar-20-09 17:57:29 PDT)

>A while back, I posted a couple of shots of my son getting a haircut, before vs. after. I thought I might do the same with my house. We had the trees trimmed today.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

WOW! There’s a house in there after all.

I was reading a blog by Kevin Rose and ran across a fun entry. I thought I’d try it for myself. AT&T Labs Research has a fun text-to-speech site. Enter your own phrase, choose your voice and go to town. I’ve been having a little too much fun.

Here are a few of the voice mail messages I created. Hope you enjoy…

This is the first one I tried.

Here’s a fake iPhone message I borrowed from his site.

I love this voice. Speak loudly.

This is my oops message.

People are always interrupting conversation.

And last but certainly not least, a phrase or two borrowed from my previous life.

Give it a try. I may even bluetooth some of these into my phone and actually use them…

>This past week I had the chance to shoot some aerial HD footage in the Lubbock area. It was a wonderful experience that I plan to do much more of in the future (since it’s part of my job). We shot out of a Robinson R-44 helicopter with the door removed.

After covering downtown Lubbock and some of the Buffalo Lakes area, we continued on into the canyons leading toward Post, TX. We flew over a herd of deer and had some fun with them, but the best part was the hog.

We picked up a massive feral hog coming over the back side of a hill in the canyon. We chased it probably half a mile. It was running full tilt trying to get away from this big red bird in the air. I imagine it was about to die of exhaustion by the time we turned off.

The hog did not make it into this compilation video. Sorry. Hope you enjoy it. YouTube does a good job of squishing the video into ugliness, but the original HD is just stunning. Someone needs to build a Statue of Liberty in Lubbock so I can film it. Maybe a 1200 ft. tall Raider Red.