You know what else is happening this summer? (now that Star Trek is over with...as awesome as it was...)

WIPEOUT!

This show is killer-cool, especially to watch with your kiddos--and I am pretty sure TWO different ladies I know are going to be on this season.

Check it out on Wednesday nights, starting May 27! My Tivo will be set as soon as possible...

Also, my sister is gettin' married this weekend! Congrats sis...

It's true that I'm a little bit biased when it comes to Star Trek.

And yes, it's true that I'm completely predisposed to love this movie. Everyone is waiting for this review not because you all really want to know what I think about the film, but because you want to be able to poke at me and further prove your theory that I always like the movies I go see...well, you're wrong...remember, I only TALK about the ones I like...

But here's the deal.

This movie is freaking AMAZING. I don't care if you have ever seen an episode of Star Trek, or not. YOU WILL LOVE THIS FILM. It's perfect storytelling; it has majestic big-budget effects and on-screen wonderment. It has a great plot with actors that are taking on characters that have previously only been played by ONE other cast...and these new actors absolutely ROCK IT.

If you've been a fan of Star Trek since the beginning (like my parents), or you're a Star Trek newbie (like Jack Cottrell), you're gonna love it. You're gonna absolutely love it.

Money back guarantee.

P.S. Karl Urban steals the show with his incredible McCoy.  DeForest Kelly is somewhere smiling...

Today Noah goes to a PSYCH class at a college nearby as an example of a real-live kid with autism! Wahoo...

However, our case director asked us if we could bring some video of when he was younger, because the class probably wouldn't believe he actually has it. Hm. Encouraging...
So I went back into some early footage of Noah...and I was FLOORED at how he behaved...I mean...he has come SO far in the past 3-4 years. It was astonishing to watch the old video tapes. I was emotional.
And of course I am incredibly thankful for all that have helped us along the way...and thankful for how well Noah has done.
He's probably going to a regular 1st grade classroom with little to no assistance.

His progress is just phenomenal.

I compiled a video to show his actions and behaviors at different points in his life, up to as recent as a year ago.
This video will probably mean the most to those of you that see and know Noah now...

Summer has begun...at least in movie-land.

I'm going to see Star Trek on Thursday night AND I CAN'T WAIT!
But for those of you that say I only give positive movie reviews, I'm posting about a few movies I've seen lately but haven't reviewed because...well...you know...they're nothin' to write home about.

I LOVE YOU MAN
If you're familiar with any of the comedies that have been coming out in the past few years in this style (40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) this movie is similar except without the nudity. The content is raunchy and full of sex stuff, and not good to fill your mind with. That said, Paul Rudd's performance as an extremely awkward guy that is too nice to have "guy friends" is pure hilariousness. There are some funny catch phrases and situations that arise in the film--and Paul clearly shows his prowess as a leading man.

GRAN TORINO/CHANGELING
I hadn't seen any movies directed by Clint Eastwood until this year (oh-except Million-Dollar Baby). Both movies were clearly well made--and Clint has a style about his directing that is unique, FOR SURE. The movies were somewhat interesting, but also slow. That said, no plot point seemed unwarranted or poorly set up--it was ALL good. I'm telling you...WELL CRAFTED. But just because something is well crafted doesn't mean it's good or not boring. I'm not sure how I feel about either of these movies, really. I enjoyed Gran Torino's redemption story, and Changeling had a nice twist at the end, I suppose...but they are not Daniel's typical feel-good movie. There is meat to these films...meat that some might find delicious, but must be an acquired taste.
Side note: Clint composes the music to both of these films, which is sparse and minimalistic. He's not a great composer. I didn't like it. Sorry, Clint. But hey, I guess when you've been in the industry for 50 years as and have the respectability that he has, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

17 AGAIN
Best part of this movie was definitely the best friend of the main character, Ned. Ned is an uber-geek, complete with a house full of toys, video games, cardboard cut-outs of all kinds of Star Wars characters complete with those expensive Lightsabers...total awesomeness and the ultimate Nerd Nirvana...I loved him and the relationship with The Office's Jan...
Zac Efron did a nice job, and it was fun to see Matthew Perry again...but without Ned, the movie would have been a total dud.
There was a good message to it about family, and would be nice to see on DVD...totally rentable.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
Loved it. But not as much as I'm going to love Star Trek. I JUST KNOW IT.
Hugh Jackman rocked in this movie. Special effects were dyn-o-mite! And it has everything a summer tentpole movie needs...good plot, good actors, big budget effects...it is a definite must see in the theatres!

Looking forward to:

STAR TREK (May 8)
Terminator Salvation (May 22)
Night at the Museum 2 (May 22)
Up (May 29)
Land of the Lost (June 5)
The Proposal (June 19)
Transformers 2 (June 24)
Harry Potter (July 17)
GI Joe (Aug 7)

This past semester Christy has been in classes on Thursday night from 2pm until about 10pm. This means "Daddy Night" at the Semsen household, which translates into "Spaghetti and Movie Night with Popcorn". We have gone on a Daniel-sentimental-movies-from-when-I-was-a-kid marathon (including gems like "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "The Brave Little Toaster"), and this week we landed on Back to the Future, part I.

Now, it is difficult to really remember movies you haven't seen in twenty years, except for that feeling of I liked it or I disliked it. It has been quite the experience to go back and watch these old movies. I have a completely new perspective on the films, and I've also REALLY noticed the way movie making has changed since I was Nathaniel's age.

For instance, we had to shut off "The Brave Little Toaster" after about 25 minutes due to the fact that it was FREAKING ME OUT because it was so scary! I mean--I remember being slightly frightened as a child--but I was frightened NOW while watching this thing. It had a level of scary that you would never see on screen in any Disney/Pixar film or Dreamworks picture. There was an evil clown in the toaster's dream. AN EVIL  CLOWN FROM HELL. I looked at Nathaniel when that came on and he was covering his eyes (a good move) and Noah turned to me and said, "Dad. I don't like this movie. Can I go play DS?"

"Yes, Noah. Let's ALL go play DS...this movie is freaky..." (click)

This week Christy got home early from school and we didn't get to Back to the Future until today...and after watching this film again, I can safely say that it stands the test of time. The only thing that took me by surprise was the amount of swearing that it contained. It's rated PG (in 1985 standards) and there were many, many times the characters used foul language...ugh.

Dear Robert Zemeckis:
The Back to the Future trilogy ROCKS. It is by far one of my favorite movies/trilogies of all time, right up there with the other great studio franchises-Star Wars, Trek, and LOTR. You could have made a fantastical family film IF THERE WASN'T SO MUCH DARN CUSSING in the movie!! Really? Really? Did you have to leave in all of those expletives? Huh...because I just went to see the summer movie-tentpole "X-Men: Origins" and it had less cuss words than I could count on one hand. And it's rated PG-13...hmmm...weird. You know what other movie was surprisingly clean a couple years back? Live Free or Die Hard! Yes, the previous 3 Die Hard movies were laced with F-bombs, but the PG-13 Theatrical Release of LFoDH (not the unrated DVD version) was squeaky clean. Even the f-bomb catchphrase was muffled by a gunshot at the end, leaving us with only, "Yippee-Kay-Yay, Motha (BOOOOOM)"...yeah...soooo even though there are no f-bombs in BTTF, there is still an unnecessary amount of cussing.
And you don't need it.

So take your time machine, go back to 1985 and fix THAT so I can enjoy this movie with my almost 8 year-old without cringing every time I hear a foul word...

Sincerely,
dsemsen from xanga land

Now on to Back to the Future II...

Tonight: The Great American Songbook

OOO! A guest judge...ummm...Jamie Foxx?! Interesting. He's actually a pretty funny dude...OK, but onto my take on the show:

Oh wait--but first--just as a not-at-all-sponsored-reminder, all of these songs are on iTunes and you can downloadthemblahblahblah...yes WE KNOW. YOU SAY IT EVERY WEEK, Ryan. Shut it about iTunes. I know I can download the songs...

Kris Allen:
Who knew this guy would make it into the competition at all? Much less to the Top 5. Seriously, when he sang "Man in the Mirror" during the verrrrry first week, no one thought he was making it through. We had never even seen him up to that point!!! And especially during those initial "Top 32"-type shows, people vote mostly based on some sort of connection to the story of the person + the voice. We didn't know anything about Kris because he never had any air time...so I thought he was a goner from day 1. But apparently not.
Apparently he's pretty freaking awesome, even at the ole standards...

Side note: If I hear the phrase, "Dark Horse" anymore on Idol, I'll be throwing my laptop in your face, Kara DioGuardi. It's not your fault though, you're only the most recent person to say it...

Allison Iraheta:
There really is a stark disconnect between this girl's age and her voice. It's creepy. And I can't say that I love her voice--I appreciate it a lot--and it's certainly distinctive...if I heard her on the radio, I'd know who it was immediately--but I'm not a huge fan.
That said: she did really well tonight.
Also, I'm glad the judges are going in order again with Simon being the last to speak. That was always the order of things, and it should always be that way...the new stupid producers have been waaaaaaay too unpredictable with all of their random changes. Let's not screw with the WHOLE show here people...get a clue. SIMON GOES LAST. He is the Judge of Judges, and the one we want to hear from most...to have him go 2nd or 1st or not at all is just lame. Blarp.

P.S. I stop fast-fowarding my DVR for Mac commercials and Jack-in-the-Box commercials...both are hilARious...my favorite is Jack's non-smiley face:

The marketing folks at JITB are truly genius...

Matt Giraud:
The luckiest guy in American Idol...and definitely the least consistent performer. Some weeks he's good, some weeks he's surprisingly bad. This week? Hm...not great.
Ooo. Emotional connection--some say it was missing, some say they felt it. ***This is why Daniel has never tried out for this show***
I stink at that aspect of peforming/singing, etc...dang. I mean, I'm usually freaking out so much about remembering the words to a song that I'm not even emotionally attached...is that just stupid-backwards, or what? Ugh. My greatest weakness (besides my love for jackets) would be this thing. I guess I can't throw stones...
but Matt is not my favorite.

Danny Gokey:
Trombone solo!
Wow. Danny and Kris win so far for classiest look. This guy's voice is reallllly great...
OH SNAP.
DANNY WINS!!! THAT WAS FREAKIN AWESOME!

I'm rewinding...

Wow...I hope he wins...

Side note: has anyone else noticed that Paula has been saying some coherent things this season? Christy's theory: she has a script writer that sits through the dress rehearsal, takes notes, and she memorizes little quips about each performance. I know, it sounds crazy--but there's no way to account for the limericks she's been coming up with weekly...they're completley out of character for her. All previous seasons she has been a consistent babbler, but with the arrival of the pretty-darn-smart-and-articulate Kara, she's feeling threatened. Hey. I say--all the more power to ya. Whatever works.

Adam Lambert:
I usually can't stand Adam. He is one of those people that you either love or hate.
I hate.

Here's why--HE'S TOO MUCH.

Adam, if you just saved the high notes for every once and a while, then I might think they were cool. But when you over-induldge in your high 80s-rock-stick-your-tongue-out scream/sing, I want to barf.  It's like eating a dinner plate full of ice cream. I would like something else, please.  Save the ice cream for dessert, not for the whole song...blaaaaaah.

The judges love him. Ugh.

I don't want Adam to win.

Please America, vote for Danny Gokey, not Adam.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I am the King of the Castle.

I am the Music Pastor at Midway Baptist Church.

I am self-employed.

Not too often do people tell me what to do.  I make a lot of my own decisions, and when I work with a team, I'm usually the leader.
This is good and bad.

It's good because it suits me just fine. I enjoy being my own boss, and when I'm working for someone else, I generally have enough structure to experience great freedom within that environment.

However, this is also bad because it means, for the most part, I get whatever I want...when I want it.
Now I can't say this is true 100% of the time, but it is true to a reasonable extent. And you know what?

IT'S NOT HEALTHY.

No one--and I MEAN NO ONE--should live without a balance of power in their lives. The person that gets their way all the time usually ends up a spoiled brat--selfish, ungrateful, self-centered, prideful, and shallow...and most of all--UNHEALTHY.

Two weeks ago I decided that I really needed to give up desserts. I really felt like I needed to set a boundary for myself, so that I'd have a reason to have some self-discipline and not just gorge myself on whatever food I wanted, whenever I wanted, to whatever unhealthy result.
Ugh.
Living on decisions made at the spur of the moment, or brought on by the power of suggestion is BAD.  Instead of following a pre-determined plan of healthy eating, I would eat whatever I was craving at the moment.  Most of the time it would be whatever was easiest to eat, what was most handy, or what was right before me. So I ate chips, snacky-things, cookies, cakes, ice-cream, or whatever I could lay my hands on.
Double Ugh!
But for the last 15 days I've been much more careful about what I've consumed, eating more fruits, veggies, salads, proteins, whole grains, and NO DESSERTS.

That's right.

No candy, cookies, ice cream, etc...

AT ALL.

And for me, it has been a BIG sacrifice.

But it's also been SOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo good for me. For it has taught me the value of discipline. I've lost a few pounds over the last couple of weeks, and I have a feeling if I keep up this no-dessert thing, it will be a few more. But that's not all--I've learned about balance, about self-control, about boundaries, and about the value of saying NO because you decided a long time ago that NO was the answer it would always be...and it isn't left up to the spur of the moment decision.

This has been really healthy for me.

I highly recommend you try it sometime...

EDIT ADD:

My apologies to those of you that read this blog before now...I was falling asleep at roughly 10PM when I wrote it (I know, it was early. I must be getting old) and I found incomplete sentence after incomplete sentence...the entry was a mess. A hot mess. But now..it should be mostly fixed. 

I haven't had a dessert in two weeks.

No candy, cookies, cakes...you name it...I haven't had it. This is been a difficult two weeks, but I REALLY can see a difference. My blood sugar doesn't shoot up and down like the Dow Jones anymore...I feel better, and more energized for longer periods of time.

I'm thinking about extending the time and doing it for longer. Why not? EH?

In other news:
It has really helped me that my BFF asked me to orchestrate part of his newest record. He happens to be pretty tootin' famous, so when people from Nashville find out that I worked for him on this project, I get some MAJOR street cred right away.

Thanks, BFF.
You're the best.

Here's the story:
So in 2002, after failing miserably at teaching K-12 band and choir at a small, private school, Christy and I decided that I should pursue arranging and orchestration in the Christian/church market, down in the Nashville scene. I had done enough arranging by that time during college, and sang enough of the songs published in this market, I was fairly confident I could do work as good as (or equal to) any of their top arrangers. I took 10 demos down to Musicalifornia that spring and met with all of the heads of the publishers from Nashville. It didn't go well.
Needless to say, it was a disappointing time and I was just too naive to know better; the business doesn't work that way. I mean, you can't just walk in and say, "Hey, I'm great! Hire me!"

Oh well. It all builds character...
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gonnit, people like me...

7 years go by...I figured that the door was shut for me in that arena...then Travis' project came on the scene.  Not only was writing for his record just AWESOME (which is titled "Jesus Saves LIVE" and you HAVE to get, btw. It comes out on June 2nd, and is totally blessed by the Lord...look for it!) but my orchestrations will be published by Brentwood-Benson to be used by churches worldwide! Now because of this opportunity, I'm getting to know the head people for a couple of the publishers out yonder, and it's very promising that I could do some writing for one or both of them in the future.

Wahoo!

Also--we're hatching a scheme to get Travis out to Midway in the summer of 2010.
That is, if the aliens don't get us before then.

Let's just pretend that I never heard The Patriot soundtrack

OR Saving Private Ryan.

New music here (ha) for the TV show about Williamsburg, VA

This is pretty much all I'll be doing for the next week or so. Wahoo!

NO!

There's no WAY this can be true! Can it??