the story of Jason Ray.

here's a story I ran across watching sportscenter the other night. it's a sports-related story, but ESPN finally did something right as my dad said.

here's the story

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=rayofhope

here's the actual story. trust me, you will wanna see this.

some phone pics taken lately...

my camera for internet streaming purposes for volleyball

my view for volleyball from up top

maroon madness feat. soulja boy

our "big daddy" lenses ($100,000+) used for top angle football and top angle basketball

the camera loves me

yes on occasion i do see a sunrise

the ultimate musical instrument..

this wasnt the show i went to, but this is what the musical geeks that are the david crowder band have come up with

Jacob...

i never wrote this before because i didnt want to get caught up in the moment, and therefore possibly hinder anything i would write under a normal circumstance.

my friend, and most importantly brother in Christ, Mr. Jacob Parish (or as we had called him in football "diboll"), passed away on September the 14th, 2007 in an automobile accident. while the specific details are still being resolved, we do however know without a doubt jacob is with the Father. 

i cannot even remember when exactly i first met jacob, but i do know we weren't strangers long. he was the kind of guy that knew no strangers. everyone he met, he called friend. and how could you not call him friend back? he was the guy in the hallway that always wore the same thing everyday, a smile. he was the guy runnin up to you with his hand out ready to wish you a good day. he was one of the nicest, most passionate fellas i have ever had the pleasure of meeting. one passion, which i will get to a little later, was FFA and his animals. i had more experience with him in football. i played my senior year of high school, and he was a junior on the JV squad. jacob played on the defensive line. pretty big position of such a lanky guy. i remember vividly practices where he, along with some of his teammates would get driven off the line pretty hard by the big varsity guys. i remember jacob parish, getting back up everytime with a smile on his face and ready to go at em again. during the nutcracker drill (basically 2 guys head up trying to push each other out of a box), jacob fought every time against somebody bigger than he, and always got up ready to give it another go. i did have several conversations with him about wanting to quit the team, which i had those thoughts after the first practice. but he stuck it out all year and fulfilled his commitment. his FFA and animals were probably near the top of his list. i have little experience in this with him, but for whatever reason i did attend a stock show a few years back. and the only memory i have of that, in my opinion the only excitement in the whole thing, was when jacob won his event. i can't even remember what animal he was showing, but i remember his reaction. he was the only one that showed any emotion upon winning. he jumped up and down, hoopin and hollerin after he won for what i think was a rabbit or something. it was the best thing about that show for me. it showed his passion for what he loved. i wish i had half the amount of passion he did for the things he loved. i wish i could have a smile on my face half the time he did.

to be honest i never found myself asking God why? i knew why, i knew his time with jacob was done. it all kind of seemed surreal. i think God uses moments like that to tap us on the shoulder and let us know this thing called life is real, and that he IS in control.

being away from home for the past yr, i hadn't seen him much. only when i was home and was at church. i remember his camo tuxedo at prom, i remember his wrangler jeans and awesome pearl snap shirts, i remember his love of country music. most of all, i remember his smile, and his love for people, and his love for the God that's so mighty to save.

i miss you buddy.

----------------------------

I once was lost, but now I'm found
I once was lost, but now I'm found
So far away, but I'm home now
I once was lost, but now I'm found
And now my lifesong sings

I once was blind, but now I see
I once was blind, but now I see
I don't know how, but when He touched me
I once was blind, but now I see

And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings

I once was dead, but now I live
I once was dead, but now I live
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You


-casting crowns

thank you Mac haik...

gimmie a break folks. honest mistake

George said it best...

There's a short cut to the highway out of town why don't you take it

Don't let that speed limit slow you down go on and break it

Let us be the remedy

And the problem is this

We were bought with a kiss

But the cheek still turned

Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know

What to do with a love like that

And I don’t know

How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world

Is right here among usAnd hatred too

And so we must choose

What our hands will do

Where there is pain

Let there be grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Help them be brave

Where there is misery

Bring expectancy

And surely we can change

Surely we can change

Something

And the problem it seems

Is with you and me

Not the Love who came

To repair everything

Where there is pain

Let us bring grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Let us be brave

Where there is misery

Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change

Surely we can change

Oh surely we can change

Something

Oh, the world’s about to change

The whole world’s about to change

--david crowder band's "surely we can change"

Project Witness: The Lost Footage

yep folks. this is where i grew up. at least until the 5th grade. but i do not claim it. and i can speak for the rest of my family when i say 'we glad we aint there now.' if you dont know why, turn on CNN tonight, or here's a link that explains somewhat. i do know that its not how the media shapes it to be.

Keep Singing

Another rainy day

I can't recall having sunshine on my face

All I feel is pain

All I wanna do is walk out of this place

But when I am stuck and I can't move

When I don't know what I should do

When I wonder if I'll ever make it through

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising Your name

Your the one that's keeping my heart beating

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising Your name

That's the only way that I'll find healing

Can I climb up in Your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

I gotta keep singing

Can I climb up in Your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

I gotta keep singing

-mercyme

"come on and we'll sing. like we were free."

show review!

this was to be my first show experience at lazona rosa. i must say it was enjoyable. i've been a fan or mr mat kearney since i saw him on vh1's artist's on the rise. his diversity and originality blew me away, and still does. i bout these tickets for jer's birthday. knowing he enjoyed kearney, but hoping he would enjoy it as much as i figured i would. yes i understand how selfish that SOUNDS, but that wasnt my initial intent. anyways, back to the show review. we get there when doors open, and while the twenty-some-odd people rush to claim their spot right smack in front of the stage, jer kar and i gradually made our way to our spot, right in front of the mixing console. why is this you ask? well if the dude is mixing the show from there, where do y0u think it's gonna sound best at? (if he's a good engineer)...i rest my case. so we were there an hour prior to showtime, and basically just stood there and talked. allow me to paint a visual for those of you that have never been here. its basically a warehouse with a bar. much like austin music hall, but lazona is more of a club-like stage and place. stage in the corner. bathroom stalls with no doors etc. so. show gets kicked off at 9 on the dot. opening band titled wild sweet orange. i had already check them out on itunes, but hadn't listened much. wasnt really blown away, but they were fairly good. kearney actually said later they were weeks away from signing a major record deal. so they play for about 35 mins, and then a 20 minute set change ensues, and kearney opens up with "crashing down" i believe. from there i have no clue of a set list, and i'm pretty sure there wasnt one. several times he asked what do you guys wanna hear? he played his first hit "nothing left to lose" in the middle of the set which i found interesting. his next to last song he took a request and someone wanted to hear "what's a boy to do?" kearney's response was "i dont even know how that one starts. i havent played that on this whole tour." so he commences to try and figure out how to start it, and he finally does start it, just him and his acoustic. then he gets to verse 2 and draws a blank. he spends a moment in thought, then asks the audience what the next part is. someone yells out a part of the song, then he says no thats the end of the song. from there he cannot figure it out, so continues with the part that was the end and just finishes the song from there. thats part of what made the show raw. he then closed with "undeniable." 

as far as musicianship goes, i expected good things considering he's fairly well known. the band consisted of kearney who played acoustic as well as some piano, 2 electric guitar players, (one of which was a multi-instrumentalist which i will get to momentarily), a bass player and a drummer. the drummer didnt impress me, but he hit his licks. the stage left guitar player played and was the primary background vocalist. he did well i was impressed with him. the stage right guitar player i was probably most impressed with. he played electric, one song picked up kearney's acoustic, one song played played bass as the bass player played piano, went back to play electric until later when he played the lap steel for 2 songs. and for one song, played an accordion of all things. oh and he sang too. now how incredible is that? like i mentioned previously the bass player played piano some, at one point he also had his bass strapped on and, while sitting at the piano, would play a piano lick and then play a bass line and alternate that a few times. i was not disappointed. it certainly was not a packed house, and it probably could've been less than $25, but it was his first headline show in Austin and i was most impressed with mr. kearney. if you click the pic below, it takes you to a show he recorded about a yr ago. so you can have a little taste of what we experienced. enjoy!

cheers

"meet me in chicago, down by the water line."

here's a quick rundown of the weekend prior to last night (sunday the 10th).

thursday night i left college station (so nice when i get to leave) after class and went to p-ville to jeremy and kari's casa for the friday festivities that kari and i had secretly planned. actually kari had planned, i deserve no credit whatsoever. all i did was have some sort of an idea what was going on and drive. if you have yet to figure out what the festivities were, it was a scavenger hunt. i'll direct you to jeremy's blog for more details on that.

friday evening i got to have dinner with my buddy jordan and went to see chuck and larry with stan and mrs windy and jer and kar. the jury is still out on my thoughts on that movie. it was funny, but im probably not any better off having seen it. after the movie, still in birthday mode, we wanted to go to 6th st. to a comedy/improv club called esther's follies. ive heard great things over the years about it, so we wanted to go check it out. well the last showing was at 10 and we didnt get done with the movie and things in time. so then we ended up going to mozart's on lake austin blvd right next to hula hut. it was the second time i have been out that way, this time at night and i still loved it. place like that is just another reason why i miss austin.  i got some slammin fruit tart thing and a cappuccino served in a soup bowl-ish glass. it was outstanding. foam and all. and sat right by the lake, only light from the moon and the candle lit coffee shop. it was a tranquil experience.

saturday i woke up and headed straight for college station to meet my dad for the aggie game. he accompanied me since it was an early game. turned out to be a great game despite the extreme heat index of 150 on the field, which we were mere rows from, and standing the whole time (we cheated however and sat down. it was hot. so sue us.) anywho, no matter who you were rooting for, it was a great football game all the way around. well not all the way around but it was exciting. 

After the game, it was my turn to go to work. for every home game its my job to take the footage from the main top camera and put that into the computer to be edited sunday afternoon for whats called the 12th man video, which alumni purchase every week as well as for internet stream on aggieathletics.com. The only problem is you can't do it any faster than 1X. So it does take the whole 4 hrs the game took. This wk i had 2 editors capturing so it cut down immensely. i got done about 11pm and headed home to arrive a little after 1am.

sunday went to church, then headed to p-ville for the big show. headed downtown a few hrs before showtime to eat and whatnot. got some  grub at potbelly sandwich works on the drag, which i highly recommend by the way. after that we got our tickets and later went to the show.

SHOW REVIEW COMING!!

cheers

first wk and beyond

every year at this time, i remember why i enjoy summer so much. could it be the scorching heat? the sweat filled days? the ever growing theme park lines?...well yes and no....but in reality, its because I dislike school so much. the work, the class, the stress, the lack of money in my pocket..i could go on and on really... we started school this past monday, the 27th... and it went.... debated the whole wk whether to drop physics, finally did within the last possible hr. only to add botany...yeah....botany....so excited. but other than that the schedule is pretty decent. history of jazz, prof is actually a jazz pianist. other profs should really take notes from this guy. he lights up like no other when he talks about jazz. why cant other profs do the same, and display their love for whatever subject? anywho, i also have an art history class, and finally sign language 3. hopefully these classes will help me get that gpa up. i know mother would appreciate that.

this year at work im doing the internet stream of home volleyball games..pretty lame but its pretty fun. my other assignment is to capture footage into the computer from the main top camera for football and the highlight reel from our instant replay machine. which i do right after the games are over, several games begin at 6pm. you do the math. has to be done before sunday's because that footage is used for the "12th Man Video", which i edited last yr, that the alums pay for the whole game tape.

this past wk i did take part in filming a commercial to be shown during football games this yr, i share about a 3 second spot with 2 other of my co workers. for the aggie bucket of corn. i helped edit it as well, and i must say we went in with the sole intent of making it the corniest commercial possible. and i must say i think we succeeded. so if you people venture to a game, be looking for my beautiful face.

getting ready for Mat Kearney show on sunday the 9th at la zona rosa..pics sure to come

Colbie Caillat "Realize"

Salt Lick review

Jeremy's Take on the Building/Overall
Atmosphere: Upon arriving in Driftwood, Texas to the popular
and well known restaurant, JMob and I were expecting to eat some
amazing BarBQ. The gravel drive and cedar post fence provides a
wonderful "ranch" atmosphere which adds to the restaurant patrons
experience. The building was built by the current owners parents and
each stone was hand picked from the land to build the building that is
home to the Salt Lick. Sitting at the long, old, and wooden tables,
watching the fire will excite any patron.

JMob's Take on the Building/Overall Atmosphere: I've already been here previously, but it was years ago so I already knew what to expect. There were some things I noticed this trip I hadn't previously. For instance a sign that reads "Please limit eating time to 1hr and a 1/2 to allow others to enjoy our food." A second thing i noticed on the wall was a Texas Monthly article about Sandra Bullock, which says the interview took place at Salt Lick.

Jeremy's Take on the Beef,etc.:
After adjusting to being served at a BarBQ restaurant (typically, I
order meat market style), I ordered the beef and sausage plate that
came with coleslaw and potato salad. Trying both meats without sauce
first to preserve the original taste, I found the sausage very typical
of a sausage anyone could buy at your local grocery store.
I make this comparison to grocery store, because I expect homemade
sausage to be distinctly flavorful and fresh. The flavor was not well
seasoned or fresh tasting. Upon eating the second bite of the
sausage, I might have chipped a tooth on the bone pieces I found in
the sausage. Even when I drowned the sausage in sauce, I was unable
to completely enjoy or eat the sliced link that was brought out. The
sliced beef or brisket was a different story. Although this brisket
is not one brag about. It seemed like any typical brisket, yet was
lean* and juicy (as any
brisket should be). There was nothing flashy about the beef, but I
did enjoy it with and without sauce. The sides were not typical
potato salads and coleslaws. Each had a distinct flavor and I enjoyed
the different recipes served by the restaurant.
*I prefer the lean beef.

JMob's Take on the Beef,etc.: I ordered the combination plate of beef and sausage. I enjoyed the beef, but disliked the sausage very much. The sausage was too much on the crunchy side, almost like it was warmed, and not grilled. For instance at Kruez, it's almost falling off the casing. That tells me it's DONE! The sauce was probably the best sauce i've ever had. But if you need sauce to make it good, that tells me the meat is lacking. 

Jeremy's Take on After Sweets:
After not being completely full, because I left half the sausage on my
plate, we both agreed it was time for desert. We both ordered peach
cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Once it arrived,
there was no doubt we had made an excellent choice. The orange and
yellow warm combination of the sweet treat melted in my mouth. It was
bowl licking good.

JMob's Take on After Sweets: OOOHHHH mama...."Them are some good eats." While not being full on the entree, I was glad to get something good. Peach Cobbler. And A LA MODE! It was definitely the highlight of the meal. The portion was huge and I couldnt finish it. 

Jeremy's Finally Thoughts: For
the two of us to eat, including a tip, I could think of several other
BarBQ restaurants to visit for $40.00. Excellent service, not so good
entree, unique sides, and a great desert. Basically, I left the
restaurant full on potato salad and peach cobbler. Not a good sign
from a restaurant with the reputation of having great beef. I give it
two stars and would not recommend it to any friend of mine.

JMob's Finally Thoughts: I say 2 out of 5 stars as well. The most points coming from the peach cobbler. I would definitely recommend KRUEZ first, and Salt Lick would probably be third or fourth on the list sadly. When leaving, we were asked "how was it" and much to their amazement we responded with an "It was alright." Apparently they aren't very used to mediocre reviews.

We hope this is helpful to our readers and would love to hear any
feedback. Have a great day.

i got excited just now because i had a comment on my last post....but when reading it, i realized it was not a comment about an awe inspiring post, moreso it was i need to blog.. so here it is..

currently at austin java jammin some tunes, surfin itunes, just had a spectacular turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich and a cup of roasted chicken soup...take away the humidity and add a bit more rain and it would be the perfect coffee shop day...i've been listening a lot lately to jon mclaughlin's song "beautiful disaster." heres the video and lyrics:



She loves her mama's lemonade,
Hates the sound that goodbyes make.
She prays one day she'll find someone to need her.
She swears that there's no difference,
Between the lies and compliments.
It's all the same if everybody leaves her.

And every magazine tells her she's not good enough,
The pictures that she sees make her cry.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
And she just needs someone to take her home.

She's giving boys what they want, tries to act so nonchalant,
Afraid they'll see that she's lost her direction.
She never stays the same for long,
Assuming that she'll get it wrong.
Perfect only in her imperfection.

She's not a drama queen,
She doesn't want to feel this way, only seventeen but tired

She would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
But she just needs someone to take her home.

Cuz she's just the way she is, but no ones told her that's ok.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

And she would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

But she just needs someone to take her home
And she just needs someone to take her home.

and i thought it was a wk last wk....

well folks....i am now officially apart of the overworked population of america...which is pretty much everyone...studies have shown...i wont go into that

while not fully calculated yet, i believe i have pulled well around 60hrs this wk... with thursday off and with working today (saturday)...here is the pic i promised..a real pic....i took this from the balcony FOH position a few days ago, the fiber snake isnt hooked up yet, so i just had a local mic and headphones making sure i knew how things would be able to be routed and such. the beauty of a digital console is anything can be routed anywhere, and from several different points in the signal chain. so it opens so many different doors in how to do things....basically what im saying is i want one....i was told to spend time on the console daily, basically booting it up, let it know it still means something to me and the world, or will in a matter of weeks....i only got to do that once, but that was the highlight of my day when it happened...i think that encounter was thereaputic for the both of us

the church pushed back their move-back-in-date another wk, or else i would've easily pulled 80hrs this wk...so next sunday is slated as their first sunday back in, and i will be a company rep for their first and second sunday's. the first one i am excited about, but also extremely nervous about. i keep having these thoughts that whatever they kick their service off with, choir or congregational singing or whatever, they kick it off and no sound comes out at all...not because the speakers dont work, but because the operator has no idea how in the world to turn things on.....and i can just imagine the clueless look on his face....they have already been told i will not mix the service, i will merely be there to offer technical and somewhat moral support when they cant figure something out...until that moment i will still be spending many waking moments pouring over the manual (available for download..thanks yamaha)

we got all the speakers hung and somewhat aimed, monday we will hook the rest of the signal chain in and put tunes through...hopefully....i'll try to get a better pic this wk w/o all the scaffolding in it, with the speaker hangs and light trusses as well....most of the manual labor is over, now its the fun actual technical stuff....now i like my job even better..

until next time,

cheers

she's a beauty

what up peeps?? im taking a break out of my insanely busy week to let you people know about the current job. First Baptist New Braunfels is doing a total renovation worth $6.5 million on their A-frame sanctuary probably built in the 1950's. and this is the biggest install i've been apart of thus far, and more importantly this is the most technological of them all.

"Sound Geek lingo ahead"

the church has notoriously had dirty power issues, so not only do they drop a new pole for power, but we also do our part and install a Lightviper fiber-optic snake. this fiber snake carries about 32 channels and 8 returns fiber-optically. eliminating any and all ground noise from power and any other kind of interference. basically lightening could strike the actual cable and nothing would happen to it. the fiber snake actually connects to a card that plugs in the back of the digital console. no 48 analog mic lines. just 1 fiber cable. another card plugs in the back of the console that is for their aviom monitoring system, which allows 16 channels or subgroups routed by way of cat 5 from the console to different mixing pods around the stage, thus giving the performer control of their own mix. today, my bosses son chris, who mixes monitors for country singer miranda lambert, he had a few days off so he came in to do some training on the console for the church's audio guys and i. i had already been asked to learn the console and be the company rep at their first 2 services, and of course i said yes because i want them to use it right, and i wanna know it myself! i can't help but imagine the service starting and no sound is coming out, and im looked at with a clueless look on my face!

until next time,

cheers

Interesting article

Churches must be more responsive

Definately worth the read

happy 4th

To all soldiers, past, present and future, here and abroad. Thank you