Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bob’s Top 20 Guitarists


I made this list of great guitarists for Facebook a while back. But I wanted to post the list again as The
Pirate Way Blog's Official list.

In putting together my top 20 guitarists of all time, I was thinking, everybody probably has their own version of top guitarists, but here are mine...

Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Jimmy Page
Jimi Hendrix
B.B. King
Carlos Santana
Robin Trower
Duane Allman
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Eddie Van Halen
Edge
David Gilmore
Tony Iommi
Ritchie Blackmore
Randy Rhoads
Robert Johnson
Martin Barre
Ted Nugent


I left out a lot of the old blues guitarists-they may be in a separate category all themselves. This list consists of the guitarist I grew up with. I know there is quite a bit of good talent currently out there. But I also believe there was a talent drought in the 80's...

Who would you add? Who is your top ten?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

10 Ways to Cool It


People are on the edge. They're about ready to explode. It's like a slow burn bubbling below the surface-F Bombs-Rudeness-Hostility-Disrespect-tick-tick-tick-BOOM. I began to feel the heat and decided I needed to cool it before I got burned. So I changed some behaviors in my daily routine. I tried 10 different ways to cool it. I began feeling the difference right away.

Feeling the heat? Well you can cool it too. Try these ten things below for 1 month and feel the slow burn-cool down.

  1. Smile at people you see today-not in some creepy way but just be natural.
  2. Turn off news and politics
  3. Turn on music-something you can chill to-but stay away from Death-Metal
  4. Listen to what people say-don't respond right away-just ponder and then speak if necessary
  5. Don't talk too much about your self
  6. Read something inspirational
  7. Laugh at yourself
  8. Run or walk-just get your body moving
  9. Quiet the noise
    around you. Find a quiet place with natural sounds like waves crashing on the beach or the wind rustling through the trees. Take in the silence
  10. Think on the things God has blessed you with-family, friends, happiness, health…
Stay Cool.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Superstar-Superflawed


In this post I want to expose the flaws of the Superstar.

But first a question:

What do Brett Favre, Brad Pitt and Bob Abair have in common? (Besides the obvious)

In my last post I stated that being a Superstar
is intoxicating-but this creates an illusion-a fantasy.
But it is also an attitude. So being a superstar is not limited to the Football Hero or the Hollywood Actor-it can happen to any of us.

Now do you know the answer to my question- what do Brett Favre, Brad Pitt and Bob Abair have in common?

Answer: We're all capable of having a Superstar attitude-And so are you.

You've heard the terms Diva, Celebrity, Superstar right? Most of us apply these terms to the rich and famous. But they can be attributed to us. That's why we need to be aware of the 4 flaws of the Superstar:


Flaw 1: Believe the Hype:
My Dad once told me that a pat on the back is a few inches from a kick in the pants-thanks Dad. I know what my Dad meant-to keep things in balance. Later in life I began to realize that both praise and constructive criticism are important for two reasons: One-if I live only off the praise then my ego is inflated and if I live only off the criticism my ego is deflated. Two-this balance keeps me grounded and both praise and criticism nurture gratitude-I am grateful for who I am-flaws and all.

Flaw 2: Crave the Approval: It's exhausting to be beholden to another person's approval. You spend a lifetime chasing the wind. I was speaking with my friend Sherry about a person we admire for her sincerity and Sherry made this observation she's down to earth because she has nothing to prove. I thought about how true that statement is-if you're comfortable in your own skin-you can be yourself. You don't have to monitor what you say and how you act.

Flaw 3: Finding Significance in the Wrong Places: All of us search for significance. We want our life to count for something. If we seek significance outside of ourselves like in people or relationships or our career, then we end up with emptiness. Our significance is measured in who we are which points to my worth as a person. Our lives count because we are valued and special. My significance though, is found in something bigger than myself-it has too because I'm flawed.

My faith leads me to this something bigger-and perfect-who is God. I am an flawed person who receives significance from a perfect God as seen in this passage-all of us were created in the image and likeness of God.

This is where I get my value and worth. If there is no God and we evolved from pond bacteria then my significance is no better than e-coli.

Flaw 4: Not Able to Transition to the Next Life Passage: Life is a journey through passages. From birth-to puberty-to AARP membership-we travel. Maturity happens as we transition from one stage to another. Developmental Psychologist Erik Erickson says we travel through eight life stages-each stage having a specific virtue we learn before we move to the next stage. My life journey takes me through the virtues of Hope-Will-Purpose-Competence-Fidelity-Love-Caring and Wisdom.

Being a superstar is cool-for the moment. But when the curtain is pulled away and the flaws are exposed then we come down to earth and live the real life-not the life of an illusion.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Brett Favre Has Gone Wobbly


I'm dizzy. It doesn't make sense. Brett Favre-a future hall of fame QB is known for his grit and self assurance. But words like indecisive, waffling and unsure have described the sports star. On the field he has a swagger-off the field he goes wobbly-what's happening to this legend? He cannot say goodbye to the game he has come to know and love. He is stuck in a revolving retirement door.

It started last year when he retired from the Green Bay Packers-then came out of retirement to play for the New York Jets. At the end of this season he told us "this was it." He's retiring for sure. And we believed him. But guess what? Brett has been in contact with the Minnesota Vikings considering a return to the football field-it's getting weird. What keeps him from moving on?

I can't get into Brett's head and the answer is a combination of factors. I'm guessing it could be fear and a belief he is losing his purpose that nurtures his ambivalence. Fear and Purpose are two powerful forces. But there is another force-something just as powerful and that is the cultural phenomenon of being a Superstar.

Being a Superstar is intoxicating-there is the spotlight and the adoring fans, but this creates an illusion-a fantasy. And like any illusion it can disappear just as fast it was created. The band Bad Company wrote a song about this phenomenon called "Shooting Star" the chorus of the song explains its fickle nature:

Don't you know that you are a shooting star
And all the world will love you just as long
As long as you are

Sport Stars and Celebrities are not the only ones idolized. Because of our cultures tendency to exalt celebrities, anyone who has a public stage can be assigned superstar status.

The politician is idolized by the voter.

The evangelist is idolized the faithful.

The professor is idolized by the student.

The gang banger is idolized by the neighborhood.

Many high profile people never buy into the superstar illusion. They are grateful and humble for the position they have achieved and I believe Brett Favre is in this group. However being on the public stage can make you vulnerable to 4 superstar traps I list below:

  • Believe the hype
  • Crave the Approval
  • Finding Significance in the Wrong Place
  • Fear of Failure

I will discuss these traps in detail next post…



Friday, May 15, 2009

My Take on Star Trek





I've never been a Sci Fi guy. But I did cut my teeth on Star Trek. So when the movie came out last weekend, I took in a matinee to relive some childhood memories.

Below are random thoughts from my Captains Log: Stardate 2009:

  • After buying the ticket I notice a lot of men-50 years and older are here to see the movie too-"Live Long and Prosper"
  • Note to self: slow down on the popcorn-it's a long movie. I ate half of the bucket before the movie started.
  • The movie starts with Captain George Kirk, Federation captain saving his crew and wife who is pregnant with pre-natal James T Kirk-the nut didn't fall far from the tree
  • Kirk the Elder dies fighting the Romulans-Like the Hatfield's and McCoys'-it seems the Romulans have always had a beef with the Federation.
  • Ok jump forward 12 years-Junior High-Jim Kirk is joy riding in the families sports car with the Beastie Boy's song Sabotage playing in the background-I get pumped
  • Spock is half human and half Vulcan-the Vulcan's can't "feel"- they're too analytical. But Spock has a choice to feel-what would he choose? Then I wonder what it would be like not to feel. I couldn't feel pain or joy. I wouldn't want to go through life not being able to feel. There is a certain callousness in our culture that has taken away the ability to feel empathy-just an observation.
  • Kirk represents Passion and Spock represents Reason-together they both make an awesome team.
  • Reason and Passion are essential for life-they must live in harmony-Reason is the anchor in a sea of Passion-With Reason I see life objectively and I feel life with passion.
  • I love the polyester long-sleeve-crew neck T's-with the Star Trek Insignia on the pocket-got to get one.
  • Quantum Physics is as exciting as a door knob but the results are cool- like traveling through space at warp speed and being transported to the USS Enterprise while in flight-shout out to Scotty for that one.
  • I give the movie one and a half thumbs up. The movie stays true to Gene Roddenberry's humanistic themes of man's ingenuity-desire to explore the final frontier and scientific progress-I wasn't disappointed.
  • As I was walking out-a man flashed me the Vulcan salute (nothing inappropriate for those below the age of 25:you form a V with your hand) and he said to me "the movie was like the old days". I smiled and returned the salute and said "Live Long and Prosper Pal". Not a bad day at the movies.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

A Face To Face Encounter with Facebook


I was using Facebook a lot. It was taking up my down time. I needed to take a break. So I set off for a seven day FB furlough to reset my priorities-it took one day.

I realized I was using Facebook for the wrong reasons. But first I have to say, I love Facebook. It's a special part of my day to log in and enter the cyber neighborhood. But I would enter this virtual community often and to the point where it was meeting a need only a real flesh and blood-community could and this, became the problem. I realized that I was putting unreal expectations on FB and the FBer's in this cyber village.

I have a passive relationship with FB. I am a sightseer sitting down from the comfort of a table at Starbucks. I log in and enter this electronic city. I could poke my friend Ed-race Lisa in her corvette and respond to Mari's post and do it without leaving the table. As a sightseer I'm scanning the scene-maybe make a comment or respond to a post and even send some energy packs to my pirate crew. But I was feeling bad when a post went unanswered or when I ignored an invite to "Watch the Paint Dry" social group.

I'm not physically present with my FB friends but we connect anyways. When Barry made that wisecrack I smiled. When Ron requested prayer-I prayed and when Cory told me I only took 7 furloughs days and not 8-I did the math. They didn't see me do this but we connected. In FB you post or poke or race or just hang out and view the profiles. I don't need to respond every time someone posted-I may but it's not necessary. This is a virtual community. I'm not physically in Sacramento, Las Vegas, London or the Philippines-I'm in So Cal as a cyber sightseer who is enjoying this passive but fun relationship.

This is both the dilemma and the joy of the virtual neighborhood-I respond to someone's post alone and yet we're together through the miracle of the internet. So to all my FB friends (and twitter and MySpace for that matter): I got the post-I felt the poke and yes Lisa you beat me again in the race. But most importantly I am glad you added me as an FB friend.


Friday, May 8, 2009

The CEO Pastor: Problems From the Top Down


I got the May Edition of Christianity Today or CT as I like to tell my wife, who really doesn't care. I'm excited because this is my 4 week trial. If I'm not satisfied, I just write cancel on my subscription and return it. No questions asked. And I get to keep the May issue FREE-I like that.

I recently had some "guy time" with a couple of close friends. We went on about two perpetual problems that churches and pastors deal with ad infinitum-Money and Health. It seems as the need for money goes up the health of pastors go down. So I'm reading the magazine and sure enough these problems pop up.

Check out these the articles: (Church Pink Slips
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/may/2.15.html and Caring for the Caregivers
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/may/3.16.html)

I wasn't surprised to read that clergy are more likely than laity to report excessive job demands, criticism, feelings of loneliness and isolation. I've been there. I've experienced the trouble from the pulpit as a youth pastor and from the pew as a board member. Money problems lead to stress and heartburn for me. Talk about money at any board meeting and watch the temp rise. But money is the filter by which ministry flows-budgets; building programs; pastoral staff; attendance and giving; debt and growth-it all revolves around money.

I was reading these articles and recognized a common way-of-thinking about the Pastor and the Church-an attitude that is built in to the Traditional Church model which goes something like this: The Pastor is CEO and that the Church is a Corporation. (Read the CT articles, they even use these terms). I could never get my head around this idea but it is real. This organizational-top down model works well for the corporation but not the church. The CEO is driven by the values: Performance-Production and-Profit and unfortunately so is today's Pastor-here's how:

Performance: Pastors are evaluated for their ministry performance and their salary is negotiated by a church board.

Production: Pastors are expected to produce effective programs, recruit volunteers, increase attendance, generate contemporary worship services and preach relevant sermons.

Profit: Churches are nonprofit organizations for sure but they need a stream of revenue to hire staff and maintain an annual budget. This means keeping a certain number of people to sustain church operations.

Frank Viola writes in his book Reimagining the Church "the clergy profession is little more than a one-size-fits-all blending of administration, psychology and oratory that's packaged into one position for religious consumption."(pg 161)

As an aside: Frank Viola http://frankviola.wordpress.com/ and Neil Cole http://cole-slaw.blogspot.com/ have written extensively on the subject of the Organic church and Traditional church models.

My friend Sherry was worried that I was judging the church-I assured her we are the church not the structure. God blesses pastors and those who worship in all kinds of structures and the Traditional Church will always be around. It's not going anywhere and there are wonderful churches out there. My point is, the CEO mentality creates impossible hurdles for pastors to jump. The traditional model may still remain but the attitudes and beliefs can change.

A return to a kingdom way-of-thinking is needed. We could reset our thoughts on what the body of Christ is-a gathered people under the headship of Jesus-not a flow chart. I'm all for praying and caring for pastors who are stressed. But let's add to our conversation how the mentality of the CEO Pastor actually nurtures the problems of Money and Health.



Sunday, May 3, 2009

Living the Verse 25 Life


A Reflective look at Romans: Chapter 7:21-25

I am a big St. Paul the Apostle fan.

The only time Saint Paul put a pen to paper was to put his John Hancock on it. Paul laid out his prose freestyle-dictating it to Tertius his scribe. I could tell you how this went down: Paul is pacing back and forth like a trial lawyer making his case to the believers, the critics and the cynics. He cross examines the Pharisee, the Heretic and The Philosopher. In his mind he is arguing point/counterpoint with Seneca the Roman philosopher, his contemporary
and rival.
Paul and Seneca were equals in smarts. Paul probably met Seneca on the speaking circuit.

In Paul's letter to the church at Rome-Chapter 7:21-25-what takes place is nothing short of a street brawl. But this wasn't your typical meet you in the parking lot after school fight between a jock and a punk. The altercation takes place in Paul's mind between two parts of himself-God's Law and his Carnal Mind. The carnal mind is in open rebellion towards God-corrupted by sin-it can never bring us to a right relationship with God. We all have the carnal mind in us through Adam and as believers we have the mind of Christ through Jesus. Both are at war with each other. Paul is tormented by this fight. He is compelled towards sin but he wants to love God's law. The fight takes an ugly turn.

Paul comes face to face with the darkest part of his soul-the part that is hidden from others. I know this place all too well. You know it too. I hate this pace. I try to hide it-make believe everything is ok. When someone comes close to this place I defend it-don't go there.

I'm a spectator in Paul's fight right now. But I've been where he is. It reminds me a car accident, I don't want to see the wreckage yet I peek like everyone else and I think "I hope she is ok"-then I think "I'm glad it wasn't me". But it is me. I've been in the wreckage of the verse 24 fight. That's where Paul is now.

The battle escalates…Paul sees hell…the end is near…the fight is over…then he cries out what a wretched man I am who can deliver me from this body of death? This is verse 24.

Is this the end of the road for the Christian? If it is I'm done. I'm no better off than the fatalist who says nothing matters and we all die. If this is it then our faith is dead too.

But there is Good News-it doesn't end at Verse 24…there is a verse 25.

In Verse 24 we cry out in pain "what a wretched man I am who can deliver me from this body of death?"

In Verse 25 we cry out in Joy "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

In verse 24 we die to sin-in verse 25 we live in Christ.

In verse 24 we are humbled-in verse 25 Christ is exalted.

In verse 24 we can never boast look at how good I am-in verse 25 we boast look how awesome Jesus is.

In verse 24 we no longer live - we live in Verse 25.

This is the Verse 25 life

Live it…



I'm An ESFP





I'm an ESFP-nice to meet you. Let me introduce my wife-she's an INTJ and my friend Allan here-is an INFJ. What are you?
Find out now by clicking on this online test by Humanmetrics and get your own 4 letter personality profile:http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
When I say "Myers Briggs" my friends say oh yeah, "I'm an ESTJ or I'm an ISFJ"-whatever. But if I say "Carl Jung" my friends have this odd stare and drool falls from their mouth-it's rather disturbing. But it was Carl's insights on the human psyche that inspired a mother and daughter- Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers-to develop the Myers Briggs personality test. The 4 letters are your MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator)
Breaking Down The MB (Myers Briggs)
My personality is a combination of traits, characteristics, tendencies and dispositions which make up the real ME. It puts the B.O.B in Bob. Carl Jung said within the personality there are:

  • Two Attitudes: Extravert or Introvert and
  • Four Functions: Sensing; Intuition; Thinking and Feeling:
  • Extravert: Outer-directed, chooses people as a source of energy, often action-oriented.
  • Introvert: Inner-directed, chooses solitude to recover energy, often reflective.
  • Thinking function: Logical, cool, distant, frank, questioning.
  • Feeling function: Creative, warm, intimate, a sense of valuing positively or negatively.
  • Sensing function: Sensory, oriented toward the body and senses, detailed, concrete, present.
  • Intuitive function. goes with hunches, impractical, sometimes not present.

For a detailed description of the myers briggs test click here: http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/t-articl/mb-simpl.htm
Consider these questions:
Do certain people drive you crazy because of their personality?
Do you like to get involved with social events at work?

Ever wonder why you have a tendency to be shy?
What personality traits in people are you attracted to?
My personality helps me know my preferences for work, relationships and recreation. I know there are other factors involved as to why I act a certain way-like values and life circumstances. But knowing who you are and what makes you tick goes along way into becoming authentic and enjoying your life to the fullest.

Jack Kemp R.I.P.


Jack Kemp passed away last night of cancer. He was 73 years of age. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8031283.stm

In the 80's when I was more ideologically minded and politically involved I was inspired by Jack Kemp. He was a rare conservative voice that spoke with passion and conviction to people of all political persuasions. People may have disagreed with him-but everyone respected him.

He was a"bleeding heart conservative" with a "street fighting conviction". He knew his stuff about economics and true conservative principles. He believed that power should be concentrated at the most local level first-the Individual-the Neighborhood-the County-the State-The Federal Government. This is called Federalism.

Jack Kemp took this idea to the inner cities. Conservatives were wary and Liberals were threatened. Enterprise zones reflect Federalism at it's best. It said to Joe, the owner of an Auto Shop, stay in the neighborhood and we will give you huge tax breaks and work with law enforcement to clean up crime. Enterprise zones gave every incentive for the local business owner to stay and not leave due to oppressive tax burdens. The local neighborhood would keep people employed and not return to a crime ridden blighted inner city. Pretty cool idea where you give the locals control of their destiny-free them up and they will thrive. But when we have politicians on both sides of the aisle more interested in their power -we the people are jacked up.

I no longer am an ideologue and politicians on both sides are more interested in their own power. Jack Kemp was the real deal. We will miss this tough and compassionate man. A rarity among the political power class today...

Jack Kemp R.I.P

Saturday, May 2, 2009

You’re A Nice Guy But Not My Type


I got dumped by a girl with a great personality. She was pretty also. I was a junior and she was a sophomore. I wrote about this predicament in my last post. http://thepirateway-bob.blogspot.com/2009/04/yeah-but-she-has-great-personality.html . It started out as a favor for a friend but turned out as a pleasant surprise for me. Whenever a guy told me a girl had a great personality that was code to run and not look back.

I thought things were going well until I got the "we need to talk" phone call. Nothing good ever comes after those words. I rode my skate board to her house and sat on her porch. She sat down next to me-looked me right in the eye and sent me reeling with this break up line: "you're a nice guy but you're not my type". I went numb. I said something that didn't matter while I was picking up my heart up from the sidewalk. I needed to get away-hang out with my buds-do guy stuff.

Four months later I was over her. But on a fateful Friday night after pulling off a great prank I was soon to find out what my type was. Growing up in Catholic schools I learned the fine art of crafting a good prank.

One Friday night after a football game my friends and I pulled off the big one. We detached the statue of Saint Anthony in front of our High School and drove him a few miles to another parish school-Saint Maria Goretti. We placed St. Anthony next to the St Maria Goretti statue and attached a sign that read "A Match Made in Heaven" and drove off.

One thing about Catholics is that we have big families and if someone from another parish church doesn't know you they know your cousins, brothers or sisters-it really is six degrees of separation. So someone who knew someone saw me and my friends trying to be matchmakers with the saints. On Monday morning we were called into the principal's office, Brother Fredrick. The good Brother was not amused with the Match. Com. stunt. We had to go recover St Anthony and put him safely back at the school. Included in this penance were three weekends of picking up trash and a trip to the school counselor to find out what the heck was wrong with us.

So off I went to see this guy dressed in tennis shoes, polyester pants and a turtle neck sweater. He gave me this test with questions such as: "Would you rather read a book or be with friends?" Then the turtle neck guy reviewed my answers and told me my personality type was an ESFP. The counselor was not surprised I was an Extravert. He said this explains my desire to get attention. I said thanks. I found my type. I wish I had this info at the time the cute girl was breaking up with me. I could have told her my type was an ESFP. That may have impressed her and maybe give me another shot. The funny four letter abbreviation came from the Myers Briggs Personality Test. I'll say more about this test in the next blog post. Also there will be a link to take the test yourself…see you next time.




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