New year links

Surprise! It’s 2007, and it should be the beginning of several fun things.

Like what? Well, if you’re a Carpenters fan, a fan gathering is being planned in Downey during the summer. You can get more information by following the link at http://www.goodyfourshoes.com.

You prefer religious music? Jim Strathdee will be making some Southern California appearances in March. Jim is the co-author of "I am the Light of the World," a favorite religious song. You can find out more by checking the schedule on this web page: http://www.strathdeemusic.com.

You prefer a big, big show? Well, if you have a big, big budget, you can try to buy a scalped ticket for the Princess Diana celebration in Britain. Yeah, I know, I won’t be going either. But I sure hope somebody tapes it. This is, to my knowledge, the first time that Andrew Lloyd Webber has teamed up with Duran Duran. :) This is the concert that was sold out by the time everyone heard about it. They’d better put it on TV for us in the states. It should be a fun time.

You prefer fantasy? It’s the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, and there will be a fan celebration in Los Angeles this summer. Find out more at http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20060526.html

You prefer to stay at home and watch a video? Well, we have more video rumors than real news at this point. But according to tvshowsondvd.com, 2007 could bring new DVD releases of favorite shows like Happy Days, Odd Couple, Mork & Mindy, Davey & Goliath, and Men Behaving Badly (U.S. version). Want more info? Check out www.tvshowsondvd.com.

You prefer to stay at home and watch something sexy? Hmmm. Well, how about the new Courteney Cox series, “Dirt?” It airs on the FX network and although I haven’t seen any episodes yet, it should be pretty good because hey- it’s Courteney. Look, the woman is practically the only reason I was interested in the show “Friends” at all. Love that catsuit. I will have to do a longer blog about Courteney soon. As far as my fantasies go, there’s a lot of “dirt” to dig up.

You prefer museums? Well, if you like dinosaurs, you may like the new creation museum planned to open this summer. The museum’s focus is on world history from a biblical perspective & answering arguments about the bible and science. I’m familiar with some of the people who are working on the museum and they are certainly dedicated to teaching people about these things from both a scientific and biblical perspective. You can find out more by visiting http://www.answersingenesis.org/museum/

Not your museum “cup of tea?” Well, at this point this is only a hope, but the great Muppet Newsflash blog reports that the Jim Henson society is putting together a museum exhibit on his life which may feature some of the muppets on display. This would be great - although the muppets have been on display in museums before, this would be the first time we would get to see some of them since the original “Art of the Muppets” exhibit from the early 1980s. That was well over 20 years ago. I’d love to see them again if given the chance. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for this to become a reality later this year. Learn more about it here: http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/henson/main.htm

You prefer comics? Well, after you get back from the San Diego Comic-Con this summer, you can pick up the latest copies of “The Complete Peanuts,” set to be printed later this year. You can pick up the years 1959-1962 right now, and if you’re a Charlie Brown fan I would advise you to do so. The sixties were a kind of “golden age” of the strip, and this is a chance to own good hardbound copies of them. They are replacing my old Fawcet Crest pocket books that are doodled over with my own drawings of Snoopy and friends from when I was six or so. (I can’t throw them out, because they’re my early art! They might be worth a lot of money someday! Really!) Find out more about the books by following the link at http://www.snoopy.com.

What about me? Well, I hope to keep working and hopefully finding new ways to share my talents with the world as well as new ways of reaching out to others. Sounds corny, I know, but that doesn’t make it wrong, folks. I would love to finally work on that home movie I have dreamed of making with some friends. I’ve been dreaming about it for years, and putting it off, knowing how difficult it would be just to get everybody working together on it. God grant me the strength to get started. And God bless my patient friends, and if you read this blog, that probably includes you.