The Rob BlogIt's Better Over Here.

To The Faithful Underground…

I’m very pleased to announce officially that I am writing reviews as part of Thomas Nelson’s review program.

We’ll see how this goes, but so far, I think it’s a neat idea. I have had the pleasure of corresponding with Michael Hyatt twice now, which is amazing when you consider how busy the guy must be, and I have to say that he seems to be on the level. As the person leading the Social media charge at our company (Life Care Centers of America is my employer) I always get fascinated by CEO bloggers, and Hyatt is, without a doubt one of the most active. He keeps a blog, FB page and tweets interesting content all day while still running Thomas Nelson. Fantastic. Anyway, my first book came in the mail and I’m really excited about it. One of the nice things about the program is that you get to choose your books form lists that interest you. It isn’t the kind of situation where Thomas Nelson simply sends you a book and that’s that.

My first book is “The Selfless Gene” by Charles Foster , and it deals with the idea of science and religion getting along…imagine that! Well, I can’t wait to read it, and as soon as I’m done, you can expect a full review here on The Rob Blog.

This of course brings me to my next order of business… I’ve been thinking a lot about my consulting jobs. For years, I have been a PR/Marketing consultant. I love the work, and it keeps my creative juices flowing. Life Care has a policy that permits us to work a second job as long as it is approved and doesn’t interfere with my dayjob. This, of course, means that I take care of consulting work mostly at night and on lunch breaks.

Now, I know that some of you out there might have an area of expertise that you think you can monetize by consulting, so as someone who has been doing this a while, I’d like to offer a word or two of advice…

#1. Never consult on a project that you wouldn’t be willing to do for free.

What?!?!?!?! Alderman, you gotta be kidding me!

No, dear reader, I swear it’s true. You see, if you are going to go into consulting, you’d better absolutely love everything about the subject matter. The fact is that I would give away marketing advice all day long if I wasn’t careful, and that’s a good thing. It means I love it and am not as likely to get burned out. You want to lose your mind? Go ahead and consult just for the money.

#2. Never consult for free.

Yep, I said it. In seemingly complete contradiction to my first statement. But here’s the thing- I never told you to do it for free. I told you to do it because you would be willing to do it for free. Instead, ask people to pay for it. When I play music, I rarely play for free. Sure, the occasional benefit concert will come up and I’ll play for a good cause, but a normal show? Never. Why? I’m not a popular touring musician anymore. No one knows who I am. But…I am providing a night of entertainment, and even though I’d be willing to do it for free, it’s much nicer to get paid for it.

OK…there you go.

In closing, I looked at our budget for the year this past week and it almost made me pass out. It was, at first, very discouraging. I couldn’t believe that we work so hard and still have so little savings. I’ve been working hard for many years now, and to be honest, when I saw the budget it made me feel like a failure. Once the shock wore off however, I was very glad that I had spent the time to plan the year out.

Here are a few budget observations…

#1. My wife, who has been paying our bills for years, is a saint.

#2. While the situation isn’t wonderful, at least I know what it all looks like and now, I have a plan to get free from debt once and for all.

Alright, Robloggers, it’s time for me to get back to work. I have a client who needs some marketing!!!

Pleasant dreams,

Rob

Recording (Day 1)

Tonight, I’m headed into the studio to begin recording the new E.P.

I’m really not sure how I feel about it yet. One of the drawbacks to having OCD is your inability to always feel like you know you should. So, while I am excited, I don’t feel excited, if that makes any sense.

Who knows, maybe it’s just the fact that I know I’m way past any record contract (they don’t give them to people at my old age…you can’t make the kids happy if you relate more to 6 year olds than 16 year olds…) and so I’m free to relax and just let it happen.

By my side is the unflappable Paul Garner. Paul and I have played together a few times, but we’ve never recorded together. He is a little older than I am, and in the past, Typical Sloan owed many of our first gigs to Patmos, Paul’s insane heavy-hair rock band. (Much love to Derrick, Dave and Dennis as well…) Paul is a great guitarist with more musical talent in his pinky than I have in my whole body.

Paul and I work together now and played together for the first time last year at the request of Beecher, our Company President. It was delightful. Together with The Slinky, Keilor Barr and Gabe Rice, we had a short-lived project called The Good Dream Academy. (r.i.p. or on hiatus? No one knows for sure…) We had a good synergy, and when asked to do a solo show, I asked Paul to accompany me. It was a fantastic night.

At some point, I decided that I’d rather not let any of the new songs I’d been working on disappear, and Paul suggested we head into the studio to lay them down. Paul is a very calm presence in stark contrast to my loud whirlwind of a personality, so I’ll be interested to see what comes out. Paul is a bit of a perfectionist, while I prefer the loose sound of first takes. Paul wants things tight as can be and I find organic mistakes charming.

This will be awesome or horrible. I love it.

(Note: I’ll take some pictures and video as we go to catalog the process. It will be the first time I’ve documented time in the studio. Hmmm.)

Dear Cupcake,

Dear Cupcake,

It’s no secret that I love food. If I didn’t love food, I wouldn’t be on this diet. But what you may not know is that I truly love local food.

You’ve all read about my love for Earls (r.i.p.) and Jenkins restaurants. I like local food for the same reason that I love almost any local business. I simply believe that in most cases, though you may pay a little more, the product is better. I love the unique things that make Cleveland (and anywhere) special.

Now, here’s another secret. I don’t like candy. It’s true. I did not get overweight from eating chocolate or hard candies. Nope, it was the baked goods that did me in. I love them. Cookies, brownies and cakes…

The Cupcake Divas are a couple of gals that have opened up shop right here in Cleveland, Tennessee and to quote one of the owners, “We use a lot of butter here.”

Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!

I’d driven by their shop a few times, but never stopped. Then, The Slinky told me that he’d become a believer. Well, as you know, I never let The Slinky stay ahead of me for long, so I determined to try it out.

Today, after Slinky told me that he’d been by there on his break, I determined that I couldn’t wait any longer.

I stopped by the shop and ordered their special of the day, “Italian Cream” and darned if it wasn’t the best cupcake I’ve ever tasted. I never would have believed it, but there really is something to this cupcake thing.

For one, the taste and texture were awesome. It was a dense, rich almond cake with a heavy, decadent butter cream frosting on top. The outside of the cake was made by fusing coconut and almonds into a fine crust. Each forkful brought me sweet nirvana, and here’s the most important element- the cupcakes aren’t too big, so right when you start feeling like it’s too rich, you’re finished. (Slinky had sworn to this, but I didn’t believe him. Turns out he doesn’t ALWAYS lie about stuff…)

So, for those of you out there in Rob Blog land who enjoy a sweet treat every now and again, I full endorse The Cupcake Divas… you can check out their daily specials and menu by friending them on Facebook, and then stop in and have a cupcake. You won’t be sorry.

(Note: I was in no way paid to do this review. My findings are based solely on my love of good food.)

The History of Religion

I saw this over at Eric Wilbank’s Blog, and felt like it needed to get a re-post over here at The Rob Blog.

It’s very cool to watch this map and contemplate the movement of religion and its consequence. I like to sit back and think about the implications involved with viewing religion with eyes open. What happens when you look at things that really happened through the lens of how and when it truly happened? For some reason, a lot of Christians simply can’t fathom a world that exists outside of their Sunday-school versions… I think there is far more to be gained from an honest look.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

History Of Religion

Everywhere I Go

There are some great songs in the World. As a pop-culture enthusiast, it’s my passion to find them and listen to them over and over and over again. You know how I am, right?

Anyway, I always like to bring you the things that make me happy, especially when they involve music, books, films or TV shows.

In the world of music, there are so many things to be thankful for. Johnny Cash, U2, Dylan, Beethoven and this little gem. In all honesty, this is one of my favorite songs ever. It comes to us via “Moose A. Moose” who is a host on Noggin, a show on Nic Jr. Yeah, you heard me. One of the greatest songs ever written is performed by a cartoon moose on a kids show.

I stand by this. Give it a listen.

Everywhere I Go

2010 -Blogging is dead. Long live the blog.

To The Faithful Underground…

I have always envisioned www.robalderman.net as a place where all things Rob could occur. Over the years, I’ve been lucky to have had my hands in enough projects that there are plenty of little things to discuss. I dig input and conversation, so these little talks are valuable to me, and hopefully to you.

This is terribly egocentric of course, but that’s precisely what websites are for. Someone has an idea and builds a website out of it. I have several creative plans for 2010, including finishing my novel, recording an EP (which begins shortly) and a fun little project with The Slinky that will involve two things that should ALWAYS be mixed together- Cleveland Locals and Film Reviews. (more on that soon…)

You know, keeping an online presence these days is a tricky proposition. The technology seems to change quicker than most writers can keep up with.

This is inherent to the genre, as writers tend to be inwardly creative and push through into an outward expression. This means that their art is really simply for themselves and there is no need to keep up with current trends in technology…that is until they realize that their readership has moved on to the “communication of the month”. Never underestimate the power of a healthy ego.

So, I have been plotting my return to the webernets, and I have to say that I’m pretty positive that I’m going to stick with this Wordpress format. I like it. (The debate now is whether or not to finally sever my ties with blogspot…sigh.)

Social Media guru types like Steve Rubel have said that Blogging is dead. Rubel and others believe that the age of the blog and RSS is gone and the age of life-streaming has come.  At first, I agreed. Blogging was feeling so cumbersome. It is much easier to send out snippets of info through tech like Posterous. (which I still love…now more than ever)

Now, I’m not so sure that Blogging is going the way of the Dinosaur. Instead, I think that it’s changing…evolving. The internet is a fickle mistress, and I believe that in 2010, we may see a return to meaningful blogging again. The reason is that I don’t think people can live on Tweets alone.

I love a quick snack, but that doesn’t take away my need for a healthy, full dinner. You know what I mean?

So what’s ahead for the Rob Blog in 2010? More full meals and less snacks, for one.

Will you like what I’m serving?

I sure hope so.

2010, You sneaky little Ninja.

To The Faithful Underground…

Tonight is the last night of 2009. We’re going to celebrate “Shack Style” of course. In fact, Shackstravaganza is the only official coed gathering on the shack schedule, not that the sexes don’t intermingle accidentally at other times during the year.

I’ve been thinking about tonight all week and it’s funny, but my view of how I want Shackstravaganza to be tonight completely mirrors the way I want 2010 to be.

Fun but not crazy.

Yeah, you heard me right. I don’t want nor do I need a particularly exciting 2010. Trust me when I say that the past 5 years of my life have held more than enough drama and excitement. Nope, give me a nice quiet fellowship with my real friends this year.

In fact, 2009 was so tense that I’m still a little shocked that 2010 is upon us. Beware 2010, cuz it’s obviously a sneaky ninja. I never saw it coming.

Now, as far as things I’d like to accomplish in 2010, it’s a short but important top-ten list for me.

1.    Finally publish the book that Bob Waycott and I worked on. It still has some technical things that need finishing.
2.    Be a good professor, co-worker, boss and underling. Since I’m all of those things, it would be nice to excel at them.
3.    Record an EP solely on my terms. I have over 16 albums that I’ve done with various people over the years, but I’ve never done one where I just relaxed and let it happen. I’m going to invite all my friends to contribute. No deadline.
4.    Finish my novel. It’s in the Horror genre. Yep. It’s true.
5.    Spend more quality time with my wife. It’s amazing how much that helps.
6.    Fly Fish
7.    Reconnect with God. This isn’t as easy as you might think. My relationship with God has been pretty rough over the past several years. I think I’m going to relax a bit more and try to simply spend time with God. No agenda, just time.
8.    Blog more and launch our movie review site. I’ve missed you fine folks.
9.    Mentor my oldest son. There is a big difference between parenting and mentoring.
10.    Relax. 2009 was a good year, but it was tough. We faced a lot of challenges in the health care industry this year, so work kept me hopping. In addition to this, there were many personal family challenges we went through. It is my sincere desire to relax more in 2010. Chill. Write. Sip a fine bourbon and smoke a good cigar. Yes.

What are your plans for 2010? Got anything good up your sleeve?

OK…first things first. Welcome to the new RobAlderman.Net. …Super glad to have you here.

Now, on to more important things, like Avatar . Wow.

To say that this film is EPIC, would be an understatement in the truest sense. In fact, I struggle to even find a way to review the film, so in the end, I’ll probably just let the Slinky do it. Still, I feel like I should say something, so here goes.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way…

Yes, the movie steals it’s plot from Ferngully , though much of Ferngully has better dialogue. Let that sink in and just accept it. ready to move on? Good.

Now on to the good stuff.

You have NEVER, ever…like, EVER IN YOUR LIFE seen a movie like this. Now, my good pal and old professor Matthew Melton went and saw this movie in regular 2D format, and he still loved it. I’m not really sure how this is possible.

The fact is that this movie is an absolute gamechanger. I think that beyond anything, it was the fact that I never had a “Wow, this is 3DDDDD!!!!!” moment that really showed how brilliant this film really is. The tech is so amazing that you just buy into it from the opening scene. My eyes never needed adjusting, nothing weird…just simple transportation into an alien world that seems just as real as the person sitting next to you.

Now, there is something else worth mentioning. The acting is actually really solid, and doesn’t seem to hurt from the cliche dialogue. what’s more is that you really truly feel for the characters. Their pain and happiness affect you deeply, which is a real triumph in this day and age.

As for the message, it isn’t anything you haven’t heard before, but that doesn’t make it any less important. i love movies that tap into the basic human needs. Love. Hate. Waste. Forgivness. Grace. Ect…

When you look at this film through a theological framework it becomes even more intense. There were moments during the film that I felt I was communing with The Almighty, and that doesn’t happen much. When a film takes me to a place where I feel the need to pray,(and I don’t mean in that “Dear God, this movie is so horrible. Please get me out of here.” sort of way) I am forced to take notice.

As you know, I really REALLY enjoyed Sherlock Holmes, and I think you should go see it. I’ll stand in line for the sequel and I’ll go to bat for the film against any of it’s detractors for no other reason that America needs to learn to enjoy a fun movie when they get one. But here’s the thing. For as good as Sherlock Holmes is, it isn’t even in the same league as Avatar. You can’t compare the two, so don’t try. While Sherlock Holmes is a fun ride, Avatar succedes at being something much deeper and meaningful…and I, for one, am grateful.

REVIEW OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, aka LETHAL WEAPON

I’ve been greatly enjoying the reviews by some of my friends of the new Guy Ritchie film, Sherlock Holmes.

It is funny to me that such a delightfully fun romp through old England could be despised, but several of my friends and favorite critics have done exactly that. They are entitled to their opinion of course, but I thought I’d take a moment to speak up for those of us who are not so bound to cannon that we can’t have a good time when a good time is to be had.

The first bit of advice I would give someone who is headed out to the theater to enjoy Holmes is this- You are not about to watch a period piece.

It’s true. Your hopes of seeing true Victorian England are not going to materialize…at least not with this film. No my friend, you are in for a much nicer treat…The Buddy Movie.

Yep.

Nothing is quite so wonderful as a good Buddy Film, and Holmes has this in spades.

In fact, if I had to choose a single movie that Sherlock Holmes reminds me of, it would be Lethal Weapon.

Yeah. You heard me.

Lethal Freaking Weapon.

Lethal “Tough as Hell” Weapon.

Lethal “Holy Crap, Mel Gibson will kill you fool” Weapon.
So, instead of writing my own review in full, I have decided to simply take a review of lethal Weapon and post it here, altering only the sections that must be. I will mark my changes in all CAPS. The review is by the greatest film critic of all time…Mr. Roger Ebert.
Lethal Weapon (Sherlock Holmes)

BY ROGER EBERT / March 6, 1987
“SHERLOCK HOLMES” is another one of those Bruised Forearm Movies, like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” a movie where you and your date grab each other’s arm every four minutes and you walk out black and blue and grinning from ear to ear. It’s a buddy movie about two DETECTIVES who chase a gang of SECRET SOCIETY GUYS all over ENGLAND, and the plot makes an amazing amount of sense, considering that the action hardly ever stops for it.

The DETECTIVES are played by JUDE LAW, as a homebody who has just celebrated his 50th birthday, and ROBERT DOWNEY JR, as a crazed, wild-eyed rebel who has developed a suicidal streak since HE TOOK HIS LAST CASE. In the space of less than 48 hours, they become partners, share a family dinner, kill several people, survive a shootout in ENGLAND, battle with BOATS and machine guns, toss hand grenades, jump off buildings, rescue ROBERT DOWNEY JR’S kidnapped GIRLFRIEND, drive CARTS through walls, endure torture by electric shock, have a few beers and repair the engine on DOWNEY’S boat – not in that order.

The movie’s so tightly wound up, it’s like a rubber band ready to snap. GUY RITCHIE, the director, throws action scenes at us like hardballs, and we don’t know when to duck. All of the elements of this movie have been seen many times before – the chases, the explosions, the hostage negotiations – but this movie illustrates a favorite belief of mine, which is that the subject of a movie is much less important than its style. I’m a guy who is bored by shootouts and chase scenes.

I’ve seen it all. But this movie thrilled me from beginning to end.

Part of that is because I cared about the characters. LAW has had important roles for several years (in movies as different as “Places in the Heart” and “The Color Purple”), but this movie makes him a star. His job is to supply the movie’s center of gravity, while all the nuts and weirdos and victims whirl around him. He’s a family man, concerned about those gray hairs he sees in the mirror, not interested in taking unnecessary chances.

DOWNEY is the perfect counterpoint, with his wild hair, his slob clothing and his emotional misery. It’s a running gag in the movie that DOWNEY is so suicidal he doesn’t care if he lives or dies – and that gives him a definite advantage in showdown situations. That’s what happens in a scene where DOWNEY is up on a rooftop trying to FIGHT WITH A GIANT FRENCHMAN. I won’t spoil the surprise; I’ll just say the movie ends with one of the few genuinely unexpected surprises in any recent action film.

The supporting cast is strong, and has to be, to stand out in the midst of mayhem. MARK STRONG, slimmed down and bright of eye, makes an appropriately hateful killer. And RACHAEL McADAMS, as DOWNEY’S good-looking GIRLFRIEND, is cute when she gets TOUGH IN AN ALLEY. But most of the attention focuses on LAW and DOWNEY, and they work easily together, as if they were having fun, their eccentric personal rhythms supplying a counterpoint to the movie’s roar of violence.

Now about that matter of style. In a sense, a movie like “SHERLOCK HOLMES” isn’t about violence at all. It’s about movement and timing, the choreography of bodies and weapons in time and space. In lesser movies, people stand there and shoot at each other and we’re bored. In a movie with the energy of this one, we’re exhilarated by the sheer freedom of movement; the violence becomes surrealistic and less important than the movie’s underlying energy level. GUY RITCHIE has directed a lot of classy pictures. My favorites are “SNATCH,” and “LOCK STOCK”’ which is still the best. This time he tops himself.”
Thank you, Mr. Ebert…I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Well, for quite some time I have been considering moving my blog to Wordpress. There are many reasons for this, but biggest reason is for the things you (yes, I mean YOU) can’t see.

Wordpress allows me to do many things in the way of tracking my blog stats that other blog sites won’t.

But, the biggest reason has to do with the way I like to live my life…mobile.

When I purchased my iPhone, I knew I was taking a big step, but I never knew just how big it was. We’re MAC people, and iPhones just seemed like a smart purchase, but darned if I don’t do everything on the thing. That includes blogging.

So I need a blogging platform that works for my mobile lifestyle.

Tumblr seemed good. The app for iPhone is good and the blogs are slick, but forget about anything functional. Posterous is wonderful for posting blogs, but not for hosting them.

So is this move going to have any staying power? I really don’t know. For now, I think I’ll just move in a little bit and prop my feet up…maybe I’ll like it.