Z - Zoo Friends

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

If you like going to the zoo, you really should join Zoo Friends. Not only does it give you a discounted or free admission to your local zoo, it gives you a 50% discount (or 100% at a few select locations) on admission to zoos nationwide. We buy a membership for our family of six each year during the spring membership sale in May. For $49 we can get all of us into the zoo as many times as we want for a full year. We also get discounts at the gift shop, concessions, and rides. One trip and we've already saved more than the cost of the membership. It's tough to beat that deal. And, it helps the zoo with their budget. Win-win. Check it out at your local zoo. You'll be glad you did.

Y - Young at Heart

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Young at heart. It's a goal for most of us that are over 30 or so. As we grow older, we begin to rebel against time. Unfortunately, too many these days take it too far and begin to act childish. There is a big difference between the two. Being young at heart should drive us to have passion for life and vigor and energy for the challenges ahead. It should not be an excuse for acting like a clueless teenager when we have the life experience to know better.

I enjoy spending time with my children and playing games with them. I like to do silly things that make them laugh. These are part of being young at heart. I try very hard to avoid complaining when things don't go my way or pouting about the unfairness of it all. That is an immature at heart attitude that has become too prevalent today. We must all fight against the "me" attitude that we are supposed to grow out of as we mature. It seems that society has pushed against allowing children to mature into proper adults. They are kept unnaturally young as if that were a good thing. I think this comes from a misunderstanding of today's theme. As fully functioning adults, young should never mean immature.

It's OK to enjoy going to the zoo, or spending some time on the swings at the park with your significant other, or just listening to a good song and butt-dancing in your seat while you drive. These can all be aspects of being young at heart. But when the time comes to be responsible, a functioning addition to society, making your world a better place by being a part of it, you owe it to yourself and everyone around you to be the adult and get the job done. Young at heart, but emotionally stable. That's a worthy goal.

X - Strange Origins

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Three years ago, I chose xenophobia for X. Two years ago, my music theme was derailed by X, so I posted a picture of a Xenomorph just for fun. Well, the theme seems to be working, so this year we're going with xenomorphic.

Xenomorphic refers to something having a strange or unusual form. This is the origin of the Xenomorphs from Alien. Definitely a strange form. Despite the sound of the word, it does not actually refer to aliens. Usually. Anything that is not in the expected form for its function or doesn't fit perceived norms is xenomorphic. Below is an example. See you tomorrow.

W - Winter Jam

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

If you've read any of my posts the last few days, you've heard that my favorite band and best concert I've been to is Home Free. They have close competition, however. The second best would have to be Winter Jam. Ten Christian bands for ten bucks. If you're willing to wait in line for several hours. It's first come, first served. Tickets are sold at the door. If you are only willing to wait in line for a couple of hours, you can join Jam Nation. That gets you a special admission line and earlier entry. You're also guaranteed a seat without worrying about being turned away from a sellout. Three years ago, my older daughter and I went, hoping to see Skillet. It was a Saturday that year, so we couldn't go until after church. We waited in line for 90 minutes in the rain and were turned away while we were still 100 yards short of the doors. That was not awesome.

Two years ago, my older daughter and I and her best friend went, hoping to see Thousand Foot Krutch and Newsboys. We arrived at noon for a 5:30 opening. No rain, nearly at the door all day long. We got in and witnessed an amazing concert. I actually blogged about that two years ago. This year, we got a group of 26 people together and got Jam Nation tickets. We sat in the front row of the stadium seating. Floor seats were available, but we had a wide age range in our group and didn't want them all to deal with the floor crowd. Our seats were AWESOME! We were ten feet from the stage and got to see every band up close and personal. Several band members walked (or ran) right by us as they moved from the main stage to the satellite stage at the other end of the floor. My daughters shook hands and got high fives from some of their favorites.

This year's lineup included some heavy hitters, including Stars Go Dim (who had the #1 song in the country at the time,) Sidewalk Prophets, Matthew West, and Lauren Daigle. We got introduced to Tedashii, KB, and Trip Lee who pumped out some awesome rap and hip hop. Not my usual style, but they rocked it. There were two bands that we were most anxious to see; Crowder and Red.

Crowder did not disappoint. He came out to Cotton Eyed Joe by the Rednex. He put on a show that had everyone smiling and toe-tapping throughout. If you're not familiar with his music, get familiar. He's great. Probably the best ever at mixing hillbilly redneck folk music styling with rock, a cello, and an arctic fox statue named Kenny Rogers. Trust me, it's even more awesome than it sounds.

Red was... different. Hard rock, stage makeup, a plague doctor complete with weird beaked mask, and fire. I loved it. My kids loved it. My friends loved it. My 70+ year old parents and a few others... not so much. I think the look on all their faces said pretty much "What is happening here and why am I seeing it?" It was amusing. And Red absolutely crushed it. Amazing show. Definitely worth the price of admission.

The most surprising part of the show turned out to be the headline band, for King and Country. I've not been a big fan of theirs. I was even a little surprised to hear they were headlining. I didn't think they were all that great. Then they hit the stage and brought the house down. High energy, powerful music, and strong worship and praise. I was floored. I am now a fan for life. My daughters are now for King and Country fanatics. I'm glad I saw this show. I would have missed out on so much by not knowing more about this band. Check them out. You're welcome.

V - Variety

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

They say variety is the spice of life. Whatever, I just like to keep things different. I enjoy a variety of genres in books, music, television, and movies. A wide variety. Huge. I like Star Wars AND Star Trek. Yep, major genre switch. I read Lord of the Rings AND The Hobbit. I listen to Home Free AND Christian Kane. Does it get more varied?

All joking aside, I really do read, watch, and listen to a variety. I will listen to Metallica, followed by TobyMac, then Home Free, and Fallout Boy. Nightwish (symphonic metal with a fantasy vibe) and Abney Park (steampunk airship pirates) share space on my playlist when I'm writing science fiction. My favorite movies include Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, We are the Titans, and Princess Bride.

Don't ever let yourself get tied down to one genre in anything. That applies to all areas of life. Except spouses. Best to stick to just one of those. And kids should all be the same species. (They don't necessarily have to be human, but keep them all the same species if possible.) OK, things have suddenly gone off the rails. I better call it quits while I'm ahead behind.

Until tomorrow, sayonara, good evening, auf wiedersehn, ciao, bonjour, and other various salutations.

U - Unreal

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Unreal. That's the only way I can describe seeing Home Free in concert. I've talked about them before, but please indulge me for a moment. Last night, my wife and I, our four kids, my nephew, and a good friend all went to see them live in Tulsa. This is the second time we've seen them in concert in twelve months. When we saw them last year, we were all floored. BEST CONCERT EVER! Then we saw them last night. They've gotten better. A LOT better!

Having seen them before and following them closely on social media, I already knew much of what they would do in the show. I've felt Tim's bassquake vibrate the whole building. I've seen Adam perform a beatboxing routine that defies belief. I've seen the group mesmerize an audience with their harmony and true camaraderie. They are best friends and family and it shows.

I was shocked by what I witnessed last night. Tim's bass has gotten even stronger. The harmonies are spot on. They have the audience dancing in their seats one minute, crying the next. And laughing and smiling the whole way. But two things stood out last night that cranked it up to 11.

The first was Adam Rupp's beatboxing solo. I think he's been practicing. For ten minutes, he proved why Austin Brown introduces him each night as "a freak of nature." He makes sounds the human body was never designed to make. His drum solo sounds like a full drum kit played by a professional. Then he goes into his DJ Blank Stare routine. All culminating with the finale, introduced by his simple statement, "Drop the beat." I can't begin to describe it. You must witness it. Click on Adam's picture below to see his solo. You'll need good speakers to get the full effect, but it still can't capture the experience of the live show.

The second thing was, in my opinion, the greatest performance I have ever seen by Home Free. They did a cover of "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. On their album, Country Evolution, the song is very cool. In concert, they went insane. They added a shorter Adam Rupp drum solo. Then Austin Brown joined in with a beatbox solo. Then Chris Rupp. And Rob Lundquist. And Tim Foust. Then they had a beatbox battle with Austin and Chris on one side and Rob and Tim on the other. Adam joined both sides and kept things under out of control. I may have swallowed a bug or two during that performance. My mouth was hanging open long enough. I won't even bother posting a video of that one. You can look it up on Youtube, but it doesn't do it justice.

If you get a chance, see them live. You're welcome.

T - Dwarf King

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Tim Foust is the bass singer for Home Free. I believe I've mentioned them before. I have to mention them today because we are going to see them in concert tomorrow night. That is both a good and a bad thing. You see, my wife and my older daughter both have a huge crush on Tim. I'm not too concerned about my wife. I also sing bass and am at least as cool as Tim, if not more... Forget it. I can't type that with a straight face. The dude oozes cool. If I were prone to man-crushes, he'd definitely be one. I will admit, I love listening to him sing. He's got an unreal 5 1/2 octave range. (For comparison, Freddy Mercury of Queen had a 4 octave range.) He's a freak of nature. I, on the other hand, have about a 1 1/2 octave range on a good day. And it's all in the lower register. I can drop low enough to hit most of Tim's low notes, but then he keeps dropping into the basement and digging halfway to China. One of these days, he's going to break a seismograph or two. Australian scientists will be trying to figure out why they're getting warnings of an earthquake coming through the core of the planet. Seriously, dude shakes the place.

Click the picture below (really, look at the dude. Cool!) to hear his rendition of Misty Mountains with Peter Hollens. Low? Check! Awesome? Check! Dressed like a freakin' dwarf king ready to beat you senseless with his stare? Check and double check!

Pretty sure no one's gonna notice if I'm at the concert tomorrow night or not.