The Benores in Texas

If a picture says a thousand words, then this one says it all. Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement. If you don’t know (then you’ve been under a rock), Garth is the #1 selling solo artist of all time in all genres. In fact, when you include all bands … he is second only to The Beatles. On October 26, 2000 he announced he would go into retirement until his children were out of school. He wanted to be available for car duty, all events, and everything else they have going on as a family. When Steve Wynn courted Garth to come out of retirement Garth responded, “You can’t afford me.” To that Garth has since declared “I was wrong.” Wynn bought Garth a jet, negotiated a weekend only schedule (Friday-Sunday), and gives Garth the flexibility to get out the 5 year deal whenever he wants. Garth will be able to announce his shows is stages so that it never conflicts with his kids’ schedules. So Garth gets to do what he loves without sacrificing the lives of who he loves.

So, why am I writing about this? Garth is why I listen to country music. His rock influences, storytelling/thought provoking songs, and pure entertainer abilities has turned Country music into a completely different art form. He announced the first 5 weekends which went on sale yesterday. As you can see in the picture, he sold out of the 20 shows quickly. His last weekend of shows in this batch is the last weekend in February. So Sunday, February 28, 2010 Shantell and I will see Garth Brooks in concert. This is the very last show announced. Tickets went on sale 10:00am central time, but we did not have the opportunity to purchase them until 12:35pm. They wait time was horrendous but we got our pick of weekends. And since that is the weekend before my birthday, we thought is would we a great venue to celebrate! We are hoping to fly in late on a Thursday or early on a Friday and then return Monday evening. That will give us 3 1/2 days in Las Vegas. Although Shantell has been as far west as California, I currently live as far west as I have ever been. So going to Las Vegas has always been a dream. With all of the shows, hotels, restaurants, etc. it’s going to be a lot of fun.

There are still a ton of cities on our first time “to visit” list. Domestic cities: Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. International cities/countries: Paris (and/or southern France), London, Dublin, Jerusalem, Madrid, Tokyo, and don’t forget Australia! We also want to re-visit Miami/West Palm Beach, go to a game in Tallahassee (okay maybe more me than Shantell), New York City, Nashville, and Washington D.C. This list is not all inclusive, but it’s a start. But for now, we will soon get to cross Las Vegas off the “to visit” list … and see one of the best entertainers in any genre of music!

As many of you know, I am not much of a book reader. I have gone through spurts of reading for school throughout the years and occasionaly I have read for pleasure. But for those most part, the zoombie that eats my brain is television.

People learn in many different ways. Visual learners come in two varities, those who read books and those who need visual aides – such as video. Auditory learners learn best through sound, like lectures and discussions. Kinesthetic learners are “hands on” people that discover the world around them through touch. Many schools cater to one or two styles but not all three.

I learn the best through auditory means. So my favorite mediums for learning are talk radio, podcasts, and listening to lectures. When in high school, college, and seminary I would rarely need to study if the content was discussed in class.  While I learn better with auditory stuff, I express myself better through writing. I favored writing papers over tests.

I do not like to read a lot. I do some reading, but only little chunks at a time. The Bible is good for my type of reading style. I have read popular novels and non-fiction, but I have started more books then I have finished. But recently, that has all changed. Since February 2009, I have read 8 books. 4 non-fiction books and 4 fiction books. I will provide a list of books I have read below – but I must explain how I am reading all these great books.

For the past few years, I have been subscribing to free podcasts. Podcasts are downloadable audio or video content that you can listen to or view on computers, iPods/iPhones, and many other devices. Video Podcasts (or Vidcasts) I watch through my TV. Most DVRs and PS3s will allow you to stream video content through a PlayOn. PlayOn is an application that is loaded on any Windows machine. If your PS3 or DVR is connected to your home network, then you can “see” the Windows machine through PlayOn and view online content. I watch some shows (technology, entertainment) and also online Netflix rentals through this method. Audio podcasts I listen to in my car through my iPhone and an audio cable. Many of the podcasts share an advertiser called Audible.com. Enter in my new book addiction.

So what it Audible.com? Remember Books on Tape? Well Audible.com is that same concept but for the new digital age. Now you can download whole books to our MP3 player (like the iPod or iPhone). Years ago, books recorded to tape or CD were abridged – which means you get a shorter version of the book. Most books now are the whole unabridged book. The average length is about 11 hours. Which if you commute 45 mins – 1 hour a day, you could read the book in 11 to 15 days. If you workout, you could listen during the workout. I listen to books and podcasts while I drive and while I code. Sometimes, I can knock out a book while I am in the zone at work.

Audible.com has two plans – Gold and Platinum. Gold is 1 credit a month for $14.95. Platinum is 2 credits a month for $22.95. I would say 95% of books are 1 credit. If you read all your books in a given month or you don’t want to spend your credit … you also can purchase books at 30% off. For instance, I am on the Platinum plan. If a book I want is less than $11.50 per month, I will likely not use my credit. Credits I reserve for the majority of books which usually are $20-$30.  So I love “reading” books now. I get all of the same content (probably more since I now finish the books), I get to keep the books forever, and I get to read many more books for personal growth and entertainment than before. If you love to read but don’t have time or you hate to read but love to listen to stuff … check out Audible.com.

My Recent Reads (most recent first):

Boundaries — Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
Glorious Appearing (Left Behind Series Book 15) — Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Armageddon (Left Behind Series Book 14) — Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat — John Ortberg
The Sacred Romance — Brent Curtis and John Eldredge
The Remnant (Left Behind Series Book 13) — Tim LaHaye and Jerry B.
Desecration (Left Behind Series Book 12) — Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Integrity — Henry Cloud

The Left Behind Series I started many years ago but never finished. Thanks to Audible.com, I have now completed them!

If you’d like to see Kevin and Shantell on your television sets, you can for this week only! We will be appearing on Life Today with James Robinson. A few months ago, we found out former governor Mike Huckabee was going to be a guest on Life Today. We called up the studio and got tickets to be a part of the audience. The show, which is a half hour format Christian talk show, shows both of us in the studio audience. We are shown a couple of times, but the first panning of the audience which is about a minute into the show (after the opening credits and before the hosts announce themselves) is where we can best be found. If you have a DVR (or VCR if you’re in the stone age), record it this week and see us in living color.

Kevin has already graced the big screen as a blurry extra in the hit comedy “The Waterboy”. But now both Kevin and Shantell make their debut together on the small screen (and we are not even blurry). If for some reason your TV is broke or can’t figure out how to program the DVR, I have found a link to a web version of the TV show and put in on my site. The web version will give new meaning to “small screen”.

To find out when it is being broadcast in your area click here: http://www.lifetoday.org/site/PageServer?pagename=tel_stationGuide. If you do not get one of the national networks listed, click on “United States” on the top of that page and scroll down to find your local market. In both Dallas/Fort Worth and Orlando it is locally broadcast 6 times a day !

To watch the program on the web click here: http://www.benore.com/life-today-webcast/. You will see us right at the 1:00 to 1:01 mark. Enjoy!

Well I have decided to install a new blogging software on the site and the design has changed to a bit. This new software (WordPress) will allow me to change the design with ease, add cool features without coding them myself, and basically take the “work” out of blogging. So with luck, I (or maybe we) will be able to write more posts! And if you don’t like the design … don’t worry … it will probably get changed more often.