Life Summarized:

My photo
Hey! My name is Justin and I am married to my ridiculously awesome wife Jules. We are youth pastors at Christ Church of Orlando. Life, up 'til now is golden. Not only am I the student pastor of identity student ministries but I am also the worship leader at our church, the graphics and web designer and I run a photography business called J.Mikl Photography (www.jmikl.com). This isn't the only site I maintain. I have a youth site, a college site, a church site, and a photography business to manage. But that's enough of that. I love my life, my job, and my youth. I must say that I have one of the most time consuming jobs but I also have the best job in the whole world. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us and our quickly growing family. Someone once told me, "You gotta think BIG, dream BIG, and plan HUGE!"...they are words I now live by...

"LOST" Season Finale


SPOILER ALERT!!!

This post is partially a blog that I read through Entertainment Weekly's website recapping the season finale of LOST. While I don't agree with it entirely, it does point out some great insights about the show that I had suspected all along. I loved this show and I hate to see it go....I am only left confused with the subliminal imagery of various diverse religions displayed together as one. Obviously, I didn't approve, knowing that there is only ONE TRUE GOD. That being said....the show was different, the show was captivating, the show was good to the core. Check out the recap below:

Lost went out in a manner that was refreshingly not like that of so many dramas, which tend to become more dramatic, serious, and bleak in an effort to prove their ultimate profundity. Instead, the long Lost last night was a combination of a greatest-hits album and a lively Sunday-school lesson. Everyone was forgiven; everyone smiled. If The Mary Tyler Moore Show hadn’t done it first, I suspect that the Lost producers would have had every member assembled in the final scene gather in a group hug.

If there was any big surprise last night, it was how overtly Christian in its imagery and message the series proved to be. [Justin-"This was no surprise to me"] Its heavily underscored lesson was that everyone was forgiven — that word was used over and over. And the water at the Magic Glowing Source was used for the purposes of transubstantiation: “Drink this,” Jack was told upon being handed water, a phrase later repeated when Jack gave water to Hugo. Given the liquid’s effect particularly on Jack, the dialogue might just as well have quoted directly from a Communion service: “Drink this, for this is my body which is given unto you. Do this, in remembrance of me.”

For if there was one thing we can probably all agree upon, in the end, Jack Shephard was a Christ figure whose sacrifice saved many other people. The imagery could not have been more specific: Jack’s questioning and obeying of his father; his leadership of a small group of disciples; his final ascension (in TV terms, in a glowing white light). Even the piercing of his side by Locke/Man In Black was in the part of his body where Christ was speared while in agony on the crucifying cross.

But for most of its long but rarely boring length, the final Lost did not huff and puff and labor toward a heavy metaphorical conclusion. Instead, it was, well, pretty delightful, full of reunions that were both emotional and funny. There were sweet little jokes, such as when, 90 minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour show, someone said, “It sure don’t feel like it’s over.” I don’t know how it’ll play with hardcore Losties, but I was glad to see a fan favorite such as Hurley not only avoid great suffering, but become the most important assistant in Jack’s glorification. Hurley was always the most lovable character in Lost, and it turned out that if he represented anything, it was Love itself.

The metaphor that had been used weeks earlier, about the cork in a wine bottle that kept evil from escaping — that was dramatized well, when Desmond first uncorked the island and it did indeed look as though Evil had been loosed upon the island world. Then it had to be, re-corked by Jack, to refute Evil’s pronouncement that “you died for nothing.” Quite the opposite: Jack died so that everyone could gather in the Church have a splendid wrap-party of the soul.

Putting it in a TV-critic’s historical context: Was this an all-time great finale? I wouldn’t say so. The endings for Newhart, the aforementioned Mary Tyler Moore Show, perhaps M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere, and The Fugitive all ended more decisively, with a more precise snap. But it was a better finale than an awful lot of other, more contemporary Highly Esteemed Dramas and Sitcoms. And as a way to bring this vast fantasy to an end, Lost had a finale that suited our troubled times: It was comforting, reassuring. It even had a dog that made me, for one, wipe away a tear.

What do you think?


The City of Refuge Story


The CCO staff and I recently traveled up to Atlanta, GA for the Drive Conference (a church leadership conference) at NorthPoint Church but we decided to go a little earlier than planned to get this amazing story on video. This is the story of how Bruce Deel followed the call of God and started the ministry "City of Refuge," a non-profit, outreach facility/church specializing in rebuilding the city of Atlanta. They work with homeless mothers, single mothers, drug addicts, the abused and much more. Listen to this story and be astounded by God's provision and possibility.


The "NEXT" iPhone


It's been quite a while since my last post. I've kind of fallen of the blogger wheel but I couldn't help to post about the latest breaking news concerning the "NEXT" generation of the iPhone. Here is a re-post of another fellow blogger and lover of all things technology.



You are looking at Apple's "NEXT" iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It's the real thing, and here are some of the details. For more in depth investigation of the "NEXT" iPhone visit Gizmodo.com.

Click Images To Enlarge


















































While Apple may tinker with the final packaging and design of the final phone, it's clear that the features in this lost-and-found next-generation iPhone are drastically new and drastically different from what came before. Here's the detailed list of our findings:

What's new

• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It's unclear if it's the 960x640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the "Connect to iTunes" screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic


What's changed

• The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound

• An aluminum border going completely around the outside
• Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution)

• Everything is more squared off
• 3 grams heavier

• 16% Larger battery
• Internals components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery



Click Images To Enlarge






As you can see, there are some considerable differences between this "NEW" iPhone and it's previous model; both physically and internally.

25 Things I Hate About Facebook

I'm sure you have seen this video circulating the web since it has over a million views on YouTube.com but for those of you that actually have actual responsibilities in your life to tend to and don't have time to browse YouTube during insomniac spells I thought I would share it with those of YOU. For the most part I would have to agree with Mr. Julian Smith and his Facebook video phenomenon. If you like this then you should check out some of his other Viral Video creations here at www.juliansmith.tv. I have not viewed all of the material on this site due to the mass quantities of galleries and so I would advise you to proceed with caution. ENJOY!

Note: if you are viewing this through Facebook's Notes and you can't see the video CLICK HERE.

My Buddy Jerad in High Flight Society


I just wanted to share High Flight Society's new music video. I am so proud of my buddy Jerad who recently joined HFS a little while back. He's playing rhythm guitar and singing back up vocals. In this video, he is to the right of the lead singer and is playing a black guitar and wearing a black hat. If you don't know who High Flight Society is you should check them out by clicking their name in this blog and hopefully you will like them and get their CD. You can find them on iTunes, YouTube, Vimeo, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or PureVolume. Help my buddy and his band out and support them by buying some merchandise.

Selling my G5...

Well, I am looking to sell my PowerMac G5. It has been a great computer to me and has been such a great help in all my video editing projects and graphics design work. It is an outstanding computer but I am ready to let go of it and down size a bit. So if any of you are out there looking for a good machine....CHECK IT OUT! If you are interested...leave me a comment or send me a message via Facebook.

System Specs:
Apple PowerMac G5
OSX 10.4.11
Dual Core 2.0 GHz Processor
512 MB DDR Ram (8 slots available and only 2 being used)
150GB HD
Wireless Airport
CD/DVD burner
Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard
17" Apple Cinema Display

SOFTWARE Also Included:
Adobe Creative Suite
Microsoft Office
DVD Studio Pro
Final Cut Pro HD Studio
Fast DVD Copy
iLife '08
Stuffit Expander Deluxe
and much more...

Click on any of the images below to get a closer view













FoleyPro 2.04 - Audio Bed Producer

Recently our staff at CCO attended the Drive Conference at North Point Church in Alpharetta, GA and one of the sessions that I gleaned so much from was North Point's student ministry Q & A and Showcase "Inside Out." Inside Out is the high school ministry at NPC and to just sit and watch how others do youth ministry and then to get the opportunity to sit and ask the leaders questions was so helpful and informative.


One of the resources that I took away from that session was the audio software program FoleyPro Version 2.04 for Macintosh OSX and Microsoft Windows. FoleyPro is a software designed to help make your productions and events run smoother by giving you more control over your music beds, bumpers, soundFX and Performance Tracks. I'm sure you have been frustrated with 'CD, MD, & iPod player' lag? I'm sure your services/shows have not been as tight as you would like? I'm sure your volunteers sometimes miss a queue? FoleyPro is your answer. Designed to play your music or effects instantly, FoleyPro will help you to produce a tighter service flow.

FoleyPro is designed to be easy to learn and use. It's so easy that anyone, starting from DAY 1 can use it like they've used it for years. Setup is easy, just create a library for the show or event, load it with your music and you are ready to go. FoleyPro will play all common music and sound formats: AIF, MP3, WAV, AIFC, M4A, M4P and more. It also has features like auto fade, auto mix, and a countdown display that gives your tech crew a heads up for when your audio bank is coming to an end.

System Requirements:
FoleyPro is designed to operate on either the Macintosh or Windows XP/Vista system.
Macintosh: Mac OSX, verstion 10.4.x+, 1024x768 Screen resolutions or greater, Quicktime Version 7+
Windows: Windows XP/Vista, 1024x768 screen resolutions or greater, Quicktime Version 7+ for Windows, Supported Sound Card or built -in sound hardware.

You can purchase the software HERE at nuePoint's site. Hitting this link is your best chance at finding this program. Before tracking down the creator of the software by phone I tried to do a Google search to find it and I was unsuccessful. Luckily, the Inside Out Tech Crew gave me the creators number. After speaking with him he was very helpful with explaining at that it can do and walking me through the purchase process. But once you find FoleyPro's site you will see the process is very simple. The program is a little pricey but it will relieve a load of tech frustrations during your service programs.

Hopefully this little tutorial video can give you an idea of what FoleyPro can do for you.

Judah Says "Dadda?"


Judah has been talking a lot of gibberish lately but I think he is trying to say "Dadda." It has been very hard to catch this on video because every time you lift a camera up to press record Judah just freezes and seems to be entranced by the camera lens. But, nonetheless, here are a couple sneak attack video shots that managed to capture. I apologize in advance for the shortness of video and the shoddy camera work; I had to be quick and sneaky as the butler from "Mr. Deeds." You be the judge or you can just flatter me by leaving a comment to give me your opinion.

   

Got My Mac On...

Lately, I have been getting much scrutiny from the people in my life because of my recent new purchase. Through much drama with a ridiculously crappy Blackberry Storm (DON'T EVER BUY ONE), that lost calls because it's software wasn't quick enough to even allow me to answer a call, and it's incapability to sync with my MacBook Pro (which I was promised that it would be able to do), I decided to make the hard vote to cancel contract with Verizon (who I had been with for 4+ years). Yes, being the Apple fan that I am, I made the switch to AT&T to possess the AMAZING new iPhone 3Gs. Granted, the wireless service is not quite up to par with Verizon's "Can hear me now" promise but it is still pretty good and the iPhone completely makes up for any other short comings. This phone is amazing and despite the numerous comments I get from all the youth in our student ministries and the silly jokes I get thrown at me by our staff I must boldly say that I got my mac on with iPhone 3Gs. Confused? Watch this and you will completely understand.

Twitter Will Kill You!

I came across this little gem of a video on a blog site I subscribe to and I thought that I would share it with you. I haven't jumped on this whole Twitter Rage Bandwagon that everyone else has "yet." I just haven't seen the point in it all. I have a Facebook account and I have a MySpace account and I have this blog also and on most of these sites I have the option of updating my status as well as many other social networking options. I just don't see the point in adding one more status update site to my internet bookmarks. I mean, seriously, who is that interested in my life? Relishing in the possibility that people actually read this blog and my facebook and MySpace accounts is a stretch already...Well, maybe you have an argument of your own about Twitter. I would love to hear what you have to say on the topic. So leave me a comment and voice your opinion. Until, then...ENJOY this Twitter parody that the Crowder Band threw together...It is sure to make you LAUGH!