The Daily News has an ironic article about William Shatner and going to space. It is a great idea to invite him to be on the flight, at the bottom of this post I’ll suggest a few more names of people they should invite, leave a comment if you can think of another.

As Captain Kirk he vowed to boldly go where no man had gone before, but away from the TV screen actor William Shatner is a little less adventurous – reportedly turning down a real-life space flight because he was too scared.

The Star Trek legend was offered a ticket by Richard Branson onboard Virgin Galactic’s first passenger flight in 2008. But Shatner, fearing he would be ill in space or the starship would crash, ironically revealed he’s terrified of space travel.

The 75-year-old actor said: “I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me.”

Other celebrities I think they should invite on the flight:
George Lucas
Mark Hamill
Buzz Aldrin
Al Gore
Tim Allen
Lance Bass
Tom Cruise

JG

Watched the debut of the new evening news with Katie Couric a night ago and forgot to post my thoughts on it. Seems like a whole bunch of people were talking about it in the blogworld, most with at best mixed reaction. Maybe it’s just that I get my news from the internet so I think the whole concept of evening news is dated and about dead. Why see news that is already old told to you by a masterful spin doctor (both left and right)? OK, so it maybe isn’t that bad, but honestly, but in my opinon, network news is spent.

Katie did a fine job, she’ll work out the pronunciation of words and get the pacing down quickly. The Free Speech thing is a novel idea – anyone who has Morgan Spurlock and Rush Limbaugh on in the same week I appreciate. She might even become the most powerful woman in televsion (except for Oprah, come on) in the coming years. But I won’t be watching.

Maybe instead of focusing on how many are watching each network, somebody should talk about how many aren’t watching at all.

JG

We recorded it yesterday … it’s now finally alive in iTunes and on the SYM official site. 16 listeners can’t be wrong! Download today.

JG

I’m just getting back from an incredible evening with the family at a little place I like to call The Hat. It’s a fantastic combination of fried foods – fries and onion rings – typically smothered in chili and cheese. Not to mention the amazing sandwiches, the best by far is the World Famous pastrami burger. Imagine a resturant that is bold enough to put two different meats on the same bun. That’s right – a pile of fresh seasoned pastrami + 1/4 burger + cheese = heaven in my mouth.

So, we called the hospital ahead of time to let them know we were going to eat there and to be ready. Tastes so good it’s worth the heart attack.

JG

Fantastic game this afternoon with Frank (my racquetball friend) catching a game at Angels Stadium. We talked about all sorts of stuff, including Vietnam, hypocricy, careers, layoffs, good/bad bosses and baseball. A great 3 hours of fun in the shade above 3rd base. Now back to work!

JG

Just saw this inspiring article over on the BP. Here’s a clip:

But before he could see the revolution become a reality, Johnson’s life was cut short by an automobile accident. Johnson was on his way to football practice at Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tenn., on the morning of July 28 when his Jeep Cherokee drifted across the center line, striking a cement truck almost head-on. He was pronounced dead shortly after a LifeFlight helicopter transported him to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s emergency room in Nashville.

Despite his early death, friends and family say that God is using the tragedy to make Johnson’s dream a reality.

Nearly 300 people have professed faith in Christ in the aftermath of Johnson’s accident, including more than 30 at his funeral July 31, reported Jeff Lovingood, student minister at Long Hollow Baptist Church where Johnson was active in the youth ministry. Another 16 teens prayed to receive Christ two nights following the funeral at the Wednesday night youth gathering, with more than 400 in attendance, Lovingood said.

JG

Rick started a new series on S.H.A.P.E. (Spiritual Gift, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experience) and had some fantastic things to say this weekend about the sanctity of life and how God created us specifically for His purpose. He specifically mentioned abortion, which he clearly stated is wrong according to the Bible. Great scriptures, here’s a few of the ones he used:

“You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body. When I was put together there, you saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old.” Ps. 139:13-16 (NCV)

“Your hands formed and shaped me…” Job 10:8a (GN)

“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A spokesman to the nations – that’s what I had in mind for you.” Jer. 1:5 (MSG)

If you haven’t seen the weekend service yet and you’re interested, grab it in the SVCC service archives.

JG

We just walked out of the podcast studio for the recording of the SYM Podcast episode 27. The entire show focuses on volunteers, and we do manage to actually get to a few listener questions. Look for it tomorrow in iTunes and on the official site!

JG