Is that me?

About a two months ago on UK-Yankee, Erica and I came across an opportunity to be extras in a feature film. The film was being directed by Madonna and filmed in London, except that a certain scene was going to be set in New York and Madonna was insisting on real American extras. Erica took a few nice headshots of the two of us and we sent them off. A few days later they contacted us and said they could use us. Long story short it eventually fell through and we forgot about it; until last month when the casting agency contacted me and wanted to know if I was available the next day to be a driving double in a different movie.

The movie's working title is My Week With Marilyn and is based on a book written by Colin Clark during his time on the set. My role as driving double had me showing up at Saltwood Castle in nearby Hythe at nine in the morning. I was given a costume and then was told to wait until called. I sat around and read a book until one; then we broke for lunch. After lunch I was given a quick driving lesson. The car in question was a 1934 MG coupe convertible (The car in the picture). After my ten minute lesson I sat around again until three then drove off with some camera guys to a rather remote location of Kent where a road had been closed off for us. They then proceded to have me drive up and down a road twice while they filmed, probably 500 feet of driving total. Then they took the car to another location and filmed the owner of the car driving it. The shot was from a distance so it didn't matter who was in the car. Then at six I went home. My fee for twenty minutes of work? £120

Since my face wasn't seen in the car scenes they asked if they could use me again in another scene at a later date. About two weeks later I was asked to be at the Rivoli Ballroom in Lewisham near London at 6:45 in the morning. This meant leaving home at about five, but a job is a job. Once they had costumed, fed, and made-up everyone it was a little after nine and we were ready to film. The scenes to be shot featured Eddie Redmayne (the actor I had doubled for) and Emma Watson (Hermoine from Harry Potter) who plays a small but important role. Starting at nine we shot three scenes. We finished the first minute and a half scene at three...In the scene Lucy (Emma) and Colin (Eddie) are dancing, return to their table, and end the scene by kissing. The table that I am sitting at should be in the background of the shot. The last three hours of filming was spent on two dance scenes. I quietly opted out but may be seen in the background at a table taking to a waiter. We finished off the day with a short scene of the ballroom band playing and people crowded around.

All in all both days were enjoyable and the £120 a day was nice. I have not been contacted for any other work. (Guess I'll have to wait until Mr. Redmayne is in another film). I won't be rushing out to see the film, but might check it out on Netflix eventually. I won't be taking anymore work unless my lovely wife is offered a part too. It seems that attractive pregnant moms would be in high demand.

We're Cottagers Now

Erica and I have always been soccer/football fans. We both grew up playing the sport and have followed it at various levels since. The summer we got to know each other was 2006 and we both were watching the World Cup. One of our first dates was to a Chicago Fire v. Columbus Crew MLS match in Chicago. So naturally when we decided to move to the UK deciding upon an English side to support was a priority.
Erica was pretty much open to supporting anyone barring Manchester United. I had a few more criteria that I wanted met.

• London Club
• Reasonable chance of attending a match, and affording said match.
• Not Sponsored by gambling company
• Kits manufactured by a company other than Adidas or Nike
• Have some emotional attachment to the club.

As we planned on moving over here I consulted different friends and acquaintances who followed the Premiership and asked them who they rooted for. The overwhelming majority of them vouched for Arsenal a London based club that is consistently in the top ten teams. I considered Arsenal but never felt any emotional connection to the club and quickly realized that attending a match would be nearly impossible financially.

While working at JJB, I discovered the nearest Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur. I was intrigued. Here was a normally mid-table team that was on the rise (plus they have a cool logo). Yet my emotional attachment to Tottenham was nil.

I had become a bit frustrated. Watching the 2010 World Cup however, I recognized that there were more Usonian athletes playing in the Premier League than I had realized. My appreciation for Landon Donovan increased and I was prepared to jump on the Everton bandwagon even though they are a Liverpool based club. When the MLS declined to renew their loan of Donovan to Everton though I turned my attention to the second most prominent member of team USA Clint Dempsey. Dempsey was sold to the Premier League club Fulham for an MLS record $4 Million and last summer signed an extension with Fulham through 2013.

Here was the emotional attachment that I needed. We had a player to support, a London based team, outfitted by Kappa, Craven Cottage a fantastic old small stadium on the banks of the Thames (Think Fenway except situated in a PNC type local), and a team that while finishing in the top five just a year prior was still affordable to go see in person.

The Cottagers (after their stadium) have proved to be a very enjoyable diversion. With the season having just reached the quarter way point, Fulham sits 10th in the 20 team league and are showing signs of moving up the ladder. At the end of the year the top five teams in the league qualify for various European leagues. Two years ago Fulham finished 5th and did well in Europe. This year 5th looks possible, but unlikely. On the flip side the teams that finish 18th, 19th, and 20th get kicked out of the league and have to work their way back into the premiership. (Imagine your whole baseball team getting sent to AAA). I dare say that Fulham is regulation safe.

Clint Dempsey has turned into the leader of the team. He scored both goals in a victory yesterday and has filled in well as the main striker on a team that lost their leading scorer just a month ago to a broken leg. Erica and I saw Fulham take on and beat Port Vale 6-0 a while back in a driving rain and we'll be going back as often as we can in the future.

One Good Saturday

This past Saturday was an enjoyable day. Here is why:

The sun was shining when we woke up.

We made pancakes and ate them with maple syrup.

We went to Tenterden (a port town without a coast)

There happened to be a folk festival going on.

The folk festival featured Morris Dancers (see scary picture above)

We found Scrabble and carpet croquet at a charity shop (read thrift store)

We had a fantastic lunch. (Erica had the best fish here yet)

Stopped in Headcorn on the way back.

We had a great dinner.

And ended the day with Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.

Bee Fightin'

"When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees."
--Abraham Lincoln

This quote used to be one of my favorites on the topic of preaching. The alleged context was someone asking President Lincoln (an normal attender of a Presbyterian church) why he often visited the local Methodist church.
I often reflected on this quote before preaching as a sort of self pep-talk to remind myself that I should be enthusiastic because that is what people who come to church want to see passion and enthusiasm.
I do not really think that anymore. When I go to church I don't look for bee fightin'. Bee fightin' can be staged and often can be used for a cover-up for poor study and preparation. I find myself being drawn more and more to a studied and thoughtful preaching of scripture that allows oneself to consider and savor the text being presented. I find the analogy of champagne helpful. Sure it is exciting to shake up a bottle and let it rip, but I would much rather open a bottle slowly and really taste what has been crafted.

I get up every morning From my 'larm clock's warning

Back in July our Church started advertising for a vacancy for their administrator position. I (Zac) applied and ended up with a second job. There are a lot of things we like about the position. First-off it is a second job (that pays more than my first job) takes me from 24 hours a week of work to forty! I also have the privilege of working once again in a place where I feel I am making an eternal difference and not just allowing a rich corporation to get richer. The position will also not be limited to office work. The church is undergoing some organizational changes and the leadership is going to be forming into more of a ministry team and while I will be more responsible for administrative tasks I will also have some opportunities to eventually do some preaching and other pastoral type tasks.
I worked for a week and a half before we left for Ukraine and will really start-up in earnest once we get back. Thank you for all of you who have been praying about our job situation and continue to pray for the work that God is doing at All Saints' Loose.

Brit Bars Vol. 2

One of the great things about the UK is that these are available from the first of the year until a month after Easter. Another great thing about the UK, is the Cadbury Twisted which is available all year round. The Twisted is the classic Cadbury Egg fashioned into a twisted Twix bar shape. Very nice for those times of the year where one is missing the gooey goodness of the egg.
A surprise sweet that I am really enjoying are Starbursts. The fact that everyone in the UK uses real sugar instead of HFCS as a sweetener makes these moderately enjoyable candies extraordinary over here. The downside however is that one of the original fruit flavours over here is Blackcurrant. which tastes extraordinarily like a raisin. No good.
The last candy bar that I love is a Cadbury Double Decker. Named after London's famous bi-level buses. This treat is best described as a combination of two of my favorite American sweets. A Three Musketeers bar and a Crunch bar. It is a bit thicker than your normal candy bar and is a thing of beauty.
Though, since we all know about British dentists and their handiwork, I'll try to lay off the sweet stuff.

It's Like The Internet In Newspaper Form or Oh my-I-O

My (Zac's) local paper back in Ohio has a section entitled "Readers Tell Us". Readers Tell Us is an editorial that allows folks to call the newspaper on the phone and leave a thirty second anonymous message with whatever they have on their mind. This can range from thanking a good Samaritan for returning their keys at the mall, to asking for help in getting rid of earwigs, to (as most often occurs) complaining about the government. It is probably this feature of the paper that keeps it profitable as many only read the paper for it. As Garrison Keillor once said, "A good newspaper is never nearly good enough but a lousy newspaper is a joy forever." So without any further ado, a few swatches from the Alliance Review.

"Dry eyes. Does anyone have any solutions for dry eyes? It would be really appreciated."

"All right people of Alliance, here's your challenge; on July 4 between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., somebody set fire to a building in Alliance. Look around your house. Who wasn't home with you last Sunday at that time? Who came home smelling of smoke and fire and was a little bit dirty? Whoever that person is in your family needs to be turned in. Stand up for what's right. Stand up and do what you need to do--turn this person in."

"Black and white need to stand together against illegals becoming citizens. We are going to become the minorities. Spanish and Muslim populations are growing very, very fast."

"This week we need to pray to open the eyes of those who would destroy this country as our founding fathers envisioned."