Twitter - Connecting to people online

Twitter - the next social myspace phenomenon? Who knows but one thing I do know that in the few short months I have been using this micro-blogging site I have turned acquaintances into friendships. Meaning that in the past I would see someone and while passing would, say hi, how are you, what's going on...to walking out of our way to engage in meaningful conversation that does not need the usual introductory phrases to get going.

One of our associate pastors and now someone I can call a friend, recently posted on his blog about a vision he had for our Church. His vision is one of a community that shares when together but also continues to grow and share while apart, using a twitter or another such medium.

Recently when responding to a group of fellow servants I wrote this about twitter:

"Now, for the last mention and that is the online community, which seems to be growing at Journey. The example I will use is Tara's husband and we all know him from his Service Hosting, Rod Kaya. Rod was someone that I would see, maybe say hi, he'd say hi back, and than we would go on our way. Through the online world of blogs (RodsProd provides some wonderful insight to the behind the scenes of Journey), Facebook, and Twitter Rod and I discovered that we had much more in common than either would have guessed (Sports, Gadgets, Books, etc...). Now when we see each other we have conversations, not just passing greetings. Also, with something as simple as Twitter when I see my online friends in person, instead of wasting valuable time trying to catch up with their life happenings I can get straight to the point (e.g. how was the trip? You lost to Todd on Fantasy Football. So you like Target Orange Slurpees? You are a Phillies Fan) well, you get the point. "

Want to see what I am doing, just look in the right hand column to see my twitter updates.

Lastly, I want to share this two minute and 25 second video on twitter in plain English, enjoy and I hope to see you on twitter:

The Great Pumpkin

Okay, I didn't get this idea myself but the below PowerPoint presentation is based on an idea I got from an old family friend Marko. He used to bring these wild, zany, crazy, whacked out (you get the idea) presentations in to our Middle School group and the kids loved them. To be honest, as an adult, I think they are pretty cool too.

So, get a pen, keep score, and see how well you remember the cartoon we all saw as kids, "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!"



Uploaded on authorSTREAM by chip.gillespie

Walking On Water

With today's digital imaging this may not be the real thing but I think that if I had just been ejected from a high speed boat I would also be doing my best to get out of the way. Is this a modern day Peter trying his best to walk on water?

Bent Image

Okay - this is way too cool not to post. The folks at Bent Image Lab use what they call, "Tilt-shift lenses sit off-center of the film (or sensor) plane of your camera to produce photos with extremely limited depth of field, giving the effect of a macro shot of a tiny scene. When the effect is matched with the surreal speed boost of many stills strung together into a time-lapse movie."

This produces an amazing affect on the reality we are seeing before our eyes - ENJOY


Bathtub III from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Kassie's First Field Trip

Kassie is enjoying her first year in school, or pre-school. Today she got to take part in her first field trip and went to a local farm for some fun and pumpkin picking at Victoria Gardens, Lakeside, CA. My family back home in Maine always seem to be amazed that we live in such a large city but have farms so close by.

From Kassie's Field Trip 10.01.2008

For the Grandma's

This post is for my family and specifically the Grandmas. Katie and Kassie have been working hard learning their Sunday school lessons and their Sunday school songs and wanted to perform (in their best dress) for Grammie (Jenny's Mom) and Nin (Chip's Mom). They even insisted on 'formal' wear for the performance. I'm not sure if they would be America's Got Talent winners but in my show these two little girls are the Star Attraction!

10 Classic Film Comedies for a Well-Rounded Geek

They just do not make them like they used to. This is a listing of some of the funniest movies of all time and the best part about these movies? You can watch them with your kids, have some laughs at some of the best slapstick comedy on the planet, and not have to worry about the rating.

Of the ten Classic Film Comedies listed I have seen five and will be checking out the others the next time I am at the video store.