Judah First Ranked #4 by CCM Magazine

I am thrilled to announce that Judah First has been ranked as the #4 hardest rocking Christian band according to CCM Magazine. Some new things will be coming around slowly but surely in the world of JF, so stay tuned.

Some of you may have known me for years and yet still have not heard any JF music. Watch the Devil's Dice tour video below and see what you think. If you like the music, then please go to www.judahfirst.com and click on "JF Store" and order the record. It is only 10 bucks!

We have a new look at judahfirst.com where you can access all our online music pages right from that location. Check it out!

Judges Know Better

As a new parent of a baby girl who has yet to be born, this recent headline, which I discovered from the blog Dr. Albert Mohler, has me wondering what in the world is going on. A Canadian court has overturned the decision of a father who punished his daughter for posting pictures of herself on an Internet dating site and for fighting with her mom. The punishment was that she was not allowed to attend her school camping trip. Amazingly, the daughter took her parents to court. And won. Madam Justice Suzanne Tessier of the Quebec Superior Court ruled on Friday that the father couldn't discipline his daughter by barring her from the school trip. The father is appealing the decision although the girl is already gone to the camp.

This is just scary stuff. The rules that the father had in place for his daughter were clearly designed for her protection, and upon violating those rules she was punished. What is the problem here? I am beginning to think that raising children in a nice small, southern town is the way to go where people might still have tradition family values. Thankfully, apparently the local Canadians are getting more and more worked up about the judge's decision. Time will tell if the decision is overturned.

The Beast Honors: Stan Winston

The great special effects master Stan Winston is dead at age 62. As you know, horror movies are dear to my heart and one of the aspects of horror that fans crave are the special effects, the monsters, the things that go bump in the night. Winston was a 4 time academy award winner and whether you know it or not, you have been impressed with his work. He was responsible for the cyborg killers in Terminator, the alien queen in Aliens, the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, and the creature in Predator. His work goes right up to the current super-blockbuster Iron Man where he created the suits for Tony Stark and the villain. I loved his work on the underrated "Monster Squad." The movie industry has lost a giant.

Ichthus

I am off with 20 teenagers to the Ichthus festival in Wilmore, KY where I have the joy of camping for three days. See you next week. Blessings

Condoleezza Rice and the Kiss Army

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has enlisted in the Kiss Army, the largest rock n roll fan club in the world. The picture above is Rice posing with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer. What can I say? She has good taste.

However, I was a bit perplexed by this comment she made: "It was really fun to meet Kiss and Gene Simmons." I'm not quite sure why she qualified Gene Simmons, but it goes to the heart of a fundamental mistake about the members of the group Kiss. Whether or not Condoleeza Rice believes this is uncertain, but I believe that most people with a just general knowledge of Kiss (probably most of the Lair readers) would believe Gene Simmons to be the "frontman" who makes all the decisions and basically keeps Kiss going. This is a very annoying reality for long time fans because Paul Stanley has been the frontman and the glue that has kept Kiss together all these years. Gene even admits this on several documentaries, noting that during the 1980's, Gene had lost sight of the band and was trying everything from producing albums to making movies (you might remember his part in the Tom Selleck movie "Runaway").

Oh well, enough of that. I hope to have a post of some substance on tomorrow. Have a great day.