At last! The a cappella version of the theme to Law & Order

We’ve just posted a story on the Chronicle’s Web site about the Church of Christ roots of Fred Thompson, a possible candidate for the 2008 presidential election and one of the stars of Law & Order. We get a lot of “celebrity” questions along these lines (I’m still trying to track down whether or not “Weird Al” Yankovic is a member) so hopefully, this will answer some questions.

Mark Elrod has posted a funny blog entry on the subject of Thompson’s connections to our fine fellowship. He’s offering rewards for Fred Thompson sightings at Churches of Christ.

Make sure to read the comments. One respondent asked if there was an a cappella version of the theme to Law & Order.

Funny you should ask. I’ve taken the liberty of writing one. Ahem (clearing throat) …

The a cappella version of the Law & Order theme:

Law-aw-aw and Order!
(bow-bum-bow-bum-bow-bow)
Law-aw-aw and Order!
Well-ell-ell first you get Law
And then you get Order
And, this show ain’t quite as good
as when Jerry Orbach was alive
(bum-bum-bum-bum-bum)
But at least Fred Thompson is the D.A.
(bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bow-bow-bow-bow-bow-bow)
Law-aw-aw and Order!
Created by …. Di-ick Wolf

As long as we’re on the subject, here’s the a cappella version of the theme to The West Wing.

The Wes-est Wing
It is west of the east wing
It is not the north or so-ow-outh wing
It’s not even the southwest wing
It, is in the White House
Which isn’t west of much else in the U.S.A.
The West Wing is on … (TV)

Playing with my camera

(By Erik)

After owning my Canon Digital Rebel for more than two years, I'm finally taking some time to learn how to use it.

I've been playing with some of the manual settings and taking pictures of the various blooming objects in our front yard (you'll notice lots of dandelions — Weeds "R Us!) On a lot of these photos I used a wide aperture to give the background a soft, blurred effect.





Here's a photo of our redbud tree taken with a small aperture (the round hole that lets light into the camera). To compensate for the small aperture, I had to set the shutter speed at a slower rate to allow more light to give a correct exposure.


Here's the same shot, but using a "wide open" aperture (big hole). To compesate, the shutter speed is quicker and lets less light into the camera. Note the difference in the background.

Odds and ends

(By Erik)

• We’ve finally posted the Bolivia podcast on christianchronicle.org. (It took me a long time to finish — and our Web guy had to basically redo it to fit our site’s format. Mad props to T & S Web design! And mad props to me for keeping the phrase "mad props" alive!)

It includes audio I took with a little iPod attachment during my recent trip south of the equator. You’ll hear a Bolivian congregation singing praises to God — and the sounds of riot police firing tear gas canisters into an angry mob (not at the same time, though). I hope I’ve whet your audiological appetite enough for you to give it a listen. Here’s a direct link — http://www.christianchronicle.org/downloads/videos/bolivia.mov

• Our friend Ann (in photo, with the birthday cake the McBrides gave her during a recent Connection Group meeting) has posted a virtual tour of her new apartment. She’s gone from suburban to urban. Check it out. We love Ann!

• If you want to get hooked, check out Line Rider. (Not to be confused with Knight Rider — also addictive. It basically lets you design a bobsled course and then watch as a little man on a toboggan tries it out — jumps, loops, crashes and all.

• I got mentioned in the Dallas Morning News! Well, sort of. A story I wrote for the Chronicle on multi-site churches was excerpted on DallasNews Religion, a blog for the newspaper’s religion staff. Still, I thought it was pretty cool.

I don't mean to drone on and on ...

(By Erik)

Here’s a prime example of how some people can get really upset for no particular reason about stuff that really doesn’t matter.

It all started with a news story in the San Francisco Chronicle that included the phrase “pilotless drone.” (I’m guessing it was an article about the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, where our military has been using such craft for reconnaissance and whatnot.)

The Chronicle (theirs, not ours) has a call-in line for readers. One of them pointed out the redundancy of the phrase “pilotless drones” … and then proceeded to get downright irate about it.

The message has been floating around the Internet. Here it is set to music. (Notice cameo appearances by the Transformers) Enjoy.

Flip out like a ninja!

(By Erik)

OK, some of you didn't exactly enjoy (or fathom) the Zoology Dragon song I posted a few weeks ago. Here's another one by the same guy that I think you'll like better. It's an addictive little tune