Online at last — Luke Bowman

(By Erik)

We’re happy to announce that our nephew, Luke Bowman, has finally launched his own blog. It’s a project two years in the making.

You’ll find Luke’s thoughts on issues ranging from politics to broccoli and bath time at lamaramyluke.blogspot.com.

Here’s my favorite picture of Luke. It’s from more than a year ago.


Here’s a shot of Luke with his dad, my brother-in-law Lamar. I took this when they visited OKC last April.


And here’s a recent photo of Luke from his blog.


(I should point out here that my sister, Amy, helps out with some of the blog editing.)

Episode IV: Return of the Jones

(By Erik)

If you’re tired of looking at photos I’ve taken, here’s one by Tryggbløg guest photographer Steven Spielberg. Steven’s trying to promote this little film he’s got coming out next summer, so I thought I’d give him a hand.

The movie doesn’t even have a title yet. So far they’re just calling it Indiana Jones 4.


As you can see, Harrison Ford is decked out in the classic fedora and khakis of Indiana Jones — for the first time in about 18 years. Ford, who turns 65 on July 13, is reprising his role as Indiana Jones one more time. George Lucas is the executive producer.

I really have mixed feelings about this, because this film could go either way. I’m hoping it will be a fun, action-packed adventure worthy of the franchise. After what Lucas did with the Star Wars prequels, though, I have my misgivings. (Revenge of the Sith has many great moments, but on the whole the prequels just weren’t as good as the original trilogy — Episodes 4, 5 and 6) But if Spielberg’s directing, that’s a plus.

Harrison Ford is one of my favorite actors, of course. He’s never won an Oscar, in my opinion, because they don’t have a category for what he does best — great facial expressions in the middle of action sequences. And generally looking cool.

The actor himself reminds me a little bit of my dad. Have you ever seen Harrison Ford do a TV interview? He’s very quiet and dry. Doesn’t say too much more than he has to. Pauses a lot while he’s speaking. You can see Leno and Letterman really struggling to get him to open up. But you can tell he’s got this quasi-mischievous side underneath. Dad’s kinda’ like that. (Luckily, though, dad isn’t currently dating Calista Flockhart. That would just be weird.)

Back in the early 1980s, Indiana Jones made kids across the country believe that archaeology was the most exciting profession in the world. (I decided early on it was far too dangerous for me. Too great a chance of having my face melt — or having my still-beating heart yanked out by a Hindu mystic madman — or Sean Connery hitting me over the head with a vase.)

Indiana Jones has made a sizeable impact on my wardrobe, however. I am Mr. Khaki when I travel. (And whenever I fly internationally, it’s hard not to think about the red line and dots on a brown map that showed the audience where Indy was headed next.)

And yes, I actually have a fedora in my closet.

Two more Guatemala photos

(By Erik)

I took these two photos (and all the ones in the previous post) during an April trip to Guatemala with Health Talents International. I've been late getting all of these photos online.

I attended the dedication ceremony for Clinica Caris near Chichicastenango. I wrote a feature about two Health Talents workers from Colorado who moved to Guatemala to work among the Mayan people. You can read it here (and see a few more pictures in the photo gallery). The missionaries are Kemmel and Dr. Lisa Dunham. Great folks. Lisa's sister and brother-in-law are in our Bible class here in OKC.

It was the first time I had to be treated by a physician I was writing about. During the trip I got a severe bout of "el bug de stomach." It was also my first international puking incident. (No pictures of that, though.)

I'll post more about the trip later. Jeanie needs the computer. She's giving a presentation tomorrow at the hospital — probably about stomach bugs.

Guatemala photos

Revised lyrics to the Law & Order theme song in light of Fred Thompson's departure

(By Erik)

Well, the lack of response to my riveting Baboon Fiction proves that it was simply too far ahead of its time for today’s audiences. Perhaps I should return to the safer waters of TV theme songs.

And, whaddaya know, fate intervenes! Here is the newly revised a cappella theme to TV’s Law & Order in the wake of the news that Fred Thompson is leaving the show and forming a fund-raising committee to consider a possible White House bid.

(Singing …)

Law-aw-aw and Order!
(well-el-el-what-do-you-know)
Doesn’t have Fred Thomp-son!
Well-ell-ell will this show even be worth watching
now that he’s gone campaigning
Whoever will deliver
all of those down home sayings now?
(say-it-isn’t-so)
And Jerry Orbach’s gone forever
(bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bow-bow-bow-bow-bow-bow)
Law-aw-aw and Order!
Make McCoy … your vice prez

Now, here’s my list of possible replacements for Fred on Law & Order:

Jill Hennessey: Let’s bring her back, from assistant to Jack McCoy to elected District Attorney. The only complication — they actually killed her off Law & Order. But they can write around that.

Dame Judi Dench: She can play M in the James Bond movies, so why not? She’d be just as good as Diane Wiest was in the part.

Neil Patrick Harris: Doogie Howser, D.A.



Jodie Foster: Trust me, after Flightplan she’ll take the job.



Damon Wayans: Provided he plays him like Major Payne.



Barry Bostwick: He’s been a media-savvy lawyer on the show. Why not? He was the mayor of New York on Spin City.


Tim Curry: Thinking about Barry Bostwick got me thinking about the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I’ve never seen, by the way.

Carrie Fisher: You thought I was going to say Susan Sarandon next, didn’t you?


Bradley Whitford: Presuming he’s not busy filming the second season of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (shouldn’t be an issue).


A CGI likeness of Jerry Orbach: His dialogue would just be wisecracks recycled from previous Law & Order episodes.


James Earl Jones: And they could get him to re-dub the “in the criminal justice system …” voiceover, too. “These are their stories, and this is CNN.”

J.K. Simmons: This would ROCK, provided he did all his lines in the J. Jonah Jameson voice from the Spider Man movies.


Spider Man himself: “I dunno, McCoy, my Spidey sense says you should cut a deal for man-one.”


Judge Lance Ito: Hey, a real-life judge! It’s not like he’s doing anything else.


And of course ...



Shatner: No explanation required.









But my top, number-one pick has to be the legendary John Cleese — provided he enters the office every episode in the manner depicted below.