OK...let's take a trip back
in time to around 1963-64 for a slice of backyard summer picnic fun in
Riverside Illinois with my crazy family, and me at about 6 years old.
(Playing catch with grandpa in one scene) My grandpa is really the star of
all these as he was the ultimate clown-ham! He was a WW1 Vet and drummer and
whenever he saw a camera, he had to be in it! Also seen is his wife,
grandma, who was one of the Eastland survivors that sank in 1915 and 844
people died. her two sisters, Clara & Rose, also survived and were on the
Eastland. They are the very weird ones here, Rose is the anti-beauty queen
who sticks her tongue out, and Clara is the skinny one who poses like a
telephone post for the camera, enjoy, and have a smile or two!
Rick Andrew's New CD!
It's full of oxymorons...(I
resent that remark)...and great music and musicians. Yes, I am one of the
featured guitar slingers, but hey, in this business it is
promotion-promotion-promotion with no shame. Click on the album cover to
visit Rick's page and sample some of the tunes, and of course buy it!
Tim Wilsey Project
I just finished recording
another new CD entitled: "Event Horizon". It is all instrumental jazz-funk
with myself on guitar, Tim Wilsey on drums, and Jeff Hansel on bass. It is
getting rave reviews from other players! Very soon we will have it available
at various on-line venues like Cdbaby, but for now, since you are one of the
lucky few at this site....here are two of the songs to listen to in full;
Click for all players except Windows Media
Windows Media players only
Click for all players except Windows Media
Windows Media players only
Back in the 80's I was a
guitar-jazz-freak and pretty obsessed with playing. (Has anything changed?)
My playing has matured now, but here is a very cool arrangement of an old
tune with a lot of good picking. The other guy is a friend and one of my
students at the time. Dig it!
Update: I now have a
bunch of more current videos, visit
www.youtube.com/johnboda for my assortment, but for now you can
view this one recorded Feb. 2008 and compare a young cocky hotshot player to
an older mature intelligent one!
.......................is not to be confused
with.......................
.....THIS John
Boda
from a parallel universe
Guitar Guru
Agent of Grace
Jedi Knight
All Around Nice Guy
Welcomes you to
web site
Guitar Wanna Be
Doom and Gloom
Legalist
Ferengi Impersonator
General Meanie
Hopes your computer
crashes
When I first got my web
sites going, I was a bit on the crazy side! This was the main page above. I
had just been set free from a lot of church junk, and very much felt like
Neo in the Matrix, when he finally was awakened to freedom. As Morpheous
said, "Welcome to the real world, Neo".
House of Amazing Grace
If you catch me live at one
of my solo rock gigs, I have a live CD entitled, "Acoustic Boomerang" - just
me on vocals, guitar, and my incredible Boomerang digital phrase sampler. It
has a whole lot of soul-ful jamming on guitar, in the creative, free spirit
style that was part of so many jam groups of the 60's & 70's. Because I'm a
nice guy, (and also because this is the only non-original I'm able to
post legally!), here is one of the tunes for you to listen and/or download
for free. It is an arrangement that I used to play many years ago when I
first started playing, "Amazing Grace" to the tune of an original grace-less
song - "House of the Rising Sun". JB
Click to listen for Hi-Fi
Windows Media Players only
Click to listen for Hi-Fi
all other players
Click for free Hi-Fi
download
Teaching Pastors
OK, if you have read some of
my grace notes...you must know I'm at a pretty cool Church! It's a strange
bunch,( Like me), who are not "churchy", and although serious about God and
his kingdom...not serious about themselves at all...here are a couple
teaching Pastors at Community Christian Church in just another day at the
office: Tim Sutherland & Jon Ferguson (I hope it does not reflect their
eternal position in any way....for Tim's sake at least)
News & Stuff
There is a lot of new stuff
here! I have a couple of new Grace Notes in the "E-Book" page, one of them
is an old study re-done called, "The Butterfly Believer". Also check out the
music page! I spent a lot of time posting all my older songs for listening
and/or downloading for free. My newer songs and CD's are for sale at the
various venues, but these are all my older recorded songs that were buried
in my closet that I really wanted to get out! Hopefully, any interest in
them will also be linked to my more current material as well. But I am very
proud of all the older songs, both in musicianship and quality, please check
them out! JB
Old Joke
OK, I have been carrying
this joke in the dark corridors of my mind for about twenty five years now,
I first heard it from and old preacher way out west. He probably is now
telling it to the Angels on the other side. But to keep it alive here on
earth, I thought I'd post it here for you! It is a good one, and has a good
moral: To stereotype or generalize based on ignorance, is always
foolish, (Based on facts, it can be very wise and helpful.) Enjoy - JB
A Chinese guy and a Jewish guy
were eating in a restaurant, and the Jewish guy got up, walked over to
the Chinese guy, grabbed him by his shirt, and punched him in the face
and knocked him down. The Chinese guy got up and said, "What did you do
that for?" the Jewish guy said, "That was for Pearl Harbor". The Chinese
guy said, "Pearl Harbor?! That was Japanese, I'm Chinese!". The Jewish
guy said, "Japanese...Chinese...Vietnamese,
they're all the same!", and
each guy went back to his table. After a while, the Chinese guy got up
and went over to the Jewish guy, grabbed him by his shirt, punched him
in the face, and knocked him down. The Jewish guy got up and said, "What
did you do that for?". The Chinese guy said, "That was for sinking the
Titanic. The Jewish guy said, "Sinking the Titanic?! That was an
iceberg! The Chinese guy then said, " Iceberg, Steinberg, Freiberg,
they're all the same!"
___
Israel's Demise
Israel is in the news again
defending their very lives, something that has been going on....well...since
Ishmael and Isaac! As a Christ follower, I have always been, and remain,
very pro-Israel. I have been there, and have seen hostilities erupt, and
have been a witness to both sides, Arab and Jew. Neither side is perfect and
always right, but Israel has never "stolen" or taken any of that land. It
was first given to them by God to Abraham, and then through Isaac as clearly
written about in Genesis. Then later, through the U.N., they have a
legitimate right to live there, and in peace, as do the Palestinians too.
But try this little test sometime - simply ask most Jews and/or Israelis if
the Palestinians have a right to live in their own land and in peace, most
will say - yes. Now ask most Arabs/Palestinians if they think the Jews
have a right to live in their own land and in peace - most will say - no.
Big difference! How can you negotiate anything, when one group simply wants
your annihilation?
When you take a close look
at their history, both ancient and modern, it is hard not to realize the
obvious...that the King of the universe has been working behind the scenes
and helping them all along the way! (Just like he does us) So, for any enemy
of Israel, and that includes most of the world, to want to finally see the
destruction of Israel, and the extermination of the Jews, you first have to
deal with the little problem.....of God!
So I am now going to make it
easy for you, (if you have come here as an enemy of Israel) and give you two
fail-proof, scripture-bound ways by which you can separate God from Israel.
Go ahead, click on the button, and go for it! I am giving you the only way
to remove God's protection, care, and concern for Israel, and the sure only
way to defeat them...good luck.
OK, you're still with me?
How about one more bit of Jewish insight? I will now summarize every Jewish
holiday in one short sentence:
They tried to kill us - we won - let's
eat!
Fearless Faith
Go ahead...click....are you chicken? The first chapter from
one of the best books ever written!
It's not rocket science..it's physics! But it is within reach
to grasp Einstein's famous equation. Go ahead and click!
New Stuff!
I have most
of my old archive of recorded songs now posted here! You
can access them, to listen and/or download, why? ....
because I'm a nice guy. Thank you - JB
Magnificent Mundane
Project
Welcome to the magnificent
mundane! This entire web site, of both music and
writings, have all been inspired by this theme.
Namely, that most of us live within an average, normal,
and pretty mundane world. Yet for those who dig a little
deeper and have been awakened by the grace of God, they
also see the mundane world, but along with it, a
beautiful magnificence!
Along with my new CD,
is a five chapter E-book posted here that will
explain my thesis much deeper for those interested.
But for now let me
say that I believe in a personal, loving, all powerful God as revealed
in the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The absolute truth of the
scriptures are the number one first source of seeing, and grasping who
God is. But along with that, those same scriptures make it clear that
all creation is also another source of seeing something of God's character and
reflection! God will not, and cannot be put in a box!
Concerning my views on creation and Genesis, I believe
that the final ultimate truth and understanding will be
determined by true Biblical interpretation with science
confirming it, and not the other way around. At this point,
I am not dogmatic on many of the controversial views on
this subject, but as a pilgrim, my search and quest
continues. Yes, I have my ideas, but in the subject
matter concerning things that are still debated and not
clear in scripture and science, I simply submit my
thoughts as stimulation for thinking.
Magnificent
Mundane E-Book
My new
E-Book can be found in the E-Book/Grace Notes page. It
took a long and winding road...and what a long strange
trip it's been! But I thank God that it is now complete! It contains a detailed, (and well thought
out-I hope) outline of basically....seeing and grasping
a much bigger picture of our lives, the world, other
people, history, and of course God! Then, allowing that
concept to seep into our daily mundane lives, to begin
to see the magnificence of it all, hopefully, after some
practice and re-arranging of thoughts, to see it without
even trying! The goal is to live every second, every
minute of every day, with a new awareness of who we are,
and who God is! That is a rather big order...and I admit
I am not there yet...but I can honestly say...I am on my
way towards it.
If you are
considering jumping in to reading some of it, here are
the chapter outlines to help you decide where you might
go first, although, the very best way is to start from
the beginning, if you can! JB
1. Chapter
One -
The Mundane is Magnificent! - The
Theoretical.
Here I deal with the over all outline of
the whole idea, present my thesis, and submit my entire
theory. In essence, you could look at this whole study
as "Practicing the Presence of God from a Postmodern
Point of View"....it's just that nobody would really
remember that title!
2. Chapter
Two -
The Micro to the Macro
- The Technical.
This chapter is just what you might think, technical!
Sorry, but I am quite the science buff and have devoured
dozens of physics, science and astronomy books, and
continue even now! But I try to present it from a
layman's point of view, which of course I am, as well as
through the eyes and mind of one who has some training
and history in Biblical studies, in other words, it's
science meets the Bible to the max!
3.
Chapter Three -
The Miraculous Mundane
- The
Theological.
Here is where I shift from more science, to
more Bible! In fact, from this chapter on I focus on
some original ideas that began from my personal studies
in Ruth and other scriptures. There is still some
science, but largely shifted now to God's working within
our mundane world, how he does it, and our awareness of
it. For those who want to start out with a good Bible
study, this chapter is for you.
4. Chapter
Four -
The March of the Mole People - The
Typographical.
For the record...I have coined the term
"mole people" to illustrate a common problem - mainly,
how most people elevate Biblical characters into
super-human, super-heroes! Mole people are imaginary
creatures who live underground based on real animals
from an old song....likewise...super-hero, super-saints
are real historical people, but based on crazy
imaginations of comic book heroes!
5. Chapter
Five -
Minute By Minute
- The Transitional.
Here
is where I try to pull everything together, kind of the
gravity chapter! It is very practical, and I really hope
to help apply some of these ideas into both your life
and mine! I only request that no matter where you start
and jump in and read, that you just find time to get to
this chapter before leaving me, thanks! JB
Chris
Rice is a magnificent mundane guy! He's one of the few
in mainstream Christian music, (He got there by
accident) here are the lyrics to one of his tunes from
"Smell the Color Nine". JB
Life can seem so
meaningless to a great many people, largely
because of the mundane routine of day to day
living. On one hand we really are "Dust in the
Wind", but on the other hand, if you believe the
scriptures as I do, every person is made in the
image of God and is of extreme value and
importance!
If every person is of extreme value then every
action is of utmost importance and
interconnected with everything and everyone
else. Life is truly mundane...yet truly
magnificent!
I believe that it would help our grasp of this
better if we could focus more on the big picture
and panoramic view of things rather than always
living with blinders on seeing only in front and
what affects me right here and now.
For the past few years I have been studying a
great deal of science from the quantum to the
cosmos...the tiny to the huge...the micro to the
macro! It really is amazing and magnificent and
we as humans, interestingly enough, are located
just about in the center of either extreme.
My interests and focus is mostly on the
connection of science and theology and how they
intersect. Also on how God is at work behind the
scenes right now and invites us to sense his
presence every moment of every day by the
wonders he created.
Is life and everything around us a mere fluke
and lucky accident? Or is it all carefully
planned and set in order by an incredibly
creative and personal God? I am convinced of the
latter and continue to be more convinced and
amazed in my journey
Things to Amaze your Friends By:
Cricket
Chirps Tell Temperature
Crickets are
sensitive to changes in air temperature, and
chirp at faster rates as the temperature rises.
It is possible to use the chirps of the male
snowy tree cricket, common throughout the United
States, to gauge temperature.
The formula for
this is to count the number of chirps in 15
seconds and add 39 to calculate the temperature
(degrees Fahrenheit.) If there are 30 chirps in
15 seconds, the temperature should be about 69
degrees F. This formula is said to be accurate
within one degree. A variation is to count the
chirps in 13 seconds, and add 40.
How to Calculate the
Current Jewish Year:
The Jewish year begins from the time of Adam and
Eve, which is different from ours. It is easy to
figure out....simply subtract 1240 from the
current year in AD....then add 5000. Example -
if the current year is 2006/ here is the math:
2006-1240=766+5000=5766 (The current Jewish
year)
Palindromes
(Do you know what these are?)
Ah, Satan sees Natasha / Do
geese see God? / Madam, in Eden,
I'm God / A man, a plan, a
canal, panama! /Eva, can I stab
bats in a cave? / Dennis and
Edna sinned / Senile Felines /
Was it a rat I saw? / We panic
in a pew / Top spot / Cigar?
Toss it in a can, it is so
tragic / Ed is a trader, cast
sacred art aside / Go hang a
salami, I'm a lasagna hog /
Campus motto, bottoms up Mac
Do you see what they all have in
common? Memorize a few and
astound your friends!
Stupid Superstition / Tie twine
to Three Tree twigs / This is a
Zither / I Want a Proper Cup of
Coffee in a Proper Copper Coffee
Pot / Sally is a Sheet Slitter,
She Slits Sheets / A Noisy Noise
Annoys an Oyster / Which
Wristwatches are Swiss
Wristwatches? / The Great Greek
Grape Growers Grow Great Greek
Grapes
The
Ten Commandments of E-Mail
Etiquette and Common
Sense
By John Boda
1.
Thou Shalt Always
Reply to Personal E-Mails
If the
sender took the time to write
you personally, it requires the
courtesy of a reply, even if
it's just a quick "Thank You".
2. Thou Shalt
Never Forward Anything to Those
Not requesting it
Even
though it may be of interest and
amusing to you, unless they have
requested them, you have asked,
(or they are your best friend)
it is just like walking through
people's doors and homes without
asking.
3. Thou Shalt
Never Open any Attachment if You
are Unsure of the Sender
Curiosity not only killed the
cat....but it affected many a
computer with a virus! It is
always better to simply delete
anything you unsure about.
4. Thou Shalt
Never Reply to any E-Mail
Wanting Personal Information
It's
called "Phishing" where common
cyber criminals throw out a hook
with bait to see who will bite
while disguising themselves as
legitimate businesses. If you
reply with personal information,
they've got a catch and you've
got trouble!
5. Thou Shalt
Always Send Group E-Mail
Forwards "Blind"
When
sending an e-mail to a group of
people, if the message is not
sent "blind", everyone can see
everyone else's e-mail address!
It is proper courtesy to help
keep other's private information
private!
6. Thou Shalt
Not Continue Sending E-Mails to
People Who Never Reply
This is
a waste of time and effort and
the recipients either don't
care, don't read them, or wish
they were off your list and are
too embarrassed to tell you!
7. Thou Shalt
Never Forward Personal E-Mails
Unless
the person who's e-mail is being
forwarded is told or doesn't
mind, this can cause you to lose
friends and make enemies fast!
This is especially bad if the
content being forwarded contains
nasty gossip or spiteful words
about others.
8. Thou Shalt
Always Use Spell-Check and
Proper Grammar
Often
e-mails are typed so fast that
we are unaware of the awful
spelling and grammar mistakes
that we make. Before hitting
"send", a quick spell-check is
required! Also just basic good
grammar from grade school should
be used, if you missed that as a
kid, Google a refresher course!
9. Thou Shalt
Not Send Huge Files to Clog up
In Boxes Unless the Recipient is
Expecting it
Huge
files such as music wave files,
video or tons of your latest
vacation photos can clog up
valuable space. Some computers
even go crazy and freeze up when
attempting to download too much
at once.
10. Thou Shalt
Always Practice Common Courtesy
and Good Sense When Writing
E-Mails
Such
as:
A.
Never Send an e-mail when you
are angry!
B.
Never use ALL CAPITOL LETTERS
BECAUSE IT'S CONSIDERED
SHOUTING!
C..
Always try to abbreviate as much
as possible as people are
busy!
(go
ahead and copy/forward
this....but only if you obey
commandment number two!) JB
