Besides his visual creativity, he has written some really amazing songs. I have been bugging him for years to record them because they are really good and I know people would love to hear them.

Well, along with his engagement to the extremely talented Marie, they are going to record a CD and are giving you an opportunity to get involved. You can donate just to help out a cool, young couple or you can donate because the incentives are really great. Check out this video and their website. At the very least, you are going to want to hear the final product (for only $5).

Marie & Cory – Make Music Happen from Cory Heimann.

JPII was rad, obviously. The bottom photo confirms my theory that JP II could have grown a righteous beard if he wanted to.  These photos were floating around facebook, thanks to whoever originally posted them. Bl. John Paul II, pray for us.

People often ask us where we get our Catholic t-shirts. Some we make ourselves, like the red “And With Your Spirit” shirts you may have seen recently, though most shirts we perform in come from our friends at Pal Campaign. Once in a while I give a talk about my favorite saint, St. Peter, and I usually wear my “Upside down St. Peter” Pal Campaign shirt.  Use promo code “popple” to get 20% off your order with Pal Campaign at www.palcampaign.com… we dare you.

The photo above was taken at Steubenville on Campus 2011 and then I photoshopped text over it, poorly.

Hot Tang!

We’re headed to the land of oranges and theme parks this weekend to hang out in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. We’re looking forward to getting to know the good folks from the band Out of Darkness as we get in touch with our inner Catholic super-hero selves.

That’s right, it’s a youth rally with a super-hero theme. Many think I’m kidding when I say this, but growing up as an altar server, I had the super power of producing smoke screens whenever I was in charge of the incense at Mass. Also, with that power came the ability to make the first four pews of churchgoers cough and get watery eyes. Just remember, with great super power comes great responsibility.

Sometimes in life, you find an image, joke, or cute story that is so awesome it has to be shared with as many people as possible; this is how e-mail forwards get started. I believe this white tiger jumping across a Christmas tree is one such photo. Happy New Year. May you find your snow tiger this year, and may you jump across many many Christmas trees (figuratively speaking). God Bless (and thanks to whoever created this graphic).

I am going to be making a trip to the Post Office on Monday to mail out orders. I can’t make promises, but if you order today, I should be able to get it to you without additional costs.

We are curious to hear what you all are listening to this holiday season so charge on over to our Facebook Page and let us know, or leave a comment below.

Dan’s Picks:
Phil Wickham, “Songs for Christmas” Phil is a worship leader from San Diego and released this album in 2010. The production is beautiful and the whole album has a serenity/prayerfulness about it which gets me pumped for the Advent journey and coming Christmas celebration.

Deas Vail, “For Shepherds & Kings” This year’s release from Arkansas based Christian group, Deas Vail is short and sweet (4 tracks) so I’ve found myself pretty much just leaving it on a continuous loop. I haven’t heard many groups choosing to cover the “Coventry Carol” but it’s one of my favorites and they do a beautiful job with it… “Lai lai loo le loo ley.”

Kyle’s Picks:
Brian Setzer Orchestra, “Boogie Woogie Christmas” If there is one thing Brian Setzer has, it’s massive amounts of rockabilly style and he brings it, all of it, to this album. The album is full of super fun big band tracks that make me want to go outside, build a snow fort and take on the neighborhood in a snowball fight. Surprisingly beautiful and prayerful is his album closer, an a capella recording of “The Amens.”

The Rat Pack, “Christmas With the Rat Pack” Maybe the only album that exudes more style than Brian Setzer are the classic recordings from Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and Sinatra. This album runs the gamut from “Rudolph” to “The First Noel” and pegs pretty much every Christmas standard out there. This album makes me want to throw a Christmas party.

Honorable mentions: Johnny Cash’s “Christmas with Johnny Cash,” Sara Groves’ “O Holy Night,” Shane & Shane’s “Glory in the Highest,” Vince Guaraldi Trio, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

They are almost at the bottom of our store at http://www.popple.us/web/store

We aren’t really selling these for much of a profit, we just are excited about the Mass and thought these shirts were a fun way of promoting it. Note: if you order this shirt, anything else you order with it will be delayed until December 16th.

I have to admit, I made a few mistakes at Mass today. I’m sure we will catch on pretty quickly.