Essential Shift

Talent Runs In The Family: There to Carry Us Home

nick gray — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:16:51 +0000

I have posted in the past about an extremely talented friend of mine (Jay Mathes). Well it seems as thought the talent runs in the family because his brother, is equally amazing! Michael is currently going to school to be a brain surgeon or something, but that doesn’t keep him from writing kick butt music. The song is called You’re “There to Carry Us Home”, not only does it sound great it has awesome lyrics as well.

Catching my breath isn’t something I do these days
When you steal it away, my volatile tongue cannot find any new words to say
So maybe Ill listen, for once Ill take your words to heart
And my disposition, my stubborn discretion, will finally be torn apart

Sometimes a good night leaves you with such bitter taste
The drinks you consumed there to flesh you had left bare, you put your money to waste
I thought they had told you; beware of kind boys with touch
But the small of your back, he rested his hand on; you never said it was too much

We all cry sometimes
We put our trust in thinking we can make do
And we all hide sometimes
From a God who can cleanse our heart anew

Hallelujah, You’re there to carry us home (x2)

The bullets we fired were aimed with the kill in mind
But somehow they missed you, they sailed right past you, we never knew we were so blind
And then we discovered the beauty of failing alone
Cause when we are fallen, disaster embodied, youre there to carry us home

We all cry sometimes
We put our trust in thinking we can make do
And we all hide sometimes
From a God who can cleanse our heart anew

Hallelujah, You’re there to carry us home (x2)
Take a deep breath; listen, and Hell lead you home (x2)
Take his hand off; listen, and Hell lead you home
Take his hand off; listen, God will lead you home

Check out his Youtube channel and subscribe! P.S. this whole line is a link.

SoulPancake: Everything That God Is Not

nick gray — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:14:37 +0000

There was a post over at SoulPancake that I would love to hear your thoughts about. We all hear what God is, but what is God NOT?

examples from comments
• God is not as unforgiving and judgmental as some people will claim
• My God is not Christian. God is not Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindi. God is of all and in all.
• My God is not your god. My God understands that statement, and yours doesn’t.

What are you’re thoughts on this? Let me know here or run on over to SoulPancake and join in there.

Coulda Been Color Corrected

nick gray — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:34:55 +0000

Working on the color correction to the music video I have been working on for so long. I think I finally have it how I want.

Let me know what you guys think so far.

Just An Intro Test

nick gray — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:23:55 +0000

This is another test for an intro. The intro will be for a new channel I will be talking about more in the future.

But for now, please let me know what you think.

SoulPancake – Rainn Wilson

nick gray — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:45:20 +0000

Many of you know Rainn Wilson from The Office, quite possibly the funniest show on television. Well I have recently stumbled upon a website/project he has going on that I think is something that has been lacking today. SoulPancake is a site that allows you to have those spiritual debates and discussions that most are afraid of having.

We want to make discussions about Spirituality, Creativity, and Philosophy cool again. Were they ever cool? I have no idea. But it seems like a good idea. We want to engage the user to “Chew on Life’s Big Questions”™. (I was kidding about the ™ symbol; you can use that phrase however you want. Even to sell frozen taquitos.) Where do you go on the Interwebs if you want an irreverent, fun, and profound take on God and Art and the Soul and Faith and Beauty? Fox.com? Maybe. But maybe also here at SoulPancake.com.

Shade of Gray Design

nick gray — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:30:34 +0000

Well here it is guys, the big reveal. I have been hinting at some big news for quite a while now and today is the day. There is a new name in killer web design and that name is Shade of Gray Design.

Many of you may have guessed that this was the news, but hey, now it’s official. Shade of Gray Design is company built from two individuals, my brother (Ben) and myself. After careful thought and prayer, we felt that this was the best way to move forward with our talents.

“At Shadeofgray Design we specialize in custom WordPress applications. From individual blogs to corporate websites, we use our super-powers to bend WordPress to our will, saving you money and making you look great.”

We feel that our skills as graphic/web designers should not and can not go to waste. We both have a vast knowledge of all things Wordpress, and combined with wizard like skills in the creative design department we certainly are a force to be reckoned with.

“If you don’t have an existing blog or website yet, Shadeofgray Design can create one for you using the powerful WordPress CMS.

* Get a beautiful and unique web presence built on WordPress.
* Contribute feedback to us throughout the design process.
* All code and site architecture meets or exceeds industry standards.
* Receive training on how to use your new website.”

“Many businesses already have a website. Unfortunately they’re often old, complex and confusing to update. We will take your existing website and convert it to one driven by WordPress.

* Retain your current branding and design.
* Resultant website (powered by WordPress) is a breeze to update.
* Often less expensive than requesting a custom website design.
* All code and site architecture meets or exceeds industry standards.
* Receive training on how to use and update your new website.”

So please, come check us out and be sure to tell all your friends about us. We are always open to work, and no project is to large or small.

Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

nick gray — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:31:50 +0000

“Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself — at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.”

This has just inspired me all over again…

Glimmer: Go buy it

nick gray — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:40:12 +0000

Jay is a good friend of mine and he has helped me out a lot by allowing me to use his music in some of my projects, so I owe him a lot. He has just released his new album, Glimmer. From what I have heard so far it sounds great. You can hear one of the songs off this album (You Coulda Been) in an upcoming video I am working on.

So, do yourself a favor and go buy his album on his website jaymathes.com

Suddenly by Magnus Engsfors

nick gray — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:09:37 +0000

This is exactly the kind of thing I am trying to get into. This was created using Photoshop and layered in After Effects, where he added the camera movement and everything else.

“Directed and animated by Magnus Engsfors, shot by Martin Nordqvist. A short movie illustrating the moment of total mental collapse due to very difficult personal circumstances.”
“It was shot with one Canon Eos 5D and a single external ProFoto flash while I was hanging in two ropes stretched across the scene.” – Mangus Engsfors

Change The World

nick gray — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:39:40 +0000

Thanks to Alan (fallofautumndistro) I was reminded of MadV. He made a heck of a lot of people feel good about themselves, but did he change anything about the world like he said he was trying to do? We need to take action if we really want to see change. Check out MadV’s Video here

And yes I know that Mother Teresa went to Calcutta, that’s what you get for not writing it all out first.