I start working on Andrew Peterson’s new record next week.

I should start working on my new record fairly soon as well.

I also have some shows booked through October in some of my favorite places.

But while we are all still in the mode of making (and breaking) New Year’s resolutions and creating “Top 10″ lists, I figured this would serve as my list of places I would love to go visit and book shows in for 2012. Actually, this post will only pose as a list of cities I would like to visit. The subliminally manipulative part of this post that you are unaware of and will continue to be unaware of, is that I am actually trying to convince people in those particular parts of the country to book me for shows there.

Here is how it should work:

Reader: “Oh! Look, honey! Andy Gullahorn said that he really wants to visit Reno, Nevada this year. That is weird. That is where WE live!!! You know what? I am not sure if he would want to do this or not, but what if we asked him to come play a show here? And we paid him a bunch of money.* What a great idea I just came up with on my own accord! I will email him at ANDY at ANDYGULLAHORN.COM to see if he will come!”

So let me get on with my list of the TOP 10 places I would love to “visit” in 2012.

But first, It should be noted that this is not a list of my TOP 10 favorite places to visit. Many of my favorite places are already on my schedule for this year. Many of my other favorite places have been visited recently by me. So to be fair, let me get on with …

My list of the TOP 10 places I would love to “visit” in 2012 that I haven’t visited in a long time or ever.

1. San Diego, CA – Who wouldn’t want to visit San Diego? The ONLY bad thing about this place is that you have to PAY to play disc golf.

2. Las Vegas, NV – I hated Las Vegas the first time I went. Let’s just say that I don’t hate it anymore. I would love to have a legitimate reason to go back. Maybe during a playoff weekend or March Madness?

3. Orlando, Fl – I typically get to Florida a lot which is fine by me. But my kids are really itching for some disney/harry potter theme park time.

4. Cedar Rapids, IA – Not only is this a tourist hot-spot, it would also give me a good chance to go visit my friends Jody and John.

5. Ireland – Why not?

6. Utah – In all of my years of traveling, I don’t think I have ever played in Utah. Come on, Mormons!

7. Wyoming – I think Wyoming is one of only two states I have never visited. Also, I used to be a cowboy.

8. Hawaii – speaking of places I have never visited … I know this place is boring, but I would just love to go and minister to the people there.

9. Montana – I really want to go fly-fishing again on the Gallatin River.

10. Mississippi – I know you would tell me to be careful what I ask for, but I have not had a chance to play in Mississippi in the last 13 years. I think it is about time.

11. New Orleans – I still like that place. And it will be fun to visit after they win the Superbowl this year.

Yes, I know there are 11 places in my top 10. When you make your own top 10 list, you can put as many items on there as you want.

* “a bunch of money” is subjective

The first couple of sites were built on Microsoft Word. You aren’t really supposed to do that, but I didn’t know. The good news was that I had one of the best Microsoft Word websites on the internet back then. The bad news was that I was the only one with a Microsoft Word website. And it sucked.

Then I think I tried out a few other programs – like iWeb and something called RapidWeaver. These programs were built for people who know nothing about websites. They served their purpose. I applaud them for their service.

The problem arose when I somehow got locked out of my own website. I couldn’t update it. It just sat there like Andrew McCarthy – waiting for an update or a new version. I was also too busy to do anything about it.

Enter Johan.

I met Johan when I was traveling in Sweden earlier this year. He is a musician as well. He also does great work on websites. He scolded me for my horrible not-updated website. Then he offered to help. I think he has done a fine job. (Thanks, Johan!)

SIDENOTE: Since I am American, I say Johan like YO-hawn. I think he says it more like YO-win. I am trying to teach him how to pronounce it correctly.

I am slowly going to transfer some of the wonderful nuggets of wisdom from the old site to this one, so be patient with me. Also, if you have any requests for stuff for me to write about or review, let me know. Odds are that I will not have the time to do it – so don’t get your hopes up. I just want you to feel like you are a part of this too – even though you aren’t. I mean, you are. Yeah. You are – at least as much as Al Gore is.

The worst part is that every night we get to play music together. The first half of the show, I join my wife (Jill Phillips), Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive, Andrew Osenga and Jason Gray for a couple of rounds of songs. I admire all of these songwriters and it is pure torture to share the stage with them. After the intermission, we all come out to play through my friend Andrew Peterson’s record – Behold the Lamb of God. It is a fantastic work of art and it makes for a very enjoyable show.

We hit the road here in a couple of days with the first show in Huntsville, AL on December 1st. The tour will end in Nashville on the 18th at the Ryman Auditorium. Come out and say hello if I am coming to a town near you. For more information on these shows, click here.

12/1 – Huntsville, AL
12/2 – Louisville, KY
12/3 – Milford, OH
12/4 – Milford, OH
12/5 – Knoxville, TN
12/7 – Bullard, TX
12/8 – Wichita Falls, TX
12/9 – Cleburne, TX
12/10 – League City, TX
12/11 – Austin, TX
12/13 – Montgomery, AL
12/14 – Charlotte, NC
12/15 – Charlotte, NC
12/16 – Asheville, NC
12/17 – Durham, NC
12/18 – Nashville, TN

Kids are playing outside while

I skype with Sweden

*some substitutions for “read books” can be
- “own swords”
- “know things”
- “write books”
- “sound smart”

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Redbox with a code for a free DVD rental. Jill sent me to Walgreen’s to pick out a good movie for us to watch after the kids went to bed. She mentioned something about the Time Traveler’s Wife. First of all, that has the word “wife” in the title which means it is all about a girl. Secondly, there is the picture of a couple hugging on the front of the DVD. I might be forced to watch these kind of movies but I am definitely not going to be the one caught renting it from Redbox. Precious was another option – but knowing a little about that movie, I want to see it but it just never seems like a good time for me to ruin our moods for a night. I considered getting Crazy Heart but I think we needed to watch something that had nothing to do with music. Then I saw The Blind Side.

I already knew a good bit about the movie because it had a lot of press around it. I know Sandra Bullock won the best actress Oscar for it. Jill made me watch some of Oprah’s interview with the family the movie was about. In addition to this, I heard from many, many people that I needed to see this movie – “it was really good”. I called Jill and ran the movie by her (no – I can’t even make one movie decision on my own) and she didn’t sound very excited. “It is going to be that  kind of movie,” she said. I knew exactly what she meant – but I was still holding out hope that it would exceed my expectations.

One of the most nerve-racking experiences is being the person to pick out a movie – especially when the other person watching it with you is hesitant about it. In this case, Jill wasn’t opposed to the movie but it was clear that she reserved the right to say “I told you so” if it wasn’t so good. So that left me as the proponent for a movie that I was not so sure about myself. She asked me what rating it got on rottentomatoes.com. I said, “Around 70%”. It actually got 66%. Normally I trust the ratings on this site but here I found myself rounding a percentage up to 70 to make it sound more appealing. I was in a bad position.

Anyways – on to the movie. It only took a few minutes of this movie before I knew Jill was politely keeping her mouth shut and looking at me out of the corner of her eye to see my reactions to some bad lines and awkward acting moments. And it didn’t get much better. It was only 10 minutes or so before I was openly mocking scenes that had just passed in the film. It took 45 minutes for Jill to say “I told you it would be that kind of film”. I had to resist the urge to be offended and just agree with her. The rest of the movie was actually quite enjoyable because we were able to openly mock the awkward moments together.

I am not saying this is a bad movie. I know many of you liked this movie. It is a great story. Sandra Bullock does a good job (I guess). I am not trying to dissuade you from seeing it if you haven’t already. It is inspirational. But for my taste, I thought the movie was a bit formulaic. I think of it as a late 90′s Garth Brooks concert – what it lacks in depth it makes up in manipulative pulls at the heartstrings. One of the things I look for most in a movie is a script that sounds like a believable conversation. So many lines and conversations in this movie just felt to me like a parody or caricature of what a normal one would have been. Rich ladies at the country club discussing poor people. Family calling to ask about the big black boy in the Christmas picture. I guess it is possible that people actually talk like the people in this movie – but if that is true, I don’t want to go back to Memphis, TN.

If you are headed out to rent a movie and want something quasi-inspirational that you don’t have to think about, this might be the movie for you. If you like seeing college football coaches attempt acting, this is definitely the movie for you. But if you want to see some excellent writing, you might want to consider your other options.

Rating:  2 Gullys