Game Plan

jbloustein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:04:40 -0600

I’m a football player, a quarterback with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. I’m used to pain. You get hit, you get up and keep going.

But I’d never felt anything like the pain that ripped through my gut that January afternoon in 2004. One minute I was sitting in my lounge chair at home watching TV, the next minute I was doubled over. Not even Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hitting me from the blind side hurt that bad. For a few minutes, I could hardly breathe. Finally the pain went away.

The Healing

jbloustein — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:18:57 -0500

One phone call.

No doubt you’ve heard those overnight success stories—the actor getting the breakthrough part, the struggling musician whose song everyone is suddenly talking about.

The book I’ve written, The Shack, has proved to be hugely successful in ways that I couldn’t possibly have imagined.

But the phone call that got it all started was something that threw my ordered world—what I desperately wanted people to believe was ordered—into pain and chaos long before I ever put pen to paper.

An Act of Faith

jbloustein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:11:36 -0600

"How do you keep doing what you do?” people ask me all the time.

It’s a good question.

Over the past two years alone, my work for NBC News has taken me to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Congo and the edge of Darfur. Why is it I feel driven to cover these stories of human suffering, including Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian tsunami, when it means leaving my husband and two children behind at home?

I don’t have to. Anchoring the news on Today and Dateline NBC keeps me busy enough.

Off the Beaten Path

jbloustein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:38:50 -0600

Whether it’s a day trip or a two-week vacation, there’s nothing like travel to help you reflect on what’s important in life.

I should know. I’m a host on the Travel Channel and I’m on the road more than 200 days a year.

Travel should inspire you. You can get back to nature or stand on top of a mountain for a whole new perspective. Sometimes it’s about swallowing your fear and breaking out of your comfort zone. And, of course, there’s the pilgrimage. Let me show you what I mean.

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Feeling Romantic

jbloustein — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:22:42 -0600

Leonardo DeCaprio

Where You Know Him From: With no less than 27 films in development, this popular actor’s roster of recent films includes Revolutionary Road, Blood Diamond, The Departed, Aviator and Catch Me If You Can.

His Favorite Love Story: When Harry Met Sally

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Living on Faith

jbloustein — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:57:03 -0600

A faint glow appeared on the dark horizon.

Nashville was close, I could feel it. Goosebumps ran up and down my arms.

I’d made this six-hour drive down I-71 from Columbus, Ohio, so many weekends to sing at karaoke bars with my cousin Jay, who lived in a tiny one-bedroom not far from Music Row.

But this time was different. I was moving to Nashville for good. Every time my truck hit a bump, I heard everything I owned rattle in the back, reminding me of what a huge leap I’d made. The biggest of my life.

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Common Ground

jbloustein — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:43:13 -0600

In her cover story An Act of Faith, Today show news anchor and Dateline NBC anchor Ann Curry talks about reporting from some of the world's most dangerous places to shed light on injustice and give voice to the voiceless.

"Journalism is about changing the world, isn't it?" she said. "It's about giving people the truth so that they can change the world. The world is evolving, I believe, into a more compassionate place."

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Body and Mind

mcherkezian — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:15:47 -0600

David Hebert, a 16-year-old junior varsity quarterback from Houston, Texas, lay in a hospital room last fall, eagerly awaiting a visit from Kevin Everett, his football hero. Hebert had snapped his neck trying to make a tackle, paralyzing him from the waist down. When Everett, a 6-foot-4 former Buffalo Bills tight end, who lives in nearby Humble, strode through his doorway, Hebert was almost lost for words. “I want to become like you one day,” he said.

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The Song That Lifts My Spirits

jbloustein — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:02:52 -0500

Hugh JackmanWhere You Know Him From
The Australian hunk can sing, dance and act. Recently he appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia, as well as hosting the 2009 Academy Awards.

What Music Lifts His Spirits
"Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti (better known as the theme from Rocky) Listen!

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Football Takes a Hit

jbloustein — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:24:49 -0600

There’s a code of honor among elite football players: “You keep playing, unless you lose consciousness,” says 37-year-old former NFL quarterback, Trent Dilfer.

And that’s the way Dilfer played the game. He suffered his first concussion in college while playing for Fresno State. He can’t remember the details, not because of memory loss, but because he considered it insignificant. A few moments of wooziness, then he was well enough to keep playing.

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