So lookie here:
- Let's start on a serious note before descending to the usual mix. Today is Maundy Thursday, church-calendarwise. That is not a bad way of writing "Monday Thursday," as I'm sure some imagine. The name "Maundy Thursday" comes fromthe Vulgate of John 13:35 — "mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos ut et vos diligatis invicem." Got that? Oh. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" — a new commandment issued on the Thursday before Christ's death.
- You know, I remember respectful articles and even comics around Christian holidays when I was a (non-Christian) kid. No more. Newsweak's anti-Christian religion editor Jon Meacham wishes us all a Happy Resurrection Day by declaring the
end of Christian America. (Meacham does admit, "while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated.") It isn't actually as outrageous as the title promises. Al Mohler is frequently quoted and referred to in the article; he responds here. Mohler: "It is good that non-Christians know that they are not Christians and that Christians be reminded of that fact that what sinners need is the Gospel of Christ, not merely the lingering morality of the Christian memory." - As if to confirm the deadness of Christianity in America, it is reported as if it were news that there is a congressman who actually said out loud that God decides whe
n ‘the Earth will end.’ Yeah, well... duh. - Now these are just plain cool, period. Well-done drawings that crack the frame into reality. Kinda Twilight Zoney vibe.
- You won't care. You shouldn't care. But it's nice that someone has noticed. Sorry.
- Newt Gingrich adds "apostate" to "adulterer." Building his presidential résumé ? Ah; but for which party?
- More abortion insanity. A couple of congressmen (guess which party! go on, guess!) are proposing a bill to outlaw performing, or soliciting funding for, race-or-sex-targeted abortions. They're calling it the "Susan B. Anthony/Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act." Just pause to consider the bizarreness. Of course children are aborted because they're girls; and abortion was originated to "weed out" those inferior
races. But isn't the premise of abortion the notion that the fetus isn't human? It's a mass of tissue? Yeah... a mass of tissue with sex and racial identity. Insaner and insaner. - Best Movie Moment? This? No way. My readers can do far better.
- Honestly, the worst drivers I regularly see are usually men. So I don't think women drivers are, per se, all bad. But, boy howdy, these ones are.
- Ah, public education. People may worry about illiteracy, math skills, historical ignorance. "Feh!" says University of California at Davis; "Let's just show porn!" — "in a chemistry lecture hall, the periodic table of elements hanging above their heads." (h-t MDS-I-L) And so they did. It was offered free by the producer. To condition the students to see pornography as mainstream entertainment. Brilliant. Wicked.
- Book Title of the Week: A Slobbering Love Affair: The True and Pathetic Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media, by Bernard Goldberg. (He talks about it here; I haven't heard it all.)
- Article title of the week: Congress to vote on 'Day of Silence.' I personally would heartily favor it, if they'd promise actually to do it. In fact, a month would be great. Six months. Hm? What's that? It's not about Congress shutting the heck up? Oh. Well. Never mind.
- Truth in advertising? Not so much. Maybe Texas Christian University should change its name now that it is providing separate housing for folks who embrace or enable rebellion against God's sexual laws. The most charitable reading I can up on it is that it will now constitute a "target-rich environment" for actual Christian students to locate a 100% lost community for loving evangelism. But hmmm... what does this say to those who advocate forcing the military to accept folks who practice sexual perversion? (h-t Aaron)
- Surprise! Cities and states are going to tax just about everything.
- Is Rick Warren a weasel? If not, he's doing a good impression of one. (See also here. Google "Rick Warren" weasel, and you get aout 7900 hits.) And check this:
- A smart cartoon can say in a few words (or none) what it takes 500 words of thuddier prose to say. Like this one:
- And then, there's...
Posts
55 comments:
Harry discovering a dimensional worm hole in a train station beat out the Indianapolis monologue by Robert Shaw in Jaws? Or the chest buster scene from Alien? You have to be kidding?
...or the realization sequence in The Sixth Sense, or John Wayne's monologue on "republic" in The Alamo, or the first (or last) sequence in Star Wars...?
That list of dissed bands is pretty stunning. I've got 9 out of 10 on my iPod! (Any guesses which one isn't on the iPod?)
Saw the Newt thing... got nothing to say... been playing with the RCC's over at my blog all week...
Squirrel
(Any guesses which one isn't on the iPod?)
Would I have to ban you if I knew?
In other news — I've added some updates since original posting. Check back later; I'm just interweaving them.
A quick note about Day of Silence: it's an anti-bullying event that takes place in schools by participating students. Yes, it's promoted mainly by gay-activist groups, which is why many parents are asking to allow their students to stay home consequence-free on that day.
A better alternative, I think, is the coinciding Golden Rule Pledge, which was started by Warren Throckmorton, a conservative professor at a Christian university in Pennsylvania. Instead of walking out, Christian students pledge to stand up against bullying, even if they disagree with someone's personal life.
No student, gay or straight, needs to feel unsafe in school. Sorry if this is off topic. Just thought I'd spread the word. :)
Naw, I don't think that's very proactive.
My goal in life isn't to make it easier for anyone to feel good about what's sending him to Hell.
Perhaps a greater emphasis on preaching the Gospel to those who identify themselves as God's enemies, let them know His laws, provision, and terms.
Was anti-gay bullying ever a major issue? I doubt it. It's just propoganda designed to promote acceptance of a deviant lifestyle. And if people actually knew the deviant things most homosexuals engage in (especially males), they'd be less tolerant of it.
The Rick Warren video is disturbing. I wonder how Abanes will defend that.
Dan, I don't think pro-abortion advocates now say its a mass of tissue. They just refer to a woman's body and her right to control it. The mass of tissue I think was just misdirection, which, probably explains the huge success the crisis centers have in preventing an abortion once they show the mother an ultrasound.
I wonder how Abanes will defend that.
Oh, no. You said The Name. It's like saying "Candyman" (or "Manbearpig") three times. Now there will be ten comments stridently insisting... on... something.
Does anybody else think that deviancy and evil just made strides in our society by leaps and bounds in the last 90 days? Dear God, please protect us over the next four years.
Oh, no. You said The Name. It's like saying "Candyman" (or "Manbearpig") three times. Now there will be ten comments stridently insisting... on... something.
I can hardly wait!
Yeah, well, as you all know, comment moderation is a little stricter here than Pyro (because Phil and Frank are nicer than I) - and besides, I thought Frank would engage him more, and just was stepping back to let the sparks fly.
No such motivation here.
You guys ever see the "expose" They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll? After I saw it, I stopped listening to any "secular" music (yep, threw away every CD including my favorites Foreigner and Chicago).
Sorry, Dan. I didn't mean to attract flies.
Yep, I threw all my Chicago away in the '70s also. Wouldn't even let myself whistle the songs.
Would I have to ban you if I knew?
Nope, I'm safe... I think...
(c:
Squirrel
(queuing up "Saturday in the Park" just to be safe...)
“During the whole Proposition 8 thing,” Warren insisted, “I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never – never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop. 8 was going.”
He says it like it would've been a bad thing if he had and leaves me wondering exactly whose glory he is seeking.
...and it's apparently a lie, to boot.
You guys ever see the "expose" They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll? After I saw it, I stopped listening to any "secular" music (yep, threw away every CD including my favorites Foreigner and Chicago).
(Fred) I didn't see that "expose'" but I did watch Eric Holmberg's ridiculous documentary on backward masking and Satanic messages. (I think he is now preparing a big documentary on the evils of the cult of dispensationalism. Really).
As a result, I threw out all my Rush tapes.
Then I grew in my faith in the Lord and replaced them all with CDs.
Fred
Yeah, it comes across as if Rick Warren cares more about protecting his popularity than keeping his story straight. It is sad, and I mean that sincerely.
Yep, I threw all my Chicago away in the '70s also. Wouldn't even let myself whistle the songs.
I take it you're pulling my leg?
Not at all. My pastor told me rock was Bad. I was a new Christian, didn't know much, but wanted to do it right. So into the trash it went. I can still see it in my mind's eye, 35 years later.
Fred:
You should take a look at the expose. There is some stuff that is over the top but there are a lot of eye-opening things including confessions from the artists themselves.
Obviously, I listen to "Christian" music which is basically the same kind of music without the explicit lyrics. So I didn't take the expose to be against all music generally, although it's been many years since I saw it.
But your bio says your favorite group is Chicago? You don't listen to them now?
I must confess that I was just converted when I saw the expose. (although I was raised in church all my life so therefore knew more than most at the time of my true conversion).
Nope. I eventually came to a different understanding, and am cool with Chi.
IOW, I do listen to Chicago, don't have a conscience problem with it.
Nope. I eventually came to a different understanding, and am cool with Chi.
< scratches head >
So you've come to a different understanding, and are cool with Chicago...but yet you don't listen to them currently?
Please, tell me what the different understanding was (I guess you'll have to also explain the original rationale for throwing them out).
Surely Harry Potter can't compete with the Staypuff Marshmallow Man scene in Ghostbusters or the Innovative Vomitscene from Robin Williams' Toys! I want a recount!
Staypuff Marshmallow Man = Abanes? Hmmmm......
Chicago: Shot themselves in the foot when they let Peter Cetera go "rogue" in his duet days. The judges can't get those cheesy songs out of their heads and they're still mad about it.
Day of Silence: The kids should dress up as mimes and hand out tracts while pantomiming the gospel.
(for the record, I find mimes really, really distasteful)
A mime is a terrible thing to waste...
The Squirrel — A mime is a terrible thing....
True, true.
Dan:
You did know that I intentionally put my Nut Cache on Thursdays so that I would not be head-to-head with H&T, right? Now, two weeks in a row…
~Squirrel
< / shameless blog plug >
Ha! I mock your derivative bad link!
* Those drawings are reminiscent of (and one of them actually is by) M.C. Escher.
* "I coulda been a contender"; "You're going on that plane"; "Go ahead, punk: make my day"; the Wizard behind the curtain; the opening gunsight scene from almost every James Bond movie; too many countless others.
* Curious that the winner and runner-up of that best movie scene poll were both movies set in England, whose protagonists were practitioners of "white magic."
* Public education isn't totally a lost cause. I've personally known born-again Christians who are public school teachers to be salt and light to the world.
< resume shameless blog plug >
Oops - try this
< end shameless blog plug >
And "imitation is the cheapest form of flatery!"
Obviously, I listen to "Christian" music which is basically the same kind of music without the explicit lyrics. So I didn't take the expose to be against all music generally, although it's been many years since I saw it.
Without highjacking this blog too much, I would just say I was once a hard-core fundamentalist KJV-onlyist who believed all secular rock and roll was satanic. Even though I liked a lot of it, I bought the barrel burning mentality that as a teen who is a brand new Christian I had to clean out my music shelves of anything that was not explicitly Christian.
I held to that position for a few years afterward, but God was gracious to patiently hand hold me through that stage in my life. As I matured in the faith, I discovered, (what I already knew in my heart) that pretty much all CCM was lame. It was not only poorly performed, but the theological content in the lyrics ran from being mushy headed to flat out heretical.
What I did do is re-discover a lot of the secular music I got rid of and found the lyrics, even though they were not "Christian" and were written by "sinners" contained some of the most thoughtful insights to the human condition as sinners in need of a savior.
These folks were singing about something (usually unrequited love or love spurned), but their songs revealed true longings of the heart of men that only Jesus could fill, and what CCM for the greater part missed in their lyrics.
"...that pretty much all CCM was lame..."
When I came to faith in Christ, I tried to give the benefit of the doubt to everything I'd previously spurned: including "evangelical" TV shows (only the thoughtful ones, though, thank you) and the local CCM radio station.
But then I learned that there are some trappings of modern evangelical culture that really, truly are irredeemably superficial and devoid of the Gospel or even any scintilla of true Christ-centeredness, and are spurned for good reason. My gut instinct had been right all along: just not for the right reasons.
I don't know. Unless you're like Justin Taylor — whose idea of "rocking out" is riding up and down an elevator for an hour or so — I don't think CCM has much, as to crackle or complexity.
Phil Keaggy being the exception.
--Best Movie Moment? This? No way. My readers can do far better.--
Godfather II--"You broke my heart, Guido. You broke my heart."
The Empire Strikes Back--"No, Luke, I am your father." "NNNOOOOOO!!!!"
Heck, I'd even put the death-than-back-to-life scene in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" in there, too.
Oh my gosh, and then there are the Lord of the Rings movies:
— the mines of Moria sequence
— the battle at helm's Deep
— the battle at Minas Tirith
The shootout in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
And we're just warming up. Heck, for that matter, the battle in the Ministry of Magic in HP5, with its (if you haven't read the book) shocking death, is better.
Aaron: I wonder how Abanes will defend that.
Dan: Oh, no. You said The Name. It's like saying "Candyman" (or "Manbearpig") three times.
I have already mailed ominously worded letters to your respective ISPs -- just so you know.
Oh! And -
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Best movie moments:
"Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?"
"Go ahead, make my day."
"Dying ain't much of a living, boy."
Then there's the Alan Ladd/Jack Palance shootout in Shane...
~Squirrel
- Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.
- "Oh, my God." "What? What is it?" "It's my father."
- HAL reading lips.
- The warden throwing a rock at the poster of Racquel Welch.
- "And the names are Mr. and Mrs. Victor Laszlo."
- The cropduster chasing Cary Grant.
- Zuzu's petals.
- "Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb..."
- "Of course we're speaking, Jedediah. You're fired."
- Grace Kelly with a gun.
- Ben-Hur being given a drink of water.
- Charlton Heston saying "Get your hands off of me..."
- "I can't swim." "Are you crazy? The FALL will probably kill you."
- "Come with me if you want to live." (Any version.)
- "I'm Spartacus!"
The opening speach from Patton.
WirrClunk, WirrClunk, "Get away from her, you &^%#(@!"
And, for the ladies: "I love you!" -- "I know."
I can't read "Maundy Thursday" without hearing the Momma's and the Poppa singing "Monday Monday"...
Is it just me?
Sadly, no.
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Classic.
"The rules of haircare are simple and finite. Any Cosmo girl would've known." Legally Blond. Somewhat embarrassed to say - one of the few movies I can watch multiple times.
Here's my new fave movie line: "Red usually means 'caution' - or 'beef' if it's a bullion cube." Joan Cusak in Toys.
I wish I could get a hold of a Cleanflicks version of that movie. Except for the two stupid, unnecessary sexually suggestive scenes that we had to fast forward through, that movie would be right up there with Princess Bride for brilliant quirkiness.
Was anti-gay bullying ever a major issue? I doubt it. It's just propoganda designed to promote acceptance of a deviant lifestyle.
Um, as a kid growing up struggling with same-sex attractions, I'll just say that it's a major enough issue. Even though I wasn't "out" in high school, simply not being able to catch a ball or being more expressive than most guys was enough to bring upon scores of bullying. And I got off easy compared to most.
I know kids who have been beaten within an inch of their life, and there are kids across the country who have been murdered. Call it propaganda if you will, but I find that to be an immature response. High school jocks can lead the most deviant sex lives ever, but since they're straight and popular, they get off easy.
Yes, homosexual behavior is a sin. Duh. But if Christians don't stand up against bullying then what kind of message is that sending? I think Frank Turk once wrote a piece that basically gets across what I'm trying to say.
In short, no one's stopping anyone from proclaiming the Gospel, but would it kill you to at least say, "Hey, no one deserves to live in fear of violent punks, and I want you to know that you have nothing to fear from me." That's all the Golden Rule Pledge is about.
2 out of hundreds:
Final shot of "The Searchers."
Rising crane shot of Gene Kelly circling the street in "Singin' In The Rain."
For its sheer megalomania, my favorite line is from "Sweet Smell of Success": "You sound happy, Sidney. Why are you happy when I'm not?"
For megalomania, Rick Warren-style:
http://saddlebackfamily.com/blogs/newsandviews/index.html?contentID=2085
Fred:
I never came to the conclusion that Rock n Roll is Satanic, but after much genuflection, I came to agree that much of Rock N Roll contains lyrics, by even the confession of the writers, is intentionally dark and/or evil. A lot of the other lyrics are obviously sexually suggestive. So CCM might not have the best lyrics or best music (although its getting better) at least for the most part, I'm not intentionally being fed poison. Funny thing too, is that those who love classical music will say Rock N Roll is generally shallow and without much merit. So opinions vary. With all that said, I'm sure there are plenty of rock n roll artists such as Chicago whose music doesn't have the same implications I mentioned above.
Jay: bullying goes on everywhere. most of it isn't because one is gay, its because the people are evil and like to bully. Christians ought to be against bullying since any bullying is wrong. But picking out a particular reason isn't the solution. And I also have negative feelings about hate crime legislation. It isn't meant to actually stop crime because if it was, it would treat all crimes the same (i.e. punishment and restitution). But the purpose is to give legitimacy...check that...force legitimacy of of homosexuality.
And btw, it isn't just jocks who bully or lead deviant sexual lifestyles.
And btw, it isn't just jocks who bully or lead deviant sexual lifestyles.
Well of course I know that. Did I say otherwise? I just said that depending on your status in the high school social ladder, your faults can either be completely ignored or the source of bullying.
And trust me when I say that SSA kids (whether they act on it or struggle against it like myself) are often the targets of bullies because of their status alone. I know what I'm talking about here, not only from my own experience but also because I've talked to countless other celibate and ex-gay SSA men, and no matter how diverse their narratives are, they almost always include bullying at the hands of punks.
Yes, Day of Silence is promoted solely concerning anti-gay bullying. That's why the Golden Rule Pledge is a response, because it focuses on all forms of bullying, no matter the cause.
(Fred) I didn't see that "expose'" but I did watch Eric Holmberg's ridiculous documentary on backward masking and Satanic messages. (I think he is now preparing a big documentary on the evils of the cult of dispensationalism. Really).
Do you know what you get when you play a country song backwards?
You get your house back
You get your dog back
You get your best friend Jack back
You get your truck back
You get your hair back
1. Squirrel: "And, for the ladies: 'I love you!' -- 'I know.'
--Egotistical to the end (well, his presumed end)!
2. A few other best moments (IMHO)--
--the jury room scene in Twelve Angry Men (yes, the entire scene)
--"Come on, Dover, move your bloomin' ______!!!"
--Auntie Mame (by Rosalind Russell).
--"You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate....Here comes your father." (Branagh's film version)
--The last battle scene in Glory.
--The triumphant return and coronation of Aragorn at the end of The Return of the King.
--The ridiculously hilarious exchange between Higgins and Pickering after Eliza bolted out on them: "Why can't a woman be more like a man?..."
--The last 10-15 minutes of N By NW, starting from where Cary Grant tries to sneak into the house to warn Eva Marie Saint all the way to the chase on Mount Rushmore.
--The princess's press conference at the end of Roman Holiday.
--The Bellagio fountain shot after the SWAT team operation in Ocean's Eleven.
(This little brain needs to rest now....)
One also gets his wife back, Dave! (At least in the version I heard....)
Best scene in a movie: Atticus packing up his briefcase and walking out of the courtroom, while up in the balcony the black citizens rise in honor. From To Kill a Mockingbird.
Love the M.C. Escheresque pictures.
Dismayed but not surprised at the state approved pastor, Rick Warren.
I think that was me trying to park in that parking lot.
Squirrel:
Those are the best movie moments you could come up with? Our tastes in movies must vary dramatically. ;)
I could pick a number of scenes in Braveheart, Luther, Ben Hur, Count of Monte Cristo, Last of the Mohicans.
Oh! Another one!
The "You can't handle the truth" scene from A Few Good Men.
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