Friday, May 29, 2009

Hither and thither 5/29/09

And now my weekly ministry, to give you a chuckle or a "Hunh!" or two:


  • Whoa, dude. Is this an iceberg, or a special effect? (Answer: iceberg.)
  • Thomas Sowell posted some random thoughts. This was one I rather loved: "When my sister's children were teenagers, she told them that, if they got into trouble and ended up in jail, to remember that they had a right to make one phone call. She added: 'Don't waste that call phoning me.' We will never know whether they would have followed her advice, since none of them was ever in jail."
  • Thoughts on the preceding: have you ever noticed how many appalling young criminals have their mothers and other family in the media, blaming everyone but their darling criminal child, doing everything they can to spare their kid (who is 15, 25, 35, 45) the consequences of his actions? Ever think to yourself, "Causation — solved!"?
  • All that to say this:
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.
(Proverbs 23:13-14)
  • What happens when Gummis go bad? Now we know.

  • Who says Hollywood doesn't have a sense of humor? So, they're re-re-re-re-remaking the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right? Obviously, they'll need a great actor. Someone with vivid range. Like... oh, I don't know. Maybe... Keanu Reeves? Yep, apparently that's right. A man whose range runs the entire gamut from A to A. Whew. My parakeet Peanuts could do a better job, I'm thinking. And he's been dead for 41 years.
  • Pastor John Kane points me to this must-have (made in China):
  • Does age bring wisdom? Not necessarily. Sometimes — particularly if you are (or have been) a beautiful media superstar, it makes you really, really stupid.
  • Consumer Alert: if you're tempted by a "Snuggie," you may want to watch this. (Warning: if you're offended by the sight of naked mannikin hiney, or a use of the synonym for "hiney" that starts with "b"... you know, sometimes I wonder if all my warnings are really necessary. Anyway. Be warned.)
  • Reason #5397 Why We Homeschool: mandatory perversion-approval indoctrination. The irony hits me every time, as it did 15+ years ago when ours were still in government indoctrination camps. They can't teach how to read. They can't teach spelling. They can't teach basic math skills. They can't teach history. But boy oh boy, self-image and amorality? All over that!
  • Really Dumb Idea Title Alert: How to Start Barefoot Hiking. I have hiked a lot, and I know this is a Bad Idea. Thinking of one of my particular favorite spots, a trout-brimming lake a bit off the trail, I can think of one "up" side. If I were to get lost, SAR could easily follow the trail of blood across the sharp granite boulders.
  • General Colin Powell says that what the GOP really needs is more weak-spined, unprincipled, back-stabbing turncoats. Now, if I told you what I really think about that, I think you'd be offended; let's just say that advice from folks who take thirty pieces of silver as to how the objects of their betrayal could be more popular is of limited worth.
  • Lego Double-Header! Yet more love for our Lego-loving readers (or readers with Lego-loving kids), some movie posters redone in Lego.


  • Plus, of course, these:





46 comments:

DJP said...

Hm.

The crickets, while peaceful on one level, are nonetheless disturbing.

Trinian said...

The ridiculous penguin book is of course based on a "true" story of two Chinstrap Penguins in New York Central Park Zoo who paired up and attempted to hatch a rock, which was then later replaced by keepers by a real egg from another couple (though the picture in the article is definitely not the right color for a chinstrap juvenile). The event was picked up by the homosexual community and magnified it into this tremendous farce about the beautiful homosexual love story between these two... penguins.
I wonder if this children's story ends the way it did in real life. When other penguin females were introduced into the habitat, they "broke up" and returned to normal reproductive roles.

Fred Butler said...

I bet that kitten in that last picture thinks of nothing but murder all day long.

neur0n said...

Jekyl? As I read the lead in, one picture came to my mind. Christian Bale.
Did you see the BBC series? It was very crazy/original.

CR said...

Ok, ok, fine, I'll say something! With regards to Judge Sotomayor, a while back one of the things you prayed for, for the President is that the Lord would frustrate all his evil plans. This would be one of those evil plans. Sotomayor in her own words will make policy on the courts and that includes more deaths for the unborn.

All you Obama voters who are lurking on Dan's blog, thanks.

All these things happening in the world like with North Korea, and what is the President doing? He is announcing his cyber-czar. Boy, does he have his priorities straight.

DJP said...

Goodness, Fred — kittie-issues, much?

neur0n — a BBC J/H series with Bale in the title role? I'd think he'd be good.

DJP said...

Yeah, CR, funny thing about Sotomayor. Some people have sugg'd that she's The One's Souter - i.e., more conservative than he knows.

That'd be nice, and I'd love that. But I think they're forgetting something.

It is the GOP who is all "What? Litmus test? Us? On abortion? What are you, nuts??"

Meanwhile the Party O' Death is absolutely up-front: "No-DUH we have a litmus test. Gotta be pro-abort, or don't even knock."

BTY, anyone read the really fine novel about a lady who gets appointed to be a pro-abort Supreme Court justice... then comes to Christ? Rats; can't remember the name, though I can see the cover.

Good book.

DJP said...

And, duh, BTY = BTW

Just sad.

DJP said...

Got it! Deadlock. Good book.

(Google is an amazing tool.)

RT said...

English is like democracy (to reapply Winston Churchill's phrase) the worst system in the world - except for every other system.

CR said...

Well, in praying for Obama and his salvation this past week I also gave thanks for the upholding of prop 8 but I also prayed for our federal judges and their salvation. My hope and prayer has always been that the Lord will send laborers to the harvest in the federal courts.

I mean, I love Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito but I even pray for them. God bless them for their jurisprudence but if they are true to their Roman Catholic faith then they are just in need of salvation as is President Obama. But let's hope this pro-Abort justice becoming a Christian fictional story becomes a reality in our SCOTUS. It will only become a reality if the Lord is so pleased to send laborers to the harvest in our federal judiciary. He commands us to send laborers and I have been praying profusely for this.

CR said...

I'm sorry, I meant to say He commands us to pray that laborers would be sent of course entailed in that means He will send some of us.

Becky Schell said...

Okay, first of all...IT'S FRIDAY ALREADY???? Must be that Monday off.

Dr. Seuss agrees with you.

Those Lego thing-its are awesome. Lego ice is appealing somehow and they would fit much better into my glass than the iceberg (though it is even more awesome than the Lego thing-its).

I wonder of Sandra Bullock will be one of Keanu's victims.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Dan,

Thank you for yet another reminder of the benefits of homeschooling. Yuck. Something similar is percolating here, in our schools too.

Love the Lego gadgets. Two of the boys have birthdays approaching...

Barefoot hiking? Barefoot?

Maybe after the lobotomy... but in the meantime, I'll keep my boots on. (Cascade Mountains = jagged volcanic rock)

Happy Weekend!

Julie

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Oh, and a note to Brooke Shields -

Shut your mouth, gather up your wandering brain cells, and go back to your science research... you know,

"A Chemical Process in Three Steps: Lather, Rinse, Repeat."

Solameanie said...

The gummi bear one is hysterical. So was the flying saucer/Obama one, which -- in an odd way -- reminds me of the album cover of Supertramp's "Crisis? What Crisis?"

Rachael Starke said...

Love the Calvin figurine. I just ordered a Spurgeon print for my dad for his birthday from the folks Phil J recommended, but should probably throw this in for Father's Day too.

Of course, I'd really been hoping it was a bobblehead...

Jay said...

I'm really tired of schools indoctrinating children to, well, anything. I'm going into public education myself, and I am going to have a very hard time teaching any kind of social agenda. Luckily, I'll be teaching high school, so most of the indoctrination will have happened already.

And this isn't about the gay issue, really. Even if elementary schools wanted to indoctrinate kids with ideologies I agree with, I would be against it. Ideological training is for the home and the home only.

The Squirrel said...

re: the Gummi Bears.

"Melt the heretic!"

I always thought Servetus was a bit squishy...

:o)

~Squirrel

trogdor said...

I first heard about the Brooke Shields thing from this headline: Brooke Shields Regrets Losing Virginity At 22 (warning: The Onion and all that). There are two ways you can take that, and I was hoping for the good - that she'd learned the hard way and wanted to repent and warn others about the folly of promiscuity. Alas.

I'm sure the Snuggie is fantabulous and all, but if that's something you really need, why not just wear a robe backwards?

RT said...

Jay -
It is essential to the orderly functioning of society that schools, from pre-kindergarten on, promote conformity to society's values. It is, of course, unfortunate that society's values degenerate noticably from year to year, but that is simply the way human civilization operates. I would rather preserve as much order as possible by having the mass of people indoctrinated with a common system of values, even if those values are wrong. That is the true, and perhaps only, worth of our public education system.

SolaMommy said...

Brooke Shields: "That's a health regret."

Um...right. I shudder to think of what "values" she is instilling in those beautiful little girls...

Love the gummis.

Barbara said...

Re - Sowell and the sister's comments - I said the same thing to mine. More than once.

So far, so good :)

Al said...

DJP: "My parakeet Peanuts could do a better job, I'm thinking. And he's been dead for 41 years."Sorry to hear about your dead parakeet... Did his head fall off?

al sends

Fred Butler said...

Goodness, Fred — kittie-issues, much?

Doesn't everyone have kitty issues? I mean, you pose that question like I am insane or something.

Jay said...

RT: But in such a diverse society as ours, finding a set of values that represents the whole doesn't really work. Other than basics like not stealing or cheating or getting into fights, I think when I was growing up I basically just learned my reading, writing, and math. I think schools could return to that, and leave the values for home.

CR said...

That last picture is neat. Is that like a rendition from War of the Worlds?

I might actually print out that one.

Carol Jean said...

Have you heard Brian Reagen on the Spelling Bee?

"i" before "e", except after "c"
or when sounding like "a"
as in neighbor and weigh
and on weekends and holidays
and all throughout May
and you'll always be wrong
no matter WHAT you say!
(warning: little "hell" expletive at the end)

RE: Brooke Shields - so, is she going to encourage her kids to be sexually active at age 13 so they can be "healthier" than she was? That statement should qualify for a Darwin award.

RE: The Calvin stautue - would be better in a Bobble-head.

DJP said...

Isn't it a bobble-head? Click the link; it's advertised as a bobble-head.

/c:

Carol Jean said...

RT said, "It is essential to the orderly functioning of society that schools, from pre-kindergarten on, promote conformity to society's values."

Are you serious? Can you cite something from the Bible or even the Constitution to demonstrate a mandate for the schools to impart values upon society?

Carol Jean said...

Ah, one of the rare bobble-heads with the head in correct proportion to the body! Priceless!

CR said...

DJP: Some people have sugg'd that she's The One's Souter - i.e., more conservative than he knows.According to the Washington Post, the White House got assurances that Sotomayor is pro-abortion. (Hmmm, wonder how they got that).

She will not be a conservative Souter.

Aaron said...

1.) I can attest first hand to the actions of parents and relatives when their son or daughter are prosecuted. First they don't believe their child could do something. Usually this continues even after they plead guilty or get convicted under a avalanche of evidence. But occasionally, they realize their loved one did it, then they blame somebody else.

2.) I like how the school system says parents will not be allowed to opt out. Really? I'd pull my kid out so fast...of course, I'd never send my kid to such a school.

3.) The Souter comparison comes from a case Sotomayor decided in which she said the government doesn't have to spend money on providing abortions. Some believe this is an indication that she isn't some raving pro-abortion person. However, I bet this changes when government run health care comes to fruition.

4.) RT: public schools weren't even in existence in America during the days of the founding fathers. I believe the first public high school opened in something like 1821.

CR said...

Sir Aaron,

Parents can always opt to take their kids out of the public schools. The opting out that you're probably referring to is opting out of certain instructions but still wanting to keep your kid in the school.

Some public school district in San Francisco has voted or will vote on homosexual instruction for grade school kids and parents cannot opt their kids out of that instruction.

Back when I was a kid, a parent could opt their kids out of sexual education teaching. Parents will not be able to opt their kids out of the homosexual instruction.

Public schools do have an agenda. But what is increasingly difficult for the public schools is dealing with violent kids. You always had bullies and people making fun of say, fat kids. But violence is increasing and kids are not being taught any values at home. And since you can't have violent kids in the public schools, the public schools are taking matters into their own hands and dealing with it in their way. So, e.g., rather than parents teaching homosexuality is wrong but you still can't fist fight homosexuals or fat kids or whoever, public schools do it in their own way like, "oh, there's nothing wrong with homosexuality, so be nice."

I'm not excusing the public schools, but a big problem is in the home. Now, with more and more Christians taking their kids out of public schools (I support their right to do that), you got left in the public schools very little godliness and you got things like 65% appoval ratings for President Obama who has done nothing but harm for our country.

It's a huge mess. The public school is becoming one big indoctrination camp and these kids are growing up to be voters. I hope more Christians will opt to teach in the public schools and keep their kids in the public schools and participate in PTA meetings and volunteer in their own public schools.

Anonymous said...

John Barrymore, Fredric March, Spencer Tracy...Keanu Reeves. Defining Competency Down.

Aaron said...

CR:

Too much Grand Theft Auto 3.

I remember when I went to public school, I was not at all afraid of the teachers. It was my parents I had to fear. I eventually got into too much trouble and was homeschooled for 4 years (it was either that or military school apparently...they should have sent me to military school).

I'm one of those who has already committed to having my kid in a private Christian school (and she's not yet three!). I know there are a lot of "homeschool only" churches around too. I even fear other Christians looking down on me because I choose to put my child in private school rather than homeschool.

Susan said...

1. Letgo my Lego!!!!! (Love Legos. Still tempted every so often to buy something at the Lego Store [for myself!!!] when I pass by it in the mall....)

2. Speaking of funny English, I read something in Reader's Digest years ago that went something like this:

If "pro" is the opposite of "con", then is "progress" the opposite of "Congress"?

Herding Grasshoppers said...

@ Fred,

regarding cats... you've probably seen thisJulie

CR said...

Don't let them "only homeschool" folks look down on you Sir Aaron. Christian parents through prayer and relying on Christ are capable of making the best choices for their children whether it's public schools, Christian private schools or homeschooling.

There are pros and cons to each of those methods and I don't envy the parents that have to make those choices.

Gilbert said...

Sigh. I'm always late to DJP's party. It could be said that I have a life, but then I'd insult Dan and everyone else here. But wait...read this one that Dan missed:

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-0/

Gilbert said...

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/fail-owned-rocket-surg-fail.jpg?w=500&h=375

Oh, boy.

P.D. Nelson said...

DJP as an keeper of four cats, I'd say owner but all we cat people know the difference, I'd say that Fred's assessment of the kitten is accurate. Anything feline that cute is a murderous psychotic inside it's a well known fact.

Also absolutely love the lego stuff it rocks.

threegirldad said...

Sounds like Fred has his own well-worn copy of this book.

Aaron said...

CR:

I had to go talk to my Pastor about the issue, it so bothered me. But now I feel a lot stronger about my decision.

Gilbert: I almost made a similar comment to DJP's initial comment something akin to "some of us actually work at work." As it stands, I didn't get home until 8PM last night and now have to work on Sunday (I'll work between services).

CR said...

Wow, you had to talk to your pastor, Sir Aaron. I hope these weren't people at your own church giving you a hard time.

I've learned when you're pre-occupied being about the Father's business, one has very little time to get involved with petty issues like whose not homeschooling their children or some other "doubtful disputation" (as the KJV calls it).

Aaron said...

CR,

Nobody said anything, but you can definately feel the pressure at my church and in many reformed churches in general. I just had somebody from my church over, and its funny because we have the same issues...It was good to talk to somebody else who shares the same concerns as I do.