Friday, August 14, 2009

Hither and thither 8/14/09

Today's assortment is very... very... what's the word I want?
  • Knowing how many Domestic Engineers grace these pages, I offer this: extraordinary uses for rubbing alcohol. (That, and I'll want to be able to find it some day.)
  • Tell me again: why would anyone go to another blog? It's all here. All of it.
  • Check this out. I think "Waaaaaaugh!!" just about sums it up.
  • Another contribution to our liberals cannot be honest meme. What if more Americans heard Congresswoman Maxine ("Marxine") Waters' slip of the tongue, and actually thought about it? Oopsie.
  • Well, this could explain a lot:
  • FAIL!!! I'm not certain how I came on this; I think that FAIL pictures at FreeRepublic led me to the failblog.org site, and the rest is history. Now you can read that history... well, not my history, but the history of FAIL. How pervasive is the use of "FAIL" as an interjection? It's in the manuscript for my book. We'll see if it survives the editing process. (btw h-t to Al Sends for the second graphic below.)


  • Mark Steyn relates another horror-story from a long-established (i.e. bugs should be all worked out by now) government healthcare environment. Money-quotation: "her onward referral was managed safely and appropriately." Well, sure; except for the falling-over-dead part.
  • Evolutionists have to blame someone for the fact that not everybody buys into their creation myth. The Usual Suspects are evil, ignorant, invariably-nonscientific creationists of any stripe whatever. But wait! That's not all! They've figured out they need to wipe out The Flintstones and Barney, too! (I can get behind that second suggestion; h-t Doug Hibbard)
  • The elite absolutely loathe Sarah Palin. Which in itself is quite the commendation. I think Doug Wilson makes a really excellent point in It Took Her Five Minutes. What other political leader on the conservative side can so easily command that much attention, or even half as much? Who's the conservative political leader in resisting government health care takeover? I honestly can't come up with a name. Well, just that one.
  • And lookie here: it gets results, too. You can't buy that kind of influence — and, goodness knows, Mitt Romney has tried.
  • British physician "Theodore Dalrymple" finds that dogs in his country receive better health-care than the government provides for humans. (h-t Angie)
  • Squirrels! Cute picture, cute story.
  • They are readying my retirement suite in Bedlam now. This page is sad enough; the climax — unless the irony is intentional — has to be this:
  • Plus, of course:








62 comments:

SolaMommy said...

Whoa...at first I didn't realize that was a Bible cover. Now I'm even more disturbed.

CR said...

OH MY GOSH! I did a double take. I thought the Bible cover was one of those political parody pictures that Dan gets from a website. I didn't get it until SolaMommy's comment. The BO Bible cover is for real?!

DJP said...

I know, I know. Utterly unhinged, isn't it?

And They say we exaggerate.

Stefan Ewing said...

Dan:

Thanks for the link to Dr. Harmon's page on the relationship of the Kingdom of God to social justice.

This is an obviously huge area of practical theology, differing views on which run the gamut of the Christian (and professing Christian) spectrum—and one that I just haven't been able to fully grapple with.

Figuring out my eschatological and soteriological convictions was much easier, by comparison.

My verification word is "ackboa," as in "Ack! [A] boa!"

Mark Patton said...

Love these hither and thither post (along with most everything else -- daily lurker).

So, are you as quick with the blade?

DJP said...

...which is Senegalese for

"I T ' S

A

T R A P ! ! ! "

Mark Patton said...

No trap. Just trying to "join the community" in a whimsical manner. I have enjoyed reading (and using) 25 Stupid Reasons to Diss Dispensationalism, and many other postings. Your testimony is a great blessing. I find myself (after reading here) saying often that I wish I had said that.

Anywho .... You have been a great encouragement!

DJP said...

No no no, Mark; see, you and I commented at the exact same time. Check the time-stamp.

I was replying to the last line of Stefan's comment, "My verification word is 'ackboa,' as in 'Ack! [A] boa!'"

It was an allusion to this Very Special Edition of H&T.

Although it does almost work as a reply to yours!

Welcome.

(c:

Mark Patton said...

I guess I don't follow as regularly as I should. Followed the link......Thanks for the laugh.

DJP said...

(Don't tell anyone, Mark, but it's one of my favorites. Maybe for sheer silliness.)

Fred Butler said...

I remember there were once these posters with GW Bush praying, with the spectral images of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington standing on each side of him laying their hands on the guy like they were guardian angels or something. Underneath was the passage from 2 Chronicles about a nation humbling itself and so forth.

Of course, I always wondered why they pick those two particular presidents. Why not Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleavland?

CR said...

You know, having lunch right now and just being able to go over so links. I LOL at work here when I watched Maxine Waters! One of my co-worker was like what are you watching, what's so funny?

"Let me tell what this liberal is all about, she's all about socializing...uuuuh, I mean, uhhhh...what's the word I'm looking for, taking over....

Aaron said...

11 minutes and Ibuprofren for chest pain? Wow. There would be malpractice suits galore here over something like that.

Does the back side of the Obama bible cover have a list of local abortion providers?

Paula said...

Running out the door so this is a drive-by which probably is full of typos...but....

1. Barney must die - agreed.
2. I never in 36 billion years would have thought Barney/Flintstones were being used by creationists to indoctrinate children. If anything, I would have thought creationists would be upset about the cave-man-y stuff in Flintstones. OTOH, peeps living with dinos isn't a bad apologetic!
3. G-rated Fail Blog if you (and your kids) don't want to scroll through the offensive pics. Same site, just screened for (most) offensive content.
4. Re: Sarah Palin. Newt gives the most cogent Republican arguments against Obamacare, but he's washed up and (I hope) relegated to intellectual and advisory pursuits. I'm encouraged to see that Rick Santorum may be throwing his hat in the ring. He has a few ounces of charisma, though not the Palin factor. He's got a bit more intellectual depth and more experience.Other than that, I think the Republicans have been sitting back letting the Dems self-destruct.

We are set to have some fun in Ohio with John Kasich (Fox News correspondent) running for Gov.

The Squirrel said...

Just so you all know, that's not me in that picture from Canada. I live about 8 hours south of Banff, that's a Columbia ground squirrel, I'm not. Just so you know.

:o)

~Squirrel

Rachael Starke said...

1. Okay, that Bible Cover thing makes me physically ill. It's blasphemous on at least two levels. I saw a Review link for people to offer opinions. Wonder if I can offer up mine?

And Fred, I remember that too and it made me just as ill (alright, not quite, but very close). I think the reason they did it to W was because he truly is a believer and a lot of Christians got wild and crazy notions in their head that everything would be just fine and dandy in God's Country with God's Man at the helm. ((Cue the air horn)). I'm actually still surprised that more people don't make the connection that two of the least popular presidents in history were professing Christians.

Let the record state that I chose the words least popular rather than least successful, and professing rather than actual very carefully. :)

As for His Unholiness, well he's most definitely not a Christian, but he does play one on T.V.

Rachael Starke said...

And yep on the Wilson piece. When he's wrong, he's waaaaay wrong (ahem, tattoos, for goodness' sake?), but when he's right, his writing is just a thing of beauty.

And if I say that I've saved the link on the rubbing alcohol page and am now eagerly anticipating winter just so I can whip out my little spray bottle and hit the ice on the windshield in the morning,

do you still promise to keep this wonderful weekly cornucopia free of charge? I read Rupert Murdoch is getting ready to start charging for access to his news empire, and other than the WSJ, your stuff is way better than the drivel he passes off as news.

Trinian said...

I remember there were once these posters with GW Bush praying, with the spectral images of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington...

My mother in law has that very sticker on her door. I have this particular vein that pops out at the bizarre belief that those men were Christians.

Jay said...

The radical left wingers are getting more and more bold about vocalling their ultimate intentions.

Too bad most Americans are suffering from acute "cranial rectumitis" to notice. One day they'll wake up and ask what happened.

Aaron said...

The tattoos pieces were interesting. Little overboard.

DJP said...

Hm. Isn't it about time for Susan to show up?

trogdor said...

"Who's the conservative political leader in resisting government health care takeover? I honestly can't come up with a name. Well, just that one."

Thought you might like to know that the latest conservative voice making the rounds denouncing socialism is...

Ronald Reagan!

I heard a few clips of this on a certain mid-day radio show today. Since then I've seen the link a few times. Definitely worth a listen, he completely nailed it almost 50 years ago.

NoLongerBlind said...

ECLECTIC!

(The word I think you were looking for....)

Just my community service for the day.....

DJP said...

Thank you! Goodness! I was wondering if anyone would ever....

NoLongerBlind said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan said...

Dan: "Hm. Isn't it about time for Susan to show up?"

Eh?? Surely you don't mean me...do you? I've been missing a lot of stuff lately--have been too tired lately to read through the posts. Plan to read this H&T in random batches, but here are some thoughts so far:

1. That samurai baseball clip is so cool! One of the hosts (in the red suit) was a co-host in one of my all-time favorite Japanese cooking shows (not the original, ridiculously funny Iron Chef). This Japanese show boasts of two hosts, two master chefs, two teams of hungry celebrities, and two star ingredients (one for each dish). The bottom line is for the celebrities to choose the dish that most appeals to them at the end of the show, and the dish that receives the most votes also becomes the voters' dinner. (The losers get to eat NOTHING!!) Here's a clip that shows a special ingredient. (There are subtitles! When the camera cuts from the videotape back to the studio and the ingredient is revealed, you will hear those famous waaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHs....)

2. Yes, I've tried rubbing alcohol on the phone before. You know what also works well? Any scented sprays with alcohol content from Bath & Body Works (I'm sure The Body Shop's products also work). Not only does it clean the phone, it makes it smell great! (I think the reason I used it that one time was because I couldn't find any rubbing alcohol around...don't remember....)

3. The "Comrades" poster is hilarious!! (I am appreciative of the fact that in this country we are still allowed to publish political satire!! May such freedom live long and prosper!)

4. Frank Pastore hits yet another one out of the ball park. On his radio show (either yesterday or the day before, I forget which) he read some excerpts from this scathing article from a liberal on Obama's healthcare plan. I still haven't read the whole thing, but the excerpts he quoted really bite, so I thought I'd share them with y'all.

All right, gtg. Just so tired lately....

P.S. My word verification is falin. Ha! Talk about killing two H&T topics with one word!! ("FAIL" and "Palin", of course.)

Susan said...

Here's the other special ingredient for the other dish from that same Japanese cooking show episode. (Start the video at around 2:54.) Warning: Toward the end of the big catch, you will see the fishermen eat the shrimp raw (and alive!). (Yao Ming would be proud....)

Susan said...

From Doug Wilson's post on Palin:

The East Coast elites have been very busy trying out the option of patronizing her -- because it is clear she would not make a very good Duchess of Darkness. They can put her in a Transylvanian castle, and vividly describe a bad lightning storm, and give her a black dress, and have you sit down with her for tea with some spooky organ music in the background, and then she would say, "That tea hot enough for ya?"

I can totally hear Palin say that! She'd make a terrible Elvira....

Anonymous said...

The Comrades! poster is among the best I've seen.

Maybe people will start putting them up like they're doing with the Joker posters. THAT would be classic.

Barbara said...

I'm not sure if it's the Bible cover or the Repentance Brings Change magnet that would qualify as the climax on that site.

Yikes.

DJP said...

I'm slack-jawed, Barbara.

Is that devastating irony, or disastrous blindness?

DJP said...

Susan, that Yao-Ming commercial is hysterical.

DJP said...

Susan, LOL, on the 2/5, the WAUGHs start at about 7:10.

Mike Westfall said...

Here's one that I didn't see at FailBlog. It's a commercial that will probably never be shown in America.

Lust Fail.

DJP said...

Ouch. That was a surprise.

Susan said...

Ouch, Mesa Mike!! How terrible!! (Wonder which country produced it--must not be Catholic!!)

Anonymous said...

The WSJ guy's experience isn't mine.
Vets in the UK are all money-grabbing, cat-hating so-and-sos who try to get you to spend money on unnecessary procedures and besmirch your character if you refuse their sales-pitch.

I really wish I knew more about Obama's plans. All the coverage over here is about how Americans are having a go at the NHS. Which is the modern equivalent of tossing tea over the side of a boat in Boston harbour. We're not happy.

What are the main arguments against Obama's plans?

Barbara said...

Dan, neither, maybe just a slight difference in perspective.

Both products point to our current president as the answer to repentance and prayer, and while one uses the holy writ to do so, the other uses a clearly biblical concept that points directly to the act of redemption so that now they are potentially confusing the purpose of repentance from the get-go. Both tremendously disturbing on so many levels. But - maybe I'm just so horribly used to that verse being ripped all out of context to mean all kinds of things, but when I think of repentance bringing change, I can't see how that is something that would be misconstrued (unlike the Chron. verse) into some sort of odd nationalistic concept. Ain't the first time in history that verse has been twisted that way, (though usually by the prosperity proponents) won't be the last.

But the word and concept of repentance? Yikes - when I think of the change wrought through repentance I think immediately of the new birth, redemption, the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit giving us that which belongs to the real Messiah.

Still, I think if they're going to make an Obama bible cover, they really needed to go with 1 Samuel 8. That would make far more sense.

Solameanie said...

The Egyptian thing reminds me of the Bangles. (with a little Michael Jackson and The One thrown in)

CR said...

Philbaiden:I really wish I knew more about Obama's plans.

So do we here in the US. The problem here in the US is that President Obama is dishonest about his intentions. We know that he wants single payer but he has been lying saying he's not for it. Here in the US, Congress starts the legislation process and the President agrees or disagrees.

I don't have time or space to go into all the arguments against Obamacare. But here is the main one. Obama says he wants to be able to pay for universal care by raising taxes and healthcare saving costs (through "cost savings" of medicare.) Everytime you read "cost savings" of health care that means rationing. The reason why is because you only spend healthcare on sick people, not people that are well. So the only savings you can make is by spending less money on people that are sick and you can only do that by rationing their care.

So, for example, you have long lines to see specialists. It takes months to be referred to a specialist in Canada or the UK. Here in the United States, it's days. So if you think about it, if you have rationed care and takes a while to see a specialist and you have been diagnosed of some disease like cancer and it's in an advance care, under Obamacare many of these people who are diagnosed would be dead before their disease can even begin to be treated.

I forget what the percentages are, but I think seniors are 70 or so percent of the healthcare costs in the US. Well, that goes without saying. Because as you get older you get more sick. The only way you can save healthcare costs is that you have to save some money where the majority of the costs are being spent. They are being spent on seniors. How do you spend less money on seniors, you ration their care.

I said is as BTW, but thanks to Gov. Palin, the death panels have been removed from the Senate Finance Committee Bill. Gov. Palin wasn't the only one to use the term Death Panels. Sen. Grassley (R) whose also on that Finance Committee used the term "government death panels."

He's a nice guy, but unfortunately, he's also a nobody. It was Gov. Palin's accurate labeling of the Death Panels that caused the uproar in state-run media which caused the electorate to investigate what was all the commotion about. That uproar led to the Death Panels being removed from consideration of the Senate Finance Bill.

CR said...

Rachael,

I've been reading the WSJ for almost 15 years now. In my opinion, there was very little change in the news, reporting and editoral content when News Corp. took over. That was sort of one of deals of the take over of the WSJ by News Corp that Murdoch wouldn't change that for WSJ.

Oh and yeah, I remember emailing Dan yesterday morning when I didn't see the H&T come up when I checked it around 7:45 am. I was having H&T withdrawals and palpitations of the heart. He said he wasn't feeling well and didn't sleep well and was still working on it.

Heh, as if being sick and real tired and having personal and family obligations is a good excuse. I admonished and rebuked him for it.

Colloquist said...

Feeling better today, Dan?

DJP said...

Not only did I hear from Carlo, but also from my dear wife and DAOD. It tickled me.

Carlo, not only is Grassley nobody, but he's duller than watching paint dry. I followed the Bork hearings closely, and he was one of the panel. Oh my gosh, time came to a stand-still every time that dead-eyed, well-meaning man opened his mouth.

Yes, Jill, thankfully I am feeling better. Here in the Godforsaken stretch of blight that is Sacramento, allergies run so bad that you don't know if it's that or a cold. My dear wife suffered badly from an allercold for days. It looked as if I were getting it, but I'm actually better without having gotten nearly so bad-off as she.

Which is great, because I really have to work on the book, get the polishing finished. AND I am to have the joy of preaching next Sunday.

DJP said...

Rachael: the only time I even passingly think of charging is when people — seldom here, mostly at Pyro — bitterly complain about me/us doing or not doing this or that.

Perhaps you've heard me urge them to "ask for a full refund at the door."

Truth is, this ministry probably has meant more to me than to anyone else.

Mike Westfall said...

Dan, go ahead and double our dues. H&T is worth it.

threegirldad said...

when people — seldom here, mostly at Pyro — bitterly complain about me/us doing or not doing this or that

If only you would change your tone, these complaints would vanish like magic. Without a doubt.

H&T long ago became one of the highlights of my week. I had to smile when Carlo mentioned withdrawals. ;-)

Just for fun: who remembers Hither & Thither's original name?

DJP said...

The first BibChr Trivia Contest.

I have now arrived.

(c:

NoLongerBlind said...

"Just for fun: who remembers Hither & Thither's original name?"

Very Varied Variouses?

Earliest "titled" Friday post I could find.....

Please email me if I need to be in attendance at the award ceremony.

DJP said...

Ooh, that isn't what I would have answered.

/c:

threegirldad said...

NLB,

I guess Dan will be the final judge, but that isn't the one I had in mind. ;-)

What we now know and love as H&T was often published multiple times a week before Dan decided to make it a Friday standard.

Maybe that hint will help...

DJP said...

Well then, I think I was right. :^P

Though NLB's answer, I think, came earlier in the fabled history of BibChr.

DJP said...

...occasionally.

threegirldad said...

OK, I went and looked at Very varied variouses. It really isn't the same thing (sez I). But in the process of chasing it down, I found a Friday post from the previous month (which NLB missed?) under the catchy title A Friday borgaschmord. If memory serves, both of those posts were published before I discovered BibChr (then again, memory seems to be serving less and less lately, so who knows?)

So, "A Friday borgaschmord" appears to have been the proto-[insert answer to trivia question here], which in turn became H&T. :-)

NoLongerBlind said...

Well, in the midst of the overwhelming number of responses, I'll submit two more guesses,uh, make that well-researched suggestions:

1. "Don't Miss These" - found several occurrences in pre-downfall, I mean pre-election Fall '08.

2. "Random Thoughts" - the only other titled H & T - type posts I could find.

My original answer precedes both of these in the historical sense, though!

DJP said...

No links = doesn't count.

threegirldad said...

Your #1 is what I was looking for.

"Johnny, err, Dan, tell him what he's won!"

What's the date stamp on "Random Thoughts"? Is it earlier than Feb '07?

DJP said...

Hm. The Random Thoughts I found was 2006.

And it may also be the earliest occurrence of NEXT!

threegirldad said...

Doh!!! Well, so much for that. Still, it was fun. Thanks for indulging me.

NoLongerBlind said...

Well, Dan beat me to it. I was actually working my way forward, going through the ancient manuscripts systematically, month-by-month, literally scouring the archival treasure-trove, looking for the earliest occurrence.

I had worked my way up to September 2006, when I came across my extra credit submission, started to put it in a comment, and noticed Dan's finding - ONE MONTH FORWARD from my then-current location.

*** cue audience sighhhh **

At any rate, for extra credit, here's a prehistoric rant about one inappropriate use of apostrophe s:

Just STOP "it's"!

(Ironic, eh DJP?)

Anonymous said...

Great to see this..thanks for sharing..

___________________
Andrew
Get easy cash at your door step

Tim said...

A little late, but here's a caption for the squirrel pic:

"Quick, Martha! Take the picture before the humans run away again!"

Tim said...

Hey, that was a pretty weak attempt at spamouflage (spam camouflaged as a legitimate comment) just above my previous post.