Friday, December 18, 2009

Hither and thither 12/18/09

Here's what I've got. Enjoy!
  • Well, it's Christmas-time. You know what that means! More people getting hassled if they dare to bring up, you know, Christ. Like this eight-year-old kid who drew Christ on a cross, and was sent home for depicting a violent image, for which psychiatric intervention was recommended. It's the most wonderful time of the year! Especially at government reeducation camps!
  • Hopeful story. A man's multiple sclerosis has been reversed with the use of stem cells. How many babies had to be sacrificed for this therapy? Zero. They were his own stem cells.
  • "Froggie, with your tummy so bright...." (h-t Julie.)

  • My, my. Fred Butler certainly isn't feeling very sentimental about the death of Oral Roberts. Not at all. Well, truth be told... neither am I. (Al Mohler gives a retrospective that has a lower BTU-count, but comes out roughly at the same place.)
  • Fred quotes Pastor Jack Hayford's sweeping condemnation of the ministry of Oral Roberts: "If God had not, in His sovereign will, raised up the ministry of Oral Roberts, the entire charismatic movement might not have occurred."
  • Wait... that wasn't meant as a condemnation? Oh. Never mind.
  • Dude. An amusement-park ride so scary that you have to sign a waiver? Yikes.
  • I agree with President Obama, who says we are on the "precipice" of major changes to health care.
  • In case you forgot, a "precipice" is "An overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock, such as a crag or the face of a cliff." You know, like what you fall off of, to a violent and bloody death. The secondary definition is "The brink of a dangerous or disastrous situation." Yeppers.
  • Hunh.

  • Hope this doesn't gratuitously offend anyone, but it cracks me up (see "Blog, Concept of"). Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala, smarter than anyone except for that marrying-her-stalker-who-turned-out-to-be-Darth-Vader thingie) will produce and star in a movie called "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."  How can you not chuckle at the title, as well as Garth Franklin's description that it tells "the timeless story of a woman's quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers"? Sounds like a variation on Buffy.
  • Update: my dear wife informs me that it is available at ThinkGeek — but not at Amazon. ThinkGeek also has Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. (Everybody: "Thanks, Valerie.")
  • Title of the Week: How to Perform Soft Belly Meditation. Soft belly? Check. Maybe I should do one on "soft belly Bible study"?
  • It's a well-known fact that the dead tend to vote Democrat. A new study may suggest a reason why that is: more Democrats contact the dead. The article doesn't say whether they count Roman Catholics, who talk to dead mortals all the time. And many Dems are RCs... wait, am I off-topic?
  • Out-smart-alecked.

  • Big news from Houston, Texas, where they elected their first openly-alcoholic mayor. Oh, wait, they'd never do that. The mayor is openly-sociopathic. No no no; openly-child-molesting. Wait, that's not a protected vice, yet. Openly thinks-she's-a-kumquat? No no... openly-dresses-like-a-Federation-cadet? No, that was that lady in that Trekkers movie... doggone it, what was it? Check the article... oh, yeah. Openly homosexual. Ah, that's why it's okay.
  • And btw, lest you think "Well, she's just a really excellent candidate who happens to have this thing in her life, it's not like being turned into an all-consuming issue" — oh, no no no. She is spinning as a major message, a game-changing event that signals fundamental change. Hear her own statement: "This election has changed the world for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. Just as it is about transforming the lives of all Houstonians for the better, and that's what my administration will be about." For that reason and no other, it is called a historic election: because the candidate embraces passions that are repulsive and degrading, rather than seeking liberation from them — and because she's open about it. Gee, and to think some opponents characterized her as a homosexual-agenda caucus candidate. Where did they get that idea?
  • Huh. Oops
  • Ooh, Legos on Hoth. (For more, thanks to reader Yurie Hwang, see here.)

  • A HT First: I'm going to tell you an item I didn't put in. A fellow experimented in spending a space of time using only Middle Ages hygiene. I clicked, and with the first glance at a picture, I was far, far into TMI-ville. Too bad; cute concept.
  • Whew! Glad we got THAT straightened out!

  • Here's a terrific list of Top 20 unfortunate things girls learn from Twilight (h-t to Rachael Starke, not because she was kind enough to point this out to me, but because she linked to it on Facebook).
  • Staying with the subject of women who associate unwisely... I've known of women who'd give this guy a chance. And you have, too:


  • Followed only by this:















25 comments:

NoLongerBlind said...

Some people just need to learn to leave well enough alone. That poor little tree frog; he was feeling all warm and tingly, then he was delighted.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Dan,

Ahhhh, that's better :0)

* So sad, but not surprising, that the 8-year-old was viewed as "disturbed" for drawing a pic of Jesus on the cross. BTW, the second link there, goes to a LOTR on Bluray post, not more about the boy.

* Aussie man being helped by... HIS OWN stem cells... love it! Do you think that'll make a big splash in our media?

* Pride and Prejudice and Zombies... Kerry has been suggesting I read that for months, but I've been resisting. Now, a MOVIE?

* Is it bad that I'm cracking up at the Rifftrack from the Twilight site? Great list, though.

* And, from the boys, LOVE the snowball fight on Hoth :0)

Julie

Aaron said...

Apparently only 100,000 people voted in the Houston election. I just picked up my Dad from the airport and he asked me if I voted. I had to inform him that I don't live within the city limits, so I didn't get to vote. But it does illustrate what happens when Christians do nothing.

Also, with respect to the boy who drew the picture, the teachers say the boy said it was himself with his own name on the cross. OReilly discussed it with Megyn Kelly last night. My problem is with any of this stuff, is that the school's first solution is to solve the problem themselves instead of calling the parent in to discuss it.

Jugulum said...

I posted the Black Kid's Computer Desk link on my Facebook, Twitter, and staff email list (we're a small, informal company). Got major laughs. Thanks, Dan!

Fred Butler said...

I'll have you know that Star Trek uniform wearing woman in Trekkies is from Little Rock, Arkansas by golly.

DJP said...

So are the Clintons.

Coincidence?

Merrilee Stevenson said...

I was on the phone with my parents the other day. They live in the lovely town of Portland, Oregon (mentioned in the story about the gay mayor). They began naming multiple towns throughout Oregon that have openly gay mayors, and--big surprise--they even had a nude bicycling event in downtown Portland with 5,000 participants this past June! I wonder what exciting events Houston will have in store since they have much warmer temperatures than Oregon.

DJP said...

I'm sure it will ennoble and uplift the community.

SolaMommy said...

So you've got these big cities with homosexual mayors...and then you've got Philly, whose tourism board spends an exorbitant amount of money on touting the city as "gay friendly." There are rainbows all over their tourism materials, a "gay-borhood" with rainbows on the street signs (so I've been told), and pride events out the whazoo. It's like it's "trendy" to be homosexual.

Anyway...I heart the froggy :-)

Anonymous said...

The mayor of my town in the UK stopped public money being spent on the town's gay pride event saying the council shouldn't be giving money promoting one lifestyle choice over another.

For some reason he was attacked in the national media.

Rachael Starke said...

Hey, now that I know FB links are a good way to send stuff to you for H and T, I'll do more that way. I see at least one or two a week, think "Oh, can't wait to see what Dan does with that" (because I assume you've already seen it), then forget to send it just in case. But re: Twilight, I swear, I've got some seriously smart, discerning friends who love the series and it just boggles my mind. I've refused to read it up to now - who wants to waste the time or the brain cells?? But I may have to just to get an audience with some of these single gals who are wondering why they're still single.

Wish I had time to click through all the Friday goodness, but just a little busy at the moment. Brother, I know you'd rather be in a church today, but today I'm envying your job where dealing with noodle-brained techies on the phone leaves you plenty of time to just sit and go tappy tappy linky linky Bibley Blbley. (No doubt there will come a day when you are dealing with noodle-brained church members and think back fondly on this day too. :) )

lee n. field said...

Oral Roberts -- funny, how those health and prosperity guys die just like everybody else. Old and sick.

Paula said...

Well, I hate to disagree with the venerable Pastor Hayford, but Rex Humbard, the Pride of Akron, must also be given some 'credit' for the shenanigans of the Pentecostal movement. I just cannot stand by and allow our local legend to be ignored! Indeed, his unfinished tower designed to get 'close to god' stands as a garish, hulking monument to the movement.

******

My fave P & P remake is the Bollywood musical, "Bride and Prejudice".

Admittedly it's a bit cheesy at times - but it's self-consciously so, and as endearing as warm, gushy Indian hospitality...This is not high drama or high art, but it's an accomplished romantic comedy / song-and-dance film, and one that warms the heart and makes you want to wave your arms in the air Indian-dance-style for the sheer joy and exuberance of happy endings.

Yay for the exuberance of happy endings!! : )

threegirldad said...

Re: the boy who drew Christ on a cross...

I just want someone to explain to me why the school principal and the superintendent aren't being "required to undergo a psychological evaluation."

GrammaMack said...

There are dozens of successful treatments with adult stem cells and more being discovered all the time, zero that I know of with embryonic stem cells. And yet a lot of money and time is wasted on that evil research.

Two of my crazy kids read that zombies book. Here's what one said about it on his blog:

About a week ago, my little brother called me from the bookstore...He came upon Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and I said, “Oh, I want to read that!” He bought it and called me a couple of days later.

If I recall correctly, his review was essentially: “The only good parts were the parts Jane Austen wrote. They added zombies, killing, and overt sexual innuendo. It all felt tacked on and needless.”

I found it in our library (Support your librarians! They put up with more crap than you can imagine!) and got it out to read it and see what I thought.

Matt was right. I don’t often say that because I don’t want him to get high on his horse, but, boy, was he right. It’s just not very good. You’ve heard of addition by subtraction? This feels like subtraction by addition. The story is worse. The clever parts were Jane Austen’s anyway.

Sorry we let them do that to your work Jane. We’ll get them one day. Probably in the zombie apocalypse.

Fred Butler said...

So are the Clintons.

Coincidence?


Funny you should say that, she was on the jury during the whitewater trial and was dismissed for her refusal to dress like a normal person.

jmb said...

lee n. field said...

"Oral Roberts -- funny, how those health and prosperity guys die just like everybody else. Old and sick."

But prosperous.

Rachael Starke said...

Paula,

We love Bride and Prejudice. And when I say we, I mean my husband too. I can't convince him to take a regular ballroom dancing class with me, but that movie almost convinced him to take Bollywood dancing lessons. Go figure.

And now that I know I don't need to go read the Zombie version, I can say that I'm beginning to catch Dan's wife's syndrome where she doesn't want to know anything about the actresses in movies she likes. I used to think Natalie Portman was stunningly beautfiul and articulate and smart. But the interviews I've read here and elsewhere, and her recent appalling, not possibly recommendable, stint on Top Chef, soured me on her forever. I used to think Queen Amidala was an aberration, but not anymore.

Lisa said...

I had no idea about the MS thing and harvesting your own stem cells. Thanks for linking that.

Lisa said...

Thanks for posting the MS thing

Colloquist said...

Appears we've now got one foot in the air, over the edge of that precipice Dear Leader spoke of.

Nelson caved. Reid has 60.

Doom.

I like the froggie story MUCH better.

DJP said...

Rabbit, that's awfully bad news to start my day; but I can't say I'm surprised.

He's a Democrat. Moral issues are going to matter to him? How?

That's what I thought at the day's end yesterday. Will Nelson cave, I wondered? My response was just that: he's a Democrat. What would motivate him to do the right thing?

Unstable Christians are trying to be Democrats to show how dangerous and cool and cutting-edge they are, but it still comes down to the same place:

1. There are two viable political parties in America.

2. If you have distinctively Christian moral concerns, and think of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as a good foundation, you'll find a home for those ideas in the Republican party.

3. If you do not, you'll go Democrat - and vice-versa.

trogdor said...

Researchers at Northwestern University have done similar work on MS. We're watching to see if another round of clinical trials becomes available, and if so, trying to decide whether my wife should volunteer. It would be great for her to be healed or at least to stop the progression, but the procedure is pretty harsh (very similar to a bone marrow transplant), so we'd need to figure out if it's worth it. But the encouraging thing is that such procedures are possible and appear to be extremely viable, and it wouldn't require killing an innocent person to make her more comfortable.

Paula said...

Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, wrote in this month's "Imprimis"

The economic policies being proposed these days are very bad. But the principles behind them are worse. They represent a return to the idea that the American Revolution repudiated—the idea that some are equipped by nature or training to manage the lives of others without their consent....What is bad is the view underlying them of what human beings are. Rather than looking on us as equal beings with a set nature—such that none of us should rule another in the way that God rules man or man rules beast—our political leaders today have been taught to see us as material to be shaped and perfected by experts who have the proper technical training.

Isn't that at the heart of the difference between Democrats and Republicans today?

Anonymous said...

I just can't believe that NoLongerBlind didn't even get a sniff for his "delighted" frog comment.

NLB, are you sure you're not my dad? That line has his name all over it...