Hither and thither 1/8/10

What do I have for you, beside affection and appreciation? Oh, just this:

• If you keep tarantulas as pets — and who doesn't? — make sure that you're very careful about it...hairs? (Word you'll need to know: ur•ti•cate \ˈər-tə-ˌkāt\ verb intransitive -cat•ed; -cat•ing [Medieval Latin urticatus, past participle of urticare to sting, from Latin urtica] 1843 : to produce wheals or itching especially : to induce hives.)
• If it were America instead of China, there'd be a ban on chopsticks.  (NOTE: disturbing image, but happy ending, in article here.)
• You know... those Calvin and Hobbes snowmen are a lot grosser when done in real-life.
  
• Am I too much of a dad, or what? I watch this video. I think, "Wow, that guy's pretty limber." But you know what I mostly think?  I mostly think, "So... if they ever need to hire someone who can do that — hop on skateboards, run up walls a little bit, juggle boxes in odd positions — I guess he's their man."
• Twins?

• Homosexuals are being urged to take a more positive ("nuanced") view of Joel Osteen and other religious leaders. Why? Because Osteen points them to the holiness of God, the truth of the Gospel, the power of Christ to save, the Biblical imperatives for Christian growth in holiness and knowledge of God? Oh, sorry... should I have warned you not to be drinking coffee? Yeah, so the answer would be no. It's because he blessed the empowerment of a homosexual activist to push the homosexual agenda in Texas. Apparently, Osteen or his leadership accepts some claim the unrepentant homosexual woman has made to being a "believer" (—in what?), and shrugs off responsibility for affirming clear Biblical teaching to the Holy Spirit.
• What did Osteen pray? Among (presumably)other things, Osteen prayed "God, we just thank you for raising her up. We honor her today and other elected officials," and "We count it a joy and an honor to be here."
• Moving at least one homosexual advocacy site to name Osteen and the mayor "Best Couple of 2010." 
• Ah, Charismatics. Well, for the historians, this blog has been on-record about Osteen for a long time.
  
• From e pluribus unum to e pluribus...nullum? (Magister Stevenson will correct the Latin if need be.) Susan caught this scary Fox news story, that thousands of immigrants from terrorist-watch countries are being allowed in on "Diversity visas," designed by (you guessed it) Democrat congressmen.
• Disastrous RNC chairman Michael Steele tells his conservative critics, "Fire me or shut up." I think that's an excellent idea. And I'm not referring to the "shut up" part.
• Worst Idea Ever? Surely not...but close. But I was sent an ad for an iPhone prayer app that will automatically generate (and email!) prayers for people whose names you enter. Sort of a high-tech prayer-wheel, I guess. (Thought: could you generate a prayer centered on Matthew 6:7?)
• Perhaps we should add an ongoing Things That Shouldn't Need To Be Said feature?

• All righty then. This is different. Lego electric chair. Just...huh? (From reader Joel Griffith.)
  
• Do you hike? This is both a jaw-dropping little video, and a cautionary tale. But note: bad word at about 20 seconds. So you might want to mute it. It's almost more amazing without sound.
  
• Apparently the Obama White House is forced to choose between doing the State of the Union in the time-slot of American Idol, or the premiere episode of the last season of Lost. Personally, I'd rather watch American Idol, and (...wait for it...) I never watch American Idol.

• Bet Obama makes up his mind on that one faster than he did Afghanistan.
  
• Misread Title of the Week. Often, the way I read titles is far better than the titles themselves. Over at Pyro, Phil linked to an article titled "Police expect no charges in youth group diaper skit." Odd enough, in itself. Here's how I read it: Police expect no changes in youth group diaper skit.Yeah, well... I'd hope not.
  
• Strawberries are cool and yummy. Hey look, a strawberry! I'll just...yowch!
  
• New York citizens can rest easy, knowing that the police have arrested two hardened, years-long...homeschooling parents? Yep, this hapless couple has fallen afoul of the regulations, and now they must pay. No word on whether they'll be required to buy Camp Obama T-shirts for their kids. yet.
  
• Care to see the most useless machine ever? 'Course you do.
  
• Wooden floors + cats = good times.

• When I was single — which I was for a long time — I often thought married churchfolks forgot us, and planned everything around married types. So, to make sure this blog isn't that way... here are some tips for dating on a budget.
• My first hope for a terrorist wannabe would be that he hear and believe the good news about Jesus Christ. Failing that, a good Proverbs 26:27 can be a pretty sweet second.

• The Obama administration expressed disappointment that they wouldn't have the opportunity to arrest the men, read them their Miranda rights, appoint attorneys, and hold a public trial so that the world could "understand where they're coming from" better.
• Being an out-of-the-closet dispensationalist, I gotta love literal... even in a cat.

• Okay, I made that last one up. But I had you going, didn't I?
• It will surely come as a relief to some to hear that one pyschologist's study concluded that adults who remember being spanked "perform more volunteer work and are more optimistic than others who were not physically disciplined." The psych in question teaches at Calvin College, and seems messed-up on the issue, anyway. Hm. Maybe it's a better idea just to do what the Bible says, and not wait for the next study? I know, that's crazy talk. Just thinking aloud.
  
• I do love my iPhone... but maybe not this much:

• Hey wait a minute... that still works for marrieds, too. Win!!
  
• A reminder to our own beloved Shinar Squirrel that he should watch his step. (The second time you watch it, focus on the lower left-hand corner of the picture.)

• Parting images