Friday, January 08, 2010

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.



  • 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


















28 comments:

JackW said...

Speaking of the iPhone, I’m surprised you didn’t say anything about Justin Taylor’s new Between Two Worlds iPhone app. Jealous? ;-)

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/01/04/between-two-worlds-iphone-app/

I wish my cats were that funny.

The Squirrel said...

All I have to say is, "Yikes, and awaaaaay!"

Really, who would do that to a cute, sweet, innocent squirrel? Depravity. Depravity everywhere...

Oh, & loved the snowman thing. I always thought those were the best C&H cartoons!

~Squirrel

CGrim said...

Osteen is just plain awful, but in fairness, that article does say he (or his staff member) thinks homosexuality is a sin, and that if her faith is genuine, the Holy Spirit will convict her of her sin.

Osteen aside, I hope any sincere Christians in Houston are praying for wisdom for their mayor as a civic authority and repentance for her as a person.

The snowman link is amazing.

DJP said...

There wasn't anything unfair about my comments, Grim.

Quote from the church "spokesman":

"Annise says she's a believer. Let her stand before God; that's kind of where Joel is," Iloff noted. "He's not going to tell homosexuals they can't come to our church. If the Holy Spirit convicts them, then they'll change."

Osteen does not affirm homosexual behavior. Though the pastor himself has never specifically called it a "sin," his spokesman Iloff says they believe homosexuality is a sin. But sin is sin and homosexuality is no worse a sin than others, such as adultery, Iloff pointed out.


Combine that "Oh well that's up to the Spirit" and Osteen's giddy prayer, and contrast it with the description of the job Osteen took on himself (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

They don't say, "If the Holy Spirit wants people to have their best life now, they will."

That's significant.

Mike Riccardi said...

About the "diaper charges" vs. "diaper changes," I just read this over at the DG blog:

Are parachurches biblical? Should we support them financially?

And thought I read this:

Are parachuters biblical? Should we support them financially?

DJP said...

I like it! Exactly!

Aaron said...

Osteen aside, I hope any sincere Christians in Houston are praying for wisdom for their mayor as a civic authority and repentance for her as a person.

Before Christians in Houston pray for her to repent, they need to repent themselves for failing to show up to vote.

Aaron said...

"Hey wait a minute... that still works for marrieds, too. Win!!

Why wouldn't the Iphone bedding work for married? Or did you mean to put that with the dating entry?

;)

I've always said, homeschoolers are a logical target of liberal elites. After talk radio and the internet is censored, you think they'll let you homeschool your kids? Ha!

I'm surprised Lisa Miller's fugitive status didn't make this week's H&T.

SolaMommy said...

That squirrel thing will make my hubby's day! I can see a future homeschool science experiment coming on.

As long as we can move out of NY.

threegirldad said...

When I was a kid living in the Caribbean, I had a steady stream of tarantulas as pets. There was many a time when my dad pulled over onto the shoulder of the road so I could get out of the car and scoop one up. Never had trouble with the hairs. Just lucky, I guess...

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Love that squirrel catapult - sorry Mr. Squirrel! Bring your kids out west, SolaMommy, and my kids will join yours!

Love, love, love the C&H snowmen... similar things have been seen in my own yard, without the fake blood.

And the tarantula... the boys reminded me that coatis know just how to deal with tarantulas and their stinging hairs. You can see them in action here... if I did that right.

Wow... Mr. Limber is pretty amazing. Not sure I want to show that to the boys after I saw that he has links to "tutorials" at the end. *shudder*

Oh my word... a Lego electric chair! Creepy, but then Gunnar once built a Lego crematorium for his Jedi, "because being cremated is an honor, Mama."

I promise, he's not disturbed!

Happy Weekend,

Julie

Rachael Starke said...

Just read that the Panty Bomber pled Not Guilty. No words....

The Squirrelpult was just hilarious. Maybe it was a stunt squirrel??? :)

And the DMV sign was perfect.

When I read the Michael Steele piece, I thought "Good grief. He's channeling Barack Obama!!" There's a good piece in the WSJ this morning about the "Young Guns", an up and coming group of younger Republicans that just may help turn things around. Because Steele sure isn't. And he's not even an elected anything right? He's just a paid ....something? I honestly can't think of one helpful thing he's said or done since he's been in that job.

SandMan said...

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."

Bet Jackie Chan's dad wondered the same thing when his boy was coming up.

SolaMommy said...

Herding, believe me, we would LOVE to! We actually would like to move back to PA to be closer to some sick family members. We're hoping PA turns out to be more conducive to homeschooling as well. Anybody know if that's true?

Rachael, ROFL @ "Panty Bomber" :-D

The "diversity visa" story is frightening.

Paula said...

So, who else is under two feet of global warming right now? We just drove back to Ohio from Alabama, where schools were closed today due to the extreme global warming.

Anyway....I've had tarantula hairs in my lip, causing minor swelling and irritation. I can't imagine having them in your eye! Yikes!

RE: Obama vs. American Idol. I learned while on vacation last week that Obama is much more tolerable if you watch him on the Spanish channel. Pleasant, almost.

RE: Michael Steele. If you have time, read this series of questions the candidates for RNC chairman answered a year ago in response to a survey sent out by Morton Blackwell. Steele's answers make him sound like a true political opportunist. Steele's list of qualifications for a Republican candidate:

A. Strong commitment to Republican principles

B. Understanding of community values and issues

C. Ability to articulate motivational, contrasting messages concisely.

D. Ability to attract appropriate talent and resources.

E. Relevant experience.

F. Ability to inspire and motivate volunteers and grassroots.

G. Fire in the belly.


blah, blah, blah...

Is it any wonder the party is in disarray?

candy said...

The snowmen cartoons were always my favorite.

I think the over 50 FAIL pic is from here in Reno. The owner of the Sands casino always puts his face on the picture of a white haired lady and calls it his mom. He does other more distressing billboards of women....amply endowed...and puts provocative statements alongside the pics.

Obama better NOT give his speech during the premiere of LOST or a LOT of people including ME will be very UPSET! We just may revolt.

Paula said...

Rachael said, Just read that the Panty Bomber pled Not Guilty. No words....

Mark Steyn called him "The Knickerbomber" too. He does have a way with words!

@Solamommy - PA has some of the worst, most restrictive homeschool laws in the country.

candy said...

The limber guy? If he could tap dance, he could be like Donald O'Conner in "Singin' in the Rain".

Paula said...

@ Candy....you can relax and put away your weapons (or whatever you were planning to use for your revolt). Robert Gibbs assures us that the State of the Union address won't pre-empt LOST.

Solameanie said...

I love the iPhone bedding. Wonder when they'll come up with embalming table bedding complete with machine for the bedside stand?

SolaMommy said...

Paula: UGH. Well, whether in NY or PA, I plan to join a homeschool advocacy group and be involved in a local homeschool group. I already know people in both states who are doing it, so hopefully having the connections will make everything go smoother. Nothing quite like living on the liberal east coast, I guess, and all the more reason to homeschool!

trogdor said...

The first tarantula to figure out that if it developed special hairs that could be dislodged by rubbing its legs together to form a cloud of hairs which could lodge in a predator's eyes was an absolute genius!

Joel Osteen isn't completely wonderful? Huh.

The homeschooling issue shows how far things in this country have fallen. It's now assumed that the state has the right to dictate our educations, and we need special permission to deviate from what the government says. Instead of the government being accountable to the people, this issue clearly shows that the people are accountable to the government.

The cats on floors thing reminds me of what my brothers and I used to do with our dogs. We'd spray a wide streak of Pledge on the linoleum tile floor, then stand by their food dishes and call them. They'd come running, hit the Pledge, wipe out, and slide for maybe twelve feet into the kitchen. Always entertaining, but we needed to make sure to clean up real good before the parents got home so no one would die.

DJP said...

Good points, Trog... well, except the dog-abuse. Good thing for you that most dogs aren't that bright.

Tarantulas could've been an "Isn't Evolution Wonderful?" If I can just get a vid of one firing off his hairs....

Herding Grasshoppers said...

SolaMommy,

I don't see an email on your profile page so I hope Dan will forgive me for leaving you a message here... (sheepish smile)... have you heard of the HSLDA? (The Home School Legal Defense Association). They have tons of helpful information about homeschooling regulation and - if you join - will defend your right to homeschool legally if you run into trouble.

That's where Paula has linked :0)

Julie

SolaMommy said...

Thanks, Julie! I will definitely check them out...looks like PA wouldn't require for me to register my son and jump thru hoops till he's 6, so we've got a few more years. *deep breath* Sometimes it seems overwhelming. Trogdor is right, and I'm already starting to feel like a renegade!

Moon said...

- Ohhh i'm dying to see snow for the very first time just so i can try to make one of those Calvin and Hobbes snowmen...

- Joel Osteen doesn't surprise me at all...when you're trying to please everybody whilst trying to still pretend to be a Christian this is what you get...and someone on a friend's facebook was asking what the problem was, and if we would still be complaining if the mayor wasn't a lesbian...and you know what if the the mayor wasn't a lesbian I would still be complaining of that light fluffy puffy Gospel-less Christ-less prayer...just imagine Daniel praying that over Nebuchadnezzar...
King Nebudchadnezzar we thank God for raising you, we are so honored you were elected king, you idolater!, its such a joy and honor to be here! now that you are going to make us your slaves!...
..I'll just pray the Lord will save her and if she has any anti-Christian, pro-gay agenda, I pray and hope she will not succeed in her plans and pray that Joel Osteen may repent and trust in Christ before it is too late...

Chris Anderson said...

You're a machine. Who needs Google? ;)

Marylee said...

Obama's desire to repeal "Don't ask, don't tell" can actually help to fulfill the "days of Lot" (Luke 17, cf. Gen. 19), the fulfillment of which will hurry up the return of the Heavenly Commander-in-Chief who will make all things straight (pun intended)! Related Google articles include "Obama Supports Public Depravity" and "Obama Avoids Bible Verses" - required reading for the "Obama 101" course.