Friday, May 06, 2011

Hither and thither 5/6/11

First, a public service announcement: REMEMBER Mother's Day this Sunday!

Another busy week, but not too busy for...
  • First: yes, it can be done. But only by bald guys.
  • In a counterpoint to the marriage of church-sanctioned cohabitors in England last week, DAOD shares a nice exception, as Christian artist (who I don't know at all) Rebecca St. James married her honey on my grandson Timothe's birthday. What is nice about it is that St. James was public about her commitment to sexual purity before marriage; their exchange of "purity rings" was part of the ceremony. From reports, it sounds like what a marriage ceremony should be... in contrast with other more public events in recent memory.
  • I've learned never to leave Legos out, so:
  • If you ever heard any of the absolutely idiotic mockery of President Bush's reaction to learning of the plane hitting the second tower on 9-11 while reading with kids in a grammar school classroom, this interview with the children who were present is surprisingly enlightening. Though a person of normal intelligence could have figured that out.
  • Title Says It All alert: Kudos on getting bin Laden, but I still need a job.
  • By the way, you know how President Obama decided not to release the picture of Osama bin Laden heading towards ambient temperature? Because one picture might endanger Americans in some way, he said? And because we don't need to "spike the football"? Remember: there was a time when Obama thought the release of two thousand pictures of alleged abuse by American soldiers was a great idea.
  • Seems like: if it embarrasses and weakens America, O likes it; if it notes an American victory... not so much.
  • By the way, I'm about 65/35 against releasing photos of a dead bin Laden. I think it would accomplish zero good.
  • Muddled-Signals Alert. One more in that neigborhood: I'm confused. Explain this for me. It is the position of our government that Islam is a great, noble religion of peace worthy of respect and unqualified toleration, right? And that terrorism is an aberration, not truly Islam, right? And that Osama bin Laden in particular was not a real Muslim, but had perverted and hijacked the religion to use it to his own twisted ends, right? So why did they go to such pains to give him a respectable Islamic burial? If he's not really a Muslim, why an Islamic burial? If an Islamic burial, isn't the Obama administration saying that bloody, murderous terrorists like bin Ladin are practicing Islam? Wouldn't not having buried him in an Islamic fashion have given the hoards of irenic, charitable, nonviolent peace-loving Muslims who we're told are the rule an opportunity to affirm their distance from such as bin Laden?
  • By the way, has the president thanked George Bush for laying the foundation (which Obama harshly criticized at the time) for finding and dealing with bin Laden?
  • Rats! I knew I was doomed.
  • The first GOP presidential debate was held last night. Josiah watched, bless him; I didn't. I did pause to see Rick Santorum speak. I've said he's a terrible guest-host for Bill Bennett on Fridays. I once counted 14 "um...er...uh" is within a minute or so. Passionless, drifting, inarticulate by himself; cuts guests off when he has them. But this statement I watched was just fine: not one um, strong, on-target. Maybe he just is better talking to people he can see?
  • Regardless, John Hinderaker thought Pawlenty shined (yet Hinderaker disparaged discussion of social issues, which puzzles me). By contrast, the indispensable Byron York said Pawlenty underwhelmed, but Santorum dominated. Hunh. Meanwhile, Karl at Hot Air argues that Sarah Palin (who did not attend the debate) is electable.
  • Okay. On to other things... like Rob Bell!
  • And now, because you can never get enough of Rob Bell humor:
  • And now I leave you with an image that will surely stay with you through the weekend.
  • ...plus these:








14 comments:

Paula Bolyard said...

It's 4:44 a.m. and I am LOL all by myself like a nut!! I'm going to wake someone up!!!!

The Squirrel said...

Ah, Friday!

Yes, Rebecca St. James is the real deal. I'm a long-time fan.

The cat in the water is hypnotizing. Looks like some sort of physical therapy pool... I wonder how many scratches a feline physical therapist gets in the average day?

I'm glad OBL has now assumed room (sea?) temperature, but the quick burial struck me as odd, too. To all involved in punching his ticket, "Huah!"

Rob Bell humor is always appropriate.

Squirrel

Scot said...

Rob Bell is always appropriate.

To continue the appropriateness, Jim Pemberton's at Sacred Sandwich comment made me laugh out loud.

"If a certainty occurred and only Rob Bell was there to experience it, would anyone know it for sure?"

All the bacony-ness of today makes me want to see a breakfast burrito or some filet minon wrapped in bacon.

I've never seen many cheerful givers in my travels, but that guy is their king.

I want to know if the cat in water is a fake, so I will continue to stare at it until I figure it out!

DJP said...

That is the recommended procedure, Scooter.

My guess is that the cat had... I don't know, dislocated hip or something, and was undergoing therapy? Dunno. He does seem resigned to it, though.

Aaron said...

Rebecca St. James had a footwashing ceremony at her wedding. To each their own, I guess.

I'm not sure I'd want to have bacon handsoap. Do I really want to smell like bacon all day long?

With regards with OBL, I think that the President has such credibility problems that if he says one thing, many automatically adopt the opposite. For those conspiracy theorists, however, Al Qaeda admits OBL was killed.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Interesting perspective on giving Obama an "Islamically correct" funeral. You're so right about Obama.

Re the Joyful Giver... joyful, yes, attention-seeking, definitely.

Have to say I am intrigued by the guy whipping out what looks like a perfect circle. Whoa.

Happy Birthday to Timothe! Will there be photos?

Julie

Chris H said...

Drats to my poor memory/foresight, but I recall hearing/reading that O called Bush to tell him the news about OSL. I suspect and hope (though I cannot be sure), that it wouldn't have been to say, "Neener neener."

Still, it would be demonstrated considerable class to just once include the words, "thanks to the efforts of the previous administration" somewhere in his statement.

But then, I should know by now that a President who will mock his opponents instead of discuss shouldn't be expected to show a lot of class. That makes me sad.

Joe Cassada said...

Hither and Thither is why I like Fridays.

John Douglass said...

The first layer of sad about the new Chicago album is that it costs 40 bucks!

I've been a fan for 30 years and own just about everything they've released, but I may have to pass on this one.

MJ said...

I wouldn't bet against BO saying neener neener to Bush. In fact, I would expect it.

If one of the purposes of toothpaste is to make your mouth minty fresh, why would you want to smell like bacon all day?

Rhology said...

Had a crush on Rebecca St James for years. Glad to see she's not merely the latest in a long line of CCM artist moral failures. God be praised.

Wendy said...

I haven't heard Rebecca St. James since I bought her first album, what, 10-12 years ago? I might need to do some catching up if she is that good.

That income tax whipping post certainly hits the nail on the head.

And the last few Fails were hysterical.

Merrilee Stevenson said...

Finally getting around to Hither & Thither! I don't know what I'd do without it every Friday.

Great stuff here. I appreciate your remarks about the "proper" burial procedures for OBL. It's stuff like that which usually doesn't even cross my mind, but I'm glad it did cross yours. Brings to mind the stern warning from Jesus in Matthew 10:276-28. Burial is not the be-all-end-all.

I was absolutely thrilled to hear of Rebecca St. James' wedding. While her music isn't my favorite, I really admire her for taking such a public stand for purity and living it. She's the kind of person I want my own DAOD to look up to (after her beloved Mom, of course).

And I thoroughly enjoyed Chad Vader. He cracks me up. The look on the dog's face was priceless.

Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone!

CGrim said...

I have that Bacon Salt in my cupboard, as well as the Malt Salt. The Bacon Salt is... disappointing. It just tastes like artificial bacon flavor. The Malt Salt, however, is excellent.