Friday, June 10, 2011

Hither and thither 6/10/11

To paraphrase a Spencer Tracey movie character: maybe not much meat, but what's there is "cherce."
  • Well friends, this week we have a lot of... waitSQUIRREL!
  • (Name that movie.)
  • While you're at it, name that 10yo pirate:
  • (Answer. Thanks, Dear Wife.)
  • Reader Lenny may just have found us our ideal GOP 2012 candidate (with a little help from The Onion):
  • Has my vote.
  • So, how many presidential campaign starts do you get per season? Newt Gingrich hopes the answer is "At least two."
  • I say if the candidate is still Gingrich, I'm still not interested.
  • May have something to do with Gingrich's senior campaign staff resigning. Ya think?
  • Among the ways I'm an atypical male is the fact that cars, per se, don't do much for me. But in case you're a more typical male (or atypical female), Chris Carney says this is the best car video ever.
  • I love this. My brother Thabiti Anyabwile posted one of his wife's notes of prayers and encouragement for him. Makes me think of the times when a word from my dear wife has heartened, strengthened, and encouraged me — often for something very difficult and trying. This is Proverbs 12:4a and 31:11-12, 26 in action. (h-t Challies)
  • My family and I love many of the films of Hayao Myazaki. Now Washington's Iain Heath has  represented some scenes in Legos.
  • Here's a cautionary article on the disturbing themes in "young-adult literature."
  • Sad story, or, Frying Pan to Fire Alert: disgusted with their liberal bishop's apostate social positions, an Episcopalian congregation in Maryland fled... to the Gospel? to Christ? to fidelity to the entire Word of God? Nope. To Rome. (Thx Joshua Cookingham)
  • Fred notes that if you default on your student loan, the Department of Education might send a S.W.A.T. team after you. Or a relative.
  • And people want the government to have more power and involvement in our lives? Huh?
  • Like, for instance... telling us what light bulbs we can and can't buy?
  • Al-Qaeda: We will blow you up... with this cupcake?! (Thanks, DAOD.)
  • The "nom" never stops: Oreo truffles.
  • The video Fred links to (which I converted to audio for my iPhone) is a really, really good brief exposure to the practice of presuppositional apologetics. Once they get down to business, which is pretty directly.
  • Wow. Brotherly love? Not so much! (Thx Julie)
  • Your Tax Dollars At Work alert: the FDA raids a dangerous elderberry producer. I know I'll sleep safer tonight. (Thanks, Carmen Siekierke.)
  • Awesome Transformer sculptures made out of scrap parts.
  • Ralph Traylor found us a commercial whose product you'll never guess until the last seconds.
  • Another important BibChr Safety Tip:
  • Just kidding.
  • But he did find this, somewhere:
  • Yurie Hwang brought my attention back to the attempt to make circumcision illegal in San Francisco, an attempt being aided by a virulently anti-Semitic comic book character called "Foreskin Man." More vile nastiness from the Tolerance Police.
  • Which brings up this breaking news: another actor is an idiot when speaking his own words. And yet again it's an actor whose work (when speaking others' words) I enjoy and admire: Russell Crowe. And it's yet another Twitter meltdown! Crowe launched an attack on observant Jews and circumcision in one breath — then promoted abortion in the next. I tell you yet again: if slavery was the accepted form of insanity in the 19th century, abortion is the same for the 20th and (so far) 21st.
  • UPDATE ON PREVIOUS: it appears Crowe took his Tweets down. You can still see them here, but be warned of some harsh language. Also, Crowe apologized... sort of.
  • Now to lighter thoughts.
  • Cool: miniature crafted cities. (I don't vouch for anything else on that page; monitor your kids if they go there.)
  • So: now that Screenit has evidently gone "paid-only," where will you go for detailed parental/child-minded movie reviews? Christian Spotlight is very uneven in quality and not very detailed. What do you like?  (This can update our discussion of almost two years ago.)
  • In closing: normally, I think overhyperness about playground safety is silly and wrongheaded. However, this one may warrant a second look:
  • Leaving us with:








26 comments:

Tom Chantry said...

I read that the kids with the sign were in on it together: actually looking for TV time. They said they wanted to attach a target to the older boy, but didn't have any tape.

Funny thing, is, the thing has caused a huge flap with people around the country bloviating about violence among youth.

The dad's response to that was precious: "They just need to come to Texas and learn to have some fun!"

Anonymous said...

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ is usually decent for movie reviews... I love the dalek door hanger!!

The Squirrel said...

Yes. We tease Dogs. So?

Squirrel

Unknown said...

I meant to send an email giving you this link, but never got around to it.

I am giving away 4 Crossway Books on my site: http://www.mikeleake.net/2011/06/super-awesome-semi-annual-crossway.html

Thought you may be interested

DJP said...

As a rule, I'm not a big fan of "Hi, come see my blog! Here's a link!" comments, but as this could benefit my readers, I'll make an exception.

Robert said...

I still don't see how people don't see the absurdity of arguing against circumcision and for abortion. The argument they provide against circumcision is that you are hurting the child without their permission. Somehow they miss the lunacy of not applying the same type of argument to abortion - you're killing the child without their permission. Of course, circumcision actually has some benefits and is a religious requirement for some people. But who cares about protecting those rights, right?

trogdor said...

Regarding the 'young adult literature' themes, I find the discussion of censorship interesting.

Many people today want to regulate everything we eat, and especially what children eat. I've heard people suggest that McDonalds should face criminal charges for serving their food to children, or that parents with overweight kids should go to jail and have their children taken away.

As the article mentions, there are legions who cry "Censorship!" if you suggest that kids shouldn't read certain things.

My completely unscientific study suggests that the overlap between these two groups is nearly 100%. Weird, huh?

Jennifer said...

My husband and I use Kids-in-Mind.com for movie reviews. So far we have been pleased with how accurately they tell what is in a movie.

Rhology said...

if slavery was the accepted form of insanity in the 19th century, abortion is the same for the 20th and (so far) 21st.


Yessir.

Rhology said...

I second Kids-in-mind. Very useful.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

My MIL sent our oldest boy some brochures from her library, which recommended book for teens. Yikes. I screened through the list and there were some good ones, to be fair, but at least half were absolutely horrid, and another large chunk we're JUNK. Mental Twinkies.

Sure would be nice if the librarians shared my values, but I have no qualms about censoring my kids' reading myself. You know, being the parent.

CGrim said...

Robert said, "I still don't see how people don't see the absurdity of arguing against circumcision and for abortion."

Unfortunately, they think their logic is airtight: they simply don't recognize the unborn are people. So the person who argues passionately against the death penalty for convicted murderers sees no conflict in executing innocent babies.

Nevermind that their position is completely nonsensical when considered biologically, genetically, medically, etc, and makes them look like complete scientific ignoramuses. But then, science is only worthwhile to them when it's convenient for affirming their particular lifestyle and power grabs.

Fred Butler said...

That Oreo Truffle recipe cracks me up. They make a note: "If your substituting to make Vegan truffles..."

Why? Who cares?

Colloquist said...

Perhaps the dangerous elderberry producer's crime was that he smelt of elderberries and harbored a wife who is a hamster.

greglong said...

First: UP.

Second, for Christian movie reviews I go to Focus on the Family's Plugged In movie reviews.

DJP said...

dingdingdingdingdingdingding

Fred Butler said...

I sent the oreo truffle recipe to my wife, and she notes they have an alternative for a Nutter Butter substitute.

Oh my...

Paula Bolyard said...

Ugh....not only do I have to deal with the smoke alarm telling me dinner is ready, I also have an Arfican Gray parrot with perfect pitch, who likes to entertain himself by mimicking the wretched thing at random times of the day and night. If we ever really did have a fire, we'd all just think it was King Kong and go about our business as usual.

I tweeted a link to that light bulb article to my congressman and the Republican Study Committee and said repealing this bill could be the populist issue of the year - or decade. I've never had one of those mercury bulbs last longer than a year, despite the flamboyant claims. I also have to turn on more than one light in order to read.

The thing with liberals is that they live in the land of cognitive dissonance. Pornographer and pervert Larry Flynt recently said this about Sarah Palin's Down syndrome son, Trig:

" It's brain dead. A virtual vegetable...How long is it going to live? Another 12, 15 years? Doesn't even know it's in this world"

The reporter who interviewed him described Flynt, who has been confined to a wheelchair since 1978, as:

"lolling almost lifelessly in a chair. His head is barely able to look up at mine, and his hand is barely able to reach up to shake mine. He speaks in a very slow, strangulated gargle...it seems like he can't focus for more than a few seconds. His eyes roll away, aimlessly, and then he looks lost."

Somehow, in his mind, Flynt is deserving of life - a luxurious, pampered life, no less - and Trig deserves death. Inexplicable.

Aaron said...

Children are born perfect, huh? He's obviously not a Calvinist, but I guess he wont be giving his kids vaccinations or braces either. I've been blessed with two little girls instead of boys, but had I had one I would have had him circumcised.

@Herding: There are still libraries? As is stands, I'm still scratching my head that bookstores still exist. ;) When I was a kid I was told what to read. We didn't get to choose.

Aaron said...

Also, does it make Crowe feel more like a man to curse at a fan? His PR firm must have their hands full.

Aaron said...

About the Department of Education raid. There is more here than meets the eye. It wasn't about a defaulted loan but about some fraud. But the story does highlight many problems I see in Federal law enforcement from a first hand perspective.

Andrea said...

@Herding grasshoppers-- Trying to exercise parental responsibility in a library has gotten harder in my neck of the woods. My teenage daughter, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers, has had a library card for years but still needs my help sometime to keep track of her books. The library sends me the nasty notices when she has a book missing. But one day when I went into the library to pay her fine, I made the mistake of asking what the title of the missing book was, so that I could help her look for it. I was informed that to divulge such information without her there to consent would be an invasion of her privacy. So evidently I can be asked to pay for a book that my daughter can choose even against my express wishes, and they won't even tell me what I am paying for. Its enough almost to make me glad that my daughter is not as voracious a reader as I was. But I intend to be there when she goes to the library, anyway.

Stephen said...

That Billy Taylor video is excellent. Even better I think is the one that popped up on the youtube sidebar, filmed by Taylor in the 50's explaining basically the same thing, and includes a nice jam session with his band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQePLNWQY0c&feature=relmfu

Anonymous said...

If that dog caught that squirrel it would be curtains for the squirrel for sure.

Rachael Starke said...

Alirght. I know I'm on the record as wanting to have a ministry to Christians needing to repent of their bad eating habits, to help them be better stewards of their bodies.

But I Want. An. Oreo. Truffle. NOW.

Man I'm a hypocrite. Good thing tomorrow's Sunday.... :)

jmb said...

The movie is "Pat and Mike."

As a hardcore movie buff (that doesn't sound right, I know), I'm enjoying your quotes at the start of H&T. Concerning your reference (last week, I think) to "A Streetcar Named Desire," and your desire never to see it: Yes, the subject matter is not exactly uplifting, but it's brilliantly written and reveals our shared humanity with people we sometimes call "marginal." And, in the movie version, Brando's performance is something to see. I have a feeling I won't convince you, but am putting in my 2 cents anyway.