Hither and thither 7/29/11

If I wrote what my week was like, it'd mostly bore me — so, to spare you the discomfort: look! Eclectic delights!

• We begin with an eloquent admin's-eye view of what it is like to deal with trolls in comment-threads:

• I Love a Happy Ending alert: pregnant woman kicks career-criminal, would-be purse-snatcher's...well, shin, as it turns out. So he's not only busted; he's busticated, and humiliated.
• Question: what do you do when you have four thoroughly-vetted, thoroughly-verified, reliable Gospels, but they don't tell you what you want to hear? Answer: keep looking until you find some that do. (thx JTW)
• My brother Thabiti Anyabwile has a good post titled My Wife, Salsa, and Submission which, in turn, links to a post by his wife on the subject.
• Wrong on SO many levels.
• Government re-education camp transport vehicle operator to mother: "Back off, serf; he's ours now!" Listen and growl.
• Great. Now I know why weight is such a struggle here. Food has more calories in California!

• Netflix is raising one subscription rate by 60%. They could lose 2.5 million subscribers to various alternative sources.
• Ever health-conscious, we'll temporarily steer clear of bacon and dwell on some very exotic, bizarre, and delicious-sounding fruits.
• Wondering how I'll get everything on the jet... but maybe I've hit on a solution.
• I Don't Like Unhappy Endings alert: businessman driven to quit by shortsighted ideological extremism, resulting in lack of income, revenues, and jobs.
• Logos users may well be interested in how to find a bargain on Logos.com.
• When an article ends, "Kupelo urged South Africans to call on health officials to confirm that their relatives are really dead," you know it's a weird story. (thx Chris Carney
• Oh, look. Congressional budget negotiations. Looks like the Dems are up.

• Me, I like Andy McCarthy's suggestion: only raise the debt ceiling as cuts are made in real-time. Cuts first, then spending. Oppose of how Washington has gotten us into this mess — since, for them, spending is always now, and cuts are always mañana.
• Don't speak much Japanese, but I think I probably agree with what these people are saying.
• I'll Retire to Bedlam Alert: an Episcopalian bishop commands all homosexual clergy living in homosexual relationships to... repent? Bow the knee to Christ's Lordship? Oh, you silly, silly person, no. To "marry" their accomplice. Because, you know, living together unmarried is wrong. (thx Mike Westfall)
• Sweet little girl forgives the shark that attacked her. Um, okay.
• Did you know that the European country that is most tolerant towards Muslims is also most hated by the Muslims they host? Yep. Melanie Phillips throws down on the whole notion of multiculturalism. (thx John)
• HP7B Spoilers: I find I'm having afterthoughts about HP7B, mostly centered around the movie-qua-adaptation. Principally this: if you were to see the movie without having read the book, would you come to think that Dumbledore was the real villain, second only to Voldemort; and Snape a better man than Dumbledore? Book-Dumbledore is a complex, layered character who fundamentally really does love Harry, regrets much about his past, and had to make a series of impossible choices. Movie-Dumbledore, scantily-scripted and cluelessly-acted, is a cold, arrogant manipulator. Confronted by a heartbroken Snape after Dumbledore's failure to keep his word and protect the Potters, he sniffs "Oh well, they trusted the wrong person. Kinda like you!" So it's an opportunity to get in another dig at Snape. Jerk. And he positions Harry to be preserved as a hog to be slaughtered (as Snape observes), then in the after-death encounter basically says "Well-done! So... 'bye!"  Grr.
• There are a few chuckles (and a little mildly harsh language) in these 15 lines that would have dramatically changed the Star Wars franchise. You could think up some more, I wager. Like, "Sorry, Anakin, I don't date pathetic, whiney psycho stalkers. It's kind of a personal rule."
• Bev Carpenter knows what engineers do at the beach... and now we do too!

 

• You know, there are lots of things I'd be happy to leave in my obituary, if the Lord tarries. "Died at the hands of _____s to whom he had preached Christ." "Died successfully protecting his family from an attacker." "Died saving a woman from a mugger." "Died foiling a terrorist attack." All fine. But "Died indulging his immature itch for exhibitionistic stunts"? Not so much. (Thx Fred Butler)
• You know that obnoxious thing Sen. John McCain does with his mouth? The thing where he opens it, and then he says something stupid and harmful? Well, he did it again, smearing the Tea Party faithful as "hobbits" who should go back to Middle Earth. Not taking it lying down, RedState has mocked back, holding a PhotoShop contest. Click to enlarge. (Thanks, Paula.)

• Charlie Spiering over at the Washington Examiner found some more, including:

 

• This is pretty amazing. Courtesy of my mother-in-law via my dear wife, I bring you Akinator. I picked a character I thought it couldn't possibly guess... and it did. Stung, I picked a less likely figure, and stumped it, though it tried valiantly.
• Clever video: trailer of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince done up as if it were a teen comedy.
• And in closing, I leave you with a reminder that slow and steady does, sometimes, win you... well... a mouth full of fur.

• After which, I note this:

THE USUALS WILL BE OBSERVED

An endorser re-endorses WTG, suggests it's a solid inoculation for Emerg*** ism

Brian and Janet Rickett were kind enough to be among the endorsers for The World-Tilting Gospel. On Wednesday, Brian posted this on his Facebook page:

Meanwhile, Amazon got some more copies in, then sold them out and dropped the price a bit further. I hope that's good! Now the price is so low, I'm tempted to get a few copies, myself.

Very tangential and sad aside: I just read of the apostasy of a man whose name I know from enjoying many, many Adventures in Odyssey. The tale of his slide from being a Baptist, to being Anglican, to defecting all the way to Rome, is chilling and tragic. It really has me feeling low, honestly. I may devote a post to it. But if I may say so, candidly: this sad story underscores to me the vital and absolute necessity of a Biblical grasp of all that the Gospel entails. It was toward that very end that I wrote WTG.

Back to a happier note, so you're not as low as I feel at the moment: So far, I've gotten encouraging feedback on WTG from folks in five countries. To that, all one can say is...

Are all atheists stupid?

A few years ago, Richard Dawkins said that Jews “more or less monopolize American foreign policy.” (Should I create a "DA JOOOOOZ" tag, for conspiracy theory nutcase posts?) Dawkins' burble was noted and commented on at FreeRepublic, at which point I commented:

Gosh! An atheist is a moron!
Who could ever have figured THAT?!

Now, some four years later, I get this private message in FR email, which I quote with some censoring:

"Are you implying that Atheists [sic] are stupid? I mean, who’s dumber, someone that believes in a magician that was reincarnated 2000 years ago, (and left NO proof of his existence) lives in the sky and judges everyone when they die, or people that believe in the EVIDENCE that supports evolution. [sic] You need to pull your head out of your preachers [sic] [hiney] and look around. The answers are all around you. Not in the f****ing b******t BIBLE.
Dumb[dude]."

To this learned discourse, I replied:

So, I'm trying to understand. You think I should look at this --

[I quote his message in full]

-- and that I would be driven by that to think, "My, atheists are thoughtful, deep-thinking, well-read, reflective, honest, open, intelligent, articulate individuals"?

If that is your thought, and if that thought is representative of all atheist thought, then yes, atheists are stupid.

Dan

(Do not miss each "if.")

No reply, at present.

Infamous Cat-Woman Auto-tuned: "You Just Can't Hug Every Cat"

OK, now: I resisted the temptation (though urged by some) to post this... well, this funny and talented or scary and unhinged woman. Take your pick.

Yet, well, lookie there, I posted it. Why? Because you need to have seen that to appreciate this, and it's worth it:

(h-t Someone Tell Me the Story)

Monday music: "Billie Jean" on cello X 4

...and a drum-track:

Blond-haired, blue-eyed conservative Palin-loving Christian terrorist?

In PR terms, Christmas has come early for the Left/MSM: they have found a terrorist to whom they can attach "far-right" conservatism, fundamentalist Christianity, and the name of Sarah Palin. It's a propaganda trifecta.

Independent thinkers will quickly recall the groundless media swarm over murderer Jared Loughner, and will wonder if this narrative isn't a bit too convenient. However, I have a simple thought to offer, which I believe I'll never be in any danger of having to withdraw or modify.

Let's say the perpetrator of this appalling act is a Christian. In fact, let's say he's a fundamental, orthodox, Calvinistic Christian of impeccable testimony (before this atrocity). Further, let's say he thinks the American Constitution is the embodiment of political wisdom. Let's say he's donated $55 billion to the Tea Party movement in America, and another $55 billion to Sarah Palin's PAC. And let's finally stipulate that he eats and drinks Madison, Jefferson, and Adams, and is appalled at Obama and the Democratic Party in America.

HSAT:

• There will be no large public celebratory demonstrations of support from fundamental, orthodox, Calvinistic Christians. None. Zero.
• There will be no large public celebratory demonstrations of support from GOP stalwarts, or any other sorts of American conservatives. None. Zero.
• There will be no large public celebratory demonstrations of support from Tea Party members. None. Zero.
• There will be no large public celebratory demonstrations of support from Sarah Palin or her supporters. None. Zero.
• There will be, instead, universal condemnation of any murderous, terroristic acts from all of the above.

In fact, let me be the first. As a card-carrying CalviDispieBaptoGelical who admires the Constitution, thinks generally well of Sarah Palin, thinks Obama is an appalling man-child wholly unequal to holding the office of American President, and recognizes that the Democratic Party sums up everything that's wrong about America, I unconditionally condemn the Oslo terrorist acts, assuming they're being reported accurately. (Sad that one has to add that qualifier, but one must.)

In this, I'll just be one of many.

That's the difference, and it's all-important. Even if this person holds all the opinions detailed above, his action was in spite of them, and not because of them.

Unlike other monsters and their genuinely monstrous worldviews.

UPDATE: as I anticipated, the story may not be so simple, and some questions need answering.

Hither and thither 7/22/11

Very busy week, but I cut a swath of time and made you this. Hope it finds you well and leaves you better!

• So much has been happening lately, it's as if things are all... I don't know... jumbled together.

• One of the fun aspects of the week, of course, has been the early release of WTG on Kindle and in the flesh... er, processed timber. Amazon appears to have sold out of their initial shipment, which is cool; and last I checked there were three reviews, all positive (in different ways). Reader Susan pointed out to me that Amazon is already selling "used" copies, and that they're more expensive than the new copies. Hunh. Plus, Julie commented that she got her actually copy in hand last night via UPS. (See also here.) Which is also cool!
• All that to say this: I've gotten several chuckling requests for autographs from Kindle readers. Facebook friend (are you one yet? do be!) Kevin Jackson points out that this might actually be possible, in a way. If Kregel wanted to do it, and I got a dime for each autograph... I could quit my job and write that full commentary on Proverbs! And everything else I want to write!
• Okay, that was crazy talk. Sorry.
• Anyway, from what I've heard so far, WTG is being read in three languages: American, Australian, and Canadian. Which is cool too!
• Reader JTW found some crazy-fit guys in a crazy-hard competition.
• As long as there is this page on Amazon, no one should have problems picking a gift for me. (Not that anyone should pick one; just sayin'.)
• From Laura Kelleher: Bacon jam.
• I'm sure there's a story here. I'm not sure I want to know it.

• Irony on Irony Alert: convicted murderer stops breathing, guards revive him, he sues. (Thx Chris Carney.)
• So: dog-bites-man is not a story; man-bites-dog is. How about dog-bites-shark? William Dicks brought this to my attention, and links to an article about the event.
• Wow, is this ever a good-news/bad-news scenario.
• Reader Susan found herself captivated (not in a good way) by last week's singing Saruman. She found a profile of the singer (brief bad-taste image), as well as an invitation to write lyrics for it.
• And that in turn, led me to a discovery for which surely no one will thank me: a live version of the song. It's actually more endurable than the better-known version. Note the relative phrase "more endurable."
• A number of readers, starting I think with Michaela Ratcliffe, noted to me Colorado woman Yukari Mihamae, arrested for doing to the TSA roughly what the TSA does to women with impunty and government authority. Mihamae wanted to go through a metal screening gate rather than be exposed to radiation. Her request was denied, she was surrounded by TSA agents, and one tall woman advanced on her, at which point the assault/self-defense took place. Contrary to initial reports, Arizona prosecutors will not file a felony charge. Mihamae denies the charge.
• Some sane GOP legislator needs to move to get the TSA dissolved.
• On the subject of legislators and sanity, just remember: Harry Reid is nuts.
• Also remember, as you listen to the MSM: there is no "Obama proposal" or "Obama budget."
• Governor Rick Perry leads Texas to become the largest state to defund Planned Parenthood. It isn't everything  but it's something.
• So, 66% of Americans support the House GOP approach to the budget "crisis." But 99.9% of the MSM believe that Obama is the Messiah, and statist totalitarianism is the way to Utopia, so... don't expect much to be made of it.
• We finally saw the movie Secretariat last week. Overall, good movie. Nothing like this:

• Reader Al Stout found a video of a real-live 3D printer that prints up objects... kinda like a Star Trek replicator. Kinda. (Also thx John.)
• Campus Crusade for Christ drops "Christ" from its name in favor of CRU. Hunh. I wonder why. I mean, really, why. (Thx Mike Westfall.)
• Update: well, Chris Carney pointed out more of the "really why" for me in this story. Seems the vice-president of "Cru," Steve Sellers (I am not making that up)  "said researchers found that 9 percent of Christians and 20 percent of non-Christians were alienated by the name Campus Crusade for Christ." Well, so, there y'go. If non-Christians don't like it, it goes! Further, they say "We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and help us take the gospel to the world." So: in eliminating the word Christ from their name, they're "not trying to eliminate the word Christ" from their name — because nothing says taking the Gospel to the world like... "Cru"? Yeah, got it.
• Now, whyever would this make Jim Hamilton think of us?

• (Jim tells me it's from the Founders Cafe on the SBTS campus.)
• Ooh! Ooh! M'man (and terrific writer) Chris Brauns interviews m'man Jim Hamilton on his (so-far) magnum opus. Two great writers for the price of one. It's a "win" all-around. (Update: wait, I guess Chris didn't conduct the interview. Oh well, still...)
• DAOD found an article on a controversial practice: moving in to foreclosed, abandoned homes, and claiming ownership under the law of "adverse possession." The featured man got a house for $16.
• Also from DAOD: Lego-themed food!
• Leaving DAOD but staying with Legos: Fred Butler found me some folks who set out to create all of Middle Earth — in Legos! (Also sent in by David Miller.)
• Health-warning on abortion? Duh. Great. Which state? None. Russia. No lie. Go figure. (Thx Dawn Lewis.)
• Paula Bolyard pointed me to classic album covers reimagined with Harry Potter characters:

• The Japanese are working on making robots talk and sing more humanly. Um, yeah, but not very successful yet. (Thx Dave Sloan.)
• Yet.
• In further robot takeover news, reader Phil Baiden found us a robot theremining the Star Trek theme. That same robot can do Hey Jude... but ouch, not with perfect pitch. Also, it can write its own name.
• Aaaaand on that note, I'll be shuffling off.

• Leaving you with this:

THE USUALS WILL BE OBSERVED

Number One Killer in the black community

You can also listen to an NPR presentation pairing The Radiance Foundation's Ryan Bomberger with a "Reverend" who advocates abortion rights. Since it's NPR, Bomberger actually has two opponents, the "Reverend" and the host, but he's more than equal to it.

Facebook, Twitter, hash tags, and WTG

I am about to dive back into training a new guy at work, which makes blogging hard to access. Before I do, I offer this to the brain trust.

First, just an invitation. I notice a number of my beloved readers aren't Facebook friends (not even close to figuring out Google+ yet) or Twitter followers. So I invite you: Friend or follow me — or both! — and join the party in progress. It isn't mandatory, but it is encouraged and encouraging, and I love the company.

Second, the smarter-than-I's have suggested that I adopt a hash-tag for The World-Tilting Gospel, so that tweets on that subject will go viral and take over the world before the robots do, or something like that.

So on that subject, I tweeted this:

Moving Dave Miller to reply:

To which that inimitable force of nature, Frank Turk, responded:

This was seconded:

While Daniel Abbey replied:

While one of my suggestions has been echoed twice:

So, weigh in. Which hash should it be? I suppose if we had fifteen or sixteen, we could tilt the world by surrounding it. But it makes sense to focus our efforts. And Frank's, while... colorful, don't leave room to say much more than "Eep!"

UPDATES: