Counter(POP)Culture

The Great Depression Laughs at Our So-Called Recession

2009-03-09T10:07:00.005-05:00

Stories such as THIS make me laugh at all the doomsday news on the television, today. So it is as bad as the Great Depression, huh? Ask H.C. Stanley.

Really, we are such a nation of crybabies. I am not making light of the fact that things are tougher economically, but the simple fact is that even in the current recession we have it so good, here. The poorest of us think we have it bad if we only own two or three color televisions and one cell phone. What, no Tivo?

I think that it is time we grow a little bit of perspective, here. Most of us have had to reduce the number of luxuries that we have been accustomed to, but at least we are not standing in food lines or hunting for skunks to eat. We still have places to live that offer more shelter than a tin roof and some cardboard.

Heck, we gripe if we have to work 40 hours in a week. We can't imagine being open six or seven days at twelve hours a pop. We are spoiled, ungrateful, and in the glaring eyes of history, incredibly silly.

It is not that I don't want things to be prosperous, but we should really take stock of exactly what we have. It is incredible to see the bounty of resources. It is shocking to see how we selfishly squander them, and then cry foul when they aren't poured out of some heavenly coffer until we are drowning in the weight of our own gold.

Like I said . . . it is time for some perspective.

GI Joe, Media, And Violence . . .

2009-03-06T09:05:00.004-06:00

Here is an interesting study that links cartoon violence with real-life aggression. Other insightful studies can be found Here, Here, and Here.

My four-year old is totally into G.I. Joe. I mean, the kid absolutely loves the toys. He has both the 3 1/2 inch figures, and about seven of the deluxe 12 inchers. His favorite is Duke, the Norwegian blond leader of the pack, who J refers to as G.I. Joe, himself. It doesn't matter how often I attempt to explain that G.I. Joe is a team, he just shakes his head, pitying my ignorance. For he knows that G.I. Joe is a real American hero, not a group of heroes.

Recently, I saw that the original cartoon was on Netflix. I decided to show J the G.I. Joe that I grew up with. There is something so geeky cool about watching your kids discover the nostalgic sweetness of something that really floated your boat as a child. Sharing in that moment of exploration and magic is akin to Doc Brown's Delorean time machine. For an instant, you see through their eyes.

Two things struck me as I watched the first episode of season 2 with my son. First of all, I remember the show being cheesy, but I didn't remember the animation being so terrible. Second of all, the show still had that annoying habit of making sure that it showed us that each of the pilots parachute out of their planes right before the missiles hit, and the only bad guys that truly are destroyed are the Cobra robots.

I remember being really upset by this, as a kid. It was a cheat. I knew, even back then that they had to show they guys surviving. There was some kind of morality code that they had to live up to. You couldn't show people being off-ed on a kid's cartoon (at least not until Optimus Prime died during the opening of The Transformers: The Movie). But this all got me thinking about the effect of violent media on my son.

I know the debate is long, and tedious. There are many who would rightly argue that violent media, alone, does not necessarily lead to violent behavior. But we now have a wealth of studies that conclusively show that violent content does contribute to the desensitization of a society towards violent behavior.

Media does have an effect on its culture and life does imitate art. When you take someone to a primal level, manipulating emotion and challenging values, you will effect the way they process information. It is called conditioning.

Is it the effect of a particular societal morality on an individual that then leads them to seek out violent media? Is there some moral genetic flaw that exists in those prone to aggression? We can argue over whether the chicken came before the egg. But what can not be argued is that media certainly influences behavior. All one has to do is go to the mall to see the illustration of the point.

After we finished watching G.I. Joe, J wanted to wrestle. He was Joe and I was Cobra. Was he a little extra aggressive, aiming at highly sensitive spots with greater ferocity? Maybe, just maybe . . . but it certainly made me think . . . and guard my sensitive spots . . .

A bit of wisdom for you

2009-02-05T17:47:00.002-06:00

I don't know who wrote this or what their belief system is, but I like it. It sums up a few of the major problems with the attitudes of Americans in this day and age.

What do you think? Is it wisdom, or just 'fancy talk'?

Hey, I saw this Guy at the Arcade . . .

2009-02-03T15:27:00.005-06:00

Have you seen this man:

If so, the Japanese police would like to speak with you. According to THIS article, the police in Japan have now resorted to the Wii in order to create this composite of a hit and run driver. That's right, they created a Mii of the guy and are using it to hunt him down.

Hmmmm. I'm not sure what to even say, here. I hope they catch this guy. He looks evil. At least he didn't look like this:

Please read me.

2009-02-02T18:34:00.000-06:00

I think it’s pretty obvious to anybody who reads this blog that I’ve been on a spiritual journey recently. It all started back in July, so if you don’t know what I’m referring to, go read the archives. I’ll wait for you.

Everyone caught up now? Great.

Something drastic, crazy, and (dare I say it) revolutionary has been happening in my mind and I think it’s time to share it. It all started at Christmas…..

*****insert dream-like flashback sequence with jingling bells*****

Since Doc and I have been going through this whole ‘Counter Pop Culture’ paradigm shift at the same time, he helped my sister pick out a couple of books to get me for Christmas. When I opened up the package on Christmas Eve (there in my parents’ house in Wichita, Kansas), I didn’t know what to make of them.

Both books were non-fiction and were centered around the topic of modern Christianity. When we got back home, I put them in my “to read” stack (along with a couple of Orson Scott Card books, the new Codex Alera book from Jim Butcher, and a few others) and they sat there.

I read “Ender In Exile” by Card (a brilliant, wonderful book), which made me want to go read some of Card’s older stuff. Because of this, I continued to ignore my ‘to read’ stack.

But then I talked to Doc on the phone. “You know that book Devon got for you called ‘Pagan Christianity’?” he asked. “I bought it for myself too and I’ve been reading it. You have to read it. It’s very interesting.”

I wasn’t really in a non-fiction mood (Orson Scott Card writes such great fiction I didn’t want to stop reading it), but upon this advice I picked up the book.

Let me interrupt myself here and say something important: “Pagan Christianity” is a dense book. There are very few pages that have no footnotes, and some pages are more than half-way taken up by footnotes. Every other sentence requires a check at the bottom of the page for documentation, clarification, or simple expansion of the ideas being discussed.

This can be a pain at first, because it tends to interrupt the flow of thoughts a bit. But then after a while, it becomes comforting. Why? Because it is very clear that the authors did a ton of research before writing it. They are able to reference almost every statement because they have read the source material.

This is very important, because the book is controversial. VERY controversial. I’m just over half-way through it, and it has changed the way I perceive organized religion in our country. If there weren’t footnotes, quotes, and documentation throughout, I might be willing to dismiss some of the book’s points. But with the evidence right in front of me, I have no choice but to really weigh the evidence.

By this point you are probably confused. Is this a sequel to “The Da Vinci Code?” Is it a new translation of “The Satanic Bible?”

Nope. But the book calls into question every facet of modern Christianity that has bugged me for so long.

For example, why do we meet at church buildings? Is the idea of a church building, funded by members, Biblical?

Why do we have preachers/pastors? Is it a Biblical calling, or a man-made disaster?

Why are modern worship services structured the way they are? Why do we follow a ‘song, prayer, song, communion, song, sermon, song, prayer’ format?

Why do we get dressed up for church? Did the first-century Christians do this? (No.) Why do we? Is it possible that we do it for one reason, but it is perceived as another?

How come we sit silent in a pew while a preacher speaks, when it is clear from the Bible that the first-century church never did this? As it has been said (concerning the body of believers) “The preacher is God’s mouth, the rest of the congregation are His ears.” Is a preacher somehow ‘closer’ to God, therefore they know more? And since when did God make a division between clergy and laity?

What about the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ that is used these days? What happened to baptism? Why was it removed from tradition? Can the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ really bring effective change in a person’s life?

Why is tradition more important to modern Christians than Biblical truth? Why does nobody question what is ‘normal’ in 21st Century Christianity?

And perhaps most pressing on my mind – why are modern churches full of politics, theatrics, and grandstanding? Are modern churches so large that they’ve lost focus on what Christians are supposed to really be? Is it better to attend a church of 500 members and know a few of them, or to worship with a small group of believers on a regular basis and know all of them?

If you consider yourself a Christian, I urge you to read this book. I felt worried about the state of religion in our country before read it. Now I’m flat-out worried.

“But Dave,” you say, “Stop being paranoid. You always do this – focusing on the negative instead of the positive.”

That’s a New Age, worldly thing to say. Read “Pagan Christianity” then argue with me. I dare you.

I couldn't help but post this nonsense...

2009-01-21T11:37:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted on here in a few days, but this article lit a fire in my belly.

Read the quotes in the article. Look for substance. Look for facts. Look for REAL ways Obama has changed these people's lives...

It's not there. They all FEEL good. They all LIKE him as president. Yet he's done nothing at all.

I don't understand.

And look at the mess they left behind! Aren't most Obama supporters liberals? Don't they love Mother Earth and want to take care of our environment? Then where did all of that trash come from?

Hypocrites.

Being anti-gay is anti-American, huh?

2009-01-16T11:43:00.002-06:00

This is seriously disappointing. I've always liked Tom Hanks. He's a good actor and seems like a nice, genuine person.

But now he said this and I've lost all respect for the man.

Seriously? Because I have a moral issue with a certain behavior, that makes me un-American? Nice tolerance, Tom.

Testing

2009-01-15T13:04:00.002-06:00

Hey. Is anyone reading this blog? If you are, please make a comment in the comments section. I have been finding things to post, but have been feeling less-than-motivated recently. Knowing that someone is out there might kick my butt into gear again.

:-)

More evidence of media bias

2009-01-07T14:33:00.003-06:00

Is it true that teens who take a virginity pledge are just as likely to have sex as teens who do not? Recent stories in the media have said so. They all quoted the same research article.

Unfortunately for them, they were seriously misinterpreting the data.

Read this article for more information. It's not surprising, but it is frustrating.

How odd...

2009-01-07T12:02:00.003-06:00

Now that I'm only watching movies that are rated PG or G (with an occasional PG-13 like "The King of Kong"), it's often hard to find a good movie to watch in the theater. A look at the current new releases shows this:

Bedtime Stories - seen it
Marley & Me - not interested
Bolt - seen it
Madagascar 2 - seen it
Tale of Desperaux - sort of seen it

And that's about it. So with several 'family' movies coming out in the next two months, I'm actually kind of excited. I want to see "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and "Hotel for Dogs" (with the kids, of course) and "Inkheart" and "The Pink Panther 2." It will be nice having so many films to choose from.

So how can this person have a completely opposite opinion?

It makes me wonder if I would have held the same opinion if I hadn't changed things back in July... Was I a film snob? Did I sound as arrogant and annoying as this person?

Two great links...

2009-01-06T18:38:00.002-06:00

I don't have time to post full write-ups of these, as I'm busy at work. But you should read both of them and see what you think...

I think it's a bunch of mumbo-jumbo from people who are calling 'guesses' 'facts'.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,477084,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,476207,00.html

Review: "Gold and the Sand" by Corey Crowder

2009-01-05T18:31:00.002-06:00

Well, here's an interesting change of pace for Tooth and Nail.

As I've mentioned on this blog (and on my personal blog), I've been buying a lot of Tooth and Nail Records releases recently. I've found a treasure trove of good bands, and my faith in the label has been restored after several years of crappy releases in the late 90's/early 2000's.

When I saw a new artist named Corey Crowder listed as a member of the T&N family, I found his MySpace page and listened to a bit of his music. What I heard was, quite frankly, almost country music. It had a real folky, rocky sound at times, and other times it has harmonicas. Seriously.

But it's really good music, so I kept my eyes out for the new album and when the release date came... nothing. I checked several stores in the Portland area, but like a lot of smaller T&N releases, I couldn't find it anywhere.

So imagine my surprise when I found it at a Best Buy in Kansas while we were there for Christmas. Oregon is roughly zero miles from Washington (where T&N headquarters is) and Kansas is roughly 2,000 miles away. But they get the album and we don't? What gives?

Anyway, I spent a lot of time driving on that trip and this CD was my mainstay. The music is uplifting, but in a "Sweet Home Alabama" fun kind of way. It's not typical modern country music, nor is it old school hillbilly rock. In fact, when Doc heard it, he thought it sounded like Nickelback.

What the album IS is a great blend of different styles. They're all different from what I'm used to hearing, which makes them sound fresh and alive. Let's face it - there's only so much emo you can hear without it sounding repetitive.

If you're willing to try new genres or if you like Southern Rock/Country/Folk, I suggest giving the music a try. You just might like it as much as I do. ****Note: I'm listening to it as I type this.

Kindred spirits

2009-01-05T16:34:00.002-06:00

This sounds like a nice companion to our own little blog.

I'm not saying that we're anywhere as big or important, but it does sound like they have some similar goals to our own. Once the blog goes live, I hope to write up a review and link over to it.

Fair warning: bad language in the link...

2009-01-05T15:06:00.003-06:00

I've said for many years that if you really want to be disturbed by our society, all you have to do is play a video game online with strangers. Wearing headsets, players are able to talk to each other while they play. This gives people a feeling of anonymity, which makes them say and do things they should be ashamed of.

If you can handle the bad language, watch these videos of people playing video games. As one of the captions says, how would you feel if one of these was YOUR kid?

I'd be ashamed.

Creepy!

2009-01-05T14:47:00.001-06:00

The women in this video freak me out.

Who treats a doll like a real baby? What kind of mental illness is this?

Tooth and Nail sale at BestBuy.com!

2008-12-19T23:35:00.002-06:00

A bunch of great CDs are on sale right now. Check them out.

I've reviewed several of these on this very site. Search the site for the 'Review' tag and you'll find my reviews. Do NOT miss this sale. Great Christian music at a great price!

Should Churches Air Dirty Laundry?

2008-12-18T11:55:00.003-06:00

In one sense, I think there's nothing wrong with what this church is doing. On the other hand, I think the fact that the lady in question has left the church should make the entire situation void.

Do you think church leaders have the right to publicly confront someone's sin if they refuse to change? Do you think they were wrong to 'drive her out' of the church?

And what about this arrogant, self-serving quote from the lady:

"I am a Christian, and that will never change. My relationship with Jesus has to do with me and Jesus, and he knows my heart," Hancock said.

This, from a lady who is having sex with her boyfriend and everyone knows it. Sheesh!

Are You As Frustrated As I Am . . . ?

2008-12-17T22:10:00.002-06:00

Hey guys, Doc here:

I'm sorry. I know that you were expecting to come on here, and get several updates each day. I have been expecting to update regularly.

Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan. Things have been crazy, and I just have not had the time to devote to this. So . . . I am not going to try and kill myself. It is the holidays, and I will warn you that things will be erratic. I don't want to let you down, if you check here daily.

After the holidays, hopefully Dave and I will get back to our regular schedule. In the meantime, thank you all for the amazing support that you have given us, and keep checking back.

Merry Christmas.

Real Killers

2008-12-16T21:19:00.002-06:00

Quick - taking all weather and natural disasters into account, what natural phenomenon kills the most people in America each year?

Hurricanes? If you believe the media...

Tornadoes? If you live in Kansas...

Earthquakes? If you live in California...

Wrong.

According to the data in this article, the number one killer is heat. Normal, everyday heat from the sun.

In fact, all 'natural disasters' combined only total about 5% of the weather related deaths in the US.

Is that surprising? We've all been fed a bunch of crap by the media about natural disasters.

Reality TV and Moral Relativism

2008-12-16T12:58:00.003-06:00

I make no apologies for the fact that I like Reality TV shows. There's something about watching fellow humans interacting in pressure cooker situations that fascinates me.

And over the years I've learned a simple fact: most people have no firm moral boundaries. They're willing to do whatever they need to do in order to win money or a new car or even a crappy prize.

Most people suck. They stick to their morals when it is convenient, then as the situation changes, they quickly drop the morals and worry only about self interest.

So this article surprises me. It seems that the lesson I've learned from these shows is completely different from the author and subjects of this article. They seemed to have learned that morality SHOULDN'T be set in stone. That morality is ALWAYS flexible.

What a shame.

The Making Of A Form of Media. . .

2008-12-16T10:39:00.002-06:00

According to THIS article, and numerous other news sites, the killer of Adam Walsh has been uncovered.

Walsh's father started America's Most Wanted because he understood the power of media and wanted to turn his son's death into something positive.

Unfortunately, the killer died in prison, so never faced justice . . . on earth.
Our prayers are with his family today.

Sorry For The Lack Of Posts . . . The Sequel

2008-12-16T08:03:00.002-06:00

Hey Guys, Doc Here. Sorry for the lack of posts from my end. Dave and I are in a similar boat. We just got a ton of snow, I have a Spinal Care Class tonight that I have been preparing for, and I am doing my year-end rush to get all my continuing education hours completed. In addition to that, I am trying to finish a script before the end of the year.

It is a busy time of year. But never fear, we will be back . . .

Keep checking and I'll try to get a few things up, today.

Sorry for the lack of posts from me...

2008-12-16T00:19:00.000-06:00

We've had a pretty decent snow storm here in the Portland area, and my work was closed today.

No work = no blogging - mostly because I don't feel like sitting at the computer on a day off.

I hope to be back in business tomorrow, but if not, maybe Doc can pick up my slack...

Review: "A Toast to Bad Taste" by Far-Less

2008-12-12T23:33:00.001-06:00

This is the kind of album I yearn for. But let me back up a bit...

With my recent renewed interest in Tooth and Nail records, I bought a lot of albums. Like fifteen or twenty. Three of the albums were from Far-Less, and the other two I got were just okay. They fall into the 'screamo' category of music and while I enjoy it sometimes, other times it makes my head hurt.

So when I first listened to "A Toast to Bad Taste" I didn't really pay much attention. It was one of a handful of CDs, and I had already dismissed the band as "okay".

But something kept bringing me back to this album. And the more I listened, the more I liked it. And now I can honestly say: I'm a huge fan of Far-Less.

Quite frankly, this is the kind of album that will stay on my permanent rotation. The music is just so perfect - the vocals so spot-on - the lyrics so well formed - I really can't think of a bad thing to say about it.

Before you go any further, listen to a song or two on the band's MySpace page. I suggest "Gentlemen (Go to Sleep)" for a great example of the music.

The lead singer sounds at times like Billy Corgan and at others a bit like Freddie Mercury. He has the gentle floating falsetto, the strong baritone, and great enunciation. You never feel like he is stretching for a note or trying too hard to sing too low. It's perfect.

I don't know what style of music to call this. Progressive alternative? Shoegazer? Emo? It reminds me a lot of the limited Smashing Pumpkins I've heard.

In any case, I suggest that you go buy this album, even if you didn't like their music on first listen. I promise that this will grow on you. Every single song on the album is fantastic.

And one of the coolest things? At the end of most songs you hear a haunting, quiet voice singing something in the background. It took me a while to realize what it was: a small bit of music from the next track of the album. It's a genius bit of editing, and something I had never heard before.

Kudos, Far-Less. This album is amazing. I can't wait for your next.

Hey, nutjobs! Stop making us look bad!

2008-12-12T16:08:00.003-06:00

That stupid Westboro Baptist church from Kansas (state motto: At Least We're Not Nebraska) is at it again. It seems they can't keep from publicly humiliating the rest of the Christians in America.

The sad part is this: I agree with their sentiment. Santa is a poor substitute for Christ. But the way they go about it is just stupid.

The last time my parents came to visit us in Portland, the daughter from Westboro Baptist was being interviewed on a talk radio station here. We called in and my dad really went off on her, calling her a 'Fruit Loop' among other things. It was fantastic.

Terrible.

2008-12-12T13:07:00.002-06:00

I'm not including a picture on this post for obvious reasons.

Playboy magazine in Mexico has decided to put the virgin Mary on the front cover. Actually, it's just a lady pretending to be Mary while getting undressed.

A safe for work photo and the article can be found here.

What a mockery.

:-)

2008-12-12T11:45:00.004-06:00

The statistics quoted in this article aren't surprising to me, but they are refreshing to see in the news.

Of course, believing in God and living a Christian life are two completely different things. I'm not saying that these people are all Christians.

But I'm happy to see that the people who believe in Darwin's theory of natural selection are in the minority. They sure are a vocal bunch. Sometimes I feel like I'M in the minority. :-)

R.I.P. Bettie Page

2008-12-12T10:51:00.003-06:00

1950's Pinup, Bettie Page died this week, at the age of 85. Heralded as a symbol of the 50's girl-next-door, Page had a colorful career, posing in various seductive stages of undress.

After two failed marriages, and several bouts with mental health issues, Page left the public eye in the 1960's. She became a Christian and actually did some missionary work.

In later years, she went on to have more mental problems. She also stated that she had no shame concerning her past.

I don't know where Bettie Page is, today. I do know, however, that millions of men have lusted after her sexuality. I know that millions have been lured into fantasyland, and that this has effected millions of marriages. Bettie Page had a lot to do with that.

Seriously? NOT religious, dummy!

2008-12-11T18:54:00.002-06:00

Santa and Rudolph are not religious figures, no matter what this nutcase lady thinks.

Enough said.

Scrooges

2008-12-11T13:07:00.003-06:00

I'm not a big fan of holidays. I admit it. But even I think this is ridiculous.

How greedy do you have to be to send a cease and desist letter to people who LOVE your product and want to emulate it for the holidays?

What's that smell?

2008-12-11T12:22:00.002-06:00

From what I can tell, this is legitimate.

Can you imagine having someone else's fecal matter put in your body through your nose?

Seriously, read it. And cringe.

And I didn't attach a picture on purpose. You can thank me with cash.

The death of newspapers

2008-12-11T11:54:00.004-06:00

Nobody denies the fact that newspapers are dying off. As this article suggests, most parts of the newspaper won't even really be missed.

But I take issue with this quote: "The recession has turned the long, slow decline of newspapers into a brisk fall."

I don't think the death of newspapers has anything to do with the recession. Seriously, how many people do you know who said "I just can't afford my newspaper anymore with this dang recession going on..."

I think it has a lot more to do with bias, journalistic integrity, and fluff.

I'm not a newspaper subscriber because I can get better balanced stories online. Or at least get two articles that show the opposing sides of an issue. Plus, I can scan a list of headlines and ignore the fluff pieces to concentrate on things that are truly interesting to me.

Newspapers may be dying, but it's their own fault - not the economy.

Stupid.

2008-12-09T13:59:00.003-06:00

If you're a heterosexual, don't call in sick to work tomorrow. It might give people the wrong impression.

What a stupid way to complain about your 'rights' being taken away.

A great discussion about torture in video games

2008-12-09T13:22:00.004-06:00

According to this BoingBoing article, the popular computer game "World of Warcraft" has a new mission where you must torture somebody in order to proceed in the game. You don't have an option.

One player, whose quotes make up most of the piece, found this disturbing. His analogy about Harry Potter is funny and really made me think. Why do gamers like killing so much (virtually)? Why do they like to torture and shoot and 'teabag' (if you don't know, don't ask)?

I think the answer is easy: the Bible says that men are evil from the womb. As humans, we enjoy things that are sinful, and often much more than we enjoy things that are holy.

It's tragic, really.

The devil is in the (teeny, tiny robotic) details...

2008-12-09T13:15:00.003-06:00

Here's an interesting question for you.

You know about nanotechnology, right? Creating robots/machines/creatures so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye... Using them to repair damaged body tissue, perform microscopic surgery, take over the world, etc.

Michael Crichton (RIP) wrote a book called "Prey" that dealt with nanotechnology that was pretty good. You should read it.

Anyway, do your religious beliefs affect how you feel about microscopic robots? This article discusses how countries that are considered highly religious tend to frown upon nanotechnological (real word?) research.

So what do you think? Is it 'playing God' to make nano particles? Is it morally wrong? Interesting ideas...

Should Death Be A Televised Event?

2008-12-09T10:50:00.002-06:00

THIS really makes me sad. Not only is it sad that these people feel the need to end their lives, but then that people are going to watch this whole debacle on television. I don't like suffering. In fact, suffering was one of the largest reasons for my becoming an atheist, in the past. But the idea of assisted suicide is a slippery slope that we had better not start down. We have already cheapened life with our idiotic stance on abortion. Euthanasia is just the next step, in desensitizing the culture to death.

Ricky Gervais On Atheism And Christmas . . .

2008-12-08T14:17:00.004-06:00

HERE is an article in which Ricky Gervais chronicles some of his slide into atheism. It is funny, I like Gervais. I have always thought him to be fun to watch, and possessing a natural humanity and empathy. I have heard numerous philosophers and scientists debate the issue of God's existence. But Gervais seems to be more honest, and humble, than most. Several of his arguments were well thought out, at least, even if I vehemently disagree with his conclusions.

Like most atheists (and Christians, for that matter, see HERE for more info), Gervais seems to have little knowledge of the actual Bible. He has an even lesser grasp on Christian theology, and apologetics. This leads to the last paragraph, or two, which are absolutely heartbreaking. His faith has been destroyed by lack of knowledge.

The second article, located HERE, makes me feel a little less sorry for him. Look, Christmas is Christmas. That is, it is the CHRIST - MASS. It is a Christianized celebration. Were its roots pagan, in origin. Yes. Several of the tenants of Christmas come from pagan sources, originally. But in the west, Christmas is Christian. You can not separate it from the religious connotation. If you want a secular winter holiday, you are going to have to call it something else, because as long as it is called Christmas, it will be associated with Christ. That is one of the reasons for the "war on Christmas". Some aspects of society really wish to take all religion from out of the public square. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is really happening.

The bottom line is that atheists are becoming more militant. They are evangelizing, and attempting to proselytize the youth. Christians had better get their heads in the game. God doesn't need us to do His work, but He will hold us accountable when we get in the way, or don't try to be engaged in the fight. The older generation has sat around, and let the younger generation be influenced by the media and the educational system. Now they are surprised that they are losing them. We must prayerfully be engaged in the public debate in the arena of ideas. We have to take ground back.

It is time to take our heads out of the sand, and show that not only is Christianity defensible, it is the only world-view that stands up to scrutiny. But more than that, we must pray, and ask God to make Himself known.

Abortion stuff

2008-12-08T13:31:00.003-06:00

This editorial makes a lot of good points about the pro-life movement.

There aren't many protests anymore. And you don't hear about abortionists being killed anymore either. Instead, pro-life groups have focused on laws, pregnancy crisis centers, counseling, and other proactive solutions to the abortion epidemic.

I hadn't really thought about this before, but it's true - the pro-life movement has matured, and in a positive way.

What do you think?

Seriously? The Bible doesn't say anything about marriage?

2008-12-08T13:19:00.003-06:00

In this article by someone at Newsweek, it is argued that the Bible shows no example of marriage that would equate with the ideal that modern Christians have. The writer cherry picks some verses and examples - such as Old Testament polygamy - to prove his point.

It's a bunch of hogwash.

I think God has made his idea of a family pretty clear. He has also made His view on homosexuality pretty clear. Put the two ideas together, and it's safe to say that He wouldn't approve of gay marriage.

I hate it when people twist the Bible to fit their own viewpoint.

Broken Windows Theory

2008-12-08T11:23:00.002-06:00

This is the kind of thing I find entirely fascinating.

Is your behavior affected by your surroundings? Do you act differently in a run-down neighborhood than you do in a nice neighborhood? Do your morals change when standing next to a wall covered in graffiti?

The questions are interesting and the research (and conclusions) are surprising. It just might be true that 'small' crime leads to 'big' crime...

Read This Post . . .

2008-12-08T09:24:00.002-06:00

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge”
(Hosea 4:6)

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
(Jeremiah 17:9)

HERE is an article that really illustrates one of my core beliefs about modern America.

I have reposted the article, below:

One of the most serious problems facing the Church in the 21st century is the problem of Biblical illiteracy. Simply put, most professing Christians do not possess a sound and coherent understanding of the Bible, beginning with sound doctrine and general Biblical history. Evidence for this sad reality is quite overwhelming. And there are several salient reasons for this dangerous trend.

The Church Has Been “Dumbed Down” by the Culture
The public education system has churned out millions upon millions of young people, while holding to relatively low standards of achievement. We live in a society today where challenging children and teenagers with high standards is considered harmful to their “self-esteem.” Bad grades written in red ink are considered a cause for counseling. Instead of pushing children to excel, standards of academic achievement are lowered. Failure and difficulty, properly controlled by loving parents, should be used to motivate and develop character. Christian children are not immune to these lowered standards. Children in the Church are not properly challenged to learn fundamental doctrine and matters of Biblical history. They are also not properly taught to pursue personal holiness. Instead, Sunday school is designed to keep children entertained. Like most of our society, many Christian parents seem more concerned with appeasing children and entertaining them as opposed to disciplining and educating them. This culture of entertainment creates short attention spans and an aversion to learning.

Regarding the educational and intellectual state of the Church, Daniel Wallace succinctly says:

Those in ministry must close the gap between the church and the academy. We have to educate believers. Instead of trying to isolate laypeople from critical scholarship, we need to insulate them. They need to be ready for the barrage, because it is coming. The intentional dumbing down of the church for the sake of filling more pews will ultimately lead to defection from Christ (2006: 337).

The Church Has Adopted the Cultural Mandate to “Feel Good”
Experience rules supreme in today’s culture. “If it feels good, do it,” and forget the consequences! This mindset is at its worst in the entertainment world, particularly with reality television. One of my favorite pastimes is watching NFL football. I marvel at the athletic ability of the players, the required mental toughness and the nature of the sport. However, these days I have to tolerate players dancing around like they just won the championship after making routine plays that require no such celebration. This chest-pounding, self-aggrandizing behavior is all about doing what “feels good.”

This type of “feel good” approach to life has also infected the Church on a massive scale. Sunday sermons are no longer designed to give praise to a just and holy God and call sinners to repentance, but to make Christians “feel good” about themselves. “God wants us to be happy,” we are told. Experience matters most. This teaching is totally antithetical to what the Bible teaches about man and his relation to God. Randall Price has said it well: “[T]he church remains in a crisis with an experientially oriented evangelicalism” (2007: 26).

Personal experience is important for the individual Christian, but should not hold a place of primacy in the life of the believer. “Christian faith is not being built on the firm foundation of hardwon thoughts, ideas, history, or theology. Spirituality is being built on private emotional attachments,” writes Gary Burge. “In short, the spiritual life has become less a matter of learning than it is a matter of experiencing” (1999).

The mandates for Christian thinking and holy living are found within the pages of Scripture. Therefore, believers must have a fundamental grasp of Biblical teaching as they walk through the process of sanctification, which means they must study it to understand its meaning! And leaders in the Church must teach it to them so they can properly understand it! “Experiencing God” and having good feelings can be dangerously misleading due to the influence of the sin nature and evil forces in the spiritual realm. Gary Johnson explains the pervasive problem in overemphasizing experience and essentially promoting antiintellectualism in the modern American church:

the idea that faith must be accommodated to culture has undermined the teaching of the church’s faith. Popular evangelical faith has developed a bias against theology (not to mention the intellect) and has elevated the bias to the level of a virtue…This is reflected more and more in the pulpits of professing evangelical churches. Doctrine…is purposely avoided (2005: 1).

They focus on practical matters, such as family concerns and personal growth, not doctrine, sometimes mixing psychotherapeutic concepts with biblical teaching. They often emphasize religious experience. They seek to feel God’s love, not understand church theology, a theme that plays well with the decreasing importance of denominational doctrine among baby boomers (Cimino 1998: 2).

I recently received Donald G. Barnhouse’s Romans commentary for Christmas from my wife. It was published in the early 1950s. The preface provides an explanation and background for the writing of the series, which is opposite to the culture of the church today:

When I first became pastor…I began my ministry by preaching on the epistle to the Romans. My first Sunday in that pulpit found me giving an exposition of the first verse of the epistle. The second Sunday I started with the second verse; for three and one half years I never took a text outside of the epistle to the Romans. I saw the church transformed; the audience filled the pews and then the galleries; and the work went on with great blessing” (1952: i; emphasis added).

The modern evangelical Church often claims that this type of teaching is not needed to draw people into the Church. In fact, as stated by Gary Johnson above, this type of teaching is avoided by the Church, for fear of empty pews. The fact of the matter is, that is the exact type of teaching needed to bring about real transformation in people’s lives. The Word of God has divine and mysterious power that radically transforms people. Entertainment programs, comfy couches, soft lighting and candles do not change lives. This is a shallow and unchallenging Christianity that ultimately discourages churchgoers and leaves them unchanged. As a result, churchgoers are not equipped to defend the faith, live holy lives, and profess the good news of the Gospel to a lost world.

The Church Has Allowed Elements of Unbiblical Worldviews to Infect Its Teaching
Most Christians integrate unbiblical worldviews into their thinking without even realizing it. “Christians today have accepted and combined so many ideas from other worldviews and religions that they have created their own faith system” (Vlatch). What’s worse is that church leaders do the same thing, unwittingly leading people to believe things about themselves, the world, and the nature of truth that are contradictory to what the Bible actually teaches. Theistic evolution, long-age reinterpretations of the first chapter of Genesis, “local flood” nonsense, the sundering of much of the Old Testament from its historical connections, postmodernism, relativism, New Age beliefs, and a multitude of other unbiblical ideas have been unwittingly propagated in the Church for decades.

Contentious social and political issues are avoided, although they are explicitly addressed in Scripture or deduced from Biblical teaching, such as just war theory, abortion, homosexuality, the definition of marriage, the nature of man, the problem of evil, the proper role of government, capital punishment, property rights, corporal punishment and the raising of children, etc. Scripture touches upon all areas of life and reality, and is absolutely authoritative in its assertions. Christians must learn to reject views that are antithetical to Scripture, but they must be taught to do so by Church leadership. Instead of inculcating these unbiblical worldviews into individual minds and creating confusion, the Church should be challenging its members to reject anti-Biblical views and allow the truths of Scripture to renew their minds.

Bible and Spade and other ABR ministry outreaches are designed to provide Christians with archaeological and related apologetic evidences that illuminate and uphold the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. When Scripture is received as the infallible Word of God, people are radically transformed. We hope and pray that there will be a revolution of knowledge, sound doctrine, and apologetic emphasis in the American Church. And we hope that ABR can play a small role to that end.

What?!

2008-12-08T09:00:00.004-06:00

THIS is absolutely asinine. The girl makes an excellent point, comparing this ring to other religious symbols.

I love this quote from a silly administrator, trying to justify their position:

"It's great that young people have this commitment. I think purity rings are a great idea. But she should keep it in her pocket or purse - it would be a health and safety issue if she wears it on her hand. It's not a case of being religious or anti-religious. We take the view that it's potentially dangerous."

A ring? Yeah, because I'm sure that she's gonna do a lot of Christian brawling. Oh, I know, she might get it too close to the Bunsen burner in science class. Why don't they make her shave her head? After all, long hair seems to be a whole lot more dangerous than a ring.

This is asinine. We can't teach our children about abstinence. We can't teach them about Christian theology. But they can read all the gay books that they want to on their way to their classes about Muslim tolerance.

Gimme a freakin' break!

Cpt Jack Canned Because of Too Many Flashes of Cans?

2008-12-08T07:34:00.005-06:00

THIS is just plain sad. I spoke with a friend last night, who has a teenage daughter. She was caught sending suggestive texts to her boyfriend. Last week, two high school cheerleaders were kicked off the team for sending naked pics. What is going on with our girls? Why do they feel the need to exploit themselves?

You see, for all of you out there that say idiotic things like, "pornography doesn't hurt anyone. it is a matter of freedom of speech," I call foul. Obviously, pornography has hurt us. When you read interviews with people like the above mentioned cheerleaders, one of the striking things is their need to compete with rampant porn. All the actresses take off their tops. All the guys look at porn. Airbrushing and photoshop have made all girls look like disasters by comparison. How can they compete with utter fantasy . . . ?

We are over-sexed, but attempt to take away any responsibility.

We are exploitative, but tell those exploited that its just art.

We are lustful and selfish, and then become surprised when this destroys real intimacy.

Now, we can't even have a character walk around a theme park because our women are flashing him.

Its funny. Whenever we try to do things the way the Bible suggests, it is well with us. It works. When we thumb our noses at that ancient standard, it is amazing how quickly things fall apart.

p.s. the pic above is an illustration of sparrow at disneyland. it is in no way meant to imply that this woman flashed him.

Its Pearl Harbor Day . . . Time For Our Lesson On War . . .

2008-12-07T16:31:00.008-06:00

This has been very difficult for me. It is almost impossible to organize my words in such a way so as to be clear; to be able to explain my thoughts on this day. Because of that, forgive me if my words don't accurately convey what I am trying to say. I am at the mercy of my vocabulary.

In the fall of 1999, I had the distinct pleasure (and great sorrow) of being able to stand at Pearl Harbor on one week, and then at Hiroshima the next. I saw where the war began and where it ended. There were two very unique perspectives on that war, two completely different presentations of things like blame, honor, and the end result. The mood, the very attitude of the museums, were in stark contrast with each other.

It was devastatingly humbling, standing at the watery grave in the middle of paradise, seeing how America viewed the unprovoked attack. December 7, 1941 was the day that did, indeed, live in infamy. But I believe that our society has lost the lessons.

In the past seven years, there have been (appropriately) quite a few comparisons between Pearl Harbor and 9/11. We have looked at WW2 from a distinctly 21st century position. Unfortunately, in this age of multi-culturalism and pluralism, we are reluctant to speak about Pearl Harbor in ultimate terms. We like to try and find the motivation for both sides. What I want to do, now, is to explore the similarities between our current war, and Pearl Harbor. I want to focus specifically on the Japanese/American conflict, as I see that it has particular significance for our current situation.

Anyone who knows me, knows of my love for all things, Japanese. I have spent a number of weeks in the country. I have met many Japanese. I love their food, their culture, their onsens (温泉).

How is it that within 50 years, Americans can go from bitter enemies to the closest of friends with the Japan? They have. And t is fact ought to give us hope for our current conflict. But in order to ever achieve peace, we have to learn from our past conflicts. How did we get where we are, today?

Most people do not realize that the Japanese were in the war for, among other reasons, religious ones. They do not realize that state sponsored Shinto was at the root of Japanese imperialism. The people of Japan not only viewed the Emperor as a literal god, but they also viewed Japan as the center of the universe. Japan was destined for world domination.

Sound familiar?

The theology of Japan directly lead to their involvement with the second world war. It also lead to their unprovoked attack on the United States. This also allowed their soldiers to view death as an honor. It was to be to their eternal credit to die for their cause. Thus, we saw large numbers of suicide missions and kamikaze pilots.

So . . . how did we deal with these zealots?

We decimated them. We didn't appease. We didn't try to understand. We didn't cut deals. We didn't appeal to their "good" natures. We went in, and completely took away their ability to wage war. Then we defeated their religion. As a matter of fact, as part of The Treaty of Peace with Japan in September 1951, state sponsored Shintoism was abolished, and the Emperor was forced to renounce his status as a god.

Did you get that? We made it part of the treaty to destroy their religion. Can you imagine such a thing today? With our political correctness run amok, there is no way that we could claim one religion over another. We are so worried to not offend, that we tip toe around, afraid to call out any moral judgement. Do you remember the cartoons about Mohamed? Nobody would run those. Sure, we can show a Bible being defecated on, but any other religion being mocked? No. That is bigotry and outrageous.

I don't want to slam a religion, just to slam it. I am not out to offend for the sake of offending. But I am sick of fear overcoming the ability to speak out against injustice.

We have to understand the implications of our choices and our silence. There are people out there that hate us. They hate us for a variety of reasons. It would be nice if we could be loved by everyone. It would be great to sing kumbaya, and hold hands, and buy each other a Coke.

Most of us want that. The unfortunate truth is that some don't. Fueled by hate, ignorance, and counterfeit religion, they want to destroy. You can not bargain with these people. You can not reason. When their religion teaches that they must either convert, kill, or enslave you, there is no bargaining chip that you hold. You can not sign a treaty with someone as long as they keep the belief that God has mandated their domination.

We must understand that. Like it or not, we are in a religious war. To deny that is simply suicidal. We have to know what we are up against. Remember that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I am afraid that we have lost our meddle.

We all want peace. But peace is not easy. I don't want to kill. I don't want people to be killed. But I know that we have to make tough choices, when sometimes there is not other choice to be made. It is time to take our heads out of the sand and face the facts. In the new age of information, this is a war against terror, is a war of ideas. It is time to be fully engaged.

In the end, the lessons we learn from WW2 is that we sometimes have to do the tough thing. I often tell my kids that doing the right thing is often not the easy choice. It is the toughest choice that is usually right.

Does that mean we shouldn't try to achieve peace through diplomacy? By no means. But we must understand how to know when diplomacy fails, and how to proceed. We have to be realistic about what we are up against. We have to understand the stakes. We have to be ready to make the tough choices for the betterment of the world.

Only after we completely take away their ability to fight and destroy the parts of their religion that make them dangerous, can we ever have true peace.

If we don't then it is our funeral.

Why I Believe In God . . .

2008-12-05T19:44:00.006-06:00

Forrest J Ackerman was one of the largest influences in the lives of a great many authors and filmmakers. He had roles in over 50 films, was a prolific sci fi writer, and edited the hit magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, which was a huge influence on Stephen King. He died on December 4, 2008, at the age of 92.

Here is a letter that he wrote, contemplating his own demise it is kind of lengthy, but important to read:

IN CONTEMPLATION OF MY INEVITABLE DEMISE
Mothers Day 2003
AT MY AGE, 86 going on 87, it is crystal clear to me that I am nearer the end of my life than the beginning and the thought passes my mind more frequently than it used to before I nearly died twice in 2002 that I’m a mortal man.

Bob Bloch paved the way for the following ruminations with his remarkable revelatory article in the October 1994 issue of the now defunct prestigious slick paper science fiction oriented periodical, Omni. He stated bluntly: I’m going to die. Soon.—Thus absolving me of Harlan Ellison’s bitter accusation, “Bob was a very private person and he and his wife Elly resented your blabbing about his impending death at the World Science Fiction Convention.” Charles Brown reported that I broke the bad news “in unctuous tones.” Gay Haldeman congratulated me on my “gracious handling of the sad news.” So much for my exoneration.

Bloch said: “I think anyone who isn’t afraid of dying is crazy.” So in Bob’s estimation I’m crazy.

I wouldn’t be afraid of going to sleep one night, having no dreams and never waking up to know I was dead. On his death bed, Al Jolson breathed “I’m going!” I hope kind fate allows me long enough when I feel the end is near to record on tape “Science Fiction”, to die with my lifetime passion on my lips, then close my eyes and wait for my last breath.

Let me turn back the clock a moment and explain something that most of you probably aren’t aware of. When I was a helpless child, unable to protect myself, my well-meaning parents subjected me to 7 different Sunday Schools before I finally rebelled. When I reached the age of reason, at 15 I had an epiphany and became a born again secular humanist before we had an euphemistic term for atheist. I realized in intellectual clarity that “God” only existed in the immature beliefs of inculcated humans, that ALL religions were unworthy, unnecessary crutches, remnants from supernatural times. Time for childhood’s end.

Two Star Gods FoughtWith ax and mace.A spark flew intoThe womb of space.Space nurtured itAnd gave it birth.
Now men fight on planet Earth.--Alan Moss

Peace on Earth.
We sing it.
We’ve paid a million priestsTo bring it.
After 2000 yearsOf Psalms
We’ve got as far as atom bombs.

Touched by the Holocaust, Wendy’s two brothers and sister-in-law gave up on God because He either gave up on them and millions like them or else He wasn’t the benevolent, all-loving, all-powerful Deity that priests and rabbis portrayed him to be. He either turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the suffering and extermination of impotent innocents or He didn’t exist. Same for a Czech friend, whose entire family was slaughtered by Nazis before her very eyes, then she was abducted and forced to be a sex slave for 6 years for Hitler’s henchmen. She bears the numbered tattoo of a concentration camp prisoner in case there are any Doubting Thomases that such things existed.

I’m convinced the colossal Cosmos couldn’t care less about the little specks of life on Earth called humanbeings.Nothing has ever occurred in the ensuing 14 lustrums (7 decades, 70 years) to contravene my conviction.

Here’s the scenario. Quoting Bloch (I never knew this but suspected it) “The brain is technically alive for 3 or 4 minutes.” By prearrangement, a significant other will kiss my cooling lips and whisper in my ear, “Mi amas vin Kvari’—“I love you, Forry.” I will feel my eyelids being closed, I will hear a sobbing mixture of voices, “He’s gone”, We’ve lost him”, “How can we live without him?”, “Dear Forry, rest in peace”, “I’ll never forget you”, etc. It will be frustrating not to make a movement, utter a sound, but I know this is what I expected.

When my brain ceases to function and my consciousness evanesces, I will never know there was an individual named Forry Ackerman who loved science fiction with all his heart and nonexistent soul, that he read it, wrote it, collected it, agented it, joined clubs, received awards, attended more World Science Fiction Conventions than anyone else. He will never know he learned Esperanto, traveled all over the globe, welcomed over 50,000 fans into his home. He will never know he was an inhabitant of a planet variously known as Earth, Erde, Terre, Tero and other names in a multitude of languages. He will universe out there with billions of bonfires in the skies called stars. NOTHING will he know.

And what comes afterward among the living? MR. SCIENCE FICTION DIES headline in Locus, various Appreciations. Mundane newspapers give him attention somewhat less than Heinlein’s. Like Wendayne before him, a couple of weekends devoted to friends gathering and reminiscing about him. As time goes by, fans will occasionally visit his crypt and place red carnations in the vases there. He’ll appredciate it while he’s alive but will be unable to see or smell them. He’ll suggest photos be taken and sent to Joe Moe at Forry’s last address, and if his “Guardian Angel” receives enough of them he will print a page and distribute it to whoever may be interested.
Forry’s inert body will gradually molder away until nothing is left but bones once clothed with his flesh. Barring an earthquake, bomb or some unforeseen catastrophe , his remains will remain in his coffin beside his wife. A thousand years from now no one will know or care who Forrest Ackerman was. Maybe one day in the far distant future the very cement surrounding the crypts will crumble and his bones will join those of the dinosaurs before him.

But more immediately. He can imagine some annual award in his memory. Inclusion in a panoply of postage stamps (probably 50c First Class by then) in a sheet of commemoratives remembering important individuals in the development of Science Fiction: Isaac Asimov, James Blish, Hannes Bok, Ray Bradbury, Charles Brown, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Campbell Jr., Arthur C. Clarke, Groff Conklin, Ray Cummings, Gerry de la Ree, Phillip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Virgil Finlay, Hugo Gernsback, H.L. Gold, Martin Greenberg, Robert Heinlein, David H. Keller, Damon Knight, Henry Kuttner, David Kyle, Fritz Lang, Ursula Le Guin, George Lucas, Robert Madle, P. Schuyler Miller, Catherine L. Moore, Sam Moskowitz, George Pal, Raymond Palmer, Frank R. Paul, Julius Schwart, Mary Shelley, Steven Spielberg, Olaf Stapledon, Harry Warner Jr., Stanley Weinbum, H.G. Wells, Donald Wollheim, S. Fowler Wright, Jules Verne and who have I overlooked? Shame on me. Descriptions on the back of each stamp by John L. Coker III.

A statue of me may be erected in the museum of the Science Fiction Experience, or better yet an animatronic robot in my form like the one of Abraham Lincoln in Disneyland. A play or movie may be made about me (think of all the roles for Gernsback, Wells, Heinlein, et al, and the challenge for two actors to portray Ellison and Ferry in reel life as mean-spirited toward me as they were in real life.
Well, that’s about as far as my ego-orientated imagination can take me.
Soon ring down the imaginary curtain and all aboard for Final Blackout.
Sorry I won’t be seeing you Bob Bloch, Hugo Gernsback, Sam Moskowitz, Boris Karloff, war-lost brother Alden, Wendy and scores more in Never Never Land, but you won’t miss me.

My maternal grandfather died with a beatific smile on his face as though he were seeing angels or loved ones. Maybe I’ll get lucky and imagine my mother calling, as she did when I was a child, “Forry boy, come and take your nap.”
My blest wishes for anyone who may care to have them.

That is atheism. That is nihilism. All that he worked for is dust. What a pity.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

2008-12-05T16:40:00.005-06:00

This is just a quick note to say . . . well . . . thank you. This has been the busiest week that we have ever seen on counterpopculture. So thank you. We are humble by the number of people who have shown up, checked us out, and told us how much you like what we are doing. This started as an experiment, an attempt to provide a Christian based defense. It has grown into something even greater than we expected.

If you like us/love us/hate us please, don't keep us a secret. Tell others. Post our address:
http://www.counterpopculture.com on your blogs, talkbacks, and web pages. Spread the news.
Thank you, and we'll keep on chugging, on this end.

Creativity = Stupidity?

2008-12-05T15:48:00.004-06:00

What do you make of this?

Apparently the teacher was trying to demonstrate the terrible conditions on slaving ships, so she bound some kids hands and made then crawl under a desk.

In my opinion, this kind of teaching is the most effective. Having a student learn through experience is much more powerful than having them read a textbook or listen to a boring lecture.

I'd say the only thing the teacher did wrong was only doing it to two students. If she made everyone experience the same thing, she probably wouldn't be in any trouble.

As for this part:
"He said he feared that the teacher still "didn't get it" after their meeting. He said the teacher apologized "because Gabrielle was upset, not because she admitted she did something wrong.""

This guy is a pompous idiot. If you feel like you didn't do anything wrong, why should you apologize for it? He wants a 'token' apology because the teacher is white. That's all it is.

More PC nonsense...

2008-12-05T15:42:00.003-06:00

Since when is a Christmas tree a Christian display? Does the Bible mention anything about a "glorious pine tree, bedecked in lights, with presents underneath for the glory of the Messiah baby..."? I don't remember that.

The truth is, Christmas trees, much like Santa himself, are secular. They are the secular version of a Christian holiday. So when people do stupid things like this in the name of 'anti-Christianity' it proves how little common sense they have.

I don't care if there's a Christmas tree in the library. Nor do I care if there is a menorah. Or a giant Easter bunny. Or an American flag. Or a flying spaghetti monster. The only people who care are the whiny liberals.

You go, Your Honor!

2008-12-05T15:38:00.003-06:00

Swearing is everywhere these days. A guy here in Portland recently got beat up (and almost killed!) because he asked some teens on the Max train to watch their language.

That's why it's nice to see someone stand on their principles. Check out this judge and what he did.

I commend you, good sir.

Is The Vagus Nerve To Blaim For President Obama?

2008-12-04T16:02:00.002-06:00

One of my old friends, Joe, sent me THIS link. It seems as though University of Virginia moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt, has coined a term. That term is ELEVATION. This is when emotional response triggers the vagus nerve. A release of oxytocin happens. Euphoria occurs.

It is interesting to note that both Hypothalamic oxytocin and the vagus nerve are an important part of sexual orgasm.

In the nursing mother, oxytocin increases parasympathetic activity and decreases anxiety, adding to the bonding effect between mother and child.

This guy just may be on to something. Bonding in two of the most intimate relationships in humanity, are directly involved with oxytocin (sometimes called the "cuddle hormone".

If Obama can stimulate (through his speech) oxytocin production in the listener, then strong feelings of solidarity may be created within the audience. This may explain the strange euphoria of the Obama followers. In fact, vagal stimulation can cause a lack of consciousness. I've seen it in my clinic.

That may explain the fainting at a Beatles concert or an Obama rally.

"Political correctness gone mad!"

2008-12-04T14:30:00.000-06:00

Yup. This is just what the title says. PC gone mad.

American Sure Ain't Seemin' Too Bright, These Days . . .

2008-12-04T14:16:00.004-06:00

If you have spent much time on this blog, you will get the feeling that Dave and I are getting mighty annoyed at the way Americans are not only becoming more ignorant, but embracing their ignorance, as if it was a virtue. In fact, most Americans seem to think they are well-informed, in spite of copious amounts of data that point to the opposite truth.

THIS article is just another documentation of the slide of American education. These are basic tenants of our government, the foundations by which not only do we govern ourselves, but we keep in check those who take that responsibility upon themselves.

We have become so lazy that all we want to do is to go to work, eat at a nice restaurant, come home to our big screen high definition television, and fall asleep with a beer in our hand. We no longer care about the important facets of our lives. We only care about pleasure, recreation, sex, and money. The sad thing is . . . if a leader decides to really abuse their power, would anyone care, as long as they still got to have their pacifiers?

The funny thing is that I'd be that most of those interviewed feel ashamed when the press touts out its list of Bushisms. . .

Another article about frozen embryos and ethics

2008-12-04T13:23:00.003-06:00

This article relates nicely to one I posted a few weeks ago. It studies people who currently have frozen embryos and what they are likely to do with them.

Only 6% of respondents said they were likely to 'thaw and dispose of' the frozen babies. That gives me some small measure of hope...

The other extreme on homosexuality

2008-12-04T12:28:00.002-06:00

Some readers of this blog may think we are jerks. With all of my recent posts about homosexuality and Proposition 8, you might think I hate gay people.

But it's not true. I just want to be free to live my life without a small minority of society trying to change the laws for the majority just to meet their own agenda.

I comment frequently about the crazy things the Left is doing in regards to this subject, but I think the Right also does some crazy things. Like this.

I believe that freedom of speech is important, and I think everyone has a right to say what they want. But in Russia, apparently homosexuals don't have the right to free speech. And although I wouldn't agree with most of what they say, I think it's a shame that the government is strictly limiting their speech.

What do you think?

Oh, No. No. Please. Not This. Anything but this . . .

2008-12-04T10:21:00.007-06:00

According to THE NY POST, the unthinkable might be about to happen. Right now, let's just pray that it is rumour.

But . . . you never can tell.

Can you imagine the scandal of such a thing? Really, what kind of message would this give our girls? Let's just rob everything of its innocence, huh?

Lord, help us if this happens . . .

We now take you to somewhere in the near future:
(from the superficial blog p.s. i don't recommend this blog but thought the following was funny)

WALT DISNEY: Man, I can't believe that freezing stuff worked. Thanks for thawing me out.

EXEC: Our pleasure, sir. We'd like you to meet the new face of Tinkerbell. This is Paris Hilton.

PARIS: Hello! Mickey Mouse is hot.

WALT: Why does this young woman smell of ham and vinegar?

PARIS: My daddy's a billionaire which allowed me to live a promiscuous lifestyle full of unprotected sex, recreational drug usage, and undeserved celebrity status. Tee hee!

WALT: *blinks* I want to go back. Put me back!

EXEC: Sir, that's the refrigerator.

WALT: How do you set this thing to 3000 AD? Someone make the bad lady stop the blasphemy!

Breath Tests For Parliament?

2008-12-04T09:48:00.007-06:00

In November/December of 1999, my wife and I spent five weeks in Australia. We traveled from Cairns to Sydney, exploring the culture, and religions (or lack thereof) of the region. Let me just say that THIS ARTICLE doesn't surprise me, in the least. I always remarked about how Australia reminded me of America, but without a Christian foundation, and more deadly animals.

I loved the country, but it truly felt secular (Godless). Atheism rules the philosophical landscape, and the idea of Christianity was by and large, considered superstitious nonsense.

The article makes several calls for decorum. But here is the question. Outside of a theological mandate, how can anyone really establish a universal ethical standard. All ethical considerations are purely subjective. Each individual does what is best in his own eyes. Eventually, moral law breaks down, at this point. I do not buy that humanistic nonsense that the average person is just naturally good. History just doesn't bear out that position.

By the way, as a funny aside . . . while in Sydney, we toured one of the major natural history museums. In the midst of heavy indoctrination, touting the fact of molecules to man evolution, there was a display on nursing. There were two wax mannequins. One of them was a gorilla, nursing her young. The other was a human. The woman was dressed in a simple blouse, and blue jeans. Around her neck was a gold necklace with a cross hanging from it.

We found it incredibly ironic.

The gorilla, of course, was nude.

The Devil Speaks . . .

2008-12-04T09:35:00.005-06:00

THIS is an interesting ad campaign, albeit a bit cheesy. If you play around on the various websites this article links to, found HERE and HERE, you will be able to watch a few ads, and see the manic goofiness of whoever they got to play . . . The Devil.

Funny, I thought Satan'd be taller . . . and hotter.

HD and Porn . . .

2008-12-03T17:00:00.004-06:00

THIS article is wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.

Two of the most notable quotations are:

1.) “The biggest problem is razor burn”

AND

2.) “I’m having my breasts redone because of HD”

So, basically HD is causing havoc among pornographers. Isn't it crazy when technology becomes so advanced that the fantasy world is becoming too real for its audience. This ought to show us just how far away from reality pornography is. The real danger is that pornography makes men dissatisfied with real women. The fantasy becomes so engaging that soon the real world seems wrong. The fantasy is what should be, and what we have doesn't measure up. We become dissatisfied.

Porn is dangerous, and I believe that this article helps to (unwittingly) illustrate the case.

Life Imitates Bible . . . ?

2008-12-03T16:43:00.001-06:00

Wow. THIS is an interesting story. Imagine the surprise of the custodian that came out to check the lightbulbs on this nativity scene. Yowza!

I Got Your Christmas Specials, Right Here . . .

2008-12-03T15:42:00.004-06:00

Hey guys. Most of you that come to this page are culture junkies. You were raised on holiday specials, toy commercials, and summer blockbusters at the theatres. In an effort to continue the media gluttony, may I present:

THIS YEAR'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL SCHEDULE

the following information comes from courant.com

New Specials:

"Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh," Nickelodeon, Dec. 5, 8 p.m.

"A Miser Brothers' Christmas," ABC Family, Dec. 13, 8 p.m. Repeating Dec. 24, 7 p.m.

"A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" NBC, Dec. 17, 8 p.m. A new Muppets special

"Greatest Holiday Moments: Hilarious Home Video Countdown" NBC, Dec. 22, 8 p.m. From submitted home movies.

Perennial Specials:

"Shrek the Halls," ABC, Dec. 1 , 8 p.m. The youngest of the perennials. Also playing Dec. 22 at 8 p.m.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ABC, Dec. 1, 8:30 p.m. The 1966 cartoon. Repeating Dec. 21.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Dec. 3, 8 p.m. Burl Ives narrates the 1964 special, now newly remastered.

"Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer," The CW Dec. 5, 8 p.m.

"Frosty's Winter Wonderland," ABC Family, Dec. 5, 7 p.m.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas, ABC, Dec. 8, 8 p.m. Also showing Dec. 16, 8 p.m.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" ABC, Dec. 8, 7 p.m.

"A Garfield Christmas," ABC Family, Dec. 9, 7 p.m.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol," ABC Family, Dec. 10, 7 p.m.

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," ABC Family, Dec. 10, 8 p.m.

"Rudolph's Shiny New Year," ABC Family, Dec. 10, 9 p.m. Repeating Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" ABC, Dec. 15, 8 p.m. Repeating Dec. 20.

New Movie:

"Christmas on Mars," the Flaming Lips sci-fi production. Sundance, Dec. 24, midnight.

Recurring Movies:

"The Polar Express" ABC Family, Dec. 2, 6 and 8:30 p.m. With Tom Hanks in every computerized role. Replaying Dec. 22 at 6 and 8:30 p.m.

"A Christmas Story" TNT, Dec. 3, 8 and 10 p.m. But also in its annual 24 hour marathon on TBS, starting Dec. 24 at 8 p.m.

"The Santa Clause," TBS, Dec. 4, 8 p.m.

"Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ABC, Dec. 5, 9 p.m.

"Prancer," AMC, Dec. 7, 8 p.m.

"A Christmas Carol," AMC, Dec. 7, 10:30 p.m.

"Jack Frost," ABC Family, Dec. 10, 10 p.m.

"Surviving Christmas" ABC, Dec. 13, 9 p.m.

"Elf," USA, Dec. 10, 10 p.m. Repeating Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

"It's a Wonderful Life" NBC, Dec. 13, 8 p.m. Repeating Dec. 24, 8 p.m.

Music Specials:

"Christmas in Rockefelelr Center," NBC, Dec. 3, 8 p.m. They flick a switch, yes, but otherwise there are musical performances from Beyonce, Tony Bennett, Miley Cyrus Neil Boyd, the Jonas Brothers, Harry Connick Jr., David Cook, Rosie O'Donnell and the Broadway Kids, Rascal Flats and Solange Knowles. Al Roker and Jane Krakowski co-host. And Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog and Stephen Colbert drop by.

"Christmas in Washington," TNT, Dec. 17, 8 p.m. Kristin Chenoweth, Julianne Hough, Darius Rucker are among the performers in the annual concert hosted by Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw.

"The 10th Annual A Home for the Holidays," CBS, Dec. 23, 8 p.m. with Faith Hill

Disgraceful

2008-12-03T15:15:00.002-06:00

Every day I find something online that should surprise me, but doesn't.

This is one of those times.

If you believe that the Bible is God's word, shouldn't you be terrified of changing or mocking it? Yet I get the feeling that these people think they are making the Bible better somehow...

All I want for Christmas...

2008-12-03T14:16:00.005-06:00

All I want for Christmas is a chance to escape the consequences of my own choices.

*begin sarcasm*
You see, I'm pro choice. I think every person should have the right to choose who they have sex with. Every person should have the right to choose when and where they do 'it'.

But kids are dumb. They'll have sex no matter what you tell them, and they're incapable of making good choices. So let's give them one of these for Christmas so they won't have any pesky babies, or so they can find out the name of the disease they just contracted.
*/sarcasm*

Pro choice? More like anti-responsibility...

This is what Hollywood thinks of us

2008-12-03T11:47:00.004-06:00

Gee, Jack Black sure is funny. See how funny he is in this video.

God doesn't want us to eat shrimp! You can sell your daughter into slavery if you follow the Bible! Gay marriage can save our economy!

You can feel the righteous indignation (and sense of superiority) every one of these actors feel. They *know* they are better than Christians, because *they* aren't judgmental. Except towards Christians, but that's okay because we're morons.

The emperor has no clothes.

Define Irony . . .

2008-12-02T21:21:00.005-06:00

This is not the club, it is just a picture of a bunch of drunken folk.

CHECK THIS OUT. It seems as though a local SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) group has gone out of control. Using SADD funds, they threw a huge, drunk party that was destructive and dangerous. Ah, college . . .

Just In Time For This Holy Time Of Year . . .

2008-12-02T15:50:00.006-06:00

I know that we have quite a few of you atheists, out there, that read this blog. Now, you don't have to be left out during this holiday season. That's right, if you go HERE, you can send little atheist (or naturalist, if you prefer) Christmas cards to your friends. Don't let your unbelief turn this jolly season into a pity-party. Consumerism has realized that you, too, need an outlet for your holiday wishes . . .

But that's not all . . . act now, and you can also get GOTHIC and GAY Christmas cards.

Its not enough to secularize . . . let's profane, as well . . .

PZ Myers Helps To Mobilize an Attack On The Cincinatti Zoo . . .

2008-12-02T14:19:00.005-06:00

It seems that evolutionary guru and humanist extraordinaire, PZ Myers, recently had his tail feathers in an uproar over a proposed junction between the Cincinnati Zoo and the Creation Museum. You can read about it, HERE.

The zoo quickly folded under political and activist pressure. Both the zoo and the museum were quick to pull their promotions off of their websites. However, the Creation Museum did EXTEND the discount, in spite of the dissolved partnership.

HERE is the Creation Museum's response.

Bible Fight?

2008-12-02T13:15:00.002-06:00

Wow.

How could anyone create and/or host this game and live with themselves?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if the Muslim religion were treated this way, there would be death and rioting.

Media is killing our kids...?

2008-12-02T12:18:00.003-06:00

I'm not in the least surprised by this study's results.

The whole reason we started this blog was to highlight this kind of information. We want to bring forth the damage that our forms of media and our culture are causing. Things that seem morality-neutral - like a television set, a computer monitor, and a video game system - are causing real harm to us.

Please, seriously consider your media intake and how it is possibly affecting you. This is important stuff.

Is this real?

2008-12-02T11:47:00.002-06:00

I'm having trouble deciding if this article has a legitimate claim, or if the author just needed something to write about and made it up.

I love my Tivo, perhaps too much. And while I sometimes turn it on and think "Whoa - I've got a lot of shows to catch up on..." I've never felt guilty or anxious because of it.

Have any of you experienced Tivo guilt?

And Your Top Ten for 2008 Is . . .

2008-12-02T10:46:00.013-06:00

Congratulations, America. According to Yahoo, here are the top ten topics searched out on Yahoo, in 2008.

10.) American Idol

09.) Angelina Jolie

08.) Lindsay Lohan:

07.) Naruto:

06.) Jessica Alba:

05.) RuneScape

04.) Miley Cyrus

03.) Barack Obama

02.) WWE

and the number one search of 2008 is: . . .

drum roll, please . . .

01.) BRITNEY SPEARS

So, there you have it. Every single item that made the top ten is part of the entertainment industry (even Obama, to some degree, especially if you examine the way he ran his campaign and the fact that he utilized so much pop culture, even advertising on video games). It speaks volumes about us when we idolize wealth, sex, beauty, fame, money, and escapism. That is what consumes us. It is what drives us. It is a perfect statement about out culture, and what we have become.

Whatever happened to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, godliness, hope, and patience? Whatever happened to virtue and sanctity? Notice this, there was not one real intellectual or Biblical pursuit in the top ten.

Does that mean that the vast majority of those on the Internet are pagans or morons, or does it mean that our society has been so dumbed down and morally diluted that things that matter are no longer relevant? Where were the searches for political and sociological issues?

Remember a=opposite of and muse=think. The more amused we become, the less we think, the easier it is to exert control.

Change We Can Believe In . . . ?

2008-12-01T14:58:00.004-06:00

GO HERE to witness the drastic change that Obama is bringing to D.C.

Man, with all the "new" people he is moving in to Washington, they had better start handing out free road maps. I mean, now this is change . . .

Who else are they going to commandeer from the Clinton team?

Does this mean that Clinton was more qualified to be President? He obviously bows to her experience . . .

Wake Up And Smell The Conspiracy . . .

2008-12-01T14:54:00.001-06:00

GO HERE! And the conspiracy theories reach fever pitch in 3 ... 2 ... 1 . . .

Review: "The Light of Things Hoped For" and "Anti-Meridian" by Brave Saint Saturn

2008-12-01T13:41:00.003-06:00

I've got a two-fer for you today. Both of these albums are by the band Brave Saint Saturn.

I’ll admit it: I’m a bit late to the Brave Saint Saturn (BSS) party. They released “The Light of Things Hoped For” a few years ago on Tooth and Nail Records, and I didn’t listen to it. Why? Because I knew that some of the band members were in another band (Five Iron Frenzy) and I didn’t like the other band’s music. Plus, the album cover and song titles made it look like some sort of stupid sci-fi straight-to-DVD movie…

So I ignored them.

Then a couple of months ago, I saw a posting on the Internet that BSS was coming out with a new album and it would be available online only. I was intrigued, so I started researching the band a bit and almost every review of their previous album raved about how good it was. Words like “masterpiece” and “amazing” and “groundbreaking” were thrown about, which made me interested…

So I went to the band’s Myspace page (found here) and gave the music a listen.

It's kind of like old-school Christian music, but in a good way I thought. The feel of the music reminded me of Between Theives, The Waiting, and Waterdeep. You can feel the musicians' emotions through the instrumentation and the lyrics.

So I listened a while longer. And then the song "Heart Still Beats" came on, and I was hooked. I must have listened to that song 4 or 5 times in a row, and each time it had an emotional impact on me. The song talks about different people and how their lives are in the gutter "But her heart still beats inside / and the blood runs in her veins / a remanent of life remains / and her heart still beats inside."

It's a testament to how a person doesn't lose their humanity - the essence of who they are and what God loves about them - just because of their actions. They are still human, and still valuable.

So I bought "The Light of Things Hoped For." And after listening to it at least 20 times now, I have to agree - it is a masterpiece. The styles of music change between songs sometimes, which adds a lot of variety, but the catchiness of the choruses and the poignancy of the lyrics never fades. I only have one complaint - they sometimes put bits of 'story' between the songs. Some of the tracks are just people talking like they are in a movie or play. I deleted those tracks because they are unnecessary.

Based upon this great album, I purchased "Anti-Meridian" which is available only on the Internet. At first I didn't like it nearly as much. The music sounds much more experimental and some of the songs felt cheesy and hollow. But as I've listened to it several times since, it has definitely grown on me. I still thing "The Light of Things Hoped For" is a bit better, but not much.

If you like modern rock, contemporary Christian rock, great lyrics and passionate music, I suggest (very strongly) giving Brave Saint Saturn a chance. I know I'm glad I did.

More 'tolerance' news

2008-12-01T11:58:00.003-06:00

Here's another great example of tolerance from the homosexual community.

Mormon temples have been vandalized, people want to protest "the entire state of Utah" and there's even a report of a Book of Mormon being burned on a church step. Awesome! That will convince people that your viewpoint is valid!

Here's the facts: the majority of Californians voted for the ban on gay marriage. There is nothing you can do about that. More than half of the state's voting citizens disagree with your lifestyle, and I know one thing for sure: most of them aren't Mormons.

Is this how we deal with disappointment in life? Throwing tantrums?

First Kiss At The Alter . . . An Its International News?

2008-12-01T10:53:00.003-06:00

We hear so much about hypocrites (the Greek word for actor) that it is refreshing to have a report, like THIS ONE. These two were so dedicated to their beliefs that they did not even share kiss on the lips, until they were married. And guess what, they supported, and taught, Christian abstinance. Why is this international news?

Of course, the media thinks they are nuts. What do you think? It is nice to see people who do as they teach.

Some Muslims Are Standing Up . . .

2008-12-01T10:39:00.005-06:00

IT'S ABOUT TIME! I am so sick of Muslims, sitting by and letting horrible bloodshed be committed in the name of their religion, and then going on to lecture the rest of us about how we should be tolerant of their religion of peace. While there has been some mild backlash during the past atrocities, it seems as if many of the Muslim groups are finally saying, "enough is enough. You are giving us a bad name." It still is not enough of a majority to make a difference, but it is a start.

Religion can be one of the most beautiful expressions of human selflessness, or it can be a horrible, blood-thirsty monster. It goes back to the fact that anything that is beautiful, can be corrupted. The corrupted can be made to appear beautiful, or it can wear its corruption on its sleeve. So far, Islam has chosen to leave off the makeup.

It is impossible to say, "peace, peace", while you are blowing up your neighbor's house. That is one of the glaring differences between the religion of Christ, and the religion of Mohammad. When atrocities are committed in the name of Christ, they are committed by those who have left the faith. You can not read the New Testament, and justify any type of murder, or warfare against those who do not believe. Pure Christianity is beyond peaceful, and respectful. It seeks the good of others, especially your enemies, above your own good.

When we look at the world's religions, it is important to look at the fruits of actually following their doctrines, not just by those that claim the name of the religion, or its founder. When you examine the fruits of true, Christian doctrine, it is escalated to a place far beyond the ethical standards of any other theological worldview.

Cheaters, Cheaters Everywhere, And No One Stops To Think . . .

2008-12-01T10:18:00.005-06:00

OK. I admit it. I have done it. I am not proud. In fact, the older that I get, the more I am ashamed of the "little" things that seemed to not be a big deal in my youth. They speak, so loudly, about the state my character found itself in, back in those "innocent" days. According to THIS STUDY and THIS STUDY, I am in a large club.

What club? The cheater club. That's right, I have been academically dishonest (also known as cheating). I have plagiarized, had cheat sheets, and looked off of other people's papers. This is a huge issue. It speaks, quite clearly, about the integrity of those involved.

I will make no excuse for my past behaviors, and I will say that the justification that you hear in the voices of these kids (who took these surveys) is quite accurate. The kids sleep well, at night. The have no compunction, concerning what they have done. They don't even realize that it is wrong, in a lot of cases. In their minds, it is almost expected, just a part of growing up, along with sexual, drug, and alcohol experimentation. Heck, its part of the adventure of the American teen. It is a rite-of-passage. Besides, the end certainly justifies the means. I mean, after all, many of these subjects are dull, boring, and have no real influence on day-to-day living.

This speaks (maybe even yells) so loudly, about the state of our kids. Recently, I was discussing ethics with an elderly couple. They were talking about the 1960's, and how they thought the world was going to end when an Irish Catholic was elected president. They mentioned the cyclical properties of ethics; how we would go through cycles of power, and the country's ethical standards would wax and wane.

I wish that were true. It is not an ethical cycle that we are on. It is an ethical funnel. The diameter of our circle reduces, not maintains. With each rotation, we go further down. That is what drives me. That is what concerns me. This is just another symptom of the way we are falling apart. What can stop it?

That question is why it is so important for the people who claim the name of Christ to make sure that they are listening to 1 John explain what true Christianity is, how we know we are truly following Christ, and how we know He is truly working within us. Christ is truly the only hope that this diseased world has. If there is no universal standard, then these reports mean nothing! Why would we care if people cheat? Why do we care about dishonesty? Why do we even have ethics? It is not because of some evolutionary programming that searches out security. It is not even for the betterment of the herd. It is precisely that universal standard within us, that leads us to be better than our base desires. That standard can become corrupted. It can be shouted out by other influences. But at the base of us all, there is still a desire to live up to some kind of standard.

A slight change....

2008-11-30T01:28:00.000-06:00

As requested by "Anonymous" (I love that guy/girl!), I have modified our blog to show the most recent 12 posts. If you want to see something older, click on the links on the right.

Any questions?

Thanks!

A video for you for Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T13:12:00.001-06:00

Happy Thank... Hey! Get out of here, Bigot!

2008-11-26T12:21:00.004-06:00

The PC train keeps on chugging along, and Thanksgiving is the newest victim. Read all about the huge controversy here.

I really can't understand how a person can get their feelings hurt and think they have the right to change things for everyone else.

If you think it is offensive to dress as a pilgrim or Indian, then don't let your kid do it. It's not a big deal. They're not doing it to mock Native Americans, and they're not doing it to celebrate "white domination." They're doing it to celebrate the fact that people from different cultures can eat together in peace.

Anybody who complains about this sort of innocent activity is an idiot.

Doc Flashes You Some Bolt!

2008-11-25T22:08:00.004-06:00

Hey, my little Pilgrims and Pilgrimettes. Here is a little Thanksgiving treat for you, and its no turkey. That's right, Doc took the ol' family to chow down on some Bolt. This review will have some minor spoilers, so if you don't want to know anything about the flick, then all you need to know is that I really enjoyed it, much more than I thought that I would. It has some interesting parallels to what Dave and I are trying to accomplish via this site.

Alright. You can leave now.

For the rest of us, who don't mind a few minor spoilers, I want to discuss just a tidbit, or two.

The synopsis is quite simple. The star (Bolt, the dog) of a hit television show thinks that the show is real. The fun starts when he becomes separated from his master, Penny. Due to a series of misfortunes, Bolt ends up in New York City, and must make his way back to L.A. His only help is a cat who he has taken prisoner, and a mixed up hamster. Comic mayhem ensues, along with some pretty poignant social commentary.

First of all, I just want to say that I don't get Miley Cyrus. To me, her voice is ridiculously deep, making her sound like Peter Brady, going through puberty. Every time I hear her talk, I hum a bar or two of When It's Time To Change. Having said that, she didn't annoy me during this film, and that is a great thing. The other actors were excellent, as well, including John Travolta, and the always welcome, Malcolm McDowell. But by far, the movie belonged to Mark Walton, the voice of Rhino, the hamster. Walton brings a manic glee to the role that is just plain contagious.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the film. The trailers left me with a feeling that can basically be summed up with one syllable, "Meh". Even the brief clip that I got to see, early on, left me decidedly underwhelmed. But the movie really grabbed me with its clever take on modern television programming, its beautiful artwork, and tight writing. The action scenes, in particular, were well thought out, and extremely enjoyable, with more than a bit of a nod to The Incredibles.

The film is rated PG, and for good reason. But maybe not for the reasons that you'd expect. No, there is no swearing (not really even any suggestive humor, unlike Madagascar 2, which really disappointed me), no sex, not even any potty-jokes. There is a bit of violence, but not anywhere near as much as The Incredibles. No, the real problem is the subject matter. My four-year-old, which asks incredibly deep questions for his age (he once remarked about how it was unfair for Jesus to die for his sins. Jesus didn't do anything wrong)(he was three at the time), but he was totally lost when it came to the concept of separating Bolt from his television persona. He couldn't figure out why Bolt had lost his powers, and was confused about a replacement dog that was brought in to fill in for the show. My six-year-old was following it, OK, but J was lost.

What surprised me, most of all, was the social commentary. Now, I was probably the only one in my audience that saw the film this way, but then again, that's why you come here; my unusual perspective on things. Right? RIGHT?! Anyhow, I was just enjoying the film, watching it on a superficial, amused (a = opposite of and muse = think) level, when it hit me. Bolt was the perfect allegory for 99% of the people in our country. He has been so sucked into his entertainment that he buys it, hook line, and sinker. To him, the fantasy is reality. Real reality is a major disappointment. For part of the movie, he doesn't want to believe what is real. Everything that he sees makes since, because all the evidence is viewed through his worldview. It all adds up. The only problem is that the worldview is wrong, so his interpretation of all the data is wrong.

Now this is important. It was not the data that was wrong. It was his interpretation of the evidence. That is key to figuring out how all things work, together. We all get the same raw data. If you start with the right pair of worldview glasses, then you will have the right interpretation of said data. But, if your glasses are askew, or the lenses are the wrong prescription, then what you see out of it is tainted. Your interpretation is all wrong.

This is true of religious people, as well as non-religious. Everyone has a bias. The question is not if we can escape our bias, but which bias is the best bias to be biased with. I, for one, want to have the most honest worldview as I can have. This is why I began questioning my beliefs, to begin with. It is also why I have chosen to stand up for what I believe in.

The problem with a worldview is that it is easily shaped. Like most things human, emotion and stimulation are the quickest ways to that worldview. We constantly have our worldviews shaped and molded by being effected, at a base level, by media bombardment. They reduce us to a primal state, we react emotionally, and then they do slight-of-hand to get us to accept their premises. They preach, using as many senses as they can utilize. Meanwhile, we consume, mistakenly assuming that it is only entertainment. It won't effect us. We are smart enough to look through the junk, and just be . . . entertained. The lies are told long enough, loud enough, and then we start to believe them . . . but hey, at least we are laughing while we do it. After all, these shows are just so darn funny.

Whew. I bet you didn't expect to get all of that from a Disney movie review. Who knew, huh? Anyhow, go see Bolt with your family. A little mindless entertainment is probably OK (as long as it is in moderation) and who knows, you may even learn something, unexpected.

For now, the Doc has left the building.

A great editorial

2008-11-25T14:01:00.004-06:00

This is a great editorial on Proposition 8, abortion and other contentious political issues. The author makes a good point - the courts have short-circuited the system, which always leaves one side of the issue feeling cheated - like they didn't get to voice their opinion.

Interesting...

Do you have Truman Syndrome?

2008-11-25T12:20:00.005-06:00

I have to be honest: I've felt this way before. I've thought "What if everyone is watching everything I do, and I just don't know it? What if something innocent in my mind - like a light bulb - can hold a hidden camera, and I've never known it? So every room with light bulbs in it can film me..."

I'm not neurotic enough to believe this is actually true, but it's an interesting delusion anyway...

This article discusses Truman Syndrome. It's not very detailed, but I think it says some interesting things about pop culture and the media.

Has the birth of "Reality TV" caused some people to become more crazy? ... Inquiring minds want to know.

Church Says To Go Get Some . . .

2008-11-25T09:36:00.001-06:00

Now This is a church that I am interested in visiting. I mean, what a great idea?! The world already thinks that we are too stuffy, and too . . . puritan (I have nothing against the puritans. I wish that we could be more like them in our devotion and ethics, but they drew too many lines around the law). This pastor came up with a fantastic way to strengthen relationships. Seeing as how there are more verses in the Bible about proper sexual relationships than almost any other topic, we really do need to develop a better understanding and attitude toward sex.

Fundamentalists have really dropped the ball in several areas of vice and pleasure. Sex is for us. Sex is for pleasure. Sex is great. The body is wonderful and amazing. Instead of this healthy outlook, and teaching people the best way to get the most sexual fulfillment out of their lives, we have mixed our puritanism with our Christianity.

In short, we need to take back sex. We have given it to the secularist, and it has become a perverted travesty of what it once was. A lot of people lament America's unhealthy obsession with sex. I see it as a symptom of the growing personality disorder of our culture. When you take a nation that based its morality and government on Christian principles, teach those principles and Biblical tenants for almost 300 years, and then slowly remove the basis for those principles (the Bible) over a period of forty or fifty years, you have growing pains. You see, we teach the need for morality, without the why.

This leaves the student confused, and foundation-less. After all, if we really are random bits of chemical accident, what is this morality stuff? Our conduct of behavior should be what is best and most pleasurable to the individual. There really can be no universal standard if the very thoughts that can contemplate such a standard are a random chemical process that just developed over time. There is no meaning to such a process, no matter how self important the being doing the contemplating thinks himself to be.

No, some kind of religious morality is the only answer to a universal morality that is applicable to all people, regardless of situation. Christianity is that standard. Thus, we need to redefine our stances on things like alcohol and sexuality, and put them in line with the Bible, and not puritan indoctrination.

My two favorite quotes from this article are: "Between a married man and a married woman...the more, the better." and "I think I'll try it this evening!"

And No Holiday Is Safe . . .

2008-11-25T09:11:00.003-06:00

For the past few weeks, we have posted several items on the war on Christmas. But the historical revisionists, native american activist groups, and PETA (among other vegitarian and vegan groups) have been attacking Thanksgiving for a long time. I remember when I was in high school, reading about how horrible the pilgrims were to each other, and the poor defenseless indians. Never mind the historical give and take that occured between the natives and the Europeans. The textbook authors gleefully wrote about how they brought over their diseases, almost as if the colonizers were deliberately commiting some biological genocide.

If you want to read up on the subject, do a google search on "the true meaning of thanksgiving". You'll find plenty of wacko sites that will pave the way for you to begin to hate the settlers, and their oppression of the peaceful aboriginal.

HERE and HERE and HERE are just three interesting sites that will prime your pumps for a good old fashioned discussion on all things turkey.

America's Fading Heritage

2008-11-24T18:20:00.003-06:00

When I was in school, I really hated History. And Government. And Civics. But you know what? I'm glad I was forced to take them. I'm glad I know how our government works, how an election works, and why some laws are set up the way they are.

Apparently schools aren't forcing kids to learn these things anymore. Take this study's results for example.

Knowing that our government has three branches and a system of checks and balances doesn't sound very important, but it is. It's a basic fundamental building block of our way of life. If kids are growing up without knowing that, I'm afraid they'll have no idea what they're voting for in the future...

Oh, and pay attention to the quote about television viewing. That's what our blog exists to talk about.

This sort of article ticks me off...

2008-11-24T14:08:00.002-06:00

What a crock! The author of this "news article" says that minority groups are afraid after Proposition 8 was passed.

"Now the majority can make new laws oppressing the minority!" seems to be their battle cry.

That's just stupid. Homosexuality is a moral issue. It is looked down on because most people consider it a sin. Most people do NOT consider your skin color a sin, so that will never be a problem.

I hate this type of slanted journalism.

"Legal scholars say the measure, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, breaks new ground by limiting the courts' ability to protect minorities."

I call BS on this.

Saving Christmas...

2008-11-24T12:21:00.003-06:00

This kind of stuff needs to stop. Why did this town take the word 'Christmas' off the name of their parade? The story says people complained that the name wasn't "inclusive enough".

Who said a parade had to be inclusive?

The parade is designed to celebrate a holiday that, let's face it, isn't very religious anymore. Anyone can go watch the parade. You don't have to believe in God or Santa to enjoy the lights. So what's the big deal?

Political correctness sucks.

How important is this?

2008-11-24T11:33:00.003-06:00

I'm really torn on this "news" article.

Is it important for the President to go to church? If he runs his campaign based upon his religious beliefs, then I would say yes. But how many people really think Obama is religious? What church did we expect him to attend?

I think the fact that he hasn't attended church since the election says something about his worldview, but I don't think it is unexpected or a big deal.

What do you think?

If You Have Read Any Of This Guy's Books, Waddya Expect?

2008-11-24T09:13:00.003-06:00

What is happening in Minnesota? Suddenly, the recount is going decidedly in one direction. "Lost" ballots are suddenly being found. Some ballots were found mismarked, and then corrected. Then, there was This article in the Wall Street Journal.

I wish I could say that I was surprised by THIS story, the one above, and all the others, that whisper of hanky-panky. Every election we are sure to have fraud on both sides. But it does seem to happen on one side, more than the other.

Now, I am not saying that Franken knew about this woman. But then again, when the name of your satirical book is a personal attack on the icon of your opposition . . .

When we get a relativistic in our thinking, we also seem to believe that the ends are truly justified, in spitre of any means. That is dangerous no matter which side of the aisle you are on.

Skinny Models Don't Sell Clothes

2008-11-21T14:59:00.002-06:00

Here's an interesting piece about a study showing that really skinny models sell less products than normal body types.

So why do so many companies think models have to be skinny? I personally find really skinny girls decidedly UN-attractive. But maybe I'm crazy...

No comment.

2008-11-21T11:56:00.001-06:00

I can't really say anything about this except one statement: I'm sad, but not surprised.

Can Ads Make Kids Fat?

2008-11-21T11:45:00.003-06:00

This article reports on a recent study that showed that decreasing advertisements for fast food on television could keep children from becoming obese.

I understand that kids will see something on television and crave it. That's logical. But it's not logical to assume that these kids are somehow watching the commercial, craving the product, then riding their bicycles to the local fast food joint and gorging themselves.

Isn't it more likely that the type of parent who lets their kids watch a lot of TV is also the type of parent who doesn't teach their kids to eat healthy? This correlation would make the kids obese and would provide and would disprove the causal relationship in this study.

What do you think? Is it the advertising that does it? Or the parents?

In Response To The Obama Zogby Poll . . .

2008-11-20T15:30:00.003-06:00

In an effort to promote fairness, John Ziegler (a conservative documentary filmmaker) has apparently raised enough money for Zogby to conduct the same poll he used on Obama voters, on McCain voters. Oddly enough, according to THIS STORY", he declined. Hmmmm. I wonder what he was afraid he might find? Still sound like unfounded hyperbole to those of you out there . . . ?

Please to Explain

2008-11-20T12:06:00.004-06:00

Could someone please, please explain to me how we will ever run out of water? Articles like this one (about switching to flushless toilets to conserve water) always mention how the world is in danger of running out of drinking water.

When I was a kid, they taught us about the natural water cycle. Water is used/dirtied, then it evaporates and is naturally cleaned, then it rains down as fresh water. Then the cycle continues.

Water is not a non-renewable resource. It is constantly refreshing itself. And before you say "But most of it is unusable in the ocean!" I say "But scientists have found several ways of purifying it."

Not only that, but if you believe we are running out of water, you probably also believe in global warming. Global warming = warmer temperatures = more evaporation = more drinking water. Problem solved!

I can understand how certain regions of our planet are running out of water, but I think the idea that we are running out of clean water as a whole are ludicrous.

Welcome to Jurassic Park . . . For Real . . .

2008-11-19T15:37:00.003-06:00

CAPTION: One Step Closer To Harvesting For My Consumption

THIS is really freaking cool. The things that we are able to do are just so incredible. This is another example of real life catching up with fictional technology. God has given us the ability to do the impossible. Kinda reminds me of a certain observation by one heavenly Being as He watched an ancient tower being built . . .

Could this be the future:

?????????????????????????????????????????

Oh, Dear Heaven . . .

2008-11-19T15:29:00.002-06:00

Caption: Nobody Messes With The Obama Mama

It turns out that acoording to THIS SOURCE, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton will be showcased in Female Force, a new comic book series.

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Convenient New Safe Haven Law Not Very Convenient For Those Abandoned. . .

2008-11-19T15:24:00.002-06:00

Man this is sad. This is what we are reduced to, when we are so selfish that we won't take care of our own families. I am sure that some well-meaning politicians thought that this would be a wonderful idea. It is too bad that they didn't define the legislation a little more clearly.

This is a real indictment of our society.

For the hard link, go HERE.

The Headline Says It All. . . Especially to this Generation of Buffoons. . .

2008-11-19T14:20:00.006-06:00

Oh how low we have sunk. Can you believe the headline of THIS story? Can you imagine the reaction that this kind of headline would have had in the 50's? While the story is fairly interesting (and my wife would probably say, explains a lot about my physiological changes over the past 10 years of marriage), the crassness of the headline is self-explanatory. There used to be a certain amount of decorum and manner in the way in which we conducted ourselves. Now, vulgarity has ruled, and we appeal to the lowest common denominator. Where is our class?

A Killer's Death Row POV

2008-11-19T08:45:00.007-06:00

WARNING, the following article contains mild profanity, and some disturbing images. THIS ARTICLE is a chilling look at death row from the eyes of a killer. This is an incredible article, showing a perspective that I would hope to never be able to see, otherwise. I think that the conversion story is interesting.

The crimes of the man are heinous. However, to deny him salvation, in spite of an evident encounter with Christ, would be to spit in the face of redemption . . . for such were (are) some of us . . .