Two Amazing Videos

Let's say that your day is going okay, not spectacular, just okay. Or, let's assume that your day is really crappy and your attitude is annoying your patmates. Well then, do I have the cure for you! Check out these two videos over at Towleroad's blog. The first one is a Billy Elliot-style success story and the second is an opera singer who doesn't know he can sing and works in a car parts store. The videos are from Britian's Got Talent, a television show that highlights various people's talents (and not just for their singing).

A Gay Bomb?

Just imagine. You're in a war, surrounded by the enemy and all hope seems lost. Being the platoon leader, your men turn to you for strength, courage, and resolve. With the enemy surrounding you and you know they don't take any prisoners, you know it's the end. You call your men over and tell them how proud of them you are. You tell them that they have sacrificed their lives for their country and our country was built on the blood of such youn......

"Kaaaa-BOOM!!!" the sound rips apart the air and suddenly everything turns pink.

"That's strange," you say to yourself. 'Is that the Village People's Macho Macho Man playing in the background?'"

And suddenly the enemy drops their rifles and they start kissing each other. On the mouth. While taking off their uniforms because they must.

You think to yourself in stunned amazement, "What in the hell just happened?!"

"Oh, we're saved! That must be the new gay bomb," says the young and eternally cute young soldier who plucks his eyebrows every morning and the scary thing is that you have noticed and thinks it makes him look better.

Okay, so what am I talking about? The Pentegon has confirmed that in 1994 it was considering making a bomb, that when detonated would cause the enemy to turn gay and have uncontrollable gay sex with each other leaving them unable to fight. Instead, they'd be singing showtunes, dancing with their shirts off, and have humping each other all the time.

You think I am kidding? Go here and be amazed.

Unfortunately what the military didn't understand is that it already has gay men and women serving in its service and they don't all have sex all the time and behave like eternal club kids. They actually perform and sustain the services like they've always done with professionalism, integrity, and hard work.

A Falwell Replacement Already?!

The Rev. Jerry Falwell probably isn't even cold yet and there has arisen a new proponent of the 'God is removing God's protective curtain over America because of them homosexuals.' And to be quite honest, I am rather stunned by who it is: The Rev. Dr. John MacArthur.

John MacArthur is a prolific writer, pastor, and college and seminary president, who one would think is beyond such tribal interpretations of an angry God looking to smite the disobedient. And yet, here he is. I found a sermon post about his sermon in which James Dobson (Focus on the Family) gives support to MacArthur's belief that "he wouldn't be surprised" that a major city would be destroyed. And who does he blame? He blames them lesbians.

Here is the post:

On the June 4 edition of his Focus on the Family radio show, Focus on the Family founder and chairman James C. Dobson broadcast a sermon by John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, titled "A Nation Abandoned by God." In the sermon, MacArthur said America had forsaken God and engendered the "wrath of abandonment" as a result. MacArthur declared: "You know a society has been abandoned by God when it celebrates lesbian sex." MacArthur further argued that as a result of America's abandonment, the destruction of a major U.S. city "could happen" and that "God would be just in any calamity he brought upon us."

DOBSON: Some of our listeners are not going to agree with what he [MacArthur] has to say, but it's going to make you think, and it's also going to be somewhat disturbing. And I happen to agree with what John MacArthur was saying on this day, and I want to thank him and his team and Woodman Valley Chapel for allowing us to share this message. It needs to be heard, especially at this time in our nation.

Go here to read the post. Go here to read the post source and listen to Dobson.

When Yesterday was Young

I just read a post concerning that 'Man of the bush,' no not George, this is a completely different kind of bush. I am referring to George Michael. (Ba-dum dum dum!)

Okay, so George was quoted as explaining why the media is 'out to get him'. It isn't because of his drug use, falling asleep as the wheel while intoxicated, or even his extracurricular activities in said foliage. No, it's because all men are jealous of him because he gets to shirk parental responsibilities.

Here is his story:

He said, "I think at the end of it all I represent something profoundly different for society.

"I have grown up surrounded by people who think that sex, drugs and rock n' roll is compatible with a working life while being married with children. During the 1980s, my generation and the one after me, found that was impossible.

"Me, I don't want any children, I don't want responsibility. I am gay, I smoke weed and I do exactly what I want in my life because of my talent. I represent an ideal which others have had to let go and they blame me for that. Especially men."

You can read the original post here.

Actually, I am amazed at how he went from Number 1 hottie, to well.. ahem.. looking older than his 43 years of life. Sure, he's had one incredibly ride, but daaaaaaaaang, he sure looks a lot older for the wear, right?

Honestly, I think he's an amazing talent. He always has been one. When he gets his life in order (and surely he will), he'll have one heck of a story to tell. He might not ever look as young or sexy as he was, but his music will always be.

A Laserjet Printer for $20?!

I recognize that most often, when a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But help me out here, is this correct? In order to get it as this price, you'll need to do three things: 1) follow the link below, 2) put the printer in your online shopping cart, and 3) print out a separate rebate form (you'll see it when you click on the link at the top of the screen that gives you the directions. The latter is a mail-in rebate, which is usually like waiting 3 months for your rebate. Still.. a final price of $20 is tough to beat, right?

Go here to begin your link clicking experience.

Shameful Fundraising Tactics

Jim Wallis confronts Focus on the Family's claim that gay folks are responsible for the breakdown of the American family. Speaking directly to them, they concede and admit gay folks have nothing to do with it. In doing so, they show that their fundraising tactics are built on fear-mongering and lies.

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for this post.

"I had this conversation with Focus on the Family, and I said I agree with you that family breakdown is a huge crisis, a serious crisis. And I don't think the Left talks about that enough. My neighborhood is eighty percent single parent families. You can't overcome poverty with that, with eighty percent single parent families. But how do we reweave the bonds of marriage, family, extended family, and community, to put our arms around the kids? And it's not just in poor neighborhoods. Kids are falling through the cracks of fractured family in all classes and neighborhoods.

So I said to them, I want to rebuild family life and relationships, but explain to me how gay and lesbian people are the ones responsible for all that? which is what their fund-raising strategy suggests. And after about an hour and a half they conceded the point.

They said, Okay Jim, we concede that family breakdown is caused much more by heterosexual dysfunction than by homosexuals. But then they said, We can't vouch for our fundraising department, which says a lot, I think" - Jim Wallis, Powells.com.

Bullied 15 Year Old Boy Commits Suicide

Bullying really does have ramifications for kids who cannot or do not know how to handle it. Regardless of our sexual orientations, bullying instills a level of fear in a person that can distort their reality. Unfortunately the kid in this story was also drunk, his distorted reality manifested itself in his horrible resolution to end the bullying. Here is the story:

A boy of 15 lay down in front of a train to commit suicide after being teased at school about his sexuality, an inquest was told yesterday.

Moments before he died, Jonathan Reynolds sent harrowing text messages to his family telling that them they were not to blame for what was about to happen. A passer-by saw him holding the mobile as he lay down on the tracks in front of a train travelling at 85mph (136km/h) through Pencoed railway station near Bridgend, South Wales.

In his last text message sent to his father, Mark, and his 14-year-old sister, Samantha, the teenager wrote: “Tell everyone that this is for anybody who eva said anything bad about me, see I do have feelings too. Blame the people who were horrible and injust 2 me. This is because of them, I am human just like them.

“I hope they rot in hell 4 what they made me do. They know who they are.”

He added: “None of you blame urself mum, dad, Sam and the rest of my family. This is not because of you.”

A postmortem examination showed that Jonathan, who achieved a grade A in his GCSE Welsh oral exam on the day he died, had a blood-alcohol level three and a half times the legal limit for driving.

The inquest jury sitting at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court was told that Jonathan, a pupil at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, had argued on the phone with two friends, Saphra Hayes and Nicola Kennett, on the evening he died.

Both girls told police that they ended their conversations with Jonathan on good terms. His mother, Caroline, told the inquest that she believed that the arguments had been a “catalyst” for his actions. She said: “He was, to all intents and purposes, in for the night, and then following a few angry phone calls he changed his mind and went out.”

South Wales Police investigated Jonathan’s death because of the nature of his final text message, but Detective Inspector Russell Warwick said: “There were no issues that constituted criminality.”

Although Jonathan had not complained of being bullied at school, Detective Chief Inspector Sandra England, of the British Transport Police, said that weeks earlier he had confided to a friend that he was gay.

The friend, Aimee Murray, told Ms England that Jonathan had been teased about his sexuality by a number of boys at school. She also said that he had been using concealer on his face because of acne.

Thomas Coleman, from Pencoed, was walking his two dogs with his wife near the railway station at 8.25pm when he saw Jonathan on the line.

Mr Coleman said: “He had a mobile in his hand. I called out and said, ‘Get off the track’. He looked at me and just put his head back down and I saw him walking across the track. I was walking across the bridge and he was walking across the track and he seemed to lie down and the train came.”

William Roberts, the driver of the train from Cardiff to Carmarthen, saw Jonathan jump down from the station platform on to the track. There was no possibility of avoiding him as the train’s stopping distance at 85mph was nearly three quarters of a mile. Mr Roberts said: “I started to blow the horn. He was walking across the line right across the track and just lay down on the line.”

Dr Alan Rees, a pathologist, concluded that Jonathan died of multiple injuries. The jury returned an open verdict.

Towelroad quotes this story from the Times UK.

It sure is easy to love this guy

CHICAGO , IL-- U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement to commemorate Pride Month.

"Pride Month is a reminder that while we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do."

"Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

"It's time to turn the page on the bitterness and bigotry that fill so much of today's LGBT rights debate. The rights of all Americans should be protected -- whether it's at work or anyplace else. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needs to be repealed because patriotism and a sense of duty should be the key tests for military service, not sexual orientation. Civil unions should give gay couples full rights. And those who commit hate crimes should be punished no matter whether those crimes are committed on account of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation."

"This Pride Month, let's make our founding promise of equality a reality for every American."

Striking Difference, Eh?

When it comes to our expressions of love, it is difficult to imagine a more striking contrast.

Would this Scare the bejezus out of you?

This is Simply Comical

The Huffington Post links a story from the New Yorker about Tom DeLay saying of Newt Gingrich's Adultrous affair, "My adultery was different than Gingrich's." Why on earth would DeLay compare it that way? So that he can show the world why Gingrich is morally bankrupt and DeLay isn't... even if in the comparison they both did the same deed.

This is worse than the pot calling the kettle black. In my opinion, this is more about how religion gone amuck affects the politics and when our hypocrisy is, at my times, the foundation for self-righteous indignation.

Heck, I wouldn't vote for either one of them. But southern America might- and with these two men, they may have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

Who'd've Thunk It?

I was all excited and happy today when I discovered that one of my favorite childhood magazines (/comics) has its own website: www.cracked.com. I remember with glee reading the hilarious cartoons (but only understanding about half of the humor) when I was young. Now that I am older, they are still funny... and I understand more of their humor.

In this particular post, I learned there are far more Hollywood Scientologists than I figured. From what I've read about these religious folks, Scientologists seem a good fit for some Hollywood actors. After the jump, you might be surprised as to who pays for levels of advanced knowledge with God and alien seduction. For a brief understanding of exactly what L.Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology created, go here to watch a brief and funny Steven Colbert video.

The Top 10 Secret Celebrity Scientologists.

Mark Twain's Anti-War Poem

Published after his death, Mark Twain, that witty Southern gent, had hoped to publish an anti-war poem while he was still alive but was strongly encouraged not to do so. When you read this poem, you may understand why.

Mixing politics with religion is always a gamble; sometimes what you say can have a powerful influence. However, at its worst, it can polarize and demonize you as both anti-American and un-Christian. Today anti-war voices are being heard more and more by God's faithful--as it should be. But there is still the threat that if you correlate God and war and American idealism as a bad thing, then you might be labeled and dismissed as either a crackpot, a heretic, or Satanic.

Kudos for voices like Twain, even if after death, we can read the hypocrisy hidden between the lines as a call to repentance.

O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

Thanks to Daily Kos for publishing this post on his blog.

Finally ... Geez!

I received my monthly subscription to The Advocate magazine today. For pretty much all of this year and last, the magazine was getting worse and worse. I was definitely sold on the idea that I was not renewing my subscription.

And then I heard that I wasn't alone. Many people had grown dissatisfied with The Advocate. And so two months ago, there was a "house cleaning". A friend who writes for them told me that just about everyone there was fired or let go. Last month's issue wasn't too bad but it hadn't the zing that made it famous.

And then I received this month's issue. Wowsers! It is fantastic! It has great articles, solid reviews, and much diversity.

Kudos to you, you New Advocate you! If you keep this up, I'll keep my subscription for sure.

What If ... ?

What if we could prevent cancer?

What if we could safely give a vaccine that would prevent a cancer that, if a person gets it, means certain death?

What if we found a vaccine for a cancer that needs to be taken early to be effective?

What if the particular cancer is caused by a virus, would that make any difference?

What if that particular virus was sexually transmitted? Would that make any difference?

As we have become smarter and our science has become more advanced, we have learned that some viruses cause cancer. One such example of this finding is the discovery that an HPV (human papillomavirus) viral infection can lead to cancer in men and women. In women, cervical cancer, which stems from an infection from HPV*, remains the number one cancer-related killer of all women world wide and the number two killer in the United States (*editorial change from original post).

So you'd think a vaccine, that has been noted to be successful, and if used, would be administered post-haste to stop this horrible disease, would be warmly welcomed by everyone. But unfortunately, you'd be mistaken.

We now have this vaccine that is being used in several clinical trials. In each of those trials, scientists are excited. In every place where the trials have been conducted, the vaccine has been 95-100% effective in preventing a person from contracting the HPV virus. But, as some of you know, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. And herein lies the problem.

West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Mexico are rejecting the clinical trials in their states because they believe allowing them would be encouraging promiscuity. And since our religion teaches us that promiscuity is bad, we should not only discourage it, but punish those who do it. Okay, so they don't specifically say that last part--but they imply it.

In the U.S., it is estimated that 20 million people have it at any given time. Half of all women ages 18-22 who are sexually active, have HPV. In most cases, the symptoms clear up and goes away. But sometimes infections persist and when that happens, it can lead to cancer. In fact, according to the FDA, HPV accounts for 70% of all cervical cancer development. In total, it is estimaged that there are 6.2 million new cases of HPV reported each year. That's a lot of people, right? Shouldn't we be taking drastic measures to ensure that this virus doesn't turn into cancer and those infected with it?

Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council thinks that permitting the vaccine will cause more harm than good. More harm than actually killing a person, to be more exact. One wonders what kind of warm that could be? But Maher explains that using this vaccine would "undermine abstinence-only education". But she is assuming that if a person gets the vaccine that she will suddenly become a dangerous sex vixon who lurks on street corners picking up her johns and engage in other such nefarious behavior.

And yet, despite the fear mongering, reality has revealed to us that 95% of all Americans have had sex before marriage. One doubts that a vaccine will cause more people to have premarital sex. Sex is a natural instinct most people have--vaccine or not, people are going to have it.

In my opinion, it's one thing to have a religious conviction about sex and who should have it and when it ought to occur; it's another thing entirely to ban a life-saving vaccine because it violates that religious conviction. I mean, convictions are great for the person having them (or the persons in their care)--but to force that conviction on others is not only anti-American, if that conviction may cause death, then it is also sinful. I mean what's more important, your convictions or someone's life?

I know, I know, there are hypothetical arguments that suggest that ideologies are more important than life, and I am sure you can think of a lot of them. However, if ideology is favored over reality, then I believe a serious problem exists. Life itself is more than just a valued commodity--it is a gift from God. Life should be valued, honored, and cherished. In doing so, that value means we protect those who might be harmed or killed--even if in our protection, we offer something that may challenge our religious convictions.

This argument opens up a host of questions about faith and bioethics. What if a vaccine could be developed that would prevent HIV that later causes AIDS? What if that vaccine, if given to teenagers, would stop the disease from ever developing? What would be more important, our ideology or saving hundreds of millions of lives?

Five Steps to Being More Productive

Yahoo Finance has a great post by Penelope Trunk about ways to be more productive. It's a great list and if you're one of those folks who always thinks you could be doing more, then this is for you. I say that because I tend to think that a lot.

Here is one of the sample steps:

Keep your inbox empty.

Your inbox is not your to-do list; your to-do list is something you compile and prioritize. If your inbox is your to-do list, then you have no control over what you're doing -- you've ceded it to whoever sends you an email next.

Productivity wizards experience less information overload because they deal with an email as soon as they've read it -- respond, file, or delete. Nothing stays in the inbox. Reading each email four or five times while it languishes in your inbox is a huge waste of time, and totally impractical given the amount of email we all receive.

Go here to read the entire post.

The Worst Generation

Here's a post about one man's rant against the Baby Boomer generation. He feels this generation is the most selfish one that's ever lived. His rant is particularly interesting because of the various comparison's he makes.

Here is a sample:

And don't give me this crap about Boomer music. The Beatles were all born before the end of the war. So was Janis. So while the Boomers can claim they had the good taste to listen to gifted pre-Boomers, when it came their turn to make music, the truest expression of their generation, what did they give us?

Disco.

The generation that came before the Boomers gave them Dylan. The Boomers gave us KC and the Sunshine Band. Thanks a lot.

Go on, have a looksee.

Boy as a Human Shield

Here is a shocking photo of a 13-year old boy being used as a human shield by Israeli soldiers. Just when you think a nation cannot sink to a greater depth in human depravity, one finds something like this and stands corrected.

Go here to see a larger version of the picture and read the story.

Death Threats and Scripture

I just read a story about a gay couple in Florida, who upon picking up their luggage at the baggage claim, heard through the loud speakers a quote from Scripture in the Old Testament. The quote was from Leviticus condemning homosexuality as well as calling for those who do to be put to death.

The gay couple to whom the message was directed, immediately filed a complaint with the airport security as well as to the police department. They were not only offended but felt threatened--even more so, they felt there LIFE'S were threatened. Did they over-react?

What do you think? Is quoting Scripture about calling for someone's death freedom of speech? Is it religious freedom? Or, if the Scripture calls for death, could it also be a death threat? On the surface, I guess it depends on how seriously a person who is quoting Scripture is being serious enough.

But there are many folks who take their religion very seriously. We need only look to the extremists in Islam who do use their holy scripture to justify their murdering and killing. The picture in this post was taken when Iran strung up two teenagers caught who admitted to having a relationship with each other. Obviously, Iran takes their religion very seriously.

But honestly, would that ever happen here? I mean, in America it's different, right?

But it does make me wonder: is it imaginable that a person in America would kill another person based upon the readings and laws of the Bible, if that person knew they could get away with it? Of course they would.

Answering such a question in the affirmative might help explain why gay and lesbian activists are trying to ensure that the laws of the land protect all of its citizens including those who are gay and lesbian. If someone tells you that we are fighting for 'special rights', be sure to remind them that we're fighting for 'equal rights'--the right to live as anyone else lives without penalty or threat of life.

Disturbing Quotes

I found an interesting post this afternoon about the 100 darndest things fundamentalist Christians say. Sure, a lot of the quotes seem to center around the evolution debates which also seems to imply that these quotes were gathered by either atheists or agnostics. Still, for moderates, these quotes are both just shocking and even a tad scary--scary to think that some folks may actually believe them. The quotes are interesting at first but begin to wane towards the end. All in all though, the quotes kind of left me asking a lot of questions-- could people really believe this way?

All in all, I was left thinking that if one person believes one way, he or she's opinion probably affects other opinions too. For instance, if AIDS is caused by sin and not a virus (as you'll read in an example below), is that person more or less likely to care about safe sex education or vote for more funding into AIDS research? Probably not--if the "real" problem to them is only a sinful lifestyle, then the money would be better spent on something else thereby causing the virus to continue to spread and kill more people--whereby the person's opinions may continue to be reinforced rather than challenged.

The last quote in my example quotes is just plain scary. Now, I don't have any children--but the justification for this behavior seems to reinforce how this guy views God and how others probably do the same. It isn't any wonder then why some fundamentalists are so unkind and mean spirited when it comes to 'killing those who sin'. If we don't do it, then God will be mad at us for NOT doing it--and we'll be judged and punished as if we committed the same sins ourselves. Sure, this might sound nuts--but I wonder how many people believe it? The number might be surprising.

Here are a few samples of those quotes. You'll notice a smart-allecky and sometimes funny heading followed by each quote.

Fundamentalism In A Nutshell Award
"There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don't know that much about it does not bother me in the least."

Proudly Marching Into the 16th Century Award
"AIDS is caused by immoral behavior, not by a virus."

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child Award*
(*I changed the original title of this post, the author had something that was offensive to me.)

Dr. Jack Hyles said, "Let the child realize that you are simply representing God in the execution of the punishment. Explain to him that parents represent God before their children and that they are ministers to execute His judgment. Psalm 103:13 says, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." So God is like a father and He chooses fathers and mothers to represent Him in the punishing of little children. Let the child realize that if you as a parent do not punish him properly, you are being disobedient to God and committing the same sin the child is committing. Explain to him that you are a child of God and if you refuse to obey God in the execution of His judgment upon your children, God will pour out His wrath upon you. For you to be a good child of God requires that you be a good parent to the child. Let him understand this. He will get the idea that God is a holy and just God, One Who loves and yet One Who wants us to become out best. For this to be so He must punish us when we are deserving.

Sometimes spanking should leave stripes on the child. Proverbs 20:30 says, "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil; so do stripes the inward parts of the belly." Our natural man rebels a such punishment, but we are reminded in I Corinthians 2:14 that the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. Hence, we have to trust the God Who knows more than we and obey Him.

The spanking should be administered firmly. It should be painful and it should last until the child's will is broken. It should last until the child is crying not tears of anger but tears of a broken will. As long as he is stiff, grits his teeth, holds on to his own will, the spanking should continue."

Go here for Dr. Jack Hyles' webpage on raising children.

Go here to read the 100 quotes.

There Is No Green Dot

Here is a fun eye illusion. After the jump, you will be taken to a screen with flashing pink dots arranged in a circle. Staring at the pink dots, you see pink dots. If you stare in the middle of the circle where the black cross is, all the pink dots turn into one green dot. And if you stare long enough, you will only see one green dot going around in a circle and all the other dots disappear.

Go here, follow the directions and be amazed.

Just when you think seeing IS believing, something like this comes around and changes everything.

A Joke

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa , taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost.. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep trouble now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was o one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says, "Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Service Announcement

Okay, so you'll notice the post below this post is my attempt at religious humor. A special thanks to the church member who just sent it. But you'll also notice the post after that, is a post about racism. Just so you, my dear reader, won't say, "Dude, like it's okay to smear someone based on their religious convictions and not someone based on their racial persuasion?" Just so you know, I thought about that before posting the joke.

You'll notice that the religious element in the joke is only an aside to the greed of the old man rather than an indictment between one faith and another. In other words, the greedy old man only "uses religion" to justify his greed rather than living by its conviction.

As I am one who often challenges religious systems of belief, I found this joke both appropriate to my critical self and, a joke that was really, really funny.

*End of service announcement*

And, I hope you find that this joke is funny too.

An Old Irish Joke

An Irish daughter had not been home for over five years. Upon her return, her father cursed her. Where have ye been all this time? Why did ye not write to us, not even a line? Why didn't ye call? Can ye not understand what ye put yer old mum thru?

The girl, crying, replied, "Dad... I became a prostitute...".

"Ye what!!? Out of here, ye shameless harlot! Sinner! You're a disgrace to this family."

"OK, Dad -- as ye wish. I just came back to give mum this luxurious fur coat, title deed to a ten bedroom mansion plus a savings certificate for $5 million."

"For me little brother, this gold Rolex and for ye daddy, the sparkling new Mercedes limited edition convertible that's parked outside plus a membership to the country club... (takes a breath)... and an invitation for ye all to spend New Years' Eve on board my new yacht in the Riviera , and..."

"Now what was it ye said ye had become?" says dad.

Girl, crying again, "Sniff, sniff....a prostitute dad! "

"Oh! Be Jesus! Ye scared me half to death, girl! I thought ye said a Protestant. Come here and give yer old man a hug."

Noticing Racism

It isn't difficult to see, once you start looking. When racism is no longer overt (even though in many situations, conversations, and places it is very overt), you have to look just below the surface of a situation to discover it. Listen to someone's motivation, read the background to a story, or compare how one situation is looked at from a different perspective--or how a story is interpreted when it involves a person of color and a Caucasian.

Take this photo for example. Notice the difference between "looting" and "finding".

Unfortunately, once you start noticing the differences, it becomes absurd how often you see, hear, and witness it.

Ten Dollars?!

Flying couldn't be cheaper now; although where you fly is a bit limited. It seems everything works to or through Columbus, OH. And, everything is bare bones--but hey, its only $10!! Go here for that $10 flight to wherever.

Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

After the jump, you'll find yourself at a webpage devoted to 15 of the post writer's favorite quotes of Vonnegut. Here is one post:

"We must be careful about what we pretend to be."

In Mother Night, apolitical expatriate American playwright Howard W. Campbell, Jr. refashions himself as a Nazi propagandist in order to pass coded messages on to the U.S. generals and preserve his marriage to a German woman—their "nation of two," as he calls it. But in serving multiple masters, Campbell ends up ruining his life and becoming an unwitting inspiration to bigots. In his 1966 introduction to the paperback edition, Vonnegut underlines Mother Night's moral: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." That lesson springs to mind every time a comedian whose shtick relies on hoaxes and audience-baiting—or a political pundit who traffics in shock and hyperbole—gets hauled in front of the court of public opinion for pushing the act too far. Why can't people just say what they mean? It's a question Don Imus and Michael Richards—and maybe someday Ann Coulter—must ask themselves on their many sleepless nights.

Go here to read the rest.

Predictions from the year 1900

...from the Ladies Home Journal, no less. Who knew they've been around that long?! Anyways, the story is fascinating to read (if true). Go see it and let me know if it is indeed an accurate document. It is filled with things that are funny, many that are true, and some that are strikingly true.

It kind of make me wonder what predictions we're making about life 100 years from now.

Book Art

Follow the jump to some great projects made out of books, of all things.

The Best Debt Management Program Ever

I found this video tonight and found it priceless. It is a way that demonstrates to all of us how to get out of debt and how to stay out of debt.

Snl_dontbuystuff
Uploaded by shosterman

The New Sanctuary Movement

There is a new movement happening across progressive America in which local congregations reach out to specifically help and aid struggling immigrants from Empire's long-arm of the law and uncompassionate heart. That movement is called The New Sanctuary Movement and it is a small but ever growing mission to reach out to the aliens in the land in the name of religious and Christian hospitality.

Here is an excerpt from their pledge statement:
The New Sanctuary Movement is a coalition of interfaith religious leaders and participating
congregations, called by our faith to respond actively and publicly to the suffering of our
immigrant brothers and sisters residing in the United States.

You can go here to learn more about the movement and to ask yourself how you can participate with it.

A Practical Response

A friend of mine wrote one heck of a practical response about Don Imus' on-air racist and sexist comments that got him fired from his radio show. You can read his response as a father of little girls and how Imus' comment shows the ever-constant concern to remind our little girls of their self-worth in a world of such intolerance.

You can also read another constructive response to Imus over at Dolly Mama. The writer of that blog is the pastor at Judson Memorial Church, in NYC (I used to be a member there).

Conan O'Brien went to Harvard?!

Okay, so that isn't such a big thing but what is a big thing is the graduation speech he wrote and delivered to his alma mater in 2000. I found it to be a wonderfully funny and poignant speech. I hope you enjoy it too.

Stop what you're doing...

...and watch this video. Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera are at each other's throats in a debate concerning immigration. Bill is commenting about a little girl killed by a drunk driver who is also an illegalimmigrant. Geraldo is rebuffing Bill by saying this issue is about drunk driving and not illegal immigration. Geraldo is brilliant and then he says something amazingly profound. It's toward the end.

I should warn you, there is a lot of shouting-- so you'll have to mentally focus. But, in my opinion, it's well worth it.





This video is on youtube.com here.

The Real Issues of MLK, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. has become quite the symbol of racial equality, as he should be. But King didn't just stop talking about discrimination when the Civil Rights Act passed, he continued to discuss the economic inequalities that existed in the 1960's and how race played a huge factor in it. He contended that unless we dismantle and redistribute certain economies of privilege, then racism will never truly be eradicated.

Here is an interesting article that speaks to King's rationale behind his economies of justice. One has to wonder how or what a Christian should do when faced with King's call to justice. So often, America's form of economy is based on a capitalism that seeks to reward those who have much by enabling them to give more to those who are poor through both tax incentives and monetary reward. Our form of capitalism seems to have served America well--although there are a number of folks who are looking for a better system of economic equality that isn't as much communistic as it is communal. A good example of this is called Christian communism, while pejorative sounding in nature, it does seem to draw on the Christian's in the Book of Acts as the primary directive with creating an economic equality that seems to evade the minds of capitalistic Americans.

However it is we examine our economy, one thing is for certain: Few people are going to hear it well. As our political parties have been so eloquent to achieve, many Americans tie capitalism with Christianity is what appears to be an unholy alliance. In some ways, what we are experiencing sounds a lot like what Amos experienced when he prophesied against the economic abuses of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Who will be our prophet now? What will that prophet say? Who will offer up a better way that provides a fair way to provide for all of God's children? Honestly, how does the responsible Christian address economic and justice related inequalities? From the example of MLK, Jr. we must surmise that such an address will not be received well, if at all.

The Secret White House Communication System

This post is kinda scary. It details a secret and dedicated email server that the White House uses instead of the one run by the official email server as mandated by a law in the Presidential Records Act. The idea is that all emails must be ran through the official one in the event an email might be needed for future examination.

Instead, many folks around Bush use a different email server to help keep their actions secret and outside the venue of accountability.

Honestly, who can blame them, right? Sometimes a person may do a thing in secret for a greater good. Still, the post articulates a scary scenario in which accountability left unchecked can cause great mischief.

Are ya’ll from these parts?

A special thanks to Sieg for this post.

SOUTHERN WOMEN

Southern women appreciate their natural assets:
Clean skin.
A winning smile.
That unforgettable Southern drawl.

Southern women know their manners:
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yes, sir."
"Why, no, Billy!"

Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions :
"Y'all come back!"
"Well, bless your heart."
"Drop by when you can."
"How's your Momma?"


Southern women know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick

Southern women know the joys of June, July, and August:
Colorful hi-heel sandals
Strapless sun dresses
Iced sweet tea with mint

Southern women know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Southern women know their country breakfasts:
Red-eye gravy
Grits
Eggs
Country ham
Mouth-watering homemade biscuits with momma's homemade jelly

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform.
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food
More Suthen-ism's:
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit , and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.
_____

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."
_____

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."
_____

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, . as in: "Going to town, be back directly."
_____

Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.
_____

All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.
_____

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!
_____

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.
_____

Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.
_____

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
_____

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.
_____

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when we're "in line," we talk to everybody!
_____

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.
_____

In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.
_____

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
_____

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
_____

When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!
_____

Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.
_____

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her heart" ... and go your own way.
_____

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!
_____
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, ... bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!
_____

And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long time, all y'all need a sign to hang on y'alls front porch that reads "I ain't from the South, but I got here as fast as I could."

Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fahevah !

Now...... Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or wish they had been!

If you're a Northern transplant, Bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could.

Firefox Easter Eggs

Like Windows' Internet Explorer, Firefox has some interesting Easter Eggs (hidden messages) in its innards. To see them, just type in the words in your address bar and click return (or enter). Thanks TechPwn for this post.

About:Mozilla - This one is a bit odd. It displays a quote as if it was out of the some holy book. This is Mozilla getting back at Microsoft because if you put this in IE, it gives you a blue screen, making fun of a Mozilla crash. Here is what it says…

And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.

from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

About:config - This page shows you all of Firefox’s configuration. You can set settings to your own liking. There are many pages out there that talk about speeding up Firefox by editing some settings in here. Just Google “speed up firefox”.

About:cache - Ever wondered how much space the Firefox cache is taking up? This page will let you know.

about:plugins - This gives you a detailed list of plugins installed on your machine. This could come in handy if certain pages (especially media files) aren’t loading correctly.

About:credit - This one is self explanatory. It will show you all of the people who have spent their time building this great piece of software.

about:blank - This one might not be too hidden, but if you’d like to set your browser homepage to a blank slate, this could come in handy.

Dog Fetches Shark?

I got tired of hearing this video play itself whenever I loaded my blog. So, here is the link to the video. It's pretty amazing and watching it, you might find yourself saying, "That is one dumb ass dog."

Go here to see the video.

The Daily Show

I just love The Daily Show, the spoofs and humor are fun to watch. And, in a very unusual twist, some of the guests who come onto the Daily Show are either thinking it's legit and they are using the show as a platform for their own agendas or, they have no idea what the show is really about.

To illustrate my point, a couple of days ago Richard Cohen was on the Daily Show in a fact-like parody of his treatment to cure homosexuality. The show was obviously meant to spoof it and yet Cohen didn't seem to connect with what was being shown. The show features Richard Cohen and Wayne Besen, a gay man who addresses the dangers of Ex-Gay therapy. After watching this video, I followed this link to a video where Cohen was on Jimmy Kimmel hawking his cures. In that video, he was saying the same thing and offering the same solutions as on The Daily Show. This is what I mean by the fact that the Daily Show was spoofing him and he didn't seem to have a clue about it. (I'd post the video but Youtube just pulled it from their server.) In the video, Cohen hits a pillow and cries out his anger against his mom and then cradles a man (in a very homoerotic way) as a way to get in touch with a "healthier" man on man form of male bonding that gay men seem to lack.

It seems all of this onscreen interviews began with this interview he did on CNN. CNN doesn't parody him but does offer some insight into the methods to not only his own madness, but the madness that fuels the fires of his clientèle. Fortunately CNN interviews non-wacky psychologists who warn others of the dangers of reparative therapy. Here is a link to that video.

Wayne Besen is probably Cohen's worst nightmare. Besen understands the danger that ex-gay therapy poses to many of its gay clientele who really want to be cured of their homosexuality. Besen contends that the methods of the ex-gay therapy are actually more harmful and the clientele realizes. And Cohen, according the Besen, is an fraud and unscrupulous 'life coach' whose had his credentials taken away because of his personal breach of ethics. Go here to see Besen's comments about Cohen.

All in all, those who wish to change their orientation have a right to pursue the changes they wish. However, when those changes are motivated by self-hatred or because of their desire to seek validation from those they seek it from, one needs to be careful regarding the methods and practices of those particular therapies. Some of the solutions can be more harmful than the remedies that a person considers in the first place.

While I don't believe there is anything wrong with a gay orientation whatsoever, there can be challenges and pitfalls when one chooses to live a life of wanton irresponsibility. Whether gay or straight, the lifestyle choices we make can have long lasting ramifications. Not that those ramifications are necessarily bad for you, but sometimes they can be. However it is we choose to live our lives, let us make the best choices that honor our bodies, ourselves, and those we choose to love...whoever it is we choose to love.

A special kudo to pandagon.net for this expose and the subsequent links and videos that tells the larger and complete story. You can go here to read her post.

Honoring ACT-Up

Larry Kramer, a playright and gay rights activist, was a founding member of Gay Men's Health Crisis and ACT-Up (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). He has been and continues to be a prophetic (and, appropriately so, an angry and pissed off) voice for gay and lesbian folk everywhere.

I've had a speech from him on this blog before and once again, you will notice that he is still as abrasive and in-your-face as always. The man holds no punches. Some folks contend that you either love him or hate him. He is offensive for sure. Without him, our world would be such a very different place. And a whole lot more people would be dead.

ACT-Up is celebrating their 20th anniversary and this week he gave a speech honoring the contributions of ACT-Up. The speech is available on video and, below the video, a written out transcript. The video looks homemade and has some annoying background voices. I watched the video while I read the transcript.

After the video and when I was done reading, I found myself inspired, saddened, and mad as hell. That is how a lot of folks feel after Kramer speaks. You may or may not feel the same way; but let me encourage you to watch and read. If you're gay, it may inspire you. If you're not gay, it'll give you an insight into gay life over the past 20 years--as well as some deep insight as to what some gay and lesbian folk are fighting for.

Advice to Young Men from an Old Man

You know, being sick affords one an opportunity to surf, catch up on a few books lying around, and generally goof off. Sure, I am napping, eating light, and generally nurturing myself back to health. Still, it is fun to find some unexpected jewels while meandering around.

This post, written over on Craigslist, is a beaut. It is advice from an old man written to all young men. Reading the post, I found myself thinking about Robert Duvall's character in Secondhand Lions, where he talks with thuggish boys about being a 'real man'. You may find some offensively stated advice, but all in all, most of it is impressive and wise.

Amazing, right?

Here's a weird thing you can do with a hammer, a ruler, and a piece of string.

A Curious Observation

Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY wrote an interesting article on his website March 2nd. As a result, countless blogs and news folks have picked up on the story and have run with it. And, as you might expect, most progressives are furious with him.

Mohler wrote an article that basically asked with the question, 'What would you do if your baby was gay? What would you do if you could change the sexual orientation of the baby before he or she were born? I found the summary about the article here. You can go here to read his own words about it. You'll need to scroll down the embedded window to the March 2 entry to find it.

What I found very curious about this particular article is two-fold. One, that for the first time, he acknowledges that a gay sexual orientation may indeed have genetic influences; even more so, he writes to prepare readers that science may very well prove this to be so. One has to give Mohler credit, I believe, to even suggest this possibility given the hoopla against such an idea that has been in the minds of many gay and straight professionals for a long time. He offers a few caveats in his article, namely that he finds it interesting the gay and lesbian groups feel the necessity to fund such studies to prove the genetic influences. However, if it weren't for the tenacity of such groups, we might not ever realize the biological influences associated with sexual orientation (regardless of sexual preferences). Mohler even goes so far as to imply that transgender folks have biological traits that may contribute to their gender identity. That takes guts, even if he is being a tad condescending in reporting it. Maybe that's his shield from a conservative backlash. Rather than suppressing such information or discrediting it; Mohler is actually naming it--even if he does so in a skittish kind of way.

The second curious thing I find in his article is his justification for gene manipulation, when the time comes that the genes and biological associations are discovered that cause it. It really isn't hard to follow his line of reasoning. If your child harbored a serious illness, say Polio for example, and you could eradicate it from your as yet to be born child, wouldn't you do it? Of course anyone would. To suggest that a person wouldn't is silly. But Mohler goes one step further and suggests that even a bona fide liberal parent who "says they support homosexuality" in other people, wouldn't actually be so carnal as to allow their own children to become that way and would, as any concerned parent do, apply the gene modification to make their children's orientation conform to what is natural and God ordered (e.g., heterosexual). And then, he goes on to criticize those fictional liberal parents in his mind as hypocrites. He sets folks up, then strikes them down. What a tacky and immature way to stress one's point of view.

But what I really take odds with is that he actually approves of such modifications. It wasn't that long ago when Mohler wrote about the discontinuity of faith and reason behind the stem cell debate. Arguing that even the life of a stem cell that doesn't grow to form a baby should still not be used because that stem cell is life and it is sacred. To be more exact, he said, "The argument that the human embryo should be protected as fully human is based upon foundational worldview commitments. So also is the belief that the embryo is not deserving of full respect and protection." In effect, he is saying that the embryo must be protected in its form, regardless of its form. My question, then, should not the genetic makeup of a baby be protected (illness notwithstanding)? Is a person's sexual orientation not held to the same standard of a "foundational worldview commitment"? Of course he doesn't think so but I would suggest that this is where others and myself disagree with him. He is picking and choosing the genetic codes and makeup he chooses--keeping the ones he thinks are God-honoring, and changing or distorting the ones he thinks are not. When his critics charge him of playing God, this is one example they are pointing to.

At the end of his article, he makes a strong case that while homosexuality is a sin, the homosexual is still created in God's image. While that is a great sentiment, he stops short of following through with it. While I applaud the language that we're all created in God's image, it sounds like he doesn't really mean it if he then, in his next breath, seeks to find a way to change that image.

In a way, Mohler is caught in an awkward position: he admits that science is about to betray his and other's long held belief that sexual orientation is a choice. When it may soon be proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that sexual orientation is tied to the almost certain reality of a person's genetic biology. However, given this development, he like the Roman Catholic Church, have come to separate homosexual acts from homosexual orientation. Once separated, not even biology can justify its continuation. It wasn't that long ago when separating the two was unthinkable. But he is doing so, and in my opinion, he is doing so while also taking a risk.

As Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York City psychiatrist critical of those who consider homosexuality a disorder, commended Mohler's openness to the prospect that it is biologically based. "This represents a major shift," Drescher said. "This is a man who actually has an open mind, who is struggling to reconcile his religious beliefs with facts that contradict it."

And so we're left with an article that he says was only meant to start a conversation. When in reality, he gives a response to where that conversation ought to lead. That really isn't what a conversation is, right? Still, what he says his important and he illustrates the dynamic shift that conservative Christians must start considering when science reveals what everyone else has felt for quite some time: That sexual orientation is not all about choices--sometimes, and more often that one might realize, it's as much a part of a gay person as their eye color or eventual height.

Yuck!

I have the flu. Oh .. mah .. gawd. Yesterday I felt horrible; so bad in fact, that I went to the doctor. And it was a good thing that I did. It turns out that the suspicious world of medicine (at least to me anyways) has a anti-viral medication for the flu called Tamiflu. The catch to using this is that you have to go to the doctor within 2 days (although 24 hours is recommended) of becoming symptomatic. I called my mom and said, "Mom, I have a 102 degree fever." She said, "Go to the doctor!" She is also the one who told me about the Tamiflu.

I started taking it yesterday and I can readily admit that I feel better. I am still napping frequently, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating light. However, compared to Monday night and Tuesday morning, the difference with how I feel now is unmistakable.

You may be thinking, "Gee Bo, how come you didn't get your flu shot?" Well, you know, for the last 2 years that shot has been made available to the elderly and young only, at least at first. Then, when that's done, everyone else can get it. I just forgot to go and get the darn thing. Pastors often get sick, seeing how we are in constant contact with folks, shaking their hands, giving hugs, and generally being near them--sick or not. Next year you can be sure, I'll be in line, whenever it is that I can get in line.

In the meantime and while I am getting well, I have been using this time to get caught up with some of my reading. I am almost done with Spencer Burke's A Heretic's Guide to Eternity. And I am about to begin Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. The latter comes highly recommended by a couple of friends. I loved reading highly recommended books. So I am going to take some needed R&R and try and not watch too much TV.

A Response to Ann Coulter

Recently Ann Coulter used the F-word to describe John Edwards. In a rebuttal that explains Coulter's lack of concern or repentance for using the word, Andrew Sullivan writes a brilliant piece against her main defense. Her defense in using it is that since the word wasn't directed at a gay man, then it wasn't a homophobic slur, per say.

In my opinion, his response is the most eloquent piece I've ever read about the powerful ramifications towards gay men that results when someone directs the F-word at a straight man.

Something to Make you Smile

Not everyone is thrilled with Oprah's recent support of The Secret, a new age-like motivation to achieving your life's dreams. I watched it ages ago and discovered that it's predecessor was 'What the Bleep?' I enjoyed both movies and found elements of truth in both of them. While some of the truths are recycled self-help motivations, there are other truths that regardless who said them, remain important: the way life reacts to how we engage it remains a truth that transcends religion, spirituality/mysticism, and time. The Secret folks call it The Law of Attraction, eastern mystics call it Karma, and Christians know it by the Golden Rule.

Anyways, here is a nice motivational video from The Secret folks. I hope you enjoy it:

I went here, then there, and ended up with this

You know how you go one place and then somewhere else only to discover that you find yourself at a place no where near where you began? I find that I do that a lot. This used to happen frequently when I preached or taught something, so I have discovered myself using notes. Notes keep me on track.

But I don't always use notes. Take this morning for example. I started off watching a video online that took me to an Ellen episode that took me to a new Secret.tv video. On YouTube, I watched this motivational thing only to discover a cross reference to Steven Austin and the 6 Million Dollar Man and his search for the "secret" bigfoot. I watched that video (dang the nostalgia) only to see a video in the side bar featuring a Venture Brothers cartoon with Brock Samson when he met the 6 Million Dollar Man and Bigfoot (a parody of the previous video I just watched). Are you still following me?

Okay, so I watched the video of the crass Brock Samson and just laughed my arse off. It's pretty funny (assuming you like Brock Samson). If you don't, then you may not appreciate the humor.