Four guys. Sitting in a theater together…

Mark, 31. Emergency medical technician.

Patrick, 18. Public high school student.

Clark, 24. Home on furlough after 2 years of missionary work in Bosnia.

Chris, 29. Whatever.

That’s the setup for this review, about two hours now after seeing The Passion of the Christ. Four guys at various points in their young lives, each of whom have been through any number of experiences. You would think that despite all the hype and publicity that this movie’s gotten, that nothing… nothing… could faze these guys, right?

Right?!?

Thirty minutes after the movie ended, none of us had been able to muster much of a word beyond "okay".

Drained. Shell-shocked. Mentally and physically exhausted. Outright stunned. I feel as if I’ve aged twenty years in two hours. And the other guys said much the same, that they felt something sapped out of ...

The past two weeks kicked the slats out of this part of North Carolina. The snow began falling on January 25 and effectively locked everything down for the better part of the following week. That and two bouts of freezing rain that closed schools all over the place and made travel a major hassle. Now, at last, the last remnants of the white stuff are disappearing, so we’ve been able to get out and live a bit more.

So this afternoon, Lisa and I went to the movies. Next weekend is Valentine’s so I owe her a “chick flick” on top of dinner, but today we saw a lil’ flick that’s been on my radar screen for some months now.

You gotta see “Miracle”, if you haven’t done so already. In my opinion it’s even better than “Remember The Titans” and that’s saying a lot. Easily the best sports-driven movie ...

Aint It Cool News posted a review of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” this morning. This one is written by Douglas Tennapel, the writer/artist who among other things has Earthworm Jim notched on his belt. It’s quite a good read: he goes into a lot of spoiler-ish details about the film so be warned, but it was necessary because he describes how both he and his wife were overwhelmed with horror at many of the scenes.

But there’s something that Tennapel says in his review that I couldn’t resist not thinking about in this space. He writes that “This is a movie that secular Hollywood could not make, but it’s also a movie that the Christian community could not make either.” As a believer in Christ and a fan of great filmmaking, let me say that Tennapel nails it (no pun intended) with that observation.

Someone said a ...

Most people don’t stop to think about the real meaning of words or phrases, and that’s a real shame. Take “State of the Union”, f’rinstance…

For 112 years the State of the Union speech was not televised, or broadcast over radio, or even delivered live by the President of the United States at all. It was merely delivered in printed form to both houses of Congress and then sent to newspapers and magazines throughout the country, a practice started by Thomas Jefferson. It wasn’t until Woodrow Wilson that, as George Washington did, the President again appeared before a joint session of Congress. The State of the Union address as we know it isn’t even officially legislated: Article II Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution only requires that the President give Congress information about the state of the union “from time to time”, as he (or she) deems is necessary. That ...

The Carolina Panthers are going to the Super Bowl! They went to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles on their home turf. So to all those Philly fans who were doing mean stuff like swearing at and spitting on little kids whose only crime was wearing a Panthers sweater, all I gotta say is this: “nyah-nyah nyah nyah nyahhhhh!!!” 🙂...

Yesterday was the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. As it happens, January 19th is also the birthday of Robert E. Lee and Edgar Allan Poe. It was also the birthday of a really good friend of mine who hit 96 years young this week. I’m pretty sure “Doc” celebrated his birthday with an ample supply of well-wishers. As a history buff I posted a birthday tribute to Lee on Liberty Post, and no doubt his admirers did as God lead them yesterday to toast the beloved general in their own way. And speaking of toasts, the “Poe Toaster” was right on schedule in Baltimore, leaving behind a half-bottle of French cognac and three roses on the grave of the author in what has become a time-honored ritual of mystery.

My wife and I spent yesterday at the theater, watching “The Return Of The King” again. The streets ...

Big buzz making the rounds on a lot of websites this morning are the substantiated rumors that George Lucas might yet make a Star Wars sequel trilogy – episodes 7, 8 and 9 – after wrapping up Episode 3. TheForce.net was first to break the story about Peter Mayhew being contractually obligated to reprise his Chewbacca character in future sequels (this comes in addition to his appearance in Episode 3). Then comes word from Ain’t It Cool News about a couple of companies getting licenses on the Star Wars franchise getting re-upped for quite some time after Episode 3’s bow next year. This goes hand in hand with a number of other things that have percolated to the surface during the past year or so, about how a sequel trilogy might yet appear.

My thoughts? George Lucas has spent most of his professional life on this saga. I can’t help ...

Today’s New York Times is reporting that President Bush wants to spent $1.5 BILLION in an election-year plot to promote marriage. The official announcement could come as early as next week, when Bush is scheduled to give his State of the Union address.

Whenever Bill Clinton gave a State of the Union speech, it was like watching one man pushing Christmas in January: everyone got a present from the sack… courtesy of the American taxpayer. And conservative politicians and pundits cried out “when does it end? How long before we rein in this kind of wasteful government spending?”

Apparently, it won’t happen on this administration’s watch.

Marriage doesn’t need a government program to work. In fact, the farther away that government stays away from a husband and wife, the better. No amount of money, not even $1.5 billion, can legislate commitment between a man and woman. That comes from ...

No, not “The Lord Of The Rings”!

A friend shot this news to me, and I thought it was worth mentioning in this spot…

Yesterday, January 12, was the 400th anniversary of King James I of England commissioning at his court at Hampton a translation of the Bible into the common vulgar. Some of the most renowned Christian scholars and learned men at the time convened, and began poring over centuries of manuscripts and research. Seven years later, in 1611, their task was finally complete.

There is no question that the King James Bible has been the most influential work of English literature in recorded history. Even today, though some of its words and terminology have switched meanings and even become obsolete, it remains – and will ever remain – both a literary masterpiece and a comforting presence to millions of people worldwide.

(Now, I wonder if there’s any truth ...

I’ve heard that nine Democrat candidates are running for President this year. If you asked me to name who was on that slate I could only rattle off two names immediately: John Edwards and Howard Dean. And Edwards only gets that luxury ‘cuz our family lives in the state that he’s supposed to be representing in the United States Senate. But even before his election in 1998 it was very obvious here in North Carolina that Edwards only intended to use his Senate seat as a stepping-stone toward higher aspirations. I wish I could report that North Carolina has an adequate voice in the Senate as we did during the Jesse Helms heyday, but as our other senator is Liddy Dole… well, that’s a blog post for another day…

My conscience won’t let me vote for George W. Bush for President this year. For enough reasons that have made me ...