Another great clip from the early days of Sesame Street. From 1979, said to have been inspired by Johnny Cash's appearance on The Muppet Show during which he sang "Ghost Riders in the Sky", here is the clever parody "The Dirtiest Town in the West" ...
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Fahrenheit 101
That's how it it was at one point here in Reidsville, North Carolina this afternoon. I'm also hearing that some thermometers in the area reached as high as 107.
Today is very much the hottest weather that I can remember around here in quite a long time.
"NOT MY DAUGHTER ..." Molly Weasley group on Facebook
It's the most memorable line of 2007 ... and it wasn't spoken in a single film or television show.
You know what I'm talking about if you've read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's the five words that Molly Weasley screams out just before going full-tilt wacko in the final battle. The five words that are going to absolutely rock the house when the movie version comes out.
Well, if you're on Facebook and you're also a fan of that indomitable matriarch of the Weasley clan, check this out: the "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Mrs. Weasley Appreciation Group ...
It already has over a hundred thousand members!
I will say it again: that is the single greatest line from a children's book ever. And you wanna know why? Because I don't know of anything else that's ever been said in a work of fiction that more perfectly reflects the virtue of parental love. In real life, a mother who loves her children seriously would do anything to protect them, just as Mrs. Weasley did. She would die for them and she would kill for them if it came to that. And she's not going to give a flying rat's butt about being polite about it, either.
When you think of it, Molly Weasley really is quite the avatar of Christian motherhood. I think it could even be said that Mrs. Weasley could be a symbol of the pro-life movement.
You can probably tell that I'm already looking forward to reading these books to our children someday :-)
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Rockingham County Board of Education members lashing out at free speech
An item has been placed on the agenda for the August 13th meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education that, if approved, would limit remarks by private citizens to three minutes or less during public comments portions of the monthly meetings.The Knight Shift blog received this information from a highly trusted source earlier this evening.
I've spent the past good bit of evening trying to find out more about this and I'm going to be making further inquiries come tomorrow morning.
As I've come to understand it, here's what's going down: at least one and possibly two members of the Board of Education placed this item on the agenda for the next meeting, and it's quite likely that this is coming as a reaction to what happened at the July 9th meeting. That was when the Board voted to rescind it's decision in April to implement school uniforms at Reidsville Middle and Reidsville High schools beginning this fall. A group of citizens - and I was one of them - calling themselves P.O.T.S.M.O.D. (People Opposed To Standard Mode Of Dress) dominated the public comments time during every meeting from April to July in protest of the policy. The July 9th meeting received considerable news coverage from most of the area's major media outlets because members of P.O.T.S.M.O.D. announced that they were going to address the Board wearing costumes and black armbands as a visible sign of defiance to the policy (the vote for which had been based on dire faulty information).
It's already public knowledge that there are some on the board who have expressed disdain for citizens' right to free speech. One member of the Rockingham County Board of Education stated aloud during the July meeting that P.O.T.S.M.O.D. and others were "bad for the community" because they used "loud noise" which "changed public opinion" about the uniforms.
What kind of elected official, so entrusted to uphold the principles of the Constitution, would try to "shut up" the constituents that he or she is sworn to serve and represent on the board?
I'm working on finding out more about this, folks. If more info comes this way, I'll be sure to share it here. But I wanted to go ahead and get the word out: some people on the Rockingham County Board of Education are actively taking steps to drown-out the public's right to speak out and participate in government as concerned citizens.
I don't know of any better way of wrapping up this post, than to present one of my all-time favorite works of art: a painting by Norman Rockwell simply titled "Freedom of Speech" ...
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Life-sized Yoda statue is in our foster care
Look at what wound up in our living room earlier this afternoon...
This is a life-sized statue of Yoda, made of industrial-strength plastic resin. It is heavy and despite his realized stature it is positively huge! Without a doubt it's the biggest Yoda collectible that I've ever wound up having in my possession.
Here's the statue along with my vintage Yoda vinyl hand-puppet (circa 1981) and a "Star Wars Buddies" Yoda that Lisa gave me for Christmas a few years ago, to give you a sense of appreciating the scale of this thing (and that's an Artoo-Detoo cooler that Lisa got me for Christmas before last too, in the background)...
Not even these pictures can convey the full sense of how massive this statue is.
How did this thing come to be under our roof? Well, my good friend Brian Hodges AKA Darth Larry brought it over today. He's about to start a new job as a music professor at Mercer. A few weeks ago a friend of his from Orlando, Florida gave it to Brian, after her brother won it in a raffle. They didn't have anywhere to put Yoda so they let Brian have him. Well, Brian's original intent was to put Yoda in his office at the university and since the lightsaber blade pops out, Brian wanted Yoda to be wielding a cello bow instead. And that would have been terrific... except Yoda is so big that there wasn't room for him! So Brian asked me if I'd like to have it. I told him yes, on one condition: that it be understood that I am not taking permanent possession of this Yoda statue. Brian loves this way too much and I couldn't bear for him to relinquish total ownership of it. For the time being, Yoda is simply in our "foster care" until Brian can take him back for good.
In the meantime, life-sized Yoda is dominating our living room and I'm trying to figure out exactly how to give him bed and board. Brian's idea to give him a cello bow led me to come up with the idea of putting Yoda in Lisa's classroom (she teaches music at the nearby elementary school) with a conducing baton in his hand, and put up a little sign next to him reading "Music: The REAL Force". No doubt it would be a big hit with the kids!
So ummm... anyone else have other ideas about how to wisely use Yoda while he's here? :-)
Why are too many Christians so gullible?
Why do so many Christians, in spite of everything that their faith teaches, keep participating in such a corrupt political system? More to the point: How is it that too many professing believers in Christ still insist on supporting people like George W. Bush, who is anything but a shining example of Christian virtue?
That's what Dr. Chuck Baldwin is asking in his latest essay...
I believe one of the reasons, if not the main reason, that Christians are so gullible lies in a mistaken, and even dangerous, intrinsic trust of government. I hear and see this attitude expressed among my brethren constantly.There's much more to be found at the above link. And last week Dr. Baldwin also published "An Appeal To My Fellow Christians", which I also thought to be quite a good read.Part of this problem stems from an illogical and unscriptural interpretation of Romans Chapter Thirteen. Christians have been drilled (and dare I say, brainwashed?) into believing that government is endemically good and should be thoroughly trusted. Of course, this was not the belief of America's Founding Fathers, and neither was it the belief of Church Fathers.
In fact, our entire system of government is predicated upon a deep-rooted DISTRUST of government. Our three branches of government stem from the suspicion that no one branch could be thoroughly trusted and must have at least two other branches to help keep it in check. Yet, even that was not considered enough of a deterrent to combat the propensity of government to become tyrannical. What the separate branches of the federal government could not do to police each other, the states and people were to do. In other words, if Christians were really good Americans, they would distrust, not trust, their government.
Of all people, Christians should understand the fallen nature of man: that man in a sinful state is capable of anything (unless they attend a "Purpose Driven" church, of course). How is it, then, that they cannot seem to comprehend the evil machinations of people in high office? Are they totally taken in by the "I am a Christian" façade so many politicians use? Perhaps.
However, I believe that constant preaching from milquetoast preachers instructing their people to trust their government is the main culprit. The lack of discernment and courage of America's pulpits is frightening. They have produced a generation of Christians incapable of understanding, much less opposing, the manifestations of evil and oppression.
Indian chili pepper is world's hottest
The bhut jolokia - or "ghost pepper" because one bite of this could send you to an early grave - of northeastern India is now officially the world's hottest chili pepper
A chile's spiciness can be scientifically measured by calculating its content of capsaicin, the chemical that gives a pepper its bite, and counting its Scoville units.Over a million Scoville units?! Geeeeeez...And how hot is the bhut jolokia?
As a way of comparison: Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units. Your basic jalapeño pepper measures anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000. The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles.
The bhut jolokia crushed those contenders, testing at 1,001,304 Scoville units.
For a month now I've been trying Dave's Ultimate Insanity sauce on quite a few things, including mixing it with chili and salsa. It's so powerful that the most I've used at any one time is 3 drops of the stuff: any more than that and it's unbearably hot. Well, Dave's Ultimate Insanity has been measured to be, at most, about 250,000 Scoville units. I can't begin to imagine what a million would feel like. But I must admit, I am terribly curious as to how bhut jolokia tastes. Maybe someday I'll get to try it.
Monday, August 06, 2007
TRANSFORMERS score album update: Sony sez they ain't involved
It's been a week now since the last update regarding the drive to see an album released containing Steve Jablonsky's wonderful score from the movie Transformers. Don't take that to mean that things have been quiet on that front though. Far from it: the past seven days have seen a flurry of activity and investigating and conflicting rumors that some good people have been working hard to cut through. Most of this has had to do with it being thought that Sony Music had the rights to publish the score. And that's what a lot of people have been telling me over the past couple of weeks.
Among the biggest breakthroughs that have happened in this matter came about because of Marco van Bergen: an intrepid young film-maker (click here for the website for his movie Zero Hour) and journalist based in the Netherlands. Marco's been making some tremendous inroads in getting the word spread about the Transformers score petition. Well earlier today he received what may be the most substantive info yet straight from the sources at Sony Music. And that word is ... that Sony Music isn't in charge of the score at all, apparently! Here's what they sent Marco:
Hi Marco, unfortunately I don't have any information on this record as it is not a Sony BMG release. There might have been some confusion with the recent release of the Transformers Movie 20th Anniversary Edition soundtrack (the animated movie) since Sony BMG had put that record out.Okay so ... who is in charge of the score? Is it indeed, as some have said, Warner Records: the company that released the Transformers "soundtrack" (it's not a real soundtrack) album?SonyMusicStore Customer Service
www.SonyMusicStore.com
"Your Source For Music And More!"
I don't know, but I'm going to be spending part of the next few days trying to find out. In the meantime, it might be worth bearing in mind that Transformers should hit the $300 million dollar mark in box office earnings by the end of this week. It's now the #4 highest-grossing movie of 2007. The Transformers score petition also received it's 3,000th signature earlier this evening. It sure seems that whoever has the rights to release a good album of Jablonsky's score for Transformers, is sitting on a gold mine that's just waiting to be tapped into. Let's hope they do it soon! :-)
Finally watched SIN CITY
So last week 300 came out on DVD and I've had that playing a bunch of times now if nothing else than for background noise. And then tonight, courtesy of Netflix, I watched Sin City. So for the past few days there's sorta been a "film festival" of movies based on Frank Miller stories that's been running here.I'm going to say that I seriously liked this movie, even though I didn't really understand some of it. After watching Sin City I feel kind of the same way that I felt after first reading Miller's The Dark Knight Returns years ago: that I thought this was a really great piece of work in spite of the fact that parts of it confused the heck out of me. But then, even Bob Kane - Batman's creator - said that he never understood The Dark Knight Returns himself. Maybe I need to go track down the Sin City graphic novels and read them to really "get" this.
But what I could understand of Sin City the movie, I thought was pretty compelling. And I very much enjoyed the film-making technique that went into this movie. It's got much the same kind of "hyper-real" look to it that 300 has, which may be the neatest innovation that's come along so far as faithfully adapting the comic book medium to that of motion pictures. The stories were hard and gritty, and I got the sense that this was quite a believable setting, being so rife with vice and politics and corruption. Sin City also has quite a strong cast, the biggest standouts being Mickey Roarke (how da heck did he move like that?), Clive Owen and Bruce Willis.
All things considered, a groovy movie. I'll probably get it for my DVD collection at some point.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
The Eagles set to release new album
The Eagles are putting the finishing touches on a new studio album: their first since The Long Run in 1979!
They're also planning a massive concert tour. Lisa, "Weird" Ed, my sister Anita, and I saw The Eagles when they came to the Greensboro Coliseum in 2003 for their Farewell I Tour. It was easily one of the finest shows that I've ever seen, and worth every penny of the cost of tickets. Hope they'll come back around the area again this next go-round.
Friday, August 03, 2007
One year ago today ...
... I filed to run as a candidate for Rockingham County Board of Education.
Quite an interesting year this has been, for sure :-)
Dinner at Mama Dip's!
This is one write-up that I've been wanting the opportunity to do for quite awhile now. The very first time that I heard about Mildred Council AKA "Mama Dip" and her restaurant, it was when I spotted her cookbook Mama Dip's Cookbook eight years ago. Something about this woman's beaming smile on the book's cover screamed out to me that one way or another, I had to try her cooking sometime. And then I happened to notice that UNC-TV, the statewide PBS network, had her live in the studio every so often to demonstrate real southern-style cooking. I'm telling you here and now: I felt dire hunger pangs just from watching this lady make biscuits.Well yesterday evening after Lisa and I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX at Exploris in Raleigh, we made a stop in Chapel Hill. And at long last, I got to eat at Mama Dip's Country Cooking Restaurant. And this was, without a doubt, one of the best dining experiences that I've ever had! Everything about it was just darned perfect. Completely blew away my expectations. And even though it's an hour away from where we live in Reidsville, I can definitely see going back to Mama Dip's restaurant and bringing along more people who'll be new to the experience: as much to get a kick out of seeing them enjoy the place as much as I want to try more from Mama Dip's menu!
We got to Mama Dip's restaurant a little after 5 p.m. Here's the pic that Lisa took of me next to the sign outside the place...
Then we went inside. We found a wonderfully welcoming place with great country decor and a very friendly wait staff. And we had a terrific waitress named Persis who really did go all out to make our first time at Mama Dip's a memorable one...
Persis took our order for drink and I couldn't resist asking: "Is she here?" Persis said that "she's not here right now" but that Mama Dip would probably be in pretty soon.
So far as drinks go, they have a good variety at Mama Dip's and Persis recommended the peach/mango lemonade: a lil' home-grown concoction that she said was really good. So that's what Lisa and I ordered. The first sip of it was overwhelming. I can't think of anything else that I've ever drank, apart from a few alcoholic beverages, that has this kind of strong kick to it. Can't stress this enough people: the peach/mango lemonade is powerful stuff! We're talking tangy to the extreme. Here's a pic of Lisa after trying it...
I knew yesterday morning that if we went to Mama Dip's that evening, that I wanted to try the fried chicken and biscuits. I didn't know that this place had barbecue pork ribs also. I wound up ordering a combo plate of fried chicken, barbecue ribs, fried okra, and apple sauce...
And Lisa got the chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and macaroni. This pic also shows the biscuits...
Oh, and the biscuits? Heck, those alone would keep me coming back!
As we were winding down our main course, Persis came to the table and told me that Mama Dip had arrived a few minutes before. Persis led me to the foyer and there she was, Mama Dip herself: Mildred Council!
In case you're wondering why she's known as "Mama Dip", it came from when she was a child - the youngest of seven siblings - growing up in rural Chatham County, North Carolina. Mildred Council was called "Dip" by her brothers and sisters because she was tall and had long arms enough that she could dip all the way down to the bottom of the rain barrel to get a full scoop when the water level was low. We got to talk for a few minutes and I told Mrs. Council how much I had been looking forward to eating at her restaurant, and how much my Mom really enjoyed her cookbooks and how I couldn't wait to come again sometime. If I could describe Mrs. Council in just a few words, I would have to say that she is very "effervescent" and that her smile is as infectious as her personality and good cheer. Getting to meet Mama Dip, on top of the terrific food and service at her restaurant, is definitely one of the best experiences that I've been able to share on this blog.
After we finished talking, I went back to our table for dessert. Lisa and I had the pecan pie, which was warm and moist and extremely satisfying, coming on top of an already great meal. Then we left, after thanking Persis for the great job she did as our waitress and after Lisa got to tell Mama Dip as we were checking out that she really enjoyed eating there, too.
I will definitely be going back to Mama Dip's Country Cooking Restaurant, and hopefully sooner than later. And I'm going to recommend Mama Dip's to everyone that I possibly can, too. This is one place that not only deserves its terrific reputation, but that I think it could accurately be said that its reputation doesn't reflect on the place nearly well enough! It's very worth your while to visit the place, even if you have to drive a bit to get there (like we did).
Mama Dip's Country Cooking Restaurant is located at 408 W. Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. If you're coming in from I-40 it's a very easy place to get to: just get off at Exit 266 onto NC-86 going toward Chapel Hill. This quickly becomes Martin Luther King Boulevard and after about 3 miles becomes Columbia street. You'll want to turn right onto west Rosemary Street not long after this, and Mama Dip's will be a little less than a half-mile on your right. Just look for the sign that's in the above photos and you can't miss it :-)
MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION debut showcases N.C. State professor's storytelling
Tomorrow night ABC will premiere Masters of Science Fiction, an anthology show featuring film adaptations of... well, science fiction stories! The show is being narrated by Stephen Hawking, which alone should say something about how classy this project is. And then there is the acting talent the producers have brought onboard: Malcolm McDowell, Terry O'Quinn (who also plays Locke on ABC's show Lost), and Brian Dennehy are just some of the faces that we'll be seeing during the show's initial four-episode run.
The first installment has a lot of local interest because it originated with a professor at North Carolina State University. John Kessel's short story "A Clean Escape" will star Sam Waterston and Judy Davis in a post-Apocalyptic tale of the near future about a psychiatrist who's trying to help a man with curious lapses in memory.
I haven't read the original short story yet, but my friend Chad Austin - who works at N.C. State's press office and who wrote an article about John Kessel and his story being used for Masters of Science Fiction - has told me to expect quite an excellent tale! The News & Observer also has an article about Kessel's story. And Mr. Kessel has drawn up a list of what he considers to be among the best film adaptations of science-fiction work.
Masters of Science Fiction premieres with "A Clean Escape" at 10 p.m. EST on August 4th on the ABC Network.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX in big glorious IMAX!
Yesterday, Lisa and I had a fun lil' trip to Raleigh, where we went to the IMAX Theater at the Exploris Museum to catch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX. This was the second time that we'd seen the movie and the third time that I've seen a feature film in IMAX: click here for my report from seeing Superman Returns at the same theater a year ago.
The first time that I saw the movie of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I said that I had liked it but that I hadn't been completely satisfied with the movie. At the time I was right in the middle of the book, trying to finish re-reading the entire series before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. This is still the densest novel in the entire series and there's no way that a 2-hour movie can be done that adequately reflects everything in the book. I've no doubt that my reading it just then, on top of this being my favorite book of the series, affected my take on the movie. But, I was willing to give it another shot.
So what do I think of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix now, having seen it twice and this latest time in IMAX?
It's definitely starting to grow on me. I think that director David Yates and his crew have done a remarkable job in faithfully portraying the spirit of the book, given the time constraint they had to work within. The last time I saw the movie, I think that down on some level I was preparing to be disappointed 'cuz like I said, this is my favorite "regular" book in the saga (Deathly Hallows stands on its own as much as the Book of John stands apart from the "synoptic" gospels in the Bible). This time, I was a lot more relaxed going and willing to forgive any reasonable inconsistencies with the book.
The unforeseen consequence of that is that this time, I noticed much more detail from the book that made its way into the movie. The one that I can't stop thinking about is how this time, I did happen to notice that Percy Weasley was working as an underling to Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. If you've read the books you know how this is a big deal. Granted it wasn't given any verbal mention but seeing how that was Percy who was holding Harry in custody in Dumbledore's office, made me respect the movie much more. No one needed to actually say anything more after that. We know he's in tight with the Minister's office. It's already a perfect setup for what we know is going to happen later. I don't know how I missed seeing him before but maybe since this go-round we watched the movie on an IMAX screen, there really was no excuse to miss him this time.
There's not much more than I can say about the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie that I could say that wasn't already articulated in my initial review. But there is one thing that seeing it this time had that watching the movie in a regular theater doesn't have: the amazing thrill of watching the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in full IMAX 3D! Everything from the moment Harry and his team leave Hogwarts, to when they return to the school is given the 3D treatment. I thought it looked even more beautiful and jaw-dropping than when we saw Superman Returns in IMAX 3D last year. It's only about 20 minute toward the end of the movie, but it's astounding enough to warrant the few extra bucks to see the movie in IMAX.
I'm glad that we did this. I feel like I can finally appreciate and enjoy this movie, and it was a really great experience made all the more fun by listening to the reactions from the kids in the audience, many of whom it was obvious had never seen an IMAX movie before at all. And I'm still chuckling at the little girl who said aloud "that woman's creepy!" during the scene where Dolores Umbridge is making Harry serve detention.
Go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX if you can. It's an absolutely amazing spectacle for the eyes.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Rowling reveals TONS of post-DEATHLY HALLOWS info during online chat
A few days ago J.K. Rowling did an extensive online chat via Bloomsbury Publishing's website ... and she unloaded a whole heap of answers to questions about the Harry Potter saga in the aftermath of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There is substantially more information that she gives here than she did in her interview with NBC last week. Absolutely must-reading for anyone who's been reading and enjoying these books.
Review of 300 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD
300 easily ties along with Transformers as my favorite movie so far of 2007. I've seen it twice now (click here for my thoughts when I first caught it) and it's sort of taking hold with me just as The Matrix did some years ago. So I've been looking forward to the release of 300 on DVD this week. It also came out on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray but since I'm still waiting to see which way the market tilts before investing in a player for either of those formats, I'm still using standard DVD. Besides, we've got a nifty lil' "upscaling" DVD player that does a great job outputting regular DVD to our high-def set, and we're probably going to be more than happy with that for awhile to come. As I've said before, when it comes to new technology I'm very much like the Amish: I have to completely trust it before adopting it.I've actually watched the 2-disc DVD set once now, but this is such an awesome movie that I've had it playing about twice more while I've been working on some things (George Lucas writes to music, and I often write and do video editing with movies playing in the room behind me :-). As a consequence some of the more memorable lines have been stuck in my head for the past day or so. Lisa can tell you that I'm already doing a terrific impersonation of that Persian emissary dude when he rasps out "A THOUSAND nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you! Our arrows will blot out the sun!"
Okay, 'bout the DVD ...
I like it a lot! The one problem - that may or may not even be a real issue - is that even for standard DVD upscaled for high-def output, the image quality looks pretty grainy. But then, 300 on the theater's screen it's rather grainy anyway: all part of the unique look of this film. But in comparison to most other standard DVDs lately, 300 still appears to have less-than-ideal image quality. A few times I wondered if Warner Bros. is encoding its regular DVDs as well as they could: I thought that the DVD of Superman Returns likewise could have used better encoding of the video. But having seen 300 twice in theaters, I'll still say that for this particular movie, if you're getting it already knowing what to expect, it should still satisfy well. The audio is also very good.
Disc 1 is the movie, in widescreen format (you can also buy this as a single disc or in full-screen, if that's what you prefer). You can watch the movie "bare-bones" or with audio commentary from director Zack Snyder. Disc 2 is the special bonus features, including 3 deleted scenes. Two of those feature the traitorous Ephialtes and the other is of this huge (we're talking bigger than Goliath) Persian warrior with this midget archer riding on his back and shooting arrow at the Spartans. There is also a terrific documentary about the historical background of 300: what we know of the real-life Leonidas and his stand at Thermopylae against Xerxes's Persian army. Other features on Disc 2 include a look at 300's creator: comic book legend Frank Miller. A few more are various takes on 300's revolutionary production, which involved using bluescreen on a massive scale and the lengths that Zack Snyder and his crew went to in order to faithfully adapt the 300 graphic novel for the big screen.
300 is an amazing movie, and one that I think is going to have quite an inspirational impact over the long run. It gets a great treatment on DVD and I'll definitely recommend it for your personal collection.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
TV preachers who cuss up a storm
Remember a few weeks ago when we discovered that VH1 was featuring my first school board campaign commercial on its show Web Junk 2.0? Well, during that same show there was a... strange... clip showing a preacher on some local community access TV station. And he was swearing like crazy! It was like every two or three seconds, VH1 had to bleep out what he was saying.WARNING: This video is loaded with excessive profanity
I honestly don't know what to make of this guy. Is this for real? The way he moves around the screen is something that I've never seen done with a video camera before. How does something like this even get broadcast without the FCC stepping in? He calls himself "Spirit of Truth" and there's an article about him on Wikipedia that has much more about him, including more of these bizarre videos.
Here's the full video...
While looking for that video on YouTube I also found this clip, featuring (now deceased) televangelist Gene Scott. You can find more videos with him on YouTube - most of them more than a bit on the odd side - but this was the first one that I came across...
That said, such words must be used carefully. And I'm definitely going to impress upon my children - if and when God blesses us with any - that it's not a good thing to just go around using these words (yes I am quite aware that this is going to call for some changes of behavior on my part, but I'm ready for that). Peppering an essay with "damned" is okay. But profanity for the sake of profanity's shock value is not only a major turn-off, it shows a lot of shallowness and lack of self-control. Guys like this aren't doing the Christian faith any favors by carrying on like this.
"Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined."All the same though, I must confess: I was laughing so hard watching these videos, that it literally hurt!-- Titus 1:8
