Cult leader James Oldfield uses YouTube video of my performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" to attack United Methodist Church

Right when you think that there are no more crazy headlines that this blog can possibly generate...

I just watched James Oldfield, second cousin and henchman of cult leader Johnny Robertson of what many here are calling the "Church of Christ In Name Only", use the YouTube video of my karaoke performance of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" on live television... to attack the United Methodist Church!

(I've already received one e-mail telling me that "whatever this guy is smoking, I want ten pounds of it.")

During the live television broadcast tonight of his show A Word from the Lord on WGSR out of Reidsville, North Carolina, James Oldfield and some other cultist that I'd never seen before, devoted the program to their latest "Religious Review" hijinks: this time, Oldfield was involved in ambushing not one but two Methodist congregations. And I was already having fun half-listening to Oldfield's comedic ramblings, thinking all while working on another project that "Robertson and Oldfield see through the glass just as darkly as the rest of us. What possibly leads them to believe that they have perfect understanding and the authority to lord that over us? They don't have any more monopoly on the truth than anyone else who is professing to follow Christ!"

See, I have no problem with so-called "denominations". And the Bible doesn't either. The seven churches of the Book of Revelation were clearly not in perfect accord with each other, and yet Christ still counted them among His followers.

(Yeah, I can do deep theology while simultaneously editing high-def video and writing for a client: am I a multi-tasking fiend, or what? :-)

But then, as if James Oldfield is not already more incoherent than usual, his frivolous arguments descended into the realm of the truly nutty...

Oldfield announced that Woodmont United Methodist Church in Reidsville was guilty of, something or 'nother, that was coming across as direly sinful. And what, pray tell, wound up being the grave iniquity that Woodmont had tolerated?

None other than the video of me doing karaoke of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during the strike party last month for Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Oliver Twist.

Here it is, if you haven't beheld it already...

Yes folks, because I chose to do my ever-popular rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody", the entire United Methodist Church is damned to Hell, according to James Oldfield!

Well, all I gotta say is: I don't mind at all that they chose to broadcast my performance. I've always done it for laughs, and whenever there's an audience to be found, I don't care how that performance gets conveyed.

Heck, I'll dare Oldfield and Robertson to post the segment of Oldfield's show tonight, where he played my "singing", on their own YouTube account! C'mon guys: show everyone the "case" that you have supposedly built against the Methodists using my karaoke. What have you got to hide? We're giggling at you already: why should this be any different?

Remember folks: don't sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" anymore or you'll be consigned to the stygian depths of the Abyss, forevermore amen.

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Bert, Ernie and Herry Monster in "No!"

How long has it been since I posted a classic Sesame Street clip? Especially one starring Bert and Ernie? Undoubtedly, not nearly often enough...

This sketch, which also features Herry Monster, is probably one of the few where Bert actually turns the tables on Ernie and gets the last laugh!

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George W. Bush leaving with lowest approval of a President EVER!

With a 22 percent approval rating - the lowest ever since the Gallup Organization first started asking the question more than seventy years ago - George W. Bush leaves office as the least popular President in modern history.

Comparatively, both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton left with their approval ratings at 68 percent. George Bush Sr.'s was 54 percent. Jimmy Carter had 44 percent and Harry Truman had 32 percent, the previous all-time low.

(Incidentally, I'm seeing many of the few remaining supporters that Bush has demanding that "their guy" be judged by history as favorably as Truman has been. But I don't see that happening. Truman holds the title of the real "Decider", whereas posterity will note that Bush had no appreciable principle at all.)

Well, it can't be said that Bush doesn't deserve such outrageously low approval. He has nearly single-handedly destroyed the underpinnings of America, doing more to wreck the United States than Clinton ever did. And it's going to take decades, if ever, before the country recovers from the damage this sad little man - who otherwise would not have been been in any position to be given such dire responsibility were it not for family favoritism and a corrupt political system - has inflicted upon it.

EDIT 11:36 p.m. EST: Someone else who's a fan of The Simpsons also used that cartoon to convey their feelings about Bush. What sayeth Comic Book Guy?

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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Wait... what?

A considerable amount of e-mail coming in the last little while, the gist of all of it is that I have missed some "fraking damned spectacular television" tonight on Battlestar Galactica, which I admitted earlier that I had not watched at all, in spite of all the good word about it.

I have no idea what the heck it is that all of y'all are trying to tell me, but I suppose I'm now gonna have to break down tomorrow and get Season 1 of this show, and attempt to get up to speed :-)

(I do have Battlestar Galactica: Razor on DVD however: it was part of the swag bag from Butt-Numb-A-Thon 9 a little over a year ago. Would it be wise to watch that first?)

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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA returns tonight

I must sadly admit that I have only watched two episodes of this show. And now I am wondering what I have missed, because a lot of people are telling me "Chris, WHY AREN'T YOU WATCHING THIS SHOW?!?"

I know that Battlestar Galactica is in its final stretch, and that the word on the street is that some momentous stuff happens in tonight's episode.

So... would this be worth investing some coin in getting the DVD sets of the previous seasons, in order to finally catch up on things? :-)

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The hero

Like my Dad said this morning, "That is one cool dude".

Here's the photo that's most going around today of Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 who landed his stricken jetliner smack down the middle of the Hudson River in New York City yesterday, an ultra-rare feat that saved the lives of everyone aboard...

I've said before that this blog exists to share my thoughts on various subjects, and to highlight and give praise to those people and things that deserve it. Well, it's been too long since I've felt anything as terrific to report on as good Captain Sullenberger and what he and the US Airways crew did yesterday. This old world doesn't have nearly enough heroes anymore. Yesterday, "Sully" gave it back its heroes.

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No snow tonight. HOWEVER...

...according to the Weather Channel website, nighttime temperatures are supposed to bottom out at 13 degrees Fahrenheit, and not to climb above 25 degrees tomorrow (with freezing being at 32 for all of y'all enlightened folks who are on the Celsius scale :-). That is unseasonably cold for this time of year in north-central North Carolina.

Remember, earlier last week I wrote about how it had thundered and according to backwoods lore (which has proven remarkably accurate) it is supposed to snow ten days after thunder in wintertime. So I guess this go-round it's an "almost": the cold air is there, but not the requisite moisture.

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The farewell address of a REAL American President

In the past hour George W. Bush gave his last speech to the American people as President of the United States. I thought it was much like his final press conference last week: whiny, and defensive.

And not for the first time, I found myself wondering how it is that we have fallen so much as a country, from the way things used to be.

Twenty years ago, another President - that many people have said was the greatest President of the modern age - gave another farewell address to the people he had served for eight years. It was heartfelt, humble, reflective... and genuine. That President spoke of a "shining city upon a hill". Twenty years later and the very weak man who succeeded him, actually displayed proud arrogance at how he has turned that city in a prison for its people via the Department of Homeland Security.

(Does anyone believe that Reagan would have approved of such a thing, or that he would have advocated No Child Left Behind, or that he would have done pretty much anything else that Bush has "decided" to do in the past eight years?).

So if you want to behold how a true President of the United States leaves office, here is Ronald Reagan's farewell to the American people, from January 11th, 1989...

Part 2 of the same speech

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Miracle on the Hudson: Everyone rescued after plane goes down in river

If you've got ready access to a television news channel you might wanna tune in right now 'cuz the story of the day is US Airways Flight 1549 from La Guardia in New York City to Charlotte, which had to land in the middle of the Hudson River after some birds hit the plane and cut out two of the engines...

The pilot was able to bring the Airbus A320 down in a controlled descent, right smack in a spot in the river that was plenty shallow without any risk of the plane sinking. The plane stayed in one piece and passengers were spotted standing on the wings awaiting rescue. Everybody got out safely.

That has got to be one of the best recoveries from an air emergency, that I can possibly recollect. And that pilot definitely deserves a medal.

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"Silent Interlude": 25 years later, G.I. JOE comic still rattles the industry

Twenty-five years ago this month, in January of 1984, G.I. Joe #21 from Marvel Comics hit the newsstands. The cover promised "The Most Unusual G.I. Joe Story Ever!!"

What an understatement...

Marvel might as well have declared G.I. Joe #21, the now-legendary "Silent Interlude" issue, as being "The Most Unusual COMIC BOOK Story Ever!" and now, a full quarter-century later, there would be very few fans of graphic art literature who would disagree.

"Silent Interlude" was the issue that broke all the rules of what a comic book was supposed to be. And I think it could even be argued that it forever shattered conventional wisdom on what a licensed property tie-in was fully capable of achieving. From the day that G.I. Joe #1 came out in the spring of 1982 onward, the comic book was generally regarded as a glorified advertisement for the popular Hasbro line of action figures.

And then came Issue #21. Written and drawn by Larry Hama, "Silent Interlude" would become the most talked-about, the most widely praised, and at the time among the most controversial comic books ever published. It permanently elevated G.I. Joe away from its perception of being a "toy franchise" and into the realm of exceptionally mature narrative.

"Silent Interlude" also laid down the foundation for all the G.I. Joe continuity that was to follow for the next ten years and beyond. It established mysteries and connections that have come to be regarded as some of the finest storytelling that the medium has yet produced.

And "Silent Interlude" did it all... without a single word of dialogue or any other written exposition.

Hama's now-classic tale of Snake-Eyes infiltrating Destro's castle to rescue captured fellow G.I. Joe team member Scarlett, and his battle with the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow, was experimental theatre of the highest form. The absence of text proved that it could not stop a well-executed, high-stakes tale loaded with action and enigma. If anything, having no written words escalated the intensity of "Silent Interlude".

Two and a half decades later, G.I. Joe #21 is widely hailed by many of the recent generation of comic artists and writers as the single issue that most inspired them to enter the industry. And as if it needed further testament to its impact, "Silent Interlude" has consequently become one of the most parodied graphic stories in history (including one especially memorable cover for an issue of Deadpool).

But there is one more praise that I am obligated to give "Silent Interlude". I can say now that G.I. Joe #21, and how its story continued to play out over the next few issues after that, was what began turning my very young mind toward what became a life-long interest in modern history. And I think that many people of my age bracket will also readily admit that Larry Hama's work on G.I. Joe made us very curious, for the first time, about what happened in Southeast Asia. Until Issue #26 a few months later, "Vietnam" was just a word that I didn't care to understand. The G.I. Joe comic book first opened my mind about the conflict... and a quarter century later, I'm still trying to grasp it all. A lot of us are.

So let's pretend that Yo Joe Cola is a real drink, and hoist our glasses in raising a toast to "Silent Interlude": not just the greatest G.I. Joe story ever, but one of the greatest comic book issues of all time! :-)

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And now Ricardo Montalban has left us

Just minutes after writing about the passing of Patrick McGoohan, and I was notified of another screen legend who has exited the stage...

Fox News is now reporting that Ricardo Montalban has died at the age of 88.

Was there ever a cinematic villain as single-minded in his obsession to destroy as Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? Montalban only appeared in the role twice (for the 1982 film and the original Star Trek episode "Space Seed" that first introduced the eugenics warlord) but the raw power that he brought to the character was enough to secure him forever in the memory of pop culture. And of course, he was the ever-mysterious Mr. Roarke on ABC's Fantasy Island... and I had been hoping that he might somehow get worked into a cameo on Lost, 'cuz it seemed so appropriate. He also appeared in numerous other films over the years, particularly musicals for MGM. And let us not forget the car commercials he did back in the day, where he paid exquisite attention to the "Cor-een-thee-an leather"...

He will be missed.

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He was not a number: Patrick McGoohan has passed away

Patrick McGoohan, who first rose to fame as John Drake on Secret Agent, and then boggled the minds of generations to come as Number 6 on The Prisoner - in addition to many other memorable roles - has passed away at the age of 80.

More recently, McGoohan won acclaim for his diabolical portrayal of King Edward I "Longshanks" in the movie Braveheart. He also won two Emmys for his work on television's Columbo.

But in this geek's mind, it will be his work on The Prisoner, a show that he not only starred in but created, executive produced and wrote the scripts of several episodes for. More than forty years later and controversy still rages about the finale "Fall Out", an episode so bizarre that McGoohan had to go into hiding for several weeks after it aired, because people kept coming to his home to demand an explanation.

His was one of the most original minds in the business... and he shall certainly be missed.

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Bush declares federal emergency so Obama inauguration can get bailout money

How bad are things when paying for the swearing in of a new President of the United States requires bailing out by the United States government?

George W. Bush has declared an emergency in and around Washington D.C. in anticipation of what is expected to be the record number of people who will be coming to town over the next several days to witness the inauguration of his successor, Barack Obama. Doing so "frees up" contingency funds that usually go toward hurricane relief or for other natural disasters. In this case that same money is going toward the inaugural celebrations. Providing for facilities is expected to cost the city $75 million and the state of Maryland, $12 million.

Quite a few things that could be observed about what this says regarding the American people and their government...

Admittedly, presidential inaugurations have always been a bit festive. Probably none on record was as wild as the one for Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 (his had Chief Geronimo among others: kinda hard to top that, folks). But at least for the better part of the past two decades, I've witnessed something revealed about our national character at large during the arrival of every new executive administration lately. Namely, the cult of regarding the President as something more than what the office is supposed to be. And that is, one of public servant. We have instead turned the Presidency into what should not be asked of it and should never be expected of it: practically the right hand of God Himself on this Earth.

As we have seen, there are certainly problems when the very weak men who come into this office, start to believe the hype.

I wrote four years ago when Bush was getting sworn in again that it should not cost anything for a new President of the United States to put his or her hand on the Bible, and swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. To that notion I hold also regarding Barack Obama. And Bush betrays how sincerely weak he is as a so-called "conservative" when he wastes the public treasury on perpetuating this folly... but then, wasting other people's money is the only thing that George W. Bush has ever known, so why should now be any different?

Perhaps there should be a law enacted that mandates no public funds for the festivities of swearing or affirming the oath of office. Who knows: with much less distraction, it might be an incentive for future Presidents to actually take their oaths far more seriously.

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Prime-ary Colours: Optimus is personal hero of Gordon Brown

In a radio interview about the effects of the global recession on Great Britain, that country's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted that one of his heroes is Autobot leader Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise...

Listeners to the show seemed to agree. One said that "Optimus Prime would be one hell of an advisor to the PM. He stands for honour and justice and I would vote for him as Prime Minister if he were real."

Personally I think that if Mr. Brown is heartfelt about his admiration for Optimus Prime, that the British people are generally in good hands. Not too many mythic figures from the past few decades that are as virtuous and upstanding as Optimus Prime.

Thanks to Phillip Arthur for passing along the story!

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Scott Hamilton on finding happiness

Good friend of this blog (and all around terrific lady :-) Crystal Stearns directed my attention over the weekend to this interview with Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton. He has just come out with a new book titled The Great Eight and in it he talks about his battle with cancer, and the wisdom that he has gained from it. In the interview, Hamilton discusses at length how the times in life when we fall down, we should look at them as opportunities to rise again. Crystal told me that "It gave me great hope and inspiration," and it did me as well.

I might have to pick up a copy of Hamilton's book: to put some more uplift in my heart and to put some money in his pocket (a fair trade, aye? :-P)

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Odd gadgets abound at CES 2009

The E-Cigarettes are just one of the numerous strange gizmos that PC World spotted at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. Other dubious products being rolled out this year: a portable Blu-ray player with a nine-inch screen (ummmm... why?!), numerous second-rate Wii clones, and MP3 players that have already become out of date because of Apple's decision to remove digital rights management from iTunes. But the thing that I keep chuckling about for some reason is the CarStars. As the article puts it: "Personally, I can't think of anything more terrifying than trying to drive while knowing that at any moment Elton John or Lil Wayne may pop up out of nowhere and start blurting out song recommendations."

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Robert Vaughn sez: I know who masterminded Bobby Kennedy murder

It would be intriguing enough no matter who wrote it. But the fact that it's penned by actor Robert Vaughn - The Man from U.N.C.L.E. himself - will no doubt ratchet up the "wanna read" factor.

Writing for The Daily Mail in the United Kingdom, Vaughn articulates his belief that Aristotle Onassis was behind the plan to have Robert Kennedy assassinated. Vaughn, a friend of Bobby Kennedy and his family, argues that it's likely that Sirhan Sirhan could not have been the one who fired the fatal shots, but that he was instead a "patsy" for the real gunman (or gunmen). And as for motivation, Vaughn contends that Onassis held a grudge against Robert Kennedy going all the way back to the early Fifties and the height of Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign.

I'm not gonna say that I completely agree right off the bat with Vaughn's thesis, but after reading it over twice already, I do have to concede that the man has done his research and has put together, in my mind anyway, a plausible theory. An interesting article, to say the least...

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