Here's how Star Trek should have ended...
But did anyone else feel a little let down about the "answers" that had been promised all this past week for "Sundown"? What questions got answered? The one about Dogen's baseball? Or what the Man in Black is? Not really blown away in that department...
...but this was still a solid episode of Lost and the final moments were a heart-pounding ramp-up to... WHAT?!? I got the sense that payoff for the past five years is going to begin in earnest next week. Producers Cuse and Lindelof have no choice. This is near the top of the ninth inning. And they've been pulling white rabbits out of their hat for too long.
Now it's time for them to pull out an alligator.
I'll give "Sundown" a 9 out of 10.
It would have been almost perfect were it not for the less-than-encouraging news that arrived to me today. About how a potentially very neat opportunity that I was set to go to some drastic extremes to pursue... won't be happening now after all.
But it's the funniest thing: in spite of how big a loss this is for me, I haven't felt disappointed by it at all.
Ten years ago there was another opportunity that I very nearly had in my grasp, only to watch it also be taken away. At the time it devastated me. And the one now was vastly greater than that one had been.
But this afternoon and evening, I haven't felt fazed by it at all.
Why? What's the difference between then and now?
I would have to say that I am at a place now in my life where I can definitely look back and see that instead of setting value of my happiness on my terms, I am now letting it abide with God and what He would have for me. His expectations are not my own... and I'm now thankful for that.
Hey, ten years ago I didn't know what the heck I was doing, fresh out of college and then hit with one disaster after another. If anyone had told me then about the things that were going to happen in my life afterward, I would have looked at that person as if he had grown three heads and purple feathers.
It hasn't been a perfect ride... but it's been an awesome ride all the same. If God can do it before, He can do it again and even more amazing the next time.
I have faith that God is taking me somewhere. That He has barely begun the work of the life of Chris Knight. I'm not saying that it's going to happen tomorrow or soon, and I don't want to either. Many years after the Vietnam War, Admiral James Stockdale spoke about his eight years as a POW and who among his comrades didn't survive...
"Oh, that's easy, the optimists. They were the ones who said, We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come and go. Then they’d say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."So what was it that let Stockdale have the strength to endure that unspeakable hardship?
"I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that we would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event in my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."Wherever we are now, each of us, along the path of life: this is not the destination. It's not even close to where God has in store for us. This is just preparation for the journey ahead. And we shouldn't let the disappointments of the moment deter us from the greater things still to come.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..."My plans for now are kaput. But His plans are still unfolding.-- Jeremiah 29:11
And if for no other reason, that is why I am feeling joyful tonight :-)
Seems that would be a more effective use of prayer, anyway. And would likely work a far more impressive and greater good across society in the long run.
But there's no denying it: "Weird Al" Yankovic has gone where none of us thought he would ever go before, and made a sexually titillating video that defies all standards of decency.
Have you got what it takes to see Weird Al in an act of supreme self-abasement? Have you?!?
Because if you do...
Remember: You have been warned.
Leaked deleted harry potter chapterI didn't have to do a search on Google News to know this one was phony as they come. The idea of J.K. Rowling writing a chapter that her editors wouldn't think appropriate for the best-selling fictional series of all time is hilarious!Harry Potter to me
6:44 AM (1 hour ago)Thought you might like to see this. It's a leaked champter
which the editor removed from the last Harry Potter book.You won't believe what was in it. I saw it in the news today and found it online, but I don't know how long it'll last. Getit while you can!
(LINK REMOVED)
Use regular download, not premium. That way you don't have to pay anything.
Now, bestselling historical author Seth Grahame-Smith has uncovered the true story of Lincoln... the Vampire Slayer.
Behold the trailer for the book!
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter should be in bookstores everywhere about now, and will almost certainly become required reading in history classrooms across the country.
I don't know what's a sadder commentary: that a film this epic and majestic couldn't be made today without computer-generated effects, that Ben-Hur would likely not even been greenlit for production by modern studios, or that current audiences would generally lack the attention span that those of fifty years ago possessed to really take in this kind of a movie.
I've thought for a long time that a film should be judged according to its own time. In its own way, Ben-Hur and movies like it are an excellent synopsis of the sort of people who both made these films, and who appreciated them most.
Sorta a psychological historical document, when you think about it.
First of all, there is good friend Jessica Gray, who is now engaged! Her boyfriend last night proposed to her in front of about 500 of their close personal friends :-)
And also bigtime congratulations to Marlo Nall, another friend, who just announced that there will be no doubt another happy member of our troupe as she will be a mother later this year!
Funny: I was telling Marlo just two months ago that she was going to make a great mommy someday. And last night for no obvious reason it popped into my head "It's almost time for Jessica to get engaged."
If someone else in the Theatre Guild has another great announcement tonight, it'll be a trifecta!
Seriously though: Congratulations Jessica and Marlo! And God be with you and yours as you begin y'all's next scenes in the drama of life :-)
And by the way, it's a great testament to that country about how on the ball the folks are about this. I've heard only great things about Chile over the years and the speed and diligence that they have exerted in dealing with this disaster, makes me compelled to tip my hat to 'em.
If you haven't already today, it would - not to put too fine a point on it - be extremely recommended that you tune in right now to CNN or Fox News or whatever, and check out the live feed coming from Hawaii, which looks to have dodged the proverbial bullet so far as tsunami are concerned. There have been significantly higher waves hitting Hawaii but so far, nothing of serious consequence (and let's pray it stays that way). The truly fascinating thing that I'm finding from all of this is that, for the first time that I can remember it happening anyway, possible tsunami have been anticipated and evacuations well underway... and before television cameras for all the world to see, too.
Considering that the Boxing Day Tsunami was just over five years ago, that's a huge leap in technology and means of geological analysis and prediction.
Gotta love science :-)
Here's the story from Metro.co.uk...
US court rules 'Zombies have free speech rights'Thankfully, everyone else still has our Second Amendment rights and will be ready to employ it when the inevitable zombie apocalypse descends upon us :-PA court has allowed a group of protesters dressed as zombies to continue with a lawsuit against police who arrested them for disorderly conduct.
The appeal court overturned a previous finding that the group had correctly been arrested over a 2006 protest in a shopping centre.
The group had been wearing makeup designed to make them look like and extra in a horror flick, with white faces, fake blood and black circles round their eyes.
They then proceeded to stagger round the shops, urging consumers to "get your brains here".
They also carried audio equipment, which police described as "simulated weapons of mass destruction", even though they were mobile phones.
The appeals court ruled that the police had no reason to imprison the protesters simply for "dressing as zombies, and walking erratically in downtown Minneapolis."
(Shamelessly stolen from Bryan and Kathy Shepley :-)
Most people remember Koenig (son of Walter Koenig who played Pavel Chekov on Star Trek) as "Boner", the best friend of Kirk Cameron's Mike Seaver on Growing Pains. But a few years ago there was a film that Andrew Koenig appeared in, and played no small part. Indeed, for the many of us who have seen this we can't but be astonished at the incredible power and potential that Koenig had as an actor. It was definitely a sign that he was going to go far. I've even heard some say that Koenig's portrayal of the Joker is the most faithful take on the character in cinema history.
So in memory of Andrew Koenig, here is Batman: Dead End...
Curiously, every time I post a photo of her, this blog's counter starts skyrocketing.
I'm beginning to use my own Twitter account a lot more, including photos and probably video as well. It would also be nice to have something that would, if at all possible, automatically aggregate tweets/twits/whatever addressed to me so that I see 'em without having to just happen upon them.
So what would y'all recommend? :-)
