Congratulations to George Lucas and all involved on this, the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
And the saga continues...
And the saga continues...
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Yeah women, know your place!
Found this graphic yesterday morning and I can't stop laughing at it!
"You read that Bible right woman!! Now get yo butt to that kitchen and bake me that cake!!"
It's from a site called Biblical Proof, a blog about "Speaking where the bible speaks, and silent where the bible is silent". And there are plenty more hilarious images like the one above on it!
If you think that pic is bad, check this one out. I've a very good friend who is a devout Christian and also a home brewer. He's a shoe-in for Hell for sure, huh?
That site is obviously a product of the ultra-conservative fringe of the Churches of Christ. They're the ones who believe that unless you are baptized you are going to Hell, that unless you are baptized correctly you are going to Hell, that unless you are a member of the Church of Christ you are going to Hell, that anyone who is Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal etc. is going to Hell, that if you are divorced and remarried you are DEFINITELY going to Hell. And if you have musical instruments in your worship services you are sooooo going to Hell for that. Fortunately not all of the Churches of Christ are that loony. Most of the ones I've known have been very humble, loving, sincere and kind but as with every denomination of Christianity, one must accept that along with the fruits there will be some nuts...
This image is pretty laughable too, but it's also very tragic. In no uncertain terms the author of its accompanying post insists that there is no salvation without water baptism, but there can be no water baptism without repentance. But that in the case of a divorced and remarried person, repentance is impossible without leaving that marriage too!
I'm divorced. It's not something that I wanted to happen. It's not something I ever intended to happen. I know that it's wrong. I know that I had my own part to play. I know that God intended for marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman that only ends at the death of one of them. But I will never believe that divorce or anything else is beyond forgiveness from God. Divorce may be a sin, but it's not a sin that can keep a person from having salvation. If it is, then Christ went to the cross for nothing.
I don't mind finding stuff like this and pointing this blog's readers to it. As a follower of Christ, I have to laugh at anything that presumes we can "score points" to get favor with God. That, and because it's just not every day that working for salvation entails dressing up like a World of Warcraft character.
"You read that Bible right woman!! Now get yo butt to that kitchen and bake me that cake!!"
It's from a site called Biblical Proof, a blog about "Speaking where the bible speaks, and silent where the bible is silent". And there are plenty more hilarious images like the one above on it!
If you think that pic is bad, check this one out. I've a very good friend who is a devout Christian and also a home brewer. He's a shoe-in for Hell for sure, huh?
That site is obviously a product of the ultra-conservative fringe of the Churches of Christ. They're the ones who believe that unless you are baptized you are going to Hell, that unless you are baptized correctly you are going to Hell, that unless you are a member of the Church of Christ you are going to Hell, that anyone who is Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal etc. is going to Hell, that if you are divorced and remarried you are DEFINITELY going to Hell. And if you have musical instruments in your worship services you are sooooo going to Hell for that. Fortunately not all of the Churches of Christ are that loony. Most of the ones I've known have been very humble, loving, sincere and kind but as with every denomination of Christianity, one must accept that along with the fruits there will be some nuts...
This image is pretty laughable too, but it's also very tragic. In no uncertain terms the author of its accompanying post insists that there is no salvation without water baptism, but there can be no water baptism without repentance. But that in the case of a divorced and remarried person, repentance is impossible without leaving that marriage too!
I'm divorced. It's not something that I wanted to happen. It's not something I ever intended to happen. I know that it's wrong. I know that I had my own part to play. I know that God intended for marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman that only ends at the death of one of them. But I will never believe that divorce or anything else is beyond forgiveness from God. Divorce may be a sin, but it's not a sin that can keep a person from having salvation. If it is, then Christ went to the cross for nothing.
I don't mind finding stuff like this and pointing this blog's readers to it. As a follower of Christ, I have to laugh at anything that presumes we can "score points" to get favor with God. That, and because it's just not every day that working for salvation entails dressing up like a World of Warcraft character.
Review of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
(One of the reasons why I haven't posted a review of this movie already - though it's been out for a week and I've seen it twice - is because I've wrestled with how to discuss Star Trek Into Darkness while being mindful of certain plot points. Since most people know about "that" particular item by now anyway, I'm going to be openly sharing my thoughts about it. But if you haven't seen Star Trek Into Darkness yet and you absolutely do not want to be spoiled, please stop reading now and come back after you've watched it. Consider yourself warned! :-)
Star Trek Into Darkness is the best film of the entire Star Trek film series date and if it's not then it definitely rivals Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the honor.
Yeah. I said it. I went there.
In 2009 J.J. Abrams and his gang at Bad Robot delivered Star Trek and pulled off the impossible: they made the world care about Star Trek again. They did it by yanking out of our minds the tired and tedious Star Trek we had grown inured to, then shattered it into a hundred pieces on the floor without seeming to give a damn about how those pieces would fit back together... if they weren't totally thrown out and forgotten about first.
Star Trek 2009 was easily one of the most beautiful and well-engineered pieces of blockbuster cinema of the past two decades. Four years after writing my review and I still find myself overwhelmed by its beautifully orchestrated destruction of the familiar. The classic Trek? It's still out there and one of Star Trek '09's more genius tricks was using quantum theories to give us an alternate reality that is not a replacement for the classic Trek canon, but rather an extension of it. A complement of it, even.
So... could J.J. Abrams and the writing team of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof give us a solid follow-up?
Having seen it twice now, Star Trek Into Darkness is a sequel that not only stands well on its own, it actually makes the previous film better. Abrams and his peeps could choose not to make another Star Trek movie after this one, and I would be happy, because Into Darkness ends on precisely the right note that it needs to be.
Star Trek Into Darkness opens some time following the events of 2009's Star Trek and hits the ground running with a cold open that makes a few sly winks at Raiders of the Lost Ark. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has taken the Enterprise to an undeveloped planet whose aborigines have barely invented the wheel. Unfortunately this lil' "observe and report" mission gets complicated by a supervolcano whose imminent eruption threatens to destroy the planet and wipe out the natives. Kirk doesn't want that to happen so he has Spock (Zachary Quinto) whip up a gadget to save the world (this world, anyway). In the course of events, Kirk winds up saving Spock's life.
But no good deed goes unpunished. Particularly when it involves the Prime Directive. Kirk gets called onto the carpet by Admiral Pike (Bruce Greenwood, who seems to be enjoying a lot of good work lately). Pike asserts that Kirk doesn't understand what it means to be in the captain's chair: he's taking risks but not thinking about the consequences. Playing games with people's lives, then patting himself on the back because nobody has been killed on his watch. In short: Kirk may have an inkling of life but he hasn't faced up to the reality of death.
Witness here the real secret of Star Trek Into Darkness' success: how much it judiciously draws from the well of The Wrath of Khan. This is the first time. It won't be the last.
Pike yanks the Enterprise from Kirk. Meanwhile in Great Britain, a Starfleet officer and desperate father (Noel Clarke, known to many as Mickey from Doctor Who) is approached by a sinister individual offering a cure for his daughter's illness. The girl survives, and her father owns up to his end of the bargain by suicide bombing a secret Starfleet installation in the heart of London.
Thus it is that Starfleet finds itself engaged in a war against agent-turned-terrorist "John Harrison". And at last we begin to see the ugly head of this alternate reality coming into true focus...
Because this is a timeline which is still reeling from the attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin a quarter-century earlier. When Nero and his ship came through time, that one incident triggered an entire cascade of events which altered history in ways both drastic and subtle. As a result many in Starfleet such as Admiral Alexander Marcus (powerfully played by Peter Weller) have come to see the Federation as being too weak militarily. Where Starfleet was supposed to be about peace and exploration, some now want it to be about war and conquest. Nero's destruction of Vulcan in Star Trek moved Starfleet's more aggressive elements to take action. And it is eventually discovered that at the heart of Marcus' covert buildup is a twentieth-century warlord found floating in deep space along with seventy-two of his followers: Khan Noonien Singh.
This is going to draw some flack, but I'm going to put it in writing: Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan is the best villain I've seen in a movie in years. And I will go so far as to say that his Khan is more evil, more dangerous, and more fascinating to behold than was Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. Cumberbatch's Khan is also the most sympathetic villain we have seen in a very long time. Yes, he's killing people left and right and he is capable of bringing the Federation to its knees. But as the story progresses we find that for Khan, he really doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. What he is doing is not from a lust for power, or territory, or even revenge and obsession. He is only interested in protecting and taking care of his people. I watched the "Space Seed" episode from the original television series after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness and... it's just impossible not to associate Cumberbatch's take on Khan with Ricardo Montalban's portrayal. In this reviewer's mind they are 100% one and the same. We are seeing the very same character, the exact same person... but we are seeing what that person is doing with his back against the wall and left to fend for himself. The result: Khan Noonien Singh finally afforded the latitude to demonstrate his superior intellect and enhanced physical ability. This is the Khan that could have been were it not for the disaster on Ceti Alpha V... and he is an astounding character to witness!
But as gripping and compelling as Cumberbatch is as Khan, I felt that he was but part of the larger drama at work in Star Trek Into Darkness: how we the viewers behold the Federation turning into a twisted version of the one we know from the original series. It's not the "Mirror, Mirror" universe wracked with backstabbing and treachery, but it is one that is increasingly turning to faith in firepower as oppose to hope in the heart. Some people have written that this movie has its title because J.J. Abrams wanted everything in it to be "dark dark dark". But that's not really why at all. It's called Star Trek Into Darkness for a very good reason: this is the Star Trek we've come to know and love... slipping into darkness. For Kirk and his crew, this isn't about saving the Federation from Khan or the Klingons: this is about saving the Federation from becoming its own worst enemy. The real baddie of Star Trek Into Darkness is Admiral Marcus, but the true conflict is the one against fear.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan became a classic parable about growing older and having to face death. Star Trek Into Darkness is a morality tale about facing life, and being able to live with yourself. I don't know if that was the intention of Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof when they wrote this script but I suspect it's not without reason why they chose to borrow so liberally from The Wrath of Khan.
I enjoyed once again watching Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock, respectively. Zoe Saldana as Uhura impressed me much more in this film than she did in the previous entry (she gets some great screen time during the scene with the Klingons). Simon Pegg continues to be a hoot to watch as Scotty! However if I have one complaint it was that there wasn't enough of him in this movie, and shuffling him and Keenser (Deep Roy) off to get drunk in a bar in San Francisco - as fun as that was - doesn't nearly enough make up for it. Ditto for John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov: apart from Sulu taking the helm and Chekov's brief tenure as ship's engineer, I barely remember them for much else. Karl Urban however continues to rock it as Dr. McCoy! It was seriously spooky how much he seemed to be channeling DeForest Kelly's spirit in Star Trek, and Urban just amps it up more here (he gets the best line of the whole dang movie, in my opinion). Again however, I wanted to see more of him.
Perhaps we'll get that in the next movie. As I said before, Star Trek Into Darkness ends at precisely the right spot: with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise poised to begin their five-year mission. We've had two feature films to re-introduce and acclimate us to this beloved cast of characters. I think the next film should steer away from the "insane lunatic threatening Earth" trope. As the captain of another Enterprise once said: "Let's see what's out there." Khan and his people aboard the S.S. Botany Bay may not be floating around to be found, but there's always V'Ger. And that weird whale probe thingy...
Michael Giacchino turned in another terrific score for this movie's soundtrack. There's a lot of variety in the music for Star Trek Into Darkness. Some of it is even considerably quieter than much of what one would have expected from any Star Trek production. Khan's theme is an especially stirring composition: evoking the Khan we saw in "Space Seed", compounded by Khan's circumstances in the alternate reality... along with a healthy hint of James Horner's theme for the character from The Wrath of Khan.
I would be remiss in my duty as a movie reviewer if I did not mention how much of a delight it was to see Leonard Nimoy return as Spock from the original reality. Some have thought that his cameo was not necessary. I thought it was perfect to have the original Spock bring that kind of connection to this story. It was not a long scene, but Nimoy's performance in it has stuck with me. Especially that haunted look he acquires as he begins to tell his counterpart about Khan Noonien Singh.
Star Trek Into Darkness easily defied and exceeded the expectations I had about this film. It gets my heartiest recommendation for your entertainment dollar! I've seen it twice already and wouldn't mind seeing it again during its first run in theaters. The 2009 Star Trek is already the most played Blu-ray in my collection. As much as I love its sequel, it'll probably be a close second :-)
Star Trek Into Darkness is the best film of the entire Star Trek film series date and if it's not then it definitely rivals Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the honor.Yeah. I said it. I went there.
In 2009 J.J. Abrams and his gang at Bad Robot delivered Star Trek and pulled off the impossible: they made the world care about Star Trek again. They did it by yanking out of our minds the tired and tedious Star Trek we had grown inured to, then shattered it into a hundred pieces on the floor without seeming to give a damn about how those pieces would fit back together... if they weren't totally thrown out and forgotten about first.
Star Trek 2009 was easily one of the most beautiful and well-engineered pieces of blockbuster cinema of the past two decades. Four years after writing my review and I still find myself overwhelmed by its beautifully orchestrated destruction of the familiar. The classic Trek? It's still out there and one of Star Trek '09's more genius tricks was using quantum theories to give us an alternate reality that is not a replacement for the classic Trek canon, but rather an extension of it. A complement of it, even.
So... could J.J. Abrams and the writing team of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof give us a solid follow-up?
Having seen it twice now, Star Trek Into Darkness is a sequel that not only stands well on its own, it actually makes the previous film better. Abrams and his peeps could choose not to make another Star Trek movie after this one, and I would be happy, because Into Darkness ends on precisely the right note that it needs to be.
Star Trek Into Darkness opens some time following the events of 2009's Star Trek and hits the ground running with a cold open that makes a few sly winks at Raiders of the Lost Ark. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has taken the Enterprise to an undeveloped planet whose aborigines have barely invented the wheel. Unfortunately this lil' "observe and report" mission gets complicated by a supervolcano whose imminent eruption threatens to destroy the planet and wipe out the natives. Kirk doesn't want that to happen so he has Spock (Zachary Quinto) whip up a gadget to save the world (this world, anyway). In the course of events, Kirk winds up saving Spock's life.
But no good deed goes unpunished. Particularly when it involves the Prime Directive. Kirk gets called onto the carpet by Admiral Pike (Bruce Greenwood, who seems to be enjoying a lot of good work lately). Pike asserts that Kirk doesn't understand what it means to be in the captain's chair: he's taking risks but not thinking about the consequences. Playing games with people's lives, then patting himself on the back because nobody has been killed on his watch. In short: Kirk may have an inkling of life but he hasn't faced up to the reality of death.
Witness here the real secret of Star Trek Into Darkness' success: how much it judiciously draws from the well of The Wrath of Khan. This is the first time. It won't be the last.
Pike yanks the Enterprise from Kirk. Meanwhile in Great Britain, a Starfleet officer and desperate father (Noel Clarke, known to many as Mickey from Doctor Who) is approached by a sinister individual offering a cure for his daughter's illness. The girl survives, and her father owns up to his end of the bargain by suicide bombing a secret Starfleet installation in the heart of London.
Thus it is that Starfleet finds itself engaged in a war against agent-turned-terrorist "John Harrison". And at last we begin to see the ugly head of this alternate reality coming into true focus...
Because this is a timeline which is still reeling from the attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin a quarter-century earlier. When Nero and his ship came through time, that one incident triggered an entire cascade of events which altered history in ways both drastic and subtle. As a result many in Starfleet such as Admiral Alexander Marcus (powerfully played by Peter Weller) have come to see the Federation as being too weak militarily. Where Starfleet was supposed to be about peace and exploration, some now want it to be about war and conquest. Nero's destruction of Vulcan in Star Trek moved Starfleet's more aggressive elements to take action. And it is eventually discovered that at the heart of Marcus' covert buildup is a twentieth-century warlord found floating in deep space along with seventy-two of his followers: Khan Noonien Singh.
This is going to draw some flack, but I'm going to put it in writing: Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan is the best villain I've seen in a movie in years. And I will go so far as to say that his Khan is more evil, more dangerous, and more fascinating to behold than was Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. Cumberbatch's Khan is also the most sympathetic villain we have seen in a very long time. Yes, he's killing people left and right and he is capable of bringing the Federation to its knees. But as the story progresses we find that for Khan, he really doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. What he is doing is not from a lust for power, or territory, or even revenge and obsession. He is only interested in protecting and taking care of his people. I watched the "Space Seed" episode from the original television series after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness and... it's just impossible not to associate Cumberbatch's take on Khan with Ricardo Montalban's portrayal. In this reviewer's mind they are 100% one and the same. We are seeing the very same character, the exact same person... but we are seeing what that person is doing with his back against the wall and left to fend for himself. The result: Khan Noonien Singh finally afforded the latitude to demonstrate his superior intellect and enhanced physical ability. This is the Khan that could have been were it not for the disaster on Ceti Alpha V... and he is an astounding character to witness!
But as gripping and compelling as Cumberbatch is as Khan, I felt that he was but part of the larger drama at work in Star Trek Into Darkness: how we the viewers behold the Federation turning into a twisted version of the one we know from the original series. It's not the "Mirror, Mirror" universe wracked with backstabbing and treachery, but it is one that is increasingly turning to faith in firepower as oppose to hope in the heart. Some people have written that this movie has its title because J.J. Abrams wanted everything in it to be "dark dark dark". But that's not really why at all. It's called Star Trek Into Darkness for a very good reason: this is the Star Trek we've come to know and love... slipping into darkness. For Kirk and his crew, this isn't about saving the Federation from Khan or the Klingons: this is about saving the Federation from becoming its own worst enemy. The real baddie of Star Trek Into Darkness is Admiral Marcus, but the true conflict is the one against fear.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan became a classic parable about growing older and having to face death. Star Trek Into Darkness is a morality tale about facing life, and being able to live with yourself. I don't know if that was the intention of Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof when they wrote this script but I suspect it's not without reason why they chose to borrow so liberally from The Wrath of Khan.
I enjoyed once again watching Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock, respectively. Zoe Saldana as Uhura impressed me much more in this film than she did in the previous entry (she gets some great screen time during the scene with the Klingons). Simon Pegg continues to be a hoot to watch as Scotty! However if I have one complaint it was that there wasn't enough of him in this movie, and shuffling him and Keenser (Deep Roy) off to get drunk in a bar in San Francisco - as fun as that was - doesn't nearly enough make up for it. Ditto for John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov: apart from Sulu taking the helm and Chekov's brief tenure as ship's engineer, I barely remember them for much else. Karl Urban however continues to rock it as Dr. McCoy! It was seriously spooky how much he seemed to be channeling DeForest Kelly's spirit in Star Trek, and Urban just amps it up more here (he gets the best line of the whole dang movie, in my opinion). Again however, I wanted to see more of him.
Perhaps we'll get that in the next movie. As I said before, Star Trek Into Darkness ends at precisely the right spot: with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise poised to begin their five-year mission. We've had two feature films to re-introduce and acclimate us to this beloved cast of characters. I think the next film should steer away from the "insane lunatic threatening Earth" trope. As the captain of another Enterprise once said: "Let's see what's out there." Khan and his people aboard the S.S. Botany Bay may not be floating around to be found, but there's always V'Ger. And that weird whale probe thingy...
Michael Giacchino turned in another terrific score for this movie's soundtrack. There's a lot of variety in the music for Star Trek Into Darkness. Some of it is even considerably quieter than much of what one would have expected from any Star Trek production. Khan's theme is an especially stirring composition: evoking the Khan we saw in "Space Seed", compounded by Khan's circumstances in the alternate reality... along with a healthy hint of James Horner's theme for the character from The Wrath of Khan.
I would be remiss in my duty as a movie reviewer if I did not mention how much of a delight it was to see Leonard Nimoy return as Spock from the original reality. Some have thought that his cameo was not necessary. I thought it was perfect to have the original Spock bring that kind of connection to this story. It was not a long scene, but Nimoy's performance in it has stuck with me. Especially that haunted look he acquires as he begins to tell his counterpart about Khan Noonien Singh.
Star Trek Into Darkness easily defied and exceeded the expectations I had about this film. It gets my heartiest recommendation for your entertainment dollar! I've seen it twice already and wouldn't mind seeing it again during its first run in theaters. The 2009 Star Trek is already the most played Blu-ray in my collection. As much as I love its sequel, it'll probably be a close second :-)
Thursday, May 23, 2013
This is my Eagle Scout card
I received it during my Eagle Scout ceremony at Fairview Baptist Church in Reidsville, North Carolina on August 16th, 1992.
It immediately went into my wallet.
I have carried my Eagle Scout card with me ever since. It has been with me through college, across the ocean, through some very dark times and into some very wonderful times.
I've never been without it. I had long planned to someday be buried with it.
Moments ago I removed my Eagle Scout card from my wallet. I do not plan to carry it with me ever again.
Within the past hour it has been announced that the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has passed a resolution to allow openly homosexual members.
This is incompatible with the spirit and the meaning of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. The principles of Scouting are about being the best that God intends for us to be. Strength of mind, strength of body and strength of character are inherently essential toward this. And part of that means developing personal restraint. God intended for us to control our own bodies. Not for our bodies to control us.
The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has demonstrated that it does not understand the meaning of either the Scout Oath or the Scout Law.
And so it is, with great sadness and a grieving heart, that I choose to no longer be associated or affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America.
Maybe someday I'll be able to pick up the card and carry it with me again. I pray that day does come.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Lois Lerner of the IRS: Fifth Amendment for me but not for thee!
This is Lois Lerner, who headed the Internal Revenue Service's exempt organizations division during the time that the IRS was singling out "tea party"-affiliated groups and other politically conservative people with audits and intimidation...
Lois Lerner of the IRS invoked the Fifth Amendment so as not to potentially perjure herself during hearings in the House of Representatives investigating her agency's unethical and illegal activities.
Every year, you and I and millions of other Americans have to file 1040 forms with the IRS. If we don't, we go to jail. If we withhold information on the 1040 forms, we go to jail. If we don't sign the forms, we go to jail. At no time does the IRS afford us the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment so as not to incriminate ourselves.
Lois Lerner in her capacity as a high-ranking official of the Internal Revenue Service is pleading the Fifth to a congressional committee and she expects to get away free and clear from this entire mess.
You and me and everyone else must answer the IRS under threat of perjury. This IRS official doesn't want to answer to our elected representatives and is using the Fifth Amendment as an escape clause which her agency has not and never would afford the average citizen.
If Lerner gets away with this, then she has set a legal precedent and every tax-paying citizen in the United States should follow her example. Come next April 15th, put "I PLEAD THE FIFTH JUST LIKE IRS OFFICIAL LOIS LERNER DID" in big bold red printed letters on your tax form and send that instead.
Remember folks: the Constitution applies to every citizen in this country, not just politicians and their cronies.
 |
| Where do these people keep coming from? |
Every year, you and I and millions of other Americans have to file 1040 forms with the IRS. If we don't, we go to jail. If we withhold information on the 1040 forms, we go to jail. If we don't sign the forms, we go to jail. At no time does the IRS afford us the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment so as not to incriminate ourselves.
Lois Lerner in her capacity as a high-ranking official of the Internal Revenue Service is pleading the Fifth to a congressional committee and she expects to get away free and clear from this entire mess.
You and me and everyone else must answer the IRS under threat of perjury. This IRS official doesn't want to answer to our elected representatives and is using the Fifth Amendment as an escape clause which her agency has not and never would afford the average citizen.
If Lerner gets away with this, then she has set a legal precedent and every tax-paying citizen in the United States should follow her example. Come next April 15th, put "I PLEAD THE FIFTH JUST LIKE IRS OFFICIAL LOIS LERNER DID" in big bold red printed letters on your tax form and send that instead.
Remember folks: the Constitution applies to every citizen in this country, not just politicians and their cronies.
"He's the one who broke the promise": Chris lost his mind watching "The Name Of The Doctor" and still hasn't fully recovered from the DOCTOR WHO season finale!
"The Name of the Doctor" was season finale caliber, definitely. But with 2013 being the fiftieth anniversary celebration of Doctor Who it's safe to say there was already an expectation for showrunner Steven Moffat to up the ante for the occasion. The thing is: the stuff many if not most (or even all) the fans were expecting to be in the fiftieth anniversary special, Moffat pulled the trigger on in "The Name of the Doctor"!
So has Moffat shot his wad already? Or has he something even more diabolical planned for November 23rd?
Advance warning is in order: make sure there's plenty of space behind that sofa to duck and cover with!
This was an episode of extremes. No previous story has ever given us The Doctor from alpha to omega and everyone(?) in between. Right off the bat "The Name of the Doctor" showed us something we had never seen before: the First Doctor committing grand theft TARDIS and making his run from Gallifrey. Ten incarnations later the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) chooses to defy all caution and come at last to Trenzalore: the one place in the universe he is to never, ever go. And now we know why: Trenzalore is where The Doctor's grave is.
And when you are a traveler through time and space, your own grave is never a place you want to visit.
I thought the big reveal about Clara (Jamie-Louise Coleman) was done well, particularly in light of how this half-season of Doctor Who has been very uneven since the show returned in late March. With the hindsight of seeing how Clara fits into the bigger picture of The Doctor's story, that's left me more appreciative of how Moffat has handled her from her first appearance in "The Asylum of the Daleks" and then "The Snowmen" onward. Going back to the fiftieth anniversary looming over everything: I figured we'd see all the Doctors but I also feared there would be no way to really "involve" them all without resorting to deus ex machina at its hokiest. Clara proved to be an amazingly elegant solution and by the end of the episode, she left no doubt about earning her place as a companion of The Doctor.
All right, something I'm a bit fuzzy about: is this meant to be the last time... I mean, the really last time... that we'll be seeing River Song? There was some grave finality (horrible pun intended) in her interactions with The Doctor. If this is the last time well, one can't help but admire the irony. River Song's first appearance was in a two-part story five years ago that ended with her dying to save her future husband. "The Name of the Doctor" has River after the events in The Library, with everything about her and The Doctor laid bare at last. Alex Kingston as River Song has been one of the purest delights in all of television these past few years and if this is "goodbye sweetie" indeed, that is a void which will not be easily filled.
I loved how Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax were brought back once again. It wouldn't be a proper season finale without that wacky trio (again I insist: give them their own spinoff series!). Strax's scenes were especially hilarious, particularly when he asks that drunken Scottish lout to knock him unconscious with the shovel.
The Whisper Men: ummmm... still trying to figure those guys out. Are they intended to be the distant cousins of the Silence? Simeon didn't really "do" it for me as a main villain... until he spoke of The Doctor's future and referenced The Valeyard (so we know that gun is still on the wall waiting to be fired). I think what most impressed me about him is that whatever it is about The Doctor still to come, Simeon was perfectly able and willing to let himself be destroyed in order to undo The Doctor's entire existence.
"The Name of the Doctor" sets an all-time record: eleven Doctors in one episode! There hasn't been a story with so large a cast of Doctors since 1983's "The Five Doctors". And by the way: they are all in there somewhere. It took me awhile to find Eight and Ten, but they appear also (Clara sees the Eighth Doctor very briefly on the same beach as the Second Doctor, and that's the Tenth Doctor's back that Clara is looking at in The Library).
In every way that I could have conceived, "The Name of the Doctor" was the epic that I had been stoked to see and much, much more.
But then it got to that final scene, and the figure turning to show his face and then those words on the screen...
I've watched Doctor Who for more than thirty years. And THIS was the scariest, the most unexpected and DARKEST turn of events in the whole history of the franchise. The mythology got rocked and rocked HARD in those final 2 or 3 minutes. It's absolutely the riskiest thing ever done in the entire history of the show and for good or ill Steven Moffat has crossed a terrible, terrible line with this. There was stuff in this episode that I was certain we would only see in the fiftieth anniversary special... and already Moffat's not only fired all that off, he chased it down with a tactical nuke.
"The Name of the Doctor" is the most insane, most senses-shattering cliffhanger in television history. Granted it needed almost fifty years of material to pull it off but still... And my poor brain is still reeling from it. Remember Lost and it's third-season finale "Through the Looking Glass"? Yeah the one that sucker-punched us at the end with the reveal that those flashbacks of Jack's were really flash-forwards to a time after Jack escaped the Island? Well "The Name of the Doctor" was a thousand times more gray-matter-melting than that.
"The Name of the Doctor" didn't just peg the needle and break it off, it sent it flying madly out the car window. Desperate times call for desperate measures so I'm giving it TWELVE Sonic Screwdrivers out of a possible five. One for each of them. If you've seen the episode you know what I'm talking about.
"To be continued November 23rd"! This is gonna be a looooong six months...
Ray Manzarek of The Doors has passed away
It happened Monday but I'm just now hearing the sad word about the death of Ray Manzarek: founding member of The Doors and one of the greatest keyboardists ever.
There are going to be a lot of memorials to Manzarek and his talent, but I thought I'd share this one that "Weird Al" Yankovic posted on his YouTube channel. It's from 2009, when Yankovic was producing his song "Craigslist" (a style parody homage to The Doors and Jim Morrison). Manzarek himself played keyboard for the song, giving it an authenticity that he alone could deliver...
Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.
There are going to be a lot of memorials to Manzarek and his talent, but I thought I'd share this one that "Weird Al" Yankovic posted on his YouTube channel. It's from 2009, when Yankovic was producing his song "Craigslist" (a style parody homage to The Doors and Jim Morrison). Manzarek himself played keyboard for the song, giving it an authenticity that he alone could deliver...
Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.
Xbox done
Here's the Xbox One...
There is no backward compatibility: you can't play anything from your already-existing library of Xbox 360 games on it. You can't play your original Xbox games on it either. Ditto for any games from Xbox Live Arcade. It has no power button (it stays on all the time) and it needs an Internet connection to really function optimally. It has a hard drive, but it's non-removable. To play your games you must install from the disc. If there is no more room on the hard drive you'll have to wipe some games off (then re-install if you want to play them again later on). It won't work at all without the Kinect sensor (something which unless you have ample enough space, could be a problem). Once you play a new game it's tied into that Xbox One unit and you can't easily take it anywhere else or let a friend borrow it or be allowed to sell it... okay well you can but the next player using it will have to pay a fee to Microsoft.
But at least it will tie all your incoming cable TV, satellite TV, Internet, Blu-ray and whatever else into it so that you only need one remote control. I guess that's something worth five hundred bucks, huh?
The big "reveal" yesterday spent way more time raving about the Xbox One's television and home entertainment capabilities than it did about actual video gaming. Seems to kinda defeat the point of pouring the entire budget of a typical developing country into the design of something for... you know... playing video games.
The lack of backward compatibility alone turns me off completely from wanting an Xbox One. But then Microsoft had to add insult to injury more ways than I care to count...
I'm gonna be way, way content with my Xbox 360 for a long time to come. Based on commentary I've seen since yesterday's reveal, I won't be the only one apparently. Heck, lots of people and private businesses are still using Windows XP nearly twelve years after it was released. I'm expecting the Xbox 360 to enjoy similar longevity. Along with anticipating Microsoft's entry into the next-gen console wars to slip to a hard second after the PlayStation 4, and perhaps even lagging significantly behind the Wii U.
And one last thing about the Xbox One: it's ugly too. It's like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey as envisioned by George Orwell: a big black solid slab of freedom is slavery.
But at least it will tie all your incoming cable TV, satellite TV, Internet, Blu-ray and whatever else into it so that you only need one remote control. I guess that's something worth five hundred bucks, huh?
The big "reveal" yesterday spent way more time raving about the Xbox One's television and home entertainment capabilities than it did about actual video gaming. Seems to kinda defeat the point of pouring the entire budget of a typical developing country into the design of something for... you know... playing video games.
The lack of backward compatibility alone turns me off completely from wanting an Xbox One. But then Microsoft had to add insult to injury more ways than I care to count...
I'm gonna be way, way content with my Xbox 360 for a long time to come. Based on commentary I've seen since yesterday's reveal, I won't be the only one apparently. Heck, lots of people and private businesses are still using Windows XP nearly twelve years after it was released. I'm expecting the Xbox 360 to enjoy similar longevity. Along with anticipating Microsoft's entry into the next-gen console wars to slip to a hard second after the PlayStation 4, and perhaps even lagging significantly behind the Wii U.
And one last thing about the Xbox One: it's ugly too. It's like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey as envisioned by George Orwell: a big black solid slab of freedom is slavery.
This week's Tammy Tuesday(?) only wants to help!
Didn't get to post an installment of Tammy Tuesday yesterday 'cuz of too much stuff that came crashing down all at once. Hey I enjoy blogging but it's not like this is my full-time career, right?
Forget I asked that.
It's a day late but no less cute: here's Tammy trying her best to assist Dad in the kitchen as he looks for cookware...
Truth be told, I think Tammy enjoys eating the food more than she does actually preparing it :-P
Forget I asked that.
It's a day late but no less cute: here's Tammy trying her best to assist Dad in the kitchen as he looks for cookware...
Truth be told, I think Tammy enjoys eating the food more than she does actually preparing it :-P
Monday, May 20, 2013
I purposely stayed off the Internet for the past 48 hours
Why?
Because I wasn't able to watch the season finale of Doctor Who until just now. I had to wait for my girlfriend Kristen to arrive back home from a wedding out of state. We weren't going to see this one without each other.
So a few minutes ago we finally finished "The Name of the Doctor".
My immediate reaction? Unprintable. I can't even come up with words right now.
Gonna see Star Trek Into Darkness with her. Maybe by then I'll have calmed down enough.
The most senses-shattering ending of a Doctor Who story ever.
More coherent reaction later.
Because I wasn't able to watch the season finale of Doctor Who until just now. I had to wait for my girlfriend Kristen to arrive back home from a wedding out of state. We weren't going to see this one without each other.
So a few minutes ago we finally finished "The Name of the Doctor".
My immediate reaction? Unprintable. I can't even come up with words right now.
Gonna see Star Trek Into Darkness with her. Maybe by then I'll have calmed down enough.
The most senses-shattering ending of a Doctor Who story ever.
More coherent reaction later.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Knight Shift has an official Facebook page!
At long last, this blog has a bona-fide presence on Facebook! It's been up for awhile now but I wanted to make some posts on it to sorta "furnish the place" before going public with itAnyhoo, the URL thingy is facebook.com/theknightshiftblog (pretty clever, huh?). The Facebook site's primary function will be to share posts that I make here on the blog. But I also have plans to use it for other neat stuff: anything from previews for coming attractions to emergency posts from the field when full-blown blogging isn't an option, to... dunno, maybe a recipe or two. I aim to have the place as hopping with seemingly random iotas of information, thoughts and wild ideas as this blog is.
Okay well... "like" me, why don'cha? :-)
There is no possible contesting it: The IRS must be abolished
The Founding Fathers would "repent in Heaven" - as John Adams threatened those early Americans - if they could see the country they founded and what has come to light in the past few days.
If anybody can tender any argument whatsoever in defense of the Internal Revenue Service, I for one wish to hear what it is.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but hey, whaddya know: the conspiracy theorists were right all along. The United States Federal Government really has been spying on the dissidents, the disaffected and those who want less intrusion into their private lives. Add in how the government has also been found to have been spying on Associated Press journalists and then the whole mess about Benghazi (which cost lives, mind you) and only an idiot would deny that We The People are no longer in charge and that our own government has become a colossal, reprehensible beast.
Audits. Threats. Intimidation. Favoritism toward political allies. Cover-ups. Seizing millions of private individuals' medical records. Bullying a conservative education group to turn over the names of high school and college students. Not even Billy Graham's ministry has proven safe from the IRS.
Our forefathers went to war with England for far, far less than this. They bought our liberty with their blood. Too many of them paid the price for a freedom they knew they would never know but wanted their children and their children's children to have.
We owe their memory better than this.
Yes, Mr. Adams. The time has come to repent in Heaven. The government which you and Jefferson and Franklin and Washington and Madison and Morris and Calhoun and the rest gave us, doesn't exist anymore. We had a republic and we couldn't keep it.
And now we have a "government" of thugs with all the mentality of street hoodlums, or a Mafia family. Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano...
They may have been elected, but they are not leaders. They aren't my leaders, anyway. They are, at most, glorified gangsters. Albeit gangsters with their very own Gestapo. And lots and lots of bullets (which we still haven't been given an adequate explanation for).
The Founding Fathers never would have entertained the notion of a government agency empowered to intimidate and threaten and confiscate the property of the people of the United States... much less approved of one!
So here's how I see it as things stand tonight...
Either the Internal Revenue Service is abolished for good, obliterated totally and its entire structure laid waste. Or, there can be no more confidence and trust that We The People can place with our own government.
This is our Runnymede, folks. King Obama Lackland needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to the pasture and told in no uncertain terms "you've gone mad with power, John. Now sign on the dotted line and get the hell out of our way."
Say what one will for all his faults, but at least King John had enough sense to comprehend what the barons were telling him. But then again John didn't have mega-sized computer databases, airborne drones and a secret police at his beck and call.
Either the IRS goes, and with it all its power and authority (which there is considerable evidence it was never meant to have to begin with), or there is no longer any pretending that we are living in a free nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. There will be only government for the sake of government.
That is not the country I want my children to grow up in.
And you shouldn't want it either.
If anybody can tender any argument whatsoever in defense of the Internal Revenue Service, I for one wish to hear what it is.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but hey, whaddya know: the conspiracy theorists were right all along. The United States Federal Government really has been spying on the dissidents, the disaffected and those who want less intrusion into their private lives. Add in how the government has also been found to have been spying on Associated Press journalists and then the whole mess about Benghazi (which cost lives, mind you) and only an idiot would deny that We The People are no longer in charge and that our own government has become a colossal, reprehensible beast.Audits. Threats. Intimidation. Favoritism toward political allies. Cover-ups. Seizing millions of private individuals' medical records. Bullying a conservative education group to turn over the names of high school and college students. Not even Billy Graham's ministry has proven safe from the IRS.
Our forefathers went to war with England for far, far less than this. They bought our liberty with their blood. Too many of them paid the price for a freedom they knew they would never know but wanted their children and their children's children to have.
We owe their memory better than this.
Yes, Mr. Adams. The time has come to repent in Heaven. The government which you and Jefferson and Franklin and Washington and Madison and Morris and Calhoun and the rest gave us, doesn't exist anymore. We had a republic and we couldn't keep it.
And now we have a "government" of thugs with all the mentality of street hoodlums, or a Mafia family. Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano...
They may have been elected, but they are not leaders. They aren't my leaders, anyway. They are, at most, glorified gangsters. Albeit gangsters with their very own Gestapo. And lots and lots of bullets (which we still haven't been given an adequate explanation for).
The Founding Fathers never would have entertained the notion of a government agency empowered to intimidate and threaten and confiscate the property of the people of the United States... much less approved of one!
So here's how I see it as things stand tonight...
Either the Internal Revenue Service is abolished for good, obliterated totally and its entire structure laid waste. Or, there can be no more confidence and trust that We The People can place with our own government.
This is our Runnymede, folks. King Obama Lackland needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to the pasture and told in no uncertain terms "you've gone mad with power, John. Now sign on the dotted line and get the hell out of our way."
Say what one will for all his faults, but at least King John had enough sense to comprehend what the barons were telling him. But then again John didn't have mega-sized computer databases, airborne drones and a secret police at his beck and call.
Either the IRS goes, and with it all its power and authority (which there is considerable evidence it was never meant to have to begin with), or there is no longer any pretending that we are living in a free nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. There will be only government for the sake of government.
That is not the country I want my children to grow up in.
And you shouldn't want it either.
Kermit Gosnell has chosen life
And by that I mean, Kermit Gosnell has chosen life in prison.
He could have chosen death. Gosnell dropped his appeals in exchange for life, not death.
I'm not the first to note the irony that given a choice, Gosnell chose life.
If only his victims had been given the same choice...
Kermit Gosnell, abortion "doctor", found guilty yesterday of murdering three babies (he had been charged with killing four) during botched abortions at his "clinic". Gosnell was quoted as remarking that Baby A was "big enough to walk around with me or walk me to the bus stop."
You may not have heard much about Kermit Gosnell. In fact, you might not have heard anything at all about him. The mainstream media was curiously quiet about his case. I don't know whether it was because the details about went on in Gosnell's slaughterhouse were so gory and horrific, or because it was a story that exposed abortion for the obscenity that it is.
(You can click here to read more about the case. Much of which is about how Gosnell's primary M.O. was jabbing the babies' necks with scissors and snipping and twisting the spinal cords.)
Last week I wrote about how Ariel Castro is facing "aggravated murder" from allegedly causing the deaths of at least one unborn baby during the ten years that he and his two brothers held three women hostage in Cleveland. The only person who was killed in that case was an unborn baby. Not a "fetus". Not an "unviable tissue mass". A human being.
Kermit Gosnell is going to prison because he killed human beings. They were humans at their most helpless and most in need of love and compassion. Kermit Gosnell butchered them, laughed about it and made money from it.
Kermit Gosnell is not a doctor. A doctor takes an oath to defend life. Gosnell took innocent life. Again and again and again.
So what's it going to be, ladies and gentlemen? Either an unborn child is a human accorded all the rights as any other, including the right to live. Or it is not, and Kermit Gosnell has not committed murder at all.
As I said last week: We can't have it both ways.
(By the way, that was Troy Newman of Operation Rescue who first noted the supreme irony of Gosnell choosing life in prison over the death penalty.)
He could have chosen death. Gosnell dropped his appeals in exchange for life, not death.
I'm not the first to note the irony that given a choice, Gosnell chose life.
If only his victims had been given the same choice...
 |
| Kermit Gosnell: He chose life for himself, death for babies. |
You may not have heard much about Kermit Gosnell. In fact, you might not have heard anything at all about him. The mainstream media was curiously quiet about his case. I don't know whether it was because the details about went on in Gosnell's slaughterhouse were so gory and horrific, or because it was a story that exposed abortion for the obscenity that it is.
(You can click here to read more about the case. Much of which is about how Gosnell's primary M.O. was jabbing the babies' necks with scissors and snipping and twisting the spinal cords.)
Last week I wrote about how Ariel Castro is facing "aggravated murder" from allegedly causing the deaths of at least one unborn baby during the ten years that he and his two brothers held three women hostage in Cleveland. The only person who was killed in that case was an unborn baby. Not a "fetus". Not an "unviable tissue mass". A human being.
Kermit Gosnell is going to prison because he killed human beings. They were humans at their most helpless and most in need of love and compassion. Kermit Gosnell butchered them, laughed about it and made money from it.
Kermit Gosnell is not a doctor. A doctor takes an oath to defend life. Gosnell took innocent life. Again and again and again.
So what's it going to be, ladies and gentlemen? Either an unborn child is a human accorded all the rights as any other, including the right to live. Or it is not, and Kermit Gosnell has not committed murder at all.
As I said last week: We can't have it both ways.
(By the way, that was Troy Newman of Operation Rescue who first noted the supreme irony of Gosnell choosing life in prison over the death penalty.)
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
"Nightmare in Silver": Neil Gaiman restores horror to the Cybermen on DOCTOR WHO
Look, it takes an awful lot for a TV show or a movie to scare the ever-living crap out of me. But when the girlfriend and I saw that one Cyberman arrive at the barracks and then do that...
Think back to the first time you watched "Remembrance of the Daleks", the big story that marked Doctor Who's 25th anniversary in 1988. And that numb-struck look of terror on The Doctor's face as that Dalek did something no Dalek had ever done before: it climbed the stairs during its hellbent pursuit.
Well, that high-speed Cyberman scared me worse than that! I was literally screaming "HOLY SH-T!!" (and other stuff) at the top of my lungs and I barely realized it. After decades of watching the Cybermen clank around in that clumsy armor, for one to run and attack almost faster than the eye could follow was an automatic "behind the sofa" moment.
And it was neat to see the return of the Cybermen's biggest weakness being gold. How The Doctor was able to use it was definitely a slick and brilliant move. 'Twoul be great to see that vulnerability exploited again: I've no doubt that Matt Smith's Doctor could have all kinds of fun with it!
I found Hedgewick's World of Wonders to be a well-imagined and quite offbeat place to have set a story like this. I mean: the universe's greatest amusement park? Somehow that worked to "up" the creepiness of the episode's atmosphere.
I think Gaiman set out to do two things with "Nightmare in Silver": to re-establish the Cybermen as the horrifying threat they were always meant to be, and to apply his inimitable style toward a "Doctor. vs. Doctor" conflict. And to a great degree, I believe he pulled off each of those tricks. Although I have felt at times that "Nightmare in Silver" could have focused more time on the Cybermen themselves, but knowing that it's a Neil Gaiman story made me enjoy with greater appreciation The Doctor's internalized conflict with his Cyber-Plannerized "Mr. Clever" ego. The Doctor at war with "Mr. Clever" was a well-executed duel that never descended into cheap gimmickery which that sort of thing has become in too many other stories throughout fiction. Matt Smith has been at the top of his form as The Doctor this season and with "Nightmare in Silver" he brings that power and to bear against no less an opponent than himself... and it is a treat to behold!
(Okay I gotta get this off my chest: we could have gone without the "cute kid on a sci-fi show" trope and in "Nightmare in Silver"'s case we got two of them. I really tried to give Artie and Angie a chance but in the end, hmmmm... they were more of a liability to the story than they were an enhancement. But at least they were the only such liability in an otherwise terrific episode.)
Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) continues to be a pleasure to watch. She's definitely getting her hands dirtier so far as the action goes. And the dialogue between her and the Cyber-Planner was positively dark and chilling. More foreshadowing, no doubt, of what is to come. Along with all the other in-show references (fewer in this episode than the previous ones, but they were otherwise well-employed).
But I can't write about "Nightmare in Silver" without remarking upon the best use of a guest star this season: Warwick Davis as Porridge. This month marks thirty years since Davis first appeared on the big screen as Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and since then he's become quite an accomplished actor (most notably as Professor Flitwick throughout the Harry Potter movie series). I thought his portrayal of Porridge was sweet, comical and tragic... all at once. Davis was a delight to watch and I for one would love to see Porridge return again.
I'm going to give "Nightmare in Silver" Four out of Five possible Sonic Screwdrivers. It could have been even better with a bit of trimming off the fat (yeah Artie and Angie again) but I'm choosing instead to focus on the The Doctor's battle with his own intellect, and the re-scaryfying of the Cybermen. Speaking of which, I'll never look at a cockroach again without having those nasty Cybermites coming to mind.
And this Saturday night: the season finale of Doctor Who. His path will take him to the Fields of Trenzalor. The one place he must never go to. And there... the question.
"The first question."
"The oldest question in the universe."
"The question hidden in plain sight."
"The question that must never be answered."
"The question he has been running from for all his life..."
"The Name of The Doctor". And I won't be able to watch it until the following Monday afternoon! I might go into "radio silence" to avoid spoilers ('cuz I can't watch it unless it's with my girlfriend :-)
This week's Tammy Tuesday is all tired out
Tammy in one of her all-too-rare quiet moments...
Miniature dachshunds might be small... but they more than make up for it in hyper-activity! If you are contemplating getting one, you'll love them like nothing else... but you'll also come to appreciate those fleeting minutes of rest and quiet :-)
Miniature dachshunds might be small... but they more than make up for it in hyper-activity! If you are contemplating getting one, you'll love them like nothing else... but you'll also come to appreciate those fleeting minutes of rest and quiet :-)
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Just saw IRON MAN 3
Definitely THE best of the series by far! And one of the finest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.
Go see it. Now! Or, perish in flames. It's your choice. But not really...
(And do not do not DO NOT leave the theater until you've seen the end credits. All of the end credits. You have been warned.)
(And do not do not DO NOT leave the theater until you've seen the end credits. All of the end credits. You have been warned.)
Today's DILBERT a must-read for people with bipolar (like me!)
Dear Scott Adams:
Today's edition of your comic strip Dilbert is one of the most encouraging - and one of the funniest - cartoons that I've come across in a long time. As a person with bipolar disorder and on behalf of many others who must deal with having a mental illness, thank you for giving us something to laugh and smile about :-)
I think after reading this, I'm gonna begin referring to most other people as "normals" and myself as... how does "meta-human" sound? :-)
Sincerely,
Chris Knight
Today's edition of your comic strip Dilbert is one of the most encouraging - and one of the funniest - cartoons that I've come across in a long time. As a person with bipolar disorder and on behalf of many others who must deal with having a mental illness, thank you for giving us something to laugh and smile about :-)
I think after reading this, I'm gonna begin referring to most other people as "normals" and myself as... how does "meta-human" sound? :-)
Sincerely,
Chris Knight
