The current situation

There's been something that's been on my mind for awhile, especially since I first got serious about running for public office. I'll probably write more about this later, after the campaign, when I've had a lot more time to meditate upon some things. I can definitely say that ever since throwing my hat into the ring, that it has been a real growth experience in a lot of ways for me. I can't help but think that even if it's not in God's will that I am to win a seat on the school board, that He is using this to plant the seeds within me for something further down the road. I don't know what that might be, but the learning and understanding that He has been guiding me through during this has very much made me a different person over the past couple of months.

Running for local office has lent itself toward much contemplation about where we are as a country. Especially in the past few days and weeks. And I hate to say this but the more I've let this new eye bear down on things, the more disillusioned I've become with the current state of things in America.

How has it come to this: that we are a nation run by a gang of liars and opportunists and petty hustlers and con artists and adulterers... and now pedophiles? I know, that's more or less a rhetorical question because this sort of thing has been going on for so long now that we've actually become inured to it. But that doesn't mean that it's no less a damning conclusion to draw from the shape of things.

Like I said, I'm probably going to have more to say about this in the near future, after the election is finished, however that goes down. But I'll end this post on one thing that I've come to realize: that the root of much of the misery and malfeasance that's taking place in this country is that we have pursued power instead of righteousness before God.

And I'm especially levelling that charge at a lot of the Christians in this land.

(Yeah I mean you too Jerry Falwell: "The Lord will take care of that" indeed!)

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More DOCTOR WHO goodness tonight

On the same day that American audiences finally get to watch Season 2/28 of Doctor Who comes word that the show has officially been recognized by Guiness Book of World Records as TV's longest-running science-fiction show. And yep, they're counting the revived series in with the originals too. With a 43-year history and 723 episodes to date under its belt, Doctor Who is still going strong.

And with tonight being when Season 2 (or 28, your pick) debuted here in the U.S., here is the "teaser" video that aired on Doctor Who Confidential last year. This really gives you an idea of what to expect in the coming months...

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My yard signs have arrived!

Most of them arrived yesterday (there was one box of metal frames that UPS just dropped off). Here's the finished product:

I used a company called RUNandWIN.com to fill my yard sign order. They did some really amazing work on these signs. They also had a very fast turnaround time from the time I placed my order and were exceedingly prompt in answering all of my queries. They are definitely to be recommended if you yourself ever wind up running for political office :-)

By the way, speaking of printed advertisements for my campaign, here is the bumper sticker that's on my car:

You can buy a pack of blank bumper stickers (2 per letter-sized sheet) at Office Depot. Then download a Word template from OfficeDepot.com and use your ink-jet printer to make your sticker. They're supposed to be pretty water-resistant as they are, but I also gave it several coats of transparent gloss spray paint before I peeled it off the sheet. And so far, in spite of all the rain storms we've had, it looks as fresh as it did when it came out of the printer. No doubt there'll be a lot more fun to be had with these sticker sheets after the campaign is over :-)

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"Merry Christmas!" New DOCTOR WHO season starts tonight on Sci-Fi!

When we last saw the Doctor and Rose, they were flying through time/space in the TARDIS having just destroyed the Dalek Emperor. Unfortunately the Doctor had to make a self-sacrifice and absorbed a LOT of energy that was slowly destroying his body. He had some poignant words for Rose (Billie Piper), telling her that she would never be able to see him again... well, at least "not like this, not with this daft old face". The last thing he told Rose was that she was "fantastic. Absolutely fantastic! And do you know what? So was I!"

And with that, the Doctor (who had been played by Christopher Eccleston) regenerated... and became the new Doctor: played by David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).

People in Great Britain have already seen what happens after that on Doctor Who. Tonight, American fans will finally get to see the further adventures of the Doctor and Rose. It all starts tonight at 8 o'clock with last year's holiday special "The Christmas Invasion" (I downloaded it the day after last Christmas: click here for my review of it). Taking place immediately after the last moments of last season's finale "The Parting of the Ways", the TARDIS crashes near Rose's old home just in time for Christmas. Tennant's Doctor walks out and collapses outside and Rose spends much of the episode trying to convince Jackie and Mickey that this is, indeed, the same Doctor that she had been travelling with. As the Doctor recovers from his regeneration, aliens arrive and start trying to take over. Won't say anything more than that but there are some really crazy visual gags you have to see to believe in this episode.

"The Christmas Invasion" lasts an hour and a half, and will be followed by the first real episode of Season 2 (or 28 if you're reckoning from old-school Who), "New Earth". Which I didn't think at the time that this was all that strong an opening for a new season of Doctor Who but it does have two things going for it: another appearance by the Face of Boe. And it has the return of the Lady Cassandra: arguably one of the most bizarre Doctor Who villains of all time ("Moisturize me! Moisturize me!"). There are some really excellent episodes coming up though in the next few weeks (like "Class Reunion") and I'll be posting more about them as they're about to broadcast. In the meantime, sit back tonight and enjoy some the newest season of Doctor Who... which is coming about six months earlier than most of us were expecting!

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Review of "Weird Al" Yankovic's STRAIGHT OUTTA LYNWOOD

Today is the day that "Weird Al" Yankovic's new album Straight Outta Lynwood came out (as if I haven't been talking about this album enough already on this blog over the past few weeks). I've been playing around with the new CD for several hours now – after having to go all the way to the Best Buy in Burlington because no place in Rockingham County has yet to get it in stock – and I can confidently say that the long wait was well worth it. Weird Al is one of the few musicians who has consistently upped his game since the start of his career and with Straight Outta Lynwood he has once again not only met his fans' expectations... he has surpassed them brilliantly.

I've noticed a trend over the past few albums that Weird Al has done: his humor, while still very family-friendly, has definitely gotten a lot edgier/more daring. "Wanna B Ur Lovr", one of my favorites from his last album Poodle Hat, was one of his more outrageous songs (and maybe even a little shocking to some longtime Al fans). Straight Outta Lynwood stays well within the lines of good taste – which is just one of the reasons why I believe Yankovic has enjoyed so much success over the years – but the pattern has definitely persisted in this new album. The result: Weird Al is sounding as fresh with Straight Outta Lynwood as he did when he first burst into the mainstream with In 3-D more than two decades ago. Indeed, if this keeps up I absolutely believe that "Weird Al" Yankovic is going to be entertaining us with new albums for another two decades... or more.

Straight Outta Lynwood is a DualDisc: the CD audio tracks are on one side and there is DVD content on the other. As a result the disc feels slightly heavier than a standard CD. On the positive side of things you're definitely getting more bang for your buck so far as material goes (more on that as the review progresses). The bad news is that, as a label on the back of the shrink-wrap says: "The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore will not play on some CD and DVD players." And indeed when I tried to play the CD side of Straight Outta Lynwood with Windows Media Player on my computer, there were intermittent pauses on each song that I tried: almost as if the CD-ROM drive was trying to "catch up" or something. However when I tried to play it on a five-year old stand-alone boom-box there were no problems at all. Looks like if I want to listen to Straight Outta Lynwood while I work, I'm going to either have to rip the tracks to the hard-drive (which I was going to do anyway so they'll go on my MP3 player) or play it the old-fashioned way. But if you've got a fairly recent CD player, you probably won't have any trouble enjoying the CD. And the DVD stuff worked just fine when I played it on the computer with PowerDVD.

Awright, here's the stuff you'll find on Straight Outta Lynwood...

Side 1: The Audio CD

1. "White and Nerdy": This could have been my theme song had this album come out when I was in high school. A parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire, "White and Nerdy”" is as strong an opening title for a Weird Al CD as was "Amish Paradise" on the Bad Hair Day album (my all-time favorite Weird Al album for a lot of personal reasons) ten years ago, which is saying quite a bit. Al must have some of the most versatile lips in the music biz, the way he's spewing out those lines a little further into the song. A great song and a hilarious video that Chamillionaire himself has said he likes a lot.

2. "Pancreas": A spot-on tribute to the musical style of Brian Wilson. What if the Beach Boys had all majored in biology? Well they would have probably made a song like "Pancreas". This one is probably going to grow on me after while, the way "Hardware Store" did after listening to it a few more times when Al released Poodle Hat. This song certainly makes me wonder (and not for the first time) about the wonderfully bizarre thought processes that must go on in the head of one Alfred Yankovic, what with associating internal organs with a tribute to Brian Wilson.

3. "Canadian Idiot": The new "Blame Canada". This one is a fine North America companion to "American Idiot" by Green Day. I actually got to listen to this a few weeks ago and it's been stuck in my head ever since. Al makes a mockery of just about every stereotype and motif of Canada out there: from hockey to Kraft Macaroni to Celine Dion. So far as parody goes, Al completely apes Green Day on this one.

4. "I'll Sue Ya": Definitely a style spoof of Rage Against The Machine (so much so that I can easily imagine Weird Al contributing to The Matrix soundtrack if he'd ever been asked to). A hilarious head-banging commentary about people who are all too eager to litigate.

5. "Polkarama!": The only song that I didn't really "get" but only because I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the lyrics (which just goes to show how out-of-touch I've wound up being with recent music, I hate to admit). On every album Weird Al does a medley of other artists' songs... as a polka. Gonna have to listen to the originals before I can really get a sense of appreciation for this one. By the way, my good friend "Weird" Ed has made the excellent suggestion that if Al ever performs "Polkarama!" in concert, everyone should stand up and start doing the "Chicken Dance" at the beginning of the song. It could be the start of a whole new "Weird Al concert thing" like doing the "Yoda chant"!

6. "Virus Alert": Don't know what kind of style is at work here but it sounds like some of Weird Al's mid-late Eighties stuff. This is Yankovic's completely over-the-top warning about opening e-mail attachments because of the threat of computer viruses. Another song that will probably grow more on me with time.

7. "Confessions Part III": As you probably might guess, a parody of "Confessions Part II" by Usher. It's absolutely hysterical to listen to Usher's original and then play this one by Weird Al.

8. "Weasel Stomping Day": The music on this short sounds like it could be used to advertise for an Oktoberfest. A light, violent song about an annual holiday involving putting on Viking helmets and mashing the daylights out of innocent weasels.

9. "Close But No Cigar": Probably the most randomly offbeat song on the CD, sorta reminds me of "Everything You Know Is Wrong" from the Bad Hair Day album. It's about a guy who is hitting on all these girls but finds something insanely miniscule about each one that turns him off.

10. "Do I Creep You Out": Just eight short months ago Taylor Hicks was a struggling musician who had "played in every honky-tonk and chicken coop there is". The man has worked hard, paid his dues, wound up winning on American Idol and for his efforts he's now received the ultimate prize: being parodied in what must be the fastest turnaround in Weird Al history... before his own album even debuts two months from now! A great spoof of Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud". Al definitely nails Hicks' signature vocal style here.

11. "Trapped In The Drive Thru": BEST SONG ON THE CD! And absolutely one of the greatest and most hilarious songs that Weird Al has ever done. This is also the longest song that Al has ever produced to the best of my knowledge ("Trapped In The Drive Thru" clocks in at very nearly 11 minutes), handily beating the lengths of "Albuquerque" and "Genius In France". This is also the first food-related song that he's done in awhile... and very well may be his culinary masterpiece. A parody of "Trapped In The Closet" by R. Kelly, this "hip-hopera" by Yankovic is the story of a husband and wife who are trying to decide what to do for dinner. No joke: I listened to this song three times in a row after buying this CD, it's so uproariously funny. Weird Al is at the top of his form on this song: not only does he imitate everything that R. Kelly did in "Trapped In The Closet" – including dividing the song into three "chapters" – but I think more than anything else on this CD, this one spotlights the full range of Yankovic's vocal talents. An instant classic.

12. "Don't Download This Song": ...which Weird Al already released last month on the Internet as a completely free MP3 download. Done in the spirit of "We Are The World" and all those other "touchy-feely" songs of the 1980s, "Don't Download This Song" is a heart-tugging plea to the listener not to violate copyright laws by swiping songs from Limewire and the like. Even if I'd already heard this song many times since Weird Al posted it on his Myspace page, I thought that this was a great way to wrap-up the album.

Side 2: The DVD Content

A lot of thought apparently went into the production of extra material for this album. That's obvious just from the beautiful menus on the DVD side of Straight Outta Lynwood.

If you have a top-of-the-line home entertainment system, you will be excited to know that the entire album is available on the DVD side in 5.1 Surround Sound (a first for Weird Al). Which we don't have anything like that here, but it's good to know that it'll be waiting for us someday when we do get a rig that nice.

Or if you don't have a 5.1 Surround Sound system, you can enjoy listening to Straight Outta Lynwood with on-screen lyrics and karaoke tracks for each song (no doubt that will be a lot of fun for parties). However it is that you listen to the music, you will also be treated to several childhood photographs of Weird Al.

The DVD side also features videos for each of the six original songs that Al performs on this album. Most are animated (the sole exception is the one for "Pancreas" by filmmaker Jim Blashfield). For these Al wound up getting some of the hottest talent in animation to produce them. The one for "Don't Download This Song" was created by Bill Plympton. "I'll Sue Ya" (pictured at right) was done by Thomas Lee. "Virus Alert" comes from David Lovelace, the creator of Retarded Animal Babies. The guys behind Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim are responsible for "Weasel Stomping Day". But by far the most bizarre of the videos has to be the one for "Close But No Cigar" done by John Kricfalusi, the creator of Ren & Stimpy. "Close But No Cigar" features Cigarettes the cat and more scenes depicting female buttocks than I've ever seen in a cartoon in the history of anything.

Rounding out the video content of Straight Outta Lynwood is "Al In The Studio", a nine-minute long documentary of Weird Al and his band as they work on the album, filmed by Al's wife Suzanne. It's a great look at the fun – and the hard work – that went into making Straight Outta Lynwood. And it has a really sweet closing scene that will make you go "Awwww..."

I could also talk about the 24-page full color booklet that comes with the CD, with lyrics and credits and all that, but this review is getting too long as it is. The only thing I will say about it is that it has what must be one of the most disturbing photos I've ever seen come out of the wacky world of Weird Al (and if you ever read this Al, I'm talking about that one in the very middle of the book :-).

So to wrap things up: I am being very thoroughly entertained by Straight Outta Lynwood... more than I was anticipating even. This newest album by "Weird Al" Yankovic is one of his best ever, and it's going to make a fine addition in my collection along with his other work. Do I recommend this CD? Heck yeah! So go out and buy it. And if you've already downloaded the entire album, GO OUT AND BUY IT ANYWAY YOU HOOLIGAN!

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They are mad as hell, and they aren't going to take it anymore

Darth Larry (who has been woefully absent of late even considering his recent trip to Denmark) scores big with some of the first released photos from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is due out this coming July. Lots of good pics here, including the first I've seen anywhere of Dolores Umbridge.

But this is the pic that I absolutely love...
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of Dumbledore's Army: the secret group that Harry starts training on his own when the Ministry of Magic clamps down on teaching defense against the dark arts. The little blond girl on the right is Luna Lovegood, who was one of my favorite new characters from the book. But maaaan, just look at the countenance of Neville's face. He looks... I don't know if words can really express it, given what Neville's been through if you know the book. The boy is a seething volcano of rage just waiting to violently explode. So help me I honestly believe Neville is going to actually kill Bellatrix Lestrange if he gets the chance... and hopefully he'll get that before this series is out. The Weasley twins are looking pretty fed-up too: if we don't get to see The Escape - the scene where the twins decide it's finally time to leave Hogwarts for good but not before giving a giant "F--- YOU!" to Umbridge - it will be a cinematic sacrilege.

So far, looking pretty good. I'm starting to get strong vibes out of this next Harry Potter flick. Maybe next time we'll have a picture of Grawp to look at.

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For crying out loud: I'm ALREADY TAKEN!

Since 6 o'clock last night (it's half-past 1 in the morning now) I've received eight "friend requests" to my Myspace account. All of them are from people I've never heard from before in my life. Every one of them is a young woman. And each one has popped up the same screen every time I clicked on their name to see who the heck this is supposed to be...
I have no idea what the "Myspace Adult Content Viewer" is supposed to be, but there's no way I'm letting that thing touch my hard-drive. Lord only knows what it would do to my system. Neither do I know why so many girls are asking to be my "friend". I've a policy when it comes to Myspace: I have to absolutely 100% know a person before I add them to my "friends" list thingamabob. Every person you see on my Myspace friends - with the exception of Myspace Tom and The Official "Weird Al" Fan Site one - I know from real life.

Why are all these girls trying to get me to add them? I dunno. Lisa says it's because "you're good-looking" to which I asked why doesn't she get slammed from guys as much as me ' cuz she's beautiful... but then again she's got a bunch of our wedding pictures set on her page so maybe that's why. Perhaps if I stick up a photo of her and I getting married as my main pic then these girls will leave me alone finally, 'cuz this happens all the time. Someone suggested that these are people who see that I'm a film-maker and that maybe they think I can get them a role in a flick or something. Well, I hate to disappoint anyone who might think so, but my operation has never had a "casting couch".

So if any young lady is reading this and contemplating sending me a Myspace friend request and I don't already know you, and especially if your profile is filled with photos of a less-than-prurient nature: please don't. I've been in love with one woman for the past six years - the only woman I have ever truly loved - and my heart totally and completely belongs to only two people: God, and her. So kindly desist with sending me Myspace requests that won't get you anywhere at all.

I will welcome anyone who wants to write me a friendly note through Myspace though, and let whatever friendship happens that may spring from that... and you'll find that I'm a pretty loyal guy to have as a friend. But that comes with time: something that I doubt anyone who makes the "adult content" red flag pop up would really appreciate.

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Can't wait a few days for more LOST?

I've been too busy all summer to keep up with The Lost Experience interactive game thingy, even though I'm a really big fan of the show Lost and have been trying hard to figure out just what the heck is going on with this island. Well some people have been playing this game and have worked the past few months to piece together all the tidbits of information that Lost's creators have spread around about the show's underlying mythology. And before the new season starts next week, it looks like we might have a lot more to go on now.

This video (which according to the "storyline" of The Lost Experience game was filmed by an anti-Hanso activist) was originally seventy different fragments that had to be spliced together to make the complete film. Among the things you'll find in it: what the DHARMA Initiative is up to (including what the acronym DHARMA means), Alvar Hanso addressing the camera, the origin of "the numbers", footage of the Swan Station being built, a possible explanation for the disease, and what sounds an awful lot like not-Henry Gale wearing a lab coat with his back turned toward us. All of this may or may not be relevant to the actual show (meaning it could just be stuff the show's creators pulled out of a hat to keep us all happy and content throughout the months until the third season starts) but just in case - and especially if you are hungering for even a tiny morsel of Lost to get you through the next week or so - here's the complete "Hanso Exposed" video...

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Luke Skywalker is DEAD!

Tonight Lisa and I drove up to Martinsville for dinner - our second time at the place - at Pigs R Us (click here for my initial review of that excellent barbecue joint). Afterward we walked around the mall there for a bit, and it was in Waldenbooks that my eye caught Star Wars: Legacy #3 in the comic book rack. I bought issue #1 awhile back and although I've missed #2 since then, I decided to buy this new issue and take another look at this new direction for the Star Wars saga, even though my confidence in this series hasn't exactly been all that high ever since I first heard about it. I mean, in my worldview of all things Star Wars, the Sith were finished off in Return of the Jedi and bringing them back makes Anakin's self-sacrifice completely pointless.

But, I have to give Dark Horse Comics some credit for boldness with this series. Because in Star Wars: Legacy #3, something happens that I never thought I'd see happen in any Star Wars project: Luke Skywalker has died! Now, Legacy takes place a hundred years or so after Luke's heyday, so I guess his eventual death had to be in there somewhere. But still, it's quite astonishing to see him make an appearance as a shimmering blue "Force ghost" a'la Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke, in full traditional Jedi garb and looking as young as he does at the time of the classic movies, visits his descendant Cade Skywalker (I still hate that name) and scolds him for (a) his drug addiction and (b) turning his back on the Skywalker heritage. Cade makes the astute observation that the Force sure hasn't done the family that much good: just look at what it did to Luke's father.

It's enough to pique my curiosity a bit more about Legacy, and maybe give it a few more chances to convince me that this is a worthy addition to the Star Wars canon (whatever the heck that is supposed to actually be). But in the meantime: Luke Skywalker is dead. The most well-known heroic icon of my generation has passed away. Luke Skywalker is six feet under. Pushing up daisies. Joined the choir invisible. Gone to meet his maker. Dead as a doornail. Pretty depressing, ain't it?

(I think they should have drawn him to look somewhere around 80-90 though, and let us see what a much-older Luke would look like. That's my only real complaint about this issue though. Other than that, I thought it was pretty good.)

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Considering immortalism

Bennett Miller, the director of last year's Capote, is now getting read to delve into the realm of immortalism. That's the philosophy - that some people have tried to put into practice - of escaping the inevitability of physical death. So you have some people who have died and had their bodies frozen in liquid nitrogen (or saved money by having just their heads cut off and preserved) in the hopes of someday medical science getting to the point where whatever killed them will be cured and their bodies restored to life. I wrote something about this back in January, in case anyone's interested. Here's part of the story from the Hollywood Reporter...

'Immortalist' finds home at Vantage

Paramount Vantage is getting into the Bennett Miller business. The indie unit, along with producer Plan B, will develop Miller's latest project, "The Immortalist." The project, which has yet to be written, is a "character-driven drama set in the emerging world of life extension." Details of the plot are still under wraps, but Miller describes it as "not a science fiction film ... (but) a drama set in the very real world of those pursuing biological immortality." He adds: "It's a pursuit that attracts some extremely brilliant, wealthy and influential people. It also attracts tragic figures. This story follows one such person on his disturbing foray into it."

Personally, I find exploring this subject matter to be utterly fascinating. All the more so because it wasn't that long ago that I would have agreed with the motivation of these people and thought that it would be a worthwhile goal to achieve physical immortality.

But today, I don't agree with it at all. Some of my reasons for that have to do with practicality: the chances of "reviving" a dead person who has been cryogenically preserved are infintesimally small, because of a lot of factors (simply repairing the damage from freezing at the cellular level is probably the biggest hurdle). But mostly it has to do with how I've come to understand what it means to grow as a person... and that like it or not, death is part of the growth process, too.

Three of the biggest sagas of fantasy storytelling have explored this theme. In J.R.R. Tolkien's realm of Middle-Earth, the people of Numenore lusted for physical immortality so much that they dared attempt to seize the Undying Lands by force... and incurred the wrath of God Himself. They failed to take something on faith: that death - at least in Tolkien's worldview - was not a bad thing at all. In fact death was a gift to Men from God so that Men would not have to forever be bound within the circles of the world. Incidentally, the Elves of Middle-Earth were envious of their mortal kindred, because it was the Elves' lot to be bound to the world and endure all the mounting weariness that ages upon ages would bring with them. In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien went to pains to describe the curse that comes with physical immortality: living, but not gaining any more life, until every moment was a weariness. Clearly, the spiritual nature of Men and Hobbits was not intended to remain indefinitely anchored to the physical realm: trying to do so had horrific consequences on both body and mind (see Gollum and the Nazgul for evidence of this, as well as the later Numenorean kings who refused to lay down their lives when weariness overtook them). It was only when a person surrendered the attempt to control his mortal fate that he was then able to grow again, as Bilbo did when he gave up the Ring.

More recently, immortalism was touched upon in the Star Wars movies. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Anakin is looking for a way - any way at all - to stop what he believes is Padme's inevitable death. And in the process of leading him toward the Dark Side, Palpatine told Anakin the tale of Darth Plagueis: a Sith Lord so powerful that he was able to stop people from dying. But doing so was something that Palpatine hinted at as being "un-natural" (not that THAT would stop somebody like Palpatine). But Palpatine was very much correct: trying to extend one's life past the point when it should be finally surrendered can be considered an accursed thing. It marks the conscious end of life as a growth process and the beginning of physical existence for its own sake... and the only way to ensure that is to accummulate more and more power for one's self. This was something the Sith had embraced completely... but it was not something compatible with the understanding of one such as, say, Yoda. Yoda too realized that death was a natural part of living and growing, and that death was something to be rejoiced for in many ways, not to grieve and be bitter about. And I'm really looking forward to 2008 when a novel about Darth Plagueis is published, written by James Luceno. When it comes out we should come to know a lot more about the Sith and the Jedi and how each, in their own way, pursued immortality.

But lately, the most fascinating examination of the consequences of physical immortality has been found in the pages of the Harry Potter novels. We were given a lot of clues in the first five books but it was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when things really fell into place about Lord Voldemort and what desire it is that has motivated him to commit such horrible crimes. For all his power and influence and in spite of all the fear that others have of him, Voldemort is a person who is afraid to die, which he sees as something shameful and contemptible. It is this fear of death - and his failing to realize that there are things in this world that are worse than physical death - which is Voldemort's greatest weakness, according to Professor Dumbledore. In Half-Blood Prince we learn that when Tom Riddle - the future Voldemort - was a student at Hogwarts, he became fascinated with the subject of Horcruxes: physical objects containing a portion of one's soul. After leaving school Riddle set out to create seven Horcruxes, committing one murder for each one so as to split his soul and imprison a portion of his being into each object. Destroying a Horcrux will destroy that portion of Voldemort's soul with it... but so long as one Horcrux remains intact, Voldemort is physically immortal and cannot be killed. But his immortality is not without its price: Voldemort no longer even looks fully human, so shattered has become his essence. But Voldemort does not care about the damage done to either his body or his soul: death has been cheated, and that is all that matters to him.

There is one more Harry Potter book left, and I have to wonder about what is ultimately going to happen to Voldemort. As Dumbledore put it in the very first book, "to the well-prepared mind, death is but the next great adventure." It certainly seems that Dumbledore accepted his own death without reserve... but how much of Voldemort's mind and soul is there that will meet his almost-certain final destiny? It could very well be that we will come to understand fully what Dumbledore meant when he said that there are things worse than death that can happen to a person.

These may be examples of how the realm of fantastical fiction handle the very real notion of life and death, but I believe there are some great truths to be gleaned from them. As a Christian, I am reminded by them how the world we now live in is not our true home, and that we are not meant to abide within it forever... so why should we desire to have power over it at all? Trying to bargain for more life or more control over the time allotted us just takes away from the time we do have to try and make it worth living while we still have it to live. That's not time I want to waste trying to lord over other people and situations for my own sake, when it's not even within my grasp to have absolute control over it anyway.

Well, I could write more about this, but it's getting late as it is. And I can always write more about this or anything else some other time if/when the notion crosses my gray matter to do so. In the meantime, it's time to give the ol' synapses some much-needed downtime :-)

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The officially YouTube hosted WHITE AND NERDY video

Behold the pure genius that is "Weird Al" Yankovic turned loose on Chamillionaire's "Ridin'"...

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Gnosticism is alive: "Christian" children worship President Bush at Bible camp

I've yet to actually see the new documentary Jesus Camp that this ABC News clip is about, but I've heard from plenty enough sources to take their word that the kids depicted actually are worshipping an image of George W. Bush.

This movie is about a Bible camp for children in North Dakota. As a Christian, I'm compelled to ask the obvious: why does a Bible camp need a large cardboard cutout image of President Bush at all? What's the purpose of it being there?

The kids are clearly shown praying and raising their hands toward the image of Bush. Are they praying for the man or to the man? If they're simply praying for him, why do they need a physical object representing him to pray toward at all?

The Bible had a very neat word for what this sort of thing is: "idolatry". These children are giving their reverence to a physical object representing something other than God. How is what these children are doing really any different from having a statue of Baal to appeal to in hopes of having some rain?

It's actually a form of Gnosticism that these kids are being taught to practice. They are imbuing a physical thing with spiritual power and hoping to use that to sway God.

Here's the clip. Watch it and judge for yourself...

P.S.: Why does a Bible camp... or any Christian function at all... need to display the American flag so prominently? Personally, I think it's a form of idolatry too when we put the American flag in our church sanctuaries. I mean, do you think the apostle Paul would have ever approved of sticking a Roman "S.P.Q.R." standard in the corner of the church at Antioch?

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WHITE AND NERDY: The Video is now online and legit! Plus: a guide to who's who and what's what in the video.

Go to "Weird Al" Yankovic's Myspace page to watch it and not have to be bothered by your guilty conscience for seeing it as a leaked version.

And now, as I promised earlier, here is...

The Complete "Weird Al" Fan's and Nerd's Guide to the "White and Nerdy" Video

02 seconds: The two gangsters in the car are being played by Jordan Peele and Keegen Micheal Key of MAD TV.

15 seconds: The red candles make out the outline of Pac-Man.

37 seconds: MC Escher was an artist who specialized in drawing paradoxes.

43 seconds: That's Seth Green wearing the green jacket. In addition to his acting, Green is known for his love of action figures and writes for Toyfare magazine every so often.

44 seconds: Several of the original Star Wars action figures are on Al's shelves in addition to other classic toy lines being represented.

46 seconds: Al is reading "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking.

50 seconds: The people on Al's Myspace page (not his real one) are from top left clockwise: Bill Gates, Napoleon Dynamite, Mr. Peabody from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, Albert Einstein, Screech from Saved By The Bell, Frodo from the Lord of the Rings movies, Pee-Wee Herman, and Myspace Tom. Additionally, Al has exactly 27 Myspace friends (27 is Al's favorite number).

1 minute 10 seconds: The questions on the Trivial Pursuit card are as follows:

G – In what city is the largest ball of twine built by one man? (a reference to Al's earlier song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota".)

E – What's the deal with Lindsay Lohan? I mean, seriously?

H – F.D.R. – was he faking it?

AL – On what page does Harry Potter die in the next book?

SN – What is the melting point of a gorilla's head?

Covered-up – How many Wicket Men are there on a 43-Man Squamish team? (a reference to a classic 1965 article in MAD Magazine).

1 minute 21 seconds: The equation behind Al and "Krayzie Bone" is a Schrodinger equation (has to do with quantum mechanics).

1 minute 22 seconds: "Krayzie Bone" is being played by... DONNIE OSMOND?!?

1 minute 25 seconds: A reference to the "Star Wars kid" video.

1 minute 40 seconds: Al is wearing a shirt with Carl Sagan's face on it.

1 minute 51 seconds: HILARIOUS!! Al is editing the Wikipedia entry for Atlantic Records to say "YOU SUCK" in giant letters. Atlantic Records, which is James Blunt's label, wouldn't let Al use "You're Pitiful" – his parody of Blunt's "You're Beautiful" – on the Straight Outta Lynwood album.

2 minutes 30 seconds: Al is buying a bootleg VHS copy of "The Star Wars Holiday Special", which George Lucas has said he would personally like to hunt down and find every copy so that he could burn them.

As more stuff is found, I'll be adding them to the list. In the meantime, go watch the video: IMHO this may the funniest one that Al has done to date yet!

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I will finally become the Anti-Christ!

(Let's wait for the shock of that double-entendre to wear off, shall we?)

So help me, I have been in a giggle-fit of hysterical laughter all morning ever since installing the playable demo of Left Behind: Eternal Forces (191 MB download). Based on the best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a real-time strategy game that pits you in warfare - spiritual and otherwise - against the forces of Nicolae Carpathia, AKA the Anti-Christ. Or: play devil's advocate and run the armies of the beast in head-to-head competition against other players. You can play the demo now and the full game will be available for sale in November.

It sounds like a good concept. But for a RTS game... well, let's put it this way: judging by the demo of this game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces makes Star Wars Force Commander seem downright exquisite. And I was probably one of three people that actually liked Force Commander! From the moment I saw the animated logo for Left Behind Games (a deep-space swoop past the Earth as thousands of stylized "souls" fly from the surface) I was tearing up from laughing so hard. And it only got worse.

Well, you can download the game from the above link at FilePlanet, and play it and see for yourself. But I just had to make a post about it. Here's some photo evidence that I waded into this... thing:

Mission select screen...

Character bio screen, which shows if the person you have highlighted is a Tribulation Saint, on-the-fence straddler or lost soul damned for Hell...

Every Christian videogame should have a place where you can train your special-forces commandos...

This is a Disciple right after I selected for him to "Pray". The woman was just converted (and got a nice shiny white new set of clothes the moment she saw the light)...

"COMBAT! In Color..."
The only appeal this game would really have for me is if I let the little "id" thing on the dark side of my intellect come out and thrill to capturing the good guys... before hopefully getting to dispatch them for the crime of not taking The Mark(tm). You know, that part of every guy that likes to play games like Quake just to watch your buddies get gibbed? Otherwise, and this is the serious Christian of me speaking: I don't really see at all how this could possibly be a tool for witnessing for Christ. It... I hate to say this but it kinda makes us pretty laughable. Like the first Left Behind movie (that's the only one of the series I've seen): some Christian commentators noted at the time, it really seemed like not even a half-hearted effort. That's what this game feels like too, just going by the demo. Or maybe the videogame medium just isn't really cut out to make for effective witnessing: that's possible too.

But not just that either, 'cuz Left Behind: Eternal Forces has a really clumsy player interface... one of the worst I've seen in an RTS game, even. When I said that Force Commander looks incredible beside this game, I'm not kidding: for all the camera craziness of that Star Wars RTS, it was a hella lot more easy to control than in Eternal Forces. And I didn't have to feel conflicted about moving all those Imperial Stormtroopers around either...

Well, like I said, try it if you like. If nothing else than because you simply have to see what it's like to fulfill the Great Commandment by going out to set up Combat Training Centers to build up an army for guerilla warfare.

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Papal controversy and the very small god of Islam

So some Muslims are now threatening Pope Benedict XVI with death because he quoted an obscure Byzantine emperor who noted that Islam is a religion that kills those who don't agree to follow it.

And these Muslims are proving that the quote by Manuel II Paleologus is inaccurate... how?

I mean, it sure seems to me that if someone was telling others that yours is a bloodthirsty faith, and you wanted to prove it otherwise, the logical thing to do would be to strive to practice unconditional love toward that person, no matter what they were saying about your religion. Or as Someone much greater than I once said, "Love one another..." and especially your enemies.

Islam is certainly coming across as a religion without much confidence in the god it professes to believe in, given threats like these being made toward Pope Benedict XVI and others, be they Christian or Jewish or whatever. I mean, if you truly believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God, you are supposed to have enough faith to know that He doesn't need your help to defend Himself before petty humankind. He definitely doesn't need you to kill others in His name. So to what extent can Islam really claim to have faith in God at all?

Muslims such as those who threaten "the infidels" do nothing to uphold and build-up their faith, and do everything possible to destroy its credibility. Pursuing God and what He would have us do is supposed to make us flee from our carnal instincts, not cling to them with maddened lust. To follow God and mean it is to be changed in His image, not become more like our own... which you have to admit, on its own human nature tends to be a pretty ugly thing.

I'm not saying this as a Christian pushing my own religion. I'm just trying to say this as perfectly an objectionable person as I can be: that the god of Islam, as those that threaten the pope are presenting him to us, would absolutely appear to a neutral person as a very small and hollow thing that could only possibly appeal to those with the very least of regards for their fellow man. And that those who are making such threats should reconsider what it is that they are doing, if they want the religion they claim to be worthy of any respect and consideration at all.

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I have seen the WHITE AND NERDY video

And I'll post more about it tomorrow... after it has the world premiere that it so deserves to have. When I do I'll also post "The Complete 'Weird Al' Fan's and Nerd's Guide to the 'White and Nerdy' Video".

(Want proof that I've seen it? Okay, how's this: pay very, VERY close attention to that Wikipedia page that Al is editing.)

This is the first real video that Al has done in seven years (if you don't count the one he did for "Bob" on the last album, the last one he did was "It's All About The Pentiums"). Personally, I think the "White and Nerdy" video is brilliant!! And very funny :-)

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My interview with "Weird Al" Yankovic

Since some people (yeah I'm talking about YOU Dylan!) have observed that I'm going more than a little nuts for "Weird Al" Yankovic lately, what with his new album coming out next week on the 26th, I thought: why not make yet another post about the guy? Well, five years ago this month I was blessed to have the opportunity to interview Weird Al, and ever since I've come to regard that as one of the all-time highlights of my journalism career. So in case anyone's interested, here's the interview I did with "Weird Al" Yankovic for TheForce.net!

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