Nothing new to read...so listen instead!

I've been really tired and sick feeling the past few days. I feel like I'm trying to catch a cold, but yet it's not fully what you could call a cold. I would rather have a real cold instead of this halfway cold. So I don't feel like doing much...including blogging.

One bright spot though...remember this post where I mentioned the Avion CD? Well, I've been listening to it the past couple of weeks and it's just awesome! It's a well-balanced combination of songs that rock and very nicely done ballads*. You can listen to songs from the CD at the Avion website. Also, I'm putting a song from the CD up on my radio blog for a couple of days -- "Bulletproof Glow". If you like what you hear, go buy the CD!

Another song I'm putting up there is "Hate to Say I Told You So" by the Hives. Why? Because it rocks, that's why. And because I picked it to be my "entrance music" in this Thinklings thread. (Come to think of it, "Bulletproof Glow" would also make an excellent "entrance song".)

I will probably change out all the songs in the radio blog in a couple of days. I think I will start putting up ten songs at a time and changing them each month. The radio blog is on the sidebar, under "Site Extras".

*Normally, I have a tendency to hate ballads. In the wrong hands, ballads can be treacly, overdone and bombastic. But that is not the case here. What makes a ballad work is simplicity and sincerity, and the ballads on Avion work wonderfully.

Great Causes

• Help print bibles in Iraq. (Via J.F. Karr's post on Joshua Claybourn's blog.)
• Give to the Spirit of America using this handy Liberty Alliance link. (Via Dean's World).

Time is short...if you decide to give to either of these, do so as quickly as possible.

Haiku Meme

King's Kid has kicked off a haiku meme by writing a haiku about this humble blog. How cool is that?

So, let me return the favor:

Some lefty says there's
no freedom for Iraqis.
Who is "John Ashbrook"?

Old Gray Senile Lady

Mel Gibson 1, New York Times 0

(Via the Thinklings.)

Planned Parenthood's Agenda

What exactly is it? I think it's more than many people realize. Dawn Eden has a very enlightening and disturbing post about that agenda. May I be so indelicate as to point out that encouraging irresponsible behavior among teens would be very good for business for an "abortion provider" such as Planned Parenthood?

(Link via Kevin McGehee.)

While on the general subject, Andrea Harris has a practical solution* to unwanted pregnancies. Also, Bill from INDC Journal (found via Dean's World) has a photo essay about attending a pro-choiceabortion rally for John Kerry. He promises more coverage later.

*Just a warning, very...blunt language is used.

Update: Reading this account of the pro-abortion march at After Abortion has left me appalled and angry. (Via Open Book.) Also, both Michael Williams and Ben Domenech note the graying of the pro-abortion movement.

One more thing, I refuse to call this march a "pro-choice" march as I did earlier. That was a mistake. It was a pro-abortion march. Yes, I realize there are people who are genuinely pro-choice and who are not necessarily pro-abortion. While I disagree with them, I respect them far too much to lump them in with the likes of Planned Parenthood and the jerks at this march.

Update 2: Even more to appall and disgust you...get a load of these pictures from the march at Bunnie Diehl's blog -- just start at the top and scroll down. (Via the Thinklings.)

Pat Tillman

I remember hearing about Pat Tillman a couple of years ago -- how he gave up fame and fortune in the NFL to go fight for his country. He didn't have to do it...he wanted to.

I was very saddened to hear that he was killed in Afghanistan a few days ago.

I had a class at the main base on Thursday and Friday last week. There's a boat ramp across the street from where the class was held. I sat there in my car listening to the radio while eating lunch on both those days. It was nice, sitting there looking at Pensacola Bay, watching the seagulls and pelicans, smelling the breezy, salty air.

Friday, I listened to Rush Limbaugh comment on Tillman as I sat in my car during lunch. Now, I don't listen to Rush that much anymore, but I think he's okay. I know there are some non-liberals in the blogosphere who despise Rush, but that's not my point here.

My point is that Limbaugh gave a very eloquent and moving tribute not only to Tillman but to all our soldiers who have given up something to defend their country. His point was that we know Tillman's story because he was famous. Rush then reminded us not to forget there were and are many others like Tillman. They all gave up something important and went to serve their country. Some of them made -- and will make -- the ultimate sacrifice. They all deserve nothing less than honor and respect.

As I sat and listened to this while looking at the bay, I thought of how Tillman and the families of other soldiers must feel. When I lost members of my own family due to illnesses, I thought of how they were no longer here under the blue sky, could no longer take in the beauty of the sea or breath the fresh, salty air. Yes, I believe they are in a better place now, but they are not here. I will, hopefully, see them again in that better place someday, but for now, there is an emptiness that will never be filled in this side of time.

When I think of the loss of brave men like Tillman, I pray for their families, I pray for peace, and I pray that their sacrifice will not be in vain.

New Skin: Lost My Marbles

The marbles image is from iStockPhoto. This skin uses opacity effects, so while it will render properly in Opera and Safari, the transparent look doesn't work in those browsers. You can select this skin in the drop-down menu on the sidebar. It will be added to the gallery soon.

A brief word about the title: I use Paint Shop Pro 8 to create graphics, and I used one of the PSP scripts found at this site to create the look of the title. Specifically, I used "Clear Text - 2".

"Sorry I'm not your cup o' tea..."*

Ilyka Damen looks at the way women bloggers are judged as being "worthy". I was honored to be included on her list of readable right-of-center women bloggers. Her list was in response to John Hawkins' contention that there weren't "35 readable blogs written by women on the right side of the blogosphere."

In reaction to Ilyka's list, Hawkins has the following response:

I will also be nice enough not to point out how many of the blogs on that list didn't even bother to update YESTERDAY. Trust me, if you're not even bothering to post every day M-F, you're not a "quality blog"...

Hmmm...well, I was one of those who didn't update yesterday (April 21). You know what? I'm not "on" all the time. Sometimes I'm tired. Sometimes I don't feel well. Sometimes I have "real life" things that are actually more important. Sometimes I just don't have anything to say. (Actually, I spent much of yesterday evening working on a new site skin.)

I'm sorry, but I've never been the flirtatious, game-playing type. (I don't consider myself a feminist at all...I've just always thought that stuff was phony and a waste of time.) I'm not going to talk about b00bs. I'm not going to bat my eyelashes at anyone in the hopes that they'll like me and link me. I will post what I want when I feel like it. I may post a bunch of stuff one day and then go three days without posting. I've gotta be me...if you don't like it, tough!

I do this blog for me. It is an outlet for me. If my blog sucks because I don't post every day, so be it! If I'm a crappy writer, all I can say is I'm doing my best, and I think I've improved a little over the past two years. I also like tinkering around with web design stuff, and this blog gives me the opportunity to do that. I don't really care if I'm "successful" at this. The fact that I ever got up the nerve to even start a blog is something that still amazes me. I would never have had the gumption to do something like this, say, five years ago.

If people like to read this thing, that's fine with me...in fact, I'm delighted! But if you don't, just hit the back button on your browser and move on.

*From this song, which is sort of fitting, I think.

Going Wireless

I recently set up a wireless network in my house. I did this shortly after purchasing a Mac iBook. (I had been wanting a laptop, but I also wanted to learn some new things. So I bought the iBook instead of a PC laptop. I've never really dealt with Macs all that much, so I decided this little laptop would be a good place to start.)

At first, I was unsatisfied with the wireless reception in certain parts of the house. I expected a little better after all I had heard about the wonders of wi-fi.

So, I ended up buying one of those antenna boosters for my wireless router. That seemed to help quite a lot. The signal is still a bit weak in the living room, but at least I can get a consistent signal now.

One thing I can say...it's nice to not have to sit up at the PC when you want to read some blogs or browse the web.

Buying American

Are you tired of buying clothes made in China? If so, Anne Wilson offers some alternatives.

Music I Hate

I agree with Andrea about every song/artist she listed here. When I was in chorus in elementary school, we had to sing "You Light Up My Life" as well as many Barry Manilow songs. I think this left permanent scars on my psyche.

At work today, we were discussing this Worst Song List and we talked about songs we hated. I pretty much agree with the top ten. I always hated "We Built This City"...that song stinks on ice!

Now, I've talked about bad lyrics a long time ago, but now I'm just going to list songs or bands I really hate. If you like any of these bands or songs, please don't get all mad at me...after all, I may like something that you think is crappy.

Okay, the following are songs/artists I hate quite a lot in no particular order:

• The Four Seasons -- that band from the sixties with the guy with the whiny voice who sings, "Walk Like a Man". As if...
• Journey -- good Lord, how I hated this band in my teens. It seemed everybody loved them except me. Bleh!
• Chicago or anything with Peter Cetera on vocals.
• Anything sung by over emoting "divas" like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston or Celine Dion...which brings me to...
• That awful Titanic song. I've never seen that movie and don't want to. The song is part of the reason.
• Bon Jovi -- Blech! Ptooi!
• "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba
• Alanis Morrisette -- Michele has posted a song by Self (which is a good band) that makes vicious fun of her. (Be warned, the lyrics get pretty nasty, but they're no worse than those by the "artist" they're ridiculing.)
• "Warrior" by Scandal, for having the cheesiest, most nonsensical line I think I've ever heard in any song: "follow me stereo jungle child". **shudder**
• Hair metal band music in general.
• And finally, boy bands and Britney Spears type crap are a given.

If I come up with anything else I think is noteworthy in its suckiness, I'll add an update or two.

Update: Just thought of another one: Air Supply.

Update 2: Okay, I'm probably going to really offend some folks, now. Here are some artists I hate that I think are very overrated: Bruce StinkSpringsteen, Pearl Jam, Creed (the poor man's Pearl Jam) and Janis Joplin. Also, being from the South and having to hear this song ad nauseum, I have a very special loathing for "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

A Lack of Nuance

From Reuters: Militant Cleric Says Attack on London 'Inevitable'

[Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad] added: "We don't make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians, innocents and non-innocents. Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value. It has no sanctity."

That cuts through all the BS, doesn't it? No "root causes" talk or anything like that -- very direct and clear-cut. We know where we stand with people like this cleric. Sometimes it really is that simple.

(Via LGF.)

Lest We Forget

Today is the ninth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Here is a memorial site. Thanks to this post via blogs4God for reminding me.

I remember I was home sick from work that day and had been asleep all morning. I got up to eat lunch and found out about the bombing on the news.

Breathtaking Hypocrisy

Remember all the controversy about the violence in The Passion of the Christ? How supposedly the violence in that film was the worst violence ever shown in any movie that's ever been made? How the violence was "pornographic"*? Well, many of those same critics who got the vapors over the violence in The Passion are just loving the latest Quentin Tarantino gorefest, Kill Bill, Vol. 2.

The excuse usually given when you point out this hypocrisy is that the Tarantino violence is "cartoonish" and not meant to be taken seriously. Which means violence is okay with these folks as long as it's treated flippantly -- like big joke. If it's treated seriously and realistically, it's just beyond the pale. Especially since it's a "Jesus movie".

*I think those who describe the violence in The Passion this way are unwittingly revealing a lot of things about themselves...and none of those things are good.

(Via Cut on the Bias.)

Update: Lee Anne Millinger has a very good post that delves deeper into why some reviewers have such a double standard. She says that it's not necessarily that they have an anti-Christian bias, but rather that they are unable to get past their own expectations of what a "Jesus movie" should be.

Chicken Made to Order

Or rather, order around a guy in a chicken suit. Subservient Chicken is very weird, to say the least. The guy just stands there and does what you tell him. I asked him to lean to the left and he did it. I asked him to flap his wings and he did that. It's funny, but it's so strange...

(Via On the Fritz.)

Book Meme!

Okay, I'll play...

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

I think not: for while it may be true that the least sin is an incalculable evil, the evil of pain depends on degree, and pains below a certain intensity are not feared or resented at all. -- The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

I just started this book.

Thanks Jared!

Buy A Gun Day II

I just wanted to remind you, tomorrow (April 15) is the second annual Buy a Gun Day, which was started by Aaron's Rantblog. Then, it was called Buy a Gun to Spite Michael Moore Day, but it's been shortened. I won't be able to buy a gun this year. I already have one, and I would be grateful to simply be able to find a nearby range so I can practice shooting again. (I really miss going to the range...it was fun.) However, I will once again renew my NRA membership to commemorate Buy a Gun Day II.

Another Blog Move

Lawren Mills has moved from Blogspot to Munuvia. Update your bookmarks!

Update (4/15/04): Ben's World has also moved off Blogspot!

Kerry Slogans

I know the first one isn't very original, but I think the second one has some promise:

(Via Wizbang's Kerry Sloganator.)

In Touch with My Inner Dummy

The following story is so mortifying, I decided to put it in the extended entry. Read on if you would like a good chortle at my expense...

I took my Mom to a follow-up appointment today, and we needed to get gas on the way home. I was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which belonged to my Dad. (Yes, an eeee-vil SUV!) Although my Mom doesn't drive anymore, we kept the Jeep because it comes in handy and it's easier for her to get in and out of than my car.

So, I go to a gas station, which is one I haven't been to in years. I'm distracted and still not quite awake and I grab the leftmost pump, which I believe is what I'd use at my usual gas station.

The pump doesn't want to fit in the hole to the gas tank. I started getting frustrated and a little embarrassed. I already had swiped my card, we were low on gas, and I had to do something. So I pumped a little out and let it trickle into the tank, I did this a few times and then noticed, to my horror, the pump said "Diesel". Oh! No!

So I stopped pumping immediately (I had pumped less than a gallon, and I don't think all of it went in the tank). I told my Mom what I had done, and I was almost in tears. My Mom told me to ask the people in the store what to do but I was too embarrassed, so she went in. While she was gone, I pumped a full tank of the expensive premium gas to somehow make up for what I had done. I prayed that I had not done any damage to the Jeep.

When I got through, my Mom returned and told me she talked to two men in the store. The clerk saw how much I pumped and both men said that the Jeep should be okay as long as we just do city driving. They said it might smoke and run a little hot, but it should be okay. I talked to some guys at work who said pretty much the same thing. They said it was good that I put the premium in, since diesel has a very low octane.

On the drive home, the Jeep seemed fine. It didn't smoke and run hot. I drove it to work and back today and it seemed fine. We'll see.

I have only a few excuses for my stupidity. First, I don't think the station I normally go to even has diesel, so I'm not used the extra pump. I also didn't know that diesel pumps were larger and didn't fit in regular cars. This is really a good thing, because it could have been worse. Also, like I said, I was distracted and not quite awake. For some reason, I've been stuck on dumb all day.

And I absolutely, categorically deny that my blonde hair has anything to do with the above incident, so no lame blonde jokes, please.

Easter

He is risen! Have a blessed Easter!

1 Corinthians 15:20-22:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Six Years

I lost my Dad to lung cancer six years ago today. (He died on Good Friday that year.) Here is a post I wrote last year in remembrance of him.

Good Friday

(Click for larger view. Image of William Bouguereau - Pietà from The Art Renewal Center.)

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory,
What bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

How art thou pale with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn;
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn!
Thy grief and bitter Passion
Were all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain.

What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord let me never, never
Outlive my love for thee.

Lord, be my consolation;
Shield me when I must die;
Remind me of thy Passion
When my last hour draws nigh.
These eyes, new faith receiving,
From thee shall never move;
For he who dies believing
Dies safely in thy love.

Googlebombs Away!

Jew!*

Waffles!**

*Explanation here.

**Explanation here.

Additions to the Radio.Blog

I added two songs, because they are just fitting right now: "Flying Solo" and "Wonderful Life" by the Tories. Sadly, the Tories only released two CDs (which you can buy here and here) before calling it quits. However, the frontman, Steve Bertrand, has a new band and CD just out: Avion. I've ordered it from Amazon and I'm really looking forward to hearing it.

The radio blog is on the sidebar under "Site Extras", in case you were wondering.

Me? A Photographer?

I've always been terrible at taking pictures. But, I got a digital camera recently because I figured that if I messed up a shot, I would know it right away and I could try again until I was successful. So, here is one of my better attempts. Yes, it's a lilac rose from my rose garden (the rose is called a Sterling Silver):

(Click image for larger view.)

Better today...

I feel kind of embarrassed about my rant of last night. I feel like I should have just kept it as a draft and then deleted it. But perhaps it was good for me to get things like that out in the open. I deeply appreciate the kind comments I got on that post. They helped and they meant a lot to me...they really did.

A couple of things about what I said in my rant...First of all, I like my coworkers. They are very nice folks. They just get on my nerves sometimes. But I know I must do things that get on their nerves too. Also, I'm sorry if anyone was offended at my remarks about the medical profession. That came from frustration at this incident and at having to deal with health issues so much lately. Finally, my family sometimes infuriates and frustrates me (and I know that I do the same to them) but I do love them...they mean the world to me.

BTW, I saw my doctor today and I found out that the upper GI I had last week revealed that I have a hiatal hernia in addition to gallstones. Apparently, the hiatal hernia isn't that big of a deal, but it may be an additional cause of the stomach disturbances I have from time to time. I have gallstones, but my gallbladder is not inflamed. I suppose I will eventually need gallbladder surgery, but not right now.

God is good. :-)

Venting

If you want to read a rather lengthy, angry rant, go ahead.

I don't feel well and I'm in an incredibly crappy mood. I'm almost always in a crappy mood in the morning, but it was worse than usual today. Usually by the evenings I'm feeling better. However, I'm still in an "I hate people" mood tonight. I have a bad temper and I can't deal with foolishness very well right now. I've had to resist the temptation to make snarky comments on other people's blogs.

With very few exceptions, almost everything I've read this evening either makes me sad or pisses me off. I may just quit reading blogs altogether for a while, read some books and work on some new skins for my site. Maybe that will cheer me up.

And it's not just online stuff...everything and everyone makes me mad lately. A telemarketer for one of my credit cards called when I was home for lunch today. Every time I would politely say I'm not interested, she'd come up with another "service" to sell me. Finally, I asked to be put on their "do not call list". I was polite, but I'm sure the exasperation came through in my voice. She sounded a bit wounded and said she would do so.

I need time off from work because I'm pretty much sick of everything there, too. But I have very little leave because of the time I've had to take off lately because of my health problems and my mother's. And it seems I never can get anything done because I'm always waiting for other people.

Another thing I hate about being at work...when you are listening to a really good song on Winamp while working, and suddenly all your coworkers start yammering and guffawing...LOUDLY...and you can still hear it even when you turn the headphones up. This happens a lot. I want to scowl at them and tell them to SHUT UP, but I at least try to be a nice person most of the time.

And do not even get me started on my family. I'll just sum it up by saying that nothing I do is ever good enough. And I always feel guilty.

And while I'm at it, let me say that the medical profession can kiss my butt!

Where does God fit in when I'm feeling this way? I don't know...you tell me. Because I can't pray when I'm like this.

Messed Up Priorities

So some people are actually going to vote for Kerry instead of Bush because their precious pr0n is threatened? It's nice to see what they think is really important. I guess addictions drive people to do crazy things.

Justin Katz has a challenge for those who want their pr0n:

So here's a thought: if the public really is as enamored of smut as Ashcroft's critics believe, why not campaign to change the law? If [pr0n] is such an obviously good, or at least neutral, thing, why sidestep the actual issue — involving those six guys and some unknown millions of dollars — by substituting rhetoric about the war? Come out from behind the computer desk and lance the issue head on.

And while on this subject...Michael Williams has a thoughtful post pointing out that this is a spiritual issue, which is why he doesn't think the government can do much about this problem:

The root of the problem isn't that people are making pornography, it's that people have a desire to consume it -- and the government has no power (or authority) to change what people desire. The solution to pornography is individual and personal.

Update: More from JunkYardBlog:

A President Kerry will lose the war, meaning that Islamicist radicals will win. America will change for the worse. It's not at all impossible that forms of Sharia could replace our own laws if we capitulate, since we will end up in a loser's game of changing ourselves to make the bad guys happy. You want to lose your precious right to [pr0n]? Elect Kerry. You want to keep it? Elect Bush.

Now, as to the [pr0n] effort itself, it's probably worth noting (though the libertarians probably won't acknowledge it) that all the Bush administration is doing is returning to enforcing laws that the Clinton administration did not enforce. In their 30 year history, the relevant laws that the FBI is using here have been enforced for 20. The Clinton administration stopped enforcing them ten years ago, and [pr0n] exploded into the gigantic global enterprise it is today, with the [pr0n] spam and pop ups on the web and all that assaulting behavior. The Bush administration is restoring enforcement, nothing more. If you don't like that, libertarians, get the law changed.

More Site Tweaks

First of all, I finally got with it and added permalinks for the comments. See this post on The Girlie Matters to find out how to do this.

The other change is how the separator between posts behaves. It always bothered me to have the separator show up if there was only one post for the day or after the first post of the day. It seemed unnecessarily cluttered. But I didn't know what to do about it and I never had time to try and figure out a solution.

Well, I did a bit of Googling on the subject last night and found a fix that was very simple. So now, separators only appear between posts and don't appear after solitary posts or first posts of the day. Thanks to Brad Choate for coming up with the solution!

And one more thing...on the skins gallery pages, I added a blogroll to the sidebar that lists various template and design resources I've used for this site. (I didn't add some of the sites that appear in the credits for the skins because those sites are no longer in service.) So, if you're interested in how I did something, check out that list of resources.

Women and Media Spin

I was intrigued by this book, Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth, when Laughin reviewed it on her journal a couple of weeks ago. Then I ran across this review of the same book (found via Thunderstruck) in Godspy.

I'll let the Godspy review sum up the premise of this book:

The female media elite, who edit the women's magazines we buy and host the news magazine programs we watch, are subtly feeding us negative, destructive messages that don't reflect our lives.

And here's more:

...Blyth points to polls that show that the average woman doesn't feel the way the mainstream media portrays her. She further says that women in the media sell victimhood because they believe it's true. Their answers to women's problems stem from their out-dated feminist ideology, liberal views, and pampered, wealthy lives.

Not hard to see, nor to believe. What can be tough, though, is separating agenda from truth as the two are so often woven together in the stories we're told. Two ideas are worth pondering when it comes to what we get served from the media: the power of an emotional story and the politicization of news.

And here's a great point from Laughin's post:

The reason women are targeted by the media is because women spend the money. So by scaring the crap out of women with stories of missing children, death, and sob stories, the media is able to keep the attention of women and therefore sell more ads. I am not sure if Blyth gets into marketing so much, but I see it all the time. Locally, channel 10 is the worst offender when it comes to the "You could DIE" mentality. "You could DIE" and to fix it, you need to write the government and demand this that or the other.

Women's magazines have never interested me all that much. And I don't like the sob sister mentality of a lot of media that's aimed at women. Even though all this media manipulation is pretty obvious to me, I'm interested in reading a book by someone who was once one of the manipulators. So I guess I'll be adding this one to my wish list.

(On a totally unrelated note, it looks like Laughin may be having her baby this weekend...congratulations Laughin!)

Terri Schiavo News

Fr. Rob Johansen posts an update on where Terri stands legally and medically. Sadly, things are not improving on either front.

(Via Eve Tushnet.)

Passion Miscellany

My Mom, who has not set foot in a movie theater in probably 25 years, wants to see The Passion of the Christ. If she's feeling well enough (she's still trying to get over her shingles), I'd like to take her to see it before Easter. Having seen it myself, I've tried as best as I could to prepare her for it.

While on this subject, here are a couple of reviews that are well worth reading in their entirety. The first is from Susanna Cornett:

But one consequence of growing up studying the Bible, of talking about Christ’s death, of hearing the terms “scourging”, “mocking”, and “beaten” repeated over and over in the cool brightness of a comfortable church auditorium, is that the true horror of what Jesus Christ suffered as a man in the process of dying is lost. It becomes iconic, distant. We hear the words, we eat the communion bread, drink the communion grape juice, sing a sad song, pray, chat with our fellow congregants, then head off to Taco Bell or Wal-Mart. Those things aren’t bad, but a deep connection we need is too easily missed. That’s where The Passion of the Christ comes in.

I needed to see the sadness, the betrayal, the pain, and yes, the cruelty and the blood. It isn’t that I can’t “see” it without Mel Gibson – I can, and have. But it brought a realism and deep, almost physical pain to my imaginings that can only help me understand His true sacrifice. The movie wasn’t entertainment for me, and I didn’t need for Gibson to explain Christ’s history, ministry or goodness as “context” for the hours of His betrayal and death. Those who lament the short time frame, the limited story line, the details of the scourging, the pain, the mocking – those people are judging the movie from some set of criteria that have nothing to do with paying a debt of sorrow for sacrifice. Their judgment is based on The Passion as entertainment. And of course it failed them. But it didn’t fail me.

Then there's this review by Old Oligarch:

It is very human, and very tempting (and thus a favorite tool of the devil) to respond to experiences of horrific violence, to brutal dehumanization -- such as happened in the WWII holocaust -- by seeking to remove all that is violent, all that involves death, all that reminds us of our human passivity, from our religion. It is tempting to turn to an enlightened religion of pure hope and rationalized ethical principles of mutual upbuilding. We would like to be comforted by bracketing the reality of horror, but this is self-deception. It is not salvation from the horrible reality. Salvation is kenosis: the penetration of the divine into the lowest points of human existence; the resurgence (=re-surgo --> re-surrexit) of grace where nature is most beaten down, a mystical union with the divine at the very place where the human soul is most brutalized, dehumanized and threatened with disintegration.

If you understand Christ more as archetype, and less as propitiation, then you understand this. In the West, we sometimes focus too much on the propitiation-theology, and forget that "As I have done, so you must also do." When I see the Risen Christ at the end of the movie, I don't see a man whom Jews futilely tried to kill. I see a Jew risen from the dead. I see the only lens through which Auschwitz can become a place where the Nazi is as powerless over Jewish life as Caiaphas was over Christ.

And one more Passion-related item...Christopher Johnson mercilessly fisks a very silly review of The Passion by an Episcopal clergyman. It amazes me how people can become supposed leaders in a Christian church and be so clueless about Christianity:

Are sins no longer facts in the Episcopal Church? Okay, stupid question. But what on earth does “relationship” have to do with anything here? What should Gibson have done? Have Jesus name every single person in the entire world from the Crucifixion until the end of the age, for whom He died? That might have made for a longish movie.

The dialog in the movie, such as it was, is strained and shows no depth of character. Even the flashbacks felt forced: tableaus, objects separate from us, completely reified. The vengeful cries of the Jews, the brutality of the soldiers, the indecision of Pilate, even the compassion of Veronica and Simon of Cyrene are devoid of context; they are in the story because they have to be, they fit the plot line of the Stations of the Cross.

Dan. Buddy. What was the name of the movie you saw? You know, the one that you're reviewing here. It was entitled The Passion of the Christ, wasn't it? Know why the movie is called that, Dan?

Because. It. Was. A. Movie. Of. The. Last. Twelve. Hours. Of. The. Life. Of. Jesus. Christ.

Maybe someday those who whine about "context" in regards to this film will finally get that very important point.

New Lows

Hey, Planned Parenthood...you're not funny! (Via Ben Domenech.)

And also from the Ben File...behold the love and compassion of the left.

April Foolery

When the doctor tells you he wants you to have an "upper GI", there are two things that could mean:

• An upper GI endoscopy -- a little camera that goes down your throat and looks around your stomach. Sounds just lovely, doesn't it...NOT!
• Or a series of x-rays where you drink down fizz crystals and a barium shake. Not exactly pleasant, but completely non-invasive.

Naturally, I assumed the worst -- that the test I was to have was the former. When I called to make the appointment, I asked (hopefully), "Now by upper GI, do you mean the one with the barium drink?" No, I was told, it was the other one.

Now, I know people who have had the endoscopy, and they told me they were sedated. So I asked the person who made the appointment if they would sedate me. She said no, that I would have to talk to my doctor about being sedated.

What?

So I called my doctor, and he wrote up a script for a Valium drip and sent it to me in the mail. His office told me to present it when I go for the procedure.

Meanwhile, I've been full of anxiety over this whole thing. It sounds just awful. I get my sister to give me a ride to the hospital, since I would not be able to drive after being sedated.

My upper GI appointment was this morning. I presented the script to the receptionist and she looks very puzzled. She says I will have to talk to the technician when she arrives. **sigh** I knew this would happen. And I'm thinking, "There's no WAY I can do this without being sedated!"

I talk to the technician about what the procedure entails, I find out that this upper GI is in fact...the non-invasive barium and x-ray procedure. No need for Valium drips. In fact, the department where my appointment was at doesn't even do endoscopies.

So I was very relieved. The procedure wasn't bad. The worst part was drinking that barium shake. It was nasty!

However, I feel guilty that my sister had to take time out of her busy life to give me a ride when it wasn't necessary. And I'm irritated that I was given bad information in the first place.

How fitting that this happened on April Fool's Day.