As all you Aardvarkites know, I am a fan of the works of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Supermarionation shows like Supercar and Thunderbirds.
I am a member of an e-group celebrating "SUPERCAR", and on a chat last night (the 23rd) one of the members was kvetching about the "sexism" of these shows from the late 50s to the mid 60s.
Male crewmembers expressing amazement at the clever idea the young, beautiful Doctor of Space Medicine just came up with. (Never mind that she , in fact, WAS a Doctor of Space Medicine, who also made a mean cuppa Joe.) That kind of thing. This chat-er went on about how she couldn't enjoy the old puppet shows much because they were defining HER. It reminded me too much of the visitors to Vox Popoli.

Now, I was nice, and did not make wild pop-psych comments beyond "Are you still on medication?",
and "you care what...WOOD thinks about you?". God bless my fellow fan from OZ, she made me start thinking. As I compare male/female relations of today with those of the time of the offending TV shows, I come to a major conclusion: people were generally happier with each other back then... Men and women, in whatever "roles", were generally happier in themselves, and with each other, than they are today.

Nothing more earth-shattering than that.

Buoyed by a comment from Pablo, I must continue...

The Dread Dormomoo, being a woman, and my wife, and all, weighed in as I shared the topic with her. One thing which has NOT been discussed is that when men get together, they take potshots at one another, indulge in name-calling. Among men, this is a sign of acceptance, a verbal punch on the arm. If he accepts it, he gains acceptance in the group, because he has proven an ability to TAKE IT. It is an almost atavistic test that this member of The Group is not a wuss, and that he will be able to back me up in a fight.

When a woman joins The Group, the same dynamic applies. The teasing, the joking, the mild deprecating comments by the men, are all signs of acceptance and testing by the men.
If the woman rolls with the verbal punches, she is accepted. If she tears up, whines, or starts quoting Gloria Steinem...SHE LOSES.

Christmas was a bounteous time...

Sunday Christmases are not my favorite...too many important things in a day.
I received the most wonderful Christmas present: I got to preach for the Sunday morning
service. Now, since the celebration of Jesus' birth is not apostolically taught in the New Testament, the churches of Christ as a rule do not celebrate it as a church holy day. Individual members and families have their own traditions, and are free to do as they will. Nonetheless, I preached the most Christmassy sermon ever at our congregation. I may put it up as an audio blog here.
The upshot: keep Christ, not just Christmas, the whole year through. It was well received, and apparently blessed some.

Before church, we got up, and began the festivities with coffee and stockings.
This has evolved over the years. The Dread Dormomoo and I invariably wound up "playing Santa" until the wee hours of Christmas morn, and would thus be reindeer-tired after an all-too-short winter's nap. The kids, when younger, were allowed to uncrate their stockings when they awoke. This allowed us to at least laze in the sack awhile longer, whilst we listened to their squeals and giggles of discovery. Stockings have always been VERY important to our celebrations. We would search for super-cool and groovy goodies for them, not just dimestore junk to fill the things. And there was NO orange in the toe!

My non-stocking list of acquisitions:

Polar Lights Klingon D7 Battlecruiser kit
Can of Macadamia nuts
CD: The Present by The Moody Blues
CD: Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds, SA version
DVD set: Rumpole of the Bailey starring Leo McKern
Book: Interior Desecrations by James Lileks.
A great 100% cotton blue sweater (yes, I'm REALLY happy about this.)
A pre-embargo Cuban cigar in a glass tube!!!

What a huge blessing!
I can hardly wait to see what the New Year has to offer...

You are...Edmund. Thoughtful and philosophical, you
have made mistakes in the past but have
straightened things out and are now where you
need to be. You are content to be a wise
counsellor, rather than a great leader, though
you can be either if you must.


Which Chronicles of Narnia character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

...and I didn't even answer "Habakkuk" or "Reverend!



How evil are you?

Why isn't anything EASY?

Jobs used to be simple.
You work...then you don't.

Men were men, women were women.
Church taught you to be good.
TV didn't undo that...even when Frank Sinatra sang!

Dolls didn't look like Slutz.
Little girls didn't want to look like their dolls that look like Slutz.

Evil language was...evil.
Not "sophisticated", not accepted, except by people like that.

Laughing at aberrations was not aberrant.

Good was good, bad was bad.

Moderate meant temperate, morally acceptable.
This could go on...

"I do hope this was your last post.

It's a pity you stopped learning 20 years ago. I've been following the movement closely for the last 25 years because this resurgence of Nazism isn't going away because people ignore it.

Pride goes before a fall, and you are full of it."

This is what passes for gracious Christian conversation.

For a look at the issue, go here.

Again. It just got better overnight.
I want to find out something.
When did passive-aggressive behavior become acceptable in Christian circles?

When did ignoring Scriptural argument and evidences become the norm for Defending the Faith?

I truly do not understand at all.
I do suspect some things, however. My partner in the issue displays behavior that indicates the following:

He or she is a member of an independent church. Likely an indie Baptist group. I am casting no aspersions here.

The group has a very strong Remnant angle to their teaching.

He or she became offended at the outset when I spoke ill of "Left-Behind-ism".

The ISSUES are more important- attentionwise- than the Gospel. No effort was made to respond to my biblical comments biblically.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did Lewis dabble in Things Occultic? Probably so. So have a lot of other people. As a callow yout, I did a bit of Ouija Boarding and suchlike. I have since repented, and become a Christian. Does this invalidate my testimony today? We none of us are pure, except as we stand in Christ.
I think that the world would give more credence to the Gospel if we were to spend less time pointing at others' deficiencies, and spend more time examining ourselves as we stand in Christ Jesus.
Sorry...I've got too many weird ideas.

Ok, fine...
The discussion at Vox Popoli has been "magic" in the Narnia books and movie.

My son Riatsila (read it backwards; it's not a New Age monicker) in his 18-year-old wisdom came up with this:


The "magic" is a fiction constructed for the book. There is no Pagan substructure for the magic in Narnia. It is a device used by Lewis for "getting things done" in the context of his fictional work.
J.K.Rowlings' "magic" in Harry Potter is much the same. If I were to read aloud the "spells" in the Potter books, precisely Nothing would happen- other than my feeling foolish if I were caught at it.

The authors are using a fictional concept of "magic" to move the plot along. It is the engine of the story. You Christians who are freaked out and panicking over The End Of Juvenile Fiction As We Know It, take a breath, take two Psalms, and relax for a moment. Think on this: The crowd that are preaching End-Time panic and fear over this next subtle move of the Antichrist to set us up for the Mark and the False Prophet, they are selling books, too. And tapes, and DVDs, and getting love offerings. The more worried you are, the more you buy, to keep up with the Truth of the Month Club. Follow the money, beloved!

Chill. Really. Look to Jesus Christ, rather than looking for the Antichrist.
Do you know of ONE single solitary soul who has SEEN someone make something happen with a "spell"? Seen it with your EYES? Not "my cousin's sister's gardener" or "I read it in a tract".

What were the things Jesus, and Peter, and Paul, and John were concerned about in the New Testament? Spend your time on those things. Don't be led into stupid superstition. It's a waste of your time, and God's. Feel free to correct me if I am being unScriptural. That's what "Comments" are for.

One more thing to be clear on...
NOWHERE does the Scripture even begin to intimate that if you read secular or fantasy works, or see a movie, that A DEMON WILL JUMP INTO YOU, or that you will LOSE YOUR SALVATION!

The Blood of Christ covers all sin.
The Holy Spirit dwells in me, and SEALS me, saying "This is GOD's man.".
Now I do not have license to sin, but I cannot begin to stretch the Scripture to say that seeing an edifying, decent, clean, heroic, movie extolling the virtues of loyalty and love is sinful.
Yes, it has a word in it called "magic".
Oooooooh....
The Apostle Paul read and quoted pagan authors of HIS day.


I'll repent as soon as he does.

I answered honestly. Really.
You may all giggle, now!



Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 75% Green Lantern 75% Spider-Man 75% Iron Man 70% Hulk 55% The Flash 50% Batman 50% Robin 45% Supergirl 45% Wonder Woman 35% Catwoman 35%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Chronicles of Narnia
.

BEST movie adaptation of a book I have EVER seen.
If only "A Wrinkle in Time" had been treated as well.


Take a hanky.
Even you guys.
ESPECIALLY you guys.
I've waited thirty years for this, endured the CTW/Episcopal Church animated version, Enjoyed-somewhat- the BBC/Wonderworks version. It was well worth the wait.


The theatre was FULL of kids. The 8-10 year-old mouthy types. Aside from a couple of well-placed and appropriate laughs, you could have heard a beaver's hair fall. Or a lion's.

Go see it. PLEASE!

In case anyone has noticed a change in tone of late, a curmudgeonly turn of phrase, mayhap, there is a reason.



I can no longer suffer fools gladly.


I have tried for years to be Mr. Nice Guy, even to my own hurt. Grin and bear it.
No more. I am weary of accepting the avalanche of stupidity which vomits forth from so many.
I cannot nod smilingly while the guys in my head run around with "out to lunch" signs.
If you are being superstitious, I will not hesitate to let you know that you are being STOOO-PID!
If I tell you to leave me alone, and you do not, I will MAKE you WANT to leave me alone.



"Ooooh, that doesn't sound very KRIS-chun!"



Check out a couple of Jesus' "brood of vipers" riffs.
I speak the truth in love...
...just don't push me.

A very aware man once said:
"Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.".

Thus, if you say s**t, then you're full of s**t.

You are a Social Liberal (61% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (76% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Mr. Dean, will that be cash or charge?

"Dean told San Antonio, Texas, radio station WOAI that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong." He predicted the Democratic Party would come together on a proposal to withdraw National Guard and Reserve troops immediately, and all U.S. forces within two years." (Reuters)

Given Howie Dean's penchant for making inflammatory comments with no reprisals forthcoming, Americans need to write him a reality check. This Aardvark is convinced that Dean is now personally responsible for any and all murders and suicide bombings perpetrated by The Insurgency. Every American family who loses a loved one in Iraq by an Insurgent action from here on out should mail copies of the funeral and flower bills directly to the Democratic National Committee, attention Howard Dean.

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

202-863-8000 (Main number. Call for fax)

Will he pay? That's not the point. He must be shown the consequences of his blather, just like rubbing a puppy's nose in his 'accident'.

Dec 2, 2005: Slingdot.com goes live!

SlingDot is a gaming community built around on-line casual gaming, chat, contests, cash and prizes. SlingDot features a Free Games section open to unlimited play for all gamers over the age of 12 and a members-only gaming area called the DotSpot. DotSpot membership is available Dec 15th and is only $4.95 a month or $29.95 a year. Full membership benefits include access to exclusive games, member contests, enhanced chat features, no advertising, and greater opportunities to win cash and prizes.


All levels of gamers earn Dots for their play. The better you are, the more you'll earn, and DotSpot members earn triple the Dots of free account players. Beginning Feb 1, 2005 Dots can be used to enter daily, weekly, and monthly drawings for cold hard cash. In coming months SlingDot will unveil many other benefits and personalization items that players can access using their Dots. And as the old saying goes - he who dies with the most Dots wins! How many Dots you got?


Dec 2 is a soft launch for the site with more features and games being added every day. Visit us, check the news area for upcoming additions, and share your thoughts with us. This is a gaming community, and the players will drive the look, feel, and feature set as this community grows. Our goal is to make your gaming experience the best it can be!


As a special introductory offer, all players get a 14 day free trial membership to the DotSpot, giving everyone access to the members-only games. Play them all, rack up Dots, and save them for the future.

The BIG Red Button.

This Aardvark is uncertain. I do not know which is the greater annoyance: the anti-Christmas lobby with their incessant whining about their minority rights, or the Chick tract-ors who cry pagan-this, and heathen-that, and demonic-the other regarding things Yuletide.

As to the anti-Christmas Lobbyists: Become 51% of the population, then we'll talk.
Besides, you don't HAVE to go to the C-word Parade, or to any of the parties, and you SURELY don't have to accept any C*******s presents.
Have your own grey parade. Have parties. Don't forget the Cold Oatmeal Dip. MMMMMM!
Grey gooey goodness!

"Christian" freakazoids: I don't see Paul, et al, worrying that demons are gonna jump into Christians because they walk by a pagan temple. Besides, Believers aren't worshiping Saturn or whomever. They are honoring Jesus. Say it. Jeeee-SUS. Not Saturn.
Paul DID write *ahem* NOT to judge another because of a feast day.
Besides, you folks with steeples on your church buildings, the case *can* be made that you are honoring The Erect Penis. I won't EVEN get into obelisks.

EVERYONE: Stop whining, and have a merry Christmas, a cunning Kwanzaa, a hot Hannukah, a stunning Saturnalia, a cool Yule, it really doesn't matter, 'cos y'know what?
Jesus is STILL Lord.

Oh, the Big Red Button? Just a little shirt idea we are producing.
A big red button on the shirt front.

... that says "OFFEND ME!".

A probing question

Vox and Nate deal with a sticky wicket today.
Alien intervention in human affairs. No, not like the puppeteers in
Larry Niven's Known Space stories, but like the worst in online websites on abductions.

Now, I have my OWN take on alien/Terran social intercourse.
They are scared of us, well and truly terrified.

The Ascended Alien Masters, Gidney and Cloyd, who speak to me telepathically in the voices of Phil Silvers and Arnold Stang, have informed me of this. Here's the skinny:

In all the cosmos, the image of the clown has an accepted meaning. Doesn't matter where you go in the universe, it's all the same. The Clown's phiz signifies one thing only.

Ultimate Evil Incarnate.

No horns and pitchforks, no squid faces; the image of whiteface, fright wig, painted smile, and A Single Tear will send the most stalwart Pleiadian diving under the covers of his mercury bed. We're talkin' serious scared, here. Pinhead's a wuss. BOZO reruns propagating through the aether at lightspeed, that'll set the heart crosswise in ye, if you are from Omicron Persei 8. Everywhere, everywhere, parental units and crechemasters all warn "Emmett Kelly will get you if you don't watch out!".

Everywhere, that is, but on Earth.

We put clowns on the walls of our nurseries and daycares. Our babies have clowns on their jammies. Have you checked your pediatrician's waiting room walls?

We raise our children under the image of a Cosmic Satan, and WE think it's all good fun.
I wouldn't want to visit us, either. Unless I was a psycho, or a wormbaby with something to prove.

"You cut donuts in the rings of Saturn? HAH! -snaps tentacle- I probed an Earthling in Pascagoula!"

"You didn't...GET OUT!"

"I did so, just ask Klarven...he was there!"

Earth just gets the crazies and delinquents. Serves us right.

This is HI-larious!

Back in April, I did a blog entry on Multi-level marketing (MLM).

Go there, and check out the comments.
Also, it wouldn't hurt to browse the archives.

On the disappointment of Abundance.

Oh, Boy, a liberal downer post for Thanksgiving Day!

NO.

The Dread Dormomoo and I went on a date a few days ago, to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Mikawa, in Huntsville. On the way, we Talked.
No, not a "If I DIE, will you get married again?" thing.
Substance.


I learned a lesson a few years ago. As followers of this blog know, I am a fan of the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series "SUPERCAR" from the late 50's. Back in 2002, Johnny Lightning brought out a diecast SUPERCAR toy as part of a "Hollywood on Wheels" collection. I ordered several sets to carry in my store, to eBay, and...to HAVE! (Cue Looney Toons sting)
Chirren, it was like waiting for Christmas; the anticipation, the tension, the...waiting.



Finally, they arrived!
With trembling hands I opened the boxes. There, THERE, was my prize, after 40 years of waiting: I held SUPERCAR in my hands.
The thrill was palpable, electric, other adjective as needed.



Then it wasn't.

It's NEAT and all, but...
it did not , ngaaaah, feed my spirit, as it were.
I had a thing; a new thing, a different thing.
But just a thing.
There was little joy to be had in it.



The disappointment of abundance. I had my Desire, but as with creepy Amnon, the thrill did not last.



Maybe Spock was right. The Having is not as pleasing as the Wanting.
With thankfulness, the Having is not a problem. The Rich Man in the parable was not labeled a fool for Having; his lack of thankfulness and his greed in "tearing down his barns to build bigger barns" proved to be his undoing. (Why not just build an extra barn?)


Let's be thankful for what we have. When we are able to have more, be thankful for that.
"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

I wanted to share this bit I wrote to the Supercar Black_Rock_1 Yahoo group. It kind of fits here, too!

I want to wish each and all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Day.

BR1 is high on my "I'm thankful for..." list.
(Why? It's JUST a group about a KID'S show!)
You all are a fun bunch, and are bringers of joy-even Fred!


You stick together, all for one, one for all, share concern over troubled members, or those in peril. You hold the door open and say "After you." where eBay auctions are concerned.
Polite, caring, not self-absorbed, talented...


You would think one could learn something from a kid's show.


All this, and you put up with my bloviating homilies, too.
Thanks, guys and gals. Whether you are celebrating a holiday or not, or gnoshing on turkey, hot dogs, or steak and kidney pud': Happy Thanksgiving!


Here endeth the lesson.

The Dread Dormomoo hath spoken!

She was watching Cavuto , and Michael Newdow was fulminating about how "In God We Trust" should be removed from our coinage.

Sez she: " 'In God We Trust' is only on one side...you have one side for atheists, and the other side for theists."

So where is the problem?

You need to read this.

And look at the purty pitchers.

The OCD angle of Blogging

First, thank you to Madison, WI! 45 minutes of crawling through the archives. WOW!

I've been off all weekend- no comments from the peanut gallery- as NERV, our workhorse logic (computer for you non Murray Leinster fans) at home was sickly. Up and running, now WOO HOOO!

I think that, in the barbaric NewSpeak of pop-psych, I have an addictive personality. I have given up 85% of talk radio, because I had built up fifteen years worth of rage. It was making me to be a not-nice person. (That was written precisely the way I meant it.) Three Monkey Limbaugh is insufferable anymore, and just NO FUN. Hannity I couldn't listen to at all. He is just so, so...EMPTY. Vacuous. Vapid. How can you, on the basis of merely saying "hello" on the phone, determine that one is a "Great American"? It's like proclaiming that I am a good Christian on the basis that I didn't cuss you out. Local talk tends to be empty. Very tapioca.
Boortz can be fun, but he just gets on my nerves on the "homosexual marriage" bit.

GO FAIR TAX!!!!

Now, these guys out of Birmingham are not only talkin', they're doin' summat about it!
Dee can be a bit on the root-canal end of things sometimes.

Blogging is becoming much the same. I have my little circle that I check out, and comment on, and wait, and check to see if someone commented on my comment, and then respond to their comment, or angst and feel unloved if no-one comments on my comment.
This can take hours out of your day, especially if the issue is an Important One, a Subject of Moment.

Nuts.

There's always Lileks.
He makes me wish that I lived in Minneapolis / St. Paul.

Ian the Confusticated had this on his blog, and I couldn't resist. Folks who know the warm and cuddly Aardvark will now dissolve into helpless and incontinent laughter... Your Birthdate: February 25

You excel at anything difficult or high tech. In other words, you're a total (brilliant) geek. It's difficult for you to find people worth spending time with. Which is probably why you'll take over the world with your evil robots! Your strength: Your unfailing logic Your weakness: Loving machines more than people Your power color: Tan Your power symbol: Pi Your power month: July

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Thanks to Ian McLeod the Confusticated, I now have a working site meter.
Come now, the world to me!
(Sounds like a BAD Ray Bradbury ripoff!)

Actually, it is heartening to see the hits from around the world.
OH! There's another one!
C'mon, make a comment. Don't be shy.
Hat tip to the Voxters out there.


I have another question. How popular is audio blogging amongst the Stellar Few who pop in here?
I've been a screenprinting squeegie-jockey for fifteen years, now. (Our biz is Aardvark Screenprinting.) We are getting an auto press, which will vastly increase our productivity, and decrease my hands-on neededness. (Neologisms R' Us)


What to do with my time? Talk radio...we have quite a market here. Ours are the electromagnetic loins that birthed Sean Hannity into the world.
(Did I just make an argument for talkshow abortions?)

So, does ANYONE really listen to audio blogs, or web radio shows?
See, here is a blog that QUESTIONS, a blogateer with no pretensions of knowitallitude.

This is an encore presentation from the beginning, just to give a bit of the less-than-angsty flavor of this blog.

Yes, I love the internet. Since 1996, and 14.4 modems, I have loved the 'net; back when every URL was a new discovery, and each web search unearthed untold treasures, and HTML was as mystical as speaking in tongues. Journey with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, before searches for "dominion theology" yielded sites full of people in odd black costumes, when search engines were egalitarian, unsullied by ranking for dollars. Back, way, way back when surfing the Web....was FUN!

Now, I'm just tired. Weary of searches yielding what someone pays them to yield, drive-by home page hijackings and the endless parade
of scum and villainy, where one MUST be cautious. Tired of email filled with offers to enlarge my penis {not necessary}, enlarge my breasts (I could make money with a webcam, but no...), enlarge my social circle (not wanted), and subject lines that read like a pentecostal on crack.

Thank God for blogs. Now I can navigate an endless river of whines, rants, jackleg punditry, bad spelling and self- absorption. And that's just MINE...But seriously, folks, you're a great audience, and an even BETTER entertainer.
I enjoy the wit and insight which shines like gold dust in a riverbed. Fellow bloggers, I raise a toast in salute. Well played!

OK, I have a problem for all my reader to consider.

I believe in forgiveness. I practise it with regularity. I am the recipient of more than I deserve.

Someone betrayed me, and seriously injured a kinsman, in ways not immediately evident, but nonetheless real and lasting. The betrayer has repented, and I have forgiven this person. I do not wish to see him roasting over a lake of burning sulphur. I do not wish to kill him, and I do not wish to do...things...to him with electrical wiring.

I do not speak of "betrayal" and "injury" lightly.

On the OTHER hand, I have zero interest in having anything to do with him. At all. Ever again.

My thinking is, if a dog bites me, but the next time I see him, he wags his tail, I am disinclined to pet him.

The person wants to get together, y'know, remember the good times.
I don't want to remember anything at all, because it just leads to pain.
I don't like pain.
I've had enough from this person.

So, is it self-protection, or self-contradiction; hypocrisy, if you will.
I have few moral ambiguities in my life.
They make me uncomfortable.
Feel free to comment. I know you're out there.
SiteMeter says so!

We have been doing an overview of Islam in the religions and cults class I am teaching.
After reading about Islam and its history, Riatsila opined over lunch:
"Islam is the drunk, freeloading uncle of religions."

I was amused.

Disney animation woes


"The studio argues the decision was necessary because of the disappointing performance of such recent traditional animation projects as Treasure Planet and Home On The Range and because of the staggering success of CG projects such as Toy Story and from rival studios Shrek and Ice Age."

Jamie Portman

The Ottawa Citizen

Monday, October 31, 2005

Hmmm...the answer to the argument is: though you traditionally animate crap, it is still crap.

Disney's insistence on departing from its historic templates to indulge in politically correct, culturally with-it storytelling is largely to blame for the current problems.

A computer is a tool, as is a pen. I have seen Fred's traditional animation, as well as his CG work. I like both. The issue, then, is not HOW you bounce the photons off of our retinas. The issue is STORY.

My favorite TV series I had as a child was a Sci Fi marionette show called Supercar. There is a small but rabid cadre of fans to be found here.
Let's face it. Though Supercar's visual artistry is less than perfect, the characters we know and love so well endure because of the story, the writing. (Take a bow, Messrs. Woodhouse) More recently, Kez Wilson and Michael Wolfe have collaborated on a graphic novel approach. Rather than treat us to gargoylesque pictures, with bulging eyes and craggy chins (grant me my polemic, here) Kez chose to "pretty up" the characters in his excellent comic art. This did not decrease our enjoyment of them (I thought he said he was a conservative?!), because they BEHAVED like Mike and crew, sans wires. Ditto Michael's work with the current serialised story on BlackRock1. Heck, we don't need puppets or pictures at all any more. We SEE them performing in the Theatre of the Mind.

The upshot: Disney should come up with better stories, period.
(Or at least STEAL better stories, as they did with Lion King -Kimba the White Lion, and Atlantis -another anime, Nadia, Secret of Blue Water.)
T.Hee did amazing animation with sponges and art erasers. Story is all. Animation is the vehicle. Yugo or Mercedes. You'll still get there.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7
Mind:	6.6
Body:	6.4
Spirit:	8
Friends/Family:	6.6
Love:	9.1
Finance:	7.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I am a crank. Theologically speaking, I'm the equivalent of the guy who builds time machines in his basement out of aluminum pie-pans, twist-ties, and oatmeal boxes.



I am orthodox. I insist on Biblical authority for what we do, whether it is home life, or church polity.



I'm in trouble, because I have to call into question the whole "we have to hire a preacher" mindset at our congregation. It is more in line with the whole Western / Protestant construct, aided and abetted by the Bible College / Seminary complex, rather than with the New Testament model of church order.



I am SO cooked...!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD!

I keep trying to ignore the Miers nomination. You know, maybe it will just go away.
With our Stealth Democrat in the ovoid orifice, it has become painful to me to remember that I voted for him.
Twice.
(I honest-to-God MISS Bill Clinton, but that's as may be...)
The Miers foofooraw has reminded me of one Important Thing.
The Most Important Thing in the World.
For all of the issues which could and need to be addressed, like immigration law, Ms. Myers is making the rounds of the Usual Suspects to deal with the Most Important Thing.

The sovereign Right of a woman to off her unborn offspring.

Never mind that it is the Law of the land, and will likely NEVER be overturned- at least as long as Churchians keep evangelising through the voting booth rather than through teaching and changing hearts. This charade keeps being played out.
I am SO-O-O-O bored.

I am not a theologian. I tend to want to speak of Things Biblical in Terms Biblical. Where I miss the mark, feel free to point, utter a high-pitched "HA-HA" and call me a hypocrite.

I'll forgive you.

A majority of the problems extant in The Church at the Beginning of the 21st Century arise from NOT using the native terminology of the Scriptures, that is, we introduce extra-Biblical words and concepts in our argume...er, discussions.

The classic fool's errand of arguing God's Omni-whatever is rendered meaningless when we choose to speak in the Scripture's terms, rather than importing foreign philosophical language and concepts.

The current rage is discussing the Actual Biblical Sanction of Polygamy.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2005/10/mailvox-ride-on-time.html

Sorry, can't find "Polygamy" in the Bible. Use Bible terms to discuss Bible things. You don't discuss Monopoly using the rules of Blackjack.

Start with Adam and Eve, One man, one woman.
Genesis 2:24, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."


The New Testament, Jesus quotes Adam as authoritative:
Matthew 19:3-6, "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

I'm convinced.

You see, if we follow the Biblical pattern, you either have marriage, or marriage plus adultery.
One is good, more is bad.

We have dealt personally with a promulgator of multiple wives. The Dread Dormomoo has done an exhaustive study of the issue...not all of which has been yet posted. Here is the link.

Enjoy. And speak as God's Word speaks.

A Horrible Revelation of Heffalump Proportions

I was doing research on "late great planet earth/Left Behind-ism" for the class I teach on, ummm... creative doctrines. I ran across the foofooraw that Walt Hibbard
was involved in regarding his teaching the "heretical" idea that Jesus' "end-times"
teaching in Matthew 24 in fact refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, not some Rube Goldberg history yet-to-come contrivance.
The church leaders wanted to argue on the basis of the Creeds, and the Westminster Confession.
NOT the Word of God.
I must be the most naive guy around. I can't believe that such...such...APOSTASY
is so rampant in theologically conservative groups.
This is me, mourning.
Let us pray for the Whole State of Christ's Church.

Go ahead and ASK!

...and then they changed it to G-4

The Aardvark is by no means a geek. I mean, I get my kids to fix this-or-that with my computers- tho' Riatsila cannot set the wretched VCR either.
So the thesis is: I am not a geek. Big whoop. But I AM fascinated by Tech. I love it.
Best Buy is to me as the Sears tool department was to my sainted father-in-law.
Bud LOVED tools, not for the tool's sake, but for utility's sake. Happiness was a good new tool. I gave him some newfangled Alligator pliers as a cool Yule present, and he was a happy camper. You can use 'em one-handed!
Tech. It's great. Thus, when TechTV joined our Charter Cable lineup, I was pleased. Happy. Hugely entertained. They were based out of San Francisco, but were actually useful! The young AND the middle-aged mingling and working to birth us into a tech Paradise. Leo LaPorte was a greying computer whiz, wrote books, and knew his stuff. Here is his site:
http://www.leoville.com
The not-so-callow youts with whom he worked were wonders, too, but Leo was kinda MY age. Made me feel like I could do this, too. He's a Macboy, but nobody's perfekt.
Too bad. In 2004, G4 bought out TechTV, said "Move to LA."-you know, where All Things Happen- and Leo said "unh-unh".
'Bye, Leo.
Now, G4 has happenin' shows like "Attack of the Show" , in which callow youts whose attitudes can be summed up in the word "snot", make sage commentary on the pop-tech scene. >sigh<
This sad son-of-TechTV isn't so Tech anymore. They are adding a "new" show.
Remember Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel?
Remember "The Man Show"?
G4 presents reruns of "The Man Show".
Welcome to the Age of Tech!
I wonder if they'll review the Nano...

I'm not down with this.

I am amazed at how widespread depression is. Not the "She broke up with me so I'll write some O, God, the Pain poetry, eat pizza and I'll feel all better" kind of down-ness. Real heart deadening, pull-the-covers-over-your-head for three days, not even the Resurrection could pull me out DEPRESSION. The kind that pharmacologists giggle about.
I've endured it.
The Dread Dormomoo has.
Two of my kids have / are.
Good friends have.
Even one I've never met.

The Aardvark is at an utter loss.
Here we are, in the most prosperous, anything-right-at-your-fingertips, right now,
society, with ANY belief system you could possibly imagine (and our brethren got bent out of shape at the "go to the church of your choice" thing), and every other guy and gal it seems is poppin' Paxil, or scarfing Celexa.

What is up with this?

NOTE: This is NOT a condemnation of prescription help. I was on Elavil for a year or so, until I had to choose to stop. It was either work or sleep. If ANY prescription drug has "May cause drowsiness" in the contraindications, simply substitute "Will induce coma" for me. Now I work, and self-medicate with the occasional brew and/or cigars. Recognise, too, that depression seems to have a shelf-life. Studies have shown that depressed study groups who variously do prescriptions, counseling, or nothing tend to improve in roughly the same period of time.

Now, I'm really at a loss to understand this phenomenon. Unless of course it's not new.
Check out a hymnal sometime. Some of the hymns of the 1800s bear the unmistakable mark of someone working through depression, or at least through menopausal angst. Those from the Depression era, well, they speak for themselves.

Depression is the pits. It is helpful to know that you are not alone in your experience. In this time, or an any.

Hebrews 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.".

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I've had a rev-uh-LAY-shun!
YAY-ussss.
Say BAY-bee.

But seriously, folks, if you should check out the parable of the talents,
Matthew 25:14-30
(Now, for the uninitiated, a talent is a monetary unit of weight.
Not an ability.
So get it straight.)
you will find a strange truth.

God is far happier if we try and miss it, than if we don't try at all.
Now, He would RATHER we succeed.
But He is the great Redeemer.

But there has to be something to redeem.
So even if all you can do is stick it in the bank, do it.
He can fix us, and will, if we give Him something to fix!
Here endeth the lesson.

Well, okay, I went to see Serenity with Mr. McLeod at Regal Cinemas. You know; the one behind the Mall. Went in to get our tickets at the concession stand, where the Simpsons Teenaged Kid received our shekels, and his female counterpart, the one with the CANDY NECKLACE around her neck (O, please, dear Father, let it be plastic...) and a grin like Nicholson's Joker hit us up to join the Regal Crown Club. "You get double points on Fridays, and we don't make you sit in the sticky section." We demurred.

Got to the correct shoebox, shoehorned ourselves into our comfy stadium seating- why does your elbow fit so well into the cupholder?- and watched the Exceedingly Entertaining Slideshow. I mean, shoot, our country CHURCH has Powerpoint! Then the Trailers began...wait...it's the COMMERCIALS-The same ones we see at home, except that you can enjoy every blemish on the actors' phizzes. And why are they over there, partway on the curtains?

Hmmmmm...

The Trailers began. Over there. When I pay to see commercials and trailers, I want them over HERE, centred on the screen. Large fanboys are getting up to look for the manager. The anamorphic lens that s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the image into widescreen format is not in place. The actresses look more anorexic than usual. This happens all the time, though...these guys are professionals...it'll be fine.
AH! The Universal logo appears, with the attendant swelling "Hercules" type music.
It's not widescreen.
The Earth is tall and thin.
So THIS is what they mean about the Earth being all used up...

They get the movie centred. That's something.
The Serenity looks odd. Squashy somehow. Kaylee had a chibi moment, but got it wrong.
I get up to look for the manager. I find the engineer, and ask if they plan to use the anamorphic lens. He burbles that neither setting is working right, and that the anamorphic seems to be broken...the image doesn't fit the mask, or summat...The upshot being that they opted to show the movie in "squash 'n' stretch" mode, whilst whistling, scuffing their toes in the sand and hoping that no-one noticed.

Mr. McLeod and I opted to walk. The teenager refunded our money, commenting "I'm surprised you lasted that long.".

I can hardly wait to see Serenity.

Tweens with delusions of literacy often adopt an affectation in their writing: the use of British variant spelling. You know:
humour for humor
realise for realize
gaol for jail (I'm the only one I know that does...DID, did...that one)
and...like that.

It is certainly an affectation, much like choosing to wear metres-long multi-coloured scarves out in public. (Hey, that fits TWO fan groups, now!)

Back in the day (the current nostalgia cliche du jour) whilst I was still in college, another affectation was very, VERY george -or "shiny" for you brown jackets- amongst the charismaniacs, primarily: using Hebraic spellings and terminology, like
Yeshua for Jesus.
That, and listening to Messianic Jewish songsters like "LAMB", and groovin' to the holy beats of Amy Grant's "El Shaddai".

Man, Jewish was BOSS!

But, y'know, I'm not Jewish. I don't like gefilte fish. I don't wear a yarmulke.
I'm not a Brit, either. I don't dig socialiZed medicine, and my teeth aren't grey.

Some things are FUN. Other things get in the way, 'cos people just think you're weird.
Don't ask me how I know that...

May-bee we should work on not making our job more difficult!

I Like Ike...not very much anymore

The Eisenhower Doctrine of the late 50s committed the US to send military aid to any Middle Eastern country that requested it, for the purpose of preventing Communist penetration into the region.

Now, the idea of their having to request it is nice, but Ike set us on the course which ends where we are today, and look how much fun it is: the Hap-hap-HAPPIEST Geopolitics on Earth.

The business of backtracking through history to find The Cause of ( fill in the blank ) is a useful exercise. Ian McLeod has ably shown that 9/11 can be lain at Lincoln's feet (must convince him to blog that!). The revising of History, as well as the NOT-teaching of same leads inexorably to Santayana's prophecy: we SHALL be doomed to repeat it. Like the Beav, it seems we NEVER really learn our lesson.

Okay...It's been a quiet weekend. The Whole Crew went to Anime Weekend Atlanta. The Dread Dormomoo and I had the run of the place, so of course we did the ONLY thing a couple of hot-blooded, well-nigh unto middle-agers would think of doing given such a solitary situation.

All over the place.

Yep, we moved stuff. LOTS of stuff.
And sorted some of it, too.

You never know how much stuff you have 'til you have to MOVE it!
We recently moved our biz, and whilst we have the production equipment in place and operational, all the ancillary stuff was still at the old place, along with personal items-boxes and boxes of it- that we had sequestered at the old shop 'cos there was room there and of course we would sort it eventually and get rid of most of it so we would never again have to move it.

Fine...

So we moved it.

Yeah, I've still got it!

Why am I doing this? Read me. Please.


OK, here's the thing. I am gonna push for another crime to become eligible for capital punishment.
TIME-WASTING.

Not MY time wasting. Blogging, playing Carmageddon, and collecting Gerry Anderson stuff is OK. It is your wasting my time that is egregious, and worthy of the Reaper's tender mercies.
I am waiting at a stop sign. You are approaching from my left. I wait for you to pass so I can continue my journey, BUT WAIT...you TURN RIGHT. Guess what?
YOU DIDN'T SIGNAL. You wasted fifteen seconds of my life. You STOLE fifteen seconds of my life, time you cannot give back to me. Gone. PFFFFT!

Gentle reader, do you suss how EVIL wasting others' time is? How worthy of death it is? Hey, you stole MY time...I am X seconds, minutes, hours closer to the dirt nap. (No, I do not believe Death is it...I am a believer in the world-to-come; but as they say, everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.)

Don't waste my time. You wouldn't like me if you waste my time.

The Aardvark in his element! 

I've had an APOSTROPHE!!

I always loved Jackie Mason's mastery of malaprop!
My epiphany happened whilst driving with I.M.
You see, I've been looking at our nation-especially our politics,
and I cannot for the life of me figure out how we have arrived at
the sorry state we are in today: parties with no Guiding Principles
beyond Power. Precisely ZERO interest in accomplishing goals or keeping
promises. Just me, me, me. I, my, mine.

Then, a bolt from the blue: There are no Republicans, no Democrats.
No Liberals, no Conservatives, no Lukewar...er...Moderates.

There are only Sinners.

That's it! For all have sinned, and fall short of God's glory.

This is the source of all greed, all selfishness, all self-aggrandisement.
All pride, all evil, all treachery, promise-breaking, infidelity.
All from sin.

Hmmmmmmm....Somebody needs to do their JOB.
Romans 1:16-19, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"

Holy Fanfic, Batman!!!

We have been watching a National Geographic program on the whole
"Da Vinci Code" thing. Umberto Eco was on it...briefly. His opinion is that Jesus' alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene is a fairy tail, on par with "Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood".

Sweet.

Momoovark- also known as the Dread Dormomoo- repeated her contention that the gnostic gospels, and other rejected manuscripts, are in fact early church fanfic.

Just a little summat to start your week!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

As I blog this, I should be shaving and prepping for church. (As a Trekkie, I was always amused that "Kirk" means "church". O, the allegory, the ALLEGORY!) I am teaching the Library Class, so named 'cause of where we meet, about cults. Today, we deal with UFO cults. Or UFO-ism period.
The punchline: as the alleged UFOnauts invariably teach their abductees what clearly they gleaned from Shirley Maclaine bestsellers, they are not promoting the spread of Jesus' Gospel.
(Are you as shocked as I?) Therefore, they are at LEAST anti-christian, and likely demonic in origin. A quick read of Strieber's would seem to corroborate this thesis.
Then, I will likely get to enjoy a sermon on yet another unique way which I can fail God. (Our current preacher- a PowerPoint addict- uses the "f-word" a lot. Fail, failure...like that.)
I go to teach, to worship, to give, to hear the Word read, and to partake the Lord's Supper.
At present, I endure the preaching. Anyone relate?
I must awa' to scrape my face.

Jimmy Stewart You scored 2% Tough, 4% Roguish, 71% Friendly, and 19% Charming!

You are the fun and friendly boy next door, the classic nice guy who still manages to get the girl most of the time. You're every nice girl's dreamboat, open and kind, nutty and charming, even a little mischievous at times, but always a real stand up guy. You're dependable and forthright, and women are drawn to your reliability, even as they're dazzled by your sense of adventure and fun. You try to be tough when you need to be, and will gladly stand up for any damsel in distress, but you'd rather catch a girl with a little bit of flair. Your leading ladies include Jean Arthur and Donna Reed, those sweet girl-next-door types. Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 0% on Tough You scored higher than 17% on Roguish You scored higher than 99% on Friendly You scored higher than 37% on Charming

Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on Ok Cupid

GOD pushed the smite button, did He?

OK, let me deal with the lunacy that ALWAYS spews forth from the mouths preachers and wannabe "prophets of GOD-uh" whenever there is a catastrophe,
natural or otherwise.
Rather, let me let God Himself deal with it:

1 God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, 2 hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:1-2

Well, that says it all. God is NOT speaking through new prophets, through wind or fire, or through a televangelist. He has spoken through His Son. The message of Jesus Christ is what God has spoken. Little things like "Love your neighbor as yourself", and "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments". Uncomfortable things like Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. (Mark 16:15,16).


The wind is the wind. The rain is the rain. Neither is constant, nor readable. God's Word does not change. His Truth is settled in the heavens. We are rational beings, who are created in the image of a rational God. Therefore, He does not speak to us through the climatic equivalent of a rolled-up newspaper. He speaks through the Word, not by pressing the "Smite" button.


So, in Jesus' Name, SHUT UP. Be muzzled, even. Stop blaspheming our loving Father.

Now, I was not going to drag politics into this horror, but C Ray Nagin,
the redoubtable mayor of New Orleans, has been whining that if they weren't black, the citizens would have been rescued by now.
Let's see...Nawlins has been under Democrat leadership since, oh, FOREVER, and has developed such a gimmee mentality, leaders elected with promises of MORE gimmees for the proles.
Liberal Democrats have been in control.
Liberal Democrats had NO EFFECTIVE PLAN in place for a disaster that all knew was going to hit.
Liberal Democrats now play the race card, and whine that an unprecedented catastrophe has not been fixed by the waving of the Presidential Magic Wand.

Now THAT'S effective leadership.

WOW! HE'S BACK!

I have ridden upon the wings of the wind. It was NO fun!
Riatsila and I were at MechaCon in Lafayette LA, about an hour west of Nawlins. Stayed an extra night (Sunday) to allow panic travel north to subside. We set out Monday and travelled the edge of Katrina almost the whole way. Went north on I-49 to Alexandria; turned east to get to I-55 N to Jackson MS. East on I-20, then I-59 from Meridian, MS, through to Birmingham, AL, then onto I-65 N home. We have dodged trees on the interstates, endured lashing rain, and HUGE gusts of wind, and held our breath as we passed exit after exit with NO ELECTRICITY. Finally arrived at Tuscaloosa, where we got the LAST ROOM of the first place we tried (Motel 6). Thank God!
We made it safely, and are thankful. We await news from Frank & Lisa, and Sandy, Joe and family.

Busiest time of the year, so of COURSE I want to start a PAC!

Matildah, I got your comment and have responded.

.........................................................

I am currently talking with Trusted Advisors as to getting the thing rolling. Lookit...it NEEDS to be done. The Founders (no, not the shapeshifters from DS9) of our nation had a vision of regular turnover in representation, not an entrenched bureaucratic ruling class.

I am going out of town on biz. I will try to post whilst there.

Ha, and HA!
Back in the day- a phrase which has cropped up innumerably the past few days- I went to school with, and played in the school band with, the probable next head of the Fed.
That's right, Ben Bernanke.
THAT Ben Bernanke.
He has been on my mind lately, but oddly, not because of hearing Cavuto burble about him. Just one of those co-inky-dinkies, I guess.
Ben, the smoker of foot-long novelty cigars.
Ben, the player of poker.
Ben, the regaler of ribaldry.
Ben, the mental multiplier.
Also, Ben, the player of sax!
I could go on, but I shan't. I have little data on his policies, but if he is tapped to take Greenspan's mantle, well....
Wow...Dillon High School boy makes good!

His brother Seth was a friend of mine in high school, and introduced me to the novel "Dune".
Hat tip, Seth.

I was not as close to sister Mindy, as she had issues with my evangelical propensities at school, but she was a brilliant, lovely young lady.

If I recall, the family owned the Jaybee drug store. Bought my first pipe there, and lots of sulfur and potassium nitrate, to do pyrotechnic experiments. Oh, yeah.

Hail to the Bernankes. May God bless them all.

Political stuff:

I want to start a PAC. Sort of an anti-PAC.
F.O.I.L.

Fire Our Incumbent Leadership.

Beyond the complete de-federalisation of these several States, it is the best hope for reclaiming our nation from the clutches of entrenched Executive, Legislative, and Judicial power. A bloodless coup.

Tim, we need to talk...

Hi. I'm Weatherly, and I'm a jerk.

Hi. I'm Weatherly, and I'm a jerk.

"Hi, Weatherly"

Yep, the Aardvark 'fesses up! But why?
I just had a dee-LIGHTful weekend in Mobile, AL, at Mobicon, a little SF convention in its eighth year. (http://www.mobicon.org/) You can see the broad picture there. Saw an old con pal from way back, Tim Riley, cartoonist and entrepreneur extraordinaire. (http://www.trnco.com/index.html)
He and his wife were a huge blessing to me. My sweet wife, the Momoovark, had instructed me to go to the con and relax. I set up our shirts, and sold, but spent a vast amount of time talking, schmoozing, reminiscing, and making new friends. (Shout out to Jeff! http://www.celiaentertainment.com/bresbio.html) I relaxed. Good call, Momoovark!
The con is run by a couple of other con friends of mine, who happen to have what is referred to as an alternate lifestyle. (They insist on white wine with beef. I don't know why I put up with them...) I have friends who are irreligious, friends who are pagan, friends who eat it in a car, friends who drink it in a bar. I have friends who I print t-shirts for.

These people love me. Or like me a whole lot. Amazingly.
Now some of these guys may read this, and wonder "What's not to like?".
And I have to admit...I'm charming. Sincerely so; I'm really not a schmoozer in the classic sense. (Classsic schmoozing on Lite 96.3...)
Expressively friendly, smiling, happy most of the time. Ebullient, even.
What's not to like?

I look back to when I was a kid in college and I cringe at what I was...hyper-opinionated, unpleasantly so, self-righteous. Judgmental.
I won't bore with the details.
Now, the trick is, I am a Christian...and was then.
I'm just older, now.
I'm more mature.
Mellow. er.
I don't have the call to JUDGE. I only have the call to present Christ.
My friends are now confused, as I have not yet induced blunt-force trauma on any of them with a ten-pound King James.
Christ loves them all. I must love them all. And I do. Not in a self-serving ego-stroking "I am loving them with the Love of JEEEEEEEEE-Zus!" Real, "It's SO good to see you again!" love.
But the question remains...why do these people love me?

Because I have changed.
Christ has changed me over the decades.
Decades.
Slowly, Jesus changes those who are His into His image. Not all at once, but change over time, as we yield, as we bow the knee to our Lord in each area of our lives.
Why do these people love me?
Because, whether they know it or not, they love the Jesus in me.
If they honestly do not see Weatherly the jerk, well...
It's His fault.

I am consistently amazed at the level of intellectual debate here in the blogosphere. To wit:

"Yes, I'd be quite interested to hear your thoughts on these things - particularly your lack of willingness to fight for your country. But I won't hold my breath waiting for a reply; it's probably hard for you to give one with your thumb in your mouth." (from a commentor on Vox Popoli)

This is a sample of what poses as thoughtful discourse. Now Vox Day, the author of the blog, IS intellectually formidable, politically astute, and a hoot, to boot. The castigation he receives in others' blogs, as well as in the Hell-o-Scan comments section of his site, is often of the calibre quoted. Bottom line: if one cannot refute another's arguments...BLUSTER.

Cheap, cheap, cheap.

Often the essentially "christian" sites display the agape love evidenced by the massacre of Luther's "followers" by the provoked RCs. Oh, yeah! Jesus said "They'll know you are my disciples because you SCREAM at one another."

This reminds me of another little goodie: a friend of mine proudly displayed his new bumper sticker. It reads

"Jesus Loves You.
(everyone else thinks
you're an a***ole!)"

O........K. Let's use the the Son of God to give the finger to the world. Gotta love that.

Come on, people; let ALL things be done to build one another up.

1 Corinthians 16:14, "Let all your things be done with charity (agape love)."
1 Peter 4:8, "And above all things have fervent charity (agape love) among yourselves: for charity (agape love) shall cover the multitude of sins."

It may not be as sexy as vituperative debate,
but it makes our Father happy.

I'm going to a wedding, and I hate playing dressup, but the Aardvark will look HOT today.
Hot in a Sopranos sort of way. Black pleated, cuffed trousers, black button-down, black and charcoal tie. White sneakers (KIDDING!) Black shoes. Slick scalp.
Sopranos? Never watched it once.

The ensemble almost seems funereal. My niece Kim is getting married to a fine young man, who has had an almost courtship level of relationship with her parents. I do not mourn for them. I have great joy for their adventure. My problem is the dissolution of so many Christian (!) marriages around me. My daughter married a nice young man...who turned out to be an abusive bounder with delusions of culthood. They are separated, primarily for her safety. The "D" word has been kicked around, but I'm sorry, there is ZERO scriptural reason for divorce. One can drag "feelings", and "it's not fair" into it all day long, but it still doesn't change what Jesus said about it. Period.

Two, count 'em, TWO families in our congregation have disintegrated, because one spouse in each wanted a different place to put it. I have a suspicion that I know what is going on.

There is a deadly triumvirate preached in our neck of the woods: marriagedivorce&remarriage.
Just like that: marriagedivorce&remarriage. When someone preaches on ISSUES facing the church, that one is top of the heap: marriagedivorce&remarriage.

What is wrong with this picture?
To teach on marriage like that seems to me to plant the idea that the three somehow go together: marriagedivorce&remarriage. Rather like soupandsandwich, friesanketchup, BurnsandAllen...
If the concept of sowing and reaping has any credence- Jesus taught it, and agriculture works- then ought we not preach and teach on marriage (Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it..." would be a great place to start.) and LATER present divorce as the vile aberration it is, rather than linking it in the hearer's mind
with marriage? I believe that we are reaping the harvest of decades of bad, copycat preaching.
Amongst other things.

The lesson of the dating scene is not much better. If this relationship sours, welllll, I can always find another.

I pray that this marriage will be as blessed and full as Kim's parents has been, and that Momoovark's and mine has been, and that Christ intended for marriage to be.

Pulling a Religion Out of your Butt...

The latest bit of glurge to clot the finite bandwidth is "The Rainbow Bridge".
This load of dingo's kidneys has been popularized by none other than Mr. Feelgood himself, Neal Boortz, who got all verklempt upon reading it on the air.
Here is the regrettable "poem":

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

*ahem* I wouldn't want to be known, either. According to my #2 son, Riatsila, this comes across as the sort of thing you make up to tell your kid when Rover gets pureed by an SUV.

It speaks authoritatively of Things Supranatural. It is thus Religious.
This author has pulled a religion out of his nethers.

Tangentially,Momoovark, my sweet missus, said it all:
"Religion is people doing what they want, rather than accepting what God (in Christ) has done for them.

Cue Sinatra: :"I did it MY-Y-Y-Y-Y WA-A-A-A-AY!"

That settles the issue of "religion" for me.

Back to the Bridge: Riatsila queried "What happens to goldfish?".
Clearly they flop around in an eternity of drowning, unable to die, refreshed only by the occasional puddle of dog drool, then flopping over to their owners-in-life, to find the only moist areas available to them.

That's what I call Heaven...

MLM Love

Love is all-important. We humans hunger for it, yearn for it, wither without it.
Multi-level marketing (MLM) systems use this human need as a foot-in-the-door. Coupled with the Need to Belong, Love provides a powerful engine for convincing the prospective member to join, to part with precious shekels, and start on the Road to Riches, if he will just sell the soap, sell the vitamins, and buy, buy, BUY the inspirational books and tapes, so he, too, can Duplicate the Pattern, and get OTHERS to sell the soap, sell the vitamins, and buy, buy, BUY the inspirational books and tapes.

The hook is: "We love you, and will do EVERYTHING to help you succeed. If YOU commit, WE commit.", this said with a dewy-eyed earnestness that would melt the heart of any normally sceptical person, introducing a cultic aspect to the business "plan". If I BELONG...if I am LOVED...well, then, I must be WORTH something. I must be LOVABLE.

The problem with MLM love is that it is bogus. It is to agape, charitable, self-giving Love as prostitution is to married love. It is quid pro quo. The hugs, the "We love you!" at the end of phone calls, are surface, shallow, and VANISH as soon as you step out of line. Stop selling the soap, selling the vitamins, and buy, buy, BUYING the inspirational books and tapes, and this bogus love runs for cover, or at least runs to the next John or Jill. No tickee, no hickey.

It really reminds me of the poor religious cult members who begin to think on their own, and read a REAL Bible to learn about the Gospel, and get shunned by the very people who have been FAMILY to them for years.

If you don't do as we say, we won't LOVE you anymore.
That is NOT love. It is self-serving manipulation and control. If you are a Christian, and are using these tactics in business OR church-life, then you are not "walking in love" in your service to God. You are instead walking in devilish deception, and hurting your witness by displaying a hooker-level "love" to your friends, family, and prospects.

If you wish to hawk vitamins, or soap, or weight-loss plans, well and good, but PLEASE read First Corinthians 13, and compare it to your "Plan".

1 Corinthians 13:1-13, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.  Godly love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,  Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;  Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see through a mirror, dimly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.  And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."


For anyone who has been victimised by unscrupulous MLM schemes (Oh! Did I repeat myself?) this site may prove helpful:
www.merchantsofdeception.com

Whilst the site is aimed at Amwayites and Quixtoids, it can finger patterns which you may recognise in other "plans".

Your ever-helpful Aardvark