A sort of braglet...sort of.

Is it bragging, when you acknowledge that it's not your fault?
Our little family business has been putting along since around 1990.
We print t-shirts. Shirts for little rural ball teams, shirts that are becoming nationally known,
shirts for anime fans, gamers, political shirts, snarky shirts.

Shirts for you.

We have chugging along, primarily doing custom t-shirt printing: school, church and business shirts.
We began selling generic Sci-Fi and fantasy shirts of our own design at conventions, as well as swapping dealer space for printing official con shirts. People liked our stuff. Above was an early favorite. Didn't matter if we were at a con, or at a craft show next to ladies who sold wooden cutouts of cows...people loved that shirt.

But SF con business remained fairly flat, and ultimately became moribund.
Meanwhile our personal interests moved East. Far East. we discovered Japanese animation, or anime. Then we learned of Anime conventions, so we followed our formula, developed general anime and Japanese culture designs, and offered our printing services to convention promoters.

Sonotori!

Enter the realm of exponents! Our business has grown amazingly, and for the main reason that the original Sci-Fi cons existed: the fans have no better place to go! The conventions serve as a kind of cultural church, an ecclesia of the odd. School acquaintances don't relate to the people who would rather watch Totoro, and dress like Witch Hunter Robin. The need to be with fellow fen drives the trend. That, and the fact that it is a convenient place to get stuff: DVDs, soundtracks, toys, models, costumery. Our shirt designs are in fact ours for the most part, and no-one else has 'em. Our shirts and staff are developing a fan following of their own.

And that's a real kick!


We are astoundingly thankful to our Father, and to our many customers and fans, who have enabled us to have a livelihood that we truly enjoy! Thank you! We'll keep doing cool stuff.

Of Toons and Men.

The current Muslim furor over editorial cartoons in the Danish press is a bell-wether of Things To Come. Lookit, the grumpy followers of Allah's Religion of Peace are living in an essentially freethinking society. Freethinking begets ridicule of things that don't track, that are not consistent.
They are strangers in a strange land, guests who are insisting on Their Own Way.
In short, the Muslims are insisting that the Danes follow Sharia law. Now, I realise this is NOT a shocking revelation to some, but to most, well, we need to think this through.

Muslims guesting in a Land Not Their Own are insisting that their hosts follow Muslim Law: No pictures of Mohammed. Threats and death are being leveled at the infidels, who by definition do not believe what the Muslims believe. Besides being impolite, and just bad form, the followers of the hirsute prophet are demanding that their hosts follow the Religion of Peace, at least in form.

If the Danes-or any other enlightened European country- knuckle under to this pseudo-religious thuggery, it will be a Sign of Apocalyptic proportions to the American Left, which of course they will not get. All of the years spent worrying, all of the forests levelled for paper to print editorials and other rants, all the polls and phone campaigns to strike fear of...fear of...

THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT taking over,

and making us all watch Superbook and Jerry Falwell, and making our women look just like televangelists' wives; all the effort will be wasted, as they spent their time fighting what could be the only real counter against the Islamic predation of American Freedom.

Yes, the Gospel, the essentials of which form the basis of Western Civilisation, and Western Thought (read Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live...or watch the video series), forms a bulwark AGAINST mindless kneejerk Following. Even IF the "Christians took over" which can't happen, the regime would be far more benign than the most mellow mullah's demands.

But who in his right mind would want such a thing? I guess that the left-of-centre will have to start practising:
"Allahu Akbar....."

When you repeat the Lie often enough, it becomes Truth.

"Ye shall be as gods."
"The Jews run everything, and it's all their fault."
"The Late Great Planet Earth"
"The 16th Amendment was duly ratified."
"It's Tax Time, and you need TaxPhraud software!"

Repetitive ummmm, repetitions cause me worry. The worry that I am Being Had;
That I am being Convinced of Something against my better judgment, like believing
"pasteurized process cheese food" is in fact food. Or that instant coffee is good to whatever drop. Or that it is coffee.


The endless ambient drumbeat of H&R this, and TaxAct that, and April 15th is coming soon just leaves me suspicious that I am being sold a very expensive tale, one that I am to accept without examination. We hold this Truth to be self-evident, that You Owe US.


I begin to question this...stridency.
The Founding patriots decried taxation without representation.
Fellow American, are YOU being represented?

We have raised four kids, the Dread Dormomoo and I, and that means that we have gone through a lot of Easter Egg hunts. One thing we noticed early on, having a Liberal Arts Education and all, is that little kids, two, three and four years of age, will see where another child finds an egg, and will then go to that precise spawn spot to find an egg, too! gasp! No egg. An older cousin finds another egg! Zip, zam, zowie and SWOOSH! Little 'un rushes over there, expecting an egg, again. Looking for a payoff where someone else got theirs.

Behold the Entertainment Industry. The Japanese animators have made a yen-machine of cartoons; the entire country is anime crazy. Police dramas. Police comedies. Giant robots. Martial arts sentai teams, Harem farces. Science fiction epics. Giant monsters. Vampires. Magical girls. Girls you'd think were magical. All with the whole big-eyes-small-mouth thing going on.

So now we have American studios producing fauxnime (r), these phony-baloney cartoons with the look, but not the substance. Dumbed-down anime. Much as I love the Warner Bros. animated Superhero mill...Teen Titans is just not there. Like-Totally Spies, fer shure.
Samurai Jack in all its PC-itude (hint: real anime would have had blood, not sparky, 'splodey
robots.) Just so you know the Aardvark is not a Japan-o-snob...Megas XLR ROCKS!

On the other hand...Winx. Does the planet REALLY need Eye-talian fauxnime?

I watched a 1994 episode of The X-Files today. Really watched it, and I discovered summat.
I really miss the paranoia of the Nineties.
The Cold War was over, but Bad Things were happening. Weird Bad Things. Art Bell
was in his heyday. Saucers , mutilations, earth changes;
the overarching feeling that Something Strange Is Going On, and The Government Is Probably Behind It All.

On top of it all, I was mildly insane at the time: undiagnosed clinical depression, with a soupcon of manic sprinkled on, so it was all really weird. When I watched the X-files and Millennium on telly,
I had some difficulty distinguishing their storylines from REALITY, not in a hallucinatory way, but in the hair on the back of the neck, out of the corner of your eye sort.

In the not-so-new normal, where the enemy is robe-clad, bearded, and is a Member of the Religion of Peace and Love, things are just too in-your-face. No subtlety, no mystery.

At least I have 24.

Miyazaki, anime, and....like that.

Walt Disney provided entertainment to the masses, a distraction from the everyday, whether during the Depression, World War II, the Cold War, or the angst of the VietNam era.

Hayao Miyazaki, provides a Call back to Japan's cultural and spiritual roots, and takes us along for the ride. His winsome back-looking to a simple, family centred Japan is genuine, and the gorgeous, lush backgrounds make one want to live in the movie. I don't find his tendency to "re-use" faces to be a problem. It is rather like finding a favorite actor in yet another keen role.
So many of his female characters bring out my Daddy streak. I just want to hug them. The sweetness of his stories is never treacly, and when I find myself with a tear in my eye, I don't feel as though I have been cheaply manipulated, like Disney or Spielberg's movies seem. Miyazaki-san touches me. Disney and Spielberg push my buttons.

Now, I may depart from some of my reader, but I do not have problems with the "spirituality" of Miyazaki's films. C.S. Lewis posited that a culture's myths and folklore are imperfect reflexions of the Real. The English preacher Derek Prince echoed this in his belief that the giants of Genesis 6 are the basis for the Greek Titan myths. The Biblical testimony of there being myriads of angels (one teacher suggests 100 trillion, based upon numbers in the Book of Revelation) makes me think that there must be more going on in the Heavens than an Eternal Hymn Sing. If we have guardian angels (Matthew 18:10), and nations are overseen by angels
(Daniel10:1-21), I wonder if perhaps there is spiritual oversight of the realm of nature, and the concept of benign forest spirits, or even soot sprites, may be an imperfect picture of Reality. I am not being an animist or a pantheist. I'm just thinking.

If I found a Totoro in my wood, I would not worship it. I would politely bow, and thank God for His wonders.

Anime!

We have been reveling in the work of Hayao Miyazaki, each Thursday night on TCM.
One can almost overlook the Tedster's madness, since he provided the venue for such a treat.
My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa, The Cat Returns, all such wonderful masterpieces! He is so far beyond Disney in story and art. That Miyazaki-san is very conservative endears him even more to me. He wistfully calls Japan back to gentler tradition and honor.

To continue to open an earlier vein, as much as I detest Sci-Fi conventions now, with all their attendant loutishness and boorish behavior, to that precise degree I adore and enjoy enjoy anime conventions and fans. And the stars, as well.

First: the stars. Voice actors, not faces. They are eminently approachable. The SF-con Guests tend to be....Removed and Above It All. Papal, really. You may See them at the assigned Times, and they will Allow you to approach and hand them documents on which they Affix their Imprimatur (often, for coin..."When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."), whereupon you are Ushered Away. You may not afterward Go Out and Hoist One with them. They are ushered back to Whence They Came. Later you may hear them speak, often sharing whimsical anecdotes detailing the Stupidity of their Fans, and how the Show was Not that Great, Really. Inspirational.

Not so with the stars of anime...You may SPEAK to them, shake 'em by the hand. They will often buy(!) YOUR wares in the dealer's room, and when you GIVE 'em something in your most up-sucking way, just because you appreciate their work, they appreciate it.

I consider Scott McNeil a buddy...he may consider me a nuisance, but he bears it well. We are on "Sees you, points and grins broadly" terms at cons. This little con, PersaCon
is more like a family reunion, where Guests and attendees can just enjoy! Voice actors really appreciate being appreciated. The artists, likewise. Manga (Japanese comics) and anime artists will often draw summat Just For You...sometimes for coin, sometimes just 'cos!

A HUGE difference with the anime crowd is that they are polite! The con-goers not only like those Japanese cartoons, they also absorb the manners of the culture! Some may be "just for show", but at the very bottom of it all, aren't MOST manners like that? Not hypocrisy, but the surface lubrication that enables us to get along with each other without snarling and biting.I mean, not even Martha Stewart is "It's a good thing" ALL the time. These kids put on their manners, and treat one another- and me- in a more courtly fashion than, say, the average SF con-goer of similar age.

The cosplaying that the fans do is very cool, and oh-so-varied. C'mon people...hasn't Star Wars been DONE TO DEATH? The variety of anime series provides a massive kaleidoscopic palette from which to paint costume masterpieces. You may have three "Eds" from Cowboy Bebop at a con, done with varying degrees of excellence, but you ALSO have half-a-jillion other characters being cosplayed as well. Many beautifully.

More later...

Well, here's my turn at being petulant.
I spent literally all day yesterday (Wednesday) wrestling.
There was an incursion of gnosticism on Vox's blog, and several of us stood for the Faith Once Delivered, some more, ummmm, sedately than others, but all capably. My beef is that whereas we supply objective "thus saith the Lord" Scriptural proofs, and do so politely, the opposition provides "I feel" subjectivism, and then often resort to the passive-aggressive "You poor benighted thing...your dogma blinds you to My Sublime Truth:


"the rest was the usual that one expects to see when dealing with Dogmatic Religious zealots. Free will.... God's greatest gift... I respect all for that... I voiced my opinions, they voiced their's.....you can lead a horse to water........ many have come before, many will come later, all receive the same, including the one we call Christ. They wait for him to come but just as before I doubt they would even recognize him or accept him. Human pride and arrogance is a powerful sin."

(Arrogance=Not taking my word for it)

The objective versus the subjective: God has His ways vs. whatever Feels Good or Seems Right.
The eternal tension.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is death.
I'm sorry, but if an angel rides up to me on a green bicycle, I am gonna ask to see some ID.
Bottom line: I am called to teach the truth. Each Christian is. You share 'til no-one listens anymore. Then you stop 'til the next time.
Besides, when someone quotes Borges, the discussion is over! ;^)

There has recently been a thread on Vox's wherein the Course in Miracles was discussed a bit.
This is curious. A couple of atheist professors suddenly begin channeling new messages from Jesus.

They are selling their revelations for a tidy sum.

I teach the original Gospel of Jesus for free.

Curious.

The subjective terrifies me....

The subjective terrifies me.
Anything can happen.
Monsters can come out from under your bed.
Atheist professors can channel Jesus.
God can put the kibosh on a city with a hurricane.

The tyranny of the subjective horrifies me.
I have nothing to go by.
I must figure phenomena out for myself.
Why do plants grow NOW, and not grow THEN?
Why does the Moon disappear into limitless darkness each month?
What must I do for it to come back?
Can I do anything to bring it back?
Why am I happy?
Why am I sad?
Will the Sun rise tomorrow?
Can I do anything to insure its rising?
Will the Dark ever go away?

Behold the rule of the subjective, the experiential. It is harsh. It is scary. It is incomprehensible, especially when my feelings become entwined with natural process, that I do not recognise as process. The World just...HAPPENS to me.

Many religions have arisen from man's attempts to suss out the subjective. Ancient worshippers of Baal and Ashtoreth figured out that if they coupled for their gods, the gods would get turned on, and do the same, thus bringing fertility to the land. Thus was born the first lay ministries.

Enter Yahweh, or Jehovah, as the German theologians dubbed Him. He didn't wait for folks to figure Him out. He was proactive, was Yahweh. He revealed Himself by speaking rationally.
Not oogah-boogah, but "Come let us reason together...". He let it be known what he wanted of the world that He made. He gave us an objective yardstick, a plumbline, as it were, against which to measure. Alas we are measured and found wanting. How can I appease this Deity?
No problem, he set up a plan whereby ultimately we can be like Him, redeemed from our bad selves through His Son Jesus the Messiah.

God, in providing the Objective, freed us from the tyranny of the Subjective.
Katrina, and Ariel Sharon's stroke?
God's not tryin' to tell us Jack...

"God, who at different times and in different manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;" Hebrews 1:1-2

"God has in these last days spoken to us by his Son." The Gospel of Jesus is how God speaks to us today. Not by smite buttons or plagues, but by His Son. We are free, baby!

Happy Birthday, my love!

The Dread Dormomoo, my sweet, is @&(* this day.
The varklets took her and us all to Mikawa, the wonderful Japanese restaurant in Huntsville tonight. We had a tatami room and everything! Mikawa is NOT a "hibachi circus" restaurant.
I sometimes think that the culinary clowns that places like Shogun or Benihana employ must grind their teeth at the baka gaijin they must entertain by debasing the art of Japanese cooking to the level of a Happy Meal, and would rather douse the customers with vodka, rather than the grill, and then set them alight.

A grand time was had, and she was given a lovely set of placemats as a birthday present by the manager, who prizes us highly, and treats us royally. The waitress, a sweet lass, tripped, and anointed my shoulder with green tea at the beginning of the meal. Hot green tea. Thankfully, it was not as hot as it really should have been, so all my shoulder got was soggy and warm. She was dreadfully sorry, and then the manager found out. We instantly had another server, a waiter. This was not our choice, and we did what we could to downplay the incident. It was no problem, merely a gaffe amongst friends. I grew concerned that I might find her head on a pike outside when we left, but no, she was OK. The manager, M***, was almost frantic at the time, and even brought some lovely beef, egg and miso soup to try.
Mikawa, in Huntsville, AL. Oishii!
We all had sushi, red dragon (tuna), black dragon (unagi, freshwater eel) Philadelphia roll, and a Rainbow roll, as we had such a gay time. In the classic sense. We shared grilled squid, various lovely tempura (this place has the GREATEST tempura. It is very light and not-oily.) and teriyaki, beef and chicken. And miso soup. Such miso we had!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love our Dormomoo!

I picked this up from a blog link:

"I grew up the only child of two academics, a feminist English professor and a moral philosopher."

This is the saddest sentence ever written.

ChattaCon Report.

Oh, boy! Science fiction fandom is getting older and crabbier.
Science fiction fandom is getting younger and jerkier!

We got back from Chattanooga a little while ago. The trip over all was fun. The business was less than stellar.
Of course, a small dealers room with three big t-shirt vendors-disparate though they be- results in major dollar dilution. The venue was great, though. The Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex was our playground.

I have come to understand why I dislike SF cons after twenty-six years of being a huckster...AHEM...dealer. It is a known quality of SF fandom that it has by-and-large rejected religion (shoot, the Christian faith...any New-age / Old occult "alternative spirituality" is embraced, or at least smiled upon indulgently) and self-consciously revels in its release from outmoded morality. This has resulted in a toxic smugness with which I have no patience, a tony agnosticism which seeks no truth, as there is none to seek. The cultural niceties of politesse can easily be done away, as they only obfuscate "honest relationships".

So, one can always count upon a sound sleep being interrupted by people shouting outside your window, slamming doors, and yelling in the hall of your hotel. Always. As well as lording their intellect over you and your merchandise by "fixing" the sayings on your t-shirts. (Read The Aardvark's Illustrated Guide to Not Being An Obnoxious Customer)

I mean, these folks are the intelligentsia, the Brain Trust, the elite. They have cast from themselves the oppressive shackles of "religion". What should prevent them from indulging in rapine, pillaging, and the burning of the benighted meeting-houses of the deluded? They are free of moral stricture, and are free to do as they will!


Thus, they choose to shout, slam, and yell in the hallways.


Such is beyond my limited capacity for reason.


Addendum-

I met Bruce Bethke and his wife (he is The Original Cyberpunk).
He is a brick. Very nice guy, and is not to be included in the above
diatribe. AND he liked our offerings as they were, thank you very much!
My largest regret this weekend is that I had no time to sit and enjoy some manner of beverage with him, so as to solve all problems in the Blog-o-Verse.

The Aardvark has arriven!
He arrove yesterday, he thinks.

Sorry, I LOVE playing with words, using the General Rules of English to fiddle with the strays, the non-conformists.
Teach becomes taught.
Preach should become praught.

Anyway, I have arrived. How so?
A.M.Siriano has linked to my site. Not just a little clickable citation in the margin, no sir.
He is featuring my blog right on his page.

Thanks, A.M.
I'm blessed to be included.

Dear Varksters, I must awa' for the weekend.
I'm going to ChattaCon with Ian McLeod and Loen.

We'll hang out with Bruce Bethke, enjoy some Killian's Red, maybe some Shiner Bock, and fix everything that's wrong in the Blog-o-verse.

No, Fix Number One is NOT deleting the Plumbline.
>Jack Benny voice<
Don't be fresh!

Jack Abramoff, show us the way!

We have a real opportunity here. I heard on Rusty Humphreys
this weekend that a Democrat leader said that he "didn't know of ONE Democrat (in the Senate) that had taken money" from Abramoff, the uber-lobbyist. There isn't one. There are forty-five, according to Rusty.
Figure in the number of Republicans so tainted, and you will have a majority in the Senate who are-or will be-revealed as having accepted bribes.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to wipe the Senate clean and start over, if we can gin up the will and outrage so to do.

Let it be said that it began here.

The Dread Dormomoo speaks...


We were talking, the Momoovark and I, and as usual a pearl of wisdom graciously fell from her lips (this does happen quite often, and we must pick them up instanter, lest someone slip on one and hurt himself).

For all who are like-freakin OUT about Alito and Co. stealing the Most Important Thing In The World from the women of Amerika, think on this:

It doesn't matter WHO the majority party is, nor who inhabits the Ovoid Orifice, nor even the teeter-totter makeup of the Supremes. Not a bit does it matter. Roe v. Wade is the Law of the Land, if not de jure, then certainly de facto. Abortion on Demand is set in stone, more firmly than Judge Moore's Tablets. Unless the Son of God splits the sky, and slays the malefactors, the "doctors", then that's all she wrote.

WHY, pray tell, would we even countenance such a proclamation? Because it is in the Federal Government's best interest that it be so. Think of all the poor benighted women, the real estate agents, the investment advisors, the middle-and-upper management chicas, the tenured feminist studies professors,
who would likely be in the home, raising little ones, and NOT paying gobs of withholding taxes, if abortion was not available at one's whim. Worse, if they were NOT married, then they might be on the dole, buying Chee-tos, bologna, and Wonder bread with their EBT cards, not merely being non-producers, but entrenched takers from the system.

Now Vox and crew can likely trot out numbers to give the lie to our little exercise here, but that won't matter, either, because from the FedGov point of view, it WOULD be a loss, just as trimming a percentage of increase is spun as a net loss.

Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, moderate, "independent", it matters not a whit.
The purpose of government is to perpetuate itself. It will brook no interference.

I'm just grumpy.



I write on the substantive...
I write on the whimsical...

I write on pop-culture...

On things spiritual...

On the sacred, and the profane.

I need feedback, lest I think it is all for nought.
Lemme know SOMETHING, please.

I've been wallowing in nostalgia, and I really don't understand something.
Why is it so chic to hate Space Angel and Clutch Cargo?

I have been watching a DVD and a VHS tape of episodes, and I am amazed at how GOOD they were, especially for WHAT they were: cheap kids TV fodder.

Clutch Cargo was a pre-"Raiders" globe-trotting adventurer who flew a 1929 Bellanca C-27A Airbus. His kid pal Spinner, with his dachsund Paddlefoot, accompanied Clutch in his feats of derring-do.

Space Angel was a 50s-style space opera with amazing, gorgeous SF art by Alex Toth.
Click on the image on his site to go to the next image.

The trippy thing about these series -besides the ummmmm...minimalist animation, is the
Synchro-Vox process whereby the voice actors' mouths were superimposed on their character's faces. It was accurately done, by and large, and added some dramatic touches, what with being able to bite one's lip in concern.

The art was done by hugely talented comics illustrators, like Alex Toth, and looks great- especially Space Angel.
Neat stuff, in an unusual niche.
Clutch Cargo is available on Amazon.

I'm hoping for SPACE ANGEL next.

If it has to say "processed cheese food", then it must not be.

I have been voting since 1975.
I have been a Christian since at LEAST 1971.

This establishes a pattern. I have ALWAYS voted for "the Christian candidate". (Yes, that means that I voted for Jimmuh Carter. If there was a Purgatory, I would spend time there...)
Yes, I have always voted for the "Christian" candidate.
I have always been bitten on the bum because of it.
Mr. Peanut: High ideals from a loathsome leftist >CHOMP<


I voted for Guy Hunt, the Primitive Baptist preacher and former Amwayite (for Alabama Governor). I got Mortimer Snerd >CHOMP<


I voted for Bob Riley, the horsie-riding gubernatorial candidate, who promised no new taxes, and promptly sought a 2 billion dollar tax rise >CHOMP<


I voted for W.


Now I am faced with this.

I know that charity/agape love in 1 Cor.13 says "Bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things." But come ON!
The issue is not one of people being Christian. My problem lies in discerning The True Believer from the persons who cynically trade upon the moniker for political gain.

The old saying is "once bitten, twice shy".
By this time I'm positively skittish!

AFA redux

It's The End Of The World As We Know It.


Again.


NBC's The Book of Daniel premiered last Friday, and was reru....ummm, encored on Saturday.
I was surprised when the sun rose on Sunday. The premise is laughable, the fact that NBC thinks it to be Christian family fare is moreso. Now, the call-in chat shows are bubbling with the ferment of Righteous Indignation. Write to NBC!!! BOYCOTT THE SPONSORS!!! ELECT JAMES DOBSON KING!!!!



Here's my question, to any and all of the writers, phoners, boycotters, and waggers of Indignation's boney finger:

• When's the last time you had a Bible study with someone?
• Have you ever led someone to Christ, and had them rocket out of the waters of baptism clean, new, their eyes ashine with Joy Unspeakable?
• Have you invited your coworker, neighbor or friend to church?
• Have you counseled a troubled acquaintance from the wisdom of God's Word?
• Do you pray for your friends?
• Do you pray for the heads of networks, for whom Jesus also was crucified, dead, and buried, and arose again from the dead?

Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."


Bringing people to Christ. Making disciples of the nations.
THAT, friends, will be the end of the world as we know it.

Here is a bit of a turn-off for me.

No, this really ticks me off to no end. And please note, anger is not the same as HATE. Clear?

I may disagree with another person's beliefs-such is fair because "A" and "not-A" cannot both be true. I may be drawn into discussion or debate with those who are willing. I do not pound people with a ten-pound King James. I believe that what I believe is largely true and correct, otherwise what's the point? I earnestly TRY to be correct, and when I communicate, I do my best to "speak the Truth in love", as that intolerant hater the Apostle Paul taught to do.

What really cheeses me is when people who believe differently from me, or who believe not at all, get all smug and superior over my(or anyone's) being a believer, when I do not cop an attitude at them at all.

It is SO easy to make a religious strawman like: "It's dangerous to poke fun at other's religion, because they can stone you, or burn you at the stake..." when you are in the presence of fellow agnostics. How very BRAVE. Especially when I have not "smugged at" you.

Do you get it? You imagine that we hate you, when you are the one being hateful.
When all we want to do is love you, and introduce you to Love Himself.
Not to religion.
Not to rules.
Just to Love. Himself.

JamieR, this one's for you!

I have no convenient way at present to privately showcase a design for an individual, so bear with me, people.

Here is the tentative logo for the webcast.

Let me know what you think.

"All the kvetching about government intrusion THIS, and high taxation THAT...

What to DO about it?"
Dadoovark | Homepage | 01.04.06 - 2:39 pm | #

Interesting, that the comment page containing the above attracted the following visit:

Domain Name		usda.govUnited States Government)
IP Address		199.158.161.# (USDA Office of Operations) 199.158.161.183
ISP		USDA Office of Operations
Location		Continent : North America Country : US State : Colorado City : Fort Collins Lat/Long : 40.5876, -105.3243

Now, I'm not a black helicopter guy, and the visitor is probably one of the regular and rather neat denizens of Vox Day's blog site, but I found the coincidence amusing.

The Aardvark presents a new feature to this corner of the Blog-o-verse.
That's right: A tip jar, to the right at the top.
If you have any inclination to encourage the efforts here, and help effect upgrades, well and good.
Your emolument will be hugely appreciated, and little of it will be spent on pizza.

How did I come to add this?
Hi, Doug! He gave me some really positive feedback, and wondered that I did not have a donation thingie. Honestly, it had never crossed my mind, but the idea of it seemed worthwhile.
I am not planting an ob on you (The Great Explosion by Eric Frank Russell), but giving opportunity.

As your presence grants me opportunity to write for you.
Thanks.
I'll be here.

The Aardvark

Here is our logo for Aardvark Tees.
www.aardvarktees.com

Isn't he sweet?

I must bow to superior technology. Lileks does it. Shoot, Ian McLeod does it.
I have Goldwave, and Audacity.

Gimme a week.
Raadio Aardvark is on the way.

As Twain wrote of Smiley in the "Jumping Frog" tale:
"He was the maddest man."
No moreso than this Aardvark.
The West Virginia mining accident with its subsequent deaths and ridiculous reportage has got me in a froth, a veritable lather.
How in bonny blue blazes do you invert the numbers from 12 dead / 1 survivor to
1 dead / 12 survivors? We watched with JOY the news that most had been found alive; crowed online our praise to God, and then this morning...
Well, this is the last straw for me. I grieve for the families of the lost, whose emotions were whipsawed so savagely be the media reports, as well as by the company spokesmen (I am making an assumption, here. Where did the newsies get their info?). But I am done with the Alpha-Bits
news-makers. Even and especially FOX. They know better, and c'mon, quit letting Geraldo off his leash.

Here's the thing that REALLY burns my bum:

Busybodies.

A certain type of busybody. Someone close to me was involved in an auto accident-brakes locked in the rain, and he rear-ended a car. The skid marks tell the tale: he was not following too closely, nor traveling at excessive speed. The issue was turned over to the insurance companies to handle.
Well and good.

Enter the BUSYBODY.
Some wrecker-chaser insinuated himself into the situation, and has instigated a lawsuit.
A TRIAL LAWYER has involved himself in an occurance with which he was not involved, ostensibly to "help the VIC-tims get money".
The TRUTH of the matter is this:
He is a BUSYBODY, a nosy-parker, a meddler, and he is trying to profit from an incident in which HE WAS NEVER INVOLVED. He is causing the Someone Close To Me no end of angst and grief.

The apostle Peter enjoined Christians : "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters." (1 Peter 4:15)

Bottom line: You mess with God's kids, you mess with GOD, and He's been in the Vengeance biz a lot longer than any of us.

When you least expect it...expect it.

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.

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