What is God's Will? The Gnosis of ME.

Now THAT'S proof, I tells ya!

Christian bookstores are filled with books and glossy periodicals addressing angsty Christian questions about "Finding the Will of God for MY Life".

Is it God's will that I work at Sonic?

Is it God's will for me to be single?

Should I wear the red tie to the interview?

The search for some subjective, experiential indicator of God's Will for Me feels like a postmodern Third Great Awakening, my very own personal Cane Ridge. The Second Great Awakening was a time where people sought subjective proof of their election. Since there is no Scriptural basis for such corroboration (beyond fruit-bearing), people found their "proofs" in...odd places. One would find his evidence upon seeing a white heifer on a hill, reflecting the sunset, another in the pattern of dew on a spiderweb. ANYTHING could have served as proof of one's election into the Kingdom of God. Such a feelings-and-experience oriented approach to eternal verity carries with it inherent danger. My feelings and perceptions become the yardstick of my spiritual experiences, rather than the unchanging, objective promises and commands in the word of God. I become the arbiter of spiritual truth in my life.

Some mornings (Many? Most?) I awaken, and do net feel terribly redeemed.I am stiff; my back hurts; my balance is bit off. A cup of sacramental Joe, and I feel a tad better, but note that my aches and grumpery do not change one iota of God's covenant with me. He still loves me. He still demands that I be set apart to Him. The blood of Christ still cleanses me from all sin. My feelings have nowt to do with it. The condition of my back affects it not a whit, nor does the weather, my proximity to an asteroid, nor even the roseate glow of a sunlit cow.

Here's a thought. Live your life. Do what is smart. Get your tires rotated and oil changed on schedule. Wear the colors that look good on you. Find the work that you enjoy, that you are good at. Read your New Testament and do what it says. THAT is the will of God for you. The Puppetmaster God is foreign to the Scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 2:15
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.(Take time to read the contexts!)


Do the things that God reveals in his Word; live them. That may well keep all of us sufficiently busy doing the work of the Kingdom that we no longer worry about cow-watching.

Live YOUR life; live it HIS way..





 

Mr. McLeod's Response to the Papal Resignation.

Dear Vatican,
I know I am a Protestant and am thus not your most favored candidate for anything, but I can learn quickly and I'm sharp as a tack with Scripture. When I was a kid I had stickers all over the cover of my bible for memorizing verses in Sunday School.

It is the 21st century, and I mean no disrespect, but I don't see why Popes are always these old guys with one foot in the grave. You need some young blood wearing that hat.

The main reason why you should make me Pope is that it'd be funny and God demonstrably has a sense of humor. Now I can't promise Groucho Marx levels of comedy, because nobody is that funny. But I can guarantee it'd be like that one time in Reno. You know you want to. It'd be rad.

The first thing I'd do as Pope is sell the popemobile on Craigslist. It's funny looking and the Pope should have a rocket pack, because guys with rocket packs are popular and the Pope should be a popular guy. Am I wrong? John Paul II was popular even without a rocket pack, and he was a good Pope. Now imagine John Paul II with a rocket pack. The entire world would have converted overnight. There would be peace in the Middle East. I'd be like him eventually once the excitement of being Pope wears off. Then I'd write an encyclical about writing encyclicals because I'm very meta and hip, and I would canonize the late Walter M. Miller Jr. for writing "A Canticle for Leibowitz." I would also root out all the corruption in your auspicious institution and would see to it that the perpetrators are cannon-ized. (I'm sorry, but that pun was irresistible. See what you're missing out on without selecting me as Pope?)

Attached you will find my curriculum vitae and a recent head-shot for publicity purposes. I don't have an agent, so you can contact me directly and we will work out all the details from there. I'm only looking for a modest salary. And a rocket pack.

Sincerely yours,
Ian M. Hardy

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That's my boy!

Were I a Cardinal, I would vote for him, but I'm a Braves fan....

A Distinction (or) a Rantly Screed

Our Rights are not granted by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The rights we have are granted by God (or understood as Natural Law by the non-deists out there), and our founding documents merely enumerate them, and set limits on government's ability to infringe upon or limit them.

As much as we appreciate the valiant souls who have fought and died for our Country, they DID NOT "give us our rights", as a popular Facebook picture states. They protect and secure them, as should we all, according to our abilities.

Britting out!

So one of the goodies the Ariel Santa'd me with was a Spy Collection of ITV shows like The Persuaders, The Protectors, The Prisoner, and...The Champions! This as a jewel of a set, and resided on my Santa list because of "The Champions". Hear what IMDB saith:

Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett were agents for Nemesis, an international intelligence organization based in Geneva. Their first mission as a team was to investigate some potentially lethal experiments in Communist China, but when they were escaping, their plane was damaged. They crashed into a remote part of the Himalayas where they were rescued by members an unknown civilization. They came away from the encounter with superhuman powers--telepathy, superior strength, memory, etc.--and returned to the outside world as "Champions of law, order and justice", to quote the series' opening. Written by Marg Baskin

The series uses "superhuman" concepts, but not the trite DC/Marvel overdoing of it. The trio have an edge over the evildoers, but they are not infallible, nor invulnerable.  


Besides having a neat premise, being an ITV series it was filled with great character actors like Michael Gough (Alfred from Burton's "Batman" movies). I was watching some episodes yesterday, and I saw a familiar face and voice:




NIKO


Maybe THIS will be more familiar:


 Professor Rudolph Popkiss. The SUPERCAR sculptors really
got the likeness well.


Also THIS:




"I am El Gaudillo. ALWAYS!"

George Murcell is an excellent character guy, and specialises in villains:


Masterspy!

so this was a real treat!

I have a new actor to obsess over collecting appearances.

AHA! There is another Gerry Anderson link...in the pilot episode, their jet is diving, with a peculiarly familiar warble. YES! Supercar's dive sound effect is front and centre! In another wing-heavy episode, Thunderbird 2's cruising sound makes an appearance.

I believe that David Healy does the intro narration giving the backstory at the front of each episode.

Here is the opening:



Also, Part one of "The Invisible Man" episode:

Fearless Leader

 

 

From Drudge:

"Obama to surround himself with children when announcing new gun regulations..."

Ahhh...human shields.

Belated Fort Walton Report

The Dread Dormomoo speaks. Herself says “You’ve gone from sounding like Batman, to sounding like Alex Jones.”. No pillow-talk, this. Your ‘Varkness  has enjoyed three fun-filled days Mostly Not At Sukoshicon in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. We came to have a working getaway, and I developed the whatever-passes-for-flu this year. I spent Friday at the con, coughing. I spent Saturday and Sunday in bed, losing my voice in the process.  The D.D. ran the booth, though the pickin’s were slim. I’ve spent two or three of this brand of con breaking even, and  sorry,  but I can break even at home.

The kids at the con were nice, and staffers were quite helpful to the missus, since, as the “Lost and Faust” Victoriana dealer put it, she had lost me in a poker game.  This can neither be confirmed nor denied.
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The trip was not a total wash. Friday night my last hurrah was going with the Dread Dormomoo to Floyd’s Shrimp House. They had an “All you can eat popcorn shrimp” special, so I had that, milady had jack. No, she did not go hungry, she had a grilled whitefish,  amberjack. The fish was excellent, as were my shrimp. The "all you can eat" was a prophecy rather than an offer, because it was in fact all I could eat.

A note. I have eaten at two very good seafood places on the Gulf Coast, and they both have the same deficiency: cocktail sauce. Cocktail sauce is a simple condiment: ketchup and horseradish. Period. It does what it is required to do, adding a piquancy to the shrimp or whatever you bless with it. It does not require cilantro, or lemongrass, or hobo's purse, or whatever herb you cram in it to make the sauce your restaurant's "own". Henceforth I shall take my own.
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We spent an extra overnight, and had a leisurely trip home Monday. The restaurant we wanted to breakfast at because of local legends of its Eggs Benedict was closed on Monday, so we breakfasted at the Panda Buffet. I had no clue that there were so many extant Panda recipes. The place had the standard fare, a hibachi/Mongolian BBQ arrangement, sushi and the like. My taste buds were responding on only the basics. I could discern sweet, salt, bitter, and sour. No other nuance. That said, the place was quite good, even with a limited palate palette. I goosed the hot and sour soup with a little more vinegar, and it was fine.

We stopped a little north of Fort Walton Beach to visit the Air Force Weapons Museum, an excellent side-trip. Bombs, missiles, and planes from WW1 'til now are on display. I touched an SR-71!!

And I found an Aardvark!

Nowt to it.

I am despairing because people give ANY credence to the "We The People" petition-mo-tron on the White House website. It is an internet illusion, like talk radio, where people make comments, and feel like they have DONE something, when they have done nothing more than talk.

Ours is a representative republic, NOT a democracy. A "vote" on the website is worthless, and only gives the Administration one more thing to ignore or belittle, and ultimately serves to make many of the petitioners just look like imbeciles.

Of COURSE Feinstein will be brought up on treason because of a petition, just like all the DVDs, books and Youtube videos about the President's various inconsistencies and apparent untruths kept him from being re-elected.

People, do it by the rules. The White House came up with this petition thing as a misdirection. It is a NEW thing, which carries ZERO weight as ballast for the Ship of State.

So, the loss of Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, Space 1999, etc.) REALLY set me on my ear. I was in an emotional fetal position for at least a day. (He was like MY John Lennon, by way of simile.) I'm OK now, but it was a really big shock. My reaction actually surprised me.

Yeah, a marathon may be the thing to do. A celebration of excellence.

The sad thing is, he was never really happy doing the marionette series. Had an eye for greater things, but he and his crew did them so very well. Comparing "Fireball XL5" to Roberta Leigh's "Space Patrol" series is almost tragic. While "Space Patrol" has its charms, it looks like cardboard sets. The Anderson shows always appeared more...finished.

Should auld acquaintance...

A happy, blessed, and prosperous New Year to All and Sundry. My family and friends have made 2012 a joy, my somewhat-less-than-friends have at least made it interesting.

Thank you for the business. Thank you, even, for those who Gave Me the Business, as that can be character-building.

Enjoy the evening, be safe, and prepare for the joyless grind of 2013... ;)

*Arm flail* "GUNS!!!" *Arm flail*

For the clever folk who assert that "The Framers had muskets in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment.", I suggest that the Framers had parity in mind. The Government had muskets; the citizenry had muskets. That parity rolled forward through history. Today, the government has amazingly high-powered stuff. So should the citizenry. That is the only way to assure protection from tyranny, which in the historical context of the Second Amendment, is its raison d'etre.

Let us now praise famous men

Photo from The Guardian

 There are men who have a vision for their lives and work, and there are men who have that vision thrust upon them. Gerry Anderson was an up-and-coming film director with a small company doing commercials and TV pilots in the '50s, when the video frontier was still rough-and-ready. A children's author approached them about doing some puppet shows, and a future was a-borning. From doing Roberta Leigh's "Adventures of Twizzle", and "Torchy the Battery Boy", the man who wanted to do Big Things in film proceeded to carve out his own miniature empire with "Four Feather Falls", a quirky Western marionette series; "Supercar", about the coolest vehicle EVAR;  "Fireball XL5", the only Anderson "SUPERMARIONATION" series network broadcast here in the US; "Stingray" (the first color series in Great Britain) about the World Aquanaut Security Patrol and the crew of the submarine Stingray; "Thunderbirds", the series that made fiberglass and wood into international stars; "Captain Scarlet" about the war against the Mysterons, and a cautionary tale about an itchy trigger finger; "Joe 90" the most diabolical of the series, a study in turning a nine-year-old into a Cold War superspy; "The Secret Service", a clever combo of live-action and marionette work about a Cold War spy, who happens to be an Anglican priest who trades on his honest demeanor to have miscreants confide in him, and who uses doubletalk (the voice actor Stanley Unwin's "Unwinese") to get out of tight situations.

Other series are

UFO (1970–71) - Outstanding lve-action SF thriller about a secret organization combating the UFO menace
The Protectors (1972–74) Live action crime drama with Robert Vaughn
Space: 1999 (1975–77) Live action SF series with actors made of wood.
Terrahawks (1983–84, 1986) Glove puppet return to the fold, the less said about, the better.
Dick Spanner, P.I. (1987) Fun stop-motion detective romp
Space Precinct (1994–95) Do-badders beware! Space cops are afoot!
Lavender Castle (1999–2000) Charming stop-motion and CG kids fantasy
Firestorm (2003) Hey. I like anime.
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005) Good CG and mocap reboot of the original.

There are other things Anderson did, but these form the massive edifice of his work.

He and his crew brought joy and wonder to my life, and the lives of countless others. The excellence of their productions still hold up beautifully. My paean to SUPERCAR is here.

Mr. Anderson, thank you.
You shall be missed.

One man honors one day, another, many....

I hope that you guys had a delightsome Christmas day. We rejoice in the Gift that God bestowed upon our silent planet.

Had most of the kinder home, and we were indeed the Kings of Christmas! The stockings are the Thing, and they had peanuts, Russell Stover Christmas-ey candies (marshmallow santas, Maple Cream snowmen, like that) , candy Legos (think Sweetarts you can build with), Jelly Babies (candy shaped like babies, that you eat!), and then the goodies, like a little square cast-iron griddle, big enough for one grilled cheese for lunch, Jack Daniel's habanero hot sauce, USB hub shaped like a mini power-strip, a classic bottle opener, a mini Stonehenge set, a 2001-A Space Odyssey monolith action figure (with ZERO points of articulation!), fun stuff like that.

The Dread Dormomoo, the kids and I will email suggestion notes early on as guidelines. I received:



A model kit that I love! Now if I can just work on some models.

A very cosy 100% cotton hoodie.

A camo potholder and a camo hot mitt. (These are VERY welcome)

A Spider (good for draining fried goodies)



A MASSIVE shot glass from a local antique store. Has white level marks, and enough glass to induce blunt force trauma from a distance.













DVDs:


Daria
Freakazoid (WB surpassed Animaniacs, somewhat)
A Spy set with episodes from The Prisoner, The Persuaders, The Protectors, and The Champions.

Having a comparatively large family offers unintended dividends!

You CAN go home again!

Hail the conquering hero! The Aardvark hath arriven home.

I packed up a tad early this afternoon (with permission of the sweet lass who was running the dealer's room); a lad came by and asked if I needed help. I told him "People tell me so, but I cope." He looked puzzled. I awarded him a shirt in exchange for bagging the shirts so that I could box them up expeditiously. We were both happy with the exchange. Warm goodbyes were had all around, and I began my seven hour trek home. I sit here with a ferocious case of car lag, happy to be where I belong.

I had set a range of sales figures for the con, and surpassed the lower end, so it was worth the effort. I missed seeing Jay, but am abundantly thankful that he discovered his brake issues timely and in a relatively safe manner. Next time! I was ill-disposed to wander all over Columbus with the weather as it was (I drive fine in snow...it is the people who skid at the sight of a snowflake that concern me.)

It was pleasant to see the pretty Christmas decorations that were my view from the tenth floor. It made up for what I did not see on the drive to Chez 'Vark. I am...concerned...at the paucity of Christmas lights in evidence this year. DC appears not only to have sucked the value from the dollar, but also, the Fed Chairman that Stole Christmas seems to have evacuated the Christmas Spirit from the country. There are a few shining examples of the Festive Art to be seen, the operative word being few. I drove up the my house, and saw our Christmas tree shining a beacon of relative joy at me, and lo, in the front window, The Leg Lamp! Christmas comes but once a year, and mild bad taste still gives us cheer!

So anyway, I am home, safe and sound. Cigars kept me alert, in a savory fashion, but I will be happy to detox over the next few hours, and be rid of Smoky Palate! (I am surprised that no-one has trademarked that one. The cigarette industry, back in the days of Mad Men, would invent maladies that THEIR brand alleviated. "Four out of five doctors agree: Lusties do not cause Smokers Throat!".)





 This from the era when it was perfectly acceptable to give Uncle Fred a red or green foil carton filled with his favorite brand. He could mute the smoke smell with the bottles of Jade East or Hai Karate his nieces and nephews would present him as prezzies under the tree. 






I would sooner dab charcoal lighter behind each ear.

Well, I truly wish that we could all be together to hoist a glass, and gnaw haunch-of-turkey in prandial celebration of Christmas. (I fry a GREAT Cajun turkey! The Dread Dormomoo roasts an amazing stuffing-filled bird as well. We would need to take a vote.) I must settle with wishing all of you a blessed and merry Christmas, and a much-improved New Year, in whatever way improvement would be an improvement.

I took glee in wishing my customers a Merry Christmas. A couple of pagan chicks wished me a good Yule back. Works for me.

Cool Yule, y'all!

I laughed...I cried...

Columbus Friday

Overnight, it snowed in Columbus, Ohio. Not the gladsome snow which brings to memory sleighbells, Grandma's house redolent of holiday comestibles, and mistletoe. No, this was the snow that is wholly inadequate to the task, that renders the world in grey tones, the city become a Christmas gulag.

The Armageddicon did OK for the first day. People liked our offerings, and bought the "I missed the end of the world" shirt with some gusto!

I note in passing that it is a shame how fandom ruins so many fun things. Homestuck, MLP-FIM, like that. Loki freaks make me not want to watch the Avengers movie.

The snow has continued apace, and is becoming credible.

Got a call from Jay. Brake issues prevent his coming to the con. I am sad. Bono pizza must wait for another time. Sorry you had the trouble, but I'm happy you found out in a benign fashion!

There is no appreciable degradation of the earth's dimensional stability. So far.

9PM some-odd. Here is snowy Columbus, again from my room.

On-track, sales-wise. And the world is still here.

Going to Columbus, OH

On to the Armageddicon! Anime Punch is putting on their Doomsday Con, and I will be there. Jay will likely pop in for the festivities, and to see an unsubbed version of Evangelion 3.14159 or whatever. I shall bless him with the benison of Bronydom.

We are printing the con shirt. The picture is NOT it. That is a shirt I am printing to take for giggles. And shekels.



The concept is mine. Riatsila (my middle son) put it all together. I think it has the feel of a local band poster.

On to bed, now.