This week’s carnival is up at Everyday Liturgy.
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Just My Luck
So I’m in California for the rest of this week at the 18th Annual Russ Reid Conference. My luggage, however, isn’t. Somehow my luggage ended up in Phoenix. And I was on a direct flight from Denver to LAX.
Apparantly my bag got the wrong baggage claim ticket attached to it. Which is absolutely infuriating to me. Why? Because I handed the woman my ID and boarding and watched her compare them to the ticket before she attached it. But the one attached to my suitcase had someone else’s name on it.
Seriously.
And remember at Christmas when I made it to NC but my luggage didn’t?
Why can’t my luggage ever make it to the same place as me at the same time?
Posted in Personal, Things that make me angry
Tagged Personal, Things that make me angry
Roswell
I’m in heaven today. I found a website to watch lots of different tv shows online (one that actually works). And they have Roswell! It’s only 20 episodes, so it’s not the full 3 seasons, but still… I’ve missed this show.
Posted in Television
Way Past Due
This post is long overdue.
Berlzebub has spear-headed an effort to raise money for P-Momma and her family so that they can get some UV film to cover their windows so P-Momma can come out of her room and spend time with her family.
P-Momma has lupus, and as a result has serious sun sensitivity that has gotten worse. My understanding is that her bedroom windows are covered in plywood and black sheets to keep the sun out (contact with the sun causes blistering and severe “bone crushing pain”). This limits the amount of time she can be with her kids.
Berlzebub heard about UV Filtering film that can be put on windows and decided to run a drive for donations so they can get enough for all of P-Momma’s windows. His goal is $5,000 and as of today, he’s up to $3,975.
You can read more about the effort here, and if you’re interested in helping out, you can donate via paypal (berlzebubATgmailDOTcom).
May the Best Man Win
Dude knows how to make a speech. Holy cow.
I don’t agree with everything he said, but at this point, Mr. Obama’s got my vote.
Peanut
Hope you enjoy these as much as I did… I laughed all the way through the act! (Make sure you watch all three)
My old favorite show is back!
2 Teams.
2 Days.
$1000.
That’s right! Trading Spaces is back, old-school style! Paige Davis is back as the host. And she brought back all of my favorite designers! Frank, Doug, Lauri, and Hildi!
I’m so freaking excited.
The spin on it this time is that it isn’t just neighbors trading spaces. It’s an ex-husband trading spaces with his ex-wife and her new husband. Or an assistant trading spaces with her boss. Or a mother-in-law trading with her son and daughter-in-law.
Yeah.
This is going to be cool.
Live Blogging Miss America 2008
Note: I know no one out there but me cares about my thoughts on the pageant. Too bad. 
So I’m watching the Miss America pageant on TLC tonight. I started it off by watching the last several episodes of Miss America: Reality Check. I love that they had the girls in a reality show beforehand so that we got a chance to actually get to know the contestants.
I love the fact that all the girls are on stage in jeans and tank tops. They really are working to change the whole “pageant” stereotype this year. And it rocks. I loved it when they got rid of a lot of the poofy hair on the reality show. It rocked.
I’m sad that Rhode Island wasn’t a semi-finalist. She was fun and absolutely gorgeous.
My favorites so far (we’re only half an hour in) are Florida, Virginia, Utah, Indiana, and New Mexico. Though I do like Washington, Alaska, and Illinois as well. My guess is that it will come down to Virginia and Washington. We’ll see how right I am!
Swimsuit Competition: (to promote health and fitness, of course)
Michigan looks like a playboy bunny.
There’s absolutely nothing special about North Carolina. Not her swimsuit, not her walk, not her smile. That makes me sad!
Indiana is gorgeous.
Washington is spunky! I really like her. She totally just moved up to my favorites.
Virginia is totally confident. That’s why I think she’ll end up at the top.
Florida is classy.
I love that Utah is in a one piece. She’s absolutely gorgeous and has an incredible figure, and the one piece really didn’t detract from that – it accentuated it. I doubt she’ll make it to the top, but I love her.
First elimination: (16 to 10)
Tennessee. Arkansas. Florida (dangit). Mississippi. Utah (told you she wouldn’t make it – but the push-ups are hilarious!). South Carolina.
All in all, nothing too surprising. None of the girls who stood out in the swimsuit competition are out (excluding Utah).
How cool is it that they pulled the parents on stage?
Evening Gown:
Virginia is stunning. It’s not over the top, but very elegant.
Washington’s dress does nothing for me. Too sparkly. Bad color for her.
Iowa’s dress is bold, but beautiful.
California’s dress is too glitzy. I think these gal’s forgot that “less is more.”
Michigan’s dress reminds me of Britney Spears. Nuff said.
Texas’ dress is odd. Mint green and lilac? And sparkles?
Wisconsin’s dress is also stunning. Simply stunning.
Georgia’s dress is nothing special. Pretty cliche, if you ask me.
Indiana’s dress is very very bold. It reminds me of the dress she designed on the reality show that the adviser’s hated.
North Carolina’s dress is actually beautiful. I didn’t notice her in the swimsuit, but I would totally notice her in this dress.
At this point, I’m still leaning towards Virginia to come out as the winner. I’m afraid Washington’s dress may have hurt her, but who knows? Maybe the judges found it astonishingly beautiful.
Talent:
Michigan singing “Over the Rainbow”: She looks very pageant-y. She didn’t get the memo on losing the stereotype. Her voice is also very mediocre. She needs to know that she really can’t sing in those octaves.
California singing “The Jewel Song” from “Faust”: Beautiful dress. Great performer. Beautiful soprano.
Indiana singing “Bandito”: Love the dress. It’s very fun. The lacing in the back is beautiful. She has a pretty voice, but nothing special. I’m impressed by her spanish though.
Virginia doing ballet from “The Nutcracker” : Beautiful costume. She seems pretty talented, but I don’t know much about ballet. She looks pretty graceful up there.
Elimination: Iowa. I’m not surprised.
Washington singing “Angels”: Mediocre singing talent. Seems almost timid. Oh wait – now there she goes. Her personality is shining now – maybe it was just beginning nerves? She’s actually a good performer.
Texas performing “Jazz on Point.”: She’s cute, but definitely nothing special. Reminds me of something I’d see in a high school recital.
Wisconsin playing the violin: Elegant dress. Amazing violin talent. Definitely the best talent we’ve seen so far (although California was pretty great, too).
Elimination: Georgia. Wow. I really thought NC would get eliminated.
North Carolina doing ballet to “The Four Seasons”: You can tell immediately that she has more talent than the other two ballerinas we saw. She’s beautiful. Every move is graceful. What a beautiful arrangement of the song, too! This may have given her enough points to put her closer to the top.
At this point, my money is still on Virginia. But after the talent portion, I really think North Carolina might at least be a runner up.
The Final Question:
“As Miss America what could you do to improve America’s image internationally?” – Wisconsin. Education for our children and community service. Spread that message around the world.
“Does a person who is HIV positive or has an STD have an obligation to tell their fiance?” Michigan – more about respect than obligation, but should tell them.
“What do you think of celebrities like Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson promoting their religious beliefs?” Virginia – even celebrities have opinions and they are free to voice them.
“Fewer than 1/3 of young people vote, what’s wrong with this picture?” Washington – Encourage young people to voice their opinions with programs like Rock the Vote.
“Paris Hilton question -What does it say about us when people can be famous without doing anything?” California – our society isn’t focused on the right thing – too much materialism. (Great answer!)
“How can you counteract Lindsay Lohan’s example (of binge drinking)?” Texas – tell the girls they don’t have to be like celebrities who make bad decisions. This was the most disappointing answer, in my opinion. She had the opportunity to really make a statement, but she fell back on the whole “tell girls they’re special” answer.
“Nearly 75% of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. How can we get it back on track?” North Carolina – blames it on the media coverage, but as Miss America has opportunity to be a role model to change that perception.
“Jamie Lynne Spears – should she be fired because she’s 16 and pregnant?” Indiana – No, because she’s not a bad person, she just made a bad decision. (I love this answer.)
I missed the next round of eliminations, but I guess Wisconsin, Virginia, and North Carolina got eliminated.
First Runner-up: Indiana
Miss America: Michigan
Ugh. I’m really not thrilled with that choice, at all. And I was way off base with my picks, too. I guess the judges forgot that they were supposed to be getting away from the pageant stereotypes! She fits the pageant profile perfectly, I think, but that doesn’t represent what they’ve been saying they want the show to be about.
Take Back Our Voice
Fred Phelps is protesting in my home state today. They’re protesting at Camp Lejeune because of the young pregnant marine who was found murdered there. I find this to be utterly despicable behavior (as is everything WBC does).
There are some people* who think that the proper response to this group is to ignore them and hope they’ll go away.
Lou FCD has another solution: Taking back our voice from the ones who try to speak for all of us.
I find it interesting that there is such a strong response here in Jacksonville to this protest. As far as I can tell, the uproar is directed only at the idea that these people will be directing their protest at the base, and a quick look through the letters to the editor on the Daily News’ site, and the comments at the ENC Forums seems to be reflective of what I’ve heard in the community at large.
So for the most part, it’s not the message of hate and bile with which Christians here disagree, it’s the choice of venue. These folks are the very public face and voice of Christianity. Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, the late Jerry Falwell, the preachers in Jacksonville’s pulpits: these people are just more polite when they deliver the exact same message, yet they have the undying loyalty of a very large percentage of Christians in America.
Until Christians like you take that voice away, the message is quite clear: Christians hate “the other’, be they “fags”, atheists, or even Christians who don’t support tearing down the Constitution in favor of the Bible, and anyone who disagrees with them deserves to be tortured for eternity. This is not a message of love, no matter who says it or how they say it.
It’s distubing enough that this attitude is seen as acceptable in public discourse, but it is being condoned by people with credible opportunities to be in a position with enough power to bring about the legislation of it.
Sweeping Phelps under the carpet and ignoring him, or even standing against him just because he chooses to spread his hate at Camp Lejeune will not return that voice to you. It is the message, coming from more refined and successful hate mongers, that needs to be marginalized and denounced. It is their power that threatens not only me, but also you, and dressing their excrement up in a three piece suit and putting it in a church or on a campaign trail makes it no less so.
When no Christians stand and protest against Phelps and he fades into this afternoon’s sunset, it won’t make his ideas go away, it will just make them more comfortable to support in his more genteel brethren.
I would encourage Christians to attend Phelps’ rally and say, “No. You do not speak for me.” Say it today to Phelps. Say it tomorrow in church. Say it loudly over and over until the voice of Christianity is no longer one of hate and division, but one of love and inclusion.
Until then, Phelps has your voice, and Phelps has the mike.
And he’s right. If I were able, I would go and let them know that they don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for Christ. And they don’t speak for God. This is the message that must be heard in this nation.
Fred Phelps, you will lose your voice and your platform.
*I must say that I think this article was well-written. Timmi’s heart is in the right place and her thoughts about WBC are correct. It’s the actions behind those feelings that aren’t up to snuff.
Stone them…
Musicguy brought my attention to this video:
Then he asked specifically for Christian responses.
Quite honestly, I don’t know where to start. I’m definitely no fan of Bill Maher. He definitely has an anti-Christian (anti-religion?) agenda.
“It’s strictly said in the Bible ‘thou shalt have no homosexuality’ and the Bible is inerrant according to me…”
And homosexuality is “worse” than polygamy?
Those are my people. And it breaks my heart to see them be like that. I wish I could say that the video was an exaggeration of what life is like in the South, but in all honesty, it isn’t. That’s honestly how people are raised and how they think. It’s a completely different culture there than it is anywhere else in the US.
And it’s wrong.
But everyone was very nice about the fact that I’m going to roast on a spit in hell for all eternity.
Again, sad but true.
I love that Bill Maher used the phrase “cognitive dissonance” to describe what goes on down there. This is exactly what I was talking about here when describing my Papa.
The imagery of Bush being a wiccan priestess is just priceless.
I know he was just being funny, but Mormon’s do not believe that “Jesus and Satan are brothers who do it.”
Re: the Huckabee quote. He got one thing right. It is easier to change the constitution than to change the word of God. Duh. But I don’t like Maher’s point that Christians are full of “arrogance masquerading as humility.” Can we know the word of God? Absolutely. Do we have the word of God? You betcha. Do we have access to God? Of course we do. You don’t have to believe that if you don’t want to, but don’t tell me I’m arrogant because I have a close relationship with my Savior.
“There is no definitive proof.”
For you, maybe. But there are millions of people out there who have seen “proof” enough to put their faith in God. And His word. Just because it doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work for others.
D.L. Hughley. I like this guy, based on this clip.
You would almost believe that we believe that Jesus was born in Kansas. He wasn’t.
That’s a perfect quote and a perfect representation of how Christianity has evolved in this country. And I love that he had the guts to say it.
We talk about Christianity and do the opposite.
See my previous post.
It’s hard for me to believe that people who talk about the Bible like they do have ever read it.
Again, see my previous post. But Bill’s point here is different than that. I have to ask if he’s ever read the New Testament. He’s so fixated on the laws of the Old Testament that he’s completely missed the Covenant of Grace.
But I do think Dan Savage makes a good point at the end. “Christianity” has turned into this buffet style religion where you pick what you want and leaving the rest behind. And the ones who do it the most vocally (see my previous post) are the ones who are screwing it up for the rest of us. It’s not supposed to be cafeteria style. Honestly, it’s not. And there really are a fair amount of us who see the whole picture and try to live looking at the whole thing.
But it is hard. None of us are perfect.
And as far as using the Bible as the basis for morality? The entire Bible can be summed up in four words: Love God, Love People. It may not seem like it, but it’s true. You just have to see it for what it is, not for what you think it is.
