To be buried...

WOW YES...THIS is what I'M TALKIN 'BOUT!

Except it's in Chinese and I'm not literate enough to learn Chinese and continue learning new words from the English dictionary...heck, I'm more or less illiterate because on how little I missed by being a butthead and getting transferred from the normal school classroom into a locked down special ed curriculum (if you can even call it that).  So, no, I'm not going to buy this.  But a U.S. publisher really should take note and copy!!!!  (with permission from Shanghai Literature And Art Publishing House of course, [or whoever holds copyright for the cover-design).
PET SEMATARY has never been published in English with an acceptable cover-art.  The U.K. re-issue from Hodder is an improvement over the 2002 U.S. trade paperback, which in itself is a vast improvement over the original hardcover pressing, but the U.K. edition is published for U.K. audiences and Brits speak an almost entirely different language than English speaking U.S. citizens.  I'm not even sure if a U.K. pressing of the book would make sense to U.K. readers if it weren't translated.  And once again, the cover design appears to be a rush job that nobody put much thought into.  The tag line on the front cover is what really gets me.

"A pet isn't just for life" ---- Huh?  What??  Seriously, it's not a book about bestiality or Tia Torres.  The book isn't about Animal Rights or Michael Jackson's 1993 Super Bowl performance.  The book does cover some ground regarding pets and people's relationship to them, but the cat in the book is a very minor character that does play an important role in the book, but is in no part the direct center of any of it.  The book is more about death in general and the lengths some people would go to regain what is lost.
The original hardcover press is not only stupid but butt ugly.

That's actually a mass market paperback (Trade paperbacks were quite uncommon circa 1984), but the hardcover press looks almost identical, if not 100% so.  Last time I was a Doubleday Book Club member, at least a couple years ago now, you could buy the original hardcover press from them, although DDBC prohibits re-sale of their books.  Sometimes the books DDBC sells are not any different from in-store editions, but most of the time they are shapped differently and the dust jacket is of a cheaper quality, which is fine if you just wanna buy it for the sake of reading and then throwing it away...I've already read PET SEMATARY.  I think the book is worthy of being a classic and should be showcased alongside other treasures of home media such as FORREST GUMP (BD), SIMON & GARFUNKEL's BOOKENDS (LP/vinyl, or CD if you're low on money such as myself), and TAKING BACK SUNDAY's TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (vinyl or CD), etc. etc.....of course, my tastes in media differ from most/all people, but if you love something, you show it.  People that buy whatever random book they consider reading encourage publishing houses to continue publishing random books and marketing them.
I think David Letterman's estimate that we only need to be given one movie a year is a tad far fetched, but if there's no talented people to spin together a yarn to make something worthwhile out of straw & frame it in a way that makes an impression on the wall of the viewer's brain, then, really, what's the point of financing a bunch of $100+million movies and losing money on all but two or three?

CHRISTMAS '15

Been a good Christmas day.  I got $40 cash and $30 in WalMart+Starbucks gift cards.  My cousin needed to get to another locale to have Christmas with her un-official fiance's family, so she gave me a ride to my abode on the way out the door from my Gramma's.  My G'ma is also gave me some fudge (not a lot, but some better than none), and a pair of Hagger brand pants + a Champion brand tee shirt.  The pants had the tags on them so I assume they are brand new.  They look good.  Me likes.  I think they got confused, I am not a fruit-chocolate person.  My Mom would be at a healthy weight if she were more addicted to good taste than sugar in and of itself.  She *loves* blueberries.  And she's addicted to chocolate/sweets(sugar), so chocolate covered blueberries would have been a OMG YAYTHANKS!!!, but for some reason they were given to me instead of my mother.  Well, I fixed that, but...egh...anyway; I also got some chocolate covered cherries.  I mean, I could have & probably would have eaten both boxes if I didn't have it on good authority that my Mom likes both much more than I do.  I don't *dis*like fruit chocolate.  I just don't really "like" it per se...
I got a $12 Amazon gift card and a $5 IOU in exchange for one of the $20s I got.  I owed my mom some money, so that explains the other $3.
I'll have to remember to call the bank tomorrow to see if they're open.  I got another $20 to cash.  In town, there ain't much to do with it.  I have a Fingerhut bill due Feb 2nd.  I was initially hoping to have it paid before new year's, but that ain't gonna happen...well, I guess it could.  I forgot I sold something on Amazon late last night or this morning...got $6 out of that, so...dang.  I guess I can do it if I can pry the $5 my mom owes me out of her wallet...she'd have to give me a bigger denomination and then trust me to give her the change, which may or may not be a problem depending on her mood.
OH!  Actually, I got $40 in gift cards -- $20 WM+ $10 SBX & another $10 in Amazon gift card from my Mom.  She'd told me she already got my Christmas present back when my birthday happened.  The GC note said "OK, I lied...I love you"...I wonder if she was referencing the Michael Bolton song "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" ("love could never ever feel so strong...")
I started watching DO YOU BELIEVE? via Amazon Instant Video while waiting for Mom to come home...the computer had been on earlier, in the midmorning, and I didn't want to turn it on 3-4 hours after having turned it off, but I got antsy about 29 or so minutes into the film and went ahead and turned on the computer.  I decided to sell the $20 WalMart gift card to ABC Gift Cards since I cannot for the life of me think of $20 worth of stuff I need at WalMart...I'm not even sure I need that much $'s worth of groceries...I'll be losing $3 out of it, but $17 cash is better than $20 WalMart funds...WalMart pretty much explains what's wrong with the world, IMO.  It's stuff, stuff, more stuff, and very little of it is anything that anybody actually wants, let alone needs.  The store layout is about as tranquil as the shopping experience itself.  I don't blame WalMart, I blame their customers.  WalMart treats their employees like crap b/c they can.  Nobody minds.  Everyone continues to shop there.  WalMart continues to get revenue hand over fist.  A fully functioning operation does not need fixing.
FUDGE!
I got an Overstock.com store card.  WOW!  I don't know if i Mentioned that here yet.  It's a $250 loan.  I've used over half of it so far.  I really need to make at least a $30 payment on it in January.  It's good to have that so I can have some wiggle room.  I have a lot more wiggle room than some people in my income bracket I'm sure, but more is always better (IMO).
Take care, y'all.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2016 - OK, LET'S GO

JAN 29 PHIL COLLINS "BOTH SIDES" DLX
FEB 26 HANDS LIKE HOUSES "DISSONANTS"
APRIL 12 STEPHEN KING "THE DEAD ZONE" TRD PPB (finally!)
JULY 15 GHOSTBUSTERS

gotta rent these, don't have the means to see them in theaters:
JAN 19 THE INTERN
FEB??? BRIDGE OF SPIES
(slim chance I'll see BOS in theaters, since it is still playing I think...  I'd have to get a ride to and from and keep from feeling like filth for not getting popcorn and/or a soda w/ my movie ticket......the latter is more likely than the former....)

WAR ROOM (2015)

Great movie!  Just got done watching it, much less Hallmark-y than FIREPROOF and not at all soap-opera-y like GOD'S NOT DEAD.  Lends hope to the possiblity that I may enjoy DO YOU BELIEVE?, which I already rented b/c it seems worth a shot at least...and it was only $0.99, which for me was $0 b/c my sis got me an Amazon prime membership, which you can use either to get your items really fast or you can downgrade the shipping and get credit to use toward mp3s and/or movie rentals...Well, not always; it's a special promotion they've been doing off and on again...but anyway...
It's a very inspiring movie.  It's basically a demonstration of how God will fight for you if you quit fighting battles with your own fallible resources.  Many people in this nation and others can most likely relate, since there are a lot of church goers that don't seem to understand or fully embrace The Lord's word.
Alex Kendrick is a pretty easy name to remember.  It's like Anna Kendrick except it's a dude (unless Alex is supposed to be short for Alexis?  Hmm...anyway...)
Not much to say other than what I posted earlier today (that was today wasn't it?), which of course I'm feeling optimistic about...Hopefully I can keep from letting Satan bogging me down yet again.

EDIT:  Alex Kendrick directed FIREPOOF *and* WAR ROOM.  I don't know if he's gotten better w/ practice or if he deliberately employed the Hallmark movie of the week style b/c he felt that's what a "romance" movie should be... maybe I was just not interested enough in the subject matter to appreciate the manner with which the story was decorated/framed...

Vehevent

My sis sent me a link, I guess out of concern for my constant bellyaching about my lack of holiness...

http://unkaglen.tumblr.com/post/134762167130

I guess the hard part for me is just not worry.  The part regarding "eventually you will get it right" seems kinda presumptuous...but the key to solving that is the same key that had to be used in accepting God as a reality -- that key being accepting the fact that God is not up for vote.

All I want for Christmas......

Well, I still have my two front teeth.  We'll see how long that lasts.  I brushed my teeth for the first time in...a week? this morning.  And watch out...he shaved!  I still have a mountain's worth of beard-ish-ism that needs to go...my back got warped or something b/c there was this chair with heavy metal parts inside of it that I had to haul up the stairs (w/ the help of my cousin: special thanks to Barbie Dry), and then carry out the back yard to the front yard so that the fine foks at the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri's Public Works Dept. could take it a landfill far far away...just standing in shave-mode was enough to cause my back to feel very strained.  Heck, I can feel pangs just sitting here in this swivel chair, not enough to really complain, but that's just from sitting down.  If I had better posture, maybe, the pain would not be a big deal...I keep having to bend down to rinse my face off w/ water so I can add more shaving cream.  I used like 6 disposable Schick razor blades.  Good thing I went with a pack of 15.  My mom actually bought those for me.  Thanks Mom!  I don't know what my plan was at the time, they'd been sitting in a drawer @ the bathroom for almost a month or more...  I might've been planning on buying them this month or just saying "to hell with it, I don't need a hairless face!"
So anyway...
Been thinking off and on about what I might do if I had like $50 USD to spend on something(s) that I want.  It seems like a lot of stuff exists.  Does it serve a purpose that I just can't perceive?
Ultimately, the only stuff I can think of is yet to come.  This band Hands Like Houses has an album scheduled for release in late February.  I should probably save $15 of whatever money I get for Xmas (I probably will receive at least $15 USD based on numerous past Christmases)  for that HLH CD.  I can just see myself bailing out on buying that in Feb or buying it and feeling like an idiot for buying it and then coming here to whine about it...
Really, I'm not in a position to splurge.  All the nicknacks/collectibles that are up m alley -  primarily GHOSTBUSTERS merchandise -   are not priced for people in my income bracket to be buying.  I bought a GHOSTBUSTERS pint glass for $14 at Fun.com earlier this month.  For a lot of people that is a very minor purchase.  I'm glad I have it, but I really don't need to do that again.  If I get $$ Christmas, I need to take $14 of it (yeah, I'm setting myself up for disappointment, this is all hypothetical) and put it in the collection plate @ church and ask God to forgive me for not doing it the other way around like I darn well should have.  Hopefully I can cram a $30 gift to God into the mix by the end of the month.  I'm supposed to give $81.50 minimum every month.  This month I only gave like $60 apprx.  I'm not even sure if it was that much.
My pastor spoke about the meaning of Christianity.  It's a pretty astronomical thing.  It's not something I can say with certainty that I have or am or whatever.  I should start with effort on my part - i.e.: taking time to read The Bible.  I've been failing miserably at that.  I don't generally read much of anything.  I started reading Elliot Perlman's SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY before I was willing to admit to myself that God in Heaven is indeed a reality.  According to Goodreads.com, I started reading STA 3.5 years ago.  It's apprx 700 pages and I'm only on page 400.  I wasn't even going to church when I first realized the need to embrace the concept of God & quit suppressing the desire to believe  I've been going for about a year and a half by now.    Naturally, knowing I need to read The Bible, I've cut back immensely on reading fiction.  I keep thinking I'd like to prove that I'm not a poser or a pseudo intellectual by actually finishing a book one of these days...but it doesn't matter.  Nobody cares how smart I am anyway.  People will use my lack of knowledge against me as long as they perceive some benefit from doing so.  I need to and still can spread God's word.  It's up to the recipients to consider it's value to them.  Thankfully, I am not alone in the battle for the world's hearts and minds.  God is also at work in this thorny wicked world.
But as I was saying...idk...I'm not even sure I understood the sermon.  Nevermind...
I guess I should quit my droning.  xx

How many people need to die before the constitution reigns?

Everybody knows about the 14 person death toll in California earlier this week.  Almost nobody knows of the content contained in
http://wethepeoplefoundation.org/projects/09-Congress/CC2009-14-Violations.htm

I doubt that's an exhaustive list of the USA's abuse of power.
I also doubt that I or anyone reading this will ever fall victim to anything of this sort.  Dark days are ahead, but the U.S. Constitution won't have anything to do with any of that.

I myself am the poster boy of social disconnect and laziness.  So it's not like I'm spearheading a campaign to knock down congress door and demand justice for every of one of the 100million+ human beings who were born in the USA.
However,
Freedom and Justice for all does not mean equality for all racial groups, or all religious groups.  It means freedom and justice for every man woman and child.  Yes, our gov't has never honored that, but if people had risen up and opposed slavery, genocide, et al, then George Washington, the First USA President, would not have gotten away with owning slaves *and* treating them horribly.  How many people showed up to lynch Andrew Jackson when he forced the Native American population out of the habitat that was already agreed upon by the U.S. gov't?  The few who did probably didn't make it to the nation's capital before getting lynched themselves by someone else...

The people that the USA is of by and for should feel empathy for the dead & wounded of this week's mass shooting.  But not because of the evil that caused it.  Not because of the death toll.  Individual deaths by handgun and other means total a lot more than 14 EVERY week.  Most of those deaths are committed by civilians toward civilians.  Few if any people can name even 14 of any given week.  Regionally the death toll may be lower, but how far away does someone need to be before demanding justice for them is considered too much of a burden?


I don't know of anything real recent that would be cause for waging war on the U.S. gov't except for the same old crap that we the people have been putting up with over the past 20+++ years...
And if you think Obama's administration is handling things better than the previous presidents' did, then let's just think about how bad things were when G.W. Bush was prez.  If it were found out that a president or former president had ordered a home invasion, wouldn't it be at least less surprising of Bush's name was mentioned?  You may think the world of Obama, he's certainly more subtle in his methods, I'll give him that, but his presidency is a temporary thing.  Clinton may succeed him, but how can you guarantee a Democrat for President after her time is up?

The USA will not resemble Stalin era Russia simply because one guy or gal is sworn in to office.  The constitution and the ideals its based upon are not something that any leader will predictably violate.  It starts in small pieces.  Those small pieces will not add up to anything significant until its too late to do anything about it.
We need guns.  We need grenades.  We shouldn't be without anything the military has.  Hopefully we'll never need to use them.  I don't suggest everybody in the nation go out and buy whatever assault weapon they can afford.  It beats the heck of out of me why background checks are deemed unnecessary for people that buy guns at a gun show -- if you + a gun is a liability, that does not change just because you're at a gun show.
Also, the no fly list is not due process.  If someone is a suspected terrorist, the US gov't should bring that someone(s) to court and charge them with whatever it is they suspect them with.  Disarming someone by putting them on a no-fly list w/o even any shred of due process is just dirty pool.

everything must go...

I tried selling my copies of The Smiths MEAT IS MURDER and the 2 disc import edition of Chvrches' THE BONES OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE at Hastings (goHastings to you internet shoppers with no Hastings nearby), and they didn't/couldn't(?) take 'em.  I've been offering them on Amazon off and on for over a month and nothing.  None of these "sell your CDs to us!" site want 'em either.  Totally confused.  I tried lowering the prices just now - $4.99 each + Amazon's standard $3.99 S&H rate.  I don't know if that'll help or not.
Probably not.  Just marked 'em down to $3.49.  Might still make no difference.  I guess we'll see.
I hope they can get off my hands by the time January 15th comes around.  On that date, I will be three days away from my new home in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
To be continued...

In case you're concerned...

I feel better.  Sunshine has maintained its presence.  My mom and I had my Gramma's car to run around in.  We got out around 7:30 and went to Starbucks and then Schnucks.
I guess I shouldn't say I "Realized" something as if I know more than I did, but it occurred to me that Israel's King David was far from perfect.  He was not very Jesus like, because Jesus had not set his mission in motion.  He was not Holy, but he did try, in his own way.  I don't know why descendants of God-haters are punished.  Especially those who barely know of  their God-hating ancestors.  But it's not for me to know, really, unless I'm just too thickheaded to figure it out...Also, God says to ask him for all kinds of things.  I keep thinking "Isn't that kind of weird?"  But the things people value in their life - independence, dignity, etc. - are often highly overrated.  If you want independence, you're not going to find it.  Even the man who owns his fiances and isn't employed by anybody and has no landlord still needs human companionship.  Often a pet can substitute that, but it's still not the same.  If everybody on the face of the Earth died, the last man on Earth would eventually find himself bored stupid, and that boredom would eventually eat his brain away to nothing.  A person can read the books his forefathers wrote to get his brain cells moving, but how far can that really sustain a person?  The fictional qualities of any given book are that much more fictitious when the characters all "coincidental"y resemble inanimate objects.  Corpses.  Electricity might still go on, if the last man standing knows how to operate, maybe even create, a generator.  In that case, all the songs ever written would just be dead dreams.  Songs of sadness w/o hope, songs of happy times never to return.  And every movie with a happy ending would just be cause for disdain.  The ones with a tragic ending would seem that much more tragic.
So, yes it is weird to ask God constantly as if you're a 5 year old running through a toy store draining Mom's bank account.  It's only weird though because everybody's too busy looking out for themselves to rely on God.
I really don't think the realities at hand warrant me getting a job.  The two options I have are to keep on SSI until it evaporates in late 2016, or risk being homeless.  I don't think God approves of welfare.  Does he consider me a thief for using it?  Well, I suppose...I am a thief, technically.  I take a piece of bread from a loaf that my Mom bought for herself, that constitutes theft.  And I've done that several times.  Usually when I ask for something, I don't get a concrete answer.  Does that still constitute as theft?  Maybe not intentionally, which is kinda the key matter; God doesn't mind if you accidentally sin, just so long as you acknowledge Him and the salvation he has granted.  So it is disconcerting when I stop and think about it, the idea that my lifestyle is a result of systematic theft.  But is it really theft?  I mean, yes, it's not pure capitalism, but pure capitalism did nobody any favors until gov't regulations were put in place in the 1930s.  I think it's considered theft more unjustly.  The injustice is not the welfare system.  The injustice is the American public letting politicians take away what's theirs.  If your gov't is so wrong, action needs to be taken.  The declaration of independence encourages its citizens to wage war with bad government.  Where's the war?  People would rather have convenience and comfort than a fair and just gov't.  That fact can't be pinned on me and the thousands of welfare recipients out there.  Since when do welfare recipients, or anyone else for that matter, who attempt social change by committing violence get anyone to join in?  Seriously, if I threw a brick into the window of Cape City Hall, it would be considered "some crazy guy commits vandalism in southeast Missouri".  It wouldn't do a damn bit of good on a local level, much less a federal one.
As for my withdrawn minimal company, I think this blog is pretty close to my best effort.  I may not be reaching anybody.  Maybe I am.  It's not up to me to save people.  It is up to me to declare the truth of Jesus Christ to the best of my ability.
So, really, the only things I need to work on are lust and anger/hate.  I really don't express love often enough.  I express a lot of other things, many negative, almost brutal, emotions.  Some of that is how I feel, my lack of connection to other people, victimization, maybe, but I need to handle it better.  Nobody's gonna make me feel better if I don't ask nicely.  Even if I do ask nicely, I still might not get any comfort from anybody.  But it's an absolute certainty if I keep venting at every little thing.

At last...pt XVIII

the sun is here.  After 4 days of rain and uber-gloom AND COLD, the sun is out as if it hadn't missed a beat.  That weather was really trying.  I wanted to skip church on Sunday, but knew I'd regret if I did.  Still, I made no effort to get to church.  My grandmother usually picks me and my mom up for church on Sundays at 10:15 or so, but I was hoping she'd just skip our house and go straight to church.  I was not feeling well.  I was not "sick", really, I wasn't even really "depressed", but my spirits were not high at all.  I felt good once church service started.  It flew by in no time, I was really surprised when the time came for the pastor's sermon.  We didn't let out early, nothing was skipped, I don't think...it's possible the pastor may have spoken for an excess amount of time, but it didn't feel as if he did.  He's not the most economical with words, but I've grown accustomed to that and really don't mind anymore.  He didn't seem to drone on, which in some cases it really does seem...
Damnit.  Today's Tuesday.  As I started typing this I had the notion that today was Monday.  Yeah.  Today's Monday.  That's why I got mail yesterday.  duhr.
  I got most of my Christmas gift shopping done in one swoop since I never know what to give my small group of family members that I'm closely associated with.  I just get them a WalMart gift card, except for uncle Eddie, who actually makes pretty good money and can afford to enjoy shopping (does anybody who makes good money really enjoy shopping at that rat hole?)
  Anyway.  I was going to post something like yesterday, but I don't even remember what it was.
  I'm feeling better since the sun's return.  I feel like a demon is clawing its way through me and has chipped some sizable chunks off the wood.  I need to pray before day's end.  I need to really take time to do that.  I need to then quit avoiding God and giving into lust and hopefully that'll become routine enough for me to adapt w/.  This current scenario leads me to doubt the utility of my prayers and to feel self pity and then I end up doubting my own salvation and get scared when I realize that I can't even declare my own salvation as truth.  NOT GOOD.  Trust.  and.  obey.  I need to quit trying to wiggle out of that.

Mr. Left The Building has gone bye-bye (apprx 9 years ago)

Asked by someone(?) on Yahoo! Answers presumably 9 apprx years ago

"

Amendment I (1791) to the Constitution specifically states Freedom of Religion.
No where does it state the rights of Atheists or Agnostics.

Is this relevant?
Is this topic open for interpretation for the individual or since there was no specific wording for non-belief, does that mean it has no inalienable rights under the constitution?

Update: JT, clearly the interpretation for Atheism does not exist in the document.
What happened?
That must feel like a load off of the face.

"

 

I don't know who JT is, I didn't see any answers posted as being from "JT"...

 

This is "Left The Building"'s response to "someone(?) on Yahoo! Answers" 

 

Given the fact the 1st Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a religion and the constitution prohibits religious tests for office holders, it's fairly clear the US was founded as an atheist nation.

  
I rather childishly thought the same thing myself, mainly because I am pathetically ignorant of history and science.  I'm not even that good at grammar etc., although what grammar I do know I do respect its purpose and try to reflect that in my writings/typings and I get really annoyed when the tiny bit of grammar that I am aware of is entirely disregarded by people that are old enough to know how to phrase a sentence and aren't immigrating from some poverty stricken land where their government doesn't have the funds to teach its citizens how to speak English.  People that are from non-English speaking territories need to either learn English or not speak it at all.  I understand immigrants not feeling the need to learn English.  It's really not necessary.  Granted, it can be uncomfortable to wander into a city or town where nobody there knows what you're saying, but when all of the residents of x town/city can understand each other, what exactly is the problem?  If you're living in some gigantic city like NYC or Chicago and you can't speak English, it's not exactly logical to go to the white neighborhood(s) for the purpose of buying something at the Wal-Mart located there.
 However, if you're going to speak English, do it right or learn another language.  The purpose of grammar is to make communication more effective.  Which is why it irks me to no end that people in Alabama do not know the difference between Coke, soda and baking soda.  And why in fresh hell does the English dictionary need 9 different synonyms for daffodil?

But anyway, getting back on the topic that I started to talk about and then completely got off topic from (sorry), I'm not educated, to put it simply.  I have a high school diploma, which I do not feel I earned since I was in special ed when I should have been expelled before entering 1st grade, except the law does not allow for children who are too dumb or crazy to learn much of anything to simply not attend school.  
But I can tell the difference between somebody who took the time to carefully examine their information and someone who'se just running their mouth for the hell of it.  People can make impassioned speeches and say very provocative things that stir up the heart in the name of a political or social agenda.  Some Christian leaders are like that.  When Pastor Jeremy Clayton speaks, I can tell he's doing so with love in his heart.  He does not preach in a self righteous manner.  He does not preach to build himself up nor to knock others down.  He does occasionally say some decisive things that some church goers and athiests would probably take offense to.  He once exclaimed that (paraphrasing) if telling someone that they are going to Hell because of their sin was an effective way to change someone's behavior, Jesus excruciating torture would have been utterly pointless.  I don't think anybody in the congregation was significantly offended.  I didn't notice anybody stomp out of the room.  But some church goers, as well as pastors, seem to want to demonize people from outside the church rather than focus on how to strengthen themselves as a body of Christ.  Stomping out of the room is something I would expect those types of "Christians" to do, perhaps too discreetly for me to notice.... 

Taken from Yahoo! Answers posted there roughly two days ago:
Q:

Do you agree with Stephen Hawking that science cannot know reality as it is, only models of reality?

Hawking accepts what he calls model-dependent realism: External reality itself is unknowable, only models of reality are knowable. Different models may make different predictions of observations, but none of them can be said to be "real" or "true". E.g. the Big Bang may explain more of our observations of the world than young Earth creationism, but neither the Big Bang nor YEC can be said to be "real" or "true".

 

 

"Randy The Atheist"'s answer from 2 days ago apprx:

 
"Objective Reality can be demonstrated independent of the human nervous system by taking a chemical photograph. The photo it creates exists on the plastic film strip embedded with silver halide and can be transferred to many mediums like paper, parchment, plastic, metal and wood without any involvement of human interpretation or inference.

By using this simple test, the brain is interpreting the image from two distinct and completely independent sources. One source is the photons reflecting off the object's surface to your eyes. The other source is the film that reacted to the photons from the object in reality. So we know that our eyes are reacting to an object in the same way that plastic and paper react to it which clearly demonstrates that reality as we perceive it is correctly identified and objective.

Another way is to use a laser scanner and 3D printer to duplicate the object in reality using only the formula for the speed of light and a Cartesian coordinate system.

The BB is actually an exception to this because of our incomplete understanding of gravity and so for that example, Hawking is right.

HOWEVER, we DO KNOW that something very similar to the BB must have occurred at some point in the distant past."

 

It's interesting that I agree with everything this dude says, unless "Randy" is actually a lady, and in that case...f'ever...

The following is my answer, which is more or less a preaching of sorts...thought I'd post it here since most people reading this question and it's answers will probably dismiss the entirety of the post BECAUSE I am not a college graduate.....but hopefully with the words above, it won't take as much to consider the validity of what it is I'm trying to get across.

 

 I don't know that much about science, but obviously the big band THEORY is not a fact. Ditto for evolution. It may be true, but how the heck can human beings know something that they were not there to witness? There is no written history of how the world was created, except in religious texts, which many scientists are understandably skeptical of, since it's impossible for all religions to be true since many of them have conflicting statements in their texts, but if you take all the religions, and you look at their corresponding texts, and cross reference them with science, most of them do not hold up. From a purely scientific perspective, not taking into consideration psychological matters like social harmony (or lack thereof), familial and financial stability, religion is not an important matter. But if you do take into account societal matters, history did make substantial progress because of Christianity. Jesus came to teach mankind that love is the key to solving every problem you could possibly face. From the apostle Paul and his apprentices, much of the world was radically changed through Christ's messages. The philanthropic atheist is a relatively new lifestyle.

Source(s): The Bible, unabridged

 

 

I posted the above, so if you still can't at least consider the possibility that my answer is true more or less, then you can at least research these topics yourself if you feel the need.  I wouldn't advise everyone all at once call up my pastor and start asking him questions.  But if you can keep it civil, and don't have time to wade through a bunch of historic documentation, maybe call him.  He might be on Facebook.  I can give his office # in the comments, although I doubt anybody will respond, so it may be a few days before I see you've requested anything.

 

 

 

 

Different names for the same thing

It never ceases to amaze me how many duplicate listings Amazon.com has of so many different CDs.  There's little to differentiate one from the other because the item details merely specify that they're imports.  The UPC isn't even provided for research/reference purposes.  There's like 15 versions of Phil Collins ...HITS album from 1998.  They all have the same product image/details and most of them are being offered used from sellers based in Japan, so one would assume most of these CD issueances are from Japan, but why?  Why in the span of less than 20 years have the Japanese (and possibly other unnamed countries) put this album on CD when it was already available on CD?
Then you look up MASTER OF REALITY by Black Sabbath or most any other CD and they have a two disc deluxe edition, at least one Japanese mini-LP edition, a MFSL Gold CD edition, and...well, I'm speaking hypothetically, I don't even know if that one was ever released by MFSL, but there's 12 editions of that album, many of which have customer reviews submitted for them and Amazon makes it increasingly difficult to figure out which review is for which item.  Unless the reviewer specifically says which item they're reviewing -- which for many years they didn't need to, so they didn't.  What's the point of reading a bunch of people saying "this is one of the greatest albums ever made"/"drop what you're doing and buy this!"/"I really like this album"...I mean, seriously, how does one EXPLAIN what it is they like about a song or album?  Unless you're a technically minded person, which most music listeners are not, thus explaining many progrockers contempt for pop music...
Anyway...
Haven't posted in a little while...Haven't been obsessing about this a lot or anything, just something I wanted to vent about.

I spent way TOO MUCH money this month.  I bought a bunch of CDs, etc....I wrote out my budget for December and I have enough to get Christmas presents for my small circle of family members, but that's it.  I meant to give $85 to God this month.  I'm only at $50, $10 of which is from re-selling osme of the more or less useless junk I had accumulated from online shopping et al...I need to quit this half assed Christianity I'm half assedly practicing.  UGH.
It looks like I will be moving from Southeast Missouri to suburban Atlanta, Georgia in January of 2016.  Another incredible journey.  It's been almost 20 years since I ventured from mid-state California to SEMO.

SPY (2015)

I saw SPY w/ Melissa McCarthy on Saturday (not a very fitting Halloween movie but oh well).  I was wondering if it was any good b/c it's got overall positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes' website.  A lot was riding on my opinion of this film.  If it had been a rotten tomato, I might have very well passed up seeing GHOSTBUSTERS in theaters this upcoming summer.  However, I was actually very pleased with it.  The directing was competent, the script was funny, it was just an overall job well done for writer/director Paul Feig.  I doubt the re-make of GHOSTBUSTERS will capture the visual majesty of the original, but either way, I'm sure it'll at least be entertaining, and not in a trainwrek-that-you-can't-look-away-from way...if it is...o dear God...aaaah!
Anyway.  I have a little more enthusiasm for the film.  That's a good thing.  I'm still skeptical.  Kate Diepold, who wrote THE HEAT starring McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, is also involved with the new GHOSTBUSTERS film, and that lends one to question weather the film will actually be any good, since THE HEAT was not funny in any way that I could perceive.  I guess that type of humor goes well with some people, but hopefully there's more in Diepold's arsenal than what I'm aware of presently...
Hmm...

Obscenity

I heard Rush Limbaugh talking on his radio program one day a few years ago about how the Great Depression is an example of how welfare isn't needed.  He either is extremely ignorant or he just doesn't care.  I'm going with the latter.  He was very vocal about the negative effect of "social conservatives" during the 2012 voting season.  Social conservatism is a good idea, IMO, but it should be something parents and neighbors act on.  Putting someone in jail because they defy social convention is just stupid.  The principles that the USA was built on were not socially accepted at that time.  However, if neighbors/friends/family have strong ideals that they wish to pass down to the upcoming generation(s), then they should work together to do so.  It is not congress' fault that the youth of the 1950s were drawn to Elvis Presley.  It is not congress' fault that TV stations felt compelled to air live recordings of Elvis Presley.  The fact of the matter is that congressman and religious organizations have been kicking and screaming about "American values" long after their voice became a joke in and of itself.  The sexual revolution started over 50 years ago.  Yet it's always "gay marriage" that becomes the subject of political squabbling.  Politicians and organizations defend it by saying "we don't care what they do in private, but subjecting children to it...", as if marriage had anything to do with children.  Yes, I realize a long long time ago, marriage was a means of having sex in a socially approved manner that would thus lead to parenthood.  But abortion is now legal and more or less safe (for the adult), and 30% of society doesn't even see the point of marriage.
This is indeed troubling information for those whose heart goes out to God.  And yes, if it were illegal for Elvis to be on TV it would have maybe kept the sexual revolution from happening and thus kept abortion from being legalized.  But how many souls are being saved by Kim Davies' actions?  Some guy on the news that supports her was asked by a reporter if he thought he was fighting a losing battle and he cited a passage in The Bible that talks of Christians being on the winning side.  That doesn't explain what verse in The Bible supports acting like a snooty holier than thou bigot.  Really, nothing in The Bible says to prevent marriage between gay people.  The Apostle Paul didn't force the fornicating church members to stop what they were doing.  He simply told them they would not enter Heaven if they kept it up.  It was their choice.  In Biblical terms, the issue IS gay sex, not gay marriage.  So if you're trying to conserve what's left of Christian influence in society, you either abandon the freedom of speech & religion clause and all the legislation that has been written surrounding it over the past 50+ years or you can love your neighbor the way God intended us to love each other and just hope your neighbors see and embrace the truth.  The battle against evil is not going to be won by man.  The antichrist WILL rise up and take over the entire planet.  It will be God's victory over evil that we will have the opportunity to witness and be astonished by.

But as I was saying, social conservatism is a fantasy.  It was once a reality 75 or so years ago but there's nothing to conserve anymore.  There was a time when "obscenity" was considered something akin to pornography.  It is no longer the case.  However, most lukewarm Christians and heathens alike can say that it takes a truly despicable soul to stand for children starving over malnutrition.  The obscenity laws of yore are no longer relevant, but if you want an obscenity law on the books, there's one to think over.  It's not a matter of forcing good will on others.  It's a matter of Hitler ending the holocaust voluntarily or facing a bullet in the head.  Obviously, the rich pay their taxes and welfare recipients get a tiny fraction of that, but if they don't, Rush Limbaugh and his ilk are indeed correct - Society will stand up and hunt you down.  You will go to jail or die in a police altercation.
I do however think Obama is being stupid making the investigation of welfare recipients a partisan issue.  His solution makes a little sense, but it doesn't solve the problem as far as I can tell.  The GOP proposal makes even more sense, and although it also wouldn't solve the problem, it would at least minimize it.

Is It really stripped?

I bought some Jones Stripped Green Apple soda (basically a near-diet naturally flavored not-drenched-in-sugar soda) a few+ hrs ago and though it'd been about 30+ minutes since eating any - ahem - chocolate (ggggggggggh), I couldn't help but be less than satisfied.  Jones Naturals is supposedly no longer being made, having been merged with the Jones Stripped product line.  My local Hastings still has some Jones Naturals, and between the Naturals and the Stripped, I bought 4 total.  The problem is I don't remember which one I bought first.  The first one I tried I loved.  It was great!!  The second one tasted very plain and I was not impressed at all.  Then I tried another and it was great.  I might have had another one in between then and now, but that's how confusing this whole thing is, right?  I don't know if i should contact the company and let them know and hope they can refund my money or something or what.  I know I had some Jones Naturals Orange Mango and that was freakin' fantastic!  I looooved it!  However, I can't buy it just any old day.  Hastings didn't have any today, nor were they carrying any Jones Stripped Orange Mango for me to make a comparison.  I don't know where else to buy it.  They sell it on their website for $26 a 12 pk, which is more expensive than Hastings and is a lot of money to plunk down out of my budget for something i don't even know if I like.
rrr.
My average calorie intake from today and 4 days prior is 2,050 apprx.  That's not quite worth bragging about, but it's close (!)

weight loss and nostaliga...

I'm finding myself running around Rhapsody's on-demand streaming service like a chicken with its head cut off.  So much of what I used to listen to is negative, even blasphemous.  And there wasn't a whole lot of "great" music back when I was a heathen anyway.  I've found Michael W. Smith's SOVEREIGN to be a good album, but it gets rather boring sitting there thinking about how awesome my God is.  It's a good worship CD, but not something I'd listen to for entertainment.
It does provide some comfort to know the wife of the guy who put together my congregation's small group study THE STORY (Mrs. Randy Frazee, not sure of her name) is often melancholy in her mood.
My pastor was marveling about the fact that God is the author of laughter.  I'm not sure he's correct.  Maybe I have a serious attitude problem, but most things I laugh at are negative.  Most sources of humor and most content of jokes stem from something negative.  Dan Aykroyd, co-writer (and one of the stars) of GHOSTBUSTERS, stated that it wasn't hard to find a balance between comedy and horror (considered a Satanic genre by many) because so much of what makes us laugh is the same things that scare us (severe paraphrasing, not an exact quote by a long shot).  Coming from a successful and respected professional, it somehow seems to carry more significance than coming from an unschooled, unenmployed crazy dude who says stuff on the internet.  I guess Dan Aykroyd may suffer the same or somewhat similar attitude problem(s) that I do.  It's not unthinkable, given Hollywood's tendency to bash Christianity.  Christians do exist in Hollywood, but just as in general society, they are not the norm.  Most voters, Christian and otherwise, say they would not vote for an Evangelical Christian as POTUS.  I try to find out why and nobody has any answers that make any sense.  Some guy on Yahoo! Answers said it's because "Evangelical Christians" have a distorted view of The Bible (or something to that effect) and I asked him what is distorted about it and he never responded.
Anyway...on the physical side of things, I've consumed in the span of 4 days (including today -- fingers crossed!!) 8,000 net calories apprx.  That is...1,600 x 2 (yesterday and the day before the day before then) + 3,000 (the day before yesterday) + 2100 (today)...8,300, actually...which comes to 2,050 per day on average, which is good...so far.  It needs work, but it's better than it's been.  If I consume 1,800 or less tomorrow, that average will go down(!)
I sometimes wonder though if losing weight will really cause anything good.  I want to be healthy overall.  I want to FEEL good.  I feel fat.  It's hard to explain.  I want to feel less clouded in the head.  I want less sweat.  I want my skin to not feel like a wad of plastic tangled up in itself.  I want to feel more awake.  I feel sick!
Anyway...

lifestyles of the unlawfully impatient...

Darn it.  I'll probably miss seeing THE INTERN in theaters.  Ditto with BRIDGE OF SPIES.  Oh, well.  At least I have enough to see them on video when they come out.
I think I could afford to see THE INTERN in Nov if it's still playing, but that would depend on if I can get a ride to and from.  BRIDGE OF SPIES I have less faith in.  It'll either be shriek out loud awesome or leave me pissed off wishing I could leave the theater midway.  Plus, it's a Spielberg movie, so it's bound to generate revenue even if the Rotten Tomatoes consensus is somehow incorrect.  Nancy Meyers is not well liked by the movie critics.  On THE INTERN's Wikipedia page, it mentions that someone writing for The Guardian believes the poor critics' reception is due to the female movie critics being severely outnumbered, which sounds plausible, I suppose.  Meyers' IT'S COMPLICATED had the same critical reception as THE INTERN, although I haven't seen IT'S COMPLICATED either.  I did rent it a couple weeks ago along with another movie, but I only watched the other movie, which I wrote about earlier titled CRAZY STUPID LOVE.
Don't really have much to talk about I guess.  This is a much shorter blog post than what should be, given the low-number of blog posts over the past month(?)...
 If anyone's dying for more of my dry insight...then...sorry...if not, then perhaps a thank you is in order?  No, don't thank me.  Thank boredom.  Here's to boredom!  Cheers!

CRAZY STUPID LOVE (2011)

I rented CSL from Family Video a week and two days ago, and watched it about 3 days ago.  It was great.  It was a relief to know that some people still know how to write well-paced, focused and entertaining screenplays and that they can be filmed in a competent manner w/o the assistance of Martin Scorsese or Steven Speilberg...I wouldn't say it was the greatest film I've seen, but it's still really good.  I liked it a lot.
I bought it at Hastings' website (gohastings) and saved almost $3 off the already low price.  I guess it's considered "an old movie" by Hollywood execs, or, idk, but for some reason it's in the budget DVD section at Hastings ($5.99) and by buying on their website I only paid $3.25 + tax, and no S&H due to the sweetness of in-store pickup (yay!!!).
My mom had watched in on cable a few+ months ago and I was in the room for part of it.  The little I did see of it stuck w/ me tho.
Anyway...another cool thing, I saw the film in ONE sitting.  I didn't even get interrupted by a bathroom urge.  I just watched it.  For me, this is a pretty big achievement.  Me?  No, the real achievement in in the film's success.  It's a tasteful, stylish, spirited, engrossing film.  I liked it a lot.  I wouldn't say "I love(d) it".  Love is a strong word, although people act like it isn't...I did very much like it tho.  I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it.

90% off Rhapsody - yeah..

Still a waste of $.  I'd been using ad-supported Rdio all September along with YouTube via my Sony blu ray player.  Rhapsody sent me an offer of THREE MONTHS for $1/mo.  Not bad.  It'll prolly come in handy.  Still confused as they said they'd included "customized recommendations" as part of their pkg, but I guess that's only for the mobile version...I don't see that feature at the desktop site.  They'd had recommendations, but they sucked.  They seldom updated and they relied upon things I'd only listened to a few seconds of.  I guess that's standard across all streaming music services.  I listen to Genesis and they start recommending Phil Collins and Steve Hackett...like, seriously, they think I don't know who Phil Collins is??!  I could see that being the case if I was listening to FOXTROT and SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND and leaving DUKE and ABACAB untouched, but when I'm listening to INVISIBLE TOUCH and WE CAN'T DANCE, how much more obvious is it that I would know who Phil Collins is??!
Time for church in another 15 hrs apprx.  I've spent way too much time away from my Bible.  I haven't prayed in almost as much time.  I imagine going to church tomorrow and having it be some surreal nauseating out of body experience...ughm...
I find myself searching high and low for something to await the arrival of in the mail.  Amazon has thousands upon thousands (if not millions) of items.  Only a few of them are attractive, none of them are worth buying that wouldn't deplete my fund.  I have like $18 plus some money for groceries etc....I owed my Mom $60 and my sis $110...I would have $0 but I decided to repay her $55 and the other half in November.
Hmm....that pretty much sums up the day.  Been trying to enjoy music.  Haven't had any luck.  Yesterday I managed to enjoy The Story So Far's WHAT YOU DON'T SEE.  It'd been awhile since I've enjoyed it.  Not a hugenormous amount of time, but probably a couple+ months.
My weight loss is hit and miss.  I did OK for most of the past 7 days.  Then I ate 3500 calories on Thursday.  I cold have cut 1K of those if I'd known how many were in Bob Evan's brioche french toast.  I ordered two servings of it!!  Plus one of their bottomless capuccinos, another 500+ calories I'm sure....
Friday I stopped right about 1900 or something like that, I think...maybe I'm misremembering...I'll have to look again.  Today I've eaten about 2500.  Including about 200%DV (recommended daily intake of) saturated fat(eek!).  It'll take at least 3 days to make up for that one day...weather or not I've managed to make up for the cloggery of the other days past, especially when I was living in my apartment and eating what the fucc ever the HELLLLL!!!z breaking loose!, I've no idea.  I don't keep close enough track....eeee!  Say it with me, eeeeeee!  EEEEE...na, nvm...
(sigh) (literally, I just sighed...and it wasn't just for show either, this is some seriously f8**d sh****!!!!!)

Ok.  Is saying "The End" too dramatic?  Seriously, I see sunshine over the horizon.  It's not THE END.  Just don't have anything more to say.  Nothing positive to counter all this b.s.  Hopefully that will change.  I need to get my emotions in check and just do what God asks me!  READ, PRAY, BE KIND...quit being so boring!!!  Maybe I can partially succeed...even 1/5 would be progress enough, maybe?!!!!?(???????)

Funk you!

Funko hit a home run with their "Pop!" vinyl doll thingies.  I was glad when the finally about f***ing time introduced GHOSTBUSTERS Pop Vinyl's.  I was further encouraged when they introduced other toylines and made GHOSTBUSTERS a part of them too.  Vinyl Idolz, Titans, and now there's these Dorbz figures.  I don't know if Dorbz in general are a new thing, but I'm getting sick of this.  The Pop! figures are an utter waste of $10 (give or take + tax), and the Vinyl Idolz are slightly less stupid but double the price.  The Titans are the only ones that I have *any* interest in simply because they look like actual toys and not some kind...whatever the hell the Pop! and the Dorbz are supposed to be...they may strike a cool factor with anime fans...idk...
Mattel is supposed to be doing their own GHOSTBUSTERS stuff in conjunction with the 2016 movie.  I can't wait 'til the trailer comes out.  The only film I've seen of the director's is THE HEAT (which I didn't watch much of b/c it was just flat out dumb in every respect).  The new SPY movie is supposedly better and I haven't seen BRIDESMAIDS but that came out before THE HEAT and I get the impression the director may have learned how to do full length motion pictures "on the job"...from a visual standpoint, THE HEAT looked to me like what a cartoon would look like if it was acted out instead of drawn/painted...
However much the film does (or doesn't) suck, it's going to be nice having a tidal wave of GHOSTBUSTERS merch around me again.  I keep thinking "I can't buy any of it!" because I could very well not be getting any more money from October (?) 2016 onward.  I had no idea until a couple (?) months ago that SSI was slated for depletion so damn soon.  I thought SSI was funded alongside Social Security.  Turns out there's some kind of trustfund that was set up independent of Social Security.  I guess this was in the news back in 2012, but apparently I wasn't keeping up enough with tings.
Weird thing is I don't even care.  Maybe I'm just due for a nap, but I don't care.  That strikes me as both sad and worrisome.  What is there to keep a person from dying on the inside if they find nothing that "makes" them happy?
I guess I'm just stuck in this perpetual state of "Let's go to the mall!".  I always loved the mall as a little kid but we rarely were able to go.  Between my dad not wanting to spend money on anything but himself and my mom being so depressed, it was not as common as I would have liked.
It's weird.  It's been a nerve wracking thing, the whole experience of "shopping".  It's not a whole lot of fun by yourself.  My mom can once in a great while enjoy it.  Or seem to anyway.  It was like 1996 or so, I was 13, give or take a few months, and I asked my mom to take me to the mall.  We got there and she was like "so what did you want to do here?"  I was totally caught off guard.  I didn't have much if any money (allowance) and I doubt she did either, so the only thing I could think of that didn't cost a boat ton of money was sit down and eat.  We had some cinnamon rolls, very good ones.  My mom insists they were Cinnabon roles.  Maybe they were.  I remember it being a very plainly laid out eatery type place.  Like one of those pizzareas on some corner of downtown Chicago or something...maybe that was Cinnabon's angle back then.  The one the mall in Cape, Missouri used to have was more sparkling et al. 
Anyway...shopping in general has gotten to be more of a game than it should be  A difficult one to win at that.  It is imperative that I fold.

"The only K we're going to is college!"

Barista spelled my name Jonathen.  I've seen my name spelled Jonothon, but not Jonathen.
That's not as bad as the one my mum got.  Her name is now Karol-Ann.  Not Karl Ann.  Karol Ann.  How many Carol's spell their name with a "K"?  I guess it was at one point long long ago somewhat common...like in the '40s maybe?  idk...I don't think it was the same spelling with the exception of a K instead of C...I think it was like Karollee...idk...seems vaguely familiar...maybe I'm thinking of Clark Kent's birthname...idk...

The One with the wurlitzer

I put American Football's sole album in my Blu ray/DVD/CD player this morning while attempting to go to sleep.  I fell asleep before it was over but what I did consciously hear of it was perfect.  It was about 9am.  The glow of the sunlight was perfect.  I could feel images of winter in my head.  This is precisely why I love that album.  I don't know what the connection is.  Someone on Amazon, a customer publishing his 2cents on the matter, said the music is reminiscent of childhood.  He described actives that sound like what I imagine a child experiencing life in the '50s-'70s -- before video games & MTV -- would have engaged in.  I did go outside and explore etc.  I had a grasshopper collection.  I even had a "pet lizard" that I found in the yard one time and stayed in the yard for the longest time (my mother theorizes it got ate by a bird...which does seem to me like is a definite possibility...I do wonder why it stayed in the yard so long...maybe that question suddenly occurred to the lizard too?)  But I was kind of an odd kid (and now an odd overall human being).  I ultimately enjoyed watching movies/tv and browsing the cover-art of movies at the video store.  It's strange how a lot of really crappy movies from the mid-1980s up to the early 1990s had really awesome cover-art.  I think it was around the mid 90's when they started putting butt ugly cover-art on movies.  CUJO (1983) was the worst offender.  They finally re-issued it on blu ray with the original VHS cover-art.  There's an older blu ray edition that has OK cover-art that seems modeled after the cover design of the original hardcover book it was based on.  the second worst offender was HALLOWEEN II (1981).  The original cover-art featured a freaky-ass pumpkin with what looked like very real teeth.  The pumpkin was included in a mid-90's re-issue of the movie, but it was part of that whole "ensemble" look that seems to be popular with the audiences to this day still.  The BD/DVD and standalone DVD release of TERMINATOR: GENYSIS has the same problem.  There's like 6 characters in the film that are highlighted in the trailer and every one of them is on the front cover of the BD/DVD combo and standalone DVD.  Is that really necessary?  The 3D Blu ray release has a better design.  If the price goes down $10++, I might buy it.  First I should probably watch the movie though.  I didn't get around to seeing it in theaters.
But anyway;  I guess movies in the 80's and early 90's were what you might call "falsely advertised".  The movie adaptation for Stephen King's short story GRAVEYARD SHIFT was mostly boring.  The cover graphics spoke volumes of the contrary.  As if that wasn't bad enough, they typed on some b.s. about how the film was scarier than Pet Semetary and The Shining combined or something like that.  Of course, there was no quotation marks on that statement, nor was there a critics name beside it.  Thank GOD!  Any respectable critic should be fired from his job for making a statement like that!  Of course, these days there's all kinds of online blogger-types who review movies, and crappy movies will include their praises on the DVD cover-art.  I don't subscribe to any of the online movie critic bloggers.  Some of them may be trustworthy.  I almost rented this movie called LIVE ANIMALS from a few years back.  The average customer rating last I looked at Amazon was like 1.5 out of 5 stars.  Some of the claims against the movie were rather severe.  I don't remember which online movie critics are guilty of giving the movie undo credit, but I do remember there were at least 3 different movie critic websites that were featured/included on the cover and some of them at least I'd actually heard of/seen mentioned before.  So I've decided instead of making a hitlist, I'll stick to critics that have something to lose (i.e.: their job).  People on the internet who rely on advertising from Adsense and the like will always generate revenue from the millions of people out there who blindly take to heart everything they read.
Anyway.
I started listening to Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" which I don't generally think highly of, but I was scrambling all over the internet trying to find Browne's live rendition of "For A Dancer" that was included on a tribute to Nicolette Larson from 1998.  I'd heard it on Pandora, but I can't find it anywhere.  I know iTunes has it, but I don't think very kindly of a company that requires its users to download software to get the job done.  Also -- the software is ginormous!  The installation file itself is 160MB!
But as I was saying, while attempting to listen to that song at Slacker Radio's website, I accidentally created a Jackson Browne radio station via Slacker Radio's proprietary modern day hyrogliphics (sp???) and "Running On Empty" played and suddenly I remembered why I like THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR: THE BEST OF JACKSON BROWNE.  I even found myself drawn to the opening track "Doctor My Eyes" which I've often felt sickened by while listening to it, like something was horribly wrong here.  The album is a very autumn one.  Very much like autumn itself, you can't force it.  You just gotta wait for the right time.  I thought maybe I'd have to wait 'til next year to enjoy AMERICAN FOOTBALL, since usually I start digging it a bit sooner (at least I thought) and there have been years where I didn't enjoy listening to it at all.  Going two years without listening to a CD isn't that bad, really.  It may be abnormal and it may make the price of the album seem that much more expensive for someone like me that shouldn't even have money to spend on music, but those times when I'm able to enjoy it are priceless.

Terminator: Genisys - wth?

I didn't get around to seeing T:G when it was still in theaters in my town of residence (which,btw,houses the biggest theater in the area; driving 1.5 hrs to St. Louis would maybe gain me a shot, but with no car or driver's license (I might be capable of getting a license, but I'd be surprised if I was able to use it for any length of time before it got taken away for repeated traffic violations) and very little $, that's a tough feat).  It's also not out on video 'til November, so I don't know how good the movie is.  Critics seem to hate it.  One guy I saw posting online said he enjoyed the film, but was annoyed by its very existence (possibly not the exact words he used, but close...unless my memory's f***ed me over...)  I really don't know how someone can feel so negatively passionate about a movie that they enjoyed...SO WHAT if it was planned by the current copyright holders?  It's not like it's guaranteed to suck just because of that.  If the producers aren't too blinded by money to know the difference between a good movie and a just-OK one, then how can you blame a production company for hiring a screenwriter (presumably one that's good at his/her job) and accepting it?
Yes, I know studios put out crap all the time.  That's not only true with franchise properties, all kinds of movies that could have been a lot better end up getting put in theaters with the hopes that the public isn't "too picky" to care how crappy the movie is.  There've been exceptions, albeit not many.  (500) Days Of Summer (2008) was good, THE DARK KNIGHT Trilogy (2005-2012) was freakin' awesome (TDK was a little too depressing IMO but DKR more than made up for it)...I personally thoroughly enjoyed SHORT TERM 12 (2014) (being a victim of mental illness, the film resonated with me more than it probably did for a lot of other people), THE SPECTACULAR NOW (2013)...there was a stand-alone superhero film released in 2010 called SUPER, with Raain Wilson and Ellen Page...I was very moved by it.  Jodie Foster's THE BEAVER (2011) was also very moving and very funny.  Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED (2006) was amazing, but that's kind of to be expected...Martin Scorsese's career far predates the stagnation that Hollywood is currently in.  THE EXTRA-MAN with Kevin Kline was OK, not great, but good.  There's probably several more I can think of if I gave it enough time.  I just thought of one a moment ago and now I don't remember what it was I was thinking of..
That movie THE INTERN, with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway looks good.  I don't know if it's half as good as it plays out in the trailer that I saw on YouTube.  Hopefully it is.  It probably isn't.
I personally am not impressed by the trend in comedy these days to be offense and/or vulgar.  Those traits don't make a movie funny.  Generic action films have existed since the '80's, if not before...roaming jeeps in the desert driven by people with machine guns...etc...martial arts films were big in the '70's but they kinda went out of style at some point in the '80's.  When it came to Hollywood, action films had to have something special about them to set them apart.  Now that "something special" seems to be nothing more than Arnold Schwartzennegger's presence.  The Governator used to be the king of action films.  And when I say that, I mean he was always in very good action films, not movies that existed solely to show off artillery and motor vehicles.  Arnold S.'s movies, from THE TERMINATOR (1984) up through END OF DAYS (1999) were a feast for the senses.  He even did a few successful comedies with the director of GHOSTBUSTERS.  JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996) was good, even though it was a little too adult oriented to really be something the whole family can watch...not that it's crude or anything, it just seems more targeted to adults than to kids.  I was 14 when I saw it and laughed my ass off much of the running time.
And since Eli Roth's HOSTEL (2005), so many movies had tried to cash in on that formula.  I haven't seen HOSTEL, so I can't verify how good or bad it is, but if I had the stomach to watch it and not faint or throw up, I could probably tell you that despite how utterly disgusting it is, it was a well made film.  TURISTAS (2006) was just pathetic.  I saw a TV spot around late 2005/early 2006 and figured I'd rent it.  The gore is not realistic enough to take seriously.  What a joke!  I should have rented HOSTEL instead, but I guess I was confused by the title...idk...it took me a rediculously long time to realize how intense that movie apparently is...many/most of the less glowing reviews on Amazon for the DVD are simply stating how sick and disgusting the film is.  If those people had read the customer reviews instead of merely writing one of their own, they would have spared themselves the agony.  It's possible all these other films that have been populating the video store have some artistic merit, but...browsing through the horror aisle these days has become an R rated experience.  A lot of the ones available for rental nowadays should be cut off from the rest of the video store...like they do with the XXX films.
Hmmm...anyway...movies generally suck these days.  I tried watching THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and the film was just way too flippant on every level.  You got the sense that the cancer patient was not happy.  Then two minutes later she's attracted her soul mate.  WTH?  That film is to drama what a porn film is to erotica.  I would expect a GOOD film (drama) to breathe a little more.  The film moved way too fast.  Sure, the story is easy to relate to, for most people, but the story for most movies, including good ones, can be experienced in the same flat presentation of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by reading a 2 page summation of the movie.  A 90+ minute movie of that caliber is not needed!  I felt similarly about another recent teen melodrama titled IF I STAY.  The film would have been good if it didn't spend so much time telling the backstory that lead up to the main character being in a coma.  A film like this is not a declaration of life's joys.  The entire idea of the book it was based on was not "LET ME LIVE!"; that's why it's titled ***IF**** I STAY -- before the film begins the celebration of life aspect is already ambiguous.  The scenes that make up the first half hour of the movie are completely out of context.  If they existed in flash backs, it would have made more sense and been more resonating.  The whole "get to the point" element would have been removed.
And I realize a lot of these movies are based on books.  They sell well and some movie studio wants to replicate the book's success.  That didn't stop them from being well liked by your average sap and making tons of money in the USA.  TERMINATOR: GENISYS on the other hand is considered an artistic failure even if it was enjoyable...simply because James Cameron didn't make it himself?  Aside from the fact that the ideas that make up THE TERMINATOR are not that freakin' original, why not critizise DC Comics for publishing BATMAN 20 years after Bob Kane died?  He obviously isn't writing those himself.  He created the series, did he not?  What are all these other dudes adding on to Bob Kane's original story?  You know damn well they didn't get hired by DC Comics by submitting their own BATMAN story idea.  They were hired on the strength of their story telling abilities.  As I said already, a movie is more than just an able story.  It does take a lot of people to get any movie made and if the movie is to be good, it's gonna take cooperation on the part of all of them.  Which is why movies have a director, or at least that's one reason...I don't know if the critics low opinion of the movie is justified or not.  Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers is usually a good judge of movies.  According to him, it's a great movie.  It's not like I always agree with everything he says.  Peter Jackson's KING KONG was dumb, IMO.  Peter Travers liked it a lot.  I don't know...guess I'll find out for sure when it comes to video.  Maybe my local theater will do an encore?

THE GODFATHER of All Movies!

THE GODFATHER (1972) is the movie to end all movies.
It's everything a movie should be - a painting that moves.
The story is somewhat incoherent and what can be discerned is rather faulty, since it's basically a knee-jerk reaction to the political unrest that was felt during the institutionalized slaughter of many Americans for the sake of money (two knee jerk reactions don't make either one right!).
It's an interesting film, even if you take out the political context of the times in which it was made.  It's interesting if you don't.  I suppose it's food for thought you might say.  But the most impressive thing about it is the look and feel of the movie.  It just glides seemingly w/o effort.  The fact is making any movie, even a crappy movie, is a lot of work.  I don't use that as a defense for trying to sell crap to consumers.  I especially despise those who DO use that as an excuse!  If you don't know you suck at making movies, you can certainly figure that out when you've finished making a movie and you find out it sucks!  I can't imagine a masterpiece being perceived as a failure.  I can perhaps see a masterpiece being perceived as mediocre.  Elton John and Bernie Taupen once downplayed the magnificence of the classic/iconic/seminal hit "Your Song", saying everything else they wrote was equally good.  If the duo indeed felt passionate about everything they wrote, I fail to see how.  But I guess I don't count.  I do see how "Your Song" rises above the rest of the crop, but it's still not by any means one of my favs.  Elton's music is reminiscent of The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.  They all got some memorable songs, but they have no important role in my life.  A song that I remember but feel nothing for is to soundwaves what snot is to my nostrils.

I thought about getting rid of my copy of THE EXORCIST (1973).  I do not feel any detectable sympathy for the characters.  I certainly am not horrified by the depictions of demonic possession.  I do not feel the triumph of God in the final scenes.
The movie can best be described as somber.  The whole thing.
I guess that's why I've clung to it so many years.
In a large way, it's enjoyability is akin to that of THE GODFATHER -- it's got a more coherent story than that, but it's just as meaningless.  There is some thought to glean from it and folks in its new release days were often horrified to the point of fainting.  William Friedkin stated on the 25th Anniversary Edition introduction that the film could make you challenge your sanity.  He didn't really elaborate, but perhaps the mood of the film combined with its staunch religious subject matter was just what some people needed back in 1973/1974 (it was released 6 days before the beginning of 1974).  There were seemingly forces that didn't want the film made.  I would suspect those were demonic forces?  I doubt the film pissed off God.  I'm sure there were many people whose faith was re-affirmed after seeing that film and perhaps a few phony church goers who felt the need to really think about what it is they believe and I suspect some of them may have been lost for good.  It's hard to say.

anyway; back on my shelf it goes.  I had it listed on Amazon.  I'm glad it didn't sell.  I took it off an hour(?) ago and when I can get off my ass for some reason other than to eat, I will insert it between "E.T.: and "GHOSTBUSTERS" (I don't own any films that start with "F", although I did own FORREST GUMP not long ago....)

A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY by Lauren Grodstein

...
has three and a half stars on average (out of five) from 336 (and counting?) customer reviews.
I'm only on page 10 so I can't verify anything that anyone's stance on the book.
But the top voted-helpful reviews range from "huh?" to "are you sure" to "DAMN YOU!".  One reviewer uses the word "gripping" like 3 times and then details THE ENTIRE DAMN STORY ("DAMN YOU!").  One reviewer sounds like a kindergarten teacher who thinks everything is an afterschool special...then there's one who sounds EXTREMELY un-enthusiastic about the book then rates it four stars (???), and a couple others toward the bottom of the list and I don't even know if I read them because they all sound so generic and uninformative...!!!  If I elected to view all customer reviews and sorted by "newest" instead of "most helpful", I'm sure I'd find several reviews that only have 5 words.  "Love it, highly recommended!" or "You gotta read this, it was really good!" or "dumb.  I can't even believe they published it"...and so and so on...in other words, people that are too dumb to know what they're thinking and thus write it down!  If you can't think, don't write.  Simple as that.  The phrase "learn to talk" is kind of overused given how talking is a reflection of thought and so many people don't know how to think and should thus never speak!!!

Ugh...

The Bluebird of Happiness

Lotte Kestner's 2013 album THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS is freakin' awesome.  I don't listen to it often b/c it's not something you can just hear and be content with.  A lot of the music I listen to - synth pop etc. - can be appreciated to some extent after the resounding pang from the melodies themselves becomes predictable and thus stops.
I finally bought it a couple months ago.  It's certainly a worthwhile addition to my CD stash.
I wonder how many copies the album sold tho.  I know Anna-Lynne Williams, the one person who writes and orchestrates the music on the albums bearing the name Lotte Kestner, did tour regionally pretty frequently when she was in the band Trespassers William.  She may have came from a somewhat wealthy family, and thus isn't concerned about money.  I don't know.  I spoke with her via email and she said she was raising the prices of her Trespassers William CDs that she sells personally b/c she said she'd lost a lot of the money she had invested b/c of the economic b.s. that was manifesting at that time (I don't remember the date or the year of the email exactly...), which implies she had (at one time at least) money TO invest...which is certainly not the case with me...even if I got "my head out of my ass" and "got a job", I'd still be making peanuts.  A lot of people call their paycheck peanuts b/c they're not being paid wads of cash hand over fist...but then they go to the movie theater **and** buy popcorn+a drink on a regular basis.  I could afford to go to the movie theater, sure, but if you compare the cost of my rent to that of the average Missourian, I'm very lucky.  Thankfully, my sister is my landlord.  Not too many people have that to say about themselves.  Oh, AND I have a roommate to help with the base cost of rent and utilities etc....a lot of my money does get wasted b/c I like to shop and can't find anything truly worth buying that doesn't eat up a large chunk of my money.  I usually end up buying things that I should already own but don't because I got rid of them to make room in my budget for more shopping...it's gotten better...still have some work to do...
But anyway.  Assuming Anna-Lynne Williams was/is not well (or at least OK) to do outside of the monetary benefits of music making...I have to wonder: is her music profitable?  I mean, I know a lot of artists/bands tour, sometimes, as in the case of Aerosmith etc., it's simply because they want to.  Other times I don't get it.  Pearl Jam?  They actually elected not to tour in support of their 2nd album.  I'm glad they were fortunate enough to deal their own cards.  Of course, when you have mega-sales of one individual album, I'd imagine you can threaten your way into getting what you want (or un-getting what you want against).  Michael Jackson toured b/c he was desperate for other people's acceptance/approval.  Katy Perry probably tours b/c she has an ego 3x the size of her brain and likes that feeling of Ms. World Domination.  Beyonce?  I don't even understand her appeal.  I didn't like Destiny's Child and I have no interest in Beyonce's solo career.  So I can't say what it is about her that compels her to tour because she's an artist whose music I'm not interested enough in to bother analyzing.  I didn't realize "Halo" was a Beyonce cover, btw.  I just got done reading about that on PopMatters.  It's a great song, a great performance...Beyonce's version I have no interest in.  It may be good, it may not be.  If Beyonce hadn't been working in a band that defined the cold-blooded nature of the music industry and the overall teenager population that listened to them, I might give it a try.  N.I.
I know it's possible - very much so - for a band/artist that doesn't use payola or pimp themselves out to PepsiCo to succeed in the monetary standard.
But the only bands I can think of that have done that are Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, Senses Fail, Silverstein and every other emopop band that cropped up before "emo" became a dirty word...and the only reason they succeeded on that front was because they were part of a trend.  People were coocoo for emo - puffs.  It'd be nice if once in a while an album would sell a large qty of units without the tools of payola, peer pressure, or the artist/band putting on some act that makes people think they have idol potential.  Michael Jackson was the worst about that.  He'd be on stage and you'd think he was King.  Yes, his music was good, he was extremely talented in a variety of ways, but King?  Maybe President; his list of achievements certainly rivals that of any branch of gov't.  But King?  Jesus King OF Kings.  And MJ certainly does not provide water for his people, food to eat or the comfort of the knowledge that salvation awaits those who ask for it.  The moment some SONY exec decides to start branding "Jackson's Own" salad dressing, I'm sure someone will have an argument that they think makes sense...
Anyway.  I keep telling my sister that she should buy the music that she likes, or at least that which she likes most.  She insists that music should not be a job but instead a service that is done for mankind.  I don't know where she gets that idea.  Why not guard the cash register at WalMart as a service to mankind?  Or cut the paychecks of the employees at J.P. Morgan for the same reason?  Jobs ARE a service to mankind.  As appreciation for x service, your are presented with a paycheck.  Now, as far as the way the criminal justice system deals with thieves, as well as other criminals, that's an entirely different issue altogether.

ugh

My brain is messing up on me.  Or maybe it's overloaded.  I don't know.  I think it's mostly just me trying to view through the curtain from 500 feet away...there's nothing to observe in this building (my Earthly home) that I'm in.  I don't know how people assert that there is no justice in this world.  Is there?  What is justice?  Does it even matter?
This is especially confusing
(NIV version):
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me"
I guess "punishment" can range in severity...from a slap on the wrist to long hours/days of extreme torture...
I've read over 200 pages of the Old Testament, including the verse quoted above and I cannot say I've learned anything from it.  Most of the encouragement I've had to keep the faith and do what little I've been entrusted with to show God's love is from church sermons and small group sessions.  It probably would be less annoying if I'd pray more.  I'm not very articulate.  I'm not even very well versed in my own Frankenstein language...not to mention I get tripped up in how I say things...I try to go back and say it over...I guess that's what babbling is...a less impatient me would give myself & God more time to get on or further up the right path...it's not like I'm going to go to Hell if I don't go far enough up the trail...It blows my mind sometimes how lazy I can be.  One moment I'm ready to take on the stairs like I'm Superman and the next moment I can't even get off the chair and go to the next room without a big bout of groaning....sometimes I feel like I have two brains and they want to duke it out so badly but they can't BECAUSE THEY OCCUPY THE SAME SPACE!!!
Ok...guess I'll finish whatever the hell it is I turned on the desktop computer to get done...and then I'll let my hair dry and pray...even if my heart feels like it's made of paper......

Monumental 80's music document

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Like A Virgin - Madonna
1999 - Prince
Born In The USA - Bruce Springstein
Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer
Owner Of A Lonely Heart - Yes
Jump - Van Halen
Africa - Toto
Higher Love - Steve Winwood
We Built This City - Starship
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
I Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
One More Night - Phil Collins
99 Luftballoons - Nena
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
Drive - The Cars
Take On Me - A-Ha
Your Love - The Outfield
Something About You - Level 42
I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany
Only In My Dreams - Debbie Gibson
Tell It To My Heart - Taylor Dayne


This list is just my perception.  I was 6 years old on November 20th, 1989 and was not encouraged by my mother (or my father) to be materialistic or independent in my existence.  Perhaps someone who was alive and more observant of the decade as it was unfolding can correct me on some of these.  I know some of these songs are regularly played on radio today but may have not been as preferred in their heyday.  I read on someone's Amazon review that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" only went up to #7.  I really have to rattle my head way too hard to figure out what else might have topped that song.  It's an amazing song.  Maybe too amazing for its time?  Hmm...

if I had two hands....

Skipped church yesterday.  Was thinking I'd read some of His word, but I haven't.  Not then.  Not today.  It's 10:30 here in Missouri.
I bought a boatload of stuff at Hastings with my debit card yesterday.  Total debited from my bank was $106.10.  I only had $17.  I didn't need anything from Hastings, I didn't even really badly want anything...$28 of the $106 was a flat out waste.  The rest was stuff that I could easily live w/o.  I just wanted to shop.  So I did.  It'll be paid in September when I get money and I'll be able to pay for groceries and such like a sheltered U.S. citizen would think I should, although my gift to God that month will be a little short the requested 10%.
I felt so damn hypocritical yesterday, I didn't ask God for forgiveness.  Thankfully I've lived another day.  Praise be to Him.  I woke up at 11am so not much telling when I'll go to bed.
Not sure why I woke so late.  I went to bed a little after midnight.  Seriously, woah...

THE SMALLEST LIGHT (2015)

2013 brought emo-revival band Daisyhead's debut recording, titled I COULDN'T FACE YOU.  Two years later, earlier this year, their debut LP THE SMALLEST LIGHT was released and as was the case with Too Close To Touch's NERVE ENDINGS and Wind At Sails' MORNING LIGHT, I didn't find out about it until several months after the fact (in this case today).
Times like this make me glad I signed up for ad free Rdio.  Sorta.  I'm not sure the ads would bog it down that much if at all...although they are annoying, especially since it's mostly advertisements for their own service, beckoning me to upgrade to a paid plan.
I had some gift cards on Swagbucks, a whopping $19 worth, so I bought Lotte Kestner's THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS and now I'm awaiting a bank transfer so I can bu THE SMALLEST LIGHT.  I still have $6+ in GC bal.  The CD is a little under $12 w/ S&H factored in.
BOOM!