Tuesday, July 19...about six hours ago...

...I had just walked out of NCG Acworth after having seen GHOSTBUSTERS (2016).  I felt a disappointing sense of underwhelmed through the whole thing.  The near end/middle had some interesting visuals, but the first 1/2 of the movie felt like a cheap made for cable TV movie.  I didn't feel like a widescreen major motion picture.  I didn't think any of the film was funny, although it could have been had it gone all the way in the direction the humor was heading for.  It was mostly just bits and pieces of jokes that have been done 100,000+++ times interspersed between a suspenseful story that was played out in a goofy-awkward style.  I really was hoping for the best from this movie.  I figured it wouldn't be as good as the original, but after watching 2015's SPY -- made by the same co-writer & director of GB'16 -- I felt the failures of Dir. Paul Feig's other movies were perhaps the product of lack of experience and gave me hope that this film would be at least as good as that.  I think maybe Kate Diepold -- who co-wrote THE HEAT, which was also had a very goofy-awkward look and feel to it -- was the driving force behind this film's faults.  What I don't understand is why director Paul Feig let her on board...but on the other hand, a lot of people thought THE HEAT was the funniest film of that year, whatever year that was...
Some people have over time questioned my fandom of GHOSTBUSTERS (pre'16).  I guess I can say that I'm not so much a fan of GHOSTBUSTERS as I am of the feelings it evokes when I watch it.  It's very nostalgic.  For some reason or another the images in that film -- even the ones that take place on mundane locales like sidewalks and parks -- evoke a feeling of another time, another place, like a modern day USA that predates the modern day USA...which is kinda what the '70's and '80's was, technically...but I feel like I'm this close to touching it, but I can't quite...probably b/c I'd been watching the film since the age of 2 if nor younger, and I have memories surrounding watching the movie that I am not aware of...like the day I was born.  I don't think I remember it.  I don't know for a fact that a skilled hypnotist would be unable to put me under hypnosis and make me recall that day during the hypnosis.

elevation

I ordered HERE AS IN HEAVEN by Elevation Worship from Overstock.com about a week ago.  I wanted to have it on CD b/c the cover-art is pretty and the music is really good.  Well, now I'm returning it unsealed to the retailer, b/c the damn disc will not come out of the case safely.  Maybe I'm just stupid or something, but I spent almost 2 entire minutes (a guestimate) trying to get that CD out of the case.  It never happened.  I'll probably buy HERE AS IN HEAVEN brand new from Amazon LLC so I can get the AutoRip ***and*** have the prrrty cover-art.  Thankfully I'm able to say that as if I have a means of accomplishing it somewhat soon without deceiving y'all.  I'm expecting a $50++ refund from Amazon.  Their partner "Amazon Warehouse Deals" sold me a used 4333 Lasko Hybrid Fan for $67.  The day I received the fan in the mail, the price went down to $50, in new condition, directly from Amazon.  They said they wouldn't charge return s/h, so returning the fan will hopefully not have been a waste of time.

Where do these crazy ideas come from?

You'd think with all the constant warring going on in the Middle East and Africa and parts of South America that The USA was invented by aliens.  We've had wars, sure, but we've had relative peace for most of our nation's lifetime.  The Korean War was an effort to keep two nations from killing each other.  I don't even know if I'd call that a war.  The Vietnam War was a travesty.  I think the leaders should have had more faith in God and confided in Him more than they did.  Capitalism is not the cornerstone of this nation.  England is living proof of this.  Economic prosperity is nice, but it is not the cornerstone of any civilization.  The full scale battles within the War On Terror were a mistake.  I say that it was a mistake because there was never any victory in sight.  The Bush Family got what it wanted, but the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan are still not finished.  Our government has been trying to ease the public's frustration and heartache by figuring out when we can withdraw.  There's still no end in sight.  But prior to the days of Vietnam and the demonic presences that have continuously strengthened their grip on this nation since, this nation had very little warring.  WWII was a defensive against the Japanese and Hitler and we tried like heck to stay out of WWI.
Sure, our leaders were not perfect, even from the get go.  I think George Washington had a vanity and/or ego problem.  That probably explains the slaves he had and the mistreatment he put them through.  Somehow The Gospel was spread to the kidnapped African people, despite their owners hypocrisy.  I think to a large extent, the founders were rather two faced.  They tried to be kind and dutiful, but they weren't willing to face the financial losses that would result in admitting that their African brothers & sisters were no less worthy of pay than their same-colored brothers & sisters. 
However, the Constitution was very carefully constructed.  Our leaders may have not sought God's council as much as they could have, but they cared a lot about the nation they were founding and they wanted it to be free of the kinds of things England was notorious for, which was basically what Republicans call "government interference".  I think the fact that most of our leaders, if not all of them, were Christians helped them understand and appreciate this kind of government.  Jesus Christ is referred to The Bible as Kings Of Kings.  The founding fathers knew the history of Israel and the map God drew for it and how far the Israeli people fell from their proverbial tree.  The founders did not expect the citizens to be perfect.  Just as God did not force Israel to obey the commands, the US government is not forcing anybody to obey God's commands.  True, there is a certain standard of conduct expected within tighter knit communities and on a national scale, things like abortion were long considered beyond the pale of any human being worthy of being alive and well.  A lot of those standards of conduct have loosened or become nonexistent, and we are now seeing the toll it's taking.  How many cries for help have gone unnoticed?  How many people have wanted to ask for help but never did because nobody seemed to care?  How many people bothered to even consider these things when asking "Why?" as in "Why did (so and so) kill so many innocent people?"  Most of us don't need help with staying afloat emotionally, much less physically.  That is very fortunate, for the most part.  Insanity is becoming more and more common and we don't deal with insanity as if that were the case.  We deal with it as some kind of cause for self concern instead of a cause to lend a hand.
It is my opinion that the nation established in 1776 is soon to be ended.  It's already divided so heavily.  The only Bill Of Rights Democrats want to keep is the first one and Republicans want to keep the entire thing and the Republicans are constantly losing favor with The American People as we call ourselves...