Originally a 5 disc set, I only have need for 3 of the discs. I have the other 2 discs w/ the steelbook offered for sale @ Amazon, seller name being realgobutter
My sister gave it to me for my 36th birthday. I haven't used it much, just more of an idea type thing, like "Why don't I own this?!", like the kind of thing that just makes perfect sense for me to own, even though an argument can be made to the contrary as well.
My mom gave me some good quality housepants so that my regular pants will hopefully live longer. They're nice pants, so there's no need to wear them when I have nowhere I'm planning on going, which is most of the time.
My gramma got me a $20 bill and a card. Was nice because I otherwise would have had no money to give to the church. Not exactly an act that reeks of my esteem, but I know that's not the point anyway. The humble will be exalted and the reverse being true as well. I'm a litttle humble, a lot less so than I'd like.
Anyway.
Got my meager list of Christmas gift recipients checked off almost a month ago. I still need to package them (basically). Wasn't a whole lot of thought put into it. Just needed to set aside the funds to do it.
My mom and my sister are heading out Wednesday to visit my gramma and some of her family -- two sons and a granddaughter from her biological daughter, who is now deceased, r.i.p. There might be other people there, hard to say. Obviously, my grandmothers' family is much larger than those 3 people, but they are usually present whereas the rest of her family is a bit futher away.
I kind of feel bad about not going, but I really don't know how much pet sitting would cost. It seems like it'd be AT LEAST $150. If I could rely on it being so little, I might just go with, depending on what my sister thinks of her & her husband's finances, but I'm thinking a good round of pet sitting would cost around $200 at least. My cat would probably be OK with me being gone 4-5 days. She really doesn't need anyone for anything, although she really likes companionship. She can survive on a little food put in her bowl each day, roughly 1/2 a cup. I usually put it in there twice. My sister's dog is the real question mark. He's so wishy washy about his business. He'd probably be OK too, just getting out to go potty 3 or 4 times a day. I don't know if the house would survive on just 3 outside trips. Soemone would probably need to leave him outside and be mindful enough of the effects of weather on him, to let him back in when it gets too cold.
Anyway.
hmm...not sure what else there is to talk about.
.
....
Monday, November 25, 2019
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Aw, quac, Batman!
MAN OF STEEL was a great film very much in the vein of THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY. I don't understand how the science of MOS is flawed by any means. Maybe it is. But TDK trilogy is not any more realistic than MAN OF STEEL, keeping in mind that scientifically flawed is not the same thing as unbelievable. Scientists say there is no God simply because they haven't proven the existence of an invisible all powerful entity of any kind. Gee, go figure. Science, on the other hand, has never proven the non existence of an invisible all powerful entity, which is something scientists don't seem to understand. Nothing in The Bible has been scientifically disproven. The suppositions of scientists are un-Biblical and therefore they've come up with alternate theories and "Facts" to counter what The Bible says. So when someone says Man of Steel is scientifically flawed, I don't even know who to believe. I hard one guy say that 2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY should have been more thoroughly researched because space ships are a lot smaller than they are on 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Yes, it was optimistic of the filmmakers to assume we'd be travelling to deep space by 2001 or any point close to that, but given the optimism about getting to Mars, only 20 years after 2001 was supposed to have taken place, how far fetched is it to further believe that in another 20 years we'll have space ships with enough room for people to build buffet dining areas and good size rooms for folks to roam around? 2001 was a place holder title. It wasn't meant to be a prophecy. It wasn't a Nostrademeous (sp??) calculation of the future. It was a warning about the dangers of mankind's reliance on technology. Not only did the A.I. machine overtake the spaceship, but it had developed a more authentic humanity than the people in the movie. At least that's what some people say. Acting was so wooden in the '50's and '60's, I have a hard time discerning what the portrayal of the people in the movie was supposed be to perceived as.
But anyway. MAN OF STEEL was obviously meant to kick off a new era of SUPERMAN movies. So it's really annoying to see them immediately follow it up with that stupider than stupid DAWN OF JUSTICE film. Not only did they disregard the DARK KNIGHT trilogy as cannon with the MAN OF STEEL film, they portrayed Batman as a worthless soul full of murderous hate with no redeeming qualities about him. And then they haphazardly introduce Wonder Woman toward the end just appearing out of nowhere. I didn't make it that far into the movie. I just thought the whole thing was beyond stupid. The reasoning behind severing the movie from TDK was ludacrous. Superman is an alien. Given that, there's nothing fantastical about his portrayal in MAN OF STEEL. The only thing potentially fantastical about the movie is that he is an alien. Don't believe in aliens? Can't fathom the cocnept? Fine. Don't watch MAN OF STEEL *or* DAWN OF JUSTICE. Most people can at least entertain the notion of aliens. At least I would hope so. Maybe most people don't BELIEVE in aliens, but the possibility of aliens is just as real as the possibility of God as depicted in The Bible, who many say negates the possibility that aliens exist........total b.s. btw. The Bible doesn't mention aliens, but science doesn't mention God. Is science unreliable because people misinterpret the data at hand or expect the data to reveal more than God intended it to reveal? If so, you may as well regard mankind's mission to the moon as voodo. I don't get how one can disregard science. Science as a culture is unGodly, in large part. But science as a means of fact finding is not wrong. Science is really just another word for reason. You can assume a bunch of stuff that is contradictory or you can examine things carefully and come up with conclusions based on the observations at hand. Things like the existence of God or the reality of JFK's assasination are not scientifically proven or disproven. They're just facts that you can argue with or accept.
And then of course they follow MAN OF STEEL up with JUSTICE LEAGUE. They assume it was the grim tone of MAN OF STEEL that drove people away from it. So they turn JUSTICE LEAGUE into a multi-verse equivlanet of BATMAN FOREVER (1995). And surprise surprise the movie also performs poorly at the box office. Gee, how about quitting while you're ahead? Warner Bros/DC. rushed into the DCEU as if it was do or die because Marvel studios was taking all kinds of love from the audience. Warner Bros. makes actual movies. THE DEPARTED didn't gross $500 million worldwide did it? No. It was a reasonably budgeted movie and it was of good quality and it made a decent return on investment. Why the heck does WB/DC care if their supehero movies are not as well liked as Marvel's? Martin Scorsese I highly doubt will be seen making an entry into the DCEU or the MCU but you don't see him pining for all the Marvel lovers.
But anyway. MAN OF STEEL was obviously meant to kick off a new era of SUPERMAN movies. So it's really annoying to see them immediately follow it up with that stupider than stupid DAWN OF JUSTICE film. Not only did they disregard the DARK KNIGHT trilogy as cannon with the MAN OF STEEL film, they portrayed Batman as a worthless soul full of murderous hate with no redeeming qualities about him. And then they haphazardly introduce Wonder Woman toward the end just appearing out of nowhere. I didn't make it that far into the movie. I just thought the whole thing was beyond stupid. The reasoning behind severing the movie from TDK was ludacrous. Superman is an alien. Given that, there's nothing fantastical about his portrayal in MAN OF STEEL. The only thing potentially fantastical about the movie is that he is an alien. Don't believe in aliens? Can't fathom the cocnept? Fine. Don't watch MAN OF STEEL *or* DAWN OF JUSTICE. Most people can at least entertain the notion of aliens. At least I would hope so. Maybe most people don't BELIEVE in aliens, but the possibility of aliens is just as real as the possibility of God as depicted in The Bible, who many say negates the possibility that aliens exist........total b.s. btw. The Bible doesn't mention aliens, but science doesn't mention God. Is science unreliable because people misinterpret the data at hand or expect the data to reveal more than God intended it to reveal? If so, you may as well regard mankind's mission to the moon as voodo. I don't get how one can disregard science. Science as a culture is unGodly, in large part. But science as a means of fact finding is not wrong. Science is really just another word for reason. You can assume a bunch of stuff that is contradictory or you can examine things carefully and come up with conclusions based on the observations at hand. Things like the existence of God or the reality of JFK's assasination are not scientifically proven or disproven. They're just facts that you can argue with or accept.
And then of course they follow MAN OF STEEL up with JUSTICE LEAGUE. They assume it was the grim tone of MAN OF STEEL that drove people away from it. So they turn JUSTICE LEAGUE into a multi-verse equivlanet of BATMAN FOREVER (1995). And surprise surprise the movie also performs poorly at the box office. Gee, how about quitting while you're ahead? Warner Bros/DC. rushed into the DCEU as if it was do or die because Marvel studios was taking all kinds of love from the audience. Warner Bros. makes actual movies. THE DEPARTED didn't gross $500 million worldwide did it? No. It was a reasonably budgeted movie and it was of good quality and it made a decent return on investment. Why the heck does WB/DC care if their supehero movies are not as well liked as Marvel's? Martin Scorsese I highly doubt will be seen making an entry into the DCEU or the MCU but you don't see him pining for all the Marvel lovers.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
the speed of sleep
PEople always use the example of babies crying to alert their parents to the fact that they need food as an example of people's inherent selfishness, which is equated with sin.
First of all, being selfish is not a sin.
Secondly, babies don't have the mental capacity to understand what greed is and their attention span is too limited to retain that information if they could understand it.
Children don't take very long to embody traits that are man's downfall. My 3 year old nephew leans on his own understanding far too often and as a result violates the commandment to honor his parents. However, this 3y/o nephew doesn't understand how to avoid playing too rough with his 1.5 y/o brother to keep from killing him or seriously injuring him. He also does not know how to read. His comprehension skills have dramatically improved over the past year and I'm told he has comparatively very high intelligence.
The so-called Age of accountability is not a concrete thing. People's 1st sin is always idolatry. If you're not trying to avoid disobeying God it's because you're too focused on other things. There will be a time when Joseph has enough understanding to avoid breaking any of the 10 Commandments but will he be aware enough of his Creator to do so? Will he revere his Creator enough and appreciate Him enough to do so?
At 3, my nephew is fast approaching the age of accountability, I do think. Is he there yet though? I don't think so.
///
I was thinking about my sister's complaint about a chronological Bible that she was having negative feelings toward because, for example, it covers "the triumphant entry" four times in a row. It's covered in all of the four Gospel accounts, so instead of chronicling it and moving on, it covers the triumphant entry and then covers it again. The point is to include every last "letter" of God's Word without exception. That's stupid. The Bible is chronicled the way it is because God wanted it that way. It makes sense as it is. It covers everything you need to know in the order you need to know it.
If you want a timeline of The Bible's events, there's a way to offer that without re-arranging the chapters of The Bible. The Bible is not written as a timeline. It's written as nourishment for the soul. God is not limited by time and space. We need to look toward Heaven if we want to get there. Looking at old bones is not going to accomplish anything.
First of all, being selfish is not a sin.
Secondly, babies don't have the mental capacity to understand what greed is and their attention span is too limited to retain that information if they could understand it.
Children don't take very long to embody traits that are man's downfall. My 3 year old nephew leans on his own understanding far too often and as a result violates the commandment to honor his parents. However, this 3y/o nephew doesn't understand how to avoid playing too rough with his 1.5 y/o brother to keep from killing him or seriously injuring him. He also does not know how to read. His comprehension skills have dramatically improved over the past year and I'm told he has comparatively very high intelligence.
The so-called Age of accountability is not a concrete thing. People's 1st sin is always idolatry. If you're not trying to avoid disobeying God it's because you're too focused on other things. There will be a time when Joseph has enough understanding to avoid breaking any of the 10 Commandments but will he be aware enough of his Creator to do so? Will he revere his Creator enough and appreciate Him enough to do so?
At 3, my nephew is fast approaching the age of accountability, I do think. Is he there yet though? I don't think so.
///
I was thinking about my sister's complaint about a chronological Bible that she was having negative feelings toward because, for example, it covers "the triumphant entry" four times in a row. It's covered in all of the four Gospel accounts, so instead of chronicling it and moving on, it covers the triumphant entry and then covers it again. The point is to include every last "letter" of God's Word without exception. That's stupid. The Bible is chronicled the way it is because God wanted it that way. It makes sense as it is. It covers everything you need to know in the order you need to know it.
If you want a timeline of The Bible's events, there's a way to offer that without re-arranging the chapters of The Bible. The Bible is not written as a timeline. It's written as nourishment for the soul. God is not limited by time and space. We need to look toward Heaven if we want to get there. Looking at old bones is not going to accomplish anything.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
the loss of sin
God forgives a lot. A disintction is made in The Bible about the love one has toward God based on what (s)he's been forgiven for. I feel like my effectiveness as a desciple of Christ is rather minimal, partly because of two things:
1) Just about everyone I come across already goes to church; I don't know how to convince the ones that don't into going
2) (mainly because of point1), I'm privileged enough to know how to live in a civil and civilized manner and have not engaged in murder or anything that would contribute to the murder of anyone (I think).
I am very blessed to have inherited citizenship from a country founded by Christ-minded individuals, as flawed as they were. The downside of that is I don't know how to make disciples as Jesus commanded. It probably also hinders me that my mind tends to work harder than my eyes. I'm constantly looking inward and beyond rather than at the surroundings and often when I try to think of solutions to basic fundamental life situations I come up empty. I can't imagine what I would do if I saw someone who others might say "This person needs help". I don't know if I've ever seen one such person and didn't look closely enough or not.
I am guilty of sin. Don't think living in mainstream USA makes anyone able to walk away from God. Mankind isn't meant to be Godless. Even if we weren't sinful, we would need God. We were not created to be independent. Nobody IS independent. Nobody is obligated to have a job position open. Job positions do open up and if you apply for it, you are not promised acceptance. Your skillset and your ability to convey what your skillset is and how greatly endowed with it you are can always be outdone by someone. Even if you're the best of the best, your skillset and quality thereof is not your own making. God can build you up just as easily as he will eventually destroy this dark world. He builds up many people, even those who spend their whole life in denial of His existence.
I don't claim to understand how or why God chooses what He does or how some people are Chosen and others aren't and what the fate of the everyday person is. I don't know for an absolute fact that making desciples is the ONLY way to invite others to God's Kingdom. As mysterious as God is to Christians, would it not be possible for someone to know God enough apart from Christ? Surely Adam and Eve knew God. Noah knew God and Moses did as well. Many people of the 12 tribes of Israel knew God. I only know that their knowledge of God existed because The Bible makes note of it. I have no idea what the villagers of Africa and modern day Asia were doing. I doubt it was much different than the fruitless superstitions of the nations that surrounded Israel for the most part.
The sad thing is many who know God still don't have any intention of honoring God. This is documented heavily in the entries of The Bible that are placed after, mainly 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Kings and Chronicles begin so happily almost like a fairy tale then things get so grim you almost can't stand it. I think that's partly why Chronicles 1 & 2 are included in The Bible despite the bulk of it being recounting the bulk of Kings 1 & 2. It is helpful to be reminded of how good things used to be or could be even if this situation at hand is far from good.
I'm not exactly sure where I was leading to with all this or if I was leading to something. It seems like I had a topic sentence in mind but now I"m kind of confused as to what it was or why. I guess I'll leave it here.
[insert a head smack for having gone so long w/o posting as my way of presenting a sincere apology....not really, I'm actually typing this. A pause for a head smack was not made --- do I seem less sincere? Sure. After all, God is faithful to the end inasmuch as there ever is an end. I am not God.........]\
1) Just about everyone I come across already goes to church; I don't know how to convince the ones that don't into going
2) (mainly because of point1), I'm privileged enough to know how to live in a civil and civilized manner and have not engaged in murder or anything that would contribute to the murder of anyone (I think).
I am very blessed to have inherited citizenship from a country founded by Christ-minded individuals, as flawed as they were. The downside of that is I don't know how to make disciples as Jesus commanded. It probably also hinders me that my mind tends to work harder than my eyes. I'm constantly looking inward and beyond rather than at the surroundings and often when I try to think of solutions to basic fundamental life situations I come up empty. I can't imagine what I would do if I saw someone who others might say "This person needs help". I don't know if I've ever seen one such person and didn't look closely enough or not.
I am guilty of sin. Don't think living in mainstream USA makes anyone able to walk away from God. Mankind isn't meant to be Godless. Even if we weren't sinful, we would need God. We were not created to be independent. Nobody IS independent. Nobody is obligated to have a job position open. Job positions do open up and if you apply for it, you are not promised acceptance. Your skillset and your ability to convey what your skillset is and how greatly endowed with it you are can always be outdone by someone. Even if you're the best of the best, your skillset and quality thereof is not your own making. God can build you up just as easily as he will eventually destroy this dark world. He builds up many people, even those who spend their whole life in denial of His existence.
I don't claim to understand how or why God chooses what He does or how some people are Chosen and others aren't and what the fate of the everyday person is. I don't know for an absolute fact that making desciples is the ONLY way to invite others to God's Kingdom. As mysterious as God is to Christians, would it not be possible for someone to know God enough apart from Christ? Surely Adam and Eve knew God. Noah knew God and Moses did as well. Many people of the 12 tribes of Israel knew God. I only know that their knowledge of God existed because The Bible makes note of it. I have no idea what the villagers of Africa and modern day Asia were doing. I doubt it was much different than the fruitless superstitions of the nations that surrounded Israel for the most part.
The sad thing is many who know God still don't have any intention of honoring God. This is documented heavily in the entries of The Bible that are placed after, mainly 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Kings and Chronicles begin so happily almost like a fairy tale then things get so grim you almost can't stand it. I think that's partly why Chronicles 1 & 2 are included in The Bible despite the bulk of it being recounting the bulk of Kings 1 & 2. It is helpful to be reminded of how good things used to be or could be even if this situation at hand is far from good.
I'm not exactly sure where I was leading to with all this or if I was leading to something. It seems like I had a topic sentence in mind but now I"m kind of confused as to what it was or why. I guess I'll leave it here.
[insert a head smack for having gone so long w/o posting as my way of presenting a sincere apology....not really, I'm actually typing this. A pause for a head smack was not made --- do I seem less sincere? Sure. After all, God is faithful to the end inasmuch as there ever is an end. I am not God.........]\
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