Monday, April 3, 2023
MUSIC / NEW WAVE / THE TALKING HEADS
A clip from the greatest concert film ever made: "Stop Making Sense". This may be the most iconic song of the entire movie, as the lead singer, David Byrne, dons his famous "Big Suit" for this number. David Byrne was, and still is, a mad genius.
Monday, April 3, 2023
MUSIC / NEW WAVE / THE TALKING HEADS
Need some music to get your booty moving? There's literally nothing better than "Life During Wartime" by the Talking Heads. This will get your booty groovin' in no time! This video is a clip from the greatest concert movie ever filmed: 1984's "Stop Making Sense".
The actual concert in the film took place in December of 1983 in Los Angeles, and the film was released in '84.
Monday, April 3, 2023
CHRISTIANITY / IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS
I very good, straightforward teaching on Judges 7, the story of Gideon.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
CHRISTIANITY / SALVATION
Is taking care of the poor an important part of our salvation? Charles J. Chaput argues that it is.
From the book "Strangers in a Strange Land" by Charles J. Chaput:
In our own time we tend to distinguish between spiritual and material poverty. But in the Bible, these concepts are tightly linked! The rich have wealth, but they become overly proud and ignore or oppress others. They use their money to buy influence and exploit the needy. They forget their dependence on God. The poor man, by contrast, is always reminded of his dependence. He will be humble and trust in the Lord.
We see this clearly in Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man had elegant clothes and ate sumptuously. But he ignored Lazarus, who sat right at this gate, covered in sores that the dogs licked. Every time he entered or left his house the rich man would pass Lazarus, yet he did nothing to ease his needs. When the rich man died, he ended up in Hades. Now he suffered, while Lazarus sat in the bosom of Abraham.
The story underscores a simple fact: If we don't love the poor, we will go to hell. If we let our possessions blind us to our dependence on God, we will go to hell. If we let food and clothes and all the other distractions of modern life keep us from seeing the needs of our neighbors, we will go to hell.
We might assume that Scripture condemns the wealthy. But that's not the case. As the early Church Fathers noted, the Lazarus parable is really a tale of two rich men: an unnamed callous one, and the patriarch Abraham. Abraham was a rich man who never forgot his dependence on God. Whereas the wealthy sinner let Lazarus wallow in squalor, Abraham welcome the three strangers with rich food. Abraham was generous and shared his abundance, always remembering that everything he owned was a gift from God. The lesson is obvious: Possession is really about service. When it's not, we become slaves to our goods instead of living in a culture of interior freedom."
Strangers in a Strange Land
by Charles J. Chaput
published by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 978-1-250-15962-5 (trade paperback)
pg 170-171
Sunday, April 2, 2023
CHRISTIANITY / BIBLE
This is an outstanding documentary on the history and influence of the bible, the most significant book in the history of the world.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
MUSIC / ROCK & ROLL / PINK FLOYD
Perhaps the greatest rock & roll album of all time is Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", one of many great albums that came out of the early 70's. Pink Floyd was nice enough to re-master the album and put it on YouTube for our FREE listening enjoyment!
I'm lucky enough to own a six-channel master recording on SACD (super audio compact disc) of this album that is incredibly fun to listen to, as it makes use of six speaker, each speaker getting it's own signal, or channel. Thankfully, I have a small home theater setup that works great for that sort of thing.
This remaster seems to be just two channels, but it's worth directing it to a high quality stereo system.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
POLITICS / DECENTRALIZATION
Should the states and provinces of nations separate and become politically autonomous? Should counties, cities, and communities do the same? What is the optimal size of a political unit? In this video, we are going to explore why the nation-states that populate the world are too big, and why decentralization – not voting different politicians into power – is the cure to many of the social and political problems that ail us.
This is an outstanding video about the importance of small, autonomous units of government. The founders of the United States of America understood this concept perfectly, and it's the cornerstone of conservatism, as well as the American form of government.
It's also the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation, though not intentionally. The Protestant Reformation actually reached its ultimate fulfillment in the United States. The reason why Christianity is still a force to be reckoned with in this country, in contrast to Europe where it's almost nonexistent, is the fact that truly orthodox Christians seem to intuitively understand the need and importance of small, autonomous churches.
Sadly, thanks to socialists and communists, the USA and the rest of the west is headed towards a secular, totalitarian future based on lies and propaganda that have no basis in truth. Neo-Marxists are working hard to consolidate power through centralized power centers, much like the old Roman Empire. However, today's authoritarian movement is very much rooted in objective evil, and has none of the charm or brilliance of ancient Rome.
It's interesting to note that the direct inheritor of the Roman Empire is the Catholic Church. And much like the ancient empire, the Catholic Church has also been subject to tremendous scandal, corruption and moral failures of all kinds, hence the origin of the Reformation itself. It seems all large-scale centralized structures, even religious ones, ultimately become corrupt by power and privilege.
By keeping governmental units small and close to the people they govern, wide-spread corruption and moral failure is easily discovered and corrected. This is true for almost any organization, secular or sacred.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
CURRENT EVENTS / WEATHER
Looks like we are headed for another MAJOR tornado outbreak on Tuesday, thanks to a huge cold front coming out of the north and west. Watch the video to find out all the details.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
CURRENT EVENTS / WEATHER / TORNADO OUTBREAK
Some people watch movies and play videos games for entertainment. As for me, I watch the weather, especially when it's violent, and making lots of tornados.
Friday, March 31, 2023 was one of those days where tornados were being spawned all across the United States by a cold front that moved in from the west. The excitement started in those states just west of the Mississippi River, and quickly moved across. Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa had the most storm activity early on, then it moved eastward rapidly. At one point, there were at least eighteen tornados on the ground simultaneously, in several states!
Ryan Hall predicted this would happen several days ago, and when the storm started, he went live, and stayed live on YouTube for nearly twelve hours, giving everyone who watched real-time information on the position of every tornado that they detected.
I spent several hours keeping tabs on this very broadcast. What a night!