I just pre-ordered the new Flogging Molly album, Float, from iTunes. It comes out this Tuesday. For an artful blend of rock, punk, and Celtic music, you can't beat Flogging Molly. Listening to their music always puts me in a good mood.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Unfunny Comic Strips Made Funny
Jeromy, at Seeking Goliath, linked recently to a page that combines Nietzsche's words with Family Circus pictures to make something that is infinitely more amusing than the incredibly banal comic on its own.
I stumbled across something similar recently with Garfield. For this, Garfield is simply removed from the strip leaving Jon Arbuckle all by himself giving us gems like this one.
Garfield hasn't been funny in twenty years, but some of these are great.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
One More Vampire Book
Ironically, my friend, Jeromy, and I were just talking about this yesterday. Anne Rice is now saying she will write one more vampire book after saying that she would no longer write about them since she "found the Lord."
She claims that she is not really going back on her word since this book will be very much focused on God and redemption. I thought she already covered that, though, with Memnoch the Devil. I'm curious to see how this book will turn out. I haven't read any of her Vampire Chronicles since Memnoch, though. There's just too many books and not enough time.
Weekly Music Video
Nightwish performing "Dark Chest of Wonders" live from the End of an Era tour. This was the first song of theirs I heard and I was hooked within moments. It's just such an awesome blend of heavy metal, orchestral elements, and often a choir. Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist, composer, and band founder, described their music as "melodic heavy metal with a female singer" and that is exactly what they are. The energy behind their music is incredible.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
America's Problem is Men Sitting Down to Piss
From the "You can't make this shit up" file comes this awesome video of a preacher telling his flock that America's problem is that men are sitting down to piss and dammit, that's just not right according to his King James Bible.
This sounds like fodder for Mr. Deity.
Courtesy of Rod Dreher
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Define Irony
Sitting here at work, a Catholic hospital, listening to my music, sometimes singing along, I realized something.
I'm singing "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel, a song about a high-school guy trying to convince his Catholic girlfriend to sleep with him.
Hmmm...what would the Sisters think? Eh, I bet they're secretly big fans. How can you not like this song?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
My Mom is Famous
My Mom was interviewed today for a story that will appear on the local news (Kulr8) tonight at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:30. It is about her attempts to keep her house. She told me that she was so nervous she felt like throwing up all morning in anticipation of the reporter coming over. I laughed at first, but then felt bad. She hates having her picture taken, let alone being on video. So if you watch it and then have a chance to talk to her, make sure to tell her she looked nice (or something), not that she'll believe you.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention that I'm hoping that no video of the basement is used. Mom said they went down there and it's, uh...a little, just a little, messy.
Okay, it's currently a sty. It's where I live and I'm a guy. What can I say? The upstairs where everyone else sleeps is rather neat and tidy.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Mission: Which Path Would You Choose?
I have written about my love for the movie The Mission. Jeromy recently wrote about this movie, as well.
A second really engaging part (though the movie is full of them) comes at the end of the movie. To make a long story short, the mission comes under attack from "civilized" people bent on enslaving the natives. Father Gabriel, having taken a vow of peace, refuses to fight. Mendoza ends up renouncing his Jesuit vows to help the natives defend their home.
After seeing this movies at least a half dozen times, I still wrestle every time with which decision I would make.
If you haven't seen it, watch it. Then tell me what you would choose.
This is the central conflict of the movie for me. Ultimately, I think that both characters made the right decision for who they were. For me, personally, I think I would have stood by Mendoza and fought. I think that if the decision to take up arms (and in all likelihood, kill) is based on the desire to defend someone else, especially those who may not be able to defend themselves, then it cannot be said to be an immoral act and I do not believe God would judge one for it. If the decision was made selfishly, though, as an act primarily to save the self, then I think one is on shakier ground morally.
Taking someone else's life, no matter the reason, is never an act to be done lightly and will forever affect so many lives, not just those of the person who did the killing and the person who was killed. If one is going to make the decision to possibly kill other people, then it needs to be done in order to protect or save someone else because something done for someone else is almost always superior to an act done for oneself.
Weekly Secret
PostSecret
I know some nurses at the hospital I work at who probably do this (or similar) things to the patients who annoy them.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Free Books
Tor has a promotion going on now in which they are giving away free ebooks. Go to their page and sign up and you will receive a link once a week to download an ebook. Now, yes, reading a book on your computer is nothing like holding a real book in your hands, but, still, free books!
I just downloaded my first one, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Who knows when I'll have time to read it, but it is getting some good reviews. Check it out.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Indiana Jones Trailer
As skeptical as I have been of the new Trek movie, I have been even more skeptical of the new Indiana Jones movie. How can Indy be 60+ and still doing his thing? Well, Lucasfilms has released the first trailer for the movie and I couldn't help but get a little excited about it.
Seeing the hat, the whip, the grizzled Harrison Ford mug, and especially hearing the awesome John Williams score has me itchin' to see this.
Star Trek XI Pushed Back
It's now coming out in May 2009 because the studio wants to cash in on the big summer crowds.
McCain Okay With Some Torture
The man who was supposed to represent integrity. The man running the "Straight Talk Express." The man who was himself tortured. The man who has been very vocal in his opposition to American-practiced torture. Suddenly, he's not so opposed to it.
It's very sad, but that's what it appears the Republican party is about these days and McCain wants the Presidency so bad, he'll pander even on this issue. What has happened to the moral heart of this country?
More Support Against Torture
Rod Dreher relates a story of torture in Soviet Russia and the administration's move from denying we torture to defending torture, ahem, enhanced interrogation techniques.
Florida Bound
I got a confirmation email two days ago for the class I will be attending in Florida in March. This is the one I was supposed to attend last December. I don't know, yet, if I'll be going by myself or if there will be one other person. Either way, I'm excited. It will be good to get out of town (way out) for a couple of days.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Why is Congress Worried About Steroids?
I have no clue, but I'm in agreement with Matt Yglesias that Congress has much better things to do. I guess they must have taken care of carbon emissions, the economy, and the Iraq war when no one was looking and out of sheer boredom thought, "That whole steroids thing in baseball really sucks. We should check into that."
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