Evan not-so-mighty

I just read this really interesting article about Evan Almighty (which I haven't seen) and how Hollywood seems to be trying to court the Christians - but they aren't getting it. Here's the first paragraph:

"In its aftermath, once again the chatter from Hollywood is how, despite another earnest and sincere attempt to make a movie for "those people," the elusive faith-based audience that came out to see the Passion of The Christ has once again failed to turn out en masse for a movie thought to be tailor-made for them. The problem with such an analysis is that it's not unlike making a movie featuring blackface and wondering why the African-American audience isn't interested."
read more...

Man Pays $4.88 for Plasma TV at Wal-Mart

(06-29) 04:46 PDT Monroe, La. (AP) --

While Wal-Mart is known for dropping its prices, one West Monroe man took the ad campaign seriously when he dropped the price of a plasma television from $984 to $4.88. Police arrested Chandon L. Simms, 23, on Tuesday at the retail store on a charge of felony theft.

According to police reports, Simms carried a 42-inch Sanyo Plasma TV to a self-checkout aisle after switching the original price tag of $984 with one for only $4.88. Wal-Mart Loss Prevention officers witnessed the alleged transaction and called police.

When the store officers stopped Simms on his way out the door, he produced a receipt for a television purchased at the West Monroe Wal-Mart, authorities said.

Simms told officers that he purchased a TV from the West Monroe store and planned to returrn that one and keep the one he purchased for only $4.88 from the Monroe store. He was then arrested and booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center.

Battle at Kruger

This is an amazing video from Kruger National Park in South Africa! I actually went to a similar park (Pilanesberg National) when I was in South Africa back in '03, but I didn't see any cats or anything half as remarkable as this.

The Promised Pictures

Ta-da!

This is my old dresser that was beat-up, ugly wood, so I painted it and replaced the ugly brass handles (ugh) with these wonderful things I made out of chain, ribbon and hot glue! They are so fun and look even better in real life. (And were very inexpensive too.)

And this is what started it all: the bedside table that I got for $5 that some idiot had partially painted yellow and orange and green. I finally decided to do something about it. Isn't it pretty?

And just think, if there had been a show to work on, there would still be ugly furniture in my bedroom!

Feeling vs. Faith

This is an article by Chuck Colson I read recently that I think is a very vivid example of the consequences of handling lightly the Word of God and placing more value on what feels good to me than what is truth. (Click on the article to go the web page.)


Feeling vs. Faith
An Episcopal Muslim?

June 26, 2007

On Friday nights, Ann Holmes Redding of Seattle puts on a black head scarf, heads to the Al-Islam Center, and prays with her fellow Muslims.

Nothing I just told you is remarkable. What's remarkable is what I didn't tell you: Redding is an Episcopal priest. Not an ex-Episcopal priest, mind you, but a priest, as far as she and her superiors are concerned, in good standing.

Her story is a vivid reminder of what's really at stake in the various culture wars within Christian churches: orthodoxy.

Redding has been a priest for over 20 years. Until recently she was the director of "faith formation" at Seattle's Episcopal cathedral, St. Mark's. I am, as Dave Barry likes to say, not making this up.

Apparently, at the same time she was in charge of forming other people's faith, her own was undergoing a transformation. Fifteen months ago, she became a Muslim, the result of an "introduction to Islamic prayers [that] left her profoundly moved."

Actually, according to Redding, I should say that she also became a Muslim. As she told the Seattle Times, "I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I'm both an American of African descent and a woman. I'm 100 percent both." So while on Friday nights she puts on a black head scarf, on Sunday mornings she wears a clerical collar.

Redding doesn't deny that there are differences between the two faiths—she simply doesn't think that they ultimately matter. As she put it, "at the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That's all I need."

There's so much wrong here that I scarcely know where to begin, so I'll limit myself to the obvious: There's no inherent contradiction between being an African-American and a woman, just as there's none in being an American of Swedish descent and a man, as I am.

However, the same cannot be said of being a Christian and a Muslim. As Kurt Fredrickson of Fuller Seminary told the paper, "there are tenets of the faiths that are very, very different," especially regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Mahmoud Ayoub, a professor of Islamic studies at Temple, agrees. He says that "the [respective] theological beliefs [about Jesus] are irreconcilable."

Of course, for Redding (as for too many people today), it isn't about logic or theology: It's about feelings. She can call herself anything she wants, but she's only truly a Muslim if she denies Christian doctrines such as original sin, the Trinity, or the divinity of Christ. And to deny those truths is to deny the Christian faith.

Which raises an interesting question: Why is she an Episcopal priest, never mind a director of "faith formation?"

Writing at the website Get Religion, Mollie Hemmingway says that Redding's story illustrates that the split in the Episcopal Church isn't about homosexuality, as the media says. The former Episcopal parishes aligning themselves with African bishops aren't leaving a denomination with gay clergy; they are leaving a denomination with non-Christian clergy.

Redding is simply an extreme example in the Episcopal Church. But sadly she represents the widespread, politically correct belief that all religions lead to the same place—a message which is not only dead wrong as a matter of logic, but one which denies Christ. In short, it is the ultimate heresy.
Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship

San Francisco says no to bottled water

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Is city water better than bottled water? Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks so.

Newsom has issued an executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1, and will extend to water coolers by December 1.

The move was billed as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money.

"We're hoping to set the example for the private sector and other cities in getting off the bottle," said Tony Winnicker, spokesman for the San Francisco public utilities commission.

In a press release announcing the decision, the mayor cited the environmental impact of making, transporting and disposing of the bottles. More than a billion of them end up in the state's landfills each year, the release said.

When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will dispense municipal tap water from a reservoir. Winnicker said exceptions will be made in cases where potable water is not easily available or poses health concerns.

Wow. What will they think of next?

How old are we?

You would think that 3 grown women could live together and not have the feeling that when one is coming home the other 2 have to have the house clean before she gets there. It's not like she's our mom and will ground us!

For those who don't know, this summer's show was canceled since the building won't be ready in time.
BUT, that hasn't stopped me from being creative and painting and using my hot glue gun! Pictures to follow. :)

Today's "quote(s) of the moment" seem to be particularly challenging for a procrastinator

It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish.

- J. R. R. Tolkien

The man on top of the mountain did not fall there.

- Unknown

Just found out:

Adam Pascal will be returning to play Roger in Rent on Broadway for 6 weeks, during the time I am supposed to be there. I would definitely go see him.

A refreshing change in the world of superhero movies would be if at the end the giant space monster really did eat the earth and that was the end of it. Who would see that one coming? Really, how shocked would you be?

...I've seen worse; she's only mostly dead...

Happy Father's Day!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow of turning."

I love fathers. Especially mine! :)

What to do, what to do!

Today I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I ended up not having to work, and what I really wanted to do was work on the show, but Scotty's been sick. I knew there were some things that I have fallen behind on that I need to catch up on, but it made me so frustrated with myself that I was behind, I really didn't want to catch up. (I did though, by the way.)
I ended up cleaning the bathroom and washing all of my bedding, even the comforter. And then I spent some time online (not reading people's blogs because they haven't been updated and not looking at the cast list because there isn't one). I ended up looking for videos of choreography done by Mia Michales because she is amazing. I eventually ended up watching Benji and Heidi dancing together when they were teenagers and then when Benji was 6 and Heidi was 8. It was like watching home videos, but of famous people.

Then I decided that since what I really had wanted to do all day was paint or make things, I should paint the table in my room. I will probably post a picture sometime soon. It looks really great and now I want to do the dresser too! I love being creative. But as always, I seem to have more energy and more drive to do things at night, so now I don't want to stop, but I am making myself because I am off to my parents house to spend the night and have fun - Ben and Keri are in town for father's day and to celebrate Kat's b-day.

A little Marcail to brighten your day!

...life goes on

This is the real "first" week of summer classes, as we didn't start our morning classes until Monday. The classes are going very well.
It continues to amuse me that when I tell a kid a specific thing to change and/or give them a drill to help them with a skill they are having trouble with, they come back to me all wide eyed and say excitedly, "I did what you said and it worked!!!" (By the way, isn't that what I get paid for?) But I just smile and nod and chuckle on the inside, glad that they were able to grasp whatever it was I was trying to communicate to them.

Last night I was in bed before 9:00, but tonight I am driving to Atlanta to pick up a friend from the airport, so I'll be on the road from 9:00pm till 2:30. Call me and talk to me! Please!

Fun in the Sun

I wish you could see how much sun I got this weekend, but I am too tired to get up, take a picture of me, load it onto my computer, and post it. :)
I had fun being with my family at the lake. Last night we went to this fabulous new authentic Cuban restaurant. There was so much food, I could only eat about half of what was there, but it was so delicious! And the best part was that they had mango pie. Wow. So good. Unfortunately, by the time dessert was served I could only have a bite of someone else's. Mango pie - *sigh* - so delicious. It was creamy like Key lime, but it was mango instead.

I was at FCC today for the 2nd Sunday in a row!!! Now that I'm through traveling around the country for the time being, I can be a regular at church again. I went to 2nd service, and we had a great time worshiping the Lord and letting Him minister to us. It was a really sweet time in the Lord, very refreshing. It reminded me how much I miss Him and experiencing His presence in the context of corporate worship.

Tomorrow starts our morning summer classes, so I will get to be a lot busier.

I hope everyone is having a good summer so far!

13 reasons I love going to the movies...

...but really, there's only one ;)

Someone has a hot new car!

My Favorite People

Today, I realized how blessed I am to have my friends in my life. They are people whom I can depend upon to be true and honest, and who I can go to when I need some calm and normality, or just to know that there are sane people in the world.

Happy Birthday to Katherine!

It's official, ever since yesterday, there have been no teenagers left in our family - only old people! ;)

I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End!!!

This movie was fantastic! Maybe the best one yet...I can't really say, it's different than the first. The only thing I really wasn't satisfied with was the ending. But I've figured out how to fix that by reading some message boards that say something a bout a deleted scene and only one 10 year period required. :)

It was a great movie that didn't feel like 3 hours.

Some of my favorite pictures from my week in Colorado Springs...

Who's that cute baby in the mirror???

Marcail hi-fivin Caden

Look at those pretty red toes!

How do things like this happen? It's not as if my roommate worked there!

AP

May 31: Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks to Silicon Valley executives in Santa Clara, Calif.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Hillary Clinton's campaign might want to keep a dictionary handy when their candidate's out trolling for support.

The Democratic presidential hopeful pitched a technology plan to Silicon Valley executives in California Thursday, with the misspelled message, "New Jobs for Tommorrow," plastered in large white letters on a banner behind her podium.