Philadelphia police arrested a group of evangelists at a gay pride event. The group possessed all the necessary city documents required for them to have a public gathering and they followed all the relevant city ordinances. Still, they were charged with inciting a riot and possession of tool of crime… a bullhorn. Wha??

The DA has said that the group directed “fightin’ words” toward the homosexuals gathered across the street. Those “fightin’ words” came verbatim from the Holy Bible. Hmm.

The evangelical group was accosted by a “militant gay rights group” called the Pink Angels, who blew whistles to drown out the scripture reading and held up their pink wing-shaped signs in an attempt to cover up the group’s banners. When the Pinkies started getting mean, the police got involved and arrested… well… the ones who had followed the procedures to get the legal right to be there, of course.

Strangely enough, the ACLU has not come to the aid of these folks who were exercising their first amendment rights. Guess they’re too busy suing “X”-mas carolers for using religious hate speech in their songs.

You can read more in this article.

A study of women in England has confirmed what I have long believed. The Information Age has quickly become the Information Overload Age. The study found that in women over 18 one of the largest causes of stress is an over abundance of cell phone calls, text messages, emails, etc.

So, before you send that next text message or pick up the phone, ask yourself, “Is this important information or am I just contributing to my good friend’s early demise from stress related illness by sending them a message just to say ‘Wassup?'”

In a related note, during the four minutes it took me to type this informationally overloaded blog entry, I received two instant messages and two emails. *sigh*

For even more information, see the complete article, if you DARE!

I just read a piece of news that gave me the shiver of a life time. I’m pretty sure I dislocated my spine. And as a public service, I’m offering you the same tidbit.

Disclaimer: If you have a heart condition, back or neck injury, are or could be pregnant, please don’t read the following news blurb.

A new commercial is set to air in Palestine which starts with the following quote.

Hi, I’m Richard Gere, and I’m speaking for the entire world.

See… I warned you. Read the complete article… IF YOU DARE!

Ten! Ten white board quips! Ah-ah-ah-ahhhh! *Thunder claps* (Now you know exactly how old I am. The Count was only on Seasame Street in the good old days.)

You may recognize this one, if you are a fan of Steven Wright.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Yes, I know “Along Came Polly” is more than a year old. Yes, I’m sure most of you have already seen it, or decided not to. Sorry, I don’t usually see movies in the theater. You will come to learn that all my reviews are this way. Get over it. Jeez, sue me.

When I saw the commercials for this romantic comedy, I really wanted to see it. I like Ben Stiller’s comedic style and even if she can’t act, Jennifer Aniston is hot. (Ooh… Did I say that out loud? Sorry, Tammy.) Unfortunately, all the best jokes were in the commercials. I still laughed out loud at a few of them, they’re that funny, but my hopes that there would be other laugh-out-loud moments were dashed.

The basic story is that Stiller, a seriously paranoid insurance risk analyst, meets and marries the girl of his dreams, only to find her… ahem… knocking flippers with a French scuba guide while on their honeymoon. Struggling to cope and move on, he runs into Aniston, a free spirit that he knows from his grade school days. She leads him on several misadventures that go completely against his obsessive nature.

There are several side plots that, in my opinion, distract from the main story, going down long rabbit trails in search of a laugh or two.

The final verdict is that, while the movie is enjoyable, it’s barely worth the “New Release” rental rate. It amounts to an average, predictable, romantic comedy with just enough laughs to keep you from being mad about wasting two hours, which earns “Along Came Polly” two out of five grins.

In what will become known as the forehead slap heard ’round the world, a precious few folk in mass media have “discovered” that they have the ability to influence American culture.
…
DUH!!!
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In all seriousness, I openly applaud Essence magazine for taking the gloves off and fighting for decency. Essence is about the only mainstream magazine marketed to black women and they’ve started a campaign against the blatant sexual degradation of woman in hip-hop music. Hurray! I hope and pray that they find huge success and that others will follow their lead.

Read the complete article here.

WBQotW #9 is one of those phrases that you hear walking through a crowded restaurant and then really wish you hadn’t.

The word “almost” is dangerous. You never want to date someone who is “almost” a woman.

I just love this collection of photos from this most ancient and revered Christmas tradition. You know, the one where beleaguered parents stand in line at the mall for three hours with their stir crazy toddlers so they can pay $10 for a blurry Polaroid of their precious child screaming bloody murder on the lap of some poor schlep making $5 an hour to wear a red velvet suit that wreaks of sweat. Ahh the joys of Christmas.

(Link via Airbag.)

While in Amarillo for Christmas, I went with my father-in-law to see “Flight of the Phoenix”, a remake of the 1965 film of the same name. I’ve never seen the Jimmy Stewart original, but from what I’ve read, it is almost identical to this version which, in my opinion, takes most of the wind out of the sails of the remake.

The basic plot is that a group of oil field workers are leaving their drilling site in the desert aboard a cargo plane. The plane crashes in a sand storm and when all hope of rescue is lost, they decide to build a new plane from the wreckage of the first one.

What a great plot, eh?! Add to that all sorts of character conflicts in the cast and this should be a real hum-dinger. However, comes out flat.

You can’t blame the actors. I felt that every part was played to perfection. You can’t blame the effects. This show has one of the best plane crash sequences I’ve seen.

So, if the plot is good, the acting is good, and the effects are good, what could go wrong? How about a script? I’m not sure this movie had one. I envision the cast, before each scene was filmed, gathering around a little TV and VCR playing the original movie and saying, “Yeah, let’s do that.” There is no character development, the plot is handled like a rollercoaster, and the dialog sounds like a top-notch junior high drama club play. (“I think a bee stung you on your big dumb ass.” Oh, if only I were making that up.)

In the end, you have a very entertaining story being told rather badly which earns “Flight of the Phoenix” two grins out of a possible five.

I’m sure you will all be happy to know that we survived the Christmas holiday. We drove to Amarillo Thursday in the snow. (Yes, I know, can you imagine all those Dallas drivers skating around in confusion and we still survived. God still does miracles.) We just finished the drive home and unpacked.

A wonderful time was had by all and Saint Nick was generous. We have had a very blessed year and we are thankful not only for our comfortable status, but also for our hope in salvation that Jesus brought us when he came to earth.

I’ve got a diggy-cam bustin’ with pictures that I hope to have posted in the next few days.

God bless you and have a great new year.