Greetings all y'all.
That includes all of the "real" people checking in, as well as most of my imaginary ones... a few of my imaginary visitors deserve no greetings. They've secretly formed a subversive counter-blog movement and have somehow blamed me for their angst over a supposed lack of quality updates lately, on this and a few other tangentially-related blogs... what they don't know is that I've purposely fostered such a false perception for the sole purpose of flushing out the rebellion and identifying the key players, with an eye toward capture and swift, painful eradication. Which is tricky, seeing as how they are imaginary to begin with. So far, the most successful methods of identification involve sacks of unbleached flour, lasers and bad puns. Plus, as you can see, I've installed infrared surveillance cameras in corners of the blog room, since they mostly read this blog at night, after I've left the blog and turned off the lights (well, except for the Christmas Tree in the corner over there (next to the bidet)).
That reminds me, the surveillance cameras have captured some of my more "normal" readers doing some odd things as well. It's fun to see what you guys do while lurking around in this blog, when you think no one else is watching... MUAHAHAH!!! Look for the highlight reel to be posted soon....
And now, Words of Wisdom by Will Smith...
My sister posted a link to this video the other day on her Facebook... it intrigues me, because I'm torn. On the one hand, it's very inspiring. On the other hand, not sure how it squares with a Biblical world-view. Will Smith is an intense person! Something about him seems very sincere - like he actually tries to follow what he's talking about, rather than just saying it because it sounds good, or because he's trying to impress people or some such.
Anyways, a few of the more theologically-minded among you might want to post some thoughts in the comments about it; I will covet such comments accordingly (in a good way).
That's an image snapped of an erupting volcano in Chile earlier this year. It is among many images in a photo gallery on Buzzfeed, under the header of "The Most Powerful Images of 2011"... here is a link to said gallery - a very worthwhile browse, if you have two minutes to spare...
Sadly, this image was not featured in the gallery...
Nicolas Cage as Gandalf... it doesn't get much more powerful than that...
My personal trainer destroyed me today. I took it personally. See, because he's a "personal" trainer, see? (Don't groan - it's another attempt to flush out the subversives! Bad puns, remember?). We did "drop sets" focusing on chest and back. "Drop sets" loosely translates into "make you feel like a complete, yammering weakling." At least, that's how it worked out for me. (Get it? "Worked out"? I'm on a roll!) How bad was it, you may ask? Well, my post-workout shower was delayed ten minutes while I tried in vain to remove my sweaty T-shirt... I lacked the requisite upper-body strength needed to lift a t-shirt up over my head... I was eventually successful, meaning I didn't have to shower with my shirt on...
All that to say, it was awesome, and I can't "weight" to do it again! BUAHAHAHA!!
There! A malcontent! In the top hat, with the metallic naru jacket! Grab him!
Excellent. I'll clean up this blog audience yet...
GAAHHH!!!! The Christmas play is two weeks away! Help! Defend me, friends! What if I mess the whole thing up!? What if I forget something important!? What if I accidentally pass wind during one of my monologues?! Heck, what if I purposely do it?! What then?!
OK, good, the panic attack is over. Good thing it was a quiet one... I might have awakened the baby!
Well, I've procrastinated on the January Piranha Newsletters long enough... gotta get back to work. I trust you all shall have a terrific week, and are enjoying the build-up to Christmas. For gift ideas, remember to check my Amazon Wishlist. I want every item on that list this year, and I mean it! Do your part already, as a grateful blog reader should! Otherwise, you'll be broken on the rack in front of a large, raucous crowd dressed in medieval garb, howling for blood n guts!
OK, sorry, got a little carried away there. My apologies.
Adios for now,
Dave the Well-Traveled
7 comments:
That reminds me, the surveillance cameras have captured some of my more "normal" readers doing some odd things as well.
For the last time, I am NOT a masturbating monkey! And the more exclamation points I use, it becomes obvious that I'm trying to cover it up!!!!
I really enjoyed the Will Smith video, I could swear I read somewhere that he is a Christian and I didn't find anything he said to be anti-biblical. I'll be interested in what others have to say. Great post per usual! :)
Will Smith is intense! To me, a lot of that video just sounded like positive affirmations and positive thinking, which doesn't ring un-biblical to me. Sure, the ultimate success in the world's eyes may be like Smith claims, but through biblical eyes, ultimate success would be having an intimate relationship with the Son, empowered by the Spirit, and adopted by the Father. Smith doesn't mention this, and the fact that it's not mentioned does bring up a vagueness on his Christianity. Cause in my mind, how could a Christian not speak about these things? (Of course, this could all be edited, too, so who knows.) Still, Smith is to be commended for his optimism and his lifestyle, especially his living for the betterment of his fellow men & women. The "f you're not making a difference in somebodies life" quote shows true humility and love, I think. Interesting video, Dave.
And the baby cartoon made me bust out laughing. Good stuff.
Mr. Smith appears to have blended a variety of “beliefs” into a package that works well for a person with his dynamic and obviously blessed life. It’s like the “chicken and the egg” dilemma – is he blessed because he espouses his mixture, or has his mixture appeared successful because he his blessed?
I recognize some of his ingredients. There are lots of biblical similarities (I believe he has a Baptist background), and the Bible is extremely practical – following God’s principles will result in a better life. I Peter 3:10 says that, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” I raised my children to understand that words are “alive,” and not to bandy about negative or hurtful words. For example, we never referred to a child as “bad,” because I believe you can create a hyper and bored child into a bad one, if you continue to label him/her so. Proverbs 16:24 actually says that words can heal bones. I can’t recall the scripture that I used with my kids, but it said that words carried power. If I find it, I’ll send it to you. Philippians 4:8 says are to think (and speak, for out of the abundance of the heart….) on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. So, speaking positively can offer a better life, but does it automatically give us what we want?
My old boss had us attend an eight-hour seminar on “The Secret.” Mr. Smith seems to incorporate some of that philosophy into his mix. Boiled down, the essence is that whatever you want, you speak it, or think it, and it’s yours, and the rest of your life is wonderful. You could change the course of your life with specific thinking or words. We had a chart at work with pictures depicting the things we wanted (I told them upfront I didn’t believe, and the only thing I had on the chart was a picture of David – depicting my anticipation of seeing him again one day). In the video, they used Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. as people who have practiced The Secret. When I tried to discuss the contradiction of the Secret with these men, the leader quickly changed the subject: President Lincoln battled depression, was married to a bi-polar woman, had several children who died young, and was eventually assassinated; Mr. King was a habitual adulterer, and while he made an awesome impact on our world, he hurt his wife and family by these action, and was assassinated.
I understand he has dabbled a bit into Scientology. I actually read Hubbard’s book, because I sent my daughter to their school for one year, but was concerned about them “recruiting” her. The Delphi Academy had an approach to reading that the traditional schools did not, and after one year, I put her back at Calvin because Delphi successfully helped her overcome the reading hurdle that Calvin wasn’t trained to tackle. They espouse some very practical methods, which also may have attributed to Mr. Smith’s mix.
Mr. Smith seems very genuine and sincere, and apparently chooses to live a very positive life, focusing on the good, lovely, pure, etc.…He espouses hard work, which we know produces gain (tons of verses in Proverbs). His statements are riddled with “I’s.” He believes, incorrectly, that his custom mix of “religion,” has produced the life he has. To some degree, yes, his hard work, personality type, kindness, and generosity, has reaped blessings – remember, the “rain” falls on everyone. But God has allowed him to reap all of those things; it is not solely because of his positive power. God could remove it in a day (Job). Because of his personality, I believe if God did remove the protective layer surrounding him, he would probably be able to turn that into something good (all things work together for good…). But his “I’s” would start to become “He’s” (God).
PS: Sorry this was sooooo long - do I get a word count comment prize?
Rory, that wasn't exactly the type of theological input I was angling for, but I suppose indirect confession counts!
Paula, thanks for popping in. You're welcome any time!
Logan, it would be interesting (perhaps) to meet Will in real life and have a discussion with him along these lines, and see more precisely how Christianity fits into his worldview...
Beth, I saw The Secret, and thought it was a fairly complete pantload. I thought it would be more along the lines of "What the Bleep Do We Know?", which I actually found entertaining and thought-provoking on many levels (while in others was, it likewise was lame), but no, The Secret left me thoroughly unimpressed.
Thanks for such a thorough response. You definitely win a word count prize.
How do you view your amazon wish list?? I want to see.
HAHA Nick Cage as Gandalf... The world would have ended... Thank the Gods...
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