Go Down Gamblin'

Here is a compilation of some quotes by UK citizens on the visit of President Bush. Unfortunately, their deeply-ingrained and completely unjustified abhorrence of Bush is readily evident. The article implyied that there were several different viewpoints presented, calling the responses "mixed", but I think perhaps "muddle-headed" might be a more accurate descriptor.

The theme seems to be, "I think George Bush is bad. Iraq? Well, things would be better if Bush hadn't gone to war unilaterally and murdered and gassed millions of Iraqi citizens. That was Saddam? Oh... nevermind."
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I washed my left contact lens down the drain. Not intentionally, I can assure you. This means I get to drive all over creation wearing my glasses, which afford me slightly less sharp vision. Here's hoping I can avoid my annual Holiday Car Incident (TM).
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Wow... it's been three days since I've blogged.... Well, I supposeI could offer the lame excuse that I've been very busy. The thing is, I haven't been THAT busy. I have just neglected my responsibilities (?). Well, no more!

Lucky for me, there are a lot of great things out there to look at today. This article by Victor David Hanson, for starters (courtesy of LGF). Speaking of LGF, there are a LOT of interesting little tidbits about the so-called "religion of peace" (a term which LGF uses quite frequently, and always with heavy irony). There's this and this and this and this and especially this.

Virginia Postrel , who is in St. Louis today, has this about President Bush's speech in the UK.

Here's the text of the entire speech. Quite good, I think. This kind of thing makes me wish I had voted for Bush in the 2000 election.
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Had a great concert yesterday... although, overall, it was extremely exhausting. We had to work hard on some of the pieces before the concert, but everything came together pretty well. Thus ends my week of hell! There's not much more for me to do the rest of this week... basically, just prepare myself for Thanksgiving break. Well, and accompany a student for the student recital tomorrow night. That's not so bad, right?

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Well, well, well... it seems like all the screeching that Saddam and al Qaeda aren't even remotely connected are about to be proved wrong.
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I was just looking at the new St. Louis-- I mean MISSOURI-- quarter. It says "corps of discovery". I really don't know what that means, other than a reference to Lewis and Clark's expedition. Indeed, you can see a canoe traveling up the Missouri river with three people aboard. I'm not sure which one is Lewis and which is Clark, but I'm assuming the one without the hat is Sacagawea. Is that spelled right?
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Read this... it says important things about the role and duty of the US government, as well as the role and duty of U.S. citizens. (Via Instapundit)
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SIGH... no matter how much I promise myself I'm going to go to bed early, I always end up reading something on the internet that leads me to something else, and before I know it, it's 1am and I have to get up for work in 6 hours. But just so that my time wasn't wasted, here's a link to an interesting article about government, and lawmakers in particular. It resonates deeply with some ideas I've been rolling around in my head for some time.
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Well, it's 11:30, and I'm done with the Honor Choir. My feet and legs are so tired, they hurt. I was basically on my feet from 8:00 this morning until 9 this evening. Fortunately, even though we had fewer kids than last year, they were very enthusiastic, worked very hard, and knew all the notes before they came. It made my job that much easier, I can tell you. And their performance at the concert tonight was simply stellar. Nevertheless, it was a grueling day, and I have to say I'm glad it's over. I'm going to bed early to give my legs a rest before heading back to work tomorrow. At least Wednesday is a lighter day for me... well, off to bed!
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I'm afraid that blogging will be pretty light until after this weekend. I have a horribly busy week lined up, with an all-day high school Honor Choir tomorrow, a performance on Thursday, a pancake breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, and our concert on Sunday. Yesterday, I sang at two morning services at the church of my friend Samuel, who is choir director. Between them, I sandwiched in a rehearsal of my own church choir. It was a busy day. I've had lots of bloggable thoughts this week, believe me, but it's been difficult to find time to get to the computer and record them. Sorry!
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If you're unsure of which Presidential candidate to support, try using Whack-a-pol.
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Most of you who know me know that I think our perseverence in Iraq is critical, not only to their development as a democracry, but to our own national security. Here is a post by Citizen Smash, who served in Iraq, which illustrates more clearly than I ever could the issues we are facing in trying to bring democracy and freedom to Iraq, as well as plainly pointing out the only thing that can possibly deny us success.
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Well, I finally broke down and turned the heat on today... it was about 38 degrees outside, and about 58 inside. My fingers were so cold that I couldn't type anymore. So, I checked all the gas connections, made sure there were no leaks, and went through the process of starting up my furnace. Fortunately, the hot air that comes out of the ducts is not accompanied by a burning smell, which often happens. The only weird thing is, instead of kicking on and running for ten minutes or so, the furnace will usually run no more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time. It's very interesting. I'm trying to save money by setting the thermostat at 65 degrees, but the actual temperature usually ends up around 68 or 69, which is well inside my comfort zone. I'm still debating whether or not to turn it off during the night.
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I spent $45 on groceries yesterday, and yet as I looked through the cabinets tonight to find something for dinner, I thought "I have NOTHING to eat!"

I also watched two whole DVDs of the Transformers: Season 3, part I. I don't enjoy them quite as much as the first two seasons, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable way to waste time. I don't think I'll lend them to my nephew Joel just yet, though... he's only 5, and the third season is definitely much darker in character. Plus, I want him to come to know and love Optimus Prime (and perhaps even Megatron) before they are taken away from him.

If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, maybe this will explain it.
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I was reading a post about firefighters, when I happened to continue on to the next post down... and found a post about life that I found quite compelling. Check it out.
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Brother Bear, cont'd...

And another thing-- it always seems like these non-western people are all happy and peaceful with each other, no societal problems, equality for everyone, etc... which, according to my guess, is far from reality. I have heard plenty of interesting tidbits about various native American tribes and peoples that would seem abhorrent to Western sensibilities. Plus, I know of very few societies where men and women are truly equal (and to Disney's credit, they did not soft-pedal that issue in the movie Mulan).

I guess I should probably say something nice about the movie... well, the animation was pretty good, especially that of the bears. The style combined features of past Disney bear characters (such as Baloo from Jungle Book and Little John from Robin Hood, although not Pooh) with characteristics and features of actual bears. The way their paws moved, their lips, their musculatures, all suggest that the Disney artists really did their homework. Kudos.
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Well, I saw "Brother Bear" yesterday (Droy's choice... although if it had been there, he would have chosen Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He seems to suddenly go deaf when I tell him I don't enjoy scary movies). My reaction? Ehh. It certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that good, either-- certainly not what I'd expect from the company that came out with "Finding Nemo". Of course, Brother Bear didn't have Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in it, either, so maybe that's the trouble.

No, actually, I think I know what the trouble is. Disney is on a roll with its animated features, and it's not the good kind. They've found a formula (or rather, formulaic elements) that seems to work, and they're sticking with it. As near as I can guess, here are the elements of that formula, in no particular order:

1) cute furry animal characters (this is a no-brainer)
2) people in a non-western civilization who live in harmony with the environment and with each other
3) guiding spirits of an animist sort
4) the tragic death of a loved one
5) insistent moralizing that if we all tried to understand each other, life would be perfect
6) a wise shaman character that guides the young hero
7) extremely broad slapstick

Now, I don't mean to imply that I think these ideas are, by themselves, pure bunk. I would be happy if we left a lighter footprint on the land, and I think that we would indeed all get along much better if we tried to understand each other. And I even enjoy slapstick--of a certain sort. However, the combination of these elements makes for a movie that is basically a re-telling of other Disney stories. (The Lion King immediately comes to mind). Sure, there are plot differences... but the basic gist is that Disney has found something that makes loads of money, and instead of aiming for a great version of a great story, they settle for mawkishly animated moral platitudes. And animist platitudes, at that.

Now, don't get me wrong... I have no problem with movies portraying other religions. However, Disney seems to studiously avoid anything resembling monotheistic Western religions, with the exception of Islam (cf: Aladdin). The closest mention is in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, where the church is treated more as a building of sanctuary than as an institution of faith. If anything, Christians (and Westerners in general) are portrayed as evil or malicious, money-grubbing, racist, or greedy for land or conquest. Doubtless there are many Christians who are. But I would say there are a great many more who aren't. But of course, we never see them.

And what is it with Disney and slapstick nowadays? In this movie, the main character (Kenai) gets whacked and poked and stunned by all manner of slapstick accidents. It's purely to elicit a guffaw from the kids. I have no problem with that... but did they have to put in that much??

I have to confess, I was probably put off of the movie before it even began by the previews that preceeded it. They showed trailers of the new Loony Tunes movie and the new Cat in the Hat movie. I nearly retched. I am becoming more and more disgusted by the loathsome re-makes of classics that are staining the silver screen. The Grinch was bad enough. But from what I've seen of the Cat in the Hat, it takes only the most basic concepts from the Dr. Seuss book and then plays havoc with them. It saddens me to no end that my nieces and nephews will probably grow up thinking of Mike Myers when they hear the words "Cat in the Hat". And the Looney Tunes movie? Sheer, rubbery slapstick. It's not even good slapstick like the originals were. Rubbery, I said? Yes, instead of holding relatively constant form, the Looney Tunes characters are stretching, bouncing, and elasticizing all over the place. If you have ever watched Looney Tunes cartoons, you know that the characters maintained their basic shapes and forms throughout unless a gag or joke dictated otherwise.

Well, you probably think I'm some crotchety old miser, instead of a guy who just turned 30. But what it boils down to is that kids today aren't going to experience some of the more memorable moments that I had during my youth, and are never going to know what true cartoon greatness is. It just makes me sad.
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Sorry I didn't blog for the last few days... busy with one thing and another. I had quite a weekend, that's for sure. I turned 30 yesterday, and so my family felt it was their duty to have a party for me. Of course, the party was in St. Louis, so at least part of my time was spent driving there and back again. The party was at my sister's house, and everybody was there, even my brother Dan. My sister and brother-in-law made ham and green beans and potato casserole, and a German apple cake for dessert (Apfelkuchen). From my Dad and stepmom, I got a Star Wars book and a lollipop that says "30 sucks" (get it?). From my Mom and Stepdad, I got money (yay!). From my sister I got the party, and from my brother Dan I got a gallon jug of Sangria. I don't know where that one came from, since I don't drink very much. From my new nephew, Kurt (he's 2 months old), I got a box of Peanut Butter Crunch cereal, and from his parents, my brother and sister-in-law, I got two huge jugs of pancake syrup and a tiny little packet of pancake mix (there's a story behind that, and perhaps I'll explain it later). When I got back to Iowa, I got the newest Transformers DVD set (season 3, part 1) and a Justin Timberlake/Christina Aguilera CD. Altogether, it was a pretty great birthday. I dont' think I'm going to mind being 30 very much.
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