Whatchutalkinboutchris?

For no other reason than it makes me chuckle!

Art by Frank Turk.

"This One Goes to 11..."

This is classic!

Bree and the Ball of Fire

Early dawn breaks like a brilliant bandit across the village of Bree. Light scatters in a million particles over the thatched roof dwellings. The warmth of the morning burns off the sluggishness of night. Ten thousand mornings have been just as similar as this one. Every one just as miraculous and mysterious as the one before. The flaming ball of orange will fall behind the horizon again this evening as the heat of the day gives way to the cool of the night. Most will not notice the miracle, yet a few will bask in the splendor and wonder of a day.

Who Was That?

Who was the clever fellow in the picture who feared being buried alive so badly he insisted upon installing a string attached to a bell outside his casket just in case he...umm...woke up?

It was Edgar Allan Poe. Zach was right!

Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of the macabre and mystery, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to the emergent science fiction genre.[1] Poe died at the age of 40. The cause of his death is undetermined and has been attributed to alcohol, drugs, cholera, rabies, suicide (although likely to be mistaken with his suicide attempt in the previous year), tuberculosis, heart disease, brain congestion and other agents. (From Wikipedia)

Who Said That?

Who said...?

"A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational."

I will post the answer next week. No cheating, (Googling, etc.)

Rappin' Duncans (John and Ligon)

They are brothers...They are Prebyterians...And they can bust rhymes like a BIG DOG!

Night by Elie Wiesel

Yesterday I read the famous book Night by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. I found it to be profoundly disturbing and just about as sad as any book I have ever read. Mr. Wiesel tells the story of his imprisonment in the concentration camp Auschwitz during 1944-1945. The situation this 15 year old boy found himself in was cruel and horrendous. He shows the numbness caused by such hatred and cruelty and the hopelessness of a world without love. The only thread of hope they clung to was the love they, (Elie and his father) had for one another.

My heart broke when I read lines like these...

"men to the left, women to the right." Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight short, simple words. Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother."

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed....Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

It is extremely well written. I was riveted to the pages and finished the 120 page book in 2 hours. I give the book 5 stars out 5 and would probably include it into my top 10 favorite books of all time.

Birdhouse

This is my first attempt at using watercolours (don't laugh!). I usually paint with oils. They are much more forgiving. I can get more complex pictures with oil because I can keep working and working it until it looks right. Watercolours, on the other hand are a one shot deal.

My Brother

I sketched this picture of my brother back in March of '03. We had just had dinner at my home. His belly: full. His mood: somber. His patience: thinning with every mark of my pencil.

My mother had the same mole under her left eye when she was younger. It mysteriously fell off one evening while eating Mexican food spiced with cummin.

Who Said That?

Who said...?

"We must be both more conservative and more liberal than most students of Christian worship: conservative in holding exclusively to God's commands in Scripture as our rule of worship, and liberal in defending the liberty of those who apply those."

It was the theologian John Frame. Dr. Frame (born 1939) is an American philosopher and a Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics. He is one of the foremost interpreters and critics of the thought of Cornelius Van Til.

About...Sardines

Do you like to eat sardines out of the can? I do! They have such a distinctive smell that I can look at this picture and the smell hits me like...BAM! Right in the face!

Sardines were named after the island of Sardinia, where they were once in abundance.

Canned "sardines" in supermarkets may actually be sprats or round herrings. The actual sizes of the fish canned varies by species. Good quality sardines should have the head and gills removed before packing. They may be also eviscerated before packing (typically the larger varieties), or not; if not eviscerated they should be free of undigested or partially digested food or feces (accomplished by holding the live fish in a tank for long enough that their digestive systems empty themselves). They may be packed in oil or some sort of sauce. (From Wikipedia)

Bree Needs Rain

The sweltering summer sun fires down upon the village of Bree. The townsfolk descend like a birds on prey around the well in the center of the village. The dirt floor of Bree is dusty, hard and getting harder. Horse carts and cattle trod the earth and send reluctant brown clouds of dust into the hot afternoon sun. Everything is tired and hot. The ground cries for rain. Far in the distance, past the Tudor buildings, over the gentle hills, just beyond the brown trees of summer, there rises a dark cloud. It is full of rain and promise. The well is thirsty and will be satisfied this evening.

Convergence

I find these two pictures to be very interesting in their similarities. The one on the left is a picture of the actors from the movie Legend of Bagger Vance. The one on the right is the famous scene of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. Do you find them curiously convergent? Look at the stance of the woman on the left and the man in the white suit. Look at the position of Will Smith's left arm and notice his hat, then look over at the right picture at Jack Ruby. They are very close. Strange, huh?

Johnny B. Good

Do you want to learn how to play the famous song? Watch the video.

It Makes No Difference by the Band

I can get COLD CHILLS listening to this one!

Who Said That?

Who said...

"We must be both more conservative and more liberal than most students of Christian worship: conservative in holding exclusively to God's commands in Scripture as our rule of worship, and liberal in defending the liberty of those who apply those."

I'll post the answer next week. No cheating, (googling, etc.).

Whatchutalkinboutchris?

Occassionally my speech gets a a bit wordiggoed. Has this ever happened to you? Do you want to sound smart/impress others with your Verbal Judo? Then Click here to learn how to speak fluent Gibberish.

Who Is It?

Who is the man in the picture who feared death?

I'll publish the answer next week.

John Piper is BAD

Maybe you recognize him as a Christian Hedonist, or maybe as the mild mannered preacher from Minneapolis. But whatever you know about him, you must admit....John Piper is "BAD." Don't believe me? Watch the following video.

Paper Owl

I made the owl. It was tremendously fun! I was able to print it, cut it out, and glue it together in under 45 minutes. If you are interested in making one, you can click here.

And the best part...IT'S FREE!!!

Hungry?

I will ask my wife if she will "make" one of these dinners for me. I am hungry and she is pretty good with a crotchet needle.

Who Said That?

Who said,

"I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it."

It was J. Gresham Machen. (Pronounced Jay Gres'am May chin)

John Gresham Machen (July 28, 1881 – January 1, 1937) was an American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1915 and 1929, and led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary as a more orthodox alternative. As the Northern Presbyterian Church continued to reject conservative attempts to enforce faithfulness to the Westminster Confession, Machen led a small group of conservatives out of the church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. When the northern Presbyterian church (PCUSA) rejected his arguments during the mid-1920s and decided to reorganize Princeton Seminary to create a moderate school, Machen took the lead in founding Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia (1929) where he taught New Testament until his death. His continued opposition during the 1930s to liberalism in his denomination's foreign missions agencies led to the creation of a new organization, The Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions (1933). The trial, conviction and suspension from the ministry of Independent Board members, including Machen, in 1935 and 1936 provided the rationale for the formation in 1936 of the OPC. (From Wikipedia)

Convergence

Logging trees in a Swedish forest, as seen from the air . This is a real picture. It has not been computer enhanced in any way.

Neil Young's Sample and Hold

After you watch this video, you might not find it too hard to believe that Neil Young and Rick "Superfreak" James were in a band together as teenagers.

A Good and Happy Child

I just finished a book called A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans. It was the scariest book I have ever read. I had a hard time sleeping for at least three nights! I do not recommend it for the faint at heart, but if you LIKE being scared, you will love it. The characters in this psychological thriller have depth and the dialogue is rich and realistic. It moves at a quick pace and keeps you guessing right up until the last page.

The main character has a fear, for some ODD reason, of holding his newborn son. He goes to see a psychiatrist and begins to remember some spooky events surrounding the death of his father almost 20 years before.

The book deals with demon possession and mental illness- not a light subject, but this young author from Lexington, Virginia handles the subject with respect and sensitivity . There is a bit of objectionable language, but not excessive. Considering the genre, I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 Stars.