Best of Worst

As a true connoisseur of "so bad it's good" films, I had to watch 'Troll 2' last night… since I've heard it's the "worst movie ever made" (This description is often used to promote bad movies. "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" actually billed itself with that exclamation in their promotions of the film… it was false advertising!!)
Well, Troll 2 is quite similar to Tomatoes in that it has many redeeming qualities and in no way deserves the honor of being 'worst movie ever' title. For a fan of low budget films, Trolls 2 is actually much better than quite a few of Hollywood's big productions that are nothing more than boring!

I have noticed that as film's budgets have grown enormous, there seem to be far fewer films that possess the simple homespun qualities that the truly low-budget "best college friends making a movie" once had. I believe that now a person has to search out those incredibly low budget films produced by non-professionals on the internet and in specialty locations.

Just like in music and sports, if you really enjoy the innocent artistic traits of the average person, you have to avoid what the big-business superstars are churning out.

I am Not

"The folks around here are so prejudiced. They always mistake me for a _______."

Uh, here's a little lesson on prejudice…
If you get bothered because people often mistake you for a nationality that you personally do not like, and you are offended because they think you are of that nationality, it is NOT the uninformed people who are prejudiced… it is YOU!

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3

More Debates

A 'debater extraordinaire' is someone who says the right things at the right times in the most persuasive and influential way... and yet that still doesn't make what they have to say to be accurate, correct, or right!

Know the Truth

A website titled "Why Evolution is True" (based on a book with the same name) is supposedly a scientific analysis of why evolution is definitely true, and any other belief system is not only false, but laughably false. The University of Chicago professor/author goes out of his way to belittle people as being little more than moronic fools who don't share his belief... yet he approaches his own 'scientific' beliefs in an extremely devout and religious manner.

While it's true there are some imaginative (though debatable) bits of information on the site, most of the articles are written with a 'better-than-thou' attitude and excessive pride which causes you to question the true motive behind such endeavors. Would I be out of line to suggest there's a strong indication of a spiritual battle taking place within the "Why Evolution is True" realm?

Defenses

If anyone has ever avoided telling you something because they feel you won't take it well... based upon the way you normally react, it's time for you to reassess your defenses. You are putting your guard up and shielding help from getting to you. It's better to answer with "Okay, I'll think about it" than to get all defensive about something which could benefit you in the long run. It might not be life-and-death this time, but perhaps next time it will be.

Are You Guilty of This?

Scripture says... Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. — Hebrews 10:29

"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you!" (Acts 7:51).

Judgment day is a scriptural definite. Every person born will have a time of accountability. For some it will be far worse than for others. Have you "trampled on the Son of God"? This simply means that you have little place in your life for Jesus, even though you've heard and had the opportunity to serve Him. If you place other religions, beliefs, and teachings above Him, you are guilty of trampling on Him. Spiritually, God's Spirit will only point towards Jesus... no other prophet or religion (there are other conflicting spirits which will lead you in those directions). A hardened heart resists when the Spirit whispers in your ear. This is both insulting and disdainful to God and is the one act you willfully do which places you outside of His mercy.

One simple reminder: there is only one Jesus! Nobody else can take His place.

Counter Melodies in Our Life

Counter-melodies can be one of the most important parts of a song but are often the most overlooked or unnoticed parts of the overall score. I admit, I'm by nature a counter-melody person. I hear, see, and experience many things around me with a counter-melody perspective. Even when I hear a near-perfect popular song, my mind eventually creates a counter-melody to go along with it… I hear what is not there. A counter-melody takes what is already good and makes it just a bit better.
The melody is where the focus is. It is extremely important. It is the main attraction… the headliner! The melody is out in the forefront and is what makes-up the song; what is most likely remembered; what the vocals normally follow and mimic; and what receives most of the praise and recognition. The counter-melody normally hides in the background; seldom receives praise or recognition; and is sometimes not even noticed or heard by certain listeners. It occasionally is not capable of standing on it's own, but it compliments the melody in such a way that it brings out the best in it. The melody might be as good as possible, but it doesn't soar to the higher realm until the counter-melody comes-in and helps bring it there. The whole purpose of the counter-melody is to make the melody shine and sparkle brighter and with more polish and grandeur!
The concept of the counter-melody does not just happen in music. It's counterparts can be found throughout life in social structures; nature; relationships; family; friends; marriage; animals; culinary delights; fashion; visual arts; weather; engineering; and on-and-on. It is not the headliner's (or original's) "exact same counterpart" which makes the original seem better, it is the complimentary non-exact partner which bring's out the headliner's uniqueness in a much bolder, positive way. Most of the genuinely great things in our world are made even greater when they are complimented with the perfect counter-melody!
Just look around and you'll see, hear, and experience counter-melodies everywhere. You will notice the counter-melody is the best partner the melody can have… it is grandly indispensable in what it offers and brings to the table!

Know What You're Eating

We all know that you have the opportunity to eat lobster when you go to Red Lobster.

I assume you can eat a robin when you dine at Red Robin.

But, I have a hard time believing that anyone wants to eat a castle when they eat at White Castle!

Sounds, Noise, and Melody

Living in the middle of hills and dense woods should normally be peaceful and tranquil, but the encroachment of neighbors can change that quite quickly. Since moving here six years ago, one neighbor cut down all their trees, thus allowing the harsh sounds of traffic and civilization to more fully enter our quiet world. Another close neighbor has collected a pack of small yappy dogs who's non-stop barking echoes day and night throughout the neighborhood filling the hills with a wall of noise. Occasionally the entire 'herd' of noisemakers are allowed to retreat inside the neighbor's house, allowing peace and quiet to blanket our wooded domain for a short while. It is at those times that another sound can be heard and appreciated... the soothing singing of the large variety of birds who frequent the feeders in our patio! Their melodious songs echo through the trees and provide the ambiance which is perfectly tailored for living in an area such as this. Once again God shows that He knows best!

Satisfaction

It's in our nature to view things with a 'grass is always greener' perspective, especially in regards to where we live. This is where we work, toil, and struggle. We only occasionally take advantage of all the wonders at our own back door. We drive for a day or more to vacation somewhere which makes us think, "it sure would be great to live here", not realizing a vacation's perspective is not the same as the perspective coming from our daily struggle. Even folks living in a desirous location are often guilty of longing to be somewhere else.

There are exceptions to this rule. Bruce was a simple mountain man... quite satisfied with where God had placed him. His remote rural existence was quite modest by most standards. He told of the time his wife and he responded to the 'all inclusive' promo of a time share resort. After experiencing it's wonders; being shown all it's many amenities; and being pressured to the extreme by the persistent sales force, Bruce gently explained to them why he was not interested. "You have a lot of nice things at your place but I already live in a place that's so good people come from all over to experience my mountains. I wake up every day looking forward to the chores I will do feeding the chickens, milking the cow, and tending my fields... and all the time looking at my mountains. I like what you have here, but it's for someone else that doesn't have things as nice as what I have at home."

Bruce didn't have near as much as folks who aren't satisfied with the multitudes of expensive toys that cannot bring them happiness. His grass was greener on his side of the fence.

Know Who God is

A really broad, all-inclusive view of God is really no view at all... especially if little of it is based on Christ's revelations of who God is. "Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me." (John 15:20–21) What? We've rejected God!!? Jesus is saying that if we listen to any other voice which doesn't align-up with His revelations about God and the spiritual realm, we are in reality rejecting God! He gives us no room to be all inclusive in our viewpoints and interpretations. Perhaps now you understand a bit better why He was nailed to a cross to die. His message isn't what we want to hear.

Sea of Despair-Showers of Grace - Autumn

Sea of Despair-Showers of Grace - Autumn

It's been a full year since I posted "Sea of Despair - Showers of Grace" and so I am posting it once again. It is one of my personal favorites, and though this is the Autumn instrumental version, it's lyrics have strong meaning to me and can be round at the Jamendo music sight. I will post that link as well. Thanks!

Where are IT departments heading?

I read a tech report about the demise of the IT department and the current reasons why there’s a good possibility these departments will shrink in the next few years. So I wrote this little article about my personal experience with IT departments over the years…
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For me it started in 1987.
That was when our company purchased three little Mac Plus’ to do our printed catalogs with. There were already about forty M-DOS computers which had a daily need for the company’s IT department. Those DOS things were basically a nightmare in numerous ways! The employees using the DOS computers would come around and marvel at the way our little boxes operated… so much nicer, user friendly, and more efficient than anything they had been trained on. The IT staff had a different attitude. They believed that any computer which didn’t require their assistance was not worth paying attention to. I could also see that the Macs were a pure threat to their job security as well.

The graphic department’s little Macs also proved to be quite trouble free as well. Looking back at the end of the first year, it was evident these computers which did things differently also required very little maintenance. They were basically problem free! The IT department appreciated the ‘headache’ computers but had a sometimes outspoken disdain for our devices.

Over the decades, having worked at numerous other companies in graphics, I have seen this same scenario repeated over and over in various incarnations. Even when Windows finally entered the workforce, the non-Macs almost always had some type of need for IT. There were always some aspects which weren’t user-friendly for the office staff and had to be maintained by a techie expert to operate well.

I really thought the IT departments would shrink far greater than they had by 2000. I’m a bit surprised they have been around as long as they have when technology had got to the point that their services were no longer in great demand… and I’m not talking about the future, I’m going back a ways.

I think there will always be a need for some type of IT department. Perhaps it will evolve where the position is part of a bigger job description. Perhaps it will be a position where one person can do what three once did. With both computers, and the end-user’s abilities being what they are now, I can’t imagine IT not evolving in some way as well.

Smartphone

Silly me. I once thought that a Smartphone was so-named in reference to it's intelligent computing abilities. But after owning a couple of them, I now think they're called a Smartphone because you have to be fairly smart in order to use the dang thing!

Like Christ

History has given us many great people whom we can pattern our self after and strive to be like. Some of us even have a beloved family member worthy of learning from. But there has been only one who is utterly impossible to emulate without the assistance of God's mighty Spirit working within. When He instructed us to "die to self" He was not joking... there is no other way to even remotely be a reflection of Him and His vastly higher ways!

Above the Law

One fallacy I've heard all my life is that the rich are often above the law, but the poor seldom are. Having observed the local, national, and some foreign laws and the way they are enforced, or not enforced, I have seen that it's not entirely a matter of one's financial status. What it actually boils down to is... what connections does a person have? One's connections are vitally important! Who do you know in the right place who is willing to stack the deck in your favor? Just pick up the paper and see who is prosecuted and who isn't. It's all in the connections... whether obtained by wealth, family, friends, organizations, or social services.

Jump

Deception takes place not only individually, but even more so collectively. It is when a group, or even a whole society, accepts a falsehood; acts upon it; and enforces it's lie that the potential of devastating results happen with far greater harm than what might come from the 'lone gunman'. This is why it's so critically important for the individual to hold their society accountable for what it enforces, accepts, rejects, and teaches by using moral and ethical checks and balances which can only come from a higher standard than what humanity is capable of on our own. When we stand on a cliff and jump as high as possible, we are destined to descend far greater than what we can ascend.

Misconception

One of many misconceptions regarding Jesus is that he only taught 'peace, love, and harmony' along with other loving and pretty things. The truth is that much of his teachings were in fact warnings which dealt with quite negative and sometimes frightful concepts. He consistently exposed areas which we believe to be good for the darker side which they actually are. We associate 'destruction' with war and calamity, but Jesus associated it with the normal condition we live under. No, he never was that 'timid little Jesus holding a rose in his hand' that some tend to believe. But, the good, uplifting, and positive news is that even though he showed that things might be worse than we want to believe, there is also the 'good news' of a way out for those who are willing to accept it. He emphasized that if we choose to stay the way we are things won't be so great, but if we really listen, take it to heart, turn and make that change, and let him lead us in a whole new way, then things can actually get turned around and redirected for a much better destination. That is the loving and positive message he is known for.

Opinionated

"That's only your opinion" is not a valid statement when your so-called opinion is based on the opinion, teachings, science, or doctrine of someone else. If the 'only your opinion' statement is addressed to you, and you know your opinion is authentically and accurately based on someone, or some group's established facts, then your response can be, "No, it's not just my opinion, it's what ______ also believes, teaches, and researched."

Senior

There are quite a few things that I both love and hate at the same time. Perhaps one of the best examples of this hated love affair is that of the "Senior Discount"!!! I confess that I'm normally quite excited to see that I'm actually getting a special discount for something... a discount that I wouldn't have gotten up until recent years, but that discount comes at a price. It comes at the price of now being classified as a SENIOR (at least by certain establishments). In case you have forgotten, the word senior is used by many of us senio... uh, how about 'middle aged' folks, instead of the other common word freely used by younger people... OLD!!! Ouch. Old? And I still think of old as pertaining to my grandparents... not me.

Mercy

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Prov. 28:13

Master debater

It sure seems like no matter what forum you post in, there's always a 'debater' who is lurking and looking for an excuse to take the opposite stand of whatever you have posted. It's as if their entire life is dedicated to making them self the champ (bully?) of online forums. If you post, "The sky is filled with rain", they will instantly post, "the sky is sunny and warm". Okay, this might be true and accurate if you were in entirely different locations, but this jerk is located just down the road a mile or two and is standing in a downpour! LOL

Warnings

Getting older is when you finally realize that some of those sociological/moral warnings you heard and laughed at when you were younger actually have come alarmingly true and are no longer a laughing matter.

Oh you Protestants!

Oh great. I just learned that my birthday, May 1st, has become some type of international protest day. There were all types of protests taking-place all over the globe. I'm sure there might have been some valid ones, but from what I've read, many of them just gave an opportunity for lunatics and hotheads to have a chance to cause some trouble. I sure wish that people could channel their anger and indignation into areas which would align with those things which we really should be concerned about.