Beyonce Unhurt!

Onion News Network reports that tragedy was averted recently as one of our 'beloved' celebrities was nearly gunned down. Oh yeah, something else happened I guess but I was so relieved that I forget the details...



On a serious note, I am shocked that Owen Wilson attempted suicide. I do not know the man but was always impressed with him as a comedic actor. God keep him and may he get whatever help he needs.

How Billiard Cues Are Made

Ok I got nothing tonight (looooooong week), but this was kind of cool:



BONUS! How Handcuffs Are Made.

NASA Blinded By Science?

Hmm...NASA is getting into the music vid business now? Eh, not too shabby and I do like that 80s classic. Probably good for promoting the Phoenix Mars Mission.

UPDATE: You can download this from iTunes here.

"Gay Agenda" Victorious?

Interesting post by Joshua over on The Conjecturer:

[I]t’s not like we’re marching in the streets demanding the keys to our shuttered sex clubs. We take to the streets to celebrate existing unafraid, to celebrate the hope of being one day considered equal stakeholders in this country, and for some of us, the promise of that special dream promised to every other citizen of this country: the cherished right to live our lives free of anyone else’s dictates or oppression. The gay agenda has indeed been perverted: it has been made entirely banal, an inevitable (if frustratingly stilting) march toward a society in which one’s sexuality simply does not matter any more. It is worthy of neither derision nor celebration, like one’s hair color. That is the grandest victory I can imagine.

I strongly suspect that most gays are just "average Joe's" with lives mirroring their straight counterparts: "entirely banal" with periods of excitement scattered in when the routine of work and home can be broken from. If homosexuality on a day-to-day basis can be ignored as just one of those differences we all have from each other, even if one may not care for it themselves, that would be victory to me. One day perhaps...

Making Aluminum Foil

Eh, I thought this was interesting...

Pastel Hobbits?

Elijah, um...this doesn't help dispel the rumors about you and certain other people ya know. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course.

Father of murder victim attacks killer in court

Understandable. Yes it was wrong, but I completely sympathize with this anguished father and would go very easy on him. I cannot help but hope that he knocked the guy hard and left a few scars. Pity he didn't know Muay Thai like in the last video posted here, but than again his son wouldn't want his dad to go to prison so perhaps it's for the best.

National Geographic: Fight Science

This. Is. So. Effing. Cool.



Combine the deadly skill of the greatest martial arts with the geekiness of science (add a Hollywood touch in computer graphics too of course) and what do you get? Weird science of a kind that reeks of testosterone and sheer coolness. Forget Pokemon. My nephew is going to devour this show so intensely that I'll have to keep reminding him to breathe. Great concept actually, many people who have studied martial arts themselves or at least watched a few movies of that genre have wondered about how real some of the legends are. Wonder no more and watch this awesome documentary. Above is embedded just the trailer, but you can download the full show here or watch it on You Tube (sadly out-of-synch though). Courtesy of iTunes, you can also download some snippets to your iPod here. Enjoy.

Someone You Should Know: Staff Sergeant Matthew Zedwick

The great Bruce from QandO is now putting his excellent "Project Hero" series on Pundit Review Radio. I just finished finished listening to Bruce's telling of the heroism of Staff Sergeant Matthew Zedwick. Wow. Zedwick is one of the many men and women in uniform whose story is worthy of respect and should inspire each one of us to such greatness as we are capable of in our own lives. God keep you, Staff Sergeant. (Click image for more on Zedwick from DoD)

Settlement reached in gravesite battle

A gay Baltimore man has won a legal battle to keep his late partner’s remains buried in the Tennessee grave the two men chose.

Kevin-Douglas Olive reached a settlement Aug. 10 with the parents of his late partner, Russell Groff, who sought to move the body to a family plot. The settlement ended a legal battle that lasted two years.

“It’s been pretty traumatic,” Olive said. “I’m just ready to put it all behind me and see what comes next.” (Washington Blade)

I'm glad that this case has been settled. This is a good example of why gay couples should follow the advice of Olive's attorney and "make sure that your affairs are in order early, don’t wait until your partner is ill or something catastrophic happens". Yet that aside, I am simply amazed at the absolute cruelty of the parents who in their misguided notion of doing what they thought was right instead violated the heart and soul of the Gospel they claimed to hold to. Even with their son dead and this dispute settled, the Groffs are in denial about their son's sexuality and accuse Olive of "using everything that he can, everyone that he can, to further the homosexual agenda". No Mrs. Groff, what we witnessed was your abuse of the person who loved and cared for your son whether you agreed with that love or not and you disgracing his memory with your misbehavior. You may argue that Olive and even your son were living in sin but your reaction here was every bit as sinful as you think their relationship was -- if not more. May Russell now rest in peace.

Oldest Piece of Chewing Gum Found

Somehow I'm thinking that this 5,000 year old piece of gum has lost it's wintergreen flavor. See? Your Mom was right: it never goes away so don't swallow it ya maroon! (Metro)

Imperial COPS

Most of you have probably seen this already, but I stumbled across it on You Tube and thought it was funny and well done:

Loose canons?

You may have noticed that my list of favorite podcasts has been growing lately. Yes, I am quite addicted to podcasts now covering a multiplicity of different subjects. The ones I keep a link to here update with new shows, yet I have a number of specific subject podcasts that do not. There is one that I just finished listening to that I have to recommend most highly. It is Lay Bible Institute - Which Jesus? (iTunes link) by Jeffrey Kloha of the LCMS Concordia Seminary. Kloha gives a fascinating series of lectures for laypeople on Gnosticism, other non-canonical texts and briefly touches on the history of the formation of the Canon of the Christian Scriptures. You can download them in video or audio format. While I have some minor quibbles with his presentation (e.g. on the Deuterocanonicals) for the most part he is quite fair and within the mainstream of what scholarship has to say on these subjects. Yes, there is a definite Lutheran bias to some of this but it is still quite good. If you are curious about what relation the "Gospel of Thomas" or the "Gospel of Judas" have to Christian texts, or perhaps an idea about how we got the Bible I cannot recommend this series enough. Enjoy.

UPDATE: If you are interested in learning even more on the Canon, I would suggest "Holy Writings, Sacred Text" or maybe even "The Biblical Canon" and for hardcore history geeks like myself "The Canon Debate". There are so many more good resources online and in book form but these are good to start with.