Sunday, May 20, 2007

The final countdown

In the "some people have too much time on their hands" department, somebody composed a film clip montage of quotes counting down from 100 to 1. This is actually pretty cool, and for film fans, it will make you smile every time you see a clip from a movie you loved; there are a lot of classics in there. Some of the clips he was gonna use were obvious (who didn't think 88 was gonna come from Back to the Future?) but there are some surprises (Clerks is used for 36 rather than 37). Also, if you can't guess right away what movie 11 is gonna come from, you need to come by my place and we need to spend about an hour and a half watching the greatest mockumentary ever made. Anyway, enjoy!

Song lyric of the day:
"One: you gotta take it kinda slowly
Two: you gotta hurry up and make your move
Three: you gotta tell her that she's pretty
Four: you gotta be the perfect gentleman"
- Blue October, Balance Beam

Saturday, May 19, 2007

On Jerry Falwell

I would feel somewhat remiss if I didn't say a few words about the passing of Jerry Falwell. There has been a little discussion over on Jeff's blog about whether Falwell was an evil man, and my own feelings about Falwell need more than a blog comments page to flesh out.

First off, I think it is completely wrong to exult in the death of any but the most heinous individuals. My first reaction upon hearing of Falwell's death was sorrow and sympathy for his family. (My second reaction, of course, was to think back on some great Slant articles Falwell inspired, but really, who would expect anything else from me?)

On to the larger question, though: was Falwell an evil man? Over on his blog, Jeff states that he was not, and I am inclined to agree. Pierce counters by stating, truthfully, that Falwell "appealed to people's most base and irrational tendencies in order to subvert social and academic progress". Of course, to Falwell and his followers, social and academic progress are worldly evils, temptations by the devil that drag us further away from a loving (angry? jealous?) God (sorry for the adjectival confusion, but that one has always vexed me). Evangelicals of the Falwell variety would likely support this contention by pointing to the opening books of Genesis, when humankind's thirst for knowledge is precisely what gets us kicked out of Eden. They would probably also cite various passages in the Bible that I'm too lazy to look up that can be interpreted to support Falwell's views on feminism, homosexuality, Jewish people, etc. Point being, they fervently believe that the course they outline will make people better off. I guess the real question then becomes: where do we draw the line between evil and misguided? That's not a question I'm even remotely prepared to answer.

Regardless, I personally think that Falwell did far more harm to Christians than he did to anyone else. His role in the politicization of Christianity cannot be overlooked, and in my opinion cannot be seen as anything other than damaging to a generally beautiful religion. Ultimately, his legacy will likely, ironically, be as a blight on the very religion he followed. It's not a legacy I would want.

Song lyric of the day:
"Waiting for your modern messiah
To take away all the hatred
That darkens the light in your eyes"
- Disturbed, Liberate

Monday, May 14, 2007

Out of touch with business

Someone please tell me I'm not the only one who reads the headline, "Cerberus Likely to Buy Chrysler Group for $7.4B", and thinks that an automobile company might soon be sold to a three-headed dog.

In theory, now that I'm sort of in the corporate world, I should be more in tune to what's going on in the business world. But, nope, apparently not.

I'm also still trying to determine the logic behind naming your company after the vicious canine guard of the Greek underworld. Surely there must be something there. Anyway.

Song lyric of the day:
"Oh the razorblade, that's what I call love
I bet you'd pick it up and mess around with it if I put it down
It gets extremely complicated
Anything to forget everything"
- the Strokes, Razorblade

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Another announcement

MARGARITAS OF GOD weekend is officially over, sadly. It was amazing. Thanks for asking.

And yeah, I've got nothing else to say. I'm just keeping with the cryptic posts for the time being.

Song lyric of the day:
"Say it’s money that we need
As if we're only mouths to feed
And know no matter what you say
There’s some debts you’ll never pay"
- Arcade Fire, Intervention

Thursday, May 03, 2007

An announcement

MARGARITAS OF GOD weekend is officially upon us!

Well, upon me, anyway.

That is all.

Song lyric of the day:
"I asked her what we're gonna do tonight
She said, 'Cahuenga-langa-langa shoebox soup'"
- Traveling Wilburys, Margarita