I have friends and relatives who fervently believe that the war in Iraq is going well. Any bad news you may be hearing is simply the distortions, lies and propaganda of the evil liberal media. (Since I'm part of that evil, liberal media, you can imagine what my Christmas visit with my family was like.) I say that they believe this "fervently" — an adverb settled on because "honestly" and "earnestly" just won't fit. This is not something one can... Read more
In the movie Magnolia the narrator (Ricky Jay) says, "And the book says, 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'" Since I was quoting this in the previous post, I spent a little time surfing around, trying to find out if there was an earlier source than Paul Thomas Anderson's film. The quote sounded, to me, like an AA slogan, so I searched through a bunch of online collections of them, but didn't... Read more
So there we were, remembering Gerry Ford and thus, unavoidably, reconsidering his decision to grant Richard Nixon a "full, free and absolute pardon." The thing about pardons which are "full, free and absolute" is that it becomes difficult, later, to determine exactly what such pardons were for. Nixon was pardoned for "Watergate" — referring not only to the infamous break-in at that hotel, but also to a whole host of high crimes and misdemeanors, abuses of power and a general,... Read more
Oh. Right. The Friday music thing. I remember those. I think we were on "S." Telephone call for Mr. Horrible … "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair," They Might Be Giants "Someone Like You," Shawn Colvin "Someone to Watch Over Me," Chet Baker "Someone to Watch Over Me," Rickie Lee Jones "Something About You," Green "Something I Can Never Have," Nine Inch Nails "Something in the Night," Bruce Springsteen "Something of the Waiting," Jacob Altemus "Something so Right," Annie Lennox "Something... Read more
Linus Van Pelt got me all caught up in the holiday spirit, making this seem like a reasonable thing to write in the post below: Peace on earth, good will to all. That's what it's all about Charlie Brown. And it is a reasonable thing, and a Good Thing, and a noble sentiment. Problem is that these same words are sometimes used to express some unreasonable, ignoble sentiments. Take for example Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., who quoted this same passage... Read more
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David... Read more
Left Behind, pg. 237-239 So far, Chloe Steele is one of the most sympathetic characters in Left Behind. This is so, mainly, because we know almost nothing about her. She was a student at Stanford, then the world ended. She managed, somehow, to find a flight home to Chicago even though the planes weren't flying, and arrived there to learn several distressing things: A) her mother and kid brother have vanished, leaving nothing behind but their pajamas; B) her father... Read more
Left Behind, pg. 237 Chloe Steele is a bit hesitant to embrace her father's newfound apocalyptic faith. "I have to be intellectually honest with myself," she says. The implication is that her father's premillennial dispensationalist sect seems intellectually dishonest. The word "intellectually" is the key there for LaHaye and Jenkins. They come from the visceral, experiential strain of evangelicalism, so for them "intellectual" is always bad. Their particular PMD variant of this strain arises from, and relies heavily upon, anti-intellectualism.... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 236-237 The worst horrors of the Great Tribulation are yet to come. The sun will go dark and the seas will turn to blood. There will be earthquakes, famines, pestilence, Wormwood and giant locusts. But none of that seems quite as awful as what poor Chloe Steele has to endure on page 36: Over lunch [Rayford] told Chloe of his history with Hattie, such as it was. Ew. Finding out your dad was unfaithful to your mom... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 233-234 It's Monday and Rayford Steele is back at work (pilots get weekends off?). He has a pretty busy day ahead: flying to Atlanta and back, converting his daughter and explaining to her about his years of toying with Hattie's emotions. The flight to Atlanta was full and busy, and Rayford had to change altitudes continually to avoid choppy air. He got to see Chloe for only a few seconds while his first officer was in the... Read more
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