Three Videos that Always Make Me Laugh (a.k.a. I'm too busy to write)

This is the busiest time of the year, for me.  In fact, I can't remember a Fall semester that was ever as frantic as this one has been.  As such, I've got nothing for you.  But, Blogging 101 states that you should keep some regularity to your publishing.  Of course, that doesn't matter to me, because I don't make any money and no one actually reads this.  However, I still feel better when I post, so here's three videos that always make me laugh:

In this clip from the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike Nelson makes jokes about Noh theater.  It's an old joke, but it gets me every time:



Here's an alternate look at Star Wars with Darth Vader's voice replaced with lines from other James Earl Jones films.  I laugh out loud each time:




And here's a classic scene from Taxi wherein Jim (played by the wonderful Christopher Lloyd) takes a driving test.  Wait for it.

Should the Church Replace Government Welfare?

It's an argument I hear often: "We shouldn't pay tax money to help the needy - the church should be doing that!"

The notion, here, is that the church ought to take in the homeless, feed the hungry, and help the sick who can't afford treatment.  It's a fine idea, but one that has flaws; namely, why isn't it happening, already?

If we want the church to take over this function, there's nothing stopping us.  In fact, if every homeless person was allowed to stay in a local church, then we would have succeeded in taking that responsibility from the government.  Problem solved.

But that's not what's happening.  Instead, I commonly hear argument that demand the church take over these functions, but only after they have been relinquished by the government.  They want the government to hand over this responsibility to the church, even though "the church" doesn't have centralized leadership of any sort.  (Particularly here in the U.S., where I hear this sort of thing argued.)

You know...this is a boring blog entry and I'm surprised you're still reading.  I'm boring myself as I type it.  No wonder no one reads my website.  I've got to find some better topics.  Come back, next week, and I'll try to have something better.  Sheesh.

She just read my blog.

Friday Links - I Finally Join Twitter, Discover What a Doctorate Is, and Check Out the Rapture Index

A Professor I know posted a link titled What Exactly is a Doctorate.  It's a very short read that simply diagrams what all of the grad students in the world are doing and why it matters.

Are you aware of the Rapture Index?  George Duncan over at End Times Tavern (a light-hearted news site) has made tongue-in-cheek references to the Rapture Index (a heavy handed fear-mongering site) a few times.  It's like a stock index, but it charts every possible event that relates to the End Times (if you subscribe to their very narrow interpretation of things).  Sounds useless, but it's really entertaining to people like me.  Did you know that false prophet sightings are at a danger level of 3 while unemployment is at level 5?  Occultic practices are on the rise while demon worship is in decline, and the current overall Rapture Index is 171 - just shy of the all time high of 174.  They call it the "The prophetic speedometer of end-time activity," which sounds like a joke - but don't laugh, because the guys at RaptureReady.com are very serious.

And, finally, I'm on Twitter.  I'm not a fan of it, but you can follow me at Twitter.com/ThinkThroughIt.  (Am I the only one shocked that a phrase like "Think Through It" has not been taken by a Twitter user?  I assumed I would end up with something more obscure.  Does this confirm my prejudice against Twitter users that says they aren't into deep conversations, hence the miserly word limit?  I digress.)  Thanks to TwitterFeed I can send my blog entries there (and to Facebook) without ever looking at it, and I like that.  I don't expect to ever log into it again or check my messages, so it's really just a feed for my blog.  But, if Twitter is your thing, there it is.


Enjoy your weekend.

Switchfoot vs. The Police (Not the Band...)

Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, is not the type to get in trouble with the law, but a recent run-in with the police has really affected him.

In the Huffington Post, Foreman tells us how embarrassed he is about what happened.  After a show He was playing some acoustic music in the parking lot when a police officer came by and made everyone leave.  Foreman shook the officer's hand and went on his way, so as far as run-ins with the cops go, this was pretty tame.  It turns out that the police needed to clear the lot before they left, so it's reasonable ask people to move on.

You can find a few YouTube videos of the whole thing going down.  The officer breaks it up pretty loudly, but no one is pushed around or anything.  I agree with Jon Foreman's notion that a communication breakdown took place, because he and the officer are clearly not on the same page about what's going on.  Even so, when he is asked to stop playing he is respectful to the officer and he manages not to lose his temper at all. 

But Foreman is still embarrassed.  He's concerned that he didn't handle the situation well and seems to feel really flustered about it.  (He goes on to say some really nice things about police officers, as well)  Of course, he also doesn't understand why he was being yelled at.  He ends the post with an apology:

Mr. Fisher, if in any way you felt threatened or disrespected by my actions the other night, please allow me to apologize. That was not my intention. I was simply hoping to play a few songs out in the parking lot for some folks who wanted to listen. I'm hoping to close this awkward incident the best way I can. I would love to find out how to do this sort of thing better for the next time we pass through. We all need each other.

Foreman is a classy guy.  Some of us met him at a conference two years ago and were amazed at how nice and approachable he was, so it doesn't surprise me that he has handled this situation well.  Most people I know would have used the opportunity to criticize the police and make themselves out to be martyrs for a cause.  ("Help, help, I'm being repressed!)  Thankfully, Jon Foreman remembered that it is the meek that shall inherit the earth, and not the whiners.  That's a lesson for me to remember.

You're doing fine, Jon.