Relationship problems defined

Petra Anderson, miracle survivor of Colorado shooting, expected to make a full recovery

Petra Anderson is a name landing in headlines as the young woman appears to be making an amazing full recovery after being shot multiple times during the Aurora, Colorado shooting.

Anderson, age 22, was at the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises," when James Holmes opened fire, shooting the aspiring music professor four times in the crowded theater, the Associated Press reports.

Three shotgun pellets hit Anderson's arm and another went through her nose, riding up the back of her cranium and hitting the back of her skull.

"Her injuries were severe, and her condition was critical…The doctors prior to surgery were concerned because so much of the brain had been traversed by the bullet," Anderson's pastor, Brad Strait, wrote in his blog.

Strait, who was in the hospital during the young woman's surgery, added that doctors were worried that Anderson's injuries could impair her speech, motor and cognitive abilities.

But incredibly, during the five-hour surgery, doctors soon found that Anderson's brain sustained very little damage and the pellet was removed cleanly.

According to Strait, Anderson was saved by a miracle birth "defect" that no one could have anticipated.

The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from birth a small “defect” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull…Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.But in Petra’s case, the shotgun buck shot…enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain.

Anderson has already started to speak and walk again -- is expected to make a full recovery.

"She could have lost all kinds of function (if) the bullet traversed her brain," her mother Kim Anderson told the Sacramento Bee. "I believe that she was not only protected by God, but that she was actually prepared for it."

To support the young woman and her family, the Hope Rises Relief Fund has started a campaign for the Andersons. So far, more than $32,000 has been raised.

Anderson's injury has come at a difficult time for the young woman's family. Her mother is battling terminal breast cancer and the cost of medical bills for both women has proven to be a daunting challenge.

“If the pellet had wavered a millimeter, really in any direction from what it actually took, then she would have likely either died or been severely injured,” said Dr. Michael Rauzzino, a neurosurgeon at The Medical Center of Aurora who operated on Anderson to remove the pellet. “I would say this is definitely a miracle,” he said, while showing an MRI of Anderson’s brain.

The MRI reveals a faint trace of the pellet’s path after it entered the left side of Petra's nose, broke through the front

Mali Muslims beat couple for having child out of wedlock

From The Global Dispatch: The Islamists occupying northern Mali on Wednesday gave a couple 100 lashes of a whip for having a child out of wedlock, Sowetan Live reports. “At Sankore Square in Timbuktu, a man and a women got 100 lashes for having had a child outside of marriage,” said local official Mohamed Ould Baby. “People were watching it was like a show. I was there, I saw the youths arriving at the square, I saw them being whipped, it is the first time I have seen something like that.” The official said Islamist group Ansar Dine, call themselves Defenders of Faith, carried out the punishment. Ansar Dine claimed control of Mali’s vast northeast regions in March. The AFP reported that Ansar Dine claimed to occupy the towns of Tinzaouaten, Tessalit and Aguelhok, all close to the Algerian border, and that they had captured at least 110 civilian and military prisoners.

Church Mandated To Rent Facility For Same-Sex Ceremonies

We seem to be in an age of increasing government mandates that strike at the very core of the freedom of religion. The HHS Mandate in just one example of government mandates that disregard freedom of religion. The latest example comes from Hutchinson, Kansas, a small town northwest of Wichita. If the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission has its way, churches will be mandated to rent out their facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies.

It started back in November, 2011, when a group called the Kansas Equality Commission asked Hutchinson to add the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to its non-discrimination ordinance. The Mayor asked the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission to study the idea and report back to the town within 90 days on its findings. The Human Relations Commission did study the issue and is recommending that the terms be added to the non-discrimination ordinance. In the process, it put together a document entitled an FAQ sheet. The sheet describes the practical effect of what would happen if these terms are added to the ordinance. Some of the more chilling aspects of the change include requiring employers and places of public accommodation to allow people to use whatever restroom fits their “gender identity” at the time. The proposed changes define “gender identity” as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth.” What this means is that an employer or a business owner must allow a male to use the women’s restroom if he has the “appearance” or expresses the “behavior” of a female. But the proposed change to the ordinance doesn’t stop there. In the FAQ sheet, the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission states, “For example, if a church has a parish hall that they rent out to the general public, they could not discriminate against a gay couple who want to rent the building for a party. If the church only rents the building to their parishioners, they can continue to do so.” The proposed change in the ordinance would mandate the churches rent out their facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies or homosexual-themed parties. Let me state this very simply – if this proposed change happens to the Hutchinson ordinance, mandating that churches rent their facilities out to people or groups that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs is patently unconstitutional. And ADF would represent any church that is faced with such overreach and unconstitutional mandate by the government. There is a battle raging between sexual liberty and religious freedom and there are those in our government who believe that in this conflict, religious freedom should always lose. The Church must remain vigilant and stand to protect the right for it to live according to its religious beliefs. It is unconstitutional for Hutchinson or any government to mandate conduct that forces a church to act in violation of its religious beliefs. We hope that Hutchinson will see that the Constitution already mandates religious freedom and that mandate trumps the one they are proposing. http://blog.speakupmovement.org/church/religious-freedom/churches-in-kansas-may-be-mandated-to-rent-their-facilities-for-same-sex-marriage-ceremonies/

President Obama added to bios of other Presidents on White House website

I truly this was bogus. Then I started looking, beginning with President Bush since that one would make sense. Here is where you go: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents Surprisingly I didn't find President Obama in the Bush bio, it's in the "Did You Know" section where I found this: In 2002, President George W. Bush’s State of the Union was the first to be live broadcast on the Internet. In 2011 and 2012, President Obama’s State of the Union speeches were available in an enhanced live stream version that featured infographics, charts and data side-by-side in real time with the President’s speech. No surprises then to see Obama tagged in the Clinton 'Did You Know': Continuing his work as a lifelong public service, Clinton created the Clinton Foundation in 2001 to improve global health, education, economies and environments. Affectionately calling him “Do-Gooder-in-Chief”, President Obama has worked with Clinton to make buildings in our country more efficient—announcing a $4 billion investment in energy efficiency upgrades for commercial buildings.' So, I moved on to George H. Bush - what could Obama add? President Barack Obama awarded George H.W. Bush the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his commitment to service and ability to inspire volunteerism throughout the country... Seriously? Propaganda? Hard to not see it that way when you see Ronald Reagan's: President Reagan designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday; today the Obama Administration honors this tradition, with the First and Second Families participating in service projects on this day. In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.

Talking points...election nuggets put on the White House website!?! Apalling. It appears the administration is working backward through history adding these tidbits. Ford was spared and they stopped at Coolidge - for now. Ego? You decide.

Obama lauds Socialist/Marxist programs and policies in his "Life of Julia" slideshow which is currently on the Obama website. Peter Schiff hits this one out of the park, with his analysis of this "Life of Julia" with Schiff's own version of "The Real Life Of Julia":  Grab some popcorn and enjoy!.. some parts are pretty funny :)

Check out Brandon on deskofbrian.com:

Iran holds trials on Easter for 12 jailed Christians

TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)– Twelve Christians were to stand trial in Iran on Easter Sunday on charges  including “crimes against the order”, an activist assisting them with advocacy told BosNewsLife.

Jason DeMars, director of the Present Truth Ministries group, said Friday that the Christians are facing the court in the northeastern city of Rasht, though “they were earlier for the same ‘crimes’ last year in [the Caspian Sea city of] Bandar Anzali.”

“This highlights once again, that it is illegal to be a Christian in Iran,” De Mars said.

Among the Christians is Pastor Matthias Haghnejad and his wife Anahita Khadeimi, he explained. Others were identified as Mahmoud Khosh-Hal and his wife Hava Saadetmend, Amir Goldoust, Mina Goldoust, Zhaina Bahremand, Fatemah Modir-Nouri, Mehrdad Habibzade, Milad Radef, Behzad Taalipasand and Amin Pishkar.

It comes amid reports of mounting pressure on devoted Christians in Iran, including former Muslims, amid a rapidly growing house church movement in the Islamic nation.

“We pray that God gives them courage to stand for their faith, to express themselves clearly and to bring him honor and glory. We also pray that he touches the heart of the judges to acquit these saints of these “crimes,” DeMars told supporters receiving his electronic newsletters.

Full story: http://www.bosnewslife.com/21171-news-alert-12-iranian-christians-stand-trial-easter-sunday

More stories on Iran holding Christians: http://deskofbrian.com/?s=iran+christians

Canada to Homeschoolers: Can't teach homosexuality is a sin

Lifesitenews: Under Alberta’s new Education Act, homeschoolers and faith-based schools will not be permitted to teach that homosexual acts are sinful as part of their academic program, says the spokesperson for Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

“Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences,” Donna McColl, Lukaszuk’s assistant director of communications, told LifeSiteNews on Wednesday evening.

“You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction,” she added.

Paul Faris of the Home School Legal Defence Association said the Ministry of Education is “clearly signaling that they are in fact planning to violate the private conversations families have in their own homes.”

“A government that seeks that sort of control over our personal lives should be feared and opposed,” he added.

According to McColl, Christian homeschooling families can continue to impart Biblical teachings on homosexuality in their homes, “as long as it’s not part of their academic program of studies and instructional materials.”

“What they want to do about their ideology elsewhere, that’s their family business. But a fundamental nature of our society is to respect diversity,” she added.

she justified the government’s position by pointing to Friday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the Quebec government’s refusal to exempt families from its controversial ethics and religious culture program. That program, which aims to present the spectrum of world religions and lifestyle choices from a “neutral” stance, is required of all students, including homeschoolers.

“Just last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada released a unanimous decision on – now it’s S.L. v. the Commission scolare des Chênes 2012 – and that’s the same, section 16 has to apply to everyone, including home education families,” she said.

Full story: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-homeschooling-families-cant-teach-homosexuality-a-sin-in-class-sa

Billy Crystal calls GOP nominees names

NewsBusters reported Friday that Oscars host Billy Crystal intended to mock GOP "idiots" during Sunday's awards presentation, but the end product only had one 'not-so clever' jab at the Republican candidates.



BILLY CRYSTAL: A dark knight, an American psycho, a charismatic crack addict. You'll get to choose one on Super Tuesday.

Hollywood loved it.

Former Senator Chris Dodd Leading The MPAA Support Of SOPA

The liberal Senator Chris Dodd, the Connecticut politician tied to the Countrywide financial scandal and sub-prime mortgage crisis, is now the  Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) is blasting “Blackout Day”

Tomorrow the main pages of Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites will go dark to protest support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a piece of legislation in the House of Representatives which is so wide-ranging in effect that it threatens to curb not only piracy and illegal activity, but the method of information use which characterizes the internet.

If SOPA passes, however, the power to shut down web sites in the US will be unprecedented.

The US attorney general could shut down websites by asking courts to order ISPs to block access to them from within the US. And the fine print creates power to block sites — even legitimate sites — suspected or accused of copyright infringement, or those that link to sites that infringe copyright.

Here’s the blast from Senator Dodd:

“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.

It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information use their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests.

A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this “blackout” to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy.”

Check out State of the Nation and this original post at: http://deskofbrian.com/2012/01/former-senator-chris-dodd-leading-the-mpaa-support-of-sopa/

Radio host says Obama could shoot animals or be evil and still beat Ron Paul

From the Desk of Brian

The drive time talk radio host in Tampa is Todd Schnitt (aka MJ on the MJ Morning Show) and his banter with a caller Wednesday proved interesting and insulting.

It began as the caller accused Schnitt of being a party guy, an establishment honk and how he calls Ron Paul supporters “Paulsies”

“I think they are unreaonable…I don’t so (that it’s a derogatory term)…His name is Ron Paul. I guess I could call them Paul-ites.”

Schnitt added that he coined the term “Occupy Paul Street” before talking over the caller, bullying the conversation….

Herman Cain is described as a “non-serious clown in the (Presidential) race, completely unqualified and is “sideshow circus act” (Schnitt adds that he liked the 9-9-9 plan)

The screeching garden gnome (as DOB’s Robert Herriman affectionately and accurately nicknamed the talking head previously) includes Paul with the same description.

Then at 31:25

I’m for the candidate that can win. Ron Paul can’t win! Ron Paul can’t win!

Ron Paul doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. (Caller interjects)

If Obama shoots kitties and puppies in the head with pellet guns on live national television in the oval office…he will still…he would still beat Ron Paul. (caller) If he ripped off doll heads and puked up green vomit and his head went DFDKDDKJ(gibberish imitating Exorcist) and spun around, he would still beat Ron Paul

Full audio imbed there, so go check it out

http://deskofbrian.com/2012/01/tampa-radio-host-todd-schnitt-obama-could-kill-animals-or-beat-satan-and-still-beat-ron-paul/

VIDEO Ron Paul Big Dog Ad

Egypt church bombing one year later - still no answers

A New Year's suicide bombing on a New Year's Eve Mass in the Saints Church in Egypt's Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria left 21 dead as the church was targeted. (Read more here as the riots took place right afterwards)

Now Amira Maurice, a 28-year-old pharmacist, is in Germany undergoing the surgeries to save her leg and deal with her burns. Her fiance was killed that dead and her story was reported by the Associated Press.

Another New Year's has passed since, and there are still no answers in Egypt's most dramatic anti-Christian attack. The investigation was halted 11 months ago and never picked up again. The only suspects ever detained were released, and it's not clear they had any role in it. No new suspects have ever been named. 

"Nothing. Nothing at all has happened with the investigation," said Maurice's father, Nabil Roman. "It is ridiculous." 

Roman suspects that the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, is dragging its feet in going after the case, but he doesn't know why. 

"Something is not clear. All I can say is that God will deal with them," Roman said.

The attacks in Alexandria was soon lost in the news cycle as protests against Hosni Mubarak became headlines from the region. The police who failed during the Mubarak era of thirty years, are even worse after his collapse. (Fear is that it will get even worse for the Coptic Christians in Egypt - more here)

As noted in the AP report:

Police were notorious for doing little investigation of crimes — instead, their modus operandi was usually to detain possible suspects and torture them into confessions, rights groups and former police officials say. After the fall of Mubarak's regime, the police have been in disarray and resisting reform in their ranks.

Meanwhile a bomb ripped through a church that day, changing and ruining and taking lives.

One year later all they have left is their faith...in God, not their country.

Obama gains more power with defense bill signing

“I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists,” President Obama said of the $662 billion legislation.


The propaganda.


The legislation includes a “national security waiver” that allows the president to transfer a suspect from military to civilian custody if he chooses.


The Truth


Full story: http://deskofbrian.com/2011/12/president-obama-signs-defense-bill-more-power-for-the-prez/

Best & Worse Movies 2011

If you don’t know me well, it’s important to note that I’m a harsh critic. I firmly believe that the adjective “great” (as in 5 star rankings) is as overused in film as in sports.

Moreover, since I’m not a professional critic, there are several films which would make most lists, but I haven’t seen yet. “War Horse” and “The Adventures of Tintin” are two recent films which appear worthy to make most “Best of” lists, but I haven’t made time for as of this writing.

Biggest Surprise of 2011 – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

As the release date was move forward and back during 2011, it truly signaled a warning that the film would be a flop – this was not the case.

The Andy Serkis motion-cap Caesar was amazing, engaging and a true highlight to the year in movies. The ending of “Rise” delivered a satisfying setup for sequels without a cheesy Hollywood spoon-feeding of cliches.

Biggest Disappointment of 2011 – “Super 8″

It’s my own fault.

Steven Spielberg…JJ Abrams…A great nostalgic 80′s feel and an amazing trailer – the result was a major let down.

Don’t get me wrong, “Super 8″ was a good film, especially in the theaters, but on further viewings falls short. The alien knockoff of “District 9″, “The Fly” and well, about a dozen other sci-fi films, should never have been shown. The creepy, suspense built by the filmmakers in the first half of the film were quickly lost once we learned what the kids were facing.

Worst excuse for a sequel – “Hangover 2″

This was one of the biggest disappointments of 2011 as director Todd Phillips recycled the first film plot point by plot point. A monkey replaced the baby, the boys lose a bride’s brother instead of the groom, and on and on (read my analysis here)

A missed opportunity in my opinion.

“The Muppets” – laugh, cry and if you watch ‘Big Bang Theory’ – truly get surprised

Countless cameos were sprinkled in with song and dance numbers as the “Gang got back together” in the best Muppet movie ever made. Well, in my opinion none the Muppet films were “great” movies and this one was…on many levels.

Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo – the whole gang is there with a two new additions: Walter and Jason Segel, both will entertain you.

Oh yeah, if you want to see that “surprise” I mentioned – check it out here.

Jack Sparrow, Captain America, Thor and the Source Code

All of these were worth a view in 2011.

Even my wife who avoids the comic book fandom at all costs found “Thor” to be particularly entertaining. Sure Chris Hemsworth is obvious eye candy for the female moviegoer, but Tom Hiddleston as Loki was so impressive, that the film deserved an extra star.

Johnny Depp’s fourth “Pirates” film returned to the excitement, fun and fast pace which made Jack Sparrow so appealing to audiences. Unfortunately Ian McShane was underutilized as Blackbeard in a hollow and bland role. Overall “Stanger Tides” was a treat during the summer a positive return for the Disney franchise.

The complex psychological thriller “Source Code” fell off the radar screen quickly after a Spring release. Jake Gyllenhaal and director Duncan Jones set a stage of increasing intrigue and excitement (check out a full review here), but it was “Captain America: The First Avenger” which truly shined.

I shared the skepticism of many fans who didn’t feel Chris Evans could ever pull off the iconic Marvel hero. Not only was it a success and highly entertaining, Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull was incredible. From the classic comic feel, the World War propaganda to the USO sequence, the nostalgic Cap was perfectly set up and evolved into the idealistic patriot that Jack Kirby and Joe Simon created. (The review of First Avenger – here)

Transformers & Twlight win at the box office?

So disappointing is that this mindless blother found the most viewers at the box office. Worse yet is that another film is set in both franchises.

Not surprising when audiences will pay to see Ryan Reynolds in a CGI fest disguised as “Green Lantern” and endure the inane gags in “Horrible Bosses” or possibly…quite possibly have sat through the worst film “Arthur”.

The Great Harry Potter wrap-up

It’s finally over.

Wow, what a ride.

The final film truly delivered as the CGI was awesome, the action was spot on with the book and it was truly engaging all the way to the end.

Best of the Year: “X-Men – First Class” & “Courageous”

I didn’t think they could pull off an X-Men prequel but James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender can’t make the sequels fast enough in my opinion. Set in the 1960′s during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it adds the history and intrigue as a backdrop to make the new cast blend to the Bryan Singer X-Men mythology.

“Courageous” is a must see for every father on the planet.

Alex Kendrick rips your heart out, twists and turns to force you to question “How good of a father am I really?”

You won’t find “Courageous” on these lists because it’s a Christian movie, but it was rewarding to see it make a huge profit – over $33M at the box office on a $2M budget.

Some other notables:

Recommended

“Contagion” – A great scientifically accurate interpretation of the super virus scare. There are a few loose ends and if the whole “Outbreak” film is NOT your thing, you will be bored.

“Battle: Los Angeles” – Aliens come, Marines fight back. Not much else to report here, but I found it surprisingly entertaining.

“Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” – I’m a bit biased for “Mission” films even though I loathe Tom Cruise. This is fast-paced, the secondary characters are entertaining and in IMAX – WOW!

Don’t Bother

“Sucker Punch” – How did Zack Snyder get the “Man of Steel” job after this mess.

“Priest” – Just boring. Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, vampires, action….still don’t care.

”Rango” – Okay, it’s not bad, it’s just not that good. I didn’t find it exciting or that funny.

“Green Hornet” – Horrible. Just awful. Seth Rogen can’t do fight scenes, he can’t act and he’s only funny about half of the time. Let’s add Cameron Diaz and see how bad this movie can’t get.

“Cowboys and Aliens” – James Bond, Indiana Jones, the director of Iron Man and the hot girl from Tron — the result: boring piece of poo.

http://deskofbrian.com/2011/12/best-worst-movies-for-2011/

Movie Talk: Spielberg references in Super 8

From an article for SpielbergFanclub.com

DVD comes out on Tuesday

Set in small-town America circa the late ’70s, the film skillfully combines elements from the master’s greatest hits: a shaggy preteen hero coping with parental absence; a stirring, John Williams–y score (courtesy of Michael Giacchino); and plenty of close encounters. What’s missing, even with Mr. E.T. himself in the producer’s chair, is the sense that all this nostalgia means much to anyone involved.

Super 8 may be a deeply cynical act of tribute art, but for any dyed-in-the-wool Spielberg fanatic, there’s pleasure to be had in spotting its various references and callbacks. In keeping with the spirit of Abrams’s uncanny copy job, let’s take a close, minute-by-minute (and spoiler-intensive) look at the film’s most blatantly Spielbergian moments.

1:25 Our hero, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), makes his first appearance. He’s a slightly older, sadder variation on E.T.’s Elliott, who also suffered from the loss of a parent. As in Spielberg’s film, Joe is introduced outside the circle of kids; he’s the lonely survivor of a broken home.

17:17 Super 8’s inciting incident is an F/X-heavy re-creation of the model-train derailment Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) uses to demonstrate a math principle to his son in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And the truck that barrels into the oncoming train is a dead ringer for the one Neary drives when he makes his first UFO sighting—at a railroad crossing, no less.
20:32 Elle Fanning’s survey of the wreckage from the train derailment recalls a shot from War of the Worlds, during which Fanning’s older sister, Dakota, gawks at the fiery remains of a downed airplane.

26:29 Mirroring the establishing shots of both E.T. and Close Encounters, Abrams offers a sprawling, nighttime overview of his small-town setting.

28:40 Joe and Charles (Riley Griffiths) ride bikes through town, evoking the big chase at the end of E.T.

34:39 Joe’s father, Deputy Lamb (Kyle Chandler), is a proxy for Roy Scheider’s alarmed sheriff in Jaws. In this scene, he tries to convince his skeptical boss that trouble is brewing.
37:03 A gas-station clerk listens to his Walkman while the town sheriff is attacked by…something in the parking lot. It’s reminiscent of the scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park in which Peter Stormare meets a grisly demise not far from his oblivious, headphone-wearing buddy.
45:39 In another Jaws shout-out, Deputy Lamb holds a town meeting to address public concerns. If only he had a Quint to hunt down the rampaging monster in his community.

1:19:50 The alien assault on a bus dimly echoes the T. rex–on-vehicle attack scenes in both Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

1:26:05 Is this suburban-war-zone set piece, with Charles kneeling to help a wounded friend amid gunfire and explosions, a PG-13 allusion to Saving Private Ryan?

1:38:20 The community-farewell climax of Super 8 may remind you of Close Encounters’ utopian finale, but the UFO that eventually takes flight looks more like the one in E.T. Sadly, the magic of both movies is conspicuously absent here.

Half of citizens on some sort of government assistance

There is no way to end entitlements and stop the pending doomsday bankruptcy when THIS MANY people are relying on the government!!!


WSJ: Nearly half, 48.5%, of the population lived in a household that received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2010, according to Census data. Those numbers have risen since the middle of the recession when 44.4% lived households receiving benefits in the third quarter of 2008.

The share of people relying on government benefits has reached a historic high, in large part from the deep recession and meager recovery, but also because of the expansion of government programs over the years.

Another 14.5% lived in homes where someone was on Medicare (the health care program for the elderly). Nearly 16% lived in households receiving Social Security.

High unemployment and increased reliance on government programs has also shrunk the nation’s share of taxpayers. Some 46.4% of households will pay no federal income tax this year, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. That’s up from 39.9% in 2007, the year the recession began.

Just 18.1% of households pay neither payroll nor federal income taxes and they are predominantly the nation’s elderly and poorest families.

US wants no fly zone for moon

According to Science, by the end of this month NASA is expected to come up with a set of “recommendations” for spacecraft and astronauts visiting the “U.S. government property on the moon.” Of course, these recommendations will not be legally binding as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that the lunar surface has no owner.

Despite the lack of ownership, NASA is hopeful that other countries will respect the U.S. sentiments. Incidentally, the restriction list contains more than the historical sites. For instance, the list includes studying discarded food and abandoned astronaut faeces.

Read more:

Ron Paul Agrees With Americans: Two Party System Is Broken

During the Florida Liberty Summit, Presidential candidate Ron Paul rallied supporters, cited errors of the current and previous administration, emphasizing why his leadership would correct the course of America. (Check out this article here)

“The evidence is in, their views have failed and our views, our ideals are appropriate to be put in place.”

Paul discussed the failures of the government bailout and how shifting that debt from the failed businesses to the consumers was nearly criminal and warning that there is no end to this behavior as “They will just raise the debt ceiling.”

“We don’t have a two party system. We have a one party system…they endorse the same ideals and the same policies.”

“Humanity has a long history of authoritative figures in society: dictators, czars, Kings….but we have to stop. Don’t depend on the bureaucrats and politicians to decide what’s best.”

The Texan drew some applause when challenged on how he’d get the two parties to cut the spending he’d propse: $1 trillion – THIS YEAR!

“Get ‘em to cut each others’ baby programs. Tell the Democrats to cut 500 billion of the Republicans’ favorite programs and do the same for the other group.”

“They always offer a five year plan…a ten year plan…Well, this is the only year that counts.”

Sounds better than some of the recycled sound bites you will hear from the President and party favorites across the aisle.

Pastor addressing sex & the church

What a great article, check it out here

From a Christian Post article by Audrey Barrick, South Carolina megachurch pastor Perry Noble has stepped out to address a huge problem in the church – sex.

“Let’s just be honest. Sexual immorality is in the house,” he told his congregation, adding that he has seen sexual immorality at each of the three churches he has served.

“We can’t get mad at people that aren’t Christians because they act like they’re not Christians. But what we can do is talk about the mess we have in our own house and try to get it cleaned up.”

Perry started the two-week “Sex in the Church” series last weekend and will be concluding it on Sunday, Sept. 4.

Though an uncomfortable subject, he made it clear that the church should not be silent about sex especially considering the Bible “says a lot about the subject of sex.”

“The world is not silent about the subject of sex. They’re talking about it.”

Starting with the men, Perry urged those who have a playlist of songs that degrade women to delete them immediately.

“If we have a song on our iTunes playlist that refers to a woman as a bitch or a whore, we don’t listen to it. In fact, we delete it today because a godly man would never refer to a woman as a bitch or a whore,” the pastor said without hesitation.

read more http://deskofbrian.com/2011/09/south-carolina-trying-to-clean-up-sex-in-the-church/