Explosive Terra Nova 2 Hr. Season Finale Airs on FOX



Terra Nova Wallpaper; copyright FOX

Terra Nova wraps up its first season with a 2 hr. finale on FOX - airing Monday, December 19th.

This first season has delivered on its promise to provide action-packed, sci-fi drama during prime time television.

One of the most power characters on the show is played by Stephen Lang, who plays Commander Nathaniel Taylor - the military leader of the Terra Nova colony. It may strike an ironic chord with some, because in the movie, Avatar (2009), he played Col. Miles Quaritch, the bad military leader who was out to strip the planet of Pandora of all its resources. But now, Lang's character Nathaniel Taylor is on the opposite side of the fence. While he is still a hard-nosed military leader, now his character is now concerned about the survival of the human race in the past, and will do whatever it takes to stop the money-hungry private interests from the future, to strip the past Earth of its vast resources.

Commander Nathaniel Taylor (played by Stephen Lang); copyright FOX

What we can see from both of these roles is that Stephen Lang makes a convincing military leader, and was brilliantly cast for this role in Terra Nova.

The other male lead on the show is Jim Shannon, played by Jason O'Mara. He is the "Sheriff" in town, carrying out any investigations that need solving in the Terra Nova colony, while also balancing out the role of father to the Shannon family.

The show wrapped up episode twelve on a suspenseful note - Commander Taylor's son went back to the future with plans to bring back an army that wants nothing less than to destroy Terra Nova, and then strip the past of any resources of any value to profit from in the future.

Previews for the 2 hr. season finale on FOX show that the colony of Terra Nova must fight for their freedom, because there is a battle coming in their near future, and it's going to be an explosive episode. Literally.

According to NY Magazine, the ratings weighed in from this season finale will determine if Terra Nova will get renewed for a second season. Producers are expected to pitch their vision for season two to FOX executives to try and keep life in the Terra Nova franchise, after a thirteen-episode run of season one.

So let's hope that Terra Nova ends on a season-high bang, giving it an opportunity to continue its story on FOX in 2012.

Source: Adalian, Josef. Fox Considers the Pros and Cons of Renewing Terra Nova. NYMag.com.

Ghost Hunters Are Lame: Every Show is the Same

Have you ever watched the SyFy channel? If so, then you may be familiar with ads for the following shows:

Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters Academy
Ghost Hunters International
Haunted Collector

Now, SyFy must really have a fascination with the paranormal and ghosts, or their audience really does. I'm betting it is the audience, since SyFy bases their programming on ratings of shows. Seriously, this channel is all about ghosts. These shows seem to have been sparked on the heels of MTV's show, Fear, which aired from 2000-2002.

The sad thing is: Every commercial for the Ghost Hunters shows look the same. Two or three people huddled together, filmed in night vision. One person will say, "Did you hear that?" and then someone will act as if they were surprised by a ghost.

Do you actually think anyone will watch these shows if they went into a "haunted" building, and came out empty-handed? The answer is no. But yet, every episode they find their ghost. Sounds like it is rigged, and staged.

Now do I believe there are occult things out there and haunted places. But, I also know that I do not want to go to those places and mess around with things that are evil. Haunted Collector even frames its episodes around "haunted" objects. Keep that stuff away from me!

I grew up watching Unsolved Mysteries, and each episode seemed to have similar type segments of ghost hauntings, demon posessions, and so forth.

Oh, and by the way, I won't be getting the Haunted House Finder App either. Lame!

And don't get me started on Crossing Over with John Edwards (1999-2004). He is dealing with evil, every time he "speaks" with family members that are dead.

I will depart now and go eat at the Chinese Buffet, conveniently located next to the psychic/palm reader.

Interesting Follow-up read for Christians: Do you Believe in Ghosts?

Kevin Bacon Makes Everything Better

Kevin Bacon Mosaic portrait made from 15 lbs. of bacon

Do you like bacon?

Bacon

Kevin Bacon, that is.

Kevin Bacon

In 1994, Premiere Magazine interviewed Kevin Bacon about the movie, The River Wild. In this interview Kevin Bacon said that he had either worked with everyone in Hollywood or worked with somebody who’s worked with them.


A few months later, there was an article that circulated via a newsgroup, titled: “Kevin Bacon is the Center of the Universe.”

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon book

That same year, four students at Albright College came up with this game to connect any celebrity name to Kevin Bacon. They started this game after watching Footloose, and then The Air Up There. The Bacon-movie-marathon (or Bac-a-thon) inspired these bright young men to speculate on how many people Kevin Bacon had worked with. They published the book, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

In the summer of 2011, Kevin Bacon played Sebastian Shaw in the move X-men: First Class. When I found out he was in the movie, I thought, "This guy is in everything!"

Emma Frost (left) talking to Sebastian Shaw (right) in X-Men: First Class

Kevin Bacon actually started an organization called SixDegrees.org as a charity.

Which should not be confused with the Oracle of Bacon.

The Oracle of Bacon is a computer program that compares over 800,000 people from the Internet Movie Database, and assigns them a Bacon number. This website says that about 12% of all actors can't be linked to Kevin Bacon. What a shame.

If you happened to be watching the 83rd Academy Awards (2011), you would have seen James Franco make a reference to the Six Degrees of Bacon.

So what is my Bacon number, you ask?

My great uncle Fred Smith in Kentucky, was Diane Sawyer's uncle by marriage. Diane Sawyer was in a TV special Independence Day 2001 with actor Morgan Freeman, who was at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2011) with Kevin Bacon.

Using one relative connection and two TV connections (at the Oracle of Bacon), my Bacon number is: 4.

Kevin Bacon holding Golden Globe Award:

(photo credit: Casey Rodgers/AP Photo)

So we will just have to wait until the next big Kevin Bacon movie comes out in 2013 - titled: R.I.P.D. - an action comedy about undead police officers.

Sources:

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon entry. Wikipedia.org.

Oracle of Bacon website

The HP Touchpad has Magically Disappeared

Last Friday, something big happened in the tablet PC world. The HP TouchPad reduced its price. The 16 GB went on sale for $99, and the 32 GB version for $149.

Any local stores selling this product sold out. According to this article, there is another batch coming in from the warehouse.

The HP website is supposedly taking names and contact info., so they can contact those who were not fortunate enough to get in on this deal. Only problem - my first two attempts to submit my details came back with a "Server is Busy" reply. You can also register at the HP site.

My third attempt is still processing. No, I am not on dial-up.

1st Update: It appears my third attempt has also been swallowed into the abyss of lost information. My 3 out of 3 attempts to register have failed.

I personally know several people who did get an HP TouchPad. They are dancing in the streets, rejoicing that they did not have to get an Apple product.

Shouldn't the other tablet-makers pay attention to this uproar over the HP Touchpad selling like hotcakes, and reduce their prices?

2nd Update: The HP Touchpad has had such a response, that you are now unable to give your information. The response to clicking the "Notify me" button is this:

Basically, there are no more, so you are now officially out of luck.

Update (8/30/11) HP announced they will manufacture more TouchPads to meet the temporary demand. Awesome! Article link here.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Not Yo' Daddy's Monkey Business

Caesar is angry monkey! Caesar want freedom!

In the monkey movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, chimpanzees, apes, and gorillas alike, become smarter.

But before going any farther, the movie poster says, "Evolution becomes Revolution." In the Hollywood-movie world that may be cool, but evolution is bad science and doesn't really happen. So let's squash that bug before going any further.

Spoilers coming. (According to the University of California, spoilers don't ruin the movie to movie-goers. Read about that here.)

James Franco playing Will Rodman

Dr. Rodman, a brilliant scientist works for a cure for Alzheimer's. His dad has Alzheimer's, which is all the more reason to cure it. He works for a large corporation, and they test on chimps.

Disclaimer: I must now say that no chimps were tested on in the writing of this blog. So get off my back, PETA!

Now, the Alzheimer's tests seemed to create smarter monkeys with the first round, but only temporarily helped real humans with the disease. So the corporation canned the project after a wild chimp runs a muck and no one will now fund the project.

The CEO says to axe all of the monkeys. But one of them is pregnant. She has a baby before she is killed. His name is Caesar, and he will come under the care of Will Rodman (no relation to Dennis Rodman).

Caesar is very smart, and winds up in a chimp lockup, because he is taken away from Will. After a stay in the lockup, Caesar becomes the alpha chimp, being the smartest, and takes on the takes of freeing the apes. But wait, "chimps are stupid," and this is a direct quote from the movie. So Caesar, armed with the ability to create weapons with his opposable thumbs, runs home to Will. He finds the next batch of Alzheimers cure, and releases the gas at the chimp big house.

Monkeys have escaped! Sound the alarms. Get out your tranquilizer guns and water pistols, and dogs to hunt them down!

All the while the deadly Alzheimers 2 cure is having the reverse effect on humans. It is spreading like the plague and traveling from San Francisco to NYC, 'causing a worldwide pandemic.

This sets the stage for Monkey Movie 2.

My Thoughts:

As a pet owner, I could really relate to how hard it would be to give up a beloved pet. I think the movie did a great job with connecting with the viewer's emotions as Caesar struggled with corrupt humans and other apes.

This movie did do a great job as a prequel to the Planet of the Apes Universe. Knowing that the apes will take over in the future, it does make sense that the human population will diminish so quickly, while the monkey/ape population booms.

I wonder if they will make any more in this franchise.

And for everyone that has seen Stargate: Atlantis, Dr. Rodney McKay, is in this movie, and is the first human to catch this contagious virus from patient zero, a monkey handler. 

Where does Mark Wahlberg's movie fit into this scheme?

Here is my theory: When Mark Wahlberg followed Pericles into the space storm, he crossed over into an alternate universe, and crashes on an alternate Earth. This Earth he lands on would be in the future in the dimension in which Rise of the Planet of the Apes takes place.

Most people hated the (2001) Planet of the Apes. I think it was interesting and creepy at the same time. Humans and monkeys talking together; it is just not natural.

Not long ago, I went to the Nashville zoo, and couldn't resist putting on a monkey mask. See my Planet of the Apes picture here.

Fast Five: Slow Down, Speed Kills

Fast & Furious 5 Movie Poster

If you want to see a movie with high-speed chases, gun fights, and a large dose of testosterone, you should see the A-Team movie (movie poster below). It is now on DVD. But, if you want to see all of this take place in fast cars, with furious drivers, and a heist to steal money "one last time", then you need to see the Fast Five, coming out April 29, 2011 (movie poster above).

A-Team movie poster

I think I understand. The magic number for Hollywood is now five. The secret used to be three. As long as one movie can be stretched into three, it has been given a green light from Hollywood Executives. Behind those Armani glasses, you can now see green eyes, from the dollar signs that the Fast Five will be raking in. Hollywood's new trilogy is a quintilogy.

Recurring actors in the Fast Five are: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, & Ludacris.

But first, does anyone know what happened to this cast back at movie #3 (Tokyo Drift)? The only person from the actors above that even made a cameo, was Vin Diesel, and it was just a cameo at the end of the film. I guess the money wasn't in it for the actors. Yes, I do realize the movie took place in Tokyo, but the setting is not much of a limiting factor these days.

Then there was Fast & Furious (#4). According to Wikipedia, this was the first of the F&F movies that actually put more emphasis on American muscle cars than the imports. Dominic (character played by Vin Diesel) races with his modified 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle.

And in Fast Five (movie #5), Dwayne Johnson is the FBI agent assigned to track down Dominic and his street team during their Rio Heist. The trailer makes sure to capture Vin Diesel saying, "This is our last job, and then we will disappear forever [until the next film]." This will be the first of the films to be in IMAX theaters. Bring excedrin, because watching fast cars in 3D may 'cause brain hemmorhaging.

I have the idea all ready for the next movie, called The Slow Six. The movie takes place on the German Autobahnen . All cars are driving so fast, that Dominic has to create a team of drivers to slow down in order to steal the money "one last time". The catch is that the drug lords are transporting the money on a heavily guarded envoy of heavy machinery equipment, traveling at 25 m.p.h. Dominic has to ditch the fast cars, and hijack Caterpillars, dump trucks and cement mixers in order to take on the drug lords.

Just know this - if you are going to make a sixth movie, Charlie Sheen* is now available to join the cast. He only has one speed. One gear. Go.

Charlie Sheen is ready to film F&F 6.

*Charlie Sheen's "Torpedo of Truth Tour" may be coming to a city near you. View Tour cities and dates here.

Group Dating: Not Meant for Bachelors

One Bachelor cannot outrun 1,000 Brides

 What's up with the Bachelor? When you have 1,000 women chasing you, its hard to pick the right one. But I am not talking about the Chris O' Donnell (above) running from 1,000 brides, but the guy that is on TV, dating a whole group of them at once. See the guy below holding the rose.

Bachelor Brad Womack

Now I would not admit watching this television show, but I will say that I was listening in on the last episode as my wife watched the proposal. This show is not reality. Even though it is reality...tv.

Trying to pick one over another is hard, for a Bachelor.

I think it is wrong to have a large group of women to emotionally invest themselves into one man, and from the reverse, it is wrong for one man to invest himself in so many women, even if the ultimate goal is to be with only one. I personally believe that such a scenario can set a man up to cheat once he is back down to one. Cue the Brian McKnight song, "Back at One".

Now the "After the Final Rose" show is on, and the one woman that Brad left at the proposition is devastated because she really thought she was the one. That's reality television for you. And we find out that Brad and Emily (the one he chose to be with) have broken up. Does that really surprise you? But he claims that the rollercoaster of the relationship is still strong and will work. Emily says they have to work on how to deal with conflict resolution. Most couples don't know how to "follow the rules" during a fight. I was fortunate enough to go through many marriage classes and pre-marriage counseling.

So why is it that we desire to watch situations where a person is set up to fail? Sure, some bachelors and bachelorettes on the show have made it, but should we really find our "soul mate" by dating a whole group of women at once?

The Adjustment Bureau Not Accurate of Christianity



The Adjustment Bureau Movie Poster


Be Forewarned: This post talks about the movie, The Adjustment Bureau. If you haven't seen this movie, and don't want any details spoiled for you, turn back now.

My wife and I were actually going to the circus. It was sold out by chance, so we wound up at the movie theater. What I didn't know was that my wife actually was wanting us to see a different movie. But fate had us go to the movie that didn't allow chance, the movie titled: The Adjustment Bureau.

I went into this movie with an open mind. I wasn't sure if the adjustment bureau was comprised of angels, but I had a feeling that it was.  So after seeing the movie, I would have to say that the entities in the movie were vague about themselves.  They didn't call themselves Angels, and the Chairman was not referred to as God at any point. Since there are many religious people in America, we can only assume that the movie writers want us to think that the bureau is composed of angels under the direct command of God.

The main character is David Norris (played by Matt Damon), a young politician that bumps into the woman of his dreams out of chance on two separate occasions. He then seeks her out for the rest of the movie, despite being told that this is not in his plan.

Also keep in mind here, that I did not read Philip K. Dick's original story, The Adjustment Team, from which this movie is based. Since I don't know the source material, I am giving my opinion of this movie based as its own entity.

From a Christian standpoint, the theology in this movie is not correct. That is obvious from the start.  One member of the bureau, named Thompson (played by John Slattery), curses numerous times out of frustration, including one time using G D. Angels would clearly not sin, and they definitely would not use God's name in vain. Another inconsistency with Christianity comes in the finality of the movie. The main characters overcome all obstacles to be together. This is great, except that it comes at the expense of the Chairman changing his mind to re-write "The Plan" of their lives. The implications: This character, whom we presume to be God, basically concedes to the free will of man to change His mind. Wrong! The God of Christianity does not change his mind like this.

The adjuster Harry Mitchell (played by Anthony Mackie), says in the final scene that the Chairman is everywhere, you might have seen him, it might be a her, or an idea, etc. This statement that the Chairman is not defined, and making the Chairman unknown is a very troubling statement. It says to me that the writers want to make sure to not offend anyone, and that God is unknowable - which is not true in Christianity. Our society is consciously attempting to be Politically Correct (PC), and by doing so, the truth gets watered down.

The main issue dealt with in this movie, is the conflicting idea of (Predetermined) Fate vs. Free Will. The character, Thompson (played by Terence Stamp), is the powerhouse "adjuster" that has been in the business for a long time - delves into the history of Fate vs. Free Will on society. His character tells David Norris that they tried allowing people to make their own choices, and it didn't work out for them. He then named off World War I and II and then said that is when they (the bureau) took control of things for mankind's own good. Then there was a period of "controlled fate" and then man was given another period of Free Will, and now (present-day in the movie) it is back to the bureau making adjustments to keep everything according to plan. This conflicts with Christianity, because man has always been given the choice (allowed by Free Will), and man always will have the choice.

The God who created us will continue to give us our own Free Will to make our own decisions, and will not change His mind like the Chairman in the movie, The Adjustment Bureau.

This movie really gets you thinking about things in life, and can even inspire you to take advantage of the fact that we live in a country that is free, but it came at a price. Will you fight for these freedoms that are being challenged every day and will you stand up for what is right morally? In that way, you can and should use your Free Will to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.


More Content! Be sure to also check out my article on the Yahoo! Contributor Network, titled: Glory in God's Word.

My Battle With Blizzard: The Frequency of Phishing is Intensifying

Battle.net Logo

I am being hacked, cracked, spammed, spooled [sending too much to the printer], & phished by "Blizzard Entertainment". That's what the sender line says anyway.  But I don't believe it is really Blizzard Entertainment. I think its some nefarious guy waiting behind a computer monitor attempting to phish in my pond. 

You see, I played World of Warcraft for a short period of time back in 2005.  That is where the connection to Battle.net comes in.  Somehow they got my email.  But they didn't get the memo.

I didn't play long enough to update over to the Battle.net account, which all World of Warcraft players have to get to play nowadays.  Since I never converted, I don't have Battle.net credentials.  But the scammers don't know that.  They are saying my Battle.net account has been compromised, and want to check it out for me.  Wow, those are really friendly guys.  Always on the lookout for me.  Not!

In the past month, the tactics of the email have escalated.  The threat level is now orange [which is right below red].  Below is one of their new emails, which is screaming: "We're getting really desperate...so please give us your info.!"

Phishing email from fake Battle.net Account Team



One thing I noticed, is that when I hover over the first link above that is supposed to take me to http://us.battle.net/verifyconfirm.html the actual redirect link is: http://worldofwarcraft.account-management-info.net/verifyconfirm.html

Hmmm. Something isn't right here.  And on top of that, the most recent email was sent as 'High Priority' (an exclamation point next to it, meaning very urgent).

The IP address from the most recent email was: 124.2.40.168, originating in Korea. The one before that was: 112.65.246.26, originating in China.

It looks like they are starting to get out the big guns, bringing China into this. That only means one thing: I'm am going to have to get out my secret weapon in this cyber-war: invincibility...because I've got tiger blood & Adonis DNA. Winning!

McLobster & McSushi out, McWinning in @ McDonalds

The McLobster Meal @ McDonalds

On March 3 2011, McDonalds made the big announcement on Twitter, saying:

“Despite all the rumors there r no plans 2 bring mclobster or mcsushi 2 the US menu. We r working on a new menu item called McWinning.”

Sorry to all of you who from Maine, who are craving the McLobster.  And to be honest, I would give it a try, if it was reasonably priced.

McSushi Meal @ McDonalds

But as for sushi, I would not go to McDonalds for McSushi.  Let's just say I am particular about sushi.  I have a sushi place in Huntsville [Miyako] - and in my opinion - it does the best chicken teriyaki sushi around. Couple this with a sushi special on Monday nights that offers the best price on sushi, and you get a winner.  Or should I say: "Winning!"  Plus, I don't know any other place around here that even does chicken teriyaki sushi right.  I asked for it once at the Chinese buffet, and the language barrier was the first obstacle to getting what I really wanted.  He set my plate in the "ready to go" area and I came back to my table with fried shrimp in a rice roll covered in some strange sauce, and I can safely say that I did not order whatever I was given.

Arbys Twitter is trying to capitalize off of this rumor as well, tweeting:  "Want a McLobster? Didn’t think so..." followed by a coupon for one of their sandwiches.
I am not a big fan of Arbys, even since Snopes claims that their meat does not start out in liquid form - to which I had been curious about for quite some time.  You can read about that here. Even if their meat isn't trans-meat-erized from liquid to solid, I still don't know if I can trust them.  My trust has to be earned.

But you know they say there is some truth to rumors, so it makes me wonder if McDonalds really had such a sandwich in the works and it was axed at the last minute.  The world may never know...

The Mean, Green, Sheen Machine

Actor Charlie Sheen

After watching the many interviews of Charlie Sheen on all of the networks, I think it is safe to say that Charlie Sheen is currently not himself.  Although I am not an expert, I would say from observation that his body is trying to deal with the withdrawals of drugs. Charlie Sheen is currently taking and constantly re-confirming to all of the interviewers that he is drug-free.  But his mind might not agree with you. 

And throughout all of this, there are certain phrases and words that Charlie Sheen continues to say consistently through these interviews.  Common phrases we keep hearing are:  "violent hatred" - in context they first were used when he was talking about the on-going war with CBS, now it is being used to describe his legal battle with Brooke Mueller to see his twins; Sheen possessing "tiger blood & Adonis DNA" - when referring to how he survived "banging 7 gram crack rocks" on a recurring basis; "Winning!" - Sheen exclaimed when asked how his children will respond when they find out about their father's drug history; "The Goddesses" - referring to his two live-in girlfriends (who were taking part in raising his children); "Sober Valley Lodge" - his home (which is supposedly drug and alcohol-free); "bi-polar" - Sheen claims he is not, but the earth is, but he is "bi-winning"; "warlock" - Sheen calls himself this many times; among many other terms.

Charlie Sheen has also said that he doesn't believe in Alchoholics Anonymous (AA).  He says the creator of it was a plagiarist and it is all fiction, because he has cured himself in his mind.  Later in the NBC Today Show interview (with Jeff Rossen), he opens up the AA manual and reads from it, citing the argument that the reason he sought after drugs & alcohol is because someone or something does not accept him.  He then closely the book, and tosses it in the air theatrically in a spiral, saying: "Accept me Chuck."  Charlie Sheen is directly his anger at Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and a Half Men.

But the reality of it all is that Charlie has relapsed into doing drugs and is in a state of denial, blaming his downward spiral at Chuck Lorre and CBS, for not allowing the production of his show to go on.  Unless Charlie Sheen allows himself to get professional help, his misfortunes will continue to push him farther and farther into a rage that only the Hulk can relate to.



Charlie Sheen photographed in a passionate state during an interview.

More Content! To read a list of Charlie-isms, read A List of Charlie Sheen Charlie-isms...Because Drugs Tests Don't Lie.

For more tips on How to Identify When a Celebrity Needs Help, read my Yahoo! Associated Content article here.

Relationships Don't Have to be a Major Payne!

Major Payne Poster

In the movie, Major Payne (1995), Major Benson Winifred Payne is speaking to his cadets and says, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate."

In March 2013, celebrities Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough called it quits on their 2-year relationship because of their "hectic" work schedules. Is that a good enough reason to break up?

Those of you who are in relationships can understand that no matter what you say, if your spouse or significant other is not open to communicate with you, then no communication will take place.  It is almost as if the cord has been cut...

Don't let this happen to you!

If you are totally disconnected, then what?  How can you fix a total severance of the cord?  I don't know.  Sounds hard to fix.  It is a lot easier if you don't let this happen in the first place.  I know of couples that work all day and then come home and want to be left alone or just "take it easy," which can be understandable on occasion.  For it to be a regular occurence, it is a dangerous thing.  This can wear on a relationship.

Only hanging by a thread



So many relationships are left looking like this.  Only hanging there by a thread.  Waiting for one wrong move, or one harsh word to send you into a fit of rage, spiraling out of control.  It can be a back and forth thing, and if no one takes the initiative to get righted...

Eventually the boat will capsize.  Both parties will fall in and get wet.  And both parties will have to deal with this wreckage.  It is a shame if it has to come to this.

It is even worse if only one party remains, with their cord severed.   

It takes two to tango.

It takes two people to fight, and it is not just one person's fault over the other when communication fails.  It just means that love is not getting through.  It might not be sent properly, or maybe it's not being received as intended.  Sounds like they are not using the same language or the same channels.

So when will the love move completely from sender to receiver?

When they swim together in the same pond.  Communication is the highway on which love travels.



Watch a related video below [suggested by a commenter]:



It All Started When...Kanye West Twittered About Abortion

Do we listen when celebrities make their opinion known?  Of course.  Why do you think it appeals to so many people when Entertainment Tonight comes on TV, or when the Insider comes on?  Or how about standing in line at the grocery store, and seeing the headlines on a celebrity gossip magazine? 

Why don't we just blame it on Kanye West? He isn't usually afraid to share his opinion on anything.  Because Beyonce's music video was obviously the greatest of all time.

Kanye West

Kanye's recent tweet was about gold diggin' women who get pregnant on purpose just to make money off of the neighborhood balla'.  He goes on to say how expensive an abortion costs and then says to "strap up" and that it hasn't personally happened to him - but he has a "friend" that it has happened to..........Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

(Source: Markovitz, Adam. Kanye West sparks controversy with tweet....EW.com)

Justin Bieber on cover of Rolling Stone

Justin Bieber was also recently quoted by Rolling Stone, saying: "I really don't believe in abortion.... I think [an embryo] is a human.  It's like killing a baby." His Rolling Stone interview can be seen here.

Would you listen to someone who is respected by many because of her ministry?  Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a ministry that lasted over 45 years taking care of the poor, orphaned, sick, and dying.

She once said:  "The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, which is war against the child. The mother doesn't learn to love, but kills to solve her own problems. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want."

A baby in the womb.

Killing a life is the simple way out of responsibility.  But in our society we live in the moment, and don't consider the possibility that a living, breathing child could actually come from having sex.  And that is where the trouble starts in the first place.  "Hook ups" are taking place by young adults and kids as early as in middle school, and the parties responsible still aren't mature enough to take care of themselves.  Ultimately, this lack of guidance falls on the parents, for not instilling a value system on life in the first place.  A lack of morals equal a lack of value on life.  If you don't believe there is a spiritual aspect to life, then why value a relationship as anything more than a "hook up?"  That thought process is playing out everyday as newborns are increasingly looked at as a mistake, instead of as a gift from God.


And finally, former President Ronald Reagan said in a [22 September] 1980 New York Times:  "I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."

That's a good point, since the unborn can't defend themselves against those of us that are given a chance at life. 

January 22, 2011 marks the 39th anniversary of Rowe v. Wade, the pivotal court decision legalizing abortion.

As a Christian, I will pray that people begin to value life in this country, and not take killing a human life so lightly.

After all, as the bumper sticker reads: Aren't you glad someone didn't abort you?

I almost was, and I am thankful that God spared my life.

More on this subject! Read my blog post on the 2012 Anniversary of Rowe v. Wade, found here.

Tracking [You] in the Virtual World Just Makes Cents

Xbox 360 and PS3 side by side

Did you know that you are being watched when you play video games online?

Ok, maybe not literally as in "on video camera," but you are definitely being tracked as you move your avatar (or digital self) around in virtual worlds, and various websites place tracking cookies on your computer.  And they are watching who you interact with, and what you buy, and what you do.  That is a fact.

Do you mind if a company places a tracking cookie on your computer? I do.

A company called GameSpy Technology is paid to track your virtual behavior.  Does that name sound familiar?  It might if you have ever visited IGN.com to read about upcoming games, or to try to play one of your favorite video games online.  They have a partnership. Essentially, Gamespy.com is powered by IGN.

Red Dead Redemption Cover Art (for PS3)

Within the first two weeks of release, the game Red Dead Redemption tracked 13,250,237 virtual U.S. soldiers were killed in-game.  131,904,068 total counts of in-game murder took place, and not to mention the 55,813,649 virtual wolves were killed.

Mafia 2 poster

Such tracking takes place in other games as well.  Mafia 2, for example, tracks how long players spend in-game staring at Playboy centerfolds.

Even the popular World of Warcraft, which has over 12 million subscribers, hires experts for their business "intellience" unit for analyzing strategies to make more money off of its subscribers.

Yes, that even includes everyone's favorite time-wasting game, FarmVille.  How long until the harvest?  Oh, just 2 more hours until the pumpkin is ripe.  I guess we'll be seeing you in 2 more hours, then.

And this is just the beginning of what is called "natural experiments" on people in virtual worlds to modify behavior.  And we used to think that experiments on humans were inhumane!  Now, it is a way of life.  Not to mention we are paying the subscription fees for researchers to see how they can better sell to us.  Win-win for them.  Sounds like a paradox if you ask me.


Source:  Hsu, Jeremy.  Virtual Behavior Labs Discover What Gamers Want. Yahoo! News.

Should I Accept the Website Tracking Cookie?

How do cookies track you online?

The most common way that websites track you is with cookies. The website server places a cookie on your computer, and this cookie acts like a real-life identification chip. When you return to a website, your browser passes the cookie back to the server, and they can track everywhere you have been (what websites you have been browsing). Tracking cookies alone are not malicious in the sense that they will harm your computer. They will not harm or damage your computer like a virus will, but they do track you online.

Search engines (i.e. Google) collect data on your browsing and internet searches. If you do not like being tracked and your browsing history data saved, then a good alternative browser is DuckDuckGo.

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that prioritizes the user by making their search data private and does not provide ads in the form of personalized search results (i.e. Google). DuckDuckGo does not profile its users and gives every user the same exact results.

Editor's note: This blog is not affiliated with DuckDuckGo in any way, and is not compensated by DuckDuckGo.

The Immortality App: Not Found in the iStore



Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, holding an iPad.

 Looking for the immortality app?  You might have trouble finding it in the iStore...because it isn't sold there.

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs (above), temporarily overcame pancreatic cancer in recent years, but since passed away on October 5th, 2011. He will be missed as the visionary for Apple.
Have you ever searched for something that was unachievable, but thought that if attained, it would be that one "thing" that your life is currently lacking?  Thinking that the newest gadget of technology surely is the must-have item to make my life better.  If you have the money, why not buy it, right?  It's very easy to shrug off purchases of gizmos because they are justified for something or other.  I'm quite sure I'm guilty of it.  And I know I've looked back and regretted wasting my money after blowing an incredible amount of time with my new object, rather than spending it with loved ones and developing relationships.  Even history tells a story of a man who sought out riches and immortality, but instead only found Florida.

History of the Search for the Fountain of Youth

According to history, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovered (present-day) Florida, while searching for the Fountain of Youth.  Juan Ponce de Leon heard the story of this fabled legend from the natives of Puerto Rico. The natives called this land "Bemini", meaning land to the north, which was geographically in the location of the Bahamas islands.  Hearing of this legend only confirmed what he had read by past medieval writers, and Alexander the Great had also searched for the life extending waters in east Asia.  The natives of Polynesia also told the story of youth inducing waters, in the general area of present-day Hawai'i.  The story of Bemini - told by the natives of Puerto Rico - also included gold and riches that accompanied this gift of immortality.  In this search for riches, Juan Ponce de Leon set foot on the east coast which had flowers, so he called it La Florida. 
(Source: Stimpson, George. A Book About American History)

Juan Ponce de Leon did not find the Fountain of Youth that he sought after so diligently, but he was credited for discovering Florida.  Do you think he was satisfied with this discovery?  Compared to riches and eternal life?  Probably not!

So why do you think that man (humanity in general) seeks out the Fountain of Youth?  Patrick Morley thinks it is because, "A man's ultimate desire is for immortality."  He refers to Ecclesiates 3:11 in the Bible, which says: "He [God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men." (Source: Morley, Patrick. The Man in the Mirror)

Trump Tower, NYC

Some people attempt to become immortal by contributing large sums of money  to a local university, to have a building named after them.  The Trump Tower (seen above in NY), is an prime example of a man with wealth who has built himself an empire, and has several skyscrapers to prove it.




Patrick Swayze (2009)

Do you think you could find someone who has a lot of wealth, who would trade it all in for an extension on his/her life? I bet I can. Patrick Swayze (pictured above) passed on after a battle with pancreatic cancer in 2009. I bet he would've paid any amount of money to have an extension on his life.

A pawn broker ready to make a deal with you.

So would you pawn all of your most valuable possessions in for another month added onto your life?  For one more year with the one you love?  For one more minute to say "I love you" to your kids?

Jesus talking to the woman at the well

However, one woman who was not actively seeking out immortality, was told how she could find eternal life, by Jesus.  Story as follows:

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”  (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

(Source: NIV Bible - John 4:7-14)

 
The final question I have to ask you is this:  Have you sought out eternal life in the right place?  If you haven't, that might be why you haven't found it, because you won't be able to find it in the iStore.