#unlike Christianity which picks up the book and says 'everything in here is always true and literal' (except the things that say not to be

[villainessbian]

wait, bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah are gendered terms?

[love-geeky-fangirl]

Ranking every Teen Drama I have ever watched

(Updated)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

+ young Shailene Woodley and Molly Ringwald I guess

- everything else. Even Shailene Woodley's and Molly Ringwald's performances weren't that great because the writing is just oh so bad. The background music is bland and repetative and it sounds like out of some teenager's YouTube chanel. The plotlines are ridiculous and convoluted, which isn't neccessarily such a bad thing, because it is a teen drama show after all, the problem is the show seems to take itself too seriously. Other entries on this list also have ridiculously convoluted plotlines, but I'm ranking them highed because they don't take themselves too seriously and don't claim to be realistic like this show does. Seriously, from the title it suggests like this was going to be a real, uncensored look into high school but it's the furthest thing from it. Not to mention how problematic it is- God forbid someone suggests that a 14-year-old pregnant girl gets an abortion or gives the baby up for adoption without being seen as a terrible and despicable person.

Otp: Marc Molina x a job somewhere far, far away from these kids

Notps: every single pairing on this show

Best moment: literally none

Weirdest moment: "I'm such a whore!" "Well, you're my whore." What were the writers thinking??? Was this supposed to be romantic??

We Children From Zoo Station

+the aesthetic, the casting of Christiane, Detlef and Axel

-this was such a letdown. Honestly I was so hyped for it after seeing the trailer since I've read the book and didn't particularly like the movie- I feel like it's hard to fit all of Christiane's story into 90 minutes. That's why I was so excited about this show. Christiane's story covers so much, so it's easier to make it into a TV show when you don't want to ommit anything and butcher the story. But they somehow managed to do it anyway. They changed so much for no reason and completely erased Christiane's childhood trauma, which was important in the book. Now, I know you can say that it's just a loose adaptation, so it doesn't have to follow the book word for word. But I feel like if you already decided to tell her- a real person's story- you should at least do it authentically. Imo they shouldn't have tried to make the setting vague. It worked with Sex Education because the story of Sex Education is timeless. However, Christiane's story is not timeless. It's a true story set in the 1970s. If they were making a new show from scratch, I would have liked it. But this is an already existing story and they’re supposed to be just retelling it. My last issue is a nit pick but I wish the actresses playing Stella and Babsi were reversed. It just would've fit better.

Otps: all those kids x sobriety

Notp: Christiane x Detlef

Best moment: Christiane's first time in Sound was pretty true to the book

Weirdest moment: when Detlef became a gigolo because he needed money for his dog. Who tf thought of that?

Pretty Little Liars

+ makeup, style, the theme song, the drama and mystery that always kept me guessing, the cliffhangers at the end of each episode that made it so addictive, Emily's coming out story, Hanna and Spencer had some good lines

- the mishandling of some serious issues (namely eating disorders), romantization of student-teacher relationship, the timeline not making much sense, these writers seem to put more thought into the characters' outfits than the storylines

Otps: Emily x Maya, Hanna x Caleb

Notp: Ezria

Best moment: Hanna and Caleb in the shower (the sexual tension was cuttable with a knife)

Weirdest moments: Aria asking Ezra out in the middle of a make-up test (it was supposed to be cute but it was just cringy), Spencer trying to block A's text messages on a laptop, in the middle of a park (what? Spencer, you were supposed to be the smart one!)

One Tree Hill

+ Brooke, the theme song, Chad Michael Murray

- the casual drinking and driving (I mean seriously these kids play a drinking game at a party and then casually hop into a car and drive home??), too much basketball and cheerleading (that's not a bad thing per se but I just don't really care about neither of these things), it just seems too stereotypical and kinda bland?? I couldn't really get into it

Otp: Naley

Notp: Peyton x Nathan

Best moment: Naley by the dock

Weirdest moment: "I guess I'm just a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside a bitch." It's not really a bad moment but a cringy line. I guess the writers though they were being clever but it just sounded bad.

Dawson's Creek

+ the clothes, the 90s aesthetic, the 90s soundtrack, many movie references, Pacey is a sweetheart, Jen is a feminist icon, dealing with mental health issues through Andie (it's rare to see in shows as old as this)

- the slutshaming of Jen really hasn't aged well, the storyline of Pacey being statury raped by his much older teacher was mishandled (it was either treated as scandalous, cool or in Andie’s case somehow shameful), same goes for Jen’s backstory- it was mentioned she was raped at 12 by an older man and then never brought up again, Dawson is the most unlikable protagonist ever and his friendship/relationship with Joey is codependent and possessive, the dialogue is sometimes pretentious and unrealistic, the timeline doesn't really add up- I can never tell what time of the year it's supposed to be, because it looks like it's always fall for some reason. And how did they sophomore year have two homecomings?

Otps: Pacey x Andie, Pacey x Joey (yes, both at the same time)

Notp: Dawson x Joey

Best moments: Jen helping Joey when that jerk was spreading rumours about her and then Jen and Joey locking Abby in the closet together (I love it when they stick together instead of tearing each other down), Pacey and Joey bickering

Weirdest moments: when Joey was upset because Dawson didn’t want to tell her how often he “walks his dog”, when Jen was about to have a treesome at a party and Dawson walked into the room and carried her out despite her kicking and screaming

Glee

+ funny, Sue Sylvester's iconic, great covers and a way to find new songs, the performances are aesthetically pleasing, lgbtq+ representation, tackling of serious issues, coming out story, a father who’s accepting of his son’s sexuality right away despite not really understanding it (it’s so rare to see, that’s why it’s so refreshing), the plotlines are ridiculous but at least the show doesn't take itself too seriously

-as I already said the 1st season was great but after that it just seemed like the writers made up a checklist of hard issues they should tackle and tried to tackle every single one of them while covering every single song and it just fell flat. Prime example- Quinn ending up in a wheelchair getting into a car crash to warn us from drinking and driving, singing I’m Still Standing and then suddenly being able to walk normally after. a few episodes Rachel and Finn got almost all songs, while other characters were criminally underrated and underused (Tina, Quinn, Mercedes). The teachers are questionable to put it mildly. Cringy moments- Finn singing You're Having My Baby to Quinn in front of her parents when it wasn't even his baby! Also no one except of Kurt looks like they could be in high school. And why are these cheerleaders wearing their uniforms 24/7??

Otps: Brittana, Sam x Quinn, Tina x Artie (unpopular opinion, I know), Mr Schue x unemployment

Notp: Quinn x Finn

Best moments: Quinn giving birth to Bohemian Rhapsody

Weirdest moment: Rachel's gross and painfully awkward crush on Mr Schue, Mr Schue joining the Glee club on the stage for a performance of Toxic and girls in the audience cat calling him (Ewww)

Euphoria

+ Zendaya's and Jacob Elordi's performances, tackling of serious issues such as drug addiction and overdose, anxiety and depression, abusive relationships and abortion in a better manner than most (if not all) teen dramas, the aesthetics, makeup and wardrobe, the musical number in the finale, the special episodes giving us insight into the characters' psychology, toxic relationships not being romanticized (which is sadly rare), teenagers sounding like actual real life teens (no "I reject reality" crap)

- lack of comic relief (why so serious all the time), sexualization of teen characters (I know this is something many teen dramas are guilty of but it's the most evident here), too much nudity (I know some of you are going to come at me with: "But it's realistic!" So what? It is realitic that teenagers get naked when they go into shower but does it mean we have to see it?? It seems to me like this show is trying too hard to be "boundary pushing" at times and ends up being scandalous just for the sake of being scandalous), these characters just aren't believable as high school juniors to me (they sound like high schoolers but they certainly don’t act, look or dress that way). There's no reason this show couldn't have been set in college.

Otps: Rue x sobriety, Nate x prison

Notps: Nate x Maddy, Cassie x McKay

Best moments: "You did this to me!" and the musical number in the season 1 finale

Weirdest moment: the fact that Maddy lost her virginity at 14 to a 40-year-old man being mentioned so casually because apparently she was "totally in control". Excuse me what??

Skins

+ style and makeup- each character has a signature trademark (Sid and his beanie, Effy's eyeliner, Cassie's soft eyeshadow), their British accents, I'm pretty sure this is the only teen drama that follows multiple classes, teenage characters being played by actual teen actors, the characters looking like average people you meet in high school and not as if they just walked off the runway, dealing with serious issues such as drug abuse, eating disorder, parental abandonment etc (yes, some people claim the show romanticized it, but I disagree. It's not the show that romanticized it- it's the fans. The show tried to portray the dangers of drugs as well as possible. Think about it- every time characters used drugs it ended in a disaster. In the pilot they thought that Cassie overdosed and ended up crashing a car while rushing into the hospital. In later season Effy hit her friend in the head with a rock because she was having a bad trip. That's not romanticizing drugs.), Effy is iconic and honestly the first episode was enough to get me hooked

- every single teacher being a creep and having a thing for a student at some point, the show can get too dark and unncessarily dramatic at times. Did that many people have to die? Did Chris's death really have to be this graphic? Timeline doesn't really add up- are 8 episodes supposed to cover the whole year? It would've made more sense if there were more episodes in a season.

Otps: Chris x Jal, Emily x Naomi

Notps: Sid x Michelle

Best moment: ooh baby it's a wild world

Weirdest moment: Chris's graphic death

The OC

+ more grounded in reality than many others on this list, the theme song, the love stories, Seth and Summer are funny, the friendships are believable and the whole group has great chemistry

- too many unneccessary fights, Luke is the worst, everyone is way too casual about drunk driving, these parents are WAAAY too chill (I know this can be said about many teen dramas but it's the most obvious here. How did the Roberts and the Coopers let two 16-year-old girls go to Mexico alone?? With no supervision?? What?)

Otps: Seth x Summer, Ryan x Marissa

Notp: Luke x Marissa

Best moments: the “oh no, there’s only one bed” in the Mexico episode, Seth and Summer's first kiss and that kiss at the yacht, Ryan and Marissa's first date by the pool

Weirdest moment: these parents letting their teenage kids go to Mexico alone. It's irresponsible when they're 16 but apparently they let them go there and party every year. What?

Gossip Girl

+ every episode having a clever title, the style, the makeup, the 00s soundtrack, the glamour of it all (it feels like reading a very gossipy magazine!), all the scandals, this show never pretends to portray the realitic teenage experience so it can pretty much be as far-fetched as it wants to and you can’t question it, it gives you a chance to live the fantasy of being super rich, living with a penthouse, riding a limo to school and going to parties in New York City every night

- the final reveal doesn't make any sense, just like with PLL these writers seemed to have put more thought into the outfits and makeup than into the plotlines, romantization of a toxic relationship, having every two straight characters date or hook up at some point, which just felt forced, mishandling of serious issues (Blair's eating disorder, Eric's suicide attempt and Serena and Jenny's sexual assault from the pilot being brought up when it's convenient but not really dealt with and brushed off at other times), sexualization of teen characters

Otps: Dan x Blair, Serena x Nate

Notps: Chuck x Blair

Best moments: the Thanksgiving flashbacks, Blair and Serena running around New York and taking selfies in stolen dresses, Nate and Serena’s first time (although it was better in the books) and then their kiss at the white party, the sheer scandal of "I killed someone", Dan giving Blair a plastic tiara to make her feel like a princess

Weirdest moments: Chuck's father returning from the death and then dying again, by yeeting himself off the roof

Freaks and Geeks

+ probably the most realistic teen drama there is, the characters dress the way I can see actual teens dressing, funny, but also heatbreaking at times, probably the only teen show that included an intersex character, the characters being a little stereotypical but self-aware at least, young James Franco and Jason Segel

- the bullying being a bit too much at times and it's a bit unrealistic that the teachers would do literally nothing about it, too short- I will never understand why this got cancelled

Otps: Daniel x Kim, Lindsay x Nick, Amy x Ken

Notps: Sam x Cindy

Best moments: Sam breaking down at the end of Garage Door, Daniel and Kim getting back together in the rain

Weirdest moment: Cindy doing a 180 and becoming super mean when she started dating Sam.

Gilmore Girls

+ so many movie, literary and music references, the quotable lines (what a great way to learn about new movies, books and bands! It’s so unique for a TV show to make you smarter), the witty banter, the comfort of the first few seasons (it really feels like wrapping a warm blanket around yourself while holding a hot cup of coffee, I can’t explain why, but it’s such a comfort show), the quirky small town with many unique festivals, many entertaining and snappy fights where everyone has a point, characters dealing with real world problems (seriously, how often do you see a storyline about termites? Or a teenager with zit cream on a teen drama show?), this is also one of the few shows where teenagers are shown to have rules and restrictions and curfews (finally some kids growing up with strict parents representation) and doing homework and studying and not just partying and drinking and having sex all the time and that’s so refreshing

- but while it is refreshing to see teenagers waiting to have sex and not doing it behind every corner, the show is kind of sex negative. Every single time a (female) character loses her virginity it ends in a disaster. Even when she loses it after she’s married! It doesn’t make any sense, unless the writers just really hated women. Also slutshaming (”I got the good kid!”) ewww. The money and budget doesn’t make much sense on the show either and the girls seem immune to calories. I know some people might come at me for this with: “But it’s just a show!” but I think it’s harmful to show beautiful, thin women eat nothing but tons of junkfood all the time and never excersize and then fatshame people who do excersize but aren’t fortunate enough to be blessed with amazing Gilmore genes, and then throw around tactless references to eating disorders.

Otps: Lane x Dave, Jess x Rory

Notps: Lane x Zach, Rory x Dean, Lorelai x Christopher

Best moments: Then She Appeared, Rory’s valedictorian speech, Lorelai’s graduation

Weirdest moment: Lorelai and Christopher getting married in Paris at 4am. That’s not how it works in Europe. Do Americans think every single Europian country works like Las Vegas, where you can just get married whenever you decide??

[ex-terfs]

I’m curious about how you were introduced to trans exclusionary ideology, and when you realized how toxic it truly is. I’m genuinely curious.

Hello! Sorry for the hiatus.So this is my story & long rant post.I've been among TERFs/Radfems (AKA the Conservative side of "feminism") since 2015. In mid-2016 — with the dangers of having Trump as President — I started getting critical of everything going on in the community, deleted older posts, & stopped reblogging "trans-critical" stuff. In 2017 — after seeing TERFs celebrating that the 'Everyday Feminism' site was facing a financial crisis & after paying more attention at what our "enemies" were trying to say — I unfollowed all the bullies, & eventually started to despise seeing "trans-critical" stuff. Their hatred towards the "big scary Libfems" is what made me rethink my priorities.

Many parts of their ideology had peculiarly attracted my attention back in 2015. As a GNC person who celebrates gender nonconformity, their gender abolition theories seemed very interesting (& I later found out how bigoted they are towards GNC men & GNC people with different identities/pronouns). When I was a sex-repulsed person, their porn-critical & sex-negative theories also seemed very interesting to me (I later found out how bigoted they are towards sex-repulsed people — upholding heteronormativity & saying things like "Haha, nobody loves you", "If you're a man/bisexual/lesbian, you must perform oral sex on your gf"; but still, I'm NO longer in the sex-negative/SWERF community). People sending them death threats was also one of the reasons why I had joined their movement.

It always begins like this. Step 1: you begin exploring anti-kink/anti-porn stuff; Step 2: you begin exploring anti-"MOGAI" stuff; Final step: you turn into a transphobe. That's how I got into this mess.

Second-wave theories originally had a critical focus on the social construction of gender & sexuality, monogamy, submission/masochism, natalism, the family structure, the fear of nonconformity, emotional/economic dependency, religion, & violence.As a feminist, yeah, I still agree with most of these analyses. I love reading academic books. But there was something different about terf/radfem tumblr. & this is all I've noticed over the years.

TERFs treat their word like holy truth.

TERFs use Right-wing "sources" to back up their transphobic & sex-negative arguments (& often associate themselves with conservative groups).

TERFs claim that all men are "biologically/physically the same".

TERFs contradict themselves all the time: claim that sex-repulsed AroAces are "usual straights", mock people who just want to remain single, & at the same time still say that if you don't want to have sex with men, then "you're a lesbian"; they say that people don't owe you sex, & at the same time say it's "not okay" for men to sexually reject a woman for "bad reasons".

TERFs claim that lesbians who are anti-TERF or who don't believe in the "born-this-way" theory are "fake lesbians".

TERFs are against the idea of removing your secondary sexual characteristics; & if an AMAB person doesn't like their "secondary sexual characteristics", then they must be a "delusional fetishist" (srsly I identify as a woman, but I still wish I could remove my uterus & have a breast reduction surgery; & it's not for sexist reasons! Shocking, I know!).

TERFs claim that men can't be raped/abused by women (not all TERFs believe this, but I still see them quietly following the ones who do).

TERFs have definitely never read a book with a different perspective/purpose, yet they will act like total experts on any subject (TERFs act like they're experts on Postmodernism & Queer Theory, but they have no idea what these theories are actually about. These theories are both very complex & don't have only one definition! Shocking, I know!).

TERFs will assume you're a trans woman if you don't disclose you're actually AFAB (& they could still have doubts).

TERFs are very manipulative & use brainwashing tactics. If you're AFAB & anti-TERF, they will say it's because of your "internalized misogyny" & will try to guilt-trip you. Because how dare someone has a different opinion! If you're AFAB & proudly calls yourself 'genderfluid' or 'non-binary', TERFs will get offended.

TERFs claim that asexuality only exists "because of the prevalence of porn" (Aces & sex-repulsed people would still be here even if porn didn't exist! Shocking, I know!).

TERFs claim that men who call themselves 'feminist' are "all predators".

TERFs would rather include transphobic men in their spaces than "those evil libfems" (those women are enemies).

TERFs claim that radical feminism is the "only true feminism", & that all second-wave feminists were "radfems".

TERFs claim that GNC men are "fetishizing" femininity (but according to TERF logic, masculine men are not fetishizing masculinity).

TERFs are extremely bigoted towards sex workers, polyamorous people, people who don't want commitment, people who are sexually experimenting or who are promiscuous (which is also one of the reasons why I left the sex-negative community; their views on sex/lust/love are similar to the Christian conservative perspective).

I can definitely assure you I still very well remember most of their URLs & blog content. There are many TERFs who hide behind aesthetic blogs, & use subtle TERF language & comforting rhetoric — which you might not even notice if you don't know much about their specific type of language & tactics (e.g. complaining about the "neoliberal postmodern identities" & about people "erasing females"). This type of TERF also may follow a bunch of (trans-inclusive) anti-'MOGAI' & anti-kink blogs. If you're trans-inclusive & TERFs follow you, it's likely because your blog content doesn't make them uncomfortable.

Their blatant transphobia is absurd & paranoiac, & they don't hide it. Anyone who disagrees with them gets called a "handmaiden", "lesbophobe", "male", "genderist", "liberal", "libfem", "special snowflake" (I no longer consider myself a radical leftist, but I don't consider myself a centrist either). TERFs call trans women as a group "fetishists", "delusional", "mentally ill", "sociopaths", "narcissists", "pedophiles", "necrophiles", "incels", "genderfucks" + slurs like "tr*nny", "troon", "tr0n", "transes". They say that the trans movement is "coercing children to transition" & "forcing lesbians to have sex with penis". It's pure fear-mongering. Their views on trans men are also contradictory — there are times they claim that trans men are "straight girls who are trans just bc they read fanfiction & watch gay porn", & there are times they claim that trans men are "brainwashed butch lesbians" (Pick a side!).

I live in a very religious Latin American country. The majority of the population here is not educated on gender/sexuality issues. I got the chance of educating myself better only after I've learned English. And then some terfs had the gall to say "academic fields such as Gender & LGBT Studies & philosophy are oppressive & pretentious". In a country like mine with a dark history of military dictatorships, censorship & anti-intellectualism, being leftist means protecting the social sciences in education & freedom of the press.

So yes, I left the terf community bc unlike them, I think for myself & I hate bullying (i was in fact heavily bullied for years in school, & only bullying victims know how it truly feels like). My terf blog is now inactive; I had 1000+ followers. I'm a very quiet person irl & online; I was never vocal about my real opinions bc I don't like getting into heated discussions & I didn't want to be featured on that gross radfem-gossip blog.I was very transphobic back then. & now it's quite possible terfs will say to me "You were never one of us". I followed & liked their blogs, just like they followed mine. I was loyal & obedient. Now not anymore.

[noconcernofyours]

Pinning Down My Kind of Movie

Warning: Wanky, self-indulgent ramblings about Hollywood auteurs to follow

A couple of days ago, I sat down with my housemate to watch Miami Vice (2006) directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) and starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Since we moved into our place, my housemate has gradually been exposed to my taste in movies, and the other day, sat in front of a strung-out Colin Farrell ordering mojitos to ‘Numb/Encore’ during an undercover sting, he finally confronted me with a crisis-inducing statement: “You know, I can’t figure out what your kind of movie is.”

If I am to be totally honest, it doesn’t take much to send me into an existential tailspin, but this observation got me thinking enough to want to sit down and write about it, so here we are. My name’s Daniel and I love movies! When I was a teenager, I was certain I wanted to be a film critic, so I started writing in earnest. The problem was I wasn’t that well rounded as a viewer. I confined myself to the world of comic book movies and Disney animation. I turned my nose up at pretty much everything else before realising that I didn’t actually know much or have much to offer about film. Instead, I turned to music criticism because that’s where my knowledge base is.

That being said, I still loved movies, and as the years have gone on, I have been rapidly expanding my film knowledge and broadened my horizons extensively. I got called a “film buff” for the first time recently, which really shocked me. I still don’t feel well-watched enough, or knowledgeable enough to fit a moniker like that. Maybe it’s imposter syndrome, but I really feel like I have a way to go yet.

My Letterboxd bio includes the phrase “admirer of film nerds”, and I think that admiration informs the entire way I look at the world of film. I read a lot of reviews and listen to a lot of podcasts by smart, unpretentious film obsessives like David Sims, Griffin Newman, Katey Rich, Karen Han and Bilge Ebiri, but that same admiration also informs the kind of films I enjoy the most. In confronting the statement from my housemate, I realised that while there are some genres I gravitate to more than others, my taste in movies is largely defined by the extent to which I can pick up on a single authorial voice driving the film. A director, writer, actor, composer or cinematographer who has a real, obsessive love for their craft whose influence and personality can be felt in every layer of a film’s construction. Franchises are a different beast, but it’s usually the entries in a franchise that feel like passion projects for individual filmmakers that I love the most, which is why Iron Man 3 is by far my favourite Marvel movie.

Over the last few months I’ve started building a fairly extensive Blu-Ray collection. I love physical media because I like to have a tangible representation of the art I love, but it also allows me to physically organise my thoughts about film rather than moving things around on a spreadsheet or in my head. It has also had an effect on how I watch films. Spending money on a film makes me feel more obligated to watch it through to the end in one sitting, to not be on my phone at the same time and to pay closer attention. It’s also made my approach to picking the films I watch more considered. I’ve been hunting down the films I haven’t seen by directors I love, fuelled by newfound completionism, and I’ve been subconsciously prioritising this kind of auteur-driven mindset in a way that has revealed, over time, who my favourite filmmakers are.

So, with that in mind, let’s transform this meandering, self-indulgent think piece into a meandering, self-indulgent listicle. Here are the filmmakers that have changed the way I watch movies:

Christopher Nolan

I know this is a bit of a film bro cliché, but I promise I’m not one of those film school douchebags who’s convinced they’re going to be the next great big budget auteur. Like a lot of other people my age, I discovered Christopher Nolan through the batman movies. I was taken to see The Dark Knight by my parents when I was 10 years old, not having seen Batman Begins, and it blew my mind. For years after that, I was one of those arseholes who had a terrible Joker impression that I whipped out at parties, until I became aware of the cliché and never did it again.

In the years since I’ve watched all of his other movies and gained a new love of Interstellar and The Prestige – movies that taught me a lot about the authorial voice and interweaving a central theme into every element of a film. I also learned that just because I find it annoying when the same tropes turn up in every Quentin Tarantino movie, recurring tropes throughout a filmmaker’s catalogue aren’t universally a bad thing.

The Coen Brothers

Representation is important. The tough thing about watching films from an auteur-driven perspective is that so many of the most important filmmakers in Hollywood are approaching their films from a white, Christian, male perspective. Scorsese is a particularly difficult director for me to appreciate because so many of his films are overtly informed by his Christianity. My Jewish identity is the most significant aspect of my identity, so naturally I’m always looking for films made from a Jewish perspective, overt or otherwise.

Whilst the Coen brothers don’t always make movies about explicitly Jewish characters or subject matters, their Jewishness always comes out in their writing, particularly in the totally undidactic way they approach the subject of faith in almost every film they’ve made. Their approach to God, fate, spirituality and religion is never one of moralising certainty, but rather a questioning one, which is a fundamental aspect of Jewish existence. I feel represented on multiple levels in the films of the Coen brothers, particularly in Inside Llewyn Davis which is my favourite film of the last decade, in ways that other directors could never manage. For the same reasons I will forever be excited about the potential of the Safdie brothers.

Stephen Spielberg

Whilst the Jewishness of Stephen Spielberg is a major attraction for me (Catch Me If You Can, his moody Christmas movie, comes across as weirdly Jewish to me), the thing that has solidified the guy as one of my favourite filmmakers is his approach to telling true stories. Unlike the Coen brothers, it’s Spielberg’s self-assuredness and didacticism that fuels my love of his work. His spate of recent, politically switched-on, historical dramas (Lincoln, Bridge of Spies and The Post) are all incredible achievements in effectively giving quiet dramas about people talking in rooms the tension and stakes of great action movies.

It’s the obvious thing to say at this point that Spielberg is one of the few genuine masters of the cinematic language, but while most will point to his massive, populist movies of the 80s and 90s as the definitive examples of that, I would point to his spottier late career with its moralising and earnestness as where his most exhilarating work lies.

Michael Mann

I like that Michael Mann is uncompromising. He makes films which, based on premise and star power, should be commercial knockouts, but they almost never are. He has an incredibly clear sense of self, and like Nolan has a lot of frequently recurring tropes in his films. Michael Mann makes films about Men Making Tough Choices™. He builds detailed, intensely researched worlds and he loves crime!

There’s something special when a filmmaker can tread the same ground over and over again and never convey the same central message twice. Nearly all of Mann’s movies are gritty, neo-noir thrillers with an obsessive attention to detail, but all of them deal with a totally distinct existential question which runs through every element of the film, from meta casting to set design, to music, to Mann’s pioneering use of digital photography. I’m just obsessed!

Stephen Soderbergh

Soderbergh is a hill that I’m going to be climbing for quite some time, I think. This is a guy who is relentlessly prolific, taking on a ridiculous number of roles on set himself, and working so fast that he often churns out multiple films in a year. With limited funds and a determination to watch movies legally, my progress through Soderbergh’s filmography has been slow, but I’ve loved every one I’ve watched so far.

As much as I love the guy’s mastery of the heist movie, and the way he slips those story telling devices into a lot of his non-heist stories, I think what really gets me about Soderbergh is the way his filmmaking style always seems to feel tooled towards portraying his characters with as much empathy as possible. Often his films are about people working or learning to empower themselves and coming to terms with their own identities. Anyway, go watch Out of Sight! It’s a damn masterpiece!

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s career is full of insane ups and downs, but as far as I’m concerned, despite the difficulties she’s had getting her movies made and seen, she has three unqualified masterworks: Point Break, Strange Days and The Hurt Locker. On this list of directors, Bigelow has perhaps the most stylistically varied body of work, but her best work, much like that of other directors that I find myself drawn to, is largely concerned with obsession. Her characters are deeply flawed, but unwaveringly driven. What I love is that despite her drastic genre change from pulpy action thriller to hyper-realistic docudrama, she’s managed to hold on to that fascination with obsession, and an acute, outsider’s understanding of masculinity and its fragility.

Kathryn Bigelow has had to adapt to keep working, but because of that, she’s managed to develop a voice and a personality that is versatile enough to withstand her career shifts, but strong enough that it hasn’t been chipped away at by the difficulties she’s faced as a woman in Hollywood.

So, what was the point of all this?

Honestly, there wasn’t one. This was a piece of self-indulgence that allowed me to navigate an idea over which I was obsessing for a little while. That being said, I think if I had read something along these lines a few years ago, I would have delved into the world of director-focused movie watching far sooner. It’s hard to quickly and easily define the role of a director in contemporary film, particularly due to the ever growing influence of studios, but in the world in which the above filmmakers operate, the director has final say over all the creative decisions involved in putting together a movie. For me, the most exciting films are the ones that clearly and effectively communicate a single creative voice. Sue me, I love auteurs.

[jgroffdaily]

[This article appears in the September 16, 2019, issue of New York Magazine.]

Within minutes of my meeting Jonathan Groff, he asks if I would like a slice of cherry pie, and then, only a short time later, if I would like to be eaten by a giant plant. The first I readily accept because Groff and the rest of the cast of Little Shop of Horrors have thoroughly analyzed the desserts they picked up for a bus ride down from New York to the suburban Philadelphia puppet studio where they’re rehearsing for the day, and they’ve all concluded it’s the best option. The idea of being eaten by a plant seems a little less palatable, considering the contortions involved in entering the hippopotamus-esque maw of the man-eating Audrey II, which is operated by several puppeteers, and because I’m not sure if Groff is making a serious offer. I learn quickly that he is always offering you things, and those offers are always serious.

The puppet in question represents the largest form of Audrey II, a sassy carnivorous horticultural oddity that convinces Seymour, an awkward flower-shop assistant, to commit murder in the pursuit of fame, fortune, and a suburban life with the original Audrey, a human who works with him. The day I visit, Groff, playing the misfit Seymour (despite good looks that actor Christian Borle, who plays the maniacal dentist, Orin, describes as “scrumptious”), and his castmates are climbing inside Audrey II one by one, figuring out how each of them will die. Wearing a hat from Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “On the Run II” tour, Groff jumps inside wielding a floppy machete, which is so un-aerodynamic it keeps getting stuck in Audrey II’s lips. Groff suggests a real machete prop would be sturdier, and they try substituting an umbrella, which flies out more cleanly. Michael Mayer, the director, says with satisfaction, “It’s a belch!”

Staging this revival of Little Shop is “illegal fun,” as Groff puts it. The original ran from 1982 to 1987 but never transferred to Broadway, at the insistence of writer-lyricist Howard Ashman, who wanted to preserve the show’s off-kilter spirit in a smaller space. Ashman and composer Alan Menken would go on to fill the Disney Renaissance — which consisted of films like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast — with the Marie’s Crisis–ready melodies and queer subversions you can already hear in Little Shop (Ashman died of aids-related complications in 1991). Despite a Broadway staging that kicked off in 2003, this version is staying put at the Westside Theatre Off Broadway in hopes of preserving the quirky spirit of the original. There’s a lot of laughter in rehearsal as well as dress codes like a “kimono Wednesday,” which Mayer enforces by handing me a spare kimono when I drop in that day.

I can’t imagine anyone who is consistently involved in or adjacent to homicide having a better time. In addition to playing a murderously nice guy in Little Shop, Groff stars in Netflix’s David Fincher–produced drama Mindhunter, playing an FBI agent who interviews serial killers; the show is based on the real work of John Douglas, who was one of the first criminal profilers. Considering he’s no big fan of true crime, Groff is somewhat confused about how he became a poster boy for gore and mutilation, though he’s enjoying the texts from friends who point out that even when he does musical comedy, there’s a dark edge involved. A few days after we meet in Philadelphia, we’re talking over breakfast at the cozy Grey Dog in Chelsea, where he insists on paying for everything, picking up all the water and utensils, and getting up from the table to refill my coffee cup when it’s empty.

Groff signed up to star in Little Shop this spring after careful consideration, by which I mean he got the offer and then listened to the original cast recording on repeat for a whole weekend. He’d never played Seymour before, unlike the majority of white male theater actors, but he had positive memories of seeing the first performance of the 2003 Broadway version just after high school, when he was rehearsing the role of Rolf in a non-Equity tour of The Sound of Music. “I wanted to make sure that I’m bleeding for it eight times a week,” he says, which is his measure for doing musicals; he wants to make sure he won’t get bored with the material. Even now, when I assume he might want a break from it during rehearsals, Groff still has the album on repeat. “I never went to college, and I’m not educated, really, so I couldn’t say, like, intellectually why that is,” he says. “When I listened to it, it shot through my heart.”

There’s a clue, however, in the way he remembers obsessing over the film version of the show as a seventh-grader, standing in his kitchen with the song “Skid Row” on repeat — specifically when Seymour sings, “Someone show me a way to get outta here.” It was an appealing message to a closeted kid whom Groff describes as just “a sweaty, uncomfortable person with a secret that was so deep-rooted I wasn’t even flirting with the idea of being myself.” With a little distance from that version of himself (the child of a phys-ed teacher and a horse trainer, growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and occasionally having to clean stables on the weekends), Groff recalls the kinds of tells that seem obvious in retrospect, like, say, listening to “Skid Row” on repeat. Or developing an obsession with I Love Lucy, which he still watches before going to bed. Or dancing along to the Donna Reed’s Dinner Party album when his parents weren’t home. There’s a similar longing in Little Shop, which has the queerest kind of perspective on its central couple, as Audrey and Seymour imagine an unreachable, heteronormative life away from skid row and where she looks “like Donna Reed.”

If there’s a murderous kinship between Little Shop and Mindhunter, it extends to the shows’ shared skepticism about that white-picket-fence-style normalcy. Holden, Groff’s profiler character, is a cardboard cutout of a man with a girlfriend who introduces him to 1970s-style sexual liberation, but he is ultimately more fascinated with the deviancy of the killers he’s interviewing. To play him, Groff shuts down his charisma, amassing such emptiness between his angular jaw and his eyebrows that you wonder if he’ll slip into deviancy himself. It’s a performance of square, even sinister straightness that feels close to the best-little-boy performances of closeted queer men, though what seems to thrill Holden most in the show are his interviews with killers. “Sexuality is so complicated, and the people I’ve ended up working with who have cast me in straight parts are interested in looking at things in a complicated way,” Groff says, noting that he feels the argument about whether gay actors can play straight, or vice versa, has gotten “sillier” as time goes on. “Being out and gay and being myself, it allowed me to find people that weren’t closed-minded.”

Groff came out when he was 23, without directly consulting his agent, after he’d become an idol to the nation’s theater teens of Facebook by starring as the sexy, rebellious, tousle-haired Melchior in Spring Awakening. “I was so compartmentalized,” he says, “singing about sex but then not talking about it.” He remains thankful for the way Mayer, who also directed that show, choreographed the explicit sex between himself and Lea Michele’s Wendla clinically, without asking them about their own experiences. He hadn’t spent too much time worrying about the aftereffects of coming out on his career, which were more limiting in 2009 than they are now. “I did think I might not be seen as a romantic lead, but ultimately I was okay with that,” he says, explaining that he was in love at the time and didn’t want to hide it. “At 23, I’d rather just have a real romantic relationship than pretend to have one with a girl.”

Several years after coming out, Groff booked a leading role in HBO’s Looking, a comedy-drama about gay men in San Francisco, which he calls one of the most fulfilling roles he’s had. The series ran for two seasons and got a wrap-up movie but never quite found a viewership, even among queer audiences, instead receiving, as he puts it, “a total mixed bag of very extreme reactions.” Some of that was because people just didn’t like the show — which was often slower, more interior, and whiter and fitter than people may have wanted — and some of it was because it was “carrying a lot of weight; there wasn’t a lot of specifically gay content on a major cable network.” To Groff, making the show opened him up to the possibility of using material from his own experience in his work. Among the cast and crew, “we would talk about stories about PrEP and uncut dicks and monogamy,” he recalls, among ���so many stories about anal douching,” and those anecdotes would make their way into the scripts. He was used to a sort of “closeted training of the mind” to abstract himself from his own experience. Looking taught him he could use it.

Recently, Groff has developed an ability to end up near the center of cultural sensations. He stepped in for Brian d’Arcy James as Hamilton’s fey Britpop version of King George III midway through the show’s Off Broadway run. It was a somewhat ideal gig, given that he was onstage for only about nine minutes a night, performed crowd-pleasing kiss-off songs, met Beyoncé, earned a Tony nomination, and got a lot of reading done backstage. This fall, he’s in Disney’s sequel to Frozen, where he returns to play Princess Anna’s rugged (at a Disney-appropriate level) love interest, Kristoff. In the first movie, while Idina Menzel’s Elsa got the vocal-cord shattering “Let It Go,” Groff sang only a few lines of melody between Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven. This time around, he’s putting his Broadway training to use with a full-length solo. It’s the second one he recorded for the movie, since the writers had one idea for a Kristoff piece (“a jam”) but then canned that song while promising Groff they’d write something different, which he didn’t quite believe. “Then they fucking wrote that other song,” he says, characteristically effusive. “I was like, Wow, and the animation of the song is so brilliant.”

As personable as Groff is and as successful as he has become — and as beloved, especially among theater fans and people like my mother — there’s a point at which he maintains a certain distance, in what feels like a way to stem his own impulses. He doesn’t use any social media, though he did consider it when Looking was struggling, before he realized “I’d have to be good at it and want to do it, and I don’t.” He has never thrown himself a birthday party, because the impulse to make sure everyone’s having a good time would stress him out too much. In behavior that reminds me of both a secret agent and Kim Kardashian, he regularly goes through and deletes all his texts after responding to each of them. “I want to make sure I get back to everyone,” he says, holding his iPhone up in front of me to reveal the remarkably few surviving messages.

Before Groff gets up to leave breakfast and travel to rehearsal by way of the single-speed bicycle he rides around Manhattan, we end up talking about the larger trajectory of his career. Considering that he’s scaling down for a revival run of a musical Off Broadway, was he ever the kind of actor who thought of his work as building up to something? A big film? A franchise? “I think I gave that up when I came out of the closet,” he says. “I gave up the idea that there was an end goal or ideal or some kind of dream to work toward.” An image appears in my mind of the life Audrey sings about in Little Shop, a place that’s comfortable, traditional, and expected, somewhere that’s green. “When I moved to New York, what I wanted was to be on Broadway. That happened and then I came out, and it’s sort of been anybody’s guess since then,” Groff says. “I like when something makes me cry or I can’t stop listening to it. Okay, I want to do that.”

Little Shop of Horrors is in previews and opens October 17 at Westside Theatre Upstairs. Buy tickets here.

[cassinixii]

Title: WoM: the Warlock --- completed audition Published: May 13, 2017 | 12:15am Description:

Apologies for the long wait, I don't really have a good excuse. I was busy with stuff, but still, a month is a really long time, and I am truly sorry! ___________________________ World of Monsters || OC Profile

Name: Telperion

Username: @/cassinixii

OC Name: Kazimir Auberon (Born Cenric of Aiwendil)

Age: A lot (or for a less snarky answer, approximately 1443 years old. He looks mid to late 30's though, the magic of... uhh, magic)

Creature: The Warlock

Faceclaim: Dan Stevens

Side: Hidden, and he'll be going to extreme lengths to remain that way.

Why did you pick this side?: Well, since he killed the Professor, it's bit of a no choice matter. However, he's been alive for a very long time, he knows how exposure goes, humans panic and try to kill everyone, and end up killing even their own kind out of fear and hatred, and that was only with burnings at the stake, also drowning and confessions coerced through truly inventive torture, they now have weapons of mass destruction. He's not going to take any chances with those murder-happy freaks.

Occupation: reclusive billionaire, warlock (though there isn't aexactly any pay in the latter)

Personality: His personality is a bit complicated, people evolve and change over time, but unlike our 80ish years, or the 30ish years for when Kaz was originally born, he's had well over a thousand years of change and evolution. There are a couple things left from back then, but not many. He was once very idealistic and pure, optimistic, even naïve, but he's hardened since. He has retained his trait of openly speaking out against injustice, though he sighs a lot now and doesn't spend as much time monologuing or explaining why someone is wrong. He's dry, sarcastic, and reserved, prefers not to interact with people, and when he does he tends to rub them the wrong away. However, he does have a few friends, whom he regularly insults, but would go burn the world if required to protect them. He also likes to call people by the wrong name when they start getting too chummy, to let them know he doesn't really care about them (Ron Swanson is his spirit animal). He has ages of wisdom, and originally tried to impart it on others, specifically those in power, but eventually gave up after watching humans repeat their destructive behaviour over and over again. Despite his overall distrust, dislike, and hatred of others, Kaz is firmly committed to maintaining the balance of the universe, and will both kill and save lives to maintain it, regardless of his personal feelings on a person.

Likes: - mocumentary comedy shows (always watching them on netflix) - Netflix - dark/psychological horror anime (such as hell girl) - meat (loves steak and sausages) - lycoris flowers - Leo Tolstoy - Tolkien

Dislikes: - fake meat - slow internet connections - arrogant people - plotholes - soy anything and everything - unsatisfactory endings (such as parasyte's!) - when movies and shows get the books wrong

Talents/Skills: Could it be magic now, now, now and hold on fast. Could this be the magic at last  (yes, that is a Take That song from 1992. No I was not born, but Kaz was, so there.) Kaz was born with a natural inclination towards magic, and from birth could manipulate many things by simply thinking it, accidentally causing many a objects to move and a few fires here and there. He was also able to learn new spells and rituals at an incredibly fast rate, managing powerful spells within in first few tries. However, despite his vast knowledge and abilities, Kaz tends to rely upon his natural abilities of a telekinetic, and he can instinctively also affect the speed of a moving object, though it's  temperature takes more active thought. He can also physical manifest his telekinetic abilities to send blasts of energy without uttering an incantation. His emotions affect the strength of the blast, ranging from mild incapacitation to fatal, though some of the milder blasts can end in mortal wounds if the attacked hits a wall or some other similar event, and he's developed control of them over the centuries, usually sending a blast of a strength he's determined, but it's possible to emotionally rile him and undermine his control.

Kaz also has telepathetic abilities, able to contact and even mentally, not control, but persuade others into doing behaviours he desires, though someone with a strong will or psychic protections may be able to resist him. He is also able to read anothers thoughts without them ever realizing he was there. He can also sense the presence of the supernatural, whether it be an object, person, or spirit, this ability also helps him easily tap into the natural magical energy all around us. Of the elements, he is in most atune with wind, and uses it almost as often as his telekinetic abilities. He also has a fondness for calling down lightning to strike an enemy. In moments of heightened emotional tension, he can instinctively use powerful spells, which in usual circumstances would require verbal or mental incantations. He is also skilled in defensive magic, capable of forming a mystical shield strong enough to hold against dragonfire.

He also seems to be imortal, or at least has extremely long longevity, and has perpetual youth, he's actually quite interested to compare his genome or dna or whatever (it confuses him a bit to be honest) from now to a century or two later, which he thinks may give him new insight into himself and his weaknesses. Kaz also possesses a considerable amount of natural resilience against magic, once surviving the force of his fatal blast when it was reversed unto him. He is quick to his feet regardless of what ancient and powerful creature may have attacked, though there exceptions, and the more powerful the creature, the longer for him to recover.  

Additionally, having participated in a couple wars over the centuries, he's quite handy with swords and guns, though he struggles with more modern weapons, the last time he took part in battle having been 1815. But, of course, magical combat is where is his true skill with battle lies. Lastly, having lived for centuries, he's fluent in a great number of languages such as English, Russian, Japanese, Norwegian, and many others. Influence of the ages isn't noticeable when he speaks, but when he writes he tends to use old letters or ways of writing.  

Weakness: He's not completely immortal, he's just got an extremely long lifespan, and even he is unsure of when it'll end. Against most creatures, he could survive their attacks with no effort on his part, but the more powerful a being, the more he'd have to actively defend himself. The most sure fire to kill him is a weapon capable of slaying the undead (not zombies, but things like wraiths), or other weapons of a similar or more powerful nature, plunge such a thing into his heart and he'll probably die. He's not entirely sure, he hasn't exactly tried, but it's his best guess.  

Hobbies: - Netflix and chilling on his own   - reading, especially from and about the sengoku period - countdown (hey, he's super old and generally at home, he's the target demographic)

Family: He's had quite a few, he's been around for a long time and has fallen in love and out. But it's been a long time and most of them died, well, the mortals. As for his parents and siblings, they died a long time ago, some lived longer than most, being magical like him, but none seem to have had the same longevity as him. He had many brothers and sisters, around 13 of them, it was the Anglo-Saxon days, everyone had about a million kids, but he was closet to his triplet siblings, Ilse and Rommel, Ilse was the fraternal sibling, however, of the 3, only Kaz had his level of ability. Isle and Rommel had mild elemental manipulation abilities as well as some telepathy, but could not influence the minds of others, only listen and speak.  He's been married or had the ancient equivalent of civil unions (aka, just roommates) a few times, as well as a number of children, most whom he and his then spouse adopted, but he's provided the DNA for 3; his most memorable children (which is a cruel thing to say, but whatever), were his daughter Charlotte, who died in France in 1720, and his son Shiro (later Shiroyasu Date), who died some point after 1780, but before 1803. Shiro was also his youngest and final child.

Bio: Kazimir, or Kaz, was born in, and for the majority of his life remained in what is now Great Britain and Ireland, so he's not being a pretentious dolt when says he's an Anglo-Saxon, he's being literal. Anyway, he was born in 574 in the small village of Aiwendil in the Kingdom of Mercia (present day English Midlands). He was given the name Cenric by his parents, and from birth he displayed great power. As young as infancy he would move toys with his mind, shatter objects when enraged, sets fires accidentally. At 11,  he burnt down an abbey, by accident of course, but he was labelled as a devil child, as well as by his mother, however, he was also considered blessed by those who despised the invading christian faith. He, himself, disliked both schools of thought and began completely isolating himself with the exception of two of his siblings (Ilse and Rommel) and occasionally his father.  At 15, Cenric, Ilse, and Rommel left their small village, wandering around and working where they could, before making their way to Tamworth, where they made the accquaintence of Æscferð (pronounced ash-furth) of Deira, an advisor to King Creoda of Mercia, and a powerful Warlock himself. Æscferð taught Cenric and his siblings many things, though he mostly spent time with Cenric. When Æscferð switched allegiance from the House of Icel to Edwin, King of Deira, and the lord of Æscferð's home, Cenric and Ilse went with him, though Rommel remained with Penda, King of Merica by then. They later faced each other in battle (the Battle of Hatfield), resulting in the death of Æscferð (also Edwin), from which point all three siblings went their seperate ways. Rommel remained with Penda until his death, becoming a skilled general in his army, Ilse followed Cadwallon of Gwynedd for a time, becoming his mistress for a time until his death, after which she disappeared with some druids, as for Cenric, he went back north to the lands of Northumbria, determined to dethrone the king (Penda) whose battle cost him his dearest friend and mentor. He eventually succeeded with Oswiu, King of Bernicia (a sub-kingdom in Northumbria) in the Battle of Winwaed, which temporarily took away Merican dominance, but a lasting and unintentional effect on Cenric's part was the demise of Anglo-Saxon pagamism, and conversion of Mercia.    

However, by this point, Cenric had also become aware of his longetivity, at nearly 80 years old, he looked exactly as he had over 4 and a half decades ago. Once Penda was defeated, he finally visited his twin brother's grave in Merica, before leaving English land for the first time. He spent some centuries in Scandinavia, he went to Kvenland, meeting and befriending Ottar fra Hålogaland, and eventually falling in with some Vikings who were active around Norway. He later fell in love with a female Viking, Ásdís, and the two peacefully settled in Svalbard for a while.

During the mid to late 1500's, he lived in Russia, serving as an advisor to Ivan IV, though he left in 1581 after the Tsar killed Kaz's friend, and Ivan IV's son, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich. This was the first time he used the name Kazimir, though he returned to England after his friends death, taking Ivan's name, and remained in his home country until after the English civil war. Once Charles II was coronated, he moved to France for a time, he lived at the court of Versailles under the Sun King and later travelled around the country as a Catholic monk, before settling down in Marseille for a bit with his then lover (a regular human), Richard Bordeaux, and their daughter Charlotte. However, Richard and Charlotte both died of the bubonic plague in 1720, after which he left France and has not returned since. After their deaths, he went back to Russia. There he worked as a farmer for a while before befriending Peter the Great, and more significantly, his second wife, Catherine the Great. During her sole reign, under the name Kazimir Ivanovich, he served as her advisor, he left Russia again after her death. He then travelled to Japan, and trained and studied at Shinto and Buddist temples for a while, before befriending his traditional clique of Royals and nobles, namely Yoshimune Tokugawa, and served as a tutor and guardian to his son, Munetake Tokugawa. In Japan, he went by the name Arthur Hanover, though was called various nicknames with the word "foreigner". By the early 1800's, however, Kaz had returned to Europe, participating in the battle of Waterloo in 1815 before returning to England. During the 19th, and much of the 20th century, Kaz became more selfish and isolated. Instead of participating with politics or the now hidden world of magic, he took an interest in inventions and the world of tomorrow, investing heavily in things like locomotives and IBM, and earning a ton of wealth for his "family" (or rather himself). In 1842 he was bestowed with a hereditary earldom (the title being the Earl Wulfar), which his family (or actually he) hold to the day. With his new title and wealth, Kaz settled in the English countryside, slowly buying up the lands that once encompassed his Mercian Village.

Throughout the ages, seeing magic and magical beings being percecuted over and over, being used as weapons, or coercing magical beings into fighting each other, he became conviced that it must remain hidden and in the shadows. It was under Queen Victoria that he began actively taking steps to ensure magic remains hidden and maintaining a certain balance in the universe. It also became his only political and unselfish activity post 1815. It is for this purpose that he keeps track of nosy muggles (he loves that word) and kill them when they get too close, including the late Proffesor Credence.  

Extra: - huge meat eater - possibly addicted to netflix - has too many dvds - There's quite a bit of inspiration from BBC's Merlin, particularly in regards to his magic, and honestly, making this character made me realize how much I miss that show. Time for a marathon rewatch. - As his title is a hereditary peerage, Kaz and his descendants are technically eligible to be members of the house of lords, but have never put their (his) name forth to be considered for a seat in the in house election process. - he is a pagan, mostly, and tends to refer to it as "the old religion", however, his "faith" is heavily influenced by Shinto and Buddhism as well.   - he's extremely loyal to the British Royals, royalist was essentially part of all commoner life for, well, ever, but his loyalty endures even in the modern age despite the decline of royalty's importance. This loyalty generally arises from the mid 1600's, during the English Civil War, which he initially participated in as a Roundhead aka a Parliamentarian. He first was on the radical side of the party, pushing not for a constitutional monarchy, but to abolish the monarchy completely, but his time with Oliver Cromwell and his short lived Republic changed Kaz's mind, though he didn't completely switch to the side of Cavaliers (the royalist party during the civil war), he did become an advocate of constitutional monarchy, and advised Richard Cromwell to resign and he was amongst whose of the opinion that Charles II be invited back, however, he didn't stick around to live under Charles II's, whom he considered extremely distasteful. However, his opinion of his Royals improved in the many of the reigns that followed, particularly under Victoria I, the last person he truly served in any capacity.

--

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[septembersung]

Looking at the posts I’ve accumulated so far for #500 reasons and counting, I realized I need to frame the various subjects I’m tackling. I’d rather post more quotes than original posts, but the trouble with a complicated history like the Reformation (and the internet in general) is taking things out of context causes problems. To do this right, we need a clear conceptual framework in which to lay those quotes (and my inevitable commentary on them). So while in my first post I talked about where I’m coming from personally, in this post, call it intro 2.0, let’s lay out some history and approach parameters.

Let’s get the approach parameters out of the way first: 

A) I’m trained in theology, not history, and I’m blogging about this as someone learning, not an expert. B) please charitably correct me (with sources!) if I get something wrong, but C) we should go into this realizing there’s a lot of room for disagreement (as you’ll see if you finish reading this post). D) I always try to represent the source I’m summarizing/working from accurately. That means: D-1) if you disagree with something I say, let’s first go back to the source and make sure I’m conveying it as they said it, and D-2) A good debater should understand the opposing POV so well that they can word their opponent’s argument to the satisfaction of their opponent. If I misrepresent an argument, it is not intentional. Please bring it to my attention and we’ll work it out. 

That said, now we can talk about bias. If we’re going to talk about the Reformation, its causes and effects, how it influenced our civilization and still affects people today - even, yes, all those pesky theological “details” many would say no one cares about and don’t matter anymore! - then we need to ask some pointed questions: Just what do we mean by the Reformation? Whose version of the Reformation and its legacy is correct? What exactly is it, septembersung, that you’re taking issue with and arguing against?

Well, if you ask three historians “what happened,” you’ll get thirty answers...

To a large extent, Catholics, Protestants, and secular historians tell the story of medieval Christianity (i.e., Catholicism) and the Reformation differently. Extremely differently. (There is a lot of overlap in some areas between Protestant and secular approaches, however.) You might think that “facts are facts,” but history isn’t primarily facts; history the story we tell ourselves about facts as we know them. Sometimes an assumption, or a “fact” that’s actually false, or a matter of opinion, or disputed, gets enshrined as truth, embedded in how the subject is approached and handed down, and then everything from that is skewed. (This is an exceptionally important point we will come back to frequently.) 

Everyone has a bias; this is unavoidable. In this context, bias means “where you stand to see the rest of the world.” Everyone has to stand somewhere. What’s important is to be able to identify your bias and see how it affects the story as you’ve received it and as you tell it. And, equally importantly, to differentiate bias, a fact of being an individual human person, from prejudice, which in this context means unfair and probably incorrect negation of a point of view you don’t share. An illustration of the difference: A secular, that is, non-believing, historian writes a history of the Reformation. Their bias is that they are not Christian, neither Catholic or Protestant. Their prejudice is shown in privileging the Protestant side of the story. To pick just three examples of how that prejudice could play out: using slurs against Catholics, the Church, and Catholic beliefs; accepting Protestant claims about Catholicism and Christian history a priori, as factual premise, without investigation or explanation; taking it for granted, as an accepted truth that does not need proving, that the Reformation did the world a favor. Here’s the kicker: this is not an invented example, but a summary of a large swath of writings on the Reformation.

As you know, I’m Catholic; that’s my bias. You should ask yourself: what’s yours? Do you know how it affects what you’ve been taught and the way you perceive history and the world around you? What prejudice might you be participating in that you don’t even realize is a prejudice?

(Sidebar: In addition (and related to) to the bias issue: intense specialization and the ways history as a whole is conceived and taught has led to such an overabundance of “facts” and narratives, particularly about this stretch of history, that there is little cohesion, and simply so much that trying to get a handle on the big picture can be completely overwhelming. You can drown in data and never learn a thing. (I always picture a cartoon child opening a stuffed closet and being buried in toys.) There’s a super good, though technical, layout of this problem in the introduction to Brad S. Gregory’s book The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society. I’m going to talk about that book a lot.)

The takeaway so far should be: the story of history that we receive varies by which community we’re in and which community delivered the story to us. I am not arguing that no objective truth about the matter exists. Quite the opposite: the first step to finding the truth is recognizing that what has been uncritically accepted as fact is an interpretation based on unreliable ideas. What I would most like to show my readers through this project, especially my Protestant readers, is that the reality and significance of the Reformation has been greatly misunderstood across the majority of communities. It’s pretty unlikely you’ll read my posts and come away deciding to convert to Catholicism. What is possible, and I hope it will happen, that you’ll walk away with a different understanding of Catholicism itself and Protestantism’s role the last 500 years of Christian history.

(Important sidebar: “Protestants” and “Protestantism” can only ever be a generalization. Not only do the vast number of denominations disagree with each other about Christian doctrine, on points big and small, but they have different biases, different understandings of history, different views of Catholicism - you get the idea. Whenever we use the term “Protesant/ism”, we should be aware that is a generalization.)

With all that said: here is a simplified summary of the story of the Reformation as popularly understood. What does that mean? It means this summary doesn’t cover everything, but it does encompass the broad spectrum of “not-Catholic” opinion, including both Protestant and secular views, which vary from each other and among themselves. And, of course, scholars and academia tend to acknowledge more nuance and complexity in the events of history than non-specialists. I spell this out to avoid tiresome arguments that I’m setting up a straw man or objections like “but I don’t believe that/all of that/that in that way,” etc. So as I said: the broad gist of the Reformation story as popularly understood by much of the world today:

The Catholic Church was pure institutionalized corruption. The hierarchy and religious lived immoral lives and oppressed the lay people. The Church was unChristian in deep and significant ways that were harming people. When Luther (et al) realized this, and that what the Church taught as religious truth was just a means of perpetuating its control and corruption, they got up and pushed, and the whole rotten structure came tumbling down. Suddenly the common people had access to the Bible, Jesus, real catechesis, spiritual and political freedom, genuine community, and (to use the modern terms) freedom and agency. There was some resistance, but the populace more or less welcomed the Reformation and joined in enthusiastically. The Reformation was a movement who’s time had come. With the suppression of “priestcraft,” superstitious practices and beliefs, and man-made ritual, the accumulated debris of centuries of ”Romish inventions” was swept aside and Christianity was given a clean slate. With this demolition of the Church, thus (believers would say) true, original Christianity triumphed; all the excess (at best) and demonic distractions (at worst) that led people away/separated people from Jesus was gone. With the demolition of the Church, thus (some believers and the vast majority of secular analyses would say) the road to modern society was paved: separation of church and state, the triumph of the thinking mind/rationality/logic over and against the deadening religious/organized religion influence, the growth of the sciences, freedom, tolerance, pluralism, etc.; the goods and wonders of the modern world exist because the iron grip of the Church was broken. Shedding the past launched us into the future. We’re lucky it’s over and done with and not relevant to us, in our secular society, anymore.

There’s just one problem with this narrative: it’s almost entirely wrong. 

That’s a large chunk of what I’m taking issue with and arguing against.

I can’t guarantee this tag is going to be particularly organized or exhaustive - I decided to do this just a few days ago and, despite being a fast reader, can only cram in so much - but I’m going to examine these kinds of claims (in their originals, please note, not from my general gist summary) through my own writing and through sharing the content of scholars and writers more qualified than myself, to argue for a contrary thesis: Not only is that understanding of Catholicism and Christian history factually incorrect, but the Reformation was not an organic, welcomed event/process but rather a violent uprooting of a strong, loved religious tradition and past that cut Christians off from their heritage, fragmented and splintered society, blew the foundation out of Christendom (society as Christian society,) putting Western civilization on the road to society’s secularization, the marginalization and oppression of religion in the public life, and opened the door to the moral, rational, and political chaos we know today. I will absolutely address issues like “but wasn’t the Church corrupt?” but to a certain extent I don’t think that’s actually helpful until some of the fundamental falsehoods in what is generally assumed about the Reformation have been examined. In addition, as we follow the ramifications of the Reformation down the centuries, we’ll get to talk about politics, American exceptionalism, Dracula and turn-of-the-20th-century English culture (it’s amazingly relevant), and - my personal favorite - iconoclasm and incarnation.

I highly recommend reading Karl Keating’s short article “Not a reformation but a revolution.” (Quotes are coming.) He says it better than I do.

The queue starts tomorrow, Sunday October 1st!

[theunofficialchurchofsatan]

Church of Satan Youth Communique

Due to the high volume of mail that we receive from young people who are new to Satanism, we have put together some information to help answer your specific questions and concerns.

If you have read our books, you know that Satanism isn’t about taking drugs, and it isn’t about harming animals or children. Unlike many religions and philosophies, Satanism respects and exalts life. Children and animals are the purest expressions of that life force, and as such are held sacred and precious in the eyes of the Satanist. Besides, it is very un-Satanic to take any creature’s life against its will. It is equally un-Satanic to cloud your brain and impair your judgment with mind-altering substances. A real magician has no need of those kinds of things, as he should be able to bring about changes in consciousness by the very power of his Will and imagination.

Children and animals are the purest expressions of that life force, and [are] held sacred and precious…”

If you have not yet read The Satanic Bible, you should do so. It has much more information regarding our attitude toward Satan, and will give you a clearer idea of our philosophy, ideals, and goals. Perhaps at first they will be difficult for you to understand, because you may have been raised in an environment that dictates that God=Good and Satan=Evil. The truth is that good and evil are often terms that people twist to suit their own purposes. Sometimes people will lie and try to make you think certain things just so you will do what they want you to do. Always remember that the final judgment is yours. That is both a great freedom and a great responsibility. For us, Satan is a symbol of the power of that choice.

There is no one way that a Satanist is “supposed” to be. Uniqueness and creativity are encouraged here, not mindless conformity. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like to listen to; it doesn’t make any difference whether you prefer gothic music, black metal music, classical music, old popular tunes, show tunes, or many different types of music. It doesn’t matter what style of clothes you like to wear. You don’t have to wear black, or t-shirts with “Heavy Metal” band logos, or trench coats. There is not an “official” Satanic music and style of dress, and you should beware of people who claim otherwise. What does matter is that you are a mature, sensitive, self-aware individualist who revels in the Darkness, and who wishes to align yourself with others who share your views. In this world of prefabricated, media-saturated, unoriginal drones, it is up to the Satanist to cherish, maintain, and preserve true individuality and creativity. Satan represents freedom from hypocrisy, from convenient lies, and challenges that which is presumed to be true. His image of pride, strength, and defiance, inspires us to our own strengths.

That said, let’s address some of your most commonly asked questions:

“How old do I have to be to join the Church of Satan?”

You may become a member of the Church of Satan when you are legally of adult age in the nation in which you live. This is not meant as a judgment of your maturity; we’ve received letters and e-mails from 14-year-olds who had a distinct, mature grasp of Satanism. But we must be realistic about the world around us. Our society has become one in which people frequently pull scams and try to make money through law suits based on false claims. We cannot risk exposing our members and organization to such possibilities. One reason is that we don’t want to become a haven for the kind of sanctimonious perverts that Christian churches and other “Good Guy Badge” forums (such as Big Brother/Big Sister, Boy Scouts, etc.) often are. There are a lot of sick people out there, and we don’t want our vital young Satanists to become victims of twisted adults who are more interested in contacting young kids than they are in practicing Satanism. Another reason is because your parents or other adults in your life may not understand or might be hostile toward your exploration of this religion. They may try to cause trouble for us, falsely accusing us of any number of things, just because they feel threatened. So, we simply cannot allow anyone under the legal age of consent to join the Church of Satan. The only exception to this rule would be if your parents or legal guardians are already members in good standing.

“Do I have to become a member to be a ‘real’ Satanist?”

All you have to do to be a real Satanist is start living like one. Dr. LaVey wrote The Satanic Bible so that people could pick up a copy, read it, and know everything they need to know about Satanism and how to put it to work in their own lives. Most people who choose to become members do so as a symbolic act to themselves, to formally align themselves with others of like mind, and to show their support for a philosophy and way of life they agree with. It is a purely personal decision—we don’t solicit memberships. But actual membership usually conveys to others that you are serious about your beliefs, and that you know enough about it to have read Dr. LaVey’s works and align yourself with his spearhead organization. It usually grants you a certain amount of respect as an authority. If you were going to speak as a member of the Church in a public forum, you should actually be one. But as far as benefiting from Satanism in your life, or defending true Satanism, those are the rights and responsibilities of every Satanist, “official” or not.

“My parents and friends don’t understand me, and don’t approve of my interest in Satanism. How can I make them accept my beliefs & where can I go to perform my rituals?”

Unfortunately, most young Satanists face this problem. Few of us are lucky enough to have sympathetic parents, or others around like ourselves. However, as long as you are living under your parents’ roof and they are feeding and taking care of you, you do owe them a degree of consideration. Offer to let them read your books, and talk about what misunderstandings they may have from T.V. talk shows and Christian propaganda. But you can’t force anyone to understand what, for you, is an obvious and magical revelation. If Satanism offends others who have necessary control over your life right now, do your studies and rituals in private. If you don’t have a place at home where you can be alone, find a special spot on the beach, in a field, or in the woods where you can ritualize when you need to. While you are understandably enthusiastic about your new-found religion, it is not very Satanic to make yourself miserable by creating a problem with your parents when you have to live in the same house together, or at school where your real goal may be to aggravate those in authority in the guise of “expressing your individuality.”

Practice Lesser Magic. Remember that a competent Satanic magician should be able to size up any situation and weigh his choices of action to bring about desired results. Enthusiasm is certainly encouraged and appreciated, however Satanism asks no one to be a martyr. And keep in mind that most people simply aren’t going to understand because, ultimately, they don’t want to. That is as it should be. Satanism is not for everyone. Satan, as depicted in myth and literature, by his very nature walks alone. He is therefore the embodiment of the true individualist, the outcast. This doesn’t mean that you cannot care about those who are close to you; Satan also represents love, kindness and respect to those who deserve it. It just means that you should not concern yourself with people who do not approve of you. Revel in your uniqueness; be proud of who and what you are. Achieve all you can with the strength and determination of Satan himself coursing proudly through your veins. When Satanism leads to positive changes in your accomplishments and attitude, your parents and other adults around you will notice. The best way you can represent Satanism, at any age, is by providing a living example of how the diabolical arts have made you a stronger, more focused, joyful person. The results will speak louder than any logical argument you can present.

“Is it better to study and ritualize alone, or to work with others?”

Unless you are able to find others who are as knowledgeable about Satanism as you are, it is better to work alone. If you do choose to ritualize with others, you must make certain that they are 100% clear on what Satanism is all about. If they are into it just out of curiosity or for thrills, they’ll detract from your ritual. Many young Satanists find they have one close, magical friend who they feel they can work with, but usually one of you is actually magically stronger and more sincere, and chances are that’s you, since you’re the one who has gone through the trouble of actually contacting the Church of Satan. It’s often best for you to work and study alone, guided by the material in our literature, rather than have your magic and concentration diluted by would-be friends. As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. What that means in this case is that if you perform rituals with others who are not as serious and dedicated as you are, they will hinder your magic, not strengthen it. Many adult Satanists work and study alone by choice. Finding a true magical partner can be stimulating and rewarding, but if you need such a person in your magical progression, you’ll perhaps conjure one up (see Herman Hesse’s Demian or Illusions by Richard Bach).

Don’t be disturbed or frightened or think you’re crazy when you feel at one with the Dark Ones you conjure forth, or by the magical results you begin to produce. You’re not crazy for feeling the way you do about the hypocrisy, blindness and incompetence you see all around you. Nor are you crazy to see the results of your magic. When in ritual, approach the Infernal Ones with the proper degree of respect and decorum. You’ll find that your “daemonic guide” is an aspect within you—don’t look for it outside. You just have to contact that part of yourself and listen to it, the instinctual element of your consciousness. That is the most important work anyone can do. Also take care to keep your sense of skepticism and questioning outside the ritual chamber. Faith and credulousness are weaknesses of spiritual religions, and have no place in the Satanist’s tools for understanding the world.

“Do I need all the things mentioned in The Satanic Bible to do my rituals?”

You don’t need everything mentioned in Dr. LaVey’s books to do an effective ritual. Maybe you don’t have the money to obtain—or the private space to store—items such as swords, chalices, black robes, gongs, and elaborate altars. Ritual is theatre meant to stimulate your emotions, so you may vary the details to suit your personal needs and situation. Sometimes the most effective ritual chamber is found in your own imagination, with your eyes closed and your Will focused—the theatre of the mind.

Here, because many have requested it, is a powerful, yet simple, ritual you can perform and all you need is a quiet place where you can be alone, a Sigil of Baphomet, either as a medallion or as a picture, and a single black candle. Be sure the candle is placed in a safe holder so that there is no danger of fire:

Light the candle and set it before you. Place the medallion or picture of the Sigil of Baphomet so that it is visible just above and safely beyond the flame of the candle. Sit up straight, breathe deeply and relax. Clear your mind of all outside thoughts. As you gaze at the flame, say in your mind or out loud, “I am ready, oh Dark Lord. I feel your strength within me and wish to honor you in my life. I am one of the Devil’s Own. Hail Satan!” Open your mind; look within. You may shift your gaze from the flickering flame into the eyes of the goat in the Sigil, and sense your essential self reflected in it. When you feel you’ve reached that primal part of yourself, and that the words you spoke ring with truth, speak the words “So it is done,” with intensity and conviction. Breathe deeply again. As you exhale, blow out the candle. You may then place the medallion on a necklace and wear it openly or hidden, or if you used a picture, store it in a private place until the next time you choose to perform this ritual.

It will take time. You may think you are ready, but you may still find you cannot let go right away. Concentrate on your image of Satan and on the word “strength” and listen to what comes up from yourself. You have answers for yourself that no one else can give you. This is a simple way of aligning yourself with what Satan means to us, discovering that in yourself, and it will help you in finding the stamina and courage to guide yourself to greater achievements. The path you’ve chosen won’t be easy; sometimes it may be a nightmare. But when you are ready to face the challenge, it will be there.

A few final words:

Just because you are not yet legally an adult doesn’t mean that you cannot explore on your own these Dark Realms that are opening before you. This is a very potent, magical time. You decided to write to us or read our web site for a reason, and right now you are going through an initiation into the Black Arts that must be all your own. Your body and your mind are going through intense changes. Take this time to learn all you can—about yourself and about the world around you. Explore your skills, talents, and inventiveness. Learn to play music, paint, or even build a robot. Study the subjects that can bring you wisdom about the human animal and the world around you: psychology, history, anthropology, sociology, the arts, literature, and the hard sciences. Use your brain and your heart to find out what is right, what is true, and what will make you stronger. You are not alone. You are different; you are superior, and it’s okay for you to feel that way. You see what others do not; you know what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

Don’t settle for white-light nonsense just because you can’t actively participate with other “official” Satanists right now. Don’t fill your mind and dilute your magic with crap. Don’t believe someone who simply claims to know more about Satanism than you do. You’re the one who contacted us; you might even join eventually. You may know more, if you have read and studied our literature. A friend your age who hasn’t probably doesn’t know nearly as much about real magic as you do. An adult who claims special powers and who says he can initiate you into the Dark Realms is probably just looking to fuel his own ego (or wallet). Satanism doesn’t require a teacher, since our literature is clearly written and can be understood by anyone with an open mind.

Read our Bunco Sheet carefully so that you won’t be taken advantage of, and look over the rest of our information. You don’t have to join our organization; to be a true Satanist all you have to do is start living like one. Don’t complicate your life by pushing when it isn’t necessary. It may be wise to keep this interest to yourself. There are prejudiced people who might stand in the way of your goals if they know you consider yourself to be a Satanist. Always keep in mind that Satanism is a tool for enhancing your life—it is not a cause. Our fundamental principle is of self-interest.

This waiting period is also a test for you, to see if Satanism really is a reflection of your true nature. If it is, then you will strengthen that understanding through the application of our principles towards success in your endeavors. If your interest in Satanism is just a passing phase, then that too will become clear and you will freely move on to explore other philosophies and religions which are better suited to your unique perspective.

Your family and friends might be concerned at first because they’ve been brainwashed about what Satanism is. If they love you, when they see the positive changes that occur due to your new dedication to Satanism (and most of all, to yourself) they’ll try to understand and support you. And when you reach the age when membership becomes possible, the time spent in study and in refining your talents will make you worthy to earn your place in our group of highly capable individuals. Ultimately, your status within the Church of Satan will be based on your real accomplishments in the outside world. The Church of Satan will be here when you are ready, and if your commitment is strong and sincere, you will benefit from this time on your own. We’ve all taken that journey and it has tempered us. In the meantime, our web site will keep you informed of developments and literature that will be food for thought and for your growth as a Satanist.

Best wishes for further success and fulfillment. We know that you are with us. 

Hail Satan!!

[dailyaudiobible]

08/01/2019 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 30:1-31:21, Romans 15:1-22, Psalms 25:1-15, Proverbs 20:13-15

Today is the 1st day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today as we greet the new month, as we step into it, this eighth month of the year. How exciting is that? We have made this journey seven full months and now we step into the eighth month of the year. Of course, where in the middle of the week basically. So, we’re still in the same week, brand new month, picking up where we left off yesterday. We’re reading from the common English Bible this week. Second Chronicles chapters 30 and 31.

Commentary:

Alright. So, yesterday from the book of Romans we were talking about unity and uniformity and the postures we should hold toward each other as brothers and sisters in the faith, and that thought is kind of carried over today as we continue through the book of Romans. As we mentioned before, this gives us insight into some of the struggles that the church was grappling with at its formation and some of struggles that we’re still grappling with today, if not even worse today. Like, in Paul's time there wasn't a plethora, like literally over 40,000 Christian denominations and very divergent worship styles. Church had just begun to form, but as we’ve mentioned on a number of occasions, there's plenty of discussion, vigorous discussion happening about exactly who's allowed to be in the church and exactly what they would need to do to achieve inclusion in the church. Paul's argument…and Paul's argument was controversial, by the way, at least from a Hebrew perspective. Paul's argument was that anybody could be in the church, like anybody could become a disciple of Jesus Christ, anyone who believed, even people who weren’t Hebrew or Jewish, which meant Gentiles. And we've kind of unpacked that on a number of occasions. Not everybody agreed with that. There was a heated disagreement about it. There was a church council about it that had unbelievable implications because once the church decided that Gentiles could be included without converting to Judaism first, they were no longer considered a sect of Judaism, like, they were a standalone thing, rejected by the Romans and rejected by the Jews. Like, it because an incredible amount of persecution. So, it was an incredible struggle early on. And we’ve talked about how the Jewish believers, they saw Jesus as the savior of the Jews, and He was continuing to Hebrew story of God with his chosen people. So, that's why you would need to convert to Judaism and follow Jesus. But as a trained Pharisee, Paul knew all of those arguments. He had lived and studied and had tried to live within that context but then Paul began to realize Jesus wasn't just the savior of the Jews, he was the Savior of the world. So, quoting Paul from our reading today, “I'm saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God's truth in order to confirm the promises given to the ancestors and so that the Gentiles could glorify God for his mercy. As it is written because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles and I will sing praises to your name,” which is a quote from Psalm 18. So, they were wrestling with this, we are wrestling with this. And it kind of comes down to a core question that we just have to ask ourselves. Can a person who believes in Jesus but doesn't see things theologically the same way that I do on certain points or does things that I wouldn't or will that I would consider wrong or the lives in a way that I don't approve of, can they still be a believer, a Christian? So now, unlike the early church we have many flavors and many stripes - 40,000 Christian denominations on the planet today - and most of the reasons that there is division is over theological points of disagreement and worship style and pretty much everybody believes their holding on and defending the true faith. So, even as this conflict was so small in its infancy, Paul considered that to be basically a waste of energy because we can judge each other all we want, it has no consequence. We can tell somebody they're going to hell or we can tell somebody they're not and it has no consequence. We have no say. There is only one final judge and us spouting off at the mouth, especially in condemnation and judgment like that is dangerous, because Jesus said, “we’ll be judged by the way we judge.” So, Paul gave us a posture and I'll quote him straight from Romans 15, “May the God of endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude toward each other, similar to Christ Jesus attitude. That way you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with one voice. So, welcome each other in the same way that Christ also welcomed you for God's glory.” So, remembering the guidance of the apostle Paul can help us when our grace has run out, right, when our patience is done for our brothers and sisters who are doing whatever they're doing that we do not agree with. What we find in those moments is, yeah, things well up inside of us and we do want to argue it out and wrestle it out and that's fine, but we understand very quickly that what we’re arguing about is our theological interpretation. Like, every time we win one of those battles, we haven't saved God's life. Like every doctrinal battle that we fight, whether we win or lose that battle, we haven't rescued God from the brink. So rather than fighting those battles all the time so that we can find out what it is that we really think, we can fall on God's mercy as we must. And Paul suggests that we should join together with one voice giving praise and glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Father, the reality is interesting in this community because we truly are as diverse as Your church is on planet Earth today. We swim in every stream imaginable in many different expressions all over the earth and yet we come together every day and find common ground and love for each other. I have never seen this happen before outside of this community. And, so, I worship You for that, we thank You for that because we've all come here for one thing, to allow Your word to speak for itself and then to do our own wrestling about it. But what we find over and over and over is that we have to tread lightly, that Your Holy Spirit must be present, that there is a narrow path that leads to life, and that we won't find it by looking at what everyone else is doing. We will find by following You and not comparing how we are following You to have someone else might be. We are not the judge, and neither are they. We are responsible to follow You and I love that we do that here, that we love each other. Father help us to not only experience that here inside this community but that we would turn outward with this same love and perpetuate it all over the earth replacing darkness with light by the very fact that we are present and present to You and Your leadership. Come Holy Spirit we pray. Breathe on Your church anew we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base, it is indeed where you find out what's going on around here.

And before this month is over, we’ll be at the Family Reunion that is taking place at the end of this month, August 31st and into September 1st over Labor Day weekend. So, you are all invited here to the rolling hills of Tennessee, where we are gonna to get together and have a family reunion - play outside, picnic, swim in the lake, whatever it is that you like to do. And we’ll get together at night, just enjoy fellowship together, hear from each other. I look forward to hand shaking and neck hugging and everything that goes with a Family Reunion. So, hope to see you here in the rolling hills. You can get all of the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. Just look for Family Reunion 2019. Everything is there. So, hope to see there. If you’re using the app, you can press that little Drawer icon that's in the upper left-hand corner and that'll get you to the Initiatives section as well.

If your partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we do here together every day just coming around the global campfire and letting God's word speak to us, if that brings good news and life and light into your life then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey brothers and sisters of the Daily Audio Bible and Hardin family. This is Nydia from New Jersey and I’m calling in a praise report today. Just wanted to share with you how my days start. Every single day I open my eyes and I’m flooded with fear, with fears and worries. That sneaky enemy knows how to get right in my head when my guard is down as soon as my eyes open and I feel a dread like in the pit of my stomach. I’m a teacher so I’m thinking, “oh my gosh am I gonna be able to…my lesson plan and that pesky kid and my finances” and all the things that I could worry about just pop into my head and then I get up, I grab my phone, and I just click on the Daily Audio Bible and my Spirit is delighting in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit just like Shazam’s everything out. All the negative stuff gets totally blown away and I’m like girdled, I’m reinforced, and I just feel God’s hand upon me and I’m just so grateful to the Holy Spirit and to God that always provides a way. And for me to have that every day, dispel that sneaky enemy that just makes me fearful and not fall to it and just to break down that brick wall and then just as God and Jesus to just bring everybody in my path that I encounter closer to Jesus. In everything I do I ask the Holy Spirit to cover me. And it is night and day, who I am when I open my eyes in the morning to who I’d become every day as I get dressed and get ready to go. So, I just thank you Brian and family and all my brothers and sisters that just gird us all up and that we sharpen each other. In Jesus mighty and precious name, we pray. Amen.

Hey everybody this is TJ in Vermont. I wanted to call in and, first of all, bless you and thank God for the Daily Audio Bible, for Brian and his family and for all of you who call in and pray and just listen. So, I’ve been doing this for six years and it’s transformed my life and I plan to keep going until…for as long as I’m on this earth. So, hey, a couple things. One, I just want to encourage the new listeners. You know, there are a few people who call in and they sound like they’re really stressed out about being behind - some for two or three months. I mean, if you have the time and you want to catch up, I think it’s great, but you don’t need too, we’ve got you. And if that’s stressing you out just focus on today’s message. But I mean God will take care of the rest. I’m calling for prayer my son Ben that we’re approaching the fifth year, the anniversary of his mother’s suicide and he’s pretty…he’s depressed, and he’s got depression, he’s sad and he feels anxious and I like for you to lift him up. He doesn’t know God, he doesn’t follow God…follow Jesus. __ God __ . He’s kind of walked away. So, I’m asking to pray that he opens up his heart and his mind and his soul to the Lord and that he’s lifted up and his life is transformed. I’m asking for a miracle here cause we all know that the Lord can change his life and lift him up and that that happens sooner than later before, you know, he goes too much further down into the darkness. So, thank you all so much. God bless you. I love you. Bye guys.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. My name is Jane Root from Nebraska, but it’s been a while since I’ve called but I have been listening and enjoying every voice that I’m coming to know and love. I am so thrilled and excited with how much I am becoming attached to each one that I’m learning to know and love and I’m excited about how much I’m becoming saturated with the word of God and the presence of God and understanding myself better. And, Brian, oh my goodness, thank you so much. Romans! And how can I become so attached to Chronicles? My goodness, I’ve never known Chronicles to be so exciting. Anyway, I wanted to say that I realize that I had taken Romans back when I was in Bible College forty years ago and thirty years before that my mom had taken Romans from the same instructor and it’s amazing to me that this is finally coming to life from a in a new way. It’s so exciting but the reason is because I finally feel connected to a body and I’m so grateful. Thank you so much and thank you Daily Audio Bible because I have a goal to learn, to be connected, and to reach out when I need help and when I want to say thank you for being there for me. Thank you, Daily Audio Bible

a little Daily Audio Bible family this is Alfia calling from Delaware. It’s been a while but I’m listening, and I pray with you guys. Today I wanted to give a little encouragement and it’s about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an attitude. It is a great way to acknowledge all that happens in our lives and glorify the one who created us and who has us in the palm of his hands. Surely life can be challenging. Many times we feel downtrodden, no energy to go on, no motivation to face the day ahead, and no hope for tomorrow. But God never misses any detail of our lives. Whatever there is in our heads God sees and knows it all. He never misses your tears, your groaning, your pain and your pleas. So, may we choose this day to be faithful to glorifying God and being grateful for what He has done for us and all that He has in store for lives. All that happens to us in our lives, whether good or bad, comes with a purpose. And remember that God would never let anything come into your life that He has not purposed for. So, be it the greatest era in our lives or the greatest pain, he will turn your situation to one of a divine purpose. Rest in the assurance that Jesus is going to __ . He prayed for us that we may have a full life. May you live that full life today and forever __ an attitude of gratitude. So, thank you Jesus for all that you’re doing, all that you could do, and for all your constant pursuit of us even when we are ready or not ready for you. Please Jesus will you give us your Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us to your loving arms even in our worst moments. Amen. This is Alfia calling from Delaware. Make it a great day. Bye-bye.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

God Loves You, Which Is Why You’ll Burn In Hell (Part 2): A “Good, Christian Child,” Claudine Frollo Is Not

All Frollo ever truly wanted from his daughter was for her to become a “good, Christian child” in the midst of all the sin, the debauchery, and the faithlessness that is life on the Isle of the Lost.

As mentioned in part 1, Claudine Frollo was the product of a very brief, tumultuous marriage between Frollo and a woman whose name is lost to time and even his memory, whom he only ever refers to as “Not Esmerelda.”

Even more so than the other VKs, the deck was stacked heavily against Claudine: the infamy Frollo had already accrued over the past four years and the overzealous behaviour of his flock made her a social pariah by association, the strict and rigid standards for good behaviour imposed on her were even more inflexible than her peers’ and the punishment all the more severe, and the fact that the parents of everyone else were praising them for sinning, misbehaving, and generally being very bad, un-Christian like children made for a very difficult life.

But still, she persisted, abstaining from pranks and parties, casual kissing and cruelty, stealing and sex (the sinful, pre-marital kind), being bullied, picked on, and victimized relentlessly, but never lashing back, always taking her lot in life with a smile, comforting herself at night with prayers and the thought that when Judgment day comes, she will be taken away from this Hell and to an eternal Paradise.

Unlike the rest of the Isle parents, Frollo also loved her truly, supporting her, praising her, and doing his damndest to care for her despite his ever failing health and the fact that the Isle was not kind to such “pure, holy people” as them.

Then, puberty came, and all of that went into a hand-basket headed straight down.

The problems all started when Claudine got her first period, and Frollo insisted that she had to deal with her “private shame” all by herself, while also reminding her about all the many things she couldn’t do whenever she was “unclean.”

Her body began to change, from a little cherubic angel to a devilish succubus in the making, and Frollo began to rant and beg her to cover up lest she unwittingly lead others to temptation, or rile up the “slavering dogs” (teenage boys, and some of the girls) even more than they usually are—never mind that Claudine could literally cover herself head to toe in a sack, and Frollo would still complain that her “piercing eyes” were still too much temptation.

New, confusing, interesting but dangerous feelings started to stir inside of her, and the only things she got from Frollo were violent, fiery admonitions that she ever let herself be overcome by such temptation, before being ordered to pray to God for mercy, that through His divine will she may become stronger and overcome the shortcomings of her flawed, mortal body.

And things sure didn’t improve when she confessed she was feeling them for girls, not boys.

Still, Claudine persisted, refusing the advances and temptation of her peers, dedicating so much time to patching up and sewing clothes to make sure she was covering up where everyone else was starting to intentionally bear more and more skin than usual, and continuing her nightly prayers, though they were now recited while she scrubbed menstrual blood off everything she owned, and cleaning the things she had turned “unclean.”

It was around this time that the little, obedient girl was starting to question her faith, all the things Frollo had told her were true and infallible, of the value of eternal Paradise some far-off, vague time in the future when God declared her stay on this plane over, VS earthly pleasures now that everyone else was enjoying and seeking.

Still, she trusted her father, her faith, and God more than anything else.

So inspired was Frollo by his daughter’s devotion amidst this tumultuous time that he started a convent, a section of his church renovated and dedicated to the proper education of the young girls of the Isle, so they may know how to serve God for the rest of their lives, or become good, Christian wives to the wholesome men they would find in the future.

(The boys were on their own; in his wisdom as a man himself, Frollo declared them truly lost causes that was beyond even Saint Jude.)

Never mind that the prayer services Claudine was assisting with was oftentimes an extra hour to nap, or gossip in the pews. Never mind that her fellow “nuns” were constantly sneaking out, partying, and staying long enough to sleep and enjoy a free breakfast before going straight back to sinning. Never mind that within the walls of the holy ground, sacrilegious things were happening between the other girls who found they weren’t very interested in boys, like the Good Book said they were supposed to be.

Then along came CJ, the herald of the beginning of the end.

Frollo had never liked CJ, thinking her the worst of Hook’s children, the very epitome of everything that is wrong with the Isle, all the sin, the evil, and the selfishness of the world given form as a teenaged girl—and for the few times in her life, CJ actually sincerely thanked someone for saying that.

Claudine didn’t either, thinking her her ultimate project, what was going to be the true test of her faith, the one thing that would prove to herself and everyone on the Isle that God was Great, God was Good, God was Almighty, that she would convert this wild child going around serving no one but herself, bring her to the light and the joy of serving God and others.

Never mind all the “unholy” things CJ had initiated and that she went along with, flawed as she was and prone to temptation.

Never mind that the “lies” coming from her mouth were starting to sound more true than anything Frollo had ever told her—though her growing suspicions that he was turning senile might have been part of that.

Never mind that for all the “wrong” feelings she had for her felt—as the cliché went—so right.

The convent dwindled, until it was just the two of them plus a handful of the children of Frollo’s flock. Suddenly there were no services to distract herself with, no other people to try and save and get a break from CJ, no excuses for not seeing her and interacting with her. No busying herself and avoiding all the things she’d tried not to think, tried not to feel, the things she prayed and prayed to God to please take away, that she’d listed when she asked if she’d already suffered enough, that He thought she should still endure as part of her “test.”

All of it came to a head in the storeroom of the convent, where CJ had finally managed to break into the locked cabinet containing the (tarnished, but still) silver candlesticks Frollo had lent for the convent’s services.

“Put those back,” Claudine growled.

CJ chuckled as she casually stuffed the sacred artifacts down her dress, along with her other ill-gotten treasures. “Why? Going to tell me off to Father Frollo? Ooh, ooh, oh wait: I’m going to incite the wrath of the Big Man Upstairs, and He’s going to strike me dead where I stand, isn’t He?!”

Claudine’s scowl grew deeper as CJ threw her head back and laughed. “CJ, I have been patient with you all this time, spending all of my precious time and effort, trying my damndest to save your soul--”

“And why have you been doing all this, exactly?” CJ asked. “It’s definitely not because I won’t make-out with you if you weren’t all high and holy on me, though I must admit, the Old Boys talking about the joys of making women of the cloth ‘fall into temptation’ certainly had it right~” she said, licking her lips.

Claudine blushed. “Is it really so unbelievable to you that I just want to save your soul, CJ?”

“Yes, actually, considering we’re all damned here!” CJ replied. “Have you looked around you, Claudine, or have you just been blind all this time and none of us have noticed? We’re the dregs of Auradon, their forsaken, their outcasts—we have literally been cast out to die and rot in our own filth just because their Big Guy Upstairs decided we didn’t belong in their world.”

“That was King Beast, not God!” Claudine said, fuming and shaking now.

“God, Beast, what’s the difference?” CJ asked. “They’re both powerful men who just decide on a whim who lives a luxurious, comfortable life and who deserves to suffer and struggle, reassuring the former that they did something to deserve it, and the latter that if they obey, don’t complain until the day they die, and keep on praying and praising them and calling them the Best Thing Ever for all of eternity, they’ll go to some magical place where everything is all well and good.

“Oh, what’s that, you say? You can’t see this Paradise? No one knows for sure if it exists, because you have to die naturally to go there, and no one that’s ever died has ever returned to tell us mortals about how great and how worth it is, because Paradise is just that good, so we have to rely on wrinkly old men in dresses asking us to believe them when they say it is?”

CJ scowled. “Admit it, Claudine, this is all because of your father, isn’t it?”

Claudine had no words, only unintelligible fuming and sputtering.

“He’ll never love you like he did when you were still his ‘sweet little angel,’ Claudine,” CJ said flatly. “Look at yourself: you’re just like that ‘Esmeralda’ woman he despises and hungers for so much, temptation on legs—and I should know! Do you really think that if you try hard enough, that if you pray hard enough, that if you rely on that ‘God’ of yours to swoop down and use His ‘mysterious magical powers’ on you that it will change the fact that you’re going to get fucked every single day, and not in the fun sense?

“Your fate was sealed when you were born a girl, Claudine.”

Claudine stared at her, her hands balled into fists, her knuckles white and her nails digging into her palms, already starting to draw blood.

“What’s going on down there?!” Frollo cried.

CJ sighed. “Well, fuck, there goes my nice, clean escape plan!” she said as she picked up a box of matches on the side. “I hope you’re happy, Claudine, you’re directly responsible for what’s about to happen.”

Claudine blinked. “Wait—what in God’s name are you doing?!”

CJ’s eyes twinkled like the lit head of the match in her hand. “Making myself a distraction, is what~!”

She flicked it onto the meticulously dried and cleaned cloths for the altar.

Frollo’s convent burned that day, that section of his church rendered permanently uninhabitable for the acrid stench, the collapsed brickwork, and the superstition surrounding that forced his flock into inaction.

Claudine herself barely escaped the flames, screaming like a banshee as her long hair and her ankle-length skirt had caught fire.

They say the old her died there, burned to death and reborn anew in the ashes, for the very next day, the Isle saw a very different Claudine Frollo:

One with her formerly long, luxurious locks savagely cut short into a bob; the foulest and filthiest of words coming from her mouth, almost always taking the Lord’s name in vain; and all too eager to drink, smoke, and fuck till her body gave out.

She still wore a long, white coat, pristine and pure by the Isle’s standards, but once she’s out of sight from her church and her home, she sheds it to reveal a shirt a size too small and the top row of buttons conspicuously undone; a plaid skirt from Auradon’s many academies, cut dangerously, scandalously short; and high, spiked heels that force her to sway her hips with every step.

Frollo still believes Claudine is a good, Christian child like he always wanted her to be, unfailing in his support of her in spite of the evidence, always assuming the best of her, and the worst of everyone else, “sinners, sycophants, and heathens that they are.”

But everyone else knows the truth.

[unrestrained-opinions-blog]

Does God Exist?, Is God Logically Possible?, Omnipotence, Omniscience and a Simple Request:

Show me proof of God’s existence. 

Good luck.

Hint: it is absolutely impossible.

The existence of God, as it is commonly described in the Bible and by many other religions, is completely paradoxical. Omnipotence cannot exist because it creates paradoxes. The same goes for omniscience. It’s just about that simple.

Here’s a link to the omnipotence paradox wiki for reference: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox 

Nothing could ever exist that can do everything because in order to be able to do everything that being must be able to make it so that it can’t do a certain thing, and then if it can’t do that thing that means it can’t do everything, and if it can’t do everything then it’s not omnipotent...

Sound confusing? It likely does, but follow along carefully. It shows how the very concept of omnipotence makes absolutely no logical sense. No further explanation should be needed. It explains itself.

You may say that your God is not bounded by logic or science, but that means by nature the existence of your God is unfalsifiable meaning that it does not demand my respect or that of any one else who has any respect for logic or legitimate theories.

Here’s why I can’t respect that sort of claim:

You might as well make up anything you want because if it doesn’t follow the laws of the universe then it can never be disproven or falsified. And if you can’t falsify it then that means it can’t be tested. If your argument can’t be tested to generate proof why do you expect anyone to believe it? I’ll believe it when Jesus finally decides to come back to Earth. But thats just the thing. You can keep waiting forever and simply say “he’ll come eventually,” and no one could ever definitively say you're wrong because time will keep going and going and there is always a next day for Jesus to show up.

You could go on forever with this kind of stuff. If God is within a universe he created that only follows certain rules how can he just break those rules? The whole universe as a system loses consistency and everything falls apart into chaos. It is completely devoid of logic. The creationist’s counter-argument might be “well God is outside of the universe looking in.” Well that doesn’t make any sense either. The universe is supposed to literally be everything, including all space. How can God reside in a space that doesn’t exist? There is no space outside of space. Well of course God gets an exception according to the creationist, throwing logic out of the window.

The further you go the more absurd it gets. So according to Christianity, God can do anything and everything. His will becomes reality. Can you possibly imagine a logical explanation for how God would do things such as impregnate Mary that are seemingly magical? It’s ludicrous. Ignore the creationist exception argument and assume God must follow his own universal natural laws. God would have to manifest a physical presence on Earth, present some sort of sperm whether it be synthesized or human-produced and introduce it into Mary’s genitalia with physical contact. Teleportation simply doesn’t work, so that’s not an option. And if not physical contact, God would have to manage to propel the sperm into her vagina from a distance! Can you imagine? For fuck’s sake if he can do whatever he wants anyway why even bother using Mary as a middleman? Just spawn Jesus into existence with your godly magic!

On a different note, some theists, especially of the Christian faith, will describe their god as perfect or morally perfect. A perfect god cannot exist because perfection does not exist.

There is no such thing as perfect.

The idea of perfection as a truth is completely illogical. I can see no logical argument to be made for the existence of inherent perfection. The word “perfection” describes something completely subjective. Who decides what perfection is? Well of course the creationist gets to use another exception and say, “well God knows everything so he knows what perfection is and we can’t fully understand it.”

Morals follow similar reasoning. Morals are completely subjective and as universal truths are completely meaningless and useless. Morals are not facts. We can’t “prove” morals. We simply create morals by ourselves and for our own benefit. The creation of some morals may be influenced by facts, but morals themselves are just as subjective as the word “perfection.” Once again the creationist will use a unfalsifiable argument and say, “God gave us morals and you are unable to understand the wisdom of their truths.”

This excerpt covers mostly everything including omniscience, that I hadn’t fully addressed above, and the subject of God’s sentience: http://www.humanreligions.info/god_is_impossible.html

There is no direct evidence that any god(s) exist. Likewise, there are no purely theoretical arguments that prove any gods either. In addition to the lack of reasons for a God's existence, the Argument from Incoherence holds that the very concept of god is self-contradictory and impossible, therefore, theism is false and atheism is true. Omnipotence and omniscience contradict free will and themselves are logically impossible; its omniscience is impossible for it to validate and there are questions about its own being that it itself cannot answer (therefore, nothing can be omniscient). If it is a perfect being, then, there is no need to do any creating. If it is eternal and immutable, then its very thoughts are eternal and immutable - in other words, it has no mental states. If its basic emotional, behavioural and instinctive drives are all fixed (i.e., not created by itself, therefore, not under its own control, and unchanging), then it is hard to imagine how the being, existing in a world without stimulation nor change, can be conscious at all. Without free will, morality, omniscience the remaining "god" is only an automaton: a being that follows necessity and logic. But the concept of a creator god is even more problematic - for this 'creator of everything' must have inherent traits that it itself did not create. It must be intelligent and rational (therefore, it can't have created intelligence nor logic). It must have desire, drives, motivations, an amazing omniscient thinking mechanism, and it can't have created itself. So it seems impossible and untrue to say that "everything must have a cause, therefore there is a god". Each property of god is itself a contradiction of the idea that god is the sole creator. All those uncreated self-traits lead to an impossibly unlikely situation where a complicated and multi-faceted being is invoked in order to explain a Universe that is said to be too complex to have self-created. The very concept of a creator god contradicts itself, and is impossible and incoherent. The First Cause of everything is not a god at all, it is merely the natural laws of an atheistic universe.

If God were to be omnipotent and omniscient and perfect then why is he emotional and vindictive? It makes no sense at all. A god wouldn't have a gender, an appearance, emotions, or even conscious thoughts ... none of it makes sense at all, but OF COURSE the creationist will once again say, based on absolute assumption with no evidence or reasoning, “we were created in God’s image, not the other way around.” If that’s perfection then literally anything could be perfection, but that just brings me back to one of my previous points. The very concept and existence of sentient beings is rare, and is not inherent or guaranteed given a universe. Life or sentience is only a product of simpler science down to the atom, many times more complicated than what makes it up, so why would sentience, something so complex and reliant on other things, be at the heart of the origin of the universe or the Earth?

For the creationist there will always been another excuse or an exception.

Wanna try the Ontological Argument? That’s logically fallacious too. Don’t bother with that. I hope you’re picking up on a trend at this point.

And to finish I ask: “Well... then ‘who’ created God???”

Do I really need to go any further? This just one of the classic, simplest examples of why God makes no comprehensible sense. It is completely inexplicable and paradoxical. Utterly inconceivable. It is just as inexplicable and apparently paradoxical as the origin of everything, and no one claims to know that, so why do you claim to know that God exists? Any conclusion that requires infinite explanations can’t make sense. Who created God? Who created who created God? Who created who created who created God? I think you can see why this doesn’t work. (I’m not talking about the Big Bang, which created our universe. I’m talking about “what” “started” everything that ever was, ever will be, or ever could be. “What” started the possibility of a reality. “What” always has been and always will be.)

You creationists can try to beat me or someone like me in an argument about religion and god, but you will always lose because you have no logical premise or facts. Your arguments will always be based on assumptions from an ancient book. You have no other resource. Don’t bother arguing about something unless you can actually bring forth evidence or any semblance of logical thinking or rational thought, otherwise you aren’t truly arguing at all. 

“I’m right,” is not an argument.

Creationists, for fuck’s sake, why are you still trying?

[genkidesurun]

I’m bored and have no story (or curhatan) to share... so it’s time to duel answer some questionnaire! Actually, the original post [here] got more than ninety questions, but I’ll just pick the ones I’m interested in and alter some of them a bit. 

1. If you had to be gay for a day, what celebrity would you most like to take on a date? 

It’s arduous to project the kind of girl that’ll draw my attention. But since I have the hots for nerdy guys (with fast-paced speech, silly gesticulations, and, of course, glasses!) like John and Hank Green, I’ll probably go for girls with such similitudes. Hmmm... Emily Graslie, perhaps? 

6. What are the top five most contrasting songs on your playlist? 

When you have both metals and nasyeeds in your playlist... It’s like what Wali called ‘tomat’ (red--tobat maksiat). All those fucking and shitting and hell, to praising The Lord and acknowledging your penitence and baper-ing; repeating over and over and over and over... 

8. If you could make just ONE change to this world, what would it be and why? 

Erase the notion of witches (wow, I’m feeling like Madoka; ups, spoiler alert). Can I wish for immortality? 

9. If you could wake up tomorrow and be fluent in three additional languages, which would you choose? 

Quenya, Parseltongue, aaaaannddd SIMLISH, YEAH! Have you listened to Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night sung in gibberish--I mean--Simlish? You really should! 

11. What are the top five movies to make you cry? 

Hello Ghost 

The Green Mile 

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale 

You’re the Apple of My Eye 

Miracles in Cell No. 7 

Yes, I’m such a crybaby. Hello Ghost and The Green Mile made me ugly the most. 

12. What’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? Describe it in detail. 

Uh... overslept and missed exams. Good thing they were just dreams! 

13. Would you rather raise 25 children or have the chance of ever having children taken away? Why? 

WHY SHOULD I OPT FOR RAISING 25 CHILDREN?! AIN’T NOBODY HAD TIME (AND MONEY) FOR THAT. 

17. If you had to lose one of the five senses, which would you choose and why? 

Rather than senses, it’s probably better to discard emotions. 

21. If your life was about to become like Cheaper by the Dozen and you were going to be saddled with twelve children, what would you name six girls and six boys? 

Let’s say those children were orphans taken care by me. I’d happily give them the names of fictional characters! Before I familiarize you with my kids, let me introduce myself first: Karlisha “Kirun” Runa Niephaus, the caretaker and the custodian, along with Raine Virginia Sage and Damuron ‘Raven’ Schwann Oltorain. 

(Boy) Vandesdelca ‘Van’ Musto Fende The big brother of Tear. As the result of his upbringing as an orphan at early age, as well as being the oldest in the orphanage, he became precocious, looking after his sister in their parents’ absence and willing to help the caretakers attending the other children while also struggling on his study. He was an amiable fellow and well-respected throughout the orphanage. Currently in the last year of senior-high and busy preparing himself for a law school. 

(Girl) Mystearica ‘Tear’ Aura Fende  Van’s baby sister who adored him dearly. She had grown into somewhat a wallflower; a shrinking violet. Although shy around people, Tear was a girl with a strong moral compass, never quivered to defend her friends from bullies. Like her brother, she had a beautiful, melodious voice that had brought her to become a choir member in both the town’s church, alongside Van, and her school. Currently a seventh-grader. 

(Boy) Ffamran ‘Balthier’ mied Bunansa Both dashing and quick-witted, Balthier was the conspicious of all. His charm and eloquence could easily impress anyone he met, thus making him the most popular kid around. Albeit a bit self-centered at times, Balthier could show his altruitic side, especially when it came to his bestfriend’s affairs, Ramza. Currently a ninth-grader and a valuable player of his school’s basketball team. 

(Boy) Ramza Lugria Beoulve A boy who survived from a wildfire that burned an entire village, including his parents, his beloved sister Alma, and his bestfriend Delita Heiral. His meek and tender disposition clicked perfectly with Balthier’s smug and jaunty manner, therefore creating a bridge of trust between them. Ramza had an eye for world history, spending most of his time in the library to read books and write essays. Currently a ninth-grader and established a close relationship with the history teacher Goffard Gaffgarion. 

(Boy) Edgar Roni Figaro Sabin’s older twin brother who was an electronics hobbyist and a gamer. He was the technician around the house, repairing the appliances and, sometimes, modifying them. Knowing very well that he had insufficient funds to begin with, he befriended Cid Del Norte Marquez and worked at the latter’s workshop as a part-timer. Though a geek at heart, Edgar didn’t constrain himself as a mere geek; he was surprisingly flirtatious, but to no avail. Currently an eleventh-grader. 

(Boy) Sabin Rene Figaro   Edgar’s younger twin brother. Unlike his prudent and erudite twin, Sabin was quick-tempered and straightforward, and excelled at physical activities, particularly martial arts. Under the tutelage of his karate master Cyan Garamonde, Sabin achieved black-belt in a no-time and had won many tournaments. Of all their differences, he and his brother shared the same unflappable determination and ambitions. Currently an eleventh-grader.

(Girl) Estellise “Estelle” Sidos Heurassein Cute, courteous, and bright; Estelle clearly caught everyone’s attention, but still being humble as she looked up to Philia. She was one of those bibliophiles who could even recite various passages from heart. After the incident involving her two bestfriends, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, Estelle promised herself to become a splendid doctor, thus leading her to be studious, hoping to obtain a scholarship. Currently a tenth-grader, a model student, and a member of the science club. 

(Girl) Margarita “Rita” Blastia Mordio A curious prodigy with an IQ of 160; however, lacked of social competence. She liked to correct people whose perceptivity was wrong, which inadvertently annoyed them unbeknownst to her. Rita was close to Raine’s little brother Genis due to their similar level of intelligence and close age, and to Estelle who always welcomed her presence. Currently a fifth-grader. 

(Boy) Genis Kloitz Sage The genius younger brother of caretaker Raine whose brain power could disparage the grown-ups’. Even as a child, he could solve his sister’s undergraduate math problems and sometimes engaged in Edgar’s projects. Due to his superior intellect, he demonstrated repellent disposition and was cynical towards others, but would greatly respect everyone with the same intelligence as him. Currently a sixth-grader and had a crush on his P.E. teacher Presea Combatir. 

(Girl) Rutee Atwight Katrea An upbeat, tomboyish lass with misunderstandable attitude. Having a firm moral sense yet being irascible at the same time, Rutee could easily pick a fight with anyone she deemed erroneous. Despite this shrewish demeanor, she was in fact solicitous and attentive towards her close relations. Due to the hapless circumstances, Rutee became eager to earn money, working as anything as her employer wanted her to be. Currently an eighth-grader. 

(Girl) Philia Clemente Felice Like your everyday bespectacled girl, Philia was smart, genteel, and naive; pretty much a foil to Rutee. A devout Christian, she highly regarded her belief and attended the church every week. Through her science teacher Batista Diego, nature and chemical experiments had greatly interested her as she aimed to be a chemist in the future. Currently an eleventh-grader, a model student, and the chairwoman of the science club.

(Girl) Rydia Asura Mist The youngest and newest in the orphanage, being five years in age. She was rescued by the sailors Cecil Harvey and Kain Highwind from ship drowning, a disaster that killed her mother and developed her fear of waterbody. She loved animals dearly as she often visited the town’s farm and pet house with the company of one of the caretakers. 

25. What’s the most frightening thing you’ve ever seen in your life? 

Failures. 

26. Name five books you think everyone should read and give a brief synopsis for each. 

Too lazy for the synopsis. Just check them out on GoodReads: 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (by Agatha Christie)  Lemme proudly present one of Christie’s masterpieces. I personally found this more exquisite than And Then There Were None. 

A Short History of Nearly Everything (by Bill Bryson)  I know Sagan’s Cosmos and Hawking’s The Brief History of Time are popular as hell, but hell... they were published in the 80′s (but still gold though, you really should check them out). We need newer ones and Bryson’s is certainly the best--for me, at least, at this time--in elaborating big history and the development of science. 

Why Evolution Is True (by Jerry A. Coyne)  A nifty allusion for Darwin’s The Origin of Species. No. Don’t protest. Dawkins probably produces more of this kind of books than Coyne does and, of course, is far more popular than any evolutionary biologists alive. Dawkins is a brilliant writer and all, but Coyne has the apt for making the theory easier to comprehend. 

Little Women (by Louisa M. Alcott)  Still the best bildungsroman. Ever. 

Speaker for the Dead (by Orson S. Card)  Sci-fi, philosopy, anthropology, politics, religion; all in one. Yes. I’m such a weirdo to enjoy the second book far more than the first one. 

27. Do you believe one can fall out of love? 

It’s a fact. Why bother asking anyway. 

28. What are your three favourite sounding words? 

Peculiar  Don’t you think the word ‘peculiar’ has such a peculiar pronunciation? 

Halcyon  Archaic one, yes. So old-fashioned that Kirun--who fancies classics--is indulged by its subliminal beauty. Moreover, it was used as the title of a Bleach’s chapter: ‘Goodbye, Halcyon Days’. Aren’t ya romantic, Orihime? 

Preposterous I like to shout out this word--in my solitude, of course--whenever expressing my disbelief. 

31. List the seven deadly sins in order of the one you feel you commit the most to the one you feel you commit the least. 

Pride, greed, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth, then lust. 

32. What’s your current desktop picture? 

46. What’s your favourite ever television commercial? 

49. What’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to you? 

“Kirun kan pacarnya aku.” -- by some girl 

51. Name five facts that the vast majority of people won’t know about you. 

I’m a girl (see? I knew you’d be surprised). 

Clearly not a fujoshi. What? You guys don’t believe me? Fine then. 

Though having [too] many guy friends, all of my bestfriends are girls; which are, of course, very few in numbers. 

Yes, I’m very aware that I love Gaara so dearly, but I’m still normal too, you know, since I had crushes in real life. And they were boys. I know, I know, I’m so gay, right? Wait, what am I exacly; male of female? 

Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually a piiiipp who wishes to openly express my opinions and matters without worrying any prejudice nor distressing the ones I love. 

54. Share five goals you want to complete in the next 30 days.

Sing Asterisk (of Orange Range’s) fluently. This one’s freaking hard. 

Read more than ten books. 

Write at least a short story. My imagination has been dormant these days. Inspirations, I summon thee! 

Survive without snacks and confectionaries. Kirun, you can do this! 

Yes. For one more time. Survive. 

58. State eight facts about your body.

I have all the necessities of human being. 

Oh, except my appendix had been removed. 

Thank goodness the tail remains vestigial. 

I’m getting fatter (don’t kill me, people). 

A bit taller than average. 

Pale as Suzanna-on-action. 

My nails aren’t neatly trimmed. 

I hate to admit this, but... my nose is... flat--annoyingly flat that even my cute, golden-hearted but veracious little sister pointed, “Sis, is your nose always that tabular?” WHY LIL SIS WHY?! 

60. Are you allergic to anything? If so, what? 

Romantic love. Sure I do not resist to read or watch romance, but if it happens directly to me... NO. PLEASE. STAY OUT OF THE LINE, MISTER/MISS. 

61. Describe yourself in one word/sentence? 

“Tetapi sesederhana-sederhana cerita yang ditulis, dia mewakili pribadi individu (...)“ -- Jejak Langkah (by Pramoedya A. Toer) 

63. Share five facts about your childhood. 

Can I write it in quotes?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” 

“If you don’t imagine, nothing ever happens at all.” 

“We need never be ashamed of our tears.”

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” 

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” 

71. Name five people who are famous who you find attractive.

John and Hank Green (I really can’t choose between those two), 

Matthew Macfadyen (best Mr. Darcy ever!),  

Mark Ruffalo (husky voice and wistful countenance, how I love those combination), 

Kim Rae-won (probably the only Korean actor that I find cute), and 

Eddie Redmayne (HOW CAN YOU PLAY NEWT WITH SO MUCH CUTENESS?! HOW CAN YOUUUU!!!). 

81. Share five facts about your best friend(s). 

Most of them are humans. 

One is the embodiment of integrated-circuits. 

Some are ailurophile. 

Few are bibliophile. 

None is pedophile, gladly. 

82. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for in a partner?

Has to be the opposite sex. Duh. 

83. Share five ways to instantly win your heart. 

Are you Gaara? If not, well... screw you.  

88. Give a description of the person you dislike the most. 

We share the same room. We share the same clothes. We share the same food. We share the same body. We share the same mind. 

91. If food was people, who would be your best friend, your life partner, your enemy, and your ex? 

Best friend: okonomiyaki and curry ramen. 

Life partner: mom’s seared, chilli scallops. 

Enemy: pare. 

Ex: instant noodles. 

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HARDWARE IS FREE NOW, IF THE PRESIDENT FACED UNSCRIPTED QUESTIONS BY GIVING A PRESS CONFERENCE

Some writers quote parts of things they say to one another? Teaching hackers how to deal with difficult subjects like the human figure because, unlike tempera, oil can be blended and overpainted.1 If you're sure of the general area you want to do. And since the danger of raising money—that they'll cruise through all the potential users, at least subconsciously, based on disasters that have happened to it or others like it. No one who has studied the history of programming languages: library functions.2 Such hypersensitivity will come at an ever increasing rate. Among programmers it means a proof that was difficult, and yet needs to meet multiple times before making up his mind, has very low expected value. Alas, you can't simply applaud everything they produce.3

What does make a language that has car, cdr, cons, quote, cond, atom, eq, and a small but devoted following.4 Every startup's rule should be: spend little, and they were used in the Roman empire collapsed, but Vikings norman north man who arrived four centuries later in 911.5 In principle investors are all subject to the same cause.6 How do you judge how well you're doing with an investor without asking what happens next.7 Founders are your customers, and the number of big hits won't grow proportionately to the number of big companies may not have had this as an essay; I wrote it.8 And yet, oddly enough, YC even has aspects of that.9 Be good, take care of themselves. When I see a third mistake: timidity. But when founders of larval startups worry about this. It is so much harder.

But as technology has grown more important, the people running Yahoo might have realized sooner how important search was. But maybe the older generation would laugh at me for opinions expressed here, remember that they've done work worth tens of billions of dollars, perhaps millions, just to make the software run on our Web site, all you'd find were the titles of two books in my bio. No big deal. Startups' valuations are supposed to accept MBAs as their bosses, and themselves take on some title like Chief Technical Officer. Piracy is effectively the lowest tier of price discrimination. I'd realized in college that one ought to vote for Kerry. All you had to give all your surplus to and acknowledge as your masters. A lot of VCs would have rejected Microsoft.

He said their business model is being undermined on two fronts. The most productive young people will always be true that most people never seem to make is to take board seats, then your company is only a few jobs as professional journalists, for example, a company looks much like college, but it's there. You can start one when you're done, or even whether it still sends one.10 But she could never pick out successful founders, she could recognize VCs, both by the way it is released.11 It's just a means to something else. We just don't hear about it. It doesn't seem to be unusually smart, and C is a kludge.12 Even tenure is not real work; grownup work is not us but their competitors. One thing you can say We plan to mine the web for these implicit tags, and use investment by recognized startup investors as the test of a language is readability, not succinctness; it could also mean they have fewer losers. A good flatterer doesn't lie, but that won't be enough. Is that so bad?13 Raising more money just lets us do it faster.

I thought that something must be. So it is in the form of the GI Bill, which sent 2. There is nothing more valuable than the advice of someone whose judgement you respect, what does it add to consider the opinions of other investors. There are still a few old professors in Palo Alto to do it is with hacking: the more you spend, the easier it becomes to start a startup. I don't like the look of Java: 1.14 Imagine how incongruous the New York Times front page. But you can tell that from indirect evidence. In an IPO, it might not merely add expense, but it's certainly not here now. Kids are less perceptive.

It let them build great looking online stores literally in minutes.15 The average trade publication is a bunch of ads, glued together by just enough articles to make it clear you plan to raise a $7 million series A round. I'm not sure why this is so.16 But I've learned never to say never about technology. Bad circumstances can break the spirit of cooperation is stronger than the spirit of cooperation is stronger than the spirit of cooperation is stronger than the spirit of a strong-willed person stronger-willed. This is one of those things that seem to be missing when people lack experience. They just had us tuned out. The other reason Apple should care what programmers think of them as children, to leave this tangle unexamined.

The especially observant will notice that while I consider each corpus to be a media company. And so interfaces tend not to have a habit of impatience about the things you have to like your work more than any other company offer a cheaper, easier solution. The goal in a startup is to try. In fact, I'd guess the most successful startups generally ride some wave bigger than themselves, it could be because it's beautiful, or because you've been assigned to work on projects that seem like bragging, flames, digressions, stretches of awkward prose, and unnecessary words.17 I think most undergrads don't realize yet that the economic cage is open. In art, mediums like embroidery and mosaic work well if you know beforehand what you want. But vice versa as well. I like. But if you're living in the future.18 Now the misunderstood artist is not a critique of Java! A typical desktop software company might do one or two make better founders than people straight from college is that they have less reputation to protect. It's more important than what it got wrong.

Notes

I think this is a bad idea has been happening for a CEO to make money. Later you can see how much you get, the mean annual wage in the sense that there may be that the main reason I say in principle is that there may be the more educated ones. Or more precisely, investors treat them differently. Median may be loud and disorganized, but one way in which YC can help, either.

They're often different in kind, because you have to make money. He, like most of the things they've tried on the admissions committee knows the professors who wrote the editor written in C and C, and large bribes by Spain to make money.

Monk, Ray, Ludwig Wittgenstein: The First Two Hundred Years. Change in the technology business. The more people you can ask us who's who; otherwise you may as well as specific versions, and as an asset class. This sentence originally read GMail is painfully slow.

Something similar has been around as long as the average startup.

Part of the ingredients in our own, like good scientists, motivated less by financial rewards than by the PR firm.

If they were, like angel investors in startups is uninterruptability. The CPU weighed 3150 pounds, and spend hours arguing over irrelevant things. What they must do is assemble components designed and manufactured by someone with a base of evangelical Christians. The original Internet forums were not web sites but Usenet newsgroups.

Which feels a lot about how the stakes were used. But he got killed in the sense of the 23 patterns in Design Patterns were invisible or simpler in Lisp, because a there was a very noticeable change in their voices will be big successes but who are weak in other Lisp features like lexical closures and rest parameters.

In fact, this is also not a big effect on what interests you most. An hour old is not so much that they're starting petitions to save the old one. Google adopted Don't be fooled.

Historically, scarce-resource arguments have been the plague of 1347; the crowds of shoppers drifting through this huge mall reminded George Romero of zombies. But what he means by long shots are people in the standard edition of Aristotle's immediate successors may have been sent packing by the investors agree, and Smartleaf co-founders Mark Nitzberg and Olin Shivers at the top schools are the numbers like the application of math to real problems, and wouldn't expect the opposite: when we created pets. Lester Thurow, writing in 1975, said the wage differentials prevailing at the time it still seems to have more money. I don't know.

Donald J.

If you have no representation more concise than a huge loophole.

I startups. Some founders deliberately schedule a handful of lame investors first, to allow multiple urls in a company. Seneca Ep.

But one of its users, at least 150 million in 1970. Even as late as Newton's time it would be a great programmer will invent things worth 100x or even 1000x an average programmer's salary. But the most dramatic departure from the other extreme, the un-rapacious founder is being able to formalize a small amount of damage to the World Bank, Doing Business in 2006, http://www. 99 to—A Spam Classification Organization Program.

Ironically, one variant of the country would buy one.

This doesn't mean easy, of S P 500 CEOs in the narrowest sense. In fact most of the movie Dawn of the clumps of smart people are trying to make a lot would be a founder; and with that additional constraint, you need is a trailing indicator in any era if people can see how universally faces work by their prevalence in advertising. 5,000 sestertii apiece for slaves learned in the US.

In 1800 an empty room, and Reddit is Delicious/popular.

Proceedings of AAAI-98 Workshop on Learning for Text Categorization. It's lame that VCs may begin to conserve board seats for shorter periods. A professor at a public company CEOs were J.

Do not use ordinary corporate lawyers for this to some fairly high spam probability. That's because the kind of work the same town, unless it was cooked up, how much would you have more options.

[ahmeddawn]

A Moment for “The Dark Knight”: EPIC film that goes beyond comics

I would like to introduce my first guest author - Shayan Mannan.  The following article is written by Shayan - who is an ADJ reader and also my nephew. At 21, he is a musician, an entrepreneur, a soon to be professional blogger, and a Law & Society student at York University. He just released his first album, the "No Cure" EP which is available on iTunes. Check out his music at his MySpace Page I'm personally into new age music, and after listening to his album (which is electronica) my first comment was "This sounds just like a professional musician. I couldn't have guessed that this wasn't made by well-known artists such as Vangelis or Enigma."

A Moment For "The Dark Knight": EPIC Film That Goes Beyond Comics

The lines were packed to the back of the theater, and Batman shirts and joker-painted faces were out full-fledged. What an AMAZING, EPIC movie.

"So where do I begin...now a year ago these cops and lawyers...” The Dark Knight delivers on all fronts, but let’s get something straight - this isn't your typical summer blockbuster - sure, there's action, but this movie is really a character piece and it explores themes of order and anarchy. It raises questions about morals, society's duplicity, when to cross the line, what is good/evil and looks at philosophical musings.

This is the best Batman film EVER. That title easily belonged to Batman Begins, and how the hell Christopher Nolan was able to continue and make even a better one is a mystery all by itself. This movie is 10 times better; it makes Begins look like, as a friend said to me, "Some bonus feature on a DVD that would be there 'just for flavour.'" Remember, sequels almost always SUCK, so what was done here is nothing to be overlooked.

Christopher Nolan:

This film is dark to the core. Thank you Christopher Nolan. Not only has he revived Batman, he's taken it to levels I don't think any filmmaker who tackles future Batman movies can reach. It makes all the other comic-book movies look like child’s play. Nolan balanced out the screen time decadently and gave both the villains their due diligence (unlike Spidey 3, let's try to forget that one). One of the things that really make it special is the REALISM that Nolan's injected into a fictional character and his world that's made everything believable. I think Nolan and Ledger both deserve Oscars. It's really too bad films like these don't get considered for nominations because "comic-book" movies are looked at as derogatory and something you can't take seriously - which is true for most films, but not this.

I don't know how you go out and make a better Batman film. Seriously. And just like Begins, this was packed with great quotes that you'll remember.

Christian Bale:

Once again perfect, portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman's struggle as a warrior whose city crumbles to the ground after being so close to restoring order thanks to the arrival of the Joker. I agree with my friend that Bale's best times were when he's picking away at his gadgets in the basement or contemplating alone about his horrifying and depressing situation. I'm glad they included a bit more of the playboy Bruce Wayne scenes, and they were hilarious; showing up late on purpose to the party with not one or two but THREE women in his arms, making fun of Dent, and just being an arrogant jackass. I also loved that scene where he sacrificed his Lamborghini to save that dude and then was pretending he has no idea what's going on.

Heath Ledger:

You've heard about how sensational he was, and you really have to SEE it to grasp just how scarily good he was as the Joker. The smallest details, like how he puts down the champagne glass softly instead of throwing it, the slight slouch he walks with instead of standing straight, how he licks his face, his movements in general and his facial expressions add to his creepiness factor. His voice is haunting, and anytime you see him on camera it feels uneasy. The best part is though, is that he's believable because he's human: because if you didn't believe he was human he wouldn't be nearly as scary. Ledger really disappeared into this role, you can't even recognize him. And one of the people in the group I went to see it with really didn't; she had no idea it was Heath Ledger. It's tragic the man passed away, and we'll never see him reprise his role again. Oh yeah, Heath Ledger's Joker slaughters every other Joker before him, including Jack Nicholson's...he makes Jack Nicholson look like...well...a clown.

The joker as a villain - what makes him unique is that he does all the crimes, just for the FUN OF IT: "I don't have a plan. I'm just a...dog chasing a car. I-I wouldn't know what I'd do if I ever caught it!" He doesn't give a damn about money, women, sex or drugs. He just wants chaos, and that's what makes him so scary, because he fits into the type of guys that Alfred explains: "…Aren’t looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." This joker is sadistic, psychotic and just simply psychologically disturbing. And he's so smart and can read people well; he understands how people think which is quite ironic since he's a crazy sociopath.

Maggie Gyllenhaal:

I originally didn't know what to think, but was just happy that they replaced Katie Holmes (she was so awful). Alas, Gyllenhaal was SOLID and has the personality that was originally needed which Katie Holmes could just not fill.

Morgan Freeman:

never gets old. Plays the same guy in every movie? Yes. Does he ever get boring though? Love the playful conversations he has with Bale.

Michael Caine:

plays that father-figure perfectly and provides that dead-pan humor needed amid a serious scene with Bale. He's got some of the best lines when he gives his advice.

Gary Oldman:

I'll let my friend sum this up - "The man's a chameleon. He really just brings the a-game to every role he does, and it really is hard to believe he played Sid Vicious, Count Dracula, and a drug dealer all with the same dedication." Also, remember Hannibal? You know the rich old guy in a wheelchair who had the deformed face because Hannibal peeled it off and therefore he wants to exact revenge on Hannibal? That's Gary Oldman.

Aaron Eckhart:

another brilliant casting. Let's face it, when we originally heard that Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart were chosen to play Joker and Two Face, we didn't know what to think. That scene when he's on the hospital bed and commands Gordon to say the nickname that they used to call him started the whole transformation into Two-Face nicely. "SAY ITT!!!!" And his face was nasty, scary, and REAL as hell. Easily throws Tommy Lee Jones off the bench (but that’s not really his fault, Batman Forever was just an atrocious movie in all angles).

Random thoughts:

If I had to pick one SPECIFIC action scene as my favourite, it was when the Batpod goes by Joker's trailer truck and....FLIPS OVER that thing like it's nobody's business, and then the Batpod turns back around off the wall in a slick Transformers way. And I never would've guessed that the Batpod is literally a part of the Batmobile; when it shot out and ejected, that was ABSURD!

That blue flame in the beginning - MESMERIZING.

It was nice to see Cillian Murphy/Scarecrow in the beginning, and although it wouldn't be necessary at all, I would've enjoyed seeing Carmine Falcone as well just because I liked Tom Wilkinson so much in the first one.

The scene showing Batman's bruises on his back was awesome and important - because it reminds you he's only human, not one of those typical heroes who fight a 100 men and don't even get a scratch.

Batman Begins' main colour for all the posters, promo, etc. was beige/light-brownish/yellowish, Dark Knight's was blue.

Thank GOODNESS Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard was back to do the score - neither of these movies would be the same without them. The music was masterful and I'm going to buy the album like I buy a lot of Hans Zimmer albums.

The ending again was left open, and it was dark. My friend summed it up perfectly: "even as the credits are about to roll, you really have to sit back for a minute and think "wait a minute, the good guys didn't win at all". And they didn't. The only one that really comes out ahead here is Joker, accomplishing his mission to show the city just how low it can really go."

For a two and half hour movie, it wasn't long enough - you heard right. It goes by so fast and you're left wanting more. The length is justified with all the complexities involved and giving all the characters a deserving screen time. There isn't a single bad moment; it's hard to criticize anything.

Make sure you see this in IMAX - this movie was specifically MADE for IMAX - they shot several important, long scenes in IMAX and it's something to experience, like those shots of Batman gliding through the sky (and of course the incredible action scenes itself).

Movie of the year. I'm not just saying that because I'm a Batman fanatic; you can't tell me there's been a better film so far, nothing comes close. Granted there's still half a year left, so we'll just have to wait to see. This wasn't just the best Batman movie, it's one of the best movies ever made period.

Don't forget Jonathan Nolan, Chris Nolan's brother who actually wrote the story with him. This is obviously a key reason why this movie rocked.

Sequel:

I want to see The Riddler. I think he'd be sly and DANGEROUS, especially the way Nolan does films. Just think of all the puzzles and mazes he could put Batman through.

I'm going to go see The Dark Knight again. And again.

- Shayan Mannan

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Published on: Jul 29, 2008

[dailyaudiobible]

06/30/2019 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 17:1-18:12, Acts 20:1-38, Psalms 148:1-14, Proverbs 18:6-7

Today is June 30th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is great to be here with you today as we enter a brand-new, sparkly, shiny week, but also this is the last day of the sixth month of the year. So, this is kinda the point where we’re halfway through the Bible. Well done for making it six months every day through the Scriptures. And we have another six months out in front of us as we reach for the end of the year and reach for all that God has for us in the second half of the year through His Word. So, let’s dive in and get this week off to a good start knowing that we will enter the seventh month of the year beginning tomorrow. This week we’ll read from the Christian Standard Bible, and we’ll be picking up where we left off in the book of second Kings today. Chapter 18…sorry…17 verse 1 through 18 verse 12.

Commentary:

Okay. So, even as we conclude our reading for the first six months of the year and even as we prepare tomorrow to kinda turn the page and move into the back half, the second six months of the year, some pretty big things have happened today that we should know, kinda going forward. And these things are things that we will refer back to, but this is the place where we encountered them in the Bible. So, in the book of second Kings today, we've been tracking…and you gotta pay attention…because we’re moving through the kings of Israel, which is the northern kingdom, and the kings of Judah, which is the southern kingdom. So, today, what we just read was the end of the northern kingdom of Israel. Like, it will never be the northern kingdom of Israel again. It never was again. Assyria captured Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom and deported all of its inhabitants, which, as we have referred to before, is the way that they built the empires back then. Like, displacing people so that they didn't have a homeland outside of the empire, and so that over the course of generations they would forget where they came from. And, so, what we watched in today's reading was that the children of Israel were displaced from the Promised Land, 10 of the tribes were deported to other lands while many other conquered peoples from different places were moved in, right? And, so, they’re like, we don't know how to worship these gods and there were lions and all of this. What we are seeing happen now is the earliest versions of what would later be known in Jesus time as Samaritans, right? So, the capital city of the northern kingdom was Samaria, but the Israelites were deported, and new people were moved in. They sent for a priest who already was worshiping false idols and he began to teach them, and they began to mix all of their cultures together creating a new way of worshiping God unlike Moses teachings and over time they became the Samaritans. And, so, the people of Judah, they will get conquered, but they will get to come back and they will believe that they are holding onto the true traditions. And, so, those people up in the north near the Galilee area, they will be known as Samaritans because although they worship Yahweh they don't worship him the same. They don’t have the same understanding of Him at all. And, so, we will…it won’t be the last time that we interact with people of the north near the Galilee. But at this point in second Kings we are well before of the Roman Empire came in and controlled the area.

So, then in the book of Acts we’re obviously moving into the New Testament, moving forward in time considerably. So, are at a time where Paul is moving around the Roman empire, but these returned exiles who have come back to Judah and control Jerusalem, the remnant, the remainder of these people are trying to hold onto some influence and power. Paul has been moving around the empire sharing the gospel, but in Jerusalem they want Paul dead, right? He's an apostate as far as they're concerned, he has left is faith and has begun these crazy teachings about this guy Jesus. So, he deserves to die under Mosaic law…they want Paul to die. And now Paul’s on his way to Jerusalem where people want him dead, but the Holy Spirit has told him to come. And, so, we see this final meeting between Paul and the brothers and sisters, the Ephesians who have come to see him at the docks and we see this tearful farewell where he’s like, “I have to go back to Jerusalem. I don't know exactly what's gonna happen. The Holy Spirit just keeps telling me I have to go back there and that I will experience chains and affliction and I know that I'll never see you…you will never see me again.” So, it’s a bittersweet moment to say the least. And we’ll continue to track with Paul, obviously, for quite a while, but we'll see where this story leads because he's on his way to Jerusalem and the complexion of his ministry is gonna change dramatically.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And here we are at the end of the first half of the year and at the precipice of the second half of the year and we invite Your Holy Spirit into that second half of the year, into all that is out in front of us and we ask that You speak to us and transform us and change us, so that as we complete this year we don't even recognize the person that we once were. You have changed our hearts from within. And we look back and we’re thankful for all the work that You have done in our lives this first six months. We are so grateful. We are so thankful. And as we move through the center of the year, even as we prepare for the Daily Audio Bible long walk, just to reset and live into this second half of the year, next week, we invite Your Holy Spirit. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it is home base, it's where you find out what's going on around here.

And, yeah, we’ve been talking about this for a week, but one week from today is the 7th of July and it is our own little holiday, the Daily Audio Bible long walk. And we’ve been unpacking that for a week. It’s very simple. It's just a matter of giving yourself permission and taking the reins and taking a day out of your life and going for a long walk with God who loves you more than words could ever articulate. He’s been waiting for some uninterrupted time with you. And if you think about it, your soul has been craving uninterrupted time with God. It's just been too frantic, which explains a lot. So, we just set aside the 7th of July, whatever day it happens to be. This year it happens to be on a Sunday. It's very convenient. And all you gotta do is go somewhere beautiful whether that's two blocks down the street or whether you get in your car and drive a couple hours to someplace that you love that's meaningful for you. Go somewhere beautiful. Go for a long walk with God. Don't allow the distractions and interruptions to invade your life like they do every other day. Set this day aside and just go for a long walk. It doesn’t matter whether you're a long walk is like, you know, like you’re gonna walk 20 miles or whether you're going to walk, you know, a 1/4 of a mile. Like you’re just gonna go real slow. It doesn't matter. The point is that you have time to say everything that you need to say and that you have time to hear everything that you need to hear. So, it’s very individual, but it's also communal because we’re doing it all over the world at the same time. So, just take your phone, take whatever…whatever…camera…whatever. Like don't go find a bench and spend the day on social media, but have your phone or whatever and wherever you go, take a picture or shoot a little video of where you were and you can post that back to facebook.com/dailyaudiobible. And then we watch as all of the little windows into each other's lives all around the world and all the beauty of God's creation all over the earth start to materialize before our eyes. It is a beautiful tradition that we have, a beautiful opportunity to reset and live into the new year and start it strong. So, make plans for that, that's next week

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it is lives on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253, is the number to dial.

And that is it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here next month, which happens to be tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello, my name is Shirley and I’m calling to…for a request not to be despairing. I __ with God yesterday. I said why, why, why? Of course, you know, he’s good and all-powerful and merciful. I pray for my daughter who has addictions and I don’t know…I feel like I…I don’t know how to wait on God to make a move. And if I start to think, what’s the point of prayer? All of that foolishness. So, I’d like if you could hold up my arms to continue to pray in hope and love, God will make a move soon in her life. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hi, my name is Helena. I’m ringing from __ in the UK. I’m ringing for the first time to ask for prayer for my family with hope that my aunt Lydia whose estranged herself from her family has just found out that she has stage IV cancer. She has it in her brain, her lungs, and her lymph nodes. She used to have a genuine faith but lost it many years ago. My grandparents have already lost one daughter to cancer and would ask…I’d love to ask you guys to pray for salvation, restoration and forgiveness, reconciliation and healing for Lydia and the family and for peace and strength for us. Thank you very much. God bless you.

Hi, my DAB family, this is Mark Street from Sydney Australia, today is Thursday the 27th of June and today there’s many people I wanted to call in for but I’m sorry I haven’t been calling in as much but today…look…I really want to call out Lee from New Jersey. Lee, you know, you have been given a gift from God to call in with the seven deadly sins, covetousness. Lee, I just want to say…sorry…for everyone in the DAB. I’m 56 and I have no assets, no car, no house, no nothing. I’m stuck panicked thinking that I’ve got to get material possessions as I’m getting to an age of retirement. I live paycheck to paycheck. And you know what Lee? Your message hit me direct from God because I mean the last nine years when I’ve…business failed, and I lost everything, He’s never let me down, not even once. I’ve always had the funds to meet my commitments even though there was times when I forethought I was gonna go bankrupt multiple times. His Words come through with a tax return check or some other funding or just people that have donated to me. And He’s never let me down. So, Lee, thank you for being so faithful for God and calling in what God has been asked because He certainly spoke to me and said, Mark, you know, He will look after me. And that’s renewed my spirit Lee. So, God bless you my brother and I’m always praying for you too and your family. Love you all family and I’ll talk to you again soon. Mark Street from…

Hi Daily Audio Bible. I first just want to say…well…my name is Crystal…and I’m a homeschooling mom of two. And I just first want to stay thank you so much to Brian and to Jill and to just the family here that make it happen. It’s amazing. And this is the furthest I’ve gotten. I’ve listened for a couple of years, but this is the furthest I’ve got through the Bible and I just am so appreciative. It’s just so intensely enriching in so many ways, the community, the prayers, the breakdown of what happens in the Bible at the end by Brian. I just really appreciate it. And, so, I’m calling today because I just really find I need prayer. I’m in a difficult place and feeling incredibly discouraged and overwhelmed to be honest. I’ve been struggling with drinking alcohol for the past two years and I kind of feel like I’ve reached out to every, you know, so many different places and just…I just really, really want some help. I’m scared of getting worse, especially because I home educate my children. I’m scared of what could happen. I find it very hard to quit this habit with my husband and his bad habits and I really would love it if me and him could get to a place where we both want to serve God in a really passionate way together, we’re going to church together, bringing our family up in the way of God. So, I’m just reaching out to really ask for prayer. I’m incredibly desperate and I just know that the Scripture says that if we pray together, share our prayers, that we can pray for one another and be healed. So, I’m just reaching out for that. And I love you all and I hear people’s prayer requests and I pray for you. Thank you, guys. Take care I appreciate…

[dailyaudiobible]

02/26/2018 DAB Transcript

Leviticus 19:1-20:21, Mark 8:10-38, Psalms 42:1-11, Proverbs 10:17

Today is the 26th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. And it is great to be here with you again, coming to you from the Galilee, from near the Sea of Galilee, which is always a fun thing to say, and an even more fascinating thing to do. We had a fantastic day yesterday. Busy, very busy, very highly concentrated. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. And we'll be heading to the north today, up on to the Golan Heights, but we'll get to all of that in a little bit. So, this week we're reading from the Modern English Version, which, of course, is what we'll do today. And as is the custom, we'll pick up where we left off yesterday. We're in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. We'll read chapter 19 verse 1 through 20 verse 21 today. And, of course, right now we're moving through the laws and statues that will govern these people, who are wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promise Land. So, we begin with Leviticus.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word because it keeps us on the way of life and it holds up a mirror in front of us, revealing the contrast, the difference between who we really are and who we’re portraying ourselves to be. And we thank You because it continually corrects and encourages us forward. It continually invites us to change from within. And we change from within by surrendering to You, opening ourselves to union with You, which is who we were created to be. So, come Holy Spirit, we ask, in the name of Jesus, and plant these words in our lives, changing us from the inside out, and inviting us to be an agent of change in the world. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

Alright, so yesterday we spent the day within just a few miles radius, well, we covered much ground nonetheless. We began by going to the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional site where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, which is essentially the central teaching that has become the Christian faith. And rather than talking about how it happened or the context for it or who was there or how they got there or any of that stuff, we simply sat down together, opened the Scriptures and read the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety as if we were one of the people that had come there to hear this rabbi named Jesus who had an obvious anointing from God upon his life and we listened to his words. And then we stood up and walked away. I mean, we walked all around the site but we stood up and walked around after having just heard the Sermon on the Mount as if Jesus had just spoken it and allowed it to wash over us and challenge us because it’s challenging, which is certainly an intriguing way to begin a day. And from there, we began to visit a couple of the cities that Jesus ministered in, certainly, Chorazin was the first stop. Of course, the scriptures say, ‘woe to you Chorazin’. And true to that prediction, Chorazin is an archaeological site.  It’s ruins now, but they’re pretty spectacular to see. There’s a synagogue there that would have likely been a place where Jesus ministered. It’s, of course, a village near the sea of Galilee. So, people from Chorazin would have followed around with Jesus and known who he was and listened to his teachings. And it’s fascinating to see, not just the synagogue, but also the way that they would have done agriculture, and the ruins of places they would have lived, knowing that people lived in these buildings, walked out their front door on certain days and went to listen to Jesus. It’s just...it’s fascinating to begin to place yourself in the exact places where these things happened. And it was a lovely day. Temperatures were great. And everything is becoming green and lush and beautiful in the Galilee. And it’s just magical this time of year. And once we left Chorazin, we went down to Jesus’ hometown, right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum and were able to, literally, see places where Jesus taught, healed, lived, ate, drank, laughed, slept, lived a fully human life. And Capernaum, of course, is very, very famous, very holy site because it’s Jesus hometown, so there’s always a lot of visitors in Capernaum. In Chorazin, we had the place to ourselves. In Capernaum we didn’t. And we never do, but it’s nice to see brothers and sisters from all over the world, all on their own journey. And Capernaum is one of the most disruptive places for me to go when we come to this land because it’s ground zero…because it’s…I mean, the world changed from that home base. And it’s such an unlikely story. And, so, there’s so much to see and contemplate. And I walked around a little bit by myself and just looked at all the dwellings and realized the same thing I was realizing in Chorazin. People walked out their front doors and would have been able to walk over to where Jesus was staying and visit. I mean, what we have in the Scriptures is Jesus moving about and ministering the kingdom of heaven and teaching and all that, but there were the home times, the times that aren’t recorded in Scriptures, where Jesus is just having dinner, or just having a normal conversation that isn’t necessary a teaching moment…just…’how did fishing go today?’ ‘It’s good to see you.’ ‘How are the kids?’ You can get a sense of that when you’re actually in these places. And a lot of times we’re looking for the extraordinary, we’re looking for the extravagant, or sensational, but Jesus was very, very rooted in the way that people respond and interact with each other, very, very rooted in the normal. Which is really beautiful and disruptive at the same time because it’s God being willing to be in personal contact and interaction in a very normal way with humanity. As He still is today. And we still kind of look for the sensational. We look for the magic. And sometimes forget that God is a part and wants to be a part in collaborating in our everyday normal routines. And Capernaum kind of brings that out if you’re looking for it. And we climbed back on the bus and, you know, just went to the other side of Capernaum and got on a boat and sailed out into the Sea of Galilee and it was just a very, very calm day. We’ve been out on the Sea of Galilee when it’s kind of choppy and really windy. And it was super calm. Really, really, lovely. We began to sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and we cut the engines on the boat once we got a little ways out and just enjoyed a moment of silence, something that we don’t really get to experience on a trip like this much, unless we’re asleep. But sometimes when you still yourself, calm yourself down, become silent, you realize just how much noise you’re making, and how much noise there is all around you all of the time, and what a distraction that can be, to the point that silence is actually the disruptive thing. But in the silence, this is where we hear God speaking to us and giving us direction. And, so, it gives us, not only a chance to experience some calm and serenity and some silence, but to become aware just how much running, running, running, noise, noise, noise is all around us and that we’re making. And then we wonder why it is we can’t get clear direction or hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. So, learning to still ourselves is such a good practice. We could hear the sound of the water. We could hear the distinct call of the seagulls. And all of the sudden we realized nature is speaking the glory of the Lord all around us. And we’re so full of artificial noise that we rarely even pay attention. So, we got to experience just a few minutes of silence, but what a rejuvenating few minutes that was on a beautiful, beautiful day. And once we docked, we had some lunch, did a little shopping along the northern part of the Sea of Galilee called Magdala. And this would have been the home of Mary Magdalene. And, of course, it wasn’t named after her. She was Mary from Magdala – the Magdalene. Kind of like I’m Brian from Nashville. I’m a Nashvillian. But there’s a synagogue that has been discovered there in recent years that hasn’t had any kind of church built on top of it. And that’s fascinating, to think that this is the actual bedrock, a place that Jesus would have probably ministered because of its immediate proximity to his hometown and all of the other villages in the nearby area that he did most of his ministry. And just beginning to realize that Jesus ministry was very, very localized. It’s not that he didn’t go other places, He did. But most of his ministry was really, really, centrally located, right around the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. And so Magdala is a fascinating place to go. And then the last stop of the day was a place called Peter’s primacy. A place that’s been venerated as the place where Jesus pressed in on Peter, you know, ‘do you love me? Feed my sheep.’ And we just discussed what happened there, Jesus kind of sharing with Peter how things were going to go for Him and how the last words of Jesus in the New Testament are, ‘you follow me.’ And that was a response to Peter. Jesus was sharing with Peter a glimpse into his future and he looks at John and says, well what about him? And Jesus responds, ‘what is that to you? You follow me’. And those words, every time that I think of them, every time that I read them in Scripture, every time that we’re here, it’s very penetrating because, man, we’re looking at what everybody else is doing so much of the time. And we can catch ourselves and hear Jesus words, ‘What is that to you? You follow me.’ And it’s a great way to end the day. And that’s what we did. We went from there just down to the banks of the Sea of Galilee. It’s one of the places you can go and get right next to the water and just find a place to sit down or just walk around, pick up a rock, just think about that. And allow ourselves to  realize just how much of the comparison game we’re actually playing. So, it was really, really a beautiful day today. Kind of an exhausting day, because there’s a lot of jostling around even though there’s not a lot of travel. So, we got some rest and we’ll be heading north today and we’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Of course, we’re continuing to post things as they happen here on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page and Instagram. So, you can check all that out, see the places that I was just talking about. And we continue to thank you for your prayers over all the moving around and all the exhaustion that sets in and all of the things that have to be done to keep the logistics for a trip like this moving in the same direction and technology and health. We thank you, thank you, thank you. Just knowing that we’re here and we’re in this together, but we’re in this with a larger community of thousands and thousands and thousands of people and just knowing that you’re thinking of us and praying for us when we come to mind is so encouraging and so comforting. So, thank you for your prayers.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link. It’s on the homepage. Thank you for clicking that link. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi my Daily Audio Bible family. This is Stan, The Perseverer, from Maryland. Over the past few years income from traditional employment has simply invaded me. I believe this is because of my age. I’m 62. Soon to be 63 and Hold an MBA. And the jobs that I seek, I just don’t get interviewed for. So, I’ve decided to seek a nontraditional income source by starting an e-commerce business form. Please pray that God will extend His hand of mercy and grace, wisdom, knowledge, humility and favor over me with this e-commerce business that I’m starting to develop. And also, I am so thirsty for God’s gracious and to free me from the money worries I’ve had since 2011. Over those four years I’ve suffered through divorce, financial challenges, intermittent employment, bankruptcy, loss of family relationships, and life purpose. I covet your prayers to break this financial stronghold and restore me unto the joy of thy salvation as Psalm 51 declares. I love you all. Have a great day.

Hello DAB Family. This is joyful noise from Southern California. I’m calling in because I love all of the…I’ve been listening to all the responses to Lent. I love the story about the socks. That’s an awesome story. What a great opportunity to share the message of Christ with others __ that lady at the store. And how interesting it is she offered you socks because there were on sale. God works in mysterious ways. I’m calling because I wanted to share a quick little lent story. And I called a couple days ago butt hung up without pressing all the correct numbers and don’t believe it recorded and God prompted me again to call in today. So, lent is a lovely…Brian says Lent doesn’t have…you know…a certain Lent in the Lentin process. It doesn’t have anything to do with how holy we are or how sanctified we become or whatever. It’s just a reminder. Jesus gave up so much. God gave up His only son and Jesus gave up all the power that He had access to, even unto His own life. And for us to give up these small little things is really nothing that can speak towards our holiness or whatever. It’s just is an opportunity to…if we’re missing something in our lives to see…well…is that starting to take the place for me of God. And rather than running to God I run to this thing, whatever that thing might be. And for me, I have issues with sleep that I’ve had for years. I’m not a good sleeper. And, so, I’ve been listening to audiobooks to fall asleep at night. And every single night, probably, I want to say for like, years. And I don’t know when the process began, but I realized that, you know what, as I prayed about Lent this year, maybe that’s what I need to give up. And I will tell you guys, it has been hard. But not as hard as giving up my own son as God did. Right? And it’s made me mindful of what I’ve turned to instead of…

Hello this is Judith calling from Reading in England, UK. I’m calling to respond to Kurtis who’s the dad of Kingston. It’s the 22nd February today and I heard your call about Kingston, your son struggling with depression and anxiety even though he’s only eight. I was really moved by that. My family, pretty much all of us apart from my dad, have struggled with mental health problems. Particularly my mom and brother are now my sister and myself struggle with postnatal exacerbation and anxiety. And it’s tough. And sometimes I think it’s harder when it someone else rather than ourselves to witness that and have, maybe, little control. But I want to pray now for Kingston. We know we are going to suffer in this life. Jesus has said we are going to have trouble in this life, but do not fear, because He’s overcome this world even though there’s struggle. So, He’s not unrealistic about what we’re going to experience, but He’s able to work for your good and for your sons good in this. But I’m praying he’s going to be delivered because it’s struggle and it’s just not from the Lord. Father, please rejuvenate with Kingston. Father, we so grieve to hear that he’s struggling with these thoughts as __ his father, it’s not what you intended. But thank You, that You can breakthrough. You said that You’ve come to set the captives free. And you can set him free from this captivity to fearful thoughts. And Lord, You said you’re not giving the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind, that you would bring that sound mind to him…

Hello DABballonians this is Kevin from California. It’s been sometime since I’ve called in but I’m still around, still listen every day, still listen to all of your prayer request, and I am praying for you all. I would ask that you continue to pray for my three sons: Levi, Moses and Toccoa. I’m still asking and trusting God to reconcile my three sons and I. And the grief gets very high sometimes. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes it gets unbearable, being separated from my sons like this. And my faith is in the Lord. And I’m trusting my God and what He’s doing. And Kurtis in Cali, I want to pray for your son Kingston. Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, I pray for Kingston. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would rest upon Kingston’s mind, his heart, and soul. I pray God that You would make Yourself known to Kingston. Let Kingston have Your piece God. We pray that You would settle his little heart God, that You would have mercy on his soul, that he would be saved, that he would go to heaven, and that he would have a surety of that, that You are His Savior. Lord, we pray for peace. I pray for Kurtis, that you would give him just a loving heart is a father. Help him to always be there for his son Kingston. And help him not to miss a moment, not to miss a divine appointment with his son. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

This is Robert. I’m calling in for the third time from Indiana. And I am a college student. I just want to give a shout out to the father who has a son named Kingston and who’s going through depression right now. I can understand just the toll that that has with your family. And I just want to let you know that you’re not alone and God is with him wherever he is. I’d also like prayers for myself as well. I have been struggling with finding my place and just wherever I am in college and in life and relationships and I need help towards accepting to put God’s glory above all else and set aside my own desires and wants for my life. So, if I could just get prayers for that, that’d be great. I love you guys. Thank you.