The First Time I Felt Old...

was when I saw an advertisement for the Toy Story 10th Anniversary DVD.

Music Review: Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound (4 of 5)

It was a given that the new Switchfoot CD would be oozing with professionalism ~ the quality, the sound mixing, all the various sound effects... it's a piece of art in itself. Unfortunately, it's not really all that exciting.

The music is hard to describe. It's anything but cookie cutter or formulaic. But at the same time it doesn't mean that everything they do works, either. It's professional, creative, and cool, but nothing with the instant catchiness of "Gone" or "Meant to Live." It's the sort of interesting, elegant stuff that builds up and comes down and grows on you after awhile.

I'm not sure what all the songs are about. At first glance, it seems to be nothing more than an everything-sucks album. "I want more than my desperation... Maybe I'm the one to blame... Everyone dies... My heart is darker than these oceans... It'll be a day like this one when the world caves in... I've got a wound that doesn't heal... Everything is broken... I am the crisis..." A far cry from the hope-and-encouragement message of Beautiful Letdown.!

If you look deeper, you realize that it's not so much "the world is falling apart and I'm depressed," but more like, "the world is falling apart and I want to be somewhere else." I can infer that "somewhere else" is heaven, but Switchfoot, while recognizing problems, doesn't really offer any real solutions. I think they're falling into the crossover paradox: You don't want to be too Christian, or you'll turn people off and you can't witness to them. But if you leave out the Christianity altogether, you're not witnessing to them anyway.

Two exceptions are "Golden," which is an encouraging you-are-worth-something song (although not nearly as powerful as "Dare You To Move,") and "Easier Than Love," which just frankly says that sex has pervaded our culture and media and is unfortunately easier than love.

It's obvious that Switchfoot is talented and has money to spend on professional sound quality and mixing. It's obvious that they realize the world's full of problems. But it's not obvious that they realize that God is the solution. We can only hope for that in the next album.

Edmond the Hun

Rita Clears Bush

The events surrounding Hurricane Rita should make it clear to everyone that it is ridiculous to blame Bush for his lack of response to Hurricane Katrina. In the case of Rita, local officials did everything necessary to forewarn and evacuate citizens, even if the highway clog was a mess. All Bush had to do was sit back and watch on giant TV screens and order a few federal troops in.

Katrina taught us to beware of incoming hurricanes, watch them develop and prepare accordingly. Rita proved that we learned. It also proved that the president doesn't have to get involved.

Edmond the Hun

Luke 21:25

On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

If the Media Was Unbiased and Consistent...

Oh my goodness!! Hurricane Rita struck the Keys! Where was Bush? Why didn't he come and do something? What's wrong with him? What's wrong with his administration? Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!

Supreme Court: Dems Dodge Doozy

It's just too bad. Just when Bush had the Dems where we wanted them, he goes and switches Roberts to be the chief justice, instead of replacing O'Connor. It looks like he's a smart guy and will get confirmed, blah blah blah. Except Roberts is only moderately conservative, replacing Rehnquist, who was extremely conservative. That means that under Bush's nomination we've already lost some conservative. And there's no way Bush is going to replace moderate O'Connor with a conservative to balance things out. No, by all appearances the court is going to become even more liberal, and Bush is the president who's nominating them!

It's not right! I don't get it! What is Bush thinking? Why can't we stop the Supreme Court from voting on conservative/liberal issues so it won't matter anyway! Isn't their something in the Declaration of Independence about when the government gets bad it's the right of the people to alter or abolish it? Why can't we just add a provision for ambigous court cases to go to Congress for legislation instead of a final one-time decision by nine people?

Edmond the Hun

The World Gets Flatter...

It appears that AOL and MSN may merge. I don't know enough to start rambling about ramifications, but I do know one thing: if it happens, the world will get even flatter.

I'm referring to an excellent book called The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman, in which he outlines the ways in the last few years that the world has been getting "flatter" as technology helps everything become so related and interconnected, leveling the playing field and empowering individuals as never before.

If this AOL-MSN merge happens, the playing field will be leveled on a new... level: Instant Messenging. Currently, Instant Messenging is very non-flat. Lots of people have AIM; lots of people have MSN Messenger. But unlike e-mail, where no matter who your provider is, you can e-mail anyone else and receive e-mails from anyone else, Instant Messenging is still localized. AIM users can't IM people using MSN Messenger.

If this merge happens, they'll all be brought together. Everyone will have to have a unique screen name, but they'll probably just add a suffix of sorts, similar to e-mail.

Let the flattening continue...

Edmond the Hun

Google Wins Again

Google is smart. First they became an excellent engine for searching the entire web. Then they added a host of other options for searching specific parts of the web. I use Google to search and browse the news all the time.

I was wondering if they would add a feature that lets you search blogs as well, and now they've done it. I searched a very specific phrase from my last post and it found my blog immediately. That means that there's a greater chance more people will find this thing. Maybe.

Edmond the Hun

The President: Why Are They Pointing Fingers At You?

Once again, the media uses an event as an excuse to portray President Bush in a bad light. Why didn't he respond sooner? If he had done something quicker, thousands would have been saved!

But there are some facts the media is not emphasizing, and that I have gleaned either by reading the articles closely or from conservative radio. First, the hurricane wiped out the communications systems that emergency response people normally rely on, so it was harder for them to make things happen. Second, the mayor of New Orleans and governor of Louisiana didn't do anything to help helpless people evacuate in time, and they certainly had more resources and time than Bush did, who has 49 other states to worry about, too.

Which brings me to my own point: Perhaps the reason Bush did not take more action sooner was because he didn't realize he needed to! That may sound farfetched, but hindsight is always 20/20. Think about it.

How often does the federal government get involved in most hurricanes, anyway? People board up and hoard supplies, some people evacuate, some homes get wiped away, the Red Cross and Coast Guard take care of everything, no need for the President, right? In other words, we've never expected Bush to have buses full of water bottles ready to go whenever a hurricane hit. It wasn't needed.

OK, so it's true that Katrina was not your average hurricane, and we knew it wasn't going to be your average hurricane before it hit. But that still doesn't make it Bush's responsibility. Why didn't the mayor or governor or other local officials organize and load up the buses? No, somehow, Bush was supposed to be doing that, even though he still had all his normal presidential responsibilities to worry about as well.

For years the media has been treating Bush in a strange way. Whenever anything in this country doesn't go as it should, somehow it's Bush's fault that it went wrong. And that's really not fair.

Edmond the Hun

The President: Why Are You Letting Them Point Fingers At You?

It's been almost five years since Bush was first elected president. The media has criticized him for just about everything ~ from not being prepared for 9/11 to not winning the war in Iraq to not being prepared for Hurricane Katrina. While I don't like how the media responds, I also don't like how Bush responds to the media response: typically, with nothing.

I don't understand it. When the media criticizes Bush about something, either they're wrong or they're right. If they're right, Bush should admit it and, if possible, correct it. If they're wrong, Bush should explain to everyone why they're wrong. It's not that hard, is it? What, is he wrong and too proud to admit it? Are the explanations too complicated for people to understand? Do the explanations involve classified information? Then at least tell us the explanation is classified! At least tell us there's an explanation!

Yet Bush has responded with neither. We either have to assume that Bush has an explanation he for some reason won't tell us, or that he has no explanation and is wrong. It's got to be one or the other! And we know which one the media assumes...

This leaves the conservative radio folks to explain why the media is wrong, but obviously not enough people are listening. And then they wonder why Bush's ratings are slipping to all-time lows.

I am beginning to think of Bush as an incompetent president. Not because of what the media says about him, but because of what Bush says about what the media says about him: Nothing.

To defend yourself, Bush, you either have to admit error or explain to everyone why you're not in error. To do neither is to be incompetent.

Edmond the Hun

Surpise! Embryonic Stem Cells Aren's So Great

Remember all the hype and debate a few months ago about using embryonic stem cells to find cures for diseases? I believe I blogged something about the immorality about it.

Anyway, it turns out that these embryonic stem cells aren't as great as we once thought. They mutate after awhile and... I'll spare you the scientific stuff, but essentially, they're not that useful.

Gotta love the scientists these days. They promise that embryonic stem cells will be the cure for all diseases so they can get government funding, and then it turns out they were wrong.

Edmond the Hun

(Proof: http://www.the-scientist.com/news/20050906/01)

Supreme Court: Democrats in Deep

The analysis has only just begun regarding the impact of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's death. What does it mean for the Court? For Bush? For nominee Roberts? Well, I know what it means for the Democrats.

They're in a tough spot.

They are already risking a loss of credibility by their desire to grill Roberts with extensive questions to make sure he will uphold certain rights, which obviously simply means, make sure he believes what we believe so he'll vote the way we want him to, instead of the way Bush wants him to. Otherwise we won't vote him in. Clearly, as long as Roberts will uphold the Constituion, his opinions regarding specific things is irrelevant. It won't take the public long to recognize the Democrat's hopless scheme.

However, Rehnquist's vacancy makes things even harder for them. They threatened everything but murder if Bush tried to replace moderate O'Conner with a hardcore conservative. Now, Rehnquist was a hardcore conservative, but the Democrats will surely want to replace him a liberal or at least a moderate. Anything but a conservative! Yet if they suggest that, they will be practicing a double standard by wanting to do themselves what they would not allow Bush to do.

It will interesting to see how the Democrats will react in the days and weeks to come. If they ask Roberts too many questions, they will be exposed as only willing to accept someone who will behave the way they like. But if they don't, they won't have a reason not to vote for him. If they try to replace Rehnquist with a non-conservative, they will be exposed as holding to a double standard. But they don't want Rehnquist replaced with another conservative either.

They're stuck in what appears to be a lose-lose situation for both vacancies. Let's see what they can cook up...

Edmond the Hun

Hurricane Katrina: No Surprises Here

The news has been plastered with Hurricane Katrina lately, but I haven't found anything too surprising.

I was not surprised that there was widespread looting, even among police officers. In a society that largely ignores any religion or accompanying morals, there is nothing to prevent someone from a desire to take available goods. Even for those who have religious beliefs against stealing, if you're out of food and water...

I was not surprised that it took the government a few days to get relief flowing. Just because a hurricane hit doesn't mean that they didn't lose all their other responsibilites. Plus, the huge extent of the hurricane's damage added to the difficulty of organizing a sufficient response.

I was not surprised that the government was criticized for their slow reponse, especially President Bush. Criticizm of Bush often stems from an apparent belief that he is a king who can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Either that or a belief that buses and bottled water spring out of the ground ready for use.

I was not surprised that celebrities donated money as a publicity stunt (I mean, really, how much of a sacrifice is $250,000 for Hilary Fluff?).

I was not surprised that gas prices spiked with a decrease of supply and that they are already dropping as the supply is slowly reinstated.

It's all about cause and effect.

OK, so there was one fact that has surprised me. The rate at which money is being donated and collected is equal to and even exceeds the rate at which it was gathered for 9/11 or for the tsunami victims. I might have guessed that with higher gas prices people would have less money to give to homeless people they don't know. I would have been wrong.

Yes, selfishness and greed are healthy and alive in America. But compassion is too.

Edmond the Hun

Halo Movie, Reconsidered

Two of my friends strongly disagreed with me about my assertion that a Halo movie would flop. I started a poll on a forum that I frequent to discuss this very issue. As it stands after two days, the votes are:

4 for "Can't wait, I'll definitely see it"
3 for "Maybe, I'll wait for more info"
2 for "It won't work, I'll save my money"

Now, I realize that this is a very localized poll, consisting of a few visitors to an online Christian forum, and can in no way represent the overall enthusiasm of the nation as a whole toward this movie. But it would at least appear that a Halo movie would be more popular and better received than I initially believed.

Here are a few excerpts of posters' comments:

• "Sounds like a heckuva good movie to me. Master Chief massacring aliens sounds just as good to watch as to control."

• "Well, I think the Halo movie will do quite well. It has an immensely deep storyline, with or without the alien killing."

• "sounds kinda cool. I flip for the video game, but a movie might be a bit of a stretch... lets just see how it turns out."

I'll keep you updated on further poll results or relevant comments.

Edmond the Hun

More on the End of the World

$2.99 and counting.

It can't be much longer before people start responding. Riots, strikes, I don't know. Something's gonna happen. This wouldn't be such a big deal if OPEC didn't exist. If we could buy oil from nations individually, they would all be competing for lower prices, instead of binding together to make oil $70 a barrel.

On the other hand, gas stations in America aren't united in a union, and yet when one station jumps thirty cents, all the ones around it do too. Except Casey's gas station, which waits a few hours to get all the people.

So maybe breaking up OPEC wouldn't help much. But I still think President Bush should tell the OPEC nations that if any of them want to leave OPEC and sell oil cheaper, we'll buy from them. It's the Casey's principle. We should at least give it a try.

Edmond the Hun