Monthly Archives: February 2004

Fisking Film Critics

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For those who have seen The Passion:

Read this and tell me if I’m right in thinking that this guy is a putz. I sent this email to him after reading the review:

You are probably going to get people calling for your resignation because of how poorly you reviewed “The Passion”. Heck… you might even get people emailing you to convert you to Christianity (it’s pretty clear that you aren’t a believer from the utter obliviousness to the plot) and tell you of your sinfulness. I’m not going to do either. I’m simply going to say this about your feeble attempt at reviewing this film:

YOU MISSED THE POINT ENTIRELY.

I doubt you’ve actually read Matthew (or any of the other Gospels) because if you had, you would have understood that this is a re-telling of the events from which 2 billion people derive their salvation. For many of those who have seen the movie, it was convicting and powerful. For some others, it gave them an understanding of their Christian brothers and sisters. And of course, some saw the movie so they could whine about anti-Semitism. (Jesus was a Jew. If you didn’t know that, you apparently failed History at some point in high school.) You also completely missed the point of who killed Jesus. Christians believe that He died in atonement for the sin of the world. This means that the Jews, the Romans, and everyone else in the world is responsible.

I really wonder if you even attempted to understand the mindset of many of the people watching the film with you. Maybe it’s too much for me to expect an objective review of the film from a critic in the Bay Area. If nothing else, your callousness is a reminder of why I moved away 3 years ago.

Rick’s Pseudo-FridayFive

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Since there is no Friday Five this week, Rick created his own.

1. What is the top news story this week?
Probably all the gay marriage hullabaloo in San Francisco, DC, and New York

2. What are you looking forward to this weekend?
Listening to various NPR shows (which have ended up being pre-empted or lengthened because of pledge season starting). Also trying to finish this if my kleptos will leave my yarn, project, and hook alone.

3. Do you watch the Oscars? Why or why not?
Only to harass my sister-in-law with the winners (since I see everything before she does).

4. What are you looking forward to as Spring approaches?
No more snow. Planting my garden.

5. Is there anything at all to watch on daytime television?!?
Depends on if you have cable or not. 😛

Sadness (III)

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I just got home from the boy’s basketball game and there was an email from Mom in my inbox. I found out that she had Bessie put to sleep this afternoon. Keep Mom in prayer. I feel so awful because this is a cat she loved more than a child. I’m sad too; but nothing compared to Mom.

Bessie McCabe: 1987-2004

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

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50 points to anyone who can tell me the origin of the names of those days. 🙂

Flambéing Rose Petals
Jon and I forgot to order palm branches to dry and burn to make the ashes for today so we got some old roses from the florist and decided to dry the petals and burn them for ashes. I dried out the petals, but they wouldn’t light on fire. We tried everything from cooking spray to vodka and nothing would light them. We tried doing this in the middle of the kitchen (mainly to avoid that wind that “sweeps down the plains”) and all we got was smoke and ash floating around from the paper towels we burned to try to get the fire going. (We got ashes from the people with whom we dined that night so all is good for today.) Note to self: save palm branches from Palm Sunday this year! (Well… or order in time from Augsburg Fortress.) Now to weave the stems into a crown of thorns for the service tonight…

Pancakes, Clergy, and Liqueur
We were invited to a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper by two pastors in Jon’s conference (who happen to be related to some people on my blogroll) and it was absolutely lovely. Supper was fabulous and completely bad for me. I tried Bailey’s for the first time and enjoyed it — it was probably good that I had all the bacon or I would have been really inebriated. The company was lovely and it was kind of nice that people assumed that I was also a pastor. (I did feel kind of bad when I had to explain that I was in process, not quite ordained yet.) The drive home was pretty uneventful except for missing the turn from US-12 to US-59 and having to find a turnaround place in the pitch black prairie.

Ash Wednesday… Thus Far
I woke up this morning with an asthma attack and found out that my inhaler was almost expired. I got a doctor’s appointment and had to explain to the doctor that yes, my peak flow was above average for my age and height but it was low for me. (I tend to be 100 above normal. I wasn’t all that impressed with her because checking my nose, throat, and lungs was kind of an afterthought for her when it’s pretty important to check for any signs of bronchitis with someone as severely asthmatic as me.) I came home with lots of meds to treat allergies, a new rescue inhaler, a prescription for Advair (now that I have prescription insurance and only have to pay $20 for it instead of $120/month), and a new spacer for my rescue inhaler. We’ll see if it does anything. Now to de-cat the upstairs and clean the dining room for my first year Confirmation class…

Sadness (II)

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I talked to my dad this evening and Mom went to the vet today with Bessie to learn how to inject fluids under her skin to keep her hydrated. The vet was ready to put her down today but Mom couldn’t do it. They’re going to try to make Bessie as comfortable as they can and God willing, she’ll die on her own and not make Mom have to euthanize her. I don’t think Mom can make the decision to euthanize her — this cat has been her baby for the last 16 1/2 years and it’s like killing a child for her.

I really pray that when the time comes, Mom can make the decision or my dad and brother can intervene and make the decision themselves. If nothing else, euthanizing Bessie would give Mom a chance to pick when she says good-bye and it would be a relatively painless death for Bessie instead of having her linger and possibly be in pain from her kidneys malfunctioning.

Pray for my mom… she needs some pretty amazing strength right now…

The Passion of Christ

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Attention:

The Passion is not anti-semitic. It tells the story of Christ’s last 12 hours on earth… which means Jesus is going to be hauled in front of the Sanhedrin and the Jews are going to want to kill him. The Romans are going to wash their hands of it. If you don’t believe me, there are accounts of this in all 4 Gospels.

Anyone who feels it is necessary to go an perpetrate violence against Jews because of what is depicted in The Passion has probably already got the idea in their heads and knows fully well that doing it “because of X movie” is on par with the Twinkie Defense in terms of stupidity.

That is all.

Sadness (I)

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I called Mom today to ask her about something and casually asked how the vet appointment went yesterday for Bessie and Mousie, the cats they’ve had since I was 7. Mousie is doing fine. Bessie, however, has some serious kidney disease happening and Mom was waiting to hear back from the vet on how long she would survive. I could tell Mom was crying and I started getting teary. As crabby as the Bess is, she’s been Mom’s cat since we got her — almost 17 years ago. This is on par with losing a child for Mom, so I feel really bad for her. Apparently, they’re not sure if the brat has 6 months or 5 years. Depending on how the quality of life might be, Mom might be learning how to administer injections for her.

Not the news I wanted to get on a Saturday, but such is life.

On a nicer note, Edda’s doctor called to see how she was doing. I think we’re sticking with this vet.