Camping trip was great. I took about three short hikes. The first one was on a trail I hadn't seen before, part of the Palmetto Trails to Jocassee Gorges. It's a 12.5 mile hike, I did a small part of it, but was expecting visitors, so headed back. From what I can see, it's a good hike but not real scenic. The second hike was along the Carrick Creek. On this hike I was accompanied by my three year old grandson. We hiked for about 20 minutes, took a 10 minute break, then hiked another 10 minutes before heading back. The hike is supposed to last about an hour, but with his short stride, I'm sure we didn't go half way in 30 minutes of walking. The last hike was back along the Palmetto Trail, but he was tired so we didn't go far.
All in all the trip was great. Two nights in a tent, far from everything. I'll post more about it later.
While I was gone, GM announced bankruptcy. I haven't blogged about it, but last August I bought some shares of GM on a lark. This was back in early August, before the bottom fell out. My theory was that the government would bail them out and the stock would go up. They did get a bail-out that month and the stock ticked upward for a day or two, then the credit market fell and, well, it was a lark.
I don't mean to imply that I backed the bail-out. I think it was a bad idea. But I really didn't think the government would let them go bankrupt. Who knows what will happen now. Maybe I'll blog more about that later too.
This past weekend, an abortion doctor was shot and killed. Make no mistake, this was murder. The conservative blogs that I read agree. The doctor has been called a killer (and I agree with that), but it doesn't make his murder any less of a murder. His (alleged) killer has been arrested. He deserves a fair trial, but assuming he is found guilty (and I see no reason why not), he should probably face the death penalty. It was simple pre-meditated murder.
Showing posts with label Murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Murder. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
The Contract - Movie Review
Tonight I tried my first (and second) Netflix Instant Movie. Just add water and there you go! Well, actually, no water allowed near the laptop.
Netflix Instant movies are great. The ability to rewind/fast forward was pretty limited, but pause/resume worked very well. There's a limited number of movies available, but The Contract was one of them, so that was my first choice.
If you don't like seeing people get shot, don't watch The Contract. But if you think Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors of all time and John Cusack is OK, then you'll like this movie. Freeman is the head of a group with military training that has a job to do. They are exterminators. But not termite exterminators, they remove obstacles to progress. To put it bluntly, they kill people.
Cusack decides to take his son on a camping trip (like I wanted to do last week) and runs into Freeman and his group. How can they get out of the woods of Washington state with their lives? How does Morgan Freeman handle the contact with ordinary everyday people and getting to know them?
I thought the movie was great. Reading the Netflix reviews, seems I'm one of very few who did. It's a real good choice for a Netflix Instant movies (since they're free).
Netflix Instant movies are great. The ability to rewind/fast forward was pretty limited, but pause/resume worked very well. There's a limited number of movies available, but The Contract was one of them, so that was my first choice.
If you don't like seeing people get shot, don't watch The Contract. But if you think Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors of all time and John Cusack is OK, then you'll like this movie. Freeman is the head of a group with military training that has a job to do. They are exterminators. But not termite exterminators, they remove obstacles to progress. To put it bluntly, they kill people.
Cusack decides to take his son on a camping trip (like I wanted to do last week) and runs into Freeman and his group. How can they get out of the woods of Washington state with their lives? How does Morgan Freeman handle the contact with ordinary everyday people and getting to know them?
I thought the movie was great. Reading the Netflix reviews, seems I'm one of very few who did. It's a real good choice for a Netflix Instant movies (since they're free).
Saturday, April 26, 2008
You shall not murder
Last Sunday, our pastor spoke on the sixth commandment. Now most people will think, "well, I haven't murdered anyone lately" and immediately tune out, but he showed how this verse (Exodus 20:13) applies to each of us.
What impressed me the most was the timing. This was right after my friend Neil posted his blog on the subject "Three ways churches get it wrong". I was pretty sure how my church fit into this picture, but not 100%. I think we passed the "Neil test" (thanks Neil!).
I decided that the topic was important, and I decided to post the sermon outline here. This may bore you, but I'd encourage you to read it all. The audio of the sermon isn't up on the web yet, but it should be soon. You can click here for our church website, then click on "Listen to Recent Sermons (this was April 20,2008). It's possible that our pastor said something I didn't approve of, but I can't think what it would be. In general, I approve of everything in the sermon.
The outline of the sermon covered four parts: 1) The big idea, 2) What the commandmend does NOT say, 3) How the commandment applies to families and 4) the bottom line. My outline below is from the outline handed out and my comments during the sermon.
The big idea: The main focus of the sermon is that life and death is up to God. Job 14:5.
What the commandment does NOT say (three points):
1) This does not ban the killing of animals (Genesis 9:3). My pastor (and I) do NOT feel that this justifies Michael Vick. We also feel if you want to be vegetarian, that's fine (you're probably more healthy).
2) It does not ban capital punishment (Leviticus 24:17)
3) It does not ban going to war (Ecclesiastes 3:8)
So what does the commandment say? How does it applies to families (the focus of the current series). There were four points:
1) God stands opposed to suicide. (Job 14:5). Subpoint: suicide is the #1 killer on college campuses and #2 on high school campuses.
2) God stands opposed to euthanasia (Job 12:10)
3) God stands opposed to abortion. (Psalm 139:13-16). On this point, he said he had spoken on abortion recently (I haven't followed up to check, but have no reason to doubt him). He said that 25% of all pregnancies ended in abortion. I doubted this figure, but found this website that backs it up. He also said that 30 million abortions have been performed since it was made legal.
4) God stands opposed to contempt. (Matthew 5:21-22) Jesus made this very personal. He said "anyone who says 'You Fool' will be in danger of the fire of hell".
Ok, so now it's clear what the commandment says and what it doesn't say, what does that mean to you? Here's the bottom line (straight from the notes) God planned you and made you. He wants you to know Him (Jeremiah 24:7).
If God cares this much about you, what will your reaction to him be?
What impressed me the most was the timing. This was right after my friend Neil posted his blog on the subject "Three ways churches get it wrong". I was pretty sure how my church fit into this picture, but not 100%. I think we passed the "Neil test" (thanks Neil!).
I decided that the topic was important, and I decided to post the sermon outline here. This may bore you, but I'd encourage you to read it all. The audio of the sermon isn't up on the web yet, but it should be soon. You can click here for our church website, then click on "Listen to Recent Sermons (this was April 20,2008). It's possible that our pastor said something I didn't approve of, but I can't think what it would be. In general, I approve of everything in the sermon.
The outline of the sermon covered four parts: 1) The big idea, 2) What the commandmend does NOT say, 3) How the commandment applies to families and 4) the bottom line. My outline below is from the outline handed out and my comments during the sermon.
The big idea: The main focus of the sermon is that life and death is up to God. Job 14:5.
What the commandment does NOT say (three points):
1) This does not ban the killing of animals (Genesis 9:3). My pastor (and I) do NOT feel that this justifies Michael Vick. We also feel if you want to be vegetarian, that's fine (you're probably more healthy).
2) It does not ban capital punishment (Leviticus 24:17)
3) It does not ban going to war (Ecclesiastes 3:8)
So what does the commandment say? How does it applies to families (the focus of the current series). There were four points:
1) God stands opposed to suicide. (Job 14:5). Subpoint: suicide is the #1 killer on college campuses and #2 on high school campuses.
2) God stands opposed to euthanasia (Job 12:10)
3) God stands opposed to abortion. (Psalm 139:13-16). On this point, he said he had spoken on abortion recently (I haven't followed up to check, but have no reason to doubt him). He said that 25% of all pregnancies ended in abortion. I doubted this figure, but found this website that backs it up. He also said that 30 million abortions have been performed since it was made legal.
4) God stands opposed to contempt. (Matthew 5:21-22) Jesus made this very personal. He said "anyone who says 'You Fool' will be in danger of the fire of hell".
Ok, so now it's clear what the commandment says and what it doesn't say, what does that mean to you? Here's the bottom line (straight from the notes) God planned you and made you. He wants you to know Him (Jeremiah 24:7).
If God cares this much about you, what will your reaction to him be?
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