Video of the Week 3/28

Like Sands Through the Hourglass

As I write this, the countdown to Disneyland is 3 days, 9 hours, 45 minutes, 52... 51... 50... etc. seconds.

I have been to Disneyland once in my life and then not even for a full day. My one and only visit to Disney World was similar (less than a full day).

I have anxiety.

I am really, REALLY looking forward to the trip. Last night I read (from cover to cover) The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2007. It had the unnerving effect of instilling a cool confidence with underlying foreboding.

While dreams of visiting the Disney Parks are tantamount to nirvana for a 3-year-old and dear enough to melt the heart of any parent, the reality of actually taking that 3-year-old is usually a lot closer to the "agony" than the "ecstasy".

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2007

A friend of mine (and frequent visitor t0 Disneyland) put it like this, "For some Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, for others... the most miserable depending on their attitude".

With that knowledge we venture off on the adventure of a lifetime in 3 days, 9 hours, 35 minutes, 21... 20... 19...

Quote of the Week 3/25

"Human things must be known to be loved: but Divine things must be loved to be known."

-Blaise Pascal

Uzbekistan cracksdown on Christians

Uzbek state television is insulting Christian minorities and provoking general disrespect in their regard. Meanwhile the government has “concocted” a survey on religious freedom to tell the world that the country is tolerant towards all religions, according to the news agency Forum 18.

Uzbek state television broadcast a previously unscheduled programme entitled "Hypocrites" on the evenings of 30 November and 1 December, attacking Protestant churches and accusing them of plagiarism and using drugs.

The programme said: "On the pretext of financially helping people in need, they [these groups] instil their own teachings in these people's minds. Soon the targeted people become complete zombies." (full story)

Video of the Week 3/21

Quote of the Week 3/18

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

St. Francis of Assisi

Video of the Week 3/14

OMSI

30...

...days and counting

The Outsiders: 2007 Ariel Atom 2

No doors, no top: it's a formula car for two intrepid enthusiasts.

BY LARRY WEBSTER, March 2007

The Ariel Atom 2 is by far the most committed track car here. In his quest for lightness and speed, the Atom’s designer, Simon Saunders, left out the doors, the windshield, the top, and even a sheetmetal skin. It’s like a two-seat formula car, and as the smallest and lightest in this group, it was the quickest by a wide margin — it catapulted to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds and was the fastest around the racetrack by almost two seconds. (link)

I have a birthday coming up... maybe exercising an employee discount would be in order?

'Lost Tomb of Jesus' Claim Called a Stunt

Leading archaeologists in Israel and the United States yesterday denounced the purported discovery of the tomb of Jesus as a publicity stunt.

Scorn for the Discovery Channel's claim to have found the burial place of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and -- most explosively -- their possible son came not just from Christian scholars but also from Jewish and secular experts who said their judgments were unaffected by any desire to uphold Christian orthodoxy...

...Dever, a retired professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, said that some of the inscriptions on the Talpiyot ossuaries are unclear, but that all of the names are common.

"I've know about these ossuaries for many years and so have many other archaeologists, and none of us thought it was much of a story, because these are rather common Jewish names from that period," he said. "It's a publicity stunt, and it will make these guys very rich, and it will upset millions of innocent people because they don't know enough to separate fact from fiction."

From an article in the Washington Post by: Alan Cooperman. Read it in it's entirety (link)