Why there's a felt need for New Media

On both the Left and Atlantic Left coasts of the contiguous United States, major newspapers regularly play fast and loose with facts, preferring to promote an agenda. Thus arises the need for those who may lack hordes of editors, but seem to be able to muster better journalism than the newspapers "of record" while correcting the poor journalism of the so-called "mainstream" newspapers.

Here's an almost daily example of the New York Times and LA Times taking their just lumps.

Instapundit.com -: "GREG DJEREJIAN IS correcting Maureen Dowd on Iraq. That's kind of the Bunny Slope of blogging, but he handles it with panache.

UPDATE: In a similar low-challenge vein, Rand Simberg notes dishonesty about the war at the Los Angeles Times. Easy, but as always, worthwhile."

They say imitation is the greatest flattery.

Contempt is the greatest insult.

Bunny slopes! {-0

"Merry Christmas Uncle, God Save You!"

My Kids and I started reading A Christmas Carol out loud the other night and then I came across this:

WMCA 570 & 970 DJ:

"ACLU
'Wishing You Merry Christmas'
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004"

I think I'm going to participate in this.

The two go together in my head because Scrooge's nephew is undeterred in his love of Christmas or others, even in the face of Scrooge's attempts to undermine Christmas.

So I figure whatever the ACLU may hope, I wish they and all others a Merry Christmas, now and forever.

BTW: one of the most touching scenes in the Narnia movie was the appearance of Father Christmas. Lewis, genius that he was, knew that even in a metaphor, after the long winter of a fallen world, Christmas must come before Easter. Talk about your semi-eschatological holidays.

God save you.

Reverse Viet Nam

Instapundit.com -: "In Vietnam, the brass talked happy-talk, the press talked to grunts and reported that the war was going worse than we were told. But now it's Americans who are talking to the grunts, and, as StrategyPage noted last year, getting a different picture of how the war is going:

So you don’t have to wait for the official version of what’s going on, or for reporters on the scene to get their stories to the folks back home. The troops send email, or pick up the phone, sometimes a cell phone, and call. This has caused a lot of confusion, because the media reports of what’s happening are often at odds with what the troops are reporting. This has been particularly confusing in a year where there’s a presidential election race going on. The Democrats decided to attack the way the war on terror, and particularly the actions in Iraq, was being fought. Part of that approach involved making the situation at the front sound really, really bad. But the troops over there seemed to be reporting a different war. And when troops came home, they were amazed at what they saw in the newspapers and electronic media. Politics and reality don’t mix."

A Crusade for Blood

The Cornell Daily Sun - Students Host Blood Drive: "Three organizations representing some of the world’s major religions came together yesterday for a blood drive on North Campus. Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), Kedma: Cornell’s Orthodox Jewish Voice, and the Muslim Educational and Cultural Association (MECA) cosponsored the after-Thanksgiving blood drive yesterday at Robert Purcell Community Center.

The national blood supply is especially low this time of year, and the blood drive hosted by these three organizations will contribute significantly to the supply. The drive is thought of as an opportunity for students and the community to show what they are thankful for and to serve as a reminder that while at Cornell, there are still opportunities to give."

What is in a name? A rose, named Campus Crusade, would smell as sweet.

Chicken Little's Flu Pandemic Panic

I'm not a big fan of hysteria.

Michael Fumento: "“The indication is that we will see a return of the 1918 flu virus,” warns the nation’s top health official. “The projections are that this virus will kill one million Americans . . .” A quote ripped from today’s headlines about an impending “bird flu”pandemic? No, the year was 1976 and the prediction for the “swine flu” fell 9,999,999 deaths short.
That’s something to remember as we endure the current hysteria. Another is that we’ve been here before with the same virus everybody is currently squawking about – avian influenza type H5N1 – which hit Hong Kong in 1997. Typical headline: “Race to Prevent World Epidemic of Lethal ‘Bird Flu.’” I was there too, with a piece that was anti-hysteria (and therefore grossly irresponsible).

The world death toll from that “wave?” Six.

But this time it’s for real, right? Predictions of worldwide deaths range from a U.N. official’s “5 million to 150 million” (Translation: “We’re clueless.”) to one U.S. health official’s estimate of 180-360 million, while ABC News sent feathers flying saying there’d be a billion dead..."

"Still, what if H5N1 does go pandemic in the next few years? Will it really be a repeat of the catastrophic 1918-1919 Spanish Flu that killed half a million Americans, and about 25-50 million worldwide? That’s the working assumption of U.S. and world health organizations and numerous self-appointed “experts,” who find scariness and media attention are directly correlated.

But the comparison is ludicrous; medicine has advanced a bit in 87 years.

Aside from the forthcoming H5N1 vaccines, there were no antivirals in 1918, no antibiotics, and no pneumonia vaccine that’s provides lifetime protection against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria and is available right now.

Ersatz expert and former Newsday reporter Laurie Garrett, now with the Council on Foreign Relations, claims that unlike our annual flus that usually kill indirectly by exposing the body to secondary (and treatable) bacterial infections, Spanish flu “was a direct killer” and therefore, “Had antibiotics existed, they may not have been much help.”

Wrong.

“Even in 1918 there was a window of opportunity so that if they had drugs they could have made a major difference,” one of the nation’s top virologists, Dr. Frederick G. Hayden of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville told me. “It would have been susceptible to both antibiotics and antivirals.”

Stanford University researchers have also assembled a website that quotes from the medical journals of the time. Summarizing their reports, the website declares: “It was this tendency for secondary complications that made this influenza infection so deadly.”

As I've said before, the wisdom of the Chicken Little story is that needless fear of slight risks makes one vulnerable to a lack of fear of great risks.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

This afternoon I had the distinct privilege of attending a screening of the upcoming film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

It was amazing.

Many thanks to Bob Beltz and Walden Media for making it possible to see this rare advanced screening.

If you love the story, you'll love this film.

It is a very faithful adaptation of the book. It has the advantage of being an adaptation of a very short book. Lewis' style is very compact, reminiscent of the Hebrew Bible. This helps this film to succeed where others fail.

The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter for example are so lengthy and detailed that they are difficult to credibly realize on film. Narnia is literary world rendered in brief detail. This film fills in detail and ornament creating a very satisfying result.

It is difficult for me to put myself in the mind of someone seeing the film who has not read the book and the whole Narnia series. I have to believe that it is a great film even for those with no prior knowledge of the story.

For me the entire film felt like a Rockwell painting.

Not that there's a hint of Americana in it but rather the film captures the essence of each scene of the book so well that it's difficult to improve on.

Richard Taylor who oversaw special effects for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy brings the same magic to this film. I can't say that he deserves all the credit but the same attention to detail is clearly on display.

The children's faces, are classic in every sense, capturing both the universal characteristics of children and young adulthood and the distinct particulars of each individual character:

Lucy and her wide innocent eyes and childish moon cheeks.

Edmund with the furrowed brow and scowl of immature boyhood.

Susan in the bloom of youthful beauty and noble character.

Peter's steely, determined eyes set in a still boyish face.

Each childs face is fascinating. The casting director gets an A.

Lucy actually reminded me of my youngest Kathryn and Edmund of my own son with his pug nose and freckles. And the always delightful Jim Broadbent looking like my dear Uncle Bob it watching a family reunion.

Surprise cameos(?) by Liam Neeson and Rupert Everett add lustre to the cast and Tilda Swinton is the best evil person/creature/witch/angel/being in recent memory. What's next for her, playing Maleficent?

The battle scenes are compelling and at times visually stunning, on par with a PG Lord of the Rings. The digital animals are usually amazing. The centaurs were most impressive.

I was disappointed that there was not more blood. This sounds very odd I'm sure but one of the most refreshing things about this children's story is that punishment and justice are not watered down or distorted.

In a metaphor about blood sacrifice I expected to see a hint of blood but there was none. Not even in battle. I understand that this is a children's film and I can respect the choice to sanitize the death and injury. Still I wouldn't have removed this central part of the Christian metaphor.

However, the bad guys don't fall off cliffs in this Disney movie. They get killed by good guys. Not murdered. Killed, as just punishment for their many crimes, including murder. All save one who is spared and redeemed, yet the punishment is still meted out. This moral universe, I expect, will be very jarring to many who have attended graduate school.

The film is appropriate for kids age 7 and up in my estimation. My 7 year old will get edgy or upset during some of the intense scenes but she bawls at commercials so your mileage may vary. She will cheer at the end though.

The genius and insight of Lewis is vivid throughout the film. His brief but profound metaphor of Christ brought me to tears several times in this wonderful adaptation.

It is one, almost unheard of example of a film perhaps surpassing the book that it is based on. It is a triumph. Idon't know what my expectations were but they were exceeded; an achievement that will become part of my DVD library as soon as is legally possible.


My Rating: Own it (but don't you dare miss it on the big screen)

BTW if you want to read my past reviews, type "my rating" into the search box on the top left and you'll get a list.

This guy liked it too.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire tonight.

I'm not a Potter book devotee so I'm not the best judge but my wife is and she was disappointed.

There was a lot of action at the expense of dialogue, relationship and character. Good for the eye, thin for the soul.

My wife loves the friendship between these characters in the books and she felt it was in scant supply in the film.

It must be difficult given the detailed world of Hogwarts to do justice to the original article (as opposed to Narnia which I'll post momentarily).

Still I liked it as much as the other Potter films which is fairly well. I'll bet it appeals more to men than women.

My Rating: Rentable

Plane Blogging

From last week:

I'’m in a plane right now flying back from Boston where I got a sneak preview of my new life. I'’ll post this later but right now this is about all I can manage. We traveled in coach because I couldn't afford an upgraded ticket for Alex, Nathan and myself. The guy in front of me on the plane is not shy about laying back in my lap. Never mind that I'm 6'7". I hate to admit it but I haven't been shy about shoving his torso upright when I need to.

My only option for typing right now is without looking at the screen. There's not enough room for my laptop screen between the back of the seat in front of me and my giant gut.

We spent three days in Speculator, New York for our annual NE staff conference. This is our first year in attendance and it was a great time. We got to know many of our new colleagues and co-laborers. It was a refreshing time of renewed vision for the Lord and for the world.

Partisan gut check

BREITBART.COM - Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes: "Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators."

Some might think I idolize Republicans. I don't. All politicians tend toward greed and corruption because of the power that they weild. The key issue for me regarding corruption is accountability. This Republican Congressman is being prosecuted to the full extent of the law, just like those Enron lowlifes. Kofi Annan and the rest of his UN gangsters are still enjoying the opulent fruit of their corrupt labors, free from prosecution. Profiting from the torture of a dictators evil regime? Nice work if you can get it at the UN, and even nicer if you can get away with it. Who holds the UN accountable?

I ask you, which party wants to give more power to the UN? That's just one reason why I'm a Republican.

Mother Sheehan’s Book Signing

Sweetness & Light: "Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan waits for people to show up at her book signing near President Bush’s ranch on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005 in Crawford, Texas."

Dr. Helen: Teen Went Willingly

Dr. Helen: "It does not help that we have infused kids with a lack of guilt--trying our best to raise their self-esteem to the point where the normal social sanctions against murder no longer apply to some kids. According to a study by a George Mason University professor, guilt has been found to possibly predict later behavior. Kids who were more prone to feeling guilt were less likely to try drugs and alcohol, less likely to become criminals, less likely to commit suicide and more likely to practice safe sex."

I thought "learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all".

Digital Religion

FT December 2005: Articles: "The next stop may be the digitizing of religious practice. Online confessions have been around at least since 1997, and although the Catholic Church has rejected the practice, that hasn’t closed down all the virtual confessionals. At Absolution-Online.com, for instance, you can enter the virtual booth, select your sins from five general classes of misdoing, and then proceed to the automated confessor, which doles out punishments normally consisting of some combination of fasting, Our Fathers, and Hail Marys. Although there is a disclaimer saying that the e-confessional isn’t sanctioned by the Catholic Church, most of its language is taken from the sacramental texts. Absolution-Online.com is also one of several sites that offers a virtual rosary. The website Universalis does an online version of the Liturgy of the Hours. Elsewhere there are cyber Seders and even Internet muftis.

Beliefnet’s Waldman thinks that this distancing of the self from the religious act can be helpful. “The anonymity of the Internet is what makes it work so well for religion,” he says. “It’s the flip side of why porn spreads. The same phenomenon that has led to pornography spreading, a variant of that has made religion one of the most popular topics online. It’s that you can explore religious matters in the privacy of your own home; ask questions you might be embarrassed to ask; have conversations with people with some anonymity; and do it anytime day or night.” This “anonymity combined with intimacy,” Waldman says, makes people “more inclined to open up,” since they aren’t revealing themselves totally.

To which one wants to say: Doesn’t that metaphor give you pause? Is a technique that has made pornography into the Internet’s number-one business really a good idea for religion, the Internet’s number-two business?

The failure of anonymous online pornography to be real sex is also the failure of anonymous online churching to be real religion: In both sex and religion, incarnation—the physical body—turns out to matter a great deal."

Interesting article. Read the part about the Jesus Poker Chips ("He went all in for you").

Please come to Boston...

Of to Boston tomorrow to look at houses and meet my new region for the weekend.

Blogging will be even lighter than the paltry bit I usually manage. Oh well.

I've been dying to put down some thoughts about more movies and about a "king".

That will have to wait though. I'm not feeling very well and we have to be on the bus at 6:50am tomorrow.

It's going to be cold up there!

The Church is Flat

As I often do, I've been at a conference this week and haven't had time to blog about it until now. I was observing a Leadership Network community for Multi-Site Churches.

The time is coming and now is when churches will no longer be defined by a physical space, or even a city. The technology is available to immerse churchgoers in a replica of the sights and sounds of a worship experience, whether or not that experience is actually originating in the same room. I saw it with my own eyes last week. A video reproduction of a Sunday sermon was shown on 3 massive screens at a satellite campus of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. It was so vivid and lifelike that I could pick out blemishes and veins in the pastors face from 200 feet away.

This is largely the thesis of The World is Flat which I have begun reading but have not finished. I began to imagine the possibility of students in closed countries, enjoying fellowship with other Christian students around the world, as well as gaining access to theological resources and even the experience of a church family, only without the physical reality present. Interesting stuff.

Many of my seminary mates and professors would warn of the inherent dangers in melding technology and worship and removing direct human contact from the meaning of the term "Body of Christ". Their warnings would be valid and important. Technology is always a mixed blessing. What helps a student who is cut off from the physical body of Christ because of oppression might actually harm someone who can and should have access to a physical and immediate manifestation of the people of God. Such questions need wisdom applied in each setting. Technology is neither all good, nor all bad. It changes things.

Whether we like it or not, the time is coming and now is.

Cathy's World: Jesus is just a liberal, alright with me?

Cathy's World:

" Although Regas called his sermon "If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush," he didn't imagine Jesus sitting there awkwardly on a third stool, like Ross Perot, but as a presence directly criticizing only Bush, never Kerry. (Although you'd think, just out of curiosity, Jesus might have asked what really happened on those Swift boats.)

Instead, Regas' Jesus scolds the president: "President Bush, you have not made dramatically clear what have been the human consequences of the war in Iraq," adding, "now the latest figures say 100,000 Iraqi fighters, women and children are dead." And: "Jesus turns to President Bush again with deep sadness. 'Is what I hear really true? Do you really mean that you want to end a decade-old ban on developing nuclear battlefield weapons?' "

Leaving aside the odd notion of Jesus getting information by checking "the latest figures" (wouldn't he just know?) or hanging around the water cooler ("Is what I hear really true?"), Regas' Jesus is quite a policy wonk. According to the sermon, Jesus is pro-choice, against the Iraq war and vehemently disapproves of the Bush tax cuts (that "50% of the tax savings goes to the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans" would "break Jesus' heart," according to Regas). He's in favor of good prenatal care, "dignified jobs" (does carpentry count?) and affordable housing. I'm curious what he thinks of gerrymandered voting districts, electricity regulation and making it easier to fire bad teachers, but maybe Jesus isn't really into California politics.

"How Jesus mourns the death of those 3,000 people killed on 9/11," Regas continues. "But Jesus also mourns the death, devastation and loss in Afghanistan and Iraq and Sudan and Israel-Palestine…." Then he conjures up Jesus again: "At the time of the trauma of 9/11," Jesus says, "you did not have to declare war. You could have said to the American people and the world, 'We will respond, but not in kind.' "

Just how Bush should have responded, Jesus doesn't say. But I'd like to know how Regas would have channeled Jesus' foreign policy ideas about Pearl Harbor, for instance, or the Holocaust. Presumably Jesus would have thought the latter, at least, merited some kind of action — if only to keep it from leading to what Regas calls "Israel-Palestine" instead of just Palestine.

"Mr. President," Regas' Jesus continues, "the consequences of arrogance, accompanied by certitude that the world's most powerful military can cure all ills…." And blah-blah-blah-blabbity-blah. This Jesus is awfully wordy, not at all like the terse prophet you may remember from the Bible. Regas apparently thinks Jesus would sound rather like Cindy Sheehan blathering on to the Huffington Post, or maybe like one of John Kerry's speechwriters.

And if Regas had been around when the Gospels were written, they'd probably include lines like, "Father, forgive their consequences, for their ignorance is accompanied by certitude. "

Blessed are the moderates, for they shall see both sides.

The End of Newspapers?

BREITBART.COM - Just The News: "Dark days are ahead for American newspapers, as sales tumble, a warp-speed news culture leaves lumbering dailies behind and scandals over flawed reporting taint heavyweight titles."

As Good as It Gets (1997)

This movie is a magnet.

I'm watching right now for about the 1000th time on TBS.

I can't pass it up.

This is easily one of the best movies ever made and perhaps the best screenplay of all time.

The humanity!

If you haven't seen it, I pity you. I pity the fool who hasn't seen this movie.

My rating: Own it

The Early Church

In case you missed this over the weekend.

Haarets: "A mosaic and the remains of a building uncovered recently in excavations on the Megiddo prison grounds may belong to the earliest church in the world, according to a preliminary examination by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

One of the most dramatic finds suggests that, instead of an altar, a simple table stood in the center of the church, at which a sacred meal was held to commemorate the Last Supper."

The New York Times and willful ignorance

First Death Is Reported in Paris Riots as Arson Increases - New York Times: "Though a majority of the youths committing the acts are Muslim, and of African or North African origin, the mayhem has yet to take on any ideological or religious overtones. "

Right.

So why is the violence spreading to other countries?

NYT: I don't know. But I'm sure it doesn't have any ideological or religious overtones. It's just "unrest" by "youths".

OK I made that last statement up. But give me a break, you call this reporting.

Here's some reporting:

Social divisions in today's French society run along ethnic and religious lines, and they also signify deep cultural rifts. The ideal of the French republic -- the nation as a community of the willing, of citizens who enjoy equal rights, regardless of their ethnic origins or religious beliefs -- is giving way to a volatile co-existence among communities that want to retain their identities and live according to their own rules. The official French position has always been to condemn multiculturalism -- and yet the state must now deal with the consequences.

The strict separation of church and state, a sacrosanct pillar of French government, has become an illusion. Jihad may not be what's inspiring the rioters, but Islam is undeniably an inseparable component of their self-identity. Islam strengthens their sense of solidarity, gives them the appearance of legitimacy and draws an unmistakable line between them and the others, the "French."

Suddenly "big brothers" -- devout bearded men from the mosques who wear long traditional robes -- are positioning themselves between the authorities and the rioters in Clichy-sous-Bois, calling for order in the name of Allah. As thousands of voices shout "Allahu Akbar" from the windows of high-rise apartment buildings, shivers run down the spines of television viewers in their seemingly safe living rooms.

But wait a minute. I was taught in college that all cultures are equally moral and legitimate. Why doesn't that seem to work in France, or the rest of Europe? (or at college for that matter)

Let's hope that if John Kerry wins the White House in 2008, France will still be around to help administer the "Global Test" that U.S. foreign policy is supposed to undergo before it is acted upon.

Hugh interviews the Porn Student

Radio Blogger: "There is a scandal on this campus, because one of the students there produced and starred in a hard-core pornography film and has aired it on their student-run television station. Essentially, the good taxpayers of the State of California are footing the bill for over the air porn. Here's Hugh's interview with the student at the center of the controversy, Steve York. Note all the times Hugh asks if the school ever got involved.


...HH: But I mean, I'm talking about on campus.

SY: Nobody on campus.

HH: I'm just stunned. I mean, have you had any regret at all?

SY: You know, well after February, I've never expected just something that I did a ten minute ridiculous segment that played once to really change my life. And unfortunately, or fortunately, there's no going back.

HH: Well actually, there is. There is going back. There's always...you don't have to do this, right?

SY: Well...wait, say that again. Sorry, my phone rang.

HH: I mean, yeah you've made the movie, and you've shown it, but you don't have to kind of stand there and say, unquestionably, it was a good idea. I mean, you could admit that it was a mistake at some point, right?

SY: You know, I'm not going to be ashamed about sex, or...

HH: I'm not talking about shame. I'm talking about this particular...I'm not talking about sex at all. I'm talking about making a porn movie in which you star. At some point, are you open to the idea that you made a mistake?

SY: Not at all. I'm fighting for what I believe in. I think it's a very, very critical 1st Amendment and sexual expression issue, as well as student control issues.

HH: Did you ever read the book by the woman who starred in Deep Throat? What happened to her?

SY: Uh, Linda Lovelace?

HH: Yeah.

SY: You know, I realize the porn industry has this really negative past, but if we get...talk about sexuality and pornography into the open...

HH: Now, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking did you read her book?

SY: No, I did not.

HH: Okay, because this industry destroys a lot of people. And I actually don't want to argue with you so much as just to let you know it's okay to later on say you know what? I really screwed up, because I think you really screwed up here

SY: Well, I think times are changing. Thirty years ago, when the porn industry were just starting, an adult film could bring an obscenity prosecution against you. With the advent of the internet, and you, just walking down the street every day, are probably running into people who have organized crime...

HH: Steve, you're not hearing me. I know this. I teach this stuff.

SY: Where do you teach?

HH: I teach at Chapman Law School. I know all the obscenity laws. I know all the decisions. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the personal toll on you, and that no one at the University, not one person took you aside and said Steve, you really might want to think about this. This is not a choice that you see a lot of people making for a reason.

SY: Well, I'm making it for a reason. It's not just me going into make money on this. It's really to bring up an issue that I feel strongly about, and that I've felt strongly about for years now.

HH: Did any of your friends come up to you and say you don't want to do this? Because you know, I've seen, actually, people who had their pictures taken in Girls Gone Wild, later suing the production people there out of regret and grief, and they just decide what they did. And they can't get out of it.

SY: Yeah, but this is the difference here. Rather than a pornographic production company like Shane's World or any of the other companies that come to college campuses to recruit people, this is something we're doing on our own.

HH: Okay, Steve. I'm out of time. Maybe I'll have you back. But hear me say this. You don't have to stand where you are right now. You can go back. You can say I made a mistake. And I'll pray that you come up to that decision. Thanks for joining me."

Read the whole thing.