I certainly am not a person who wants to start some religious war or anything like that. Lord knows I tend to be a critic or even a cynic when it comes to various religions in the world. Before I go any further, let me tell you that I am a christian and I do believe in a supreme being. Having said that, my problem has been with most of the organized religions that are out there. It really boils down to one thing... money.
I've been thrown out of churches for asking too many questions. In one rather infamous case, I was literally dragged out of a Lutheran church for raising my hand during the sermon and asking the question, "What is it that this church does to lead by the example you are setting?" I certainly wasn't being rude. I was merely trying ascertain how the subject of the sermon (being "Christ-like" to your fellow man) was being applied outside of the church. Apparently, not having an answer was solved by having me dragged back out the front door from the pew and placed on the steps outside and admonished never to come back. It ultimately did answer my question as to what that church does that is "Christ-like".
In college I studied quite a few courses in theology and enjoyed them quite a bit. But, ever since those days, my questions asked to various church leaders in different denominations have been met with some sort of veiled hostility. Ultimately, I wound up being thrown out of several Baptist churches, a Catholic church and the aforementioned Lutheran church. Just for asking a question.
On the air, I have questioned certain things the Catholic church does, usually regarding money and the whole sex crime thing. I am quite certain that my name appears on the Catholic shit list. As it does on other church lists. It assures me though, that my relationship with the All Mighty is mine alone and is rather personal.
One thing I have learned over the years, that essentially, most denominations are rather upfront regarding their tenets. That's a good thing, since many prospective members know exactly what they are getting into. Unlike those who are members of the Scientologists.
Clouded in all sorts of secrecy, the Scientologists will reveal those secrets upon the successful depositing of money in the bank. But, when questioned... well, that is a different story.
Last year, Martin Bashir was interviewing a member of this cult. He was being rather nice to the spokesperson of this group until one particular question was asked.
So, it's a violation of his religious beliefs to clarify the beliefs of Scientology?
As much as we beat up on the Scientologists. They are not the only ones who get testy about these things. However, what good is a faith in something that supposed to be inclusive when it ultimately turns its back on any questions? Jesus certainly understood that. He even suggested that one should ask questions.
Granted, Scientology is a pretty messed up deal, in my opinion. To understand their beliefs, I recommend going to this site and reading up. Which by my posting of that probably put me on the Scientology shit list. If that is the case, so be it.
Stay Tuned...
05 February 2011
14 January 2011
Playing It Safe In The 40's
After dropping Facebook, I do find myself wanting to look at other ways of retro-organizing my life. However, this may be going a bit too far. Perhaps this would be a decent idea in our current litigious environment. It could be adapted and re-written and most assuredly would stand up in court. Click for bigger image.
Just imagine getting caught carrying around a few of these... already filled out.
Stay Tuned...
Just imagine getting caught carrying around a few of these... already filled out.
Stay Tuned...
13 January 2011
Goodbye Facebook
No, they aren't going anywhere, sadly. But I did. I just deleted my account.
Why? I'll tell you. But I warn you, it isn't pretty.
There has not been one thing of interest to me personally since I signed up for the damn thing. Granted, there are some "friends" there who are truly my friends. The cool thing about them is that they know how to get in touch with me in other ways, you know, like dialing a phone or at the very least, sending a text message. Besides, they all know my email address(es).
I know that there are those who are fans of the Bad Dog and Ric show who perhaps, felt a connection to the show through that page. I'm sorry if you did. I probably let you down anyway since I never posted pictures of what I was having for dinner (since food never photographs very well), I never alerted the Facebook world when I was heading to the bathroom, I am also rather proud of the fact that I never felt the urge to post links to videos of bands I like (much less the lyrics).
Seems to me that was sort of a waste. That's what this page is all about.
Perhaps I never felt as though I needed to burden all those people who were my Facebook friends with the things I like.
To me, life is about experiences. If I choose to share those, I do here. Not in simple and snarky liners to be digested so quickly. I am aware, that I might inadvertently offend some of you Facebook people with that sort of thinking and I'll have you know, that is NOT my intention.
In my way of thinking, scaling back can be a good thing. I have this page and I will be maintaining my Twitter account and post here and there more frequently. (Hopefully!)
So, in short... goodbye Facebook. Betty White was right, "Facebook is a huge waste of time."
At least it was for me.
Stay Tuned...
Why? I'll tell you. But I warn you, it isn't pretty.
There has not been one thing of interest to me personally since I signed up for the damn thing. Granted, there are some "friends" there who are truly my friends. The cool thing about them is that they know how to get in touch with me in other ways, you know, like dialing a phone or at the very least, sending a text message. Besides, they all know my email address(es).
I know that there are those who are fans of the Bad Dog and Ric show who perhaps, felt a connection to the show through that page. I'm sorry if you did. I probably let you down anyway since I never posted pictures of what I was having for dinner (since food never photographs very well), I never alerted the Facebook world when I was heading to the bathroom, I am also rather proud of the fact that I never felt the urge to post links to videos of bands I like (much less the lyrics).
Seems to me that was sort of a waste. That's what this page is all about.
Perhaps I never felt as though I needed to burden all those people who were my Facebook friends with the things I like.
To me, life is about experiences. If I choose to share those, I do here. Not in simple and snarky liners to be digested so quickly. I am aware, that I might inadvertently offend some of you Facebook people with that sort of thinking and I'll have you know, that is NOT my intention.
In my way of thinking, scaling back can be a good thing. I have this page and I will be maintaining my Twitter account and post here and there more frequently. (Hopefully!)
So, in short... goodbye Facebook. Betty White was right, "Facebook is a huge waste of time."
At least it was for me.
Stay Tuned...
20 December 2010
Black Beauty Comes to Town
So I get this email from Lindsay Lanier from Allied Integrated Marketing who tells me that Black Beauty is coming to Memphis for a couple of quick stops for one day and she has invited me out to take a look at this thing and even drive it, if I would like to. Hot Dog! I am so there.
If the car looks kinda familiar to you, it should. This is the Chrysler Imperial used by The Green Hornet and Kato. One of the onlookers said that this appeared to be a one in a million car. Actually, it's a one in thirty car since there were about that many made for the upcoming Columbia Pictures film opening Friday, January 14. More specifically, there were only a two or three cars made that were actually drivable. And this is one of them and is actually in a few scenes in the movie.
Lindsay was kind enough to send me the low down on this car:
If you'll notice, this car is a Chrysler Imperial but it is composed of several Imperials, from 1964 to 1966. The front doors are suicide doors and there has been some chopping here and there to get the look they were after. For the fun part, here's what Black Beauty has to offer:
WEAPONRY FEATURED ON “BLACK BEAUTY”
• 2 hood mounted, retractable .30 Caliber M1919 Browning Machine Guns - cartridge-fed
• 8 FIM-92A Stinger Missiles - front bumper loaded
• 1 M2 Grill mounted Flamethrower – modified
• 2 Benelli M2 20 Gauge Shotguns loaded with non-lethal, kinetic impact munitions rifles (rubber bullets / beanbags) - mounted in the light bezels
• 4 FIM-92A Stinger Missiles - rear bumper loaded
• 1 .30 Caliber M1919A6 Browning Machine Gun on tripod mount – trunk
• 2 Retractible front wheel anti-riot spikes
• 6 AR-15, 12 Gauge modified door guns - inset 3 per front suicide door
Just so you know. Everything inside this car is pure fiction. My flipping of switches and pushing of buttons yielded no explosions or anything of the like. However, it did not take away from the fun of driving this thing. It handles much like you would expect a car of this age would. It's a bit sluggish off the start takes big sweeping turns. To me, the amusing thing was that for some reason, people in this city weren't too concerned with the two machine guns mounted on the hood. It was as if people had seen them all their lives.
The movie is going to be released in 3D and looks to be a lot of fun. Especially since this car seems to play a rather large role in the story. Here's a little teaser.
And because you are good people... here's another.
Stay Tuned!
03 March 2010
C'etait un Rendez-Vous
A friend an I were talking about a film made in the 70's which shows a guy driving through Paris in a Ferrari at incredible speeds. I remember seeing it sometime ago and now it seems to have disappeared. Until now.
Here's the story:
In 1976 Claude Lelouch claims he mounted a gyro stabilized 35mm motion picture camera onto the bumper of a Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9. He had in mind a route that would take him through Paris at a speed nearing 140 MPH. He basically had one shot since the camera only held 1000 feet of film. Which explains the nine minute film you are about to see.
So, at 5:30AM, he took off and shot the film. In one take. No effects except for one. He dubbed in the sound of his Ferrari 275 GTB to match the gearing and speeding of the Mercedes. After shooting with the Mercedes, he drove the same route with the Ferrari recording the audio for the overdub. Nevertheless, this is one hell of a ride. The red lights are real and so are the pedestrians. He could not secure a permit to close any of the streets for this shoot, so he shot it illegally.
After watching this film a couple of times, I'm more under the impression that he likely did this only once with the Ferrari. Matching the audio to the film would have been a little tricky in some parts. Besides, why risk the danger more than once? BUT...
He also makes the claim there was an assistant with a walkie talkie near the Louvre archway who was acting as a spotter, looking for pedestrians. This was because the one turn he makes there is blind. Claude said after the fact, the radios had failed and he would have never heard the warning had there been one.
Other claims made after the fact include the reasoning behind the Ferrari overdub was to give the viewer a greater sense of speed. Calculations by some independent groups claim Lelouch never exceeded 85 MPH. Keep in mind, the Mercedes he claims he used as the camera car is certainly capable of 140MPH. However, some people state the route he took is only 6.48 miles and in the 7 minute 57 second run time, that would give him an average speed of 48.86 MPH. Hardly the speed demon he's presenting in the film. I don't know about you, but the route seems longer than what is being disputed here.
The route he took is here. It starts to the left. It starts near Port Dauphine and takes him through the Louvre, the Arc d'Triomphe and along the Champs-Elysees. He ends the run at Mont Marte overlooking Paris, and a hot blond woman.
After the drive, it is rumored Claude (who says he actually drove the route) was arrested and released but was ticketed for the stunt. It's also rumored the mayor of Paris at the time, tore the ticket up as it was not known, at the time of the film who exactly was the driver. Claude merely admitted to being the filmmaker.
It would seem Lelouch was downplaying the production of the film as it was said that he was on the receiving end of massive criticism for the stunt. Whatever or however the film was produced is of no real consequence though as it is undoubtedly a thrill to watch.
There is a DVD of this out with a making-of documentary and it is highly recommended for those of you who like this sort of thing.
It is recommended you watch this in full screen with the volume up. Then go find the DVD. The footage on it has been remastered.
The thumbnail here takes you off the blog to another site which is hosting the film.
Short Movie Rendez-Vous of Claude Lelouch, in Paris in 1976
What do you think?
This is what it's like for me when I am late for work at 4:30AM.
Stay Tuned...
Here's the story:
In 1976 Claude Lelouch claims he mounted a gyro stabilized 35mm motion picture camera onto the bumper of a Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9. He had in mind a route that would take him through Paris at a speed nearing 140 MPH. He basically had one shot since the camera only held 1000 feet of film. Which explains the nine minute film you are about to see.
So, at 5:30AM, he took off and shot the film. In one take. No effects except for one. He dubbed in the sound of his Ferrari 275 GTB to match the gearing and speeding of the Mercedes. After shooting with the Mercedes, he drove the same route with the Ferrari recording the audio for the overdub. Nevertheless, this is one hell of a ride. The red lights are real and so are the pedestrians. He could not secure a permit to close any of the streets for this shoot, so he shot it illegally.
After watching this film a couple of times, I'm more under the impression that he likely did this only once with the Ferrari. Matching the audio to the film would have been a little tricky in some parts. Besides, why risk the danger more than once? BUT...
He also makes the claim there was an assistant with a walkie talkie near the Louvre archway who was acting as a spotter, looking for pedestrians. This was because the one turn he makes there is blind. Claude said after the fact, the radios had failed and he would have never heard the warning had there been one.
Other claims made after the fact include the reasoning behind the Ferrari overdub was to give the viewer a greater sense of speed. Calculations by some independent groups claim Lelouch never exceeded 85 MPH. Keep in mind, the Mercedes he claims he used as the camera car is certainly capable of 140MPH. However, some people state the route he took is only 6.48 miles and in the 7 minute 57 second run time, that would give him an average speed of 48.86 MPH. Hardly the speed demon he's presenting in the film. I don't know about you, but the route seems longer than what is being disputed here.
The route he took is here. It starts to the left. It starts near Port Dauphine and takes him through the Louvre, the Arc d'Triomphe and along the Champs-Elysees. He ends the run at Mont Marte overlooking Paris, and a hot blond woman.
After the drive, it is rumored Claude (who says he actually drove the route) was arrested and released but was ticketed for the stunt. It's also rumored the mayor of Paris at the time, tore the ticket up as it was not known, at the time of the film who exactly was the driver. Claude merely admitted to being the filmmaker.
It would seem Lelouch was downplaying the production of the film as it was said that he was on the receiving end of massive criticism for the stunt. Whatever or however the film was produced is of no real consequence though as it is undoubtedly a thrill to watch.
There is a DVD of this out with a making-of documentary and it is highly recommended for those of you who like this sort of thing.
It is recommended you watch this in full screen with the volume up. Then go find the DVD. The footage on it has been remastered.
The thumbnail here takes you off the blog to another site which is hosting the film.
Short Movie Rendez-Vous of Claude Lelouch, in Paris in 1976
What do you think?
This is what it's like for me when I am late for work at 4:30AM.
Stay Tuned...
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