The Girls All Love a Mason!

Coffee With Jesus # 21

(Click to enlarge)
/hat tip to Radio Free Babylon.

KIRBY KRACKLE "Ring Capacity" (Green Lantern Song) Official Music Video

In brightest day!
In blackest night!
This video is all right!

Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman!



Freedom

IT is not only true that most people entirely misunderstand Freedom, but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly understands it. The whole Universe is absolute Law. Freedom only opens entire activity and license under the law. To the degraded or undevelopt—and even to too many others—the thought of freedom is a thought of escaping from law—which, of course, is impossible. More precious than all worldly riches is Freedom—freedom from the painful constipation and poor narrowness of ecclesiasticism—freedom in manners, habiliments, furniture, from the silliness and tyranny of local fashions—entire freedom from party rings and mere conventions in Politics—and better than all, a general freedom of One’s-Self from the tyrannic domination of vices, habits, appetites, under which nearly every man of us, (often the greatest brawler for freedom,) is enslaved. Can we attain such enfranchisement—the true Democracy, and the height of it? While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet escape, by a paradox, into true free will. Strange as it may seem, we only attain to freedom by a knowledge of, and implicit obedience to, Law. Great—unspeakably great—is the Will! the free Soul of man! At its greatest, understanding and obeying the laws, it can then, and then only, maintain true liberty. For there is to the highest, that law as absolute as any—more absolute than any—the Law of Liberty. The shallow, as intimated, consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws, namely, the fusion and combination of the conscious will, or partial individual law, with those universal, eternal, unconscious ones, which run through all Time, pervade history, prove immortality, give moral purpose to the entire objective world, and the last dignity to human life.

Walt Whitman

DecorationDay/Memorial Day

Interesting article about its origin here.

For the wiki entry, go here.



Taps

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, neath the sky;
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813 - 1887)

They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this Nation. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Coffee With Jesus # 26

Once again, /hat tip to Radio Free Babylon.

Speaking of A-Holes...

Our fathers and mothers fought, died and bled for THIS?



One of the nice side benefits of David Brin's "Transparent Society." The All-Seeing Eye is on THE MAN as well as us.

Jedi A-Holes

The work of Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch. Check out their YouTube Channel. Some funny stuff over there.

Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

All we have of freedom, all we use or know -
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling

Star Wars: The Old Republic Trooper Character Progression Trailer

A Public Service Announcement from Steve Rogers, Captain America:

"Stay safe this weekend. And please, remember the fallen."

Allan Massie

Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He's the chap who makes it possible for civilised folk to despise war.
Allan Massie

And Then There's THIS.

Harlan Ellison

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you."
— Harlan Ellison

Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Groucho Marx

Happy 34th Anniversary to "Star Wars: A New Hope!"

Happy Geek Pride Day!

"Geek Pride Day is an initiative to promote geek culture, celebrated on 25 May. The date was chosen as to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope on 25 May 1977, but shares the same day as three other similar fan 'holidays' - Towel Day, for fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy by Douglas Adams, Star Wars Day, and the Glorious 25 May for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld."

Anthony De Mello (1931 - 1987)

"The law is a necessary evil and as such must be cut down to the barest minimum. Show me a lover of the law and I will show you a muttonheaded tyrant."
Anthony De Mello

Preparedness

Philip Gulley

“The moral decline of a religion begins when it creates a hell, a place of punishment and torment where those who are different must go.”
Philip Gulley

Funny Cartoon

Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980)

The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots.
Erich Fromm

No One Knows...

Zombie Apocalypse

The Call of Jesus -- John Shelby Spong

Philip Yancey

"I have come to know a God who has a soft spot for rebels, who recruits people like the adulterer David, the whiner Jeremiah, the traitor Peter, and the human-rights abuser Saul of Tarsus. I have come to know a God whose Son made prodigals the heroes of his stories and the trophies of his ministry."
— Philip Yancey

How Obama "Creates" Jobs

It's Armed Forces Day!

"It is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to those whose constancy and courage constitute one of the bulwarks guarding the freedom of this nation and the peace of the free world."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

A personal thank you to all the men and women who serve and all the families who sacrifice. God bless you.

The Rapture DID Happen

The Rapture DID happen. All the true followers of Jesus have vanished.

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)

"You may control a mad elephant;
You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra;
By alchemy you may learn your livelihood;
You may wander through the universe incognito;
Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful;
You may walk in water and live in fire;
But control of the mind is better and more difficult."
— Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi)

Judgment Day

Taxes, or AXIS?

Disney WWII propaganda:

May 21 - Are You Raptor Ready?

The Day the Madness Died

RIP Macho Man

I Think I'm Noam Chomsky

/hat tip to my friend Mark.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

The highest revelation is that God is in every man.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nazi Zombies

Sri Chinmoy

Precisely because
God loves me infinitely more
Than I love myself,
God cannot afford to be
As careless with my life
As I am.

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 10, Agni Press, 1981.

Proof That Judgment Day is Coming

In 1843...




This was part of the movement started by William Miller, which later became known as "The Great Disappointment."

Here is a Miller's own synopsis of his views:

MY DEAR BROTHER, - You have requested a synopsis of my views of the christian faith. The following sketch will give you some idea of the religious opinions I have formed by a careful study of the word of God.

I believe all men, coming to years of discretion, do and will disobey God, and this is, in some measure, owing to corrupted nature by the sin of our parent. I believe God will not condemn us for any pollution in our father, but the soul that sinneth shall die. All pollution of which we may be partakers from the sins of our ancestors, in which we could have no agency, can and will be washed away in the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, without our agency. But all sins committed by us as rational, intelligent agents, can only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, through our repentance and faith. I believe in the salvation of all men who receive the grace of God by repentance and faith in the mediation of Jesus Christ. I believe in the condemnation of all men who reject the gospel and mediation of Christ, and thereby lose the efficacy of the blood and righteousness of our Redeemer, as proffered to us in the gospel. I believe in practical godliness as commanded us in the Scriptures, (which are our only rule of faith and practice,) and that they only will be entitled to heaven and future blessedness, who obey and keep the commandments of God as given us in the Bible, which is the word of God. I believe in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a Spirit, omnipresent, omniscient, having all power, creator, preserver, and self-existent. As being holy, just and beneficent, I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having a body in fashion and form like man, divine in his nature, human in his person, godlike in his character and power. He is a Savior for sinners, a priest to God, a mediator between God and man, and King in Zion. He will be all to his people, God with us forever. The spirit of the Most High is in him, the power of the Most High is given him, the people of the Most High are purchased by him, the glory of the Most High shall be with him, and the kingdom of the Most High is his on earth.

I believe the Bible is the revealed will of God to man, and all therein is necessary to be understood by Christians in the several ages and circumstances to which they may refer; - for instance, what may be understood to-day might not have been necessary to have been understood 1000 years ago. For its object is to reveal things new and old, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished for, and perfected in, every good word and work, for the age in which he lives. I believe it is revealed in the best possible manner for all people in every age and under every circumstance to understand, and that it is to be understood as literal as it can be and make good sense; - and that in ever case where the language is figurative, we must let the Bible explain its own figures. We are in no case allowed to speculate on the Scriptures, and suppose things which are not clearly expressed, nor reject things which are plainly taught. I believe all of the prophecies are revealed to try our faith, and to give us hope, without which we could have no reasonable hope. I believe that the Scriptures do reveal unto us, in plain language, that Jesus Christ will appear again on this earth, that he will come in the glory of God, in the clouds of heaven, with all his saints and angels; that he will raise the dead bodies of all his saints who have slept, change the bodies of all that are alive on the earth that are his, and both these living and raised saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There the saints will be judged and presented to the Father, without spot or wrinkle. Then the gospel kingdom will be given up to God the Father. Then will the Father give the bride to the Son Jesus Christ; and when the marriage takes place, the church will become the "New Jerusalem," the "beloved city." And while this is being done in the air, the earth will be cleansed by fire, the elements will melt with fervent heat, the works of men will be destroyed, the bodies of the wicked will be burned to ashes, the devil and all evil spirits, with the souls and spirits of those who have rejected the gospel, will be banished from the earth, shut up in the pit or place prepared for the devil and his angels, and will not be permitted to visit the earth again until 1000 years. This is the first resurrection, and first judgment. Then Christ and his people will come down from the heavens, or middle air, and live with his saints on the new earth in a new heaven, or dispensation, forever, even forever and ever. This will be the restitution of the right owners to the earth.

Then will the promise of God, to his Son, be accomplished: "I will give him the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession." Then "the whole earth shall be full of his glory." And then, will the holy people take possession of their joint heirship with Christ, and his promise be verified, "the meek shall inherit the earth," and the kingdom of God will have come, and "his will done in earth as in heaven." After 1000 years shall have passed away, the saints will all be gathered and encamped in the beloved city. The sea, death and hell will give up their dead, which will rise up on the breadths of the earth, out of the city, a great company like the sand of the sea-shore. The devil will be let loose, to go out and deceive this wicked host. He will tell them of a battle against the saints, the beloved city; he will gather them in the battle around the camp of the saints. But there is no battle; the devil has deceived them. The saints will judge them, the justice of God will drive them from the earth into the lake of fire and brimstone, where they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. "This is the second death." After the second resurrection, second judgment, the righteous will then possess the earth forever.

I understand that the judgment day will be a thousand years long. The righteous are raised and judged in the commencement of that day, the wicked in the end of that day. I believe that the saints will be raised and judged about the year 1843; according to Moses' prophecy, Lev. xxvi. Ezek. xxxix. Daniel ii., vii., viii-xii. Hos. v. 1-3. Rev. the whole book; and many other prophets have spoken of these things. Time will soon tell if I am right, and soon he that is righteous will be righteous still, and he that is filthy will be filthy still. I do most solemnly entreat man-kind to make their peace with God, be ready for these things. "The end of all things is at hand." I do ask my brethren in the gospel ministry to consider well what they say before they oppose these things. Say not in your hearts, "my Lord delayeth his coming." Let all do as they would wish they had if it does come, and none will say they have not done right if it does not come. I believe it will come; but if it should not come, then I will wait and look until it does come. Yet I must pray, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

This is a synopsis of my views. I give it as a matter of faith. I know of no scripture to contradict any view given in the above sketch. Men's theories may oppose. The ancients believed in a temporal and personal reign of Christ on earth. The moderns believe in a temporal, spiritual reign as a millennium. Both views are wrong - both are too gross and carnal. I believe in a glorious, immortal and personal reign of Jesus Christ with all his people on the purified earth forever. I believe the millennium is between the two resurrections and two judgments: the righteous and the wicked, the just and the unjust. I hope the dear friends of Christ will lay by all prejudice, and look at and examine these three views by the only rule and standard, the BIBLE.

Joss Whedon

"Very occasionally, if you pay really close attention, life doesn't suck."
— Joss Whedon

The Beehive

There is power and beauty in interdependence. We are born into it, it is part of what we are. By understanding this we bring forth many great creations; individuals working together in peace and harmony.

Speaking Of the Zombie Apocalypse...

The CDC has actually set up a preparedness site here.


Here is a fun blog post about it on the Wall Street Journal Blog:

EDIT: It seems the site is down a lot. Keep trying!

I'm Ready, Are You?

I finally READ Harold Camping's website, and I found this:

What will take place on May 21?

On May 21, 2011 two events will occur. These events could not be more opposite in nature, the one more wonderful than can be imagined; the other more horrific than can be imagined.

A great earthquake will occur the Bible describes it as "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." This earthquake will be so powerful it will throw open all graves. The remains of the all the believers who have ever lived will be instantly transformed into glorified spiritual bodies to be forever with God.

On the other hand the bodies of all unsaved people will be thrown out upon the ground to be shamed.

The inhabitants who survive this terrible earthquake will exist in a world of horror and chaos beyond description. Each day people will die until October 21,2011 when God will completely destroy this earth and its surviving inhabitants.

Okay so it seems THEY get raptured, all our Born-Again dead get exalted, and the rest of the dead walk the earth as "shamed." Sounds like Zombies to me.Seems, brothers and sisters. we shall have to go out fighting the "shamed dead" until October 21st.





ARE YOU READY?????

Star Wars: The Old Republic Sith Inquisitor Trailer

City of Heroes Steampunk Pack Trailer

Very cool trailer of what looks like it may be the sweetest costume pack yet:

What Would Buffy Do? Original Music Video by Kristina Horner.

/hat tip to Fashion and Action.

Max Lerner

You may call for peace as loudly as you wish, but where there is no brotherhood there can in the end be no peace.
Max Lerner

The Rapture

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.
Dalai Lama

Mozart Was a Red - a play by Murray Rothbard

I can't believe I never saw this before. It is very funny.

James Madison

"Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." James Madison

Ron Paul 2012 - No army can stop an idea whose time has come

Has it been 30 years? maybe 29 for me.

C.S. Lewis

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
C. S. Lewis

Optical Illusion

P.J. O'Roarke

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. – P.J. O'Rourke

Gaius Cornelius Tacitus

The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates. Tacitus

Belly Dancing Wonder Woman

Oh my stars and garters!



/Hat Tip to Michael May.

The Most Interesting Political Ad in the World