Non-Mormon Review of The Book of Mormon

I joined the social networking site, Shelfari and as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I was naturally curious to read what other people had said about The Book of Mormon. For those that aren't familiar with The Book of Mormon, we believe that, along with The Bible, The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is an account of a group of Israelites who immigrated to the Americas shortly before the fall of Jerusalem circa 400 B.C. during the biblical ministry of Jeremiah. I do believe that The Book of Mormon is divinely inspired and is the word of God. I like that this reviewer has an objective view as he/she reads The Book of Mormon and other Latter-day Saint (Mormon) scripture. This reviewer describes The Book of Mormon as myth. Myth is one of those ambiguous English words. We often think of myth as meaning something false or fictional. Myth is also oral tradition passed on from generation to generation. I am a fan of Joseph Campbell's work on myth. Campbell shows how certain similar myths have permeated different cultures - the virgin birth is a good example. Myth shows the contrast between good and evil. Wikipedia defines myth as follows,

"Mythology, mythography, or folkloristics. In these academic fields, a myth (mythos) is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative is either true or false."

I personally do believe that The Book of Mormon is a literal history of the inhabitants of the South and North American continents and contains the history of Christ's visit to the Americas shortly after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. It is my hope that anyone would read The Book of Mormon with an open and objective mind and find the truths within, as this reader did.

DIVINELY INSPIRED?

* 5 stars out of 5

Reviewed by an Amazon user, 2006-12-14

I am not a member of the LDS Church, and never have been. However, I have read the LDS Scriptures and am a Gnostic Christian. I get tired of hearing fundamentalist Christians tearing "Mormons" apart because "Mormons" don't spout the same doctrinal Shibboleths as fundamentalists. Much of the rancor settles around Joseph Smith Junior and his claims to Divine revelation.

Rather than go into a dissertation on Myth I will direct the truly intelligent reader looking for genuine answers (rather than a target for their religious bigotry, hatred, and self-righteousness, growing from their own inadequacies and uncertainties) to The Power of Myth, which is available as a book, videotape, or DVD.

Literalists of all kinds, both Biblical literalists and Book of Mormon literalists, are groping in the dark, making a lot of noise, cursing the darkness. It's better to kindle a light than curse the darkness, so that is what I'll do.

To have had a Divine encounter, as I have, and as Joseph Smith Junior had, is to Know That, which cannot be uttered in human speech except in the form of Myth. God is so utterly beyond conceptualization and language that only Myth can convey these Truths. To understand Myth is to be enabled to enter into the experience that gave rise to the Myth. Such works are the Book of Mormon and other "Mormon" scriptures, as well as the Bible.

As a closing remark, I will point the reader to the Book of Abraham, one of the "Mormon" scriptures, "translated" by Joseph Smith Junior. The actual book behind the Book of Abraham is an ancient Egyptian funerary text. It actually says nothing at all akin to what Joseph Smith wrote in the Book of Abraham. Does that mean Joseph Smith was a false prophet, was not Divinely inspired? Or does this rather point out the Transcendent nature of the Divine Touch? I contend that the ancient Egyptian funerary text, in the hands of Joseph Smith Junior, served as a catalyst for Divine revelation. As a Gnostic I have the same experience with the Bible and other spiritual works, and even non-spiritual works. All can be "grist for the Mill" in the hands of one touched by the Divine. Joseph Smiths experiences were of a very intense visionary nature, and were most likely utterly overwhelming. It therefore does not shock, or even surprise me, that he used Myth to convey what he had seen and heard.

The Book of Mormon is a testament to Joseph Smiths ineffable experience of the Divine, and is his effort to communicate that experience to the rest of us in the Power of Myth.

BYU vs. PAC10

Oregon's Coach said the other day, right before BYU wacked them, that BYU would not be able to fair well in PAC10. This naturally made me curious. What has been BYU's record against PAC10 opponents in the modern era? I went back to the start of the Lavell Edwards coaching career to find out. Their record has been 19-30 against the PAC10. On the surface this seems to validate the coach's argument, but it was very apparent to me that during the dominant years, when BYU was flying high, PAC10 schools mysteriously disappear from BYUs schedule then they return again during the down years. This proves my theory about the BCS perpetuating the theory that these non-BCS schools couldn't play with them and then to prove it, not scheduling them when they are actually a threat and overwhelmingly at their own venue. Between 79-85, the PAC only played BYU 3 times and one of those was Washington State in the Holiday Bowl(a non-scheduled game), a game that BYU won. The points for and points against are BYU 22ppg vs. PAC10 27ppg (only 2 fgs a game average), but again, it begs the question, "how many points would BYU have scored had the PAC10 allowed Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Robbie Bosco to have a go at them.
The other thing I noticed when I broke it down was that BYU played pretty close to .500 against Arizona and ASU when they were still in the WAC. BYU was 6-8 against them and that was when BYU had some bad years early in the era. The PF-PA were fairly even (BYU 20ppg and ASU/AZ 25). This proves my second point about the BCS. By not allowing BYU to be in a "good" conference, they hurt BYUs ability to recruit and hence they are not on an even plane. We can see here that when BYU is put an even playing field with BCS schools, they are competitive, regardless of the Oregon coach's lame theory that BYU is inherently inferior. I guarantee if they had a playoff, BYU would start getting recruits that had heretofore passed on them. Left to there own destiny, BYU would flourish (and Utah). They both have a bigger fan base than many PAC10 schools and that would only grow. But the BCS knows this thats why they think that its a wonderful system they have created, it keeps BYU down. Like I've said a million times, only those who get paid by the BCS think its a good idea. Lee Corso, I'm lookin' in your direction.

The Art Of Motivational Speaking.

If you have ever considered hiring a motivational speaker, you may want to consider the services of one Mr. Matt Foley. He has travelled all over the United States at the behest of parents, school administrators and universities giving motivational speeches that have served to dissuade impressionable youth from the vices of a troubled world. His method is to powerfully inculcate youth with a very real image of the ill-effects of such vices. He does this in a very descriptive and demonstrative way, a method that resonates with today's youth. "After hearing Matt speak about his struggles overcoming marijuana addiction and seeing how it affected his life, I determined never to touch the stuff", said Mike Miller, a young freshman at the University of Wisconsin. Testimonials such as this are common place all over college and high school campuses. Go Matt Go!

I Hate Tommy Lasorda.

This is dedicated to my dad since he is a Dodgers fan.

Tribute To The Mississippi River!

As a geography student, I must stop here to give props to the "Mighty-Miss", the "Old-Man".

Where Does This BYU Team Rank?

My list: (I would love to have input or votes on the best)
#1- 1996 Sarkisian was awesome (he is very underrated despite having the second best pass rating in BYU history). This team had two of the best TEs in the country (Chad Lewis and Itula Mili). Best BYU secondary of all time. There was not a weak link on this team. Played in the Cotton Bowl and beat Kansas State.
#2- 1984 Won the National Championship. How can you not rank them high? Bosco was very good and had good Wide Outs (Kozlowski and Bellini). Good TE Mills.
#3- 1980 Won the "Miracle Bowl" and had an impressive 30pt avg. win a game. Beat Wisconsin 28-3. TE Brown was a stud. McMahon set all kinds of NCAA records.
#4- 2006 BYU's offense great again and looks like BYU of old! Their defense is a more than pleasant suprise. They shut down a good Oregon team. 73 yards in a half. They barely lost to a very good BC team in 2OT and should have won the Arizona game. They would have been undefeated and in the BCS.
#5- 2001 The good Crowton team. They had perhaps the dynamic offense in BYU history running a mixture of option (Domanator) into a prolific air attack and a descent defense with very good players such as Gilford. Beat Cal and Miss. State and Utah in a thriller. The only knock is that after Staley, then what? He got hurt and the season blew up the last two games.
#6- 1983 Steve Young! Need I say more? Lost to Baylor by 4, their only loss, but beat Missouri in the Holiday Bowl.
#7- 1981 Great team, but didn't beat anyone outside of Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, but they destroyed opponents. Although the did lose 2.
#8- 1990 Ty Detmer was a man possessed. They beat Miami, who only lost 2 games the whole season. Probably the best team BYU has ever beat.
#9- 1979 Beat Texas A&M had an amazing PF-PA, but had a very weak schedule. Lost to Indiana in the Holiday Bowl.
#10- 1994 Even though they didn't win the Conference, they finished 10-3. They had Walsh as QB, a great arm, Jamal Willis and they won over Notre Dame in South Bend. They destroyed Oklahoma in the Copper Bowl.

BYU Silences The Quack!

The BCS is most certainly the "Great and Abominable Church" spoken of in the the scriptures. It is the great whore of all the earth and its defenders are its pimps. Mike Bellotti's anti-MWC rant is proof of this. Even after the Ducks got totally destroyed by the Cougars, he stood by his statement that the MWC is an inferior conference. But it doesn't really matter what that "Quack" thinks of the Mountain West, because if he really feels that way, he has to admit that his team flat out sucks and that he sucks as a coach. My sneaking suspicion is that coaches like him don't really believe that rhetoric, they simply spout it to perpetuate the perception of "the talent gap", an artificial prestige to make it easier for them to recruit! If it is so much bigger than MWC, why did BYU average more attendance than all but three PAC teams and only 150 less per game than UCLA? BYU averaged a lot more than the Ducks. I think attendance is a pretty good indicator of a good product, don't you?
BYU did its job to dispel the myth and bring down the "great and abominable BCS".
They started off sloooowwww tonight. This was after ESPN hyped the game as a shoot out in the desert. It was anything but a shoot out, at least in the first half. BYU's offense couldn't seem to do anything right, especially in the First Quarter. BYU's defense was the big story, holding the team above water until the offense could gather itself. The Cougar defense held Oregon to only 73 yards in the first half much to the disappoint of Gary Crowton, the former BYU coach and now offensive coordinator for the Ducks. In fact, the Cougar defense was so dominant, they posted a shutout through three quarters. One wouldn't have expected such, due to BYU's injury ridden secondary, but Justin Robinson stepped it up "big-time" and intercepted two passes. One of these picks was a huge momentum shifter after Beck had thrown an interception of his own and it appeared the ducks would score. As he went to the sidelines his teammates gave him the royal treatment, propping up his feet and fanning them.
BYUs offense was destined to get things going. John Beck to Johnny Harline, over and over again. Harline 9 receptions for 182 yards, a personal record for the best tight end in the nation, who will certainly play on Sundays next year.
As the second half started, everyone, BYU and Oregon fan alike expected Oregon to come back with a vengeance, but it was not to be. BYU set the tone on the opening kickoff stopping the Ducks dead in their tracks.
Beck came alive in the second half and silenced the critics if there are any left. With a late TD scramble, he dove in the endzone, proved he is not the mechanical quarterback that many accused him of. As he dove over the pylon, he sprung up waving the fist in a show of emotion. The TD run pushed the score to 31-0, essentially ending the game in favor of the Cougs. Beck set a Las Vegas bowl passing record with 363 yards and would have extended that even further had it not been for all the dropped passes in the first half.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Curtis Brown, my personal favorite. He was a studd as usual. He had some big carries. The thing that makes Curtis a vital part of this team is not his running as much as his fire! He is the soul of the team. On a run in the second half, he refused to go down. Instead of responding to the pushing by Oregon at the end of the play, he turned and started amping up the BYU crowd, jumping in the air and pumping his fist.
The only negative aspect of the game was ESPNs coverage. Why do the spend half the broadcast talking about basketball? Their interview with Jerry Tarkanian was pathetic. He actually said that Oregon is every bit as good as BYU. Well, apparently not Jerry. He made this comment after BYU had tripled Oregon in yards. And instead of admitting that the PAC10 and the rest of the BCS are not that much better than the so called "mid-majors", they stated that, "this is a butt-kicking, what does this say about the PAC10." What does it say about the PAC10?! It says that they are good, but BYU and the MWC are not as bad as you think. ESPN will never admit that the artificial distinction they have created between the BCS and non-BCS has created a perception that there is a huge gap in talent, which does not exist. BYU is just a better team than Oregon and could be successful in the PAC if they were given a chance. And does anyone have a line on why they interviewed Ryan Leaf on and talked to him for so long? Who cares about Ryan Leaf? What do you expect from the BCS pimpin' network?
This turned out to be the best bowl performance in BYU's storied history. BYU is a team that has traditionally had a less than stellar post season reputation. They showed well for the conference who so far is dominating in their bowls. Let see if those losers the Utes can keep it up, I'm guessing that they should beat the "Golden Hurricane."

Unemployment in the USA

I put this map together today with help from the 2007 World Almanac. There are values associated with each state, but to simplify the map and the legend, I just classified it into 5 categories using the Jenks classification method.
There were a few things that surprised me. I was surprised that unemployment on the west coast was so high. I was surprised that it was so low in some places like the Dakotas. I think it is a pretty good looking map though.

Have You Ever Done Something Like This?

What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done on a date? I'm trying to isolate mine to just one. I was always saying something stupid and still somehow continue even after marriage, but I fortunately never did this.
Mayber this isn't appropriate for this blog, I don't know.

Glenn Beck On Cheers.

A Glenn Beck viewer emailed and asked the host if he was in Cheers. "Yes", he said. "I was way in the background trying to act natural." Then he encouraged us to look for it on Youtube if we didn't have a life, because some geek like me had put together a montage. And hey, since I don't have a life, here it is for you. Enjoy.

Christmas Story.

This one is for you Joey and Troy! I honor the christmas memory of you two polar opposites sitting on the couch next to the christmas tree with nothing in common, but the back slapping you share as Ralphy gets pushed down the slide by Santa's boot. "HO HO HO!" Merry Christmas!

Christmas Vacation Attic Scene!

Now that its getting to be Christmas, we can start putting scenes from Christmas movies on the blog. This is one of the best scenes from on of the best Christmas movies made! The funny thing about this one is that my wife did this with the stairs to the attic and about killed herself. She must have sustained brain damage, because she married me!

Lake Bonneville In Utah County.

I had to redo these, because I didn't want my name on it.
Map 1- This map shows the municipalities of Utah County in relation to the ancient lake.
Map 2- This is for those who want to get an idea of where they lived in relation to the lake.
Map 3- This shows the high risk areas for liquefaction (the darker the red, the higher the risk) and how it relates to the lake.
Map 4- This shows the remnants of the ancient lake that still exists in the "fresh water lake", Utah Lake. On a nice day, the lake doesn't glow from toxic waste. J/K.
Map 5- Just threw this in to show population density for the county in a choroplethic display.

Just in case anyone was curious about what lake Bonneville is, Lake Bonneville was a large, ancient lake that existed from about 32 to 14 thousand years ago. At its largest, Lake Bonneville was about 325 miles long, 135 miles wide, and had a maximum depth of over 1,000 feet. Three major shorelines were left by Lake Bonneville, and one by the Great Salt Lake. The Provo and Bonneville shorelines of Lake Bonneville can be seen as terraces or benches along many mountains in western USA. Fish lived in Lake Bonneville; amphibians, waterfowl, and other birds inhabited its marshes; and animals such as buffalo, horses, bears, rodents, deer, camels, bighorn sheep, musk oxen, and mammoths roamed its shores.

Am I self righteous?

I feel that an explanation is in order here. Someone seemed to think the title of my blog was a little self-righteous so I felt like I needed to explain a little.
When I set up the blog, I was thinking of the Sean Connery's line in the Indiana Jones movie when they were in Nazi Germany, "we are Pilgrims in an unholy land my boy!" I was thinking about this because of all the name calling on the Internet. I flipped it around since it seems, I'm one of the few conservatives left on the Internet or so it seems. Even though my address was pilgrim in an unholy land, I called the blog, "The C-Dog Blog", but I found out that that name was being used. Wanting to be somewhat original, even though I stole the line from a movie, I thought it would be appropriate. The Internet is after all a giant wasteland of filth. It is an "unholy land". That is my explanation now I feel a little better. Ah! Thanks.

New address for my blog

I liked your nick-name for my blog so much, I changed the name and address to http://thergdfactor.blogspot.com/

It's the same blog, same attitude, and the same content, just a new name.

God hates figs

I think Westboro Baptist got confused reading their Bibles. It's clear that God hates figs not fags. These scriptures prove it:

"Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he was hungry.
And when he saw a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon has the fig tree withered away!"

--Matthew 21:18-20

"The next day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry:
And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if perhaps he might find any thing on it: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
And Jesus answered and said to it, No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it."

--Mark 11:12-14

More info at http://www.godhatesfigs.com/

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Galatians 5:14

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

1 John 4:20

That last scripture from 1 John really says it all. If someone truly professes to preach the Bible and believes it is the word of God, how can he or she condemn another person? How can he or she claim that God hates a group or people or a nation? I'm sure God is not happy with the choices that we make, but we are his children and he loves us. What is the purpose of sending a Savior, Christ, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year if we cannot be forgiven?

The gospel of God is a gospel of love, not of hate. Men have corrupted the words of God to serve their own purposes, but God does not condone hatred, violence, murder, or war.

John Chapter 15 sums it up:

"1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall bask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."

In this chapter Christ speaks metaphorically. He compares us to branches on a vine. We cannot bear good fruit if we are not part of His vine. The Lord will choose whom he will choose to cast off, but of us it is required to love all men. "The servant is not greater than his lord." This scripture tells me that it's not up to us to decide who is good or bad, only the Lord can decide this, only the Lord can prune his vine. If we are His friends, we will know his will. If we are His friends, we will love one another.

R.D.

The Intolerant Tolerant Pt. 3

Joy Behar helped out my "Intolerant Tolerant" segment yesterday, by comparing Don Rumsfeld to Adolf Hitler. I saw her briefly today as my wife was watching "The View", she was trying to "apologize" for the statement. It didn't seem like much of an apology to me. She was more railing on the "mean"conservatives who twist her words to make it sound like she was calling the former Secretary of State a Hitler. Well, you judge for yourselves. Was that the comparison she meant to make or not? You may very well disagree with Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush administration. I think that any responsible person would disagree with at least some of what Bush has done, but to throw these kinds of comparisons around not only is slanderous, but it detracts from the evil perpetrated by the Nazis. The "Nazi" comparison is a favorite for today's left. If they disagree with you, you must be a "Nazi" and yet they try to keep military recruiters of their campuses, they throw pies at speakers, they won't invite conservative speakers to campuses on many occasions and they shout down speakers they don't agree with. I don't know which side is more "nazi". But thank you "View" you are giving my "Intolerant Tolerant" segment almost daily material!

Charlie Sheen bashes Christianity

Read about this at:
http://www.get-the-skinny.com/blog/?p=160

USS Oklahoma Groundbreaking Memorial 2006

Our grandfather served on the USS Oklahoma. He passed away earlier this year. He wasn't able to see this happen.

I got this email today:

USS Oklahoma Groundbreaking Memorial 2006

Greetings.

My name is Bob Adams. We had the honor of being at the USS Oklahoma Ground Breaking ceremony at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th 2006. It was a trip of a lifetime for us to meet the survivors, families and friends. To hear them tell their stories as well as the heart felt comments from speakers such as Rear Admiral Doug McClain, Commander Battle Force SEVENTH FLEET, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Paul Goodyear, a driving force behind the memorial and others.

Our goal was to document the event with photos and video for those who were not able to make it to the Memorial Groundbreaking as well as for those who attended and want to revisit their experience. I have photos online for viewing now. I will updating the site with additional photos and video in the days ahead, so please check back.

Here is a suggestion for viewing:

Please view the albums the first time using the slideshow link. The slideshow link is located above the large photo on the right side once you are in an album. As soon as you click the slideshow link, a control box will pop up from the bottom of the screen. Immediately move the duration slider (bottom right in the control box) all the way to the right (from 4 to 10). Turn your volume up.

Also, Please share the link with others you think would like to view both the USS Oklahoma and the Pearl Harbor - A Nation Remembers ceremonies.

If you would like to download any of the photos for your personal use please contact me and I will make arrangements.

Special Thanks to Kevin King for all his effort in the USS Oklahoma Memorial effort and his Great USS Oklahoma site at www.ussoklahoma.com
USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor Fund
USS Oklahoma Memorial, PO Box 7734, Edmond, OK 73083
(I will provide his email to you if you want it. I don't want him getting spammed.)

The photos are found at: http://ydm.phanfare.com/

Man Look At These Paganistic Mormons!

I love this Haka that BYU does! Polynesians rule! This is the coolest thing, but it makes me wonder sometimes what some people will think(seeing how suspicious people seem to be about us in general and how much ignorance there is in the world). When BYU was here in Boston, I wondered, will they say "see I told you honey, them Mormons is weirdos?" Know what? I don't really care, they'll think what they want anyway. We as LDS embrace all cultures as children of our father in heaven!
I wanted to see exactly what the Haka was so I found the definition online. Here it is:
A haka is a Māori posture dance accompanied by chanted vocals. Haka actions may include facial gesticulations such as showing the whites of the eyes and poking out tongues and a wide variety of body actions including slapping the hands against the body and stamping feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. Haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy, or whatever feelings are relevant to the purpose.
Haka are sometimes popularly thought of solely as war dances, but individual haka have different purposes, not all related to war. War haka were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition. Today, haka constitute an integral part of formal or official welcome ceremonies for distinguished visitors or foreign dignitaries, serving to impart a sense of the importance of the occasion.
The word haka also has a broader use as a generic term for Māori dance or song accompanied by dance. A group of people performing a haka are known as a kapa haka (kapa meaning row or rank). Thank you Wikipedia!
It is awesome! This is the one they did in front of the dang Utes up there in Salt Lake City, right before they smoked their sorry buttock. Yes I did go to the U, yes I can't stand the Utes, precisely because I went there.

Wow! Crazy Lady Alert on Hannity!

OK, I know the point of this blog is to speak the truth and to expose persecution and hypocracy. I don't want to be the one persecuting, but this lady and her congregation are way-out-there!
This Lady's church believes that 9-11 was good and every time a soldier dies it is a good thing, because it is the righteous judgment of God. OK, this is why people are put off by religion, because of hateful people in some extreme congregations. Like the ministry that held up "God Hates Fags" signs at Matthew Shepard's funeral. This is such a disgrace, it angers me that people could invoke his name for such garbage!
Hey, where do I sign up to join her church? Boy it sounds like it has a lot to offer! It helped this lady to become sinless! She's right! There are no innocent people, can I wack her? Please? J/K.
Now let me get this right, her family, just those 100 people are christian and no one else? I mean I know it says in the Bible that His people shall be called a "peculiar people", but I don't think it says anything about them being "off-their-rocker" does it?

Watch Monk on USA!

Since the mission statement of this blog is to seek after things that are praiseworthy, I would be remiss if I didn't post Monk, which by the way will air a brand new episode Friday at 9est on the USA network. If you haven't seen Monk, it is definitely worth watching. It is clean, wholesome and funny!
You can tell a lot about the show by this one clip. It is not the best scene from the Monk series certainly, but it'll do. You can tell by this that he is 1. a detective 2. almost non-functionally OCD 3. a prude and 4. very smart!
Tony Shalhoub plays the part of Monk and ex-detective turned private consultant. The reason he is so good at his job is that the smallest thing bothers him as you can see in this clip. He has one of the worse cleanliness fetishes ever and he wouldn't be able to function if he didn't have a side-kick with him 24-7 providing wet-wipes. It makes for good stories and good laughs! So if you haven't started watching it, GET ON IT!

Colbert vs. Wexler!

This is one of the funniest interviews I've ever seen in my life! You have to stick it out a little. It is almost 6 minutes long so it takes a couple of minutes to get to the really good stuff, but it is well worth it. I laughed so hard, I have milk coming out of my nose and I haven't drank milk in 3 years!
He tells Wexler that since he is running unopposed and you can't possibly lose, lets play a little game. He has him say all this stuff and amazingly, Wexler plays along with him. Funny, funny, funny.