Things My Dad Used to Say: "Thanks for the Warning."

Teen idol Jimmy McNichol 
in a Teen Beat T-shirt.

Dad would occasionally say "Thanks for the warning" when the TV promoted an upcoming show or episode he found especially annoying or banal (I don't think Dad ever used "banal," but he knew it when he saw it).

This is one I recall… and it took me a while to find it, believe me; the only thing I was going on was "teen heartthrob," and I don't know if Jimmy McNichol qualifies, but he was the key to finding it:

California Fever 1979 TV Theme

Unrelated (except for the 70's teen idol connection): if they ever give awards for the coolest TV intro themes, this one has to make the list:

Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries Theme

Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew.

Since it was on Sunday nights, I never saw it (was at church). I'd like to, though, and maybe I can find it online. I do remember Pamela Sue Martin did some naughty pictures, which ended her squeaky clean teen image but didn't hurt her career any. I think we were witnessing a tipping point about that time, where clandestine nude pictures were on the edge of good press. It could go either way, depending on how the unclothed person responded (in horror - too prudish; with pride - too slutty; or with grace and just a little shyness - juuuuuuust right).

Nowadays you'll run into a gynecological selfie just by Googling the wrong starlet at the wrong time, and no one bats an eye.

[2014-09-17]

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Happy Birthday, Streckfus >
September 30, 1924

Truman Capote as Lionel Twain in 1976's Murder by Death.

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China 2014 - more vids - feeding fish in a tank and in the lily pond.

This is Mimi eating a bit of leftover bread we took with us to feed the goldfish. It was sweet, like a sweet roll, and she liked them as much as the fish did.

China 2014 - Shenyang - Brother in law feeds his fish

China 2014 - Shenyang - Goldfish in the lily pond

China 2014 - Shenyang - Lily pond in sister in law's courtyard

[2014-09-24]

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My testimony last Sunday in church.

Dee Dee next to a statue of St Matthew, gifted by a member of St Andrew's in Grand Rapids. This picture is in St Matthew's sanctuary. Pastor Rob kept Matthew hidden before introducing him to the congregation.

Not because it's especially good (in fact, it's entirely unremarkable as writing), but because some family member somewhere today or someday might find it interesting.

"Hello everyone, I'm Charles. I know I've met some of you. I became a member here at St Matthew many months ago. I was a bit nervous when Pastor Rob asked me to say a few words about my own prayer life; I'm a writer, not a speaker, and far from a role model, but I can tell you honestly that prayer makes a difference.

Paul tells us to "pray without ceasing" [1 Thessalonians 5:17]. How do you do that? Coming from a fundamentalist background, I found that hard to do. You see, fundamentalist prayers are like conversations, and they're different every time. If a fundamentalist prays without ceasing, he's doing nothing else, because he'll be focusing as earnestly on that conversation as he would at the dinner table.

I only heard the Apostle's Creed once that I recall as a boy, and though I heard messages on the Lord's Prayer, we were also taught not to repeat it verbatim, but to use it as a model. It was new, strange, and refreshing to hear these prayers every week at St Matthew.

God has taught me that I can repeat a simple prayer anytime at all, and mean it just as much every time.

I'll share it with you in a moment.

But first, I want to tell you how prayer has changed me. I have a deep-seated sense of injustice, and inequity angers me. In fact, it made me bitter, and it was cutting me off from Jesus. (Jesus doesn't want to be around a bitter person anymore than we do.)

I have a hard time dealing with the divide between the wealthy and privileged who subjugate the poor and marginalized, and the poor and marginalized who are powerless to change it, and everyday things I think are unfair to me.

It's easy for me to pray for people I live with or work with, but it's very hard to pray for those who hurt others.

Of course, I pray daily for many things - including my family, Pastor Rob, Pastor Nick, and Pastor Dave back in my home of Erie, PA, and my church family here at St Matthew - but I close every prayer this way:

Dear Lord,

Teach me to more fully love you, and others as myself.

Help thou my unbelief.

And be merciful to me, a sinner.

Amen.

These are not my own words, of course, but they suit me well.

There are 3 buckets there, which I didn't realize until Pastor Rob asked me to reflect on prayer; they are love, faith, and forgiveness - and I don't know of any human hurt that doesn't fall into one of them.

This is a closer picture of the St Matthew statue from St Andrew's Cathedral in Grand Rapids

If I'm tempted to curse at another driver, or at a dimwitted pundit on TV, even a terrorist who beheads innocent people - I'm able (most of the time) to stop and pray for love, faith, and forgiveness, and gradually, I see these people (and myself and Jesus) differently.

And I've learned to ask for those things daily, often many times a day, and at least once a day I pray before a crucifix, like the one at the front of the sanctuary, so I don't forget just who it is I'm talking to."

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Earlier this week, a woman of Eastern European descent entered St Matthew Lutheran Church with the statue of St Matthew you see on the right. The statue had been in St Andrew's Cathedral in Grand Rapids for many years, but fallen into disrepair. The woman's husband, a caretaker at the Cathedral, refurbished it and wanted to give it a good home. As there are no St Matthew Catholic churches in our area, she gave it to us, where it was warmly received. It so happens that last Sunday, 9/21, was the Feast of St Matthew. I'm sure she was aware of that, and I wonder if the rest of the Apostles are finding new homes on their feast days.

What neat thing to do.

[2014-09-21]

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The Christ(al) Cathedral (Grandma Cairns, Robert H Schuller, and the Whore of Babylon)

The Crystal Cathedral. Garden Grove, CA (Wikimedia Commons)

As I recall, my Grandma Cairns (Geneva Cairns, née Bauer) was a financial supporter of Robert H Schuller, who pastored the Crystal Cathedral, a Reformed Church in America congregation you may remember from the TV show Hour of Power.

As a singularly prominent Protestant pastor, Schuller was regarded by the media as the heir apparent to an ailing Billy Graham (the closest thing Protestants ever had to a pope), but he never had the charisma and sincerity that came easily (and I think genuinely) to Graham

Schuller and his family fell into some legal battles, both amongst themselves and with creditors, and the Crystal Cathedral went on the market.

Guess who bought it?

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

An 1800s Russian engraving depicting the Whore of Babylon riding the seven-headed Beast (Wikimedia Commons)

I understand the Pope himself will be present at the grand re-opening (consecration) in 2016.

Your initial response might be to view this as a little Reformation revenge, but that wouldn't be correct. As much as we (Protestants) view Catholicism as the big bad Babylonian whore, they don't view us that way at all.

We are rather brothers and sisters in Christ who've fallen out of communion. They just want us to come home, and I think that's nice.

Fear and ignorance are sufficient all by themselves (ie, with no foundation in reality) to create neuroses for generations.

We distrust authority, especially when it has profoundly different customs than our own.

The new "Christ Cathedral" web page >

The Crystal Cathedral on Wikipedia >

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Robert Schuller

I understand enough Reformed theology (I graduated from Calvin College) to know what Schuller professed when he was ordained, but I can't tell you what he taught on TV or in his books, I just never watched or read him. But I recall he was roundly criticized by Reformed Christians for preaching a shallow and feel-good gospel.

[2014-09-19]

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Dee Dee, Barbie, kindergarten, and the giant mushroom.

A fews recent photos from my camera.

This is Dee Dee's new Barbie lunch bag for her first day in kindergarten.

This is what was in Dee Dee's lunch on the first day of kindergarten...

Dee Dee next to our grill...

A corner of our living room in evening sun. I thought this was very pretty.

I think this as a Giant Puffball Mushroom (probably Clavatia gigantea >)...

Apparently, if the mushroom is pure white all the way through, it's okay to eat. By the time we removed ours, it  had begun to spore and wouldn't have been edible. I let it grow to see just how big it would get.

[2014-09-18]

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hina 2014: More Vids - Driving around Chairman Mao, Shenhang cityscape, taxi ride

Chairman Mao statue in Shenyang, Liaoning, China

More videos from Shenyang, Liaoning, China 2014. 

(Note to self: I need to do something about my blog borders, I'm not crazy about the way larger videos run off the edge, but it's not at the top of my to-do list.

Many years ago I saw a couple IT guys working with new PDAs laugh at the term "note to self"; not sure why that's funny, I make notes to myself all the time, and sometimes refer to myself in the 3rd person, which also invites a giggle. I think that's a carry-over from referring to myself as Clarence here, and I take no offense, just a part of how I manage the voices.)

China 2014 Shenyang Cityscape

China 2014 Shenyang Driving around Chairman Mao statue

China 2014 Shenyang Taxi Ride

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Let's do the Bethel Baptist Polka!

Hier ist Festhaus-Musikanten. I don't know who they are, but they look like they have fun. Prosit! Photo credit and homepage >

Many years ago, when I was perhaps 11 or 12 years old, I went to a Christian day camp with some Bethel Baptist Church friends (probably a Young People's group). I don't remember anything about that day, except the ride home, at night, in the back of a van, with Mr Geiger driving. There were four of us at least in the back of that van - myself, brother Tom, Lee Geiger, and another or more whom I've forgotten.

As we were becoming tuned in to popular music, we asked Mr Geiger to find some rock 'n roll on the van's radio. He declined to do this, instead settling on a religious channel (which in those days was only hymns and hellfire).

Well, we finally got him to look for something else, anything else, and he landed on a station playing polkas, and wouldn't you know, we laughed and sang polkas for miles, all about beer and dancing and things good Baptists generally didn't sing about.

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We also begged for ice cream, and wouldn't you know, after some perfunctory objections, Mr Geiger stopped and bought us all ice cream.

I'm sure that day would forever be lost in some gray matter nook or cranny if we hadn't been treated to polkas and ice cream.

Thank you, Mr Geiger. A little ice cream and silliness go a long way.

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Mr Geiger is probably retired now, but at that time he ran Geiger & Sons Memorials in Erie, PA. I suspect his son Lee runs it now. Brother Tom told me once that Lee brought in a sheet of rubber to speech class at Bethel Christian School and explained how the gravestone letters are cut out of the rubber, which is then laid over the stone and sand blasted. He passed out little pieces for them to keep, and they looked for all the world like sticks of gum. I had a fascination even then for gravestones, last words, the afterlife and similar things, and wished that I could have heard Lee's speech, but Lee and Tom were a year younger than me and I wasn't in that class.

This is the front of Geiger & Sons Memorials in Erie, PA. They're located at 2976 W Lake Rd. They've been a family business for years.

[2014-09-11]

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After watching a movie about Jesus, one guys says… (why Jesus is like Bat-Man)

Collage of Jesus in the movies

After watching a movie about Jesus, one guys says…

"You don't really believe all that baloney, do you?"

The other guy says, "Can't you suspend your disbelief for a couple hours and just enjoy the movie?"

The first guy says, "That wasn't the greatest story ever told, that was the greatest myth ever told, the greatest deception ever perpetrated on humanity, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy all rolled into one; it's psychological child abuse, and the biggest pack of lies and fibs and bent truths since Eve discovered the juicy, tangy, tart and tender McIntosh."

And the second guy says, "But you'll let yourself believe that a man would dress up in a bat suit and fight crime."

!

.

[2014-08-12]

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God Bless Richard Kiel, 1939 - 2014 (Kanamit, Jaws, and Ghost-a-Go-Go)

Screen capture of this blog after Richard Kiel died
showing a rise in popularity of a post mentioning Richard Kiel

This is a screen capture of this blog a few days after actor Richard Kiel died. Kiel was best known as the James Bond villain "Jaws," but he had a long history of bit parts, including one as a Russian spy and ghost on Gilligan's Island.

It would seem those searching for Kiel found me, and maybe that's fitting, as I liked him as an actor before the rest of the world discovered him.

It also shows (and that is why I am posting this) that our own brief popularity is often due to the popularity of others.

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Kiel was a born-again Christian and credited his faith with his sobriety:

"Not only did God deliver me from the bondage of alcoholism, he also blessed my family financially because of my commitment to honor what he had done for me and for not doing what I believed could possibly be destructive to others."

Source: Richard Kiel's Testimony >

You may find that irrelevant, but I like learning that someone who died had hoped in the same things I do, and so it's especially relevant to me.

Left: Richard Kiel as a Russian spy on Gilligan's Island.
Right: Kiel as Bond villain Jaws in Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me.

[2014-09-16]

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China 2014: Videos of Grandma Zhao, family, and Mimi getting her hair braided.

This is an image for Facebook :-) 

Videos are below....







China 2014: Shenyang - Singing Happy Birthday to Grandma Zhao (>)

China 2014: Shenyang - Grandma Zhao's 80th Birthday Dinner (>)

China 2014: Shenyang - Grandma Zhao braids Mimi's hair (>)

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War always seems like a good idea when it starts, and a bad one when it ends.

War always seems like a good idea when it  starts, and a bad one when it ends.

Executed American journalists
James Foley (top)
and Steven Sotloff (bottom)

This latest war will be no different, despite our (quite justified) outrage at mass executions of innocents and propaganda executions of journalists.

Yet we go to war anyway, thinking "This time it will be different," or "We just can't stand by and do nothing."

I don't have an answer. I don't know anyone that does or did, except perhaps Jesus and Gandhi and kindred souls, but I don't think too many listened closely to either of them.

What does it really mean to turn the other cheek? Love your enemies?

Jesus was a pacifist, yet attracted Zealots (political and metaphorically).

How interesting.

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Is islam a religion of peace?

The better question is, is any human conviction immune to extremism?

No, I don't think so.

All faiths, all sects, all beliefs, if sufficiently fervent, can become horribly cruel.

[2014-09-12]

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As of this morning, 20 nations (many of them Arab) have signed on to eliminate ISIS/ISIL, even if it takes us into Syria. Why do I find this news heartening within three days of holding up Jesus as a counterexample?

Pacifism isn't easy.

Arabs will pay the heaviest price to stop ISIS, but let me tell you something: I'm not an old man, but I've watched a lot of military US military operations unfold, and I've never seen us stop with advisors. It's always escalated to include American troops. If Obama really does avoid sending combat troops, it will be a first, and good for him.

[2014-09-15]

Late development…

Saudi Arabia's Top Clerics Condemn Terrorism, Citing Quran >

If that's truly embraced by Abdula Al Six Pack, then Islamic extremism will end.

(Apologies to Muslims for my Sarah Palin reference. And the alcohol reference, too.)

[2014-09-17]

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