Riley's Corner - Favorite Candy Bars

This week's entry for Riley's Corner is sweeeeet!
All you have to do is name your three favorite candy bars of all time.

Riley's Corner

This week's question on Riley's Corner is a doozy. The question is: if the Motion Picture Association of America had to choose one movie to keep in existence, and the other is lost forever, which one will you choose? Dumb and Dumber or Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

Convert An Atheist Game Show

What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

You can read the rest here.

Some questions:
-Do you think that this sort of contest will ever produce a respectable result?
-Would you watch it?
-Would you participate?
-Do you think the network is more concerned with ratings than conversions?
-Do you see this as an effective means to convert atheists to a religion?
-If you are atheist, what are your thoughts about this? Is it laughable to you?

Billy Mays Dead At 50

Mays, 50, the emphatic and well-known hawker of the OxiClean stain remover, the Zorbeez super chamois, a sticky substance called Mighty Putty and many other items offered for an amazing low price, was found unresponsive in his Tampa, Fla., home Sunday morning. He was declared dead by a fire rescue crew at 7:45 a.m., according to Sgt. Christopher Ugles, a spokesman for the Tampa Police Department.

The cause of his death was unknown, but Mays had told his wife, Deborah, that he didn't feel well after a U.S. Airways flight he was on made a bumpy landing Saturday afternoon. In an interview with a local TV station, Mays said he was struck on the head by a falling object during the landing.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Will infomercials ever be the same?
-Three celebrities in a week... is there anything to learn/take away from this?

The Outrage! Going From Gay To Straight

The title of his song [Luke was gay], implying that some gays can change to heterosexuality, was sufficient to destabilize the Italian gay movement. Gay activists threatened to block the festival, and Europarlimentary member Vittorio Agnoletto asked for a European resolution to stop Povia from peforming the song. Povia, himself, received death threats. The gay association "Everyone" denounced Povia to the Procura of the Republic for alleged "homophobia." These efforts failing, gay activists then asked the Festival organizers to "counterbalance" Povia with a song by a gay singer, about "the perfection of homosexual love." That effort too, failed.

I find it a strange twist in irony when a group of people who long for acceptance, who wish so terribly to move past tolerance and into open acceptance, do the very thing they despise to another group of people as they are seen as a hindrance to their agenda.

Tolerance is a politically correct term; it gets used the same way politicians use our political system: for self gain. It has no usefulness other than it is a way for one group to "progress" to where other groups have already socially/culturally arrived or always been. However, when a group that is contrary to your stance rallies around the banner of tolerance, they are threatened and all that can be done to marginalize them will be done.

This goes to show the true nature of humanity. It goes to show that we are in need of something, someone outside ourselves that can help us to understand and know what true love really is. Once we learn to love, tolerance will no longer be a banner that some will carry. However, I fear that us learning to love will not occur on this side of death.

Ht: Stand to Reason

You can read more here.
You can watch the video here (the quicktime version has subtitles for the lyrics).
***Another interesting story can be read here that shows the irrational lengths that one homosexual person went to enjoy the benefits of a heterosexual marriage.***

Some questions:
-Why would the oppressed turn to oppression- does this not contradict all that they stand for?
-What is a Christian's role in all of this?
-Is homosexuality a sin? Biblically is it a sin?
-In regards to the article, why do you think the crowd hissed at the pro gay speaker after the song was completed?
-

JAMMA Commercial Of Mixed Martial Arts

Here is a commercial I recently finished for the upcoming JAMMA event for the night after Christmas. So, is MMA considered a "sport"?

Jackson Area Mixed Martial Arts

Been busy working on a tv pilot for mixed martial arts. This is a 30 second spot I just finished for it.

So, in case you have wondered why I haven't been around, this is part of the reason as of late.

St. Louis Over Memorial Day Weekend

Over Memorial Day my wife and I went with another couple to St. Louis and spent the weekend. It was a great time. We stayed downtown with a great view from our 15th floor room overlooking the Arch; right across the hall on the other side you could see the new stadium built for the Cardinals. Needless to say, the hotel was in a great location.

Our plan was to not be rushed and feel bound to an itinerary, so we had a few places we wanted to visit and anything else was bonus. We got in Friday night/Saturday morning and went to bed and spent all of Saturday at Six Flags St. Louis. If you are planning on going, I recommend looking online for tickets as you are almost guaranteed to get them cheaper anywhere other than the park. We stopped Friday night in Cape Girardeau to pick up some at Schnuck’s but the “Courtesy Desk” was closed and no one could get us tickets until 7.30am the next morning. The next day before leaving the hotel we printed off some from SixFlags.com and gained admittance for what was normally a child’s fare.

Six Flags was great. Roller coasters in general are great. The Boss, a wooden roller coaster, is at the top of my list (and in the top 5 in the nation for wooden roller coasters). We stayed until the park closed and headed back to the hotel to turn in for sleep.

The next day we spent some time at Forest Park, at the Science Center, the Jewel Box, and the Zoo and topped it off with a great dinner at a local restaurant downtown. We saw some amazing things at all of these places and I will post a link on this post at some point in the near future to show off some of the things we saw- just can’t do it today.

Then on Monday we left out and went to the Botanical Gardens and The City Museum. The Botanical Gardens really make you pause to think on the creativity of our God. It is a great, peaceful place that is nothing short of beautiful. Finally, before we left for home, we spent the last two hours of our trip at The City Museum. We did not bring any cameras [I think you can see why] in except for my phone with which I snapped the photos above. This place has been around for 10 years, housed in an old 7 story factory building, and everything in it came from the St. Louis area (including all of the art and items used to construct it). And, don’t let the name fool you, it is not your typical museum. This place was like a giant playground where nothing was off limits (by that I mean you can interact however you wish with whatever is there). They had giant ball pits, a humongous “monkey bar’ set (if you can even call it that) as well as a cave system, giant slides, tunnels, an aquarium, tube systems, as well as art intertwined with the design of the setup. It was the icing on the cake of our trip. If you have ever went to a fast food restaurant and wanted to play on the playground equipment but you were too old and too tall, this is a great place to fulfill that desire! It will be on my list of to do’s when I go back to St. Louis.

So, what did you do over Memorial Day weekend?

***Click the picture below to see the other pictures I said I would post***

MacBook Air

Is it worth it?

Hulu Enters The Online Video World

Video on-demand took a leap forward this morning with the launch of Hulu.com. Created by NBC Universal and News Corp. (FOX's owner), this online video-streaming site is looking to dethrone YouTube as the go-to site for video clips. The question is whether it has the muscle power to do that.

From The Simpsons to The Office, Hulu has a solid catalogue of current programs to attract viewers. They're free with limited commercial interruption. You can even find some gems like Arrested Development and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

There's a lot to like about Hulu's layout. It's interface is clean and straightforward, and you can browse for content in a variety of ways including genre, popularity, or by typing in the name of the show you're looking for. You can even add a show to a feed reader and get updates when new episodes or clips of that show are added.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Are you going to give it a try?
-If you did, what are your thoughts?

USB Thumb Drive Movie Rentals?

For those who think a movie rental store is too cumbersome or digital download too slow, a new option may be in store for you: USB movie rentals.

PortoMedia says its technology can download a standard definition movie in less than a minute. A starter USB kit will cost around $60 (U.S. pricing isn't set), which will provide you with a USB drive, a USB dock, and six movie rentals.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Would you pay ~$60 to just be able to start using this service?
-If their kiosks are plentiful and user friendly, do you see Netflix and Blockbuster a thing of the past?
-Do you find the idea of a thumb drive more convenient than say a disc or internet download?
-Do you see any potential setbacks to suing propriatary usb drives for this service?
-Would you rather see these kiosks sitting next to the gas pumps (download while you pump) or in an airport terminal or ______?

Don't Steal That Song, It May Not Be Legal!

Music fans around the world faced confusion today as it was announced they would be able to download unlimited, free songs without breaking the law.

A revamped online file-sharing service had vowed to offer a catalogue of 30million free songs that are compatible with iPods, but record labels have denied they had granted permission to share the songs.

...Warner Music said it had not authorised the use of its tracks by Qtrax - and later Universal Music Group and EMI followed suit, saying they did not have licensing deals with Qtrax and discussions were continuing.

You can read more here.

An observation:
-As quick as it came, in all probability, it is gone.

Abortion: A Thing Of Which To Celebrate!

Denny Burk picked up on this article that has since been removed from Yale Daily News and replaced with an explanation of why the week long event was held.

Students who walked into WLH 119 on Tuesday night were greeted with models of the female pelvis complete with fallopian tubes, cervixes, vaginas — and papayas on which to perform mock abortions. . .
The presenters began by showing the students different surgical tools used during different stages of a pregnancy and ticking off statistics about the safety and number of abortions performed in the United States. Eighty-five percent of counties in America do not have any abortion providers, Evans said.
Evans and Rasha Khoury MED ‘08, another member of Medical Students for Choice, who said she plans to become a gynecologist and expects to perform abortions, went on to describe one of the most common abortion procedures, manual vacuum aspiration, which “creates suction to evacuate pregnancy,” Evans said. The technique is a good option because the device involved is reusable and relatively cheap, she said.

You can read more here.
You can read the actual story picked up by Free Republic (b/c Yale tooke it down) here.
You can read the "clarification" for why the event took place here.

Some questions:
-Should abortion be a thing that we come together over and celebrate by performing mock abortions?
-What thoughts come to mind when you read the excerpt above?
-If you are for abortion rights, do you find the above commendable?
-What do you think of the "clarification" and the need to clarify?
-Would you ever throw a party like this?

Pole Dancing On The Christmas Parade Route

Onlookers at a Marathon, FL Christmas Parade saw more than they bargained for in yesterday's parade. Normally Santa, elves, his reindeer and several other secularlized Christmas time favorites find their way into the parade route. This year though featured a float with what appeared to be a naked woman suggestively dancing on a float. See below:

Spectators at the Boot Key Harbor Lighted Boat Parade shielded their children from seeing women clad in white body stockings gyrating seductively on the parade float's mast, the Florida Keys Keynote said Thursday.
"This woman is all bent over, totally naked and doing a dance you see in Key West," an elementary school teacher watching the parade told the newspaper. "It was one of the most vulgar things I've ever seen."
Judges disagreed, telling complainers, "If you don't like it, just sit down and shut up. The kids shouldn't be here, anyway."

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Is there anything wrong with a woman doing this at a Christmas Parade?
-Are the judges right? Kids shouldn't be there anyway?
-What would you say to a judge who told you to sit down and shut up if you don't like it?
-If you have had your children there, how would you have responded?
-What are the purpose of Christmas Parades?

DivX On The PS3: The Rumors Are True

The below is taken from a DivX newsletter:

You may have heard the news about PlayStation 3 support for DivX video. Well, pop the bubbly because it's true. We have indeed made a deal with Sony to add DivX video playback to their popular PS3 gaming console.
And that's all you get for now. While I wish I could answer the most obvious question and tell you exactly when the DivX-laden updates will be released, I can't. Sorry. I know it's a little out of character for gamers, but try to be patient. I mean, you could always go play a game while you wait. I hear Mrs. Pac Man is fun ... the boards change! Imagine that.

That is great. No more round about ways to get DivX to play on the PS3. Here is what I have been doing in case anyone is interested in playing back DivX or a plethora of other files on your PS3. I have been using Nero Ultimate 7 with its media home server and Nero Scout additions to transcode files on the fly and stream them wirelessly to the Playstation 3 for playback on the television. It works great and with the latest updates the only thing I cannot get to work is the DivX HD files. I hope that the officially supported update will include this ability.

Here are two links with two different options of playing media from your PC to your TV via the PS3 (media that Windows Media Server will not recognize). Enjoy!

Option 1: Tversity (free)
Option 2: Nero Ultimate 7 (free if you already own Nero Ultimate 7 or 8)