We saw a comedy team perform a few years ago at Trinity Mennonite Church, a church in Glendale, AZ. They were called Ted & Lee. They did selections from their repertoire called "The Creation Chronicles" It was a very funny rendition of God and Gabriel talking about how God created the world. Ted Swartzman played God, and Lee Eshelman played Gabriel. One part had God sitting at what looked like a large Etch-o-sketch, twisting dials and explaining to Gabriel what he was doing.
I"m adding some water... a little more water... a little more water... WHOA, Too much water! "
At any rate they were a very funny comedy team, who had a wonderful way to spread the Gospel, through laughter. Sue, Sandy & I were fortunate enough to meets these two gentlemen after the performance. They were very friendly, and approachable.
I had been in touch with their booking people, to try to bring them to our church here in Texas, but alas, we were not able to work out the details.
On May 17, 2007, after a long battle with depression, Lee Eshelman took his own life. He left behind his wife and 3 children, and his partner of more than two decades, Ted Swartz.
We mourn and pray for his loss with his family and his Friends, and fans.
If you would like to know more about Ted & Lee here is their website:
http://www.tedandlee.com/
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday's Movie Guide (Just a bit late!)
Sorry, it's late again!
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New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Ocean's Thirteen
Slick, amusing, but vapid and tired threequel shows a great deal of craft invested in an unworthy project.
Surf's Up
Framed as a documentary, this film of surfing penguins has some winning things to say about winning.
Hostel: Part II
Sequel to the super-violent Hostel is more gruesome and fetish-filled, but tells virtually the same story.
Paris, Je T'Aime
Paris couldn't have asked for a more sweetly jaundiced love letter than this collection of tales by 21 directors.
Day Watch
Part two of this trilogy is a highly-caffeinated assault on our senses that ups the ante on action and effects.
Disappearances
After a freak fire, a farmer returns to bootlegging in this lovingly handmade but frustratingly disjunctive tale.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters
****************************************
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Ocean's Thirteen
Slick, amusing, but vapid and tired threequel shows a great deal of craft invested in an unworthy project.
Surf's Up
Framed as a documentary, this film of surfing penguins has some winning things to say about winning.
Hostel: Part II
Sequel to the super-violent Hostel is more gruesome and fetish-filled, but tells virtually the same story.
Paris, Je T'Aime
Paris couldn't have asked for a more sweetly jaundiced love letter than this collection of tales by 21 directors.
Day Watch
Part two of this trilogy is a highly-caffeinated assault on our senses that ups the ante on action and effects.
Disappearances
After a freak fire, a farmer returns to bootlegging in this lovingly handmade but frustratingly disjunctive tale.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters
Friday, June 01, 2007
T.B. (Total Butthead!)
By now I guess most of us have heard about the guy with a hard to treat form of Tuberculosis, who left against medical advice, and flew all over Europe, possibly exposing hundreds of people to a communicable disease.
He now claims that no one told him he shouldn't leave, which I don't believe. Even if that were true, this guy is a practicing attorney, whom one would assume should have the common sense not to go traipsing in and out of the country, traveling in several airplanes exposing people to this disease, so he could get married.
Personally I think this moron should be jailed, and charged with reckless endangerment. According to the media, his new father in law is a an expert with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) who had given him "fatherly advice" not to leave. I guess he is calling his new wife's father a liar too!
If I were one of the people exposed to T.B by this jerks total lack of common sense and possibly criminal negligence, I would sue his ass off. That's my opinion anyway.
He now claims that no one told him he shouldn't leave, which I don't believe. Even if that were true, this guy is a practicing attorney, whom one would assume should have the common sense not to go traipsing in and out of the country, traveling in several airplanes exposing people to this disease, so he could get married.
Personally I think this moron should be jailed, and charged with reckless endangerment. According to the media, his new father in law is a an expert with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) who had given him "fatherly advice" not to leave. I guess he is calling his new wife's father a liar too!
If I were one of the people exposed to T.B by this jerks total lack of common sense and possibly criminal negligence, I would sue his ass off. That's my opinion anyway.
Friday's Movie Guide
Here it is, on time even!
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New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Knocked Up
When a one-night stand results in pregnancy, the results are sweet, naughty, thoughtful and funny.
Gracie
The best parts aren't inspirational achievements but the dark passage our heroine must navigate to get there.
Killer of Sheep
Stark, nonlinear portrait of a family in LA's Watts community in the '70s gets a well deserved restoration.
Severance
The bloody mayhem that ensues when a work retreat turns gruesome is both genuinely creepy and droll.
Even Money
Interweaving tales of gambling addicts are as grim and lurid as any film about the evils of crystal meth.
Mr. Brooks
Sloppy, sleazy trifle of chaotic storytelling follows a community leader who moonlights as a serial killer.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
*****************************************
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Knocked Up
When a one-night stand results in pregnancy, the results are sweet, naughty, thoughtful and funny.
Gracie
The best parts aren't inspirational achievements but the dark passage our heroine must navigate to get there.
Killer of Sheep
Stark, nonlinear portrait of a family in LA's Watts community in the '70s gets a well deserved restoration.
Severance
The bloody mayhem that ensues when a work retreat turns gruesome is both genuinely creepy and droll.
Even Money
Interweaving tales of gambling addicts are as grim and lurid as any film about the evils of crystal meth.
Mr. Brooks
Sloppy, sleazy trifle of chaotic storytelling follows a community leader who moonlights as a serial killer.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Here's an idea...
That's right, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth! We have been busy with a lot of different things. Not much of an excuse, but it is the truth! At any rate, here is the blog for today. Actually sort of a rant.
Sue and I were talking the other day about the continuing issue of the illegal immigrants, and Farmers Branch. It occurred to me that one of the problems that people have with illegal immigration is that the people who come here illegally tend to act as though they were still in the country they illegally immigrated from! They refuse to learn our language, they demand -not ask for but demand services, have babies that automatically become American citizens, and then wonder why Americans are up in arms!
I have a solution, (of sorts -) When they come here, across the border illegally, they need to immediately assimilate into American culture. Learn the language, learn the customs, not demand anything, just act as if they had been here forever ( like the rest of us that wrested the country away from the original inhabitants) and generally not act like an illegal immigrant. In other words, they need to stop drawing attention to themselves!
I think that if they stopped acting like Mexicans, Guatemalan, El Salvadorans, Costa Ricans, Irish, whatever, and acted like Americans, no one would notice them as much as they do when they speak only Spanish, and act as if they are still in the country they claim was so bad they had no choice but to leave and come here illegally! Something to think about!
Sue and I were talking the other day about the continuing issue of the illegal immigrants, and Farmers Branch. It occurred to me that one of the problems that people have with illegal immigration is that the people who come here illegally tend to act as though they were still in the country they illegally immigrated from! They refuse to learn our language, they demand -not ask for but demand services, have babies that automatically become American citizens, and then wonder why Americans are up in arms!
I have a solution, (of sorts -) When they come here, across the border illegally, they need to immediately assimilate into American culture. Learn the language, learn the customs, not demand anything, just act as if they had been here forever ( like the rest of us that wrested the country away from the original inhabitants) and generally not act like an illegal immigrant. In other words, they need to stop drawing attention to themselves!
I think that if they stopped acting like Mexicans, Guatemalan, El Salvadorans, Costa Ricans, Irish, whatever, and acted like Americans, no one would notice them as much as they do when they speak only Spanish, and act as if they are still in the country they claim was so bad they had no choice but to leave and come here illegally! Something to think about!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
A Day Late....
Not only that, but I haven't really done a real blog in a while. We have been a tad busy. Here is the Movie Guide, and I will try to get back here later for a real blog!
***********************************
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Third installment is confusing but has some dazzling bits, including the climactic battle sequence.
Bug
Psychodrama of surveillance technology and bio-warfare creates excruciating intensity.
Once
A street musician and a Czech lass in Dublin make beautiful music together in this modest, magical musical.
Red Road
Heroine's compulsion to watch leads her to acts that are shocking in their rawness and self-loathing.
Chalk
Scrappy mock documentary centers on the teachers and students at Harrison High.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
***********************************
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Third installment is confusing but has some dazzling bits, including the climactic battle sequence.
Bug
Psychodrama of surveillance technology and bio-warfare creates excruciating intensity.
Once
A street musician and a Czech lass in Dublin make beautiful music together in this modest, magical musical.
Red Road
Heroine's compulsion to watch leads her to acts that are shocking in their rawness and self-loathing.
Chalk
Scrappy mock documentary centers on the teachers and students at Harrison High.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Cheap & Easy one... Friday's Movie Guide
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Shrek the Third
Latest installment has laughs, but also a been-there, done-that stench as Shrek inherits Far Far Away.
The TV Set
Like the industry it parodies, this film about the world of television has its moments but is mostly compromised.
The Wendell Baker Story
This loose-limbed comedy aims for laid-back and eccentric but more often hits lazy and annoying.
Fay Grim
Talky, snide satire of international intrigue movies turns serious about halfway through.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Shrek the Third
Latest installment has laughs, but also a been-there, done-that stench as Shrek inherits Far Far Away.
The TV Set
Like the industry it parodies, this film about the world of television has its moments but is mostly compromised.
The Wendell Baker Story
This loose-limbed comedy aims for laid-back and eccentric but more often hits lazy and annoying.
Fay Grim
Talky, snide satire of international intrigue movies turns serious about halfway through.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Anti-Immigration Law passes in North Texas
By now you have likely heard that an Apartment ban requiring Apartment managers to obtain proof that those renting or renewing leases are in the country legally was overwhelmingly passed by the voters.
This law was the brainchild of city councilman Tim O'Hare who last fall had proposed a law with a bit more teeth. Along with the Apartment Ban was a law making English the official language, and requiring the FB Police Department enroll in an ICE training program.
The ban initially went into effect, and immediately the opposition went into action. They went to court and got an injunction. Ordinance 2903 would require apartment management to obtain proof of citizenship or legal immigration status before entering into or renewing leases or rental agreements.
The only exception to the ban would be that mixed-status families could stay if they were already living in the apartment, the spouse or head of household is a citizen or here legally, and the household includes the head of household and spouse and their minor children or parents.
Several groups got into the act complaining about the ban including the ACLU, LULAC, ( League of United Latin American Citizens) and others calling the law racist. Is it racist to ask people to follow the law? I don't think so.
I fully understand why people want to leave their home countries to come here. I understand that it is not always easy to wade through the red tape to come here legally, but the law is the law. To put it another way and I hate to use his tired cliché but "What part of Illegal don't they understand?"
It gets put to an election, the people of Farmers Branch overwhelmingly approved the measure 68% to 32%, and that is not good enough for them. The name of the organization that opposed the ordinance was "Let the Voters Decide" So the voters decided, and that apparently isn't good enough. I guess it was "Let the Voters Decide" as long as they decide our way!
The opposition now plans to clog the courts with more injunction requests, and appeals. Why? All that is going to happen is to delay the inevitable. A judge is eventually going to say "Hey, it's over. The electorate had it's say and decided that they want the ban. Go the hell away!"
Well, it is time for these people to give it up, and understand that the people of Farmers Branch have had it with illegal immigrants. If you are here illegally, and I don't care what country you are from, be it Mexico, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, whatever. If you're not here legally then you are breaking the law!
If you are breaking the law, then you are illegal no matter what country you are from. That's not racist.
This law was the brainchild of city councilman Tim O'Hare who last fall had proposed a law with a bit more teeth. Along with the Apartment Ban was a law making English the official language, and requiring the FB Police Department enroll in an ICE training program.
The ban initially went into effect, and immediately the opposition went into action. They went to court and got an injunction. Ordinance 2903 would require apartment management to obtain proof of citizenship or legal immigration status before entering into or renewing leases or rental agreements.
The only exception to the ban would be that mixed-status families could stay if they were already living in the apartment, the spouse or head of household is a citizen or here legally, and the household includes the head of household and spouse and their minor children or parents.
Several groups got into the act complaining about the ban including the ACLU, LULAC, ( League of United Latin American Citizens) and others calling the law racist. Is it racist to ask people to follow the law? I don't think so.
I fully understand why people want to leave their home countries to come here. I understand that it is not always easy to wade through the red tape to come here legally, but the law is the law. To put it another way and I hate to use his tired cliché but "What part of Illegal don't they understand?"
It gets put to an election, the people of Farmers Branch overwhelmingly approved the measure 68% to 32%, and that is not good enough for them. The name of the organization that opposed the ordinance was "Let the Voters Decide" So the voters decided, and that apparently isn't good enough. I guess it was "Let the Voters Decide" as long as they decide our way!
The opposition now plans to clog the courts with more injunction requests, and appeals. Why? All that is going to happen is to delay the inevitable. A judge is eventually going to say "Hey, it's over. The electorate had it's say and decided that they want the ban. Go the hell away!"
Well, it is time for these people to give it up, and understand that the people of Farmers Branch have had it with illegal immigrants. If you are here illegally, and I don't care what country you are from, be it Mexico, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, whatever. If you're not here legally then you are breaking the law!
If you are breaking the law, then you are illegal no matter what country you are from. That's not racist.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Friday's Movie Guide
Here is the Friday Movie Guide - Quite a few movies this week, though I doubt anything will beat Spiderman 3!
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
28 Weeks Later
28 Days Later sequel offers another helping of English apocalypse with a dose of current events allegory.
The Ex
A workable idea, but except for a few funny moments, this is material more fitting for a so-so TV sitcom.
Georgia Rule
Lower your expectations and your jaw, and you might find this the most watchable fiasco of the summer.
Delta Farce
Three Army reserves are accidentally dropped off in Mexico on the way to Iraq in this comedy. This film was not screened in advance for critics.
Mafioso
An unsavory task awaits a Fiat plant foreman from Milan who takes his family to Sicily in this dark 1962 comedy.
Away From Her
Truly, deeply effective tale follows a woman's slow descent into Alzheimer's and her husband's response.
Jindabyne
Aussie buddies decide to keep on fishing after they find a dead Aborigine woman in this thoughtful drama.
The Hip Hop Project
Uplifting doc follows a guy who overcame his own sad childhood to help other troubled kids make better music.
Waitress
Keri Russell's strong performance saves an otherwise too-cute sitcom about an unhappily married pie-slinger.
Home of the Brave
Americans returning home from Iraq deserve a deeper, more substantive portrait than this drama.
The Salon
This comedy rarely inspires even chuckles, much less the belly laughs generated by the Barbershop movies.
Blind Dating
Comedy mixes cringe-worthy blind jokes, the sexual immaturity of American Pie and overeager actors.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
28 Weeks Later
28 Days Later sequel offers another helping of English apocalypse with a dose of current events allegory.
The Ex
A workable idea, but except for a few funny moments, this is material more fitting for a so-so TV sitcom.
Georgia Rule
Lower your expectations and your jaw, and you might find this the most watchable fiasco of the summer.
Delta Farce
Three Army reserves are accidentally dropped off in Mexico on the way to Iraq in this comedy. This film was not screened in advance for critics.
Mafioso
An unsavory task awaits a Fiat plant foreman from Milan who takes his family to Sicily in this dark 1962 comedy.
Away From Her
Truly, deeply effective tale follows a woman's slow descent into Alzheimer's and her husband's response.
Jindabyne
Aussie buddies decide to keep on fishing after they find a dead Aborigine woman in this thoughtful drama.
The Hip Hop Project
Uplifting doc follows a guy who overcame his own sad childhood to help other troubled kids make better music.
Waitress
Keri Russell's strong performance saves an otherwise too-cute sitcom about an unhappily married pie-slinger.
Home of the Brave
Americans returning home from Iraq deserve a deeper, more substantive portrait than this drama.
The Salon
This comedy rarely inspires even chuckles, much less the belly laughs generated by the Barbershop movies.
Blind Dating
Comedy mixes cringe-worthy blind jokes, the sexual immaturity of American Pie and overeager actors.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.
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