Mount Athos

PART 1

Link: [On CBS News/60 Minutes]

PART 2

Link: [On CBS News/60 Minutes]

No, there is no questioning the depth of their devotion, but be assured that their faith is misguided.  For locking yourself away in a monastery might be necessary if our Heavenly Father really was all that hard to find, but He really isn’t.  For it is written: “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.  To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’  All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.”  [Isaiah 65:1-2 NIV]

It might also be necessary to lock yourself away in a monastery if we really were expected to purify ourselves of all wickedness in addition to accepting Christ Jesus our own personal Lord and Savior, but we are not.  For it is written: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  What, then, shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns?  No one.  Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:28-29 NIV]

Alas, far too many have been led to believe that it is “all good” after one truly accepts Christ Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior, and it really is.  The key, however, is whether or not He has been truly accepted as our own personal Lord and Savior.  For at that very moment, a very close and personal relationship is established, which most certainly includes quite frequent (if not almost constant) communication between the saved and their Savior, and this doesn't exist for far too many who sincerely believe that they are truly in Him.

No, it is not the same for all.  For it all depends upon what our Heavenly Father wants to accomplish in and through someone that determines when (and to what extent) He will allow and enable them to enter into His absolute Truth, and in some cases, the scales will not be lifted from their eyes until just before they take their very last breath in this world.

Nonetheless, being kept in the dark (so to speak) should be of great concern to all who have no idea what I have been given to say about this.  For this is what truly seeking His face, which is quite pleasing to our Heavenly Father, is all about [Hebrews11:6].  Ah, but of what value is this to those who do not want to believe it? 

P.S.: If you believe that I am the one who is woefully deceived, please do not hesitate to tell me so.  For it is most pleasing to our Heavenly Father to care about the Spiritual welfare of others.

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Male Chauvinist Pigism?

[Pam Ward] has been a play-by-play announcer for college football games on ESPN for several years now, and whenever I run across one of the games she is working, I will look for another to watch.  However, since it is coming to the end of another season, I went ahead and watched the rebroadcast of the [Military Bowl] earlier this morning, and my mouth actually flopped open when I heard the following.

Dan Hawkins Announcing Gaffe - A funny movie is a click away

Link: [On Guyism]

In case you missed it, [Dan Hawkins], who was doing the color commentary, told Ms. Ward, “Don’t go to the kitchen, Pam.  You’re going to miss a score in this game!”

Now, I would like to believe that the reason why I don’t want to watch a game that she is working is on account of her voice.  For hearing [Hannah Storm], [Dana Jacobson], [Michele Tafoya] and several other ladies talk football doesn’t bother me a bit, but in the spirit of full disclosure, they are all fairly good looking (trying to stay out of trouble with my wife here) while Ms. Ward is not (at least to me).

Anyway, I wonder what motivated Mr. Hawkins to say something like that.  In all fairness, it may have been an inside joke between them, but since she seemed to ignore it…

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We Don't Talk Anymore

I woke up one day last week with the first part of the chorus to the following song playing in my head.  Since I have not heard it through more conventional means in quite some time, there was little doubt in my mind about where it was coming from.

I then began to become quite concerned.  For I thought that the reason why He was playing this song for me was on account of not being responsive enough.  For there are times when I just act upon what He is telling me without there being any actual discussion between us taking place, but I now know that the song is meant for all who want to believe that He doesn’t want to actually talk to them.

No, most won’t get it, and if it is on account of our Heavenly Father not allowing and enabling them to yet, that’s okay.  Oh, but woe be it unto all who do, and just don’t want to accept what He wants them to know and understand.

Link: [On YouTube]

We Don’t Talk Anymore

Cliff Richard

Used to think that life was sweet

Used to think we were so complete

I can’t believe you’d

Throw it away

Used to feel we had it made

Used to feel we could sail away

Can you imagine

How I feel today

Well it seems a long time ago

You were the lonely one

Now it comes to letting go

You are the only one

Do you know what you’ve done

It’s so funny

How we don’t talk anymore

It’s so funny

Why we don’t talk anymore

But it ain’t losing sleep

And I ain’t counting sheep

It’s so funny

How we don’t talk anymore

Oh

We don’t talk

Well it really doesn’t matter to me

I guess you’re leaving

Was meant to be

It’s down to you now

You wanna be free

Well I hope you know

Which way to go

You’re on your own again

Don’t come cryin’ to me

When you’re the lonely one

Remember what you’ve done

It’s so funny

How we don’t talk anymore

It’s so funny

Why we don’t talk anymore

But I ain’t losing sleep

And I ain’t counting sheep

Sheep

No no no

It’s so funny

How we don’t talk anymore

Oh

We don’t talk

Ooooooh

We don’t talk

No no no

I ain’t losing sleep

No I ain’t

Counting sheep

Sheep

No no no no

It’s so funny

How we don’t talk anymore

Anymore

Oooh

We don’t talk

Oooh

We don’t talk

Lyrics From: [elyrics.net]

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Bob Costas on Tim Tebow

Link: [On YouTube]

All who want to stand upon their own merits will be permitted to do so, come Judgment Day.

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Evolutionary Science Is Evolving

Link: [On YouTube]

If you have suspicions of Evolutionary Science evolving into a full-fledged religion, [Journey of the Universe] should end all speculation.  For that trailer provided a very small taste of what is actually contained in the actual film.

No, it is not necessarily a triumph of secular-humanism.  For this film suggests that we are merely another creation of the universe itself, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem for most atheists.

Yes, I am quite sure that [Brian Thomas Swimme], who considers himself to be an evolutionary philosopher, would cringe at calling his way of thinking as being religious, but he co-wrote Journey of the Universe with [Mary Evelyn Tucker], who is a scholar at Yale, with a particular interest in the histories of religions.  [Here] is a synopsis of the film.

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Lose Lose Lose

Watch Churchill's Deadly Decision on PBS. See more from SECRETS OF THE DEAD.

Link: [On PBS]

I started to cringe within the first few seconds of the start of this program, and that grew to almost seizure-like proportions by the end.  For I hate the fact that [President Roosevelt] placed [Prime Minister Churchill] in such an untenable position, which was undoubtedly in the hope of appeasing very selfish [Republican] interests in order to keep his [New Deal] alive.  I also hate the fact that the French were not more cooperative, along with [where] their sovereign pride got them.

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Tim Tebow

If you are not a fan of the [NFL], nor college football, nor caught an occasional sports segment on your local news broadcast, nor pay any attention to the comings and goings in the American Christian community, you may have never heard of [Tim Tebow].  To get you up to speed, he is the current starting quarterback for the [Denver Broncos].  Before that, he was the starting quarterback for the [Florida Gators], where he was part of two national championship teams.

He also won the [Heisman Trophy] while at Florida, and the following video helps to clarify why I find him so troubling.

Link: [On YouTube]

No, he is not a fake.  That is, at least not in regards to him truly being the epitome of what is generally considered to be a Christian in the eyes of the Christian community, but there is a BIG difference between merely having a semblance of knowledge about Christ Jesus and actually knowing Him in a very close and personal way.

Link: [On YouTube]

Yes, it matters, and he has been given a perfect opportunity to help as many as will to see that our Heavenly Father really is actively involved in our daily lives.  For it is minor miracle every time he completes a pass.

You see, Tim is really awful at throwing the ball most of the time.  In fact, he is so bad, the Denver Broncos have had to almost completely revamp their offense to accommodate his limitations.

Why would they go to so much trouble?  Well, he has proven to be a fairly consistent winner in NFL so far, and it would be most foolish of the Denver Broncos management to cut off their nose to spite their face (so to speak) by refusing to put him behind center.

Honestly, we are witnessing another David vs. Goliath situation here with Tim in the NFL.  For there is no way that he should be having so much success against the defensive schemes he has been facing, and if he had any sort of close and personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, he would be the first to make that clear.

Instead, he talks about God having a plan for his life, and that he doesn’t pay any attention to what others say about him, which is consistent with what has been so widely taught.  For far too many have been led to believe that our Heavenly Father couldn’t care less about what we think of Him and His righteousness while the absolute truth of the matter is exactly the opposite.  Granted, our opinions will not move Him to change His plans, but it grieves Him deeply that most do not understand, nor really want to.

Oh, but people are starting to notice, anyway.  For I heard several sports commentators asking if we might be witnessing a higher power at work through Tim, and he has had nothing to say about that so far.

Of course, if Tim really doesn’t pay any attention to what others are saying, he would miss things like that.  May he come out of the shadows of Spiritual ignorance before it is too late.

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Lavender Being Washed Out

The following video was smuggled out of the top secret facility that [Lavender Darwin] is being held at, with a note about this being an example of some of the torture techniques he is being subjected to.  For they are strapping him to a chair, and making him watch and listen to such until he starts bobbing his head to the music.  It only took 15 minutes the first time.

Link: [On YouTube]

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Ham, Anyone?

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Adios, Adgitize

Last March, I published [Slick Adgitizing] as part of the [Come Monday] series on AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles.  It was about how several place non-Adgitize ads right up against the Adgitize widget, which makes them indistinguishable from the ones that Adgitize members click-on to get points.

After exchanging emails with Ken Brown, the owner(?) of Adgitize, he assured me that he would check it out when he finished some project he was working on.  I never heard anything back from him after that, but several weeks later, I did notice that he had added a razor-thin border to the widget, which was useless from my evidently overly cynical point-of-view.

With no official notice, many more are now doing the same thing.  I was preparing an update, which would have included linked-icons of the sites that I have noticed, but I suppose it is a mute point now.  For my patience with Mr. Brown has run-out, and I will be deleting my Adgitize account in the next day or two.

No, it is not just on account of the slick adgitizing issue that I am leaving.  For when I went to renew the ad for this site, I found that I did not have enough in my PayPal account.  When I went to see what was going on, I discovered that the last payment I had received from Adgitize was on September 8^th for $12.59, which was down from the $15.31 that I had been paid on August 6^th.

Needlessly to say, I was confused.  For a post is published each and every day on AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles, which is where the Adgitize widget is located, and several articles are published here each week.  Furthermore, I had been making enough drops to earn the limit of 100 points every day until I stopped last week on account of having better things to do.

When I asked Mr. Brown about what was going on via email around four hours ago, I received a reply a couple of hours later, which is certainly commendable.  What he said was not.

I am showing earnings of $3.18 for September and $4.73 for October. That is less than the necessary $10 threshold to receive a payment from Adgitize.

When I look at your points earned for September and October you are earning 270 points a day which translate into 9 to 11 cents a day. On the 3 days in October you wrote an article on your blog you earned over 350 points. That would have earned you around 54 cents a day. It doesn't appear you have written an article since mid October that we have recorded.

To be honest about it, I have never understood his points system, but I suspect that the main reason for why my income decreased so rapidly is on account of the content.  For last February, he notified me that much of what I publish was falling well short of what he considers to be original content, and after I explained to him that there is still a great deal of work involved in even publishing my [Sites To See/A Sunday Drive] and [WhiteHeart Wednesday] series, he graciously apologized and all went merrily along until September.

Alas, I first joined Adgitize in April of 2009.  If you want to stay, proceed at your own risk.

***UPDATE***

Since this was published, I received another email from Mr. Brown that suggested that I had not informed them of the RSS feed change to AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles, which occurred after the original Feedburner RSS feed for that site just quit working.  Since I had not received any notice of them no longer being able to pick up my feed, I assumed that it had automatically switched like it did in other cases.  Nonetheless, I am still done.

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K.I.S.S. II?

Link: [On YouTube]

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So Bad It's Good?

Link: [On YouTube]

NO!!!

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Conker's Bad Fur Day

***WARNING***

Parental Guidance Is Warranted

This Goes Double For Lavender

Link: [On YouTube]

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Dull

“Are you still so dull?”  Jesus asked them.

[Matthew 15:16 NIV]

I first started not liking [Penn State] very much when their football team beat my beloved [Missouri Tigers] in the [1970 Orange Bowl], 10-3.  Yes, I have made it quite clear that my first love is the [Arkansas Razorbacks], but with me spending more time in the state of misery than opportunity, I have found it prudent to save some love for good ol’ Mizzou.

Anyway, that Orange Bowl victory came at the end of [Joe Paterno’s] fifth season as the head football coach at Penn State, which would make this season be his 45^th.  Of course, since my trusty old solar-powered Casio calculator died, I have had to do my mathematical cypherin’ on my not-so-trusty, even older and non-solar-powered abacus.  So, I might be off a decade or two.

Did you happen to take note of the score of that Orange Bowl game?  This is typical of the 400+ victories under Paterno.  For he has them playing smash-mouth football, which is a very exciting style if you enjoy seeing the teams trying to run over the other.  For the rest of us, it can be excruciatingly dull.

Despite the area where the main campus of Penn State is located being called Happy Valley, I would think that it would require being a rather dull person to attend the school.  For a great deal of Pennsylvania is quite mountainous, which leads to pockets of isolation, and as you can see from the map, State College, which is the middle of the map and where the main campus of Penn State is located, is in a very isolated pocket.

If you can’t see it, please take my word for it.  For I have been just north of State College on I-80 more times than I’d like to remember, and it takes a while to get anywhere from there.

Put it this way, it is a good three (and much more likely over four) hour drive to Pittsburgh, even in a sports car with a lot of power and corners well.  Yes, it is somewhat closer to Harrisburg, but I haven’t heard much about it being the place to party—have you?

Even the Penn State football uniforms reek of dullness.  They claim that it is meant as an homage to the past, but dark-blue jerseys and plain white helmets are just plain dull.  Perhaps in another twenty years or so, they will add the Nittany Lion logo (as shown above) to one side of their helmets like the Pittsburgh Steelers do, which is stupid (and not necessarily better than dull).

As referenced with Matthew 15:16, there is another meaning to dull, and this is appearing to be more and more applicable to Joe Paterno and the administration of the Penn State Athletic Department.  For it is being alleged that [Jerry Sandusky] engaged in a pattern of [sexual assaults] upon very young boys associated with [The Second Mile Charity] while and after he was Paterno’s defensive coordinator, and the stuff is starting to hit the proverbial fan about Paterno knowing about at least one incident that happened in 2002 involving a 10 year-old boy being molested by Sandusky in a shower room at the Penn State Athletic Complex.

Since Paterno reported what he was told to the athletic director, he is not being investigated for any legal wrongdoing, but since he clearly saw that nothing really came of the molestation accusation, shouldn’t he have wanted to get to the bottom of it on his own?  After all, Paterno is supposed to be a man of great integrity, and letting something like that be swept under the proverbial rug would have had to have torn his guts out—right?

Alas, I must admit that I can naturally be just as hypocritical as you about some things.  Well, maybe not quite that bad, but the point I am trying to get to is that I would have a very different perspective about this if Sandusky had of been getting busy with some cheerleaders (really good-looking female cheerleaders, just to be clear) over the years.  In fact, he could have been taking some incoming freshmen co-eds on an intimate tour of the dorm rooms, but I have to draw the line on little boys and girls.

In all fairness, Paterno may be able to honestly say that he really didn’t know anything, which makes him about as dull as one can get in every sense of the word.  What do you think (or know)?

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The Joke's On Us

Link: [On YouTube]

It would be a lot funnier if it wasn’t so true.  Thanks, [Adullamite]!

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Too Late

Link: [On YouTube]

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Geographically-Challenged

A lot has been made of the supposed dumbing-down of America, with our educational system taking a lot of heat, and with all of the realignments (both real and imagined) of major athletic conferences lately, methinks there is nothing supposed about it.  For I don’t think anyone with a fourth-grade education would make some of the moves that have been made—let alone people with multiple doctoral diplomas hangin on their office walls.

Now, before we get too far into this, I would like to make it clear that I am well aware of there being many conference realignments over the years.  For anyone with a passing interest in history knows that no self-respecting [Goth] would have left home without their American Express card until some decided to go with [Visa] instead, but I do not want to go back that far.

Oh, and as an added benefit to my readers, I have included images to make it easier to keep up with what states are involved.  Yeah, they may look like they were rendered by a kindergartener hopped-up on Kickapoo Joy Juice and Pop-Rocks, but if you had any idea just how technically-challenged I really am, you just might be as impressed with me as I am with myself.  (Our Heavenly Father asked to be kept completely out of this one.)

Anyway, I would like to start with a much more recent realignment that involved the now defunct [Southwest Conference (SWC)] when it consisted of Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Rice, Southern Methodist (SMU), Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian (TCU) and Texas Tech in 1990, which is shown on the left.  The beginning of the end of the conference occurred when Arkansas announced that it was moving to the [Southeastern Conference (SEC)] that very same year, which is shown on the right.

Before Arkansas joined, the SEC consisted of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State (LSU), Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, which is shown on the left.  South Carolina also joined the SEC the same year as Arkansas did, which is shown on the right.

Earlier this year, Texas A&M announced that they were leaving the [Big 12] to join the SEC, which is shown on the left.  More recently, Missouri announced that it was also leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, which is shown on the right.

No, Texas A&M and Missouri moving to the SEC doesn’t look all that out of place.  That is, until you get into the proposed realignment of the conference itself.  For Texas A&M will be joining the Western Division of the SEC, which is the completely darkened portion above, while Missouri will be joining the Eastern Division, which is depicted as the outlined portion.  Yes, I suppose it could be argued that it is only fair.  For Texas A&M made the first move, and we just couldn’t have Alabama and Auburn moving to the Eastern Division—could we?

 

The Big 12 was previously known as the Big 8 when it consisted of Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Nebraska, which is shown on the left.  In 1996, it officially became the Big 12 with the addition of Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech from the disintegrating SWC, which is shown on the right.

Last year, Nebraska joined the [Big 10], and Colorado joined the [Pac 12].  So, the landscape changed to what is shown on the right before Missouri made its move.

No, it is not looking good, but any plans of celebrating the demise of the Big 12 would seem to be premature.  For TCU (formerly of the old SWC and more recently with the [Mountain West Conference]) has already been formally accepted into the conference, and West Virginia has started taking down their [Big East] banners, as is shown on the right.  [Politics] might get in the way, however.

One would think that the [ACC] would have been a better choice for West Virginia.  For with its longer termed members being Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, it is regionally close, which is indicated on the left.  Furthermore, West Virginia has become practically surrounded by the ACC with Pittsburg and Syracuse leaving the Big East to join, as is indicated on the right.

Another logical choice for West Virginia would have been the Big 10.  For as is shown on the left, it had Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin before Penn State joined as few years back, which is shown on the right.

The Big 10 has even been in a “the more the merrier” mood lately, which Nebraska became officially a part of this year, as is indicated on the right.  There was a lot of buzz about Missouri joining the Big 10 a few weeks ago, but the announcement about them going to the SEC put a halt to that.

Nope, we ain’t done yet.  For the Pac 12 started out as the Pac 8, with California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), The University of Southern California (USC), Washington and Washington State, which is shown on the left.  With the inclusion of Arizona and Arizona State, it became the Pac 10, which is shown on the right.

When Colorado (formerly of the Big 12) and Utah (formerly of the Mountain West) became official members this year, the Pac 10 became the Pac 12, as is indicated on the right.  Rumors are that they will become the Pac 16 before it is all over with.  Oh, and the Pac 12 keeping up with the number changes is more commendable than you may realize.  For the Big 10 currently has 12 members, and the Big 12 might have 10 after all Missouri, TCU and West Virginia officially land where they appear to be heading.

The most mind-boggling realignment of all is the proposed merger between the Big East, [Conference USA], the Mountain West and the [Western Athletic Conference (WAC)].  For if the logistical nightmare that could be the Big East Mountain Western Athletic Conference of the USA comes to life, it could include Air Force, Boise State, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Connecticut, East Carolina, Fresno State, Hawaii, Houston, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, San Jose State, San Diego State, Southern Mississippi, Rice, Rutgers, Southern Methodist (SMU), Texas Christian (TCU), Tulane, Tulsa, the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), the University of South Florida (USF), the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP), Utah State and Wyoming, as indicated on the map above.  Can you imagine how much it would cost the University of Connecticut to fly their football team (along with all of its gear and equipment) 10,000 miles (or so) to get them out to play the University of Hawaii and back?

I could go on about many of these changes only applying to the football teams, which could see some schools playing football in one conference and other sports elsewhere, but I wouldn’t want your head to explode.  For I have had it happen to me before, and it is an awful mess to clean up.

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