Thursday, December 27, 2012

"A Christmas Story" cast; where are they now?

A Christmas Story House
A great site for aficionados of the movie because of all the links and interesting trivia from then and now.

A Christmas Story cast reunion around the leg lamp at A Christmas Story Convention.
From left to right Ian Petrella (Randy), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus), Tedde Moore (Miss Shields),
Yano Anaya (Grover Dill), Dwayne McClean (Black Bart), Scott Schwartz (Flick), Patty Lafontaine (Elf),
Drew Hocevear (Elf) and Jom Moralevitz (Freight Man).
At bottom: Randy hiding under the sink.
The evil Scut Farkus, aka Zack Ward
Santa and the elves. Ho,ho,ho Patty Johnson (head elf), Drew Hocevar (male elf), and
Jeff Gillen(Santa)

"Like many others, Johnson, Hocevar and Gillen reached their thespian zenith with ‘A Christmas Story.’ Gillen created Great Southern Studios, a production company in North Miami Beach, Florida, and was its president until 1995, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Patty Johnson and Drew Hocevar continue to live in Ohio, where both are employed as teachers."


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Ann Coulter; Kwanzaa: Holiday Brought to You By The FBI

Karenga/Everett
Ann Coulter  " But it seems to be creeping back. A few weeks ago, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., complained about having to stick around Washington for fiscal cliff negotiations by accusing Republicans of not caring about "families" coming together to bond during Kwanzaa. The private schools have picked up this PC nonsense from the public schools. (Soon, no one will know anything.)
"It is a fact that Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by a black radical FBI stooge, Ron Karenga -- aka Dr. Maulana Karenga --- founder of United Slaves, a violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers. He was also a dupe of the FBI."
.... "Kwanzaa emerged not from Africa, but from the FBI's COINTELPRO. It is a holiday celebrated exclusively by idiot white liberals. Black people celebrate Christmas. (Merry Christmas, fellow Christians!)
"Sing to "Jingle Bells":
Kwanzaa bells, dashikis sell
Whitey has to pay;
Burning, shooting, oh what fun
On this made-up holiday!
Quit Frontin on Kwanzaa  "For most Black folks, the holiday of Kwanzaa is one tied to Pan-Africanism and thus gets mentioned more in their living rooms on TV commercials than at family gatherings. I’ve decided we’ve been frontin’ on Kwanzaa for no real good reason. So here are some pre-emptive responses to questions and concerns."





Obama’s Cap-and-Trade Scheme for Cars

Heritage  "Ever since the Senate rejected President Obama’s cap-and-trade scheme in 2009, his administration has been hard at work to find other ways to implement a radical, environmentalist agenda.

"Obama made these intentions clear at a press conference in 2010 when he explained, “Cap and trade was just one way of skinning the cat. … It was a means, not an end, and I am going to be looking for other means to address this problem.” And this is a promise he’s doing his best to keep.
"With the help of the Environmental Protection Agency and other departments, this administration has relied on backdoor, behind-the-scenes tactics to impose stringent mandates in order to regulate what it has been unable to legislate. This tactic empowers unelected bureaucrats in Washington to implement rules that have far-reaching, negative impacts on our nation’s economy and the way we live our lives."....

Do we see a cartoon theme here?

Homosexuals in the military demand special privileges

Washington Times  "The American armed forces exist to defend our nation, not to conduct social science lab experiments in which our troops serve as human subjects. Try telling that to this administration.
"The first anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Sept. 20, has come and gone. Now, there is mounting evidence that proves our warnings were not idle chatter. The threat to freedom posed by this radical sexual experiment on our military is real: It is grave and it is growing.
"Activists inside and outside our government who pushed the repeal have deployed a smoke screen around the fact that once the military was forced to exalt homosexuality in the ranks, the all-too-foreseen consequence reared its ugly head."
Via Mike Warner at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook


Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas wishes from Tunnel Dweller's eldest son

These are Christmas cards done over the past few years by our eldest son Jeff, who is also the author of these past Tunnel Wall Thanksgiving articles, "Why this guy is thankful at this time of year" and "Things I Am Thankful For."
I feel they capture the relationship of Christmas with Easter very well, don't you? TD

Having posted these uplifting messages, tomorrow I will return to the usual thrust of the Tunnel Wall: alerting us to the liberal transformation of America (which God is in control of anyway). Somehow these two missions in my life brings up this conundrum posed by the apostle James:
Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? (James 3:11)
I'm sure that, along with the Prophets, blog writers in the time of Solomon posted concerns such as mine, but in the end they would all wind up in Babylonian captivity no matter what they wrote. The God of Creation had declared it to be so. The Tunnel Dweller

Monday, December 24, 2012

A Dave Barry Two-fer: Where to Christmas Shop and What to Shop For

Dave Barry on where to shop; Christmas Shopping; a Survivor's Guide  "These days, people say "Season's Greetings," which, when you think about it, means nothing. It's like walking up to somebody and saying "Appropriate Remark" in a loud, cheerful voice. But "Season's Greetings" is safer, because it does not refer to any actual religion. Some day, I imagine, even "Season's Greetings" will be considered too religious, and we'll celebrate the Holiday Season by saying "Have a nice day." "

And when you get into the mall, this will tell you what to buy. Or maybe not: Dave Barry’s Gift Guide   "But my point is, if you’re just getting started now on your holiday shopping, you have already missed the mall bargains. That’s the bad news. The good news is, you’re still in time for our annual Holiday Gift Guide, which features a collection of unique gift items that you are not going to find at the mall, because not even holiday mall shoppers are desperate enough to buy these items."
Let's begin, shall we?
‘ON THE GO’ CHARACTER INFLATABLE POTTY SEAT  "...you can simply inflate this potty seat, using your mouth, then put it on the toilet seat for your child to sit on. Then you simply deflate the potty seat and burn it, because you’re not going to want to keep it around, let alone reinflate it."
‘THE WOOFER’ WEARABLE SOUND SYSTEM FOR DOGS  "If there’s one thing that everybody agrees on, it’s that dogs do not make enough noise."...
NFL PRO TOASTER "But if you want to be a REAL fan, you need to show your support in the most meaningful way of all: with toast."
MEGA PLUMBER ACTION HERO "...we’re sure he’ll provide hours of quality entertainment for any child who enjoys fantasizing — and what child does not? — about unclogging drains."
POTATO-CHIP-GRABBING HAND "Is there anything worse than getting your hands greasy from using them to manually pick up potato chips?"....
ARTIFICIAL GRASS FLIP-FLOPS  "These are the official flip-flops of the United States Supreme Court."
TRAILER-HITCH-MOUNTED STRIPPER POLE "The big problem with conventional stripper poles is that they are attached to strip clubs, which are large heavy buildings and therefore difficult to transport."
 
SQUIRREL AND CHICKEN MASKS  "So you appear to be an attentive, interested, meeting-attending squirrel or chicken, no matter what you are actually doing with your face in there."
TOILET TATTOOS  "If you’re like most people, it has been a long time since you remarked: “That is certainly a visually interesting toilet seat!”"

INFLATABLE UNICORN HORNS FOR CATS  "Do you have cat lovers on your holiday list? If so, here’s a gift that is sure to make them say: “What?” "

EMERGENCY UNDERPANTS DISPENSER "This year, give the precious gift of peace of mind. Give emergency underpants"

We wish you a blessed Christmas, full of all the meaning it was meant to have

What is "Peace on earth, good will toward men"?  "On earth peace - That is, the gospel will bring peace. The Saviour was predicted as the Prince of peace, Isaiah 9:6. The world is at war with God; sinners are at enmity against their Maker and against each other. There is no peace to the wicked. But Jesus came to make peace; and this he did,
1. By reconciling the world to God by His atonement.
2. By bringing the sinner to a state of peace with his Maker; inducing him to lay down the weapons of rebellion and to submit his soul to God, thus giving him the peace which passeth all understanding.
3. By diffusing in the heart universal good-will to people - "disposing," people to lay aside their differences, to love one another, to seek each other's welfare, and to banish envy, malice, pride, lust, passion, and covetousness - in all ages the most fruitful causes of difference among people. And....
Acclamations of the Birth of Christ (Luke 2:1-20)

Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men?  "It was to be His sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead that would restore fellowship between man with their Creator and establish an EVERLASTING peace between the two parties."

A very special wish goes out to those who have suffered devastating loss recently, such as families of soldiers killed in battle and  those who feel the loss of our children in the Newtown school murders.
From Probe Ministries; Is Christmas Necessary?
"There is a historical/theological necessity that cannot be altered. If God had not become flesh, there would be no hope for mankind. There would be no birth of Christ, no death on our behalf, and no resurrection from death to life. Praise God He did humble Himself and become as a man!"

The Newtown murderer is, to me, a modern-day Herod.

British hospital apologizes to familes for appallingly negligent care

The UK; our role model for government-run healthcare:
Rick Moran  "It apparently got so bad at this hospital that doctors began to prescribe water because the staff was forgetting to give patients enough to keep them hydrated.
"It's not lack of compassion but rather simple incompetence that is the problem at this hospital. It runs from top to bottom; an obvious lack of supervision all the way to ignorant, lazy nurses.
"Is this what we have to look forward to with Obamacare? Eventually, I'm afraid that there are going to be similar cases in this country after government health care really gets rolling."

DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS

The Pencil: a lesson in economics and market forces

Heritage  "How does a pencil represent what Adam Smith called “the invisible hand” of the free market? A new film by the Competitive Enterprise Institute has adapted Leonard Read’s famous essay, “I, Pencil: My Family Tree As Told to Leonard E. Read,” to answer this very question."

"I, Pencil: The Movie shows that “if we can leave these creative energies uninhibited, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
"To see I, Pencil: The Movie with extended commentary, click here. 

That anti-fracking movie, "Promised Land", Financed by Arab oil country

Matt Damon fracking film backed by big OPEC member  "Critics contend the UAE is trying to drum up opposition to more U.S. oil production, which could compete with its crude exports.
...."Either way, the revelation could be a setback for a film on an important U.S. energy topic, and will only give ammunition to critics who say the movie was biased from the get-go."
So just WHAT is fracking?

WSJ; Jenkins: Good Will Fracking Hollywood wimps out and makes a formula film.
"After a decade of war and half-century of costly military involvement in the Middle East, the United States stands on the brink of "energy independence." Then a shadowy Canadian billionaire coupled with Mideast oil interests sponsor a Hollywood propaganda movie aimed at luring Americans into throwing away the instrument of their deliverance: shale energy.
"They co-opt a name-brand Hollywood movie star to be the useful idiot of their nefarious plot. The movie is released a few days after Christmas, just in time for Oscar nominations in a diabolical scheme to influence a national debate over fracking.
"...typically stupid Hollywood plot, one that doubles down on the conventional "evil oil company" stereotype."
...."Which is very much like what ideological critics are saying about Mr. Damon's "Promised Land"—that the film's backers are an unholy alliance of green money and oil sheiks out to abort America's fracking windfall."     Emphasis added.

Useful Idiot Matt Damon’s Anti-Fracking Movie Financed by Oil-Rich Arab Nation
"A new film starring Matt Damon presents American oil and natural gas producers as money-grubbing villains purportedly poisoning rural American towns. It is therefore of particular note that it is financed in part by the royal family of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates."

From Business Insider; Movie That Blasts Fracking Was Partly Funded By The Government Of Abu Dhabi  "The Abu Dhabi and the UAE economies have been driven by profits from their respective oil reserves for decades. Hydraulic fracking, a relatively new process, involves drilling about a mile below the surface of the earth in order to release natural gas from rocks within the "fractures" created by the drills (here is a more in-depth look to how it works). More gas derived from fracking means that the United States might need to purchase less oil from OPEC states like the UAE — which produces 2.7 million barrels of oil a day."
"Another source of controversy surrounding Image Nation's funding of "Promised Land" has been the fact that the chairman of the board of Abu Dhabi Media, His Excellency Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, is also the undersecretary to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court. His boss, his highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, serves on the Supreme Petroleum Council of the Abu Dhabi National oil company, which is "the highest authority responsible for the petroleum affairs in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi." "

From Newsbusters:  (Emphasis mine, TD)
"As an OPEC nation with huge oil reserves, it is in UAE's best interest to do whatever it can to reduce the oil supply of its competitors ESPECIALLY America which just so happens to also be the world's largest energy consumer.

"An end to hydraulic fracturing in the United States would help accomplish this.  "Beyond this, as fracking promises to produce significant amounts of natural gas for the U.S., this will act to decrease the demand for petroleum products domestically and worldwide.
"For UAE, this would be doubly bad news as it is also the world's seventh largest producer of natural gas.
"As such, attempting to kill fracking in America by financing Damon's propaganda seems just what the doctor ordered."
Do not take all this lightly because, as we saw in the 2012 election, a steady diet of one-sided propaganda does make a big difference in the American electorate, as we can see here: