Coffee Klatch

One of the real benefits of using Firefox is that there are so many “add-ons” or “plug-ins” that people create and share. One that I just found (and that I really like) is called DownloadHelper. It’s compatible with Firefox3 and it detects any videos on the page you’re viewing and allows you to easily download them. This could be YouTube, Google Video, or any number of other sites that share videos. That in itself is handy, but many videos are Flash-based, with a .flv extension and you need to install a special player to play those and they’re not really standard. What you really want is to convert them to .avi or .mp4 files. Fortunately, DownloadHelper has its own add-ons that include conversion tools.

Once you’ve added the DownloadHelper plug-in (and restarted Firefox, of course), you can right-click on the toolbar button and select Preferences. There’s a tab there for Conversion. You click that and check the box to turn it on. Then you can edit the rule to convert to whatever format you like. You WILL need to download an extra Converter program, but there’s a button right there to do that. Follow the instructions. When you’re done, you’ll be able to click and download, converting at the same time, so the end result is the video you want in the format you want.

Pretty cool!

You do have to be patient though. Once the download is done, then the conversion takes place. The only way to find out when it’s done (besides checking for when the file size stops changing) is to view the Converter Queue (right-click on the toolbar button for that also).

So I was poking around IMDb the other day and I found out that Oliver Stone is directing a new movie that’s coming out on October 22, 2008. It’s called W. It’s a chronicle of the life and presidency of George W. Bush. Who’da thunkit?

Here are some of the actors that are in the movie, which is currently filming. Quite a few big names, which is sort of surprising given that the movie hasn’t been publicized very well and I can think of lots of people who wouldn’t want to see it anyway.

• George W. Bush - Josh Brolin
• Laura Bush - Elizabeth Banks
• Tony Blair - Ioan Gruffudd
• Dick Cheney - Richard Dreyfuss
• George H.W. Bush - James Cromwell
• Barbara Bush - Ellen Burstyn
• Donald Rumsfeld - Scott Glenn
• Colin Powell - Jeffrey Wright
• Don Evans - Noah Wyle (rumored)
• Saddam Hussein - Sayed Badreya
• Ari Fleischer - Rob Corddry
• Karl Rove - Toby Jones

Remember how, during the opening credits of The Simpsons, Bart is always writing something on the blackboard? Every time you see something different and he’s been writing it repeatedly on the blackboard. There are several websites that list all the things Bart was being forced to write on each episode.

Here are some of my favorites:

I will not waste chalk.
I will not barf unless I’m sick.
I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty.
I will not conduct my own fire drills.
I will return the seeing-eye dog.
I will not call my teacher “Hot Cakes.”
This punishment is not boring and meaningless.
I will not trade pants with others.
A burp is not an answer.
Teacher is not a leper.
I will not pledge allegiance to Bart.
I will not charge admission to the bathroom.
Goldfish don’t bounce.
I will not grease the monkey bars.
No one is interested in my underpants.
I will not torment the emotionally frail.
I am not a dentist.
Nobody likes sunburn slappers.
My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man.
Hamsters cannot fly.
Indian burns are not our cultural heritage.
I will not use abbrev.
I will stop talking about the twelve inch pianist.
I will not mock Mrs. Dumbface.
I am not the reincarnation of Sammy Davis Jr.
Beans are neither fruit nor musical.
Cursive writing does not mean what I think it does.

One of my favorite movies is Murder By Death. It’s funny, witty, very well written, and has a great cast. The movie is based on a play written by Neil Simon. The complete cast is as follows:

• Eileen Brennan
• Truman Capote
• James Coco
• Peter Falk
• Alec Guinness
• Elsa Lanchester
• David Niven
• Peter Sellers
• Maggie Smith
• Nancy Walker
• Estelle Winwood
• James Cromwell
• Richard Narita

Five detectives are invited to “dinner and a murder.” They’re all take-offs on famous fictional detectives:

• Sam Diamond (Sam Spade) - Peter Falk
• Milo Perrier (Hercule Poirot) - James Coco
• Jessica Marbles (Miss Jane Marple) - Elsa Lanchester
• Dick & Dora Charleston (Nick & Nora Charles) - David Niven & Maggie Smith
• Sidney Wang (Charlie Chan) - Peter Sellers (made up and talking with an accent)

And Alec Guiness (the original Obi-Wan Kenobi) is the blind butler.

Some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

“And what is your name?”
“Bensonmum.”
“Thank you, Benson.”
“No, my NAME is Bensonmum.”
“Bensonmum?”
“Yes sir. Jamesir Bensonmum.”
“Jamesir Bensonmum?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How odd!”
“My father’s name, sir.”
“What was?”
“Howard. Howard Bensonmum.”

“Just as I thought: another test that could have cost us our lives, saved only by the fact that I am ENORMOUSLY well-bred.”

“I don’t get it. First they steal the body and leave the clothes, then they take the clothes and bring the body back. Who would do a thing like that?”
“Possibly some deranged dry cleaner.”

“There’s nothing on him ’til ‘46, when he was picked up in El Paso, Texas, for trying to smuggle a truckload of rich white Americans across the border into Mexico to pick melons.”

“Since we cannot call for a doctor, I will need a cold compress for my chaffeur, and a cup of hot chocolate for me, n’est ce pa?”
“I don’t think we have any Nespa, sir. Just Hershey’s. ”

“Is he dead?”
“With a thing like that in his back, in the long run, he’s better off.”

“I’m scared, Sam. Hold me.”
“Hold yourself. I’m busy.”

“I never did nothin’ to a man that I wouldn’t do to a woman.”

“Mrs. Charleston’s hair red. You have blond hairs on shoulder. This means she has dyed red hair blond, then back again to red, or else you have been…. So sorry, Wang is wrong.”

“Something isn’t right in all of this, eh. I can feel it in my buns.”
“Your what?”
“My buns.”
“Buns? Your buns? You bought buns and you didn’t tell me? Where are they? Where are the buns?”
“Oh! No, monsieur. The BONES in my body.”
“You should not speak with an accent when you know I am so hungry.”

“How lovely dear! We’re in Wang’s wing!”

Currently watching: Murder By Death

In the middle of watching the Colts game, my middle son, Blaise, who is 10 years old, walked in and caught the tail end of a commercial for the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.” Since he was unfamiliar with the brand name, he read it as Victoria’s Secret-Fashion-Show instead of Victoria’s-Secret Fashion-Show, if you see what I mean.

His observation (a direct quote): “That doesn’t look very secret!”

Out of the mouths of babes….

You’ve probably heard how the upcoming movie The Golden Compass is based on a book written by a militant atheist, how the books progress from something seemingly innocent to becoming very anti-God (the children apparently kill God in the end, so they (many Christians say) can do whatever they want in the misunderstood name of Freedom. The argument from many well-meaning Christians is that the movies (assuming the others will also be made into movies) and books start out fun, innocent, and exciting, so that children will get interested and then get the “true atheist message” by the end.

This post is NOT about the movie, the books, or the author. Instead, I want to talk about the Christian response to non-Christian or anti-Christian media.

Christians are called to be “salt and light” to the world. That is, to spread God’s news of salvation through Jesus Christ by what we say and how we live. Salt spreads its qualities (saltiness) to that with which it comes in contact, while light illumines the darkness, banishing shadows and exposing the truth. This requires walking a fine line between meekness and militancy.

So when Christians encounter a movie, book, or something in another medium that goes against Christianity, how should they respond? Some choose to ignore it. Others boycott it, trying to discourage other people from seeing it. Others learn all they can about it, seeking to form counterarguments and thereby “disprove” the points in question. Are any of these methods best? I will take a look at them using the example of a movie (could be any movie).

When Christians bash a movie (whether right or wrong) as being anti-Christian, insidious, dangerous, or otherwise to be avoided, that tends to draw more attention to that movie. We’ve seen it happen with The Da Vinci Code recently. Sure, I agree that it’s based on flawed research and anti-Christian ideas, but I also think that the movie and book wouldn’t have gotten so popular if so many Christians hadn’t shouted to the world to avoid them.

Granted, avoiding a movie keeps your dollars from casting their vote, as it were, in support of that movie, but loudly protesting the movie really backfires, driving more people to see the movie to find out what all the noise is about. This makes it sound like quiet avoidance might “further the cause” better.

On the other hand, reading a book or watching a movie will indeed help you learn about it, so that you can better discuss the issues with others. The tradeoff is that you spend some money to achieve this, resulting in more sales for said book or movie. Ultimately, you’ll probably do more good being able to intelligently discuss why you agree or disagree with a movie than by avoiding spending a few dollars on it.

For too long Christians of the modern Western world have blindly followed people who formed blacklists and said to avoid this or that movie, song, book, or whatever. I totally agree that there are some things that Christians probably SHOULD avoid, for the sake of their spiritual health. Books on Satanism or films with graphic sexual content are good examples. However, Christians who avoid exposure to TOO much remain ignorant and narrow minded. I would argue that it is much better for Christians to LEARN about the world and society around them. You can’t be “salt and light” to the world if you totally avoid exposure to that world. Christians are NOT called to be blind and ignorant.

The Harry Potter books and movies are a good example. So are the Lord of the Rings books/movies. Most Christians would agree that they’re relatively innocent and don’t come close to advocating actual real-world witchcraft. When dealing with stories that take place in a fantasy world–that is, one that is not based on premises and concepts that are found within our real world–you have to go more on the morality of the characters, since the operating laws of physics, spirituality, and magic are changed from those in our real world.

So… how should you respond to movies like The Golden Compass? Only you can decide for yourself. It depends on your comfort level with the content and how you feel about spending your money. It can be argued either way (as you’ve seen), but I have to say it does no one any good for you to remain ignorant about something just because some Christians have said it’s bad. Don’t “dabble” in anything that’s obviously sinful or that will lead you down the wrong path, but do be informed. If you choose to avoid going to see it, make sure you know WHY you’re avoiding it and be able to explain your reasons to others.

The most dangerous thing for a non-Christian world is a well-read, well-informed, rational Christian.

Current music: Pater Noster: Settings of the Lord’s Prayer

Remember those old UHF stations that showed B-movies or even locally produced stuff? The hosts were kinda weird and the “spots” in between segments even weirder. Weird Al’s movie UHF spoofed this, as did Mystery Science Theater 3000, though in a different way. We still have some “public access” channels that are similar, but with the proliferation of cable/satellite channels and HDTV with its multiple channels per station, these are getting rarer.

Recently I came across The Cult of UHF, a website that not only recaptures the spirit of these old channels and their B-movies, but also redistributes them via Video Podcast! You can watch the complete movies from every “show” they’ve done. The humor is kinda lame (and therefore funnier) and they really make you feel like you’re watching a UHF station that’s airing a bad movie. They actually have done several movies that MST3K did, but plenty of others as well, including Plan Nine From Outer Space, most often voted “Worst Movie Ever Made” and even beating Manos: The Hands of Fate for that honor.

Cult of UHF is dedicated to the worship of the Holy Static and the cheesy B-movies that It provides since November 2005.

Long past are the days of rabbit ears and Ultra High Frequencey independent local stations that channeled the word of b-movie marathons and sunday afternoon Kung-fu theatre, but now thanks to video podcasting the format of hosted late night cheese can carry on!

So turn down the lights, grab your iPod and settle in for some goofy skits and some great old B-movie classics.

So if you’re looking for a campy, fun, b-movie atmosphere, visit Reverend Chumley and join his Cult of UHF! They’ve just posted Episode #40, “The Last Man on Earth.” Other episodes have included Guy With the Secret Kung Fu, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Zontar: The Thing from Venus, and Shaolin Invincibles. Lots of fun and laughs!!

Current music: December, by George Winston

Behind the Mystery Science Theater 3000 phenomenon was the crazy mind of Joel Hodgson. Here’s a YouTube clip of him doing some stand-up back before MST3K came to life. You can see where his deadpan style and the MST humor came from. This is from the Eighth Annual Young Comedians Show, hosted by John Candy.

I have a rather large DVD collection. Not record breaking or anything, but larger than many people have. I’m up to over 250 DVD titles and that doesn’t count seasons of TV episodes like The Twilight Zone. Obviously the movies I own are going to be the ones I like most, but here’s a top 25 list of my favorites from my collection (at least for now). I found I wasn’t able to limit the list to just ten. For those who are interested, my entire DVD collection is listed at IMDb.

My Top 25 DVDs

1. Sahara
2. The Blues Brothers
3. Young Frankenstein
4. A Christmas Story
5. The Impostors
6. The 10th Kingdom
7. Shaun of the Dead
8. The Princess Bride
9. Pirates of the Caribbean series
10. Murder By Death
11. It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
12. Timeline
13. The Untouchables
14. Indiana Jones Trilogy
15. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
16. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
17. Hook
18. Das Boot
19. Planet of the Apes (the original one)
20. The 13th Warrior
21. Groundhog Day
22. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
23. The Court Jester
24. Killer Klowns from Outer Space

25a. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
25b. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

For a movie to become a favorite of mine, it must have comedy, some action, a decent plot, usually good or memorable music, and especially must be clever. Except for Killer Klowns, which I like just because it’s goofy and kinda lame. Sure makes me laugh, though. Most movies have some of these features, but many miss out when it comes to cleverness. So when a movie is obviously clever and plenty of moments that make me laugh, regardless of whether it’s a comedy or something else, then it’s a winner with me.

For what it’s worth, I’ve also gone through my DVD collection and removed some of the movies. I specifically looked for movies with sex scenes and pulled them out, listing them on eBay. I decided that I didn’t want them in my house. For my sake as well as for my three boys. There’s already too much of that kind of thing assaulting men’s minds without purposefully keeping them in your house. That meant even getting rid of movies like Highlander and Flatliners, although I liked them in general. The movies could have done just as well without showing that kind of material, but since they chose to include it, I’ve chosen to exclude them. There are plenty of other quality movies out there that DIDN’T choose to include sex scenes, and so are more worth my money. I’ve made a couple tiny exceptions; for example, the Matrix trilogy has a a brief scene in the 2nd of the three, but I kept it for the sake of the overall story that’s spread over three movies.

Current music: Heart of the Castle, by Kenny Kleinpeter

Ever since Facebook opened up their system to outside development, there have been all kinds of apps being developed and spread all over the place. Many of them (dare I say “most?”) are frivolous at best and irritating at worst. Some, however, are pretty cool. LibGuides and LibraryThing have got their own apps right in Facebook. There’s a music app that will actually show your iTunes library and allow you share your library with a friend and even send them a musical “poke!”

But one of my favorites is Scrabulous! It’s an online Scrabble game that you can play with friends or even random strangers in Facebook. Most of the games take a while to play, since people don’t always check their Facebook stuff that often. That can lead to a game with only a few moves a day. Fortunately, you can have multiple games going at one time. And if you’re looking for a pickup game, you can find someone else who’s online right now and wants to play a faster-paced game right now.

All the normal rules of Scrabble apply and there is a built-in dictionary and even a handy 2-letter word list. You’ve got a button for a popup tile distribution list when you need it and a complete list of the moves so far in the game. And since it’s an online interactive type of medium, of course there’s also a chat box, which is saved throughout the game, so you never lose the communication even when you don’t make a move for a couple of days.

Afterwards, you can see your record and even bring up past games, viewing the move lists, chat archives, etc. Pretty sweet!

(If you’re a Facebook user and enjoy Scrabble, add the Scrabulous app and invite me to a game.)