There's an idea...

Jay Leno's monologue on The Tonight Show a few nights ago:

Hillary Clinton is taking a month off from her job as senator to rest up from her campaign.

How does that work? You've been neglecting your job trying to get a better job. You don't get that job, so you to take a month off from the job you were trying to get out of and go on vacation.

Imagine if you tried that with your boss. "Hey boss, listen — I've been looking for another job, and I'm exhausted. I want to take a month off. Here's where you
can send my checks."

Mike & the Mad Dog Breaking Up? Noooo!

In an earlier post, I was lamenting the poor quality of New York Radio. During my afternoon commutes home, I eschew (great word, huh?) the terrible musical radio and listen to Mike & the Mad Dog on Sports Radio The Fan AM 660. It's a sports show, that has its requisite NY sports scene discussions without overpowering their listeners with too much Yankee dribble. In fact The mad dog (Chris Russo) hates the Yankees!

A great show with a great dynamic is apparently at risk of ending. Oh the huge manatee!

Story Link

Over the weekend, Newsday reporter Neil Best suggested the wildly popular and successful 'Mike and the Mad Dog' radio show could be finished. According to radio industry sources, Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo haven't been getting along well enough to continue their afternoon program on WFAN.

While Russo and radio station WFAN, deny the rumors (Francesa refused to comment), Best cites staffers witnessing the pair fight and "subtle" signs "such as Francesa declining to ask Russo how he is after Russo had opened the show by inquiring into Francesa's well-being." Russo said to Best, "I think we've been going through [some strains]...I think we've been fine the last couple of months."

Why would the pair, who reportedly make over a million each, leave? Perhaps to pursue other opportunities--for instance, Francesa hosts "Mike'd Up," an Sunday at 11:35 p.m. sports program on WNBC. Newsday's Jim Baumbach is embarrassed to love listening to Mike & the Mad Dog and, back in 2006, ESPN's Bill Simmons watched the pair and noticed all sorts of weird things.

Pennies for your thoughts

Source: From Christianity today.

Before appearing on Fox's popular The Moment of Truth (Tuesdays, 8/7c), contestants are asked 50 increasingly personal questions while hooked to a polygraph machine. Then, on camera, they field the same questions while hooked to the lie detector, but this time with loved ones sitting just a few feet away—and a viewing audience of more than 10 million. The more questions they truthfully answer, the more money they win—up to $500,000.

One man, with his spouse sitting in the front row, was asked, "Are you sexually attracted to your wife's sisters?" (He said yes.) A woman, with her mother in the audience, was asked, "Do you want to look like your mom when you are her age?" (She said no.) It gets uncomfortable. Each family is allowed to skip one question if they can't bear to hear the answer.

In one episode, a woman in the hot seat was asked by an ex-boyfriend, "Would you leave your husband for me?" After a few tense seconds, the woman's sister slapped the pass button. The audience let out a chorus of scathing boos. They wanted to know.

I recalled the bloodthirsty crowds in Gladiator, who jeered fighters who would not kill. Like them, this TV audience wanted entertainment, no matter the cost. The difference? Now we want emotional carnage. Perhaps this is a byproduct of our instant, total-access culture. We want to know what Britney Spears is doing right now. We want to know a stranger's dirty laundry. This voyeurism, or "information porn," feels dirty and thrilling. As one Fox exec said of the show, "By the time a participant is done, you know all about them." But should we?

There's a fascinating sociological undercurrent here. What drives us? Contestants know what questions are coming, but they press on—for the money. What consumes us? One husband used his pass when his wife was asked if she'd like him to lose weight. And what should remain secret? Questions often deal with one's inner thought life—like, "Do fat people repulse you?"

Christians understand the need for honesty and confession; some ugly truths, like the adultery one contestant admitted, must be revealed—privately. But can such public transparency—inspired by monetary gain in front of jeering masses—truly benefit anyone?

Well, apparently Fox.

Todd Hertz, managing editor, Ignite Your Faith and critic for ChristianityTodayMovies.com.

KP Yohannan in trouble?

Edit, February 14, 2014: Thanks to reader Bill Kendrick, no wrongdoing has been found.  See here for details. http://www.believerschurch.com/investigation-report-home-ministry-india-government/

As this is a very old post, I did not know until reading Mr. Kendrick's email. As such, I am deleting my comments and just leaving the original article.

J.


Source

Kerala bishop's trust in legal trouble
10 Jun 2008, 0311 hrs IST,Ananthakrishnan G,TNN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bishop K P Yohannan, a popular evangelist in Kerala, is in trouble with the law. A preliminary inquiry by the intelligence department of Kerala police casts doubts on how a trust he runs spent a massive Rs 900 crore of donations from abroad.

The trust, according to reports, received Rs 1044 crore since 1995 from Texas-based Gospel for Asia apparently for charitable purposes but had spent only Rs 144 crore towards this purpose. No satisfactory explanation was given on how the rest of the amount was spent, police said.

The matter is now pending with the state home department which is said to be considering a detailed probe. Any inquiry would necessitate central assistance as it involves money from abroad which falls in the purview of the Reserve Bank of India.

Yohannan is the founder president of the Gospel for Asia and the Believer's Church, both of which enjoy huge assets bases. What has raised eyebrows is that most of the trusts floated by Yohannan has on its board his family members. The trust, sources claimed, had recently purchased 40 acres of paddy fields in Pathanathitta district and filled it up to evade the Land Reforms Act.

Also under the lens is a land transaction worth Rs 130 crore said to have been undertaken by the trust some months back. The Church, however, denied the charges and claimed that its working was transparent.

Jack Handey

Thanks to another humor blog, I am reproducing for you below, my faithful reader (sigh), a list of Jack Handey thoughts. (From Saturday Night Live)

24) Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind." Basically, it's made up of two separate words, mank and ind. What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.

23) If you're a young Mafia gangster out on your first date, I bet it's real embarrassing if someone tries to kill you.

22) I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

21) For mad scientists who keep brains in jars, here's a tip: why not add a slice of lemon to each jar, for freshness?

20) If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you.

19) Children need encouragement. If a kid gets an answer right, tell him it was a lucky guess. That way he develops a good, lucky feeling.

18) Can't the Marx Brothers be arrested and maybe even tortured for all the confusion and problems they've caused?

17) If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.

16) To me, it's always a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?," you can say, "Sorry, got these sacks."

15) I guess we were all guilty, in a way. We all shot him, we all skinned him, and we all got a complimentary bumper sticker that said, "I helped skin Bob."

14) It's funny that pirates were always going around searching for treasure, and they never realized that the real treasure was the fond memories they were creating.

13) If you're a horse, and someone gets on you, and falls off, and then gets right back on you, I think you should buck him off right away.

12) When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we'd all go play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us. It wasn't until later that I found out that Uncle Caveman was a bear.

11) Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

10) If you're in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.

9) I hope if dogs ever take over the world, and they chose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas.

8) To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.

7) Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

6) One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

5) If God dwells inside us, like some people say, I sure hope He like enchiladas, because that's what He's getting!

4) It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.

3) If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy.

2) If you're a cowboy and you're dragging a guy behind your horse, I bet it would really make you mad if you looked back and the guy was reading a magazine.

1) If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."

Yeasayer

I just discovered that The National is coming to Manhattan in August. For a cheapo like me, tickets are slightly expensive. However, this band is fantastic. As I was looking over the details, I decided to check out their opening act: Yeasayer.

All I have to say is, "Wow". I'm halfway through the first track on their myspace page now, and I'm in aural heaven.

Unfortunately, since The National is not exactly radio friendly**, none of my friends like them. So I have to convince the missus to go. Hopefully she'll come along.

**A good time for a rant. How can one of the world's biggest, most cosmopolitan cities have such terrible commercial radio? We have 3 "rock" radio stations, 2 of which play all classic rock (e.g. Beatles, Led Zep, The Who, the Stones, etc). The third markets itself as the "rock of New York", but I call it the all black sabbath/ozzy osbourne station. This self proclaimed rock of New York plays the occasional Foo Fighters song to appear modern but 90% of their catalogue was recorded before 2000. Beyond frustrating. And don't even get me started about the local Christian station.

I feel better now. Carry on.

Weezer and the internet superstars

I love Weezer's music. this song is no exception, but the video is phenomenal.

Philosophical Question: Who owns the moon?

Link

The moon has been in plain view for all of human history, but it's only within the past few decades that it's been possible to travel there. And for just about as long as the moon has been within reach, people have been arguing about lunar property rights: Can astronauts claim the moon for king and country, as in the Age of Discovery? Are corporations allowed to expropriate its natural resources, and individuals to own its real estate?

So, who does the moon? Obviously, say my coworkers, it's the USA since "we" (I use the collective "we" here, since I am now a resident), landed there first. But is that enough? Do we give it over the UN for governance?

The internet was invented in the U.S., and the control of the most popular names (the .com's .net's and .org's) remains in the U.S. There was quite a clamor from the international community to turn that over to the U.N. Why? That's an invented product where, (at least to me), it's quite clear the control should be with the inventors, or whomever they delegate its authority.

But this is a whole different animal. The moon was not discovered--mankind has known of it since the beginning. One country just got there first. So, is it first come first served? Whoever gets there first can exploit it? If not, who gets to enforce the moon's neutrality? How does the "police" get this authority? Who bestows it upon them? Might makes right here?

I have no idea what the correct answer is. I suppose that we'll find out shortly.

The Music Edition

This is my music recommendation list. I haven't posted any thoughts in a while, and thought I'd devote an entire post to what I've been listening to over the last month:

1. The National -- Boxer: Widely claimed by critics and fans alike to be the best album of 2007. If not the best, it's up there. Incredible, laid back, mellow sound that I can listen to over and over again.




2. Just discovered this new [to me] band: Robert Randolph & the Family Band. A band that fuses together rock, funk, soul and gospel. And, to top it off--they're a bunch of Christians in a band (as opposed to a Christian band--big difference). Phenomenal stuff. I've heard the song below before, but didn'know who it was and their background.



3. Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha -- Another laid back mellow singer with a great voice. Great album--every song is excellent.