meet the mormons

because comments aren't enabled on the youtube site:

your admonition to not engage in bullying and intimidation should be preached from the pulpit, not from a press conference. instead, your congregants get this about the very existence of gay people:

why would heavenly father do that? remember, he is our father.

this is what one of your prophets said regarding those who know they are born differently than what your prophets want them to be.

such statements are absolutely inviting bullying and intimidation. you need to acknowledge the harm of what you preach, and direct your young members to QUALIFIED counselors and organizations, since your company does not have the interest or qualification in helping.

mormon news

from the mormon newsroom blog:

Religious Expression: A Fundamental Right
POSTED BY LYMAN KIRKLAND
At the On Faith blog this week, the question posed to the panel of On Faith religious leaders and experts addressed proselytism overseas:

What is the real problem with proselytism overseas by U.S. religious groups? Isn't sharing one's faith part of religious freedom? When does it cross the line into manipulation and coercion?

Representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, On Faith panelist Michael Otterson explained that freedom of expression, including sharing one's faith with others, is a fundamental human right:

Everyone is and should be entitled to speak his or her mind on such matters, and everyone else has the right to listen, or not, as they choose. Because of the central importance of these rights, no person or government is justified in interfering with them.

ME: what is missing in the press release is the LDS response to the question, "When does it cross the line into manipulation and coercion?" the response is found in the original article:

...Mormons eschew any tactic that smacks of coercion, high pressure salesmanship, argumentation, or economic incentive. They invite--even persuade--but do not pressure or coerce...

which, in my own experience, is baloney. their tactics in gaining "converts" are very heavy-handed, emotional manipulation sales tactics. never mind what they put their members through once they're onboard.

interestingly, the panel member goes on to make the following quote from the church's scripture:

"We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied." (Doctrine and Covenants 134:2, 4, 9)

apparently, their not-so-covert political activity with Prop 8, the anti-gay marriage ballot initiative (california, 2008) is not interpreted as having one religion trumping another (yea, even non-religion) in matters to be decided by the state.

hi oscar

dear project leader:

oscar nominations came out this morning. i've noticed that year after year, i've seen fewer and fewer of the nominated flicks; 2009 certainly continues in that downward trajectory.

anyway, here are my takes on the nominations:

Best Picture: "Avatar,""The Blind Side,""District 9,""An Education,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire,""A Serious Man,""Up,""Up in the Air."

from what i've been able to view, i have to go with inglourious basterds. didn't see up in the air, wonder if i would prefer that? i'm surprised to see up; i liked it well enough, but best picture? whutevs. and avatar: as my coworker would say, oh hell to the no!

Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."

colin firth, but it looks like one can't go wrong with this category...jeremy renner was really enjoyable in the hurt locker, so he'd be a fine second choice. but clooney should win it...he should win everything, ever.

Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."

of these, i only saw julie & julia...in which meryl streep was wonderful, but when one plays a well-known real life character, does that still qualify? i suppose. sandra bullock? blechk.

Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

christopher waltz was really quite good. and i didn't see any of the others, except stanley tucci in the lovely bones. (ha ha, a nomination for that bullshit.)

Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

wow...didn't see any of these. so i'll just pick anna kendrick, because i like george clooney. i'm sure members of the academy have the same selection criterion.

Directing: James Cameron, "Avatar"; Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air."

of these, i only saw the hurt locker and inglourious basterds, and either is fine. (what about avatar? see "oh hell to the no," above.)

Foreign Language Film: "Ajami," Israel; "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina; "The Milk of Sorrow," Peru; "Un Prophete," France; "The White Ribbon," Germany.

blah blah blah, blah blah blah. the preview for the white ribbon looked good.

Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"; Nick Hornby, "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air."

district 9 was surprisingly great, but i am not familiar with the source material, so i can't really judge the adaptation. so, i guess george clooney -- er, i mean sheldon turner -- wins again!

Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up."

goodness, how did i miss a serious man? the cohen movies don't stick around long enough to see, anymore. just because it's the cohens, i'll assume it was the best original screenplay.

Animated Feature Film: "Coraline"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; "The Princess and the Frog"; "The Secret of Kells"; "Up."

had coraline not been up against mr fox, i might have selected that from this list...but george clooney -- er, mr. fox -- wins again. this time, deservedly so, and not just for the clooney connection. fantastic mr. fox may well have been my favorite movie this year.

Art Direction: "Avatar,""The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,""Nine,""Sherlock Holmes,""The Young Victoria."

i haven't seen doctor parnassus yet, but suspect it might truly have been the best art direction -- terry gilliam movies are like that. sherlock holmes was a worthy competitor. avatar was OHTTN.

Cinematography: "Avatar,""Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""The White Ribbon."

i'm going with the hurt locker on this one. the intended imagery was perfectly captured, i think. can one refer to an animated feature, avatar, as having been cinematographed?

Sound Mixing: "Avatar,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Star Trek,""Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

not an expert in this field...all i know is transformers hurt my ears. i'll go with star trek, because i liked that movie a lot, and george clooney isn't nominated in this category.

Sound Editing: "Avatar,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Star Trek,""Up."

eh...star trek again? i don't know. i don't recall sound effects missing cues, or whatever.

Original Score: "Avatar," James Horner; "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat; "The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; "Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer; "Up," Michael Giacchino.

if john williams isn't on the list, i don't really have much interest. but i did enjoy everything about fantastic mr fox, so we'll assume the original score had something to do with that impression.

Original Song: "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; "Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston; "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

i'm going with t bone burnett, because he's consistently remarkable. and he had nothing to do with princess and the frog.

Costume: "Bright Star,""Coco Before Chanel,""The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,""Nine,""The Young Victoria."

hmmm. parnassus?

Documentary Feature: "Burma VJ,""The Cove,""Food, Inc.""The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,""Which Way Home."

didn't see any of them. food, inc. shouldn't win, because i like everything about food.

Documentary (short subject): "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,""The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,""The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,""Music by Prudence,""Rabbit a la Berlin."

dunno, dunno, dunno-dunno-dunno

Film Editing: "Avatar,""District 9,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

oh, i don't know. film editing is one of those things that you have to know the craft before you can judge it, i think.

Makeup: "Il Divo,""Star Trek,""The Young Victoria."

only saw star trek of the three listed, but seriously, captain kirk's makeup in the movie was DREADFUL. looked like a clown.

Animated Short Film: "French Roast,""Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty,""The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),""Logorama,""A Matter of Loaf and Death."

no opinion, didn't see any of them.

Live Action Short Film: "The Door,""Instead of Abracadabra,""Kavi,""Miracle Fish,""The New Tenants."

no opinion, didn't see any of them.

Visual Effects: "Avatar,""District 9,""Star Trek."

i would say avatar, if i didn't hate the movie so much...so, star trek. the effects were so good, that even in 2-D, they blew me away. on the other hand, the integration of effects into the real world (not green screen) really gave district 9 it's biggest boost.

hate-y

dear jesus,

please give pat robertson a hug, so he'll stop saying stupid shit, trying to get your attention.

thanks!

Posted via web from this-alien's posterous

neck sprain

...from shaking my head in disbelief

Brit Hume To Tiger Woods: Convert To Christianity To Recover From Scandal

On "Fox News Sunday," Hume — the former leader of Fox News' political reporting and host of "Special Report" who now serves as an analyst for the network — said that Woods' recovery "depends on his faith."

"The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith," Hume said. "He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/03/brit-hume-to-tiger-woods_n_409720.html

preaching, not practicing

dear project leader:

this alien asks: what's similar between john edwards (former senator, D-presidential candidate) and carrie prejean (former pageant title holder, conservative political spokesmodel)?

and answers: both put themselves in positions in which many, many people entrusted the two to represent them. and both hid facts about themselves that, when exposed to the light of day, proved that they shouldn't have put themselves in those positions.

this alien asks: what's different between edwards and prejean?

and answers: edwards knew when to shut the hell up.

for the record, this alien had many, many conservative political figures with recent scandals to use in the "vs prejean" questions above, but chose to select a non-conservative for a little balance. but really...this alien wonders why the conservatives (quite literally) don't practice what they preach?

confidential message to project leader:dfldpoek
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