Collideoscope

Posted by: Denelle

I have the General Conference blues.

You know, the ones you get when you're not there but everybody you love/like/can sort of tolerate is.

Yeah, those blues.

This marks the second year in a row that I haven't been able to participate. And for a pk/bible quizzer who grew-up going every year that is a sad, sad thing. Fortunately, 90&9 has found a way to help me deal with my sorrow. They have a wonderful team of people LIVE BLOGGING from GC just for our entertainment pleasure. You can check out their musings, anticdotes and even pictures (green towel girl??) over on the Month In My Life blog.

Between this and the live streaming by the UPCI, I just might make it through. Especially if I can find a way to be able to watch the Foreign Missions service and Bro. Willoughby live tomorrow night.

Oh, and I smite JetBlue who has this week started running a special fare ($39 each way) to Columbus from JFK. Of course everything for this weekend is sold out. -- shakes fist -- Where were you two months ago JetBlue???

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

(Ahem!)

No, that's not the sound of the Cardinals choking. That's just me clearing my throat.

Clearing my throat to bring to the attention of our dear readership that the Astros did indeed get closer to the Cardinals than 1.5 games, in spite of the brave prediction by Mr. Curry. With Houston's 3-0 win over Pittsburgh and Milwaukee 9-4 pummeling of St. Louis, the Astros now sit a mere half game out of first place.

That's 9 wins in a row for my boys. I admit - I'm getting a little excited! 3 games left for Houston, 4 for St. Louis.

(Cough, gasp, cough!)

That's the sound of the Cardinals choking.

Posted by: Denelle

Wow, it's been a sports heavy week her at Collideoscope. That hasn't happened in a long time.

It was great getting to have Bradley back with us. I knew once the Astro's swept the Cards he wouldn't be able to stay away. And of course, it's always fun when Kent pops up.

I had a great week all planned out for blogging. David was going to be tied up so I was going to get to monopolize the blog. See, I got a brand new lap top with a built in wireless card (grad school prep) on Tuesday and I was going to break it in by blogging from home. Unfortunately, I don't have the internet set up at the house right now and my neighbors are apparently untrusting souls who have their wireless connections locked. So there went that idea. And work hasn't slowed down enough for me to blog from here until today. I guess that's what happens when one of your cases has a congressional hearing and two others are in the middle of deposition prep and filings.

However, I now have a few moments so let's discuss . . .

Jesus Camp

Every morning after the dog has been walked and I've showered, I turn on GMA while I'm finishing getting ready for work. Mostly because I need to see the weather and I loved Charlie Gibson. Now Charlie is on at night but I still need to see the weather and I enjoy watching Sam Champion (our local weather guy) do the GMA weather now.

Anyway, the last two mornings they've done a piece on something called Jesus Camp. This is a documentary about Evangelical Christians in North Dakota who hold a camp every summer (Kids on Fire Summer Camp) to train children to be soldiers for Christ. Kids perform dramas, pray at the altar, speak in tongues, learn about spiritual warfare, etc.

To anyone who has ever attended a religious (specifically Apostolic) youth camp this doesn't seem all that strange. However, the fact that this group focuses especially on children ages 6-10 and it's almost militant demeanor is raising a few eyebrows. Critics claim that it is brainwashing children. Over playing on their emotions in a way that they are too young to understand. Turning them into potential militants along the lines of Palestinian children who are taught that being a martyr is their highest calling or child soldiers in Africa who carry guns and kill for what they believe in.

The pastor of the Camp - Beck Fischer - claims that the militant terms are simply part of Evangelical Christian faith (fight the good fight, soldiers in the army of God, the weapons of our warfare, etc.) and that they are not training children to carry weapons or be militant but to be spiritually aware and to know the difference between right and wrong and to not accept the wrong.

I'll agree with her on those points. I believe that you have to start teaching and training your children from a young age to realize that there is a right and wrong in the world. They need to know how to pray and pray effectively and yes, Christian terminology is full of militant references.

Check out part of ABC's report here on YouTube-Jesus Camp. Does it really seem all that different from UPC camps? Is it being overly sensationalized by the media? Or does this equate in some ways to the same kind of indoctrination that we criticize that takes place in other parts of the world?

Posted by: kdc

''We don't need to play a catch-up game here, somebody had to catch us,'' Pujols said. ''It's tough with that seven-game losing streak, but it stops here.''

Pujols' go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning was the difference in St. Louis' 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, ending a seven-game losing streak during which the Cardinals' NL Central lead shriveled to 1 1/2 games.

Pujols has 47 homers and 19 have accounted for the game-winning RBI. That ties Willie Mays (1962) for the highest single-season total in data that goes back to 1957."

That "Somebody" is the Astros. 1.5 games different with 6 games to go.

That's as close as you get Bradley!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Posted by: Denelle

. . . come marching in . . .

What could be more appropriate or more inspiring to the city of New Oreleans than the reopening of the Superdome and a win by the undefeated home team??

With a pre-game concert by U2 and Greenday and a stadium filled nearly to capacity with cheering fans the Saints were welcomed home in style.

Put it this way: Acclaimed director Spike Lee watched the game from the Saints' sideline. Not even he could write a better script than this: New Orleans coming home and delivering, in resounding fashion no less, what many would consider, all things considered, the most significant victory in the team's 39-year history.

Welcome home guys!

Posted by: David Bunch

And who wrote the forward to the new book, "Presidential Doodles"? Why Paul Collins of course. Read an excerpt from it here, and see why I admire this creative writer.

Denelle will be flying solo this week here at Collideoscope. I am taking a week away to compose a work that will appear in another section of 90&9 in the near future.

Have a great week everyone!

Posted by: Denelle

Noteworthy because Congressmen don't usually??

No, but because Congressman John Hostettler visited South Gibson Apostolic Chapel (a UPC church) to promote National Preparedness Month.

Check out the photos here.

Great press for the church and probably some nice PR for the Congressman too.

Posting on the fly today (gotta love the internet cafe), perhaps more on this on Monday!

Posted by: David Bunch

A new book of presidential doodlings called "Presidential Doodles," like the one from JFK shown above, has been released.

And what was George Washington drawing during all of those high level meetings he had while creating the nation?




Oh my!

Posted by: Denelle

October 13, 2006 is the slated release date for One Night With The King a movie based on best selling book of the same name (as well as the book Hadassah). The cast has several well known actors including Omar Sharif (Prince Memucan), Peter O'Toole (Samuel the Prophet), and John Rhys Davies (Mordecai) .

**Note: Sharif and O'Toole worked together in the famed Lawrence of Arabia. Rhys Davies was Gimli the Dwarf in the LOTR series.

You can watch the Trailer here.

I've only seen a few reviews from people who were able to see the pre-screening but they have all been excellent. It is always nice to see Christian movies being released along with the mainstream stuff from Hollywood. Especially, when the Christian product is comparable in quality. The costumes and the sets are gorgeous.

It is even more exciting that this movie is a product of the ministry of one of the UPCI's own, Tommy Tenney. I know there are people who don't approve of his ministry but he is certainly managing to get things done and I say way to go Tommy!

Posted by: David Bunch

"Remember where you are when you see this because it is the car of the future."

Posted by: Denelle

A Chinese tourist climbed into the Panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo last Thursday attempted to give the 7 year old Panda a hug.

Zhang Xinyan, a building worker on holiday from China's central Henan province,
climbed into an enclosure that held Gu Gu, a seven-year-old panda, at Beijing Zoo after the man had drunk four pints of beer during lunch at a nearby restaurant, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily said.

Zhang doesn't remember the incident clearly (hey, four pitchers of beer will do that to ya) but claims he'd seen similar incidents on t.v. and wanted to try to hug the panda for himself. Sadly, the panda wasn't nearly as excited as the tourist and instead bit him several times. Zhang retaliated by biting the panda back but it's fur was too think to cause any damage to the panda.

Well, in all fairness the panda did bite him first.

Posted by: Denelle

Not all miracles come in the form of renewed eye-sight, restoration of withered limbs or people being raised from the dead.

Sometimes they come as a result of modern technology and a little bit of human effort. Case in point: a brother and sister who were reunited this week - Hilda Shlick, 75 and Simon Glasberg, 81 - hadn't seen each other in 65 years, each thinking the other had perished during the Holocaust.

"After 65 years, I have found the sister who I love," Simon Glasberg said Monday
in heavily accented English, his eyes filling with tears. "I can't stop kissing her."

After speaking with their grandmother and learning her maiden name, Shlick's grandsons (both in their 20s) decided to search the database of Yad Vashem - Israel's Holocaust Memorial - to see if they could locate any information about her family.

Scanning the database, the grandsons, both in their 20s, discovered an entry erroneously stating their grandmother had perished half a century earlier. That entry led them to other surviving relatives, who eventually brought about the siblings' emotional reunion Friday.

The last time the two saw each other was in 1941, when the Glasberg family of Chernowitz, Romania, was separated after the Nazis invaded. Hilda, then 10, escaped to Uzbekistan with her older sister Bertha. The rest of the family -- parents Henia and Benzion, and brothers Simon, Mark, Karol and Eddie -- stayed in Romania, finding refuge in a basement. The fate of one sister, Pepi, remains unknown.

One additional sibling (Mark) is still alive but could not travel to Israel for the reunion due to health conditions. Even more remarkable is the fact that Mark's son Irving lives in Israel, less than a half an hour away from his newly discovered family.

The new extended family will share the Jewish New Year together this weekend,
catching up on a half-century of history.

Now that's a story that should encourage us all to believe in miracles.

Posted by: David Bunch

Here is a lengthy but excellent article from Philip Jenkins, a non-Christian author who has made some positive predictions about the Pentecostal movement. In this article Jenkins makes some very positive observations about Christianity, and explores his belief that there are several trends in the Christian movement that indicate an imminent growth or revival. Among the points he makes:

In all periods of Christian history, women have occupied a critical role in the churches, if not formally as leaders, then as key activists and innovators.

The encounter with other religions is an ancient and recurrent fact of Christian history, and the process has had transforming effects on both Christianity itself and the non-Christian religions.

In most historical periods, mission and evangelism are central activities of the churches, so that Christian societies are usually involved with the process of absorbing and inculturating new believers, while being transformed by them in the process.

The best indicator that Christianity is about to experience a vast expansion is a widespread conviction that the religion is doomed or in its closing days.Arguably the worst single moment in the history of West European Christianity occurred around 1798, with the Catholic Church under severe persecution in much of Europe and skeptical, deist, and Unitarian movements in the ascendant across the Atlantic world. That particular trough also turned into an excellent foundation, from which various groups built the great missionary movement of the 19th century, the second evangelical revival, and the Catholic devotional revolution. Nothing drives activists and reformers more powerfully than the sense that their faith is about to perish in their homelands, and that they urgently need to make up these losses further afield, whether outward (overseas) or downward (among the previously neglected lost sheep at home).

Posted by: Denelle

It was awesome to see all the responses we got to last week's post about the best children's books out there. I wish I was a kid again with all the time in the world to spend reading. Instead I'll just have to settle for checking out all of your recommendations and hoping I find time to get around to them someday soon:

The Phantom Toll Booth/Subtraction Soup
Jean and Johnny - I loved the Ramon books by Cleary
R.L. Stine (Goosebumps anyone??)
Where the Wild Things Are
His Steam Shovel
A Wrinkle In Time
Louisa May Alcott - I think I love Little Men even more than Little Women
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"

Onward and Upward

So we're off to the start of a new week. Hopefully you had a restfull and enjoyable weekend. I spent mine cleaning my apartment from top to bottom in my version of "fall cleaning."

This week looks to be pretty calm so hopefully I'll get in some extra blogging.

In the meantime, check out 90&9's new site (www.ninetyandnine.net) and all of the articles that came out this week. I promise it's a good read!

Posted by: David Bunch

The film "Jesus Camp" has received a stinging rebuttal from someone who actually makes an appearance in the movie.

Rev. Ted Haggard, who has a short cameo, is decrying the documentary as propaganda and an attempt to equate Evangelical Christians with militant Muslims.

The film includes kids speaking in tongues, having spiritual experiences, and witnessing to their friends, but also is reported to show them protesting abortions and dressing in military garb.

Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said he "can learn as much about the Catholic Church from 'Nacho Libre"' - a campy wrestling comedy starring Jack Black - as a nonevangelical can learn about evangelicalism from "Jesus Camp."

It does represent a small portion of the charismatic movement, but I think it demonizes it," said Haggard, a charismatic Christian who does not usually speak in tongues from the pulpit. "Secularists are hoping that evangelical Christians and radicalized Muslims are essentially the same, which is why they will love this film."

The makers of the film state that they are trying to portray no message at all, rather, they are simply presenting the facts as they are.

Since I have not seen the film I cannot comment on these two sides of the issue, but I will say that anytime Hollywood does anything involving Christianity, I am skeptical of their motives.

Check out Kent Curry's contribution to Collideoscope on this issue, which includes a link to the movie trailer.

Posted by: David Bunch

Kent Curry over at 90&9 announced the IQ Forum last week in a front page article. The conference focuses on issues facing the college/career demographic and is a kind of 90&9 live!

As a full co-sponsor, ninetyandnine.com is offering two days of relevant classes that just might redesign your life. We’re not highlighting high-impact preaching but concentrated teaching featuring enough application for you to use that same day.

Don't miss it-October 20-21!

Posted by: David Bunch

Denelle did a great job last week telling us about her favorite children's literature. It sparked my thoughts and I have to tell you about my favorite childhood book. It was a series of books, actually, called The Happy Hollisters.



These little guys and gals would always happen upon some mystery, usually while vacationing in a summer home or down by the sea. No matter where they went, mystery followed them. Kind of weird, actually, that they got into so many mysterious circumstances. Weirder still that this Jerry West guy took the time to chronicle the action.

I had the entire set (it hails from the 50s and 60s-but I got them in the 80s as a sort of hand-me-down).

My parents donated them to a local school after I grew up and lost interest.

Judging by the ebay prices I would need several hundred dollars to replicate the entire collection.

Posted by: Denelle

As I was barreling underground this morning with thousands of other soggy New Yorkers (please oh please let the rain stop) I found myself reminiscing about my favorite books when I was a kid. I think this rendition of "Memories" was brought on by the title of the book the lady across from me was reading but alas my attention span before 9 am is slightly better than that of a gnat so I really don't recall what she was reading or how it lead me on this recollective journey.

Anyway, I thought that I would make a list and share with you my favorite children's books. I've tried to break them down into age categories but it may not be an exact science - some of these I still read from time to time.

Younger than 8...

The Gus books were a series of stories but this one was by far my favorite.

A little girl with one cardboard box and a BIG imagination.

What's not to love about a moose that learned about math by buying gumdrops from the candy store.

The people of Itching Down have a problem. Actually, four million wasps are better classified as a big problem. Luckily the people of the city are creative and know just how to get rid of them. Great artwork and rhymes make this book a must read.

Ages 9 - 12

I was in second grade the first time I heard this story and it's slightly embarrassing to admit the amount of time I spent imagining how I would survive if I had to live in a boxcar. Especially when I have to admit that I still do from time to time.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler . . . I bought this book again when I was in college and have since purchased the DVD of the cheesy 1970s movie based on the book. I love them both dearly and credit them with starting my love for The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

To this day, this is one the best books I've ever read. This, along with The Hobbit, are the first books I remember reading and feeling like I was in the story.

A classic.

There are hundreds more I could list. Nurse Nancy, The Giving Tree, Penny, The New Kid On The Block, Tolkein's Middle Earth Series, the early books by Frank E. Peretti, etc. I was then and am now and insatiable reader. But what are some of your favorite children/young adult books? Were you a big C.S. Lewis fan? How about Judy Blume? What's is missing from my list that you couldn't live without? I would love to hear from you!

Posted by: Denelle

I think that most of us would agree that our religious beliefs influence our reading materials. After all, I would venture to say that you would be unlikely to find a fundamentalist Christian perusing the New Age section of their local bookstore.

And now Baylor University has conducted it's own study into the reading habits of "religious" people and the results are quite intriguing.

The John M. Templeton Foundation funded the survey, which the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion devised and Gallup conducted. The survey found:

•19% of the sample had read any Left Behind books.
•19 % had read The Purpose-Driven Life.
•17.5% had read any James Dobson books.
•28.5% had read The Da Vinci Code.
•6.7% had read The Celestine Prophecy.
•1.2% had read God’s Politics by Jim Wallis.
•5% had read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.

Interestingly the survey also discovered that women comprise a larger portion of their religious readers and that readers tend to mostly read within their religious affiliation.

I own several books by Dr. Dobson and have read one of the Purpose-Driven books and the DaVinci Code. However, I must be an fluke on their radar because the study also found:

The odds of having read The Da Vinci Code declined with increasing levels of church attendance, while people who read The Da Vinci Code tended more to believe in paranormal phenomena.

and I regularly attend church and am active in various ministries and I very definitely believe in the "paranormal" or a very real and active spirit world.

Posted by: Denelle

Twice a year NYC observes a long standing tradition: Fashion Week. With all of the pomp and circumstance of a state visit and with all the reverence of a holy pilgrimage, designers, models, socialites, and the Hollywood crowd decend on New York in an effort to see and be seen and to maybe pick up some fashion ideas for the following season.

*Note: Fashion Week is always for the following season . . . hence the festivities going on right now are a preview of what you can expect to see come Spring '07.

In an ode to all things fashionable (according to who is questionable) I thought I'd give you a glimpse of the madness that has overtaken this city.

The Good (because we need to start with the positive)

Love this dress. The color, the shoes, everything.

No comment on the dress but the coat is divine.

Women's fashions get the most coverage but I couldn't pass up how fabulous this suit is.

The Bad (or maybe I just don't get it)

Now see, I like the skirt, and I get where the colors/patters/etc come from and how the draw off of each other . . . but I just don't think I'd ever put the two together.

The fanny pack is back. There is something so wrong with that.
Only 6' tall, slightly annorexic models can pull off a T-shirt dress. Please. What normal woman would attempt that; outside of wearing it to bed?

And the Ugly (because what would Fashion Week be without the just plain weird)

Because you never know when you may need to use your sleeves to hide a small third world country . . . or to parachute from a plane. Marc Jacobs. What would we do without your kooky creations.

It's a pink jumpsuit. Need I say more?

Ummm ... ok ...

Words defy me. Someone stop the madness.

I'm going out to do some shopping after work. While I have no plans to be in the tents, I will let you know if I run into anyone interesting or interestingly dressed.

Posted by: Denelle

Have you checked out ninetyandnine.net yet?

If not you're missing out. The new and improved sight is awesome and very user friendly. Get over there today and see what you've been missing.

It's That Time Again

No, not Christmas, although several stores have already started putting up their decorations already. I guess in our ever driven consumer culture we just skip Halloween and Thanksgiving now.

Anyway, as all good Apostolic Pentecostals know, the major event that takes place in the fall is . . . General Conference. Are you ready? Have you purchased your new wardrobes yet? Are you saving up your hard earned cash to spend ridiculous amounts of money in the Missions/Evangelist Wives/Publishing House Booths??

Well, 90&9 has one more thing for you to add to your "to do" list for GC.

Live bloggging!!!

That's right, 90&9 is seeking volunteers to liveblog the UPCI's Gen. Conf. with us! If you're interested, email editor@ninetyandnine.com & tell us why you'd be a good blogger (in 50 words or less).

I would love to participate but I'm saving all of my vacation time to be able to go home to LA for 2 weeks at Christmas. So I'm hoping that some of you will pick up the gauntlet and share your General Conference experiences with us as you enjoy the shopping, food, great city of Columbus and of course the excellent services/music/preaching.

Get those emails in ASAP!!!

Posted by: David Bunch

Here's an interesting piece on the part faith played in recovering from the 9/11 attacks-and the part it continues to play in attempting to keep our nation secure.

Faith has a long-term role in providing homeland security, too. Nothing is more secure than a rock-solid foundation of faith. Malicious zeal can inflict violence on innocent life. But the meekness of true faith never does. Instead,it unites and uplifts all mankind as good and pure. And it gives us a watchtower to guard against misguided animosities and mad ambition conspiring against us. We are now more spiritually alert than ever.

Posted by: David Bunch

Segovia, Spain is having a book festival this month, purporting to rival the festival in "the town of books", Hay-On-Wye.

There will be all the high-brow talks, performances and celebrity interviews you'd expect from what Bill Clinton dubbed 'the Woodstock of the mind'...

Hay-On-Wye is an interesting place and one of the best books to read all about it is in Paul Collins' memoir on living there entitled Sixpence House.

Interestingly, Paul Collins is currently a featured author at a book festival in Italy called Festivaletteratura, which is happening now in Mantova, Italy. Collins is blogging from there and his story about being asked to name his top 5 books is quite amusing.

Bizarrely, in the course of 10 interviews in a row on Wednesday alone -- a guaranteed way to lose your grip on reality, incidentally -- I was asked 5 times in succession: "Name 5 books that everyone should own." The first to throw this spanner into my gears was a TV crew from RAI 1, one of the national channels. My response: to stand stunned for a moment and then say, "Turn off the camera. I need a minute."Eventually, I gave them this response: "Everybody should have five books that they haven't seen in anybody else's house."

Posted by: Denelle

Today marks the five year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon and throughout the country people are finding ways to remember what happened and pay tribute to those who lost their lives. It is hard to believe that is has actually been five years when it seems like it was only yesterday.

I wasn't a New Yorker five years ago. In fact, I was living on the other side of the country in Los Angeles. Had I been living here and working at my current job I would have been able to see the towers fall from the windows on the south side of our building. Had I been living in my current apartment my fire escape, car and the streets I walk down would have been littered with ash and bits of paper that had blown across the East River and settled across Brooklyn.

Most of the time - like most New Yorkers - I never stop to consider the possible dangers of living in a major city. Or more specifically the terrorist threats that come with living in such a place. What few people realize is that while the rest of the country has returned to a semblance of normalcy regarding terrorist threats, New York's terror alert level has remained at orange since Sept. 11, 2001. Increased security measures and a heavy police presence are common place and the city flows on around them. Adjusting as necessary when potential threats arise but still going on with the daily routine of living.

Yet there are moments when the reality of 9/11 creeps in. Each time I pass the WTC site I am struck by the sense of reverence that seems to surround that barren 16 acres. Maybe it's heightened by the Deutsche Bank building, that draped in black now looms over the empty pit, being taken apart piece by piece because of the damage it sustained when the Towers fell. Maybe it's simply knowing that there were hundreds of people whose remains were never recovered from the site. Whatever the cause, it immediately triggers a well of emotions in me, including, appreciation - that the devastation wasn't greater given the proximity of everything in that area and awe - that in total chaos people banded together to help each other survive. It really drives home the reality that we either sink or swim together.

But on a day like today everyone takes a moment to stop and consider exactly what happened five years ago and the very real possibility that it could happen again. And as we remember the 2752 people who died in NYC five years ago I am reminded of exactly how grateful I am for the protective hand of the Lord.

Be sure to check out 90&9's new home at www.ninetyandnine.net. The layout is awesome and I can't wait to see what exciting new features have been added.

Posted by: David Bunch

Ninety And Nine Has A New Website!!!!

Hurry over to ninetyandnine.net and be sure to save it to your favorites! Ninetyandnine.com will still be in place for a while as we switch over the archives and make other minor adjustments, but otherwise, the “dot net” site is the place to be!

It has been a long time in coming, but I think you will find that it was well worth the wait. The website has been updated and newly re-designed to bring you the quality content that you’ve come to expect in a fresh and exciting new layout.

You don’t want to miss this!

Posted by: David Bunch

Facebook is the latest social networking site to have privacy issues. In this case, they amended some of their protocol for linking-and listing-user's information.

Anyone who isn’t comfortable having some or any of their personal information included in the feeds can now have it removed. Facebook is also auto-removing some of the data that people complained about most - status changes, groups added, etc. (see screen shot below shows the settings). This is an excellent example of a company listening to its users and quickly pushing intelligent changes, in a transparent manner, to deal with a problem. Facebook is growing up, in a good way.

And so the privacy issue goes...

Posted by: David Bunch

Following up on my post regarding the benefits of EC, today brings news that similar social networking site Xanga violated child protection laws and will pay for it, to the tune of $1 million.

According to the FTC, Xanga.com collected, used and disclosed personal information from children under the age of 13 without notifying parents and obtaining consent. The penalty is the largest assessed by the FTC for a COPPA violation and is more than double the next largest penalty.

This serves as a reminder that one can never be too careful on these type of networking sites. It is everyone's responsibility to be diligent.

Posted by: David Bunch

Google's back scanning of millions of copyrighted books for the purposes of getting them digitized and online is causing concern for the American Association of Publishers.

Last year, the AAP sued Google on behalf of five of its members -- The McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson Education, Penguin Group USA, Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons -- alleging massive copyright infringement in the Google Books Library Project.

The article gives a lot of details regarding Google's contract with the University of California, but my point in bringing up this subject dovetails from this paragraph about what Google is up to:

The Authors Guild and three authors also sued Google for alleged copyright infringement related to the library book-scanning project last year. The AAP and the Authors Guild both allege Google needs to obtain permission from copyright holders before scanning in-copyright books it obtains from the libraries. Google acknowledges that it scans the books and makes their full text searchable by users of the Google Book Search service. However, Google maintains its activities are legal because it only displays short text excerpts and bibliographic information for in-copyright books.

The bottom line is that digital, on demand books is where we're headed, and I think it is a good thing. Will we have to pay for this? Sure, just like for music, but this is going to revolutionize the book trade. I don't pretend to know all of the ends and outs of copyright law, and the following example probably involves books that have long since outlived their copyrights, but check this out.

Aaron Lansky rescued millions of Yiddish books that would have been lost forever. Now he has undertaken a massive project, sponsored by Spielberg, to digitally scan and reprint on demand these books for public enjoyment.

Because many of our books are physically deteriorating – and because we no longer have sufficient supplies to meet demand – in 1998 we launched the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library: a pioneering program to digitize the titles in our collection and make high-quality reprints available on demand. Our easy-to-use online catalog means that Yiddish, once the most endangered of literatures, is now the safest and most accessible.

I know of at least one other effort to scan and reprint old volumes on demand, but based on the link that I have, a new volume has not been made available in a few years.

But imagine the benefits. For the consumer, there is access to old volumes that have long since been out of print or are hard to come buy. For the publisher, only books that have been purchased need be printed-from the electronic file. It is like just in time inventory.

There is also LuLu, where you can publish and print your own work on demand.

The future is now, and this is where book publishing is going-rapidly. We know from experience that if Google is on it, then it's going to be huge.

Posted by: David Bunch

This interesting article concerning the latest numbers on drug use in this country indicates that drug use is actually up for baby boomers and down for teens.

Some moms and dads might want to take a lesson from their kids: Just say no. The government reported Thursday that 4.4 percent of baby boomers ages 50 to 59 indicated that they had used illicit drugs in the past month. It marks the third consecutive yearly increase recorded for that age group by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Meanwhile, illicit drug use among young teens went down for the third consecutive year — from 11.6 percent in 2002 to 9.9 percent in 2005.

So what does this mean? Are boomers trying to relive their youth in every way? Or, are kids learning from their parents' mistakes? Or, is just a phenomenon that can't be explained? (I doubt that since this is the third consecutive year of increased use).

Maybe boomers want to go out like they came in!

Posted by: David Bunch

Michael Palmer has won the $100,000 Wallace Stevens award for outstanding poetry.

Avant-garde poet Michael Palmer has won the Wallace Stevens Award, a $100,000 prize given annually for "outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry. Michael Palmer is the foremost experimental poet of his generation and perhaps of the last several generations," according to a statement issued earlier this week by the Academy of American Poets, which gives the prize.

I admit it. I have never heard of Michael Palmer. But a quick search over at Poets revealed some interesting biographical information and a few poems by the guy.

Michael Palmer's honors include two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, anf the Shelley Memorial Prize from the Poetry Society of America. In 1999, he was elected a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. He lives in San Francisco.

Here is a poem by him entitled "Dearest Reader".

Posted by: Denelle

Well, Suri Cruise has finally made her photographic debut to the world. The October issue of Vanity Fair hits stands this week and little Suri, her mom (Katie Holmes) and dad (Tom Cruise) grace the cover. The pictures - taken by famed photographer Annie Liebowitz - were taken back in July while the family was on vacation in Colorado.



The pun is ridiculous and I pitty the poor child having to grow up with that name, but she is cute and looks a lot like both Tom and Katie. Great, and now I sound like Leah Remini and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

In the 22 page spread Tom and Katie claim that they were never hiding anything and that they always intended to have her first pictures taken by Annie (the only photographer to have captured Cruise's adopted children on film when they were small).

Guess this puts to rest all of the rumors and speculation that Suri doesn't exist, is adopted or is a product of invitro (aka Tom's not the daddy).

Just adding to the hype surrounding this event, it was Katie Couric who "broke" the story and showed these photographs from Vanity Fair last night during her first outing as the new face of the CBS Evening News. Looks like Katie is pulling out all the stops to make sure she keeps that new job.

Posted by: David Bunch

Holiday Weekend
Well now, here's hoping everyone had a great holiday weekend. I spent a good bit of time having fun, taking care of some chores, finishing some reading, and most importantly....



I had 3 days of all Dawson, all the time!

Everyone is Connected?
I spent some time creating an Everyone's Connected (EC) account this weekend. My motivations for doing so are various, but the primary factor is that the General Youth Division now has an EC page and has stated that it is officially pledging to keep everyone updated on all things Apostolic Youth via this venue. Be sure to read Todd Gaddy's comments about this at the August "Month In My Life".

If you are not familiar with EC, it is basically a Myspace type of website that has been hijacked by Apostolic young people.

I look forward to networking with anyone who would like to link to me on EC. I can't give out my exact EC info via this blog because of my enormous popularity as a blogger (I don't want the website to crash due to heavy traffic), but if you can find me, let me know you are out there!

Reading
This weekend I finished reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Very thought provoking stuff he has there. Miller explores Christian spirituality from a very unique point of view. The only really big problem I had with the book is that at the very end, in the "thanks you's", he credits the likes of Wilco, The Beatles, and other rock bands for providing him a soundtrack with which to write the book. Sorry, but I just don't think that was God speaking to him through "Norwegian Wood".

I am now all set to take a break from the heavy stuff and start reading Peter Pan. I'll let you know how it goes.

Rant of the Week
This weekend I also stopped caring about politics. I know we are nearing an election, and yes I want our borders to be safe and our culture to be Godly, but I have had all I can take. I mean, Sean Hannity isn't going to make it to the election if he doesn't calm down. I can't listen to him go off on people anymore. Months ago I ceased listening to Rush Limbaugh (gasp). I simply do not care what Hillary Clinton, Bill Frist, Ted Kennedy, or are up to. I'll inform myself enough to vote, scan the headlines the next day to see who won, and move on with my life. I am officially off the political bandwagon. I can't take anymore.

Posted by: Denelle

The world (well at least those that are fans of Animal Planet) is mourning today the death of Steve Irwin, otherwise known as the "Crocodile Hunter." He was killed earlier today while filming an upcoming t.v. special off the Great Barrier Reef. Ironically, it wasn't the crocodiles who had made him famous that killed the avid conservationist, but a stingray who managed to hit Irwin directly in the heart, tearing a hole, with its poisonous barb.

[it is] suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart. "It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare."

Despite coming under criticism in 2004 for feeding an adult crocodile with one hand while holding his baby boy with the other, Irwin was well respected by his colleagues around the world. Jack Hanna, former director of the Columbus Zoo and friend of Irwin's stated this morning that:

Irwin's persona of the Crocodile Hunter was no act. Irwin grew up around crocodiles, snakes and other animals at his parents' Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park and had been handling such creatures since he was a child.

"Steve really knew what he was doing. He was one of the finest reptile
people in the world. He knew more about reptiles than anybody did. He was raised that way."

Not Just An Isolated Incident

Not quite three years ago, the world witnessed the death of another "hands on" animal "expert" when Timothy Treadwell was mauled to death by a grizzly bear. Treadwell had spent ten summers living among the grizzly population of Alaska and had become a self proclaimed/taught/documented expert on the animals, gaining fame as "The Grizzly Man."

Unlike Irwin, Treadwell had no formal education with the animals, just a passion for them that he credited to saving his life.

The Creator of All

It is moments like these that really make you stop and consider just how tiny and fragile humans are in the whole grand scheme of God's creations. We are forced to remember that no matter how much we know (or think we know) about nature, there is a healthy level of respect and caution that should accompany our interaction with all of it's aspects.

Posted by: kdc

Here is a trailer of a documentary called Jesus Camp.

It’s a documentary that has a cool back story about the non-denominational Becky Fischer and her ministry to kids. Evidently the documentarians are respected filmmakers. I believe they are also non-believing Jews. I've heard much of the back story, but am afraid I'll mangle the details.

The documentary is slated to hit theatres this fall, then will be shown on A&E sometime after that.

It's interesting how much Christianity is leaking into our major media these days, whether they want it to or not. All the more reason for us to get as many passionate Apostolics into the creative arts now. We just don't know how many thousands/millions we may reach through our art and witness.

Jesus Camp
http://movies.aol.com/movie/jesus-camp/27214/trailer (click Trailer No.1)

Posted by: kdc

Stu is in the House!

Lee Ann has ended her 1 year term (prison sentence?) as ninetyandnine.com's primary blogger, but don't dismay, hilarity is right around the corner!

Please help us welcome Stu the male RN as he shares his life and loves for the next 12 months.

Go visit http://www.ninetyandnine.com/housecalls/ right now!