My Name is John Rambo and I am an AARP member

When I heard that Stallone had decided to dust the rigamortus off of the Rocky series I thought, "Well, if George Foreman can still box... so can the Italian Stallion (soon to be Glue Stick)". Though I did not see the film most people said it was better than average. OK. But then during a conference call that I snuck onto in which Stallone was hawking the new Rocky movie to youth leaders around the country, Sly mentioned his next project... a new Rambo movie. Hold the phone. What? A new Rambo? Do we need a new Rambo movie? Did we need a new Rocky?

Then he proceeded to give a few details on the project. Rambo is a recluse in the Burmese jungles living as far off the grid as possible. Then he finds out about a Burman village that is being persecuted for their Christian beliefs. So he unleashes a holy war on the villains and saves the day... which in turn saves himself. This sounds like it could be dripping in hokeyness. Most movies that walk the spiritual / entertainment line usually tend to lean heavily to either side. Most suck.

The first Christian-themed movie I saw in the theater was Omega Code. I wanted to burn the theater down with me in it. The second (and last) I went to the multiplex to see was Passion of the Christ. That was almost unbearable to watch it was so intense. So this presents Stallone a gauntlet of obstacles to overcome. How do you walk such a fine line?

Well, in signature Rambo fashion, the line has been obliterated by an arsenal of explosive tipped arrows. If you are opposed to violence please do not watch this trailer. If you don't mind Bible verses quoted over the sound of an automatic weapon being unloaded into an evil foot soldier - please proceed.



Holy Crap right! That is Hizznard Core! I could be wrong but I don't see Churches buying out entire theaters and busing parishioners in like they did for Passion. But I could be wrong. I have attended a junior high youth group meeting that used the entire 8 minute opening scene from Saving Private Ryan to illustrate how we should persevere through adversities as Christians. Maybe they could use the scene where John Rambo uses a machete to detach the soldiers head to inspire young Christians not to lose their head when presenting the Gospel to strangers. Or maybe Basic Instinct 2 could inform teenagers about the dangers of sex and the importance of not cluddering theaters with obvious straight-to-video movies. Again... I could be wrong.

Spam Me Baby!!

Ok. Ever since I moved away from my AOL account four years ago I relenquished the privledge of wading through thousands of Spam emails. Most were sly come-ons to visit elicit sites with clever titles like "Jennifer from High School" or "How have you been?" But since I dropped AOL (code for "moved out of my parents house") I have not had to endure the gauntlet. Until Myspace.

Now those who know me know that when trends come around I flee. An example is leaving my blessings stranded on page 4 of The Prayer of Jabez. Myspace though has the added attraction of "easy connection". It seemed like everyone I knew had a Myspace account. Emails became passe and messaging became "The Balls" to quote a line from Anchorman. But it did come with a snag, Spam!

So yes I have accidentally clicked on Myspace messages with clever titles like "Jennifer from High School" only to find a world of sin one-click away. Now I just delete every message from someone I don't know just to be sure. But one caught my eye today. I was going through messages that I must have skipped over from months ago and I ran across this:








Now you may not be able to read the title of the message so here it is: "Chrissy would like to invite you to the group Sweat Hot Girls." The title alone brings my dinner to the surface (Sweat Hot Girls?) but what you should focus on is the picture. What the crap? Is that supposed to entice someone to check out her page. It looks like she is saying "I've been sick."

Either way I have become hardened to the vague message titles and delete them without hesitation. So if you haven't spoken to me in many years I suggest using a very specific title because "Jennifer from High School" just won't do.

24: Jack Bauer: Rouge Agent: Downward Spiral

Note: If you are waiting to watch 24 season 6 on DVD please read no further. I comment on this season's storyline (but no future spoilers).

The blog title above may be long but very apt for Day 6 of 24. After a suspenseful and engrossing Day 5, this season has left me wishing the show was called 12. If the eye rolling addition of Ricky "Don't call me Rick" Schroeder and a dragging nuclear threat storyline was not enough to help me change the channel. This season also includes an improbable phone call from thought-dead, now hostage Audrey Raines, only seconds after finding the suitcase nukes. This prompts Jack to go rouge agent and bring back one of the women he has loved. This is just insane.

Even the show runners know that this season is falling short. Executive Producer David Fury said that he knows this season isn't working and will fuse the writing methods of season 5 and 6 to make it more "unpredictable". You can read the article here.

Hopefully something will get the ball rolling next season and maybe we can go back to calling it the Jack Bauer Power Hour!

This Just In: Satan Behind Illegal Immigration

No, that is not just a salacious headline geared to have you stop and read my blog. That is an actual headline from the Salt Lake Tribune. Click on the link to read the article:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5756635

The idea that Immigration is the key to the demise of our Nation is baloney. Our schools must be teaching selective history because it seems everyone has forgotten that we are all immigrants. The only people that have a right to rail against the idea of foreigners moving in are the Native Americans. But if I remember correctly it didn't work too well... whitey still here. So now after all these years of touting that we are a melting pot, evangelizing "The American Dream" to all nations, and proclaiming just how well we have it here by exporting multi-million dollar entertainment experiences abroad, we are now saying, "Sorry, all full."

I understand that it is not Immigration that everyone is barricading against but Illegal Immigration. But my problem is that the American system of filtering is broken. Now I have not polled a large pool of Americans but talking to those around me about the situation with my brother-in-law Luis, most had no idea that just marrying an American citizen does not guarantee you a green card. That is now an old wives tale. My sister-in-law has been husbandless for over 6 months. And that is with the couple working for over two years and paying thousands of dollars in fees to gain citizenship. The American system of dealing with the "problem" is voluntary deportation and then cross your fingers. This is wrong.

So now America is not only looking at losing a man who works harder than five Americans pulling a 70 hour work week for less than any card-carrying citizen. But now his wife, a college degree holding Elementary School Teacher (aren't we in short supply these days), is facing the possibility that her husband will not be granted citizenship and will have to leave the country she was born in to be with him.

The United States should be disgusted but of course they are too busy with having to rid the country of peaceful protest and freedom of speech. Check these out.




Here is a different networks take on the protest:
http://video.nbc4.tv/player/?id=99815

So as you can see this is becoming a very heated issue. Those of you who know me know that I am not one to go off railing against the government unless it is something that is worth speaking up about. So please if in the next few months if any legislation comes up about the immigration issue please step up and voice your opinion, whatever it might be. Also be praying for the issue with Isabel and Luis that it will soon be taken care of so they won't be seperated from each other any longer.