Split Screen Repeats of Yourself Music Performances

Via Dueling Analogs via Halolz, the Dr Mario Fever theme has always been catchy and I still remember it after close to 2 decades. Now it’s even more amusing:

Reminds of this one, the Shop theme from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time:

And Muppets Ode to Joy with Beaker:

One Winged Office

Loltastic via Dueling Analogs via Topless Robot, love the lyrics, Sephiroth’s FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUrage and the costuming!

Internet Super Friends

Found on Facebook:

Apt match-ups if you know your DC universe!

And of course, last panel take-that at everyone’s favourite ‘watered down’ powers hero!

UPDATE: Full set via Mashable from original creator at College Humour:

Proven General Deliverables of Conservatism Would Influence Ideology

Via AoSHQ, this snippet:

It is my belief that ideologies flourish not based upon argument or rhetoric, but when a party comes to power and then delivers the general deliverables. When a president or party is able to deliver objective goods, his ideology advances, not because people have become convinced by reason or rhetoric, but simply because they decide If they’ve got everything working smoothly, I guess that means they’re probably right about these ideological points they keep talking about, too.

This echoes with my own thinking, something I’d independently decided since my post A Short Pondering: Should a Christian Leader Impose Laws Based on Christian Standards?

I have come to the conclusion that a good solution to that problem, personally, would be: If I were to run for and become President, I would focus exclusively on jobs, the economy, energy, security etc (all the general deliverables) and would not focus on sociopolitical issues such as gay marriage, abortion, etc.

This doesn’t mean I don’t care about the latter – on the contrary, they are very crucial matters to me as a Christian.

However, my strategy would be along the lines of this passage:

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? – John 3:12

Namely, I would deliver such an outstanding performance on the economy and so forth (as Reagan did), that the country would have to stop and ponder: Hey, this guy’s on to something. Could it be that his way of thinking (i.e. Conservatism, Christianity) is RIGHT about things?

The pondering would start on economic, physical, worldly things of course. But then, through association and osmosis, the pondering would lead to social, philosophical and even spiritual things.

The general public would already believe me on worldly issues, so they would be likelier to believe me on spiritual issues as well… The reverse of speaking of earthly things which people don’t believe.

To wit, the observable effectiveness of my worldly policies would convince people that my social/spiritual ideas probable are right too.

PS. Ace continues:

And I believe the contrary: Liberalism will suffer greatly due to Obama’s Miserable Failure, the same as it did under Jimmy Carter.

Which is proven, Obama’s amazing economic ineptness has caused more and more Americans to become Conservatives.

Employment: What Reagan Achieved in 8 Years, And 3 Presidents Maintained Over 18 Years, Obama Has Destroyed in Under 4 Years

Via AoSHQ:

Just another in the series of 41+ graphs detailing Obama’s record-breaking economic leadership.

See other Reagan/Obama comparisons at Whenever Obama Blames the Mess Inherited From Bush and Compares Himself to Reagan, He Shoots Himself in the Lazy Foot That’s Lodged in His Own Big Mouth.

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Related, see how Obama has undone everything Reagan accomplished on global security.

And other mentions of Reagan.

The Avengers – What Captain America Would Lament About Modern Society

Firt up, great kudos to director Joss Whedon on a job well done – full of action, true to the characters, plenty of genuinely funny moments and quips, and without letting it end up overly focused on one character at the expense of others the way the Wolverine & His Backdrop Friends (aka the X-Men movies) did – credit to his comic nerditude and experience with ensemble casts (tip via AoSHQ)

Anyway, Joss Whedon had this to share, via Newsbusters:

One of the best scenes that I wrote was the beautiful and poignant scene between Steve and Peggy [Carter] that takes place in the present. And I was the one who was like, ‘Guys, we need to lose this.’ It was killing the rhythm of the thing. And we did have a lot of Cap, because he really was the in for me. I really do feel a sense of loss about what’s happening in our culture, loss of the idea of community, loss of health care and welfare and all sorts of things. I was spending a lot of time having him say it, and then I cut that.

Let’s be realistic here… Would the average 1940s American WASP be more shocked by the loss of health care and welfare (things which were nowhere near as prevalent in that era compared to today – even FDR himself opposed welfare parasitism)?

Or would he rather be more shocked at the unprecedented influx of blasphemy, irreverence, cussing, faithlessness, anti-Christianity, and clamping down on public displays of religion?

Or the celebration of public disorder, breaking the law, violence, disrespect, laziness, and collusion with openly-acknowledged enemies of America ala the Occupy movement and modern liberalism in general?

Or the open acceptance (and even praise) of sexual mores like open homosexuality, casual sex, swinging, children by multiple fathers, single motherhood, children out of wedlock, divorce, serial remarriage, and a hundred thousand abortions a month nationally?

Shouldn’t be hard to imagine really, as so much inspiration was already taken from the Ultimates line, the script team was surely aware of Ultimate Cap’s culture shock reaction to the above:

– On potty mouths and nudity

– On incest

– On why one fights

– On quitting a fight

On the other hand, Whedon’s Captain America does have this to say:

There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t dress like that.

In reference to Thor and Loki being Asgardian ‘gods’. Cap here seems to get that even if Thor really is a nigh-immortal Asgardian superhuman with control of lightning, that doesn’t mean that the Biblical God is disproven. Thor is merely an alien being identified with the Nordic legends.

This is a point that Ultimate Cap didn’t seem to get (or rather, the writers didn’t want to concede) – Ultimate Thor niggled him that it shouldn’t be a stretch to imagine since Cap goes to church every Sunday. Actually, if Cap really follows what is taught in church, it would preclude Thor’s claims to deity, rather than bolster them.

Christianity Inspires Good in A Way Unbelief Cannot Emulate

When I tweeted a series sarcastically contrasting the how atheism and Christianity motivate (or doesn’t motivate ) people to do good, and resposted it on my blog, I had totally forgotten about my promise to try not to mock and belittle atheists.

Well, longtime commentor Ron pointed it out, and I had to admit my failing.

That said, the premise of my tweets and post is not rendered void. So here in this post, I will attempt to rephrase what I intended to say in a non-sarcastic, non-snarking manner.

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It is often pointed out by polemics – especially those of the atheistic vein – that many bad things are done in the name of religion, or at least inspired by religion.

However, if religion is really so bad, then why is it still so prevalent even in our modern, scientific age of rationalism and humanism? Why hasn’t religion been disacarded as a force for evil, a detriment to human civilization and survival?

There are many competing and complementary explanations, but how about this – in all the self-smug polemics, critics forget that religion inspires people to do good in a way that secularism and atheism somehow do not.

For example, many a former drug addict or alcoholic who has reformed his ways – and even turned into a model citizen who works to rescue other from the same trap – attributes the change to realizing the existence of a loving and forgiving God.

Many a convict – hardened criminals, career lawbreakers, death-row inmates – has been so stricken with remorse upon discovering Jesus Christ that they renounced their former ways and transformed into a model prisoner, encouraging others to accept the love and forgiveness of God and humanizing an otherwise bleak and forlorn environment.

Many a suicidal person, distraught over the hopelessness and ennui of it all, has found new meaning and hope and joy in life after reading the Bible (or even a snippet of it in an evangelical tract), hearing a preacher’s message, or simply through the lovingkindness of Christ expressed through a believer.

Many an invidual has given up a safe home, a comfortable life, and a promising career in order to serve in (very often) religious or religiously-linked/inspired charities. Even if they do not personally head out to disease-infested wilds or poverty-stricken slums or wartorn battlegrounds to minister God’s love to the needy, at the very least they sacrifice their own hard earnings to support such work through church offerings or charities – the latter often inspired and named after well-loved parables and personalities of the Bible: Loaves & Fishes, Samaritan’s Purse, Barnabas Aid, Faith & Light, Our Father’s House.

Many a former prisoner of war – brutalized, dehumanized, pushed to the brink of death by their oppressors – has turned around and offered full, unconditional forgiveness to their torturers… Because of the example of Jesus and the Apostles so long ago and the countless saints and martyrs of the faith since.

Now take each of the above, and imagine replacing Christianity with the uncertainty of agnosticism or the blithe existentialism of atheism. Doesn’t quite work, does it?

For all talk that “If only people abandoned foolish and cruel religion, the world would be a better place!”, unbelief simply fails to provide a meaningful replacement.

Therefore I wager that religion – Christianity in particular – has been overwhelmingly a force that inspires good rather than evil. Hospitals, charities, legal and philosophical concepts, personal crusades, countless little decisions made every day – how much worse off the world would be without any number of institutions and effects inspired by Christianity! (And of course, if self-proclaimed Christians truly adhered to the teachings of the Bible and the example of Jesus, not one of them would ever commit evil – least of all in the name of God.)

And last but not least, it continues to be my personal belief that, whatever the Communist regimes were or were not – whether their gross atrocities against humanity were directly inspired by their de facto atheism or not – at the very least, their outright rejection of religion contributed to their ability to ignore and intentionally trample on human rights.

After all, when there is no God but man – when man makes his own ultimate morals, rules and laws – and when such commands as “Thou shall not murder” and “Love thy neighbor; love thy enemy” are tossed out along with all the other

Religion – no matter how illogical, scientifically baseless or outright absurd the teachings may be – has been the dam that for millenia held back the flood human evil from engulfing all of humanity.

See also What Door to Door Evangelists for Atheism Would Really Be Like.