Atheism. It makes perfect sense at 10:30 AM

-Graydon L

New LEGO Transformers! at 10:35 AM

In Honor of the new Transformers movie, I have created two new LEGO Transformers! I wanted to post them because, quite frankly, there is a great lack of mid-sized LEGO Transformers on the Internet and I also haven't posted in a week :-)

This one is supposed to look like an F-22 (My favorite Airplane), but as always with Transformers and LEGO, it looks more like a cross between a MiG-29 and an F-22. Oh-well.


For scale against my hand in it's Airplane mode.


From the side. At the back there underneath the tail fins you can see the "Engine exhaust nozzle" which become a Gatling cannon.


A closer look at that Exhaust nozzle that becomes the Gatling cannon. Keep an eye out for that cannon in the video when I transform it. It will end up above the robots head.


Here's a video of me transforming it into Bot-Mode. Newbies, pay close attention :-)




This Next one isn't supposed to look like any particular airplane, but it ended up looking like a Su-37. It's the forward ailerons that add to this look.

From the side.


As you can see, it's a good 2 inches shorter than the F-22!


And of course, a video of me transforming this one.



Well, aside from their obvious fragility (if that's a word), they're some pretty good robots! If I get enough requests for instructions on how to build it (unlikely), I'll do that.

Signing off, Graydon L

MRM - Marley and Me at 4:56 PM

Directed by: David Frankel

Written by: Scott Frank, Don Roos

Starring Cast: Owen Wilson (John Grogan), Jennifer Aniston (Jennifer Grogan)

Supporting Cast: Eric Dane (Sebastian), Clarke Peters (Editor)

What's it Rated?: PG for thematic material, suggestive content and language

Genre: pets, memoirs, romance

Synopsis: John Grogan buys his wife a dog in hopes to delay her desire for children, but they soon find out that the dog was far worse than expected.

My Take: In all my born days I have never seen an more mis-rated movie ever!!! The repeated use of foul language, references to and explicit sexual content, humanistic worldview and generally immoral behavior was SICKENING! I never thought I'd ever have to skip a scene in a PG rated movie, but we skipped two!!! Normally I add what I think needs to be added to the rating in parentheses, but this time there is just too much to add.

Seriously!

OK, I've calmed down a bit now... IF you were OK with the above items, and IF you though you would like this movie, this is what I say about everything else:

Good story, truth truly is stranger than fiction as illustrated by the "book-to-film" of the Grogan family memoirs. The adventures of an incredibly neurotic dog are hilarious sometimes, but not others. In the end it felt rather long as the exiting wore off and the mundane set in, but all in all, an OK story.

As I said above, funny in parts, absolutely not in others. The repeated use of suggestive humor was a real killer for me and the rest of the family watching this movie.

Overall, Not recommendable at all. Don't be fooled by the marketing as a kids film, it's not. The characters deal with some complex issues and predicaments and some are not handled well. (there were two that were better, Sebastian asks John if he and Jennifer are getting divorced, and he balks at that saying: "Mend it, don't end it" stating a more committed view of marriage. Also, Jennifer Grogan decides to be a stay-at-home-mom and says later: "... I made a choice. And even if it's harder than I thought--I don't regret it!")

Story: 6.5 out of 10

Humor: 4 out of 10

Action/Suspense: N/A

Overall: 2 out of 10

-Graydon L

MRM - Paul Blart: Mall Cop at 8:53 AM

Directed by: Steven Carr

Written by: Kevin James, Mick Bakay

Starring Cast: Kevin James

Supporting Cast: Jayma Mays (Amy), Keir O'Donnell (Veck Sims), Raini Rodriquez (Maya Blart)

What's it Rated?: PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language. (Plus mild nudity, and multiple mild sexual refrenses.)

Genre: Comedy, Kids, Thriller

Synopsis: Paul Blart is a mild-mannered, dutiful family man who works as a security guard in a New Jersey mall. For years, he has applied to become a cop, but he always fails the physical exam because he is overweight. One day, a gang of organized criminals put the mall under siege and take hostages. Blart becomes trapped inside, and because of his sense of duty, refuses to leave. He thus becomes the police department's eyes on the inside and attempts to stop the criminals on his own.

My Take: It's hard to say a lot about this movie, but I'll see if I can tackle this one and not make it seem as if I"m brushing off my "duties".

The negative elements are obviously first and foremost, so I'll nail those up front. The language is the first thing you notice obviously, but some violence and sexual references rise quickly to make you switch from "hmm, this movie is OK" to "This movie is stupid" and right back again. The fact that these things don't mix with the comedy and slapstick genre very well, turned me off more than made me like the movie more.

There is also one scene in a grill and bar in which the main character gets hopelessly drunk when he drinks a pitcher of margaritas when he thinks it lemon aid. However, this is almost "justified" (if you will) because he loses the respect of several other characters, and gets several tattoos, illustrating that many things that you do when under the affects of alcohol are impossible to reverse. I was a little more comfortable with this scene because it does portray alcoholism in a more negative light than most films--however, it was still alcoholism.

There is a silver lining though! Paul Blart does place high value on respect and good fatherhood and isn't portrayed as a complete ditz when it comes to family matters. This is, quite frankly, welcome relief from the typical war against Dads in Hollywood movies.

As far as humor goes, some is crude, but generally speaking stays away from the Shrek-type crude humor and for the most part stays with "fat jokes" more than stereotypical rude jokes.

Overall I'd say this movie wasn't really recommendable. The story was rather weak, and there were some inappropriate scenes that definitely could have been left out.

Story: 4 out of 10

Humor: 5.5 out of 10

Action/Suspense: 6 out of 10

Overall: 4 out of 10

-Graydon L

The Evolutionists keep working... at 6:04 PM

Here's a couple of articles I found in the Creation Magazine that we get from Creation Ministries International. I thought they were pretty disturbing.

Computer Game Spore: deception as a means to an end

Spore, a computer game released in September 2008, allows players to replicate the evolution of a creature from a single-celled organism to a space traveling civilization. Depending on the goals of the player, the creature can be a carnivore, herbivore, peaceful social networker, or a conquering predator

Designer Will Wright, best known for creating the Sims series of games, claims that the game is a 'philosophical toy' intended  to change the way people think, and cites science fiction, SETI [Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence], and 'astrobiology' as a sourced of inspiration for the game, and admitted certain aspects of the game are 'very Darwinian'.

In a New York Times article, scientists praised the game for getting evolutionary ideas across,  but criticized the simplistic and in some cases misguided way that evolution is presented. For one thing, player can 'intelligently design' their creatures to some extent.

However, Dr. Thomas Near hope that the game will cause people to accept evolution: 'This may be totally off about how evolution works, but I'd much rather be dealing with a student who says, "OK, I have no problem with evolution; I think about it the same way I think about gravity." If it does that, it'll be great.' He is not the first to condone deceiving students as long as they end up accepting the evolutionary worldview. (see, www.creation.com/deceive)

Christian parents should be aware of the evolutionary indoctrination even extending to computer games, so become increasingly vigilant to make sure that the messages that their children absorb are consistent with the true (Biblical) worldview. For more information see www.creation.com/spore

The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/science/02spore.html

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Atheists advertise on British buses

The British Humanist Association (BHA), with the support of prominent atheist Richard Dawkins, has launched a 'No God' advertising campaign on UK buses. They have raised more than 36,000 Pounds to pay for posters on both the inside and outside of London buses with the slogan: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.'

The BHA is considering extending the campaign to other cities, including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

According to Dawkins, this campaign 'will make people think--and thinking is anathema to religion.'

Dawkins may well be right in relation to false religion, but he's wrong when it comes to Christianity. The one true Creator of the Universe has instructed that we are to 'Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength' [emphasis added] (Mark 12:30). And He has instructed Christian believers to 'be prepared to have an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have' [emphasis added] )1 Peter 3:15, q.v. Isaiah 1:18) that other people might become believers while there's still time. 

Now that's something worth thinking about.

BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7681914.stm  21 October 2008

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-Graydon L

MRM - IOUSA at 6:09 PM

Directed by: Patrick Creadon

Written by: Patrick Creadon, Christine O'Malley

Main Interviewees: David Walker, Robert Bixby, Warren Buffet, Ron Paul, Alan Greenspan, 

What's It Rated?: PG for some thematic elements

Genre: Documentary, Economics, Government

Synopsis: I.O.U.S.A. examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. As the Baby Boomer generation prepares to retire, will there even be any Social Security benefits left to collect? Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions. 

My Take: EXCELLENT! Finally a professional, well made documentary that highlights the problems in the government that NOBODY IS RECOGNIZING!!! The Trade Deficit, the National Debt, the demise of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are well presented in an easy to understand format that anybody and get fairly quickly! I highly recommend this film for everyone in the entire country to watch. 

'Nuf said.

PS, It did feel a tad long the second time a watched it, but that's a small price to pay for the message it presents. 

Story: 6 out of 10

Humor: (Not really applicable, but some interviews with the public can be a little humorous)

Action/Suspense: N/A

Overall: 10 out of 10 (A MUST SEE!)

-Graydon L