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Pat Robertson vs. The Supreme Court

When it comes to TV evangelists, I guess nothing should surprise me, but this really pissed me off. CNN reports that “[Pat] Robertson has launched a 21-day ‘prayer offensive’ directed at the Supreme Court:” “One justice is 83-years-old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition. Would it not be possible for God to put it in the minds of these three judges that the time has come to retire?”

I can’t believe the arrogance and sheer immorality of this statement. What he is saying is tantamount to asking God to kill off these three justices so that conservative justices ostensibly more sympathetic to his views can replace them, although he didn’t explicitly put it that way. I’m really sick of proselytizing hacks yammering at me with their holier-than-thou sermons, and this is a horrible example of exploiting and manipulating people’s genuine religious faith to a political end. It is despicable, immoral, and un-Christian, and I hope he is called on it.

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Commodore 64 Makes A Comeback?!

C64PC World reports that “Tulip Computers, which owns the Commodore brand name, plans to relaunch the brand to take advantage in an upsurge of interest in the obsolete Commodore 64 (C64) computer and its 1980s-era games.” It’s unclear what form that will take, although it sounds as if they’re talking about selling Commodores again. The article points out that “there are still 6 million Commodore users, who can choose from a range of 6,000 games which were developed for the system,” and I still count myself as one of those users.

The funny thing is that just this past weekend I dug up my old Commodore 128 while at my parents’ house, and although I found the computer, 1571 disk drive, and 3 boxes full of computer games and programs, I didn’t get a chance to see if still worked. I’m not sure it’s even worth pursuing, as there are plenty of good Commodore 64 emulators out there, although none of them are 100% bug-free. And there’s definitely something to be said for the nostalgic feel of the real thing, although that’s coupled with the horribly slow speed of the system. I’ll be keeping an eye on this development, and I’ll post something if and when I get my old Commodore up and running.

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Could The Eagles Have Flown Frodo Into Mordor?

And now for my Comic Book Guy Post Of The Day. “On [the newsgroup] rec.arts.books.tolkien, there is periodic debate whether the eagles could have flown the Ring into Mordor, saving Frodo and Sam the hazardous journey on foot.” While there are many thorough, compelling arguments for and against this statement, there is one salient point that was overlooked: Middle-Earth isn’t real, or, as William Shatner might put it, “Get a life!” sound file

I guess I can’t talk too much, though. If there was ever a fantasy world that I could become obsessed with, it would be that of the Lord Of The Rings saga, or maybe the Simpsons’ Springfield, but that’s another story altogether. Thankfully, I’m (usually) discerning enough to keep my wits about me and separate the real from the imaginary. Which isn’t to say that I haven’t had some freaky dreams… 🙂

via Will’s Thrills
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Ari Fleischer Named New Iraqi Information Minister

The always hilarious Borowitz Report reports that “Mr. Fleischer said that two and a half years of serving as spokesman for the Bush administration had made him ‘uniquely qualified’ to provide an honest and candid account of the goings-on inside the new Iraq.” Nice to know he found himself a good job…NOT!

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Star Wars Screen Tests

The Star Wars Screen Tests site is fun not only because it contains early screen tests by Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, but also because it has screen tests for actors that didn’t get the job, including Kurt Russell, William Katt, Cindy Williams, Terri Nunn, and Robbie Benson, among many others. Check out all of the videos!

via Off On A Tangent