Merry Christmas

Here's a clip from the Trailer Park Boys' holiday special entitled "Dear Santa Clause, go fuck yourself", in which Ricky explains the true meaning of Christmas.



... and now some Christmas listening pleasures. -WARNING: the last one is by no means safe for work.

RIP Charlie Louvin

Country music legend Charlie Louvin entered into eternal rest on January 26, 2011 due to complications from his pancreatic cancer. He was 83 years old.

Born Charles Elzer Loudermilk on July 7, 1927, Charlie made it big, along with his brother Ira, as the Louvin brothers. The duo were innovators of the close-harmony style that influenced The Everly Brothers and, then later, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Gram Parson’s version of The Byrds and The Beach Boys. Ira was notorious for drinking and reckless behavior which led Charlie to eventually fire his brother. The next year, after a period of sobriety, Ira was killed when a drunk driver struck his car.

The Louvins were famous for singing about death, tortured relationships, drinking, sin, murder, and the eviscerating emptiness of this corrupt world.

"The Louvin Brothers preached a fire-and-brimstone theology of bottomless torment and endless grace. They sneered at moral relativism and shades of grey, opting for a black-and-white worldview that separated the world cleanly into sinners and saints, the redeemed and the damned. "-Nathan Rabin

"The Louvins’ Jesus isn’t some longhaired, namby-pamby peacenik in sandals and beads preaching brotherhood and love. No, he’s a badass warrior in perpetual combat with Satan’s hordes. "






"I'm not afraid of dying," Louvin told The Associated Press a few days after the diagnosis. "We're all going to do that. And I've had 83 years of almost uninterrupted good health, so I know that's not by accident. So I've been blessed that long, and I could use a couple more."

Muslims Hate Cartoons

Jackie and Dunlap discuss the recent death threats made to the creators of South Park by a radical Islamic website

Chocolate Jesus?

Yesterday, whilst schlepping through the aisles of a large national retail store, I happened across something which struck me as a bit peculiar. It was a chocolate Easter candy in the shape of the cross. This caused me to wonder, which was more blasphemous, that whole Easter Bunny thing or the consumption of such a symbolic confection?
What's up with Easter and rabbits anyway?




Happy Easter! Jesus died for your sins.

It looks like Palm Sunday again

The river so white, the mountain so red
and with the sunshine over my head
The honky-tonks are all closed and hushed

It looks like Palm Sunday again

The sky is so green, clouds of canary
Blood moon rise like a fat ripe cherry
Sunset quiet as a benediction
One true love, the rest is fiction

If I stay longer, trouble will find me
An epitaph and a sheet to wind me
A passable day for the least of men
it must be Palm Sunday again

Dude!!!

It has been called the "slowest-growing religion in the world", but what is Dudeism?

Dudeism is a religion whose primary objective is to promote a philosophy and lifestyle represented by the character of "the Dude" in the Coen Brothers' 1998 film The Big Lebowski.
An ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness and practices as little as possible, the Dudeist belief system is essentially a modernized form of Taoism.

The Church of the Latter-Day Dude was founded in 2005 by Oliver Benjamin, a journalist based in Los Angeles, California and Chiang Mai, Thailand and launched its official publication, The Dudespaper, in the fall of 2008.
The Dudeist holy book, The Tao Dude Ching went online in July 2009. It is a reinterpretation of the Tao Te Ching using dialogue and story elements from The Big Lebowski.
The Dudeist worldview has existed since the beginnings of civilization, primarily to correct societal tendencies towards aggression and excess.

Link: Great Dudes In History

I, myself, am an ordained Dudeist priest.

Below is a short film exploring the "religion". The 60 second clip was made as a part of Volkswagen's continued support of independent cinema.

It looks like Palm Sunday again

The river so white, the mountain so red
and with the sunshine over my head
The honky-tonks are all closed and hushed

It looks like Palm Sunday again

The sky is so green, clouds of canary
Blood moon rise like a fat ripe cherry
Sunset quiet as a benediction
One true love, the rest is fiction

If I stay longer, trouble will find me
An epitaph and a sheet to wind me
A passable day for the least of men
it must be Palm Sunday again

*Free Download

part 1 - part 2

Jackie and Dunlap talk with Pajamas TV's new war correspondent, Joe the Plumber.

Warning, strong language

"Christmas Is Pain"

Here are the lyrics.

Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922

Of all things Christmas, nothing is more traditional than the singing of carols and songs, songs that capture in lyrics and in music the many traditions that we have at Christmas.



The artists featured here were pioneer recording artists who's names were well known in their era. They helped start what is known today as the record industry. They were popular artist in their time and their records sold well in an era when movies were silent and radio and television did not yet exist.

1. Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph (Ernest Hare, recorded 1922)
2. On A Christmas Morning (Prince's Orchestra, recorded 1911)
3. Sleigh Ride Party / Jingle Bells (Edison Male Quartette, recorded 1898)
4. Messiah - And the Glory of the Lord (Victor Mixed Chorus, recorded 1915)
5. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Henry Burr, recorded 1907)
6. Silent Night, Hallowed Night (Haydn Quartet, recorded 1905)
7. Christmas Time at Pumpkin' Center (Cal Stewart, recorded 1905)
8. Christmas Hymns (Francis J. Lapitino, recorded 1917)
9. When the Christmas Chimes Are Ringing (Lewis James, recorded 1922)
10. The Star of Bethlehem (Harry MacDonough, recorded 1909)
11. Come and Spend Christmas With Me (Byron G. Harlan, recorded 1909)
12. Christmas Morning at Clancey's (Steve Porter, recorded 1922)
13. Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem (Trinity Choir, Recorded 1916)
14. Adeste Fideles (John McCormack and William Reitz, recorded 1915)
15. Night Before Christmas (Ernest Hare, recorded 1920)
16. Nutcracker Ballet: Chinese Dance/Dance of the Mirilitons (Victor Herbert's Orchestra, recorded 1913)
17. On A Good Old Time Sleigh Ride (Peerless Quartet, recorded 1913)
18. Angels from the Realms of Glory (Trinity Choir, recorded 1916)
19. While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night / Christians Awake (Trinity Quartet, recorded 1921)
20. Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus (Cal Stewart, recorded 1907)
21. Christmas in Camp (Anonymous, recorded ca. 1917)
22. Noel (Holy Night) (Venetian Trio, recorded 1916)
23. Auld Lang Syne (Navada Van der Veer, recorded 1921)

Steamboat Willie

It was 80 years ago, today, that the animated short Steamboat Willie was released by Walt Disney Productions.Contrary to what many hold as truth, Steamboat Willie was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon made, nor the first cartoon to use sound, but it was the one that made Mickey Mouse famous, and the first sound cartoon to attract widespread notice and popularity.

Believe it or not, there is a Mickey Mouse connection to radical Islam.
(via Jihad Watch)

Keeping Up With The Joneses - It Was 30 Years Ago Today

Today marks 30 years since the horrific deaths of more than 900 people at Jonestown.
The massacre was orchestrated by "Reverend" Jim Jones.The men, women and children died after drinking a fatal cyanide-laced potion of Flavor-Aid (not Kool-Aid, as widely reported) at Jones' compound in the jungles of Guyana.
The event, termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones, was the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001.
These poisonings at the compound followed the murders of five others by Temple members at a nearby airstrip. Those victims included Leo Ryan, the first (and only) U.S. Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States.

I must confess, sometimes I'm a bit jealous of cult members. Those poor
deluded fuckers, at least they have a sense of purpose.

Hear the "Jonestown Death Tape", an audio recording made on November 18, 1978, at the Peoples Temple compound immediately preceding (and during) the mass suicide of the cult:


Here's a transcript of that tape.

Here's a related video.

Extremism

This video, the latest multimedia production from NoiseCollector, is a must-see in these charged political times.

"We stand surrounded by a circle of extremist political and ideological fanatics. Each faction in this circle of madness shares a common goal, destruction of democracy and free market capitalism. They all seek to obtain supreme power over the masses, regardless of what they claim are their intentions. Socialism and communism only differ in their implementation. Fascism is just right wing communism in that both systems wish to nationalize everything. One believes in social Darwinism, one does not. One believes in good and evil and one does not. Religious extremism somehow infiltrates or feigns compatibility with each side of the spectrum from liberal communism to conservative anarchism. Watch at your own risk, I am not crazy."~Digi Hartatak

At what point do we say that the left has officially crossed the line from somewhat sad hero worship, into full blown, offensive Christo-cultishness?

"Jesus died for his beliefs. The worst that will happen to Obama is that he’ll lose the election, return to his job in the Senate, and make millions on the lecture circuit. Wow…what a martyr."

via Conservative Punk.

Stairway To Heaven?

MC posts today of an unusual staircase.
His post reminded me of another unusual staircase, so unique that some call it miraculous.
The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe,NM is home to this mysterious feat of carpentry, built by an unknown craftsman.
Is it a true miracle?-Not according to Snopes.
Once again, the aimless blade of science has slashed the pearly gates.

Complete guide to things banned in Saudi Arabia

It’s true that several of these bans are regional, and some have expired (like the web site notice on Jews) but they still can get you in trouble. The Barbie doll ban has been widely reported on (and sourced) as well as the rest of the top 10 items. Much of the enforcement on these bans is doled out by people who aren’t police officers and as that couple in the UAE found out you are subject to jail time for violating these customs.

via retardzone.

R.S.U. Takes a Closer Look at Sarah Palin

"We ain't had a politician that relatable since Billy Carter!"


Sarah Palin's Big Speech

Red State Update Update

Those good ol' boys from RSU and their topical political satire are in the news again. via Murfreesboro post.

P.J. O'Rourke

Matt links to this sage wisdom.
There was one quote contained therein, that I feel must be addressed further; "We were the generation that believed we could stop the Vietnam War by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns."
When I read this my mind races to images of the Rainbow Family and their gatherings.
They seem to feel that they can save the world by doing lots of drugs in their naked drum circles deep in the woods, and praying for peace.
The whole notion seems silly to me, and makes me think about Tibet-but that's a whole other post.

I'm Not Sure What to Make of This.