RANT RAV!NGS 2013 - Righting societal atrocities...since 1981.

Closed for Memorial Day: Pros and Cons

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day, including our brave military and their families. You deserve our full support, despite our American apologist government.

Now, a quick thought.

I apologize if it's a bit incoherent.

So, as I was passing the normal stores, restaurants, etc. today, I started pondering something.

Most were open for the holiday, and only a handful remained closed.

Those that are still doing business could be seen as smart, since more people are off of work and available to shop.

But in turn, their employees have to work on a holiday.

On the other side of the coin, closed stores and restaurants could inevitably lose money, but they would be making an impression.

A statement that subconsciously could remain positive in the public's psyche, a message that sets them apart.

In the mind of the customer, this policy may inadvertently attract more business in the future, because of the lasting impression the business made.

Merry Christ-X!

There has always been heated debates on whether use of the abbreviation "Xmas" takes the "Christ" out of "Christmas."

Some argue strongly against using a letter in place of sweetest Name of all.

In 2005, Franklin Graham weighed in on the matter during an interview on CNN's American Morning show:

"...for us as Christians, this is one of the most holy of the holidays, the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. And for people to take Christ out of Christmas. They're happy to say merry Xmas. Let's just take Jesus out. And really, I think, a war against the name of Jesus Christ."

Others point out that the letter "X" was frequently used for "Christ" historically.

Doug Gray has a load of information on his site of Christian symbols:

CHI RHO – 1. This monogram is the oldest known monogram of Jesus Christ dating back to the second century. It is sometimes referred to as a Christogram. The Chi (χ = ch) and the Rho (ρ = r) are the first three letters of Christ (Christos) in the Greek language. They are frequently found carved in the catacombs, on tombs and in wall paintings.

Even if there is nothing historically wrong with representing Christ with the letter "X," I tend to lean towards Graham's position.

Disney's Halloween Woes

This year I once again observed my annual Disney "All Hallow's Eve" tradition.

But when I began to write this post, I discovered that Disney has cleaned up their copyrighted material from YouTube (so all the links from my previous post are void).

Which was sad, because this was the only place I could watch Disney's classic "Halloween Treat".

So, I pose a question to the house that mouse built.

Will you officially be releasing the video you pulled from YouTube?

Or was it just an effort to protect the brand?

With that said, I was still able to find "The Skeleton Dance."

Hopefully this link will still be active next year.

At least I own Ichabod Crane on video.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Thankful (part deux)

Well, another year, and more to be thankful for.

One more year of life.

A new bride.

And yes, I'm still thankful for this.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

ALIVE!

Just before the sun came over the eastern sky
The trees began to rattle and the birds began to fly
And the earth started to rumble and the stone was rolled away
Then Jesus Christ, the Son of God
He arose, He arose, He arose
He walked alive out of the grave

From all of us here at Rant Rav!ngs, Happy Easter!

Sunday's on the Way

This song is just as effective as it was 20 years ago:

"...it may seem like Friday night, but SUNDAY's on the way!"

An Al-Zawahiri Christmas

Props to Scott over at Scrappleface for creating this hilarious video featuring al Qaeda lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri’s miracle conversion to Christianity.

Meant as a satiracle piece, this video sheds light on what a miracle it would be for a terror lord like Zawahiri or Bin Laden to come to Christ.

No "Santa Weather"

The weather outside in Baton Rouge this morning can only be described as "frightful" heading into the Christmas holiday: warm, humid and downright dreary.

"Looks like we may not get any Santa weather this year after all," said a local newscast personality (who is notorious for being chipper even at 5am in the morning) yesterday.

2007: I am Thankful for This...

This Thanksgiving, what am I thankful for?

Of course, there's the obvious ones:

Family...friends...loved ones.

All of the immaculate blessings bestowed on my life by the Almighty.

But most of all, I am thankful for the gift of urination.

Star Spangled

"Star Spangled"

Photo credit: From the private photo library of Brian McCollister