MOVIE: Incredibles 2

Sunday, July 29, 2018


Saw this film Saturday night, and just LOVED it.  There's been tons and tons of movies about superheroes the past twenty to thirty years now, but this is the FIRST movie about an entire family of superheroes, even with a baby!  Though the Incredibles may some incredible super powers, even a family of superheroes cannot escape the emotional dynamics of regular old American family life in the post-war era. 

This movie is, of course a sequel to the original "Incredibles" movie that came out fourteen years ago, and picks up EXACTLY where the last film left off.  Being completely animated, there's no issue with the actors looking fourteen years older!  All the famous voices are still with us, and the voices don't seem like they aged at all.

This movie is HIGHLY recommended!

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BIBLE: A reading from the book of Psalms

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Psalm 18:37-50
New Living Translation

I chased my enemies and caught them;
I did not stop until they were conquered.

I struck them down so they could not get up;
they fell beneath my feet.

You have armed me with strength for the battle;
you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

You placed my foot on their necks.
I have destroyed all who hated me.

They called for help, but no one came to their rescue.
They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.

I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.
I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

You gave me victory over my accusers.
You appointed me ruler over nations;
people I don’t even know now serve me.

As soon as they hear of me, they submit;
foreign nations cringe before me.

They all lose their courage
and come trembling from their strongholds.

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted!

He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me
and rescues me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.

For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.

You give great victories to your king;
you show unfailing love to your anointed,
to David and all his descendants forever.


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BOOK: The Silent Corner

Sunday, July 29, 2018



Just got this book today, as a correction to my mistake of buying the wrong "Jane Hawk" novel to read first!  This is the first book in the "Jane Hawk" series by Dean Koontz, the book that will setup all her subsequent adventures.   So this is now high on my reading list. 

About this book:

“I very much need to be dead.”

These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what.

People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important—so terrifying—that they will exterminate anyone in their way.

But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless—and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.

This should be an interesting read.

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BIBLE: A reading from the book of Romans, chapter 8

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Romand 8:29-39
New Living Translation

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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GUNS: Thompson Submachine Gun

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Length: 00:32:41

Hickok45 demonstrates a fully automatic Thompson sub-machine gun, lovingly referred to a "The Tommy Gun".  The gangsters of the 1920's made this machine gun famous, but these were also widely used by Allied soldiers during WWII.   This video show just how powerful this little gun really is, and tells you a lot about it's history. 

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BIBLE: A reading from the book of 2 Chronicles

Sunday, July 29, 2018

2 Chronicles 13:1-12
New Living Translation

Abijah began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.  He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.

Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam.  Judah, led by King Abijah, fielded 400,000 select warriors, while Jeroboam mustered 800,000 select troops from Israel.

When the army of Judah arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim and shouted to Jeroboam and all Israel: “Listen to me!  Don’t you realize that the Lord, the God of Israel, made a lasting covenant with David, giving him and his descendants the throne of Israel forever?  Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David’s son Solomon, rebelled against his master.  Then a whole gang of scoundrels joined him, defying Solomon’s son Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced and could not stand up to them.

“Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the Lord that is led by the descendants of David? You may have a vast army, and you have those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods. But you have chased away the priests of the Lord (the descendants of Aaron) and the Levites, and you have appointed your own priests, just like the pagan nations. You let anyone become a priest these days! Whoever comes to be dedicated with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these so-called gods of yours!

“But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Only the descendants of Aaron serve the Lord as priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work.  They present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and evening. They place the Bread of the Presence on the holy table, and they light the gold lampstand every evening. We are following the instructions of the Lord our God, but you have abandoned him.  So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!”

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BOOK: The Whispering Room

Sunday, July 29, 2018



A new series that Dean Koontz started in 2017 about an FBI agent named Jane Hawk, who stumbled on a terrible conspiracy when her husband committed suicide.   The only thing, he was a happy, normal person who had no reason or motive for committing suicide.  As any good FBI agent would suspect, she thinks her husband was killed, and the suicide was just a cover.  Now she finds a school teacher who committed suicide under very similar circumstances. 

I meant to buy the FIRST book in this new series, but when I got it home, I found out it was the second book of the series!   Oh well, an easy mistake to correct.

About the book:

“No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.”

These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun—just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better.

In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide—and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals—Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But the ruthless people bent on hijacking America’s future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue—and become the nation’s most wanted fugitive—in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them.

Conspiracy theory thrillers can be fun!

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BOOK: Forever Odd

Sunday, July 29, 2018



Bought this book on Friday, it's book #2 of the "Odd Thomas" series.  I listened to the first book on audio, and I'm currently re-reading it in paperback form.  Dean Koontz is one very smart man, and is an incredible story teller. 

As for what kind of novel these is, it's almost impossible to categorize.  Odd Thomas is the actual name of the protagonist, his given first name was, in fact, "Odd."  Odd is just a young guy working as a short order cook, but has one very interesting ability: he can see ghosts of the dead, including Elvis.  Because of this ability, he can perceive crimes and murders, because some of the ghosts seek him out to bring them justice. 

Supernatural crime fighters are nothing new, but a crime fighter who is nothing more than a short order cook with paranormal abilities is certainly not the way these things usually work. 

About the book:

"I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it." 

Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. 

You’re invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

Looking forward to reading this one!

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PSYCH: The Psychology of Envy and Social Justice

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Length: 00:10:05

It's so obvious a blind man can see it, but for those of you who are still having a hard time understanding what 99% of the "social justice" movements have been about these past fifty years, there's a very simple one word answer: envy.

“Envy is the religion of the mediocre. It comforts them, it soothes their worries, and finally it rots their souls, allowing them to justify their meanness and their greed until they believe these to be virtues. Such people are convinced that the doors of heaven will be opened only to poor wretches like themselves who go through life without leaving any trace but their threadbare attempts to belittle others and to exclude - and destroy if possible - those who, by the simple fact of their existence, show up their own poorness of spirit, mind, and guts. Blessed be the one at whom the fools bark, because his soul will never belong to them.”
 ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Angel's Game

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RECIPE: Smashed Cucumbers (Pai Huang Gua)

Sunday, July 29, 2018

This seems like good, simple ENGLISH cucumber recipe from America's Test Kitchen:

Smashed cucumbers, or pai huang gua, is a Sichuan dish that is typically served with rich, spicy food. We started with English cucumbers, which are nearly seedless and have thin, crisp skins. Placing them in a zipper-lock bag and smashing them into large, irregular pieces sped up a salting step that helped expel excess water. The craggy pieces also did a better job of holding on to the dressing. Using black vinegar, an aged rice-based vinegar, added a mellow complexity to the soy and sesame dressing.

Click here for the recipe:  Smashed Cucumbers (Pai Huang Gua)

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