MOVIE REVIEW, 'THE PERFECT GAME
The Perfect Game
By Hannah Goodwyn
CBN.com Producer
The Movie in a Minute
Angel Macias (Jake T. Austin) and his hometown friends want nothing more than to play their beloved game -- baseball. Without equipment, a proper field, and even a coach, they eventually form the biggest underdog team in little league history. During a time of racial intolerance, their rag-tag team, the Monterey Industrials, take to the field in the hopes of winning in the playoffs and gaining the respect of their neighbors to the north.
The Bounty Hunter Rundown
Story. Right off the bat, this based-on-a true-story film hits home the amazing journey these little leaguers traveled to get to WIlliamsport, PA's coveted championship field. Ever present in the well-directed sports movie is their faith, through the mentorship of Father Estaban, the town's Catholic priest (played by Cheech Marin). Desperate for divine intervention, Father Estaban prays that God will bring the kids hope. Part of that answer to prayer comes in the form of a new guy in town, Cesar Faz of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Acting. A heavy hitter on the roster is Clifton Collins Jr., who plays no-nonsense Coach Faz. Collins meld into his role perfectly, never letting his "acting" to outshine the man he's portraying.
The child actors in The Perfect Game also stepped up to the plate. Jake T. Austin (Hotel for Dogs) hits it out of the park, as Angel Macias, a young boy caught between his love for baseball and his desire for his depressed father's approval. We'll definitely be seeing some of these faces on the big screen again.
Surprisingly enough, Cheech Marin, who is most famous for his drug-laced movies with comedian Tommy Chong, does well in the role of Father Estaban. Audiences will likely need a few moments to wrap their heads around seeing Cheech as a padre, but they should come around once they experience the warmth his character adds to the story.
Offensive content. To show the hostility of the time, secondary characters expose their racism through a few cringe-worthy slurs. It's important to the story that these scenes not shy away from the real-life hatred these Mexican kids experienced. Parents should make it clear to their kids of the vileness of these attitudes and words, re-enforcing the scene when Father Estaban explains why they are being ostracized - "Some people don't believe we are all His children."
The Final Score
Packaged in a well-made sports movie, The Perfect Game touches on the hope we have in God, making it a film worthy of our box office dollars.
Alice in Wonderland Review
Alice in Wonderland
By Andrea Hedlund
Contributing Critic
CBN.com - Director Tim Burton’s spin on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland involves an older, more socially defiant Alice who enters Wonderland with a destiny: to defeat the villainous Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).
The Plot
Six-year-old Alice Kingsley wakes from a nightmare in the first scene to be reassured that she hasn’t gone “mad” - a fear she faces throughout the movie. Flash-forward to a 19-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) who is on her way to a party which should seal her societal destiny. Alice, completely oblivious, is fixated on a recurring dream that frequently troubles her.
Alice’s friends spill the beans about the goofy Lord Ascot’s (Tim Piggot-Smith) planned proposal minutes before it happens. A pre-arranged marriage doesn’t really suit Alice, an independent and visionary spirit.
Several minutes later, Ascot and Alice are center stage before a large crowd and the Lord asks for her hand in marriage. When a blue caterpillar lands on his shoulder, Alice plucks it off without hesitation and continues to verbalize her options.
Meanwhile, she spots a little white rabbit nearby wearing a waist jacket and carrying a wristwatch. She is the only one who notices him. Alice heads to the garden to gather her thoughts and sees the White Rabbit again. She follows him.
Alice finds a tree with a large hole. She bends down to take a peek and plunges to the bottom, where she must figure out how to fit through a miniature door - her only means of escape. After drinking and eating the treats which tell her to do so, she can fit through the door and uses the provided key to open it.
Although she doesn’t remember, Alice has apparently been to Wonderland before. Several talking animals immediately question whether she is the “real” Alice. To which she replies, “How can I be the wrong Alice if this is my own dream?”
The animals, such as Dormouse and the White Rabbit, inform Alice of her purpose. She isn’t entirely convinced that she is the one to save Wonderland, but realizes the vibrant, yet desolate land needs rescuing.
Although she questions whether she will be able to slay the Jabberwocky, she pushes forward in her journey with the help of new friends the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the March Hare.
What Works
Johnny Depp is convincing as the Mad Hatter. He often steals the show (not surprisingly). His use of riddles and puns rescues a dragging story line and offers sprinkles of comic relief. Alice says the best people are all a little “mad,” and that’s okay. As the plot progresses, viewers will find themselves strangely drawn to Depp’s character.
Two positive themes here are the idea that one’s life has a specific purpose and good will ultimately triumph over evil. Burton examines the idea of accepting predestination versus fulfilling a purposeful destiny.
When Alice questions her ability to slay the Jabberwocky, the Mad Hatter encourages her to believe the impossible, which gives her the courage to fight. The Red Queen, who follows the philosophy “it is better to be feared than loved,” is devastated when she is ultimately banished by the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to a far away place with no friends.
What Doesn’t
This full-feature 3-D experience places a greater emphasis on style and visual aesthetics over substance. Without these elements, it would fall flat. Even so, the movie is a bit dull and lasts longer than it should.
Rated PG for violence, Burton’s interpretation of the childhood classic is not suitable for small children. Parents beware: eyeballs plucked out by needles, beheadings, and Alice walking across stone-colored heads in a moat are a few of the questionable images.
Some viewers may be offended by a hookah-smoking blue caterpillar. His behavior is not condoned, but it is worth mentioning nonetheless.
Bottom Line
Diehard Burton and Depp fans will most appreciate this film, especially with the added bonus of a 3-D experience. Everyone else will be less than impressed by a film that strays too far from a classic tale. Personally, it’s not my “cup of tea.”
Travel Heroes
Travel Hero: I Was Sick in a Foreign Country
~ by Liz Behler
The word "hero" often conjures up images of muscle-bound, cape-clad champions, but those lucky enough to have experienced them in real life realize heroes come in more unassuming forms.
For Betty Thesky, hers was a wrinkled old woman wearing a babushka.
Thesky, a flight attendant, is no stranger to travel. Despite her job, she had never been to the Middle East before, and after a week-long stay at a yoga retreat in Egypt with another flight attendant friend, she decided to maximize her trip—she would stay behind for 10 days to visit Jordon and Israel solo, while her friend flew back home. She had never traveled alone before, and was a little hesitant.
After crossing the border into Jordan, she immediately booked a budget hotel near Petra. She marveled at the city carved into the pink mountains, her eyes tearing at its beauty. The city, and all she experienced during her four days in it, emboldened her in her decision to explore a new country on her own.
But on the fifth day, things took a turn for the worse.
While on a bus headed for Jerusalem, Thesky's stomach began to twist in knots. Her face pale, her head spinning, she knew something was wrong. She got off the bus at a rest stop and tried to find somewhere to relax. She checked into a hotel, where she spent 24-hours suffering the effects of food poisoning.
“I was in a strange country in the Middle East, sick and alone, without any idea of what I was going to do,” says Thesky. “It definitely qualified as a low point.”
Despite being weak and dehydrated, she boarded the bus to Jerusalem the following day. Looking out the bus window with a blank stare, her misery was written on her face. She was just hoping she could make it to Jerusalem, to try to salvage what was left of her trip, when an unassuming wrinkled old woman took the seat next to her.
“You don’t look so good,” the woman said in broken English.
Thesky explained her situation and how she had been up all night sick. The woman, concerned, asked where she was staying once she got to Jerusalem.
“I didn't have a clue what I was going to do. I had no hotel reservation and didn't know if I had the strength to find a place to stay once I arrived in Jerusalem.”
Noting Thesky’s condition, the woman became alarmed. She offered to take her home, but Thesky didn’t think she could manage the extra four hours on the bus to get there. She politely declined the offer, but the old woman persisted in her efforts.
The woman told her she would get off the bus with her in Jerusalem to take her to a safe place where she could stay until she got well again, and Thesky agreed.
Once off the bus, the little old woman led her through the streets of the city until they came to a gate. Behind that gate, pushed back from the road and surrounded by a quiet garden, sat their destination: the Rosary Convent Guest House and Hostel.
“She took the time to get off her bus, escort me to the convent, introduce me to the nuns, explain my situation to them, get me settled into a room, and then catch another bus home,” says Thesky. “That is what I call going above and beyond the call of duty, all for a total stranger.”
Thesky had never stayed in a convent before, but found it to be the perfect place to convalesce. Over the course of four days she grew stronger as the sisters paid her special attention, nurturing her, and nursing her back to health.
While Thesky did pay for her stay—the nuns support the convent by renting rooms for a small price—she was touched by their hospitality and attention, and of course she couldn't forget the woman who brought her there to heal.
“Sometimes you don't know you are hitting a turning point in your life while it's happening. Not only did I regain my physical strength at the convent but I gained the knowledge that I could rely on myself and strangers, that I could travel alone and thrive,” says Thesky. “Because of a wrinkled old woman, whose name I don't even know, I honestly believe you truly can rely on the kindness of strangers.”
Thesky isn’t the only one who has experienced the kindness of strangers while traveling.
Last month, a 79-year-old Canadian woman was panicked after missing her flight home. Clark, who is wheelchair-bound when traveling due to a bad hip, missed a connecting flight after an airport employee left her waiting at the wrong gate for hours. Clark, who lives on a fixed income, was contemplating sleeping on an airport bench until a Good Samaritan stepped in.
Dean Germeyer saved the day, taking Clark to his home for dinner, putting her up in a hotel, and arranging a car to take her back to the airport to get her rescheduled flight the next morning.
"He even gave me a new toothbrush and toothpaste," said Clark. "I just sat down when I got to the hotel and I cried and cried and cried. Everything he did for me was just so beautiful."
Wind Affects Allergies
Wind plays a large role in determining how much your allergies will act up. Windy conditions cause greater pollen and mold distribution and that leads to an increase in allergy symptoms. Plant pollens carried by the wind are the cause of most nose, eye, and lung allergic reactions. Hay fever sufferers seem to be especially affected by windy, dry conditions.
Tips For Avoiding Dust Mites
Tips For Avoiding Dust Mites~ Physician's Report |
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2010 Census
GOOD THING TO KEEP IN MIND . . .
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Be cautious when Census is in your area. Some good information below: 2010 Census to begin WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers by Susan Johnson
The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice: ** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering any questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau. PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS. |
advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.
Killing Fire Ants
Fire ants are picky eaters and any type poison that is effective takes seven feeding steps before the queen receives it.
Plus, if the bait is stored in close proximity to any petroleum or fertilizer products they won't touch it. Contact poisons that are on the market just cause the colony to move away. A well developed colony can be as deep as 30 feet and spread out some 20 to 50 feet from the mound center.. This has been documented by studies done in the early 60's when they were first sited in South Alabama.
An environmentally friendly cure for fire ants has been announced by Walter Reeves on his
Simply pour two cups of CLUB SODA (carbonated water) directly in the center of a fire ant mound. The carbon dioxide in the water is heavier than air and displaces the oxygen which suffocates the queen and the other ants. The whole colony will be dead within about two days.
Here's the other good side: club soda leaves no poisonous residue, does not contaminate the ground water, and does not indiscriminately kill other insects. Not harmful to your pets, soaks into the ground. Each mound must be treated individually and a one liter bottle of club soda will kill 2 to 3 mounds. Spread the word.
Indoor Exercise - from Cesar Millan
In certain parts of the country, it can be nearly impossible to take your dog out for a walk during the winter season. The cold and inclement weather make it as much an issue of safety as one of time and commitment. But you don't have to give up on keeping your dog in good condition – physically and mentally – until the spring flowers start to bloom.
The walk is an important ritual, and one that's vital to your dog's physical and psychological health. But dogs also understand that with the arrival of bad weather, it's time to hole up in their "den" until it has passed. You can take this time to provide other forms of physical and mental exercise for your dog.
Be creative! Your dog could benefit from that treadmill that's been collecting dust in your basement. Or he might like using that old hula hoop as part of a makeshift agility course. When I get to someone's house on the show, I am always looking around me for things in the environment that can be re-purposed to help the dog.
This creative thinking doesn’t have to stop with your dog! Often, humans suffer from being cooped up in the house. Beat the winter blues and look for those old and forgotten items in the house that might help you get some much needed physical and psychological challenges, too!
Stay calm and assertive,
Cesar Millan
This May Surprise You
Snopes, it's from a place that I've 'checked out' with other sources. Does Snopes lean to the
left - yup. However, they want to hold on to their validity, so as long as you read them, just
take it with a grain of salt and check out other sites, too. Maggie
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snopes.com <http://snopes.com/>
For the past few years www.snopes.com <http://www.snopes.com/ has positioned itself, or others have labeled it as the 'tell-all, final word' on any comment, claim and e-mail..
But for several years people tried to find out who exactly was behind snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> . Only recently did Wikipedia get to the bottom of it - kind of makes you wonder what they were hiding. Well, finally we know. It is run by a husband and wife team - that's right, no big office of investigators and researchers, no team of lawyers.. It's just a mom-and-pop operation that began as a hobby.
David and Barbara Mikkelson in the San Fernando Valley of California started the web site about 13 years ago - and they have no formal background or experience in investigative research. After a few years it gained popularity believing it to be unbiased and neutral, but over the past couple of years people started asking questions who was behind it and did they have a selfish motivation? The reason for the questions - or
skepticisms - is a result of snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> claiming to have the bottom line
facts to certain questions or issues, when in fact, they have been proven wrong. Also, there were criticisms the Mikkelsons were not really investigating and getting to the 'true' bottom of various issues.
When I saw that Snopes had falsely claimed that Obama's Birth Certificate had been properly validated, I realized something was wrong with either their research and/or their credibility. It seems something is seriously wrong with both.
Then a few months ago, when my State Farm agent Bud Gregg in Mandeville hoisted a political sign referencing Barack Obama and made a big splash across the Internet. Supposedly the Mikkelsons claim to have researched this issue before posting
their findings on snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> . In their statement they claimed the corporate office of State Farm pressured Gregg into taking down the sign, when in fact nothing of the sort ever took place.
I personally contacted David Mikkelson (and he replied back to me) thinking he would want to get to the bottom of this, and I gave him Bud Gregg's contact phone numbers. Bud was going to give him phone numbers to the big exec's at State Farm in Illinois who would have been willing to speak with him about it. He never called Bud. In fact, I learned from Bud Gregg no one from snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> ever contacted anyone with State Farment as the 'final factual word' on the issue as if they did all their homework and got to the bottom of things. Not!
Then it has been learned the Mikkelsons are very Democrat and extremely liberal. As we all now know from this presidential election, liberals have a purpose agenda to discredit anything that appears to be conservative. There has been much criticism lately over the Internet with people pointing out the Mikkelsons liberalism revealing itself in their web
site findings.
Gee, what a shock!
So, I say this now to everyone who goes to www.snopes.com to get what they think to be the bottom line facts: Proceed with caution. Take what it says at face value and nothing more. Use it only to lead you to their references where you can link to and read the sources for yourself.
Plus, you can always Google a subject and do the research yourself. It now seems apparent that's all the Mikkelsons do. After all, I can personally vouch from my own
experience for their 'not' fully looking into things.
~ Gary McCaleb
* note..... I have tried researching 'Gary McCaleb', and have found MANY... If any of you actually KNOW 'THIS' Gary McCaleb, please let me know.
Redeem the Culture
The Gospel is the Good News that God will forgive even those who hate the Name of Christ and persecute His followers—if they will confess and repent of their sins. The Good News is that “Christ … gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:3–4).
A vivid scene in the book of Revelation describes the vast host of redeemed people gathering around the throne in Heaven to worship Jesus Christ and sing praises to Him.
They sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy …
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
—Revelation 5:9
The mandate of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is to be faithful in preaching the Gospel to as many people as possible. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
I have been accused by some that the Gospel of salvation I preach is simplistic and not sophisticated enough for our day. But the Bible says, “It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
As I write, we are leaving for India for an evangelistic Crusade in Chennai, formerly called Madras, one of the largest cities in that country. We have made India one of the major focal points since 2005 when we took our evangelism through television program, My Hope, across this vast country through 18 different broadcasting networks.
First, we took a year to train 800,000 Christians who agreed to invite their unsaved neighbors and friends into their homes during the nights of our telecasts. When my father gave the invitation at the close of the broadcasts, the hosts of each one of these 800,000 homes turned their television off, turned to their guests, and asked if they would like to receive Christ as their Savior. We saw more than 5 million people surrender their hearts to the Lord.
Many of the churches have continued to use our discipleship and evangelism materials after the telecasts. We know of one group of evangelical churches that baptized 300,000 people on a single day. That’s 300,000 souls who will worship one day before the throne in Heaven. Praise God!
My prayer is, “Lord, do it again.” We want to keep the flames of evangelism burning in India, and we ask you to join us in praying for the people of this immense country. Pray for the many who respond to the invitation at the Crusade, that they would become rooted and grow in their faith and begin telling others about Jesus. Pray also for our other outreaches in India throughout this year, that there will be a great harvest of souls.