Tolle Lege - Take Up and Read!

We are closing in on the end of 2007. Most folks will look at the past year's events. Here's a look at the top five books (recommended by Kim Riddlebarger of White Horse Inn fame and found on The Riddleblog) :

1). Michael Horton's stellar Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox). Michael's response to Wright, Dunn, and Sanders is outstanding. Click here: Amazon.com: Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ: Books: Michael Scott Horton

2). G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker). This is one of the most important reference books to come down the pike in years. I'm already finding it indispensible. Click here: Amazon.com: Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Books: G. K. Beale,D. A. Carson

3). Ken Samples' A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth Claims to the Worldview Test (Baker). Ken Samples is doing yeoman's work in making the critical philosophical and apologetic issues accessible to larger audiences. Ken's also a great writer. Click here: Amazon.com: A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test: Books: Kenneth Richard Sa

4). Dennis Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures (P & R). This book should be read by every preacher as well as everyone who sits in a pew! How should ministers prepare to preach and what should God's people be looking for in a sermon? Click here: Amazon.com: Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures: Books: Dennis E. Johnson

5). Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan). A great overview of redemptive-history during the Old Covenant era. Click here: Amazon.com: An Old Testament Theology: A Canonical and Thematic Approach: Books: Bruce K. Waltke,Charles Yu

I've read #3 on the list and it's good; a basic guide to worldview thinking, examines the a handful of worldview philosophies, and makes a case for the Christian worldview. I'm going to begin reading Michael Horton's Covenant and Salvation next.

Would you, could you, vote McCain?

John McCain's campaign has recently come back from the dead. His poll numbers in New Hampshire were up but I still have major issues with his soft on immigration (similar to the Huckabee and Giuliani 'immigration drag queens') or the 'I'm with Ted' stance, and the McCain-Feingold bill. Also, he looks pretty rough these days. Let's face it, a presidential candidate has to look good.

I’m certainly not looking forward to nine months of “well, he beats the alternative," but then again, it seems like we’re pretty much guaranteed that, no matter who wins the Republican nomination.

I agree with Thomas Sowell :

None of the candidates looks truly inspiring at this point. I wouldn’t buy a used car from most of them, nor a brand new car from some of them…

… John McCain seems to be having a little resurgence but it is hard to believe that Republicans are so desperate as to support a man who joined with far left Democrat Russ Feingold to restrict free speech in the name of “campaign finance reform” and with Ted Kennedy to sponsor a bill giving amnesty to illegal immigrants.

…This nation has come back from unpromising times before. Let’s hope that we have not already used up all our luck.

Where's Nixon when you need him?

The Best Christmas Movies Ever!

Not only do I like music...a lot...I love movies too...a lot. Here's my Christmas movie favorites:

1. A Christmas Story. This 1983 comedy celebrates the sort of Christmas a young boy may have had in the 1940s. Young Ralphie Parker wants only one thing: a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle. His parents don't want him to shoot his eye out and refuse to get it. Wacky hijinks ensue as Ralphie develops some very creative ploys to convince his mother and father that this is the only thing they should give him.

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas. In this half-hour Christmas special, Charlie Brown becomes the director of the school holiday pageant and goes out with Linus to buy an aluminum tree for the show. Instead, they bring back a forlorn real tree. Our hapless hero finds himself dismayed by the rampant commercialization of the holidays and searches for the true meaning of Christmas.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The original 1966 animated classic is the only version that does justice to Dr. Seuss. In it, the Grinch (a non-human Scrooge) tries to ruin Christmas for the Whos in Whoville by stealing their presents, trees, and holiday treats. Of course, the Grinch has a change of heart and finds love and friendship with the Whos.
4. Elf. As usual this year, Santa Claus is coming to town, but before he does, so is an innocent, six-foot three-inch tall, wide-eyed, loveable, pure-as-the-driven-snow Santa helper, whose gift is not a sleigh full of material goods but what people need even more this season: a dose of Christmas spirit. Elf delivers a fair amount of holiday cheer, along with a host of homages to tales from Christmas Past and a sack full of humor.
5. The Muppet Christmas Carol. The fourth feature film to star The Muppets, and the second produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. It is one of many film adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

There's many good Christmas movies: classics (It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street) or more recent (The Nativity Story). However, the aforementioned list are my favorites and movies I can watch repeatedly, throughout the year.

Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!

Top 10 Christmas Albums

I'm a music aficionado. I like to listen to many different types of music (however, I'm still not into Rap) and I enjoy Christmas music; be it traditional Christian hymns, modern remakes of the classics, or contemporary "hits." Each year various artists put out their Christmas or 'Holiday' albums (I'm not sure they're marketing Festivus albums yet) for consumers. Sometimes these holiday albums become classics. One of the all time-sellers is "Elvis' Christmas Album" which of course includes "Blue Christmas". I've decided to post my top ten Christmas Albums (which I naturally believe are already or will become classics!). Here they are:

1. The Sinatra Christmas Album. See my earlier post on Ole Blue Eyes.
2. Elvis' Christmas Album.
3. The Ventures' Christmas Album. Killer "surf" guitar instrumentals.
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi.
5. Dig That Crazy Christmas by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Brian Setzer was the front man for the 80's band, The Stray Cats. The best song on the album is "Angles We Have Heard on High."
6. Christmas Caravan by Squirrel Nut Zippers.
7. Ultra-Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails. This is a compilation of Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Parts 1 and 2. Various artists (Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Wayne Newton, Lena Horne, et al.) sing Check out the entire Ultra-Lounge collection here.
8. WOW Christmas: 30 Top Christian Artists and Holiday Songs. The best songs are "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" performed by Jars of Clay and "Do You Hear What I Hear? performed by
Third Day.
9. Happy Holidays (A Very Special Christmas Album) by Billy Idol. Yes, the Billy Idol of the 80's who scored such hits as "White Wedding," "Rebel Yell," and 'Dancing With Myself."
10. Twisted Sister's Twisted Christmas. I admit, I was a little skeptical at first. I didn't like this particular "big hair" band back in the 80s and was sure I still wouldn't. However, one of my Warrant Officers brought this album into work to get the "young 'ens" into the Christmas spirit. We listened to the album for a good portion of the day as we worked. Needless to say, it was a hit. I liked the tunes; they were well done and fun. My favorites were "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas). Am I now a Twisted Sister fan? Not really. But I do dig the album.

Enjoy!

Mountains of Creation

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. - Psalm 19:1Credit: Lori Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) et al., JPL-Caltech, NASA

Explanation: This fantastic skyscape lies at the eastern edge of giant stellar nursery W5, about 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. An infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope, it features interstellar clouds of cold gas and dust sculpted by winds and radiation from a hot, massive star outside the picture (just above and to the right). Still swaddled within the cosmic clouds, newborn stars are revealed by Spitzer's penetrating gaze, their formation also triggered by the massive star. Fittingly dubbed "Mountains of Creation", these interstellar clouds are about 10 times the size of the analogous Pillars of Creation in M16, made famous in a 1995 Hubble Space Telescope view. W5 is also known as IC 1848 and together with IC 1805 it is part of a complex region popularly dubbed the Heart and Soul Nebulae. The Spitzer image spans about 70 light-years at the distance of W5.

I've got to get me a telescope...

The Dark Knight Returns - Summer 2008

The Dark Knight, a sequel to the 2005 release Batman Begins, which rebooted the Batman franchise after an eight-year hiatus, is scheduled for release Summer 2008. Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins, continues as the director of the sequel, which stars Christian Bale again as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. The film follows Batman becoming more of a detective, dealing with the escalated situation from the end of Batman Begins as well as the dilemma of his vigilante crusade, and his friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart.

This movie looks promising as was Batman Begins. The new series is a return to the psychologically dark character of his original 1930s conception; the Joker is certainly psychotic and scary, which keeps in step with the comic books.

Batman and Gordon find alliance with a newly appointed DA Harvey Dent to stop a vicious killer with a warped sense of humor known only as The Joker, the epitome of evil and a threat to Gotham City.

So, pretend the previous Batman movies never happened and get on board with the new series. And don't forget to cast your vote for Harvey Dent, District Attorney.

G.I.'s Remember Battle of the Bulge

I'm a firm believer in capturing the histories of the men who served and fought in our nation's wars. I take every opportunity I get, to sit down and chat with my heroes; those who've gone before me, trailblazers if you will. I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of giants (they always thank me for my service, but it's I who need to thank them). These men (and women) have stories to tell and my generation needs to listen and take note of their 'oral histories.'
63 years ago, on 16 December 1944, began what the German's would call, 'Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein' (Operation Watch on the Rhein). The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive on the Western Front. It was officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U.S. Army, but it is known to the general public simply as the Battle of the Bulge (Hollywood released a few movies about the battle: The 1949 Oscar winning film Battleground, starring Van Johnson, depicts the 101st Airborne’s defense of Bastogne; the 1956 film Attack!, starring Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Eddie Albert; and the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge, starring Robert Shaw and Henry Fonda. While filmed against sweeping vistas and with famous stars in the lead roles, the movie is notorious for countless major inaccuracies, yeah, like trying to fool us into thinking Sherman tanks are Panzer and Tiger tanks).

Wacht am Rhein was supported by subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Unternehmen Greif, and Unternehmen Währung. Germany’s planned goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium, and then proceeding to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to settle for a negotiated peace more favorable to the Axis' Powers (read Nazi Germany).

By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Sunday, December 16, 2007

BASTOGNE, Belgium — He can close his eyes and recall it all, or at least as much as Frank Soboleski cares to these days.

At 83, in the twilight of his life, the World War II veteran prefers happy to haunting thoughts.

But standing in a field north of Bastogne, an area he hasn’t graced since 1944, Soboleski can lower the lids and still recall the foxhole he and Herb Suerth dug. Or the sight of a German tank cresting a hill. Or the call of a wounded man on a frigid night asking for a medic after a German artillery barrage.

“I’m not coming back,” says Soboleski, a veteran of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. His recollections of the Battle of the Bulge “are getting a little misty,” he says.

Soboleski was one of several veterans who returned to Belgium this weekend to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the largest land battle in Army history. They were joined by scores of U.S. servicemembers, hundreds of WWII re-enactors and thousands of regular citizens.

While the annual commemoration typically falls on a Saturday, with Sunday’s vehicle parade through Bastogne being the curtain call for WWII re-enactors, there is talk about extending it to three days next year. That’s because in recent years it has drawn more and more people.

I live about 3 hours from the battlefield and will visit it this upcoming year.