Saw This on "From the Mind of Murph"

Over at From the Mind of Murph I read this reaction to the recent episode of HBO's Big Love:

Does the “B” in HBO stand for Bigot? Because I’m sure that the “Big” in Big Love does, indeed, stand for Bigot. In a world where almost nothing is sacred, why is it that HBO thinks that smearing the sacred practices of other people all over the airwaves is acceptable? Last Sunday, HBO broadcasted a sacred LDS temple ceremony on its series Big Love… and I say, a pox on HBO and Playtone! A POX!
There are things in this world that are off limits to the prying eyes of the world, and what the LDS people choose to do in their temples is one of those things.

According to the AP:

“HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized.”

*Cough* Bull-crap!

"Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology," the premium cable channel said in a statement issued Tuesday.
But the ceremony is an important part of the "Big Love" story line, HBO said.”

Do you know what “But” means? “BUT” means “disregard everything that we just said, because it’s a lie intended to make us feel better about being total bigoted scumbags.”
“Important to the storyline?” My rosy white hindquarters it was “important to the storyline.” Do you know why they did this? They figured that it was a great way to tick off some folk they don’t really like anyway, for a couple of extra points in the ratings. Well congrats HBO… ya did it. And it only cost you your souls… if you had any to begin with.

Later in that AP article, they say that HBO went to great pains, and even hired a consultant, to make sure that it was absolutely accurate.
So, who was their consultant? A Temple President? A Stake President? A General Authority? No! They hired some excommunicated slug with a beef against the Church! Ha! Hey HBO! You got ripped! Hope you didn’t pay him a whole hell of a lot… 30 pieces of silver maybe?

So here’s my thing. The Church is not calling for boycotts… but I am!
Tom Hanks (exec. Producer) & Bill Pullman… you are both dead to me, your sucky movies will no longer be allowed in my home. Well, no… Bill’s just some dumb actor who doesn’t know his head from a hole in the ground, and who’s trying to keep his job. So until shown otherwise, I’ll keep Bill around, but Tom… I’ve heard what he has to say about Mormons and I think that he’s one first class bigot… so all of Tom’s sucky movies are going away, ya friggin’ gut slug!
HBO… I don’t subscribe to your service… and never will.
I urge my readers (all two of you) to do the same… pull the plug.
Lets show the scumbags who’s really in charge!

Oh, and if you’re LDS and a fan of the show… Shame on you! For shame…

Smiling Grandson

Asher has started smiling! Andy sent us some pictures. Here's one of them:

Taxe$

Well, LaRue and I had our taxes done this past weekend. And, for the second time since 1977, we have to pay. The first time we had to pay was in 1979. We had a little part time job in 1978 that did not withhold anything and we ended up owing that money. Now with all the kids married and no longer our dependents, along with the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything the average person can use as a deduction anymore, we owe a little bit. I guess I'm going to have to file a new W4 and have some extra money withheld for the rest of this year.

Movie Review:

We rented Changeling over the weekend. It's based on the true story of Christine Collins who discovers her 9 year old son missing and her subsequent fight to get the Los Angeles police to find him. Several thoughts -

First the good:
1. I think it accurately depicts the look and events as they happened in 1928. The film looks authentic.
2. I have no doubt that women were often treated as lesser citizens as portrayed.

Now the bad:
1. I think the film inaccurately depicted law enforcement personnel as all corrupt. I believe that there were then (and I'm sure now) some bad cops. But I also believe that the majority were (and are) decent, honest people.
2. Angelina Jolie's portrayal was NOT Oscar material. She seemed to have one and only one expression throughout the entire movie - distressed mother.

I think the movie would have been better if it had been shorter. It runs 2 hours and 20 minutes. Half an hour could have been cut out and the story might have had more impact. I noticed several points in the latter part of the movie where it could have ended but kept on going.

If you're interested in the events surrounding this particular case I would say rent the dvd - don't bother to buy it; you'll probably only watch it once.

Rooftop Fun

You'll no doubt remember my entry from last October when Robin and I put plastic on the roof (original entry here)
Well, yesterday the wind came up and REALLY blew. So much that it pulled up this section of the back:

It also didn't help that the wood strips we used to tack down the plastic had weathered and weakened over the winter.
Anyway, LaRue and I climbed up onto the roof and spent a hour getting the plastic tacked down once again. This time I used some heavier wood and screws. That should hold it for the next several months.