Incompatible With Christian Teaching

From Blazing Saddles where Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) orders his henchman to gather a massive criminal gang and he lists just what sort of people he's looking for.


"I want rustlers, 

cut throats, 

murderers, 

bounty hunters, 

desperadoes, 

mugs, pugs, thugs, 

nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, 

vipers, snipers, 

con men, 

Indian agents, 

Mexican bandits, 

muggers, buggerers, 

bushwhackers, hornswogglers, 

horse thieves, 

bull dykes, 

train robbers, bank robbers, 

ass-kickers, shit-kickers, 

and Methodists!"

 

And speaking of Methodists, that brings us to today's post. 


On Tuesday, the United Methodist Church voted to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages. After three days of intense debate at a conference in St. Louis, the vote by church officials and lay members from around the world doubled down on current church policy, which states that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” a direct repudiation of more progressive members and leaders to open the church to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

 

Well, this could be a problem, creating a divide among the 12 million members of the United Methodist Church.

 

I am one of those 12 million. I am also the proud father of a lesbian daughter.  Am I to remain a member of an organization that invalidates her existence?

 

The United Methodist Church has been a force for good on so many levels, rallying significant resources of people, material and funds to help those in need struck by natural disasters, war and famine. That good work could be jeopardized by a myopic and misguided obsession with “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”. 

 

Do you know its against the teachings of the Bible go to church if you are menstruating?  Yep, it’s right next to the part that says dudes shouldn’t sex other dudes. What would happen if I got up at the beginning of a church service and demanded of the congregation, “Hey, which of you women are on the rag right now?” If anyone were to raise their hand, what would happen if those women were told to get out because ““menstruation is incompatible with Christian teaching”?

 

If Jesus would show up somewhere to preach a bit, would he say, “Everybody, gather around to hear this. Well, except for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

 

I can never imagine Jesus saying that or for that matter adding on, “And ladies, if you’re having your period, yeah, that stuff’s gross so stay outside.”

 

It’s the vote by church officials and lay members of the United Methodist Church that seems “incompatible with Christian teaching”.

Doctor Who Stuff 'N' Junk

Hey, kids! It's....

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

Let's go!

Season 12 news!

Actor Stephen Fry is apparently going to be on Doctor Who next year. He was spotted in a 1940s style suit filming with Jodie Whittaker in Swansea.

Fry is not a stranger to Doctor Who. Stephen Fry starred as the Minister of Chance in Death Comes to Time, a webcast audio Doctor Who  adventure that was released July 2001. The audio drama has some limited animation and was the first ALL NEW Doctor Who anything produced by the BBC since the movie in 1996.

OK, the first anything new IN CANON.  Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death was broadcast on BBC One on 12 March 1999 but that was an affectionate parody.  

_________________________________

Mandip and the Shippers! 

Mandip Gil knows about the shippers.

You know, the ones who are pairing off Yasmin Kahn with the Doctor. 

Mandip says she's aware of this part of the Whovian fan base. She credits the "natural chemistry between Jodie and myself."  

OK, I'll give her that because we really don't have a thing to hang this particular ship on in the stories themselves. Just a random series of knowing looks edited together in heart warming You Tube fan fics.  

This is a topic ye olde blogger has covered HERE and HERE
______________________________

What does the old boss think?  

So what does former showrunner boss Steven Moffat think about the new Doctor Who? 

On an Instagram post last month, Moffat shared a picture of himself with Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Michelle Gomez and Mark Gatiss along with the caption that he was "overwhelmed with nostalgia".

One commenter took the time to malign the current state of  Doctor Who, saying the show had "gone to shit" without Moffat at the helm.

Moffat took exception to that, saying he was a huge fan of what Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall have done with Doctor Who.  

"Well, I'm loving it and you should too. But, you know, it's always easier to miss the things you love than learn to love new things - but not nearly as much fun. Get with #teamjodie."

Another commenter went on at length about how "forgettable" they found series 11.

Moffat's reply: "Forgettable?? FORGETTABLE???? Look how many words you just wrote about it! Ha!! Gotcha!!!"

OK, I'm on #TeamJodie but I still miss you, Moffat.

Well, that's that for...

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

DOCTOR WHO TIME!!

Until the next post, remember to be good to one another.  

The 2019 Oscars: the Aftermath of the Aftermath

From yesterday's post:

Are you fucking kidding me?

Green Book?
Best Picture? 
Really?
Green Book?!?! 
You know what?
Fuck the Oscars!
Fuck them so hard! 

Whoa! That was kind of harsh.

Wow! Did I take that badly.

A couple of things:

I used to be really good at this. Even when I was a kid, I would watch the Oscars and more often than not, I could predict the winners fairly consistently. The source of my prognostication was just that I read a lot. I could sense trends, who was hot and who was not going into the night.  It is a bit frustrating that as I’ve gotten older, the gift predicting Oscar wins seems more tenuous. 

I really do not think Green Book is the year’s best picture. No, I have not seen this movie. Maybe if I did, I would like it. But every indicator I’ve seen and heard is this is not a movie I’m interested in.  A white person who is a little or a lot racist is forced to interact with a black person and therefore comes to realize that black people are just people and racism is bad, isn’t it? It’s a movie about race designed to make white people feel better. At least I’m not that racist! We can all learn to be less racist and get along with one another! If we can forge that connection with one black person, we can solve racism forever.  

Look, if the academy wanted to send a message about race, why go with Green Book when BlacKkKlansmen is right there? Black Panther is right there. Move from racism against black people to racism against Hispanics and Roma is right there.  Why pick the one movie about race written by a white guy, directed by a white guy, starring a white guy?

Yeah, I got zeroed on Best Actress but that was my own damn fault. I mean, yeah, all the trends were heading towards Glenn Close but I should’ve at least gone with Olivia Colman as my back up. But ultimately, I’m glad she won. No, I did not see The Favourite but if Colman brought the same level of talent that I’ve seen her bring to other roles, I have no doubt she earned that Oscar. And she did give the most charming acceptance speech. 

The only thing that could’ve been worse than Green Book winning was if Bohemian Rhapsody won. Did you know that Freddie Mercury was gay? Rami Malek knew it as he said so in his acceptance speech. Apparently, its not so obvious in the movie about his life.

Donald Trump managed to inject himself into the Oscar conversation, even if his name didn’t come up.  

In response to Spike Lee accepting his screenplay Oscar, Li’l Donnie had this to say.  

Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019 

Here’s what apparently upset Li’l Donnie’s sensitive ears.

Spike Lee: “The 2020 election is right around the corner. Let’s all mobilize, let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing.”

On an appeal to make a choice between love and hate, it’s interesting that Li’l Donnie instantly assumes someone is taking about him. I mean, hell, Spike Lee is talking about Trump even if he doesn’t say his name. But if there’s any doubt who Spike Lee is talking about, it’s Trump who erases it.   

Let’s parse what Trump said because there I some racist dog whistle shit in there. 

Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes

In a hurry to move on before being played off, Spike stumbled over a few words in his written remarks. Yep, Li’l Donnie who reads at a 2^nd grade level, is belittling Spike Lee’s ability to read.

or better yet not have to use notes at all

And this questions  Spike’s intelligence to speak without written remarks which is a carry over from Trump making fun of Barack Obama for using a teleprompter.

when doing his racist hit on your President

Trump loves to accuse African Americans of racism. There was nothing in Spike Lee’s remarks that were explicitly or implicitly a call for hatred or violence against white people. And there goes Trump with that “your President” bullshit again. Gotta make sure the black man knows you’re in charge, right? Right out of the racists’ play book. 

who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!

Sigh!

In reverse order:

        Tax Cuts mostly went to the wealthiest people (who are predominantly white)

       Lowest Unemployment (they’re down for everybody, numb nuts, and even at that, black unemployment is still disproportionately higher than the general population)

      Criminal Justice Reform (the Senate’s been working on that shit for years and you only signed off on it because you needed to be seen at your Playskool desk with your box of crayons signing something and Jared Kushner was starting to really get on your nerves).  

Once again, our Moron In Chief takes the low road when he could’ve…well, just shut the fuck up for a change.

And kudos to Spike Lee for his first Oscar win and his class act in accepting the award.

But thumbs down on the hostile petulance on display when Green Book won Best Picture.

Man, I feel ya. I totally agree that Green Book is NOT the year’s best picture.

Me, I’m still pissed Mary Poppins Returns wasn’t even nominated.

__________________________________

If I may, let me end this post on a quasi-positive note. In attendance at the Oscars Sunday night was actress Selma Blair. Selma has multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease for which there is at present no known cure.  But she hasn't let the disease stop her yet as she cut quite the beautiful and dashing figure at the awards ceremony.

 The cane is not for show; Selma does need it to help her support herself and to walk. 

But that photo is so striking, so hauntingly beautiful. 

Way to go, Selma Blair! Show everybody how it's done! You're not beaten yet! 

_____________________________________

OK, three days of posts on the subject of the Oscars is about maybe three days too many.

Hey, can you believe it's been a couple of weeks since my last Doctor Who post? Let's fix that tomorrow.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.  

The Oscars 2019: The Aftermath

Hi there! Last night was the telecast of the 2019 Oscars. Below are the categories I made guesses for. My guesses include a main pick and a back up pick.

Scoring: 

• For every main pick I get right, I get 1 point.
• For every back up pick I get right, I get 1/2 point.

There are 9 categories. The most points I can get is 9 for 100%. I will feel OK if I get 85%. 

So how did I do? 

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

Main pick: Mahershala Ali

Back up: Sam Elliot

Actual winner:  Mahershala Ali
Score: 1 point  

Best Supporting Actress 

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Main pick: Regina King

Back up: Marina de Tavira
Actual winner:  Regina King
Score: 1 point   

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Main pick: Rami Malek

Back up: Christian Bale
Actual winner:  Rami Malek
Score: 1 point

Well, will you look at that! I am 3 for 3! 100% baby! I am king of the world! Woo-hoo! 

Nothing can stop me now!!!!

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Main pick: Glenn Close

Back up: Lady Gaga.
Actual winner:  Olivia Colman
Score: 0 points  

Well, son of a bitch! Whoa! This one hurts. 

Everywhere I looked, every pop culture pundit, every media analyst, every single damn body already had this one engraved with Glenn Close's name. 

Still, I should've at least picked Olivia for my back up choice. I mean, as I wrote yesterday, I wanted to see her win. But I really wasn't sensing the love here and really though that if by some chance Close didn't win this, the award would go to the crowd pleasing choice of Lady Gaga.  

Zero points? Damn, that hurts!  

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

(Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

BlacKkKlansman 

(Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz, 

Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? 

(Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty)

If Beale Street Could Talk 

(Barry Jenkins)

A Star Is Born 

(Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters)

Main pick: BlacKkKlansman

Back up: If Beale Street Could Talk  
Actual winner:  BlacKkKlansman
Score: 1 point 

Best Original Screenplay

The Favourite 

(Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

First Reformed 

(Paul Schrader)

Green Book 

(Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)

Roma 

(Alfonso Cuarón)

Vice 

(Adam McKay)

Main pick:  The Favourite (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

Back up:  Green Book (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)
Actual winner:   Green Book (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)
Score: 1/2 point   

So apparently the bad press surrounding the screenplay did not hurt Green Book with Academy voters. 

Never underestimate the appeal of a story about a black person going up against racism and the white person who helped them.  

Best Animated Feature

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Main pick: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Back up: Incredibles 2
Actual winner:  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Score: 1 point  

Best Director

Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Adam McKay, Vice

Main pick: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Back up: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Actual winner:  Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Score: 1 point  

Best Picture

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice 

Main pick: Roma

Back up: BlacKkKlansman

Actual winner:  Green Book

Score: 0 points 

Are you fucking kidding me?
Green Book?
Best Picture? 
Really?
Green Book?!?! 

You know what? Fuck the Oscars! Fuck them so hard! 

I'm not doing this anymore.

So this gives me a total score of 6.5 points. 6.5 points out of 9 comes to 72%.

72%? That's my worst Oscar pick score ever!  

The Oscars 2019: The Predictions

Tonight the Oscars will be presented and is my want, I will offer up some guesses on possible winners for these categories:

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Original Screenplay

Best Animated Feature

Best Director

Best Picture

These selections are NOT who I want to win. They are not even based on my actual analysis of the films themselves; of the films covered in this post, I have see exactly 4 of them. 

And if you leave off the animated category, I have seen exactly 1 of them.

These selections are based on my observations of media covering media. From a variety of resources that cover all things entertainment, I endeavor to discern where the buzz is at.

Where the buzz is not is around the Oscar telecast itself. 

Devoid of a host, the show is expected to be a train wreck. With art films edging out actual box office successes, it is anticipated the show will be a bore.

In other words, nobody may give a damn about this topic. 

But nevertheless I will persist.

In each category, I will have a main pick and my back up. I score myself with 1 point for every main pick I get right and ½ point for every back up pick.  

Let’s start at the bottom with the supporting acting categories.  

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

Best supporting nominations are the most likely to throw me a curve ball.  Right now, though, it looks like Mahershala Ali has the inside straight on this one. Over the rest, there does seems to be some sentiment behind Sam Elliott whose been acting for decades and only now getting his first Oscar nomination.

Main pick: Mahershala Ali

Back up: Sam Elliot

Best Supporting Actress 

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Regina King seems to be riding a headwind into the Oscars after her win at the Golden Globes.  For the back up choice, we’re going to hear a lot about Roma so don’t discount Marina de Tavira. 

Main pick: Regina King

Back up: Marina de Tavira

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

While Bohemian Rhapsody has been rocked by scandal and criticism, Rami Malek continues to rise unscathed above the negative press. Time after time, Malek has scored at various awards and it looks like the momentum is still his going into tonight.

As for a back up pick, I sense there is a lot of sentiment to throw Bradley Cooper bone. But there does seem to be some appreciation for how deeply Christian Bale disappears in the role of Dick Cheney. Vice is pretty much a non-starter this awards season but Bale could surprise with a win.

Main pick: Rami Malek

Back up: Christian Bale

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

If it was up to me, I would say fuck it and give this thing to Olivia Colman. I haven’t seen The Favourite (but I wanted to) but knowing Colman, she would give an outrageously weird acceptance speech. 

I know there is a sizeable contingent that wants Lady Gaga to get this damn thing.

But right now, the momentum is going Glenn Close’s way for the generically titled “The Wife”. After her out of nowhere win for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Close has been the darling of awards season and the expectation is she will win tonight. This is her 7th nomination but Glenn Close has never won before. And by all accounts, her role in The Wife is a worthy one to break that streak for. 

Main pick: Glenn Close

Back up: Hell, let’s give it to Lady Gaga.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

(Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

BlacKkKlansman 

(Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz, 

Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? 

(Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty)

If Beale Street Could Talk 

(Barry Jenkins)

A Star Is Born 

(Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters)

The buzz is that this is a toss up between BlacKkKlansman and If Beale Street Could Talk. Having not seen either film, I would prefer to give it to If Beale Street Could Talks with just 1 writer as opposed to the committee that wrote BlacKkKlansman. However, it seems that most entertainment prognosticators are giving the edge to BlacKkKlansman. So I will therefore pick accordingly:

Main pick: BlacKkKlansman

Back up: If Beale Street Could Talk  

Best Original Screenplay

The Favourite 

(Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

First Reformed 

(Paul Schrader)

Green Book 

(Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)

Roma 

(Alfonso Cuarón)

Vice 

(Adam McKay)

A few weeks ago, it looked like Green Book might be heading to a win in this category. But just as the nominations were announced, some negative blowback began swirling around this movie.  The family of Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali) took issue with Shirley’s portrayal in the film. And a tweet from 2015 linked co-writer Nick Vallelonga to a negative anti-Muslim statement by Donald Trump which is particularly problematic in that Mahershala Ali is Muslim. 

It is possible that Green Book to overcome the negative publicity but it seems the entertainment literatti are leaning towards The Favourite. 

I saw one pundit pick Paul Schrader for his screenplay for First Reformed. No, I have never heard of this movie until I saw it in this category.

Main pick:  The Favourite (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

Back up:  Green Book (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)

Best Animated Feature

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Of the categories I pick for my Oscar guesses, Best Animated Feature usually gives me the best chance to have actually seen something. Usually this is a category that Disney/Pixar dominates but this year, the momentum is heading toward’s Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and it’s a momentum I agree with.

I enjoyed Incredibles 2 but it failed for me to really resonate the way the original did. Ralph Breaks the Internet is bright and fun but it’s surprisingly thought provoking. Of the two, I personally would give Ralph the edge but I think the Academy voters might see Incredibles 2 as the better film and would stand the best chance of an upset over Spidey.  

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse serves up something new and challenging with a mix of 2D and 3D animation with art styles reflecting Spider-Man comics.

Main pick: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Back up: Incredibles 2

Best Director

Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Adam McKay, Vice

From what I'm picking up, there is considerable enthusiasm for Spike Lee to win for Best Director with this, his believe it or not first nomination. 

But the consensus I'm picking up is that the Academy is gung ho for the artistry of Alfonso Cuarón direction for Roma. 

Main pick: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Back up: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Best Picture

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice 

The 1 live action movie that I actually saw in 2018 was Black Panther and yes, I would very much like to see it win.

But the odds are very much against it. 

Usually for a movie to carry the day as Best Picture, it has to have some support elsewhere and Black Panther was denied any nominations in the acting categories and director Ryan Coogler didn't get a directing nod either. 

On a side note, it still burns me that Mary Poppins Returns got shafted with no Best Picture nod and ignored in all the acting categories. I mean, come on!   

So far, the momentum in the pre-Oscar buzz is going the way of Roma. It is by all accounts a very well made movie and would be deserving winner. It is also the sort of pretentious 

art film that the Academy gets completely horny for but separates them from the mainstream movie going public. 

I'm not saying commerce should influence art. If Roma is a good movie, then it deserves whatever awards it may win. But the members of the Academy complain about declining ratings for the Oscars awards telecast then nominate movies that no one has seen. 

There is an outside chance that BlacKkKlansman could take the top spot tonight at the Oscars but for now, it looks like Roma is on target for the Best Picture win.

Main pick: Roma

Back up: BlacKkKlansman

So those are my guess for who will win at the Oscars tonight. Tomorrow, look for The Oscars 2019: The Aftermath where I will list the winners in these categories compared to my predictions. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and to save me the aisle seat.