Tammy Faye - May You Be At Peace

Tammy Faye (Bakker) Messner: 3/7/42 - 7/20/07

Despite the scandals, 80s jokes and of course, the makeup, Tammy Faye Messner was a person who genuinely loved The Lord and genuinely loved the human race. She put up a valiant fight against cancer for over a decade and never lost her faith or her spirit. If you watch this clip of Tammy Faye that aired on Larry King live 7/19/07, the night before she died, even then she was unshakable in her faith.

I admit, I pretty much thought she was a 80s pop-culture joke and just one of those "televangelists with big hair and too much makeup," but a film and a TV show made me rethink my opinion of her and who she was. One was "The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)", the other was Sundance Channel's series "One Punk Under God."

I'll let you explore those 2 shows yourself, but to sum them up, both movies showed Tammy Faye outside the syrupy PTL show from the '70s and '80s and explored her upbringing, her marriages and her connection with people of all kinds. "One Punk Under God" is especially moving because not only does it show how much of her love for people and God passed on to her son Jay, but also showed her remarkable courage and faith during her fight with cancer.

Hopefully the (surprisingly) positive and tasteful media coverage of her passing will let others want to see beyond the makeup and into the person.

May you be at peace and with The Lord.

How Long Until This Reaches America?

MSNBC.com Article: U.K. schoolgirl loses ‘virginity ring’ court battle

For as much as I know, it may already be instituted in some schools, but how long will it take for this sort of ban and situation to come to America?

More and more we are becoming like Europe and the U.K...banning certain clothing, jewelry, religious symbols...all because of a fear of either "offending" someone or because we don't want one group to be seen as "better" than another.

In this case, with the "virginity ring," I can see both sides of the issue. Since the ring isn't an officially recognized symbol of the Christian church, I guess the school has a right to ban it. But then again, I can understand the girl's feeling that her expression of faith is being suppressed.

Regardless of one's personal belief as to whether sex before marriage is right or wrong, at least in the United States, the ability to express that belief should be protected.

I just wonder how long it will be until a case like this comes along to again test the boundaries of "freedom of religion" vs. "freedom from religion," a case stemming from something as small and as personal as a ring.

A High-Five Might Get You Five...

MSNBC Link: School Enforces Strict No-Touching Rule

You've got to read this story. Summarizing will not do it justice. This is just friggin' pathetic. Another example of clusterf*ck that is the public school system.

I can understand if a school outlaws public displays of affection or gang-related hand signals, etc...but for crying out loud...you can't pat someone on the back, put an arm around your boyfriend or girlfriend, or even hug a friend?

This quote just floored me:

"You get into shades of gray," Kilmer Principal Deborah Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' "

I don't know about any of you...but I never knew that a high-five was the "gateway" touch. My God, if they high-five, next thing you know they'll be prowling the halls just waiting to pinch a butt, squeeze a boob or grab a crotch. Next thing you know, there'll be a scare campaign warning against the heathen dangers of "Fiver Madness."

This all boils down to fear...fear of lawsuits. The school, or most likely the school district, is so afraid that a parent will sue because Johnny touched Susie when he shouldn't have and the school didn't prevent it. Instead of Johnny's parents having taken responsibility in the first place to teach him to treat people with respect, what inappropriate touching is and why it is wrong, they leave it up to the Community Babysitting Service, oops, the Public School System to do it for them. And when it doesn't happen, and Johnny does "the bad touch", they sue, claiming the school should've taught him not to do that.

Parents...be responsible, be accountable...once you decide to have children (planned or unplanned), you are the one to teach them morals, values and what's right and wrong. The schools are SUPPOSED to be institutions of education and learning, NOT a daycare center.

Gym Etiquette

Over the last few weeks, I've been making the most out of my membership to American Family Fitness. The place is great, tons of equipment, nice pool, hot tub and sauna.

The thing that SERIOUSLY ANNOYS ME are some of the other members. Here I am, taking great care in using a towel to wipe down any sweat off the machine when you have other people come in, use the Tricep Extension after they been pouring sweat for an hour on the treadmill. They do their sets and reps then just up and leave. Meanwhile, I'm next in line, left with a nauseated stomach because I realize I'M going to have to clean Steroid Stu or Anorexic Ann's gland secretions.

God knows no one wants to put their hands on grips or sit on a seat that I've left the gift of sweat on, and I would hope people would think the same. Apparently not.

In defense, most of the members do abide by etiquette and do wipe down the machines. It always seems to be the 'roided up men, grunting their alpha-male mating call; the excercise-obsessed eating disorder-rattled chick who's probably more concerned with making it back to her car without fainting than if she's cleaned up her sweat; or the age-advanced members who probably think their sweat glands dried up at the same time their sperm or eggs did, so they don't think about it.

Thank the Lord for the hand sanitizer dispensers, paper towels and spray cleaner all around the gym, otherwise I'd probably end up with rashes and other nasties. Ugh.

A final note: AFF does all it can to enforce wiping down equipment. This is all about common courtesy by the members themselves. So, how about following the Golden Rule? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!"

"Sensational" Sherri Martel Passes at 49

From WWE.com: "Sensational Sherrie Passes Away"

A sad day for the kid in me. I remember Sherri Martel from the days she was a manager for "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair (as Sensuous Sherri), and finally Harlem Heat (as Sister Sherri).

I remember her most fondly as a "heel" with her banshee-like screams from ringside. She paved the way for women wrestlers and managers. There would be no Melina, Queen Sharmell, Victoria or Mickie James without Sherri Martel's wrestling and managing legacy. She will be missed.

South Park in ASL

This is not my usual post...but a dear friend of mine posted this on YouTube. She's not the one in the video, but it is one of her friends. Very funny and creative, and ya know, why should the deaf be deprived of "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut." Bravo.

This Was NOT "Just What I Needed"...

MSNBC.com: Circuit City Cutting Manager, Corporate Jobs

Long story short...I didn't escape this time.

Two cliched quotes sum up my feelings:

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"When one door closes, God opens another" (...and BETTER!)

Fred Phelps and the Inbreds...That Should Be Their Name

This is absolutely disgusting. Those hateful, funeral-protesting, pathetic excuses for people from the Westboro Baptist Church are at it again. This time, they made a music video. They took the classic USA For Africa song "We Are the World," rewrote the lyrics and created "God Hates the World." I won't even call it a parody since it is neither funny nor a respectful homage to the original...it is nothing but a piece of hate propaganda that I truly feel Jesus AND God would find absolutely abhorrent.

Take a look for yourself (courtesy of Live Leak):

"Deliver Us From Evil"

"Deliver Us From Evil." The name says it all.

This was one of the most riveting, yet horrifying documentaries I've ever watched. "Deliver Us From Evil" is partly about the despicable sexual abuse performed on children between the 1970s and the 1990s by Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest. However, the movie is mostly about how the Catholic Church from local bishops all the way to some of the highest ranking, if not THE highest ranking official (The Pope) covered up not only O'Grady's atrocities, but hundreds of other priests' as well.

I went through a range of emotions watching this movie. I felt overwhelming sadness for the victims, hostility and anger toward O'Grady, and even a mixture of hatred and rage toward the heirarchy of the Catholic Church for daring to place the value of "The Church" and the possibility of scandal over healing the physical and emotional anguish of innocent children. It made me sick to think of it, but I couldn't help but wonder if any abuse went on in the Catholic church I attended as a child in a suburb of Sacramento, CA. O'Grady's victims were in Lodi, Stockton, San Ardreas and other areas near Sacramento. I shudder at the thought.

The most heartbreaking part of the documentary was when the parents of Ann Jyono described finding out that their child had been abused by O'Grady. The father just burst into tears of rage, sorrow and guilt all rolled into one. Listening to his anguished voice and watching his face just brought me to tears.

Father Tom Doyle, one of the only officers of the Catholic Church to visibly fight for discovery and exposure of these pedophiliac priests hit the nail on the head with some of his comments. He states that "to be a good Catholic, you were supposed to 'pay, pray and obey'". I kind of remember that as a child. You never questioned, because you were taught that the priest was right and spoke for God and Jesus. Doyle also said that, "the church is not all the heirarchy and the Vatican and all that. The church is right here, in us, in the community." I completely agree.

I am no longer a Catholic, haven't been for some time. I never liked going to mass, and only got as far as First Communion, so technically, I guess I never was a true member. It took 16+ years for me to want to explore religion again, actually, spirituality. I've found a good place within the Unity Church movement. Even though I was never victimized by a priest, I can understand why some people in the documentary either renounced their belief in God or struggled to continue to believe. It would be so hard to want to be involved in an institution where the people you should be able to trust the most, people (men) of God, are the ones who commit some of the most evilest of crimes.

I highly recommend "Deliver Us From Evil." However, if you're anything like me...be prepared to run an exhausting gamut of emotions.

Celebrity-Obsessed Culture, Part 1

Short little rant here...

I just saw a commercial for Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition or one of other shows that try to pass as "news." The commerical said, and I quote, "Danilynn inhertiance, how much will she be worth?" Oh and then this little gem..."Anna Nicole in a wedding dress, tonight!"

What the hell? How long has she been dead now, and they're still obsessing over Anna Nicole Smith?

This is just another example of the ignorance of the American public. If people didn't watch it, they wouldn't air it. More people care about how much f*cking money the daughter of a pill-popping, slurred-speaking, famous-only-for-marrying-an-old-decrepit-millionaire, can-take-the-girl-out-of-the-trailer-park-but-can't-take-the-trailer-park-out-of-the-girl "celebrity" than how much f*cking money our local, state and federal governments are wasting for ridiculous legislation at taxpayer expense.

Pathetic.