| Monday, December 11, 2006 |
| A Message To Mom |
| I know the website and client ID. Do you want in? It's not too late. |
posted by Joe Napalm @ 2:23 PM   |
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| You Gotta Be Willing To Take The Hit |
Maybe it's because I'm still peeved that "Saving Private Ryan" lost to "Shakespeare in Love" for the Academy Awards' Best Picture back in 1998. Or maybe it's because I am absolutely sick of hate-America politics. I just caught this on the Drudge Report: "LA critics vote for Clint Eastwood's 'Letters From Iwo Jima'..."
Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers" was the recent film about the Americans who planted Old Glory atop Mount Suribachi when they had won the battle for Iwo Jima. It wasn't terribly exciting as far as I've read [Full disclosure: I haven't seen the film]. "Letters from Iwo Jima" was filmed concurrently to "Flags" and follows battle from the Japanese soldiers' perspective. And, of course, film critics are frothing at the second picture.
In a poorly written article at FoxNews.com [Link], entertainment commentator Roger Friedman writes the following:
But what I think will make the difference for "Iwo Jima" is that it arrives just at the right time politically in this country. "Flags of Our Fathers" had a hard time finding an audience because people thought it was rah-rah patriotic. It wasn’t, but the marketing department had trouble communicating its sometimes ambiguous message.
"Iwo Jima" should be easy: War is hell. That’s it. And at the end of 2006, with soldiers coming home in body bags, this should be pretty simple to grasp. I'm sorry Mr. Friedman, but the fact that "Flags" wasn't "rah-rah patriotic" is the reason that the film had a hard time finding an audience. Want proof? Watch Clint Eastwood's "Iwo Jima" bomb at the box office, too.
The same critics that voted down "Saving Private Ryan" are now pulling for "Iwo Jima" for Best Picture. Something's amiss. And that something is Hollywood's contempt for America. Oh, how I am disgusted by it! The same people that benefit and profit from the opportunities afforded by living is this free nation are the very people that cry about it's uncultured people, the same people that destroy lives of statesmen with lies, and the same people that hate our victories -- hoping for defeat.
In other news: The movie "Rocky Balboa" now has me hooked. Sure, it's probably campy and a tad silly, but I was hooked with this quote from the newest trailer: ...But it ain't about how hard you hit... it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward. If you know what you're worth, go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit. That's the kind of rah-rah for which we yearn -- keep on keepin' on. |
| posted by Joe Napalm @ 9:54 AM |
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| Friday, December 08, 2006 |
| Free Prose Friday |
1. First of all, I’d like to start out Free Prose FridayTM with a heartfelt thank you to KCampbell5323 for the comment about our military personnel. It means a lot to us hardened veterans and to all of our military readers. Now, to our entire military readership: What are you doing loafing around this site? There’re terrorists to be killed!
2. Aren’t fingers great? I mean, really – look at them. Today, I dropped a piece of paper between the seats of my car and was just able to reach it between pointer finger and middle finger. And here I sit behind the keyboard typing at an insane pace with my pleasingly chiseled phalanges. What if we had toes on our hands? Horrible smell aside, stuff would be completely different. Aren’t fingers cool
3. Where’s Napalm? I’m doing away with the Free Prose FridayTM “moment of Zen.” It’s too commonplace on the web. Instead, I’ll post a “Where’s Napalm” tidbit, in the tradition of Where’s Waldo. I’ll begin this one with what could possibly have been the subliminal inspiration for the name Joe Napalm. Before Stupendous Man, Calvin from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes had another alter ego: Captain Napalm [Link].
4. Jamestown 400 – Man, would I love to receive that catalog. Finding clues while staring at the downloadable catalog on the computer screen is a little too tough on my eyes. I know that I should be looking for a secret website and that in the catalog it is either stated or implied where that site is located, but for now I just have to sit idly by and wait. Has anyone found the website yet? If so, where? Please comment. Previous Jamestown 400 posts: The beginning, Waiting.
5. Can someone please PhotoShop a Santa hat on George Washington in the picture above? I need a festive header through the holidays. Any other lovely touches would be nice – like putting lights on a tree in the distance, or making one of the oarsmen an elf. You can submit the picture via email by clicking here. The lucky winner (or sole submission) will get credit and a virtual pistol wink. |
| posted by Joe Napalm @ 1:39 PM |
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| Thursday, December 07, 2006 |
| Theodore Thursday |
 "Is America a weakling, to shrink from the work of the great world powers? No! The young giant of the West stands on a continent and clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. Our nation, glorious in youth and strength, looks into the future with eager eyes and rejoices as a strong man to run a race." - Theodore Roosevelt, June 7, 1897 |
| posted by Joe Napalm @ 9:40 AM |
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| Tuesday, December 05, 2006 |
| Jamestown 400 - Our National Treasure Hunt |
On Sunday, I ran into an advertisement in World Magazine announcing a new treasure hunt. Normally these games don't interest me because I have neither the time nor concern for playing, but this one is different.
 Deep within the ancient lands of the Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown triangle, rests a treasure of historic proportions.
Hidden somewhere near or by the ancient landmarks of our colonial forefathers, lies a trove of buried treasure. Golden treasure.
Resting within a bolted wooden chest are four hundred solid gold coins with a value in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Whoever cracks the mystery of the Jamestown 400 becomes the sole owner of the treasure trove.
But to crack the code and find the four hundred gold coins, you must take a journey through history that will reveal America’s greatest national treasure — the providential hand of God in the life of this nation. Specifically, there are 400 American Gold Eagle coins buried in the historic Jamestown area in Virginia. The Jamestown 400 is not an easy treasure hunt -- it is quite challenging.
The hunt consists of three phases: the first phase begins with a mystery in the Vision Forum catalog and leads to an online journey, laced with clues in the form of codes and ciphers, and historic documents.
The first one thousand people to crack the code by March 31, 2007, will receive a special prize and be inducted into the Order of the Jamestown 400, and honorary society dedicated to the preservation of America's providential heritage.
In phase two, the one thousand super-sleuths will be narrowed down to the first one hundred to crack the second stage by May 15, 2007. The finalists will be invited to come to Jamestown for the third and final stage: physically searching for the treasure.
The winner will be announced in Jamestown, Virginia, during the week of June 18, 2007, and the Vision Forum Ministeries special Jamestown Quadricentennial Celebration.
How to get started: Everything you need to get started in the Jamestown 400 treasure hunt is contained within the pages of Vision Forum’s 2007 Providence and Perseverance catalog. You can request a free copy of the catalog by clicking here, and while you wait for it to arrive in the mail you can download the PDF version by clicking here.
First clue: There is a cryptogram on page 87 of the catalog.
Please come back often and share your progress with your fellow Steeps on this blog. I will be posting often. Godspeed and good hunting. |
| posted by Joe Napalm @ 11:54 PM |
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| Friday, December 01, 2006 |
| Free Prose Friday |
1. We had terrible wind storms early this morning that knocked out the electricity in areas around the region. I guess that's the price we pay for 70-degree weather in late November.
Anyway, on the way to work today, traffic lights were out at many intersections. It seems that no one knows how to treat a traffic light failure. In most jurisdictions, traffic light failures must be treated as a four-way stop, pending the arrival of a police officer. However, some people (and by "some," I mean "most"; and by "most," I mean "all") think that whoever has the most momentum gets to go first. That's quite terrifying when you drive a 1991 Honda Civic like I do.
2. Honor the Legend with a 28% interest rate. Yippee!
3. Your moment of Zen. What Christmas is all about: [Link]. |
| posted by Joe Napalm @ 9:28 AM |
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