If you did, you might want to check out The Encyclopedia of Arda. It’s like having a web-based guide to Middle-Earth but with a Movie Goer’s Guide for The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The Guides detail all the differences between the books and the movies. You’ll be very surprised at what was left out and what was added to the stories!
Reuters has a story about an AOL employee, Jason Smathers, who stole 92 million screen names from AOL and sold them to an Internet marketer, Sean Dunaway of Las Vegas. Smathers made at least $85,000 and Dunaway, who resold the list to others, made over $100,000. It looks like these two guys could spend up to 5 years in prison and have to pay a $250,000 fine. Pathetic…
Are you quick to judge others? Think about it for a moment. Do you actually enjoy talking about someone behind his or her back or even talking about a group of people? If you do, this chapter will be a tough one for you. For in this chapter Paul speaks out against those who condemn others yet do not recognize the sinful habits that they themselves practice…
Here it is, the 3rd Sunday in June and that means it’s Father’s Day. Tomorrow is the first day of summer. Maybe you’re blessed to have a father who lives near you but I live 1,900 miles away from my parents and that makes treating my dad to Sunday dinner difficult…
Today, the Supreme Court decided that Michael Newdow could not sue to remove the pledge from his daughter’s school since he does not have the legal authority to speak for her. Newdow’s daughter only lives with him 10 days a month and his mother, Sandra Banning, has exclusive legal custody under a state court order. The girl’s mother, a born-again Christian, has stated that she has no problem with the pledge.
Interestingly, even though this ruling leaves the door open for future cases against the pledge, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices O’Connor and Thomas all believe that the pledge, as it now stands, is not unconstitutional.
Another interesting fact is that this ruling came on the 50th anniversary of the addition of the words “under God” to the pledge. The U.S. Congress adopted the June 14, 1954, law in an effort to distinguish America’s religious values and heritage from those of communism, which is atheistic.
Ever wonder where Flag Day came from? I did and looked around and found the following write-up at USFlag.org.
The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ’Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ’Flag Birthday’, or ’Flag Day’…
The following remarks were made by President Ronald Reagan at the Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas on August 23, 1984. His words are outstanding and are worthy of study and reflection.
I remember with great clarity my father’s emotion when Nelle Reagan, my grandmother passed away. Until today I didn’t understand the feeling of loss and pain which comes when a parent leaves you. For this reason I will not be making any public statements at this time…
Did you know that ZIP, as in zip code, is an acronym? It stands for Zone Improvement Plan.
“Why does God allow bad things happen to good people?” “If there really is a God, why does He allow little children to suffer?” “If there is a God where is He and why doesn’t He just show Himself to everyone now and prove His existence?” Those are tough questions and I’m sure most of you have met people who have asked those very questions. Those kinds of questions are nothing new. In fact, Peter tells us that “in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (vv. 3b-4)