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Posted on 08/05/2004 5:47:31 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
"who'd win in a battle between Batman and Kenshin"
What was the verdict? My natural instinct is to say "Batman", but then on second thought Kenshin's power level seems to rise to meet whatever opponent he's facing, so now I'm debating. . .
I heard a joke in church today I kinda liked that I thought I'd pass on.
A speaker was giving a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon on the nature of the afterlife. "If there's anyone here who wants to go to Hell, stand up!" he said.
No one stood up. Finally someone in the back called out, "Well, it looks like you're the only one who's going!"
LOL, I like that pic :)
Welcome back!
That last pic with the dog is pretty cool, but the dog looks so lonely by himself against the ocean :)
Sigh.... it's so hard to "socialize" with other believers for me at this stage. I haven't been to a church with any real number of people my age; and it always seems that in Christian circles, if a woman isn't married she just doesn't fit into the little circles. Oh, sure, you're welcome to attend the Ladies' Bible Study, but you won't quite belong....
Then there's the fact that socializing outside of church usually results in me being criticized for one or more of my passions... Christian college girls are in general the most judgemental creatures on the planet. I've been to college Bible studies. I've hated every minute of every one. They're all so "feely" and they always sing the most dreadful songs. I just can't feel like I'm getting anything out of the experience.
But, on the other hand, it's incredibly rewarding for me to point out how Lord of the Rings makes much more sense if you consider Tolkien's Christianity, or how the "destiny" theme in the anime we've been watching compares or is different from my own beliefs. And the geeks usually don't attack me for being Christian, while a lot of the Christians I've tried to socialize with think there's something seriously wrong with my geek tendencies...
It's a really hard thing to have a friend who's not a Christian, I know that. But it's usually harder for me to have a good time in church groups. What's a girl to do? - Well, fortunately, the anime club doesn't meet Sunday mornings, so it's not such a dilemna after all.
Rosie, you look really good in that pic!--the diet/exercise shows :)
What're the White Martians' weakness? Kryptonite? Common cold? Water?
Ooohhh, maybe that's a good thing to do tonight!
Corin; great pics, between storms, the weather and beach looked very inviting. Glad you and family made there and back safely. The red shirt must've caught a wind gust.
JenB - I can TOTALLY relate to how you feel, only on the other side of the marriage line. When I was single, I was very active in my church, partly because I had a built in group with the choir...but once I got married and tried to get back into the flow of congregational 'life' I felt VERY isolated, as if I should just be satisfied with my husband and not expect to be part of a church community, other than putting money in the plate and filling a blank space in the pews. I tried joining the choir again, but they all had their own agenda, and I was, once again, just filler and backup.
I joined the church I am now with because I realized I was looking for something deeper, and certain people introduced me to some things I had never even heard about in the other church, some things I never thought I would have access to BECAUSE I was married. Now I feel like I have a brotherhood/sisterhood.
I can also feel the pain of watching the quality of worship music go down hill over the years. I have found a great deal of comfort in learning the 'ancient' traditional songs, and wonder why those others shun them so. The words they sing in those baby-sunday-school songs are nothing compared to the 'old-timey' music.
In the DC Universe all Martians lose their powers when they're exposed to open flame (it's a psychological weakness). Of course, all DC Martians are also shapechangers, so the key to their defeat was figuring out that they *were* Martians. The other members of the JLA were fighting them one-on-one, and losing; Batman figured out their secret and took out three of them by himself.
Incidentally, that story appeared in JLA (latest volume) #1-4, by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter, and was collected in the trade paperback "New World Order".
"Well, fortunately, the anime club doesn't meet Sunday mornings, so it's not such a dilemna after all."
ROFL!
I appreciate the dilemma you're describing there--I'm a geek of sorts, too, of course, and it can be hard for me to find social circles I fit into, too. As I've been thinking about this and as I'm listening to what you're saying, I'm thinking maybe the reason you relate to geeks better than church social circles isn't so much because of the church-vs.-secular issue as it is that your personality has a taste for fantasy and sf and such that is relatively rare both within the church and without and is most commonly found among geek types. It's too bad there probably aren't too many Christian geek clubs!--something like an Inklings group but for Christian fantasy/sf/anime fans. But who knows, maybe on a college campus there will be more Christian students interested in such things than you'd normally find in the average church. You might try putting up a flyer for a meeting and see what response you get.
BTW I do think you have a calling for ministry to geeks--what I posted wasn't meant to dispute that; actually I think that'd be very cool. I just also think it's important to develop Christian relationships within the church to support whatever evangelistic outreach a person is involved in, is the point I was trying to make.
I'd never stop attending church, but I seriously doubt I'll have many deep friendships there. You can count on church people for a lot, but I've never "connected" as well as I do with geeks. Not that, obviously, the two are mutually exclusive, but I need the geeks more than the potluck dinners.
It can fly a flag to boot!
Yikes!--I was answering the other post and I got behind on the Batman vs. Kenshin thread! :) Okay, Jen has a point that Kenshin knows some techniques Batman would have trouble countering. *However* Kenshin's attacks are primarily physical, which is where I think Bear's point about Batman's mental weapon comes into play--and this is also why I was tending to pick Batman. If you give Batman enough time, he will come up with a counter to anything--even Superman. In a first encounter, yeah, I think Kenshin is a superior fighter and would probably surprise Batman and beat him. However, Kenshin (being Kenshin) wouldn't kill Batman, so Batman would have an opportunity to study Kenshin and identify his weaknesses, and then there'd be a rematch where I think Batman would have the advantage. But then of course Kenshin would go and learn some new martial technique and come back later. . .Hey, this could be a miniseries, LOL!
Problem: thats great on a freeway but on a high-speed city street (like US-131 here in Grand Rapids, which roars through the center of town at 55 legal MPH), people tend to follow more closely. If your car sets you back 100 feet, at least three cars will jump into the gap, and your car will slow to restore the 100-foot interval, and at least three cars will jump into the gap, and your car will you get the idea.
Solution: I think I have one that doesnt involve just turning off the cruise and driving the old-fashioned way.
If thats not up your alley, fine :)
BTW, how's your elf-boy?
"Seven Samurai" is a great movie--you would like it.
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