George Aar

I think the main issue the Vicster had with ANYTHING one spent their money on, was that that was money that HE would never get HIS hands on. Gambling was just another thing to make verbotten so as to increase the likelihood of getting a piece of that action into the WayWorld coffers. Just eliminating the competition, that's all...

Oh, and BTW, I've never heard of Crewdson before, but his stuff is incredible. I've said it often enough, but never here. I think an artist is born, not made. Either ya is ere ya ain't, and there isn't much you can do about it. I'm not, but this guy sure is. When I was a young photog student at the local JC, there was a kid there who took pictures in B&W, cut them down, split the negatives in half somehow, and matched the two pieces up to make perfectly symmetrical trees and landscapes and whatnot, and then print them on ultra-high contrast paper. The end result being prints of surreal landscapes that looked like they were sketched in charcoal. Pretty amazing stuff for a first-year student, I thought...

Here's something I just bought on "eBay": http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Wajima-Makie-...1QQcmdZViewItem I haven't received it yet, but I was really taken by the pictures. Are wa totemo kiirei, desu ne? Am I a dope for paying so much attention to asian stuff? I dunno...

Just one word - PATHOLOGY These were rabid, untreated, uncontrolled, SICK muthaf#$%ers, WAAAAY sick. No need to try to make sense of any of it. It doesn't make any. These guys should all have been locked in a rubber room somewhere instead of "leading" some "ministry". Yes, sad to say, it WAS a waste. A complete, utter waste of our time, committing our very lives to textbook whackjobs...

I find it sorta remarkable that Mr. Dove can be so absolutely convinced in the veracity of The Bible - so much so that he apparently uses it as a guage to divine the truthfulness of everything else in life. And just what is it that convinced him of the unimpeachable integrity of that book? Wasn't it because somebody told him to? And so he stands valiently defending this "TRUTH", though it's provenance is vague at best, contents have been revised and rewritten and often even forged, numerous books in it have been knowingly attributed to the wrong writers, and much of the contents can be shown to be palpable error. But there he stands, unflinching in the face of criticism that would wither lesser men, holding fast to his book that he believes in because of hearsay. And yet, upon hearing the first-person testimony of a woman with numerous personal references here to vouch for her, well she simply CAN'T be believed. I haveta wonder if he would be quite so adamant in his rejection of her testimony, were she not exposing such a seamy side of Mr. Dove's favorite White Knight? I assume there'll be more "love from the Dove" soon?

Oh, and if I may digress a bit, Does anybody else remember the Vicster claiming "Huguenot" heritage? I remember the claim that there was still a town in NW France named "Wierwille", and that's where the esteemed "Doctor's" ancestors fled from. I've never been able to find said town on any map not printed by the American Christian Press. Just wondering if there was any validity to THAT claim as well...

The gestures and mannerisms are always what startle me. The hammering, extended index finger, the pomp and circumstance of his entries, the banners, the facial expressions. There was a lot more to the German Heritage of WayWorld than just brats after SNS...

The girl looks fine, but the guy is a little TOO youthful, no? That and a tad too wimpy looking. But you can't fault the painting, it's incredible.

"I think he was painting his version of Salome (you know - the chick who wanted John the Baptist's head.)" That's what I thought at first too, but no, it's "Judith and the head of Holofernes" Holofernes was a general in Nebuchadnezzar's army. Judith snuck into camp, seduced him, and in an - uh - distracted moment, managed to stick a sword in his throat (I've known a few women like that). She then brought his head back to the Israelite camp and they had a party. Gee, another heartwarming story from the pages of the O.T....

Damn! I had that Klimpt print hanging on my wall for awhile, then had it remounted and gave it to my sister-in-law. I never even noticed the guy's head! Yeah, I'm a real detail-oriented sort a guy...

I think the simplest explanation is what somebody already suggested in the comments. They've got a fishing line tied to his foot, and keep tugging on his leg. His leg does move in a pretty odd fashion, I think that's likely what's going on...

"She's a heck of a lot prettier than Leia." Yeah, I'll give you that, but what's with the skull on her desk there? Looks like a dangerous woman to cross paths with... And what are all those broads doing in my bass pond? Sheesh, the fish are getting skittish...

Princess Leia!

And also, Speaking in tongues, or something roughly similar, is not even an exclusively Christian activity. Numerous "pagan" religions practice it as well, as did the ancient Greeks, and probably a whole bunch I don't know about. Of course with those groups, it's always a "counterfeit", right?

The Chrysler Building is as cool as they come! Even the Empire State Building a block or so away can't compare. Yeah, it's taller, but the Chrysler has serious style that the Empire State can't come close to matching. And the best part is on the inside. I spent over an hour admiring the marble work in the lobby of the Chrysler B. Then walk a couple of blocks more and check out the Grand Central Station. An unbelieveable gem. But your picture Dooj. Yeah, Mary definitely looks a little "butch", doesn't she? I immediately took to her, though. She has a very "real" sense about her, unlike so many other works about her. In fact, everybody looks a lot more real. Well, except for the nudes in the background. They definitely seem to be from central casting...

Yeah, I don't know where the atheist title comes from either. Nor do I get the "hate" part either. Hell, I don't hate much of anything I can think of right off hand (well, except maybe Country/Western). I can be a pretty condescending jerk when I feel like it though. That should count for something, huh? I DON"T think that religious thought - or any other line of thinking that has basically nothing to back it up (alternative medicine, conspiracy theories, Loch Ness Monsters, etc.) is any sort of highmark on humanity's collective virtue scale though. And I greatly regret every millisecond I wasted persuing such nonsense. YMMV... So, I'm sorry I got cranky with you. But, well, you know the rest...

Zero interest before, zero after. WayWorld temporarily prompted me to suspend my disbelief. But, eventually, I returned to my true self. Some may find reality unpleasant to live in, but, whadda ya gonna do? Religion is Bull...., get over it already...

Here's one of his more famous murals: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1...ustry_south.jpg Sorta like playing "Where's Waldo" you have to look to see where the picture of Lenin is in the crowd.

http://www.upenn.edu/ARG/archive/mexican/i...vera_sawing.jpg I loved this guy's murals. I'm not even sure why. I just like the look. This is a pretty tasty little pic as well. He was a thoroughly peculiar guy too (seems a recurrent trait amongst the art set) and an altogether unlikeable sort, from what I've heard. Good stuff all the same...

And here's how his "sculpture" reduced the bull even further: http://www.masksoftheworld.com/images/Art-...ike-Skull-a.jpg This is where he crosses that line isn't it?

I've just heard of this critter here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aniko/342857673/ I guess the demand for this marbelized meat far outstrips the supply at present and porkchops from said critter are going for $40/lb.! Sounds like a good sorta livestock to raise maybe?

Yoku irashaimash!ta!

You'll pardon me though, if I remain a little skeptical, huh? It's just that anecdotal evidence comes cheap, that's all. Now if one of these folks - who doesn't know the language - can simply speak in tongues in a controlled environment, sheesh, how easy would that be? But that just never seems to happen. It's always the "This happened to me one time" or - more often - "I knew a guy who heard so-and-so" etc. I guess the Almighty likes "signs", He just prefers to keep them ambiguous...