Ho ho ho and all that yuletide crap. I haven’t went shopping yet and its 48 hours til’ the fat guy supposedly crams himself down your chimney. Regardless I took some time to compile the latest list of Holiday records by rappers. My top 5 Christmas records by rappers in order of ‘dopeness’ are as follows:

5. Run DMC – Christmas in Hollis: Why doesn’t Obama go ahead and just officially make this shit a Christmas Carol? It’s a standard at this point and sits next to Jingle Bells for anyone that grew up in the 80’s. Am I lying?

4. Snoop Dogg -Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto: Imagine if the there was like an ex-convict work release Christmas Caroling program set up by the state or something. This is what they would sing at the old folks home.

3. Outkast – Players Ball: We all know this is a Christmas song by now right? It’s not a surprise anymore is it? It was a part of a LaFace Christmas LP. Listen to the lyrics for further proof. When they included it on the Southernplaylistic LP they bleeped out all the Christmas references though. LOL.

2. TLC – Sleigh Ride: This song was on the same LaFace Christmas album and while it ain’t a ‘rap’ song by purist standards it’s definitely a great Christmas. Hell, Left Eye (R.I.P.) rappin on the hook accounts for something right?

1. Treacherous Three & Doug E Fresh – Santa’s Rap: Best_Christmas_Song_EVAR! Man o’ fucking man. Kool Moe Dee as Santa and Doug E. Fresh on the beatbox? Come on man…

Honorable Mention for gratuitous use of ‘Jingle Bells’:
Nas – Can’t Forget About You
Tanya Morgan – Hardcore Gentlemen

*Editor’s Note: This is my list. If you disagree or want to challenge my picks thats what the comments section is for. Feel free to let me know anything I forgot/missed!

Donwill’s Don Cusack in High Fidelity coming March 2010

We like to leave the tv on for Auggie while we are gone.   At least there is some background noise and he hopefully doesn’t go crazy with every little sound he hears.  With tivo though, if you have things set to record in the future,  the tv with change to that channel and then just stay on it once the show is over.

During the day I record this show where girls go shopping for wedding dresses on TLC.  But it seems whenever I come home, the tv is still on TLC, but now it’s some crazy baby show.  I walk in as a lady is having triplets or a like today, I walked in when a lady was getting an epidural.

I start gagging and cover my eyes in horror.  I shut it off immediately.

I think at my next doctor’s visit I am going to ask if the lady in labor ever threw up just from being grossed out.

WWE TLC on Tensports:
wwe tables, ladders & chairs ppv will telecast on tensports on 23rd december, 2009 at 5pm.
Don’t miss it!
For more info CLICK HERE.

Day Five: Philly,  The End

After thoroughly packing all the new found goodies, we headed out have the final Philly staple. The soft pretzel.

Why are soft pretzels so popular with Philadelphians?  Consider this:

• More than $550 million worth of pretzels are sold in the United States annually; 80 percent are made in Pennsylvania, where hard pretzels originated.
• The average U.S. citizen consumes up to two pounds of pretzels per year, but Philadelphians snack on about 12 pounds of pretzels per person every year.
• Joe Nacchio, of Federal Baking in Philadelphia, holds the record for baking the largest pretzel: It’s 5 feet across and weighs 40 pounds.

TLC cooking “Pretzel Facts”

We headed to The Pretzel Factory for a taste.  And the deal can’t be beat, 2 for $1! Come on! And with dipping choices of regular/spicy mustard, chocolate, and sugar and cinnamon there are NO excuses for passing up on these delights.

We came across Jose Garces delivery truck, parked next to one of his two restaurants down the street from me. For our Lil’ Chef we had to get pictures to add to the Chifa picture from yesterday.

The delivery truck

Village Whiskey

Sansom and 20th

Tinto

Sansom and 20th (next to Village Whiskey)

Then off to the airport.

The train.

Waiting

The hand off

We love Southwest!

Home in the ABQ

Have you seen this show? It’s all about women who claim to have been completely unaware they were expecting until the moment they are rushed to the hospital in the throes of labor. In general, these women tend to be:

1. On the larger side. If you’re already a big person, I guess it’s easier to miss or misattribute the weight gain that comes with pregnancy. On the other hand, some of the women are slim but gain just tiny amounts of weight they chalk up to too many milkshakes.

2. Somewhat cavalier about their birth control methods. There are many missed birth control pills on this show. Depo-Provera shots appear to be another culprit, as they suppress menstruation for months at a time; our heroines tend to lose track of when they stop being effective before switching over to a different form of contraception.

3. Kind of clueless generally. Other than the woman with multiple sclerosis, who was both on bedrest (explaining the weight gain) and some powerful meds with weird side effects, the vast majority of these women really should have connected the dots long before another person’s head started emerging from them. There are a lot of  “you have got to be kidding me” moments for viewers, which is an enormous part of the show’s appeal.

The show is particularly entertaining because it combines real-life interview footage of the moms (and sometimes the dads, too, who invariably say things like, “I didn’t notice anything different about Janel,” in much the same way that next-door neighbors of serial killers always say, “He seemed like such a great guy) with montage reenactments featuring actors. The actors always bear a passing resemblance to the real people but are much better looking.

There are only happy endings on I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant – healthy babies and healthy mommies, despite the complete lack of prenatal care and pregnancies often spent whooping it up in bars (occasionally mom has only a vague sense of who the dad might be, and/or is unable to narrow down the date of conception to within a few months – these are exceptionally good episodes).

The show always concludes with interviews of attractive female ob-gyns, who want to make very clear (with varying degrees of judgment) that a) these women should have known what was going on, and b) they got very lucky, e.g.:

I know Janel said she continued to get her period throughout her pregnancy, but that simply isn’t possible [Janel is a dummy]. Occasionally there can be spotting throughout a pregnancy, but it doesn’t come at regular intervals, and most women [unless they're as dim as Janel] don’t mistake this for regular menstruation. Furthermore, while Janel delivered a healthy baby, it’s important to remember that any alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which can cause a number of extremely serious side effects [we don't recommend that other pregnant women follow Janel's example of being a regular entrant in the Corner Tavern's Friday night tequila slammer contest].

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME BODY LANGUAGE WISE

Before Kate is ready to appear on camera other than a mother disciplinining her husband and kids she needs a lot of work in my opinion. Her constant phony laughter on the show where there was no associated eye movement or cheek movement but just a loud laugh which was inaapropriate at times, her mugging for the camera, snarky sacrsasm,shoulder shrugs, and amature timing reflects that she does not have the IT factor required for on camera personalities.

DWTS REQUIRES HARD WORK. LOTS OF TIME AWAY FROM FAMILY, AND POSSIBLE PHYSICAL INJURY

As the Body Language Expert on Dancing With the Stars, I have personally seen the tremendous hard work and dedication that it takes to participate in this show- up close and personal. When you sign up to be one of the dancers you might as well kiss your life as you knew it goodbye. You will rarely see your family for months and if you do it will be for a very short period of time. That would be a horrible thing for her 8 kids. They would not be seeing their mother very often and that is for sure!

Anyone appearing on the show as a dancer has to be prepared for a lot of physical pain that may possibly even debilitate them for a while . This is especially true if they happen to break a bone, pull a ligament, or sprain an ankle. This could put a mother of 8 who needs to remain in tip top physical condition, out of commission when she needs to be there for her kids 100 per cent. She is definitely not considering her kids in her decision. She is obviously just considering herself and not her kids to even consider appearing on the show without thinking about that. While Marie Osmond was a mother with children, she didn’t have 8 little ones who were very dependent on her as Kate’s children are.

The dedication and the requirements to learn the dance routines each week is tremendous. It is not a frivolous show on which you appear to “laugh at yourself” as Kate said on Leno. The routines and the hours and the hours and of practice required and the physical stamina has been a challenge to world class and Olympic athletes. So when she said she is not a dancer and it was embarrassing to hear her speak and make light of this show.

As I said in my last blog, Kate needs to spend the time raising her 8 kids and giving them the attention they need and address any and all psychological needs they may have as a result of the fallout from her nasty divorce with Jon and their trashing one another in the media. She does not need to be away from them for months with only a few meager visits when they need so much attention at this crucial age.

SHE MAY VERY WELL APPEAR ON DWTS

Many may feel that since Kate rubs so many people the wrong way, it may be a bad idea to put her on such a popular well rated show as DWTS, as it could reduce the show’s ratings, with people turning it off if Kate appears on it. Personally, I think that the ratings would go up, but only if they paired her up with one of my favorite professional dancers Maksim Chmerovskiy.

MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY GIVING KATE A REALITY CHECK WOULD BE GREAT TV!

If Kate does appear on DWTS, the only salvation would be if she gets partnered up with no nonsense Maxim Chmerkovskiy . Maxim is pretty hard on his partners if he detects any BS, attitude, or the dancers don’t live up to his professional expectations.

He would definitely give Kate a reality check. He wouldn’t let her get away with any of her nonsense. He would for sure give her a taste of her own medicine so she will completely get what it feels like to be treated the ways he treated Jon or her kids. Heaven help her if she tries to bully Maxim around! Now that would be GREAT reality TV! She can then see what it feels like when the tables are turned on her.

KATES AWFUL PERFORMANCE ON LENO

I am not the only one that thinks her performance on Leno was wooden and vey amaturish or thinks she performed so poorly on Leno that it was an embarrassment.

And for those of you who may say that I don’t know what I’m taking about, for the past two and half decades that is exactly what I did for people in Hollywood, helping them to get ready for “prime time” and learn how to effectively appear on television. In fact a lot of people who see on camera – talk show hosts, news personalilities as well as actors, political people and others have been trained by me. So I say with complete confidence that Kate needs a LOT of training!

TMZ said : Kate Gosslin- No Future in Showbusiness! With her appearance on that Jay Leno thing last night, we can now say with 100% certainty Kate Gosselin has absolutely no on-camera talent whatsoever … beyond yelling at children, of course.”

“Perez Hilton Said Shameless! Kate Gosslein Fishes for Work! Leno asked the mother of eight if there was a certain reality show she’d like to appear on.”Yes, Dancing with the Stars because I cannot dance,” Kate quickly offered. “I want to laugh at myself. I so cannot dance. It would be a sad sight.” Is that your open plea to ABC, Kate Gosselin??? Sad!”

The Baltimore Sun said “ TV: Kate Gosselin on Jay Leno: TV mom bombs again”

Radaronline Said “ Friday night’s Jay Leno show featured Kate Gosselin for the 10 @ 10 segment — that’s 10 questions at 10 pm, for those of you who’ve never seen it — and the newly-divorced reality star had just one quirky revelation.When Jay asked if there was another reality show she’d like to compete in, her answer was Dancing with the Stars. Although the former Jon & Kate star said she’d do it just as a laugh because she can’t dance at all, we have the feeling she was seriously floating the idea to producers.”

DWTS IS NOT FOR “LAUGHS” AS SHE WILL FIND OUT IF PRODUCERS AGREE TO PUT HER ON THE SHOW

In a way I do hope that producers put her on so that even more people can be turned off by Kate’s whining, entitlement and self absorption so that they won’t want to tune into her own upcoming show on TLC .

When she isn’t able to take off and see her kids whenever she wants to because of her grueling workout schedule, she will not be laughing .

When she isn’t able to walk after the first week because of all the muscle pain and all the physical hard work it takes she will quickly see that she won’t be doing the show for “laughs.”

And finally when she gets a reality check from Maksim ,if the show pairs her up with him, I can assure you that she will not be laughing- but crying if she tries to pull any of the obnoxious behavior we have see her exhibit on television thus far.

If Kate wants a career on television, in my opinion she definately needs to get some professional training because being a mother on a reality show isn’t the experience you need to sustain a bona fide television career.
www.drlillianglass.com

Photo: Adam E. Moreira

here: http://www.nyctaxifinder.com

holler

]]> http://eatingtheroad.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/bbq-pitmasters-episode-3-decatur-riverfest-cook-off/ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:34:42 +0000 Eating The Road http://eatingtheroad.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/bbq-pitmasters-episode-3-decatur-riverfest-cook-off/

The third episode of BBQ Pitmasters is another KCBS, the Alabama state championship at the Decatur Jaycees Riverfest. There are a total of 59 competitors competing in chicken, ribs, pork and brisket for a grand total of $19,000. If you missed the first to episodes, here is  a rundown (Episode 1 has a bio on the cooks):

Episode 1 – Smokin’ in Mesquite Nevada Open BBQ Championship
Episode 2 – Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off

TLC is following 7 total cooks (Jambo Pitts has yet to be on the show) but they seem willy-nilly on who they care to show each week. I assume Myron will be in each episode due to his mouth and attitude as will LeAnn for her sex appeal but the others are here-and-there. This week Paul, Tuffy and Johnny were all featured a little but there was no sign on Harry.

Since he didn’t get to be on this episode I’m share some stuff from him. Harry Soo’s blog has a few interesting tidbits, they “dodged 14 radar traps, 3 border patrol checkpoints, and pouring rain, to complete our three-day, 2,100 mile Iron-Butt drive through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and arrived at the Riverfest contest  site in Decatur, Alabama.”

He mentions the dinner that Chris Lily’s Big Bob Gibson restaurant threw the night before the contest for all the cooks where they dined on seared giant scallops wrapped in BBQ brisket, bacon wrapped shrimp with basil mousse, BBQ gumbo , crispy fried okra, cranberry Caesar salad, grilled rack of lamb, Big Bob Gibson BBQ chicken and for dessert, lemon, peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut pies.

One of the more interesting things he brings up is how all the TLC BBQ Pitmasters chefs were sectioned off separately from the remaining 52 other chefs in the competition. Harry says that they were on a paved surface whereas the others were all on the grass. Considering it was raining pretty heavily I would take this as an advantage. That doesn’t quite seem fair to me and I would be upset if I were in the contest but I can understand them needing this for the filming.

Some notable events:

Tuffy went with a brand spankin’ new brisket recipe with a new marinade and a new injection. He talks about using the the “flat” of the brisket (“a packer”) as opposed to the point.

Myron talks about his wood choice. He likes a fruit wood with lots of sugar saps in it. This time he uses a peach wood he gets from a friend Ed Harris. He also showed how he boxed his pork differently than others. Rather than placing it on top of lettuce, he places it on top of chopped pork in order to keep the meat warm. He also cuts his sauce with water and drizzles a little of that on top.

Paul also tries a new recipe. He’s been placing dead last and having trouble reconciling whether or not it’s worth it to continue doing competition BBQ. He tries three types of ribs on some tasters. He did one his previous style, one using Johnny Trigg’s recipe and the the one he settled on, a cherry rub with chile powder, black pepper and onion powder. He mentioned that he “found” this recipe so it’s not something he came up with. Paul also steals Myron’s technique with using muffin tins to form his chicken. This was a highly featured event and Myron didn’t take to lightly to it. Oddly enough Paul was 16 seconds late in getting his chicken to the table so was disqualified from that category.

LeAnn had a bit of a tough time because they had to shut off the power for 30 minutes. She had just put her meat on and her cooker uses electricity to turn. Some of the others didn’t have that same problem. She got upset but was okay with her turn out.

Johnny spoke a little of his preparation. One of the interesting things is that he doesn’t use his own rub. He buys his pre-made. He basically said that someone else has already gone through the trouble of making a perfect rub and why should he waste his time and money when it’s already available.

Once again judging is done blind and based on three criteria, appearance, taste and tenderness, 9 being the highest score of each with a total of 27. Without further ado here are the final results:

Decatur Jaycees 15th Annual Riverfest
Location: Decatur, Alabama
Date: September 17-19, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 59
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society
Website – Results

Chicken
11 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
15 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
17 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
20 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
27 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
DQ – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ

Pork Ribs
1 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
4 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
6 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
15 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
28 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
52 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ

Pork
15 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
19 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
27 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
30 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy
31 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
42 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ

Brisket
1 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
5 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
6 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
17 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy
26 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
51 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ

Overall
6 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
7 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
9 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
10 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
15 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
59 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ

Memorable Quotes:

“I looked over at Paul’s tent…saw these damn muffin pans…you know that pissed me off….and I walked over jus’ see who the f&% he was taking my s&^%.” – Myron Mixon

“If you’re going to steal something at least be good at it. If you win today I expect a damn check.” – Myron Mixon to Paul Petersen.

“I need something to start my damn fires with.” – Myron Mixon when Chris said he bought 1/2 dozen of his books.”

“The fact the power went out did comprimise my product going into this competiton.” – LeeAnn Whippen

“I’m not going travel 1000’s of miles, spend 1000’s of dollars just to get back home empty handed. There’s a new front on the BBQ circuit and I’m it.” – Tuffy Stone

“I call her the Grillvette, she’s painted red, shes’s sexy, she’s beautiful but she cooks good.  I got nicer wheels on my pit then I do my car.” – Tuffy Stone

“I’d do anything to win….except cheat.” – Paul Petersen

“Shiggin’ is the act of entering another’s cook site with the intent to steal their processes.” – Tuffy Stone giving Myron a shigging cup.

Overall the cooks did extremely well. Five of them placed 6-10 (with the inclusion of Jambo Pitts) in the overall out of 59 competitors. Johnny got first in ribs and Tuffy with his new brisket recipe placed first, both earning $1,250. For another excellent write up on the show check out Diva Q’s post.

The next show won’t be until January 7th and I’m guessing it’s the American Royal Barbecue Open in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Dirt Sheets. Your irregular parody of WWE updates:

For those of you wondering about Kofi Kingston’s clean loss to Randy Orton at WWE: TLC, and his tag team’s loss to The Legacy the next night on Raw, you would be correct in assuming that management has lost faith in the Kingston character backstage.

Original plans had Kingston set to go over Orton on the PPV, hence its high position on the card which was intended to lead the crowd into the main event on a high after the controversial Undertaker/Batista and Cena/Sheamus finishes. Kingston would then have moved on to a singles feud with Big Show, whose title loss was deliberately set to coincide with the end of the Kingston/Orton feud. The Kingston and Big Show feud would have led to Kingston again going over in the Royal Rumble match by eliminating Big Show, setting him up as a “Giant Killer” of sorts and giving him additional credibility for when he then won the Royal Rumble and went on to be the secondary main event for Wrestlemania, facing the monster heel Sheamus in a match-up inspired by Roddy Piper’s half black, half white appearance at WrestleMania VI, twenty years earlier.

However, this plan was nixed at the last minute at the direct request of Paul “Big Show” Wight, who after some recent gastrointestinal difficulties has found it difficult to take the Kingston character seriously. Specifically, he felt that laying down for the “Boom Drop”, Kingston’s double leg drop with theatrics, would be inappropriate for a superstar of his position in the company due to the move’s name sounding reminscent of a slang term for explosive diarrhea. This was then seconded by Triple H, who was instrumental backstage in gaining Sheamus the championship in the first place.

Kingston will now go on to compete in the Money in the Bank match instead, now seen as more suited to playing a “Secondary Shelton” role where he is ignored for the majority of the year and only treated as relevant when they need a man who is good with ladders and jumping.

Please note, this article should not be considered representative of the truth. It should not be considered an accurate depiction of states or events. It is not factual. It is merely an opinion, held by no one, and certainly not endorsed by either the author of this blog or the host. Peter Thompson is certain that no wrestler in the WWE would have another’s push cancelled for so petty a reason, and is equally sure that any correlation between Kingston’s recent loss and Paul Wight’s alleged gastrointestinal difficulties is purely coincidental.

Well, after all the back biting, insults, bank account wipe outs, Jon & Kate Gosselin are officially divorced. Jon will get visitation rights, while Kate will retain full custody of the kids. No spousal support for either party will be granted; which is only fair since Kate will continue on with the show, while Jon is presently unemployed. Yet he has been ordered to pay child support for the children in the sum of five figures. Confusing, seeing how he can’t obtain work outside of his TLC contract & there are no new show offers on the table, where’s he gonna get the money from? Work it out Jon.

-”The BklynBandette”. Mr. Hollywood’s Co-Defendant.

…check out TLC’s “Sleigh Ride” courtesy of a LaFace Christmas in 1992

Yes, it is official: Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin are finally DIVORCED and their sham of a marriage is legally over.  The kids and Kate get to keep the house TLC gave them, and Jon gets to keep on being a douchebag, so all is well in the universe.  Anyone see Jon’s latest stunt?  He stood on the side of the highway to allow TMZ to film him saying he can’t say anything on camera.  Way to go Jon, way to go! 

All I care about is that the papers are signed, and these two idiots are divorced! 

Kate and Jon couldn’t have given me a better birthday present.  Kate and Jon Gosselin, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Perhaps on this day next year I can read all about Kate Plus 8 getting cancelled.

Over the past week the blogosphere has been buzzing about the birth of the 19th Duggar child.  Josie Duggar was born December 10, fifteen weeks early. Mom Michelle Duggar gave birth after suffering gall bladder problems.  The baby was born by emergency C-Section, and little Josie was born weighing 1lb, 6 ounces.  I wish only the best for baby and mother, and hope for a healthy life for Josie.

The reaction to this birth has ranged from outrage to full support of the Duggars.  So, who are the Duggars and how did they end up with 19 children?    Jim Bob (yes, that is his real name), and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children live in Arkansas, and for the past several years, have starred in their own reality show on TLC.

The couple married in 1984, and started out using birth control.  Michelle came off the pill, and their first child was born.  Michelle would go back on the pill, as she and Jim Bob (did I mention that, yes, it is his real name), felt that they were not ready to have more children.  While Michelle was on the pill, she became pregnant again, and, unfortunately lost her second child to a miscarriage.  The couple were understandably devastated by this, and felt that they had contributed to the “abortion” of their child.  This led to the decision to quit using birth control of any type, and “leave the family planning to God.”  While I can understand the devastation, as my ex-wife and I experienced two miscarriages, and the pain is real, I cannot understand why the Duggars did not explore other options for birth control?  The condom is a wonderful way of preventing pregnancy.  Unfortunately, rational thought left at this point, and ultimately resulted in 19 children.  (To this date… more may be coming.)

What would motivate the Duggars to continue having children?

The Fundamentalist Faith of A Growing Family

It comes as no surprise that faith plays a central role in the Duggar household.  (As I told my Catholic mother about this, she responded by asking, “They’re not Catholic are they?”)  Well, mom, your particular faith is off the hook this time.  The Duggars identify themselves as Independent Baptists.  This is the most conservative branch of Evangelical Christianity-Fundamentalists. (I will be talking about this soon.)

Fundamentalists take the Bible literally – every word of it, in the 1611 KJV.  Words like this:

Psalm 127:3-5 (King James Version)

³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

There are two words in this passage that have helped to guide the Duggars in their child rearing:

“… Quiver full…”

The Quiver Full Movement

What is the ‘Quiver Full’ Movement?  The QF  Movement, which even most Evangelicals consider quite extreme, even by their standards, is based upon the passage cited above, Psalm 127:3-5.  They are found mainly in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.  They refuse to use any type of birth control, and believe they are to eagerly receive children as a blessing from God.  You will often hear them describe themselves as a “quiver full”, “full quiver”, “quiverfull-minded”, or “QF” Christian.  Many Christian groups throughout history have held some similar beliefs over the centuries.

In 1930, the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Church issued a release permitting birth control on moral grounds.  Such moral grounds included: “A clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood; and, where there is a solid moral reason for avoiding abstinence.”  A decade later, a feminist movement began, that would ultimately become “Planned Parenthood.”

It was in response to these events that ‘Quiver Full’, began to emerge within Fundamentalist Christianity.  Such authors as Mary Pride espoused such beliefs as teaching that the Bible taught a womans primary role was to be a wife and mother under the authority of a husband.  When Jim Bob first met Michelle, he recalls this incident standing in her doorway:

But while his lips were silent, his mind was soaring. As he and Fred left that night, he paused one long second in Michelle’s doorway, completely convinced he’d just met the girl he’d been praying for without knowing who she was. Oh, God, he prayed in that doorway, from the depths of my heart, I ask that Michelle could be mine and that I could become her spiritual leader.

This was taken from the Duggar family web-site.  From this it is clear that Jim Bob believed that he, as the man, was to be the ‘head’ of the home.  As a side note, I believe that such nonsense can lead to all kinds of physical, emotional, verbal and spiritual abuse.  I find this teaching particularly vile and disgusting as it limits a woman from pursuing her own dreams, career, and independent thought.  Basically she becomes a prisoner in her own home.  Many of these people are not free to pursue independent friendships.

The Duggars deny that they are ‘Quiver Full’ adherents, but it is clear that they are influenced by some of their teachings.  Some of the materials used to home-school their children are produced by the Fundamentalist “Institute in Basic Life Conflicts” organization, founded by Bill Gothard.

Quiver Full Objectives:

The primary aim of this movement, and, I believe, of the Duggar family are:

Strict obedience to the Bible

Gen. 1:22.  Be fruitful and multiply

Ps. 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord.

Gen. 20:18; 29:31; 30:22 They interpret these and other passages as God opening and closing the womb.

Since they believe it is God who chooses the number of children, a family may have many, few or none.  Contraception is, in fact, viewed as abortion by these adherents.  There is also a missionary thrust to this movement. They believe they are to raise up as many children as they can to change the world for Christ.

Another troublesome aspect is the idea of Patriarchy.  This is the belief that the Bible teaches that the role of the father is to function as the ‘priest’, or, head of the household.  Parents are to keep children sheltered from outside cultural influences.  The older Duggar children are forbidden to date, but must go through a ritual known as ‘Courtship’, where the young man asks the girl’s father for permission, and they are forbidden to spend any time alone, or engage in any type of physical contact until marriage.  This is enforced by chaperones accompanying the couple.  To this end, they advocate homeschooling, using Fundamentalist produced materials.

The Duggars: Is 19 Enough

Since the Duggar family started their run on TLC, many people have criticized them for their lifestyle.  This criticism has only intensified since the recent birth of Josie, especially now that the Duggars are also grand parents.  So, what do I think of the criticism?  I believe that some is fair, but much of the criticism in unfair and downright mean and nasty.  First of all, the Duggars are not anything like the Octomom, raising 14 children by herself, sucking off the teat of the welfare system.  The Duggars are both Real Estate Agents, and have built their 7,000 square foot home without going into debt.  They live debt free.  As far as anyone can tell, their children seem happy and healthy (at least on the outside.)  I totally disagree with homeschooling, especially using Fundamentalist produced materials, as I believe this promotes creationist, anti-evolution beliefs.  This is the least of my worries.

While I do believe that no one should interfere with the reproductive rights of people, I do believe that there is a point where having too many children can become very harmful, not only to the mother, but the children as well.  While the Duggars now live debt free, and are financially independent, what happens if something happens to the parents, or just the father?  My fear is that these children will be left alone, and who knows what will become of them.

Secondly, I cannot imagine how the older kids must feel, constantly having to care for the younger children.  Will this result in psychological damage later in life?  Also, consider this: One of the Duggar boys continues in this belief system, meets a young woman, and they decide to get married.  After giving birth to a couple of kids, she decides she has had enough.  What will happen?  Remember, these are people who believe the man has the last word in the home.  This belief can breed unimaginable abuse against women and children who dare to disobey.

Michelle Duggar, who is 45 years old, has stated that she will continue to bear children until it is no longer possible. As she ages, the chances of birth defects such as Down syndrome, and other genetic abnormalities increases. Also, the risk of Michelle having serious complications during child-birth increase.

I can only hope that this couple will take Josies birth as a warning to stop, what I consider selfish behavior.  In the late ’70’s, there was a TV show called “Eight is Enough”.  Well, I firmly believe 19 is more than enough.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The letters TLC stand for Teaching and Learning Centers, but the innovative personality of this program can make that last letter stand for Creativity.

This program, headed by Director Dawn Burgener and her incredible staff and volunteers, run course classes and life skills acquirement for adults navigating through physical, cognitive and developmental challenges. There is one center based at the Bachelot Street headquarters and another one in Wahiawa. They are also deeply involved in community work, from beach clean-ups to recycling drives.

Every chance TLC has to create, it does. From their annual performances to completely redesigning their Bachelot classrooms for Halloween or Easter into visual celebrations verging toward the opera stage or broadway musical. They specialize in recycled art, choosing to take materials that would otherwise take up space in the city dumps and turning them into pieces layered with context and history.

With a donation of drywall panels from JSC Construction, we’ve started on configuring a hallway gallery space to showcase TLC’s past work and to give them excuses to make even more art. Come by and check out the progress if you can!

On November 18, 2009, TLC staged their much anticipated annual performance at Ala Moana Beach Park’s McCoy Pavillion, followed with an encore presentation on December 10th at their Bachelot headquarters.  The title of this year’s musical extravaganza was “TLC Rock and Rock Variety Show.”

It was a wild and remarkable ride through the history of rock n’ roll.  TLC Director and MC Dawn Burgener kicked the performance off with a nod to the bubbling mix of cultural history and community that launched a genre of music that grew to represent the spirits of independence and creativity in the world as we know it.

Rock Around the Clock with Elvis and her friends. Beach Boys. The British Invasion. MoTown Hawaii Style. Age of Aquarius. Buffalo Soldjas. Abba, and of course, the Village People!

TLC dedicated months in choreography, dance rehearsals, costume design, and stage design. TLC knows the art of showmanship. Bravo TLC!!

See video slideshow.

Last night we added date/time data for Yellow Cab emissions inspections.

If you know a cabbie, pass the word on to them.

The TLC currently instructs New York’s cabbies to find their scheduled inspection by downloading a document that they have to search through.

source: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/safety_emissions/medallion_schedule.shtml

According to reports reality stars Jon and Kate Gosselin final divorce decree will happen in 2010. The couple seperated after ten years of marriage and eight kids. The reality series Jon and Kate plus eight was cancelled this fall after a nasty ongoing court battle between Jon Gosselin and the TLC network.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Lawyer: Jon & Kate divorce likely final in 2010 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Jon & Kate Gosselin Are Boring America (socialitelife.celebuzz.com)
• Reality show math: Jon & Kate Plus 8 minus Jon = Kate Plus 8 (tvsquad.com)
• Jon & Kate F**k 8! (buzzfeed.com)
• Karen Thalacker: Pity Party? Cry-A-Thon? Maybe, But Cut Kate Some Slack (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jon Gosselin says he returned $230,000 to a joint account (pbpulse.com)
• Jon Gosselin says he returned $230K in joint funds (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• TLC sues reality TV dad Jon Gosselin (cbc.ca)
• Jon Gosselin Blabbing To The Media Again (perezhilton.com)
• Reality show “not healthy for my kids,” Gosselin dad now says (nationalpost.com)

Preface: Let it be said that little people – the dwarves, hobbits, and elves of our woefully unmagical world – are friends of Ben Godby. Not literally; I have few enough friends, and none of them are afflicted with primordial dwarfism or any other stature-impeding impediments. (I am also unacquainted with giants.) But without a doubt I consider little people just as likely potential friends, mates, chums, or pals as any other human beings. This is an honest and strongly-held belief of mine; but in the present context I utter it, shamelessly, with the express purpose of defending myself from future scorn. And now, the kicker:

I totally dropped a load in my shorts when I saw The Learning Channel’s advertisements for their new reality TV program, “Little Chocolatiers.” I actually threw my hands in the air and shouted, “The fuck is with all these little people, TLC?”

Aside: Right now some of you might be thinking, “bn wtf u watch tlc” and I answer yea. TLC has some bomb programming: Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle, and oh yeah their posse of children, are – despite their values utterly divergent from my own – probably the nicest people on the planet, and it is a pleasure to spy on their lives; Bill Klein and Jen Arnold – “The Little Couple” – would be an inspiring duo even if they did not have dwarfism. (I always knew that dwarves had magic resistance, but I didn’t know that they had the ability to be incredible neonatal pediatric doctors [slash, successful businessmen - props Bill].)

Oh and it’s pretty much the only channel my girlfriend watches so figure that one out.

i luv u guys

Besides “The Little Couple,” TLC also airs “Little People, Big World,” a show about a family of little people; and together, these programs have done much to teach the public – or me, anyway – about the lives of little people and their banal resemblances to our own. On top of this, TLC also has a show about a bakery – which is pretty much just an excuse for Buddy Valastro to go into hysterics (in the “fuckin’ crazy” sense of the word).

So I suppose, indeed I expect, that in the twisted minds of television executives, it made sense to attempt to create a love-child out of these two successes; thus, “Little Chocolatiers.” But for a network that claims to be a channel about learning, it seems that TLC needs to learn something about the educational value of diversity.

The problem becomes evident when you scroll through TLC’s production line-up: every single show is about successful white people, whether they bake cakes, sell dresses, or prune flowers. Even the little people are successful, little, white people. Traditional values – marriage, children, and homes – are reinforced; whether or not this tramps on non-traditional values is up for debate. But I can say with relative certainty that the closest TLC has come to diversity is Jon Gosselin and his litter of half-breeds – and we all know how that story ends.

I haven’t seen “Little Chocolatiers,” and obviously I’ve got nothing against the people who are the subject of the show. I also know that TV is a business, and TLC has an established demographic of viewers that they want to serve and please. But I’m of the belief that the symbolic representation of diversity, even in cases when such diversity does not exist in fact, is beneficial to the mental state of humanity; and I can’t help feeling that The Learning Channel should either revamp their programming schedule, or come up with a new name. I certainly don’t learn much from TLC that I couldn’t learn inside the gates of an exurban community.

-bn