Category: Entertainment

Greetings, I decided to keep it local and hit up a Kabob and Gyro place just down the road from my office this week. Here is my review!

Sal’s is a local small family owned business who recently opened a second store in Roseville, which is a strange trend I’m seeing in the family owned business area these days. Why have 2 stores over an hour apart? They serve traditional Greek food; kabob plates, gyros, shawarma wraps, and even have a burger on the menu. I visited the place twice just to get a true feel for the food and service, as the Yelp reviews are inconsistent.

Ambiance: This is a no frills, small business. They have a counter, you can see the entire kitchen similar to a Chipotle and can see the lamb and steak roasting on a spit. Seating is very limited; call it maybe 30 people could sit between inside and outside. 3.5/5 It’s a low budget Greek place so I can’t go too low, the family works there so it’s not a bunch of hired help.

Food: So, I had the Lamb Kabob plate, it came with rice, vegetables and lamb. I thought it was decent. I ordered my plate medium spicy. At $13 after tax, it seemed a little high for lunch. Later in the week I came back, ordered a chicken Gyro medium spicy, with fries and a coke. It came to about $10 and I thought that was a decent price point. The gal behind the counter pointed to a refrigerator filled with cans of coke and said go ahead and grab one…I wasn’t in the mood for a can of soda so I passed. I guess I should have been more attentive, fountain drinks are king and have a lower cost for your business by the way. I received my gyro after about 10 minutes, but no fries, I was told they were making them fresh. The Gyro was great! Chicken perfect and spiced wonderfully, the salad was good and the tzatziki sauce was awesome…a home run. I wolfed it down…poor thing didn’t stand a chance against me…still no fries. I was ready to walk out as I was irritated at this point, because obviously I was being ignored, other people who ordered did subsequently receive their frozen potatoes thrown into a fryer and called done. She finally brought mine out and they were soggy and cold. I ate them anyway, and well, they were forgettable. 3/5

Overall: I try to support small business and this one could be good with a little better service and a soda machine. I understand in this era that cutting costs is a thing, but a can of coke and fries for an extra $3 is out of touch; especially considering the fries were cold when brought out. The Gyro was amazing and I’m going to order it again, and for $6.99 the price is great! The only other commentary I will add is the location is not easy to access so service needs to be at a premium! 3.25/5

We’re going Korean and headed to Bonchon next!

“Johnnie Does”

No, I’m not talking about the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ which we celebrate at Easter. Neither am I talking about those in the Philippines that reenact the crucifixion each Good Friday as a way of identifying with the suffering of Christ.

Berkeley children apparently face the threat of bodily injury and death for collecting Easter eggs on public property. These risks include, blindness, heart attack, broken bones, paralysis, and death. Where else but California?

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the paper trail: Hard-boiled lawyers made sure no kids could participate in the University of California-Berkeley’s campus Easter egg hunt on Sunday without their parents first signing a waiver.

Before the tykes were ushered toward the roped-off grass, parents stood in line for up to half an hour to hand in the official form for 25th Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Learning Festival. (God forbid the kids just have fun.) According to the waiver, which was obtained by Reason, the undersigned agreed that “Participation in The Activity carries with it certain risks that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid injuries.” These risks ranged from “1) minor injuries, such as scratches, bruises and sprains 2) major injuries such as eye injury or loss of sight, joint or back injuries, heart attacks, and concussions to 3) catastrophic injuries including paralysis and death.“

Are they hunting Easter eggs or landmines?

Link: Parents at UC-Berkeley Easter Egg Hunt Must Sign Waivers Due to Risk of ‘Catastrophic Injuries and Death’

Each child risked life and limb for the state mandated quota of five eggs.

Thanks to Capital Political Review for the news tip.

Bloggers note: Troll loves to crawl out from under his bridge and no one is immune from his satirical attacks! He will react to the news and give his award-winning commentary.

First up: The College Bribery scandal

Troll says: The real winner here is University of Southern California (USC) this is the first time they have ever been referred to as an “elite university.”
We are all stunned “Aunt Becky”–who by the way is a (pound) #metoo member in Troll’s eyes–was involved in purchasing college admission for her otherwise unqualified daughter. It must be horrible your daughter couldn’t use her looks to get into school and needed your cash to be popular.

I am stunned because let’s revisit the cast of that show and see how Troll thinks should have been targeted in this case:
Uncle Jesse: This slicked-back hair looking Fonzi wannabe would have been my first guess, he looks like he is so dirty you would have to take a shower after dealing with him. However, his being married to Aunt Becky makes him an accomplice.
Bob Sagat: This guy is as pure as Aquafina, unless someone took a dump upstream, but no reason to suspect him.
Uncle Joey: That dude was always coked-out on something every show he was on. Making weird noises and voices, and the kids all loved him, I would have suspected him honestly.
Kimmy Gibbler: no chance, but she trolled as hard as I did the entire show, so yeah, I guess you better include her.

Colorado AG says Sheriffs who won’t enforce anti-gun law must re-sign

Colorado’s attorney general testified last week that county sheriffs vowing not to enforce the state’s proposed anti-gun “red flag” bill should “resign” — a challenge that threatened to ramp up tensions between state officials and local leaders who were already creating droves of so-called Second Amendment “sanctuary counties” to resist the legislation.
Democrat Phil Weiser made the remarks, which were first reported by The Colorado Sun, while testifying before a state committee on Friday. Weiser has said that the red flag legislation, which would permit a court to the seizure of weapons from people determined to be a threat to others or themselves, would save lives, particularly in domestic violence situations.

“If a sheriff cannot follow the law, the sheriff cannot do his or her job,” Weiser said. “The right thing to do for a sheriff who says, ‘I can’t follow the law’ is to resign.”

Link: Colorado sheriffs who won’t enforce anti-gun ‘red flag’ law should ‘resign,’ state AG says

Troll says: This clown AG Phil Weiser should be the poster boy for why expectant mothers should refrain from using alcohol. I take that back, he looks like a hairline receding black haired Howdy Doody. By the way, the Troll is most offended by this comment: “If a sheriff cannot follow the law, he or she must resign.” How completely insensitive! How can you possibly assume the genders don’t include one of the other five! (72 if you believe Facebook). You racist, sexist, idiot! Thanks for mansplaining all this to me. Yes, disarming citizens is brilliant, you ignorant chump. Anyone want to take bets this useless human has armed security with him at all times?

R. Kelly bailed out of jail for the second time accused of sexually assaulting minors.

On Friday evening, hours after the charges were announced in a press conference by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Kelly turned himself in to Chicago police. On Saturday, Kelly attended bond court, where the judge set his bond at $1 million — or, $250,000 for each of the four alleged victims. EW has confirmed that on Monday evening, Kelly posted the $100,000 bail and left police custody. Per the Associated Press, a condition of his release is that he is forbidden from having any contact with females under the age of 18.

Link: R. Kelly pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges

Kelly said, “I promise you we are going to straighten all this stuff out.”
Troll says: He was bailed out by a restaurant owner, is sausage on the menu there? Why didn’t this Kelly guy take up a job in the clergy? I believe this kind of behavior is a promotable offense! All the young boys your heart desires. I guess you could say he was keeping the spirit of Christmas going year-round? Tis far better to give then receive? Or perhaps he was just channeling his inner Michael Jackson.

Editor’s note: I can’t tell if Troll was just trolling R. Kelly or getting him confused with the comments this week by Barbra Streisand.
Streisand defended Michael Jackson like no one else.

She also said, of Jackson, “His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” she said. 
“You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard them say, they were thrilled to be there,” she said. “They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”
“It’s a combination of feelings,” she said. “I feel bad for the children. I feel bad for him. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him.”

Link: Barbra Streisand says Michael Jackson’s accusers were “thrilled to be there”

Tyson foods recalls 69,000 lbs of ready to eat chicken due to metal contamination.

Tyson Foods has recalled 69,093 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips because the strips may contain metal fragments, according to the company and the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Link: Tyson Recalls 69,000 Pounds of Frozen Chicken Strips

Troll: Well if we need our children to eat a bit more iron, what better way than this? These bags of what is “allegedly” chicken and bits were produced 4 months ago…. what took so long? Also, the use by date is November this year? Are you telling me I can’t eat those chicken strips and I haven’t reached said date yet? Oh no!

Conclusion

What a time to be alive, while R Kelly is out on bail Aunt Becky rots in jail for paying off an admission counselor, makes you wonder if she could have “worked it off as opposed to pay the admission councilor off, Hollywood seldom frowns upon those misdeeds.”
Troll

Back in July, we documented the fact that Disney—in a fake display of political correctness—fired Guardians of the Galaxy producer James Gunn. As a bonus, Liberals blamed conservatives for Gunn’s termination. Gunn was fired for stuff he posted on Twitter many years before Disney hired him as a producer of Guardians the first time.

Disney Fires Guardians’ Gunn: Conservatives Blamed

Back on August 1, 2018 you will find the following:

Disney insiders told Variety the company was not aware of Gunn’s offensive tweets prior to hiring him in 2012 and “were taken aback when they were recirculated.” The “Vol. 3” production start date is tentatively scheduled for February 2019, but that could easily be pushed back as Disney takes its time to find a new director.

Disney Won’t Rehire James Gunn on ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ Despite Cast Wanting to Reinstate Him — Report

At the time, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said, “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values and we have severed our business relationship with him.”

Link: Disney rehires James Gunn to direct ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’

Today it is reported that Disney has seen the light—or felt a void in their cash flow—and decided to rehire Gunn. I’m not surprised at Gunn’s rehiring but the last Guardians movie was crumby even if it was nice to see Kurt Russell on the big screen again.

Recently, I have found myself reading more books and watching less television. Cord cutting has the advantage of not distracting me as much with nonsense. For those in the “snowflake” generation, a B.O.O.K. is also known as “Bio Optical Organic Knowledge”.

Background

In the last few weeks I read two books about the same era that have a remarkable amount of overlap. I started with Larry Norman: Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music. This book is about the original Christian rocker. The book discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly of the music industry and also Norman’s very flawed and human trek thru this world.

Larry Norman: Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music

Norman got his musical start in the 1960’s in San Jose, CA. In the early days he shared the stage with Janis Joplin and many other names that you might recognize. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and made a name for himself. In the book you learn about Norman’s street preaching, Bible study, and other endeavors. I highly recommend the book.

So you may be wondering why I start with Larry Norman in a discussion about a Bob Dylan book. Because their lives are incredibly linked together.

The Apostle Paul spoke about spiritual growth in these terms:

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
I Corinthians 3:4-7.

Larry Norman sowed many seeds that grew and matured which eventually touched Bob Dylan’s life in a way that only God can. Larry is never mentioned in the Dylan book and that is a shame because the two men clearly knew each other, if only at a distance.

Norman includes Dylan in his song, Song For A Small Circle Of Friends which he released in 1971. Why Dylan is part of this “small circle” remains unsaid in either book.

Dear Bobby watch your fears all hide
And disappear while love inside starts growing,
You’re older but less colder
Than the jokes and folks you spent your childhood snowing.

And Someone died for all your friends
But even better yet, He lives again.
And if this song does not make sense to you,
I hope His Spirit slips on through,
He loves you

Link: Lyrics–Song For A Small Circle Of Friends

An example of their intersecting worlds is the Bible study that Norman started in Los Angeles in the late 1960’s. This study morphed into the church that Dylan attended prior to releasing his Slow Train Coming album in 1979. Other people and actions in the Norman book impact the life of Dylan or those around him. Other folks that are common to both men and in ways most unexpected include Billy Graham, President Jimmy Carter, and Jews for Jesus.

Another interesting overlap of both men’s worlds is not documented in either book. Larry Norman produced an album of up and coming Christian musicians. On that album was a track by Leslie Phillips called Beyond Saturday Night. Leslie’s first LP was later released and titled Beyond Saturday Night but was a different studio recording of the same song. Leslie released four Christian albums before changing her stage name to “Sam Phillips” and “going secular.” As this transition was happening in her life she married a fellow named T-Bone Burnett who was a member of Dylan’s touring band and frequently played with Dylan over the years. T-Bone converted to Christianity while touring with Dylan.

Enter Bob Dylan

After completing the Larry Norman book, I ordered the book Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life by Scott Marshall. Cost $16.95

The publisher describes the book as:

Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life bridges the gap between purpose and meaning in grand fashion. It offers readers an informative, entertaining, and nuanced look into Bob Dylan’s spiritual odyssey. Today, there is not a Dylan book in existence that exclusively focuses on his spiritual odyssey through years of research and original interviews with those who know him and his journey well, such as Barry Beckett, Arthur Blessit, T-Bone Burnett, Carolyn Dennis, Dave Kelly, Regina McCrary, Maria Muldaur, Scott Ross, Jerry Wexler, and Paul Wasserman. The evidence abounds and Dylan’s friends and fans provide a plethora of insight into this veritable music icon’s spiritual side.

The book is exhaustively footnoted and generally follows Dylan’s career in chronological order.

Dylan Controversy

Many folks in Christian circles have voiced their concerns about Dylan and his profession of faith.

The two songs that come to mind as critiques of Dylan are Steve Taylor’s title track from 1984, Meltdown and Dave Edward’s 1981 song, Commercial Suicide.

Elvis and the Beatles have seen a better day
Better off to burn out than to melt away
Dylan may be fillin’ the puddle they designed
Is it gonna take a miracle to make up his mind?
–Steve Taylor

Additional Info: Steve Taylor: Meltdown

He was the prophet of a generation
They watched his every cryptic verb
People everywhere in every nation
Would bow and worship every word

He gave them songs and made them wild with passion
They would leave his name is history
Then he sang a little out of fashion
And so he gave them one more mystery

And then they cried – Commercial suicide…
Watch how you say it
We’ll never play it
–Dave Edwards

Additional Info: Dave Edwards: Commercial suicide

Dylan the Good Stuff

From reading A Spiritual Life what you discover is that Dylan’s story is confusing, not so much for what he says, but more for what those around him want to be true. Often what you’ve heard about Dylan is what others are projecting onto him and not his words.

Scott Marshall does a good job of separating the wheat from the chaff. He looks not just at Dylan’s words but his music to show that Dylan is actually rather consistent. Dylan will respond to stupid interviewer questions with obtuse answers but when treated respectfully he can be rather forthcoming about his faith. When it comes to Dylan’s answers about his faith, however; the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew come to mind, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Many folks just don’t understand Dylan’s answers and their Biblical references.

After reading the book, I not only think I have a grasp of where Dylan is spiritually but can understand his point of view.

Marshall has responded to the criticisms of Dave Edwards and Steve Taylor (quoted above) and his answer is one that I appreciate. If you want to meet the man behind the mystique then Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life is well worth your consideration.

Appreciating a miracle—large or small—is something that we frequently don’t do. Truthfully, we take many for granted or try to explain them away. Likewise, a professional makes their craft look easy and effortless. Sometimes the line between miracle and marvelous is blurry. In our world of Photoshop, CGI, and visual manipulation, we have become skeptical of what is real. The old advertisement of “Is it live or is it Memorex?” in some ways rings even more true today.

A proper merging of new and old is the wonderful work done by Peter Jackson in restoring over 90 hours of film footage from World War I. Jackson did this for a museum in England and then took selected footage and made a wonderful documentary about soldiers of “The Great War”.

The film has an introduction by Jackson which I missed because I was standing in the popcorn line. When I made it into the theater, England was entering the war and men—actually young boys trying to be men—were going to their local recruiting stations and signing up in droves. The film tells the story of average soldiers from enlistment to the trenches of France to home again and what they experienced. Jackson’s grandfather was one such soldier.

The feature at the end of the film is Jackson explaining the restoration process and the amount of effort that went into the many years needed to restore the raw film. He also discusses choosing the various shots and audio used to create the film which you just viewed. The film’s narration is all done by voiceovers from veterans of the war—mostly recorded later in their lives by the BBC.

The restoration of the film is great in black and white but after a short time, the film morphs into full color.

Following the documentary itself, Jackson shows before, during, and after samples; some of which didn’t make it into the film but which are remarkable on their own. He explains that the original film was shot with hand-cranked movie cameras with no sound. He employed not only lip readers to figure out what was being said, but then using the uniforms of the men speaking, hired voice actors from the districts where the men lived to sync the dialogue. What little music is used in the film is authentic to the period.

After seeing the film and hearing Jackson describe what happened behind the screens makes you want to watch it again.

While you don’t have to see the 3-D version of the film to appreciate it, seeing it in that format lets you enjoy a lifelike quality of the people but see the limitations of the slow framerate of the original film. Jackson modernized the source material but also showed great respect in doing so.

I highly recommend that you see this film. You will get a glimpse of life 100 years ago and get a feel for the futility of trench warfare and magnitude of “The Great War”. Please be warned that there are some graphic scenes (in full color) of wounded, dead, and dismembered men. Knowing that you aren’t seeing special effects can be disturbing to some viewers.

I found an obscure gem on Amazon that you can stream this weekend while you are hiding out from the smoke. (FYI I will be outside mowing the lawn and walking the dog because I already saw this movie and refuse to wear a face mask.) If you search for the title on Amazon, you will find two movies about the same person, one is a documentary that is free and the other is the movie that I’m writing about today.

This movie, Ragamuffin, is a dramatic portrayal of Christian singer/song writer Rich Mullins. It stars Michael Koch as Rich Mullins. It costs money to rent the movie (about $4) but is well worth it.

A lover of Jesus and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles with his own darkness tear him away from a God he was determined to love. As he struggled with success in Nashville and depression in Wichita, Rich desired most of all to live a life of honest and reckless faith amidst a culture of religion and conformity.

IMDB: Ragamuffin

The descriptions of the movie found on the internet are not really on point with one part of the story, Mullins did develop a relationship with a Navajo Indian reservation but contrary to the reviews, did not quit the rest of the world to go live with the Navajos.

The movie is about how Mullins faced his demons head-on and challenged others in the church to honestly live their faith.

This movie can be compared and contrasted with  I Can Only Imagine

Both movies are about Christian musicians/song writers that wrote breakout hits, both feature dramatic portrayals of Amy Grant who’s shadow looms large over both men’s stories, and both men had problems as adults due to broken relationships with their fathers. The similarities end there.

Mullins was a broken soul that was deeply flawed and knew it. Instead of anger at God, he tenaciously cling to his faith. Many will be offended that this guy claimed to be a Christian in good standing. He chain smoked, is alcoholic, and often refused to obey authority figures in his life. Mullins followed the beat of a different drummer as only an artist or genius would. Mullins reminds me of King David in the Old Testament; a deeply flawed individual that God calls “a man after his own heart”.

Mullins once described his faith like this:

Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken-hearted.

Wikipedia: Rich_Mullins

Mullins was influenced by Brennan Manning. Manning wrote The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.

Brennan Manning wrote The Ragamuffin Gospel “for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out,” the marginalized folks to whom Jesus ministered: the children, the ill, the tax collectors, the women. In other words, the ragamuffins. Manning understands better than most that behind our facades of order and self-assurance are inadequacies that can find healing only in Jesus. While the powerful and religious elite challenged him, Jesus embraced and healed and fed the needs of the ragamuffins. Jesus delivered love, healing, and, most of all, grace.

Grace is defined as “the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God.” But, as Manning points out, we have “twisted the gospel of grace into religious bondage and distorted the image of God into an eternal, small-minded bookkeeper.” In reality, God offers us grace immeasurable. Brennan Manning gently encourages us to embrace that grace in the face of our greatest needs. And Manning certainly knows whereof he speaks, having taken a journey from priesthood and academic achievement through a collapse into alcoholism. Manning came face to face with his need, finally abandoning himself to grace. And he invites us now to join him in a life of grace.

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.

The other thing that I really appreciate about this movie is that the music is not lip-synced. The guy playing Mullins, Michael Koch, is actually singing Mullin’s songs. I can’t tell you how rare that is in any movie.

This movie is about a real person with real problems, many of which you’ve experienced or know someone who has. It is about a real relationship with God not something you do once a week so you can live how you will the rest of the week.

God loves you as you are right now. If you have trouble believing this or wish you could, I encourage you to spend two hours watching this movie. In the final analysis, we are all ragamuffins needing God’s grace.