O M G. Literally.

Bible on DVD
It doesn't take long for such cultural things to catch up to technology, does it? Seriously, the bible on DVD has been around for a long time.

But it's still ridiculous.

So it's 2:00 am, and I'm watching infomercials (meaning I'm watching Tom Green while leaving infomercials on) when I realized I was subliminally soaking in a paid advertisement for a box set of the bible on DVD.

First off, bibles (if hypothetically are actually holy and are a real "word of God,") shouldn't have monetary value. It doesn't make sense, especially when some passages warn against the thought.

Next, it is ridiculous for the sake of its own concept. Oh my god. Is it a sin to be too lethargic to actually read the "word of God?" The DVD set is a 'dramatized' version of the bible, and was acclaimed to be perfect for a (serious quote here) "rambunctious Bible study group of kids," whether one exists or not.

So a dramatized version of the Bible is necessary to teach it, since you're pretty much admitting the Bible is too boring to begin with?

This is what comes on TV at 2:00 am. Crazy.
/rant.

Beckham to play in MLS

Beckham To Play in MLS
International soccer superstar David Beckham has now officially signed a 5 year contract with MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy.
The deal is said to be for about $250 million over the 5 years, which amounts to nearly $1 million per week.
The question: is it worth it?

Absolutely.

In America, soccer has gone underrated for far too long, and bringing in one of the game's finest players can only help achieve the goal of bringing the sport up to a similar status that football, basketball, and baseball have in the states.
This change in the sport's fanbase has been inevitable, however. The appreciation has grown in America over the last few World Cup tournaments, held every four years, in which The U.S. soccer team has shown more promise. This last year's team, though not advancing too far, was at least presented with much anticipation.

One this is for sure, other countries don't look at America as any sort of serious competition as far as the "greatest tournament of them all" is concerned, nor have they.

Nor do they have reason to, since the sport itself isn't taken seriously enough within the borders of the country.

I can only hope that Beckham is a driving force to bring American soccer to a higher level with other sports in this country. It'll be interesting to see how well he and Landon Donovan work together.

A call for more war.

The big news tonight is the call for more troops in Iraq by President Bush, which goes directly against the majority vote of bringing the troops home.

Obviously more debate has been stirred, with, once again, "republicans" and "democrats" on each side of the pot.

• Here's one way to look at it:
  

Time to put down the meaningless labels and step back for a second and examine this truth:

We are talking about war. We are talking about human deaths.

We are talking about people that have families, that breath the same air.

No one, and I repeat (this can't be contested in any way) no one, has the authority to call the lives of others in such a fashion. I don't care who you are, or what person A did, you have no authority over them, especially if you have a spiritual belief of some sort.

• Here's another way to look at it:

Our safety and security as a nation and the well-being of others are at risk. We have to take care of that. Jessica McBride's blog Shares a viewpoint generally the same as this. To me, it starts to get boring to read.

• My viewpoint:

I'm definitely not the meddling kind, and based on the following reported from JS Online:

"Those officials said the new plan rests on a new set of assumptions about Iraq. The old assumption, they said, was that political progress in holding elections and forming a government would defuse violence and unrest and increase stability in the country.

'But in 2006, the opposite happened,' said Bush on Wednesday, referring to the civil warring between Shiites and Sunnis.

The new strategic assumption is that the U.S. and Iraqi forces must suppress violence and protect the populace before true political stability is possible, officials said."

So what I gather is that we're just going to guess-and-check until we get it right? Along the lines of the former point of view I outlined, are human lives this expendable, to enforce a way of life that even some Americans (actually many, from what I gather,) don't even agree with?

There are many problems in both the U.S. and in Iraq (and now Iran, and Syria, and everywhere,) to try to solve. What gets me is, "why are 'we' even there?"

So from the googling I've done, here's what I understand:

1. Bush failed at finding Weapons of Mass Destruction.
2. There was still reason to believe that there were direct threats in Iraq. So we stayed.
3. We admittedly screwed up. So we stayed and vowed to fix everything.
4. Now we're still there fighting, and not fixing, still hanging on the claim that we're threatened.

So if there are Sunnis and Shiites that are fighting each other, and fighting us, then why are we still there? At this point, then, wouldn't the best bet be to pull out? Or are we sticking to the whole "threat" deal?

My big idea is to not lose sight of our true goals. There's no use in trying to be a hero to people that either don't need or don't want saving. A local police officer who is spending time in Iraq to train and teach the people there reports (almost word for word): "They are unappreciative, and don't care or want help. This is a joke."

Is it? Or is it our duty to keep trying, whether it's guess-and-check or not?

Apple Announces iPhone

Apple Inc. Announces New iPhone.

I'm surprisingly intrigued by this. After all, I like touch screens (part of the reason why I love the Nintendo DS), but I'm not a fan of Apple, especially their blatant scheming:

1)Aim for naive demographic that sees pretty, buys pretty.
2)Make useless consumer electronics for that demographic.
3)Stick that annoying "i" in front of every product released.
4)Put in worse and worse components as time goes on (highly debatable, but this is always right. Always. Don't doubt it. The components are getting much worse for the money.)

Regardless of all that, this phone looks kind of neat. Definitely not as cool as the LG Chocolate. I got to hold one of those today, and it was good. Very good.

I'll admit, I am just as much a consumer of needless electronics, like upgrading to phones with useless functions, but I won't be naive about it. This new phone by Apple boasts touch screen ability.

Do yourself a favor and go to a nearby Wal-Mart. Go to the electronics department, to the video games. They'll have a Nintendo DS there. Play with it. Use your finger on the bottom screen, which is the touch screen. You will notice, no matter how many times you wipe your hands, you will leave annoying fingerprints.

If you're like me, this just won't cut it with a phone. I can barely stand smudges on the screen as is. I guarantee that this is unavoidable with the iPhone. Add that to the size of the phone, and the overall look of it, and it really doesn't seem that great at all, does it? The functions don't seem so impressive either. So much for claiming it is revolutionary (which Apple always loves to claim.)

Not convinced Apple isn't worth it yet? Google around for facts and reviews that compare Macs to PCs and other competitors, to find that Apple isn't always what it seems. A good place to start is here.

McGwire Eats Entire Bat in Protest.

I'm definitely not a big baseball fan. I only really care about the Brewers, but this made me laugh:
Mark McGwire Didn't Make the Cut

So "supplements" really came back to bite him, eh? I consider it karmic retribution.

Mark McGwire eats an entire baseball bat in protest of his Hall of Fame rejection.

Photo by me. I wish he really ate that bat too, as that would actually be entertaining.

Sharpton for president, again?

Al Sharpton for President

It appears that Al Sharpton wants to run for president again. His main argument for a lack of good leadership in government is the issue of poverty in the nation that he feels isn't being addressed well.

JS Online states: "'Right now we're hearing a lot of media razzle dazzle,' Sharpton said. 'I'm not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we'll find out if it's just fat or if there's some real meat there.'

Sharpton also said, ""If we're talking about the urban agenda, can you tell me anybody else in the field who's representing that right now?" Oh, and he goes on to say that he's impressed with N. Carolina Senator John Edwards, who has poverty as the focused issue in his campaign.

Sharpton doesn't "see any reason not to [run]."

How about this?

Seriously. Proclaiming that something has to be done about poverty and then going over on your financial limit on personal expenditures don't mix well. Just google his name and you'll find that his track record isn't amazing in his campaigns.

He does support gay marriage, and equal rights, which is a plus. Too bad he's made racial and offensive slurs, otherwise he almost made everyone fall for that one, too.

Charges Dropped Against Saddam

Court Drops Charges Against Saddam
Knowing the way the execution was handled, and the way the Shiite-dominant government works, I'm surprised he wasn't hanged again.
Can we turn back to the war on health care now?