Iran Relations

Despite Iran’s persistent hatred for all things Jewish, America, being an Isreal ally, continues to pursue better relations. On the heels of the major earthquake that killed tens of thousands of Iranians, America has been one of the leaders in providing aid for the devastated region. Iran may not want a better working relationship with the U.S., only our financial aid, but it’s still the right thing for America to do.

Get Your Grammar On

The English language is whacked, and not in the good way. We’ve got all these rules like the “silent e” and “i before e except after c” but then are there 100 execptions to the rule. See how well you stack up with this grammar test, then come back and tell me I don’t know how to talk. ;^)

Unemployment Drops Further

One last post in 2003, jobless claims have dropped to the lowest levels of President Bush’s term. Good news for the country, great news for people who need jobs.

Youngster Hero Saves Sister From Fire

“She’s my sister, and I’m supposed to take care of her.” Leave it to the Boy Scouts to instill strong values. Michael Wedekamm ran through smoke and fire to save his little 18-month-old sister. Couldn’t we all use more of these positive news stories?

Pigeons Beat Internet

The Internet is sure to demand a rematch, but apparently some pigeons delivered some photographs 20kms faster than the Internet could. Who says we’re constantly progressing?

Misbehaving Sprites

After seeing the massive battle scenes from RotK yesterday (and no, that shouldn’t spoil your surprise) it’s easy to believe that all the computer generated soldiers didn’t want to fight. It’s one thing for an artist to craft those fine orchish features, but it’s an order of degree more difficult to make those models behave like an orc. My hat comes off to both the artists and the programmers who moved mountains to make this movie believable.

Return of the King

Return of the King was truly epic. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. About the only thing bad I can say about it, was that 3.5 hours is a long time to sit in a crowded theatre with coughing, sneezing people. But it’s a small price to pay to enjoy the imagination of Tolkien brought to cinematic life by Jackson. I give it 5 stars. I wonder how it will be before we can buy extended versions of all three films in a boxed set?

Questioning Faith

Anyone who’s said they’ve never questioned their faith is either simple or lying. It’s the world’s greatest question—”Why am I here?” Ruth Tucker has written a book on this topic and setup a forum, of sorts, for people to ask/answer their faith questions online. Our world needs more discussion on matters of faith, rather than labeling it “personal” and eliminating it from public life. [via Web Evangelism]

Good News for the Past Year

A Look at What Went Right in 2003
By Bob Waliszewski

With the year drawing to a close, I’d like to zero in on the most encouraging happenings of 2003 as they relate to teens and entertainment. Drum roll please …??10. Barna Research Group reported that 51% of American teenagers say they read a Christian book in the past year.

9. After the photo of a 6-year-old Tanzanian boy graced movie screens in the R-rated movie About Schmidt, donations to the real-life humanitarian organization that helps care for him soared. Before the movie, Childreach typically received three sponsorships per day on its Web site. After it opened nationwide in January, the total rose to 80 per day.

8. Behind the scenes, Visa began searching over a million Web pages per day, compiling a list of Internet-based child pornographers who use the company’s credit card services to traffic smut. Visa alerted various police forces and reportedly unearthed 400 child porn sites, of which 80% have been shut down or had their Visa privileges revoked.

7. Wal-Mart stopped selling Maxim, Stuff and FHM, popular men’s magazines which regularly feature scantily clad women.

6. A study released in April by the American Psychological Association provides further evidence that violent music lyrics not only elevate aggressive thoughts but can, in turn, “instigate a more aggressive response, verbal or physical, than would have been emitted in a nonbiased state, thus provoking an aggressive escalatory spiral of antisocial exchanges.” In other words, more proof that violent tunes can breed violent individuals and a hostile culture.

5. We learned that the number of teens who believe abortion should be generally available to those who want it has declined from 48% to 39% over the past decade.

4. A Junior Achievement/Harris Interactive poll found that more 13- to 18-year-olds picked their parents as role models than any other individual, including popular athletes and TV stars.

3. Theaters showed significant improvement in keeping minors out of R-rated movies. Reprising its “mystery shopper” survey, in which unaccompanied young people (ages 13 to 16) try to buy tickets, the Federal Trade Commission reported that, while 48% of underage teenagers previously wormed their way into restricted features, that figure dropped to 36% this year.

2. A number of chart-topping country tunes provided spiritual “salt and light” this past year. Among them were “I Love You This Much” (Jimmy Wayne), “A Few Questions” (Clay Walker), “Help Pour Out the Rain” (Buddy Jewell), “I Can Only Imagine” (MercyMe’s tune recorded by Jeff Carson), and “Three Wooden Crosses” (Randy Travis), which was named Song of the Year during last month’s 37th Annual Country Music Awards.

1. Of all the movies released this year, the top-grossing flick was the G-rated, CGI blockbuster Finding Nemo, which bested The Lion King as the most successful animated feature of all time. Wait, there’s more good news. Paired with Nemo in theaters and featured on the DVD is the animated short Knick Knack. It’s about a frustrated snowman eager to escape the confines of his snow globe and mingle with other vacation mementos. When Knick Knack was created in 1989 it featured a buxom mermaid and busty beach beauty. But when the studio dusted it off to precede Nemo, both chesty characters received severe breast reductions. Way to go Pixar and Disney for removing the unnecessary sexual imagery!

As we move into 2004, please join me in praying for people in the entertainment industry—writers, producers, directors, musicians, studio execs and video game designers. Pray that God will do a work in their lives, and raise up more creative people and influential executives who possess a Christian worldview. As we intercede on behalf of the movers and shakers, I believe God will give us even more reasons to rejoice next year.

Mourning Receives Donor Kidney

Alonzo Mourning was forced to retire from basketball last month because his kidney problems became increasingly worse. Yesterday we’ve learned that a volunteer donor had given Mourning the gift of a lifetime.

Keepin’ On

Jim Thomson, a professional counselor, has some words of wisdom to share with the world. This week, his article is about the importance of play. Take some time this holiday season to play with someone, a child, a friend, a spouse. The old axiom is true, “Laughter is good medicine.

Garbage Man Donates $1M

Michael DeGroote has made a fortune in garbage collection and trucking. Now he’s going to give some back… in the amount of $1.05 million. The money is going to a Canadian university for cancer research. Apparently, the dean of health sciences didn’t have any problem asking for such a large sum, but was quite shocked when DeGroote said, “We got a deal.” Here’s hoping they put the money to good use.

Survivors Continue to Be Found

Three days after the quake, rescue workers are still finding survivors in Iran. A Norwegian worker said, “It’s never too late. We’ll continue.” Regardless of one’s politics or religion, every life is sacred and worth fighting for. Continue to keep these workers in your thoughts and prayers. [via Great News]

Down With the Dynasty

Boy I hate the Lakers. It feels good to see them lose. And I must not be alone, because we’ve got writers putting together How To Beat the Lakers articles. Take it to heart fellas. Let’s go Spurs!

Jakob’s Yearly Top 10

Alert Box is home to the usability writings of Jakob Nielsen, a most visible figure in the world of Web design. Here’s his annual Top 10 Web Design Mistakes. We should all be paying more attention to our users as we design content and function for them. Previous year lists are worthwhile as well.