The Antichrist Strikes Again?

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Subject:	Breaking News - AP: Aide says former Russian PM Yegor Gaidar may have been poisoned.
Date:	Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:41:45 -0800

MSNBC Breaking News:

AP: Aide says former Russian PM Yegor Gaidar may have been poisoned.

 Find out more at http://breakingnews.msnbc.com  

Griping Out Loud

Ranting about driving in the rain. Click here to listen.

Joe

Breaking News

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From: MSNBC Breaking News
Subject: Breaking News - Hotline:

GOP's Sen. Bill Frist says he will not run for president in '08.

Find out more at http://breakingnews.msnbc.com

Is Putin the Antichrist?

When Vladimir Putin first came on the scene in Russia, my wife took one look at him and said, "I think he's the Antichrist." Well, maybe he is. Consider the following from Joel C. Rosenberg:

Tuesday, November 28, 2006
ASSASSINATION RAISES CRITICAL QUESTION: WHO IS VLADIMIR PUTIN?

The assassination of a KGB-operative-turned-critic-of-Vladimir-Putin in London by radioactive poison has stunned the West and raised chilling new questions about who Putin is, what he wants, and how far he's willing to go to get it. It's about time.

And, less than two months ago:

Sunday, October 08, 2006
SHARP PUTIN CRITIC MURDERED IN MOSCOW: 43rd journalist killed in Russia since '93

"Russia's most famous investigative reporter, Anna Politkovskaya, was gunned down in the lift of her Moscow apartment block yesterday in an apparent contract killing. A fearless opponent of Russia’s wars in Chechnya who once described President Vladimir Putin as a 'KGB snoop' and compared him to Stalin... .

It kind of makes you wonder just what kind of threat Putin really is to the world. Read the full stories (linked above) and you'll understand what I mean.

Joe

Book Review: Saint by Ted Dekker

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CAUTION: CONTAINS SPOILERS
* * *

How do I write about Saint -- what do I say -- without slipping a spoiler in by mistake? I've only just begun reading the book, and already the first big surprise strikes on page 41 with the mention of Project Showdown. Remember the last book released by Ted Dekker: Showdown? If you read the book, or at the very least my review of it, you'll remember that Showdown was linked to Dekker's epic trilogy, The Circle. It comes as a shock when that first becomes apparent in Showdown, just as it is shocking to discover on page 41 of Saint that it, too, is linked to The Circle through the mention of Project Showdown, which just happens to refer to Dekker's book, Showdown. There's the first spoiler for you. I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

* * *

Dekker weaves such a fast-paced story that you'll likely forget all about Project Showdown, as you tear through page after page until, on page 166, the link pops up again: "Project Showdown was breathing still."

I don't normally write my so-called reviews while in the midst of reading the book, but this isn't the first time I've done just that. When the author finds a way to really get me, I just can't wait until the end to start sharing the experience. But I'll have to wait a little longer, because the book is calling to me, and I can't deny it.

* * *

The intrigue continues in chapter twenty-six as the main character -- Carl, who has just learned that he is someone else entirely (trust me, you need to read the book -- all five books -- to follow this one), returns to his hometown of Paradise, Colorado, the setting of Dekker's book Showdown. There really is no way to explain the parallels between these books without making it sound confusing. You just have to start at the beginning and start reading: Black, Red, and White, Showdown, and Saint. I promise, you won't be confused. You'll be mystified.

* * *

Long before chapter thirty-eight, if you've read most of Ted Dekker's other works, you'll be fully aware that Saint is intricately linked to Showdown, which is just as tightly woven with Black, Red, and White -- the Circle trilogy. Dekker seamlessly ties the five tomes together into one seemingly never-ending story. But on pages 303 and 304, everything changes. Not only do we hear more about Marsuvees Black from Showdown, we learn something that I had not before even considered: Barsidious White -- the wicked villain from House, Dekker's joint venture with Frank Peretti, is also a product of the Books of History from the Circle trilogy. And having learned such a thing, I realize that it was so obvious I should have figured it out long ago.

Wow.

* * *

I wanted to lay out a storyline here that takes you through the world of The Circle. I failed. I simply can't do justice to Ted Dekker's intricately woven world of The Circle. It's a world that -- though it has never been publicized as such -- spans six novels: Black, Red, White, Showdown, House (co-authored by Frank Peretti), and Saint. Read them all!

Joe
Comment

President Bush's Weekly Radio Address

20061125.a.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object)

In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "This week, Americans across our Nation gather with loved ones to give thanks for the many blessings we share. ... And we're grateful to Almighty God for the freedom to enjoy all these gifts. ... Americans believe that every person has the right to live, work, and worship in freedom. And we're thankful to the men and women of our Nation's armed forces who risk their lives to protect those rights. This Thanksgiving, we are mindful that many of our finest citizens are spending the holiday far from their homes and loved ones, and we know that their service makes it possible for us to live in freedom."

GRIPE! My Mother-in-Law

I've GRIPED about my mother-in-law before, but it's been a little while. I have to tell you, she never seems to run out of ways to tick me off.

My wife and I just celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary (on Thanksgiving Day). I gave her a little gift for our anniversary, just to mark the day mostly and not let it go by unnoticed, but her real anniversary gift will be next weekend, when I endure a Clay Aiken concert with her. Last time she went to one with a friend, and her friend made the experience as close to miserable for my wife as she possibly could. It was then that I agreed to go to the next one with her. Now it's time to keep my word.

We made arrangements for our three-year-old son and (by then) seven-month-old daughter to spend the night with my in-laws while we make the nearly two-hundred mile trip to the concert and back. It was my understanding that my daughter -- who has not yet spent the night away from home -- would spend one night with her grandparents before then while we are still in town to ensure that all would go well. Just to ease my own mind, mostly.

On Thanksgiving day, my wife asked her mother when she would like my daughter to spend the "test" night. It was my wife's understanding -- and mine -- that it would be tonight. When my wife called her mother earlier today to make the arrangements to drop my daughter off, her mother said, "You never said for sure what day it would be. Your dad and I might drive down to Gatlinburg for the day tomorrow morning." Gatlinburg?!? From central Indiana to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and back is not a day trip! She went on to say, "I'm sure she'll be okay, we don't need a test night."

That really gripes me! And this is what gripes me the most about it: every time my sister-in-law (my wife's brother's wife) asks my mother-in-law to watch her daughter -- and it's been this way for the entire eight years plus that I've known my wife -- she bends over backwards, cancelling any plans that she may have, to accomodate. Every time my wife calls her and asks her to watch one or both of our kids, she has some more important, more pressing thing that just can't wait. I don't know why she can't seem to make the time to help her own daughter by spending some quality time with her grandkids, but it's really pi$$ing me off!!!

I keep telling my wife that she just needs to be firm with her mother for a change and demand that she act like a mother and grandmother. If I had my way, we wouldn't be going anywhere near there until she straightens up her act a bit. Maybe that would teach her a lesson about family. Of course, it would also punish my kids, and I don't want them to be brought into the middle of this. It's not their fault that their grandmother is basically worthless.

Joe