Thursday, April 26, 2007

For your viewing and listening pleasure

Folks, I don't watch American Idol. At all. Ever. But last night, they did something impressive, and paired up two great singers (one of them is my all-time favorite, and you can guess which one) for a landmark duet.

Please, go watch it. Right now. Here. It's good stuff.

--Mike

EDITED TO ADD: Yes, yes, copyright issues have been raised, and that link is no longer active. However, the more fascinating thing is how the Elvis/Celine duet was produced in the first place. If you're interested, there's analysis here.

And I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the copyright wasn't exercised until recently. I leave the broken link as testament to the fact that it was available, until the holder of the copyright exercised it--as is their right, something that seems to elude some people. As someone with more than a passing interest in both radio and television production, however, the how'd-they-do-that link holds more interest.

25 comments:

Barnabas said...

I had no idea you liked Celine Dion.

Now we know.

Mike Bratton said...

Ahem.

--Mike

Junkster said...

Celine, I know -- but who was that other guy??

But Mike ... now I'm going to have to go over to the blog where "The Others" hang out and tell them you are promoting idols over here ... unless you tell me how to get my pic to show up next to my posts likes yours does!

Mike Bratton said...

Junk, it's under "Photo URL" in your User Profile.

"The Others"... Heh heh heh...

You'd go all the way to the other side of the island to tell them that? :)

--Mike

solomon said...

From the other blog:

The SBC saw this seeker friendly language as a path of modern evangelism. In a day when conservatives were repulsed at Elvis' gyrations the SBC was preparing for when those same gyrations would be a part of non-hostile evangelism.

You just can't win, Mike!

Junkster said...

Mike Bratton said...
Junk, it's under "Photo URL" in your User Profile.

Thanks! Works great, doesn't it?

You'd go all the way to the other side of the island to tell them that? :)

Nah, us Losties like hanging out on our beach, rather than moving into those nice houses with beds and electricity that "The Others" abandonded. We're kinda strange like that.

solomon said...

junk, are you and Mike related? There's a strong rememblance...

Junkster said...

solomon,
You really think so? I'm not seeing it...

solomon said...

junk,

It could be my imagination. Lots of people favor Mike, I guess...

(Good thing he's famed for his sense of humor!)

Junkster said...

I bet there's come sort of copyright violation in this ...

solomon said...

If not, he's got the wrestling experience to take care of it!

Jessica said...

Losties, Others... Just be glad we are not the Tailies.

Jessica said...

Also, I think this IS a copyright violation!

solomon said...

bepatient,

Can I get your phone number? I think we should get together and discuss some of the blog issues.

Oh wait, I'm married. Never mind!

Junkster said...

I'm all shook up!

Jessica said...

This is a quote from the recent thread of the blog that was "closing":

We do not want to be a numbers-driven church, and we have no desire to succumb to any seeker-friendly ideology - the same ideology which is creating mega-churches across the nation yet without any fruit whatsoever.


I will share my thoughts later, after I have eaten some food!

solomon said...

bepatient,

My only response is that I would really like to hear a few of the ways that Jesus is no longer shared at Bellevue. I don't understand how a rational person can make the statement that Jesus is being downplayed.

Certain people have made it a goal to attack everything that comes out of Dr. Gaines' mouth, but unfortunately for them that includes the gospel. I think that's why they are choosing to pretend that it's not being preached.

Junkster said...

Bawaaaahahahahaha!

Clicking on the link provided for this thread now gives the message, "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by FremantleMedia."

A copyright violation!!! Promoted on Mike Bratton's blog!!!

Bawaaaahahahahaha!

:)

solomon said...

junk, that is one evil laugh you have!

Jessica said...

Well, I have had many a meal since I last posted, but you know how time just gets away from you sometimes!!

Anyway, my main point is this...

Don't you think it is a little dangerous to say that there is NO fruit coming from mega-churches? BBC was a mega-church long before SG so wouldn't they be talking about themselves? and Dr. Rogers?

solomon said...

bepatient,

Don't try to find any logic there, or you'll go crazy.

As we speak, a conservative seminary is studying the NBBCOF as an example of the challenges facing ministry in the postmodern world. The irony is the regular put-downs that are written about the postmodern church and postmodern thought in general.

What about the mocking of the emergent church while they are talking about meeting in homes and in parks to worship in a way that suits them?

Or the way that the ones who are so eager to write 'Ichabod' (the glory is departed) over the doors of Bellevue are 'enraged' over the title of SG's new book, When God Comes to Church? (Is God in there or not?)

Then there's the admonition that only wicked and perverse people look for signs from God, alongside the complaint that they aren't seeing enough fruit of the Spirit's presence.

In the midst of so much irrational relativism, valid concerns are being missed, and that's the real tragedy.

solomon said...

I just received a somewhat interesting email from my trollish friend arminius.

Apparently he's been getting cozy at the 'formerly brainwashed' blog and saw something interesting recently that he felt like sharing.

A blogger named 'brady' has been butting heads with 'lydia', and brady posted this:

Brady said...

Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM


Later, one of the non-Bellevue members of the NBBCOF lin/lindon posted this:

Lin said...

Brady wrote: Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM

Brady, Please elaborate on where my understanding and commitment to scripture is in doubt. I am open to rebuke where scriptural truth is concerned. Thank you.

6:50 PM


Shortly thereafter, this is how that part of the blog appeared.

Comment deleted

This post has been removed by the author.

6:50 PM


Lydia said...

Brady wrote: Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM

Brady, Please elaborate on where my understanding and commitment to scripture is in doubt. I am open to rebuke where scriptural truth is concerned. Thank you.

6:54 PM


Exactly how many identities does one person need? Why are people like this causing trouble for us? I'm at a complete loss to see anything at all that can be gained!

This is not a game, and to those who get some kind of thrill out playing this game I'll say that God sees what you are doing.

Arminius (a multiple personality troublemaker himself) also pointed out some striking similarities between lin/lindon/lydia and others.

I implore everyone who reads this, PLEASE let's stay focused on what's wrong with our church and not be led astray. Forget all that PDL paranoia and stick to the FACTS!!!!!!!!!

Junkster said...

Mikey,
The "edited to add" for this thread is a classic example of why some folks consider some of what you write to be snotty; something that seems to elude some people. Not to burst anyone's bubble.

Love and kisses,

Junkey

Jford said...

Solomon, could you please list all the IDs you assosciate with Lin. I would be interested to know. You may email them to me if you would prefer: Memphis2309@Yahoo.com

thanks

solomon said...

Memphis,

Here's part of the body of the email I received. It got really strange after a while, so I'm only sharing part of it.

I have mixed feelings about posting it, but it's hard to really feel guilty about sharing a private email from 'John Mark Arminius'.

Consider the reliability of the source (which is zero) as you read it. I'm convinced that lin has posted under 3 names (lin, lindon, and esther) on the NBBCOF, but JMA feels differently.

Hey Sol! What up, bro? How’s the family these days? Was that one of your girls in the NASCAR thing? Wow, she’s adorable!

Man, you’ve been giving me some serious grief lately. We’re on the same side, dude. We just use different tactics. We’re fighting evil people, and we have to use their own strategy against them. Wear ‘em out. Desperate times call for desperate measures, ya’ know. You should lighten up.

You should consider going back to the anti-BBC blog, too. Most of the people who post there are just grouchy because they’re unhappy with their own lives. They're sitting ducks ripe for the picking. They could use the example of someone like you who has his life in order, and his only problem is what they’re doing to the church. Sure you got beat up pretty bad, but you can still see them talking about ‘Babel’ sometimes. Hit ‘em close to the heart, and that’s when the wolves come out.

This attack on the church would have ended a while back if not for ‘troublemakers’ like me. Well, that is, multiple-personality bloggers. I want to see this end, but some of the others don’t. My goal is to expose them, to beat them at their own game. One of the heavy hitters on the blog is a big phony, in case you didn’t know.

I got into a heated discussion a few months ago with ‘dorcas’ on a Texas blog. The discussion went like this:

origen said (that’s me)…
dorcas,
Do you really think it’s biblical to beat people up with Scripture and not show them the more excellent way? God didn’t give us His word so that we could lord it over people and act superior. (At least I don’t think He did…) Shouldn’t you at least try to instruct others in how to apply God’s Word, instead of condemning them for doing it incorrectly?

dorcas said…
origin,
I’m open to correction if my interpretation of scripture is incorrect. I don’t see any command in the Word that mandates that I should do the Spirit’s work for him, though. That’s still another example of your twisting scripture to suit your own needs.

Sol, perhaps you remember from the book of the Acts that ‘Dorcas’ lived in ‘Lydda’. I observed an interesting confrontation on a blogspot thread between two bloggers named ‘brady’ and ‘lydia’ (interesting word play). Right in the middle, our ‘darling’ joined in:

Brady said...

Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM

Lin said...

Brady wrote: Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM

Brady, Please elaborate on where my understanding and commitment to scripture is in doubt. I am open to rebuke where scriptural truth is concerned. Thank you.

6:50 PM

Ooooppssss!!!!!! Lin/Lydia logged in with the wrong ID!!!! Well, that can be fixed:

Comment deleted

This post has been removed by the author.

6:50 PM

Lydia said...

Brady wrote: Lydia,

Its your bias toward Dr. Gaines that is showing. Your understanding and commitment to Scripture is already in enough doubt.

4:17 PM

Brady, Please elaborate on where my understanding and commitment to scripture is in doubt. I am open to rebuke where scriptural truth is concerned. Thank you.

Keith, many of the ongoing arguments are put forth by one person acting like several. It’s so obvious. It takes courage to make a stand under your own name. With a bogus one, if things go badly you can just bow out and keep blogging away with your other selves. I was looking over a spat between ‘esther’ and your friends Faith and Hope. He/She had been exposed as the ungodly person he/she truly is:

Esther said...
Nass, the trash cans are gone on the last thread. I hate to increase your work load but would appreciate it if you would delete every single one of my posts.

Evidently, some here are allowing what they perceive as my sin to dictate their view of truth.

Thanks.

10:50 AM, February 23, 2007

Sol, that’s why others post with multiple identities. It’s easy to blast others, as long as it is from the safety of the bushes. But, if they are exposed as ungodly while posting anonymously, it’s easy to just disappear and keep posting under another false identity. I saw where your Josh called it spiritual pornography, and that’s exactly what it is. Sin all you want, and no one’s the wiser.

I don’t know who ‘lin’ is, but I can identify several characteristics of ‘her’.
1. Cold, legalistic view of God’s Word.
2. Superior attitude.
3. Loathing of any authority figure.
4. Absence of true Christian love for whomever ‘she’ interacts with.
5. Lack of respect for the opinions of others.
6. Use of multiple identities.
7. Paranoia concerning the nebulous ‘PDL’ movement.
8. Unteachable attitude.

So, who else fits that profile on the NBBCOF? Imaresistor, maybe? What’s her angle, anyway? I remember one day when she was overly grateful for ‘lindon’s’ presence. Lindon is sort of a no-brainer. I wish lin would credit the world with some intelligence. Esther, definitely.

And what’s the deal with James Sundquist? Hasn’t he posted under the names ‘libertyinchrist’ and ‘james sundquist’? Why two names? Isn’t that somewhat troll-like?

Don’t get me started about ‘don’ and ‘watchman’. Hasn’t lin always been quick to speak up in support of watchman?

I had a confrontation with watchman on the Texas blog that went something like this:

Eusebius said (that’s me)…
Watchman,
Is there a point to your posts? I think you’ve sufficiently made your point many times over. Let me see if I’ve got it right – you think PDL is bad, right? So what else is on your mind?

Watchman said…
I never dialoge with you-know-who. Spend time in the Word and we'll talk.

8:57 AM, November 23, 2006

Look familiar Keith? There’s a conspiracy all right, but it’s not Brother Rick that’s behind it. Your opponents have never been members of Bellevue, and if it were restored to the exact condition it was in when Adrian Rogers was pastor, they would still want to see it destroyed. They would double their efforts, in fact. Peace and restoration is the last thing they want.

(end of quote)


Like I said, JMA really went off the deep end after this. He started writing about Bellevue members, and I don't see the point of sharing any of that.

However, I think you can see that this very deceptive person suffers from paranoia and is a conspiracy theorist just like the anti-PDL crowd. He is not focused on any real problem, he's on a crusade.

Sometimes I wonder if there's any hope of ever straightening this mess out, but I know that God is able to put an end to it when He is ready. Until then, we all need to keep praying for discernment and be aware that there are wolves among us.