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As many of you know I have been following the teachings of pastor Steven Smothermon of Legacy Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico for some time now. Over the past year, as is the case with several churches across the country, Legacy has had to make some tough decisions on how to handle the Covid-19 pandemic in regards to lockdowns imposed by New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Ultimately pastor Smothermon acted on what he knew to be the truth of the matter, he chose to follow the word of God over what the governor demanded. This bold move in opposition of the relentless pressure to conform to mandated statutes designed to silence the church in the guise of protecting public health echoes a message that God has put front and center in my life over the past week. I feel that Jesus is calling His followers to stand up for His ministry despite growing persecution to the faith at all levels. The message of Courage has been the underlying theme of several sermons I have heard lately no...

I was very tempted to post about this huge trade that landed the Rams the quarterback that they have needed last night, but I decided to sleep on it. Let's cut to the chase. The Rams had gone as far as they could with Jarod Goff at quarterback. The front office made a huge mistake by giving him a huge contract after two really good seasons (2017 & 2018) when they really didn't need to. Rams coach Sean McVay did everything he could to design an offense that payed to Goff's strengths and minimized his weaknesses. Even so the young passer player very inconsistently and ultimately committed way to many baffling turnovers.  It became very apparent as the last season progressed that McVay was growing more and more frustrated with Goff. His mindboggling interception against the Seahawks in week sixteen seemed to cause the pot to boil over. On the play Goff rolled to his right and had a ton of yardage in front of him. Instead of tucking the ball and picking up as many yards as ...

 The Pink Panther Show is a showcase of cartoon shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the live-action films. The series was produced by Mirisch Films and DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, and was originally broadcast on NBC from September 6, 1969 to September 2, 1978. - Pink Panther Wiki    When The Pink Panther Show first aired in 1969, it consisted of one cartoon featuring The Inspector, sandwiched by two Pink Panther entries. (Because of the number of shorts produced, two episodes feature a Pink Panther cartoon sandwiched by two Inspector entries.) The 30-minute show was then connected via bumper sequences featuring both the panther and Inspector together, with announcer Marvin Miller acting as an off-camera narrator talking to the panther. Bumper sequences consisted of newly animated segments as well as recycled footage from existing cartoons We Give Pink Stamps...

 I want to welcome you to our first installment of The Midnight Special which over time will feature some of the best music artists of the 1970s.  I chose the name "The Midnight Special" in honor of the long-running late night live rock concert showcase by the same name that ran from 1972 to 1981 when it was replaced by the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV and eventually Friday Night Videos, which is what we call our 80s music video feature.  Are you seeing a trend yet? Over it's nine years The Midnight Special featured the top names in music from ABBA to KISS to ZZ Top. The show was hosted by Helen Reddy for several years along with the legendary Wolfman Jack. In 1979 the show briefly turned away from rock artists in favor of Disco acts and the set was transformed into a pseudo dance club. That only lasted a couple of months before the show reverted back to it's original format. For our first trip back to the 70s I choose a performance by The Doobie Brothers of what ...

 This weeks Hot Traxx is a great cover of the Queen of the Stone Age song No One Knows by British indie band The Vaccines: Who are The Vaccines: The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010 by Justin Hayward-Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals) and Pete Robertson (drums, vocals).   After Robertson's departure in 2016, keyboardist Timothy Lanham and drummer Yoann Intonti were promoted from touring musicians to official band members.   The band have released four studio albums: What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? (2011), Come of Age (2012), English Graffiti (2015) and Combat Sports (2018). They have sold two million records worldwide.   The Vaccines have toured extensively, playing with and opening up for acts such as The Rolling Stones, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons and Muse.   The band's debut al...

  Sometimes understanding political issues can be tough. So I have decided to explain the futility of rejoining the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization. Let's check in with this sitcom family as they discuss the husband's new promotion: Husband: Hey honey I'm home and hey I've got great news I've just been elected president! Wife: That's wonderful dear! President, wow that's a big promotion. I'm so proud of you. Husband: Hey sweetie I gotta let you know before you check our bank account that I joined a couple of civic clubs. All the other guys at the office are in them. Wife: Clubs? What kind of clubs? Husband: Onie is called The Paris Agreement and the other is called The World Health Organization. Like I said all the guys at the office are members. Wife: Okay how much are those clubs going to cost us? Husband: Well one is about $3 billion and the other is $400 million. Wife: But honey, we were saving that money to get the roof fixed and f...

 Do not be anxious about anything ... the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Check Out: What Does The Bible Say About Addiction Why Don't Christians Share The Truth About Jesus With Others? The Most Inspiring Stories Of 2020 Impacting the World for God In This Time Of Need The Church Should Not Abandon Its Mission The Cost of Grace The Perfect Storm Can Prime You for a Miracle When the Odds Are Against You

 From NASA (Press Release) NASA will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, during the agency's annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Jan. 28. This year’s NASA Day of Remembrance also marks 35 years since the Challenger tragedy. “NASA has a unique culture that is fueled by possibility, set on a path to the next giant leap for humanity, and guided by its history,” said NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The lessons of our past are the enduring legacy of the brave women and men who did not put limits on what could be achieved, and we all recognize the honor of being counted among them as part of the NASA family.” Jurczyk will lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, which will begin with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger,...

 From  History.com On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz , Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration camps—and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there. Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps. It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens. Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele , the “Angel of Death.” The Red Army had been advancing deeper into Poland since mid-January. Having liberated Warsaw and Krakow, Soviet troops headed for Auschwitz. In anticipation of the Soviet arrival, SS officers began a murder spree in the camps, shooting sick prisoners and blowing up cr...

 Back in the eighties when I lived in Albuquerque I used to visit the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science quit frequently. I learned a lot about the prehistoric residents of The Land of Enchantment and how the majority of the state had once been part of an inland sea.  That being said, imagine my delight in discovering this really well researched article about the discovery of a Parasaurolophus (try pronouncing that!) skull in the state over at the Daily Mail: Scientists have found an 'exquisitely preserved' skull of a herbivorous dinosaur species in New Mexico, known for its weird head adornment. The skull belongs to the iconic tube-crested dinosaur Parasaurolophus, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.5 million to 73 million years ago. Parasaurolophus were herbivorous reptiles that sported trumpet-like nasal passages which they blew air into through the so-called tube on their head. This particular skull belonged to one particular spec...

 This past weekend while binge watching TCM I caught a movie that I had somehow managed to miss over the years, Peter Bogdanovich's 1972 screwball comedy What's Up Doc?. The tagline for the film states: "A Crazy Comedy The Way They Used To Make Them!" and this movie delivers on that promise. Check out this car chase sequence which harkens back to the classic Keystone Cops films from the silent era.  This type of comedic car chase action would be used again in other subsequent films like The Blues Brothers (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977). The film achieved something that I had believed impossible, It mad me almost fall completely in love with Barbra Streisand. Well the character Judy in the film anyway.  As my wife and I noted, Streisand is the prettiest woman in the world but she has that special something that you just can't put your finger on. In What's Up Doc? Streisand uses this magic of hers to make Judy the kind of woman you couldn't help...

I know it has been over two months since I last took a look into my own private collection of movie promotional images. Today I have yet once again selected an image that was created for theater owners via trade publications. The image itself is a full page advert for the 1954 epic Theodora, Slave Empress. Well good old Theodora despite being a "Fiery, Barbaric Mistress of the World's Most Sinful Empire" failed to really bring them in during the early 1950s and the film itself is relatively forgotten. In fact, just try and find out any info on this one online. Theodora, Slave Empress (Italian: Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio) is a 1954 film about Theodora, a former slave who married Justinian I, emperor of Byzantium in AD 527-565. It was directed by Riccardo Freda. (Honestly ... that's all Wikipedia has on this film!) IMDB at least has a plot: Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of R...

 From History.com On January 26, 2005, President George W. Bush appoints Condoleezza Rice to the post of secretary of state, making her the highest ranking African American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. A native of Birmingham, Alabama , Dr. Rice’s credentials included advanced degrees in political science and international relations from prestigious schools, followed by a post as Stanford University provost. At Stanford, she honed her reputation as an expert in Soviet affairs, catching the attention of the Reagan administration. In 1986, at Reagan’s behest, Dr. Rice served on the Council on Foreign Relations, and then secured an appointment as special assistant to the director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1991. The first President Bush elevated Dr. Rice to director of Soviet and East European affairs in the National Security Council. She also served as the senior President Bush’s special assistant for national security affairs. President George W. Bu...

 An email from Tulsi Gabbard: Aloha friend— Thank you for signing up and standing with me. Our country is facing serious challenges on multiple fronts. But I know that when we stand together, we can overcome these challenges. I am committed to upholding our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, protecting our civil liberties, our environment, and ending regime change wars, the new Cold War, and nuclear arms race. I’d like to support leaders at every level of government who are committed to doing the same 一 putting service above self. So we’ve got work to do. Now that you’re here, here’s some first steps you can take to support this mission: 1)  Help us fight the email algorithms by marking this email as  Important  (or  Starring  it), and adding  aloha@tulsigabbard.com  to your contacts. This helps keep these types of emails out of spam and promotion folders 2)  Share this message and email with 5 friends 3)  Visit my official website...