Those wacky Romans!

Mrs. Mosley and I have returned from a three day weekend in Orlando. It was a small trip to celebrate my upcoming birthday and consisted mostly of shopping at the outlet malls. That's right: We skipped the theme parks altogether. Of course, we can go to Orlando and not feel compelled to do the major attractions since it's less than three hours away. Besides, we spent all our money at the aforementioned outlet malls.

One thing that caught my eye were billboard ads for The Holy Land Experience, a biblical theme park that acts as an alternative to Disney. I have little doubt that this was created, in part, as a response to Disney's favorable policies towards homosexuals. At the time "Holy Land" opened in 2001, Disney was still under boycott by the Southern Baptists and the Catholic League (this ineffective shunning of old Mickey was officially ended by the Baptists back in June).

Anyway. The billboards. The ad is dominated by the picture of a kid with a sort of shocked/ amazed/ happy expression as a Roman guard peers over the boy's right shoulder while using his finger to tap his left. The tone is lighthearted and meant to communicate good times to the kids and parents who see it.

Now, the last time I checked, Romans were the bad guys in the Bible. If they were truly recreating the Israel of 2000 years ago, then the Romans as viewed by Christians would not be happy-go-lucky guys. Obviously, since they're competing with Disney, the people at "Holy Land" are trying to communicate an attractive and fun image with this ad, but they can't have their Manna and eat it too. Either it's an educational view of a very miserable time to live in, or it's a fun wonderland for kids to run and play. You aint getting both, folks.

Can you imagine some of these poor kids who, having already watched The Passion of the Christ, go to this park and have to keep from shouting in terror when they see the men who flailed the very skin off their savior's back? What's next? Are they going to create a Jewish theme park that recreates the Warsaw Ghettos, complete with Nazi goons who play peek-a-boo with five year olds?

The ads are misguided, as I think the theme park as a whole is. Yet even though the idea for this theme park doesn't float my boat, if other people gain a good time from plopping down $30 to see ancient Israel, then far be it for me to besmirch them. I just hope, for their sakes, it doesn't end up like Heritage USA.

Near Crypto

And now, for absolutely no reason (and courtesy of this site), here are the top ten anagrams for "Acrentropy":

10. RECTORY NAP - Sometimes even Priests are sick of listening to your problems and just need themselves a lie down.

9. TRY PEA CORN - Like hell, I will! I'm sick of these mutant vegetable hybrids! Get it off my plate!

8. RECOPY RANT - Like hell, I will! I'm sick of these mutant vegetable hybrids! Get it off my plate!

7. TARRY PONCE - Definitely the gayest phrase of the top ten.

6. TAN RYE CROP - Well, Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen any blue rye crops around, have you?

5. CRY EAT PORN - Aren't those the three stages a person goes through after breaking up with someone?

4. PART ONE CRY - Yeah. I thought so.

3. CARRYON PET - Well it's about time they introduced this policy. Now they don't have to suffer being stuck down there with the luggage.

2. CRONE PARTY - Because Witches and Old Maids need to let their hair down once in a while.

And the number one anagram for "Acrentropy":

1. NARC POETRY -
Zero Tolerance.
A calm lake of purity.
No grey areas.

Look out, Gert Frobe!

Never mind who's going to replace Pierce Brosnan! They have more important casting news to report:

Grover to Play the Casino Royale Villain?

Were Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker unavailable?

In actuality, they're talking about this guy. Maybe they can make the next Bond film into a Bollywood musical! From what I hear, it wouldn't be any sillier than Die Another Day.

Schadenfreude

Commentary on Harriet Miers by Atrios:

Wingnuttia is rather angry at the choice. I don't think this is because they're really concerned that she's not conservative enough for their tastes, although that's part of it. They're angry because this was supposed to be their nomination. This is was their moment. They didn't just want a stealth victory, they wanted parades and fireworks. They wanted Bush to find the wingnuttiest wingnut on the planet, fully clothed and accessorized in all the latest wingnut fashions, not just to give them their desired Court rulings, but also to publicly validate their influence and power. They didn't just want substantive results, what they wanted even more were symbolic ones. They wanted Bush to extend a giant middle finger to everyone to the left of John Ashcroft. They wanted to watch Democrats howl and scream and then ultimately lose a nasty confirmation battle. They wanted this to be their "WE RUN THE COUNTRY AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT" moment.

Whatever kind of judge she would be, she doesn't provide them with that.

"Hello, 911? There's a woman in a corset outside my house!"

I'm man enough to admit that when Mrs. Mosley first introduced me to the Pride and Prejudice miniseries, I was totally enthralled. This has pleased Mrs. Mosley to no end, and we have ended up watching the whole five hours at least ten times together. We watched it again last weekend, and I am currently listening to the audiobook version of it for the first time.

Bearing this in mind, I'll tell you that one of my first tasks at work this morning was opening boxes of new material for processing. I set aside six big boxes, all of which had labels that identified the contents as Non-Fiction Spanish. As is often the case with new materials, some ones that don't belong get packed in the wrong box. Of the six I opened, there was only one Fiction title: Orgullo Y Prejuicio by Jane Austen.

You know, I like you and all, Jane, but don't make me get a restraining order!

Keith David Quote of the Month: October 2005

Into every actor's life, some cheese must fall. In the case of Keith David, Exhibit A would be They Live, a sci-fi action film directed by John Carpenter. David might have thought he was in good hands with Carpenter after they had finished the superior The Thing together. Though it does have an intriguing premise, there are a number of faults that ultimately doom it. The chief among these can be summed up in six words: Roddy Piper is NO Kurt Russell. Still, there is room enough for David to get a good line in.

Frank: The Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.

(Postscript: Though I cite this film as David's moment of cheese in my monthly quote series, it certainly isn't his worst film to date. That would be Roadhouse, which was made one year after They Live. Alas, there are no quotes for him listed in IMDb, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit through that film in an effort to find one quote, even if it is Keith David.)