Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

April 29, 2026 by • , , , , , 0 Comments

The Last Temptation Of Christ released in movie theaters in August Of 1988.
1988 MOVIE THAT WON BEST PICTURE…Movie theaters & airlines
“Pick another airline.”

The Last Temptation Of Christ released on home video in the summer of 1989.
1989 MOVIE THAT WON BEST PICTURE…A Christian makes a mess watching TV
“Don’t make a mess with those peas, Idella.” /  “Do I ever?”

 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Apparently…plenty of adult content in recent Best Picture winners, movies chosen by the entertainment industry to represent to the world as their best.

Record Books And Even Better Books

April 24, 2026 by • , , , , , , 0 Comments

  • John Wooden & Pete Maravich lighting up the record books in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s.
  • John Wooden & Og Mandino in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s.  Drinking deeply from good books.
  • Og Mandino & Donald Whitney in 2006.  My first encounters with the two authors.
  • Donald Whitney mentioning Pete Maravich at the end of the book Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life.
  • The Christian faith of John Wooden & Pete Maravich.

 

JOHN WOODEN
“Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.”

From Star Wars To Predator

April 24, 2026 by • , 0 Comments

MEMORABLE FILMS INVOLVING INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL.  FROM 1977 TO 1987.

  • 1977  Star Wars
  • 1977  Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
  • 1978  Superman
  • 1979  Alien
  • 1980  The Empire Strikes Back
  • 1981  Superman II
  • 1982  Star Trek II:  The Wrath Of Khan
  • 1982  E.T.  The  Extra-Terrestrial
  • 1982  John Carpenter’s The Thing
  • 1983  Return Of The Jedi
  • 1984  Star Trek III:  The Search For Spock
  • 1986  Aliens
  • 1986  Star Trek IV:  The Voyage Home
  • 1987  Predator

Spielberg. June 1982.

April 24, 2026 by • , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

  • Oscar recognition for film score, visual effects, and sound effects editing in 1983
  • Located in the suburbs of California…long before Senate Bill 107 & Governor Gavin Newsom.
  • Major article in TIME magazine.
  • Spielberg’s first year after becoming Hollywood’s king.
  • Memorable performance by a child actress.
  • A family impacted by the supernatural.
  • 1982’s top ten box-office chart.
  • Coincidences involved with 1993.
  • Phoning home…how church leaders can deal with the world’s biggest social contagion.

 

“…I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” –former President Obama

Damaged Beyond Repair

April 24, 2026 by • , 0 Comments

THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY (1977-1983)
vs
THE STAR TREK TRILOGY (1982-1986)

 

  • George Lucas in 1997:  Damaged goods beyond repair
  • Nicholas Meyer in 1983:  Damaged countries beyond repair

Reagan’s First Term

April 24, 2026 by • , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind…one of three hit movies that put director Spielberg on top of Hollywood.

 

WREAKING HAVOC UPON A.I.
Getting A.I. to admit when Spielberg became Hollywood’s most successful director…lots of dancing.  A.I.’s dancing is matched only by Michael Jackson’s dancing during Reagan’s first term.  Well…the media did some amazing dancing back in 2023.  So I guess there’s a three-way tie for best dancing…

  • Michael Jackson’s dancing during Reagan’s first term.
  • The media dancing around the stories of early spring in 2023…and then the year-end coverage of what happened in early spring.
  • A.I.’s dancing around when Spielberg became Hollywood’s most successful director.

The Famous 1984 Super Bowl Ad

April 24, 2026 by • , , , 0 Comments

The director of the 1979 film Alien, Ridley Scott, would later direct the famous 1984 Super Bowl ad that introduced the world to the Macintosh, a computer with a graphical user interface.  Instead of typing commands, users select options with a mouse or other pointing device.  Sales of the Macintosh, also know as the Mac, would reach 100,000 in six months.

Atypical For A Hollywood Comedy

April 24, 2026 by • , , , , , , 0 Comments

James Cameron, the director of Aliens, is one of two directors whose directed movies have grossed a combined $10 billion worldwide at the movie theaters.  The success of Aliens in 1986 was similar to that of another 1986 science fiction sequel, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

James Cameron’s follow-up to Aliens was the box-office disappointment The Abyss from the summer of 1989, which ended up right next to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier on the yearly box-office list of all movies released in 1989.

The Abyss failed to open at #1 in August of 1989.  One of those movies that it struggled with in August was a film whose villain was extremely ATYPICAL for a Hollywood comedy.

The Abyss introduced new computer technology for its visual effects that would pave the way for the future of Hollywood movies.  Another scene was pretty much ripped off by George Lucas in a Star Wars prequel a decade later.

Computer Imbeciles

April 22, 2026 by • , 0 Comments

Superman and Superman II were co-written and produced by people who knew nothing about the computer world…as they demonstrated in Superman III.

Mac And Windows

April 22, 2026 by • , , , , , 0 Comments

TWO CHARACTERS FROM JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982)

  • Mac
  • Windows

Two computer names that would soon revolutionize the computer world with its graphical user interface (GUI)

 

TIMELINE FOR MAC & WINDOWS…AND THE COMPUTER

  • June 1982…John Carpenter’s The Thing theatrical release.
  • January 1983…The Computer is TIME’S Machine Of The Year for 1982.
  • Early 1984…Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh, also known as Mac, a computer with a graphical user interface. 
  • Later in 1984…In six months, sales of the Mac reach 100,000.
  • 1985…Microsoft Windows 1.0 is shipped.
  • 1986…Bill Gates, president and chairman of the board of Microsoft, becomes the world’s youngest billionaire.
  • 1987…Microsoft introduces Windows 2.0.
  • 1988…Apple files a copyright infringement lawsuit against Microsoft for Windows 2.0.
  • 1990…Microsoft releases Windows 3.0, which uses a graphical user interface. 
  • 1992…Bill Gates becomes the second richest person in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $4 billion
  • 1995…Microsoft releases Windows 95, which sells 1 million copies in the first four days of its release.
  • 1996…Bill Gates is the richest man in the United States, with a net worth of $18 billion.
  • 1997…Bill Gates is the world’s richest businessman, with an estimated net worth of $36.4 billion.
  • 1998…Bill Gates is likely the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of more than $60 billion.

 

FROM JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982)

I know what you mean, Blair.  Trust’s a tough thing to come by these days.  Tell you what – why don’t you just trust in the LORD?

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