it’s OK now…you’re at Felipe Beach

Some random web links I’ve stumbled upon in my life travels. 

These have been cleared as being pretty much family friendly, although I can’t necessarily verify each source.  Aren’t you glad Al Gore invented the Internet? 

The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest: if you like to make whimsical, pretentious little comments during your day, your caption just might be good enough to make print!  Laughter awaits.

Jollibee: The biggest fast food chain in the Philippines.  In a perfect world, they would be the biggest here, too.  This place has the best toys, and you’ll definitely want to check out the menu.  That smiling bee makes everything OK.

Jim Collins: The author of Good to Great has a great website, filled with stacks of great articles and such, all helping people and businesses clarify their goals, visions, and directions.  Not nearly as bogus as it sounds.

My Heart, Christ’s Home: If you’ve never read this short book by Robert Boyd Munger, it’s available at this website.  Ten minutes of your time will yield one of the simplest, most complete portrayals of the Christian life you’ll ever read.

Short-Term Missions: Many, many, many great links about short-term mission trips.  Way too many unprepared missionaries out there, when a little preparation would multiply God’s work many times over.  Read on…

Mental Floss Magazine: Their motto is “Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix.”  You’ll never go back on the wagon again…

The Smoking Gun: Backstage Pass: An oldie but a goodie.  Check out what various bands/singers over the years have requested/demanded for their dressing rooms.  Many surprises, and much guilty pleasure.

Concerning Demons:  An odd topic, perhaps, but one myself and many others have experienced enough to want to know more.  This page is a great “Demon 101″ session.

Book-A-Minute: So many books, so little time, right?  Well, my friend, this is your lucky day…

And, finally…

Ivan Hrvatska:  You will thank me momentarily…

I feel quite sorry for a certain unnamed pop singer (whose last name rhymes with “beers”).  In an effort to avoid massive Google-fueled spam, I won’t mention this person by name, but there’s a woman who has been in…no, has saturated the news this year.  Every news channel in the world has carried her face in the past year or two, and it’s usually not for anything particularly worth our time (unless all-night drunken binges are your primary focus, in which case, I stand corrected).  The news today was about a drug-fueled loss of custody rights, and a general continuation of the train wreck that we just all wish would go away…

And, yet, I can’t help but wonder…with that life experience, how would any of us have turned out?  Can you imagine a childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, where you never once experienced rejection?  Every person in your life fed you a constant message of infallibility, telling you that you were beautiful, talented, and could do no wrong.  And you, of course, believed them, even if some part of you also knew that most of them were only hanging around to profit off all those things.  You were taught to forego your conscience and values, in exchange for success and fame.  While the images and messages you sent out to the world were clearly unhealthy for a whole generation of young girls, you just really didn’t care, because you were getting all that you felt you were entitled to.  And, by the time the world started trying to tear you down, you had enough money and influence to do what you wanted, when you wanted, and nobody could (or tried to) tell you otherwise.

A child services worker I met last summer told me, “I’ve never met a bad kid; just lots of bad parents.”  Though this unnamed pop singer clearly occupies much more of our attention than is necessary, it would be great to get one more piece of news across my computer or TV screen:  word that Br***** S****s has given up her need to be famous, and has let the Wonderful Counselor give her the affirmation she and too many young women today so desperately crave.