Friday, 27 February 2009

Thursday, 26 February 2009

666


666 - Number of the beast
668 - Neighbour of the beast
660 - Approximate number of the Beast
DCLXVI - Roman numeral of the Beast
666.0000 - Number of the High Precision Beast
0.666 - Number of the Millibeast
1/666 - Common Denominator of the Beast
666[-/(-1)] - Imaginary number of the Beast
1010011010 - Binary of the Beast
29A - Hexadecimal of the Beast
-666 - Negative number of the Beast
£665.95 - Retail price of the Beast
£769.95 - Price of the Beast with all accessories and replacement soul
A666 - Route of the Beast
25.8069 – Square route of the Beast
665 - Older brother of the Beast
667 - Younger brother of the Beast
666ºF - Oven temperature for cooking roast "Beast"
666 mg - Recommended Minimum Daily Requirement of Beast
0800-666-6666 - Freephone number of the Beast
428 - Dislexia of the Beats
Lotus 6-6-6 - Spreadsheet of the Beast
Word 6.66 - Word Processor of the Beast
666i - BMW of the Beast
IAM 666 - License plate number of the Beast
66.6 MHz - FM radio station of the Beast
666 KHz - AM Radio station of the Beast

Monday, 16 February 2009

Art & Bible


I've just discovered this website:
Art & Bible
It is a huge repository of biblical art.

Saturday, 14 February 2009

Who should be allowed to read the Bible?

As a former student of Philip Davies, I have a huge admiration for him. His persistent challenge to uncritical faith-based readings of the Bible is one which has gone deep inside me and doubtless informs my own teaching.
However...
I remain a person of faith who studies the Bible.
Is this an anachronism? I maintain not.
This discussion over at Cafe Apocalypsis is worth reading.
I particularly like this quote from Francis Watson:

“This rigidly-enforced distinction between the perspectives of insider and outsider is not observed in other academic disciplines in the humanities or in the social sciences. If it strictly enforced this distinction, biblical studies would be an anomaly. . . . In the study of music, there need be no tension between the technical analysis of a musical composition and its performance; music-lovers and practising [sic] musicians (insiders) are not compelled to adopt an exclusively ‘external’ approach to music as an academic discipline.”

Damn right!

Friday, 13 February 2009

Porpoise Driven Life

The 'Porpoise Driven Life' gag occurred to me a few years ago - along with (of course) the seven performing seals of Revelation! However, this video takes the joke to new dimensions... Spotted on Nigel Coles' blog.


Lily Allen - Him

I previously flagged up Lily's number one hit "The Fear". Well, here's another song from her latest album which offers a depth of commentary far beyond most pop acts. I'm starting to think (against my better judgment) that I might quite like Lily.





Would you please take me away from this place
I cannot bear to see the look upon your faces
And if there is some kind of god do you think he's pleased
When he looks down on us I wonder what he sees
Do you think he'd think the things we do are a waste of time
Maybe he'd think we are getting on just fine
Do you think he's skint or financially secure
And come election time I wonder who he'd vote for

Ever since he can remember people have died in his good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes
He's lost the will he can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that he's sure of this has been going on too long

Do you think he'd drive in his car without insurance
Now is he interesting or do you think he'd bore us
Do you think his favourite type of human is caucasian
Do you reckon he's ever been done for tax evasion

Do you think he's any good at remembering people's names
Do you think he's ever taken smack or cocaine
I don't imagine he's ever been suicidal
His favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival

Ever since he can remember people have died in his good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes
He's lost the will he can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that he's sure of this has been going on too long

Ever since he can remember people have died in his good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes
He's lost the will he can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that he's sure of this has been going on too long

Motorcycle Airbags


An interesting article from the BBC here.
Motorcyclists make up 1% of road users, but account for 20% of road fatalities.
A scary statistic for a biker like me...
So, would I buy an 'airbag jacket'? Yes, if I was buying a new jacket, but I've got a great Hein Gericke all-weather jacket which I've no plans to replace. And I suspect many other bikers are in the same boat.
So... another (and considerably cheaper) way of reducing the risk is to undergo training wtih the great I-AM!

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

The Simpsons Apocalypse



In an entire episode of re-worked Bible stories, the final scene is fittingly apocalyptic.
The Apocalypse scene starts 20:40 into the episode, which you can watch here.

Marge: "Oh No! It's the Apocalypse! Bart, are you wearing clean underwear?"
Bart: "Not any more."
Lisa: "It's the rapture, and I never knew true love."
Homer: "And I never used those pizza coupons..."

With thanks to the Bellinghams

Atheist Bus #2

A couple more Atheist Bus slogans:


(He delivers me from all my fears. Ps 33.5. VUL // Ps. 34.4)

Sunday, 8 February 2009

The Simpsons "Thank God it's Doomsday"



A great Simpsons Apocalypse episode from 2005. You can view the episode in full here.

Friday, 6 February 2009

This is terrifying


My daily commute takes me over the second severn crossing. In all the years I've been going over the estuary the bridge has never closed - not for gale force winds or impenetrable fog. It is a wonder of engineering.

However, today, falling ice from the gantries smashed the windscreens of five cars.

How no-one was killed is a mystery.

Take a look at this video from the BBC and also this video.

Shirehampton in the Snow

Shirehampton, where I live, has its own particular take on the 'snowman':


And here are its proud creators...


And me...

Highways Agency Spokesman on Snow

Just heard the spokesman from the Highways Agency on the radio, telling everyone to stay at home because of the snow.
His name? 'Dave Sledge'!

Prince in Reverse...

Thanks to Jason for this link to someone who has reversed the ending of the Prince song 'Darling Nikki' to reveal that Prince is echoing Rev 22.20: "Hello, how are you? I'm fine, 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon. Coming, coming soon."

Thursday, 5 February 2009

Wednesday, 4 February 2009

Some more exam blunders

From first-year exams...

Paul had a Damascus road conversation.

In the gospel of Mark, Paul is portrayed in a confused manner. However, Mark’s gospel may not be the best example for explaining Paul.

Only Assyrians are widely accepted as talking directly to God

Monday, 2 February 2009

Atheist Bus


My Dad drives a red London Bus for a living, so I've been following the 'Atheist Bus' adverts with some small degree of interest.
I was impresseed when the Christian think-tank Theos made a donation to the campaign, and have been particularly pleased to discover the Atheist Bus Slogan Generator, which allows for all sorts of interesting possibilities:

Exam Blunders...

From a recent exam script:
'Christmas is the celebration of Mary becoming pregnant by the Holly Spirit'
One might be tempted to reconstruct what Mary said next...
'I hardly noticed, It was only a little prick...'