John Masters, Author at Deep Something

Lady in The Van – A Movie Review

February 20, 2016 B. John 306 Views 0 Comments Alan Bennett, Biography, Clare Hammond, Comedy, Drama, George Fenton, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Nicholas Hytner

An eccentric (and decidedly grubby) aged lady parks her decrepit old van (which appears to contain her entire world goods) outside writer Alan Bennett’s house in Camden. When the Council threatens to have it towed away, Bennett’s diffidence leads to it being parked in his drive, to the consternation of his neighbors, where it – and she – stay for 15 years. As time passes, an odd relationship develops between them, and he begins to discover elements of her past.

General Places Tampa Technology

My New Nissan Rogue Sucks

February 17, 2016 B. John 1489 Views 1 Comment #Courtesy Nissan, #CourtesyNissanSucks, #Nissan, #Nissansucks, #Rogue, Rich Phelps

There, I said it. Back in late August I traded in my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder for a supposedly new 2015 Rogue. I based it on test drives and comparisons with a variety of similar crossovers, and reading reviews on several auto websites, combined with the price I got it for. I was fairly pleased, but in the past two months a number of critical components have failed, and Nissan and the dealership are unconcerned and actually fairly rude about it.

Courts Crack Pots Election Featured Politics Presidency Society

Cruz Goes Even More Crazy

February 15, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 366 Views 0 Comments Antonin Scalia, Chuck Todd, Meet the Press, Ted Cruz

It’s no surprise that Ted Cruz wants an ultra-conservative justice to replaced Antonin Scalia. What is surprising is how much he’s willing to lie about the consequences if that doesn’t happen. (But then again, he’s been lying for Jesus for quite a while now.) On Meet the Press Sunday, Cruz told host Chuck Todd that a liberal justice would mean the end of religious liberty — adding that religious symbols would be “sandblasted off of the tombstones of our fallen veterans”:

Courts Featured Politics Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Scalia: Not As Originalist As He’d Like to Think

February 15, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 503 Views 1 Comment Antonin Scalia, Constitution, Dick Cheney, Originalism, supreme court, Ted Cruz

So, by now everyone knows that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died over the weekend. As is usual, everyone is rushing to the airwaves to talk about what a nice and brilliant person he was. Of course I don’t know him personally, but certainly his public personae were not so nice, and I don’t think his legal reasoning, considered by many to be smart and original (pun intended), was all that brilliant. It was merely partisan and theocratic. Scalia was not really interested in the original intent of the framers. He was interested in creating a facade of intellectualism around his rulings. His genius was not in a new form of thought around the Constitution, but in a way to package his rulings so that people thought they had a grand origin.

Crack Pots Featured Methodism Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Theological Silliness About Communion

February 12, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 322 Views 1 Comment Communion, Eucharist

Recently, a person posted on a conservative Methodist Facebook page about the words used at a Communion Service he had recently attended. Apparently, this set him into a real tizzy, because the Officiant didn’t follow the exact words of the Liturgy from the Hymnal. And you wouldn’t believe the discussion that followed. I don’t think, in all my 50+ years as a Methodist I can ever remember a Communion service where, amongst all the words said, the Officiant didn’t stumble over, mispronounce or add to or leave out some words. But to hear some of the people on the Facebook page, you’d think he’d committed heresy for a slight change.

Crack Pots Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Satan’s demons of hell have destroyed…God’s Gentle Loving People

February 11, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 427 Views 0 Comments christian, David Reynolds, God, methodist, Pastor Dave, UMC

I’m starting a new series of short posts just to call out of the xtian craziness that I see. I’ll try to avoid stupid stuff from ill-informed and people poorly taught by their religious leaders, but I will make it a special point to call out those who are religious leaders. And probably happy to have the distinction of being the first post in the series is Pastor Dave.

Election Featured Politics Presidency Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Talking Ted Cruz-Scariest Candidate Running

February 11, 2016October 22, 2019 B. John 795 Views 0 Comments 7 Mountains, Bill Bright, C. Peter Wagner, Dominionism, Dominionist, Fuller Seminary, Johnny Enlow, Lance Wallnau, Loren Cunningham, Rafael Cruz, Rick Joyner, Seven Mountains, Ted Cruz, theocracy

So, Rafael “Ted” Cruz wants to be President of the United States. That should scare the crap out of any sane person. Ted and his supposed pastor father (I say “supposed” because there is scant evidence of his ever pastoring a church) subscribe to a very dark end-times religious doctrine referred to as Dominionism, and the two of them have decreed that Ted is ordained by God to lead the Government. There is a reason none of the people like him who know him, and there is a very good reason people who find themselves in his presence get a sense of creepiness. But he’s way more than just an unattractive, vindictive demagogue…he’s a downright scary person with a set of religious beliefs that make the most radical Muslim clerics look tame.

Crack Pots Election Featured Politics Society

The Snowbillies Reprise

January 21, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 398 Views 0 Comments Bristol Palin, Domestic Abuse, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, Track Palin, Wasilla

I was going to write about Ted Cruz, but lo’ and behold, the Palin family reappeared. Sarah Palin popped up and tossed up one of the biggest bowls of word salad ever in support of Donald Trump. This coming on the heels of her daughter being sued for child support and shared custody or a second out-of-wedlock child, and her son’s arrest on a range of charges related to firearms and domestic abuse. And, no surprise here, she blames most all of that on Obama.

Featured Methodism Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Why the Christian Church May Never Crawl Out of Its Hole

January 18, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 770 Views 0 Comments Barnna Group, christian, conservative, Evangelical, Facebook, methodist, Pew Research, UMC

In the western world, churches, in particular Christian churches, are showing a general decline in attendance and membership. There’s much hand wringing within those denominations most affected; reports are being prepared, and great plans are being made to try to stem the tide, but I am not yet convinced the people in these organizations have the self-awareness to overcome the trend. The Facebook response to a recent article I posted in a conservative United Methodist discussion group really brought this home for me, and helped me congeal my thoughts on this subject.

Culture Featured Religion Right Wingnuts Society

Firing God

January 13, 2016September 29, 2018 B. John 388 Views 0 Comments Christianity, God, Politics, republicans

That’s right, I said it. I’m firing God. He’s not doing a good job, and he’s not serving his creation very well. Of course, a lot of you all will accuse me of blasphemy and apostasy, but before you do, hear me out. I’m not firing THE God, I’m firing the guy that far too many people claim to “worship.” A god we’ve managed to make in our own image (generally speaking, a white male), who conveniently hates all the same people you do.

Culture Movies

Beasts of No Nation-A Movie Review

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 B. John 285 Views 0 Comments Abraham Attah, Andrew Adote, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Child Soldier, Drama, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor, South Africa, Uzodinma Iweala, War

Follows the journey of a young boy, Agu, who is forced to join a group of soldiers in an unnamed West African country. While Agu fears his commander and many of the men around him, his fledgling childhood has been brutally shattered by the war raging through his country. We heard about this movie being on Netflix after hearing an interview with Cary Fukunaga on NPR’s Fresh Air. We started a little late last evening, and I didn’t expect to finish watching it before going to bed, but I couldn’t stop watching. While based on a novel, it was, from all I’ve read, a realistic portrayal of the life of child soldiers, and it is a sad life. This is an outstanding movie, but it is very difficult to watch.