Posted
February 28, 2006 at
6:55 pm //
EDIT, MARCH 2, 4:56 PM: Any further discussion on this topic will cease. The original topic has deviated from a moral discussion to someone feeling attacked. I do not want any potential personal attacks on or by any of the commenters, and I would definitely hate to ban anyone. Consider this topic dead.
Okay, the subject came up on Jude 2 today about taking youth groups to Hooters for an outing. The person who posted the topic asked if it was okay. More than 80% of the respondents to his question said an emphatic NO.
I tend to agree with that. After having gone to Hooters on a few occasions this summer, I’ve looked more and more into what the place is about and what it stands for. I searched for Hooters on Wikipedia and it cross-referenced an article on The Smoking Gun that allows one to read the Hooters’ employee handbook.
I was pretty appalled after I read one page in particular. Women who apply to be a waitress have to sign a consent form that states the following:
I fully acknowledge and affirm that:
1. my job duties require I wear the designated Hooters Girl uniform.
2. my job duties require that I interact with and entertain the customers.
3. the Hooters concept is based on female sex appeal and the work environment is one in which joking and sexual innuendo based on female sex appeal is commonplace.
4. I do not find my job duties, uniform requirements, or work environment to be offensive, intimidating, hostile, or unwelcome.
I don’t know, but I think especially after reading point number 3 there, many young women might be signing away their dignity and right to be treated respectfully by members of the opposite sex.
What do you think? Comments welcome from ALL points of view.
Posted
February 28, 2006 at
5:07 pm //
The title says it all….but I guess it’s not really much of an excuse for not updating the blog over the past couple of days. Despite the media reports, sectarian violence here in Iraq has been relatively small and hasn’t really affected us much except a couple days where we heard mortars hitting places near and far. So we’ve been safe but bored…I guess it’s a fair trade for our lives.
Many thanks to the folks of Lakeside Church for sending the package full of goodies. It’ll help me get through the next 55 days a bit easier than I would have otherwise. Let me tell you, I had to lug that package from one end of the palace to the other, then to my hooch. It was worth it though. Thanks again, Lakeside. Another thing…I’ll let you guys know the exact date when I’m expected to arrive back in Norfolk.
Aftan is in Hawaii this week for a conference. Sucks because we can’t talk much. Guess that’s why I bought her a digital camera though. Hope she’s having fun. We’ll post pictures of the (ahem) scenery soon.
I hope I can get a Joint Commendation Medal for my tour here. Other six-month augmentees who have deployed to Iraq have it, so why can’t I? I will have done my time as well.
I actually have a shoot tonight…it’s really lame. I hate news stories that really have no purpose. Tonight I am going….to get close-ups of a band performing and “entertaining the troops.” Wow.
The weather here is warm all of a sudden. About as warm as I’d like it. The thermometer reads 81 degrees, at least on Weather Underground. It feels like summer in the Northwest, and just because of that fact, it makes me feel so much better about being here. That, and when I go for a run at night, the air is crisp and clean — eh, I take that back, Iraqi air is NOT clean, but it’s nice weather. Wasn’t it just two weeks ago when I was on that mission to south central Iraq that it was freezing??? I can only imagine what it’s gonna be like this summer. It’s great because I don’t have to be here to suffer through it!!!!
Danielle Parker, where have you gone??? In military terms, you’re AWOL. Email me.
God bless, everyone.
Posted
February 26, 2006 at
8:46 pm //
All of you who have heard that song, raise your hand and sing with me.
Anyhoo, we start today with some sad news. Don Knotts, a comedian who is best known for playing Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show, has died today. I own four of his movies, and I still laugh when I watch him play Luther Heggs in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. It’s a terrible loss for the entertainment industry, because he was probably one of the cleanest funny men I know. Godspeed and see you on the other side, Don.
In other news, today is quiet because they placed a 24-hour ban on all vehicle traffic entering and exiting Baghdad. We haven’t been attacked or anything.
Hope all is quiet on the western front as well. That is to say, I hope you all are doing well out there. I’m out. God bless.
Posted
February 24, 2006 at
4:38 pm //
So as you can see, I’ve been counting the days off until I go back to the United States. Now it’s time to start counting down, because we’re coming very close to the end of my deployment. And thank God!
Continue praying for our safety. Stuff could get pretty hairy around here today and in the days to come because of the fallout from the bombing of the Shiite mosque in Samarra. People have been protesting violently all over Iraq the past couple of days, and the environment even around here is pretty tense as we don’t know what to expect. Yesterday we had a rocket hit really close to our compound, and we don’t know if it was related to all the other violence….so please continue praying for our safety. I really appreciate it.
So nothing really more to update other than I’m busy working on some good news stories and I’m even coming in tomorrow to finish up some stuff. That’s it for now.
Posted
February 23, 2006 at
6:12 pm //
I’m on a blogging roll today. About this getting ready to rumble, though….
Sunni and Shiite Muslims are gonna have a battle royale soon and I’m gonna be right in the thick of it. A Shiite mosque was attacked yesterday and the Arab world is pointing fingers at the Sunnis. Iran would rather point its finger at the U.S. and Israel.
This wasn’t any old mosque that was attacked, apparently it housed tombs of descendants of the prophet Muhammad. Everyone’s pretty pissed. Nineteen people are already dead, according to news reports; stores and shops are closing early in the day because they fear violence at night; and an RPG fell right by our compound today. I don’t know if that last one there has anything to do with the violence, but it’s worth noting.
Here’s my take on the whole thing, and I say this at the risk of some severe backlash.
Continue reading ‘Day 118: Let’s Get Ready to RUMBLLLLLLEEEEEEE……’
Posted
February 23, 2006 at
5:40 pm //
StrikeTheGround.com, the official website for the North Carolina COGOP Youth Minstries, now offers STG.TV, a series of videos aimed to help youth pastors and youth leaders in their youth ministry. It’s all professionally edited by Kirk Rising, the N.C. state youth ministry director. I highly recommend you check it out…just click here.
I met Kirk at the 2004 Virginia COGOP Youth, Children’s and Worship Leaders Conference at Camp Lowman. I had the privilege of sitting in on a workshop he conducted on how to use media to reach youth in a relational and relevant way. Afterward, we discussed video editing techniques and I explained to him that as a broadcaster in the Air Force, I would love nothing more than to take the expertise I have gained and put it to good use in a church that needs it. Apparently he’s had the vision a lot longer than I have, and that is wonderful…it’s great to see someone in such a prominent leadership position in the church, who has caught a vision of how big media ministry can impact our churches and reach people for the Lord.
Media ministry — whether it be as advanced as posting weekly sermon videos to the Internet or as simple as offering audio snippets of important points in the sermon — is easily becoming the single biggest tool our churches can use to reach audiences for Christ. Kirk uses the talent God has given him…and his abilities in media ministry are having a far-reaching effect on the youth program at the North Carolina COGOP. He is truly setting the example for other media ministers.
So check out STG.TV, and also on a side note, pray for In The Son 4, the NCCOGOP youth rally to be held May 5-6 in Wilmington, NC. They’re shooting for an attendance of 500 and I plan to be one since I’ll be arriving home from Iraq and it falls within my two-week leave window.
God bless!!!
[tags]ministry, church, media[/tags]
Posted
February 23, 2006 at
4:22 pm //
Check this out. Roll your mouse over the Bible verse reference here and a tooltip will pop up containing the Scripture text.
[bible]Acts 6:4[/bible]
Pretty cool, huh? I did this in order to make my Bible study posts shorter. Hopefully it helps you guys out too….it’s a minor site change, I know, but it’s pretty cool.
Thanks to Chris Roberts for the plugin.
Posted
February 22, 2006 at
6:16 pm //
So it’s about time for another regular update.
It’s 5:07 and not too long ago someone was saying the Embassy compound took mortar fire. Now we’ve got email traffic coming through saying we need to wear our body armor and helmets whenever we step outdoors. To me this doesn’t make sense. For one, if the mortars have already landed and exploded AND an all clear signal was given, why are we running around in body armor? And two, more importantly, I’m sure if a mortar landed near you, your body armor and helmet aren’t really going to do that much for you.
Kinda weird, because one thing I was NEVER in danger of when I was in Southern Iraq last week was mortar fire. Down there it is more peaceful than Baghdad. Down there they thanked us for what we are doing in Iraq, but here a few folks I know have been sworn at and spit at, etc. just because they are Americans. I don’t get it.
I didn’t say this yesterday because I forgot, but a rocket landed near a Georgian checkpoint yesterday morning. Scared the crap out of them for a few minutes. Our bus was stopped and we sat in line for about five minutes while the Georgians walked around like they didn’t know what to do (probably because they didn’t). Eck. They finally opened up the checkpoint and let us through, but you could tell they were a bit rattled.
So I finished my first news story today and it will be online tomorrow. It’s the one about the soldiers providing free medical care to the Iraqis in a clinic — or a trailer, rather, that is more suitable for cargo than anything else. Great stuff those guys are doing. Check out the Video Vault tomorrow for the story.
You all seem to be really quiet out there lately? You all ok?
I’m outta here. I need FOOD and SLEEP. God bless.
Posted
February 22, 2006 at
5:34 pm //
Take a look at this.
You may have heard about Westboro Baptist Church, the violently anti-gay church in Topeka, Kansas, sending members to protest funerals of soldiers who have died in Iraq as a result of IEDs. Now they’ve got some serious competition.
From CNN.com:
Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier’s funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.
They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.
Read more of the article here. God bless these guys for doing what’s right and drowning out a voice of judgmentalism and hate, and supporting our troops who have fallen.
Here is a Webshots page with photos of the Patriot Guard at the funerals. Unfortunately, you’ll also see photos of WBC members in the background with their horrible protest signs.
It’s about time someone shut Phelps up. I hope he realizes he’s on a faster track to hell than anyone else, if that’s even possible. I sincerely hope and pray God gets through to that guy and his family…..their message of hate taints the Gospel and makes Christianity in general look intolerant and idiotic. Plus, if a church like that is the only chance someone has to hear the Gospel….never mind, I don’t even want to think about that.
Posted
February 21, 2006 at
7:04 pm //
Okay, so I reformatted the Downloads page and now it has become the Chris Brewer Video Vault (we’ll just call it the Video Vault or VV). It contains videos that I shoot for AFN here in Iraq, as well as other video productions I’ve made or have been involved in. Right now there are only a couple available but that list should grow very soon. You can access it by clicking on the “Chris Brewer Video Vault” text in the header image.
The videos eat up my site’s available bandwidth like nothing else, so if you want to donate to me via PayPal, I’d appreciate it. I’ll let you know how you can do that soon.
Right now, I gotta catch a Humvee ride home. Peace, and enjoy the videos.
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