Kirk (the okay one)

@wallofbooks.bsky.social

436 Followers 293 Following

Former pastor, current philosophy instructor, perpetual Star Trek guy. Autistic and loving it. Dad of the world’s funniest trans kid.

“What! is God glorified in the damnation of the wise and prudent? Yes, tremendous fact! At the winding up of this world’s drama, God will be glorified in the men that shut their eyes against his grace, as well as in the men whose eyes are opened to receive it. The yells of hell shall be but the deep bass of the everlasting music of which the songs in heaven are the air.” Charles Spurgeon “Even So, Father!” May 26, 1861 Time no longer has meaning. There is only the endless now, the constant terrible moment. But if we supposed that time did still exist, and we measured the duration of this moment, we could say that thing-once-known-as-Ava had suffered, so far, 228,596,351,301 seconds—just under 7244 years. It has been sentenced to a term of infinity, and eventually these first 7244 years of torment will seem just as short and insignificant as the 27 years it lived in flesh before the great transition. The human Ava was born to parents who loved her and wanted her: a mother who tucked her in at night, caressed her hair and sang her to sleep; a father who listened without judgment and could keep a secret. They were gentle and thoughtful parents. They were also pointedly indifferent to faith. Julie, the mother, had memories of doing coloring sheets while the preacher droned on at her grandma’s church, but no thoughts or attachments beyond that. Scott, the father, believed that religion was a consolation prize for people who didn’t have the skill or determination to be successful in life. He raised Ava to focus on what mattered: the things you can see and feel right now, the things that added more digits to your bank account. Ava listened. At age 12, she went to robotics camp. At 16, she was vice-president of the Future CEOs Club at her school. At 18, she graduated high school as the salutatorian.
A moderately cute Labrador mix is lying atop a dashingly handsome man, completely obscuring his face. The dog clearly has boundary issues.
A trolley problem image showing a choice between the trillionaire or all the billionaires, except in this one the path immediately loops back so that both groups are run over.
The poster for the 1977 classic film Smokey and the Bandit,” featuring Jackie Gleason, as a sheriff, glowering at a smirking Burt Reynolds, while Sally Field, in a wedding dress, smiles beatifically in the background. In the foreground, Bandit’s Trans Am races away from the sheriff’s squad car.
Donna Reed smiling on a phone call as Jimmy Stewart glowers behind her in *It’s a Wonderful Life*
A Star Trek title screen that reads “go walk the dog”
It’s an image of six different Care Bears
A very lazy dog, lying on a bed. She’s mainly lab, with maybe a little chow, giving her pointy, semi-upright ears.
It’s a T-shirt for sale labeled “what the F musical note T-shirt“, but the note depicted on the shirt is actually an E
A slip from a fortune cookie that says “your hopeful nature will be handsomely rewarded“
Bob Newhart (from the TV show NEWHART) taking on a white landline phone
Incoming text: “Your package address is incorrect, please update it in time for smooth delivery.” Response: 666 Go To Hell Scammer Avenue, Hell, 66666
Poster for the 1999 Chinese film “Postmen in the Mountains”
An image only nerds with gray hair might recognize: two of the dancers from the video for Leonard Nimoy’s “Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,” shot in 1968. (Young white women, one brunette, one blonde, smiling and wearing orange sweatshirts with a black design that looks something like a circular portal. The picture is very blurry, due to mandatory pixel-rationing during the Vietnam War.)
Look people, I'm not "white," "heterosexual," or "male." I'm just NORMAL. I am a NORMAL person. And I resent you NOT-NORMAL people assigning labels to me. There don't need to be any words to describe who I am because I am NORMAL. Why is that so hard to understand?
The facts and analysis are fine, but rewrite this entire thing.
The album cover for “Little Earthquakes” by Tori Amos.
A picture of a toddler, c. 1974, wearing jeans, a blue shirt, cowboy boots that rise to the top of his thighs, and a large (relative to his head) black cowboy hat.
Fra Angelica’s painting of the crucifixion, with a speech bubble added of a man saying “This is what happens when you don’t obey authorities.”
The image is a painting by Fra Angelico depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. I have added a speech bubble to one of the witnesses, who is looking up at the cross and saying to Jesus “This is what happens when you don’t obey the authorities“
And worse: our sense that the "us" is all that matters can easily flip over into a demonizing of an imagined "them," a group of outsiders who are imagined as enemies of the invulnerability and the pride of the all-important "us." Compassion for our fellow Americans can all too easily slide over into an attitude that wants America to come out on top, defeating or subordinating other peoples or nations. Anger at the terrorists themselves is perfectly appropriate; so is the attempt to bring them to justice. But "us-them" thinking doesn't always stay focused on the original issue; it too easily becomes a general call for American supremacy, the humiliation of "the other."
The image is a bottle of Shiner Pecan Pie, a porter brewed with roasted pecans.
“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NRSV‬‬
Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell
A poster for the 1922 movie Nosferatu, showing the shadow of the vampire as he creeps upstairs
A still from the movie Lady Bird, featuring Tracy Letts as the father of the central character
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” 2 But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife what is due her and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer,[a] and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 This I say by way of concession, not of command. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple[g] of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
I do not think men and women are pressured to be more masculine or feminine. I strongly disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions could improve students’ confidence. Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth. I do not want kids to be teased or bullied in school. However, pushing the lie that everyone has their own truth and everyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want is not biblical whatsoever. The Bible says that our lives are not our own but that our lives and bodies belong to the Lord for His glory. I live my life based on this truth and firmly believe that there would be less gender issues and insecurities in children if they were raised knowing that they do not belong to themselves, but they belong to the Lord.
In Genesis, God says that it is not good for man to be alone, so He created a helper for man (which is a woman). Many people assume the word “helper” in this context to be condescending and offensive to women. However, the original word in Hebrew is “ezer kenegdo” and that directly translates to “helper equal to”. Additionally, God describes Himself in the Bible using “ezer kenegdo”, or “helper”, and He describes His Holy Spirit as our Helper as well. This shows the importance God places on the role of the helper (women’s roles). God does not view women as less significant than men.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth[d] and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created humans[e] in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
This article was very thought provoking and caused me to thoroughly evaluate the idea of gender and the role it plays in our society. The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender norms. I do not necessarily see this as a problem. God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose. God is very intentional with what He makes, and I believe trying to change that would only do more harm. Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered “stereotypes”. Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind.
The sealed top of a glass of Boba tea, featuring a smiling face with its tongue sticking out. An inserted straw acts as the nose.
A Hefty brand storage bin labeled “Neddle Felting,” sitting on a shelf at the Texas Art Asylum
A Facebook post from Vice that reads “Meet Cordo, a 3-year-old boy from Indonesia whose full name is Rangga Madhipa Sutra Jiwa Cordosega Akre Askhala Mughal Ilkhanat Akbar Sahara Pi-Thariq Ziyad Syaifudin Quthuz Khoshala Sura Talenta.” There is a picture of a parent holding a baby’s hand.
Captain Kirk and a shapeshifter who has transformed to look like Captain Kirk in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
An ad for the University of Sterling that says “Stay and work in the UK after graduation”
An iPhone home screen showing a Gmail app with 30,000 unread emails.
Tracy Letts having a conversation with Saoirse Ronan in “Lady Bird”
It’s a college instructor’s office. Desk, chairs, computer with dual monitors, a bookshelf full of books. Currently tidy, but that’s likely to change.
Elisabeth Shue at Fan Expo Dallas 2025
A tweet from Mike Pence, from when he was Vice-President of the US. A picture shows him standing beside a horse, smiling. The text reads “Outstanding afternoon. ‘I've often said there's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.’ -Pres. Reagan”
Screenshot that reads: Digital Rights 180 Day Digital Rental * Yes, copying is allowed *Unlimited sections can be copied * Yes, printing is allowed * Unlimited pages can be printed * No, lending is not allowed * Yes, reading aloud is allowed
A quote from the beginning of the movie The Equalizer, falsely attributed to Mark Twain, that says “the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.“
A review of Jurassic World: Rebirth from user jef_olsen on IMDB that reads “5/10 First Jurassic Park film where you root for the Dinos”