Hey eBay users? Got anything to sell?

Image via CrunchBase

The Savong Foundation has joined MissionFish which allows generous people to sell their items on eBay and donate some of the profits to the foundation!  

I've never sold ANYTHING on eBay before (yeah, I'm a bit of a hoarder) but I decided to give it a try and it was amazingly simple.  

And kinda fun.  

So give it a try and help out our projects in northern Cambodia.  Click on the link below ... 

http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=46695

And if you don't have anything to sell, then show us your support and become a fan on facebook ... 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Savong-Foundation/138441669535877

For the official website of the Savong Foundation, check it out here ...

http://www.savongfoundation.org

Your support (financial or not) is invaluable and truly appreciated.

So long to Eddie Long

If you like to get your sermons from a rich, homophobic yet cocksucking bishop, then all you have to do is take a trip down to Lithonia, Georgia and and sit in one of the the pews of the New Birth Missionary Church. 

Eddie Long, the head of the above church, is the latest prominent religious figure to be caught up in a sex scandal.  Last year, he was accused of coercing teenage MALE members of his congregation to have sex with him in exchange for gifts and trips to foreign countries.  While it isn’t that shocking anymore to have a married religious figure get accused of gay sex, the fact that Bishop Long was such a commited and public homophobe does add that extra dimension of scandal. 

When the news of his extra-marital activities broke last year, it was expected that he would attack his accusers with the same hell fire and brimstone oratory style that he typically spewed from his pulpit.  Instead, his supporters were told simply that he was “not a perfect man” and that he was going to fight it.   That’s pretty weak coming from a self-proclaimed gladiator.

Clue number one that he was guilty of at least some improprieties. 

The second clue came this past week when Eddie and his accusers agreed to an out-of-court settlement.  It is very obvious that if the bishop were 100% innocent (which you would hope based on what he has preached), then he would have fought a very public battle and screamed his innocence to anyone who would have listened.  Sadly, his supporters won’t find out what happened behind the closed mediation doors and they should fear the worst; their preacher who has soaked them for millions of dollars is a lying hypocritical piece of shit.      

Does Eddie Long deserve to be forgiven?  After all, even the worst sinners deserve a second chance according to the Bible. 

I don’t think so.  With his power and charisma, he could have chosen to promote peace and unity.  Instead, he chose to promote hatred and intolerance and has made even more people disillusioned with the church.  Yes, preachers should be held to a higher standard and they don’t deserve our sympathies when they fall from such heights.  No doubt there is a special place in hell reserved for people like Eddie Long.   

According to one news report, there is a lot more room in the pews at the New Birth Missionary Church.  Of course, that isn’t surprising.  What is surprising that there is anyone attending that church and Eddie is still spouting off his sermons.  How can anyone absorb what he is saying when he won’t even tell the truth about what he did with those four teenagers?   It’s sad that he doesn’t have enough respect for his core followers to at least give them that.   I’m sure he’s hoping that they will forgive and forget and continue to give him lots of money.  Lots and lots of money.

He’s got four kids that he has to pay off, you know.    

Related articles

• Georgia Bishop Eddie Long looks ahead after settling sexual misconduct suits with young men (miamiherald.typepad.com)
• "Eddie Long Settles Out Of Court." and related posts (averagebro.com)
• Case Against Anti-Gay Pastor Eddie Long Settled Out Of Court (pinkbananaworld.com)
• For Discussion: Should Bishop Eddie Long's Flock Still Have His Back After His Multi-Million Dollar Settlement?? (bossip.com)

There are better ways to die

If you’re having one of those days where nothing is going right (flat tire, dog vomited on couch, relatives coming to visit), you should look on the bright side …  

At least one of your daily activities doesn’t include getting stoned to death by an angry mob which includes some of your family members. 

The Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a true story and is one of the most excruciating movie experiences I’ve had in recent memory.  Soraya was a woman who lived in a remote Iraninan village and had the very unfortunate situation of being married to a man who wanted to marry another woman.  When Soraya starts working at another man’s house because his wife recently passed away, Soraya’s husband accuses her of being unfaithful which conveniently (for him) carries the death penalty under Islamic Sharia law.  

I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that there is a stoning scene.  If you’re watching a movie called The Stoning of Soraya M., you should expect that at least a few stones are going to be tossed around.  What I didn’t expect is that the stoning scene would last as long as it did and it almost made me physically sick.   Like death in slow motion, the scene was so real and agonizing that you just wish someone would have pulled out a gun and blown her head off. 

And I mean that in the kindest possible way. 

With the type of subject matter that it is, this movie is clearly not for all tastes but if you can stomach the final twenty minutes, it will baffle you to think that this form of execution can still exist in the 21^st century.   And it isn’t just for convicted serial killers; people who commit adultery or homosexual acts can be brutally tortured and killed by this method if you are living in certain Islamic states.  Even the lawyers who try to DEFEND the accused are subject to death penalties.  If you visit the website http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/, an Iranian lawyer has currently four death penalties against him for trying to save the life of a defendant Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani who faces death by stoning. 

What the hell?  These people are not human.  They are monsters.  Don’t they realize that spending time in an Iraninan jail is probably torture enough? 

After watching a movie like this, I like to read the reviews and while most of them were good, I was shocked to read a few that said that the movie was “Islamophobic” and “melodramatic”.  First of all, saying the movie was Islamophobic is like saying that a movie about the Holocaust is Hitlerphobic.  If there is something in your religion (even in the fine print) that says that it’s just fine and dandy to stone someone to death, then maybe you should consider switching to a more benevolent prophet.  And accusing the movie of being melodramatic is like accusing someone of crying at their mother’s funeral.  In fact, Soraya was a portrait of restraint; despite the immediacy and inevitability of her painful death, she barely shed a tear. 

In terms of the moviemaking, the acting was uniformly great and Shohreh Aghdashloo as the heroic aunt should have been nominated for an Academy Award.  The only misstep in my opinion was an attempt at some final conflict when a car wouldn’t start at the very end of the movie.  No doubt it is a shocking movie and very well made.  I strongly recommend its viewing.  

And here is the book on which the movie is based.  

Princess Beatrice Royal Wedding Hat by Philip Treacy | eBay

Image via Wikipedia

The hat worn by Princess Beatrice at the most recent royal wedding is going to raise a lot of money for charity.  

Currently on ebay, the latest bid is around $32,000.  That is $32 THOUSAND dollars which seems a little overpriced considering that it has been compared to a toilet seat.  

But I read somewhere that it might also be a stargate.  In that case, it might be a good deal depending on which part of the universe it takes you to.  

No matter what its function or design, all the money raised will go to a good cause ... 

So if you have some extra cash burning a hole through your wallet, you could certainly, at the very least, buy yourself a great conversation piece.  And you are drunk enough, you could even wear it out in public and pretend like you're a princess fifth in line to the throne.  

Click below if you're interested.  You know you want to.  

Princess Beatrice Royal Wedding Hat by Philip Treacy | eBay

Waltz with Bashir

For me, I can tell when I see a good movie because I wake up the next morning thinking about it.  

The other night, I watched an animated film called Waltz with Bashir and sure enough, I woke up thinking about the surreal, sad and sometimes horrifying images.  

I'm not sure how Waltz with Bashir ended up on my netflix queue.  I tend to go through periods where I request the same type of movie; low brow comedies, documentaries, SciFi, foreign films and I right now I seem to be in a Middle Eastern theme.  Who knows why I ended up choosing these type of movies because most of them are deadly depressing and my latest choice is no exception.  

Waltz with Bashir tells the story of man who can't recall his memories associated with his younger days as an infantry soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.   Determined to find out what happened, he meets with a variety of people who were there with him and these people help put his memories back in place.  The story is told mostly in flashback and it culminates in the young man stumbling upon the Shabra and Shatila massacre which really happened in the Beirut refugee camps during the PLO conflicts of 1982.    

This is a tough time period to figure out.  I'm not sure who was fighting whom, who wanted what, where the borders were and who was in charge or calling the shots.  I was a little confused during the movie because of the historical context but overall, it didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the movie.  Or can I call it enjoyment when the final scenes are a bunch of dead families?  

Yes, it is depressing but it is also an amazing piece of work.  Taking four years to make, the animation is a mastery of the art and perfectly suited to the haunting scenes of war, isolation and fear.  It's no wonder that the film won the Golden Globe for best foreign film and was nominated for an Oscar.  

Check it out.  It's something different.  Educational.  Moving.  Sad and there is no redemption at the end.  The title seems lighthearted but don't let it fool you; it refers to the Lebanese politician who was assassinated.  After the movie, you might have a case of PTMD (Post Traumatic Movie Disorder) but let me assure you, it will be worth it.  

   

And next up on my queue?

Better take my happy pills!

THE SAVONG FOUNDATION

Check out the new Razoo page for The Savong Foundation.

THE SAVONG FOUNDATION

Thank you for helping us out!

BREAKING NEWS!

After nine months, The Savong Foundation is officially a 501(c)(3) US registered charity!!!

I know that it isn't very professional to add three exclamation points after a sentence but I feel like I've just given birth.    

What this means is that American donations are tax deductible and will go directly to support our projects in northern Cambodia.  

I am hugely relieved.  Now I can focus our efforts on fundraising and our generous sponsors will be able to get some tax benefits.  There will be multiple ways to donate and one of the ways is already right here on this blog.  Just  scroll down on the right hand side and you will find the paypal widget.  

Or you can buy a Tshirt or a coffee mug from Zazzle.  They are great quality and fully customizable.  The widget is available on the right hand side of this blog.  

But most importantly, please tell all your friends and sign up on facebook.  The more people who know about The Savong Foundation, the easier our fundraising efforts will be.  

Thank you!  

At the park

Chan and I are enjoying the California sun at the North Hollywood park.

It's a little weird.

There are two guys practicing tap dancing. Some chick is doing Tai Chi. Another guy is playing with a bull whip. There are random sleeping people who very well could be homeless. Plenty of joggers. A group of young kids are learning how to twirl advertising signs. A juggler. And among the mix are lots of squirrels whom Chan wants to kill.

Welcome to North Hollywood!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Magnolia Blvd,,United States

The new dog

It's official.  

The dog I recently adopted has several names.  I can't decide on just one.  It doesn't seem right to limit his nomenclature because he has so many different sides to his personality.  

For example, at 6 o'clock in the morning and he wants to be walked, he is known as It's-a-good-thing-you're-cute.  

When he has to stop at every freakin' bush to urinate, he is known as Grand Master P.  That's also his hip-hop name if he decides to go clubbin on a Saturday night.  

The name on his registration papers (if he had registration papers) is Beijing's Royal Star of Destiny III Protector of the Mighty Palace.  

And if he spills his food all over the place when he is eating, he is simply known as Dog.  

When I come home and he is so excited that he races around the apartment, crashes into walls and his eyes bug out, then he is known as Crazy Maniac Mutt.  The same name applies when I can't put on his leash because he is rolling around on the floor.  

The other day when he was barking and lunging at a senior citizen who could barely walk even with the aid of her cane, his name suddenly became Little Shit at least temporarily. 

But when he is lying on his back and wants to be snuggled and looks as cute as this ... 

then he is affectionately called CHAN.  

He is an amazing little dog and I'm blessed that he found his way into my life.       

The Laws of L.A.

The person who cuts you off in traffic will be the same person who gives you the middle finger for honking at said person.


-- Posted from my iPhone

Winter Wheat

I had some time tonight to go over some of the photos that I took during my quick stay in Canada.  

And I thought that I would share some pictures of Winter Wheat which is a store/art gallery/park in Sparta, Ontario where we spent some time during one very rainy afternoon.  

The outdoor sculptures are the work of Lucy Ogletree, a Canadian folk artist.  

If you ever find yourself in Sparta (truthfully, I can't imagine anyone just stumbling across this isolated place), then I strongly recommend you check out Winter Wheat.  It's a fun place but I'm sure much, much better in drier weather.  

They have a website here:  http://www.winter-wheat.com/index.html