MH - Odds and Ends

A couple of interesting links. First, this article from Christianity Today (courtesy Steve Beard's Thunderstruck.org) that asks "Why don't Christians live what they preach?" No finger-pointing intended, just a reminder of how important, and how difficult, it is to be a witness to your faith, and the need for all of us to be vigilant. The former basketball star Charles Barkley once famously remarked that he wasn't a role model. The fact is, we're all role models for someone, whether we know it or not, and we need to live every minute of our lives that way.

And then there's this bit from CNN on PBS's decision to alter a scene an HBO-produced movie "to avoid showing the front of a nude woman being scrubbed down after a fictional chemical attack." PBS will instead broadcast "extra footage" that "depicts the woman from a more discreet angle," according to a PBS programming executive. I don't doubt that there was nothing erotic intended by this shot, so my only question is this: if the scene can be accurately portrayed with this "extra footage," why was there the need to have a nude shot in the first place? Go back and watch some of the classic films of the 30s and 40s, and you'll see they were often able to convey the meaning of a scene subtly, without resort to either nudity or profanity - and many times more effectively. So if you don't need it, why bother? Just because you can? That's the only answer that comes to mind...