iPopCulture.NET

For those of you are like me and only get your news from ESPN (I’m exaggerating…a bit), you might have missed this story. As of July 1, 2009, it is against the law to text while driving in the state of Tennessee. Here’s the full story from Knox News:

NASHVILLE – Rachel Nichol says reading or sending cell phone text messages while driving isn’t such a good idea – she’s had five fender benders, including one in a fast-food drive-thru.

“I was texting and I rear-ended someone each time,” said Nichol, a 20-year-old Nashville bartender. “You’re not looking at the road. You’re only using one hand to drive and it’s really dangerous.”

That’s why she supports a law prohibiting the behavior. It’s among new Tennessee laws that take effect today.

Violators of the texting prohibition would be fined $50, but the action would be considered a nonmoving traffic violation, meaning no points would be added to a person’s driving record.

It also exempts certain officials – such as officers of the state, campus police officers and emergency medical technicians – when performing their duties.

Opponents argued that law enforcement may not be able to tell whether drivers are texting or dialing and that texting is already covered under the state’s distracted driving law.

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper agreed with that in an opinion he issued earlier this year when he said officers can currently cite a driver “whenever unsafe operation is caused by cell phone use, text messaging, applying cosmetics or any other activity that prevents the driver from operating the vehicle in a safe manner.”

But Maggi McLean Duncan, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, said the group believes the new law is still necessary.

“They felt the proposed legislation which is now becoming law clarified it very succinctly not only for law enforcement, but for the judicial branch, as well as for citizens,” she said.

Safety Department spokesman Mike Browning said the new law “does create a challenge to law enforcement in distinguishing between texting and dialing on a mobile phone, since the statute does not require that all communications be performed with a hands-free device.”

However, he said the Tennessee Highway Patrol will enforce the law “to help promote public safety.”

“Motorists should be aware that texting while driving is a dangerous behavior that can result in an injury crash or even death to the driver or other motorists,” Browning said.

Philippians 4:4-9

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Yesterday in our Connection Group, we discussed Peter’s words from 1 Peter 2:13-17. In a nutshell, Peter tells believers to submit to every human institution. This includes our government, government officials, our President, and even the laws our government has created. This idea led us into a very interesting discussion on a specific question:

Is speeding a sin?

I’ve heard Christians hit this issue from all sides and come up with different answers and different ways to justify their answers. I’m curious to know what you think. Consider these questions”

• Is speeding a sin?
• If not, then why not?
• If it is, then why do so many Christians do it and ignore the law?

Lessons We Should Learn From Twitter…

1. Even Celebrities Are People Too…
Twitter has allowed us to bring celebrities down to our level. We find out what John Mayer is thinking at 1 AM, we get to hear Shaq’s thoughts on life, and also get to find out what Ashton Kutcher ate for dinner. In many ways Twitter humanizes everything for us.

2. …But We’re Not Quite as Special or Popular as We Sometimes Think We Are
Sometimes we get into the mindset that there are millions of people who are just waiting to get our tweets. We’d like to think people are lining up around the block just to catch what we will say next. We want people to think of us as the “Dark Knight” of Twitter…high anticipation. The truth is, most of your stuff probably doesn’t get read. If it does, it’s probably not getting ready by the people you want it to be read by. Just because you send a Tweet doesn’t mean all of America wants to see it or cares to see it. You ate a tuna sandwich today? Great. But I doubt too many people care. You may reply to Jimmy Fallon or Demi Moore, but do you really think they care or know what you have to say? Maybe they’re not selfish people, but when someone has 200,000 followers, you’re gonna get lost in the background. Don’t let Twitter make you think too highly of yourself.

3. There IS such a thing as TMI.
I don’t need to know every detail about your life. I especially don’t need to know the gross, disgusting, personal details. If you wouldn’t say it to your boss or pastor, please don’t say it to the rest of the world. Also, if you’re going to go on vacation, it might be better if you decline to tell the world where you’re going, how long you’ll be gone, the location of your house, and how your security system quit working yesterday.

4. EVERYONE Has a Blog (and most of them are mediocre)
Is this the pot calling the kettle black? You betcha! The truth is, everyone has a blog these days. I want readers, you want readers, Curt Schilling wants readers, everyone wants readers. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with wanting people to read your opinions. But just remember…it’s 2009. Having a blog is not like having a column for the New York Times. There’s no need to brag or remind us every 5 seconds of your link.

5. We All Want to Be Liked and Loved
Do we Tweet to create a person journal of statements that are less than 140 characters? No. We Tweet because we want people to like us and love us. Why? Because we all have a desire to be liked and loved and share our stories and findings with the rest of the world.

6. We Have Selfish Tendencies
This one is no fun, but it’s true. We often have the mentality that says “Oh! I’ll follow this person and hope he or she will follow me.” Do we care about the person we’re following? Eh, sometimes. Do we simply follow someone in hopes that he or she will follow us and bring more attention to us? It’s possible!

7. Our Speling and Grammar Is Awful
I know Twitter is a nice “on the go” piece of technology, but seriously people, proofread your tweets. Unfortunately it seems like athletes are the worst. This just fuels the stereotype that some athletes have no intelligence and get by on skill alone.

8. Our Lives Are Consumed By Technology
Twenty years ago you had to use a house phone or pay phone to make a phone call. Now you can text, tweet, or call from inside a bathroom stall. Unfortunately we often let this consume too much of our lives. Technology isn’t bad in and of itself. But when we let it take over our lives, it means that we’re sacrificing something else and replacing it with our new technology. Hopefully the things we sacrifice don’t include time with family, time with friends, time spent reading, time spent praying, etc.

If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know I’ve had some recent trouble with Sonic and Taco Bell.

A few days ago I came across a story about a company that seems to be doing everything right these days. If you’ve ever seen a Pixar movie, you know they strive for the highest level of excellence in everything they do. To date, they have not put out a movie that has flopped in the eyes of critics or viewers, and the lowest rating one of their movies has received on Rotten Tomatoes is 75%.

However, this story goes much deeper than animation or a movie screen. The article I read really touched my heart. If you have time, please read the entire article from the OC Register. You can view the article on their website by clicking HERE, or you can read the story below:

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie.

From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.

After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.

The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.

The animated movie begins with scenes showing the evolution of a relationship between a husband and wife. After losing his wife in old age, the now grumpy man deals with his loss by attaching thousands of balloons to his house, flying into the sky, and going on an adventure with a little boy.

Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.

With her daughter’s vigil planned for Friday, Lisa Curtin reflected about how grateful she is that Pixar – and “Up” – were a part of her only child’s last day.

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” said Curtin, 46. “I just know that word ‘Up’ and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven.”

Pixar officials declined to comment on the story or name the employees involved.

THE PREVIEWS

Colby was diagnosed with vascular cancer on Dec. 23, 2005 after doctors found a tumor in her liver. At the time of her death, her stomach was about 94 inches around, swollen with fluids the cancer wouldn’t let her body properly digest. The rest of her body probably weighed about 45 pounds, family friend Carole Lynch said.

Colby had gone to Newport Elementary School and was known for making others laugh, family friend Terrell Orum-Moore said. Colby loved to dance, sing, swim and seemed to have a more mature understanding of the world than other children her age, Orum-Moore said.

On April 28, Colby went to see the Dream Works 3-D movie “Monsters Vs. Aliens” but was impressed by the previews to “Up.”

“It was from then on, she said, ‘I have to see that movie. It is so cool,’” Lynch said.

Colby was a movie fan, Lisa Curtin said, and she latched onto Pixar’s movies because she loved animals.

Two days later Colby’s health began to worsen. On June 4 her mother asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair for Colby so she could visit a theater to see “Up.” However, the weekend went by and the wheelchair was not delivered, Lisa Curtin said.

By June 9, Colby could no longer be transported to a theater and her family feared she would die without having seen the movie.

At that point, Orum-Moore, who desperately wanted Colby to get her last wish, began to cold-call Pixar and Disney to see if someone could help.

Pixar has an automated telephone answering system, Orum-Moore said, and unless she had a name of a specific person she wanted to speak to, she could not get through. Orum-Moore guessed a name and the computer system transferred her to someone who could help, she said.

Pixar officials listened to Colby’s story and agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a DVD of “Up,” Orum-Moore recalled.

She immediately called Lisa Curtin, who told Colby.

“Do you think you can hang on?” Colby’s mother said.

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” the girl replied.

THE MOVIE

At about 12:30 p.m. the Pixar employee came to the Curtins’ home with the DVD.

He had a bag of stuffed animals of characters in the movie and a movie poster. He shared some quirky background details of the movie and the group settled in to watch Up.

Colby couldn’t see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.

At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.

The employee left after the movie, taking the DVD with him, Lynch said.

“He couldn’t have been nicer,” said Lynch who watched the movie with the family. “His eyes were just welled up.”

After the movie, Colby’s dad, Michael Curtin, who is divorced from Lisa Curtin, came to visit.

Colby died with her mom and dad nearby at 9:20 p.m.

Among the Up memorabilia the employee gave Colby was an “adventure book” – a scrap book the main character’s wife used to chronicle her journeys.

“I’ll have to fill those adventures in for her,” Lisa Curtin said.

For those of you who follow this blog, I have some exciting news: Sonic finally responded to my call. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here to read the original story about my horrible experience at Sonic.

The response I received wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. You can see the actual postcard above. If you can’t read it, here’s what it says:

Thank You. A SuperSONIC Experience. Thank you for your recent contact with SONIC, America’s Drive-In. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and look forward to making every effort possible to make your next visit a pleasurable one.

Please accept this postcard for a free sandwich of your choice on your next visit to SONIC. Simply mention that you have a “SuperSONIC Experience” postcard when you place your order and present this postcard when your meal is delivered. Thanks again for visiting SONIC, America’s Drive-In.

There’s several observations that immediately came to mind when I saw this. First, this was not personal at all. It’s obviously a generic card that send out to anyone who calls their feedback number. Second, this came straight from their corporate headquarters in Atlanta, not the actual restaurant that messed up. Third, a free sandwich doesn’t reimburse me for the banana split I paid for and never received. If I’m not mistaken, the banana splits are more expensive than most of their sandwiches.

Although it may surprise you, I don’t have a complaint with the postcard. The card was sent out by the corporate office hoping to make partial amends for what happened. According to the girl I spoke to, the actual restaurant was/is supposed to contact me about the actual problem that happened and set things straight. It seems like the corporate office was trying to go a little further to make things right, assuming the actual restaurant would fix things first. Unfortunately, I still haven’t heard from the restaurant. Kudos to Sonic’s corporate office for doing this. As for the actual restaurant…that’s sad.

The big idea behind the whole issue was to see how Sonic would respond. Would they do it in a personal manner? Would they do it in an automated generic manner? Would they do nothing at all? So far, I’ve seen automated generic + nothing.

I talked to my dad about this issue and he said it’s not surprising. Fast food places really don’t care who they hire anymore, as long as they have someone working. When the service is bad, many managers don’t care because a loss of 1 or 2 customers will not really hurt business, and definitely won’t change individual paychecks.

Believe it or not, I saw this firsthand when I went to Taco Bell last night. I ordered a soft taco with NO lettuce. The guy repeated my order back to me and said it exactly how I ordered it. Therefore my order should have consisted of: Soft taco shell, beef, shredded cheese. Instead I received a soft taco covered in lettuce, onions, nacho cheese, with a pinch of beef. By asking for no lettuce, did I actually annoy someone enough that they decided to add extra ingredients?

I thought about going back thru the drive-thru or calling the restaurant, but if they were jerks enough to intentionally mess up my order, there’s no way I’m going back and asking them to fix it.

Customer Service is definitely dead!

I have a confession to make: I’ve never beaten Super Mario Brothers.

I could make it to 8-2 any day; 8-3 if I was lucky. Sadly, I could never find my way through the castle in 8-4 to rescue the Princess from Bowser ::sigh::

I’ve also never finished Super Mario Brothers 2 or Super Mario Brothers 3. Yes, I could get close. But never quite made it to the end.

I never quite finished a Mario game until Super Mario Galaxy was released for Wii. Mission Accomplished!

Apparently I’m not alone in my struggles. Recently, Nintendo announced a new Super Mario Brothers game would be released for Wii, but with a twist.

A new help system has been built into the game. If you get stuck during a level, simply pause the game, and the help system will navigate Mario (Luigi or Toad) through the end of the level. When you think you can handle things on your own, simple jump back in the game and take over.

Now this should sound awesome to me and Alan Skiles the other 3 year olds that haven’t beaten the original Super Mario games. But it’s kinda removing the challenge.

If I beat the game with help, have I really beaten the game? If I beat it without help, is anyone really going to believe me? If your girlfriend gets up to go to the bathroom, you pause the game and let it beat a difficult level, unpause right before your friend gets back, and then proceed to beat the game, aren’t you cheating yourself, cheating at the game, and cheating on your girlfriend?

Okay, that’s a bit figurative, but you get what I’m talking about. I’m not sure how I feel about this. Seems like even Mario has made truth relative.

*

There’s no doubt that much of the media has turned from objective journalism to spearheading a fan club for President Barack Obama. However, even though I shouldn’t be, I continue to be more surprised daily by how far the media will go to praise the President.

Today, things might have hit a new low. I was looking on the front page of USAToday.com for some REAL news, when I came across this FRONT PAGE story:

Do we honestly want to be holy people? Is holiness a priority for us, or just something that seems desirable but unattainable?

This past Sunday our Connection Group discussed God’s holiness and our holiness. Obviously the two are nowhere close to being on an equal playing field.

One of the questions that we dug into was: “Are we aware each time we sin?” We shared our opinions and wrestled with the issue. On one hand, it seems we’re quite aware of our sins. We know when we lie, cheat, have an impure thought, and speak badly of someone else. On the other hand, are there sins we commit everyday that we’re not aware of?

Someone in our group brought up a possible example. He mentioned our careless use of the word “suck.” We toss it around so casually, but when we think about what we’re really saying, is it sinful to use it in a derogatory context? If so, do we even realize when we do?

I’m not looking to argue what is and what isn’t sin. I’m also not trying to make a long list of rules that Christian’s “can’t” do. I believe in Christian liberty.

My point is that it seems we’ve lost a love for holiness. God is holy and in Him there is no sin, not even the smallest speck. Are we really striving for that? In Leviticus 19, we see that God said to be holy because He is holy. Peter later repeated those very words in 1 Peter 1.

Do we honestly want to be holy and set apart, or are we too comfortable dabbling in a lifestyle of complacency?

Academics, theology, intellect, critical thinking, and philosophy are all important. But they don’t mean a thing if we aren’t living a life that is holy and pleasing to God.

Several days ago I went to Wal-Mart and bought a 4-pack of spoons for $1.00. At least I thought I did. After I got home, I realized I wasn’t charged for them.

This weekend I went back to Wal-Mart and took the bar code with me so I could pay for what I had stolen nearly purchased. When I got to the Customer Service desk, the girl looked at me like I was crazy because I wanted to pay for the spoons. She said, “Wait a minute, you came back to pay for something we didn’t charge you for?!?!? Hold on…I have to go find someone else. This has never happened before!”

She went and grabbed another co-worker who gave me the crazy look. She said, “So let me get this straight…we didn’t charge you for $1.00 spoons and now you’ve come back to pay for them?!?” “Yep, that’s right,” I told her.

The next thing she told me was rather disappointing: “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” That didn’t sit right with me. I told her, “No, I want to pay for them.” She gave me the crazy look again and said, “Seriously, you can leave.  You don’t have to pay for these. It’s not a big deal.” Being adamant, I politely told her, “No, I can’t do that. I feel like it would be stealing from the company. I want to pay for them.”

When I said that, both Wal-Mart employees threw their hands up in the air in disgust and one of the girls said, “Fine! If you want to pay for them, then pay for them! That will be $1.09.” They seemed slightly perturbed that my decision to pay for the spoons was actually forcing them to do their jobs. My bad! [For the Sheldon's of the world...that was sarcasm] The looks on their faces didn’t get much better when I pulled out my credit card, but oh well. They reiterated once more that they had never seen that happen before. At that, I took my receipt, said “Have a good day” and left.

I’m not trying to pat myself on the back for anything. I didn’t do anything special. I just paid for something I forgot to pay for previously, and $1.09 at that. But there’s 2 things that really struck me about the ordeal:

1) The workers had never seen that happen before. I would think that sort of thing happens everyday, and yet so few people in our world have the ethical mindset to correct the issue. Several years ago, my grandmother left a store and realized she hadn’t paid for a pack of gum. When she went back in to pay for it, one of the cashiers announced it to the entire store in almost a mocking manner. More than anything he was shocked that she came back in. That shouldn’t be shocking; that should be the norm. Sadly, it’s not.

2) The attitudes of the workers. Obviously Wal-Mart has plenty of money as a corporation and my spoons were not going to affect the paychecks of the two workers. But I was very surprised to see how adamant they were about not having me pay. Their attitudes showed they thought it was dumb for me to come back, and they didn’t want to bother with fixing them problem…even though it only involved clicking the scan gun and handing me a receipt. Yes, it was only $1.09, but in principle it shouldn’t have mattered if it was a pack of spoons or a $1599.99 flat screen HD TV. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. It’s sad that we have lost sense of true values. Sad, yet not surprising.

In an interesting side note…I’ve yet to hear a word back from Sonic…