My very brief history as an Amazon movie critic

These are all the reviews I wrote on Amazon.com way back in the foul year of our lord 2000:

so bad it's fascinating

April 12, 2000

There are bad movies and then there are bad movies which are so bad thier fascinating to watch over and over again.Who knew Verhoven could direct such a diabolical piece of trash? Who would have thought Berkley would ever play such a part(Im sure she was trying to distance herself from her Saved By The Bell image)? This movie is fascinating in that its portrayed as a serious drama but it all comes out in a very funny way.Terrible acting all around and a truly bad script.This is the Plan 9 From Outer Space of the nineties.

psychotically 
      terrible

April 12, 2000

When I first saw the theatrical teaser trailer in theaters I thought this was going to be amazing. A fresh look at a true classichow wrong I was. I was sure that this was going to be on the same level of what Scorsesse did for his Cape Fear remake. Then I heard it was a shot for shot remake just in color. This, mind you, is not a remake its plagerism in the worst degree. I saw it in the theater and was just disgraced. Then I rented it on DVD and it was just more of a disgrace.The commentary on the DVD is incredibly annoying. Especially Anne Heche you really get the feel that she doesnt really regard the original very highly here. The costume design on Heche is terrible and that shower scene with the intercut lightning? Its just distracting and takes you out of the scene. This movie could have been extremly horrific if it had been handled in a nineties fashion.Major dissapointment all around. END

(it should be noted that ever since i saw vince vaughns norman baits i've had a very hard time taking him serioulsy as an actor tho i did like him in starsky and hutch)

30th disgrace

April 2, 2000

What happened? Night of the living dead is one of the all time classics of horror.This limited edition of only 15000 (thank god) is terrible. Terrible soundtrack, terrible making of featurrette, terrible new scenes, etc. Oh and that score for the original come on what are they thinking??? No wonder these where the people who brought you Santa Claws.The only good thing to come out of this was that unbelievable crystal clear quality of the original. Given that quality, a score approved by director romero, and commentary with romero you've got a winner. Fortunately, one already exists. Dont waste your time on this one.

(little did I know that 10 years later I would friend request thee Debbie Rochon on the Facebook who played the reporter in this version, fortunately she is very cool and didn't delete me because of this universal hatred for this particular blasphemous version)

Limited Edition Rulez

April 2, 2000

Those of you who have the special limited edition of Army have been truly blessed.Presented here is an eye opening directors cut (with commentary by cambell and raimi) along with 4 deleted scenes that didnt get put back in.Also included is the theatrical release (for u studio purists) and everything that was put on the re-release video.A great movie made even better.

DEATH BY DAWN!!!

April 2, 2000 

(this was before the special edition came out)

The only reason I got this DVD was because I had the Evil Dead and Army special editions. And no evil collection is complete without that all important second chapter.Dont get me wrong I love this movie. But having this as the only DVD out there for ed2 is a travesty.Makers of DVD please give us a special edition of evil dead 2 that we can all be proud of. I beg u

crystal clear gore feast

April 2, 2000

Bruce Cambells commentary on the special edition DVD is worth the price of this disc alone. He tells with amazing professional accuracy how the film took 4 years to make and the trials and tribulations of the shoot.The 20 minutes of alt. takes and behind the scenes footage is a must see for any collector of this genre.Forget that other evil dead DVD this is the one to see.

criterion edition rulez

April 2, 2000

The most annoying thing for DVD fanatics is a movie that comes out on DVD with no bonus materials which is then re-issued with a ton on them.Rushmore is one such case.For one it was really expensive almost 30 dollars. You get so much more for an extra 10 dollars here. And at amazon with a price of 30 dollars you cant go wrong.The commentary is great. The Charlie Rose show with an interview by Murray, and director Wes Anderson (done separatly is also great). The making of documentary is done exceptionally well and the spoofs of armageddon, the truman show, and out of sight from the mtv movie awards are hilarious.

You can never go wrong with criterion

criterion dvd review

April 2, 2000

Im not going to read all 843 reviews so i figure "there are many like it but this one is mine."When I first saw this movie in the theater I hated it. I still hate it. Is it possible that u could have so much action in a movie that it bores u senseless? Yes it is.Ok now for the DVD criterion collection I absolutely loved it. First of all an unrated directors cut that has a store security sticker that says must be 18 to purchase. Well, criterion has never let me down so i got. The extra material really make this movie a whole lot better. Not this added footage in the movie mind you but michael bays commentary is definately a plus.Also a highlight on this is the gag reel. Its totally uncensored stuff and its great. Theres also a great technical commentary as well as excellent production making of featuretts.Definately not the greatest movie of all time but for the person who loves movie making this is the 1 for u.

Criterion the only     
                    way to go    

April 2, 2000

I was going up and down the bins of DVD section at my local record store and just about had a heart attack when i saw criterion put out SOTL on DVD.Years ago i saw this one in the laser disc bin and had always wanted to see it. Finally I have it and its great.The commentary really makes this a collectors item along with the deleted scenes.One of the best psychological thrillers of all time.Make your DVD collection complete with this criterion edition.

robocop X

April 2, 2000

The unrated directors cut of robocop is the reason I bought a dvd player. When it came out on laserdisc years ago i begged my parents to buy me 1 so i could see it they then looked at the price of the player and the robocop laser disc and flipped out. Later i found a book called the cutting room floor and it eased my pain of not being able to see it.Now i have it on dvd criterion and i couldnt be more thrilled with it. Although it doesnt have that much extra material it does change the feel of the movie. At the beginning when the executive gets blown away and some1 says "will some1 call a g.d. ambulance" is now hilarious and murphy's death has a much more lasting impact. Murphy's death is the most sadistic i have ever seen in a movie and with the added details its almost impossible to watch albeit there r some very noticeable editing spots in it. The commentary is really good pointing out the only time verhoven has ever appeared in one of his movies and how orion felt about the movie in general.This movie is one of the all time sci-fi classics and probably the most adult ever made definately not for the jar jar binks crowd.

holy mother load

April 2, 2000

WOW! What an amazing DVD or shall i say 3 DVDS.I had never seen this movie before i bought this collection but i knew all about the battle of brazil from a book called the cutting room floor.If you have absolutely nothing to do for this next week sit down and go through this set. Although a week might not be enough time.Watching the love conquers all version is appalling without the commentary and the transfer just looks terrible without widescreen.



The Gilliam transfer is beautifully done and the bonus materials will leave you with no doubt about the films meaning.This is criterions absolute best DVD that i have seen from them. A must for the DVD and movie fanatic.

out of print limited edition luck

April 2, 2000

I didnt even know this went out of print. What a tragedy. This criterion collection rules. Two audio commentarties an excellent one by spinal tap (themselves) and two hours of bonus material. The deleted scene with bruno kirby in the hotel room is classic and the dos sub-plot is hilarious.

Theres also a lot of tidbits like the cheese rolling films and hell hole vid.A must own criterion collection DVD.

DVD is WINNING!!!

April 2, 2000

Although I prefer the truman show over edtv comparing DVDs is a no brainer.You get so much more here. Two audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a making of featurrette, and some other tidbits.I still feel that this movie is a real sick look at societies obsession with television and this dvd reinforces this viewpoint.The extra features really make this movie a treasure for any collection.

hampster factors

April 2, 2000

After buying the criterion collection of Brazil i waited no longer to buy 12 monkeys DVD collectors edition.The making of documentary which runs almost 90 minutes is one the best making of a movie accounts I've ever seen. The only 2 that i have seen that have surpassed this was hearts of darkness (the making of apocolypse now) and under pressure (the making of the abyss).

The audio commentary only adds to the genius and madness of terry gilliam.A true gilliam masterpiece made even better.A must own DVD for any collector.

scarface thee DVD

April 2, 2000

The only thing negative about this DVD was the packaging. I bought this in complete faith that the extra material would be killer. And it it did not disappoint.The making of documentary is completly uncensored and gives great insight into the making of the movie by depalma, stone, pacino, and bregman among others who participated in the making of it. Also, the outtakes are great to have for any collector.The movie of course is a classic and not to be missed.

DVD a little disappointing

April 2, 2000

I first saw this movie on television and loved it. Although it was edited for tv i knew this was a classic. I then rented it and although it was even better as an r-rated feature it was slightly changed. Music had been replaced in certain scenes such as when jj leigh is walking down the high school hallway to a great tom petty tune it had been replaced by a much more depressing number(on the vhs version, thankfully the dvd has the tom petty number). And some of my favorite scenes in the movie were takin' out like brads visit to the guidance counselor.

This is a movie that is begging, kicking, and screaming for a directors cut.Also, the reliving our fast times documentary could have been better. Its mostly about how they got the cast. Not a lot of insight into the making of the movie.However, this DVD redeems itself by an outstanding commentary track by the director and writer. THEY KEEP TALKING ALMOST 10 MINUTES AFTER THE FINAL CREDITS! All in all this is a classic worhty of 5 stars but for a DVD a little dissapointing.

thee one, thee ONLY!!!

April 2, 2000

Probably the greatest musical of all time has made its way unto DVD. This expanded version is excellent, though it was dissappointing to learn that a lot of extra material was destroyed by Universal, this version is first rate. The making of documentary is extremly informative. A must have for the true DVD collector!

killer DVD but . . .

April 2, 2000

Comparing the R-Rated version to the directors cut is like comparing a butter knife to a steak knife.I first saw this movie as an r-rated rental and loved it. I immediately knew this movie was going to be the citizen kane of the nineties. I mean look at these reviews its either 1 star or 5. Citizen Kane got the same if not worse reviews when it came out. The same can be said for Disney's Fantasia (1940).The directors cut is my absolute favorite film of all time. Nothing can compare to this onslaught to the senses. The music is incredible and stones drug hazed perception of society is dead on.Additions to the DVD is obviously the commentary but wheres the 9 inch nails vid and the introduction to the movie?

Anyone who is as obsessed about the movie as I am I highly recommend a book called 'Killer Instinct' by Producer Jane Hamsher.

Psycho (collector's edition DVD)

April 2, 2000

Well what is there left to say that has not been said said here already? This is the first DVD i ever bought and let me say it was no disappointment. The extras r to die 4 especially the making of documentary. It almost an hour and a half long! A have DVD for any collection.

nightmares 

on DVD, oh my 

April 2, 2000

I've loved this movie since I was 7 years old and it still holds up 17 years later.The first story still has the power to give u a really good shock.The second 'bishop of battle' is my personal favorite and anyone who is a video game freak should love it.The 3rd is reminiscient of spielbergs Dual.And the 4th should scare anyone who has a rat phobia.Although a great and underappreciated horror movie the DVD could have used some bonus material. But all we get here is a full framed version (probably the way it was filmed since it was originally meant for television) and the trailer.Oh well, this a must see for any serious horror buff.

commentary better than the movie

April 2, 2000

I first saw the movie about 10 years ago and thought it was one of the greatest movies i had seen since a clockwork orange. A couple years ago i read a book called sex pistols and america which was about thier tour of america and i realized that there were a lot of inaccuracies about the movie in particular the stuff with the sex pistols. But everything after the pistols break up in the movie still really affects me like no other movie can.This DVD is amazing for historical accuracy. The commentary is outstanding and the stuff from DOA is downright disturbing.

The only problem with the disc is that on the grundy show and the making of documentary they couldnt get the rights to use any of the sex pistols songs so they have been dubbed over with really annoying laughter.This DVD is a must for sex pistols collectors.

DVD ROCKS the house

April 2, 2000

I first became aware of the Apollo 13 mission when i saw a documentary on TBS called moonshot. Its an amazing account of the mercury, gemini, and apollo missions. Any1 reading this needs to go and rent it at your local video store if you can find it.As for this DVD its amazing. The audio commentary by Jim and Marilyn Lovell is among the best i have ever heard. And the making of documentary is great as well.For the DVD fanatic u cant go wrong this collection.

the feast of friends

April 2, 2000

For anyone who has seen the home video version of dance on fire u havent seen it until u have viewed this collection. A new director approved L.A. Woman is worth the price of this DVD alone. The end has been excluded from this version but dont fret because its on live at the hollywood bowl. The commentary is outstanding and the bonus material is great. A must for any Doors fan.

The Worst Songs Ever Made

This is from a facebook note about the worst songs on planet earth:

August 31, 2010 at 12:23 p.m.

The Soundtrack Rejects

dick clark says music is the soundtrack to your life. everyone pretty much takes that as the good stuff but i say the even the almighty shitlist of bullshit has its memorable memories.

the following r some of the songs that when i hear them make me go i gotta get out of here before i vomit on this 2000 dollar laptop

drift away (yatta hay) - just gay if this is getting lost in your rock n roll rock is truly dead. last year in the land of the cheese wiz the grassroots played this song for their audience participation number. nothing like seeing a bunch of biker dudes with their arms in the air swaying back and forth and singing i wanna get lost in your rock n roll and drift away. possibly the gayest thing i've ever witnessed

you cant go home - bon jovi has gotten progressively worse since i was in junior high and that was 20 some years ago. first time i heard this i went you cant go home??? fuck you bon bon country. and then when i was working at that car wash for a day cause i figured it would score points with dan the man in freezing march in the land of the cheese wiz i hear it yet again doing a slave labor job and thinking maybe he's saying you can go home o.k. im with ya then he sings been all around the world and if that didnt sink in the first time doing slave labor to score some cool points that lasted 5 minutes he adds 'and thats a matter of FACT' like a rolling stone. i said FUCK YOU BON BON COUNTRY once again

dont wanna miss a thing - same with aerosmith of course there is a country version thats even worser. armageddon the biggest money maker of 1998 was the first movie i ever saw in a theater that had so much action in it it bored me senseless. then what the hell did i do when it came out on criterion dvd directors edition. i bought it. that michael bay sure does know how to do dvd's. i also bought his 4 disc edition of pear harbor which is by far the worst movie ever made. its not good even in a showgirls type of capacity

janies got a gun - the summer of 89 sticks out because of this video. mtv must have played this every half hour along with every radio station in the country. and they still do

i remember you - when this came out mtv had a special march madness video call in thing. u called in and choose which vid was the best. it came down to this one and paula abdules scatman animation video. on the day of the finals these r the only 2 videos they showed. sebastian even said when they were playing this every 5 minutes he was sick of it

every picture paints a story glazed donut - a song i came across listening to step daddies record collection. i never cared for rod stewart and this is the best example

little pink houses - john cougar melonhead actually started getting booed doing this song in the midwest during the 04 election lol

honkey tonk woman - yuck too much cowbell. i would not be surprised if there is a law in cali that sais if your a band and all u do is covers that 75% of your set has to be disco music, you have to play honkey tonk woman, and you have to end your set with either i love rock n roll or sweet child o mine

when the children cry - seriously also takes me back to 89. my sister had this and it was at the time she was also funding one of those poor children in the third world and trying to save my soul. if i have to be depressed all the time and think this is music my soul is indeed in peril

wham - jitterbug????? the beginning of gay rock not much of a surprise when years later george michaels, ricky martin. and lance bass came out of the closet

hey now your a rock star get your game on go play your an all star - gay rock in the mililtary. one of the three top favorite genres for the military duufus along with the dixie chicks when they were just hot. i do love the dixie chicks now but that was way after ready to run from the runaway bride just terrible. also hey now your a cock star was the song used in the opening credits of shrek 2. i loved the first movie. they used bad reputation in it :) when i rented the second one and heard that song i turned it off. to this day i've never seen shrek 2

dont call me daughter im not your fadda i dont need u to remind me - the one time i gave pearl jam a fair listen and then they shit on me with this crap along with EEEEEVERFLOW is that some sort of tampon? and of course the nauseating cant find a butterman

sugarland stay? that video where the girl cries. right up there with when the children cry. this was on the country top 20 for like 2 years and my mother couldnt even handle it. she's gonna cry wait for it wait for it THERE IT IS. thats my momma

hard to handle - the radio and every playlist in west covina has this one on repeat. here i am IM A MAN on a your scene??? HEY BABY. hard to handle a kissa a nah sha na na OH BABY blah

i will always love you - headache extra ordinary. dream girls would take this to another level. whitney was so popular in the early nineties hbo even did a special concert and their hook for gettin you to watch was to play this song and say something like witness the one night only where whitney holds that note forever...

mr. jones - the counting crows can suck it. in 1994 104.9 in rockford played this while i waited and waited and waited for them to play a request they never played till i called up yet again and cursed out the d.j. poor claudia wolf

pretty little love song - im getting a ride from work and the radio started playing this. 10 minutes later i arrive back at my little room and its still going u cant go wrong with a pretty little love song

squeeze box - mommas gotta squeeze box every one likes it short and nice??? its goes in and out and in and out and in and out. . . ummmm just gross. it sais a lot when a band can do this song and its awesome and thats what tenacious d managed at vh1 rock honors show. never thought that was possible

all summer long - kid country. this summer this song has managed to find its way onto a lot of set lists by bands who really love their disco music

boogie woogie noogie upside my head - another disco number that makes me ? whether or not im really just back in the land of the cheese wiz

more than words - cant believe after the glorious play with me extreme does this WTF????

every rose has its thorn/something to believe in - both songs r of equal terribleness by the man who cannot get a girlfriend. first time i heard something to believe in was on a special headbangers ball at donnington and mr i cant get a girlfriend whips out his accustic and belts this one out. WTF??? is headbangin about that???

kiss by prince. ive been hearing a mexicali version of this song lately and its kinda o.k. the prince version is like having to see ryan scott try to mack on his girl everyday before gym class

takin it to the streets - my sister is a huge 700 club wathcher. that and mr. rogers. back in the last half of the eighties 'the club' did a segment called of all things 'takin it to the streets' featuring this song. one of the cheesiest things ever. they spent so much time preaching to me im listening to devil music and they're playing a song by a band whos name insists we all go smoke some doobies in a van down by the river??? i remember this song comin on, me wanting to vomit while they talked about this homeless artist. besuretodrinkyourovaltine. vote for pat robertson in 88

hillbilly bone - blake shelton and his gay partner can suck it. that is all that needs to be said about that one

wherewolves of london - bob segar???? a song i never heard that much of till i landed in cali. wow is that one terrible

wonderful tonight - has clapton ever rocked as solo dude??? i mean you have your cream and sunshine of your love and derek and the dominoes. eddie van halen even said the was the best concert he ever did see. but wonderful tonight??? tears in heaven??? propaine err cocaine???? i shot the sheriff??? ummm no. with wondeful tonight first time i heard it i thought what monstrosity of a video could this produce and i got my answer during the 92 olympics. i was really big on the girls gymnastics and had watched it pretty closely for a couple of years. so eagerly anticipated the olympics and when good ol kim zemeskil was just about ready they played a montage of the team with this freakin' song???? and of course showing the zemeskil putting on her makeup. and didnt think she looked all that wonderful and it the whole video probably cursed her as she did not come close to getting a gold medal

Surviving the Sixties

This is another assignment I had in Media and Society about if I had lived in the sixties what would I have done or been into? What would my life be like? So here it is. . . my vision of Art Holmes living in the sixties:

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Surviving the Sixties

So what would I have done without all the distractions of technology in the sixties? Assuming that I graduated high school in 1969 that is a damn good question. Go cruising and parking with a hot girl perhaps in a bitchin' muscle car? Have a baby? Focus on my future? Worry about the draft? Move to Canada? Do a lot of drugs and alcohol? Learn to play a mean game of pool? Be the king of the bowlers? Hitchhike to Haight Ashbury, Washington D.C., Woodstock?

I think knowing myself the way I do, I think the draft would be my biggest concern. I definately would have been into The Beatles, The Doors, and Hendrix, and dreaming of a life in Southern California where it was all happenin'.  But I have to assume that I'm stuck in the cheese wiz utopia known as Milton, Wisconsin at the mercy of my parents, stuck in a life that anyone with a soul and half a brain would call hell. 

I would have been very focused on what was going on in Vietnam. Growing up in the eighties and nineties I was so into music and making my own projects that I never really focused on what was going on outside of my life. It was'nt until I ended my term of service in the military and Dubya going to war with Iraq that I really started to focus on all that stuff in my later twenties. Without all the technological distractions I can only assume that the sixties could not have happened because what else did people have to do? Go to the movies, watch the news or switch the channel to Laugh In to escape the constant barrage of war, get married and have babies? Work a job you hate for 20 years, get a pension cause you could get one back then. Of course that was the normal thing to do. But your smoking 3 packs a day and an alcoholic, ignoring your pregnant wife who slaves all day being Molly homemaker while your playing poker with your manly man friends in your smokey man cave. Sounds awesome. 

In the fifties when everything was perfect it was this Leave it to Beaver utopia and that was what you were supposed to do. Be the breadwinner, get married, have kids. The cycle repeats itself and everyone is hunky dorey swell. Come into the sixties and you have these kids who have not been corrupted and brainwashed and feeling this immense need to be authentic individuals, to connect with humanity, and make a change in the world that was becoming a matrix of bullshit. I'm not so sure the sixties movement could have happened with all the distractions we have now?

On the commentary track for 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' Terry Gilliam talks about how he made the movie for the college crowd but it's the fourteen and fifteen year olds who come up to him and say how much they liked the movie. Gilliam sais this has to do with the fact that teenagers have'nt been corrupted by society yet so they're the ones who really identify with the themes of the movie.

In today's world we have occupy wallstreet which gives me hope, but we also have the Glen Becks of the world who make thinking obsolete and fear is the name of the media game. In the sixites there were three channels and on one of them you had Walter Cronkite getting up from his desk and saying that the mission in Vietnam will not work and everyone listened. Even in the fifties you had Edward R. Murrow and his trusty friend Mr. Smokey telling us about the evils of McArtheism. Today our equivalant to Cronkite and Murrow is Jon Stewart on Comedy Central and Keith Olbermann on Current TV and born again republicans have their O'Reilleys and Hannities, Steve Ducey's and guys that are not Steve Ducey but want to be Steve Ducey.  

Had I lived in the sixties I believe I would have found out a lot more about myself at an earlier age. Maybe I would have gone the married with a pile of kids route and ended up just like my dad because I would'nt have known any better. Sometimes I wish we were living in the sixties so I wouldnt have to hear some annoying cell phone ring tone every other minute. As Tony Soprano once said about the cell phone before he beat the crap out of his bartender for not being able to work the phone, "we were better off before."

I do love living in the future but on the flip side for every technology advance I'm pretty sure America takes two steps backwards into the realm of an idiocracy where Darwinism has become obsolete. Technology makes our lives easier but it also makes us dumb and dumberer and it's your choice to take the blue pill or the red pill when everything you ever wanted to know is right at your fingertips. 

But at the end of the day I believe we were born at the time we were meant to be born into to accomplish and learn whatever life lessons come our way and to have certain life experiences that could'nt be experienced in any other time in history.

How to do a PICTure hACK using Blogger

POP QUIZ HOT SHOT!!!

Your ex girl sends you a picture of yourself from 13 years ago on the Facebook but for some reason it's one of those you can not drag and drop into your desktop so what do you do?

Well, one solution is to copy and paiste. Yes, did you know you can actually copy and paiste photos? Well you can with Blogger. I learned this a couple of posts back when I copy and paisted some facebook conversation threads into thee Blog Post How to get someone to DELETE you from their Facebook in 8 minutes and low and beholdE it copy and paisted all the profile photos which I so did not expect. 

So today when I was completely perplexed why I couldn't drag and the drop the photos sent to me in the Facebook messenger place I figured I would try this copy and paiste method and lo and beholdE it 

FREAKIN' WORKED!!!

And, as an added bonus, you can actually change the picture size :) 

It's like mana from the heavens place. 

10:27am

• In conclusion the only conclusion is, 
• is that, 
• I RULE!!! 
• 
  

Now if I could figure out how to get rid of that damn white border back ground, 

I would RULE!!! 

even more

God sais fuck religion choose spirituality (from Conversations with God Book 2 by Neale Donald Walsch)

I did not write this post. God did. This may be the greatest thing I've ever read between the difference of organized religion and spirituality. And no thee G man did not actually say FUCK but in so many words the point is driven home to that level.

This also validates my previous post The Facebook Archives: How to get someone to delete you in 8 minutes to an amazing degree.

March 4, 2011 at 12:10 p.m.
So last night I'm reading this interview with God and of course God yet again validates my own thought process. Heres the final pages of Book 2:

NDW:

What avenues can be used right here, right now, to get back to wisdom, to get back to clarity, to get back to God? Do we need to return to religion? Is that the missing link?

THE BIG G:

Return to spirituality, forget about religion

NDW:

Why do You say, forget about religion?

G:

Because it is not good for you. Understand that in order for organized religion to succeed, it has to make people believe they need it. In order for people to put faith in something else, they must first lose faith in themselves. So the first task of organized religion is to make you lose faith in yourself. The second task is to make you see that it has the answers you do not. And the third and most important task is to make you accept its answers without question.

If you question, you start to think! If you think, you start to go back to that Source Within. Religion can't have you do that, because you're liable to come up with an answer different from what it has contrived. So religion must make you doubt your Self; must make you doubt your own ability to think straight.

The problem for religion is that very often this backfires--for if you cannot accept without doubt your own thoughts, how can you not doubt the new idea about God which religion has given you?

Pretty soon, you even doubt My existence--which, ironically, you never doubted before. When you were living by your intuitive knowing, you may not have had Me all figured out, but you definately knew I was there!

It is religion which has created agnostics.

Any clear thinker who looks at what religion has done must assume religion has no God! For it is religion which has filled the hearts of men with fear of God, where once man loved That Which Is in all its splendor.

It is religion which has ordered men to bow down before God, where once man rose up in joyful outreach.

It is religion which has burdened man with worries about God's wrath, where once man sought God to lighten his burden!

It is religion which told man to be ashamed of his body and its most natural functions, where once man celebrated those functions as the greatest gifts of life!

It is religion which taught you that you must have an intermediary in order to reach God, where once you thought yourself to be reaching God by the simple living of your life in goodness and in truth.

And it is religion which commanded humans to adore God, where once humans adored God because it was impossible not to!

Everywhere religion has gone it has created disunity--which is the opposite of God.

Religion has separated man from Gojd, man from man, man from woman--some religions actually telling man that he is above woman, even as it claims God is above man--thus setting the stage for the greatest travesties ever foisted upon half the human race.

I tell you this: God is not above man, and man is not above woman--that is not the "natural order of things"--but it is the way everyone who had power (namely, men) wished it was when they formed their male-worship religions, systematically editing out half the material from their final version of the "holy scriptures" and twisting the rest to fit the mold of their male model of the world.

It is religion which insists to this very day that woman are somehow less, somehow second-class spiritual citizens, somehow not "suited" to teach the Word of God, preach th Word of God, or minister to the people.

Like children, you are still arguing over which gender is ordained by Me to be My priests!

I tell you this: You are all priests. Every single one of you.

There is no one person or class of people more "suited" to do My work than any other.

But so many of our men are just like your nations. Power hungry. They do not like to share power but merely exercise it. Yet I tell you this: God's greatest gift is the sharing of God's power.

I would have you be like Me.

NDW:

But we cannot be like You! That would be blasphemy.

G:

The blasphemy is that you have been taught such things. I tell you this: You have been made in the image and Likeness of God--it is that destiny you came to fulfill.

You did not come here to strive and to struggle and to never "get there." Nor did I send you on a mission impossible to complete.

Believe in the goodness of God, and believe in the goodness of God's creation--namely, your holy Selves.

NDW:

You said something earlier in this book which intrigued me. I'd like to go back as we come to the end of this volume. You said: "Absolute Power demands absolutely nothing." Is this the nature of God?

G:

You have now understood.

I have said, "God is everything, and God becomes everything. There is nothing which God is not, and all that God is experiencing of itself, God is experiencing in, as, and through you." In My purest form. I am the Absolute. I am Absolutely Everything, and therefore, I need, want, and demand absolutely nothing.

From this absolute pure form, I am as you make Me. It is as if you were finally to see God and say, "Well, what do you make of that?" Yet, no matter what ou make of Me, I cannot forget, and will always return to, My Purest Form. All the rest is a fiction. It is something you are making up.

There are those who would make Me a jelous God; but who could be jealous when one has, and is, Everything?

There are those who would make Me a wrathful God; but what could cause Me to be angry when I can not be hurt or damaged in any way?

There are those who would make Me a vengeful God; but on whom would I take vengeance, since all that exists is Me?

And why would I punish Myself for simply creating? Or, if you must think of us as seperate, why would I create you, give you the power to create, give you freedom of choice to create what you wish to experience, then punish you forever for making the "wrong" choice?

I tell you this: I would not do such a thing--and in that truth lies your freedom from the tyranny of God.

In truth, there is no tyranny--except in your imagination.

You may come home whenever you wish. We can be together again whenever you want. The ecstasy of your union with Me is your to know again. At the drop of a hat. At the feel of the wind on your face. At the sound of a cricket under diamond skies on a summer night.

At the fist sight of a rainbow and the first cry of a newborn babe. At the last ray of a spectacular sunset and the last breath in a spectacular life.

I am with you always, even unto the end of time. Your union with Me is complete--it always was, always is, and always will be.

You and I are One--both now and even forevermore.

Go now, and make of your life a statement of this truth.

Cause your days and nights to be reflections of the highest idea within you. Allow your moments of Now to be filled with the spectacular ecstasy of God made manifest through you. Do it through the expression of your Love, eternal and unconditional, for all those whose lives you touch, Be a light unto the darkness, and curse it not.

Be a bringer of the light.

You are that.

So be it.