Steve Lortz

A few comments about reality and legend. At one point before San Jacinto, Houston had Deaf Smith burn a bridge. The movie would have us believe it was behind the Mexicans and Houston had it burned to put his opponents between a rock and a hard place. Actually, the bridge was on the retreat route Houston's OWN men would have to take if THEY chose to cut and run. It was a little bit of preventive morale maintenance. I really liked the film's portrayal of Crockett. He didn't come off as the bluff, two-dimensional character we saw played by Parker and Wayne. I liked his fiddle playing, and his story about passing the potatoes, and his opening question on arriving at the Alamo, "The fighting IS over, here, isn't it?" The film showed him as a proto-celebrity trapped by his own public image. There has been quite heated debate recently about how Crockett actually met his end. Did he die swinging his ammunitionless "Old Betsy" like a club against a horde of attackers? Or did he survive the fighting, only to be executed later? "The Alamo" gives a nod to this controversy, but uses the occassion to add even more to the legend. The film delicately passes over exactly HOW Crockett became the last survivor from among the defenders. But what better way to top that than by having the hero alone, bloodied and on his knees, call for the surrender of the entire Mexican army... AND offer it clemency! Like I said, it wasn't the best movie that's ever come to town, but I did enjoy it! Love, Steve

The art director of "The Alamo" went to considerable lengths to capture "authentic" imagery. Crockett looked like the paintings we have of him (thankfully NOT like John Wayne). Houston's tricorn and the scene where Santa Anna surrenders Texas while the wounded Houston lays at the foot of a big tree were both taken from well known paintings. I was impressed with the visual presentation of the Mexican army and the fighting. The military buff in me was thrilled when the rank of Mexican pioneers, with their aprons, axes and bushy beards loomed up out of the darkness. When I saw the arcing "fireballs" in the teasers on TV, I thought that the film makers had given in to the Hollywood notion that nobody can fight without big explosions (see "Skeleton Island", "Timeline" et al.). But when they showed Mexican artillerists actually firing a battery of Congreve rockets, it all fell so perfectly into place. I have come to admire the real Juan Seguin, and I wish the character could have had a more heroic part in the movie. I liked the part where his amigos asked him how he could put up with such a bunch of low-lifes, and he replied "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." I don't think Santa Anna (the real one) was being blood thirsty just for the sake of blood thirstiness. The massacres at the Alamo and at Goliad were attempts to use terror as part of Santa Anna's Texan campaign. Santa Anna kept calling the Texans "pirates" in the movie. They actually WERE called "filibusters" at the time, another word for "pirates". Just goes to show where the thinking was, when early U.S. Senators were forming the traditions of that esteemed legislative body. I'll post some more later about how I perceived the film makers' handling of the balance between legend and reality. Maybe even a thing or two about toy soldiers. Love, Steve

My wife and I went to see "The Alamo" last weekend. As a movie, I don't think it was the greatest show to ever hit town, but I enjoyed it. I was one of those kids back in gradeschool during the mid-50s who idolized Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. I didn't have the 'coonskin cap. Mine was a tan colored broad-brim hat, but it had the logo. A few years back, my sister was using a metal detector in the yard where we grew up, and she found my old copper Davy Crockett ring. It had been whacked by a lawn-mower sometime in the intervening decades. What a shame! I've read a number of books about the Alamo since then, with variant interpretations of the events. I liked the movie "Gone to Texas" (at least I think that is the title) where Sam Elliot played Houston. It showed the battle where Bowie and his men took San Antonio de Bejar from General Cos. Houston ordered them to destroy the Alamo and get out of the place. His last line at that point was something like "This is a death trap." The movie then cuts immediately to a scene of the carnage following Santa Anna's assault on the mission. That's all that "Gone to Texas" showed of fighting at the Alamo. But "Gone to Texas" showed what was happening at Goliad at the same time, and it had a great representation of the battle of San Jacinto. Vastly superior to "The Alamo"'s version. "The Alamo" cut out too much, in my opinion, of "the great skedaddle". I have to go catch a bus. I'll add more later. Love, Steve

I suggest, since Rafael is a member of the Florida media, that we have him examine this thread for hanging chads. Love, Steve

I originally brought this thread back up to do research for WHICH IS TO BE MASTER - An Exposition of "Mike's" Doctrine And Practice From His Own Words, In Several Parts Part 1 - Introduction, page 103* Part 2 - Reformatting the Word of God, page 104* Part 3 - The Importance of Being Mindless, page 106* Come back to WHICH IS TO BE MASTER - ! Try it! You'll like it! Watch for Part 4 - Every Little Breeze Seems to Whisper...! Coming soon to a "Mike" thread near you! *Numbers refer to pages in the "Masters of the Word" thread.

If you've been following "Mike's" "Masters" thread, you will know that I am preparing an exposition of HOW "Mike says we are to "master" PFAL. "Mike" recently wrote to EWB, "You will NEVER understand what I am saying until you are willing to TEMPORARILY assume I am right and THEN think it all through. If you resist the key assumptions I have made, you cannot follow my theorems." "Mike" put forward some of his key assumptions in his early posts on this thread. I pulled it back up so I could refer to it without having to continually use the "advanced search" function, or comb through the back pages of "About the Way", three pages at a time. I offer my apologies to all for any discomfort it may have caused. Love, Steve

Just bringing this back up for ease of reference. Love, Steve

I took my father-in-law to the barber shop today. It's the first time we've gone there together. He's going to turn 88 in a few weeks, and he's suffering from early stages of Alzheimers. He shaved himself until a few weeks ago, then he forgot how to do it. I tried shaving him once, and decided it was a job for a pro. We went to a Big League Barbers shop. There was only one barber there, a lady. I think she was the manager. She was so tender and sweet with Charlie. She helped him get in and out of the chairs, and held his hand as he walked between them. She was very patient. She had Charlie comb his hair so she could see how he wanted it to look. She used a straight razor on Charlie's "wattles", and never nicked him, not even once. She jollied him along the whole time, and helped me walk him back out to the van. What service! What an example! Love, Steve

Doze wrote, "I love it... kinda like street corner preachers." I'm conflicted now. Should the new forum be called "Drive-by Prophets" or "The Street Corner"? Love, Steve

I voted for "Keep It Here", but I have some reservations. I enjoy exploring doctrinal questions that go beyond things we learned in TWI. Those threads should go to "Doctrinal" When a thread in "About The Way" goes into doctrine as taught by the Way, and related problems, I think it's okay for that thread to stay on "About The Way". I agree with Tom in that I think Mike's threads should have a forum of their own. They aren't really doctrinal. Mike doesn't discuss doctrine. He simply proclaims a new religion based on his perversion of PFAL. Mike's threads are ostensibly "About the Way", but they aren't really. They are just evangelism for his new religion. He has as much as admitted he's only in the "About the Way" forum to get hits. Love, Steve

I haven't seen the movie, yet. I'm still conflicted. There are some very interesting true stories about Civil War officers of, shall we say, less than stirling reputation who were hired by the ruler of Egypt to train his army for an uprising against the Ottomans. They didn't accomplish much with the army, but they did a lot of surveying on the upper Nile which laid some of the groundwork for Stanley, Livingston, et al. To the best of my understanding, the Japanese army was upgraded to western standards in the 19th century by GERMAN trainers. And 19th century samurai were sort of like modern British knights. They'd had their military teeth drawn for several hundred years already. I'm drawn to go see "The Last Samurai" for the spectacle, but I'm repulsed by the ahistoricity of its Hollywood knee-jerk, anti-dead-white-guy-Amerikanism. Love, Steve

I've been away for awhile. It's good to be back. Oldies pointed out that Wierwille wrote, "The enemies of the cross of Christ are those who do not believe or accept what Jesus did." Was Wierwille biblically accurate? ***** Philippians 3:17 "Brethren, be followers [imitators] together of me [Paul], and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 "(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)" ***** There is a figure of speech in verse 19, where the end is put first, and the slippery slope is presented in reverse order. The enemies of the cross of Christ begin by minding earthly things, literally "things upon the earth"... earthly titles, like "Dr."... earthly rewards, like money and adulation... earthly results... These are what enemies of the cross of Christ start by thinking about, and by setting their minds upon. "...whose glory is in their shame..." Enemies of the cross of Christ take pride in things they ought to be ashamed of. This first came home to me in considering "Athletes of the Spirit". If you review the tapes you'll find that nearly the very first words, and nearly the very last as well, are "We are proud...". The overweening pride and arrogance of TWI didn't spring full-grown with Martindale. He learned it from VPW. Wierwille and his followers, myself included for a time, took pride in derogating the cross and what it means to people. We should have been ashamed. "...whose God is their belly..." Enemies of the cross of Christ take the parts of their lives that should be dedicated to the worship of God, and devote those parts instead to the satisfaction of carnal appetites. Does this ring any bells? "Whose end is destruction... " What the enemies of the cross of Christ do comes to nothing but loss. The things they build are worthless, and do not stand. Where is TWI now? Where is it going? It IS what Wierwille built. Wierwille wrote, "The enemies of the cross of Christ are those who do not believe or accept what Jesus did." According to Hebrews 8 and 9, through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus mediated the New Covenant. By negating the New Covenant through teaching erroneous dispensationalism, by teaching that Hebrews and other parts of the New Testament are parts we can safely ignore, Wierwille demonstrated that intellectually and doctrinally, he DID NOT understand, believe, or accept what Jesus did. Love, Steve

And now "Timeline" is coming out. I read the book and enjoyed it. The movie probably won't be the most profound blockbuster to ever hit the screen, but it ought to be fun. Sort of like "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court". Love, Steve

I enjoyed the movie immensely. Having spent four years on a submarine, I can testify to the authenticity of some of the psychological states depicted among the crew, and the way they joked around. I think one of my favorite scenes was where they were brewing some kind of hootch from cactus. Love, Steve

The wife and I went to see "Matrix Revolutions"over the weekend. I enjoyed it, perhaps because I hadn't seen either of the first two movies, and didn't have any interpetational investments in it. I got a big kick out of those ships they flew around. They reminded me of the kind of ships Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon flew around in back in the 1930s, except their exhausts didn't have smoke going up and sparks going down. None of this spacious command center "Star Trek" hoohah :-) The big battle scenes reminded me of "Warhammer 40,000". The fight between Smith and Neo reminded me of something Jack Kirby might have drawn in the early '70s. The face formed by the swarming sentinels reminded me of "Zardoz". The end reminded me of the end to "Mars Attacks"! Love, Steve

I'm not what many people would call an Alamo buff, but I have been interested in it since my grade-school-age exposure to Walt Disney's "Davy Crockett". I always wanted one of the Marx Alamo playsets back then, but that was a little beyond our means. I have a reproduction playset now that I've augmented with bits and pieces I've picked up at toy soldier shows. I've done some casual reading on the battle of the Alamo and the Texan war of independence. I liked the movie "Gone To Texas". It doesn't go into a lot of detail about the Alamo itself, but it sure shows the context. Maybe someday I'll go visit the Alamo. Until then... I'll just have to keep watching "Peewee's Big Adventure" :-) Love, Steve

The wife and I went to see "Runaway Jury" night before last. I enjoyed it as a movie, even though I don't buy everything they portrayed the "gun industry" as being and doing. But we saw some good previews, too. "The Alamo" looks like it's going to be fun, especially for those of us who actually wore "Davy Crockett" hats to grade-school. The "Crockett" in the previews was very authentic to period representations. He didn't look like Fess Parker or John Wayne at all. After the American Civil War was over, a number of former officers went overseas to train "third world" armies. I read a book once about the men who went to Egypt to train the leader's army, who hoped to rise up against the Turks. They weren't able to do much good with the army, but they did do a lot of surveying up the Nile, and laid the foundation for the "Stanley and Livingstone" explorations. Well, apparently, "The Last Samurai" is a story about a similar situation in Japan. I'm looking forward to it. There was also a preview for "Master and Commander", where Russell Crowe has charge of a Napoleonic era man-of-war. It comes from a book by O'Brien, and has some of the same flavor as the Hornblower stories. And then... of course... "The Return of the King"! Maybe I'll go get a new prescription for my glasses before the month is out. Love, Steve

If we're all supposed to be one big happy family, then we're supposed to be treating each other BETTER than we treat the outsiders, whom the Word of God says we're to be GOOD to. We aren't supposed to rip each other off, the way Wierwille ripped off Leonard. We aren't supposed to take advantage of out brothers and sisters in Christ for the sake of money, power and sex. Yet that's exactly what Wierwille did. If TWI was a "family", it was a highly disfunctional one, not the kind of family relation we find described in Paul's writings. Hear, hear! Dot Matrix! Love, Steve

All this talk makes me nostalgic for "The Prisoner". That was the great "mystery" show when I was a pup. Love, Steve

In some important ways, I only skimmed the surface of TWI during the seven years I was involved. My heart goes out to all of the friends I've made here at Greasespot, who were used so much more dispicably than I was. I just wanted to say I'm thankful for Greasespot, and I love you all. Love, Steve

WWS - I think you may be picking something up from Mike. I recommend using sunglasses and latex gloves for a while when reading his threads. Love, Steve

I guess I'm just gregarious (hopefully not to be confused with egregious). Greasespot is a community in which I enjoy participating. Love, Steve

The usual banter is too heavy for me tonight, but I'm addicted. I can't go home without posting. So I'm posting this here to say I'm going to go watch "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". I'm thankful for all of you here at GSC, even Mike. Love, Steve

Jeff - Very much something to look and think about! Where DID you learn to use the word "withholds" in that sense? I followed the leaders of CES and they led me into a trap. I wouldn't necessarily hold that against them, but they still don't recognize that it WAS a trap. Their erroneous belief that they can't be fooled has gotten them into some terrific binds. Until they acknowledge the very real harm they caused their followers through their unthinking promotion of Momentus, I will not trust them as responsible leaders, nor will I sit silently by. Love, Steve

Jeff, "Sounds like you have some withholds my friend." Do I detect "Momentus" dialect there? I also worked for CES as a volunteer on the old "Dialogue", back before they decided they would listen only to things they wanted to hear. The last thing I heard from both John L. and Mark was that they would get back with me. It's been seven years, and they still haven't kept their words. I can't say that about John S. He just blew my question off. It was a question about being responsible as leaders. Love, Steve