In the Lane, Snow is Glistening!

Saw a great Chevy commercial tonight...Scruffy male shopper in a heavy ranch jacket is admiring a Chevy Silverado truck in the showroom. He's approached by white-haired-and-bearded heavy-set salesman.

"It's a beauty, huh? Long lasting. Dependable, too," says the salesman (who needs to hold a mug emblazoned "Nick," because the oversized name tag is not as obvious! Unlike Mercedes' choice of Peter Xifo for the role, this one is the typical ultra white, long haired and long bearded Santa type. Is that a reflection on Chevy?)

"Yeah, I could really use a Silverado," the shoppper offers. "I'm a big hunter."

"Oh, what do you hunt?" ask the salesman.

"Deer," he says as he turns to Nick. He blinks looking at the salesman's iconic image, and corrects himself, "...fish."

"You hunt fish. How does that work, exactly?" asks Nick.

"Put a bunch of camouflage on," he says gesturing to his face and upper body, "and look in the water."

It gets better...you've got see it!




Thanks Chevy, for upholding gun rights and hunting (and fishing), and making the hunter thoughtful.

Two thumbs up!

Sheyrllyn McClintock

Are You Listening?

Staying on Mercedes, this commercial is similar, from a previous campaign.

In this one, the "reindeer" don't stay together, but are gifts in neighboring driveways as Nick drives away in his coupe.



I dunno...I'd wonder if everyone on my street had a silver Mercedes in the driveway on Dec 25. And what would Santa do for his reindeer team the rest of the night? And next year?

Naw...this year's version with Peter Xifo is well thought out and executed.

Sleigh Bells Ring...

I saw some great commercials this weekend. I love their creativity!

The first was for the Mercedes Winter Event. Apparently, MB has been using this theme idea for years, but this is the first one I've seen.



It opens with Nick turning the head of a generic wooden soldier (the secret switch), which opens the secret door (the toy shelf) to his hidden lair...his "sleigh" garage. Only Santa's is exclusively full of candy (cane) red Mercedes-Benz's cars of various vintages.

I like the hi-res version of this commercial because you can see the cars better. Who can name them off? They are beautiful!

I like the actor playing Nick, too - not the typical ultra-white hair guy with an extra long and full beard. His is still a little dark and neatly trimmed...Santa as a metro-sexual? LOL.

Apparently I found the actor's YouTube page. His name is Peter Xifo. Good job Peter! (Watching his demo reel he played Nick on The Mentalist last year. It was one of those seasonal episodes that was actually watchable! Kudos to The Mentalist & Peter!)


Nick's garage is incredible. Big cathedral paned windows, great woodwork. I really like it when the sports coupe starts and flashes its headlights. "Pick ME!" Nick smiles, eyes twinkling, and opens the driver's door.

As he drives out of the garage, and the first curve of the driveway, he comes up behind 8 silver Mercedes, standing ready to lead the way.

The imagery of Santa in a red sleigh, and the 8 reindeer is great. But where's Rudolph, with a red nose? There's Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen...Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen (thank you Johnny Marks for composing and Burl Ives for singing!). C'mon Mercedes, complete the image...maybe put a police bubble on top of another silver Mercedes?

Silver Mercedes promotions seem to be the big incentive these days. Lots of companies have them and the cars are very obtainable (I've driven a free car since 2005).

When I won my car the company allowed you to chose what you wanted. Seeing gas would be rising, I chose small and economical. The payment from the company pays for the car and a tank of gas...how cool is that?

And now the focus is on Silver Mercedes. I rather resist fitting into a standard shapes...a square peg in a round hole kind of gal. A silver car? Not my favorite color. Especially if it is ubiquitous.

But the hot red sports MB coupe? Oh yeah. I'll take that!

Sheryllyn McClintock

Thoughts on Black Friday

Today we played, as we always do. But my teenage daughter had a fascination with Black Friday, and Target (.25  miles from our home) had some interesting things, and guess who showed up for the midnight opening.

She was expecting riots and trampling crowds (the pepper spray at Walmart was a surprise). Everyone was very well behaved, and the there were at least 400 people!

We arrived at 11:30pm, waited for midnight, and wandered over near the door. They were well organized and we wandered around the building to find the end of the line.

It moved quickly. By the time we entered the store, every cart was in use! I've never seen every cart gone!

Electronics was was a zoo, as to be expected. We looked around for things on our list, found very little. We went to the front of the store, and they were using crowd control for the cashier's line.

I spent about $35, and was in bed by 1:05 AM.


After we got home from playing, I went over to Target again. The store was pretty empty (it was about 8:30 PM), and I found EVERYTHING on my list. It was great! No crowds, plenty of carts and staff to answer questions.

Lesson: sure...if Black Friday has something you want, go get it. Just go in off hours. Stores have X number of products to distribute over the weekend. Why be a part of the crush and fight over what you want...or not find it? Go later, shop, and succeed.

As with life, it's all about timing.

Sheryllyn

Absolutely Hysterical!

Once in a while, you see a really great commercial.

I'm not one for Black Friday (or Justin Bieber), yet this commercial has me rolling in laughter for longer than the commercial lasted!

Way to go Macy's! You picked a good agency!




No Black Friday for me. Well, maybe at midnight tonight. Tomorrow... It's playtime!

Have a safe weekend!

It's Not Him

Sigh.

I received a call this morning from a Marty, a staff member of Morgan Griffith, Congressman for Virginia.

I had written to Mr. Griffith to see if we might be related.

I can't find any recent information on our grandfather (nothing since 1930 census). He and Mr. Griffith have the same name, and are from the same area (Philly, PA). I was so hoping that a) he would respond and b) we were second cousins.

Well, he responded, at least through Marty. Turns out he is into history, and has done some work on his geneology. But no, it doesn't appear we share the same grandfather.

Mr. Griffith graciously invited me to make contact if I am in DC. Next time I go to Baltimore, I'll try. (and I'll give you a heads up too, Neil!)

Morgan Griffith of Glenolden PA, born 1902 in North Carolina, what happened to you? Where is your family? Is there someplace in Ancestry.com I've missed?

Maybe a trip to Philadephia is in order. Well, after Mom stabilizes a bit.

If you've got ideas, do share!

Bishop Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral (It Always Was Roman Catholic)

Today the courts announced that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (California) had won their bid to purchase the Crystal Cathedral brought to fame by Robert Schuller and his show the "Hour of Power."

When the corporation that owns Crystal Cathedral filled for bankruptcy last year, it was $81.5 MILLION in debt. This staggering number blows my mind.

The sale of the property was for $57.5 million. Quite a short sale. The Diocese now has an Orange County cathedral.




Photo from Jae C Hong/AP; Oct 27, 2011


Several members of the congregation were on the grounds last night, complaining that 'their church had been stolen from them,' that 'they had paid for it over 30 years, and now it was gone.'

Sorry loves. It was never yours. Yes, you made your donations, and yes that money was used to purchase the grounds, pay Schuller, support outreaches, pay Schuller, pay staff, and pay Schuller. You may have even paid for a brick or a window and put your name on it. That didn't make it yours.

Let's look at the detail.

The Board of Directors for the Crystal Cathedral Ministries decided Wednesday to move their support from Chapman University's bid ($59 million) for the property to the Archdiocese. Instead of turning it into a medical school, they decided to keep it as a "religious institution." They felt this respected the wishes of those who funded the original project.

In reality, over the weekend, the Diocese bumped their $55.4 million offer to $57.5 million, throwing in a $300,000 annuity for Robert H Schuller and his wife Arvella. Really? Is this the reason the BOD decided to take less money and give it to the Roman Catholics? Yet they cited "religious institution?"

Questions:
a) Where is there a board of directors in the scriptures? Elders yes, Board of Directors, no. (That's one indication the church is not correctly established.)
b) Those who funded the project were funding (they thought) a PROTESTANT ministry. And now, just to keep it 'religious' it's going to be a Roman Catholic organization. Oh, how the Reformation has been forgotten. Ironically, Schuller originally represented the Reformed Church in America.
c) The present church corporation was founded fairly recently, in 1995.


From the court records:

• The present congregation has three years to desert the property. That's an amazing generous lease-back provision.
• The purchase includes a $300,000 annuity (annual payment) to Robert & Arvella Schuller until they die. That's also amazingly generous. A representative of the Diocese said they wanted to provide for Schuller in his senior years. $300K a year is a lot of providing.
• Robert H Schuller had retired, and turned the church over to his son Robert A Schuller. He had the highest salary, of $196,478 annually. And now daddy is getting a $100K+ bump.
• The Diocese will not be changing the outside of the building. They don't need to, it already has a statue of Christ! So much for the commandment of no idols or images of God, Christ or the Holy Spirit.
• The Diocese has to do very little to the inside of the sanctuary. They will add some statues, and an alter (which always contains some of the cross that Christ died on).
• In three years the congregation will be moved to "a smaller facility that houses a [Roman] Catholic church."

Is anyone else seeing how Roman Catholic Robert Schuller and his church already were? The Diocese is going to take care of him, like a good retired bishop. And the congregation will moved to a Roman Catholic church.

If the congregation didn't know they were Roman Catholics in Protestant clothing, they should now.

Yes, I would have gone with Chapman University and a medical school. If Bob didn't learn how to live within his means, and already provide for his retirment years (I'm sure he did) then he wasn't following what he should have been teaching. Does his estate really need a 300K boost each year?

I've never been a fan of Robert Schuller. I grew up with Hour of Power. We belonged to a good Presbyterian church in Northern KY, yet my mother preferred the modern version of Norman Vincent Peale-isms that Schuller espoused (I can't call his pep talks a sermon). After my father died and mom still didn't attend our church, the pastor asked me where she was. I told him about Schuller, and he honestly responded with "who stood with her and buried her husband? Who will marry her children?" Amen, Bing!

Years later, when I would travel as a Califonian, and I would give my city, I would always hear Schuller's name, statements of how great the show was and be asked what I thought of it all (it is like the only thing in my city was him). My response was always the same..."Ah yes. The famous actor Bob Schuller. One day he may win an Oscar." Never did I meet anyone watch or supported his show. Yet the sputtering responses I would get were a crack up.

Fame, popularity, or financial success doesn't mean you are right. Or pleasing God. Or producing something that honors Him, even if you throw in His name a lot. Nope, I'm not his fan.

In the past year I did meet two members of his congregation, a mid-70s married couple. It was during a sales call, and he brought up that he was an Elder of Bob's. Politics and Religion are two subjects you avoid during sales. An Elder...I know what that means, so we chatted about that. Guess what...Bob (or his non-biblical Board of Directors) had changed the definition of an Elder, too! By scriptural definition, this dear man was not an Elder. Bob, Bob, Bob. How far did your misguidings go? And why are you now being rewarded by the Roman Catholics? Well, you have done a lot to promote their cause.

The good news is the congregants now have the opportunity to find a church where they will hear the gospel. Honor God. Follow what the Bible says. Find a church that sings the Psalms, that avoids musical instruments, that deals with sin, that celebrates the resurrection of Christ every week, not just in the Spring.

God is very specific in the Bible about what is required for worship that pleases Him. He's strict! He tells you exactly what he wants. If there are images of God, move on. If they offer a play or a musical or "modern worship," move on. If your ears are tickled by the service, if the sermon examples are fluff and not scriptures themselves, then keep looking. Conviction and forgiveness are good things.

If you honestly believe that 'being a good person' is enough to get into heaven, understand that it is not. What's required is right there, in the scriptures. Then you can rightfully call yourself a Christian.

If you need some help finding a faithful church, let me know. And read my post from yesterday,
Nov 16, 2011.

Honor God, above all.