This past weekend I watched Alexandra Pelosi's documentary "Friends of God" (wikipedia entry) on HBO. Though perhaps not openly ridiculing its subject, the film did seem to be a road-trip tour of the freakish elements of evangelical America with little or no reference to its mainstream. For what it is, it was enjoyable. Two segments stick out in my memory. First, the "Christian" professional wrestling. I had heard of this before, but its absurdity was crystal clear upon seeing it on film (which raises the question, shouldn't it have been just as obvious before? Yes, admittedly it should have). Secondly, at one point Ted Haggard (who has a prominent role in the film) is talking with a couple of his church members who brag that their wives, ahem, achieve full satisfaction every time they are intimate. Off camera, you hear the filmmaker say something like: "I've got to go to this church!" I give it four out of five.

Mike Cope points to a NY Times article of the same title that tells of the story of what some of his relatives are doing to help improve the lives of children around the world. This is something that's been on my mind a bunch lately. It's hard to imagine any better use of one's time and energy than giving mercy to a child.

• Forgotten Genius, PBS, Tue 8 PM
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, TCM, Tue 11 PM
• Futurecar, Discovery ,Wed 8 PM
• The List of Adrian Messenger, Sundance, Sun noon

From a NY Times article of the same title by Stuart Elliott about the Super Bowl ads:

More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous.

I don't know about a connection to Iraq, but I did notice this myself: an abundance of gratuitously violent commercials that left me wincing.