Take One

Volume 2000, Number 1

Edition: 6/19/2000

Page One

by SCRPVLVS, revised 6/19/2000

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Take One.

The lead story, "Weather for Sale", exposes what may be the cleverest Internet based scam yet developed to liberate money from the gullible, associated with no less than Yahoo!, the leading Internet portal.

Dr. William Glasser is author of Choice Theory: a new psychology of personal freedom (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998). His books teach practical wisdom on motivation, relationships and finding joy. By way of introduction to his ideas, SCRVPVLVS offers his own distillation of this wisdom, which, in homage to Dr. Glasser is called "Glasser's Laws 2000".

Forget your worries about crime. Forget the steady erosion of your civil rights. SCRVPVLVS laughs at your puny phobias. Consider this: a group of scientists working in caves under Long Island, New York may have discovered "How to Blow Up the World". Sound to you like science fiction or pure lunacy? Read what the scientists themselves say, check out the citations, and make up your own mind about it.

If the world is going to end, we might as well get the date right. "Millennimania" discusses the history and practice of the Western common calendar.

How ironic that the American Red Cross should shoot itself in the foot. SCRVPVLVS could not believe the latest reasons given to donate blood to strangers, and could not help satirizing them in the article "Blood Drives".

Next in this issue is part one of "A Critical Review: Why Christianity Must Change or Die by Bishop John Shelby Spong". Bishop Spong is a radical Christian leader with some truth to tell about the Bible and how orthodox Christianity has done violence to it. His book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, exposes the violence and its consequences, and suggests a way to return to the original Jesus message. Part one outlines the reasons this book was written.

Finally, the first of a regular series of Christian meditations addresses the widening chasm between the teachings of Jesus and contemporary Christian beliefs and behavior. The series is addressed only to Christians, pointing out hypocrisy and calling for a return to living as Jesus taught. In this issue: "Christian Meditation: Worldly Pursuits", a meditation on the words of Paul and Jesus on how to wait for the imminent kingdom of God.

Contributors

SCRVPVLVS is a sharp stone in the shoe, pointing out reality and the need for a change. SCRVPVLVS means disquiet; embarrassment; trifles. SCRVPVLVS is a cynic; a skeptic; an atheist; a sophist; a stoic; a zetetic. SCRVPVLVS is a source of commentary, satire and mental masturbation. SCRVPVLVS is the publisher and editorial director of Take One. See also the SCRVPVLVS FAQ.

Letters are welcome. We are currently also seeking contributors. Give One (Postcard).

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