Joseph Gordon-Levitt Teams Up With Neil Gaiman On A Movie Version Of ‘The Sandman’

Pink is the New Blog

Joseph Gordon-Levitt broke some pretty big news on his officialTwitter profile last night that sent comic book fans into a tizzy as soon as he posted his tweet. JGL has informed us that he is working with author Neil Gaiman and screenwriter David Goyer(from the Batman films) to bring Gaiman‘s comic book series The Sandman to the big screen. As soon as the news started to make the rounds, media outlets started to proclaim that JGL would be starring in and/or directing the film … but he has clarified that — thus far — he has only signed on to produce the film. Click below to read Joe‘s exact tweets to learn the news directly from him and GET EXCITED, y’all! This is very, very good news, I think.

And now for some … big news… (big to me anyway) / Ladies and gentlemen, I’m incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and @neilhimself on SANDMAN. #Prelude / Just to clarify, folks. I’ve signed on as a producer on Sandman. The rest remains to be seen. Delighted you guys are excited. I am too!

For years I have been talking about how Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors of all time, so anything that he is involved in will immediately grab my attention. I’m very happy that both Gaiman and Goyer are involved with this project. Now, where JGL is concerned … I’m happy that he’s involved even if he’s still new to this whole producing thing. I don’t know that he’s ever produced a movie this big before so we don’t have much to go on in that regard. BUT, I do like JGL‘s work in other areas of entertainment and if Neil Gaiman is happy to have him on board the project, then I’m happy to have him on board. The use of the hashtag #Prelude leads me to believe that this first film will focus on the first few comics in the Sandman series, Preludes & Nocturnes, which makes the most sense for the start of a new film franchise. I’m not sure where all the talk of JGLdirecting and/or starring in the movie came from based on the tweets that were posted but let’s just hold our horses and take the good news as it comes. I’ve been DYING for a movie based on The Sandman for years. I cannot wait to see this beloved character come to life. Any other Gaiman/Sandman fans out there? What say you about this movie news?

Pope Francis Pagan Comments Call Out High-And-Mighty Christians

Huffington Post

Pope Francis continued his denunciation of greed, luxury and pride during his Wednesday audience by declaring that showing off is a decidedly unchristian value.

Catholic News Agency reported how Pope Francis stressed the importance of being humble and of service to the needy by explaining the true meaning of the Christmas story. “In Christmas, God reveals himself not as one who stands above and who dominates the universe, but as He who lowers himself,” said Pope Francis.

"It means that to be like Him, we do not have to place ourselves above the others, but come down, come down and serve them, become small among the small, and poor among the poor," he explained, according to Rome Reports.

"It's a bad thing when one sees a Christian that does not want to come down, a Christian that uses everything to show off. Not nice, eh? That is not Christian, that is paganism," Pope Francis said.

21 Photos That Prove 2013 Was A Year Of Triumphs, No Matter How Small

Huffington Post

The year's happiest moments make everything worth it.

As with any year, 2013 was far from perfect. While it's natural to reflect on the worst of the past 12 months, we'd like to remember the moments that made it a great year to be alive. These pictures show triumphs that range in size and scope, but nothing is small if there are smiles involved.

1. In 2013, not all dreams came true, but some unlikely wishes were granted.

Miles Scott, a five-year-old whose leukemia is now in remission, plays the role of Batkid thanks to the work of the Make-A-Wish foundation and the people of San Francisco. Scott fought costumed criminals as the city transformed itself into Gotham. In mid-December, a billboard paid for by a mystery donor went up near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge thanking Batkid for saving "the city."

2. These triumphs, both big and small, called for celebration.

Immaculee Ilibagiza officially becomes an American citizen after emigrating to the United States from Rwanda in 1994 to escape genocide. Ilibagiza has written multiple books about surviving genocide in Rwanda and started the 
Left To Tell Charitable Fund, which attempts to relocate Rwandan orphans and provide support for survivors. Instead of retribution, she has focused on a message of love, saying, "I hope that one day we can laugh and move on holding hands despite the past."

3. And showed us what it looks like when love is not lost...

Soldiers From the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards return home to England from a deployment in Afghanistan. These were the first troops from their brigade to be allowed to return to their families.

4. But when love is won.

The world's largest communal gay wedding is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 130 couples getting married. This event marked the first gay civil marriages in Brazil.

5. They showed us that hard work always deserves a toast...

Thibault Garin of Laboure-Roi toasts a spa pool filled with one of his 2013 wines, the Beaujolais Nouveau. It also might make you happy to know that this spa in Hakone town, Japan, features not only a wine spa, but a coffee and green tea pool as well.

6. Even if only to celebrate surviving another year on this Earth.

Wei Wei the giant panda celebrates his 8th birthday with a cake made of water, soybean, bamboo, corn, apple and carrot. If you want to see what Wei Wei looks like when tumbling in the snow, you should check out this picture.

7. These triumphs were worth screaming about.

18-year-old Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands wins the Junior Men's Road Race in Florence, Italy. He comes from an accomplished family of cyclists, and his dad and older brother have also won notable events over their careers.

8. And far better when shared with a friend.

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart drink beers together. Ever since McKellen and Stewart began starring in the plays, "No Man’s Land" and "Waiting For Godot" together this summer, the two have seemed like the best of friends. They've appeared together insmiling picture after smiling picture. The two are such good friends that Ian McKellen officiated over Patrick Stewart's wedding.

9. Even when those friends were met in unexpected places.

A Colombian policeman and an activist hug as the Congress for Peace in Bogota comes to a close. Photos depicting protesters and police coming together don't always have such a happy ending. A 20-year-old Italian protester was charged with sexual assault after kissing a police officer during a demonstration earlier this year.

10. Some found their triumphs at the bottom of a hill.

American Kenny Rackers wins a "cheese-rolling" contest at Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England in front of thousands of spectators. The race involves contestants throwing themselves down an extremely steep hill after a wheel of cheese -- or replica -- and trying to reach the bottom quickest. The winner gets the trophy cheese.

11. Others found them at the end of a difficult year.

A handful of elementary school students smile as they prepare to enter summer vacation. Most of them have been commuting from temporary housing due to the lasting effects of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011.

12. They came in many beautiful forms.

Lieutenant Commander Kirsty Flegg's two sons run toward her outstretched arms moments after she returned home to Glasgow, Scotland. Flegg had been deployed on the HMS Defender which is a Type 45 destroyer.

13. Some people achieved long-awaited hometown legend status...

Andy Murray's hometown of Dunblane, Scotland celebrates as he wins the Wimbledon 2013 Men's Singles final against Novak Djokovic. Murray became the first Englishman in 77 years to win the title, an honor that he earned after coming painfully close in previous competitions.

14. Or qualified for the finals.

Steven Solomon and Tristan Thomas of the Australian team embrace after qualifying for the finals in the Men's 4x400 meter relay during the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow. The 20-year-old Solomon accepted a scholarship to Stanford University following the 2012 Summer Olympics and is a "lover of Chocolate."

15. Others triumphed simply by caring...

Michael Knaapen and John Becker react to hearing that the Defense of Marriage Act had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The two are married and Knaapen aspires to found a church someday.

16. And sharing their love for each other, even after all these years.

A couple embraces on their 60th wedding anniversary. The couple's grandchild uploaded their picture to Reddit (receiving hundreds of comments) and went on to describe the couple saying, "My grandfather had Alzheimer's. He didn't remember his children, his home or anything else, but as bad as it got, whenever he saw my grandmother he would say, "Look at my beautiful wife!"

17. Some emerged triumphant from the middle of the herd.

A young shepherd celebrates after catching a lamb that had escaped in Qunu, South Africa. Shepherd photography had a bit of a moment in 2013, as Twitter user @herdyshepherd1, rose to fame by sharing pictures of his sheep.

18. And others, from beneath the rubble.

Sabrina Mitchell smiles after a U.S. Airman helping in the tornado recovery effort of Moore, Okla., finds a family picture of her as a young girl in the rubble. The tornado in Moore killed 23 people and injured hundreds.

19. But no matter how these triumphs came, we saw that they were possible.

A young child of Lesotho is fitted for hearing aids by volunteers of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Over a two-day period, the Starkey Hearing Foundation helped over 500 people hear. Some of them had been deaf their entire lives.

20. Even against the world's overwhelming odds.

A Croatian girl kisses her Serbian boyfriend after an older conservative lady asked the girl how two people of the differing nationalities could even stand next to one another. The two were walking hand in hand during a cultural parade thrown by the United World College in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Their friend uploaded the picture to Reddit and elaborated that although the kiss might not seem like much, they felt the kiss represented the younger generations' refusal to hold on to the hatred of the past.

21. And in the end, we realized that triumphs can be as simple as a smile.

A family plays together in the water amid record-high temperatures in Shimanto City, Japan. The smile on this kid's face makes him look like he's ready to fly to the moon.

Christian Film "Review" of the Week - "Disney's Frozen"

Comments from non-viewers

Negative—I first saw the previews several months ago—a cute one with the snowman and elk, where there was a race on a frozen pond for the snowman’s carrot nose in jeopardy. Later previews showed the movie to be deeply based on magic and magical activities. I admit that some stories invite a willful suspension of disbelief—but magic is just too far. more »

Deuteronomy 18, verses 10-12 “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, [e] anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord… ” (ESV). The NIV says “… engages in witchcraft… ”. However, cute and funny—the LORD says this is an abomination. Merriam-Webster says this means “to cause digust or hatred”. If God says this is unacceptable, I cannot see how cute, funny, or family-friendly overcomes this. Check your worldview, and ask “what is more important?”—a movie or obedience. You will be blessed.

—Casey, age 48 (USA)

World Witch News

Asia
India - Forget American Horror Story, we have witches right here in Mumbai - DNAIndia.com

Africa

Ghana - I will use my witchcraft for great things in Ghana – Akua Donkor - ghanaweb

Ghana -  Anti-witchcraft committee inaugurated - Ghana Business News

Nothing says Christmas like a Zombie under the tree:-)

Or Support Small Business Saturday and buy Norman Reedus!!!

When Christians Are Christianity's Worst Enemy

Huffington Post
Justin Lee

I'm a Christian. I'm proud of my faith, and I love the church. But sometimes my fellow Christians make me want to scream.

Like a couple days ago, when a restaurant serverposted the following photo to reddit.

The story: The pastor was part of a large party who ate at this server's restaurant. Like many American restaurants, this particular one has a policy of adding an automatic 18 percent tip for large parties. It's something the computer does automatically, not something the server has any control over.

According to the server, the pastor's party tried to get around the automatic 18 percent tip by asking for separate checks, even though the same person was paying for the whole table. The server says that everyone was happy with the service; they just didn't like the idea of a compulsory tip.

The result? The pastor scribbled out the tip, leaving none at all, and adding the note, "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?"

(As a side note, I suspect the server would have been happy with 10 percent of the diner's income as a tip. Only 18 percent of the cost of the meal is a bargain.)

Oh, and just to drive the point home, the diner made sure to add the word "Pastor" above the signature at the bottom.

Really?

In my book "TORN: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate," I argue that we Christians have often become our own worst enemies. In many communities, our reputation is that of uncompassionate culture warriors, quick to shout about gays or abortion or political candidates, but slow to show grace and mercy in our everyday lives. And these acts of ungrace by Christians have far more power to damage Christianity's reputation and influence than any attack launched at the church from the outside.

"But wait," some of my Christian friends have said. "It's not fair to judge the whole church by one ungracious jerk, even if that person is a pastor."

I agree, and I know many generous Christians. But unfortunately, this pastor's bad behavior isn't an isolated incident. There are enough Christians out there behaving similarly to give us all a bad name.

In my book, for instance, I tell the story of my first job waiting tables:

"Sundays are the worst," one of the servers explained to me. "That's when the church crowd goes out to eat."

"What's wrong with the church crowd?" I asked.

"Oh, honey," she said. "They're usually the most demanding, and they're always the worst tippers. I guarantee you, if you see your table praying before the meal, you can mentally subtract a third from your tip."

Standing nearby, the manager cracked a smile. "They already gave at church," he said. "They don't have any money left."

In conversations with my server friends across the country, I've heard the same sentiment echoed time and time again. As a Christian, I find this infuriating.

Yes, a lot of us think the tipping system in America could be improved. In many countries, servers are paid a decent wage, and tips are an added incentive to reward a job especially well done. I know a lot of people who think it should be that way in the United States, too. But it's not. In most states, servers are paid only a little over $2 an hour (yes, you read that right), with the expectation that they will make their living from tips. You might not like that system, but if you choose to express your displeasure with it by tipping your server poorly, the only person you're hurting is the server -- someone who is already living on very little money and depending on your tip to help them pay their bills.

As a former server myself, I always tip at least 18-20 percent unless the service was just so unbearably horrible that it destroyed the dining experience. Even then, I still tip, just not as much. If I can't afford the tip, I don't eat out, or I eat someplace where diners aren't expected to tip. Otherwise, I consider paying my server to be part of the cost of the meal.

I think everyone should tip that way. It's the right thing to do, regardless of your faith, and followers of Jesus are especially called to be generous and give more than people expect. Personally, I'd love to live in a world where non-Christians said of Christians, "I don't agree with their beliefs, but those folks sure do know how to tip!"

But if there's nothing I can say to convince you to tip well, then at least do me this one favor: Don't go out to eat after church, don't pray before your meal, and don't sign your receipt with the word "pastor." In short, don't let people know you're a Christian. Because your bad behavior is reflecting on my God and the faith that I love. We Christians are supposed to be the generous ones, not the stingy and selfish ones. And I can tell you from experience, when servers see a pattern of Christians who tip poorly, it gives them one more reason to distrust anything and everything connected with Christianity.

And for heaven's sake, whatever you do, please don't make the mistake some of my customers did:

Some of them would leave fake "money" as part of their tip -- pieces of paper designed to look like high-value bills until you picked them up and realized they were tracts telling you about giving your life to Jesus. Why would anyone think that tricking and disappointing a broke food-service employee would be a good way of spreading the Christian good news? ...

Don't misunderstand me. I know that Christianity isn't about us at all. It's about Jesus. Our human failure to live up to what we believe doesn't make the gospel any less true. But as the old saying goes, we are the only "Jesus" most people will ever see. People inside and outside of the church judge Christianity by what they see in its practitioners.

Remember, my fellow Christians: Whatever you do, wherever you go, whenever you tip, you are representing Jesus. And what makes the most difference in that moment isn't your words or your theology; it's your grace, love and generosity.

If we miss that, we've missed the Gospel.

Spoilers!!! - Doctor Who 'regeneration riddle will be solved during Christmas special' as Matt Smith is revealed as 13th and 'LAST' Time Lord

Daily Mail

Doctor Who fans have wondered for years if the sci-fi drama would have to come to an end due to the 12 regeneration rule.

However executive producer Stephen Moffat, who announced that Matt Smith is the '13th Doctor', has suggested the riddle will be solved on Christmas Day, reports the Daily Mirror.

He told the newspaper: 'The 12 regenerations limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology. So if the Doctor can never change again, what's Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas special?'

The Day of the Doctor: Matt Smith, John Hurt and David Tennant in the 50th anniversary special

The writers have left viewers guessing after all 12 Doctors lined up during Saturday night's 50th anniversary special, including John Hurt who was not previously counted.

With David Tennant's Time Lord needing an extra regeneration to save himself during an earlier episode, the character's 12 lives all appear to be used up.

A show source explained to the Daily Mirror: 'The riddle of the regeneration problem, something fans have talked about for decades, will be faced head on at Christmas.'

Still guessing: Viewers have been left wondering how the next Doctor, Peter Capaldi, will join the show after 12 previous regenerations

Is this the end? The special episode saw Smith joined by Tennant, who used an extra regeneration during an earlier episode

Adding: 'There is going to be another huge cliffhanger and somehow Peter Capaldi has to join and the series has to continue.'

The Thick Of It star, Capaldi, is thought to be joining the show at Christmas, while a glimpse of him was seen for the first time at the weekend.

He was announced as the next Doctor in August after much speculation, and the next festive episode is said to be a shocking one, according to the source.

Viewers clearly aren't tired of the strange, and often confusing goings on in the show, as an impressive 10.2 million fanatics were fixed to TV screens at the weekend.

The programme went head-to-head with the ITV's The X Factor, which saw its audience figures dip, only managing to attract 7.7 million viewers - one of the lowest audiences for the show in recent years.

Doctor Who's impressive audience was the biggest overnight ratings since the programme was rebooted by the BBC in 2005. 

Tense trailer for Dr Who The Day of The Doctor

Don't press it! 10.61 million viewers tuned in on Saturday night, to see John Hurt star as the Doctor

Read more:

• Doctor Who Christmas spoilers: Matt Smith is final, Thirteenth Doctor, Steven Moffat reveals
• 
  
• Millions tune in for Doctor Who 50th anniversary show

Witchcraft World News

North America - 
US - Where Witches Dance in Bushwick - The New York Times
Catland, a store and adjacent event space in Bushwick that makes the occult accessible, has been a magnet for the community of magic practitioners and spiritual seekers since opening in February.
Click Here to Read More...

US - Witches Are The New Vampires — and That’s A Good Thing - TIME
Witches are everywhere you look on television at the moment. This season’s American Horror Story has dedicated its entire storyline to them with Coven, Lifetime has a family of them on the Witches of East End, and witches carry major storylines on the new shows Sleepy Hallow and The Originals. What’s more, CBS has announced that it intends to reboot the much-loved series Charmed.
Click Here to Read More...

Asia - 
India - Mother, daughter hacked to death for 'witchcraft' - The Times of India
A 50-year-old woman and her daughter were hacked to death in Khunti district late on Monday for allegedly practising witchcraft. Police recovered their bodies on Tuesday.
Click Here to Read More...

India - Women's Commission proposes new method to curb witchcraft - The New Indian Express 
The Jharkhand State Women’s Commission is planning to approach the state government to hold nutrition programmes simultaneously with the awareness campaigns against withcraft to combat the superstition effectively.
Click Here to Read More...

Sooooooooo Excited!!! - 'Maleficent' Trailer

If you haven't read about it yet, the "Sleeping Beauty" tale is told from the perspective of the villainous Maleficent and looks at the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse young Princess Aurora.

SQUEEEE!!!!!!

Just Because I Can!!! - Sexy Doctor Who Actors:-)

You're welcome!

Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell

Patrick Troughton

Tom Baker

Peter Davison

Colin Baker

Sylvester McCoy

Paul McGann

Christopher Eccleston

David Tennant

Matt Smith

Peter Capaldi