High definition technology has recently come to the Godwin household in the form of a new television. Since we got this great, new technology, we also decided to get a satellite so our reception will be better and we can realize the best features of our new TV. That, in itself, has been a pretty daunting task.

When we moved from Plano more than 15 years ago, we made a decision to stick with the channels we could get through our antenna. We had cable in Plano and found that, most the time, out of more than 100 channels, there was nothing we wanted to watch.

Well, after watching reality TV and courtroom TV and programs where people get up and scream at one another trying to figure out the parentage of their children, we decided it was time to make a change again.

We’re in the midst of figuring out what button does what on the satellite receiver, the remote to the TV as well as the remote to the DVD player.

We haven’t invested in the movie channels. We enjoy renting DVD movies and high definition on those movies is pretty spectacular.

One thing I noticed while watching “Breach” — you can see just about every detail down to the pores of the actors’ skin. Now, if you take into consideration that actors wear stage makeup to look good for the cameras, you may understand that it’s probably not necessary if the movie will be shown in high definition. That is the case with “Breach.”

I thought the actors turned in glowing performances. Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe were astounding in two of the lead roles. Cooper was the bad guy and Phillippe the cute, young FBI agent who did the work to catch Cooper.

My only complaint: there’s just something that makes a character less true, less mean or less macho when you can see his lipstick.

By Joyce Godwin, Herald Democrat

Just in time for Christmas — finally, a clear and reasonable explanation for the mysterious behavior of the Star of Bethlehem found in the Bible. Was it a star or was it a comet? Varying opinions and research have been presented over the years but it looks like Rick Larson, a University of A&M law professor, has found the answer to this unlikely astronomical event and so much more.

This documentary is a must see for any who’ve ever wondered. It sorts truth from myth and legend and should be compelling to all regardless of religious persuasion. Now available on DVD to share with everyone, the presentation was released Oct. 23 by Mpower Pictures and Genius Products bearing the name of Producer Stephen McEveety from “the Passion of the Christ.”

The law professor found himself wondering about the truth of the star’s story presented in the books of the Bible after constructing wisemen yard art in front of his home for a Christmas season. He decided to research the issue and prove it’s existence scientifically without making any assumptions. What he found was new meaning for “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge,” Psalm 19:1-2.

Larson draws a plain picture showing how the story of Jesus, including his crucifixion, is foretold in the stars. He leads his audience through his steps of research and explains clearly the basis for his conclusions.

He also explains why such a remarkable event has never appeared in the history books. It’s only in current times the software has been available to be able to track the planets and celestial occurrences with precision. He explains in his presentation that, through current computer software, he can go to any hour of any day in history and look at the positions of the stars and planets.

Larson says, “First, we didn’t know what the ancient skies looked like until the 1600s when we learned the actual math that drives the planets from (Johannes) Kepler (1571-1630) to predict where the celestial bodies will be.”

In the final wrap up of his evidence Larson explains “God wrote the events in the sky way before any of them occurred.” He said when people see a mysterious sign, they draw near to see what it’s all about. “The Maggi saw the sign in the sky and rode to Jerusalem. Moses saw the burning bush and drew near,” Larson said. “Our Messiah was announced in the sky. From the moment God flung the universe into existence, He knew when Messiah would enter earth as a man and when he would expire on the cross.”

All this comes in a beautiful visual presentation with wonderful sound.
The video, titled “Star of Bethlehem,” can be purchased on line at www.BethlehemStarMovie.com and www.amazon.com. Also, Hastings has it on the shelf for rent.

More information about the presentation, its development and author may be seen at www.bethlehemstar.net.

I took my 5-and-6-year-old grandsons to see “Transformers” Sunday. It’s the new release from Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures, and I’m ashamed to say, I never checked the “rating” of the movie. I assumed it was going to be rated G since it was based on the Hasbro toys that swept the nation in the 1980s.

I just thought, since the movie was based on toys, it would be rated for children and I never looked before we went. I didn’t even look at the rating while we were there. It was after the movie, when my daughter told me about the PG-13 rating, that I began to think about it and reflect on how I may have exposed my young grandsons to something harmful by not paying attention.

The movie had quite a lot of violence, but not so much it disturbed me. It was not bloody like so many war movies are. The story is about robots who come to earth in search of a box full of empowering energy for the transformer robots who are able to masquerade as a variety of everyday automobiles, 18-wheelers, planes and more; as well as toasters and boom box radios. The deceptacons, the robots who weren’t vehicles, expressed distain for the human race but the autobots reported they were sworn protect humans.

There are good and bad forces at work throughout the movie. The struggle makes me think of the fallen angels of the Bible and their fight over the souls of mankind.

I loved the movie and intend to see it again.

One of the things I found to be difficult was keeping the good robots separated from the bad robots in my mind. Whenever I wasn’t sure, all I had to do was ask my grandsons. They had no trouble in telling the differences and were happy to instruct me. When Megatron came to life and announced “I am Megatron,” Easton looked at me and said, “Now he’s the bad one.” As the movie progressed and my questions continued, finally, Liam, the younger of the two, said “all the planes are bad robots.” That helped me some and cut down on my questions through the movie.

I was disappointed that Hasbro would allow the movie to go with swear words. There weren’t many but they were there. My boys and I were both shocked when the first one came out. They both looked at me wide eyed and I told them we don’t ever use those words. That seemed to give them a little reassurance but the fact the words were included in a children’s movie was a shame. I don’t believe the movie would have suffered, even a little, if the harsh language had been avoided. Of course, this is why I should have consulted the ratings before going.

During one of the battle scenes in which Bumblebee, a yellow Camaro, had a large role, Easton turned to Liam and said, “This is so awesome.” Liam agreed with his cousin and I thought that, just maybe, I was becoming a cool gramma.