Many of you have seen the video above where it appears that Glenn Beck boiled a live frog on national TV. Horrid blog stories and YouTube postings have been going around about this. Unfortunately, most people did not do the research necessary. Glenn Beck did NOT boil a live frog. It was a special effects piece in which he was filmed beforehand reaching for a live frog, then the camera pulls away to show Mr. Beck apparently holding the frog and putting the cute little frog in the boiling water. But, it was done by special effects.
If you go to his blog, you can read how it was done. This gives Father Orthoduck the opportunity to again say that you should check out any particularly odd story before you believe it. There are many visual hoaxes available on the Internet which purport to show something that was not so. The TV show Mythbusters delights in taking Internet rumors and video and debunking them before your eyes. Father Orthoduck is a fan of this show and highly recommends watching some of their videos.
Glenn Beck writes on his blog that he quite enjoys laughing about the people who got “taken in” by his special effects. This is true particularly since he took pains to explain a little later in the show that it was not a live frog, it was for the purpose of demonstrating a principle. Nevertheless, Father Orthoduck wishes he had not done this stunt. Many people would have turned the TV off in disgust or revulsion without waiting to hear the explanation. But, Glenn Beck is a bit of a comedian–not because Father Orthoduck says so, but because Glenn Beck himself says so–and this stunt must have appealed to the comedian in him. And, so he pulled off a stunt in which he had to have known beforehand that he was going to full some people.
Well, many a performer lives by the saying, “Bad press is better than no press.” And, it appears that Glenn Beck is one of them! Mr. Beck actually has some good things to say, but this way of communicating would be one of the ones that Father Orthoduck would see as closing ears rather than opening them.
mike says
..is that a Orthodox subliminal suggestion technique at the bottom of the screen designed to associate “protestants” with Glenn Becks behavior..???
Fr. Orthoduck says
ROFL, nope, just luck of how the screen scroller stopped. If you go to the Glenn Beck website you will notice that Father Orthoduck got his link to this video from the source.
Steve Martin says
Boiled frog is actually quite good (with the right sauces) and quite healthy for you.
But I prefer mine deep fried…legs only.
I thought some people woulf jump to conclusions on this one…but I like Beck…warts and all.
Lucy says
When I heard about this stunt, my response was similar to yours. I feel that conservatives have a hard enough time getting their message heard without throwing themselves under the bus!