Haven't heard of it? It's an experience delivered through a Website called chatroulette.com. Join in and you're spontaneously connected to random strangers somewhere in the world via your webcam. From French jugglers to deep-South garglers to morons asking users to lift up their shirts, you can never be sure who you'll meet next.

Foxnews.com reporter Joshua Rhett Miller put it this way: "One minute you're chatting with a mom of two from Montauk, N.Y.—and the next you're staring at a stark-naked man in Bangkok." A vimeo.com video-maker named Casey Neistat broke down his several hour Chatroulette experience to connections like this: 71% guys, 15% girls and 14% perverts.

One of the big attractions of the experience—though I personally can't see how one might find it appealing—is what Neistat calls "nexting." In essence it's when someone spots you on their monitor and instantly hits the "next" button to connect with someone else. Neistat reported that he was nexted by the first 19 out of 20 people he saw on Chatroulette—a hang-around rate of about 2.9 seconds each.

Think about it: 19 thumb-your-nose rejections in under a minute. And by Neistat's own statistical odds, at least one of them was probably naked. Man, this sounds like great fun doesn't it? In spite of that, though, CNN reported that about 35,000 people are connected to Chatroulette's homepage at any given moment.

The biggest crime, however, is that among all the thrill-seekers and deviants are a fair number of kids. To participate, you have to confirm that you're at least 16 years old, but bypassing those barriers would be a breeze for the average 10-year-old—who could probably reprogram my computer in less time than it's taking to write this blog.

"It's a predator's paradise," said psychiatrist and Fox News contributor, Dr. Keith Ablow. "This is one of the worst faces of the Internet that I've seen. … Parents should keep all children off the site because it's much too dangerous."

I'm no doctor, but that's one tidbit of advice I wouldn't "next" too quickly.

Now, you may not have heard of either of these two people. Or, if you have, you may be at a loss as to how they fit together. But bear with me for a few moments and I'll elucidate.

Let's start with Frank, the last living veteran of World War I. This aged "doughboy" just turned 109. As a soldier in the U.S. Army, Buckles was an ambulance driver for American forces in Europe, and he once met commanding Gen. John Pershing. The seasoned gent offered some thoughts on how he has managed to reach his second century: "The important thing is the desire to live, and a purpose for living," he told CNN.

Ke$ha, on the other hand, is all of 22. She's the latest party-till-you-drop chanteuse who made it big not too long after dropping out of high school. Of course, her life experience has taught her a thing or two. She's feeling a little sheepish about bumping Susan. "I feel like a jerk," Ke$ha admitted to the New York Post. "They act like I beat her up. She's sweet. I'd kiss her. Hasn't she never kissed anybody before?"

When asked about his long life, Frank told the Knoxville News that, "Longevity has never bothered me at all, I have studied longevity for years."

When Rolling Stone asked about her life, Ke$ha said, "Society has taught us to suppress certain things, but if I want to do something, I let the animal inside take over, no matter how uninhibited or irreverent it is. Who cares? Crazy people are what keeps life interesting."

"If your country needs you, you should be right there," Frank told the News about service and patriotism. "That is the way I felt when I was young, and that's the way I feel today."

"I think people can stand to take themselves just a little less seriously," Ke$ha said to Billboard magazine about her own battles. "I'm fighting the war against pretension."

"I had many different assignments and I was doing things that I thought were important … no, I didn't either: I didn't think they were important. But I found out afterwards when I read up on my history that some of the things that I did were quite important," Frank told Tampa Bay Online.

"If you come to a live show, it's a sensory assault. You will leave covered in sweat, beer, glitter, and, just maybe, you'll get a special edition Ke$ha condom. If it breaks, you have to name your daughter or son after me," Ke$ha recently told Billboard.

Anyway, I just thought you might like to hear from two people in today's cultural news—two distinct voices that ought to be heard, for one reason or another.

Oh, and Frank told The New York Times one other thing about the secret to a long life: "When you start to die … don't."

Just "don't." Well, Mr. Buckles, it seems to me that in a number of life's situations, your admonition is pretty wise. I wonder what Ke$ha would say?

The audience laughed. I can only assume they were unaware of another headline from a few years back that made O'Brien's barb, at least to me, feel as insensitive as a one-liner about 9-11.

On June 7, 2003, an 18-year-old Grand Theft Auto fan named Devin Moore got picked up by police on suspicion of stealing a car. He had no criminal history and cooperated with authorities. But once inside the Fayette, Ala., police station, he snapped. He grabbed an officer's .40 caliber Glock automatic and—with great precision—killed three men, all with shots to the head.  Then Moore stole a squad car. Some experts are convinced he was acting out in a stressful moment what he'd rehearsed while playing Grand Theft Auto for hours on end. Or as 60 Minutes put it, "day and night for months."

Some people might argue, Lots of people play GTA and don't kill anybody. Why should we assume that the game had any influence? Maybe it's because when authorities caught up with Moore, he said, "Life is a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime." Unfortunately, in this case, the casualties were officers Arnold Strickland, James Crump, and dispatcher Ace Mealer.

Conan O'Brien and his audience must have missed that headline. They probably had no idea how closely his quip reflected a real-life tragedy. At least I hope they didn't.

So in hindsight it was probably a good idea to change some of the lyrics.

In the original version of "Bohemian Rhapsody," Freddie Mercury sings, "Mama, [I] just killed a man/Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he’s dead/Mama, life has just begun/But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away."

In the Muppet video, Animal gets as far as "Mama" before getting his needle stuck on that single word, exploring its emotional resonance until the song is able to resume at a point more appropriate for the Sesame Street crowd. That artistic decision shows a lot of sensitivity. And it’s probably wise. I mean, what parent of a preschooler tuning in to see Kermit wants to have to explain a homicide?

Nevertheless, it occurred to me that slightly older children might actually benefit from Queen’s original lyrics. At a time when popular music (rap in particular) often cheapens life by glamorizing murder and making gunplay sound heroic, "Bohemian Rhapsody" does just the opposite, providing a healthy dose of reality. It points out that killing another person carries consequences. It can’t be undone. There’s anguish and regret in Mercury’s voice as he realizes that his violent choice means the end of his own life and untold grief for his mother. In short, the song is a cautionary tale that reinforces Exodus 20:13 and Galatians 6:7, much like another pop hit from the 1970s, Styx’s "Renegade."

The bigger question we’re left with is this: At what point should we shift from protecting our children from the ugliness of the world to preparing them for its harsh realities by using the parables of secular media to illustrate biblical truth?

It all started with the Boston Public Health Commission asking youthful volunteers to toss their opinions into the mix about some of the music that teens are listening to—especially songs that might offer "unhealthy relationship ingredients." So after this group of kids spat out their gum and sat up straight, they were given a seven-week course and then told to get back to their iPods and do some discerning.

They came up with a "Sound Relationships Nutrition Label" (now tell me they didn’t have some wannabe-hip adult helping with that title)—an evaluative thumbs up or down on the messages in songs.

"We aren’t telling people what they should or should not be listening to," said the commission’s executive director Barbara Ferrer in an Associated Press interview. "We are giving them a tool that will help them make an informed choice about what they put in their bodies."

Now, setting all that government speak aside, wouldn’t it be cool if teens would start listening to other teens and begin thinking twice about some of these unhealthy, misogynistic attitudes that are being repeated over and over in their tender ears? And wouldn’t it be incredible if that somehow gave rise to an en masse revolt against all the garbage being pumped out by the Gagas, T-Pains and Pitbulls in the gutter of musicdom?

I’d be the first to cheer that revolution on. Hey, I’d even help with a better name for that teen ratings list. How about: Thoughtful Ratings of the Artistic Scrap Heap? It’s a little cumbersome, but the acronym might catch on.

It's November now, and here at Plugged In that means we're on the cusp of Oscar season. Films with Academy Awards aspirations are starting to trickle into the the theaters, and those sorts of films present all manner of opportunities and challenges for us. I mean, what do we do with beautifully made films that grapple with weighty, spiritual issues—all while gunning out profanities by the minute?

In the most recent installment of my eight-part series "Not Just a Movie," I talk about how there is no one way for Christians to think about—or watch—movies. We Christians are all over the map when it comes to this stuff, so it's probably not too surprising that Christian film critics tackle films from different viewpoints, too, Here at Plugged In we tend to take some of the more obvious issues—sex, violence, profanity—pretty seriously, largely because tons of parents read our reviews while deciding what to let their kids watch (or not). I know this can frustrate the dickens out of kids—I've gotten letters from a few of them—but I'm sure they'll come to thank us eventually!

Still, that doesn't alter the fact that some problematic movies can contain some really worthwhile messages ... and figuring out how to navigate that paradox is probably the biggest single challenge all of us Plugged In writers face. How do we talk about Slumdog Millionaire's inspirational love story and sense of destiny without shortchanging the fact that it's steeped in poverty, prostitution and horror? Can we convey Gran Torino's Christ-inspired sacrifice's and its alarming number of racial epithets, too? Up—perhaps my favorite film this year—seems like it'd be a slam-dunk for us: Stunning storytelling, great messages and no problematic content to speak of. Yet, after Plugged In published my review, we got an angry letter or two from parents shocked that we'd give such a glowing critique of a film that dealt with death.

I know sometimes readers get frustrated because we don't grade our movies by stars or thumbs up and down ... but frankly, many films are too complex to just give them a Plugged In stamp of approval (or disdain). We're here to make you think more critically about movies, not just provide a list of do's and don'ts. Sorry, folks, but you've got to make your own hard decisions.

Last week, Joel, a reader, offered some e-mailed thoughts on my first "Not Just a Movie" chapter:

Pretty good criteria, I'd say. Thanks, Joel.

So, with that said, I want to open this up to you. What, in your mind, is a "good story well told?" What film has moved you the most this year? I'd love to hear from you.

With the Major League Baseball playoffs in full swing, I thought I’d share my Top 5 most-recommended baseball movies for family viewing.

It’s not your typical "favorites" list. To make it to first base, films needed to be entertaining and uplifting. Promoting solid family ties was a plus, too. And while very few films are perfect, the ones in this lineup couldn’t be weighed down by excessive problematic content. With those ground rules in mind, I’ve tried to include a little something for everyone. So here’s the windup and the pitch …

5. Everyone’s Hero (G) An animated comedy/adventure about a young boy’s quest to recover Babe Ruth’s lucky bat, which is stolen by a win-at-all-costs rival during the playoffs. Not a cinematic home run, but this innocent cross-country quest (with a talking bat and ball) is a bloop single bolstered by warm family bonds and a refreshing nod to the Negro Leagues. Great for little ones not distracted by pedestrian dialogue or an absurd finale that puts a 10-year-old up to bat in the World Series. Harmless and sweet.

4. Angels in the Outfield (PG) A foster child asks his deadbeat dad when they’ll be a family again. "When the Angels win the pennant," Dad says sarcastically, knowing that they stink. So young Roger prays for a pennant. Suddenly, real angels are influencing ballgames. And since only Roger can see them, he becomes a mascot of sorts for a team—and a combustible manager—in need of redemption. Despite a few mild profanities early and some fuzzy theology, it’s a fun film with lots of life lessons, assuming parents step up to the plate to engage their kids.

3. Eight Men Out (PG) Prior to steroids, the game’s darkest hour was the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, when a few greedy, disgruntled members of the heavily favored Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to throw the World Series. It’s a smartly written, well-acted film that’s also a terrific cautionary tale about the slippery slope of temptation and compromise. There’s a fair amount of profanity for a PG film (including one f-bomb), but for mature audiences it’s well worth seeing in its "edited for television" form, or with the help of filtering software.

2. The Pride of the Yankees (NR) Nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1942, this moving biopic chronicles the rise and untimely death of legendary Yankee slugger Lou Gehrig. It captures the dignity he showed while battling the terminal illness that now bears his name. But more than an inspirational film about a courageous man, it’s a glimpse at baseball’s golden age, with Babe Ruth and Bill Dickey appearing as themselves.  Don’t be surprised if you get choked up during Gehrig’s "luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech.

1. The Rookie (G) This is the true story of Texas science teacher/baseball coach Jim Morris, whose dream of pitching in the majors ended with a series of arm injuries. Years later, when his unmotivated high school players realize he can still throw smoke, they make him promise that, if they win a championship, he’ll try out again. They do. He does. And the 35-year-old rookie gets another shot. The stuff on the diamond is great. Even more endearing are glimpses of Morris’s family life and the small-town folk who support him.

Well, those are just some of my favorites—the Top 5 I find myself recommending to people who love the smell of movie theater popcorn and a freshly oiled fielder’s glove. Let me know what you think of these picks, and share a few of your own. We also discuss these films on our new audio podcast. Check it out. And maybe I’ll see you at the ballpark!