Sometimes, a sinking ship isn't just a sinking ship.

Consider the above Freudian analysis conducted by hard-right Christian outfit Truth in Action Ministries, in which the Titanic is the United States, the iceberg represents the nefarious homosex'shul agenda, and Leonardo DiCaprio symbolizes the death of American values, maybe, and the oft-repeated phrase "going down" has nothing to do with anything at all, ye perverts.

Via Right Wing Watch:

The Truth That Transforms film features well-known anti-gay activists such as Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy and Jerry Newcombe of Truth in Action Ministries, Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, right-wing historian Bill Federer, radio talk show host and author Michael Brown, and pastors Harry Jackson, Robert Jeffress and Erwin Lutzer.

Staver warned that the “homosexual agenda is the moral iceberg that we need to steer clear of” and maintained that it is “the biggest threat I believe in our lifetime to religious freedom and the fundamental values we share here in America.” While Jackson said the “homosexual agenda” is “one of those icebergs that if we don’t navigate around them correctly, will take us under,” Brown claimed “we’ve already hit the iceberg and the ship is already going down” and Land insisted that “we’re taking on water, the only question is whether or not we’re going to be able to survive and the ship won’t sink.” Staver predicted that opposition to gay rights is bound to be “criminalized and targeted for assault” and Federer even asserted that “there are just a couple steps before the military could be used in a persecution of those that are viewed as enemies of the new state belief system.”

For our purposes, this video provides a succinct understanding of the psychology motivating certain conservative Tennessee legislators — you know, the ones preoccupied with degrading science classrooms with baseless superstitions, disenfranchising voters, promoting abstinence as a viable means of birth control, and ensuring that only white-bred 'Mericans can teach in charter schools.

Chances are they've yet to find a societal analog to Kate Winslet's 3-D breasts, but when that time comes, the Rapture may already be underway.

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, asset management/financial planning company Waddell & Reed has developed an 18-wheel traveling World War I museum that stops in Nashville today as part of its 75-city tour.

The "Honoring Our History Tour" big rig will be parked on Seventh Avenue North between Charlotte and Union from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.

According to the press release, "Visitors will experience the tight conditions of trench warfare, see the relatively primitive tools, weapons, equipment and uniforms of a war from nearly 100 years ago."

"Visitors will experience the tight conditions of trench warfare" — now there's an ingenious spin on the space limitations of a museum in an 18-wheeler.

Admission is free, but donations are appreciated, and funds raised at this stop will be divided between the Tennessee State Museum-Military Branch and the National World War I Museum based in Kansas City, Mo., the first and only WWI museum designated by U.S. Congress.

More photos after the jump ...

This video has nothing to do with Nashville. Nothing to do with politics. But you, dear Pith reader, need to see this. Is it a hoax? Are sheep that stupid? Are rabbits secretly ferocious? My god, is Monty Python and the Holy Grail actually a documentary? How is this possible? Is this not the greatest thing you've ever seen?

It appears that some folks affiliated with Mangia Nashville, calling themselves The Men of La Mangia, have released a five-song Christmas EP, A Very Mangia Christmas, featuring classics like "Jingle Bell Rock," "Dominic the Donkey," "Shake Hands With Santa Claus" and "Christmas Tears." And last but not least: If you listen to nothing else Christmas-related this holiday season, you must hear this version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," à la Christopher Walken. Seriously. It's incredible.

You can download the whole EP here — for free. How's that for the Christmas spirit?

So who are The Men of La Mangia, you ask? According to the website:

— Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (@RonRamsey) December 9, 2011

So let's see: Governor rebuked by night court magistrate for ignoring the state constitution; guns-in-bars bill sponsor arrested for driving drunk with a loaded pistol; state rep. saying he doesn't trust a single Muslim in the military. That's just the tip of the Boner (so to speak), and yet "there" — adrift in a sea of bigoted, authoritarian crazy — is "right" where Tennessee Republicans need to be, according to their lieutenant governor. I guess all we can say is: Thanks for reading!

"The load originated in Ohio. ... "

—WKRN reporting on the closure of an I-65 on-ramp southbound this morning due to spilled bull semen.

H/T: The Bronx Bomber, who stopped in this Vietnamese restaurant at 5821 Charlotte (formerly Yen Hoa) for a look. The staff told him they'd already had people coming in to ask about the sign's meaning. ("It doesn't mean anything," they say — they pronounce it "If-uh-ku." Whatever you say.) If these guys make T-shirts, they'll be millionaires.

Franchise opportunities abound. Here's to Ifuku Antioch or Ifuku Rivergate.

This amazing piece of 1986-ness — an employee-sung corporate inspir-anthem video for, of all things, the Ford Motors credit bureau — was apparently produced in Nashville, dubbed "Operation Songbird" and musically/vocally directed by none other than Charlie McCoy. (You know, the guy who worked on that one record.)

Give it a few minutes to get going — the good stuff starts around 2:25. With unforgettable lyrics like, "At Ford Credit, we serve people / And our destination is service excellence" and, "When the phone is ringing, makes me feel like singing / How may I help you please? We're Ford Credit!" this jingle really drives home what truly makes Nashville Music City U.S.A. — a willingness to slap pedal steel on whatever corporate turd comes down the pike as long as the check clears. Seriously, though: Is the best thing the slow-mo fist pumps? The shoulder pads and hair? The fact that the guy from Montreal has the best mullet? I'm going to watch it again.

• That's a whole lotta Duggers

In case you don’t already know, the Duggars are a family of fundamentalist Baptists from Arkansas who hit it big in 2008 with their TLC reality show 19 Kids & Counting. Parents Jim Bob and Michelle — who are quickly becoming responsible for the Earth’s population crisis — have ushered in 19 children ranging from ages 1 to 23. The family has since capitalized on their fame, taking America by storm with appearances on several national outlets, including The View and the Today show.

In the style of the Kardashian family — The E! Channel’s golden reality goose and complete antithesis of the Duggars — the Duggar children each bear the same first initial. Together, the 19 children are: Joshua James, Jana Marie, John-David, Jill Michelle, Jessa Lauren, Jinger Nicole, Joseph Garrett, Josiah Matthew, Joy-Anne, Jedidiah Robert, Jeremiah Robert, Jason Michael, James Andrew, Justin Samuel, Jackson Levi, Johannah Faith, Jennifer Danielle, Jordyn-Grace Makiya and Josie Brooklyn. (Try saying that five times fast.)

So if your curiosity is piqued, come out to the Brentwood Barnes and Noble (1701 Mallory Lane) at 6 p.m. Saturday to meet the gang.