Pick a lock using only a bobby pin: Check

You can call me MacGyver. Or at least that's what I told my mother in law last week.

We were on our fifth day of vacation when someone inadvertently locked her bedroom door shutting everyone out. I sprung into action as I heard the stress in her voice; I had to act quickly. Wielding only a straightened-out bobby pin, I fiddled with the tiny hole in the knob -- pretending more than knowing what to do.

But in the end, it opened. Yes; brownie points for at least 24 hours.

I must admit I felt strangely accomplished at the end. True, it didn't take much skill -- just patience and the ability to gingerly wiggle a tiny piece of metal. But I felt empowered, as if I had just checked off something big on life's little "before you die..." list. Next up: Get backstage at a rock concert using only confidence, a clipboard and a pen.

"The Notorious J.C."

I chuckled at the headline of this story on Foxnews.com. I'm more than a little surprised that "The Passion of the Christ" was dubbed the most controversial movie of all time.

Not that I put a ton of stock into what Entertainment Weekly says, but I don't think I would have picked it (of course, I think it's controversial to cast Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady"). "The Last Temptation of Christ" would have been on there way before "Passion." I remember even as a kid that there were protesters in the streets, death threats -- it was a big deal.

"Passion" did ignite quite a bit of controversy, but a lot of that can be attributed to buzz. And buzz is not the same thing as controversy.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" stirred up truckloads of controversy. I wonder how they measured the controversy of a film in this list?

To my recollection, there is only ONE scene in "Passion" that riled people up. And while it can be viewed as a significant part of the film, it was over in a flash and even toned down by Mel Gibson in production. Not only that, but the dialog in question was taken directly from scriptural text widely accepted by Bible believers.

If we're talking faith-oriented films, those like "Temptation" or even "Da Vinci Code" win by default, if only because they call into question historical elements deemed sacred by "believers."

Thoughts, anyone?