An Unholy Racket

Clarity of thought

2011-01-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

http://www4.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/01/global_warming

blog merge!

2010-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

There can only be one...No worries: more rants coming up soon, as soon as I get over this dods-damned hangover.

Mendacious twits no 1

2010-09-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Knowing that one's comments are not going to be lost in some censor's virtual desk is strangely liberating. This was written yesterday in response to this post. I figure that 12+ hours is sufficient time to decide whether one will go with the open discussion that they claim to crave so much, or whether one would rather sweep opposing opinions under the rug. I admit that there is perhaps a slight surfeit of snarkiness in my response, but come on: Strobel? AFFS, here it is:

Strobel? You must be kidding. He is a paragon of intellectual dishonesty, and, quite frankly, is about as ignorant as one can be on the subjects he purports to make categorical claims about. To wit: (1)the Big Bang Theory makes no claims about the causes of the Universe, nor does it postulate a beginning since it breaks down at Planck time or thereabouts. There is absolutely nothing in it to support or contradict the existence of God. (2) and (3) are completely vague and almost nonsensical, and an appeal to ignorance is hidden within each of them. (4) is ridiculous to anyone familiar with the basics of biology: it is not that the Earth is fine-tuned for life, but life is fine-tuned to its environment, which is precisely what is expected under the standard evolutionary paradigm. (5) and (6) are again, simply begging the question. What's more, (6) uses the term "information" in some esoteric sense: most information theorists and mathematicians are quite puzzled at Dembski's redefinition and--apparently--wilful equivocation. (7) is, indeed, an unanswered question, but there is no reason to invoke "goddidit" to explain it. (8) is easily explained within standard evolutionary theory, again (common morality is tio be expected in the members of the same species, as an evolved response to the pressures of social living). (9) is incorrect historically: there are several cultures who did not have a concept of the week at all, and its usage for those that do have it is quite simply explained in several ways, including geometric (stable configuration) and astronomical (the number of "planets" known to the ancients). Basically, Strobel's case disappears into thin air with only a modicum of critical thought. I am not interested in arguing the (non)-existence of a deity here; only pointing out that there is no valid argument for it in the source you seem to admire.

Hi there

2010-09-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I have reached some kind of critical mass. There is a plethora of Christian apologetics blogs out there; some political, others just silly. All of them are guilty of cherry-picking their data, quote-mining opposition, willful misrepresentation of facts, absolute ignorance of logic (while professing their undying love for it) and constant censorship of comments. This blog will be dedicated to making sure that comments filtered out by the censorious idiots running such blogs see the light of day. Yes, I know: arguing with them is akin to playing chess with pigeons...but someone's got to do it. Otherwise, pieces of rampant idiocy like Wintery Knight's blog present an appearance of monolithic agreement. From the comments on that blog one would be justified in concluding that there are no valid arguments against clearly moronic points made there, but that is not the case: he simply censors any disagreement. Or consider the mendacious twits at the Discovery Institute: they simply disallow any comments whatsoever. There are plenty of such vehicles of disinformation on the internetz, and I will, in due time, provide a list of them in the sidebar. Meanwhile, google them yourself,

In any case, this blog is dedicated to rectifying this problem: anyone who sees a ridiculous piece of anti-intellectual tripe and wants to comment on it is welcome to send me a link to said tripe and their comment. It will be published in due order, and I promise: I will refrain from censorship, except for "bleeping out" direct attacks on the individuals in question, rather than their dim views or reality, and threats of violence. Those shall not be published: at least not in their original format. Mentions of them and links to commenters will be produced on a regular basis.

So, google some apologetic blog, go there, read their incoherent ravings, and if you feel like it, compose a rebuttal, which may not be allowed to be published there, but will certainly make it here. Even pieces defending the apologists will not be censored. What are you waiting for?

dream-quest inverted, reflected

2010-06-30T13:12:00.001-07:00

The nightmares were out in force last night. One, with an elfin face in which two giant eyes were black bottomless voids, a mouth shaped like an anteater's with a prehensile rasping radula, and a shock of pale spiky hair, sat next to me, gingerly holding my hand in the two hooked claws that jutted from her wrists and gnawed the flesh from my fingers. Another perched at my feet: a diminutive creature of unearthly beauty wearing a corset and blue furs, peeking at me from underneath half-closed eyelids beneath which nuclear fires raged and smiled demurely. Her lips parted; her teeth were thousands of shiny fat sowing needles. A third climbed up onto my chest; all sparkly edges and angles and an impossible multitude of sinuous limbs, grasping me, crushing me to her terrifyingly sharp surfaces while fluting some profoundly Lovecraftian gibberish into my ear. Yet another one loomed by the window: I couldn't make out the details of its face shrouded as it was in the shadows, but the madly swirling patterns of dull grey liquid that I could see hinted at the details I was better off not knowing. There was a sound like the flapping of giant rotting wings outside the window. The music playing on my computer sped up and slowed down, became softer and louder in tune with the brightening and fading auras around each object in the room. A roaring patch of bleeding darkness moved about the floor, throwing writhing pseudopods in all directions, and, as always, far in the distance those giant gods vaster than the universe and yet smaller than my hand moved about the mad landscape and watched me mutely with eyes the size of planets.

I woke up and opened a beer. It was quiet. The song--it was something by the 3rd and Mortal--ended and the creatures faded slowly into shadows. An insistent blue-jay imitating cries of the damned outside and the fizzing of bubbles in the beer-bottle were the only sounds. Then, suddenly, the walls of my room rushed away from me, shrieking like a flock of insane geese and I was suspended in a pattern of delicate trembling light, each strand a set of arcane equations running with fire along their infinite stretch, fluttering, a moth caught at the everpresent heart of this infinite cosmic web, impossibly convoluted and full of meaning. I wondered if the spider would come soon. I could see all the way to the edges of the infinite universe which are its center, where blind idiot gods churn out more mathematical monstrosities, where everything and nothing begins and ends and is and isn't, and for a second I could hear all the music ever written all at once. Everything expanded at the speed of light and disappeared into a void without stars.

I woke up and opened a beer. It was quiet.

I woke up and opened a beer.

I woke up.

I.

2009-11-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

An empty post is a sign of a cool and collected consciousness.

thinking and drinking only differ in two letters

2009-11-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

Eventually, we all have to recognize that we have certain specific skills and it is noone's fault that we have them. We cannot be blamed, or found wanting for what we do not know if we show at least some desire to learn, to change ourselves, to renew ourselves. My lack of knowledge of pilotage, or internal combustion engines, is no more worthy of contempt than your lack of knowledge of mathematical cosmology, or religious history--or, to put in into a more practical context, of survival in the tundra in January. The only offense against others and the Universe (but what is the Universe but others?) lies in treating another person as inferior, or their desires as somehow insignificant on the Norns' loom. Even the lack of the above understanding does not qualify one as an inferior entity.

Ouch! I have just talked myself into a tidy corner in which I have to accept an equal standing for any living entity (and perhaps rocks as well!). Before I do so, let me reassure you that one's personal opinions are also included in the above all-encompassing statement. Perhaps the only true offense against life, the universe and everything lies in denying the validity of the Other's thoughts, feelings, lusts, reactions, before killing her. One has to be able to love, respect, and recognize the reality of their victims as well as their lovers, friends, SOs and tentacular bedmates. I thank my bloody breakfast eggs each morning, for obvious reasons. Otherwise, there is no future.

Um, lest I appear somehow optimistic, let me reassure you: there is no future.

And, just in case I sound too pessimistic, let me remind you: a small word of kindness goes much farther than all the philanthropies of the world. And there's always a bridge to stare at the surface of the water from nearby...:)

wise words for the ages

2009-03-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler on the racket of war, here.

For shame, New Scientist!

2009-03-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

New Scientist is not a bad magazine. I read it regularly, despite the occasionally weirdly wanky physics story that looks as if it were published for sensational value only. But overall it is no bad, coming out strongly on the side of reason. However, I am very close to cancelling my subscription and encouraging others to do so.

Last week, the print issue carried an article by Amanda Geffer concerning creationist code-words and how to recognize them in pretend-science publications. It was an excellent, rational and thoroughly admirable article.

Apparently, someone complained to the editors about it and the article is currently removed from the online edition of NS, apparently "while they investigate".

I encourage everyone to follow the link and leave a complaint in the comment section. Demand that the editors restore the article immediately, or, at least, provide a reasonable explanation for their action (not that I think there can be one, besides intellectual cowardice).

Since the article in question is no longer available at the NS site, I reproduce the complete text of it below:

How to Spot a Religious Agenda, Amanda Gefter, New Scientist, Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:35 UTC

As a book reviews editor at New Scientist, I often come across so-called science books which after a few pages reveal themselves to be harbouring ulterior motives. I have learned to recognise clues that the author is pushing a religious agenda. As creationists in the US continue to lose court battles over attempts to have intelligent design taught as science in federally funded schools, their strategy has been forced to... well, evolve. That means ensuring that references to pseudoscientific concepts like ID are more heavily veiled. So I thought I'd share a few tips for spotting what may be religion in science's clothing.

Red flag number one: the term "scientific materialism". "Materialism" is most often used in contrast to something else - something non-material, or supernatural. Proponents of ID frequently lament the scientific claim that humans are the product of purely material forces. At the same time, they never define how non-material forces might work. I have yet to find a definition that characterises non-materialism by what it is, rather than by what it is not.

The invocation of Cartesian dualism - where the brain and mind are viewed as two distinct entities, one material and the other immaterial - is also a red flag. And if an author describes the mind, or any biological system for that matter, as "irreducibly complex", let the alarm bells ring.

Misguided interpretations of quantum physics are a classic hallmark of pseudoscience, usually of the New Age variety, but some religious groups are now appealing to aspects of quantum weirdness to account for free will. Beware: this is nonsense.

When you come across the terms "Darwinism" or "Darwinists", take heed. True scientists rarely use these terms, and instead opt for "evolution" and "biologists", respectively. When evolution is described as a "blind, random, undirected process", be warned. While genetic mutations may be random, natural selection is not. When cells are described as "astonishingly complex molecular machines", it is generally by breathless supporters of ID who take the metaphor literally and assume that such a "machine" requires an "engineer". If an author wishes for "academic freedom", it is usually ID code for "the acceptance of creationism".

Some general sentiments are also red flags. Authors with religious motives make shameless appeals to common sense, from the staid - "There is nothing we can be more certain of than the reality of our sense of self" (James Le Fanu in Why Us?) - to the silly - "Yer granny was an ape!" (creationist blogger Denyse O'Leary). If common sense were a reliable guide, we wouldn't need science in the first place.

Religiously motivated authors also have a bad habit of linking the cultural implications of a theory to the truth-value of that theory. The ID crowd, for instance, loves to draw a line from Darwin to the Holocaust, as they did in the "documentary" film Expelled: No intelligence allowed. Even if such an absurd link were justified, it would have zero relevance to the question of whether or not the theory of evolution is correct. Similarly, when Le Fanu writes that Darwin's On the Origin of Species "articulated the desire of many scientists for an exclusively materialist explanation of natural history that would liberate it from the sticky fingers of the theological inference that the beauty and wonder of the natural world was direct evidence for 'A Designer'", his statement has no bearing on the scientific merits of evolution.

It is crucial to the public's intellectual health to know when science really is science. Those with a religious agenda will continue to disguise their true views in their effort to win supporters, so please read between the lines.

scientism and balderdash

2009-03-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

An article in Catholic News tries to defuse the evolution "controversy" (itself a product of deranged creationist minds) by claiming that evolution is not to blame for the recent surge in atheistic books and the open spread of atheism. Rather, scientism is the evil beastie here (an old claim!). And they define scientism as "the use of science beyond its proper sphere of investigating physical nature".

Of course the dolts do not realize that such a definition is certainly begging the question of whether there is anything at all "beyond physical nature". Meh, they never cease to amuse me.

Kepler launch tonight

2009-03-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

Kepler telescope, an instrument that will look for Earth-sized exoplanets, will be launched today. It may find thousands of them, another step in our search for life elsewhere in the Universe, and a boon for future navigators of sublight colony ships...;)

as if we need another reason

2009-03-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

...to know that religion and the Church are great forces for evil in our world: here.

Excommunication may be a weak concept, but they are excommunicating the wrong people! These scumbags are punishing the people who have saved the life of the 9-year old girl while refusing to pass a moral judgement on the actual perpetrator. And they feel persecuted? they fucking dare to complain (about trivialities: notice the prominent place given to The Golden Compass in this one)?

bad eggs broken

2009-03-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

So the bankers are saying that they do not need the TARP money and that taking is was a mistake. So, why don’t they give it back now, instead of possibly within 2-3 years. I am sure that I am not the only one puzzled by the discrepancy: for fuck’s sake, if they really don’t need it they should cough it up now...

I think, therefore I do.

2008-11-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

According to the Typealizer, this blog is written by
INTP - The Thinkers

The logical and analytical type. They are especialy attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications. They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come across as arrogant, impatient and insensitive to people that need some time to understand what they are talking about.

Now that's all good and fine, but WTF is the "thinker" in the silly pic doing with an Apple laptop? Unix ATW forever! ;)

Even more curious is the fact that my LJ, in which I hadn't written for a long time, is apparently written by A Doer. have I changed so much in the last six months? Or do I combine the best (or worst?) features of both?

Anyway, check it out. Good silly fun.

a dash of cynicism

2008-11-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

You know how easy it is to report a blog as being a spam generator? Here. I have done so myself, on several obvious word-salad blogs. (I shan't provide any links to them, but no day passes by without at least one showing up in one of my daily alerts). Now this blog may be a lot of things: ill-kept, sub-par, irrelevant—but it is not spam in any sense of the word. However, it was apparently reported as such in early September, and I had to spend some time proving to Google that I am actually human (well, I am super-human, but one has to make some sacrifices occasionally) in order to have my blog and my email (!) unlocked. And then it happened again, three more times. It was not difficult, only annoying. To tell you the truth, I didn't even wonder what happened. Now, looking back, I realize that all of that brouhaha came within 24 hours of me publishing a mild (well, that is an exaggeration...) criticism of Sarah Palin on September 6th. A coincidence? Perhaps. The rational part of my brain insists that it is; the paranoid conspiracy circuit is naturally convinced that a typical action by some lil censorious Rethuglican was taken. Not that it would be something new for them. And I thought: it's amazing how they are the ones accusing us of suppressing free speech. Who moderates (read: censors) comments on their blogs? I have never seen any scientist/liberal/atheist do so, only theocrats/right wing crazies. Do you doubt it? It's hard to prove, but most of what I write as comments on religious blogs never makes it past moderation. What are they afraid of? Themselves? Reason? The very real possibility that their set of beliefs is utterly incorrect and will melt when exposed to the tiniest amount of logic, common sense and reality? Hmm. Food for thought.

the iniquitous fist of destruction

2008-11-15T01:56:00.000-08:00

The communal vacuum-cleaner is a piece of shit. It moves the dust and the dirt and the beer-bottle caps across the room, but its wheezy lung is too weak to actually pick any of them off the floor. When you combine that pitiful weakness with my hippie-length hair, you end up in a contaminated disaster zone. I shed all the time, sitting naked in front of my desk, madly scribbling (can one use that term?) esoteric perl code, and feeling a soft tickle of spider legs on my back once in a while. A wayward insect? No, just another hair, slithering its way free of my scalp to join its compatriots in the jungle of a low-pile brown carpet. This subconscious delapidation turns the floor of my long-suffering bedroom into a waste-basket of doom, a horrid toxic sludge. You know the 20-second rule? If you drop a piece of food, it's okay to eat as long as you pick it up wihin 20 seconds? Well, it doesn't work in this neck of the wasteland. A piece of bread comes back up gladly, entangled in a forest of hair: some mine, some, naturally, belonging to the two house-cats and a house-dog that have a penchant for sitting down behind my chair and staring soulfully at me as I—oblivious to their presence—type in imprecations and insults into the interwebz.

No small children should be allowed here; they'd be coughing up hairballs the size of my fist after the first beer. And nothing I do seems to help. I raked my room once, coming up with enough hair for 10000 maleficient spells, and the next day the floor turned back into the jungle it was the day before. I suppose the most important question is where all that fucking hair is coming from. I am not going bald, far from it; with each passing day the stupid neglected garden on top of my head becomes wilder and more rebellious. Is it going forth and multiplying?

I should walk less and drink more, that doubtlessly is the answer. Orion is on top of my sky, glaring madly down upon me, daring me to do something utterly useless. I think I'll listen to him, for once.

Meanwhile, for those still confused...

2008-11-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

Western news' slant on the Russian-Georgian war a few months ago was bloody clear to anyone who cared to investigate a bit and go past the mainstream platitudes and lies. Now, Georgian claims of being the victims of a Russian aggression are being dismantled quite rapidly. This movie should help.

Everything you need to know

2008-11-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

Live election results, starting about 4 hours from now: http://politicalwire.com/aggregator/electionresults.html

Now, have YOU voted yet (assuming you are a registered US voter, of course). The future is really being decided right now...

For those about to vote...

2008-10-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to visit http://stealbackyourvote.org/ .

The return of the wastrel

2008-10-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I came back! The Nordic Roots festival is over, and a wonderful time was had by all, including even me. So, for the next week or two, I will be listening to nothing but Fennoscandian roots music, which all can keep track of on my last.fm.

My dear friends and co-conspirators!

2008-09-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

So I am leaving tomorrow, to go to MN for the weekend. I'll be in Minneapolis from Friday 26th till Mon 29th, going to all the Nordic Roots festival shows at the Cedar, and spending my time drinking and harrassing innocent Mid-Western wenches at several venues (assuming they still exist): Sgt Preston's, that awesome hot-dog place half a block from the theatre, that wondersome cheap dive a couple of blocks up from the theatre, or, if all else fails, in the lobby bar at the Holiday Inn. I shall wear black and be loud, so if you feel like stopping by for a philosophical discussion, a drinking competition, some nefarious plotting or a friendly game of fisticuffs, be my guests!

the fight is on

2008-09-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

I do not have the right equipment, but any woman reading this should consider going to Women against Sarah Palin blog and adding her name to the already rather distinguished list. A short quote:

"We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from."

Yeah, that's absolutely correct.

A Palin for the rest of us

2008-09-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

Come on, join the revolution: Michael Palin for President!

I mean, the other Palin has no chance...

More about truths and chuckling

2008-09-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

From Atheist Comics:

Somebody is getting it right

2008-09-07T17:43:00.001-07:00

The new Ecuadorian constitution will apparently include "rights of nature":

"Art. 1. Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution.

Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the Constitution.Art. 1. Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution.

Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the Constitution."

For more details, see http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/04-7

The sadness of things

2008-09-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Adlai Stevenson, while running against Eisenhower for President, gave a particularly great speech and afterwards one of his aides came up to him and said "Mr. Stevenson, after that speech you will have the vote of every THINKING person in America!" Mr. Stevenson replied "That won't be enough. I need a MAJORITY!"

Does this remind you of anything? With all the right-wing bloggers and their sycophantic commenters frothing and cumming all over themselves at the thought of another authoritarian ignoramus (almost) at the helm, I haven't lost hope yet. Perhaps we have learned something. The funny thing about all the conservative ravings is their conviction that the Democratic party stands for some kind of hard left ideology, something only a blinkered idiot would consider to even approximate the truth. Remember, kids: Democratic party is center, wobbling between left- and right-leaning please-everyone stances. Republicans, on the other hand, are in the distinguished company of Mussolini and Franco, on the far right of things. Any further right, they'd be all over the sidewalk, running over pedestrians. Wait, they do that already! There is no mainstream left in the USA, despite all of your subliminal desires for a bogey-man to come and treat you like you deserve to be treated.

Oh, and by the way, still no word from the McCain campaign about those pesky science questions...

The Palin Beastie Part 2

2008-09-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Amazing. One of the questions asked of Sarah Palin was:

" 11. Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

The joke is that the words of the Pledge were not written until 1892, and the words "Under God" inserted into it in 1954. What do the founding fathers have to do with it?

We've known for sure that she was a medieval theocrat already, now she proves her ignorance beyond any reasonable doubt. Is this what USA wants to stand by the presidential throne: an ignorant, oppressive, bigoted, theocratic idiot? The mind boggles...wobbles...toggles....

The Palin Beastie

2008-09-06T01:25:00.001-07:00

GOP has gone into an attack mode, accusing any critics of Governor Palin of sexism. Of course, such a charge coming from the conservative wing of a conservative party (opposed, for example, to Equal Rights Amendment) is somewhat funny on the face of it, but we can ignore that for now.

In any case, allow me to throw in my little bit of technicolour yawning. Firstly, my feminist and libertarian credentials are well established, and a charge of sexism against me is laughable, as anyone that knows me can attest. Secondly, I am not going to concern myself with irrelevant charges, such as her personal business, anything involving her family, or such.
But the problems with Palin go much deeper than that. Of course, her experience (or lack of it) is hardly relevant, as a number of bloggers on both sides of the fence have already pointed out. Her opposition to abortion is more troubling, but here, too, one must be given some slack (although her opposition to *all* abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, is quite frightening. One is reminded of a statement attributed to the then-Senator Jesse Helms, on the very same subject: "What's wrong with incest? That's how we get the best horses." Speaking of sexism...)

No, the issues that make her, in my opinion, unfit to hold the office, are her lack of understanding of the basics of our Constitution and her unabashedly theocratic tendencies. If I were in an uncharitable mood, I would be tempted to call her an ignorant fascist! She is completely unclear on the concepts of the separation of powers, freedom of speech and the Establishment Clause. In the past, she has called for the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in public schools, spoke favourably of the banning of certain books in public libraries and, apparently, attempted to pressure other state officials to join up in her private feuds. All of those make her appear positively medieval, in some ways, and certainly not a person who would be looked at as an ambassador of democracy by the whole world.

So, back to sexism: it appears that the selection of Sarah Palin is, on the one hand, a bone thrown to the right wing of the Republican Party (read: mad, ignorant theocratic fascists) to bring them around and rally their support behind McCain's questionable conservative convictions and, on the other hand, an attempt to play the discrimination and pseudo-feminist card. A transparent political gimmick, a ploy that may fool some but not most, hopefully.

Obama comes through

2008-08-31T08:54:00.001-07:00

Finally! Barack Obama has answered the questions asked by the Science debate 2008 foundation, and his answers are, generally, cogent and well thought-out. Still waiting on McCain. And think of the hilarity we would have had if Brownback or his ilk still were in the race!

Anyway, the answers (and more info) can be found here

Presidential Debate '08

2008-04-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

If it ever happens (yeah, right: none of the leading candidates seem to have any interest in participating, but we may be able to persuade them to), it looks like it will be in my front yard: at the PSU.

I, for one, would not miss that for all the oil in Iraq.

In other news, aren't democrats supposed to be the open-minded ones, with a well-known liberal bias, especially in places like Chicago, IL? ;)

Apparently not.

Yeah, I'll just repost this part of an exchange between Rep. Monique Davies, D-Chicago and Rob Sherman, on the question of the grants of public monies in the state of Illinois to churches!

Here (my bolds):"Davis: I don’t know what you have against God, but some of us don’t have much against him. We look forward to him and his blessings. And it’s really a tragedy — it’s tragic — when a person who is engaged in anything related to God, they want to fight. They want to fight prayer in school. I don’t see you (Sherman) fighting guns in school. You know?

I’m trying to understand the philosophy that you want to spread in the state of Illinois. This is the Land of Lincoln. This is the Land of Lincoln where people believe in God, where people believe in protecting their children.… What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous, it’s dangerous–

Sherman: What’s dangerous, ma’am?

Davis: It’s dangerous to the progression of this state. And it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! Now you will go to court to fight kids to have the opportunity to be quiet for a minute. But damn if you’ll go to [court] to fight for them to keep guns out of their hands. I am fed up! Get out of that seat!

Sherman: Thank you for sharing your perspective with me, and I’m sure that if this matter does go to court—

Davis: You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon. "

Leaving aside a problem with Lincoln (he certainly was not a Christian, if one believes his own words, and was probably the most atheistic President this country has ever had), don't public servants have a responsibility to be familiar with the foundational laws of the land they serve? I have given up on demanding any signs of actual intelligence from them a long time ago, but simple knowledge of the laws they are sworn to uphold and defend should really count for something. Davis is obviously a bigoted idiot and all my friends living in her district should think about this very hard the next time they vote.

reality has a well-known liberal bias part 37

2008-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

A funny bill is moving towards approval in the state of Oklahoma. HB2211 has passed the House and is moving right up, into Senate. It will do this:

"The bill requires public schools to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized. If a student's religious beliefs were in conflict with scientific theory, and the student chose to express those beliefs rather than explain the theory in response to an exam question, the student's incorrect response would be deemed satisfactory, according to this bill.

The school would be required to reward the student with a good grade, or be considered in violation of the law. Even simple, factual information such as the age of the earth (4.65 billion years) would be subject to the student's belief, and if the student answered 6,000 years based on his or her religious belief, the school would have to credit it as correct. Science education becomes absurd under such a situation."

Doesn't the world already have enough to laugh/weep over when looking at the USA?

The sponsor of the bill is one Sally Kern, who appears to be one of the most bigoted, nasty religio-robots in this country; a vile human being by any standards. She claims that there is a vast gay conspiracy infiltrating our schools, among other nasty remarks; apparently, her son is gay and has been disowned by her. So it goes in the land of religious hypocrisy.

but, officer, he appeared to be entirely reasonable!

2008-03-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Rowan Williams, who in the past impressed me somewhat with his rationality and uncommon—for a clergyman—level-headedness, is rapidly losing points. Among other things, he claims that science cannot settle the abortion question, that evolutionary theory is "a limited theory about certain limited phenomena" (life in the Universe? Algorithmically driven change in self-replicating systems? Hmm...does not seem so limited to me); however, my favourite one is his elitist insinuations: society can't handle science, indeed. Failing...

Meanings-Schmeanings of Names-Schnames

2008-02-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

So I went to this site that analyzes your name to describe your personality and decided to play a little game. Since I am from Russia, there are several forms of my name floating around. My given name is Георгий (but it is transliterated into Latin as "Georgiy"), I go by "Jorg" most of the time (which is a Swedish/Germanic version of my name), the English version of it is "George" and the Finnish one is "Jurkki".

The results follow: apologies, there are a lot of them, and each try gave me a different personality. Do I have a split personality disorder? Not bloody likely...I may be crazy, but I am quite well integrated in my insanity. My thoughts on the whole thing are in the last paragraph; feel free to skip these descriptions and go directly to my totally uncontroversial and rather boring conclusions...;)

1.The English Transliteration:

What Georgiy Means

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.

You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.

Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.

You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.

At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.

You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.

At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.

You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.

You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

2.The original Russian version:

What Георгий Means

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

(no response, apparently people who spell their names in Cyrillic do not have a personality. I shudder to think of the poor Japanese, Chinese, Arabs, Armenians, Cherokee, Cree, Georgians, Ethiopians, Koreans, and I am sure I am forgetting quite a few other scripts).

3.Jorg, the Swedish/German version.

What Jorg Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.

You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.

You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.

You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.

At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.

You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.

Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

4.George, the standard English. This one is quite similar to georgiy, of course, since they share many letters, but is not the same:

What George Means

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

5.Jurkki, Finnish. Again,some similarities with Jorg, but some drastic differences:

What Jurkki Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.

You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.

You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.

And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.

You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.

You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.

People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

So what should be the conclusion? Do I turn into this different person depending the country I am in and the people I am with? Possibly, but not likely (as I have said, that would require me to lose all personality when in Russia). But I especially like the fact that I have a "wild and crazy personality" as Jorg, but am "trying very hard not to rock the boat" as georgiy. That's just cute. Perhaps (indeed, of course!) the whole thing is just silly. But notice how general the descriptions are. In some way, I felt like they all were scarily accurate, because they are brilliantly written in such a language as to make application to anyone easy. (Notice also how in many cases the same sentences just keep on getting rearranged without altering in any way. There seem to be 7 or 8 3-sentence paragraphs that keep on being juggled around, with several--I thought it was one per letter, but that is not the case, although it seems to be close--appearing in each result). Exactly in the same sense, astrological descriptions are sometimes accurate in the same sense: if you paint a broad enough target and shoot at it with huge enough missiles (and a lot of them), you are almost always guaranteed a hit. But more precise predictions and descriptions? Always, utter fail, just as we should expect!

paranoia will restore my faith in human capacities

2008-02-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

I am utterly fascinated (and a bit scared) with the internet blackout that still is going on over parts of Asia. Indeed, Iran is 100% offline: http://www.internettrafficreport.com/history/267.htm

Also, earlier reports that the first two cables to have been cut were severed by a ship's anchor appear to be erroneous, since they are two miles from each other!

All in all I've been able to confirm the above, plus at least one more cable being lost on Friday. There are rumours of a fourth one having been cut on Saturday morning, but I have not been able to find any confirmation for that yet. However, the bit about Israel and Iraq not losing any connectivity is scarily true:"Some countries, such as Israel, Lebanon and Iraq , were able to avoid the disruption by using a cable unaffected." (from http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009890808)

All this may not mean much, however, since other places such as Colombia and a server in Florida for example are also currently offline. It all may be a giant horrible coincidence, but my paranoid bones are still tingling.

http://www.internettrafficreport.com/ has all the relevant details.

In constant search of excellence

2008-01-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

T.S. Eliot translated into lolcat! Here: Wasteland

Excitement and joy!

2008-01-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

The first image of the previously unphotographed and unseen hemisphere of Mercury is released!!! In the upper right, Caloris Basin, only part of which was observed by Mariner 10 over 30 years ago.

For more info, go to MESSENGER images page.

42 minutes left

2008-01-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

MESSENGER approaching Mercury! About 40 minutes till closest approach.

See the whole series of this, the first flyby of three.

No fun for us

2008-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

The chance of the rock WD5 impacting Mars on Jan 30 has gone down to 1 in 10000, sadly. This animation shows the decrease in uncertainty considering its trajectory (image from Planetary Society):

the idiocy never stops

2008-01-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

I may be somewhat late in finding this out, but I suppose better that than after the fact.

Colorado, this year, is trying to put on the ballot a state constitutional amendment stating that a fertilized egg is legally a person. "Voters would decide if a fertilized egg is entitled to the Colorado constitutional protections of inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law."

Apparently one does not need any differentiated organs at all, much less a brain, to be considered a person. That certainly plays in the hands of the majority of this amendment's supporters, who cannot be distinguished from tree-stumps in most cases. Yes, this should go a long way towards recognition of their civil rights. Tree stumps and sea cucumbers of the world unite! Your lack of capacity for cognitive function does not mean you can be denied full human rights!

This is so fascinating: would menstruation then be considered negligent homicide? Or involuntary manslaughter (since obviously this amendment has little to do with women's rights)? What about all those frozen embryos? Wow...

??????? Words fail, as often when dealing with brainlessness of this magnitude. Even if, as is likely, the amendment sinks without a trace, the willingness of our legal system to allow such a ridiculous travesty of democratic process to proceed does not bode well for the future of liberty in this republic.

Double Einstein Ring

2008-01-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

I missed this fascinating bit of news yesterday: Hubble discovers a double Einstein Ring...

slowly losing Florida part 2

2008-01-08T21:56:00.001-08:00

Taylor county, Florida, refuses to accept the teaching of evolution in schools! The link is to a pdf of the Nov 20th meeting. They are—get this!—opposed to "teaching evolution as a fact". It probably is one of the most idiotic statements that could be made by anyone; soon they'll be voting on changing the value of pi to 3, and, I am sure, on even more idiotic measures.

Among the gems in that product of arrogant ignorance is this statement: "we are requesting that the State Board of Education direct the Florida Department of Education to revise/edit the new Sunshine State Standards for Science so that evolution is presented as one of several theories as to how the universe was formed". The morons not only have no clue about scientific method and biology, but they seem to be conflating the Big Bang theory with that of evolution. And then, people like them have the nerve to state, when speaking of atheists, "Because their arguments are really quite lightweight intellectually, they resort to nastiness.".

No, we resort to nastiness because your idiocy is so overwhelming that we are at a loss for words. Not that logic and rationality would make an impact on your tiny benighted rudimentary brains even if we regained our power of speech. Sheesh.

more laughter in the dark dept

2008-01-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

Of course, this is a classic Onion and bloody hilarious, and, naturally, frightening at the same time:

Bush Begins Preparations For Nation's Final Year

WASHINGTON-The president assured citizens he would do everything possible over next few months to promote a smooth transition into utter oblivion.

A simple solution?

2008-01-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

"Pope Benedict XVI has instructed Roman Catholics to pray "in perpetuity" to cleanse the Church of paedophile clergy. All dioceses, parishes, monasteries, convents and seminaries will be expected to organise continuous daily prayers to express penitence and to purify the clergy."

Now that is a cheap and easy way of doing it, and, most likely will be endorsed by the paedophiles themselves. I suppose it fits within Christian ontology, but, for my money, more efficient, even though naturalistic, ways of solving the problem can be imagined.

How stupid can people get?

a very special Mercury conjunction

2008-01-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

on January 14th, MESSENGER, the NASA Mercury probe, will make its first closest approach to Mercury; the last time anything constructed by humans was anywhere near that planet was in March 1975, when Mariner 10 made its final flyby.

But MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) is so much cooler! Of course, the technology now was probably little dreamed of more than 30 years ago, but MESSENGER will also, after a series of three flybys, will enter, on October 18 2001, into orbit around Mercury! Keep your eyes on the news; the official MESSENGER site is excellent; make sure you check it out.

This is cool science, indeed.

Mars impact becomes more probable

2008-01-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

The chances of the asteroid WD5 missing Mars and depriving us of a great show have been downgraded to 27 out of 28. Keep your finger crossed, as the orbit is calculated to better precision.

You know where my sympathies lie...

2008-01-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

Another excellently hilarious quote from a bogus discipline:

“Either homeopathy works or controlled trials don’t!”

—Scottish homeopath David Reilly at the 2001 Harvard Medical School Complementary and Integrative Medicine Conference.

New Blog

2008-01-04T10:09:00.001-08:00

A wonderful new Science Blog: A Good Poop. Yeah, check it out...don't be scared...

important issues

2008-01-04T04:57:00.000-08:00

Presidential candidates (and, as of yesterday, several ex-candidates), on some important scientific issues here. The three questions asked specifically were related to stem cell research, global warning and the teaching of creationism in schools, and it is more significant to note those candidates that did NOT respond than those that did. In any case, looking at the candidate's campaign pages simply confirms for me that the Republican party has been taken over by theocratic authoritarian troglodytes. I can live with the Democrats, however, at least on the issues that involve some degree of empiricism.

Should we give up on Florida?

2008-01-04T04:15:00.000-08:00

I mean, some people thought so back in 2000, but I wasn't one of them. However, they are currently

still debating
whether to teach
evolution
in high schools.

I sort of thought that they did already; forgive me for my ignorance, but isn't it, like, 2008? Apparently, the state of Florida is only now discussing whether to stay in Dark Ages for another…what…several hundred years, and a lot of its residents SUPPORT THE IDEA. The sheer idiocy of this is overwhelming. I must say though, that the funniest bits in the above links are—naturally—in the comment sections. That's where sheer imbecility lurks…

so you think you know HTML?

2008-01-04T03:45:00.000-08:00

A wonderfully hilarious place, The HTML Hell Page. Yes, I am guilty of several of the transgressions listed therein, but not too many, and I insist that I was an early adopter of the hatred and disgust for several other idiocies described there. Plus, a lot of this sage advice does not really apply to a free blog site, on which you are stuck with pre-designed templates and weird advertising blurbs beyond your control. Anyway, chock full of lovely rants and design tips for anyone trying to make the world notice.

everyone should visit

2008-01-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

Scroll down...in the sidebar entitled "my faraway home" there is a new ani-banner (in Russian): check it out; it'll take you to a massive collection of photo-galleries from my hometown, St Petersburg (Leningrad): the most beautiful city on the planet...

Meh.

Russia letting it slip

2008-01-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

An absolutely horrible article pushing creationism has been published by Pravda, of all sources. The english version is rather hilarious, repeating most of the usual creationist canards. Total garbage, needless to say, and yet another indication that Pravda's editorial policies have not changed much since the halcyon Communist days: an old Soviet joke said "There is no truth ("pravda" in Russian) in Pravda; there are no news ("izvestiya" in Russian) in Izvestiya (another major Soviet paper). It was true then, it still seems to be true now.

Perihelion

2008-01-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

It passed (about 20 minutes ago) and everything still seems to be the same. But now we are receding from the Sun at about 5 km/sec, although paradoxically (for the Northern Hemisphere anyway, and not really in any case) the weather in Portland is looking up.

some important definitions

2008-01-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

After participating in some--mostly hilarious--exchanges in MySpace fora, I realized that certain terms are not used by many participants in a standard way (especially by those of newage or religious varieties, although some atheists and scientists have also been guilty of such transgressions). Allow me to propose some much needed redefinitions that would surely go a long way towards resolving all the confusion and bitterness due to misunderstandings.

a.close-minded: somebody who refuses to accept the correctness of my beliefs.

b.arrogant: somebody who presumes to question my beliefs.

c.truth-seeker: somebody who has found it already and is now only accepting further confirmations of their rightness; myself, certainly; others, not so likely.

d.scientism: usage of science to question my particular cherished dogma.

e.reasonable: somebody comfortable with my ontology and metaphysics, somebody that will gladly accept that black is white, if I say so.

I am sure there are several more, including the antonyms to the above definitions, but I hope this will be of some help...

pretty pictures

2008-01-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

Cassini team had a vote for the best Saturn image of 2007. Oooh! Awesome!...get yer desktop backrounds straight from the source! The winner was, of course, this:

The rest of the results are here

happy new year

2007-12-31T19:27:00.003-08:00

and, on a totally unrelated note,

Golden Compass again

2007-12-29T11:15:00.000-08:00

Since the subject seems to attract a lot of visitors, let me put it to rest: yes, I saw Golden Compass, three times so far. Was it that good? Well, no. I felt obligated to support the movie, and to drag my friends, roommates and lovers to see it.

But was it good? Well, yes, but it wasn't great. Every detail of it was quite awesome: beautiful plot, great acting, awe-inspiring CGI and miscellaneous scenery, kick-ass action scenes, but the whole was less than a sum of its parts. Why? Was it director's fault? I don't know: the whole thing just didn't seem to gel. Perhaps it is only logical: transferring a novel of such complexity and detail to screen is doomed to some failure, and that part was obvious: the movie jumped from scene to scene without any seeming connection, especially to those that haven't read the books. The overall effect was reminiscent of Lynch's Dune; if you were familiar with the books, you couldn't help but notice a mass of detail left out, apparently haphazardly cut to bring the whole thing down to a manageable size; if you haven't, the thing looked disjointed, episodic (not necessarily in a good sense), illogical. Characters appeared and were gone without explanation. Massively important details were left dangling. Subplots flared up and fizzled out, unresolved. And violence was toned down to an "acceptable" Hollywood PG13 level.

Still, I recommend seeing it, if only for the visual pleasure and a chance to stick it to fundies.

A new low?

2007-12-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

article reposted from http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/71319/

This is exactly how we can expect to increase our tourism dollars. Come to America, Experience the Terror!

That can be our new tourism tag line...

"During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned."

This woman foolishly thought she could come and spend some Euro in New York. A little shopping trip. Unfortunately she hadn't realized that a computer somewhere said she overstayed a visa years ago. She's a dirty foreigner so... hilarity ensued...

"I was photographed and fingerprinted. I was asked questions which I felt had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I was forbidden to contact anyone to advise of my predicament and although I was invited at the outset to contact the Icelandic consul or embassy, that invitation was later withdrawn. I don't know why.

I was then made to wait while they sought further information, and sat on a chair before the authority for 5 hours. I saw the officials in this section handle other cases and it was clear that these were men anxious to demonstrate their power. Small kings with megalomania. I was careful to remain completely cooperative, for I did not yet believe that they planned to deport me because of my "crime".

When 5 hours had passed and I had been awake for 24 hours, I was told that they were waiting for officials who would take me to a kind of waiting room. There I would be given a bed to rest in, some food and I would be searched. What they thought they might find I cannot possibly imagine. Finally guards appeared who transported me to the new place. I saw the bed as if in a mirage, for I was absolutely exhausted.

What turned out was something else. I was taken to another office exactly like the one where I had been before and once again along wait ensued. In all, it turned out to be 5 hours. At this office all my things were taken from me. I succeeded in sending a single sms to worried relatives and friends when I was granted a bathroom break. After that the cell phone was taken from me. After I had been sitting for 5 hours I was told that they were now waiting for guards who would take me to a place where I could rest and eat. Then I was placed in a cubicle which looked like an operating room. Attached to the walls were 4 steel plates, probably intended to serve as bed and a toilet.

I was exhausted, tired and hungry. I didn't understand the officials' conduct, for they were treating me like a very dangerous criminal. Soon thereafter I was removed from the cubicle and two armed guards placed me up against a wall. A chain was fastened around my waist and I was handcuffed to the chain. Then my legs were placed in chains. I asked for permission to make a telephone call but they refused. So secured, I was taken from the airport terminal in full sight of everybody. I have seldom felt so bad, so humiliated and all because I had taken a longer vacation than allowed under the law."

She didn't know it but they were trying to 'break' her. It wasn't by accident that she was not allowed to rest, and that they kept telling her she would be able to eat and sleep any time now. Instead her physical situation got worse. This is all technique. Its part of the process that every Gitmo detainee would recognize right away. Isolate, Shock, and Break. Luckily Icelanders are made of stern stuff. Although If they had more time, she would have broken. Everyone does. Someone should send her one of those Limbaugh T-Shirts, "Experience Club Gitmo". She did.

This is the kind of treatment that any visitor to the U.S. can now expect. Imagine your skin is brown and you are traveling with your children.

Lets see how low the tourism industry drops now. I wonder which airline is going to fail first?

Mars may be subject to some pounding

2007-12-28T22:32:00.001-08:00

A 100-meter rock is headed for Mars. While the orbit is still highly uncertain, the latest estimate is 1 in 75 chance of it impacting on Jan 30th. I can't wait, and (being the mad scientist that I am) hope it happens! We have probes in orbit around Mars that would hopefully be in a position to observe the impact. There is much to learn from it; the global effects of that impact will help us refine our models and perhaps alert those yet unconvinced that Earth may be in line for a similar punishment.

Some not-so-random quotes for the candidates

2007-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

"We have now, it seems, a national Bible Society, to propagate King James's Bible through all nations. Would it not be better to apply these pious subscriptions to purify Christendom from the corruptions of Christianity than to propagate those corruptions in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America?"

--John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, Nov 4th, 1816

"If by religion, we are to understand sectarian dogmas, in which no two of them agree, then your exclamation on that hypothesis is just, 'that this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."

--Jefferson to Adams, May 5th, 1817

Think about it, bozos. This does not only go to Republican candidates, by any means: Democrats have been spouting loads of god-talk themselves and need to pay attention too.

Sad and frightening

2007-12-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

A bloody mess: Benazir Bhutto assassinated.

I've always had great respect for her, not least for the fact of her being the first woman to being in charge of an Islamic nation, as well as her liberalism and bravery. This is utterly fucked.

a night at the creation museum

2007-12-25T19:08:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Mad magazine, but why only #14?

demotivators

2007-12-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

Demotivators.com has some of the best shirts evah here. There are more, but I am particularly fond of this line and will be getting some ASAP.

oldie but goodie

2007-12-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura which was also posted on the Internet:-

Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I need some advice from you, however, regarding other specific laws and how to follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev.15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself ?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.
I admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there room for compromise?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread, like a cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) or couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging, from your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

disappointment

2007-12-24T12:19:00.001-08:00

Of course the weather of Portland conspired with someone to prevent me from looking at the beautiful conjunction of Moon and Mars last night. At least I had some whiskey...

Moon and Mars tonight

2007-12-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

from spaceweather.com

MOON AND MARS: Please don't miss this: At sunset on Sunday, Dec. 23rd, the full Moon and Mars will rise in the east less than two degrees apart. So close together, the two brightest objects in the evening sky look absolutely dynamite. The display will be visible all night long, even from brightly lit cities, and requires no telescope to enjoy...

get thee away from me christ!

2007-12-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

I'm an atheist and I'm OK!

I know who did it!

2007-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

a fair warning

2007-12-21T16:06:00.001-08:00

courtesy of Pharyngula. Thanks to PZ Myers!

I, too, like Dr Seuss...

2007-12-21T14:37:00.001-08:00

...a lot. But my favourite author? I don't think so:

“Who is your favorite author?” Aleya Deatsch, 7, of West Des Moines asked Mr. Huckabee in one of those posing-like-a-shopping-mall-Santa moments.

Mr. Huckabee paused, then said his favorite author was Dr. Seuss.

In an interview afterward with the news media, Aleya said she was somewhat surprised. She thought the candidate would be reading at a higher level.

“My favorite author is C. S. Lewis,” she said.

from the Onion: Bush acknowledges the existence of Carbon dioxide

2007-12-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

Bush Acknowledges Existence Of Carbon Dioxide

on the other hand...

2007-12-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

...this is simply awesome:

Whale 'missing link' discovered
by BBC News

The whale is descended from a deer-like animal that lived 48 million years ago, according to fossil evidence.

image description Remains found in the Kashmir region of India suggest the fox-sized mammal is the long-sought land-based ancestor of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Research in Nature suggests the animal lived mainly on land but dived into water to escape predators.

Whales are known to be descended from land-dwellers but the "missing link" has been a mystery until now.

Although Indonyus, as it is known, looks nothing like the whales of today, it shares certain anatomical features.

The structures of its skull and ear are similar to those of early whales, and like other animals that spend a lot of time in water, it had thickened bones that provided ballast to keep its feet anchored in shallow water.

"We've found the closest extinct relative to whales and it is closer than any living relative," said study leader Professor Hans Thewissen of the Department of Anatomy at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Ohio, US.

Hippo link image description

Indonyus belongs to an ancient order of mammals that had two or four toes on each foot. Modern day representatives of the group include camels, pigs, and hippopotamuses.

DNA studies show that hippos are in fact closely related to modern whales. They do not appear in the fossil record, however, until about 15 million years ago, some 35 million years after the cetaceans originated in south Asia.

This led Professor Thewissen and his team to search for an older land-based ancestor that would fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge of the whale's dramatic evolutionary journey from land to sea.

After seeing loose teeth and fragments of jaw bones found by the late Indian geologist A Ranga Rao some 25 years ago, Professor Thewissen obtained rock samples from Rao's private collection. They harboured a treasure trove of complete Indohyus fossils, including skulls and leg bones.

Dietary clues

The stable-oxygen-isotope composition of its teeth suggest that the animal spent much of its time in water.

Some have assumed that the ancestor of whales first took to the water to feed on fish but the latest evidence suggests otherwise.

"The new model is that initially they were small deer-like animals that took to the water to avoid predators," Professor Thewissen told BBC News. "Then they started living in water, and then they switched their diet to become carnivores."

Although the behaviour and habits of Indohyus appear somewhat strange, there is a modern day parallel in the African mousedeer (chevrotain).

The mousedeer lives on land, but is known to leap into the water to avoid predators such as eagles.

are we really turning into a crusading army?

2007-12-20T22:49:00.001-08:00

Scary:

Religious Freedom in Military Questioned
by Huffington Post

TOPEKA, Kan. — A foundation that has sued the military alleging widespread violations of religious freedom said Tuesday that it has evidence showing that soldiers are pressured to adopt fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

The photos and videos of religious materials and activities are part of a lawsuit filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Army Spc. Jeremy Hall, an atheist, against Maj. Freddy J. Welborn and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The material was gathered from Fort Riley in Kansas, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Fort Jackson, S.C.

Examples at Fort Riley, where Hall is stationed, included a display outside his military police battalion's office with a quote from conservative writer Ann Coulter saying, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Another photo from Fort Riley shows the book "A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" for sale at the post exchange.

"These astonishing and saddening evidence which our foundation is making public today only further buttress our lawsuit," said Mike Weinstein, an attorney in Albuquerque, N.M., and president of the foundation, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1977.

Fort Riley spokesman Maj. Nathan Bond said the matter was being referred to post commanders for investigation. He said it is the Army's policy to accommodate all religious beliefs to the extent that they don't conflict with military missions.

"We do take this seriously," he said. If they are true, he added, they "do not seem in line with the Army values of respect."

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., in September alleges that Welborn threatened to file military charges against Hall and to block his re-enlistment for trying to hold a meeting of atheists and non-Christians in Iraq.

Hall is with the 97th Military Police Battalion out of Fort Riley. He was serving his second tour in Iraq and has since returned to the U.S.

Weinstein said materials for a Bible studies course from Military Ministry, part of Campus Crusade for Christ International, teach soldiers that the U.S. military and government are instruments to spread the word of God. The material was found at Fort Jackson, S.C., he said.

A spokeswoman for Campus Crusade for Christ said ministry officials hadn't had a chance to review the evidence and declined to comment.

The lawsuit also alleges that Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged to pressure soldiers to adopt and espouse fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and allows a culture that sanctions activities by Christian organizations.

It also says the military permits proselytizing by soldiers, tolerates anti-Semitism and the placing of religious symbols on military equipment, and allows the use of military e-mail accounts to send religious rhetoric.

The Pentagon has said that the military values and respects religious freedoms but that accommodating religious practices should not interfere with unit cohesion, readiness, standards or discipline.

Weinstein has previously sued the Air Force for acts he said illegally imposed Christianity on its students at the academy. A federal judge threw out that lawsuit in 2006.

On the Net:

Military Religious Freedom Foundation: http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org

solstice and onwards 1

2007-12-20T22:10:00.001-08:00

...of unknown provenance...

2007-12-19T21:47:00.000-08:00

..but awesomely fitting. Should the author show up, I'd be glad to acknowledge.

BEHE:
I cut down facts. I Gish and gallop.
I like to press wild fallacies.
I put on scientist's clothing
And hang around in labs.

MOUNTIES:
He cuts down facts. He Gish and gallop.
He likes to press wild fallacies.
He puts on scientist's clothing
And hangs around in labs?!

He's a creationist, and he's okay.
He lies all night and he lies all day.

The Hobbits are coming!

2007-12-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, they are. Peter Jackson has just signed a deal to make The Hobbit and a sequel to it. What that second movie is going to be is rather unclear to me, but still, a cause for jubilation!

My beliefs, today

2007-12-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

*Books*
What was the last book you read?	Old Man's War by John Scalzi
What is you favorite Genre (kind) or Book?	Science Fiction (of science-y variety), fantasy (of epic-y variety), magical realism, fabulism, mythology, history, science, bloody technical manuals!
When a movie is made of a book you've read are you happy or dissapointed?	I try not to prejudge, but disappointment seems to be more frequent than happiness
When you read a Book does it often create an emotional reation	YES.
Do you read for pleasure?	YES.
DO you read more than one book a year?	Far and beyond
More than one a month?	Far and beyond
What was the most influential book on your life?	Too many to mention. But, for one, Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World
What was the most powerful book you ever read?	again, a lot. Lots of SF, and, in non-fiction, Emma Goldman, Michael Walzer, Bertrand Russell, David Hume, et al
If you could, would you ban a book and if so, Why?	never.
*People*
DO you dislike people that are a different color than you?	no
DO you dislike people that come from another country?	no
DO you dislike people that are a different sexual orientation that you are (Gay/ Lesbian /Transgender /Straight?	no
DO you dislike people that follow a different faith than you do?	no, it's their beliefs that are idiotic, not the people themselves
When someone speaks to you and says something that upsets you, does it make you angry?	no
When someone speaks to you about different Ideas, Are you willing to listen?	YES.
*Outside the Box:Space*
DO you think that there are intelegent life forms in other solar sysytems?	I don't know, but I would suspect so.
If not, why not?	Again, we do not have sufficient data.
If So, do you think they are friendly or hostile?	see above
If so do you think they would ever come here?	see above
If So, do you think they already have come here?	no
If someone from another solar system asked you about the human race, What would you tell them?	deeply confused but holding soome promise
*Outside the Box:Time*
DO you believe in the possiblity of Time Travel?	It is a simple fact in some of theoretical models
DO you believe inAlternate Universes?	see above
What is your favorite Time period?	anytime. Present.
What time Period other than now would you live in, if you could	Future? I don't know, I am going there already.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

I know now

2007-12-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

What it is that I miss about Karelia. It's the lichens.

Huckabee go away!

2007-12-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Recursivity has a list of 10 reasons why Mike Huckabee should NOT be our next president. They are pretty obvious, but go there anyway, and give him some support already!

Here's a copy:

Ten Reasons Not to Vote for Huckabee

The picture that has recently emerged of former governor Mike Huckabee is that of an intellectually incurious, greedy, and corrupt fundamentalist Christian.

So here are just some of the many reasons not to vote for him.

1. He thinks that scientists believe the earth is "six billion" years old. He also thinks we "just don't know" how old the earth is.

2. He covered up an incident where his son hanged a stray dog.

3. He lied about having a theology degree.

4. He claims ‘‘The Holy Bible . . . has truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.’’

5. In 1992, he wanted to quarantine people with AIDS, even though it was well-known then that AIDS could not be spread by casual contact.

6. He improperly claimed furniture given to the governor's office as a personal gift and then didn't list it on an inventory of office items.

7. He freed criminals who committed heinous offenses if they said they had become born-again.

8. He wants a regressive national sales tax in place of a progressive income tax.

9. In 1998, he signed a statement saying that "A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband".

10. He doesn't accept the theory of evolution.

full of pictures today

2007-12-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

a picture worth 1000 words

2007-12-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently I am a good person.

2007-12-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

...and my karma rules. I wish I could remember it, though.

You see, here in Oregon, we occasionally get a kicker check from the government. If government revenues in a given fiscal year have exceeded a certain amount, a percentage of our state taxes is refunded to us automatically. This is kind of nice. This year we had one. I was expecting to get several hundred bucks, just enough to get a bass guitar and spend Xmas season surrounded by dancing girls, bottles of aquavit and other accoutrements of fine living. The mail came in today; I grasped the envelope in my trembling hands and, opening it, pulled out a puny piece of paper. "You have chosen to donate your kicker to State School Fund," it read. CHECK AMOUNT: $0.00.

And then it hit me! Last year, when filing my taxes, being in an indulgent and benevolent mood after seeing the amount of my return, I checked the little box on my tax form, doing exactly what this letter claimed I did. Yes, I was warm and fuzzy, and let's face it: I never expected to get any voluntary refund back from the government. As far as I was concerned, I wasn't giving anything away. Well, apparently I was, to the tune of $350 or so.

Oh well. That gives me enough good karma to scare many little children and push plenty old ladies out of the way before it is all balanced out...;)

so much for the separation of church and state

2007-12-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

I almost missed this one, heh. Sponsored by a Republican from Iowa, naturally. Time to call your fucking Representative and tell them what you really think about such blatant unconstitutional garbage. This is truly and utterly fucked up:

H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

beautiful

2007-12-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

Go Connecticut!

agnes on faith

2007-12-14T02:59:00.000-08:00

Stolen from RDN

idiocy all around

2007-12-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

Mike Huckabee thinks that bumblebees can't fly, and believes he is not a primate. And this idiot--yes, idiocy is the only word appropriate in this context--is running for US presidency? WTF??? (Thanks to Recursivity).

I must then, together with many other bloggers and scientists, call for a presidential debate on science and technology. We cannot have a person ignorant of the basic facts of the universe we live in, the planet we are stuck on, and the way of thinking that is helping us uncover these facts (i.e., science) in charge of the most powerful nation on the planet. This job carries an awesome responsibility and an incredibly dangerous amount of power; village idiots need not apply.

coolness over there

2007-12-12T22:05:00.001-08:00

Sunspot no 978: about the size of Jupiter as of this writing, getting ready to explode and utterly beautiful. I can stare at stuff like this for hours...

For more details, go to SpaceWeather

Unholy Racket No 004: A short update

2007-12-12T21:53:00.001-08:00

1.Vancouver is full of weird-looking people, and, considering that my definition of weird is perforce different from that of mere humans, you can imagine what I mean.

2.Why is it that when I am waiting for a bus, reading a book on quantum field theory and desperately trying to wrap my brain around a particularly painful Lagrangian, some old codger or a born-again fool always attempts to engage me in some inane conversation? And they refuse to stop babbling and persist in ruining my concentration. Go play on the freeway, you goddamn freaks!

3.Conversation overheard on the bus:

SLOB, to DRIVER: "Are you going to Vancouver?"
(The front of the bus is lit up with a glowing sign saying, MAX via Jantzen Beach).

D.: "No, I am going to Delta Park."

S.: "Just to Delta Park?"

D.: "Yes."

SLOB (getting on the bus): "Let me know when we get to Mill Plain."

!!!!!!!!!

4. An old joke popped up in a new book on brain states:

--Knock knock.
--Who is there?
--O.J.
--O.J. who?
--You're on the jury.

5. Finally, to clarify my definition of weirdness, I prefer mango peach salsa to chocolate. So there!

tom tomorrow rules

2007-12-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Yeah.

Today

2007-12-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

The Golden Compass opens today. You may wonder why I am squawking about this movie so much. Well, for starters, it is one of my favourite fantasies (of the epic sort) ever. Much better than the thin, silly Christian propaganda of C.S. Lewis and, let's admit it, derivative and just-as-religious and authoritarian dream of J.R.R. Tolkien (although Tolkien holds a special dear place in my heart for his linguistic prowess and consequent palpably real sense of place and time). But Pullman is smarter, more interesting and certainly more original and iconoclastic than either of them. And I would rather have my child be exposed to fantasy fiction via Pullman than Lewis, or even "The Hobbit". There; I've said it. The above sentence is precisely the reason why all the totalitarian-in-disguise religionists are foaming at the mouth in their trembling lust to denounce this movie. Yeah, check out some of these (and that's just this morning's crop of articles; some more balanced than others, and some quotes more idiotic than others, but that's the way the world is, after all):

PREACHING ATHEISM. I love the quote from Father Michael Okere, whoever he is: ""The motive of this movie, it has been noted, is to sway innocent children to derail from their faith.". Probalby not quite true (the original message of the book has, reputedly, been diluted to the point of inoffensiveness), but of course even if it were so, I'd say more power to them! That kind of innocence needs to be derailed. Is it OK to brainwash children? It is, however, OK to teach them how to think for themselves, which is what Pullman's books, and, hopefully, the movie, are doing. And one of the final quotes in this article is telling: ""Christians need to be careful about what they let their families see." Isn't that lovely? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

The Golden Compass raises Some Eyebrows.

Is 'Compass' fantasy adventure or atheism for kids? (I like that title; I hope it's both! ;))

Parents decry reading of controversial book to Shallowater third-graders. Some real side-splitting idiocy there; but this piece of news is from Texas, after all, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised...;)

Compass points: Catholic and atheist (That's BBC for you, huh!)

'Compass' author's atheism stirs debate on film's message Some interesting stuff here; apparently many people miss the point of the books, which is a bad thing, I suppose. Or is it? There are some great quotes from Pullman himself towards the end of the article.

Oh, fuck it: too much shite to wade through, and I must go to work now. Too bad. I think I'll go see it tonight, after work; i am also organizing a group outing Sunday or Monday for several shots of whiskey, a matinee and a chance to laugh at christian protesters, should there be any.

America, the beautiful

2007-12-07T01:37:00.001-08:00

...or not? Tell me if it pisses you off as much as it does me; we seem to be stuck in some barbarous age, with no relief in sight:

US says it has right to kidnap British citizens.

We've never had much respect for international law, but this disdain for lawful ways of resolving problems has reached new heights under this administration. And they complain about other countries' disrespect for the international community, nevertheless! WTF?

Destroying the planet again? + juicy idiotic religious tidbits

2007-12-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

Are you using electrical power bought from companies that engage in mountain-top removal? You can find out by going to My Connection and entering your zip code. If your power is purchased by a destruction of a mountain top, the site will link you to a photograph of said mountain top. For example, my zip produces this.

Get involved; they are killing OUR mountains!

In other news, the Pope is pissing blood about atheism again (the full text of the new encyclical, Spe Salvi). What else is new? The old authoritarian asshole would be kind of amusing if so many people didn't take him seriously. As it is, he is rather frightening, in a cheap B-movie horror kind of way. He may eat you whole but at least it'll be funny.

A frustrated penchant for drowning

2007-12-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

I live in a great house. It is huge and reasonably well-heated. My roommates are great: they share alcoholic beverages and we rarely get in each other's way. The rent is reasonable. The hot-water heater is huge, allowing me to take long-ass showers. But...

The house is a typical American, utilitarian structure, and for some reason it doesn't have a bathtub anywhere on the premises. On days like today, though, a bath never leaves one's thoughts. It looks bloody cold outside, and the wind is still trying to push its way in. What better way to spend one's time than blogging from a bathtub filled with scalding hot water and maybe bubbles?

Also, on a brighter note, the absence of a bathtub denies me at least two ways of offing myself. How am I going to drown myself after swallowing a bunch of sleeping pills, Kosinski style? And I will not even mention the sheer impossibility of a quiet check-out after slicing my wrists open, peacefully staring at a not-too-clean ceiling from the womblike embrace of lukewarm water...Damn What is one to do in circumstances like these?

Rambling on #13*sqrt(2)

2007-12-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

It snowed for about half an hour yesterday morning, and though most of it melted before hitting the ground and the rest, shortly afterwards, it still was a wondersome sight. And it made the busses run late. Also, last night, the winds were supposedly up to 74 mph (that's 30+ meters per second for you metroids). I didn't venture outside and cannot vouch for it, but I do know that every crack in every window in my house turned into a frost-breathing dragon for a while, and there was some howling going on outside. Not a hurricane, but lovely nevertheless. Maybe next year we'll get one: a hurricane and a snowstorm, ripping roofs off fundamentalist churches, tossing SUVs across streets into yuppie windows, throwing icicles at porches of rabidly Republican domiciles...nah, one can only dream...

Meanwhile, today I am listening to Gypsy Jazz while learning octave and contemplating some bourbon later tonight. Brain is dead: too much sobriety over the last several days.

a tidbit to tide you over...

2007-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

...while I am feverishly trying not to write anything at all, and not drink or fuck either. It's been a hectic week.

Anyway: Chuck Norris Facts...bloody hilarious.

Got to go be bored. Chah!

Morford strikes true

2007-11-28T05:45:00.000-08:00

Mark Morford, always quite good, is purely awesome today:

reposted from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/11/28/notes112807.DTL&nl=fix

Black Friday Die Die Die
America's most obscene shopping day meets its doom in an oily nightmare hell. All true!

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Is this why they hate us? Why we hate ourselves? Is this why we seem to have no real idea who the hell we are anymore, or what it means to have a humane and thoughtful national identity, and therefore we happily scratch and claw and fight our way into giant fluorescent-lit hellpits for a chance at a $29 DVD player and some crappy plasma TVs and a pallet of heavily discounted spatulas?

More broadly: Is this why we're suffering such a general feeling of ennui and disgust and apathy in the culture right now, the nagging feeling that we have no center and God has abandoned us and we therefore simply cannot consume enough goods and technology to try and fill the void? The answer seems rather obvious.

I don't even know what Kohl's is. I'm guessing some sort of mass-crap superstore, like Best Buy or Target or T.J. Maxx or a weird amalgam of all of those and it doesn't really matter because last Friday they opened at 4 a.m. for the mad rush of Black Friday shoppers, because if there's one thing you want to do when your body is groggy and sleep tugs at your heart and your dreams have turned vacant and sad, it's grope cheap waffle makers before sunrise.

Wal-Mart opened at 5. Target opened at 6. Across America, gluttony ruled. There were stores that had nothing whatsoever to do with gifting or holiday largess, stores with names like Cabinetry and More or Rug Depot that nevertheless opened at 6 or 7 a.m. on that now-ominous, insane, fateful day, if for no other reason than to capitalize on the fact that there were so many franctic zombified credit-carded bodies swarming about and it would be foolish not to take advantage.

(more)

P.S. I did not buy anything on Friday, except for a bus fare to work. For that matter, I didn't buy anything on Saturday either. And yes, I do feel smug about it, but my shopping footprint is rather minuscule at the best of times, and I am proud of that, too...

Everything is getting faster and smarter

2007-11-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

Just over the last few weeks it seems that captchas have grown in length enormously: they used to be about 4-5 characters long; now, on my Myspace account, I usually have to fill out 8-9 characters. Hah! Nobody can escape the righteous wrath of spam. That's why we need true artificial intelligence to deal with it. (I won't make any bad jokes about the relative lack of natural intelligence on this planet, of course, nor about my addiction to self-referential statements. Consider yourself warned).

Golden Compass

2007-11-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

...had its world premiere (a press showing) last night in the UK (I wish I were in London right now; I'd have finagled my way in somehow). The reviews are good, and I am going to watch it tonight, and tomorrow. will report when I am done.

Naturally, it's all done with torrents; I will still go to the theater on the 5th when it opens here and, of course, am likely to get the DVD when it comes out. But I cannot fucking wait!!! Since Pullman's trilogy is one of my favourite all-tome fantasies and certainly the best one in the recent years I must see it NOW...;)

Of course, the Catholic Defense League and other comparable wankers are pissing in the wind with their complaints (oh my golly! these scary free-thinkers are again going to oppress 85% of god-fearing Americans! Oh woe!). Fuck them. The message of the book has already been slightly diluted by the script, and it shouldn't really offend anyone but a few rabid morons. Also, what this world needs right now (as always, but now more than at some other points in history) is a good dose of public atheism and provocative free-thought. We have been taking things like freedom a bit too much for granted, especially here in these United States.

Go Golden Compass!!!

Bender's big score

2007-11-25T20:56:00.000-08:00

...and the Universe is destroyed. Just lovely.

The last gasps of social conservatism...

2007-11-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

...we hope. In any case, being a friend of President Bush nowadays is not such a great idea if one wants to have any kind of a political future. In Australia, John Howard was "comprehensively defeated" on Saturday, with his defeat owing a lot to his stance on Kyoto treaty (no), on the war on terrorism (he is a close Bush ally and a personal friend) and on public health and education. In a somewhat snide (but welcome) remark, the winning Labor party stated that "Australia will remain a close ally of the United States, and Rudd [the new Prime Minister-elect] remains committed to the alliance..." but "...if there is a Democratic administration elected next year, to some extent they would become closer.”

The world just took a small step towards sanity; not all news are bad, apparently.