Random Neurons Firing...

Midichlorian Rhapsody

2010-09-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

"Star Wars"-themed parody of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". This video is composed of 100% WIN.

What's my line? Crumpet.

2010-09-01T16:00:00.001-04:00

I imagine it would have been difficult enough for the celebrity panel of the game show "What's My Line" to guess the occupation of the guests based upon "yes" or "no" answers to a few questions, but what if the guest was an individual with a highly varied and idiosyncratic resume?

Wonder no more...via Roger Ebert's excellent blog, a snippet from the 1950's era show with none other than Salvador Dali as the guest. Amazingly, the panel manages to guess correctly based on what can't be anything more than an intuitive leap. Appropriately surreal, to say the least...

HT: Roger Ebert (via Twitter)

Humanity in the midst of horror

2010-09-01T14:58:00.001-04:00

I can't embed it, but this video of a 90-year-old WWII veteran recounting an experience from his time shortly after the D-day invasion is both incredible and a wonderful example of the power of our shared human values in the face of despair and loss. Please take a moment to give it a look; you won't regret it.

Oh, please note that the video will start playing when the page has loaded. Completely SFW, but it might start up a tad loud...

Cami Secret Parody (Boob Apron)

2010-08-27T09:35:00.000-04:00

I know I shouldn't laugh...but it's funny...

HT: Patton Oswalt

Steven Wright FTW!

2010-08-27T09:12:00.000-04:00

One of Steven Wright's one liners: "I got this powdered water - now I don't know what to add". Hahaha....Wait, what?

Scientists have developed what they're calling "dry water", a powder that contains a drop of water surrounded by a silica compound.

Scientists believe dry water could be used to combat global warming by soaking up and trapping the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Tests show that it is more than three times better at absorbing carbon dioxide as ordinary water. Dry water may also prove useful for storing methane and expanding the energy source potential of the natural gas.

"Powdered water" is something I certainly never thought I'd see. But we still don't know what to add...

HT: Derren Brown

Creationism Propaganda for Children Caught on Camera

2010-05-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

Watch this and weep; weep for the children and our collective future...

Wrong for America!

2010-04-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Mr. Kant is obviously an evil Socialist/Nazi/Godless/Tax-And-Spend Liberal intent on remaking our great country into *gasp* EUROPE!

The horror...the horror...

Neil deGrasse Tyson: What NASA Means to America's Future

2010-04-28T18:42:00.003-04:00

Neil Tyson (director of the Hayden planetarium) is one of most eloquent and passionate advocates for science and science education we have today. In this brief answer to an audience question, he gives the best rationale I've yet heard for why continued funding for NASA is so vitally important.

Thought for the day...

2010-04-16T11:06:00.001-04:00

"The spacecraft was a long way from home.

I thought it would be a good idea, just after Saturn, to have them take one last glance homeward. From Saturn, the Earth would appear too small for Voyager to make out any detail. Our planet would be just a point of light, a lonely pixel hardly distinguishable from the other points of light Voyager would see: nearby planets, far off suns. But precisely because of the obscurity of our world thus revealed, such a picture might be worth having.

It had been well understood by the scientists and philosophers of classical antiquity that the Earth was a mere point in a vast, encompassing cosmos—but no one had ever seen it as such. Here was our first chance, and perhaps also our last for decades to come.

So, here they are: a mosaic of squares laid down on top of the planets in a background smattering of more distant stars. Because of the reflection of sunlight off the spacecraft, the Earth seems to be sitting in a beam of light, as if there were some special significance to this small world; but it's just an accident of geometry and optics. There is no sign of humans in this picture: not our reworking of the Earth's surface; not our machines; not ourselves. From this vantage point, our obsession with nationalisms is nowhere in evidence. We are too small. On the scale of worlds, humans are inconsequential: a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump of rock and metal.

Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you've ever heard of, every human being who ever was lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings; thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines; every hunter and forager; every hero and coward; every creator and destroyer of civilizations; every king and peasant, every young couple in love; every mother and father; hopeful child; inventor and explorer; every teacher of morals; every corrupt politician; every supreme leader; every superstar; every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.

Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings; how eager they are to kill one another; how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity—in all this vastness—there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known.

The pale blue dot."

An excerpt from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. He's referring to a photo of the same name, Pale Blue Dot (a portion of which is posted above), taken by Voyager I on February 14, 1990.

via Gizmodo

John Stewart PWNS Glenn Beck

2010-03-19T15:30:00.000-04:00

Anyone familiar with Glenn Beck knows that the man is a world-class ass clown. But absolutely no one takes him down better than John Stewart. To wit, part I:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Intro - Progressivism Is Cancer

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

And part II:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Conservative Libertarian

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

Complete and total WIN. I've said it before; if we didn't have John Stewart and Steven Colbert, we wouldn't have any real news reporting at all...

GENIUS!

2010-03-16T13:49:00.000-04:00

Personally, I find the idea of chatroulette kinda creepy, but this is hilarious! The guy improvises songs about the people with whom he connects:

via twitter: @petersagal

Again?

2010-03-02T15:42:00.001-05:00

*sings* "I like calling North Carolina ho....WTF WEATHER?!?!"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Umm...obesity epidemic anyone?

2010-02-12T23:48:00.003-05:00

File this under "I'm too lazy to walk in from the next parking space"...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Batman!

2010-02-09T10:43:00.013-05:00

Someone in my twitter feed (wish I could remember who!) posted a link to this Batman! comic generator. It contains one scene from a classic (judging by the artwork) Batman! comic and allows users to enter dialogue for Batman and Robin and then generates the scene with the user entered dialogue. Hilarity ensues. Of course, I couldn't resist creating several and posting them here for the benefit of posterity. First, the obvious:

And because I'm a grammar and spelling nazi:

Now a couple of esoteric ones:

And finally, a "three-gun" salute to skepticism:

1337arts

2009-09-17T10:19:00.004-04:00

This is so cool! A trio of MIT students built and launched a camera equipped helium balloon that ended up rising over 17 miles into the outer atmosphere. The camera was loaded with software that directed it to take pictures at five-second intervals and recorded the near 4 hour ascent and approximately 40 minute descent (after the balloon popped at about 93,000 ft.).

Read the story and see the time-lapse photo show at: 1337arts

Posted using ShareThis

TED

2009-07-21T16:47:00.003-04:00

Technology. Entertainment. Design. Those are the words/concepts that comprise the acronym TED. From philosophers to activists, from actors to politicians, from Nobel laureates to great chefs, TED conferences bring together and present some of the world's most amazing people. TEDGlobal 2009 is currently underway in Britain and some of the talks should be online within the next few days (including what's sure to be an amusing/informative one by Stephen Fry), but you can always find something interesting or entertaining in the TED archives of past conferences. Case in point: the video embedded below of a charming humorous anecdote related at TED 2008 by the incomparable John Hodgman.

Math Humor

2009-07-10T12:25:00.007-04:00

Found on the 'net. Will be humorous to anyone with a mathematical bent, but they made me think specifically of a certain math geek I know...

From XKCD (an awesome webcomic):

And another I found on Atheist Nexus:

Must See TV

2009-06-12T10:02:00.004-04:00

This aired back in March, but I had forgotten all about it until I found it again at The Dreaming. Two of my very favorite people, Neil Gaiman and Stephen Colbert discuss Neil's Newberry Award-winning The Graveyard Book. Gaiman is infected with the same sort of dark humor as Colbert and it makes for quite the amusing interview:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Neil Gaiman

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Stephen Colbert in Iraq

About The Graveyard Book I can't say enough good things. I bought it the week it was released, read it in a couple of days and it's one of the best things Mr. Gaiman has written (and that's saying something). Although intended for children (ages 9-12), the book has deep meanings and morals that are just as applicable for adults. This is the sort of book that parents should read aloud to their kids because both will profit as a result.

Speaking of reading aloud, the audiobook version (read by Gaiman) also won two Audie awards, including book of the year. I bought that too and look forward to listening to it on the way to the beach next week. But you don't have to purchase the audiobook to experience this; you can watch & hear Neil read the book in its entirety at Mouse Circus.

Funny O' The Day

2009-06-04T09:28:00.004-04:00

Oh, I know how she feels:
Yesterday's Mythtickle, via Pharyngula.

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T09:43:00.003-04:00

For citizens of the United States of America, today is the day we set aside specifically to remember the men and women who have throughout our history fought and died to earn and preserve the freedoms we enjoy today. May their courage and bravery never be forgotten and may all of us strive to be worthy of the heavy price with which our liberty has been purchased.

Graphic is by Cox and Forkum

Tim Burton's "9"

2009-05-22T17:09:00.002-04:00

If you're a Tim Burton fan, as I am, you'll probably be as excited as I to see this trailer of his newest film, a computer-animated movie titled simply "9", slated for release on September 9th (09.09.2009, as it happens). It is a feature-length adaptation of a 2005 academy-award-nominated short film, of the same title, by student director Shane Acker. It tells the story of 9, a sentient rag doll in a post-apocalyptic, post-human world struggling to survive and "protect the future" (in the words of the trailer). The animation looks superb and the story one to which Burton could certainly do justice. I'm certainly looking forward to it!

VIP/Loyalty Card Overload?

2009-05-19T15:57:00.013-04:00

I've got perhaps a dozen or so of those loyalty program or membership cards that retail establishments give out. Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Office Depot, Best Buy, Jos. A. Banks, Brooks Brothers, Dick's Sporting Goods....the list goes on. And if I want the discounts or perks that go along with those programs, I need to present the cards whenever I make a purchase. That means, of course, that I've got to either carry them all with me OR remember to put the relevant card in my wallet before leaving. The first option leaves me with either a bulging wallet or an overloaded keyring and the second often leaves me without the discount (as I'll likely forget to take along the card). ARGH! What to do?

Lifehacke r to the rescue! KeyRingThing provides a free web-based service whereby you can enter up to six of your membership/barcode numbers and it will allow you to download and print out ONE card with all of them on it. You can use that card just as it is, take it to your local Kinko's and have it laminated or for about $3, KeyRingThing will mail you a higher quality plastic credit-card-sized version. You could conceivably reduce 12 loyalty cards to 2 thus saving a great deal of wallet space (no version for keyrings, but you would ostensibly be removing 12 from your keyring and saving space there).

The website also provides a means of downloading the generated barcode for each program as an image to a cell or smartphone. That means that you should be able to simply use the image on your phone screen as you would the card so you wouldn't have to carry the card at all!

I think that's an even better option. I always carry my cellphone, so I would always have my loyalty/membership info with me. In fact, someone else thought of this as well:

CardStar (via Crave) is an application for the iPhone that allows you to enter the membership/barcode numbers of all of your cards and it will generate bar code images that can then be used in place of the cards. You can select from dozens of pre-loaded merchants and the company logo will appear as part of the display. If your merchant/company doesn't appear it's not a problem; you can simply enter the name and store the data under that. The app also provides a means of "fine-tuning" the displayed barcode image to ensure that the code displayed matches the one on the original card (as there are several different encoding methods actually in use). Normally the app sells for $0.99, but right now it's free at the iTunes store, so hurry out and download it if you're an iPhone user. Unfortunately, there currently isn't a version for Blackberry or any other smartphone, but the company is working on one so keep checking their website if you're interested.

I've downloaded this app and have entered several of my card numbers in it, but haven't yet had a chance to test it out so I've no idea how readable the image is to barcode scanners. It looks pretty clear to me on my screen, but those scanners can often seem pretty particular as to their requirements. I'll try to remember to post a follow-up after I've tried it out.

God On Trial

2009-05-14T10:05:00.007-04:00

The embedded video above is the first of nine parts of a BBC-produced movie titled "God On Trial". Released in 2008, the film tells the story of a group of Auschwitz inmates who decide to put God on trial for breach of the covenant he made with his "chosen" people.

The film is a fascinating and moving exploration of various familiar themes in the philosophy of religion: the problem of evil, theodicy, divine hiddenness, and the Euthyphro dilemma (among others), but in the context of a real-life drama rather than in dry academic papers.

The film opens with the prisoners being divided into two groups (left & right), one of which will be taken to the gas chamber on the following day. This is being done in order to make room for new arrivals (who, as it happens, arrive earlier than planned and thus become part of the drama as it unfolds). The action of the film takes place during the night while the prisoners wait sleeplessly to learn their fate in the morning.

The film's most powerful sequence comes toward the end when a learned rabbi, who has been praised by another prisoner as a living saint due to his knowledge of Torah and Law (he is said to have memorized all of the scripture) delivers a powerful speech in which he concludes that "God is not good".

The film is a moving indictment of the rather naive view of God held by a great many modern people. As the philosopher Wes Morriston recounts, the writer very nearly lost his faith during the research and writing of the script. For myself, the contextual perspective on philosophical issues with which I am more than passingly familiar provided me with fresh insight; a more personalized way of seeing some of these problems. More importantly, however, the arguments employed by the inmates who serve as God's "defenders" show a more nuanced and balanced view than that generally employed by religious (read "Christian") apologists. Indeed, this "inside look" at the Jewish apologetic approach reveals a more humanistic, deeply conflicted view than the "false bravado" one generally sees from the neo-Calvinists so ubiquitous on the internet. They realize the deep inconsistencies in their faith, yet still they persist. Indeed, when some of the men are being led off to the gas chambers, one of those who had been most virulent in his condemnation of God, and who before learning his fate spoke bravely of the ultimate meaninglessness of life, asks another, "what do we do now?". The second man replies, "we pray". And in the face of death, the defenders and accusers alike are united in prayer; not because they believe they will be saved (for they have, after all, found God guilty of breaking the covenant), but because they realize that for them, their identity as Jews is one of the things that gives their lives meaning. There is a great truth to be found here, beyond prayer, beyond the question of God's existence or his character: that there is meaning to be found in life regardless.

Understandably, this is not an "action-packed" film. The drama proceeds through character exposition and development accomplished through dialogue and speeches. But beyond the philosophical wisdom, there is a good film filled with great writing and wonderful performances (the great Stellan Skarsgård among them). I don't know how long it will be up on YouTube, so watch now or order a copy from Amazon. This is a "don't miss" for lovers of Philosophy AND cinema.

Mmmm...business cards...om nom nom?

2009-05-07T17:27:00.003-04:00

"Wow, it was great talking to you, but I'd like to consider your offer carefully. May I call you later?"

"Sure, here's my card."

"But...but...that's a piece of beef jerky!"

"No, it's business card made by laser-engraving my contact info into a piece of beef jerky."

"Oh...I see what you did there!"

We start with 100% beef jerky, and SEAR your contact information into it with a 150 WATT CO2 LASER.

Screw die-cutting. Forget about foil, popups, or UV spot lamination. THESE business cards have two ingredients: MEAT AND LASERS.

'Cause that's just what this world needs more of...meat and lasers...

via Uncrate

Weapons of Music Distortion

2009-05-07T13:34:00.004-04:00

Who knew that iTunes was so versatile?

via FailBlog

The Amazing Dr. Howser?

2009-05-01T14:45:00.004-04:00

I've always enjoyed watching close-up and card magic tricks. I've found a couple of interesting sites on the web, but videos (either on YouTube or elsewhere) remain a good resource for tips and tricks by both professional and amateur magicians. It's always interesting to watch someone perform a trick and then try to figure out how they might have done it.

To wit, witness the video below of Neil Patrick Harris (who's apparently an accomplished amateur) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

It seems to me that Harris must be employing a card force, but exactly how does he do it? He fans the deck beforehand so he doesn't have a deck comprised of Aces. Is he taking from the bottom or top to give to Fallon? It's not obvious, but I don't see any other possibility.

This, to me, is the real fun in watching magic: driving yourself nuts trying to figure out how it's done!

Mmmm......bacon?

2009-04-30T16:00:00.004-04:00

What is it with bacon?

I mean, I seem to be seeing bacon-flavored this and bacon-flavored that all over the place lately. From bacon-flavored salt and mayo, to chocolate, to jellybeans, and now...

Vodka

Yes, bacon-flavored vodka, incredible as that may seem. Here's the description from the website:

Bakon Vodka is a superior quality potato vodka with a savory bacon flavor. It’s clean, crisp, and delicious. This is the only vodka you’ll ever want to use to make a Bloody Mary, and it's a complementary element of both sweet and savory drinks.

They have a section with recipes that includes that Bloody Mary (that doesn't sound too bad) as well as a couple of other drinks and a bacon-vodka marinade for steak (which actually sounds pretty tasty).

I imagine most of us are familiar with citrus and other fruit-infused vodkas as well as some other flavors (like vanilla, or sweet tea), but bacon just strikes me as an odd pairing for vodka (interesting recipes notwithstanding). I mean, look at this other little marketing tidbit from the website:

No tinge or burn on the tongue, no obnoxious smoky or chemical flavors, just a clean refreshing potato vodka with delicious savory bacon flavor.
Pure. Refreshing. Bacon.

Refreshing? Bacon? While bacon may be many things (mmmmmm), I don't usually think of "refreshing" as an adjective that applies to the cured and crispy-fried belly meat and fat of a dead animal...

I love crispy-fried bacon with breakfast (occasionally...got to watch the fat!), I enjoy bacony Bac-Os on salads (they make very bite better!), I've tried the bacon-flavored chocolate (not bad) and I think the bacon salt and mayo are probably pretty good too. But I'm going to draw the line at bacon-flavored vodka.

Bicycling

2009-04-30T12:37:00.006-04:00

As I believe just about everyone who knows me is aware, one of the few outdoor activities I enjoy is bicycling. My wife and I both own Trek 4300 Mountain Hardtail bikes and we get to ride just about every weekend. Additionally, as I work from home I will often take my bike to a nearby trail on my lunch hour. Great break from the work day as well as a good way to exercise. Occasionally I'll take pictures with my camera phone to upload...it's just such a beautiful ride (see example above).

This is a portion of Greensboro's NW Greenway, a popular spot for walkers, runners, bikers, etc. It runs roughly from the intersection of Strawberry Rd. and 220N to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (ca. 6-7 miles).

I've only been biking for a little over a year and I'm still not 100% comfortable in the saddle. I probably use my brakes more than necessary and I've only recently begun to feel comfortable removing one or both hands from the grips while riding. So, contrast my inexperience with the incredible display in the following video:

I'd break my freakin' neck if I ever tried any of that stuff, but boy does it look like fun!

The coming storm...

2009-04-23T17:19:00.005-04:00

By now, most of us have probably seen the deceitful anti-gay marriage video created by NOM, the National Organization for Marriage (how an organization that actually opposes marriage has the balls to style itself "for" marriage is beyond me). If not, here it is:

Pretty stupid, no? Well given such excellent material to work with, there have been parodies popping up all over the 'net. One of the very best I've seen so far is the one Stephen Colbert put together:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Gay Marriage Commercial

Hilarious. And I love the tagline: "paid for by generous donations from an anonymous group that may or may not be the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". BWAHAHA!! Totally epic win...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Fast And The... WTF?

2009-04-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

I'm sure this appeared on SNL at some point, but I found it via My Confined Space:

Funny O' The Day

2009-04-09T15:44:00.000-04:00

No comment...

Roger Ebert: thoughts on Billo

2009-04-09T12:23:00.003-04:00

Roger Ebert is not only a great film critic, he also provides excellent social commentary. In this week's comment, he takes on Bill O'Reilly with this simply superb "open letter". Opening paragraph:

Dear Bill: Thanks for including the Chicago Sun-Times on your exclusive list of newspapers on your "Hall of Shame." To be in an O'Reilly Hall of Fame would be a cruel blow to any newspaper. It would place us in the favor of a man who turns red and starts screaming when anyone disagrees with him. My grade-school teacher, wise Sister Nathan, would have called in your parents and recommended counseling with Father Hogben.

PWNED.

Read the whole thing at the link...

GM on the road to recovery!

2009-04-01T09:02:00.004-04:00

According to CNN, in a bold and exciting move the GM board of directors announced earlier today that they are appointing Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the hosts of NPR's "Car Talk" radio program, to be the restructuring "czars" in charge of overseeing the giant firm's recovery from its current economic woes.

What may have convinced GM's Board of Directors to turn to the Magliozzi brothers is their bold plan for reviving the manufacturing giant. "Cuba," said Tom Magliozzi, his teeth clenched around a fat, smoldering Romeo y Julietta, while GM PR folks ponder whether to enforce the company-wide no-smoking policy.

"We've got an enormous number of GM cars we can't sell, right? And who needs an enormous number of GM cars? Cuba! Their GM cars are from, like, the 1950s!"

"In contrast, the cars we have sitting on dealership lots now are all 2007s, 2008s, and 2009s," adds Ray, "and they have all their original parts! The Cubans are gonna love these things."

"Plus, " says Tom, "they get 10% better mileage than those 1959 Bel Airs!"

Read the whole incredible (truly) story at the link...

YOUR handwriting on the wall!

2009-03-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen a font that looks like someone's handwriting? How about one that looks like yours? Via Lifehacker, I found a tool that allows you to create a font from your own handwriting. Oh, and it's free. How cool is that?!

You need to have access to a scanner (obviously), but the process is quite simple. Download a handwriting sample template from their site. Complete and scan to a jpeg image. Upload the scanned image and voila! - font created! You can then download the font and install it. Takes all of about 10 minutes. The site will create a True-Type font that can be used on either Windows, Mac, or Linux computers.

Here's a sample of the font I created from my own handwriting:

It's a little pixelated 'cause I don't gotz no mad photoshop skillz, but you get the general idea.

Cool and free*: a winning combination!

HT: Lifehacker

* Free for the time being...they're planning on beginning to charge when they've hit the 250k mark on free fonts, so get yours while the getting is good!

Where The Wild Things Are

2009-03-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

I wasn't even aware of it until I saw a post on The Awesomer, but there's a live action movie being made of Maurice Sendak's popular children's book "Where The Wild Things Are".

I'm aware of a couple of previous attempts to create an animated version of this beloved book (one by Disney and John Lasseter), but nothing ever came of them. I also remember that Sendak wrote the libretto for an opera (premiered in 1980) composed by Scottish composer Oliver Knussen based on the book. According to Wikipedia, there was also a ballet and a musical.

Obviously Sendak's story and illustrations make for stimulating artistic inspiration. But the illustrations are so imaginative and fantastic that it's kind of hard to imagine them translated into "live action". I imagine that's why Disney considered an animated version. I seem to recall that in addition to the libretto, Knussen's opera also had set & costume design overseen by Sendak in an effort to ensure their faithfulness to his original vision. I do recall seeing the sets and some of the costumes and thinking that a reasonably good job was done there.

Upon hearing that a live-action film was in the works, I was hopeful that, whether or not Sendak was involved (he's in his 80's now), the producers and director (Spike Jonze) would pay careful attention to ensuring that the design kept pace with the original. The trailer posted at Apple certainly looks promising. Although the "sets" are actual locations, the costuming looks marvelous and a particularly good rendition of Sendak's drawings. I think I'm looking forward to the October 2009 release.

World's most alienating airport...

2009-03-26T15:29:00.004-04:00

From the Onion News Network:

Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

HT: Neil Gaiman

Beginner's luck?!?

2009-03-26T15:03:00.003-04:00

For David J. and Matt D. and any other avid golfers:

A 62-year-old Norwegian woman decided to take up golf as a sport/hobby. After some lessons she went to the first tee, swung, and got a hole in one. First day, first hole, first swing. "I didn't know it was that big of a deal,'' she told the St. Petersburg Times. "I thought all golfers do this.''

HT: TYWKIWDBI

Truth in advertising?

2009-03-25T12:58:00.003-04:00

HT: The Fail Blog

For when the metal ones decide to come for you...

2009-03-24T16:00:00.002-04:00

Quick! Call your insurance agent now!

HT: The Awesomer

Where the hell is Matt?

2009-03-24T09:00:00.002-04:00

I noticed this on Hemant's site in July of last year, but somehow never got around to posting about it.

Matt Harding is a young man with a perhaps odd, but nevertheless amazing story. He traveled the world videotaping himself dancing.

I know, it sounds kind of freaky. But the reality is far from it. He didn't just stand in front of a camera and dance (although that's what he actually did on his first trip around Asia), he invited locals to dance with him. And the results are simply amazing.

If you can make it through that video without getting a little emotional, there's something wrong with you. As members of the species homo sapiens, we share a commonality greater than all of our differences. Laughter, art, music, and dance are a few of the ways we express this commonality and Matt's projects highlight all of these in a particularly compelling manner.

I found three "locations" (in this particular video) especially interesting:

Solomon Islands: because the children dancing with him appear to be enjoying themselves so much and Matt is apparently laughing too hard to continue dancing.

DMZ, N. Korea: because Matt is dancing alone in front of a motionless, expressionless N. Korean guard. Kind of says it all...

Gurgaon, India: Music and dance as a universal language. Beautiful.

There are more videos and stories both from Matt and some of the other dancers available at Matt's website. This is a unique story, but it deals with a part of human nature that we all share...

Is that a phaser in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

2009-03-23T18:36:00.001-04:00

The perfect scent for the Sci-Fi obsessed geek...Star Trek perfume! For sale soon from GenkiWear.

Yes, now you too can wear the signature scent of James Tiberius Kirk, or don the fear-tinged aroma of the hapless red shirt guy:

There will be three different fragrances. Tiberius is described as "difficult to define and impossible to refuse," according to Genki. It smells of sweet citron zest, black pepper, cedar, warm vanilla, white musk, and sandalwood. The hell? OK, scratch this one. Not nearly manly enough.

Next up is "Red Shirt," with the tagline "Because Tomorrow May Never Come" (LOL! Get it? Cause they always get killed...ahem). This one has base notes of leather and gray musk. Now we're talking. Although, what the hell does gray musk smell like exactly? Might want to research that before you buy.

Lastly is "Pon Farr." This one is actually for the ladies and is said to "drive him wild." Hmmm, you probably won't want to use this on any guys dressed as Klingons. Or maybe you do, if you're into that sorta thing.

Just the thing for the love-starved Trekkie. 'Cause nothing says, "Man, I am so gonna get lucky tonight!" like Star Trek cologne...

That's right, thumbsucker. I see you--

2009-03-23T10:24:00.005-04:00

What if Sin City's Frank Miller also wrote Peanuts?

See more at the link...

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

2009-03-17T10:19:00.000-04:00

Beware of new car envy!

2009-03-12T11:26:00.003-04:00

Hilarious ad spoof from late night TV:

Take that, O odious and smug Prius owners!

HT: The Awesomer

The Moral Bankruptcy of the Catholic Church

2009-03-06T11:21:00.003-05:00

As if the pedophile priest cover-ups didn't already expose the Church for the evil fraud it has become, this disgusting scenario should make it plain:

In Brazil, a 9-year-old girl was raped and, improbably enough for her age, became pregnant as a consequence (with twins, no less). Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but judges can order them if certain circumstances obtain (life of the mother in danger, etc). In this circumstance, doctors at the hospital confirmed that her uterus was too small to carry the children to term safely and so an abortion was approved.

But the Catholic Church, quite influential in a country where the majority of citizens profess to be Roman Catholic, objected. The Church, in the person of the local Archbishop, actually attempted legal action to intervene and prevent the abortion. The Catholic Church attempted to force a nine-year-old girl to carry and deliver the children of her rapist. In a win for decency, if nothing else, they lost and the young girl was allowed to terminate the pregnancies.

The lawyer for the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife had the utter gall to state that the girl should have carried the twins to term and then they could have been delivered by cesarean section. As if this insane statement weren't bad enough, when the Church failed and the abortion went through as planned, the archbishop of the diocese actually excommunicated the girl, her family, and the medical staff that assisted.

This is nothing less than utter madness and unconscionable moral degeneracy. One is forced to wonder, upon reading of such an horror, if these....things....can even be called human, so little humanity is present in their words and actions. How does the thinking of a man become so twisted, so detached from common moral decency that he could even for a nanosecond consider forcing a nine-year-old child to carry a pregnancy to term? How is it possible for a man to consider a clump of cells the moral equivalent of a living, breathing innocent? If the rape weren't enough of an ordeal for this poor child, these evil, evil men would have forced her to risk her life and health for the nine-month duration of pregnancy, and then force her again to submit to life and health-threatening surgery so that she could be...what? a baby-making machine? She would certainly be unable to mother the children, being literally only a child herself? Didn't their "Christ" preach compassion? What in hell were these monsters thinking?

As I've said before, these are the natural consequences of death-worship. The Church likes to style itself as pro-life, but as these types of situations reveal, they are anything but. This is nothing less than anti-life. In their rejection of reason, they have rejected humanity and human values and thus any possibility of morality. As a result, they blunder towards the abyss, dragging their fellow travelers and luckless innocents along with them.

I feel sorry for the girl, her family, and their medical caregivers as they will likely have to endure some stigma attached to the (in reality) vacuous label of excommunicant. Hopefully the experience will be enough to reveal to them the truly evil nature of the ideology that could lead men to attempt to enslave and inflict horrific violence upon an innocent child, and empower them to reject it and embrace their own human nature as the only real source of true moral value.

The Whiner Generation

2009-03-05T11:17:00.003-05:00

From Late Night with Conan O'Brien, a hilarious take on our blasé acceptance of all things technological.

HT: Hit & Run

It knows no bounds...

2009-03-02T08:29:00.002-05:00

Overheard at a Starbucks on Friday: "What have you got that's hot?"

Always trust Google maps!

2009-02-19T13:33:00.007-05:00

Google Maps result for driving directions from Seattle, WA to Honolulu, HI:

2,804 mi – about 14 days 6 hours

Seattle, WA‎
1. Head northeast on Broad St toward Taylor Ave N
About 1 min - 0.5 mi
2. Turn left at Westlake Ave N
About 4 mins - 1.6 mi
3. Turn right at 4th Ave N
go 489 ft
4. Continue on Fremont Bridge
go 0.2 mi
5. Turn right at N 34th St
About 1 min - 0.3 mi
6. Turn right at Stone Way N
go 128 ft
7. Turn left at N Northlake Way
About 1 min - 0.2 mi
8. Kayak across the Pacific Ocean
Entering Hawaii
About 14 days 5 hours - 2,756 mi
9. Slight right at Turtle Bay Hilton
go 0.1 mi
10. Turn left at Kuilima Dr
About 2 mins - 0.5 mi
11. Turn right at HI-83
About 19 mins - 10.5 mi
12. Continue on Joseph P Leong Hwy
About 3 mins - 1.9 mi
13. Slight right at HI-99/N Kamehameha Hwy
Continue to follow N Kamehameha Hwy
About 14 mins - 8.6 mi
14. Merge onto I-H2 S via the ramp to Honolulu
About 9 mins - 8.2 mi
15. Merge onto I-H1 E
About 5 mins - 4.5 mi
16. Take exit 13B to merge onto I-H201 E
About 6 mins - 4.7 mi
17. Continue on I-H1 E
About 6 mins - 5.2 mi
18. Take exit 25A for King St
go 0.2 mi
19. Turn right at Waialae Ave
go 98 ft
20. Continue on S King St
About 1 min - 0.2 mi
21. Continue on S Beretania St
go 20 ft

Honolulu, HI‎

HT: The Agitator

An Open Letter to Michael Phelps

2009-02-02T12:56:00.003-05:00

Radley Balko's suggestion on how Phelps ought to respond to the ridiculous media kerfuffle over an old photo of him showing him allegedly smoking pot. Beautiful!

Dear America,

I take it back. I don’t apologize.

Because you know what? It’s none of your goddamned business. I work my ass off 10 months per year. It’s that hard work that gave you all those gooey feelings of patriotism last summer. If during my brief window of down time I want to relax, enjoy myself, and partake of a substance that’s a hell of a lot less bad for me than alcohol, tobacco, or, frankly, most of the prescription drugs most of you are taking, well, you can spare me the lecture.

Read the rest at The Agitator.

Bailout humor

2009-01-21T14:28:00.002-05:00

No further comment needed...

HT: My[confined]Space

Inauguration Invocation

2009-01-21T10:06:00.004-05:00

There was a great deal of hubbub in the media regarding Obama's selection of the Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, to deliver the opening invocation at his inauguration yesterday. Most of the outcry came from members of the GLBT community who perceived the selection of Warren, whose anti-gay stance is well known, as a slight against them; particularly as Obama has made a point of playing himself up as being "gay-friendly". There was also some concern from non-theists that the choice of an evangelical might lead to an overtly, even offensively, sectarian prayer. While I don't think religious prayer should play any legitimate part in the pomp and circumstance of secular government rituals, the invocation is a long-standing tradition (although not as old as Christian Nationalists would have you think! Prayers weren't a part of the inauguration until 1937.) and I don't think it's going away any time soon. The least we can hope for is that the minister chosen will attempt to be as non-sectarian and inclusive as possible. Many evangelicals however, care little for the societal benefits of such occasions and refuse to take a more inclusive or ecumenical approach. Would Warren's address follow this divisive path?

Well, the inauguration has now come and gone and for the most part, Warren did a pretty good job. The prayer was directed to "God our father", rather than "Jesus Christ", and while that's undeniably theistic, it does at least have the benefit of comporting with so-called "ceremonial Deism" and thus not being overly sectarian. And while Warren did include a personal reference to Jesus toward the end and concluded his prayer with the Christian "Lord's Prayer" (and Protestant Christian at that), he did NOT pray "in the name of Jesus" or conclude his prayer "in Jesus name", or anything overtly Christian like that. In addition, he obviously made what seemed to me a more or less good-faith attempt to be inclusive of at least the other Abrahamic faiths: the opening of his prayer included the following: "The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one’ and you are the compassionate and merciful one and you are loving to everyone you have made." This statement incorporates both the Hebrew Shema and the opening sentence of the Islamic Quran.

All in all, not a bad attempt at inclusion at what must necessarily be a divisive, pointless, and ultimately irrelevant exercise at an allegedly secular governmental function. The only negative that struck me, and it's a pretty big one, is when Warren said the following:

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans. United not by race or religion or by blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us.

Huh? Freedom and justice for all? You mean like gay Californians recently stripped of their civil rights by you and your fellow travelers? Of course, for Warren and people like him, "for all" doesn't really mean ALL, it just means "all of those with whose choices I agree". No freedom and justice for gays. No freedom and justice for religious skeptics. No freedom and justice for women.

The immense irony in this statement, to which Warren is no doubt oblivious, is that evangelical Christianity, as a movement, is fundamentally in opposition to freedom. Freedom requires autonomy, both metaphysical and concrete. Moral agents possess, by definition, the right of self-determination and to deny that right is to deny both freedom and any real possibility of justice (or, indeed, of any moral value whatsoever...but that's another post). But evangelical Christians reject autonomy and declare that the right of self-determination does not exist; that the goal of Man's life has been decided for him and the rejection of this imposed purpose is not only sinful, but should be prevented by force of law.

The slavish devotion to imposed purpose is harmful enough, but at least it only harms those who believe in it. But when they attempt to impose this alleged "purpose" on the rest of us by legal fiat, they strike at the heart of freedom itself. Those who would use the power of the state to strip citizens of rights and privileges they enjoy by virtue of their humanity have no love for freedom or justice; they are in fact haters of them.

Americans, at least insofar as an "American" is defined as a citizen of the United States of America, should hold the values enshrined in the Constitution as common principles of both citizenship and social action. Former president Bush once infamously (and stupidly) said of the Constitution, "it's just a goddamned piece of paper!" There is a sense of course in which this is true (in that it is written on paper), but there is a greater sense in which it is absolutely false. The Constitution is the United States of America in a way nothing else can be. Freedom is paramount in its design and the protection of liberty its primary goal. Evangelical Christianity, in its denial of moral autonomy (freedom), stands in opposition to this most basic of American values.

And therefore, I found it somewhat ironic that Warren should wax poetic about American's "commitment to freedom and justice for all". He no doubt considers himself an American, but he and others like him most certainly do not share such a commitment.

There's no "choke...ggch...gasp...ack...thud" in T E A M

2009-01-20T11:12:00.003-05:00

HT: Crave

All I Want For Xmas Is My Two Front Tenori-On

2009-01-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

I wish I had seen these in time for Xmas. As the title implies, I think the "Tenori-On" sounds pretty cool...

Your name is FANTASTIC!

2009-01-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

A little old news, but still pretty funny. From the BBC:

A teenager has changed his birth name by deed poll to incorporate several comic book superheroes.

George Garratt from Glastonbury has become Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk And The Flash Combined.

The 19-year-old music student made the change "for a bit of a laugh", through a legally-recognised website.
He said: "I decided on a superheroes theme and whenever my friends offered up suggestions to me, I added them."

He added: "My family have begun to expect these sorts of things from me, and although my friends thought it was ridiculous most people do call me Captain and it's been a great conversation starter."

A spokesman from The Legal Deed Poll Service, said: "We get so many outrageous name changes that these days it barely fazes us, but when this one was brought to my attention I knew there was something special about it."

What a great idea! I'm thinking of changing my name to Super Spider Killer Monkey Doo-Wap-Diddy Purple People Eater Flying Wallenda Peter Griffin Armchair Mangrove Throat Warbler Spelt Luxury Yacht Jones.

But you can call me "Ted"...

Intelligent Design vs. Invisible Hand?

2009-01-12T15:22:00.002-05:00

Over at Reason magazine's blog Hit and Run, I noticed a post by Ronald Bailey in which he touches on something I've noted here in the past: the apparent cognitive dissonance present in conservative Christians who accept almost as a matter of faith the idea of emergent order in financial markets (Adam Smith's "invisible hand") yet reject the exact same idea in the realm of biological science (Charles Darwin's "natural selection"). So called "intelligent design" proponents argue that biological complexity simply must be the product of an "intelligent designer" yet they and many others who would agree with them have no difficulty eschewing said designer in the case of market equilibria. But there's really no difference between the two in terms of the salient result: emergent order.

Bailey quips, "Intelligent design is to evolutionary biology what socialism is to free-market economics." (although I think he meant "command economics", rather than "socialism" which is rather broad), which echoes what I wrote previously:

Of course, this is not to say that ID theorists ARE Marxists, merely that they seem to be, at the very least, intellectual fellow-travelers. Their rejection of emergent order seems to me to necessitate it. Therefore, it seems to me that ID theorists who desire to remain intellectually consistent must abandon all support for capitalism and support instead a theory of planned economy. For if order is not emergent, then capitalism cannot hope for success.

Bailey also includes a link to Matt Ridley's Spectator essay that prompted his post as well as a couple of other interesting links at his post (linked in the title). Enjoy.

What type is this blog?

2008-11-22T00:34:00.002-05:00

Interesting...an algorithm that "analyzes" blog content and "categorizes" blog type. Here's what it came up with for this site:

INTP - The Thinkers

The logical and analytical type. They are especially 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.

That is so me!! It's just like my horoscope!

HT: Andrew Sullivan

The tears of unfathomable sadness...

2008-11-11T10:48:00.002-05:00

...yummy and sweet.

HT: Radley Balko

The consequences of death-worship

2008-10-22T09:33:00.006-04:00

P.Z. Myers links to a post on a "homeschooling" blog wherein the blog's owner, one Raani Starnes, writes:

A friend recently sent me this article about a "gay-friendly" high school. If we were living in a biblical society, homosexuality would be punishable by death so such a school would be unnecessary. Although I'm against the special accommodations, perhaps this new trend of segregation will protect straight kids from these predators. With any luck, some radical will blow up the gay school. No, I'm not condoning vigilantism--I'm merely saying that it would be poetic justice.

Charming...and this woman has four children. Pity them.

I feel some further comment is needed. As the title of this post indicates, I see this as the consequence of death-worship. This woman, and many others like her, worship anti-life, anti-humanity; in short: death. They have come to believe, through indoctrination, moral failure, or mental illness, that human beings are degraded, valueless creatures who require some sort of external salvation from their humanity. Accordingly, they reject human values, indeed, they reject their own humanity and the humanity of others. They seek to purge life of all that is human and replace it with their own, necessarily crippled values. Theirs is the morality of the slave, of the degenerate, the looter, and the corpse.

In reality, our humanity is what makes moral value possible. Only our nature as free moral agents can adequately ground value and thus a true moral system. No external agent can grant to us as an arbitrary whim any kind of real value or impose upon us any kind of moral rule. That is the morality of the slave. No real moral system can require the rejection of our human nature as a "ground rule" for existence. That is the morality of the degenerate. No free moral agent can accept as the base of its moral system that which comes from outside its own nature. That is the morality of the looter. No true moral system can reject the value of human life (and by that I don't mean a clump of cells). That is the morality of the corpse. And yet all of this is what these death-cultists would have us believe is the source of moral value. This is nothing less than moral insanity.

Theirs is a corrupt and dying belief, but in its death throes it threatens all of human society with the noxious curse of its memes. Too often those who oppose such evil have hesitated to speak out strongly against it. We call for "tolerance" and "respect", ask people to reject "bigotry" and "prejudice" but never seem to press our opponents on the base immorality of their beliefs.

I say: The time for accommodation has passed.

It is time for human beings to speak up in favor of humanity and against the purveyors of evil who would foist upon us a degenerate moral system based on slavery & death. By all rights, this rotting corpse deserves a burial. We should no longer hesitate to speak the truth as we know it: these beliefs are insane and deserving of no more respect than we would offer to the random gibberish spewed by the average resident of Bedlam. Beyond that, however, they are actually evil. We should not mince words; our opponents do not. We must counter them with reason and logic; show the confused and contradictory ground on which their beliefs stand, expose the degeneracy of their moral system, and expound the objective foundation human nature provides for a real human moral system.

To Mrs. Starnes (should she deign to read this), I want to make clear: I do not hate you. I do not hate your family. I do not wish any harm to come to you, your husband, or your children. I would guess that the link from PZ's blog has probably multiplied the traffic to your blog at least tenfold and I can only imagine the feedback you're receiving. Some hateful (and for that I offer what apologies I may), some constructive (and I hope you read those with as open a mind as may be possible), and others antagonistic (as I intended mine to be). I do not seek to engage you so much as to stand in clear opposition to you, albeit without personal rancour. I find your beliefs odious and corrupt (and I imagine you would say the same to me), but I have no feelings toward you as a person.

Update: I've noticed some of the comments on PZ's blog are suggesting that Mrs. Starnes' blog post be reported to blogger as in apparent violation of Blogger's TOS. Although I would agree that Mrs. Starnes has an absolute right to her opinion, so does Blogger, as a corporate entity, have the right to restrict the material it allows to be hosted on its servers. If Mrs. Starnes wishes to air her moral degeneracy, she's certainly welcome to do so on her own server, but if her post does in fact violate Blogger's TOS, they have every right to remove it. As of this point, the post is still up, but the coming days may prove different.

Update 10.23: As at least one reader has noticed, the original post appears to have been taken down. But in it's place (and using the same URL as the original post) is a new piece of insanity: a veritable stew of ignorance, faulty reasoning, and, coming from someone who calls himself a "pastor" and who apparently "shepherds" what can only be imagined as an unfortunate group of sheep, painfully poor biblical exegesis and understanding. If there were any such thing as "sin", this poisonous vitriol would certainly qualify.

Update 11.18: I noticed today that the entire blog has been deleted. I'm guessing that was due in whole or part to the consequences of having such disgraceful and vile opinions brought to the attention to a plethora of more or less decent people.

Do Not Eat!!

2008-10-22T08:45:00.001-04:00

During my final year of undergraduate studies I worked as an assistant in UNCG's Financial Aid Office. At some point during that year, the office received a couple of new computers and I was placed in charge of unpacking and setting them up. As I opened one of the packages, a tiny white envelope fell to the ground. As I picked it up, I noticed bold lettering on the side: DO NOT EAT.

Of course this is probably good advice given that those little envelopes, ubiquitous to electronics packaging, contain some sort of dessicant and are likely not the sort of things humans should consume. Still, it made me wonder what kind of person is going to look at this envelope, packed in with a computer keyboard, and think, "Hey, that looks like a tasty snack!" I was so amused at the notion that I used up an entire pad of Post-It notes, writing "DO NOT EAT" on every one and sticking them to various objects in the office (desks, chairs, filing cabinets, clocks, etc). After all, if people were going around munching on strange paper containers found in electronics packaging, then they might very well start snacking on office equipment next! These people needed to be warned!

The other evening while watching television, I saw an advertisement for Guitar Hero in which an animated band plays a rock-and-roll anthem while standing on the roof and hood of a wildly speeding automobile. I'm not sure I understood the connection between the game and the image, but at any rate at the bottom of the television screen was displayed the disclaimer, "Do Not Attempt".

WTF? No, seriously...WTF?? Are there really individuals out there too stupid to realize what might happen to them if they attempt to stand on the hood of a car careening madly down the street? And if so, should we really care what might become of them? Isn't this the sort of defect that natural selection is so good at weeding out of the population and aren't we doing ourselves some sort of disservice by stepping in and preventing nature from doing its part to preserve the overall fitness of the species?

Deep breath....okay, I realize that companies that put these disclaimers on their products/advertisements are doing so out of an understandable desire to protect themselves and their shareholders from lawsuits. But therein lies the problem: what sort of jury awards damages to idiots who injured themselves while performing some stunt they saw in a cartoon or who ate an unidentifiable substance that came in an envelope that fell out of a box? I suppose the answer is: a jury comprised of the same sort of idiots.

One of the baseline assumptions of a modern democratic society is or should be that citizens are rational adults; free moral agents who are responsible for their own actions. Obviously where an individual or a group of individuals are coerced or deceived into acting against their own best interests, those responsible for the coercion or deception should be held accountable, but it seems to me that among rational, free moral agents there should be an assumption of a commonly-held grip on reality. In other words, that we all have at least a rudimentary understanding of how the world works: ice is slippery, hot liquids can burn, not everything can be eaten safely, what goes up must come down, falling can be dangerous, etc, etc. For indeed, how could a society function without such a common reality?

But what of individuals who apparently lack this level of understanding?

In the days before advanced medical technology and unscrupulous ambulance-chasing attorneys these unfortunate persons would have served as examples to the rest of us and a chance for humanity to raise its collective I.Q. Today however, they reap millions of dollars from lawsuits because they burned themselves with hot coffee while the rest of us pay higher taxes and inflated prices on goods and services to compensate them for their stupidity.

Wait a minute...um...who is the stupid one again? I think I'll go and try to shave with the paper shredder...after all, there's no sign on it that says I can't!

Image credit: Saint Gasoline

Talk about your must-see TV!

2008-10-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

Keith Olbermann tears into Palin, Bachmann, Limbaugh, and, finally, McCain for the disgusting turn the losing Republican campaign has taken into a divisive "us vs. them" approach. As always, well worth the time to watch.

Let's not kid ourselves, though. This isn't really anything new for these people, it's merely the latest outrage. If John McCain had a shred of decency left in him, he would disavow this absurd, deeply offensive, and, indeed, anti-American tactic. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that happening is nil. Palin, Limbaugh, Bachman and their ilk may be risible fools, but they, not John McCain, are what drives the Republican party now.

This is what has become of the party of Abraham Lincoln?

HT: Pharyngula

Banksta Rap

2008-10-09T20:02:00.002-04:00

Damn, I love Sinfest...

Debate Reactions

2008-10-08T10:51:00.003-04:00

Andrew Sullivan collects some great reactions to last night's McCain-Obama debate. My favorite? Wil Wilkinson:

Gut read. Obama owned it. This election’s over unless he murders and eats the flesh of a child on live television.

I'm not sure that it would take all that, but one thing I believe for sure: this election has been and still is Obama's to lose. Of course, I thought that was true of Gore as well...

Take that, non-believers!

2008-09-24T09:20:00.000-04:00

Funny O' The Day

2008-08-13T09:38:00.003-04:00

Although I know it's already been on a couple of blogs, I just can't resist:

Does Philosophy need bumper stickers?

2008-08-06T10:26:00.002-04:00

From Victor Reppert's blog. My contribution:

My other car is a Ford or Brown is in Barcelona.

cf., what Edmund Gettier would be likely to have on his car.

Turnabout is certainly fair play...

2008-08-06T10:18:00.004-04:00

In reference to John McCain's ludicrous ad attacking Obama as supposedly "just another celebrity" like Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton, Ms. Hilton has now appeared in a parody ad that rightly skewers McCain's conceit:

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Adfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

HT: Andrew Sullivan

Happy Birthday, Evolution!

2008-07-01T21:03:00.002-04:00

On July 1st, 1858, an essay by Alfred Russell Wallace and two unpublished excerpts from a book by Charles Darwin were presented to a meeting of the Linnean Society of London. These writings, which were to be published in the Society's journal a month later as "On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; And On the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection", was the first public presentation of what has come to be known as the theory of evolution by natural selection, a foundational cornerstone of modern biology.

It is impossible to overestimate the impact of Darwin and Wallace's idea on science or on history in general. Even today it remains at the forefront of not only scientific exploration, but also in our culture; as a cause of tension between reason and faith (or rationality and irrationality, if you will).

Obviously, the theory as it was then limned and presented has not survived unaltered these one hundred and fifty years, but the spark of that genius shines brightly even now. Happy Birthday, Evolution!

Dame Emma Kirkby, Doctoris in Musica honoris causa

2008-06-30T12:33:00.005-04:00

Cantatrix lepidissima, quae et permultos arte tua delectavisti et pulchritudinem musicae inprimis antiquae aperuisti, ego auctoritate mea et totius Vniversitatis admitto te ad gradum Doctoris in Musica honoris causa.*

With these words, the Chancellor of Oxford University conveyed upon Dame Emma Kirkby an honorary Doctorate in Music at the University's 18 June congregation.

Kirkby was made DCOBE in the Queen's birthday honors last July, and as I blogged at the time, I believed she well deserved that honor as well as this new one.

Below, I'm posting the encomium* delivered by the Oxford orator:

Is there anything that those who have read Greats at Oxford cannot do? Three years ago we honoured a man who after completing this degree turned to physics and won a Nobel Prize for it, and today we confer a doctorate on a lady who did not devote her whole time to music until she too had made this thorough study of Greek and Latin texts. In those days the vastly learned and formidable Eduard Fraenkel was teaching (or terrorising) his pupils, but she is said to have subdued him by her charm as Orpheus subdued the beasts with his lyre. At all events, in the succeeding years her art has come close to that of Orpheus himself in its power to bewitch the world. A competent critic has described her as the best singer never to have sung Verdi. The beauty of her voice is known to all; some have compared it (quite wrongly, I believe) to a boy's voice, others to a bell, and yet others to a stream of silver. But I suggest that she deserves the greater praise for adding to this God-given talent musicality, technical mastery and historical understanding.

The poets often represent goddesses as jealous and self-assertive; thus Juno in Virgil's Aeneid declares that since she cannot get her way she will raise Hell itself. So I think that there is good reason for celebrated sopranos to be called divas. This honorand is entirely different: with ample reason to boast about herself, she has always remained easy and modest. She has herself said that her recent damehood should be taken as a tribute to the virtues of stillness, clarity and ensemble rather than volume and display. She seeks harmony not only in the music itself but also among the performers; and accordingly she has earned, besides the praise of all, the affection of many.

I present an English nightingale, a tenth Muse, Carolyn Emma Kirkby, DBE, former student and Honorary Fellow of Somerville College, to be admitted to the honorary degree of Doctor of Music.

* At Oxford, the encomiums and admission are delivered in Latin and if you're interested, you can find the original as well as the translation of the Chancellor's admission at the title link...

God deals drugs...news at 11:00

2008-06-24T11:11:00.002-04:00

Too funny!

God accused of selling cocaine.

Police said a man named God was arrested near a Tampa church for selling cocaine.

Authorities began investigating God Lucky Howard in April, and he was arrested on Saturday. Police said he sold the cocaine to undercover detectives in his neighborhood. When officers searched his home, they reported finding 22 grams more of cocaine and a scale.

Jail records show Howard was charged with several counts of drug possession and distribution, which include increased charges for being within 1,000 feet of a church, a school and public housing.

He was being held on a bond of $86,500.

Via MSNBC

What's Opera Doc?

2008-06-09T13:50:00.001-04:00

A Childhood favorite, courtesy of YouTube:

Put a Little Science in Your Life!

2008-06-04T13:11:00.003-04:00

Also found via Pharyngula, an op-ed in the New York Times by Brian Greene (U.S. Physicist) on the role science can play in giving meaning to life. It's a fantastic essay and conveys wonderfully the very real need that exists to improve science education in our schools and the overall place that science has in the daily lives of ordinary people:

The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth — not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences.

This goes directly to the heart of the matter. We stand today as inheritors and beneficiaries of the Enlightenment but an increasing tide of irrationality threatens not only to slow our forward progress, but to actually move us backwards, both morally and practically. Faith-based wooly-headedness seeks to limit or quash the rights of women and minorities and distort or hinder the teaching of science in schools. Fanatics possessed by religious delusions seek to destroy the freedoms and lives of those with whom they disagree. Political partisanship and ideological motivations lead to the obfuscation, twisting, or blatant disregard of rational argument and science itself. Even many people who reject dogmatism often turn to superstition and wishful thinking like "pop" spirituality and so-called "psychics". We are swimming in a sea of nonsense and it seems like we're having more and more difficulty keeping our heads above water.

And this is exactly why science is so important. Science can illuminate a road out of this mess: Reason. The scientific method is our only reliable source of knowledge of the external world and as Greene notes, it can help us give context and meaning to our lives. Where dogma and superstition fail, science triumphs.

Derren Brown: The so-called Messiah

2008-06-04T12:38:00.003-04:00

Found via Pharyngula: a (what appears to be) BBC show featuring Derren Brown (a British magician/illusionist) in which he travels to the U.S. and presents himself to several "experts" in the world of supernatural/paranormal phenomena as one of their own in the hopes of gaining their "endorsement" of his alleged "abilities". In other words, he fools them into thinking that the tricks he performs are actual paranormal/supernatural phenomena. An excellent example of skepticism in action! See YouTube for all eight episodes.

Religion of peace?

2008-05-13T22:48:00.002-04:00

I just recently finished reading Infidel, the autobiography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and I can't recommend it highly enough. The story of this amazing, courageous woman is a compelling read (for those not familiar with her, you can read more here or at her website).

In her book, Ali makes reference to the oft-heard claim that Islam is a "religion of peace" and takes some issue with that claim by pointing to information in the Quran and elsewhere that seem to belie it. Of course, it's often difficult to separate religious from cultural influences, especially when they appear to be so closely bound together as in most Islamic countries, but her arguments are interesting.

But what does it really mean to say "Islam is a religion of peace?" Do proponents of this claim mean to argue that Muslims are peaceful people, or that the religion itself is about peace or has peace as one of its primary doctrines? The former would seem to be trivially true, at least for the great majority of Muslims, but I don't think that really captures what people seem to mean when they argue that "Islam is a religion of peace". They seem to be saying that the religion itself is "peaceful" or that it is concerned in some way with peace. But it seems to me that this is no more possibly true of Islam than it is for any other religion. Because religions aren't at all concerned with peace...they're concerned with Truth.

Now I'm sure you can find passages in any given holy book(s) that talk about loving one's neighbor, but that says nothing about the ultimate concern of the faith, merely what the religion's founder(s) believe should be an outgrowth or a result of its practice. But this is often in direct opposition, or at least to some non-trivial extent contrary, to the central concern of any religion which is always Truth: what, at base, is existence really all about?

The striving for Truth seems to be deeply rooted in the human condition. We all want our worldviews to rest on a secure foundation and you can't get more secure than ultimate, absolute truth (what I characterize as Truth) and all religions claim to have it (this happens to be one reason why I believe religion are and have been so popular throughout human history).

But Truth is, by its nature, exclusive. Though all religions claim to have it, there is only one Truth and to the extent that religious truths conflict, only one (at most) can be correct. So religion is in turn by its nature, divisive. It divides us into "Right" and "Wrong". And the great majority of religions postulate terrible consequences for being "Wrong". Christian & Muslim doctrine condemns the "Wrong" to eternal torment. Buddhist & Hindu doctrines hold that the "Wrong" will suffer eternally via a cycle of rebirths. And so on and so on. According to these faiths, it's of the most extreme, eternal, and thus ultimate importance that one be Right, not peaceful. Of course, there are many passages in their holy books that can be interpreted as saying that peace flows from being Right, but it's still the case that the ultimate concern is not peace, but being Right.

The concern with being Right isn't exclusive to religion, of course. As I noted I believe it's human nature to be concerned with Truth. But this concern for being Right, be it religious or not, has directly led to some of the most horrible atrocities every perpetrated by Man upon himself. The Inquisition, the Reformation, the Terror (French revolution), pogroms and the Holocaust, the Cultural Revolution, etc, etc.

Its obviously not just religion that leads to such things, but religions, being ultimately concerned with Truth and separating the Rights from the Wrongs, are fertile breeding grounds for just this very sort of behavior. And thus it is that any claims made of the form (X is a religion of peace) should be taken with a grain of salt. Religion simply isn't about peace and its natural results are often opposed to it.

Optical Allusions

2008-04-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

Some time ago, I received for Xmas a couple of ~~comic books~~ graphic novels by Jay Hosler, a biologist AND cartoonist(interesting combination, no?). Clan Apis tells the story of the life of a honeybee, providing information on bee behavior along the way (Hosler's primary research involves bees). The Sandwalk Adventures conveys Darwin's theory of evolution using Darwin himself and a curious follicle mite who resides in his eyebrow. They are fascinating reading for adults and would make a delightful introduction to science for pre-teens.

Anyway, via Pharyngula I learn that Hosler is working on a new book, Optical Allusions, which will be

a science comic book funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The aim of this work is to develop and test a chapter of a non-majors biology text book in comic form. This particular chapter will contain 9-10 short stories focusing on different aspects of eye biology and evolution. The stories are linked by a common protagonist, Wrinkles the Wonder Brain, and his ongoing quest to find his employers' lost eyeball.

Hosler offers the following graphic as the rationale behind this project:

PZ has some additional details at Pharyngula and an excerpt, in pdf form, can be found here (you can also read excerpts from his other comics by following links from his main page). If this work is anything like his others, it will be a triumph as well.

"Expelled!" exposed...

2008-04-15T18:03:00.004-04:00

Bleeaagh. The Discovery Institute's latest mishmash of lies & half-lies (otherwise known as "Expelled!") is soon to be released into U.S. theaters where the ignorant, gullible, downright stupid, and dishonest will no doubt lap it up. To counter this appalling paean to lunacy, the National Center for Science Education has put up a counter website to expose the fraud at the heart of the film as well as the falsehoods it promotes. If you have a blog or Facebook/MySpace page, please consider linking to the site to promote truth and science.

Link: Expelled

The Ascent of Man

2008-04-15T15:38:00.004-04:00

I've said before that I don't want this blog to become a YouTube showcase, but I find so much really neat stuff there. This clip is from the 1973 TV series The Ascent of Man. Hosted by Jacob Bronowski, the series was designed to promote science (in a manner similar to Carl Sagan's Cosmos series). Here Bronowski is defending the idea of scientific knowledge as opposed to doctrine and dogma. He does so from the grounds of the Auschwitz concentration camp where members of his own family perished during the Holocaust. His argument is both eloquent and timeless and the presentation riveting.

Where have I been?

2008-03-25T17:22:00.004-04:00

Not here, that's for sure. But I have been having some interesting interactions around the blogosphere:

A discussion with philosopher Victor Reppert on moral issues involved in teaching the doctrine of hell to children.

A discussion with philosopher/scientist Massimo Pigliucci on the difference between libertarians and those who claim libertarian ideals and yet look for every opportunity to suckle at the government teat.

I would say that this is a great example of the positive ability of the internet (and the blogosphere in particular) to allow interactions between all sorts of individuals in ways that were simply not possible before. Both of these gentleman are distinguished academics with lists of scholarly published works. One certainly might interact with them through the particular universities at which they teach, but absent that it's most unlikely that someone removed from that arena would likely have the opportunity to do so.

It gives me great hope for the future of our collective intellectual life that thinkers like Drs. Reppert and Pigliucci have blogs and are willing to take comments and hold discussions with interested individuals. It sort of puts me in mind of the old "Penny University" coffeehouses in London during the eighteenth century. Except instead of a round table and a penny cup of coffee, we have computer terminals over the internet in every country in the world and a cup of home-brew (or perhaps Starbucks). But the net effect is the same: people from diverse backgrounds and cultures are interacting; meeting one another and exchanging ideas. Even if the conversation isn't always polite, it's often stimulating. And as in London where individuals often left these "Penny Universities" smarter or better informed than when they arrived (or so thought Montesquieu), the same hopefully might be said of our newer, technologically-enhanced version.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008

2008-03-19T15:17:00.007-04:00

Famed scientist, science fiction author, and legendary technology prognosticator Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died at his home in Sri Lanka aged 91.

Clarke's status as a science fiction icon was cemented when his 1948 short story "The Sentinel" was adapted for the silver screen as Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". He went on to write literally hundreds of short stories, novels, and essays, many of which deal with similar "cosmic" themes.

As a scientist, he was involved in early work in radio and radar and a 1945 paper described a space-based communication network very similar to today's geosynchronous satellites. In acknowledgment of his prediction, the orbit of these satellites is now known as the "Clarke Belt". He has also written extensively about space and space travel, anticipating such ideas as alien probes, possibilities for faster-than-light travel, and space elevators. He was made CBE in 1989 and knighted in 2001. He is also well known for formulating what has become known as "Clarke's law": Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Clarke has long been one of my very favorite writers of what's known as "hard" Science Fiction. That is, SF in which there is actual science, no matter how speculative, involved. Novels like "Rendezvous for Rama", "Childhood's End", and "The Songs of Distant Earth" will remain among some of the best SF every produced. He was also a distinguished member of the British Humanist Association and a laureate of the Academy of Humanism. I knew that he was getting on in years, but somehow that doesn't make the loss any easier. Goodbye old friend...

Links: BBC Obituary

Giuseppe di Stefano, 1921-2008

2008-03-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

Once again, a great singer has died and somehow I don't find out about it until much later...

The Italian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano died on March 03, aged 86. Di Stefano was one of the great tenors of the "pre-Pavarotti" era. In fact, Pavarotti became well known after he stepped in for an ailing di Stefano at Covent Garden in 1963 (in what would become one of his most famous roles: Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme). He's not as well known as Pavarotti or Domingo partially due to his relatively early retirement (in the mid 1960's) due to, well, "vocal fatigue" pretty much describes it (due at least in part to his choice of roles that were really too heavy for his lyric tenor voice). He'll be remembered for inspiring Maria Callas' ill-considered decision to come out of retirement for a final concert tour (in the mid 1970s). The tour was ultimately to end early as in reality neither singer was capable of sustaining it. Still, his portrayals of Donizetti and Bellini roles, like Nemorino (in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore) will remain as some one of the greatest performances in opera history.

Links:
BBC Obituary
NPR Obituary (with additional pictures and links to recordings)

The Geometry of Music

2008-03-13T16:46:00.001-04:00

When I was an undergraduate in college, many of my non-music-major acquaintances and friends used to tease me with jibes about the alleged low academic status of my chosen discipline. "You're getting class credits for singing?? You take classes on how to pronounce words?? Man, I wish I was a music major...that must be easy!"

Of course, I explained that in addition to the music courses, I also had to matriculate and succeed in non-music academic courses, but such protestations fell on deaf ears. Music? Come on, that's just easy!

Oh, yeah?

Exactly how one [musical] style relates to another, however, has remained a mystery--except over one brief stretch of musical history. That, says Princeton University composer Dmitri Tymoczko, "is why, no matter where you go to school, you learn almost exclusively about classical music from about 1700 to 1900. It's kind of ridiculous."

But Tymoczko may have changed all that. Borrowing some of the mathematics that string theorists invented to plumb the secrets of the physical universe, he has found a way to represent the universe of all possible musical chords in graphic form. "He's not the first to try," says Yale music theorist Richard Cohn. "But he's the first to come up with a compelling answer."

Tymoczko's answer, which led last summer to the first paper on music theory ever published in the journal Science, is that the cosmos of chords consists of weird, multidimensional spaces, known as orbifolds, that turn back on themselves with a twist, like the Möbius strips math teachers love to trot out to prove to students that a two-dimensional figure can have only one side. Indeed, the simplest chords, which consist of just two notes, live on an actual Möbius strip. Three-note chords reside in spaces that look like prisms--except that opposing faces connect to each other. And more complex chords inhabit spaces that are as hard to visualize as the multidimensional universes of string theory.

Here's the abstract from the paper itself:

A musical chord can be represented as a point in a geometrical space called an orbifold. Line segments represent mappings from the notes of one chord to those of another. Composers in a wide range of styles have exploited the non-Euclidean geometry of these spaces, typically by using short line segments between structurally similar chords. Such line segments exist only when chords are nearly symmetrical under translation, reflection, or permutation. Paradigmatically consonant and dissonant chords possess different near-symmetries and suggest different musical uses.

The entire paper is extremely interesting (to those with a penchant for music theory). You can read it at the above link. Additional materials can be found at Dmitri Tymoczko's Princeton webpage.

Take that academia!

The Forbidden Kingdom

2008-03-11T16:47:00.002-04:00

Okay, I have to confess: I enjoy martial arts movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Fearless, Hero, House of Flying Daggers,etc. I'll even occasionally watch the ones that come on late at night and feature such awful acting and even worse voice dubbing. I'm not sure why I enjoy them. I am something of an asiatophile, but I suspect it's more to do with the action as I enjoy the Westernized versions of such films as well (Blade, The Matrix, Underworld, etc).

So I'm pleased to see a new movie coming out April 18 that features both Jet Li and Jackie Chan, two of the biggest names in the more common branch of the genre (what we see in the West): The Forbidden Kingdom. The plot involves an American student Jason Tripitakas* (Michael Angarano) looking for bootleg Kung-fu DVDs in Chinatown. Instead he finds an ancient weapon belonging to a great sage and warrior, the "Monkey King" (Jet Li). Through the power of this talisman he is sent back in time to ancient China where he finds that he must free the Monkey King who has been imprisoned by the evil Jade War Lord (Collin Chou). In this quest he is joined by the Kung-fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and Silent Monk (also played by Jet Li as either a different character of the Monkey King in disguise; not sure which) who will together teach Jason the true secret of Kung-fu so that he can defeat Jade War Lord and find his way home.

Okay, sounds a little hokey...well, maybe more than a little hokey. But still, Jackie Chan AND Jet Li? I mean, c'mon!

Anyway, the trailer looks good. You can watch at the film's website or on YouTube.

*Little bit of interesting trivia: the American student's last name, Tripitakas, is a play on the name of the Buddhist scripture, the Tripitaka (also known as the Pāli canon).

War!

2008-03-07T12:46:00.005-05:00

A religious war has broken out on YouTube. Proponents of two conflicting ideologies are engaging in video battles of words and images by which they hope to utterly destroy their opponents and secure victory for their own worldview.

Sound familiar? It should. It's an old, old story. A person or group claims knowledge of some Great Truth (tm) that by definition excludes or subsumes all other truths while some other person or group denies said Great Truth in favor of another, Greater Truth (tm) that, again by defintion, excludes or subsumes the Great Truth and all other truths. And the war is on. Judaism, Christiantiy, Islam, Buddhism...the names vary, but the story is all too familiar. In the case of the ongoing YouTube war, the stakes are far higher and the disagreement far older and more contentious. I speak, of course, of the relative superiority of cake or pie...

FrisbeesANDflipflops* fired the opening salvo in this video, wherein she expounded the superior qualities of cake and denigrated pie. Ostensibly her video was a response to a declaration of Pie faith she noticed on eddiegoombah's profile. Of course, Eddie didn't take lying down this attack on his beliefs and responded with an attack of his own. And from there the war has escalated.

Now I personally have no skin in this game. I have perhaps a slight preference for cake, but pie can be equally satisfying. But I would like to point out to both sides that while they each believe themselves to have valid points to make in the Great Debate, both are equally misguided. For you see the valuable qualities that both claim for the respective objects of their worship are but dim reflections of the ultimate confectionery glory that is Chocolate!

As a confectionery syncretist, I hold that all good comestible qualities are subsumed and brought to full perfection in the transcendent reality that is Chocolate. The Cakeist or Crustian may believe he or she have found the Ultimate Truth, but in reality they are peering through a glass darkly.

All glory be unto Thee O great and wondrous Cacao!

* Interested readers should check out her other YouTube videos. She's an intelligent and articulate young woman.

Funny O' The Day

2008-03-06T19:45:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted...just too busy in Real Life (tm). I'll try to get back to more regular posting, but in the meantime, please enjoy the following YouTube videos.

The first is Eddie Izzard's classic routine on the cafeteria in the Death Star (yes, from Star Wars).

The second is the same routine, only this time animated with Legos! How can you not love Lego animation?

Happy (Belated) Birthday Tom!

2008-01-30T23:02:00.000-05:00

Like Chris, I meant to post on this yesterday, but time just got away from me.

Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, The Rights of Man, and The American Crisis pamphlets, was born January 29, 1737. His writings were instrumental in rousing the inhabitants of the British colonies in North America to take up the cause of liberty, declare themselves independent, and engage in the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom the world has yet seen. His reputation as a Founding Father has been unduly stained by controversy connected with his monumental indictment of Christianity (The Age of Reason) and today not a single monument to his memory exists in Washington, DC a city whose government he had as much a place in creating as Benjamin Franklin or John Adams.

In a similar post, Ed Brayton quotes from The American Crisis I:

These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

This is eloquence; this is rhetoric at its very best. How stark the contrast between these moving words, poetic in their composition, and the speeches and writings of today's political figures!

Paine stands as one of the paramount figures of not only the American revolution, but also of the Enlightenment in general. It's a genuine shame that he's not better known than he is.

Additional information can be found at the Thomas Paine National Historical Association website.

There are no words...

2008-01-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

Possibly NSFW, so caveat clicktor.

I...um...errm...

nothin'...I got nothin'...

Amusing Diversion...

2008-01-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Who would win in a battle between God and Muhammad? Between Buddha and Jesus? Well, now you can find out! Try out Faith Fighter and you get to choose your deity and duke it out with other contenders for the title of Supreme Being!

HT: Pharyngula

The Ineluctable End of Collectivism

2008-01-24T10:55:00.001-05:00

In his provocative and closely-argued book, The Road to Serfdom, Austrian economist Friederich Hayek lays out and defends his thesis that the logical and unavoidable end of collectivist economic systems is totalitarianism. This is so, in a nutshell, because such systems require centralized economic planning which, if it is to be effective, will require the acquisition by the State of more and more power over the lives of individuals until eventually liberty is extinguished.

While it is certainly true that there has yet to exist a State whose economic and political infrastructure aligns perfectly with Communist ideology, we can certainly see enough of the results of existing collectivist states to, at the very least, lead us to wonder if perhaps Hayek was on to something after all?

Welcome to North Korea is a documentary which won an International Emmy award in 2001 and which shows a, for the most part, unexpurgated view of what life in the North is like under the rule of Kim Jong Il, the current "leader for life". The video is rather long (about 50 minutes), but well worth watching for a reminder of how precious is liberty and why our Constitution and Bill of Rights must be defended from enemies both without and within...

Side Note: the embedded video is hosted at YouTube, but you can find a downloadable copy at Archive.org, which is a veritable treasure-trove of public domain music, videos (including full-length movies!), and other assorted materials.

HT: Positive Liberty

Parody of a Loon

2008-01-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen Tom Cruise's Scientology spiel by now...under what rock have you been hiding? But just in case you've only recently crawled out, here's a link to the rather disturbing, albeit humorous (in a schadenfreude-istic sort of way), train-wreck of a video. It's engendered much discussion on the inter-tubes over the last week or so, but the take on it I much preferred was this one by actor Jerry Connell:

I think I was probably one of about five people who thought Joe's Apartment was actually kind of funny, but I've got a new respect for O'Connell now...

Astonishing!

2008-01-21T11:04:00.000-05:00

We live in amazing universe filled with astonishing and wonderful things. The last minute or so of this video is incredible evidence of the creative power of evolution.

How NOT to defend the Moral Argument

2008-01-16T10:03:00.000-05:00

A comment at Debunking Christianity calls our attention to an article by William Hawthorne wherein he makes the following statement:

My view is that objective moral properties exist and that they would be unexpected, and indeed inexplicable, in a world in which atheism (or more precisely, naturalism) is true.

It's likely that's the view of many theists. I have certainly seen similar sentiments expressed by theists on blogs and in debates. But is it true? And even more to the point, isn't such an argument self-defeating?

In order to get around Euthyphro (and indeed to have any chance of alleged moral facts being "objective"), theists will seek to ground moral facts in God's nature. That is to say, to ground it in characteristics or essence that is NOT subject to God's whim or will.

Fair enough (and it seems to me that this is the only possible successful answer to Euthyphro's dilemma). However, in what way is this functionally different than a non-theist's claim that moral facts are grounded in the nature of existence? I.e., in brute fact (that's just the way things are)? The question "why is God as He is?" is functionally the same as "Why is existence as it is?" Moral facts grounded in the nature of existence would therefore seem to be ontologically equivalent to those grounded in the nature of God.

What therefore could serve as any relevant difference between "God" and "existence" that could satisfy Hawthorne's condition such that the existence of moral facts would be "unexpected" and "inexplicable" if God were NOT to exist? The only difference appears to be will or intent, yet that is specifically what we must rule out if we want moral facts to be objective. So doesn't it seem self-defeating to argue that "objective" moral facts only make sense if they're the product of will or intent, thus rendering them non-objective?

(Also posted as a comment at DC)

No Fair!!

2008-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

According to Arno Widmann, Julia Fischer (a professor of violin at Frankfurt's Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Tanz) performed at a New Year's concert in Frankfurt in which she played Saint-Saëns Third Violin Concerto on the first half and the Grieg A-minor Piano Concerto on the second half! These are both rather difficult pieces of music, even for the professional and by all accounts, Prof. Fischer acquitted herself admirably. In fact, again according to Widmann, both performances were dazzling.

I can actually fumble my way through a Mozart or Haydn concerto and I've even played through the Beethoven First (appallingly, I assure you), but the Grieg is too much for my stupid fingers (although I could play parts of it with my younger, less arthritic hands) and yet here is a woman who, having mastered one instrument to the point of teaching others how to play it, takes on another and triumphs yet again. Oh to have even a portion of her "excess" talent!

HT: MPR's Classical Notes

Funny O' The Day

2008-01-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

It's an interesting attempt...

...but I still think Huckabee's campaign is doomed.

P.S. I love Sinfest!

The Great Question

2008-01-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

Great thinkers through the ages have pondered the many mysteries of life. Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? Does God exist? What is the capital of Assyria? But none of these questions have come close to the ultimate question of our time: What if the Beatles were Irish?

Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1928-2007

2008-01-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how I missed this, but the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, often called "the father of electronic music" died suddenly at his home in Kurten on 5 December.

While I'm not a big fan of electronic music, it is impossible to deny or overestimate the impact of Stockhausen's work on the music of the 20th century. He began composing in the 1950s, studying under such luminaries as Frank Martin, Darius Milhaud, and Olivier Messiaen. With such teachers, it seems to me almost predestined that he would produce something completely novel. His composition Gesang der Jünglinge (1955-56) has been called the first electronic masterpiece and over the next forty years Stockhausen's output continued to be innovative and influential. At the time of his death, he was looking forward to a complete production later this year of Licht, a monumental cycle of seven operas dealing with "traits associated in various historical traditions with each weekday" (according to Wikipedia).

Stockhausen was the creator of an organization founded to advance his creative ideals which will carry on the work he began almost 60 years ago. Alex Ross discusses the composer and his impact here. One of Stockhausen's students attended the memorial service in Kurten and provides some thoughts here.

If you haven't yet finished your xmas shopping...

2007-12-14T12:24:00.000-05:00

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

-Oren Arnold

HT: Unscrewing the Inscrutable

Who is the superest super hero?

2007-12-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

Two cartoonists have created an ongoing competition to draw a continuing succession of "superheroes" each of which has powers which can defeat the powers of the preceding hero. So far my personal favorite is "The Creationist" (above), but check out the entire list here.

HT: Pharyngula

But of course I always knew...

2007-11-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

HT: Atheist Jew

In which I join the "far left"...

2007-11-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

I've not seen this story on any of the major networks, but apparently Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D. Ohio) introduced a resolution in the House on Tuesday to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney:

Resolved, That Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

See the link for the full text of the resolution which spells out in excruciating detail the actions of the VP that Kucinich believes warrant impeachment.

According to WaPo the resolution ended up being sent to the Judiciary Committee for discussion (from which it will no doubt never be heard of again) after some political wrangling by both Democrats and Republicans. Apparently, Democratic leadership decided some time ago that talk of impeachment was an, "...irresponsible move supported only by the far left" and so they decided to do whatever was necessary to avoid being "embarrassed" by a floor debate.

Again I have to ask: WTF? Aren't these the same Democrats who voters elevated to the majority party largely if not solely due to the deceit, fraud, and utter failure that is the current administration? Based on the polls I've seen, somewhere close to 50% of Americans believe impeachment may indeed be warranted for both Bush and Cheney. A 2006 Zogby poll found 52% in favor of impeachment proceedings based on the illegal wiretapping debacle. A more recent USA Today/Gallup poll found 36% believe there to be enough evidence to hold impeachment hearings. (that last page linked has several polls with impeachment questions; the average in favor seems to be around 30-35%). Does the Democractic leadership truly believe that the "far left" is comprised of between 30-50% of the American population? If Democrats make up about 50% of the voting population, then that would indicate that over half of their membership is "far left". Does that make any sense?

The answer: NO, of course not. Most of the polls I've seen give breakdowns by political affiliation and there are always Republicans in the "impeach" category right along with Democrats. This is not a "far left" issue, it's almost mainstream. What is the Democratic leadership so afraid of?

The "left" is traditionally associated with socialism or communitarian politics. I'm a libertarian (lower-case "l"), so that's about as far from "left" as it's possible to get without being an anarchist. I say it's high time we started talking about impeaching these goons, to say nothing of the possibility of criminal prosecution. By their actions they have repeatedly shown their contempt for both America, Americans, liberty, and the rule of law. I see no reason to allow them to leave office quietly and honorably when their terms expire. If that belief by itself makes me a member of the "far left", so be it.

To Hell In A Handbasket...

2007-11-07T16:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, by an 11 to 8 vote, the nomination of Michael Mukasey and sent it on to the full Senate for a vote. Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Charles Shumer joined the Republicans in voting for the nomination and in so doing betrayed, along with those Republicans, both common sense and common decency.

If you've been following the nomination hearings, you have surely heard that Mukasey declined to give an opinion on whether or not "waterboarding" should be considered as torture. He carefully explained that he was not privy to the actual techniques employed by U.S. interrogators, as they're classified, he was unable to offer an opinion on their legality or moral status.

Except that he wasn't being asked to do so. He was given an explicitly hypothetical definition of a procedure that was defined to him as "waterboarding" and asked to comment on whether or not that procedure was moral and/or legal: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Dem. RI) asked, "is the practice of putting somebody in a reclining position, strapping them down, putting cloth over their faces and pouring water over the cloth to simulate the feeling of drowning. Is that constitutional?" To which Mukasey replied, "If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional"

WTF? IF it amounts to torture? What kind of moral reprobate are we dealing with here? Disregard for a moment the fact that Whitehouse' description is inaccurate (the technique doesn't simulate drowning, it is in fact controlled drowning in that the lungs are actually filling with water), what kind of human being can hear of such a thing and not immediately agree that such an act is torture?

Of course the White House was quick to defend Mukasey's response by noting that he had not yet been briefed on classified interrogation techniques and couldn't be until his confirmation. But this is utterly irrelevant. Mukasey wasn't being asked to comment on actual interrogation techniques, only the status of one described to him. Whether or not such a technique is actually used was not relevant to the question. And still he couldn't, or wouldn't, answer.

In reality, of course, Mr. Mukasey was likely assisting in covering the administration's collective ass. If he were to give what seems to any rational humane person to be the obvious answer, then it might mean difficulty or even eventual prosecution for Bush and his morally-challenged band of sycophants.

With the by-now painfully obvious lack of moral standards and the lust for power and disdain for the rule of law that characterizes this President and his rotten, corrupt administration, do we really need an Attorney General who is unable to support common sense and common decency over political sycophancy and fear? Do we really need another moral degenerate in a government already filled with them?

Keith Olbermann (who in my opinion has rightfully inherited the mantle of Edward R. Murrow) has the right take on this administration in his MSNBC commentary last night:

The presidency of George W. Bush has now devolved into a criminal conspiracy to cover the ass of George W. Bush.

All the petulancy, all the childish threats, all the blank-stare stupidity;

All the invocations of World War Three, all the sophistic questions about which terrorist attacks we wanted him not to stop, all the phony secrets; all the claims of executive privilege, all the stumbling tap-dancing of his nominees, all the verbal flatulence of his apologists…

All of it is now — after one revelation last week — transparently clear for what it is: the pathetic and desperate manipulation of the government, the re-focusing of our entire nation, towards keeping this mock president, and this unstable vice president, and this departed wildly self-over-rating Attorney General — and the others — from potential prosecution for having approved or ordered the illegal torture of prisoners being held in the name of this country.

See the link for the full transcript and a video.

Indeed. What else is there to say? At one time, one would have expected Democrats to stand up against this fraud and expose it, but we have two of the leading members of that party complicit in the process of approving yet another degenerate sycophant to the already degraded office of Attorney General. The damage this man and his fellow travelers have wrought to the office of President, the United States, and the democratic process may well not be fully known for years. Next November cannot possibly come quickly enough!

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