Daily Dose of Queer reported that the religious right group American Family Association is protesting the upcoming NBC series "The Book of Daniel" due to the fact that it dares show human beings as, well, human beings. Apparently the portrayal of a drug-dependent Episcopal priest with a lush wife and a gay Republican son, among other things, is disrespectful to the kinds of Christians the AFA wants seen on TV. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that depicting people's foibles, failings, and dramas was always and automatically a bad thing. I must've missed that verse in Leviticus that talked about boycotting TV networks if they show real life situations in their shows--it must've been sandwiched in-between the verses regulating slavery and separating menstruating women from everyone else for a week.
Ah, what a wonderful vision the AFA must have, of an America full of Mrs. Grundys. Of course, I guess it'd be too much trouble to keep the TV on PAX or ABC Family. Take pity on them--they only want what's best for their own limited, sad notions of morality.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Never Enough Conservative Necromancy Department
I don't believe in magick in terms of it affecting the physical world in any direct way. You can make changes in your own consciousness through magick, but changing lead to gold, or causing Ralph Reed to spontaneously combust, just ain't gonna happen. I know, I've tried.
That's a shame, too, because I'm sorely tempted to perform necromancy on Barry Goldwater. Yes, he's a conservative. Yes, he was borderline racist. Yes, he was opposed to any attempts by government to create a more equal society. But, more to the point, he was staunchly against using the military for "regime change", deeply distrustful of the religious right, and wary of giving political power to big business. In short, he'd be livid to see what his party, and the movement that claimed him as its figurehead, has done in the past few years.
Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," Goldwater said. And what could be more extreme than bringing the dead back to life, seeking revenge? Plus, you must admit, Zombie Barry would be a delight to watch. The only downside is if, following the stereotype, he craves human brains. Even after he was done with both houses of Congress, he'd be starving, and probably a little nauseated to boot.
That's a shame, too, because I'm sorely tempted to perform necromancy on Barry Goldwater. Yes, he's a conservative. Yes, he was borderline racist. Yes, he was opposed to any attempts by government to create a more equal society. But, more to the point, he was staunchly against using the military for "regime change", deeply distrustful of the religious right, and wary of giving political power to big business. In short, he'd be livid to see what his party, and the movement that claimed him as its figurehead, has done in the past few years.
Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," Goldwater said. And what could be more extreme than bringing the dead back to life, seeking revenge? Plus, you must admit, Zombie Barry would be a delight to watch. The only downside is if, following the stereotype, he craves human brains. Even after he was done with both houses of Congress, he'd be starving, and probably a little nauseated to boot.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Never Enough Happy Holidays Department
Merry Christmas to any and all who might be reading today!
Happy Hanukhah, too. And Good Yule!
In our household, we celebrate all three holidays--Christmas, out of a sense of tradition; Yule, because we're "a bunch of goddamn pagans," as I've heard us called before; Hanukhah, because my stepson's half-Jewish.
Someone tell Bill O'Reilly so his head can explode, already. Me, I like all three holidays and my head's throbbing as is.
It doesn't help that someone successfully broke into my house two nights ago and stole the most expensive gift while my family was shopping. Not much else, thank the ghods--an old Playstation and a few of its games were the only other things taken. But we resolved not to let this get to us.
Oh, and Thea? I absolutely adore the little Kali statue that you got me. (N.B.: "Kali" is one link, and "statue" is another.)
Happy Holdays, everyone.
Happy Hanukhah, too. And Good Yule!
In our household, we celebrate all three holidays--Christmas, out of a sense of tradition; Yule, because we're "a bunch of goddamn pagans," as I've heard us called before; Hanukhah, because my stepson's half-Jewish.
Someone tell Bill O'Reilly so his head can explode, already. Me, I like all three holidays and my head's throbbing as is.
It doesn't help that someone successfully broke into my house two nights ago and stole the most expensive gift while my family was shopping. Not much else, thank the ghods--an old Playstation and a few of its games were the only other things taken. But we resolved not to let this get to us.
Oh, and Thea? I absolutely adore the little Kali statue that you got me. (N.B.: "Kali" is one link, and "statue" is another.)
Happy Holdays, everyone.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Never Enough Eternity Department
Two perspectives on eternity:
First, DarkSyde's post on DailyKOS regarding the infinity of time.
Then, an old IBM educational video regarding the vastness of both inner and outer space.
What need have I for bibles, churches, or even our culture's particular, anthropomorphized ideas of gods, when I have a nearly unimaginably vast and ancient cosmos to contemplate?
Praise "Bob", anyway.
First, DarkSyde's post on DailyKOS regarding the infinity of time.
Then, an old IBM educational video regarding the vastness of both inner and outer space.
What need have I for bibles, churches, or even our culture's particular, anthropomorphized ideas of gods, when I have a nearly unimaginably vast and ancient cosmos to contemplate?
Praise "Bob", anyway.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Never Enough Solar Goodness Department
You probably have seen reports of wearable solar cells, which will make gadget fantatics happy with mobile recharability. It's a step in the right direction, to be sure, but for those with memories of large black panels, it isn't necessarily inspirational. Enter PowerGlass, a sticky, transparent window film that turns any window into a solar panel. Being transparent, they aren't as efficient as slabs of dark silicon--but the film is much cheaper than silicon solar cells, and so should generate a lot more power for the buck.
That's nice for us Westerners, but what about the third-world, where modern solar cell films and old-generation silicon cells alike are cost-prohibitive? How do paper solar cells grab you? While I would not expect much efficiency out of these, the cost should be so low that it won't matter much. Cell phones--already preferred in the Third World for not requiring expensive phone lines or switching stations--could be charged easily with such technology.
Those who said solar was too primitive, or too much a niche technology, obviously didn't realize how different the world would be in a few decades. GO SOLAR!
That's nice for us Westerners, but what about the third-world, where modern solar cell films and old-generation silicon cells alike are cost-prohibitive? How do paper solar cells grab you? While I would not expect much efficiency out of these, the cost should be so low that it won't matter much. Cell phones--already preferred in the Third World for not requiring expensive phone lines or switching stations--could be charged easily with such technology.
Those who said solar was too primitive, or too much a niche technology, obviously didn't realize how different the world would be in a few decades. GO SOLAR!
Never Enough Feed Guidance Department
The biggest problem with RSS/Atom newsfeeds is that, once you submit an article, you cannot hope to make last-minute changes that nobody will notice.
Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with duplicate feed entries, aside from creating a draft and not submitting it until I'm perfectly happy with it? I know, it's not professional to do otherwise, but like I have said before: I'm just like the pros--only less so.
Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with duplicate feed entries, aside from creating a draft and not submitting it until I'm perfectly happy with it? I know, it's not professional to do otherwise, but like I have said before: I'm just like the pros--only less so.
Never Enough Cognitive Dissidents Department
Jaye Ramsey Sutter's blog inspired me:
I can understand cognitive dissonance wearing people out. But by the same token, I must admit it doesn't bother me much. In fact, it seems like I've been awash in cognitive dissonance my entire life--that my life, in fact, is a large, dissonant cognition, if you will.
When Ronald Reagan promised in 1980 to cut taxes and increase military spending, I sat up and noticed.
When the Sunday School teachers at my Assembly of God told me, in all earnestness, that all men have one less rib than women do, I took note and puzzled over the fact.
When the Iran-Contra scandal broke, and a small army of government officials claimed that the assassinations, drug-running, and deals with dictators were all done in the name of American freedom and democracy, you bet I caught that.
When I began to be exposed to perceptual psychology, and came across the realization that we can't always trust our perceptions, and that our very brains will trick us in order to make sense of what we perceive--I gave that fact a big red "URGENT" stamp.
When quantum mechanics revealed a world utterly alien to common sense, and yet too accurate in its predictions and too consistent in its logic to be dismissed, I acknowleged it as another piece of the puzzle.
When post-modernism became the vogue, and people started using the phrase "Reality isn't what it used to be" with decreasing irony, I was ready to say, "Duh."
When a Bush aide (Rove, maybe?) stated that "we create our own reality," I was not in the least surprised. I was prepared for it in ways the Democratic Party is only now starting to realize.
But that doesn't change the wisdom that there are certain externalities that cannot be brushed off by creating one's own reality, no matter how thoroughly imposed that reality might be upon the masses. Everything you perceive about, say, a mountain--its seemingly eternal size, its color, its solidness--might be questionable. You may realize that mountains are heaved upwards over millions of years, or built up from ash cones and lava flows over hundreds of years. You may realize that the mountain's color is due to light reflected off its surface atoms, filtered through the eye, and interpreted by the brain, and that therefore its "color" is not "real". You may even stop to contemplate that 99% of the volume of that mountain is empty space, with colliding electrons giving the illusion of solidness. But don't be hasty to conclude that the mountain is not real. If you try to fly an airplane through it, you will crash.
And so, in an age of cognitive dissonance, where it is easy to manipulate facts to start a war but impossible to manipulate your way out of the war, I can say with confidence:
MY REALITY CAN BEAT UP YOUR REALITY.
I can understand cognitive dissonance wearing people out. But by the same token, I must admit it doesn't bother me much. In fact, it seems like I've been awash in cognitive dissonance my entire life--that my life, in fact, is a large, dissonant cognition, if you will.
When Ronald Reagan promised in 1980 to cut taxes and increase military spending, I sat up and noticed.
When the Sunday School teachers at my Assembly of God told me, in all earnestness, that all men have one less rib than women do, I took note and puzzled over the fact.
When the Iran-Contra scandal broke, and a small army of government officials claimed that the assassinations, drug-running, and deals with dictators were all done in the name of American freedom and democracy, you bet I caught that.
When I began to be exposed to perceptual psychology, and came across the realization that we can't always trust our perceptions, and that our very brains will trick us in order to make sense of what we perceive--I gave that fact a big red "URGENT" stamp.
When quantum mechanics revealed a world utterly alien to common sense, and yet too accurate in its predictions and too consistent in its logic to be dismissed, I acknowleged it as another piece of the puzzle.
When post-modernism became the vogue, and people started using the phrase "Reality isn't what it used to be" with decreasing irony, I was ready to say, "Duh."
When a Bush aide (Rove, maybe?) stated that "we create our own reality," I was not in the least surprised. I was prepared for it in ways the Democratic Party is only now starting to realize.
But that doesn't change the wisdom that there are certain externalities that cannot be brushed off by creating one's own reality, no matter how thoroughly imposed that reality might be upon the masses. Everything you perceive about, say, a mountain--its seemingly eternal size, its color, its solidness--might be questionable. You may realize that mountains are heaved upwards over millions of years, or built up from ash cones and lava flows over hundreds of years. You may realize that the mountain's color is due to light reflected off its surface atoms, filtered through the eye, and interpreted by the brain, and that therefore its "color" is not "real". You may even stop to contemplate that 99% of the volume of that mountain is empty space, with colliding electrons giving the illusion of solidness. But don't be hasty to conclude that the mountain is not real. If you try to fly an airplane through it, you will crash.
And so, in an age of cognitive dissonance, where it is easy to manipulate facts to start a war but impossible to manipulate your way out of the war, I can say with confidence:
MY REALITY CAN BEAT UP YOUR REALITY.
Never Enough Five-Day Weekends Department
Lucky me: Not only will I have Thanksgiving and the day after off from work, but Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well. I haven't had a break from work unrelated to unemployment in ages, so this will be a treat. If anything, I might blog more often during the hiatus. If I don't, blame Age Of Empires II--I will!
And of course, I'm waiting with baited breath for Age Of Empires III and Civilization 4 for Mac....
And of course, I'm waiting with baited breath for Age Of Empires III and Civilization 4 for Mac....
Never Enough Breathtaking Changes Department
The old map:
The new map:
Data for the new map taken from Survey USA; map rendered by dreaminonempty of DailyKos.
Quite impressive, no?
The new map:
Data for the new map taken from Survey USA; map rendered by dreaminonempty of DailyKos.
Quite impressive, no?
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Never Enough Weirdness Confirmations Department
You Are 80% Weird |
 You're more than quirky, you're downright strange. But you're also strangely compelling, like a cult leader. |
"Like a cult leader"? Hon, I am a cult leader. But at least I belong to a hilarious cult.
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