The Heck Do I Know?

Cancer hypocrites?

2012-02-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

If I'm driving down the highway and see a car in front of me with a personalized license plate with a pink ribbon "breast cancer awareness" symbol on it, but then see the female driver of the car has a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth, is it bad of me to think her a hypocrite?

I know it's different kinds of cancers and all, but still....

Boo to the tennis thief

2012-01-31T16:01:00.001-06:00

Did you see that? That lady clearly grabbed the shirt away from the intended girl with nothing even approaching remorse.
"I started crying because I couldn't believe that something I truly believe he meant for me was taken by someone else," the teenager told Australia's Herald Sun.

"I had been yelling out to him the whole match and he had looked up and acknowledged me," she said. "Then at the end he came straight over to my direction and threw the shirt up."
And though I don't advocate violence, I can't help but chuckle a bit at the most popular-rated comment on an article written about this:
Sometimes a young person just needs to hit an older person in the head, guilt-free. I'm not saying it's right, but I would understand.

Presenting, Christ-o the Miraculous Magician!

2012-01-31T11:34:00.001-06:00

Does Paula Deen have her head on straight?

2012-01-24T12:47:00.000-06:00

This past week TV chef Paula Deen, known most notably for making high fat content foods, very sugary sweets, and being the "queen of butter", announced she has had Type 2 diabetes for the past 3 years, and will be a sponsor for a diabetes pharmaceutical.

Many folks feel that keeping the disease hush-hush while continuing to promote the foods that more than likely gave her the disease is pretty uncool. Some also see the idea of being a spokesperson for a diabetes medicine as a way of saying "it's okay to eat like this, because big pharma will bail you out".

Apparently her publicist of 6 years just quit due to this:
Paula Deen's longtime powerhouse publicist, Nancy Assuncao, quit after six years over the butter-loving chef's plan to plug a diabetes drug.

Deen is now under siege by diabetics, nutritionists and fellow chefs for keeping her own Type 2 diabetes secret for three years, even as she pushed recipes full of sugar and fat.

A source said Assuncao "strongly disagreed with Deen's dramatic turnabout, after years of promoting fatty foods, to announcing she has a deal with a diabetes drug company [Novo Nordisk]...
And from another article:Deen, host of the Food Network’s “Paula’s Best Dishes,” confirmed on Tuesday’s “Today Show” that she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, three years ago, even as she continued to promote such dishes as “Chocolate Cheese Fudge” and “Sausage Pancake Egg Sandwiches” on her program. She also announced her latest venture—a partnership with diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk.

“It is hypocritical [for Paula] to have continued to very publicly promote entirely unhealthy food choices so vital to the management of diabetes,” Donna Shaft, a marketing consultant who has been battling type 2 diabetes for 20 years, told Fox411.

“We of course don't know the terms of her contract with the drug company, but it seems either stupid or hypocritical of them to be endorsing the eating lifestyle she advocates. For her to publicly facilitate the illusion that a T2 can consume the quantities of fats and carbs and sugars she showcases, even occasionally, is nothing short of a dangerous abuse of the trust many in her audience place in her as an influential public figure.”

“She is overweight and that makes her, in my opinion, not credible and not valid to promote diabetes drugs,” said Richard Deems, who is a type 2 diabetic.

“I work hard on my weight and it is difficult to take someone seriously who cooks with fats and sugars the way Paula does.”
What actually makes me think there's something wrong with Paula's head (literally or figuratively) is this: while I've never seen her show and never even heard her voice until I saw a clip recently, the only exposure I've had to her is on magazine covers at the grocery store magazine racks.

And I swear, I've never seen a picture of her without her head tilted at some angle. Did you ever notice that she can't keep her head on straight? Is she a bobblehead or something?

THE EVIDENCE:

My apologies to the Green Bay Packers

2012-01-15T20:52:00.000-06:00

I'd like to offer my apologies to the Green Bay Packers today. I've done a horrible thing.

Being a very fair weather sports fan, but still wanting to cheer on my former home-state's team, I caught a couple of games on TV or the radio this past season.

And when I say "a couple", I really mean "a couple". Two, that is.

The first one was the day I finally decided, "Oh what the heck" and tried to see if any local radio stations were airing a network broadcast of the game. Indeed, one was. Turns out it was their game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was the only loss the Packers had during the regular season.

Guess which day was the other day I decided to tune in on TV, what with some newly-found free time?

Yeah.........sorry about today, guys. It's all my fault.

Hey, look on the bright side. At least that Bible-thumper Tim Tebow ain't goin' any further this year, either. Now I don't have to watch random groups of teenage boys carrying balls stopping on the corner of an intersection and kneel down before the Lord "Tebow-style" until next year (yes, I actually did see that happen).

You know you've started a cult when....

You see how I've shifted the attention away from me screwing the Packers and instead poking fun at Tebow??? Bam! You probably wouldn't have even noticed had I not pointed it out.

I feel the need the kneel.

Bam! Did it again.

Men and women: The Difference

2012-01-14T02:41:00.000-06:00

Don't know where this came from, but it speaks -- nay, it yells -- the truth.

Ready for this? Here it is.

The difference between men and women:

Women are really interested in those clothes on that body.
Men are really interested in that body under those clothes.

You're welcome. All the world's problems should now be easy to solve. For my time I accept checks, credit card, PayPal and assorted foreign coins thrown at me.

The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

2012-01-09T02:26:00.001-06:00

Hello, all you fellow humans who don't hear about things until well after something makes news.

Last night I was listening to the program "This American Life" on the local NPR station here in town and heard about Mike Daisey and his one-man play "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs".

I had not heard of this show at all prior to this broadcast, and it has been performed for about a year now.

Having not caught the entire program, those parts particularly being the very begninning as well as another couple of minutes around the 10-minute mark of the show, I orginally thought I was hearing a comedy piece about people's almost religious-like love for Apple products. After my few-minute gap around the :10 spot, I returned to my car to hear a completely different story - particularly that of the production of Apple products in China. As Mike relayed, I became engrossed. When he started speaking of suicides at the factory, I admit I turned to another station for a bit so my 10-year-old son wouldn't...well...let's just say he was already disturbed. I didn't want to exacerbate that any more than I needed to.

And, as a few others who have seen the show or heard excerpts have also said, I look at my iPod with a different eye. Indeed, practically all of our electronic devices and more have a different look to them, including this laptop I type on now.

Here's a quick excerpt from a review from the New York Times:
For Mr. Daisey, as for many others, affection for Apple products evolved into reverence for Mr. Jobs, the Apple co-founder whose identification with the company and its products has been much remarked upon, and worried over, since his illness made news several years ago.

The hippie-meets-tech-geek ethos, the founding of and then ouster from Apple, the triumphant return and the revolutionary series of consumer products that followed: Mr. Daisey covers this material fluently and with amiable humor, mixing obvious hero worship with some pointed skepticism.

But the show is most engrossing, and most disturbing, when Mr. Daisey delves into the grim realities of workers’ lives in Shenzhen, a city that he memorably describes as looking as if “ ‘Blade Runner’ threw up on itself.” Here is where the agony of the title enters the picture.

To be fair, the producers of "This American Life" also did their own research into the story Mr. Daisey recalls to us. Apart from some minor differences, the story is, sadly, fairly accurate.

I invite you to listen to the show I heard last night. It contains excerpts from the performance. See if this doesn't make you look at your newest device, whether it's an Apple product or not, with a little guilt.

Another year.....

2012-01-01T01:54:00.002-06:00

Congrats on another successful orbit around the sun. Remember that the Earth did most of the work. We usually just got in the way.

42

2011-12-30T01:55:00.000-06:00

As a big fan of the late Douglas Adams, it's with a fun little quirky kick of pleasure that I see, as of today, I have 42 followers on this blog.

Thanks folks. You know there's something wrong with you people, don't you??

Seriously, thanks. For someone who has kept this blog totally anonymous from the friends and family that typically fill up the "followers" list of some bloggers, I'm utterly surprised and humbled that I have even one follower.

I love Engrish

2011-12-29T00:57:00.001-06:00

It's called Engrish, but basically it's what anyone else would call the hilariously mangled-up gobbledygook that you get when English is translated into Chinese, Japanese, or whatever other Far East language you want, and then back to English. You commonly find this in instruction manuals for products made in China.

My son enjoys flying remote control planes and helicopters. Recently we were at a toy store taking a look at an obviously very cheap version of an RC helicopter that would probably malfunction within a week of playing with it.

More entertaining, however, is the Engrish on the box. There were two such labels on the outside of the box. I share them with you now with punctuation exactly as it was written. I've also bolded my favorite parts:

AVOID ALONE OPERATES

Before flight,make sure whether has the another radio control device using the same frequency and channel is operated near your helicopter,because starting the same frequency transmitter with somebody else at the same time,radio signal will be immediately mixed and you will control of your model,this may lead to accidents.Most beginners will difficult to control the helicopter in the initial period,so you must avoid alone operating flight.we advise you to fly under help of a seasoned old flyer.

AWAY FROM THE REMORAS (author's note - I have no idea what a "remora" is in order to "away" from one)

- The helicopter has the definite speed when flying,also opposite and latent a little risk,so select the place for flying is very important.
- First flying be sure that without crowd around,tall building,high tension wire,trees and so on.to avoid improper operate to cause yourself and the other people property damage.
- First practice,please choose fly in a large wide-open area and may proper exercise flight with exercise frame.this will be large scope to reduce the damage which the flight fault to create.
- Do not fly in a bad weather such as rain and thunders and so on,to ensure yourself and airplane safety.

Here are a few more fun examples:

Jesus is the reason?

2011-12-25T01:22:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my snarky Christmas commentary!

For the holidays, a local church put the following statement up on their outdoor sign:

JESUS IS THE REASON....FOR EVERYTHING.

That's a pretty bold statement. Everything, huh?

Marshmallow Peeps?
Chicken pox?
e. coli?
Crossed eyes?
Fonzie jumping the shark?
Why a car never duplicates its problem when you take it to the garage?
When toilet paper breaks in your hand while you're wiping?
Ramen noodles?
Herpes?
Islam/Judaism/Hinduism/Buddhism/etc.?
Why my delivery pizza is cold?
Dippin' Dots?
When people say they're gonna call you and then don't?

And I'm not even going to go into the actual serious issues I could apparently blame Jesus for.

Enjoy your Christmas celebrations (which have stemmed mostly from pagan traditions, btw). But I'll be having me some Indian food today. Mmmmmmmm.

Charlie Sheen/Charlie Brown

2011-12-23T03:49:00.000-06:00

For the season of Christmas, and as sort of an annual appreciation of all things Charlie Brown at Christmas time (see last year's Charlie Brown Kwanzaa post), here is Charlie Brown as Charlie Sheen.

Happy Holidays!

Charlie Sheen As Charlie Brown - Watch MoreFunny Videos

Earth-sized planets: One step closer to finding a new place to live

2011-12-21T12:05:00.001-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

All jokes aside, the thing that really makes me happy about this is that we can actually see/detect these planets from SO far away. Our technological advances in this realm have improved dramatically in even just the past 5 to 10 years.

And we've come such a long way from thinking we were the center of the universe....

The female God debate

2011-12-17T02:28:00.000-06:00

My deep thought of the day. Ready for it? Here goes:

Some people like to think God is a woman versus a man.

I honestly don't know if God is a woman or not.

But Satan sure as hell is.

Pretty sure she wouldn't look like that, though...

There are idiots hiding behind Mercury

2011-12-16T02:02:00.001-06:00

A few days back this video hit the internet, and made a buzz on the news sites. It's some guy claiming that a spaceship is hidden behind Mercury, and he's got the video to prove it.

I love how this guy uses words like "definitely" and "obviously". Nothing here is definite or obvious. In fact, as many people have pointed out including the scientists and researchers from the website itself and several other sources/institutions, the effect is simply a by-product of how the image is created.

If you don't know the technology involved in creating something, quit thinking you know what's going on or what you're looking at. You're quite convinced that you're looking at a "cloaked" ship. Why is it that you never point out that there is also a huge planet-shaped black hole following behind Mercury but in front of the "obviously cloaked" spaceship? If you're going to point out one thing, might as well point out the other.

This reminds me of the other video of the "1928 time traveller". This was some doofus seeing a woman walking around with an antique hearing device, but because of his limited knowledge, he made the intuitive (and brilliant, BRILLIANT, LOGICAL!!!!) leap that he was looking at a woman talking on a cell phone and therefore she must be a time traveller.

The only thing that is 'obvious' or 'definite' is that we apparently like to think we know more than we do, and nowadays we can show the whole world how pompous we are and how little research we actually do before we go spouting off a conspiracy.

(time passes)

2011-12-07T23:32:00.000-06:00

Hello, all. Been spending less and less time here as of late, mostly due to lack of time (or interesting topic, frankly) with which to blog. Being busy is great, but I struggle to find time for myself. Quality time with my own thoughts. And I, myself, am to blame for filling said time with movies, books and other distractions. But let's face it, distraction is sometimes a good option, too.

Blah, blah, blah. I wasn't really feeling this post to begin with, and now I'm filling time. So I'll cut the crap. Here's what's going on in my mind right now:

Even though I hardly post anymore, the number of followers increases more and more. Thanks guys. You're silly for wanting to follow this stuff, but thank you. ;^)

I changed the "Weekly Tao Quote" today. Hardly "Weekly" since I think the last time I updated it the buds were beginning to bloom on the flora and fauna of outdoors. And don't think I'll be kidding myself into believing I'll jump back onto it weekly, either. But this new quote, Chapter 32 of the Hua Hu Ching, is a very good one.

I've found a few things to blog about, and may be putting a few more things up in the next few days. You see, that's how it always seems to go -- hit a long dry spell, and then post after post in a short period of time. There's a reason I don't write for a living.

Speaking of writing, my wife has been doing more of that herself lately, and I am very proud of her and happy for her.

And that's that.

Here's some pictures. Write to ya later.

Money is the topic of this post

2011-11-27T02:38:00.002-06:00

Couple things about money. Here we go.

#1. Saw my first counterfeit bill yesterday. It was a $10 bill. Looked pretty good for a fake, but the person who had it could tell by the feel that something wasn't quite right. On closer inspection it didn't have the watermark, the UV strip or the color-changing ink. This guy got it as change from Wal-Mart as part of his Black Friday shopping experience. Guess that makes sense...a perfect day for scammers to use counterfeit bills and the inexperienced clerks hired for the holiday rush are so overwhelmed anyway (and they're working at Wal-Mart, hello) that they aren't going to pay attention to why a bill doesn't feel quite right even though it looks totally normal and will give take it from whomever and give it back out to whomever. If you were out and about this weekend doing some insanity shopping, you might want to check your bills if you paid cash for anything. I feel bad for they guy who had it, but like he kept saying, at least it's only a 10.

#2. Hot damn, I finally got a tank of gas for less than $3 a gallon!!!!!! Go Old Hickory!

#3. Because of #2 above, I am always reminded (evilly ....... is evilly a word? By that, I mean in a sense of being evil. You get that, right?) of that scene in Die Hard when Sgt. Powell gets the call at the gas station where he's "buying Twinkies for his pregnant wife" that he should investigate what's going on at Nakatomi Plaza. And as he goes outside and looks at the Nakatomi building, the camera pans up past the sign showing the gas prices of 1988, the year I got my driver's license.

Gets you right in the gut, doesn't it? Not to mention, back then you had a choice of regular or unleaded, too. Can we go back there? To 1988? Pleeeeaaasssee????????

Something I hate about banks

2011-11-13T02:37:00.000-06:00

I'm not going to get into big stuff like what's going on with the Occupy Wall Street protests, investment firms, stock markets and all that. There's plenty of online info written about that, and it's much more eloquent and well-thought out than anything I could write here.

Rather, I just want to share my own personal gripe about something I realized has been happening with the way banks handle my (and probably your) money lately.

Remember a few years back when that "Check 21" law, or whatever it was, was passed? It was basically a measure to say that if you write a check, an electronic copy of it can now be used in order for the merchant you gave the check to to get your payment immediately. In short, unlike beforehand, if you now were going to write a check, you had better have the funds in your account to cover it right at that moment.

But have you noticed that the banks have no problem taking their sweet time on getting funds into your account if YOU provide a check to THEM? I am told that a deposited check may not be available for a day or two after I bring it to the bank.

How the **** is THAT fair?!?

So, if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and bringing a check to my bank in order to have enough funds in my account, why can't I have that money available immediately just as (for example) my electric company is expecting me to have money available immediately if I give them a check to pay a bill?

I smell idiocy, don't you?

WaaaaAAAAAAOOoooooohhhhh. (Or "If I Spray...")

2011-11-04T01:24:00.000-05:00

I like this cat video very much. But I likes it even very mucher with the translation in the second video.

Odd things on people's butts

2011-10-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

So I'm not going to get into what I do for a living, but I do have occasion to see parts of people's bodies that you just don't usually have access to sitting next to them in a cubicle. And what I do is totally professional and isn't perverted, pornographic, wrong, dirty, nasty...nothing like that.

Now that the disclaimer is done, I can now share this little tidbit which has been stuck in my mind to write about for a while.

The other day I met a woman who has a tattoo of the holy trinity symbol on her butt. This symbol here:

It was right there, exactly where underwear or a swimsuit would always cover it (the untanned part of her tan-lined skin, if you will).

So.......................................

I guess I'm perplexed. I can't figure out if she just wanted an ass-tattoo and thought a symbol for God would be a good thing to put there vs., say, a picture of Mr. Magoo? (Cuz that's totally an arm tattoo, man):

My better thought is she's a huge John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin fan, in which case putting his symbol on her butt is entirely appropriate.

I'm gonna go for that last guess. Even though the trinity symbol is completely different. Yeah.

Beating the devil with a fiddle

2011-10-23T02:22:00.000-05:00

I just heard a radio station play "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". For some reason I paid attention to the song a little more than I usually do.

So, uh.....THAT's all it takes to beat the devil in a fiddle playing competition? That really wasn't much at all. Kinda lame. You'd think that if you needed to defeat the source of all evil, you'd have to up your game a bit.

Guess not.

Sorry, folks, the thoughts just don't go much deeper than this most days.

The Crapture, part 2

2011-10-22T02:38:00.000-05:00

October 21st, 2011. The SECOND day the Rapture was supposed to happen this year.

And we're all still here.

Except Qaddafi, that is.

Hmm. Last time, the only person that left the face of the earth on the supposed "Rapture" was "Macho Man" Randy Savage. What the hell is that Harold Camping guy predicting, anyway? The deaths of over-the-top performers with scraggly hair?

R.I.P. Podrick

2011-09-30T01:53:00.001-05:00

Been off the blog for a while. Been very busy. But I didn't think you want to read about that crap.

Had my first kidney stone attack this past month, too. A five hour attack on 9/11, and 10 hour attack on 9/12, and then a mild attack that lasted for three whole days from the 22nd through the 24th. Total suckage. But I didn't think you want to read about that.

Nope. Instead I take this little bit of cyberspace to say goodbye to my dear friend, Podrick. Podrick is/was my 6G 120g iPod. He started getting a case of the skips, and then it got so bad that he started skipping every song within just a few seconds of playing. All the worse was that it was happening during one of my jobs where playing music off of my iPod is part of what I am supposed to do.

I tried to reset him. Didn't help. Attempted to restore him, but iTunes wasn't recognizing him, much less freezing up anytime I attached Podrick to the computer. Eventually I used a third party program to remove all my music, and that cleared him up enough to get iTunes to restore him.

But, alas, that didn't fix the problem because reloading my music caused more problems and the skipping continued.

Seems Podrick's hard drive is malfunctioning. I am hopeful I can take it to an Apple Store around here or something similar and get it fixed or get the hard drive replaced for a not-too-expensive fee.

Meantime, I've commandeered my old 5G 30g iPod back from my wife, who doesn't really like iPods anyway. My old iPod, "Poddy", works great, but doesn't have to room to store the 8000 songs I have in my complete library. So I have to make due with incomplete albums and only loading songs that I'll need and/or really want on him in the meantime.

I always knew there was something I didn't like about the 6G's drive since the moment I first laid hands on it.

So, that's what you got to read about today. My iPod fiasco. Really important stuff, huh?

Waaaaay better than reading about cramping pain, sweats, fever and big-ass discomfort from kidney stone issues. But honestly, I guess I'd rather read about that than go through it again. Oh hell yes.

Women flippin' out over food

2011-09-07T19:05:00.000-05:00

Saw a video on CNN today about Kate Gosselin getting stupid over a piece of pizza.

I was reminded of a 911 call I had heard about several years ago of a mom actually calling the cops because the restaurant wasn't making her burger right. Comedy gold. Here is the call (on YouTube):

What the hell's in that litter?

2011-09-07T01:18:00.000-05:00

Why do cats act like total insane spazzes after they take a crap? Does it feel phenomenal to a cat to deficate or something??

"I hope I die before I get old..."

2011-09-07T01:07:00.000-05:00

I met an 80-year-old woman today, and all she wanted to talk about was how old she was, how old she was getting, how terrible it is to get old, don't ever get old, do I know a lot of old people?, how she was when she was younger, how healthy she is for how old she is, how she used to have long hair but cut it short because at a certain age you just shouldn't have long hair anymore....blah blah blah.

I know it's a generalization to say that the older we get, the more we tend to talk about getting older, but come on!! Not all older people spend their time moping about their age.

Give me conversation about the weather over this any time.

Thank you. This gripe session is complete.

On finding more planets....

2011-08-31T18:06:00.002-05:00

"Cosmos" to return to primetime TV! YAY!!!!!!!!

2011-08-06T02:47:00.001-05:00

Just heard that the TV show "Cosmos", originally hosted and conceived by the late Carl Sagan, will be making a return to primetime TV in 2013!

Of all networks, it will be FOX that picks up the show, and one of the producers is that goofball Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy (among other things). I'm glad he's a space geek who enjoyed watching the original "Cosmos" like I did when I was a wee lad. He apparently wanted a new version created badly enough that he was willing to fund half of the production out of his own pocket were it necessary. Nice.

The new show will be hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I think that's an excellent choice. He's hosted plenty of other shows and will be familiar to folks.

I love this news. Anything that can get some of the kids in the US more tuned in to science and space is always a good idea in my book.

More info from the article I found here.

Amy Winehouse dead

2011-07-24T02:36:00.000-05:00

Singer Amy Winehouse is dead at the age of 27.

Who here is surprised?

No one raising their hands? Yeah.

And now she joins the "27 Club" which includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones and Kurt Cobain. I don't mean to make light of a person's death, but, sorry, I don't think that's a club she really belongs in.

Score one for Pastafarianism and the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

2011-07-15T12:48:00.000-05:00

And the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster gets it's first major score in the game of theology!

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a "religious movement" that essentially pokes fun at religion in general, stating that believing the world was created by an inebriated Flying Spaghetti Monster is no sillier than the other creation theories or religions out there. I have links to the group on the right-hand side of this blog, and have for several years now.

Niko Alm, an Austrian, really took this opportunity to make a point. Being the silly "religion" that it is (and the sillier the better), one of the tenets is to wear a pasta strainer on your head as official religious head wear. This guy wanted to actually be able to take his driver's license picture with it on.

From this article:
A self-styled "pastafarian", Mr Alm said he belonged to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which lampooned religion. "Today I was able to get my new driving licence, and in it you can clearly see that I'm wearing a colander on my head to demonstrate my allegiance to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster," Mr Alm wrote in his blog.

"My headwear has now been recognised by the Republic of Austria."

The spaghetti church was founded in 2005 in opposition to pressure on the Kansas school board in the United States to teach the theory of intelligent design in biology class as an alternative to evolution, and since then it has engaged in a light-hearted campaign against religion.

Key to the beliefs of pastafarians is that the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but, owing to the monster being inebriated at the time of creation, it has a flawed design.
And here's this from another article:It took three years for Alm to be able to take the photo, because he had to prove that he was psychologically fit to drive
That's the part that gets me. Because someone wants to wear something on his head in a driver's license photo for religious reasons, they have to be proven psychologically fit? Since when did THAT start? You don't see women wearing burqas or hijabs being asked to prove they are psychologically fit to dri.......oh, wait a minute, they still have to fight for their right to drive in a lot of places....scratch that.

Anyway, if a man wanted to wear a turban, or a yarmulke, I do believe that's allowed. Why? Why should we have to question if someone wants to wear something due to religious tradition? Even if it is a household object. Hell, more people DO things because of or in the name of religion that would make me think a psychological evaluation is in order. Compared to stoning people to death, beheading infidels, raping children, burning people at the stake or mutilating girls private parts, not to mention actually believing in the transubstantiation of a cracker and wine into flesh and blood and then ingesting it, let the man wear a pasta strainer on his head!

Back to some light-hearted stuff, though, by way of a couple of comments on one of the articles:"As a long time adherent to the Church of the FSM, this development is to be welcomed as it marks a true milestone: the ability, free of state interference, to join those of other religions in sporting utterly stupid headgear that serves no useful purpose.

And never let it be said that FSMism lacks rigour as a form of worship nor is short of rewards for the just and punishments for the unbelievers

Those with Meatitude will join the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the Great Pasta Bowl after death, where they will enjoy the Stripper Factories & the outpourings of fabled Beer Volcanoes for all eternity.

However, those who die rejecting the One True Spaghetti Monster will be sent to the Underground Freezer of Doom where there will be a great weeping and chattering of teeth plus an eternity of freezer burns. Stripper Factories & Beer Volcanoes are still provided but the beer is stale and the strippers have a wide and vile range of STD's.

As good as any other belief system"

"Eminently more sensible than the established world religions, more logical, more balanced, and far less oppressive. And no wars fought over it, and millions not killed and maimed in its name.

I hope it makes millions of converts at the expense of the others."

Craigslist sucks, part 2

2011-07-14T01:11:00.001-05:00

Here's part of the latest e-mail response I got from a job posting on Craigslist. First off, I never attach my resume to these Craigslist e-mail addresses, especially the anonymous ones. I ask for another e-mail address so I know if a company is legit first, since that is so few and far between.

As evidenced by the following response from one recent inquiry I made:

Hi,

Thank you for applying to the available position.

We have reviewed many applications and we have narrowed our selection down to five. Congratulations, you are one of the seven applicants we would like to interview at the end of next week!

And that's the part where I click 'delete'.

FAIL. Like Forrest Gump said, Stupid is as stupid does, folks.

A solar flare closeup

2011-07-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

I was watching a video from an article I saw online today of a comet that ended up flying into and melting into the sun recently. But then what blew me away was the video that followed afterward -- a closeup of a solar flare from June 7th. This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. It's like something out of a movie, but even cooler because it's reality.

Picture being taken? Flip 'em the bird! Dumbasses.

2011-07-10T02:36:00.000-05:00

Dear people who flip the bird at people who are taking your picture:

You're not funny. It's not original. You don't look mature doing it. And even if you're flipping the bird so the person won't take your picture -- get real, they're still going to take it.

It's ridiculous how the most random search for something online will almost guarantee that you'll come across a picture of someone flipping off a camera.

And society inches that much closer to the hole at the bottom of our cultural toilet bowl.

Rant over.

Goodbye, Space Shuttle program

2011-07-08T13:42:00.000-05:00

I've got my opinions on the end of the shuttle program. I'll keep them to myself, and instead just celebrate what has gone on over the last 30 years.

Thanks to CNN.com for the video.

Thank you, clients

2011-07-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

In this blog I try to keep my personal life and info out as much as possible. Some things leak through, but for the most part, I prefer to keep this blog as a private place of output.

That being the case, I know the people that this post is intended for will never read this. If they ever somehow happen to come across it by accident or whatever, they won't know it is meant for them.

I own my own business, amongst my other part-time jobs. In this practice, I work with or "on" other people in a healing/wellness environment, but it has nothing to do with doctors, hospitals, etc., even though it is very beneficial to health and well-being. That's all I'm gonna say about it.

The more important thing I'd like to express is this: to all my clients who are return clients and have given me very kind feedback and referrals -- Thank You! You're the best clients I could have asked for, and you are all wonderful, wonderful people. I consider myself very lucky.

Thank you, clients. You're honestly the best.

Jokes

2011-06-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

Found a couple good jokes, and feel like sharing them:

There is a beautiful white bear in the zoo who, some days, is very playful and friendly and other days he just lies in a dark corner and doesn't move. He's a bipolar bear.

Did you know there are female hormones in beer?
When you drink beer, you argue over trivial things, don't make any sense, start to cry and you lose your ability to drive.

A little old man shuffled slowly into an ice cream parlor and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool. After catching his breath, he ordered a banana split.
The waitress asked, 'Crushed nuts?'
'No, arthritis.'

Spammers need help with their spam

2011-06-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

Don't get me wrong. I hate receiving spam as much as the next guy. But I find it amusing that there are some spammers out there that think what they write in their e-mails fools anyone when they are so poorly written.

I received this one the other day (I'll highlight the wrong or misspelled words):

Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Source (try, Service, and when did the Dept. of the Treasury and the IRS combine like that?)

Important information about your tax return

We are unable to process your tax return

We recived your tax return. However, we are unable to process the return as field.

Our records indicate that the person identifiedas the primary taxpayer or spouse on the tax return did not provided all the required documents shown on the tax form. Our records are based on information received from the Social Security Administration.

Based on this information, the tax account for the individual has been locked

What you need to do

Print out the attached notification and list of missing documents, fill it in, add the documents and send the following information to the adress shown in the attached notification.

List of required documents:

1. A copy of this letter

2. Notification letter

3. A photocopy of valid U.S. Federal or State Government issued identification.

Keep this notice for your records. If you need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us

And of course they provide two attachments - one of them a zip file that I'm sure is full of some lovely spyware.

First off, if you're going to spam someone in the U.S., get your facts straight. Tax returns were due on April 15. Here it is the middle of June...WELL PAST the time when everyone not only should have filed, but also would have received their tax refunds...and you're sending out a spam about stalled tax returns NOW??!!??

And since when does the IRS (with whatever the 'S' stands for) need to get info from the Social Security office that the tax returns weren't complete? Huh??

And, oh dear, my 'tax account', whatever that is, has been locked. That would be great. That way I won't owe any more taxes. YAY!!

I do know that some people fall for this crap, especially the elderly. For that I have no patience. I'm not writing this post to give the spammers any tips, trust me. I'm sure that anything I put here will have no effect on the stupidity of spammers.

I do hope that any elderly people have others looking out for them, though. This spam, while obvious to me, is still much better written than some other atrocities. Some inexperienced computer users may fall victim to this one, which is, unfortunately, all it would take for a hacker to succeed.

(I know McDonald's has nothing to do with this. I just like how this picture matches my feelings in the matter)

Saudi women driving! Yay!

2011-06-18T03:18:00.002-05:00

I have made some posts on this blog recently regarding how ironic I thought it was upon seeing a (assumed) Muslim woman driving an SUV here in town while wearing the traditional headpiece known as a hijab. I had received a well-written comment from a Muslim woman in regards to the post, and very much appreciated the input.

My biggest point was how odd it looked to see a person wearing such an anachronistic piece of clothing yet driving a very modern vehicle. However, the secondary point to the post is that, hey, at least she's driving. Many Muslim women, especially in Saudi Arabia, are not allowed to drive due to religious tradition.

And that's just extremely stupid. If there was just one example of how religion has stunted the development of this world, I present to you the prohibition of women to do practically anything in Islam except have sex with their husbands. And let's not get me started on the Islamic regions and practices where women can be legally sold as "wives" by the hour. And I'm not kidding about that. Not to mention (from the article):
Such edicts also prevent women from opening bank accounts, obtaining passports or even going to school without the presence of a male guardian.
So I was overjoyed when I saw this article today about women taking the streets of Saudi Arabia in cars.

I know that this is a big step for the women who took part in this campaign, and I applaud them for their bravery. It (unfortunately) takes guts to do something like this in a country that behaves in this fashion.

And though I know some of the organizers of this protest did put out a list of edicts to follow so the women didn't get harassed or into too much trouble, my next recommendation would throw rebellion in the face of one such edict (wearing full Islamic dress) - show a little more skin! And I mean that in the nicest way possible, since women there are only allowed to have their hands and their eyes showing. (Why? Oh, it's just so the men have no possibility of getting excited. What a sexually repressed culture -- yet another behavior in which religion has effed things up for humanity) Perhaps just seeing more of a Saudi woman's face may be the next step?

Poop burgers, anyone?

2011-06-17T17:36:00.000-05:00

Next time you take a dump, why not just reach into the toilet and throw that crap into a baggie, toss it in the fridge, and enjoy it later for a midnight snack?

Cuz that's almost what it seems like we ought to do based on the research and project of this Japanese scientist.

Here's something that creeps me out almost as much as eating my fecal matter: why is his pointer in the shape of a female hand??

That McDonald's picture

2011-06-16T01:41:00.000-05:00

Always being on top of the breaking news story, I bring you the following: a few days ago this hoax thing regarding McDonald's became an internet sensation. Here's an article.

And here's the picture:

I echo some of the commentors on the article:
"What kind of people believe everything they see on the internet?"
"I'm not surprised people fell for it, people are stupid. Twitter lets people be stupid even quicker."
"Twitter is like a disease."

Look at the picture. It's inkjet paper, taped onto (the outside!) of the door with a poorly placed piece of masking tape. I mean, c'mon...really?!?

The Last Cicada

2011-06-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

I had taken my son to a local park/playground yesterday. While he was in the playground area, I sat at a picnic table nearby reading a book.

I had noticed that it had been getting quieter and quieter over the last several days as the recent brood of cicadas had been dying off.

For those of you not knowing what I'm writing about, over the past month or so a brood of cicadas that goes through a 13-year life cycle recently hatched out of the ground here in the U.S. southeast. Apparently the eggs stay underground to incubate for 13 years, and then the cicadas emerge, eat, mate, lay more eggs and die. (Which makes me wonder even more why, if there is a God, would he bother making such a creature?)

While the cicadas are above ground, eating, courting, mating, etc., they make a heck of a noise. One is loud enough. Get several thousand of them together in one park, and you literally have to raise your voice in order to speak to someone next to you.

I noticed yesterday that there were no more sounds of the cicada....until I heard one, just one, start to make its call.

And it got me thinking -- is this the last one to die? Or is it possible that this one is a late "hatcher" and missed all the action?

What would it be like for this single cicada if it had human capacity of thought?

Would it wonder why it was the only one of its kind? If it had some special purpose, so being?

Not in the Bible

2011-06-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

I loved seeing this article on the CNN.com Belief blog the other day. It was made all the more sweeter by the fact that it was the number one most-read story on CNN.com for a good chunk of the day it was posted. Meaning, more and more people are getting an education that some of the things they thought came from the Bible most definitely did not.

The article is about what are called "phantom verses" from the Bible -- popular sayings attributed to the Bible, but actually do not appear there.

Some examples include: “God helps those who help themselves", “Spare the rod, spoil the child”, “God works in mysterious ways” and “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

Admittedly, there are some sayings that, even though they don't appear word-for-word in the Bible, do have some approximations. For example: “Spare the rod, spoil the child” is a distillation of Proverbs 13:24: “The one who withholds [or spares] the rod is one who hates his son.”

So, in some cases the idea is there, though the words are not. But in others, the words never appear:NFL legend Mike Ditka was giving a news conference one day after being fired as the coach of the Chicago Bears when he decided to quote the Bible.

“Scripture tells you that all things shall pass,” a choked-up Ditka said after leading his team to only five wins during the previous season. “This, too, shall pass.”

Ditka fumbled his biblical citation, though. The phrase “This, too, shall pass” doesn’t appear in the Bible.

Bruce Wells, a theology professor...watched Ditka’s biblical blunder on local television when he lived in Chicago. After Ditka cited the mysterious passage, reporters scrambled unsuccessfully the next day to find the biblical source.

They should have consulted Wells, who is now director of the ancient studies program at Saint Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania. Wells says Ditka’s error probably came from a peculiar feature of the King James Bible.

“My hunch on the Ditka quote is that it comes from a quirk of the King James translation,” Wells says. “Ancient Hebrew had a particular way of saying things like, ‘and the next thing that happened was…’ The King James translators of the Old Testament consistently rendered this as ‘and it came to pass.’ ’’
Another segment of the article that I found enlightening is as follows (bolded emphasis mine):But people rarely challenge them because biblical ignorance is so pervasive that it even reaches groups of people who should know better...

Few catch on because they don’t want to - people prefer knowing biblical passages that reinforce their pre-existing beliefs, a Bible professor says.

“Most people who profess a deep love of the Bible have never actually read the book,” says Rabbi Rami Shapiro, who once had to persuade a student in his Bible class at Middle Tennessee State University that the saying “this dog won’t hunt” doesn’t appear in the Book of Proverbs.

“They have memorized parts of texts that they can string together to prove the biblical basis for whatever it is they believe in,” he says, “but they ignore the vast majority of the text."
Please do read the article in its entirety. In addition, there are two books I have read recently that do much the same in shining a light on what is actually in the Bible vs. what is not. They are "Shocked By The Bible" and "Good Book".

Hearts out to Joplin

2011-05-28T02:54:00.000-05:00

I honestly have not had much time recently to read or see in the news about the devastation caused by the recent tornado outbreaks through the country, especially in Joplin, Missouri. Until just a bit ago, when I sat down and read this linked story.

My wife and I recently donated some of our services in an auction to raise money for the victims of tornado damage through the Georgia and Alabama areas a few weeks back. If only I were able to do the same for these folks. I was just brought to tears by these stories, and my heart breaks for these families.

My thoughts are with you folks, and may healing come your way.

Harold Camping - continuing to string you along

2011-05-23T22:07:00.000-05:00

"Crapture" preacher Harold Camping now says the Rapture will happen in 5 months, on October 21st.
Saturday was "an invisible judgment day" in which a spiritual judgment took place, he said. But the timing and the structure is the same as it has always been, he said.

"We've always said May 21 was the day, but we didn't understand altogether the spiritual meaning," he said. "May 21 is the day that Christ came and put the world under judgment."

He had earlier said Oct. 21 was when the globe would be consumed by a fireball.
Ah. An "invisible" judgment day. Got it.

I'm going to make some "invisible" vomit now.

And the Rapture becomes the Crapture

2011-05-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

As expected, May 21st has come and gone in several parts of the world, and no earthquakes, volcanoes, dead rising from the grave, dogs and cats living together, or people being flung bodily straight up to heaven (wouldn't that hurt if you're inside your house? Would you get pulled so hard you'd smash through your ceiling, or would you just float around there until you could shimmy your way out a window or front door?).
After spending months traveling the country to put up Judgment Day billboards and hand out Bible tracts, Camping follower Michael Garcia planned to spend Friday evening with his family at home in Alameda, near the Christian media empire's Oakland headquarters.

They believe it will likely start as it becomes 6 p.m. in the world's various time zones.

"We know the end will begin in New Zealand and will follow the sun and roll on from there," said Garcia, a 39-year-old father of six. "That's why God raised up all the technology and the satellites so everyone can see it happen at the same time."

The Internet was alive with reaction in the hours past 6 p.m. Saturday in New Zealand.

"Harold Camping's 21st May Doomsday prediction fails; No earthquake in New Zealand," read one posting on Twitter.

"If this whole end-of-the-world thingy is still going on ... it's already past 6.00 in New Zealand and the world hasn't ended," said another.
But, as I posted about previously, now comes the interesting part. What are these followers of Harold Camping gonna do, especially since he guaranteed he wasn't wrong this time like he was in 1994? Use excuses? Blindly follow Camping's next prediction? Or worse -- will some of them pull a Heaven's Gate cult-thing and kill themselves to send them to God?

At least one organization is hoping to reach out to them (hopefully to truly help them, but probably getting them to convert their beliefs - and their donations - to the new church is certainly in the picture):Pastor Jacob Denys of Milpitas-based Calvary Bible Church plans to wait outside the nonprofit's headquarters on Saturday afternoon, hoping to counsel believers who may be disillusioned if the Rapture does not occur.

"The cold, hard reality is going to hit them that they did this, and it was false and they basically emptied out everything to follow a false teacher," he said.

It's the 21st of May somewhere, and all's well

2011-05-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

It's already May 21st on other parts of the planet rather than our "America-centric" lands of God, glory and hubris.

No one is reporting any disappearances so far. Do the predictions list a time, or is that much too specific?

"And something the else"

2011-05-20T14:19:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I was just reading one of the comments from a similar article as the one I posted about below regarding May 21, "Rapture day". You know, Pope Benedict XVI has said technology consumption poses a threat to religion and the Roman Catholic church. I agree, since living our lives based on books written thousands of years ago seems pretty damned stupid. However, technology certainly poses a threat to our intelligence and literacy/grammar skills, as evidenced by the comment I paste here, "as is":

And something the else. Im like super dissapointed that CNN, and any other news organization even got this shit posted on the home screen. STOP PLAYING INTO THIS OLD 89 YEAR OLD MAN'S MIND GAME!!! Stop being so freakin evil CNN (and any other news organization) Your causing a lot of anxiety, worry, and fear posting this BS up on the site. We could let this damn "perdiction" fly over like it was never said but our damn news orgaizations want to make a story out of it as if its something important. Right something worth while and stop trying to fill in the gaps with this nay sayer gibber jab lol. That pisses me off that you come to CNN to read the news and you see this and other "Judgement Day" related stories posted. Stop giving these damn decived people the time of day to decive millions of others. Im telling you that the news and the internet and what ever other entertainment media is the greatest outlet for the devil to decive and cause confusin. Take this bull crap down CNN gosh. #EPICFAIL

If you were to play a drinking game, say, "do a shot" at each grammatical and spelling error, you'd be dead from alcohol poisoning before you finished reading the comment in full.

Which ends first on May 21 -- the world, or families?

2011-05-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

Excellent article from the New York Times on MSNBC.com today regarding how the "Rapture" of May 21st is affecting families, most especially those with members who believe versus those who don't.

The family of focus is the Haddad-Carson family -- mom and dad, and three teenage children. Mom and dad are firm believers in the Rapture, but the children are not.

It's a bit sad when you read what the children have to say about the situation:

“My mom has told me directly that I’m not going to get into heaven,” Grace Haddad, 16, said. “At first it was really upsetting, but it’s what she honestly believes.”

And their 14-year-old son Joseph has this to say:

“I don’t really have any motivation to try to figure out what I want to do anymore,” he said, “because my main support line, my parents, don’t care.”

And the fervor with which some people believe in this is amazing, though not unexpected:
Gary Daniels, 27, said he planned to spend Saturday like other believers, “glued to our TV sets, waiting for the Resurrection and earthquake from nation to nation.” But he acknowledged that his family was not entirely behind him.

“I know I’m not going to see them again, but they are very certain they are going to see me, and that’s where I feel so sad,” he said. “I weep to know that they don’t have any idea that this overwhelming thing is coming right at them, pummeling toward them like a meteor.”
I know absolutely nothing. The world could end, but I highly doubt it. So my "faith" is just as strong as those people's. Regardless, let's just say that the Rapture doesn't take place and nobody disappears into the heavens tomorrow. What are these folks going to do afterward?

Rather than admit they were wrong, will they explain away that not a single person is good enough to get into heaven and God is damning the entire planet, and so there?

Will they try to go back to their jobs and their families and society apologetically, if not completely embarrassed?

Or will they say (yet again), "We got the date wrong?"

Meanwhile, what happens with these families that are split into different sides? How will that heal, if at all? I think in what certainly can either turn out to be a best-case or a worst-case scenario for those involved, the 22nd will have several situations like this occurring (emphasis in last paragraph is mine):
Kino Douglas, 31, a self-described agnostic, said it was hard to be with his sister Stacey, 33, who “doesn’t want to talk about anything else.”

“I’ll say, ‘Oh, what are we going to do this summer?’ She’s going to say, ‘The world is going to end on May 21, so I don’t know why you’re planning for summer,’ and then everyone goes, ‘Oh, boy,’ ” he said.

The Douglas siblings live near each other in Brooklyn, and Mr. Douglas said he could not wait until Sunday — “I’m going to show up at her house so we can have that conversation that’s been years in coming.”

I wanna go to a Rapture party

2011-05-19T23:33:00.000-05:00

The Christian Rapture is supposed to take place this Saturday. Doubt I'll be taking part in that. For one reason, I'll be working. Secondly, I'm not a Christian.

However, I'd like to go to one of these Rapture parties that non-theists, agnostics, atheists and other skeptics are putting on. But, gosh darn it, wouldn't you know that it doesn't seem like there's one going on here in Nashville - the self-proclaimed "buckle of the Bible Belt".

But seeing as how I am delivering pizzas that night (one of my three part-time jobs) maybe I can visit some private shindig at someone's home. I know Nashville has its non-Christians. We just don't conglomerate as much as the "regular people" do. But hey, if anyone is reading this in Nashville and having their own little private affair, order a pizza for delivery that night, and I'll come hang out with you for a few minutes. I won't say what part of town I work in, or what store I deliver for. And since divine guidance is out of the question, we'll let logic or whatever form of fate you feel comfortable with lead you to "get the door".

Dear Craigslist buyer who stood me up

2011-05-19T01:01:00.002-05:00

I've already posted about how I hate Craigslist in this town. But I just wanted to write this sweet little note:

Dear person who stood me up Tuesday,

Thank you for agreeing to buy my item, even going to far as to meet me at my location with the specific address and the phone number I gave you in case you needed to reschedule, or if something else came up. You were even kind enough to let me know it was your day off of work, so there should be no problem meeting with me.

I sat there for nearly an hour, just on the off-chance you were caught in traffic, or delayed in some other way.

You never showed up. Or called, for that matter, to say you weren't coming. I, meanwhile, spent the better part of that hour with my thumb up my ass. Had you finally arrived, I would have made you smell it.

Thanks for completely wasting my time, but then again, what should I expect? Follow-through? Riiiiiight.....

Of course, I was probably asking for this trouble when you had written "See you then!" in one of your reply e-mails before I had even given you an address.....

Perhaps I simply have myself to blame. *sigh*

Jingleheimer Junction

2011-05-03T14:29:00.004-05:00

Okay, so my previous post got me thinking about fun Saturday Night Live skits. I decided to post just one more of my favorites. Man, this is silly.

Massive Headwound Harry

2011-05-01T03:45:00.001-05:00

Don't ask me why I was thinking about this video today while I was working. Just enjoy.

Forgive me, but I love M. Night Shyamalan films

2011-04-27T15:40:00.003-05:00

So, being in a financial pickle lately, I've had to sell a few items in order to get some needed cash from time to time. Over the past year I've sold quite a big chunk of my CD collection, and more than a few DVDs.

I've gotten to the point now where I'm left with CDs and DVDs that I'd rather not part with. But, if need be, I'll certainly sell them. This past Monday I had one of those moments.

Here's what many of you would probably consider pretty sad. I have all of the M. Night Shyamalan films since "The Sixth Sense" on DVD. And I refuse to sell them.

Forgive me, but I love his films, even though I know some of them lately have been under par. The acting is fairly stiff in several of them, even the popular ones. I'll admit, "The Happening" isn't a good movie (or at least wasn't cast well). And even though people really hated "The Last Airbender", as someone who had never seen the original "Avatar" cartoon series, I had nothing to compare it to, and (mostly) liked it.

I don't know why, but there just is something about his film making that I really, really like. Especially the James Newton Howard scores. Awesome stuff, there. I also enjoy the Hitchcockian style that Shyamalan imitates. Unfortunately, since "Sixth Sense", everyone expects him to come up with some amazing twist ending. They're holding him to a pretty high bar that he set with that movie, and I don't think that's entirely fair.

And I don't know why some people get down on the plots. I heard that critics thought the twist to "The Village" was unrealistic. Like "Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", and "Signs" had plots that were more realistic?? And as for "Lady In The Water", just enjoy the storytelling, people. Disney's done waaaaaay stupider movies as far as plot is concerned there.

I hear what some folks are saying about his film making and wanting him to go back to school, and folks laughing in theaters when previews of his movies come up. Yes, indeed, when I saw "Inception", there was a preview for "Devil", and when the preview was done I heard one man turn to his companion in the theater and whisper "It's gonna suck." I thought "Devil" was actually a nice return to form - although Shyamalan was only the producer and not the director.

All in all, I'm a fan, plain and simple, and look forward to more stuff from him. Apparently Will Smith is set to star in his next film, and that may help things out a bit.

"The Mountain" video

2011-04-19T23:44:00.003-05:00

What beautiful videography. This was filmed on the top of Spain's highest mountain over a one week period just a few weeks ago. I'm assuming the steady lighting that looks like constant sunset in certain shots must be the lights from a city below.

This is how you make "Friday" enjoyable.

2011-04-10T01:14:00.002-05:00

They actually got me to enjoy this song. Bless them for making it sound fun fun fun fun.

Pole dancing for Jesus. Coming soon: Huffing for Yahweh.

2011-04-08T14:03:00.002-05:00

"And Jesus spake, saying, 'Thou art bendy and twirly on the staff of gyration. Verily, your sins, which are many, are forgiven, for you make fitness hot.'"

Say hello to some of our exo-solar neighbors

2011-04-03T19:12:00.003-05:00

This photo was just released showing the over 1000 exo-planets discovered by the Kepler mission. Each black dot is an image of a planet crossing in from of it's parent star, and you'll notice that some stars have more than one black dot.

All stars are arranged by size. The star that's not in order with the rest represents our sun, with its two black dots representing the sizes of Jupiter and Earth in comparison (you can barely make out Earth).

And this is just the planets discovered by Kepler; let's not forget the ones discovered through other methods of discovery.

Howdy, neighbors!

Hijab post #2

2011-04-02T23:55:00.002-05:00

Again, in my life of not-so-coincidence, CNN.com posted an article on their Belief Blog today discussing the hijab, or traditional Muslim head scarf that women wear. This coming just two days after my other (admittedly-not-best-written) post on my reaction and thoughts upon seeing a woman wearing a hijab driving an SUV.

All the more interesting is the fact that this new article takes place in Murfreesboro, which is about a 45 minute drive from where I live in Nashville.

I am writing this new post because a Muslim woman made an excellent comment on my other posting, and I wanted to give a bit more attention to the subject.

And some excerpts from the article:In Arabic, hijab roughly translates as “barrier” or partition. In Islam, it refers to the principle of modesty in behavior and dress, as described in the Quran: "Say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments.”

Women raised in the faith like the Sbenaty sisters say the moment to start wearing a hijab is theirs to choose.

For others who convert to Islam, like Ivy Balloul, a blue-eyed American raised as a Methodist, the hijab comes with her adopted faith. “This was part of me converting to Islam," she said. "You can’t divide it up into little pieces and pick and choose what you want. It’s a whole package.”

Ivy, married to the imam of the Murfreesboro mosque, has received negative comments for wearing a hijab. “One man said to me in the post office that I can take off my scarf, that I’m free here. Another woman felt like I was a traitor. A man called to me one day from his car telling me that, uh, I should go back home.”

But these experiences do not discourage her from covering her head.

“I feel like I have more respect. Before, I could be pumping gas in my car and some guy would whistle or make some type of catcall. It was an uncomfortable situation," she said.

"When you put on a scarf ... [you] know that people can’t look at you as a sexual object. The first time I put it on I felt more comfortable in my own skin.”
Yes, I hear what these women are saying about the hijab, and it being their choice, and how it makes them feel. But I also understand that this is yet another tradition from religion mandated by MEN to keep women in a lower place, not to mention that I still think (from my other post) that it looks out of place to see women wearing such an item. It would be as though my grocery clerk would be decked out like Moses, or my random neighbor wore outfits making him look like French royalty during the 1700's. A hijab just looks dated -- about 1500 years old, specifically.

I also wanted to dedicate some space to some of the random comments left on the CNN article:"These women are naive. They fail to understand that the tradition of the scarf comes from a place where women are slaves and property of men."

"How do you feel about the Amish? They cover their heads based on the BIBLE. The Muslims are no different. Christians have killed millions of people over the course of history in the name of God...sounds familiar? The BIBLE states that women are to be submissive and modest. Maybe these two religions aren't so different after all...."

"OF course, the main difference for the young muslim women in the US is that wearing the hijab is voluntary, they do it because they wish to. In most muslim countries, it is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of personal safety and staying out of prison or worse.
A side note: until a couple of decades ago, a head scarf was common attire for many women in Europe and in North America when they went out, it kept their hair in place, kept the rain off, kept them warm; many senior ladies in parts of Europe still wear a head scarf. A head covering still popular for traditional Indian women."

"I converted to Islam recently and understand why you guys are jealous and would love to see all the ladies naked but not our Muslim ladies. Our ladies are precious and valuable to us like our eyes and that is why they are covered and hidden from your eyes. And with the modesty and good behavior they will raise our kids the best way and will go to heaven while others will enjoy the heat in hell fire."

Another Not-So-Deep Thought

2011-03-31T00:58:00.003-05:00

Saw a woman driving today, but wearing a traditional head shawl such as Indian or Muslim women wear. It struck me as odd.

If you're going to propogate the culture by looking like you need protection to keep the sand out of your face and hair as you go to fetch water from the well, driving an Escalade in a Nashville suburb just makes you look all the more anachronistic.

Of course, it's probably not her fault. Her husband would surely punish her otherwise, speaking of things being anachronistic.

What day comes after Fried Eggs?

2011-03-30T19:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, so, me being the person with the "last-to-know" syndrome, I just finally got around to watching that "Friday" video by Rebecca Black. This song has gotten slammed, ripped apart, parodied, and just generally made fun of by almost everyone in just a few weeks. It apparently is the most "disliked" video on YouTube right now, even though its claim to fame was getting 2,000,000 hits in the first week, potentially making Rebecca the next breakout star via YouTube, ala Justin Bieber.

For the three other people in the world who haven't seen the video, here it is:

Yep, it's a bad video. And a bad song. And Rebecca Black's not the greatest singer, but not bad for 13. Considering that when I sing, I sound like a cross between Gilligan and Gargamel choking a chinchilla, she's got potential.

But after I watched it today, I knew that she didn't write the song. Apparently her parents coughed up a couple thousand dollars to a company that allows kids the opportunity to record a song, make a video, etc. She was given a choice between two songs. Admirably, she picked "Friday" because it was about having fun, while the other song was about adult love, which she felt she couldn't sing about.

Now it just so happens in my world of coincidences that on the same day I watch the video and wonder who of all people could be responsible for writing such an underwhelming musical masterpiece, an article came out this afternoon introducing us to the man responsible. It's Patrice Wilson, the "rapper" you see in the middle of the video, and the owner of that promotional company.

"'Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards.' I mean, everybody knows that, obviously, but I wanted the song to be simple and kind of sweet," Wilson says in the interview. "People talk so much about how silly or stupid the lyrics are, but pop songs, they're meant to be catchy and to tell things in a simple kind of way. I feel bad that Rebecca has been getting so many people criticizing the song. Because it was me that wrote it.”

Since "Friday" went viral, even celebrities have been commenting on the online phenomenon; while Miley Cyrus told an Australian newspaper, "It should be harder to be an artist," Lady Gaga called Rebecca "a genius" while defending the tween singer during a Q&A last week. Conan O'Brien made his own parody video claiming "Friday" was a rip-off of his song "Thursday," and now Stephen Colbert is slated to perform the song this Friday on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.".

Despite the enormous amount of negative feedback surrounding "Friday," Rebecca has undeniably received amazing exposure from the video. She performed her song on "The Tonight Show," was interviewed on "Good Morning America," peaked at number 19 on the iTunes charts, and is estimated to have made at least $20,000 from YouTube ad revenue and tens of thousands more from digital song sales.

I don't know what made this song of all songs/videos the one to go viral....well, yes I do, the song is horrible, and the video even more lame...but I hope Rebecca and her family get the most out of this experience. I doubt Miley Cyrus will have to worry about Rebecca stealing the limelight that much more after "Friday" is done.

Cuz tomorrow is Saturday. And Sunday comes afterwards.

Victoria Jackson vs. Glee -- at least she's going down swinging. Or flailing. Whatever.

2011-03-22T17:26:00.003-05:00

Again (based on previous posts), I don't watch Glee. Never seen an episode. But the show certainly seems to have the tendency to get some attention, doesn't it?

Now we have a gay kiss between two male characters. And among the people bashing the scene is former Saturday Night Live comedian Victoria Jackson. Remember her? The ditzy blonde with the squeaky-squeak voice? Apparently she's an uber-right-wing-Tea-Party-Bible-thumper these days.

And typical of people like this, rather than actually think about what the message in the Bible actually is, she starts waving the book around, quoting random Bible passages that suit her needs, and can't answer a question without throwing Jesus in our face.

I became uncomfortable watching this following video because the only thing she can use as a defense is the Bible. So that means she obviously hasn't actually ever read the entire thing. In my opinion, if you can read the full Bible and still want to be on the side of the Judeo-Christian ethic afterward, then you must not understand what you have read.

And Daniel Dennett wrote in his book "Breaking The Spell":Anybody can quote the Bible to prove anything, which is why you ought to worry about being overconfident.

Victoria, do you know why there are no shows that your children can watch without "making them gay"? Because religion is gonna blow itself up one day. It's outdated, and no longer relevant. Eventually it will fade away (unfortunately probably not without taking a few million more lives in It's name in the process). And TV and other media know it.

I'm not saying immorality is the way to go. I like morals just as much as the next guy, but I don't need a book written by men claiming to have gotten messages from the Invisible Man In The Sky to know what's moral versus what is not. I know not to kill or steal. But if two guys want to fall in love, or two girls want to fall in love, what's wrong with that? It's not sin, it's nature.

Think I'm wrong? Homosexuality also exists in the animal kingdom. I don't think they saw Glee this week.

And honestly, Glee seems much more riveting than your blathering on and on in this interview. I wouldn't be surprised if some fellow uber-right-wing-Tea-Party-Bible-thumpers saw the interview and said to themselves, "Oh, great...that helped out tons."

Apparently playing ditzy characters on SNL didn't come as much of a stretch for her.

Rob Bell - not your typical Christian

2011-03-19T21:03:00.003-05:00

Though I still disagree with the religion, I think his take on things is refreshing.

Moving your stuff

2011-03-15T02:30:00.002-05:00

Moving is a pain in the arse, it really is. We just recently moved, and now that the dust has settled a little bit (though I still feel like I'm living in Sanford & Son's junkyard with the piles of boxes and miscellaneous crappage around here), I pause to reflect on this celebrated moment.

This moment -- moving. Realizing just how much stuff you have (or may not have). And even though we are trying to simplify, we still have a lot of crap. I tend to think it's mostly my wife's stuff that's taking up the most room (I get an eighth of our closet), but then she'll point out things of mine that she doesn't think I need to hang onto anymore either, yada yada yada......

Point being, I'm amazed at all this stuff. And you'd think I'd have gotten used to it, for someone who has moved 11 times in the past 18 years. But no, no I haven't.

In honor of all the shit, stuff and crap we humans own, I turn the rest of this post over to Master George Carlin, for his own classic take on "Stuff".

Fudd

2011-03-11T01:14:00.001-06:00

Yeah. It's one of those days where I don't really give a crap and just feel like putting up a picture of Elmer Fudd.

What!! You don't have days like that???!!?!

Meet John Dominic Crossan

2011-02-27T20:33:00.003-06:00

I just read a nice article on CNN.com's Belief Blog about John Dominic Crossan.

John is a 77-year-old Jesus and Bible scholar and former priest. He still considers himself very much a Christian, but his views of Jesus relayed through his books has really, really irked the Church.

Go get 'em, tiger!

Please take a look at the linked article, but here's a snippet explaining one of the reasons he got to where he is today:

When he entered a monastery at 16, church leaders told him they wanted him to be a scholar because he had already taken five years of Latin and Greek.

He became a priestly prodigy: ordained by 23; a doctorate at 25. He studied in Rome and Jerusalem, and eventually became a New Testament scholar who became known as an authority on the parables of Jesus. (Crossan saw them as subversive literary gems.)

His days as a priest would end, though, because of the same forces that shaped the rest of his career: the clash between church dogma and scholarly truth.

Crossan says it was "bliss" being a priest and scholar in the mid-1960s because the Roman Catholic Church had instituted a series of modernizing reforms.

But conservative church leaders fought those reforms, and Crossan says they pressured him to steer his research toward conclusions that reinforced church doctrine.

"It's like you're a scientist in research and development, and you say that this drug is lethal, and they say, 'Find something good in it,' '' Crossan says...

...Crossan says Jesus was an exploited "peasant with an attitude" who didn't perform many miracles, physically rise from the dead or die as punishment for humanity's sins.

Jesus was extraordinary because of how he lived, not died, says Crossan, one of the world's top scholars on the "historical Jesus," a field in which academics use historical evidence to reconstruct Jesus in his first-century setting.

"I cannot imagine a more miraculous life than nonviolent resistance to violence," Crossan says. "I cannot imagine a bigger miracle than a man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square."

In another time, Crossan's views would have been confined to scholarly journals. But he and his best-selling books, including the recent "Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography," have changed how biblical scholars operate.

Crossan believes the public should be exposed to even the most divisive debates that scholars have had about Jesus and the Bible. He co-founded the Jesus Seminar, a controversial group of scholars who hold public forums that cast doubt on the authenticity of many sayings and deeds attributed to Jesus.

Craigslist sucks in Nashville

2011-02-24T20:17:00.003-06:00

Don't let the title of this post confuse you. I actually like using Craigslist and have sold a good number of things, especially lately. I've been trying to sell stuff on Craigslist here in Nashville for a long time. Some things took nearly six months, other things can be responded to in less than an hour.

When I say it sucks, I mean that you'll get an email from a person who says they are interested in your item, you reply back with some more info or try to set up a date and time to meet for the transaction, and then - nothing. You never hear from them again.

I've talked with another person here in town who hates selling things on CL here in Nashville for that exact same reason. He used to live in San Francisco and Craigslist is apparently much more reliable there.

So what gives, Nashville? You say you want an item, and then when the seller contacts you...what....you freeze up? Don't know what to do?

Believe me, I wouldn't post about this if it weren't for the fact this happens ALL THE TIME. We're about to move, so I've got lots of items up for grabs. People, don't waste my time. If you're not gonna respond, don't dangle that frickin' e-mail carrot in the first place. Oh, and I've gotten wise to you jokers who respond with just "Is the item still available?" That's a scam I'll be avoiding, thank you very much.

And I know it's probably not just a Nashville thing. There are a few more people out there with the same frustrations I have. But it's frickin' annoying!

Thank you. Stepping down from soapbox. Carry on.

Dumb things

2011-02-16T16:44:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted, and I was getting nervous that my millions of loyal readers would start vacating. So I am here to throw a nonsense post up on this blog for your enjoyment. I hope you appreciate the hard work.

I love to type in random things into Google and see what images come up. Today (for the purpose of doing this very, very important posting) I entered "today's dumb thing".

Here are the top three images that came up.

You're welcome.

Oh, and just because I saw it, and it's funny, and because you know that this is exactly what the cat's gotta be thinking:

Can't we give that Glee girl Lea Michele a break?

2011-02-05T01:43:00.010-06:00

Let me start off by saying that I have never watched a single episode of the TV show Glee. I certainly have heard about it, and know that it's immensely popular. I see soundtracks from the show pop up on iTunes on a fairly regular basis.

I also have seen over the past several months that the stars of Glee have made headlines for some controversial photoshoots, especially the main star of the show, Lea Michele.

Apparently Lea plays the "good girl, overachiever" type of high school kid on the show. And that's the key thing here -- all these "kids" are actually adults. So when Lea gets asked to do a photoshoot where things get a little sexy, sort of "bad girl" instead, she goes for it. And why not? She's an adult, and she is not the character she portrays. Perhaps she likes the sexy thing more than the bookworm thing?

That leads her to pictures like this cover of Rolling Stone:

These from Glamour (including the shot they used for the cover):

These shots from GQ, for which she got a lot of flack:

And ads like this (for which she interestingly got no flack):

Now we get to the newest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, with Lea on the cover. Showing lots of cleavage. Wow....that's like, what, brand new to a magazine like Cosmo, huh? (The GQ cover is also seen here)

And apparently the claws came out on the public known as "mothers everywhere":

These peeved parents say Michele, as an actress who plays a high school student on a TV show watched largely by teen and pre-teen viewers, has a responsibility to their kids to keep things a little more buttoned up.

“I think Lea Michele is sending the wrong message. She plays such a ‘good girl’ on ‘Glee’ and a lot of kids look up to her persona. Then she poses very provocatively on two magazine covers which makes my almost-13-year-old son very confused and offended...”

Hmm. I wonder if she asked her son that. Cuz I know when I was thirteen, I doubt that "offended" would be one of the feelings I'd have upon seeing a shot like that.

And there's part of the point. How are kids seeing that? Most of the time the Cosmo's are covered up by a plastic doohickey so you can't see most of the magazine's cover at the grocery checkout aisle anyway. So is this magazine coming directly to the home? Well, does sonny boy need to see mom's sex magazine laying around the house in the first place, then? Cuz let's face it, with regular taglines of "The Sex Quiz", "For His Thighs Only" and "Get Naked" on the cover of your subscription, that's pretty much what you're telling me you get the magazine for. And, oh gee, it's an adult woman on the cover of your magazine, not a teenager. As a rep from Cosmo said:“We’re thrilled to feature Lea Michele on the March cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and think she looks stunning. Michele is a grown woman and Cosmopolitan is a magazine is for adults...”
I couldn't help but recall a similar situation going on with actress Amy Adams recently, yet I heard absolutely NO one raising any hell over the fact that the star of the very popular children's movie Enchanted, as well as the co-star of the very popular family film Night At The Museum 2 was in a very similar state of clothing on a recent cover of Marie Claire with a tagline reading "The world thinks I'm so innocent, but it's not true."

Why the double standard? Is it just because Lea Michele plays a teenager? If it's not, and the problem is that "wholesome characters" shouldn't be portrayed as sexy, then why did Amy Adams get off scott-free?

Can these women never act like anything other than the character she plays on TV or in movies? That's a tough and unfair expectation.

Day photos at night

2011-02-01T12:11:00.004-06:00

I ran across an article today that showed something I thought was pretty cool. Photographs that look like they were taken in the daytime but were actually taken at night -- often when some form of electric lighting is near, or the full (or near-full) moon is in the sky.

The unfortunate thing is that a bunch of commentors are claiming it's all done in Photoshop. Now I'm not a pro photographer, but I do have a camera where adjustments to the F-stop and the aperture can be made, as well as timed shots. It's unfortunate, but I'm guessing most of the people screaming "Photoshop! Photoshop!" have never played around with a camera more advanced than a point-and-click -- even a digital one.

I've had to tell people in the past that photos can look like they were manipulated even though they aren't -- it's all in how you take the shot. I've had some people try to be fooled by other's photo trickery (camera moving while shot was being taken, or smoke from their cigarette causing distortions to make it look like something supernatural was in the shot), but sometimes people just don't get it - or won't get it - unless you can replicate the shot for yourself.

In any case, here are some of the cooler shots that were all taken at night. The full gallery can be located here, along with descriptions of how some of the shots were taken, what camera, what lens, F-stop, aperture and time they used.

Two suns by 2012, huh? What a misleading title....

2011-01-21T16:34:00.012-06:00

Oy. Oy, frickin' oy. These people, they make my head spin.

There's proof that the star Betelgeuse (which is a huge freaking red-giant star in the constellation Orion's shoulder) is losing mass. Meaning, it's probably entering the last stage of its life, where it eventually burns through all of its fuel, collapses upon itself, and goes =BOOOM=, supernova.

Here are some visual aids. Where Betelgeuse can be seen:

How big Betelgeuse is in comparison to other stars and the Earth. Betelgeuse is HUGE (panel 5):

And a computer generated image as to what it may look like in the night sky when Betelgeuse explodes:

But that's hardly telling. It's said that because Betelgeuse is relatively near us (around 640 light years away) that the explosion will be bright enough to be brighter than the full moon, and even bright enough to be seen clearly in the daytime. It may even be that for a few weeks or a few months, there won't be any "night time" if Betelgeuse were to explode in the late fall or winter months (when it appears in our night sky) because of how bright it would be.

So what's got me riled up? Because for absolutely NO GOOD REASON, some dork, with an article featured on Time magazine's online site of all places, is trying to tie this in with the "DOOMSDAY 2012" thing, even though this explosion may just as likely happen millions of years from now as it could next year. And why tie it in? To get headlines.

Seriously? A headline of "Will the Earth Have Two Suns in 2012?" is not anywhere even close to representing what actually is going on. Many times, people see headlines, and that's it. They don't read the story, but they figure they have all the info they need from that headline. Betelgeuse will not enter our solar system, but people will think that's what will happen. It may not explode in 2012, but people will think that's what will happen. People will think an exploding star means immediate problems on, if not the complete destruction of, Earth. But what people forget is the speed of light.

Only light travels at the speed of light. And because Betelgeuse is 640 years away, that means the light you see from that start today, actually left that star 640 years ago. If Betelgeuse suddenly brightened up like crazy this very moment, that means the explosion actually happened 640 years ago, and we're just seeing it now.

Any other particles will travel slower, and may take centuries more to reach us. Though there are some slight risks. We've not had a star this close go supernova before, and this sort of "cause" is not without an "effect". From Wikipedia:

Professor J. Craig Wheeler of The University of Texas at Austin predicts the supernova will emit 1053 ergs of neutrinos, which will pass through the star's hydrogen envelope in around an hour, then reach the solar system several centuries later. Since its rotational axis is not pointed toward the Earth, Betelgeuse's supernova is unlikely to send a gamma ray burst in the direction of Earth large enough to damage ecosystems. The flash of ultraviolet radiation from the explosion will likely be weaker than the ultraviolet output of the Sun. The supernova could brighten to an apparent magnitude of −12 over a two-week period, then remain at that intensity for 2 to 3 months before rapidly dimming. The year following the explosion, radioactive decay of cobalt to iron will dominate emission from the supernova remnant, and the resulting gamma rays will be blocked by the expanding envelope of hydrogen. If the neutron star remnant becomes a pulsar, then it could produce gamma rays for thousands of years.

Gamma rays increasing is probably not a lovely thing, but the neutrinos passing through us is not that uncommon -- tons of neutrinos pass through us constantly from the our own sun right now. Way more than would be coming from Betelgeuse.

All that being said, though, there is absolutely no need to tie this into the "2012 world-ending" scenario that has way too many people freaked out, other than to sensationalize. I'm really surprised and disappointed at Time magazine for teasing this article in that manner.

Thank goodness the folks FOXNews.com have an article setting this straight.

Which is kinda funny because normally I'd have those two news sources switched around....

There is also this post which gets it's facts straight without the "Hollywoody" type banter.

And to finalize, from Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy (a link to that site is available on the right-hand side of this page), and this was two years ago:

Having said all that, I’ll note that someday, Betelgeuse will explode. That’s for certain! But it’s also way too far away to hurt us. A supernova has to be no farther than about 25 light years away to be able to fry us with light or anything else, and Betelgeuse is 25 times that distance (which means its power to hurt us is weakened by over 600x). It’s the wrong kind of star to explode as a gamma-ray burst, so I’m not worried about that either.

At that distance, it’ll get bright, about as bright as the full Moon. That’s pretty bright! It’ll hurt your eyes to look at it, but that’s about it. The original post says it may get as bright as the Sun, but that’s totally wrong. It won’t even get 1/100,000th that bright. Still bright, but it’s not going to cook us. Even if it were going to explode soon. Which it almost certainly isn’t.

Two more vids about the "new zodiac"

2011-01-14T16:26:00.003-06:00

Hi there. If you just jumped to this specific post from a search engine or something, please visit these three other pages to follow on this blog what's been going on with astrology and the zodiac:

1. From May 2008 - Your Astrological Sign May Not Be What You Think It Is
2. From March 2008 - Amazing - video #2
3. From yesterday - The 13th Zodiac Sign Is Starting To Get Attention

Once again, nothing "official" has changed with the zodiac signs. But I wanted to add two more videos since this story is getting so much publicity. Like the astronomer in the first video said, this story comes out every few years anyway, but this time it went viral. Who knows why.

Personally, I'm glad it did, because I don't know how many times I, personally, have tried to explain this to people over the past 5 or 6 years since I first realized it.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The 13th Zodiac sign is starting to get attention

2011-01-13T19:04:00.004-06:00

I noticed just now that the #1 trending search item on Yahoo at this moment is "13th Astrological Sign".

This is, of course, referring to Ophiuchus, a constellation between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Lots of people are misreporting this as something totally unexpected and brand new for 2011 (it's not, really), but no "official change" has actually been made to your horoscope.

So what's the deal with this? First off, here is an article that tells us that because some reporter in Minneapolis wrote an article about this and had it featured in the newspaper, people are suddenly talking. It's not new info to about 0.5% of the population, but to the rest of the 99.5% of people who don't get it, or try to and still don't, or could give a flying f***, it's absolutely appalling, shocking, crazy, and the next thing you know, the conspiracy theorists are lumping this in with the dead birds (because of course this must just be happening in America) as a sign of the end times and promoting the secrecy of scientists and the withholding of information.

Really? That's what one news report can do? Make people think they're being kept in the dark about something that's been a scientific fact for thousands of years, and all that would need to be done to learn this info is a little research on their own?

The world's not ending, Ophiucus has been up in the sky the whole time, and yes, your zodiac sign (if that means something to you) probably isn't the true "star sign" you were born under.

I'll simplify it as best I can. That doesn't mean the explanation is short, though. Oh, and I really feel that seeing examples is best, so I've included some videos here. Not all of them are great, but I've tried to include the ones that I feel do the best job describing things to the layperson.

As I wrote about in an earlier post of mine from May of 2008, what you think your "sign" is, probably hasn't actually been your real sign for a thousand years now.

Besides spinning on it's axis in 24 hours, the earth wobbles around its axis, like a top.

Here's a simple video to illustrate.

The wobble is not as fast as that, though, so we don't notice it as much. This "wobble" takes 26,000 years to go around completely once. Meaning that during those 26,000 years, the stars will appear in different positions than they do today. The best and most common example you may have heard is that Polaris hasn't always been the North Star. Sometimes the north pole points toward a different star during our planet's lifetime. 6000 years ago the "North Star" was a star called Thuban in the constellation Draco. 12,000 years from today, the star Vega will be the "North Star". 26,000 years from today Polaris will once again be what we call the North Star. And at many points during that cycle, we won't even have a true "North Star" at all, but will have to use a star that is "close enough" to the north pole as a traditional navigational aid.

Here's another video. This one gets slightly more complicated, but just focus on the fact that as you're looking at the Earth, there is that wobble again, okay? And later in the video, the yellow line that the north pole traces is the path of what the north pole points to in the sky during that 26,000 year cycle. Lastly, the second video shows you the constellations that contain the stars that will at some point during that 26,000 years will be the "north star" (or closest to being right over the north pole), starting 5000 years ago with Thuban, and ending up back at Thuban 26,000 years later. Notice Polaris, the tail of the Little Dipper or "Ursa Minor" (the little bear) becoming the north star around the 8 or 9 second mark of the video, representing about 2000 to 3000 years ago, battling for that right with another star from Camelopardalis for a hundred years or so, and then staying the north star right through to about 1500 years from now, when many different stars within the constellation Cepheus will get a turn for almost 10,000 years.

Besides that, all of the stars we see in the night sky today appear to change to different positions as the year goes by. This is because of the Earth going around the sun, and is normal, and everyone experiences this. For example, in the northern hemisphere, it is common to see the very recognizable constellation of Orion at night only during the winter months, right? So every year, you expect to start seeing Orion at night as fall approaches.

Well, 13,000 years from now, because of Earth's wobble, Orion will be a summer constellation instead! Then, another 13,000 years after that, Orion will be back to being a winter constellation once more. Here's the kicker that'll make you think even more...if Orion will be a summer constellation in 13,000 years, that means that Orion already WAS a summer constellation 13,000 years ago. Try telling people from those two era that Orion is a winter constellation and they'll think you were nuts, just as it seems nuts that Orion could be anything other than a winter constellation to us today.

Another example: In the picture below, the spot where the two red dotted lines meet is the place the sun would appear against the zodiac stars on the first day of spring at three different periods of time. You can see that it's in a different spot throughout time. 3500 years ago in 1500 B.C.E. it was well within the boundary of Aries, but a little less than 2000 years ago in the year 150 C.E. it is firmly within the boudaries of Pisces. In around 600 years from now, though, the first day of spring will start happening in Aquarius. This, by the way, is the meaning of the "Age of Aquarius" - when the first day of spring begins in Aquarius. A lot of people think we're already in the Age of Aquarius, but alas, we're not there quite yet.

So, what does all that have to do with astrology?

Astrology as we know it was designed around 2000 years ago. 2000 years ago isn't too much of a significant change for what many people would notice in the sky and stars. For example, Orion was still roughly a winter constellation at that time. However, the astrological signs as they were set up back then have appeared to slide over slightly. Now, when I write the word 'slightly', it's actually significant in the world of astrology. Because 2000 years is enough time for the 12 signs to pretty much be all off by one month!

The signs are supposed to represent what constellation it appeared the sun was in on the day you were born. I, for example, was born on December 27th, so my sign should be Capricorn. Problem is, the sun actually appears to be in Sagittarius, not just today, or the day I was actually born on, but for several hundred, if not around 1000 years now.

Here's a video that is meant to have us following Earth around in it's yearly orbit. The little marker on the opposite side of the sun from Earth is the indicator that tells us what "zodiac" we're in. Remember that the winter solstice is on December 21st. That's within Capricorn's traditional timeframe, right? Well, based off of this video animation, take a look at what constellation the sun appears to be in on that date. It's Sagittarius!! And this isn't make-believe, this is really what's going on in the heavens right now.

This is being caused by that wobble. Another 2000 years and the winter solstice will be occurring in Scorpio, and so on, and so on. In 12,000 years, Gemini will be a winter constellation/zodiac sign!

Oh, and the 13th zodiac constellation? It's Ophiucus. It's a constellation that's always been there, but never was included in the official zodiac. From the linked article:[Ophiucus was] a formation the ancient Babylonians discarded because they wanted 12 star signs, not 13. That's yet another example of how astrologers cherry-pick and ignore astronomical observations, [Joe] Rao (SPACE.com's skywatching columnist and a lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium) said.

"It's crazy," Rao said. "Really, they have their own set of rules."
Matter of fact, Ophiucus is a "zodiac" constellation from November 29th to December 17th, so it's only a few days off of being the winter solstice sign. Give it another 500 years and it will be.

Feel free to check this all out for yourselves. There's plenty of info out there if you just look for it.

Oh, and here are the constellations that the sun appears to be in during the year. So if astrologers ever do want to catch up with science, this would be the new ball game:

Aries: April 17 - May 13
Taurus: May 14 - June 19
Gemini: June 20 - July 20
Cancer: July 21 - August 9
Leo: August 10 - September 15
Virgo: September 16 - October 30
Libra: October 31 - November 22
Scorpio: November 23 - November 28
Ophiuchus: November 29 - December 17
Sagittarius: December 18 - January 17
Capricorn: January 18 - February 15
Aquarius: February 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 12 - April 16

More of this creepy dead bird thing in Alabama

2011-01-13T12:40:00.002-06:00

Alright. What's up with this?

I realize blackbirds are more of a flocking bird than, say, cardinals or blue jays, so that's why we're not seeing this mass death thing of hundreds at a time happen to those species. But, c'mon, what the heck is going on??

Power Balance? Well, at least they're being honest.

2011-01-10T15:14:00.004-06:00

It came out this week that "Power Balance Bracelets", often used by sports figures and athletes to give them a more competitive edge, are bunk. Bunk, bunk, bunk. They don't work. Nothing special about them.

Well, let's put it this way, the only thing special is that the maker itself is the one saying that the bracelets are bunk, bunk, bunk, instead of just a scientist, lawyer, or some such.

The company began selling bracelets in 2007 embedded with holograms that were purportedly designed to interact with the body's natural energy flow.

Since then, the colorful wristbands, which sell for $29.95, have become ubiquitous, donned by Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom and English celebrity soccer star David Beckham.

They have also been worn by celebrities, including actors Robert De Niro and Gerard Butler.

The company sold $8,000 of merchandise in its first year and expects more than $35 million in sales in 2010.

...Australian authorities say the California-based company behind the wildly popular wristbands and pendants has no business claiming that they improve balance, strength and flexibility.

And they even got Power Balance to admit it.

The company wrote: "We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims." It also agreed to give refunds to customers who believe they were cheated.

On its web site, Power Balance features video footage of athletes holding their arms out and resisting downward pressure in trials with and without the bands.

A Wisconsin professor ran similar tests comparing the performance of 42 athletes wearing Power Balance wristbands and silicon versions from Wal-Mart and said he found no difference.

Athletes were more likely to perform better wearing the second bracelet they put on, largely because they knew what to expect from the trial, said John Porcari, professor of exercise and sport science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

"I think it is a scam," he said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the bracelets. It is all in people's heads."

This effect reminds me of a few books out there in the world...

What is the future of God?

2011-01-08T02:31:00.004-06:00

I recently learned of a discussion had almost a year ago now (boy, you see why I could never be a blogger that is followed by the masses? Certainly no breaking stories here, by gum...) featuring several renowned authors and speakers. It was featured on ABC's Nightline program as part of their "Face-Off" specials, and I found it captivating. It provided no answers, of course, but the debate is the thing.

The debate was called "The future of God?" The four involved were physician and author Deepak Chopra, philosopher and writer Jean Huston, publisher of "Skeptic" magazine Michael Shermer, and "The End of Faith" author Sam Harris. And may I just say that the four of them together provide an amount of intelligence and knowledge on one stage that I wish I could see more often.

I think some of the debaters presented themselves better than others (in my opinion, Michael Shermer only made one or two really valid hits), and I didn't know Deepak was so loud. But I thought it made for fascinating viewing and fascinating thinking.

I provide for you here the first two opening segments, introducing the panelists, and the ending segment, but please visit the Nightline website to see all the segments. You'll need two hours to go through the whole thing, but I hope you'll find it to be worth it. Including, and especially, some of the comments and questions from audience members. Compare that time spent to sitting through a viewing of Hudson Hawk, and, well.....but, hey, one man's trash, I suppose.

Most interesting, besides Harris and Shermer (the obvious atheists), Chopra and Huston also argue that the "God of religion" really has no place anymore for us. The "God of the future" will be something much different, and much more open. Whether scientists and spiritualists can agree on what that is, I don't know, but I'm all for it.

In addition, please note that of the seven "Face-Offs" ABC/Nightline have done, three of them deal with issues of questioning aspects of religion or spirituality ("The Existence of God" and "Does Satan Exist?").

What's killing all the birds and fish?

2011-01-06T13:38:00.004-06:00

I am not a scientist. I am not a wildlife expert. I am also not a conspiracy theorist, or an end-times proselytizer.

But all these stories of birds and fish dying is, you have to admit, kinda creepy.

First off, there were the 4000 to 5000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings that started falling from the sky just before New Year's in Arkansas. People are saying that it may have been caused from fireworks, or a hailstorm.

And actually, even though this was the story that started all the attention, according to this article (which gives a lot more detail about the birds), one week before the birds died:

...about 83,000 dead and dying drum fish washed up along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, about 100 miles west of Beebe. Wildlife officials say the fish deaths are not related to the dead birds, and that because mainly one species of fish was affected, it is likely they were stricken by an illness. Full test results could take up to a month.

Then, lo and behold, three days later 500 more of the same kinds of birds (along with some sparrows) show up dead one state south - in Louisiana.

Today, we learn that there are 2 million (!!) dead fish washed up in Maryland.

Experts say these kinds of things do happen. I buy that. But does this happen all at the same time? If it does, is it just becoming known this time because it makes for good news headlines to have all these things happening so close together?

Personally, I'm curious why it was mostly red-winged blackbirds in both locations hundreds of miles away from each other. That's the thing I'm a little freaked out about.

But, THANK GOODNESS the experts have been called in to let us know that God is not signalling the end of the world! Good old Kirk Cameron was asked his thoughts on all this, and has stated:

...I think it's really kind of silly to try to equate birds falling out of the sky with some kind of an end-times theory.

Wow, he and I actually agree!

Anywho, I hope we get some answers that make sense in the weeks to come (barring any "Don't trust the government reports, maaaan. They'll hide the truth! It's a new electro-super-weapon, maaaan!" kind of skepticism, that is).

The homeless radio man. Talk about right place and right time!

2011-01-05T15:32:00.005-06:00

What a wonderful story. Ted Williams was a former radio announcer who has recently been homeless. After a reporter posts a video of him online, a mere 24 hours later this man has offers for a home, jobs -- tons of fortune.

It's inspiring, and I'm speaking from my own experience of someone who has been laid off almost two years now, still hasn't been able to get full-time work, unemployment benefits are done, and my savings will be gone within a short matter of time unless something changes. And having previously been in the radio business as well, it's all the more touching to me. I'm very happy for Ted, and it gives me more hope that things happen for a reason, and can turn around in an instant -- whether by drive, or by luck.

The wheel of fortune is always turning.

I love it when Josh Groban is on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

2011-01-05T00:53:00.004-06:00

Oh, and I can't forget the first video he helped out with:

Oh, and because Jimmy mentioned it, here's the Star Wars Kid video:

Oh, and because it's even funnier, here's the Star Wars Kid edited with special effects:

Oh, and because I like Yoda:

Oh, and because it's a classic:

Oh, and because it's a funny twist on the classic:

Oh, and cats are funny:

Oh, and because it's like a combo of the funny cat and the classic dramatic groundhog:

Oh, and because someone actually made a slow motion video of a woman's butt getting snapped by a towel:

Yeah, I love it when Josh Groban is on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

Get ready. The world's gonna end. Again.

2011-01-03T21:04:00.003-06:00

I noticed a billboard in town about a month or so ago. Looked like a Christmas Nativity-lookin' thing...wise men on camels, bright star in the sky, that sort of stuff. And also a date that didn't at all match up with the season: May 21. Plus some big bold lettering that I honestly don't remember, but seemed something like "the end is coming" or some such. Never knew what to make of it.

Weelllllllllll, now I know. Apparently it's a group of Christians who believe the beginning of the end of the world will happen on May 21, 2011. If you've read your Left Behind series, you know that means the date of the rapture, when God's faithful are bodily zapped to heaven, leaving all the heathens on Earth to endure a few more years of misery before Jesus and Satan get together and go -WHAM-. Why they will bother is beyond me, because the Bible says Jesus wins anyway, but whatever. Now, even though some believers say this time period will take 7 years, the leader of this new movement says the time of Tribulation will only be 3 months.

Buuuummerrrrr.

From the article:

But few churches are willing to set a date for the end of the world, heeding Jesus' words in the gospels of Mark and Matthew that no one can know the day or hour it will happen. Predictions like Camping's, though, aren't new. One of the most famous in history was by the Baptist leader William Miller, who predicted the end for Oct. 22, 1844, which came to be known as the Great Disappointment among his followers, some of whom subsequently founded the Seventh Day Adventist church.

Not only that, but do you know how many times the end of the world has been predicted?? Heck, just the Jehovah's Witnesses hold the record for wrong predictions, as far as I've heard.

Yet, I get the point, to a degree:

Past predictions that failed to come true don't have any bearing on the current calculation, believers maintain.

"It would be like telling the Wright brothers that every other attempt to fly has failed, so you shouldn't even try," said Chris McCann, who works with eBible Fellowship, one of the groups spreading the message.

"If May 21 passes and I'm still here, that means I wasn't saved. Does that mean God's word is inaccurate or untrue? Not at all..."

No, but that sure would seem like adding insult to injury, doesn't it? "Thanks for all the hard work, but you're not on the 'nice' list. Sorry."

And I certainly hope they don't go the route of "Hmm...no one disappeared? I guess nobody was good enough to get into heaven." Total cop out.

Either way, I better get to work on my New Year's resolution of eating more tacos. Like they say in the article: "If you still want to say we're crazy, go ahead," she said. "But it doesn't hurt to look into it."

'Specially if looking into it tastes like tacos.

Heard outside Bad, Bath & Beyond today

2011-01-02T15:38:00.003-06:00

Woman on a cell phone: "I said I was a little horse."

Good thing she had a raspy voice or I'd have had to begin running. Or calling the police. Or something.

Gotta go to Bed, Bath & Beyond more often if silly stuff like that happens there...

My New Year's Resolution

2011-01-01T00:27:00.003-06:00

I'm gonna eat more tacos. I like enchiladas, but I don't eat nearly enough tacos. Tacos rule.

Oh, and I'm gonna listen to Justin Bieber a lot less. I don't know anything by him, just that "One Less Lonely Girl" song. And I've only heard it like 2 or 3 times. Ever. But that's too much.

So to summarize:

More tacos.
Less Justin Bieber.

Happy New Year.

Laptop on the sand?!?! NO! Bad model! BAD MODEL!!!

2010-12-30T12:34:00.004-06:00

I don't care that this article is about jobs you can do from the beach. You don't ACTUALLY do them FROM THE BEACH.

I'm sure these people have craploads of cash to dish out on laptop after laptop. But I couldn't imagine where the sand would end up in this thing......uhhhhhh....it just makes me shudder to think about it. Bloooaaaauuughhhaaaawwwwwagagagagagaaaaa......

Jesus nuts see Jesus on a nut.

2010-12-25T00:48:00.003-06:00

Here's an article from a woman saying she sees the face of Jesus on a pistachio.

Here's the picture:

Funny...it looks more like Anne Frank to me. And do your nails!!!

Merry Christmas! Enjoy your 90% pagan traditions!

2010-12-24T00:36:00.003-06:00

I like me some Christmas traditions. And I am agnostic. More to the point, rather than expounding on my belief of whether there is or is not a God/Creator, I simply do not follow any religion.

Having been raised as a Christian (Lutheran specifically), we did have our Christmas traditions. Decorated tree, wreath, mistletoe, Christmas shopping, exchanging presents, dinner with the whole family, TV specials, lights on the porch, driving or walking around the neighborhood to look at other decorated houses, cookies, hard candy that my mom would only get at that time of the year, Christmas music on the radio, and going to church either on Christmas morning or the night before.

And let's face it, that last one was my least favorite part of the holiday. It may be the "reason for the season", but man, it just never clicked for me as a kid. For several reasons. Not the least of them being: if this was the second most holy day for Christians, then why the heck does it get ten times more attention than Easter? That didn't seem right.

It would be a few years later until I would understand the concept of "commercialism."

So anyway, back to the point of the post. So, of all the traditions you do at home besides the church-related stuff, do you know why you do them? Why you decorate a tree, etc.? Cuz there ain't no tree decorating going on at time of Christ's birth.

Joe Kovacs is a journalist and a devout Christian. But he has written a book titled Shocked By The Bible, and in it he tries to bring to light some of the things you may or may not know are in the Bible:

To start, none of the following items are mentioned in the Bible concerning the birth of Jesus: the word Christmas, a Christmas tree (or any tree, for that matter); hanging ornaments; December; the exact day, date, or even year Jesus was born; three wise men; a little drummer boy; winter; snow; yule; yule logs; wreaths; boughs of holly; mistletoe; colorful lights; eggnog; candy canes; parties; drinking; shopping; reindeer; St. Nick; Santa Claus; elves; toys; wrapping paper; caroling; cookies; plum pudding; chimneys; stockings; colors of red, green, and white; Bing Crosby; Jimmy Stewart; or children coveting a Red Ryder BB gun, despite the fact they may shoot their eyes out...

...If asked how many wise men were present at the Bethlehem manger when Jesus was born, most people will likely answer, "Three." They would be wrong.

The correct answer from the Bible is actually ... zero! No Scripture shows the presence of any wise men at the manger at the birth of Jesus. The New Testament indicates the wise men showed up later -- perhaps more than a year later -- at a house in an unspecified location.

Interestingly, the holy Scriptures never reveal exactly how many wise men eventually came to visit Jesus. It may have been three, but it could have been four, five, a dozen, or scores. Christians over the centuries likely assumed there were three because there are three gifts mentioned.

While we're never told precisely what season it was when Jesus was born, some use Luke 2:8 ("And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.") to suggest that it was either spring, summer, or fall, but not winter. They argue the winter months are too cold and wet for shepherds in Israel to be in the fields at night. In this view, October would likely have been the latest month for them to have their flocks out...

As for the customs people associate with Christmas today, some are very new, while others date back to antiquity from religions other than Christianity.

Among the newer customs is the image of Santa Claus. Santa Claus's other name, Kris Kringle, shows how Christianity intermixed with fiction. Kris Kringle derives from the word Christkindl, which is German for "Christ child."

The chubby, white-bearded man in a red and white suit is the result of an evolution of sketches and descriptions from the late 1800s. The image...received a great deal of help from a Coca-Cola marketing campaign in the early twentieth century. The company wanted to remind people that Coke was not just a summertime beverage, so in 1922 it employed the slogan "Thirst Knows No Season." ...the soda giant used drawings...to spread the jolly look of the fat man worldwide.

...In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, settlers in New England did not celebrate [Christmas]. Shocking as it sounds, followers of Jesus in both America and England helped pass laws making it illegal to observe Christmas, believing it was an insult to God to honor a day associated with ancient paganism....Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681. Additionally, on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under the new US Constitution, Congress was in session. Christmas was not declared a national holiday until 1870.

The explanation offered on the government website America.gov is that the holiday “began to honor universal values such as home, children and family life, and to incorporate secular customs like exchanging gifts and cards, and the decoration of evergreen trees.”

So, for some atheists or non-believers who still like to celebrate some traditions but come under fire by Christians, “A tree with tinsel and chestnuts roasting on an open fire … it’s perfectly acceptable for an atheist to celebrate these.”

According to a recent article, David Silverman, president of American Atheists, says some atheists are upset with Christmas because “Christians do not own the season.” In fact, he accuses Christians of stealing the holiday. “Christianity is one of over a dozen religions that named the winter solstice as their god’s birthday. This is not original,” Silverman says. “It’s not about being out against Christmas, it’s about Christmas being a monopoly.” As further proof, back to Joe's book:

...Most historians mention the ancient practice of honoring the sun god in late December, as the days began to lengthen after the annual winter solstice. In ancient Rome, the time of year was known as "the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun." Parties, banquets, and gift exchanges were held in late December for the festival known as Saturnalia, named for the heathen god Saturn. Over the centuries, these celebrations mixed with [Christianity], and customs not endorsed by the Bible became intertwined with the spread of Christianity.

As an example of such a custom, consider the Christmas tree. There is no mention of it in the pages of Scripture.

However, there is an ancient custom cited in the Old Testament that involves trees. The tradition is hauntingly similar to modern Christmas trees, and is strongly condemned by God.

Joe goes on to quote from Jeremiah 10:2-5, which describes heathen non-Christians cutting down trees, standing them up in their homes and decorating them. God also tells his people to not do this practice. This book of the Bible is thought to have been written over five hundred years before Jesus was born.

Mistletoe was revered by pagans for its fertility. It not only bloomed in the dark months of winter, but ancient Druids reportedly believed it to be the sperm of the forest gods, as its berries contain a liquid that bears a striking resemblance to human semen. Hence, the practice of kissing underneath it.

There are other Christmas customs we have adopted from pagan traditions, too. The holiday colors of red, green and white were sacred to Druids. The word yule is an ancient reference to the winter solstice, when heathers burned yule logs in honor of the pagan god of the same name. Many people eat a traditional Christmas ham, yet remain unaware that ancient heathens ate a pig on December 25 in honor of the Norse god Frey, who in mythology rode a boar.

Here's some further reading on Christmas tradition origins.

Happy holidays or whatever it is you do! Just don't spend too much.

Charlie Brown Kwanzaa

2010-12-20T23:02:00.003-06:00

I found this video years ago, and now consider it a necessary Christmas season tradition to watch it at least once.

It is horribly offensive (the name of the website it comes from is www.mostoffensivevideo.com) so be warned. Normally I don't post this kind of stuff on this blog at all; I like to keep this place a little more clean than that.

So why am I posting it?
I can blame it on tonight's full moon.
I can blame it on tonight's lunar eclipse.
I can blame it on the winter solstice.
I can blame it on Mercury being in retrograde.
I can blame it on my wife having PMS.

But in all honesty, it's because it's freaking funny.

Charlie Brown Kwanza - Watch MoreFunny Videos

Insert Coin

2010-12-19T18:23:00.003-06:00

I just saw the most amazing video. You gotta watch this if you haven't seen it already.

I wondered how it was done, and there is a "behind the scenes" section at the end of the video. Either way, this must have taken a hell of a long time.

Enjoy!

Recut movie trailers

2010-12-19T00:50:00.004-06:00

Recuts are not anything new. But I happened to find a few the other day whilst browsing teh Interwebs and thought I would post a couple of my favorites here. Beginning with the one that sort of put recuts on the map:

Can you really own anything religious?

2010-12-09T20:41:00.003-06:00

What a great article written on CNN.com's "Belief Blog" recently.

Inspired by the story (and discussed on this blog in this earlier post) of the preacher who said Christians who do yoga are not being true Christians, Stephen Prothero, author of the recent book "God Is Not One" (a book I own but, I confess, haven't read yet), wrote an article asking, "Who owns this stuff"?

I share some excerpts of that article here:

Religious symbols and rituals and beliefs cannot be trademarked and copyrighted. So techniques for achieving nirvana or salvation are different from the secret formula of Coca Cola or the image of Ronald McDonald. In this respect, global religious traditions have far less control over their “products” and “services” than do multinational corporations. And that control weakens as the popularity of a religion's “products” and “services” spreads.

When I was working years ago on my book, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, I was surprised to see how beloved Jesus had become among non-Christian groups in the United States...I came to see how little control Christians and Christianity have over how Jesus is seen and used by Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and other non-Christians.

This is what happens when a religious form becomes popular. Whether it is yoga or Christmas or Christ, as it spreads it diffuses, and its progenitors lose control not only over where it will go but what it will say or do.

But none of the recent commentators on the yoga and Christianity question have pointed out that whatever snatching is going on here is going both ways. Yes, Christians are bending and twisting the Hindu practice of yoga in their own directions. But Hindus are adopting and contorting Christian practices too. So if you want to wag a finger at the Christians you ought to wag one at the Hindus, too.

On December 24, the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, just a few doors down from the Department of Religion at Boston University, where I work, will host a Christmas Eve service, complete with Christmas carols and readings from the New Testament about the birth of Jesus.

People who practice a religion often imagine that their tradition, at least, is both pure and unchanging, unadulterated by religions other than their own. But all religions are mash-ups...Something is lost, of course, when yoga is Americanized and Jesus is Hinduized, but no religion ever made it anywhere without mixing things up.

NASA's new "life-form" may not be

2010-12-08T12:46:00.003-06:00

Remember the announcement from NASA last week about the new arsenic-thriving life form they discovered? It was big news, and was thought to promote the idea that life may be different than what we have been thinking it is.

It now appears that other scientists are challenging NASA's findings. In reviewing the report, the scientists are claiming NASA's report is full of "bad science":

"I was outraged at how bad the science was," University of British Columbia microbiology professor Rosie Redfield told Slate's Carl Zimmer. Redfield also posted a scathing critique of the report on her blog.

Redfield and other detractors point out that when NASA scientists removed the DNA from the bacteria for examination, they didn't take the steps necessary to wash away other types of molecules. That means, according to the critics, that the arsenic may have merely clung to the bacteria's DNA for a ride without becoming truly ingrained into it.

The report's detractors also note that the NASA scientists fed the bacteria salts that contained trace amounts of phosphate, so it's possible that the bacteria were able to survive on those tiny helpings of phosphate instead of the arsenic.

"This paper should not have been published," University of Colorado molecular biology professor Shelley Copley told Slate's Zimmer.

So why would NASA scientists make such a big deal out of a discovery that, according to critics, they must have suspected was questionable?

"I suspect that NASA may be so desperate for a positive story that they didn't look for any serious advice from DNA or even microbiology people," UC-Davis biology professor John Roth told Zimmer.

A NASA spokesperson brushed off the criticism. The paper's authors have not responded to the firestorm. Needless to say, that posture, too, has drawn the ire of critics. "That's kind of sleazy given how they cooperated with all the media hype before the paper was published," Redfield said.

If this is the case, I'm disappointed in two things. One, NASA, for once again letting their hubris get in the way of good research; two, because for a while I thought 'Yeah, maybe life can exist in other forms we don't really think they can -- who knows what this universe has to offer.'

But, at least we have people and processes to challenge others to keep all of us on our toes and ensure the information is checked and double-checked, even if inaccurate info is given out first.

Too bad we can't do that for the Internet in general....

TSA Scanners: Protective or abusive?

2010-12-07T15:36:00.007-06:00

There has been lots of talk this past year regarding the new policies put in place for TSA security at airports. Most notably: the new full body scanners, or the more invasive pat-downs should you refuse to go into the scanner.

Lots of people have their reasons for not wanting to be scanned. Some site the possible affects of the radiation affecting them needlessly. Others say the scanners are invading their privacy by revealing their whole bodies, in essence. On top of that, even though the TSA says these scan photos are secure, people have managed to get their hands on them. And they do not leave much to the imagination.

Whether these are actual scans of passengers, or TSA agents demonstrating the scan, I don't know, but there's a lot to be seen here.

What's worse, is that there has been a video out there that claims to show that, with photo editing software, you can change the image to look more real, thereby showing off more of the person's identity. Again, I don't know if this is a demonstration photo, or a real passenger. It looks nothing like the other TSA scans out there, even though it does look like some form of X-ray or MRI imaging. But many are claiming that true TSA scanners do not show hair. Plus, the fact that the woman wasn't wearing a bra, at least an underwire kind (because the wires would be revealed - not to mention any hooks?), makes the whole thing more interesting (and suspicious, honestly).

The point of that being who knows what is accurate? Is that video fake? Is that woman looking for 15 minutes of fame or trying to get a nude modelling gig? What? The disinformation doesn't help anyone.

Meanwhile, refusing to go through a scanner means being patted down, and nobody seems to be digging that idea too well, either. Besides us regular joes - like John Tyner's now famous phrase, "If you touch my junk, I will have you arrested" - celebrities have spoken about the experience now. According to an US Weekly article:

Khloe Kardashian has joined the public outcry against ramped-up, touchy-feely security screenings at airports around the country.

"They basically are just raping you in public," Kardashian, 26, complained Monday on "Lopez Tonight."

"The people are so aggressive! It's like, 'Chill out, you didn't find anything on me yet, calm down,'" she said. "They say, 'OK, I'm going to be patting you down and I'm going to be touching the crease of your ass.' That is so inappropriate!"

As referenced on this blog in another post, some people (only women so far, btw) have stripped down to swimsuits or underwear to avoid having to get scanned by anything more than the standard metal scanner, or to show the agents that they are not concealing anything on their bodies.

But what happens when some people claim that they are being singled out by the TSA?

Donna D'Errico, a former Playboy Playmate and star on Baywatch, recently felt that she was singled out by TSA agents to go through the scanner because she was attractive:

After waiting in a long line of holiday travelers, D'Errico and her son finally made it to the moving carrier where all the carry-on bags are placed. That's when a TSA agent took her by the elbow and told her she needed to "come this way."

"I said I was traveling with my son, motioning to him, and the agent said he was to come along with me as well," D'Errico said. "I immediately asked why we were having to go through an extra search, and no one else was being made to do so, indicating the long line of other passengers in front of and behind where we had been in line. In a very sarcastic tone, and still holding me by the elbow, the agent responded, 'Because you caught my eye, and they' -- pointing to the other passengers -- 'didn't.'"

"My boyfriend...sailed through with no problems, which is rather ironic in that my boyfriend fits the stereotypical 'look' of a terrorist when his beard has grown in a bit, which it was that evening," she said.

"They never even told me what they were doing at all, or that I had any choice," she said. "It was just, 'Stand here. Raise your arms above your head like this.' They never told me that they were going to be conducting a full-body scan, or that I had the option of being searched instead. Had they explained what they were doing, I would have opted for the search. As a matter of fact, my son was made to not only go through the full-body scan, but they also conducted a pat-down search on him as well.

"After the search, I noticed that the male TSA agent who had pulled me out of line was smiling and whispering with two other TSA agents and glancing at me. I was outraged."

So was her boyfriend, Roy J. Bank, the president of Merv Griffin Entertainment, who says he was in disbelief at what had just occurred.

"I'm all for measures to make us safer when traveling, but when it is so incredibly arbitrary, I don't feel any safer ... and I can promise you that her getting additional screening and the line full of people I saw around us not getting additional screening is not making us any safer!"

Although some might wonder why a woman who appeared nude in Playboy and wore a red bathing suit for three seasons of "Baywatch" is bothered about having one or two TSA agents see a computer scanned image of her naked body, but D'Errico says they are two separate issues.

"I must have overlooked the clause in both my Playboy and 'Baywatch' contracts stating that once appearing in that magazine, or on that show, I would forever be subject to being seen naked live and in person by anyone, at anytime, under any conditions, whether I agree to it or not, and for free," she said sarcastically.

D'Errico doesn't know of any other actresses or models who've had the same experience, but she believes other more effective and less invasive security measures should be implemented.

"One of my best friends was flying to New York for business, and at some point during the flight, she stood up to retrieve something from her bag in the overhead compartment," she said. "When she reached into her bag, something cut her hand. She looked into her bag and discovered a pair of 6-inch gardening shears which she had forgotten to remove prior to packing her bag.

"The bag, and my friend, had passed through security with no issues. How is this full-body scan supposed to be making us safer if 6-inch gardening shears can still make it aboard domestic flights undetected?"

Maher on CNN - religion in politics

2010-12-06T20:48:00.003-06:00

Here's Bill Maher talking on CNN about religion and the world of politics.

I certainly do have to agree with him that when I hear politicians saying things out of the Bible and utilizing it as some form of political heft, or "proof", I just get irritated.

I don't know what's goofier. That they have this behavior, or that our public voted them into office.

Hold it. Something's different....

2010-12-03T15:27:00.004-06:00

Welcome to version 2.1 of The Heck Do I Know. (Yes, 2.1. Version 1.0 was scrapped within weeks of creation years ago as stupid and wildly dumb.)

I just decided it was time after three years to give it a facelift. I like it, anyway, and it's my blog. Nyah. But I hope you find it more pleasing to the eye. The grey was getting to me.

So hopefully you like purple. I expect Prince to become a follower fairly soon.

Bye now.

R.I.P. THDIK V2.0 (March 2008 - December 2010)

Wow. That was a little lame.

Why do atheist billboards get so much flack?

2010-12-02T21:29:00.003-06:00

In a recent story, atheist organizations have put up another billboard outside of New York's Lincoln Tunnel. And the world goes apeshit.

But, if yet another religious-based or church-based billboard went up there, well that's alright, then.

I'm personally glad that atheist/agnostic/non-religious groups are able to put messages like these up in public. Used to be that people like us would be too afraid of the repercussions from the religious (which is the ultimate in irony).

I am non-religious and have been since 8th grade. For years I considered myself atheist, then changed to agnostic a few years back. Moreover, I prefer not to put a specific label on myself, as my "spirituality" is in flux. The only thing I know for certain is that I will not follow any form of religious dogma again (though I study it because I prefer not to be ignorant of that which I object).

More to the point, the comments on the article do seem to have more push toward the favorable side for non-religious than other comments I've seen in the past. Worth a read, no matter what way you swing.

But I can't resist one little jab:

"And God spoketh, 'You lose'."

2010-12-02T03:03:00.004-06:00

In light of the recent story of Stevie Johnson, the football athlete who sent an angry Tweet to God when he dropped the football in the end zone (God's on Twitter?), I'd like to discuss my thoughts on athletes who thank God, Jesus or whomever when they succeed at their game.

My thoughts are: knock it the hell off.

It was refreshing to read that an athlete actually got upset at God for a failure. Because, c'mon, in order for God to allow you to win, then he's gotta have it in for the other team/competitors? Really?

No, it's a competition. One person comes off as a winner, the other or others are the losers. In a game with two competitors, it's a 50/50 shot on who wins. Doesn't mean you're that much more 'blessed' than the other guy.

And when there is a sport with several competitors, such as a car race, you think that God had a special plan just for you to win, huh? I bet the 5 guys who wiped out coming out of turn four of the oval sure would like to know just what they did wrong to crash (or worse in some cases). Is God punishing them? And was it for the sport, or for their lifestyle?

We don't do this for much else. Mr. Salesman doesn't thank God for his latest close, does he? And if he loses the sale, does he think it's God's fault? Why is this so prevalent in sports?

I remember back when the Packers made their return to the Super Bowl for Super Bowl 31. And before the game, my ex-wife actually told me that she prayed to God that morning of Super Bowl Sunday to let the Packers win.

I stared at her incredulously. Living in Wisconsin at that time, I know she wasn't the only person thinking like this. The whole state was caught up in Packer fever to say the least. During the game, it was reported that police patrols around the state had never seen streets that clear before. But regardless, I said something to her like, "With all the things going on in the world, you think God cares who wins the Super Bowl?" And she actually responded with, "Of course I do! Don't you think God wants the Packers to win?!"

Considering their history for several decades up to that point, I would certainly have to say that it didn't seem like God wanted them to win even regular season games. But no, I didn't think God wanted them to win. But I didn't think that he wanted the Patriots to win, either. I just didn't think he cared, and frankly, I still don't think so. And yes, the Packers did win that Super Bowl, but they lost it the next year, so what does that tell you, if anything?

US tennis player Michael Chang was booed by the crowd in Paris after thanking Jesus when he won the French Open (which brings up another issue of how deep Americans still take religion versus other countries, especially European). He said later that he felt that God had a higher purpose for him winning those matches because he is a Chinese-American and he gave encouragement to the Chinese protesters of Tienanmen Square at the time.

But why would God do that, Michael? Most of China doesn't believe in the Christian God or Jesus. And if we are to take the Bible's word literally (as many, many people tell us we are supposed to and is the ONLY way we should), then God wouldn't do anything for those Chinese since they don't believe in Him.

I admire Chang thinking God helped him get to where he was in order to put a smile on the faces of China's citizens protesting for change, but according to God's own word, basically, if you don't believe, you won't get any favors. I personally like the idea of Chang's version of God better, but that's the crappy part about religion -- too many variables.

Based on an article I just read, I think God's place in sports is exactly where Yogi Berra said it should be:

He watched an opponent use the end of the bat to make a cross in the batter’s box. Berra brushed over it with his foot, erasing the cross, and said they should just let God watch this game. God has better things to do than worry about who is going to win...

Here's something else from this excellent CNN.com article from a few months back:

Mike Sweeney, a devout Roman Catholic who plays baseball for the Seattle, Washington, Mariners, doesn't accept that view of faith.

"If I'm facing Andy Pettitte on the Yankees and I'm praying for a home run, and he's praying for a strikeout, I don't think the result is going to show who has greater faith," Sweeney says.

Sweeney says athletes can sometimes reveal more about their faith when they fail.

"It's easy being a Christian when you're hitting .345, but you let me know who you really are when you're hitting .245 and going through the valley," Sweeney says.

I tend to think that if there is a God, then the plan is already laid out for us. Praying and giving thanks before and after a big play or a victory is not necessary. Besides that, if the people who do pray and give thanks blow a big play, I don't see them either thanking God for that OR getting angry.

That's why Johnson's Tweet was so cool. Finally, someone gets it. If you dropped the ball, then you were meant to. God apparently didn't want you to win. I mean, if you're gonna believe in this stuff, than that's really what it comes down to, doesn't it?

Thoughts on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and consumerism

2010-11-28T15:33:00.004-06:00

I never shop on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Well, I did once, years ago, to get a really good deal on a computer. But not to do any Christmas shopping, or buy things I think I need just because I think I need it. Heck, I didn't even buy a new flat screen LCD TV until a year ago because my old one broke (keeping in mind it was probably a good 15 to 20 years old). I'm not one of those guys who has to have every new gadget when it comes out. iPad? Thanks, no, I'm sticking with my fourth generation iPod. I bought a new laptop earlier this year because my old one wasn't working properly anymore because of too many viruses and such.

But where does this all come from? This need for people to spend their hard earned money on things that they think they need, but really don't, or at least don't need it right this moment?

I'd like to share a segment from the book Introvert Power by Laurie Helgoe, PhD:

American consumerism relies on this assumption: If only you had ____, you would have the life you desire. That shiny new car will make you better looking, happier, and more successful. More products will provide you more time, which you can fill by purchasing more products. And, to clinch the sale, the commercial reminds us that everybody else already has one.

We have become a culture of "everybody else." Through our constantly expanding media channels, we can know what people are (supposedly) buying, how people are (supposedly) behaving, and what expectations others (supposedly) have for us. Reality television further erodes our sense of privacy and personal space: not only are the participants in our living room, but we're also in theirs!

In the typical American sitcom, people walk into each other's homes or apartments without knocking, flop on the couch, and start talking about their problems. Hip adults mingle in an ensemble of friends -- a group of people who are interchangeably important to each other. Intrusion is the norm; if one friend leaves the room, another one enters; cool people are never alone. No matter if the friend is annoying or selfish; more is better.

Having more friends is equated with more fun, even more value. In a democratic society, more popular means more power. The buzzword of the '80s, "networking," became the ticket to success. In an increasingly public society, the emphasis shifts from quality to visibility; from good products to good marketing; from knowing to being known. There is no time; we need to "git 'r done" and "get out there." Is it any wonder that anxiety disorders have become the common cold of American life? We live much of our lives in panic mode, grasping for more without considering why. We're like children running into the streets to grab the candy thrown from the parade float, only to realize that the cheap morsels taste funny.

This "more" mode convinces us that solitude and reflection are too costly to risk. the parade is moving on and we need that candy! And if you're trying to be a success, you need to throw out as much as possible -- flood the Internet with you message, pop up on everyone's screen, reach the people.

In a great book titles Purple Cow, marketing analyst Seth Godin argues that more advertising is no longer better, that people no longer see or hear the flood of message coming their way. Instead of mass marketing a product, he advocates creating a remarkable product -- a purple cow -- that sells because it's not a part of the more. His wisdom rings true for anyone who is sick of seeing penis enlargement spams on his computer screen.

Though a different kind of "more" comes with solitude. we benefit from the "less" side of solitude as well. For an introvert especially, movement away from the group allows access to a more independent, questioning, and honest voice -- a voice that could make all the difference.

The post of many

2010-11-26T23:18:00.005-06:00

Alrighty. Here we go. A post about a bunch of random things that I wanted to share.

#1

Did you know that several moons in our solar system have atmospheres rich in oxygen? I didn't, and I usually keep up with stuff like this. Actually, I'm so far behind, I was thinking that Saturn's moon Titan was still the only moon with an atmosphere. Granted, the atmospheres of these other moons aren't that thick (even our moon has a super-measly atmosphere), but hey, give 'em a break.

So, another of Saturn's moons, Rhea, has been discovered to have an atmosphere rich in both oxygen and carbon dioxide.

So, besides Rhea, two of Jupiter's moons, Europa and Ganymede, also have oxygen rich atmospheres.

Why I think this is cool: It's moons with oxygen on 'em. Duh.

#2

Another space related topic! It's now confirmed! Dark energy DOES exist, and is no longer a scientific theory.

Why I think this is cool: Science proves again and again that ideas, theories, and such can be proven. It takes some time, but we are coming up with the answers as to what this universe is made of, why it behaves the way it does, and maybe we'll learn much, much more that will give us new scientific and philosophical insights in life, being, and intelligence in the universe (or other universes)!

#3

This one's from CNN.com. What with all the hype these new airport scanners are getting, and these much more invasive "pat-downs", I saw something online the other day that was actually making fun of the whole deal by saying you should wear your bikini to the airport.

Well......

Apparently this woman had a concern about not only the invasiveness of the scanners, but also the potential radiation she would receive from going through one. So, wearing her bikini, they let her pass through the metal scanner the old fashioned way.

Why I think this is cool: Okay, besides the very obvious, right? Cuz even though some people are joking about going to the airport in a bikini, here's a woman who actually did it! She beat the system, people! Good for her. Just don't expect me to go traipsing through the airport in my swimsuit. You wouldn't want to see that anyway. Security would throw me down on the floor, man. They'd probably pat me down anyway just to embarrass me and/or to piss me off.

#4

Here's a link to a Yahoo article about the worst music videos ever made.

Let's just say that even though that Billy Squier video has to be the worst, silliest and just God-awful thing I've ever seen, you gotta admit the Mick Jagger/David Bowie video is almost embarrassing to watch.

Why I think it's cool: Bad videos, man. Guilty pleasures all the way.

The Cheese Shop

2010-11-23T00:01:00.001-06:00

Over the past year I find myself perusing the local grocery store's selection of cheeses. I've sampled a few new ones from time to time. I'd like to more often, but I just can't bring myself to pay $6.00 or more for a small brick of cheese. Now, if companies would just put together a nice sampler of some finer cheeses, I'd be all for it. Those Pepperidge Farms holiday cheese and sausage packs are nice, but don't usually include more than a variety of Edam, Gouda or cheddar.

Anyway, as I look over the cheeses, I can't help but smile as I see some cheese names that I first learned from a certain hilarious Monty Python sketch.

Therefore, I pass my joy onto you. Bon apetit.

Two examples of women embracing their bodies -- in completely opposite ways

2010-11-22T20:32:00.002-06:00

CNN.com has two videos online today discussing different ways women are embracing their bodies. I am all for "regular" women embracing their "regular" bodies and not worrying about having to look like supermodels all the time. Hence the Kim Kardashians, the Jennifer Love Hewitts, the Dove "real woman" ads, etc....

But these two videos are, in my opinion, both doing something right for women's confidence, but in completely different ways. Some would say the first way is the "better" way, but the second has it's own merits, doesn't it? Maybe I'm wrong.

What are your thoughts?

Who knew blue moons could be this complicated?

2010-11-21T13:52:00.009-06:00

Okay, first off, a blue moon is NOT, I repeat, NOT blue. The moon doesn't change color, nor is there some atmospheric affect that makes it look like it's blue.

The term blue moon is just a term. That's all. It's where the phrase "once in a blue moon" comes from. So what do people do on such an event? Well, according to an image search online:

...they make beer:

...they howl:

...they make albums:

...they dance in blacklight:

...the ninjas come out and attack women with red umbrellas:

...or they get together for some Pabst Blue Ribbon and prop their legs up on the bar:

Hope that helps to clear things up.

So what makes a "blue moon"? Well, for years, I thought that a blue moon was simply the term given to the second full moon in a month. See, most of the time each month will only have one full moon in it. But occasionally you will get a month where a full moon occurs on or near the first day of a month, and then again on or near the last day of a month. That second full moon is traditionally called the "blue moon".

But guess, what? TODAY there is a blue moon. And there is only one full moon this month. Apparently it ain't really that simple, Jack.

"Ah, how curious. Yes, tell me more."

I guess his name is Jack. Anyway.....

Well, according to this dizzying Space.com article I saw on Yahoo today, there are two rules for determining blue moons. The older one went like this (from the article):

That explanation said that the moon "... usually comes full twelve times in a year, three times for each season."

Occasionally, however, there will come a year when there are 13 full moons during a year, not the usual 12...

And with that extra full moon, it also meant that one of the four seasons would contain four full moons instead of the usual three...

Names were assigned to each moon in a season: For example, the first moon of summer was called the early summer moon, the second was the midsummer moon, and the last was called the late summer moon.

But when a particular season has four moons, the third was apparently called a blue moon so that the fourth and final one can continue to be called the late moon...

Now, let's come back to this Sunday's full moon.

Under the old Almanac rule, this would technically be a blue moon. In the autumn season of 2010, there are four full moons:

Sept. 23
Oct. 22
Nov. 21
Dec. 21

"But wait," you might say. "Dec. 21 is the first day of winter."

In 2010, the solstice comes at 6:38 p.m. EST (2338 UT).

But the moon turns full at 3:13 a.m. EST (0813 UT). That's 15 hours and 25 minutes before the solstice occurs. So the Dec. 21 full moon occurs during the waning hours of fall and qualifies as the fourth full moon of the season.

But then there was this rule, that has taken over the blue moon terminology as we know it (two full moons a month):

...we must turn to the pages of Sky & Telescope.

This time, on page 3 of the March 1946 issue, James Hugh Pruett wrote an article, "Once in a Blue Moon," in which he made a reference to the term "blue moon" and referenced LaFleur's article from 1943.

But because Pruett had no specific full moon date for 1937 to fall back on, his interpretation of the ruling given by the Maine Farmers' Almanac was highly subjective. Pruett ultimately came to this conclusion:

"Seven times in 19 years there were – and still are – 13 full moons in a year. This gives 11 months with one full moon each and one with two. This second in a month, so I interpret it, was called Blue Moon."

How unfortunate that Pruett did not have a copy of that 1937 almanac at hand, or else he would have almost certainly noticed that his "two full moons in a single month assumption" would have been totally wrong. For the blue moon date of Aug. 21 was most definitely not the second full moon that month!

So what they're telling us is....the idea of the second full moon in a month being the blue moon is based on a misunderstanding? And therefore is.....is....(gulp)...A LIE!?!?!?

"Heavens, me!!!
Oh, HA!! Heavens...get it, like the moon? OH, THE MOON!!"
[50's girl faints]

Today, Pruett's misinterpreted "two full moons in a month rule" is recognized worldwide. Indeed, Sky & Telescope turned a literary lemon into lemonade, proclaiming later that – however unintentional – it changed pop culture and the English language in unexpected ways.

Meanwhile, the original Maine Farmers' Almanac rule had been all but forgotten.

Well, then. That's all right, then. We can get back to people doing their blue moon festivities like normal. Carry on!

Epic fail on WGN's live implosion

2010-11-20T16:08:00.002-06:00

I saw this on Yahoo recently, and couldn't help posting it here as well.

WGN was going over a wee bit on their live broadcast (cutting into the beginning of Good Morning America) in order to show the implosion of a local bridge on live TV. And wouldn't you know it, while they're waiting and waiting and waiting, they do a quick cutaway to the weather guy and....

The control room director was quite pleased with himself afterward, I'm sure.