The dialogue in my current work in progress uses three languages: English (most of it), German (here and there), and Franco-Arabic (it is what you probably think it is). I was under the impression from previous reading that some or many foreign words that were actual foreign language words and not common loanwords (i.e., “taco”) … Italicizing Foreign Words in Fiction
Old, old news by now, but there’s another guy claiming Jesus was invented by Rome in order to appeal to the occupied Jewish population, and he has suspiciously non-peer-reviewed evidence to prove it. That a nation would go to such great lengths and expense to play pattycake-nice with (or a joke on) people who where … Jesus Was Invented By Rome, Why Not?
This came up on a randomized Youtube playlist I was streaming on cred.fm, and it reminded me of how much I liked the lyrics. There’s not a whole lot there, and I get that the music isn’t the first choice of everyone who reads my posts, but it encapsulates the view the church should have … Desire the End
Via Metalsucks here. A specialty burger at Kuma’s Corner has a communion wafer as a garnish. A Catholic foodie blogger (ugh) reacted negatively. From the Director of Operations at Kuma’s: “People have been kind of upset,” he said. “The thing with this is, the communion wafer is unconsecrated, so until that happens, it’s really just … Food Chain Makes Jesus Wafer Burger, Some People are Allegedly Pissed
Old page (a decade old!), but it does a good job of laying out some bare historical facts and estimates on the background of the “creeping death” plague from Exodus: As in many of the skeptical questions I get, the conclusion they end up with is often correct in some basic sense (i.e., ‘we should … Why God Killed All Those Egyptian Babies
The guy who started the self-parodying and extensive av1611.org, the website that documents Ruckman’s dislike for just about everything you can think of, for the flimsiest of reasons. But he also seems to have inside info about aliens and the American government* as well. It’s comforting, in a way, when someone is demonstrably crazy all … Peter Ruckman Really Is Crazy
I had a longer post but I watched the last video down below and it seemed to hit on a lot points of explanation. It also does a good job of putting to rest a lot of “Hey, why would they do that? That’s stupid,” kind of criticisms. Lifehack tip for people that watch movies: … Prometheus Analysis
American twenty-something males shoot each other over Nikes and women. Russian twenty-something males shoot each other over philosophy: [T]wo men in their 20s were discussing Kant as they stood in line to buy beer at a small store on Sunday. The discussion deteriorated into a fistfight and one participant pulled out a small nonlethal pistol … In Russia, Pure Reason Critiques YOU!
Kind of a throwaway post, but in the last few days I made everything darker here at jd.com. The development environment I use at work is by default a white background and customizing the colors is hellish, so I leave it as is. I generally don’t like staring directly into flashlights so I thought I’d … Once You Go Dark…
Rick Sebak narrated a PBS documentary on the history of amusement parks (Youtube playlist here). He mentioned baby incubators at Luna Park in Pittsburgh at the turn of the century, but it was also at the Luna Park at Coney Island. It comes off as unseeming to put babies and nurses on display for the … Baby Incubators in Amusement Parks
From left to right. Just throwing it out there. Found here.
One of the dumbest comments I’ve seen goes to this one, on an article about some schmuck brain surgeon who killed people. See bolded part: There is no regulation in Texas of ANY kind. Regulation in Texas only exists to protect the businesses and individuals from the consequences of their actions, just like this so … “There is no X, except there is X.”
…IS A GO. Watch this. It’s a brief overview of the leading alternate human history theory, going from Atlantis to the Greeks to Jesus to the Illuminati. Basically anything you hear on Coast to Coast AM. It’s standard fare in that regard. There’s actual logical progression of events, not a mishmash of crazy, and the … SYNTHETIC CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS GRID…
Old old old news, but a few weeks ago I came across the uncensored version of P.O.D.’s “I Am” track from their Testify album. Given the explicit (heh) Christian content of the song it certainly makes the swear more noticeable. Honestly, it’s from the point of view of not-Sonny, so it’s not out of context … Sonny from P.O.D. Dropped F-Bombs in Song, No One Is Hurt Yet
Experience the horror of this very crudely paraphrased argument I had with someone on the IMDB message boards. I searched my darndest to find the original but it’s been lost in the black hole of Internet history, possibly for the sake of its participants’ sanity. When you are raised in a philosophical climate—the techno-Enlightened West—that … Having Your Head in the Scientific Sand
Zach Braff doesn’t always tweet about penises: RT @UberFacts There are almost 5,000 gods being worshipped by humanity." But don't worry… only yours is right. — Zach Braff (@zachbraff) October 7, 2012 I get it. The implication with this statistic is that all religious belief systems can’t all be right, but that declaring them all … Zach Braff Is Kind of a Knucklehead
Hemingway’s mom, Grace Hall Hemingway, was a little off: Ernest had four sisters but always wanted a brother, vocally expressing his discontent at the births of his two sibling sisters. In his very early childhood his mother, as was not totally uncommon, dressed Ernest in frilly girls clothes and paraded him and his elder sister, … Ernest Hemingway: Crossdresser
A pastor I follow online posted a quick rebuttal of a boilerplate criticism of theistic belief. In his blog is mainly concerned with theistic belief qua theistic belief, not as interpreted via Western modes of reasoning, though this post shows his strong grip on formal logic. To wit: Smart-aleck atheist wannabe asks, “Do you believe … What God Can Do and Can’t Do
Concerning your methods of courting the muses. INTERVIEWER I’m curious to know how material from the “real world” comes to be incorporated into the rather enclosed spaces of books such as High-Rise, Crash, or Concrete Island? BALLARD Well, before starting Crash, for example, in 1969, I staged an exhibition of crashed cars at the New … J.G. Ballard, We Gotta Have A Little Talk
There’s no reason for me to post this other than I thought that this was one of the better modern movie endings I’ve seen. I didn’t see this in theaters but I imagine this scene was quite the spectacle, especially in IMAX theaters. The score certainly helps. It’s obvious that Branagh, et al, proposes the … Thor (2011) Credits Sequence