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Links of Possible Relevance, Part 1

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Taking cold showers may be a good idea. Looking at net neutrality through the libertarian lens: “They are against regulation of the Internet, so they support ceding power to the government to…decide how and whether the Internet should be regulated.” Stefan Molyneux’s new, free ebook about atheism and agnosticism is out. His arguments about the … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 1

Vik Kuletski Expresses Disinterest In Metal Dudes’ Sexual Orientation, Gets Labelled A Hate-Filled Hatey Homophobe. Hate.

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The short of it: luthier (that’s a “guitar maker,” for you public school kids) Vik Kuletski got slammed as a homophobe because he didn’t care about Cynic’s Sean Reinert and Paul Masvidal’s sexual preferences, and said he personally disapproved of it but ultimately didn’t care. Reinert’s and Masvidal’s preferences were of the gayish kind and … Vik Kuletski Expresses Disinterest In Metal Dudes’ Sexual Orientation, Gets Labelled A Hate-Filled Hatey Homophobe. Hate.

Book Review: Anna and the Dragon

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Anna and the Dragon is Jill Domschot‘s debut speculative fiction novel, an impressive dive into the “soft” supernatural realm. The titular Anna is a computer engineer with mild character quirks who falls for an errant academic with a heart condition and a fixation on dragonry. Though the title and book cover suggest something of a … Book Review: Anna and the Dragon

The Shakers and Abstinence

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Interesting fact about the Shakers. Enforcing celibacy in mixed communities would seem to be an impossible task, but the Shakers set up a strict hierarchy of Elders and Eldresses and deacons and deaconesses to enforce the sexual prohibition. Shakers who spent time outside the community were interrogated upon their return. Outside visitors were held to … The Shakers and Abstinence

Gittip On Horvath

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Chad Whitacre at Gittip posted about Julie Ann Horvath’s departure from GitHub*, and he invokes, with all the richness of proper proggy vocabulary, the secularized original sin so beloved by wealthy, white, leftoid man-dorks: Speaking personally as someone who ticks all the standard boxes of privilege (straight white male, etc.), knowing that my conversations and … Gittip On Horvath

Jesus and the Afikomen Bread

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My pastor’s sermon on Easter introduced a nice bit of new information concerning Jesus’ claims of divinity. He did make other, more verbal claims to Godhood but this one is more powerful if you understand the context. During the Last Supper, the seder meal* that He shared with His disciples: While they were eating, Jesus … Jesus and the Afikomen Bread

Happy Good Friday and Easter

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Enjoy! Embodyment – Golgotha Crucifixion up on the cross Dying for sins fulfilling prophecy Beaten for his faith Praying for enemies upon sacrifice Forsaken in the eyes of God Sins of man to Him were taken Innocent and blameless Death without purity Place of the skull Golgotha Death of the Son Descend into misery His … Happy Good Friday and Easter

C.S. Lewis On Full Employment Fetishism

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Again from The World’s Last Night, Lewis, in a roundabout way, addresses the “all the jobs, everywhere, all the time, for everyone, forever” angle heard during election season nationwide. Such would seem to be the inevitable result of a society which depends predominantly on buying and selling. In a rational world, things would be made … C.S. Lewis On Full Employment Fetishism

Why Borrowers Pay Mortgage Insurance

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The first search result for “why do borrowers pay pmi” on DuckDuckGo (fifth on Google) is this helpful page, which explains in as basic English as possible, why borrowers pay personal mortgage insurance and not the lender. The reason I searched for this is because 1) I have a mortgage, 2) I pay for PMI, … Why Borrowers Pay Mortgage Insurance

Invasion of the Moral Busybodies

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I don’t know much about Cody but I found him engaging, though I didn’t listen to any of the other parts of his presentation yet. Take note of the social contract as the “big other” theory he brings up. It’s a tool of what C.S. Lewis called “moral busybodies“—bureaucrats, activists, and other state-as-religion believers use … Invasion of the Moral Busybodies

Non-Sickness Update

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As promised in a post almost a month ago, I’m happy to report back that I’ve remained flu-free. There were a few days, a few weekends ago, where I thought I was coming down with a bug, but nothing came of it. Sorry, Virus Men. Go pound sand and come back next year.

Katie McGinty’s Video Selfie

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This is the level of political campaigning and discourse in Pennsylvania: video selfies, genuine or faux (probably the latter). Not that I care much since modern politics is really just like two guys with different tribal banners telling each other they are terrible people. And they’re both right but for the wrong reasons. It is … Katie McGinty’s Video Selfie

Millennium Actress – Full Movie

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Yeah, you can depict things how you like in books or film, particularly animated ones, but the main motivation behind Millennium Actress illustrates a realistic bit of attraction psychology. Chiyoko spends her entire life chasing down a man with whom she spent only about a half a day, whose face she never fully saw, because … Millennium Actress – Full Movie

Waiting It Out

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A few nights ago I Skyped with a good friend of many years who is struggling with severe under- and non-employment. He doesn’t have a steady job but does odd, mostly web-based projects that come along. I’ve been in that dodge, too, earlier in life. Sometimes it springs out of mistakes you’ve made in the … Waiting It Out

Unnecessary Blog Design Update

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I decided to take out the jQuery I mentioned in my last design post and just the plain Okay theme with a few small UI changes in an external CSS file. I installed a plugin that will automatically add the Creative Commons footer to every blog post. I noticed that plenty of colophons on personal … Unnecessary Blog Design Update

Utterly Shocking: First Episode of Cosmos Reboot Contains Unscientific Propositions

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I was going to do an original post on this but Wintery Knight did it sooner and better. Quoting J.W. Wartick: The depiction of the multiverse with little-to-no qualification was alarming, for there is much debate over whether there even is such a multiverse, and if there is, to what extent it may be called … Utterly Shocking: First Episode of Cosmos Reboot Contains Unscientific Propositions

The Story Behind Damien Jurado’s Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son Album Cover

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I’m a softie for album art explanations; I’ve posts in the hundreds combined on Buzzgrinder and Noisecreep, et al., on album art design and the stories behind them. Former colleague and radio guy (radio-bro? bro-adio? brodio?) Sean Cannon interviewed Damien Jurado for his radio show, and Damien mentioned the cover of Brothers and Sisters of … The Story Behind Damien Jurado’s Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son Album Cover

Give and Take

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Theatrical wordplay rides the sweep of socialized assumptions but it eventually crashes. I disagree with you not because what you propose is unfashionable (it’s actually very fashionable) or not an ideal (it’s very idyllic), but because it’s a certain non-possibility—not in the theoretical realm, not through a “given set of circumstances,” but literally, existentially, by … Give and Take

Bands Need to Buy a Domain Name

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Some more advice for bands from Seth: What happens when Facebook determines your tour announcement is not high-quality content? Or that your line of products that you’ll be selling at this weekends market isn’t high-quality content? … Get your fans, the people who LIKED you, onto an email list. Now. Tell your fans on Facebook … Bands Need to Buy a Domain Name

Freedom Means Dragging and Beating You

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Reading things like this lead me to believe politicians inhabit a completely different universe. Not just a different moral universe, but a literal inverted realm in every way except physically. Hat tip goes to Ed Hurst for this. Emphasis mine: The circumstances of McGovern’s 2011 arrest were marked by stinging irony. McGovern was brutalized and … Freedom Means Dragging and Beating You

How I Avoided the Flu This Year

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I know flu season isn’t over yet, but I still haven’t gotten sick yet, even with two kids who came down with something. Who knows if what I’ve been doing is affecting anything, but here’s a few things that may be contributing to my success. 1. No flu shot! I’m not an anti-vaccine guy but … How I Avoided the Flu This Year

A Trope in The Lego Movie

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Saw the Lego Movie. Was good, etc. There was a character set up between two of the main protags that I’ve been seeing elsewhere, though I didn’t seem to find it on the TV Tropes site. It’s similar to the Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy trope—or rather, it’s a very specific version of it in bildingsroman … A Trope in The Lego Movie

Bands: Improve Your Live Show

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“9. Say your bands name clearly on stage after the first song and after your last song. Like, actually say it, not just “heywe’resoandsothanksforcomingout…” but in a way that people may remember it. Say it clear. Not too fast. I hear so many bands do that, “we’reblahblahblahthanksofromingout” while the drummer is still tuning his snare.”

A Libert_rian Fill In The Blank Quiz

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1. A libertarian asking for more government is not very libert_rian. If you answer number 1 correctly, the rest should be easy. 2. If you’re a libert_rian, you don’t make a case for mandatory GMO labeling of food products. 3. If you’re a libert_rian, you don’t make a case for the state recognition of gay … A Libert_rian Fill In The Blank Quiz

What Should Debates Be?

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Not tied by necessity to my previous posts on the Hambone vs. Nye-larhotep debate, but wouldn’t a debate be more productive if it placed a burden of proof on one side and not on both sides? I don’t know if the Nye/Ham debate was presented in this context and I don’t know anything about proper … What Should Debates Be?

Addendum To Evolution Debate Post

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See previous Nye/Ham post. Thinking on evolution different belief systems, I recall deciding (very tentatively) on “biblical evolution,” which is the theory of the existence of old earth and both micro- and macroevolution, but that humans were in some form (rimshot) directly created by God. In other words, it’s God-guided evolution, or standard-issue evolution with … Addendum To Evolution Debate Post

Bill Nye and Ken Ham Debate About Weird Organisms That Died A Long Time Ago

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The Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate that happened was followed by a lot of build up and release by the likes of Time and NPR. I didn’t watch because science—evolution particularly—doesn’t interest me that much, and because Bill Nye isn’t an expert in evolutionary biology, while Ham has some credentials as a bachelor degree … Bill Nye and Ken Ham Debate About Weird Organisms That Died A Long Time Ago

A Sermon on Revelations

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This was the sermon last Sunday at my church. I liked it because it didn’t propose any particular eschatological theory; I don’t hold strongly to any of them and I don’t find it too pressing to decide. I do think, though, that some theories—dispensationalism, particularly—are more influenced by Western-styled, secular philosophical movements (i.e., positivism) than … A Sermon on Revelations

BabyMetal Just Made Metal Adorable

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BabyMetal’s “いいね！- Iine!” (which I believe translates to “Sounds good!”) is probably the only underage jpop-idol metal song with a hip-hop break ever in existence. I could be wrong.

On How Dystopias Are Formed

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Interesting post over at the Freeman blog, touching on how fictional dystopias are formed: Second, let’s say that we are indeed right now living in a capitalist dystopia, yet, for the vast majority of us, it really doesn’t look or feel much like the dismal world of Blade Runner or Elysium. If the hyper-capitalist world … On How Dystopias Are Formed

How American Currency Is Created

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This is part four of a five-part series, but to me this is the most important/”useful” part. Someone in the comments section mentioned that this is how all currencies are created. I don’t how much truth there is to that but since all fiat currencies need a government behind them to declare “by fiat” that … How American Currency Is Created

An Atheist Abortion Doctor Read Matt Walsh’s Blog. What He Does The Next Day At The Office Will Completely Blow You Away.

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No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabars This recipe is totally cribbed from My Whole Food Life but I thought I would repeat it here. Since Larabars don’t put anything goofy in their stuff, replicating them at home is easy to do. Like the Primal Energy Bites recipe I posted a while back, these are … An Atheist Abortion Doctor Read Matt Walsh’s Blog. What He Does The Next Day At The Office Will Completely Blow You Away.

Michael Murray’s Response to the “Hiddenness of God” Argument Is Eh

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Wintery Knight posted a while back (a while back on the scale of Internet time) about a response to the argument about God’s “hiddenness”—i.e., the phenomenon that God’s existence isn’t more plainly known to everyone in the same way that other, less important things, are apparent. [Michael Murray] argues that if God reveals himself too … Michael Murray’s Response to the “Hiddenness of God” Argument Is Eh

Math Can Determine Good Books

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At first I thought that this declaration was due to journalistic bravado, since no academic would ever propose that one narrow study would be so broadly definitive. But then there’s this: After analysing 800 novels available to download at Project Gutenberg Yejin Choi, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University, claims she can predict literary … Math Can Determine Good Books

Orson Scott Card Lets a Secret Out

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Taking a break from the blogging break to post this. I’m reading through Orson Scott Card’s Ender quintet series, currently on Speaker for the Dead (read for free here). Here’s a quote from one of the characters, who gives away the secret weapon (heh) of governments. “My beloved father, this has always been the way … Orson Scott Card Lets a Secret Out

Taking A Month Off

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I’m taking December off of my rigorous blogging schedule of maybe posting once or twice a week to finish the first and second drafts of Retardo Montalbán*. It’s verboten form for writers and bloggers to explicitly state things like this, but I’m neither so I don’t recognize those social constraints. There will be one small … Taking A Month Off

The “Accumulative Past” Argument Against God’s Existence

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Most Christians are too scaredy-cat—skeptics, too dull-witted—to really step into the thinking process of someone different. I, on the other hand, can spend inordinate effort doing so. This argument is very weak because it’s just a framework. A more realer philosopher-guy needs to put some meat on the steps. Additionally, this can only work for … The “Accumulative Past” Argument Against God’s Existence

The Appeal to Current Affluence Fallacy

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Here’s a certain kind of fallacy I’ve noticed that is a specific form of the appeal to consequences fallacy, where one person leverages a premise’s favorable or unfavorable state of affairs to a certain conclusion. The current affluence fallacy appeals to a person’s present sensibilities and comfort levels to imply that a different situation would … The Appeal to Current Affluence Fallacy

The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

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I wonder why I’ve never heard about this until now. The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge is offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), which says it will pay out one million U.S. dollars to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural or paranormal ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. I was actually getting ready … The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge

I Growed a Beard

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Despite the mild blowback on beards I’ve noticed recently, I formed one. Thus sayeth Clement of Alexandria: How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs … I Growed a Beard

Hitler on John Piper and N.T. Wright

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I’m not a super-theology buff so don’t yell at me for being a Piper or Wright fanboy. I have seen some N.T. Wright videos and liked them. I have seen some John Piper tweets and liked them. That’s about it. As with some Hitler Reacts videos, it’s hard to really determine who is meant to … Hitler on John Piper and N.T. Wright

Thomism.org’s Proofs Against Theism

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A Facebook friend linked to these recently. Most of them are satirical strawman proofs; no need to take them seriously, but some do point out actual weak arguments. There’s too many good ones to point out, but check out one of the Carl Sagan Dragon arguments, number 90: CARL SAGAN’S DRAGON IN MY GARAGE ARGUMENT … Thomism.org’s Proofs Against Theism

Stop Asking For Evidence

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Intense online debates tend to go only one way. Some hapless dude makes a claim that is more or less self-evidently true, and a high-minded scientismist-debutante asks for “EVIDENCE??”. That’s really not the only way but many debates can follow this simple framework. The implication with this triple-syllabled rejoinder is that a failure to produce … Stop Asking For Evidence

Weird Language on The Walking Dead

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I heard this sentence on last night’s episode of The Walking Dead: “If you weren’t in here already, you’d be here.” It was spoken to a doctor who had gotten sick and was being quarantined with a load of other non-doctor patients. It was meant to show the speaker’s (Herschel’s) regard for the sick doctor’s … Weird Language on The Walking Dead

Italicizing Foreign Words in Fiction

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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

Jesus Was Invented By Rome, Why Not?

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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?

Desire the End

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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

Food Chain Makes Jesus Wafer Burger, Some People are Allegedly Pissed

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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

Peter Ruckman Really Is Crazy

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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

Prometheus Analysis

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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

In Russia, Pure Reason Critiques YOU!

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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!

Once You Go Dark…

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A blank LCD monitor.

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…

Baby Incubators in Amusement Parks

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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

“There is no X, except there is X.”

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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.”

SYNTHETIC CHRIST-CONSCIOUSNESS GRID…

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Needs more Jesus.

…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…

Having Your Head in the Scientific Sand

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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 Is Kind of a Knucklehead

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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

Ernest Hemingway: Crossdresser

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Ernest Hemingway boxing

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

What God Can Do and Can’t Do

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Socrates in the Athens School

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

J.G. Ballard, We Gotta Have A Little Talk

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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

Thor (2011) Credits Sequence

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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

“We were married within three months.”

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An wonderfully-written excerpt from Ballard’s Super-Cannes. Content warning: We were married within three months. I was still on my crutches, but Jane wore an extravagantly ruched silk dress that seemed to inflate during the ceremony, filling the register office like the trumpet of a vast amaryllis. She smoked pot at the reception held at the … “We were married within three months.”

Monasticism and Trigonometry

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From Chapter 3 of Lost Horizon: He was also interested in the mountain beyond the valley; it was a sensational peak, by any standards, and he was surprised that some traveler had not made much of it in the kind of book that a journey in Tibet invariably elicits. He climbed it in mind as … Monasticism and Trigonometry

Free Movie Time: Wings of Honneamise

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An overlooked film from 1987, about an alternate history space program. It comes off, to me, as a precursor to Contact but without the latter’s stupid heavy-handedness of the conflict thesis binary. Science and religious elements play hard in the story but their treatment is far from Hollywood’s childishness. Like Magentic Rose, the mechanical designs … Free Movie Time: Wings of Honneamise

Religion and Science Blah Blah Blah

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Below is a comment I posted on a blog post written by a Facebook friend of mine, Jason (from Becoming the Archetype—a reference point for those of you who are familiar). The post was a response to a video titled “My Question For Theists,” which I haven’t watched yet—my comments were general and more in … Religion and Science Blah Blah Blah