The Future

I think this might be why Michelle is so against entertainment of the electronical variety.

Woah, man

I found this website interesting. I've read a lot about what Earth might have been like billions of years ago, but I've not seen/read much about what it might be like in the distant future.

Randomness!

This guy scares me. The site comes complete with lyric - so even if you really can't stand to listen to it, you can read the pure silliness. But at least he's got a good justification for writing it.

An another note, I'm finding this guide oddly fascinating. I'd really like to edit something right now.

Petition for Revered Elder: Stephen Hawking

This is why:

"Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?" From A Brief History of Time (1991).

Pat Condell is S-M-R-T...

You can use the little arrows underneath the video player to turn off the captions...sorry it's so big (that's what she said).

Two posts in one day, I'm spoiling you.

I've seen some of Pat's videos on the Internets before but this one really spoke to me (I know I sound like a stupid Yankee asshole, but I really want him to say "a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat"). This video makes a great point on the difference between Spirituality and Religion, a point I think is important and profound (a point I tried to make here).

Pat calls his work "Godless Comedy;" The first few videos I saw I thought to myself 'okay we get it you don't believe in God,' but the more I see of his work, the more I realize that he is an atheist that has great respect for faith (really he calls it spirituality, and I'll stick to my verbiage). What he doesn't like (as is made clear in the video) is Religion (the established pillar that preaches without Dogma there is nothing). Instead of seeing the church as a threat, he sees it as a hurdle that mankind must overcome in order to reach a higher plain.

Good stuff.

George Carlin 1937-2008

I apologize that this took so long, I feel really shitty about it...

I really liked George Carlin. I thought he was funny, smart, and observant. He was never afraid to speak his mind. Religion, politics, the absurdities of life, Carlin was always ready with a quip that pretty much shows how twisted our world can be, in a way that no one else has been able to do in this way.

What you got from comedians in the 80s and 90s (Hey what can I say, I was a child of Comedy Central) were airline jokes, or they'd talk about how nice it is to be in Tulsa, these routines were all the same and all seemed to be taped in front of the Brick Wall of the Improv. The big guys -- Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, and George Carlin were different. They were the people that would stand up on stage and say "What the Fuck is wrong with you people?" George Carlin did this better than anyone.

What sucks the absolute most about this, is that we always seem to lose these people in a time when we need them the most (Lennon, R&JFK, MLK, Jesus). We are living in very important times. $4 gas, the clusterfuck in Iraq, the Biggest election in my lifetime (just to name a few), and we need people that will us the truth in the time of corporate sponsorship of elected officials, and news pieces that lack substance.

I'll miss George, he was exactly what this country needed, and we lost him far too soon. This is the best quote I've ever heard from him, and I didn't even hear it from him, but from my stepfather, the Great High Priest Bobbo: "If you're born in this world you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America, you're given a front-row seat."

Thanks George, Rest In Peace, give HST a kick in the ass then a hug from me...

The Fickle Media

They just don't know a good thing until it's gone. Maybe this will teach them to appreciate what they have.

Sorry for the Incoherence

The music gods have been mocking me. And you know what? I laugh in their faces, because I can listen to WPR all the way to Baraboo and back!!

I've been trying to solve my 'what to listen to in the car' problem in various ways. After my MP3 player crapped out on me, I turned to CDs, those archaic shiny things of the past. Then I got a disc stuck in the player and had to deal with the radio. There's only one station that doesn't fade out on me between Madison and Baraboo. Or so I thought.

I caught the beginning of a program on WPR last night as I was commuting and thought, "Well, I'll listen to it for as long as I can." I was pleasantly surprised to find that the station was still coming in strong when I got to work.

I know this isn't a really fascinating story or anything - but it does bring me to my point. The program I caught last night was a repeat of Kathleen Dunn's morning show. She inteveriewed Kenneth Miller, professor of biology at Brown University and author of several books, including Finding Darwin's God and Only a Theory. I've been reading Finding Darwin's God and wanted to blog it out once I finished the book. Unfortunately I don't know when finishing the book is going to happen - technically, I should really be studying right now.

Anyway, he was on Kathleen Dunn's show talking about Only a Theory. He made some excellent points about scientific method and theories as well as the need for teaching appropriate science in the classroom of public schools. He's a fairly religious Catholic, which was obvious from what I've read of Finding Darwin's God. And yet: he believes that evolution is a fact (or at least a damn good theory). Somehow he has found a way to reconcile his religious views with his scientific views, without practicing shoddy science. Amazing. I would highly recommend that the Church peruse his books, or even listen to the program.

'Bout time ye jerk.

So, this lady named Julia Wertz writes a comic called The Fart Party. It's dirty, makes cheap jokes rooted in bodily functions and creative vulgarity (which I for one love), but it's semi-autobiographic and she is a genuinely interesting person.

Here is an interview with her concerning her time in Mexico as a Evangelical Missionary (which she is not, by a long-shot, any more).

Here's to dick and fart jokes and sensitive insight into our dumb human foibles.
So say we all.