If you haven't heard yet, the latest Batman movie is great. Go see it, and then watch and laugh at this video. Terrifically done!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Entire Internets Is Going to Hell
If you have any doubt that the internet is nothing but a festering sore of rude, stupid, terribly atheistic, yet funny ass-holes, one need go no further than fark.com. Drink, read, and be merry.
If this level of ridiculous discussion existed somewhere in real life, I would never leave that place (and probably die from laughter)...
Despite how much I hate Bill Maher, this does look to be pretty funny. I know, I know, I'm a terrible person. Here's a trailer for "Religulous" a documentary by Bill Maher on religion.
If this level of ridiculous discussion existed somewhere in real life, I would never leave that place (and probably die from laughter)...
Despite how much I hate Bill Maher, this does look to be pretty funny. I know, I know, I'm a terrible person. Here's a trailer for "Religulous" a documentary by Bill Maher on religion.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Eye Opening,..
I want to believe in the inherent goodness of man. For me to be true to this I have to always second guess my understanding of not only myself, but society and what I consider right. Everyone has been shaped by their (or lack of) family, community, and associated belief systems. Understanding that everyone has their own unique viewpoint is refreshing, but also problematic. Not all truths are relative. The holocaust happened. 9/11 happened. America and its people, as a whole, is a force of good and a source of inherent human decency. People who kill innocent human beings, purposefully and without remorse, deserve no sympathy when their actions are judged incompatible with modern society and they are hunted down for their crimes.*
Please watch the trailer for "Karachi Kids". These kids were normal. They were systematically broken down and built back up to reflect exactly what their teachers desired.
There is no room for moral relativism with regards to terrorism, even when it tries to cloak itself under the protective umbrella of religeon.
Please watch the trailer for "Karachi Kids". These kids were normal. They were systematically broken down and built back up to reflect exactly what their teachers desired.
There is no room for moral relativism with regards to terrorism, even when it tries to cloak itself under the protective umbrella of religeon.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Am I a Terrible Person Because of This?
Many colleges have t-shirts made which not only let you know what college the wearer wants to be associated with, but usually some other identifier with which you're supposed to glean some worthwhile information. T-shirts that I have seen include (Duke is just used as a random university): Duke Rugby, Duke Engineering, Duke Liberal Arts, etc. etc.
I think this is the first time I have seen a shirt, and had a serious negative reaction towards it. A girl was wearing a shirt that said , "Duke Latina".
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some seriously wrong shirts:
Baby's shirt says: "Daddy drinks because I cry."
Shirt Says: "What Would Jesus Do For a Klondike Bar?"
Shirt Says in different colored bubbles: "Fuck the Colorblind"
Shirt with an outline of a guy that looks like he's dancing: "I'm not getting jiggy wit' it. I have parkinsons..."
These are seriously insensitive shirts. I love them. I am seriously repulsed by this racial shirt though. I don't really know why. Is it because I could be socially ostracized for wearing a shirt saying: "Duke Caucasian"? Maybe I'm over-compensating for the fact that I'm not supposed to be proud of being white. I don't know. I'm going to have to do some serious introspection though.
Some of the things that are bouncing around in my head though relate to some of the things I've been taught:
* Duke is just used as an anonymous identifier.
I think this is the first time I have seen a shirt, and had a serious negative reaction towards it. A girl was wearing a shirt that said , "Duke Latina".
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some seriously wrong shirts:
Baby's shirt says: "Daddy drinks because I cry."
Shirt Says: "What Would Jesus Do For a Klondike Bar?"
Shirt Says in different colored bubbles: "Fuck the Colorblind"
Shirt with an outline of a guy that looks like he's dancing: "I'm not getting jiggy wit' it. I have parkinsons..."
These are seriously insensitive shirts. I love them. I am seriously repulsed by this racial shirt though. I don't really know why. Is it because I could be socially ostracized for wearing a shirt saying: "Duke Caucasian"? Maybe I'm over-compensating for the fact that I'm not supposed to be proud of being white. I don't know. I'm going to have to do some serious introspection though.
Some of the things that are bouncing around in my head though relate to some of the things I've been taught:
- It's not right for me to think of race as a distinguishing factor in anyone's ability to get ahead.
- I should love everyone else's differences, and applaude their "diversity".
- By saying that I'm for diversity, I should have a wonderful feelings just explode in my head, akin to a "morals-gasm" of overflowing love for everyone else and their differences.
- Because I'm a white male, there is nothing about me that could ever be considered different or diverse.
- I should feel an underlying guilt behind every positive thing that ever happens to me (because I'm a white male).
* Duke is just used as an anonymous identifier.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
They're Taking Our Jorbs!
Reason.com has a video out now about free trade and how our jobs are being shipped out of this country. They think it's a good thing. I think it's a good thing. If we were as concerned with utilizing more efficient forms of labor, why don't we wring our hands and decry the advent of robots? Give the video a watch, it's about 8 mins long; well worth your time.
Hurley from Squidbillies: I don't care to consort with those of the robot race!
Hurley from Squidbillies: I don't care to consort with those of the robot race!
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Entire Internets is Going to Hell
If you have any doubt that the internet is nothing but a festering sore of rude, stupid, terribly atheistic, yet funny ass-holes, one need go no further than fark.com. Drink, read, and be merry.
If this level of intelligent banter existed in a public forum somewhere in real life, I don't think I would ever leave that bastion of stupidity. The forums can be especially ridiculous / insightful. Put on your hip-waders though, you don't want it touching your skin...
If this level of intelligent banter existed in a public forum somewhere in real life, I don't think I would ever leave that bastion of stupidity. The forums can be especially ridiculous / insightful. Put on your hip-waders though, you don't want it touching your skin...
The History of Computers
Over at Mentalfloss.com there is an awesome documentary on the history of computers. Say goodbye to an hour of you life. I'm a sucker for informational stuff like this.
Lies We Tell Kids
Paul Graham has a terrific article up about the reasons why parents lie to their children. Only after reading the above article was I able to step back and question my motives for lying to kids. I feel entirely competent in digesting honest facts and opinions, divorced from emotion. When it comes to my (future) kids, however I feel it perfectly fine, for the sake of maintaining innocence or optimism, to lie to his/her pudgy face.
Very rarely do I sit back and think about it, but sometimes this topic really gets me going. Recently I heard an episode of NPR's "To the Best of Our Knowledge" and it was overwhelming to me how brutal (albeit well intentioned) honesty to children can be:
Paraphrased from NPR interviewee:
Because I believe so strongly in the message of global warming, I decided to show Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" to my children. Everything was fine until we got to point on polar bears drowning, at which point my 10 year old stands up and yells, "If Al Gore thinks the world's so terrible, why doesn't he just go commit suicide!" He stormed off upstairs and refused to come back down.
I disagree strongly with the idea that the Earth's is irreparably damaged. Leaving that aside, I even more strongly disagree with scaring the shit out of children with environmental alarmism that just changes flavor every 1-2 decades. We're telling kids that the world is coming down all around them, when in fact I would be surprised if the sea rose more than 1 foot in the next 50 years. Read the IPCC report. Read it and tell me how the worst case scenario of 20" of sea rise in 100 years is going to be an insurmountable catastrophe for human kind?
We don't need to be making our children shit their pants at night, fearing that they won't wake up, because Global Warming will kill them in their sleep and rape their parents. We need to give them the information when they're capable to interpreting it themselves, and acting upon it in an intelligent fashion.
Very rarely do I sit back and think about it, but sometimes this topic really gets me going. Recently I heard an episode of NPR's "To the Best of Our Knowledge" and it was overwhelming to me how brutal (albeit well intentioned) honesty to children can be:
Paraphrased from NPR interviewee:
Because I believe so strongly in the message of global warming, I decided to show Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" to my children. Everything was fine until we got to point on polar bears drowning, at which point my 10 year old stands up and yells, "If Al Gore thinks the world's so terrible, why doesn't he just go commit suicide!" He stormed off upstairs and refused to come back down.
I disagree strongly with the idea that the Earth's is irreparably damaged. Leaving that aside, I even more strongly disagree with scaring the shit out of children with environmental alarmism that just changes flavor every 1-2 decades. We're telling kids that the world is coming down all around them, when in fact I would be surprised if the sea rose more than 1 foot in the next 50 years. Read the IPCC report. Read it and tell me how the worst case scenario of 20" of sea rise in 100 years is going to be an insurmountable catastrophe for human kind?
We don't need to be making our children shit their pants at night, fearing that they won't wake up, because Global Warming will kill them in their sleep and rape their parents. We need to give them the information when they're capable to interpreting it themselves, and acting upon it in an intelligent fashion.
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