Father Issues

PostSecret

Awesomely Bad Video

This lady must be competing for some sort of anti-talent show.





The Emperor feels a disturbance in the force.

What Kind of Reader Are You?

One of those silly online quizzes. I am...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Try it yourself here.

UPDATE: Obviously their html doesn't work too well. You are ranked in each of the categories listed above. While the percentages aren't visible, they are listed from highest to lowest, so my highest category was "Obsessive/Compulsive Bookworm." Sounds about right.

Interrogations

A former Army interrogator writes about some of his experiences including the slippery slope to torture and the need to understand our enemy rather than simply demonizing them.

Nearly six years after the 9/11 attacks, we've succeeded in killing a lot of people. We've invaded two countries, captured thousands of terrorists, and set up new, democratic-style governments in place of the dictatorships we ousted. It has been an incredibly therapeutic six years -- at least it felt good at the beginning -- but it hasn't been effective at stopping or even slowing terrorism.

The people who decide our counterterrorism strategy are far better informed than I, but I suspect that, when we are successful, it will be because we recognize our enemies as human and develop plans that recognize their humanity. We need to be tough, and we shouldn't back down from a fight, but we also need to learn that empathy can be as powerful a weapon as missiles.

I wish more of our leaders in the White House, Congress and the Courts would think like this. And act on it.

Cursing

Steven Pinker is a well-known psychologist who has done a lot of research in linguistics. Over at The New Republic, he has a fascinating article on swearing, why we do it, its history, censorship, and so on. I have always been interested in why some people make such a big deal out of it. I do not swear frequently, and I try to be careful about who is around when I do, but I have never found it personally offensive. As Pinker mentions in his article, I wouldn't want to take away all of the power of swearing by making it mundane and commonplace thereby losing something from our language, a way to stress something or express great emotion. At the same time, I do think some people make too big a deal out of it.

The Search for Self

At least this guy tried. Most people don't seem to get that far.

The Car Woes Continue

Readers may recall that I was having a lot of difficulty with my car a couple of months ago and two different shops could not figure out the problem. Mysteriously it went away and has run fairly well since then.

Alas, my respite is over and my car is now acting up again. I noticed over the last two days that is has been idling roughly. Last night, after eating dinner at Olive Garden with my mother and daughters, the car did not want to start unless I revved the gas. It felt rough all the way home and by the time we got there, it was smoking profusely from the exhaust. I tried to start it again an hour later. It wouldn't unless I revved it and then I got a huge plume of smoke from the back end. Needless to say I didn't drive it anywhere and now, once again, I have transportation issues to figure out.

I wonder if I have offended the car gods in some manner. Perhaps a sacrifice of some sort is in order to appease them and let them end their punishment of me.

Speaking Too Soon

I recently wrote about my excitement in sharing some of my favorite books with my daughters including the Dragonlance Chronicles. They have really been enjoying it and I've been thrilled that they haven't been preaching to me about the evils of books and movies with gasp, the horror...magic.

Well, it seems that horse has reared its head again. At dinner tonight, Erica told me that she did not want to continue reading those books because she realized she "wasn't setting a good example" of being a Christian, that the books are "evil," and she has a "strong feeling" God doesn't want her reading them. After some prodding, she admitted that this came about because she told their grandmother, Lisa, why they were late coming home last week (just one more chapter, Dad?) and she flipped out. Yes, she is my ex-mother-in-law, but she is genuinely mentally disturbed. Despite the verbal abuse my daughters take from her (a short time before this discussion, Erica told me about wanting to shake Lisa), they believed her (it's reinforced with their mother and church, too) and realized that, yes, fantasy novels are a tool of the Devil to lead people astray and into the pits of Hell.

I'm amazed sometimes that I am able to remain calm during these situations and not shout, "Think about what you are really saying!" but I do. I just question my daughters and force them to articulate exactly how they feel about the books. Why are they evil? Other than reading these books and believing something different from you, have you seen my, your father, doing anything evil? If you have free will, how can a book give you bad thoughts and make you evil? What, exactly, is a "good" Christian? Does your mom, grandmother, or church give you a reasoned argument for why these books are evil or is it just "they are because we said so?" Why is this fiction bad, but other types are not?

Of course, my daughters cannot give any good answers for questions like these. I know that, but I force them to really think about it. Erica was crying by the time we were done, but she did admit she liked the book before Lisa said anything to her. I was hoping our talk would be enough to convince them to read tonight, but they didn't want to, at least not Dragonlance. These battle are so wearying mentally, but I can't, won't, give up on my daughters. I owe them that.

Another Trek Flick

So, J.J. Abrams is delivering his take on the Trek universe next year. Apparently many fans are cautiously optimistic. I'm a little more ambivalent.

On one hand, I do think that the characters, especially the Holy Trinity (Kirk, Spock, and McCoy) are iconic enough that they have transcended their portrayals by Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelly. I don't have a problem with revisiting these characters. On the other hand, I don't think that a movie is the place to do it. Part of it is that it is going to contradict previous continuity while still ostensibly being a part of it. I also think that of the six Original Series movies, the only one that really lived up to the potential of the series was The Wrath of Khan. Even if you aren't a big fan of Star Trek, you can't really deny that it is a kick-ass movie. Sure, III and VI were decent, I and IV less so, but not bad. There's rumors of a fifth movie, but I'm sure that's all they are is rumors.

So, I'm not sure what to think about the new movie. I do think J.J. Abrams is talented and if anyone is going to pull it off, he can. I was excited about the prospect of Matt Damon playing Kirk. I think he would have been a damn fine James T. Kirk, but alas it won't be him. We'll see.

I've have actually fantasized for a long time about being the lead writer on a Trek TV show that remade The Original Series. As much as I love it, I don't think that TOS ever lived up to its full potential. I would kill to be the lead writer/producer on this show. It would be five seasons, with the broad arc plotted ahead of time, and a healthy mix of one-off episodes and multi-arc stories. It would retain the swashbuckling adventurism and exploration of societal issues that the best episodes had while being brought together into a cohesive whole. Sure it's perfect in my head, but I think I could make it a darn good reality. Are you listening, Paramount?

Titan Pictures

Titan is one of the more famous satellites in our solar system because of the presence of water. Since life as we know it requires water, Titan could be a source of life (not flying saucers and grays, but bacterial life or primitive plants). The Cassini probe has taken some new pictures of Titan. Very cool stuff.

Hellfire and Damnation

I see I'm not the only one who has to deal with stuff like this. My daughters are much better about it than they used to be. There is a lot less tears and saying "You're going to hell" than there ever used to be. Still it is galling to me that my daughters (and other children) are being raised this way. It is psychologically traumatizing for a child to believe that one of their parents is destined for eternal torment. Not to mention that it can put a huge wedge in a relationship. Is that what Jesus would do?

Guns. We Need Lots of Guns.

I caught part of a story on NPR driving home today about an Oregon teacher who wants her school to allow her to carry a gun on campus. She has a conceal-carry permit and is worried about her ex-husband doing her harm and all of the school shootings.

Now, leaving aside the actual argument of whether or not this is a good idea, I want to address one of the arguments she gives for allowing it. It is one I have heard frequently from gun-rights activists. "It's my second amendment right." These people seem to think that because it is a right, there can be no limits on it whatsoever. Unfortunately for them, that is not the case.

Free speech is a right, but we put limits on it. You can't shout "Fire!" in a theater just because. You can't tell deliberate lies about someone or something in a newspaper. I don't think anyone (well, I'm sure there is some nut who would disagree) thinks that these limits are bad. Why should it be different for the right to bear arms. Why shouldn't there be limits on it as well? The teacher in the story dodged the question when she was asked why she should be allowed to bring a gun to school when she couldn't take it into a bank or the federal building. She played the card of "we need to make sure our kids our safe" and "you never know what's going to happen."

Fear has become the basis for far too many decisions in America. I'm not saying we shouldn't take steps to be safe, but I am saying we need to stop making decisions based on "Oh, my God! What if?!"

Sue Crazy

A cop is suing a family she helped. She assisted in rescuing their one-year-old from a pool. The child survived, but suffered serious brain damage. The cop slipped in a puddle of water in the house (a puddle left by wet people who were trying to rescue the kid) and broke her knee. She is suing the family for "unspecified damages."

Eichhorn's attorney, David Heil, said she now has persistent knee pain and will likely develop arthritis. He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," Heil said.

When is the lawsuit insanity going to end?

Laws Against Helping People

This is appalling. How do people sleep with themselves at night when the pass laws against feeding people, e.g. the homeless. Oh yeah, it's because too many people see the homeless as lazy bums rather than human beings like them who have mental problems or have fallen on very hard times. These people typically don't have support networks. Making it illegal for people to feed them just makes it more difficult for the homeless. Ignoring them isn't going to make the problem go away.

I'm sure my friend, Jeromy, can offer some more thoughts on this as he has done a lot of work with the homeless.

A Couple of Poems

I came into work later than usual yesterday and today giving me a chance to hear The Writer's Almanac on NPR. It is one of my favorite features on that show and they didn't disappoint offering up two great poems.

"They'll" by Cheryl Denise

take your soul
and put it in a suit,
fit you in boxes
under labels,
make you look like the Joneses.

They'll tell you go a little blonder,
suggest sky-blue
tinted contact lenses,
conceal that birthmark
under your chin.

They'll urge you to have babies
get fulfilled.
They'll say marriage is easy,
flowers from Thornhills
are all you need
to keep it together.

They'll push you to go ahead,
borrow a few more grand,
build a dream house.
Your boys need Nikes,
your girls cheerleading,
and all you need is your job
9 to 5 in the same place.

They'll order you never to cry
in Southern States,
and never, ever dance
in the rain.

They'll repeat all the things
your preschool teacher said
in that squeaky too tight voice.

And when you slowly
let them go,
crack your suit,
ooze your soul
in the sun,
when you run through
the woods with your dog,
read poems to swaying cornfields,
pray in tall red oaks,
they'll whisper
and pretend you're crazy.

"The God Who Loves You" by Carl Dennis

It must be troubling for the god who loves you
To ponder how much happier you'd be today
Had you been able to glimpse your many futures.
It must be painful for him to watch you on Friday evenings
Driving home from the office, content with your week—
Three fine houses sold to deserving families—
Knowing as he does exactly what would have happened
Had you gone to your second choice for college,
Knowing the roommate you'd have been allotted
Whose ardent opinions on painting and music
Would have kindled in you a lifelong passion.
A life thirty points above the life you're living
On any scale of satisfaction. And every point
A thorn in the side of the god who loves you.
You don't want that, a large-souled man like you
Who tries to withhold from your wife the day's disappointments
So she can save her empathy for the children.
And would you want this god to compare your wife
With the woman you were destined to meet on the other campus?
It hurts you to think of him ranking the conversation
You'd have enjoyed over there higher in insight
Than the conversation you're used to.
And think how this loving god would feel
Knowing that the man next in line for your wife
Would have pleased her more than you ever will
Even on your best days, when you really try.
Can you sleep at night believing a god like that
Is pacing his cloudy bedroom, harassed by alternatives
You're spared by ignorance? The difference between what is
And what could have been will remain alive for him
Even after you cease existing, after you catch a chill
Running out in the snow for the morning paper,
Losing eleven years that the god who loves you
Will feel compelled to imagine scene by scene
Unless you come to the rescue by imagining him
No wiser than you are, no god at all, only a friend
No closer than the actual friend you made at college,
The one you haven't written in months. Sit down tonight
And write him about the life you can talk about
With a claim to authority, the life you've witnessed,
Which for all you know is the life you've chosen.

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

This is not good news for those hoping the Supreme Court would put the brakes on the administration's torture policies. They are set to look at a related case involving Gitmo detainees. Maybe this one will have better luck.

Still, it is amazing to me that a president as criticized and unpopular as Bush is still seems to get his way on so many things. Congress can't (or won't) do anything to stop him. The Courts aren't checking his power much. It seems the politicians and judges are split between "torture is a-okay" and "I might get hurt politically if I make a real stand, so I'll just make a lot of noise without doing anything substantial."

George Washington would be proud.

Obama's Religion

Andrew Sullivan has an upcoming essay for the Atlantic dealing with religion in politics which I am looking forward to. Today he gave a brief excerpt from an interview he did with Obama for the piece.

AS: This is I think one of the more (to me at least), the most interesting part of your candidacy. Because we live in a world in which atheism - militant, contemptuous atheism - is on the rise. Religious fundamentalism is clearly the strongest force. Your faith - this thought-through intellectual faith, in many ways, but also a communal faith – is beleaguered, isn’t it?

BO: You know, it doesn't get a lot of play these days. But, you know, reading Niebuhr, or Tillich or folks like that—those are the people that sustain me. What I believe in is overcoming - but not eliminating - doubt and questioning. I don't believe in an easy path to salvation. For myself or for the world. I think that it’s hard work, being moral. It's hard work being ethical. And I think that it requires a series of judgments and choices that we make every single day. And part of what I want to do as president is open up a conversation in which we are honestly considering our obligations - towards each other. And obligations towards the world.

AS: But you don't think we're ever going to be saved on this earth do you?

BO: No. I think it's a ... we're a constant work in progress. I think God put us here with the intention that we break a sweat trying to be a little better than we were yesterday.

Obama's faith comes off as genuine to me from what I have seen of him. Still, the marriage of religion and politics is scary to me and it is worse this campaign season. I think it is great if a politician has a particular set of religious beliefs that guide them in life. I don't think it should be paraded for everyone to see or as a litmus test of whether or not to vote for someone. Don't vote for Romney not because he's Mormon, but because he will say anything to get a vote and wants to "double Guantanamo." On the other hand, don't vote for Obama because he seems to be a good Christian, but because you like or agree with his policies.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

My niece, Alexis, three years old just came into my room. Shawna just bought her a new dress because they are going to visit West Yellowstone where my friend Patrick died in a car wreck last October. We started talking about her dad and had this exchange.

Me: "Patrick was my friend."
Alexis: "He's still your friend."

Yes, he is honey. Yes, he is.

Keychain Love

My daughter, Erica, gave me another keychain last weekend. She made one for me awhile back and I used it, but it broke, and I never got it replaced. Truth be told, I don't really like keychains. I don't like having anything in my pocket, and keychains just make it worse by making my keyring bigger. When I pulled my keys out of my pocket at work today, though, I looked at the keychain and got a big smile on my face. Thinking about Erica making that keychain and the smile on her face as she put it on my keyring and the look she gave me when she handed it to me filled me with so much joy. I don't like keychains, but I love this one as a reminder of her. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

So We Are Moving

My Mom talked to her realtor today. She had been exploring options for my Mom to keep this house or at least be able to purchase another one. Unfortunately neither option is going to happen. My mom can't get approved for a loan high enough to cover the remaining cost of the house and get my brother his equity. What she can get approved for is not enough to get her anything near what she would want.

I imagine it will be very soon. Shawn is desperate to get to Missoula not only to be with his "true love," but because he has it so rough here. *eye roll* He's been telling Shawna that he's got it rough here because he's sleeping in the laundry room with the cat litter box (I offered to give him his room back, but he declined). My cat knocks over his water glass (I've told everyone that it's something he's not going to be broken of, so don't leave 'em lying around). And he "has to" fix the basement bathroom sink (No one asked him to and Mom was going to hire someone to look at it). Shawn is a very unhappy person right now and it's just going to get worse the longer he is here. Of course, he is not self-aware or wise enough to understand that nothing here is making him unhappy, nor is his girlfriend going to make him happy. That comes from within. I just hope he learns that sooner rather than later.

In the mean time, Mom and I have to move. I hate moving because it's such a pain in the ass, but I hate more the pain my mom is feeling right now because of all of this.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Barack Obama announced his plans today for dealing with global warming, and Matt Yglesias likes the looks of it.

The Uber-Family Circus

I never understood the appeal of The Family Circus. It was never funny or insightful. This is a version of the comic that I could get behind, though. The pairing of Nietzsche's words with Bill Keane's drawings makes for a strip that is actually very amusing.

Wow

A church sign I ran across:

"Reason is the greatest enemy faith has."

I don't know where to start. Weren't we given a brain by God? Doesn't it make sense that God would give us something he expects us to use? I suppose "making sense" is a product of reason, so I guess people that put signs up like this don't realize this.

Still Rockin'

It's great to see classic hard rock/heavy metal bands from the 80s coming out of hiding and touring. Somebody needs to show the darn kids these days what good music is.

Huh?

I understand "diff'rent strokes fer diff'rent folks" and all that, but sometimes I really wonder. Is this something that this couple will look back fondly on? Will they get misty-eyed thinking about the "magic" of the moment? Will they give each other that "look" while they recount their story of getting married at Wal-Mart to their grandchildren?

Whatever floats their boat, I guess.

Still...Wal-Mart? I feel dirty just driving by one of their stores.

Evangelicals and the Military

I believe that evangelicals end up doing more harm than good to their cause with stunts like this. Attempting to force your beliefs on others or at least making them uncomfortable in their own faith is a travesty and just makes you look like an inconsiderate bully. Yes, atheists do this, too, and it's just as unacceptable then. What ever happened to respect?

Science and Morality

Changes in science and technology come so rapidly anymore that we don't have time to understand the full ramifications of them before we are forced to deal with them.

Tony Frudakis, a molecular biologist, has been doing some groundbreaking work in DNA encoding. With a sample, he can predict someone's race with 99% accuracy, iris color with 96% accuracy, and is close to having accurate prediction of height and skin color. He has used this to help in a few forensic cases which is what he has been developing it for, but business is not booming. Many people are scared of the implications of this and fear it could lead to someone "proving" that one race is superior to another. Even the prosecutor from one of the cases he helped solve is uncomfortable with it.

But even the people one might think should be his biggest allies aren't supporting that, including Tony Clayton, the special prosecutor who tried one of the Baton Rouge murder cases. Clayton, who is black, admits that he initially dismissed Frudakis as some white guy trying to substantiate his racist views. He no longer believes that and says "had it not been for Frudakis, we would still be looking for the white guy in the white pick-up truck." But then he adds, "We've been taught that we're all the same, that we bleed the same blood. If you subscribe to the (Frudakis) theory, you're saying we are inherently unequal."

He continues: "If I could push a button and make this technology disappear, I would."

I understand some of the discomfiture, but I strongly disagree that Frudakis is saying people are unequal. I think his work shows that people are different and that some of those differences can be found in our DNA. The science of our DNA is plunging ahead rapidly and we need to have a national dialogue about it. People need to be educated on the topic to eliminate some of the misconceptions. It's going to go forward whether or not people are comfortable with it or like it, so people need to know what DNA is and what DNA tests can/cannot do in order to form at least somewhat informed opinion.

Another Week, Another Secret

PostSecret

Winter is Coming

We had some snow today. It only hit parts of town and not where I live, but I still was upset. Well, not upset, but certainly not happy. It's supposed to warm back up over the next few days, but it won't last. It's getting back to that time of year. I told a co-worker the other day that I can't wait to be living somewhere where people think it's cold when it's below sixty, it snows every couple of years (maybe) and the town just down because people don't know how to handle it. That sounds nice to me. If I get homesick for snow and cold (*snort*), I can look at pictures.

Dragonlance and the Next Generation

I've been reading the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy to my daughters over the last couple of months. After tonight we have only one chapter left in the first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. They have been very excited about it, especially Shaena, and are constantly bugging me to read "one more chapter." I first read the series back in junior high and it is an enormous pleasure to share my love of these books with my daughters.

Sometimes I find myself really amazed at the impact a parent has on their children. Sure, most people understand the big things, teaching your children right from wrong and all that good stuff, but it goes down to the smallest things. I've introduced my daughters to Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, and many other things I enjoy. They like these books and movies now, too. If I had never shared these with them, would they even know about them or be interested in them? Will they share them with their kids in the future? It's almost scary thinking about these things. I hear them repeating phrases of mine or espousing opinions of mine (without fully comprehending them) and I just shake my head. There are two lives being shaped like clay in my hands (and their mother's unfortunately). Who am I to have that power?

America and Torture

Okay. Okay. One more...

Andrew Sullivan has been coming down hard on the Bush administration for its authorization of torture for a few months now. You can read his devastating piece on some of the similarities in techniques used by the Nazi regime and those Bush has endorsed (they used the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques" too).

Today he responds to the New York Times piece on the DoJ memo which has just come to light and clearly states that torture is okay. Sullivan is understandably livid as all Americans should be.

There is no doubt - no doubt at all - that these tactics are torture and subject to prosecution as war crimes. We know this because the law is very clear when you don't have war criminals like AEI's John Yoo rewriting it to give one man unchecked power. We know this because the very same techniques - hypothermia, long-time standing, beating - and even the very same term "enhanced interrogation techniques" - "verschaerfte Vernehmung" in the original German - were once prosecuted by American forces as war crimes. The perpetrators were the Gestapo. The penalty was death. You can verify the history here.

We have war criminals in the White House. What are we going to do about it?

Is this the kind of country we want? I almost feel ashamed not only that it is happening in my country, but that so many people seem to not really care because it just happens to non-whites and it supposedly keeps us "safe."

Some things shouldn't be compromised.

Fairy Tale Murder Mystery

I should be going to bed (or at least doing homework), but I want to write about the TV show I watched last night. I don't watch a lot of TV and typically if it's a good show, I just catch it on DVD. Last night, though, I sat down to watch one of the new fall shows that appeared very intriguing, Pushing Daisies.

In a nutshell: impressive. It was a great blend of fairy tale romance, macabre murder mystery, and quirky characters. Ned discovers when he is a young boy that with a touch he can bring dead things (people, animals, plants, insects) back to life. It sounds great, except there is a catch. If he touches the person or thing again, they die. However, if he does not touch them again within a minute, someone close by dies in their place.

This leads to a very traumatic experience for Ned. When he is 8, his mother has an aneurysm in front of him. He doesn't yet know that a second touch will kill her or that if he doesn't touch her in a minute, someone else will die. Ned is in love with Chuck, the girl next door. When his mother is alive for more than a minute, Chuck's father keels over and dies in the yard. Then when Ned's mother tucks him in for bed that night, she gives him a kiss and promptly falls over dead.

Chuck goes away to live with her neurotic aunts and Ned develops a neurosis about touching or getting attached to people. He makes a quiet living making pies until a private detective learns about his ability. Together they make money by solving murders. Ned reanimates the corpse, asks them "who did it?" and kills them again before a minute is up.

This works out well for them until Chuck turns up dead. The private investigator, Emerson, does not know of the history between Ned and Chuck who have not seen each other since they were 8. He tells Ned their is a big reward for this case, but Ned cannot bring himself to kill Chuck again once he has resurrected her. Of course, he cannot touch her again and their are many sweet (and funny) moments in the episode as they grapple with this.

It's nice to see a show that's different. Shows about lawyers, doctors, and cops are a dime a dozen and most of them are all too similar. There is nothing like Pushing Daisies on TV and I can't wait to see more episodes. I'm hoping that it catches enough of an audience to stay on. Too many good shows don't seem to get an audience and are cancelled (Arrested Development, Boomtown). So, check it out. Let the suits know we don't want more of the same junk they're always trying to peddle on us.

Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

Nightwish has finally released their latest CD, Dark Passion Play. It came out on Tuesday. I've been anxiously awaiting this album for awhile now, but somehow with everything going on I forgot about it until I was leaving work today. Needing to fix this grievous error, I immediately went to the local Hastings and picked it up.

So, how does it measure up to previous releases. I've only listened to it all the way through once and I am half way through a second listen as I type. It's going to take a few times through to really get a feel for it, however, I have to say I really like it.

Of course the big change with this album is the new singer, Annette Olzon. She does not have a classically trained voice as Tarja did. She has a "poppier" sound. I do like it, though. She has good range and emotion. It will be interesting to see how she sounds singing their older material.

The heart of Nightwish has always been Tuomas Holopainen. His poetic lyrics and beautiful compositions are what makes Nightwish Nightwish and he doesn't disappoint here even as some other band members share song writing credits on two songs. With Dark Passion Play, Tuomas has gone over and above their last CD, Once, in epicness. A full orchestra is used and the liner notes credit some fifty people in two choirs for backing vocals. This is on full display on the album's first song, The Poet and the Pendulum, a fourteen minute show-stopper about death, hope, love, and the power of music. It is probably my favorite track at this point, very reminiscent of Ghost Love Score, another of my favorites.

Marco Hietala continues to be more prominent vocally, getting lead vocals on a couple of songs, and prominent as back-up in several others. His gruff voice sets up a great contrast with Annette and makes for some dynamic interplay.

Tuomas has always been very personal with his lyrics, but a few songs seem more so on this album. It is obvious that parting with Tarja was very hard in him. He doesn't talk about his personal life much, but it is clear that he really loved her. Unfortunately for him, it was unrequited. The song Bye, Bye Beautiful really captures the anger, torment, and loss he feels. The song Master Passion Greed is most definitely about Tarja's husband and the anger Tuomas (and the rest of the band) felt with the way he treated them and pushed Tarja to go after her solo career.

All in all, while the voice may be different, Dark Passion Play is still classic Nightwish. I'm not sure how I'd rank it in relation to the others right now, but it is damn good and highly recommended if you like epic, melodic heavy metal with female vocals.

Fall Classic

I don't follow baseball near as much as I once did. After I stopped playing myself and went through the turmoil of the last 15 years ('94 player's strike, steroids, etc.), I've become bored and disinterested with the sport for the most part. In fact, I didn't even realize that my beloved Cubs made the playoffs until a few days ago.

So, with the eternal optimism of a true Cubs fan, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

Presidential Trivia

Mental_floss ran a contest to give away some books. Players had to answer questions about American presidents and could submit their own nuggets of presidential trivia including this gem:

“Lyon Tyler, whom John Tyler sired at the spry young age of 63, went on to continue the family tradition and in 1928, at the age of 75, fathered a child himself. That son, Harrison Tyler (at right, in 2006) is still alive. The grandson of the tenth president of the United States, the grandson of a man born in 1790, is alive today. He currently lives on his grandfather’s estate, Sherwood Forest, in Virginia. And ladies, if you’re interested, he may be looking to continue the family legacy.”

And I thought it was amazing that my dad's dad was born in 1884.

Obama's Game Plan

Obama has pledged to run a "different" campaign, one where negativity and attacks on one's opponents wouldn't happen. Some have been saying lately that with Clinton's numbers remaining very strong that Obama needs to go on the attack to more sharply differentiate himself. I think, though, that it would be a mistake to do so. For one, he has said he is not going to do that and to change now would only make him look bad. Second, the primaries are still months away and many (most) people have not been paying that much attention, yet. I think when they do, Obama will begin to look better and better. Not to mention that Obama has been criticizing Clinton, just not overtly.

Andrew Sullivan writes briefly about Obama's recent speech at DePaul University and has the full text of it. It is long, but worth the read. It is inspiring and, for me, highlights why he is the best candidate in the race. He comes down hard against torture, talks about diplomacy (imagine that!), says we need to get out of Iraq immediately but not precipitously, calls on Americans to serve, promises to be open and honest, and says he wants to unite America.

Sure, politicians always talk big when they are running, but this is better stuff than what the other candidates, on either side of the aisle, are saying (double Gitmo! free money for being born!). This is what I want to see in a leader even if I don't agree with all of his policy ideas.

Reshaping Education

Slate has an article about a new book, Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy. As the title suggests, it is about Albert Shanker and his quest to improve schools in America starting in the 60s.

In the process, Shanker transformed American education. His efforts significantly boosted teacher salaries, equalized pay between men and women, assured minimal standards in schools (not least by capping class sizes), and forced the National Educational Association, the nation's most powerful teachers' union, to embrace collective bargaining. He also encouraged his sometimes reluctant membership to embrace necessary reform; the American Federation of Teachers, under Shanker's leadership until his death in 1997, backed provisions for ousting incompetent teachers, public school choice, and the standards movement. And unlike Reuther's UAW, Shanker's union has held onto its gains. Today, there isn't a teacher in America whose life hasn't been touched by Shanker's own.

Sigh. Another book added to my list of "must reads."

Religious Humor

Check out this video. This is the first in a series at MrDeity.com. I was laughing my ass off. Warning: if you are at all sensitive to religious humor, you may find some of the videos blasphemous.

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Evil - Episode 1

The School Bell is Ringing

I am back in school today. I logged on to my classroom for Introduction to the Old Testament and got my assignments for the week. I have about forty pages to read from the textbook and I have to get on the messageboard and post about the reading.

I'm excited to be back in the mix.

Dialogue

I love dialogue. It is a wonderful chance to flex your mental muscles, test your ideas, and learn something.

My good friend, Jeromy, sent me a link to a blog he came across called An Evangelical Dialogue on Evolution. The author wants to build a bridge for a discussion of evolution between scientists and creationists. From his introduction:

And that brings us to the reason for this blog – a dialogue. The current relationship between evolution and evangelicalism can best be characterized as warfare. I believe that ending this warfare will be good for science, and much more importantly, good for the gospel. Our Christian commission is to tell the good news of Christ’s resurrection, his present and coming kingdom, his new creation. The evangel in evangelicalism should remind us of this everyday. And I strongly believe that our misguided war on science in general and evolution in particular is hurting the gospel; it is preventing many from hearing and responding to the good news. And it is causing some who have heard and believed to now doubt whether it is good news at all. Dialogue is the first step towards a ceasefire.

A noble undertaking. I haven't read more than his introduction at this point, but I intend to keep up with his posts. For the record I believe in God/Jesus and evolution.

I Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry

How can people get anywhere in life being this stupid?

Work Ethic

Apparently, Protestants work harder than people of other faiths. It's part of their basic morality or something. Darn it, why couldn't those early Protestants made a virtue of lounging around and reading or something?

Burgeoning Entrepreneurs

Normally, I pick up my daughters after work on Friday, but last Friday I picked them up in the morning on my way to work. The volunteer department at the hospital was hosting a craft fair. The table fee goes to the volunteers who use the money for purchasing things around the hospital.

I signed up my daughter, Erica, for a table so she could sell her key chains. She has been bugging me for a year to let her sit in the front yard at my place and sell her wares, so this was a golden opportunity for her. Shaena sat with her and helped her. She sold her keychains for either $1 or 2$ depending on how much was involved in each one. By the end of the day, she made $31. She was so excited about the whole thing and she's already talking about the sale next year.

I didn't think her mother was going to let her go because it meant skipping school and she had been telling Erica for a few weeks she didn't think it was a good idea. I am surprised, actually, that in the end she permitted it. I'm very glad, though, because it was a wonderful experience for both of them. I got lots of compliments about how smart, polite, and cute they were which made me feel very proud.

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

I get the sense that there are a lot of people like this. They want something more from their life, but they are too scared or just don't know how to get out of their rut and go after what they want. Something I've tried to stress to my daughters is that if they want something, they are the only ones holding themselves back from getting it. Big dreams are worthless if you are not willing to take big actions to make them come true.

Obama and Hope

Andrew Sullivan wrote about Obama's speech at Harvard. He also includes a full transcript. It is very good and is an example of why I think Obama is the best candidate in the running now.

The truth is, though, one man cannot make a movement. No single law can erase the prejudice in the heart of a child who hangs a noose on a tree. Or in the callousness of a prosecutor who bypasses justice in the pursuit of vengeance. No one leader, no matter how shrewd, or experienced, or inspirational, can prevent teenagers from killing other teenagers in the streets of our cities, or free our neighborhoods from the grip of homelessness, or make real the promise of opportunity and equality for every citizen.

Only a country can do those things. Only this country can do those things. That's why if you give me the chance to serve this nation, the most important thing I will do as your President is to ask you to serve this country, too. The most important thing I'll do is to call on you every day to take a risk, and do your part to carry this movement forward. Against deep odds and great cynicism I will ask you to believe that we can right the wrong we see in America. I say this particularly to the young people who are listening today.

Channeling a bit of JFK there and that's not a bad thing. I think many of us in this country have forgotten how to sacrifice and serve. We need leaders guiding us back to that, leaders who will help us rise above ourselves and become a part of something big.

No More Hugging

I guess this school has solved all of their other problems because they have just banned hugging on school grounds.

The principal says the rampant hugging is creating bottle necks in the hallway and making kids late for class. Furthermore she says although hugs are supposed to be handshakes from the heart some times they don't seem so innocent.

So, teachers can't just monitor the halls and tell the kids to keep moving if they are causing a traffic jam? I guess they can't just tell kids to tone it down if their hugs are becoming more than hugs, either. I mean, really, banning hugs? It sounds like something out of a bad Orwell knockoff.

More Teen Sex Insanity

A 17-year-old boy is being charged as an adult with sexual assault in New Hampshire for having consensual sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

What benefit does this bring for society? Will other teenagers see this and think, "Gee, maybe I better not have sex with my partner?" No. The only thing that will come from this is the boy's life being ruined if he is convicted as he will be looking at jail time and registering as a sex offender. Why can't they just let parents handle these things (as long as they don't act like the girlfriend's dad, anyway, who beat the boy up at school)?

Celebrity Look Alikes

MyHeritage is a web site with some interesting features. One of them is a celebrity look alike function. You upload a photo of yourself and they show you celebrities that resemble you. I uploaded the head shot of me from on the front page of my blog and got this:

I tried another photo and got this:

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Interesting. Three people appeared on both lists. I had no clue who Chester Bennington was, but Wikipedia says he is the lead singer for Linkin Park. That explains why I don't know him as I'm not a fan of their music. Hrithik Roshan was also a mystery to me, but Wikipedia tells me he is a Bollywood actor. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the other person to be on both lists.

I think I've learned that I need to look like the first picture more often because that one apparently makes me look like Gavin Rossdale and Leo DeCaprio.

Try it out and let me know who you look like.

UPDATE: I went back and tried a different layout for my pictures since it was hard to read the names in the other style.

UPDATE 2: I did it again with a different picture.

Many Thanks

Debbie, wife of my best friend Jeromy, made a big bowl of chicken fettuccine alfredo as well as a dish of garlic butter for my mom and I yesterday. It tasted very good and the best part was, of course, that I didn't have to cook. So, thank you very much, Debbie.

Scandal Prone or Just in the Spotlight and All Too Human

CNN has an article about the recent Juanita Bynum scandal and asks whether Pentecostal preachers are more prone to it than other movements. This quote from the article is the best answer to that question:

But Anthea Butler, a professor of religion at the University of Rochester in New York believes Pentecostals are no more trouble-prone than other Protestants. "The same sort of thing is happening to Baptists and Presbyterians," she says. "Except for one big thing. They are not media figures." Notes Charisma's Grady: "There's something about someone who is excited about the things of the Holy Spirit that makes them want to get up and proclaim it" — often on TV. "But you'd better have character, or there's going to be a national scandal."

Exactly. If you are going to be in front of millions of people, you better keep your skeletons in the closet or they're going to end up a big deal even if it is something stupid that wouldn't do more than cause a rolling of the eyes or a raised eyebrow if your neighbor or co-worker did it.

Take Away the Mystique

Can this really be a surprise to anyone? I've blogged about this and sex before. I really think that a big part of the problem is that our society trains kids to rebel and then tells them that alcohol and sex are really bad (while media tells them how cool it is). Is it any wonder that teens get drunk and screw? Is it any wonder that kids go off to college and get drunk and screw?

Our current system isn't working so we obviously need to try something different. By making an issue - be it alcohol, sex, drugs, smoking - less mysterious, less black and white ("It's bad! Don't do it ever!") you make it more difficult to be something that can be rebelled against and less likely for a teen to want to do it "just because." It won't stop all teen drinking/irresponsible college drinking and sex, but nothing will. We're only human after all.

Newt

Just what the Republicans need. Another fake candidate.

Ron Paul seems to be the only principled candidate on the Repub side, but he's a little too out there for most people. I like that he stands by his principles and I'm glad that he's injecting some new ideas into the debate, but I don't agree with a lot of his principles. Even John McCain seems to have given up some of his principles supporting as he has the president's right to take away habeas corpus at will.

It's a pretty sad bunch for the Republicans this election. I don't see how they can win the White House, short of the Dems nominating Hillary that is. Then they've got a fighting chance. Hell, the Republican candidate probably couldn't even beat Mike Gravel.

Poor Guiliani

Guiliani is upset that people are judging his personal life. I think it's called...politics, Mr. Guiliani. Should it happen? Well, of course not, but we are only human. I don't think Guiliani does himself any favors by invoking Jesus on this issue, though. I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't freak out over ferrets.

In the same story, Guiliani uses 9/11 as an excuse for taking phone calls from his wife in the middle of speeches. What can't you use 9/11 as an excuse for anymore? I thought that was over a few years ago, but I guess not. Maybe I can use it as an excuse to take a few days off from work. Hmmmm...

Free Money!

Seriously, how can anybody think this is a good idea? It's a half-step removed from paying people to have kids, not to mention that giving somebody money for nothing is never good (unless you're the Dire Straits). I can't imagine that Hillary could get this passed if she was President, but just the fact that she thinks it's a good idea is one more reason not to vote for her.

Cold Mountain

I finished this book a couple of days ago. It was a very enjoyable read. I saw the movie when it came out a few years ago, but not since, so some of the details of that are fuzzy. The biggest difference is in the portrayal of the romance between Ada and Inman. It is much more low-key in the book. In fact, though it is the prime motivation for Inman's actions and plays a big part at the end, it is hardly a major part of the book. Rather it is the story of two people's journeys - Inman's physical journey to return to Ada, his mental journey coping with the things he has seen in war, and Ada's emotional journey to mature and grow into a self-reliant person. The romance is secondary to these and I think more poignant for it. I understand why they played it up for the movie (and I did enjoy it), but the book is more powerful because of it's low-key approach.

Snake Handlers

Like Ransom at mental_floss, I have long been fascinated with the Christian sects that handle snakes and speak in tongues. I haven't read much about it; I need to get some good books on the subject. Ransom does have a video with clips from a 60s documentary about a West Virginia church that features these things. The sound isn't the greatest, but it's fascinating nonetheless.

Teaching Methods

I agree with Alex that we can't be hoping for real teachers to be like hero-teachers in the movies, but I disagree with him strongly that what teachers need is a strict script to go by. I think teachers need flexibility to address individual students. One size most certainly does not fit all in education. With a system like that you end up teaching to the middle and losing the kids on the ends of the spectrum. I know because I've been there.

When Can You Consent to Sex?

William Saletan writes about the issue of sexual consent age and our laws around it.

This is the reality of sex with minors: The ages of the parties vary widely from case to case. For more than a century, states and countries have been raising and standardizing the legal age of consent. Horny teenagers are being thrown in with pedophiles. The point of this crackdown was to lock up perverts and protect incompetent minors. But the rationales and the numbers don't match up. The age of majority and the age of competence are coming apart. The age of competence is fracturing, and the age of female puberty is declining. It's time to abandon the myth of the "age of consent" and lower the threshold for legal sex.
...
Lay out these numbers on a timeline, and you have the beginnings of a logical scheme for regulating teen sex. First comes the age at which your brain wants sex and your body signals to others that you're ready for it. Then comes the age of cognitive competence. Then comes the age of emotional competence. Each of these thresholds should affect our expectations, and the expectations should apply to the older party in a relationship as well as to the younger one. The older you get, the higher the standard to which you should be held responsible.

We need to do something about sex laws in our country. When a 17-year-old gets a 10 year prison sentence for having oral sex with a 15-year-old, there's a problem. I could go off on other issues like being convicted on rape charges when the woman consents to sex, changes her mind after it starts, admits the man stopped, but still accuses him of rape; but I'll save that for another time.

Acting

I have had a lot of fun at work yesterday and today, not just a "good" day, but fun.

I assisted the Public Safety department with two drills. Yesterday, they ran a violent patient drill in Outpatient Rehab. I got to play an agitated head injury patient on the verge of violence. The rehab staff knew it was a drill, but the employees responding to the Code:Grey call did not. Even though some of them recognized me, they thought it was real and that I was really freaking out. One lady told me I was really scaring her. I was pacing around yelling, "This is bullshit!" and "You can't keep me! I just want to go home!" A few people told me I need to go into acting. Only if I can just take the role of agitated patient, though. I was just copying all of the people I've had to babysit at the hospital while doing security. It was a great stress reliever, though. I was imagining all of the things that make me mad and channeled that. Everyone should get a chance to be an angry, confused person.

Today, the drill was a baby abduction and I got to be the kidnapper. I put on street clothes, my jacket, took my glasses off, and put on a baseball hat pulled low. A girl from patient accounts, Ann, was the mom. The nurse manager took us into a room and gave us a baby doll. Ann put on the gown. My job was to get as far as I could with the baby. Ann gave me a brief head start and then went to the nurse's station and told them that she went into the bathroom for just a minute and when she came out her baby was gone. Apparently she gave a very convincing act with tears and all and the nurses started freaking out. For my part, I made it out of the building in about a minute without being apprehended. I walked by a few people that know me but did not recognize me. I had the doll hidden under my jacket and walked with a purpose but not too fast. I walked to the end of the parking lot and sat down and waited. After almost two minutes a few staff members started surrounding me because my description started to get out and someone had seen me go out. If had a vehicle, though, I would have been long gone. I had a lot of fun and I helped identify some weaknesses in our system for preventing baby abductions.

Both drills were a blast. I can't wait to help with another one.

Another Blade Runner

Ridley Scott is releasing a definitive version of his classic, Blade Runner. His director's cut in the early 90s was closer to his vision (and definitely superior to the original cut), but apparently not quite up to his standards. His new cut will be out in DVD in December. Wired has an interview with Scott about the movie.

And, of course, this is the perfect excuse to link to a clip of one of the most incredible scenes in cinema.

Chaos at Home

I haven't written much lately in part because I've been busy, but more because I've been frustrated and in a bad mood. Home has been crazy lately. Mom fell on Saturday and hurt her side. She was still in a lot of pain on Sunday, so I took her to the emergency department. Thankfully nothing was cracked or broken; she was just bruised up. She's still in a lot of pain, and doesn't get off the couch unless to use the bathroom or go to bed. I took most of Monday off work to help Mom because she was feeling sick from the pain meds and babysitting her granddaughter, Alexis. She's had to babysit too much this week (well, every week). No one seems to want to clean up after themselves around here and I end up cleaning up after my siblings and their kids. Sharie and Shawn live here, but they either avoid everyone or just get angry and moan about how "bad" they have it.

Sorry about the rant/whine, but I had to get it out of my system.

"...an open relationship with the Lord."

A moving account of one person's spiritual journey.

Overly Dogmatic

People make a big deal out of orthodoxy, what someone's beliefs are. That's why there's some 35,000 different Protestant sects and each one will tell you their beliefs are the correct ones. Sadly, the difference are often very minor and yet lead to conflict and a spirit of noncooperation. An interesting article examines this issue, specifically relating to our origin and the conflict that has been built up between those who believe the world is 6000 years old and those who believe it is far older. The good old Religion vs. Science debate. The author, a believing Christian, writes that by being overly dogmatic on this issue, Christians are putting a "stumbling block" up for bringing in non-believers who do not accept the young Earth theory.

I am dedicated to standing strongly for Scripture in those areas that are essentials of the faith, regardless of what the “world” says. I can join Luther and say “here I stand”. But when we are talking about areas that are not essential, which are not “salvation issues”, and upon which sincere and dedicated Christians differ, dogmatism can be dangerous. And, I think one of the most serious examples of this danger today comes when Christians take a dogmatic position regarding their view of origins.

The reason why I engage in these discussions is very simple: I want to remove the stumbling block to the Gospel message that is being created by a dogmatic presentation of Creationism. Not the belief in a young earth and creation without evolution per se, but the “either/or” teaching that comes with it. I am not here to argue for an old earth or evolution, necessarily, but against the false dichotomy that so often comes along with Creationism. More and more people are being taught that an old earth/evolution and Christianity are wholly inconsistent and that if you believe one, you can not really believe the other. Such a blanket statement puts two very distinct groups in crisis and I am convinced that souls are being lost to the Kingdom as a result. This may sound a bit over-dramatic, but I have seen too many people distracted from the Gospel message by this issue.

I think a lot of Christians would do well to think about this.

Pathetic

Stealing from old people is pathetic enough. Trying, and failing, to rob an old person is even more pathetic.

Muslim Voices

Muslims have been criticized for not being vocal enough in their denunciation of terror, but their are Muslims voicing their disapproval as Salman al-Audah, someone Bin Laden very much respects, did recently. Muslims may not be as outspoken against terror as they should be, but I don't think the media reports it as much as they should. I haven't seen any report of this other than on the link above. If we want Muslims to speak out we need to ensure their voice can be heard.

Israel and Palestine

Iraq will no doubt be the defining issue of the Bush presidency, but I think historians will also regard his failure to take seriously the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as almost as criminal as his incompetence in the Iraq war. Scott McCleod writes about it on his Time blog.

Everybody knows what the outlines of a settlement are: Israelis and Palestinians came very close to a deal back in 2001 when Clinton was still president and before Bush took America out of the mediation business for six years. My hunch: there will be a meeting, it will be postponed until early '08, the Saudis and other players will excuse themselves, Olmert and Abbas will sign a memo stating some progress, and Bush will urge them to... hold some more meetings.

Old Guard vs. the New

Andrew Sullivan looks at the differences between Clinton and Obama.

Clinton, in other words, represents payback for the Democrats and liberals after the Bush era, just as Giuliani is emerging as the inheritor of the Bush legacy of divide and rule. Right now, Obama remains to the side, offering Americans something else: not payback, but a new page.

Neither black nor white, neither atheist nor born-again, a candidate who favours withdrawal from Iraq but an offensive against Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, a progressive offering the working poor a tax cut, his bet is that, in the end, America wants to come together again. The unanswerable question is whether America really does.

The primaries are quickly approaching. Whoever gets their party nomination and then the presidency is going to need to unite our nation. I'm not sure any of the current candidates could do this with the exception of Obama.

Marriage Secret

PostSecret

Marriage is a funny thing these days. We have unprecedented freedom to choose our mate, but people don't seem to be happier in their marriages and we certainly have plenty of divorces. I can attest to it because I've "been there, done that," but I think one of the biggest reasons for marriages failing is that people rush into them too quickly. You fall in love, and thinking that "all you need is love," you get married. Then you learn all about your mate. That's backward, of course. Before you stand before one or one-hundred witnesses and take a vow of lifetime commitment, you need to learn all about the person you want to marry. You need to sit down with your potential spouse and ask tough questions about life goals, money, children, etc. If your ideas of what your lives should be like are too different and can't be worked out, there's no shame in deciding to not get married. Marriage and a vow of commitment should be taken seriously and not rushed into even if divorces are easy to come by.

Bill O'Reilly the Blowhard

I can't stand this guy. I think he's a pompous ass. Still, it's a bit surprising that he could be this openly stupid.

Helping Out

On Friday I helped a coworker in the Care Management department out. They assist patients with many things from getting set up for in-home care to getting out of town family members a place to stay while a loved one is in the hospital. Theresa needed to get a bus ticket for a patient being discharged, but could not leave to go get it. Often times a Public Safety officer will do it, but the officer on duty was working by himself and could not leave the campus. He suggested Theresa talk to me. I didn't have anything critical going on, so it wasn't a problem for me to run to the bus station and get the ticket.

Theresa was very, very grateful and even called my boss to tell her how happy she was and how great it was that I would do this. It felt good that Theresa was so thankful, but what is always somewhat strange in these situations is the seeming surprise from the person you help, surprise that someone would go out of their way to help them.

Why is that? Why do we live in a society where people are shocked when someone helps them? Especially for something like this where I was on the clock so I got paid for my time. I used a company vehicle, so I didn't have to use my own gas money. I really didn't sacrifice anything to help Theresa out, but somehow it was still amazing to her that I would help. It's sad that we live in a society that greets help with amazement. We should be grateful, but we shouldn't be surprised.

A Moment of Silence

I'm not sure how I missed this news. Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series of novels passed away last Sunday. He was only 58. Jordan was diagnosed with primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy last year.

I've been following the Wheel of Time since the second book came out in 1990. Though the series began to become bloated and decline in quality with the last few books, it still ranks as a favorite of mine. The (supposed) last book in the series remains unfinished. I'd like to be frustrated that it may never be finished, although his wife does have all of his notes for it, but I can't. Robert Jordan has passed away too young and he will be missed.

Photo by Jeanne Collins, taken November 2, 2005 at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego, California at a book Signing for Knife of Dreams.

Umbrage

The brouhaha over MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad is ridiculous. This is one of the better responses to it I have encountered.

It's all phony, of course. The war's backers are obviously delighted to have this ad from which they can make an issue. They wouldn't trade it for a week in Anbar province (a formerly troubled area of Iraq that is now, thanks to us, an Eden of peace and tranquillity where barely a car bomb disturbs the perfumed silence — or so they say). These days, mock outrage is used by every side of every dispute. It's fair enough to criticize something your opponent said while secretly thanking your lucky stars that he said it. The fuss over this MoveOn.org ad is something else: it is the result of a desperate scavenging for umbrage material. When so many people are clamoring for a chance to swoon that they each have to take a number and when the landscape is so littered with folks lying prostrate and pretending to be dead that it starts to look like the end of a Civil War battle re-enactment, this isn't spontaneous mass outrage. This is choreography.

It's upsetting that real discourse is rarely done anymore in modern politics, although I suppose the cynic would say, "Is it really any different now than it was?" Maybe not, but I still get tired of partisan games. Why can't we just have a civil discussion about important issues?

The Iran Question

Steve Clemons doesn't think Bush will bomb Iran. But he doesn't rule out an "accidental" conflict.

We should also worry about the kind of scenario David Wurmser floated, meaning an engineered provocation. An "accidental war" would escalate quickly and "end run," as Wurmser put it, the president's diplomatic, intelligence and military decision-making apparatus. It would most likely be triggered by one or both of the two people who would see their political fortunes rise through a new conflict -- Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

That kind of war is much more probable and very much worth worrying about.

The neocon movement has failed. Cheney and his ilk need to pack it up before they do more damage to our nation.

A Space Gap?

More woe from NASA.

I admire the people at NASA. They have gathered some brilliant minds. The problems there I think stem from mismanagement and being a government bureaucracy dependent on tax payer money for support. I think the answer does lie in the private sector.

Pants on Fire

The difference between the blogosphere and mainstream media is at times a large one. One of the big gulfs is when it comes to public figures lying. Bloggers don't hesitate to call pols on it. The MSM tends to gloss it over or bury it in their story. That may be changing.

"We were trying so hard to be impartial we fell down on our responsibility to blow our whistle when they were saying something false," [Adair] says. There had to be a better way to prevent falsehoods from getting out there and sticking, he says. Hence PolitiFact.

About time. We need to hold politicians accountable. They're our representatives.

Slimy Lawyer Ads

Nobody likes advertisements because most of them stink. Lawyers ads are no different. Ransom on Mental_Floss has a post about ads from law practices including videos of a couple of awesomely slimy TV ads. You can't help but laugh watching them (both called "The Hammer") talk about crushing your enemy or getting all of the money (or more!) that you deserve.

What Doesn't Google Do?

Google continues their quest for non-evil world domination with their free presentation builder ala PowerPoint. While I like the Microsoft Office suite and don't have any problems with it, I'm glad to see competition for it. That will only the software for both sides better.

Family Ties

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. It was, unfortunately, not as nice as it should have been. We went to dinner at Applebees. My sister, Sheena, said she couldn't come because her daughter, Aryana, was cranky and crying and her boyfriend certainly doesn't seem to ever babysit. Sharie was her usual angry self and when I tried to get everybody to share some memories of Mom, she said she couldn't think of any. My sweet niece, Alexis, has not been taught how to sit down and behave while eating, so she was making a scene. After dinner, we were all supposed to go out for drinks, but Shawna and Sharie didn't come because they didn't have babysitters or just didn't want to. So, Shawn and I took my Mom out. She has been wanting to play keno for a long time, so we went to a casino that had pool tables so that Shawn and I would have something to do. We didn't end up playing long because Mom's bowels started, ah, acting up and we had to race home to get her to the bathroom. She doesn't see eye-to-eye with public bathrooms, not because they are dirty or anything, but because they are public and she can't always relax enough to go. This seemed to irritate Shawn, but maybe it's just because he feels he is too long from his "true love."

Anyway, I really wish my siblings would make more of an effort for events like this. Sure, things happen, but when it's your mom, I feel like a little extra effort is in order. My brother and sisters are too often enmeshed in their own lives to see what is really going on in other people's lives and to be bothered to go out of their way for someone. I know what it's like because I've been there, but it's still frustrating.

Moody Blues

I had a bout of depression hit me this afternoon. Nothing in particular caused it. I just started feeling that way. It was bad enough that I was hardly able to do any work. I still feel depressed and pissy. Coming home didn't make it any better. I don't want to be bothered by anybody right now or have to think about anything.

It's really a strange feeling. I don't know how people who deal with this on a more regular basis manage. I'd go crazy if I had to handle this more often. Though I deal with fatigue on a daily basis, the emotional roller-coaster ride is the most aggravating aspect of MS that I have to deal with. Thankfully I have no physical difficulties to manage at this point. When those do come, though, I don't think I will be as bothered by them as I am by these bouts of sadness and anger. I treasure my mind above all things that I am and it's frustrating to not always have control of it.

Evangelical Debate

One of the coolest features on Slate are the email debates. Two people email back and forth a few times debating some topic. A recent one, not quite finished, yet, is between Hanna Rosin and David Kuo. Rosin just wrote a book called God's Harvard about an evangelical Christian college, Patrick Henry, that prepares its students to be advocates of Christ especially in politics. Kuo worked for George W. Bush as director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and wrote a book about that and his experience dealing with the Religious Right.

Their debate is about Rosin's book and her claim that evangelicals are pushing for a Christian theocracy. It is well worth the read.

War With Iran?

Barnett Rubin writes about the similarities between current Bush rhetoric and the things he was saying leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Eli Lake gives a snarky rebuttal. Justin Logan responds to Lake.

I don't think the notion that the Bush administration is desirous of war with Iran is a "liberal fantasy" or spin by the media. I think the signs are there. Whether Bush and Cheney will be foolish enough to go through with it is another question, but I get nervous when I wonder about their connection to reality and ability to think rationally about these things.

Secret of the Week

PostSecret

An Attack on Atheists By...An Atheist?

Jonathan Haidt, professor of psychology at the University of Virgina and an atheist, writes an article very critical of "new atheists" such as Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.

Reading Harris is like watching professional wrestling or the Harlem Globetrotters. It's great fun, with lots of acrobatics, but it must not be mistaken for an actual contest. If we want to stage a fair fight between religious and secular moralities, we can't eliminate one by definition before the match begins.

Ouch. Haidt claims that Dawkins and Harris take a too narrow view of morality and don't understand the benefits that can stem from religion. It is a very intriguing article.

Taking a Stand

Some kids at a high school in Nova Scotia rally around a bullied kid.

Two students at Central Kings Rural High School fought back against bullying recently, unleashing a sea of pink after a new student was harassed and threatened when he showed up wearing a pink shirt.

The Grade 9 student arrived for the first day of school last Wednesday and was set upon by a group of six to 10 older students who mocked him, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up.

snip



They used the Internet to encourage people to wear pink and bought 75 pink tank tops for male students to wear. They handed out the shirts in the lobby before class last Friday — even the bullied student had one.

As someone who was picked on regularly in school, it's nice to see other kids standing up for this one.

Now We Just Need Scotty Playing the Bagpipes

This is so awesome.

More Classes

I registered for four more classes the other day. In January I start International Relations II (8 wks) and Middle Eastern Literature (16 wks). In February I have Myth and Ritual as well as Islamic Law and Theology, both eight weeks. I'm getting really excited to be back in school again.

Discipline

I have to think of an appropriate punishment for my daughter, Erica. Shortly before I took her and her sister home tonight, she told met that she cut a few of my cat's whiskers off. My buddy, Tiberius. Erica has strings that she uses to make key chains, bracelets, and such. Tiberius is forever getting into them because she leaves them out a lot. I've told her many times that if she wants him to leave her strings alone she needs to put them away. Well, she left them out today. Tiberius got into them and she decided to snip his whiskers. "It was just the tips," she said. I gave her a talking to and she was nearly in tears. I told her that when she came back next weekend I would have a punishment for her. Now I just need to think of something appropriate for what she did. Ah, kids.

"I'm not dead."

If you think you're having a bad day, think about this guy.

I guess some things don't just happen in movies.

The President's Address

I did not catch Bush's address to the nation the other night on Iraq, and have only reviewed some excerpts. This strikes me as a reasonable assessment of what Bush said as well as a repudiation of some of his details, namely that al-Qaeda in Iraq is our biggest threat there.

Uninformed Voters

Steve Benen asks why Clinton is the Democratic front-runner when a)ending the Iraq War is the most important issue for a majority of the base and b)she is the most hawkish candidate on the war. He blames it on uninformed voters.

I suspect some will suggest that this is an elitist attitude — I’m accusing the majority of people of being uninformed about the details. I don’t think, however, that’s elitist; I tend to think it’s a reality bolstered by the data.

Sadly, this is not something likely to go away anytime soon, whether someone is a Democrat or Republican.

Healthcare and Pension Plans From the Netherlands

Justin Fox over at time has been writing about Dutch healthcare plans and pension plans. Looks like we might be able to learn a thing or two.

Public School Woes

Jonathan Kozol, a noted critic of our nation's public school system, talks to Salon about No Child Left Behind and the struggles teachers face in the system.

I am still flabbergasted that anyone thought NCLB was a good idea. I think most people heard the title and thought is sounded good, so were for it. After all, if you are against NCLB, you must want to...LEAVE CHILDREN BEHIND! What kind of sick person wants that? I do think that our society has a vested interest in giving all of our children the best education possible. I don't think the government should be telling teachers how to do their jobs, though. Give schools the tools they need to mold young minds, but let them work out the details. The bigger the gap between where decisions come on how to educate our students and the students themselves, the bigger chance we have of failing to give the students the best education possible.

To Be Fair

I recently linked to a study examining difference in liberal and conservative brain functions. Here is a rebuttal of said study. I didn't mean to imply that I agreed with the study 100%, at least the interpretation of the results. I do find it very interesting, however, but then I find the workings of the brain fascinating. I would like to see more tests done on this and perhaps other views of the results.

"...irrational escalation of commitment."

An interesting analogy for the Iraq war from an economic point of view.

The Sunni POV

Matt Yglesias posts about what Sunni leaders are telling their people. In short: 1) we were defeated and went to them for help in pursuing al-Qaeda, 2) they are not a minority and will not submit to Shia rule, 3) we should leave immediately, 4) we make things worse, 5) it's okay to attack our troops. I guess Bush must be talking to different Iraqis than everyone else.

Tetris Master

I used to account myself a fair Tetris player back in the day. I'm nothing compared to this guy, though. No, that video is not sped up. Watch the timer on the bottom of the screen. He really is that fast.

UPDATE: Fixed link.

Women Are Strange

Katie Joy sent me a text message yesterday morning, "Top of the morning to you." It's the first time I've heard from her since our date a week and a half ago. I replied asking her how school was going. She never responded. I almost sent another message asking if her text to me was an accident and she meant to send it to someone else. I can't help but laugh about it.

3:10 to Yuma

I saw this the other night with my mother. Fan-freakin'-tastic. Definitely one of the best movies I have seen in awhile. Christian Bale plays Dan Evans, a Civil War vet missing part of one leg, and desperately trying to provide for his family. Russell Crowe is Dan Wade, a brilliant, if psychotic, leader of a band of outlaws. When Wade makes a mistake and is caught, Evans agrees to assist in escorting Wade to the train station to catch the "3:10 to Yuma" which will take Wade to jail. A battle of wills ensues fueled by the unrelenting pursuit of Wade's gang led by his number two man, Charlie Prince (a gripping performance from Ben Foster).

Bale and Crowe are without a doubt two of the finest actors in Hollywood today. As Wade, Crowe has so much masculine charm rolling off him you can feel it. Bale's raw intensity as a man so desperate for his wife and sons to see him as a man is heartbreaking. Both deserve Oscar noms as does Foster come award season.

One of the prominent themes of the movie is the nature of being a man. What is a man, exactly? Evans is certainly not seen as one by his family. His oldest son, especially, views him with contempt, contempt for not being able to provide for his family and being unable to protect them from the angry landlord to whom they owe money. Wade on the other hand seems to be the epitome of masculine - strong, confident, charming - but he is a ruthless killer. Making things worse for Evans is that his son, William, admires Wade and even his wife finds herself charmed by him. The pain is so evident in Evans seeing this and wanting so badly for his family to look at him like that. The dynamic between these two characters is what makes this a brilliant movie.

Definitely worth the price of admission. Check it out.

Men Are Nasty Predators

At least that's how we are being portrayed more often in our society. Check out this excerpt from a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

The result of all this hyper-carefulness, however, is that men often feel like untouchables. In Cochranville, Pa., Ray Simpson, a bus driver, says that he used to have 30 kids stop at his house on Halloween. But after his divorce, with people knowing he was a man living alone, he had zero visitors. "I felt like crying at the end of the evening," he says.

At Houston Intercontinental Airport, businessman Mitch Reifel was having a meal with his 5-year-old daughter when a policeman showed up to question him. A passerby had reported his interactions with the child seemed "suspicious."

In Skokie, Ill., Steve Frederick says the director of his son's day-care center called him in to reprimand him for "inappropriately touching the children." "I was shocked," he says. "Whatever did she mean?" She was referring to him reading stories with his son and other kids on his lap. A parent had panicked when her child mentioned sitting on a man's lap.

This is horrifying. I understand the need to protect our children, but we are getting to a point where we are ostracizing men and depriving children of positive male role models. We can't keep our children in bubbles. We can't assume that every man is a monster out to molest our children. Read this letter to Prudence on Slate (second one down). A mom is concerned about her daughters sleeping over at a friend's house because they will be "sleeping in the same house with another nonfamily man," i.e. their friend's dad, a married man. What is our society coming to?

First Google Earth, Now Google...Moon?

Google is offering a $20 million dollar prize to the first person/s to put a robotic lander on the moon with little or no government aid. I think this is very exciting and I can't wait to see what will come of it. When I was younger and still dreamed of a career in aerospace engineering I always thought (and still do, actually) that real progress in space exploration would come from the private sector. The government is too big and unwieldy and has to overcome too many hurdles to be a major player in the space race. Yes, it got us to the Moon in '69, but how far have we come since? Not very. It will probably be at least ten years before someone can claim this prize, but it promises to be an exhilarating race.