Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals from Barbara Hagerty, npr.org
It's got some great quips from Barney Frank, who is now in my awesome pantheon for public use of wit - that near archaic weapon that needs a renaissance.
As much as I may diagree with religion, blind faith, etc. I appreciate the "warm fuzzies" that come from someone genuinely concerned with your welfare, so I'm fine with being prayed for (eg my Gramma, cute little Catholic). So if this Liberty Counsel wanted to just spread some good will, regardless of who's what politically, I'd be all for it, but because they're using something sacred (to many, which I can respect even if I don't buy into it) as a passive agressive weapon against those big skawwy liberals - I'm annoyed.
Of course this is a Christian catfight - why can't "we" get past that Paul-esque bitchiness? I say we get some liberal-leaning Christians of all stripes to weigh in. Maybe start their own prayer circle, since lorf knows we need more saving from conservative rhetoric (obsessed as it is with abortion, homosexuality, and healthcare) these days.*
*if they broadened their whine base, i'd listen more, but when you worry that much about the "gay agenda", it tells more on your psychological fixations than your political concerns.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Only my Girlfriend will find this funny
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Roman Polanski: SLURP SLURP SLURP SLURP!
I take it that most people by now have been informed that directo Roman Polanski has been arrested for his decades old crime of drugging and rapeing a 13 year old girl.
Polanski has made some of the most well regarded movies in his generation and definitly has achieved some great things artistically.
Because of this many are calling for lienancy or clemancy with this case. Some are saying the whole thing should have been dropped because the victim has forgiven him.
Since the whole media and film and text things are as close as a religion as I get I feel the need to weigh in.
No, not literally, but yeah...he should totally go down.
Special privileges to "special" people is the first step to fascism.
Sorry to invoke Godwin's but it needs to be said.
Should we give say, Mike Viedt a break since he's a good football player? Or OJ?
What about Preacher Edgar Ray Killen? He lynched a civil rights activists. He got away with the crime for some 40 years (specifically because the jury could "never convict a preacher") , everyone was over it, no evidence he killed anyone else after that, he was even 80 an old man so he could never fulfill his prison sentence. he was also a preacher so he was a 'special' person.
To quote the judge in that case, " each life lost was valuable and he strongly asserted that the law made no distinction of age for the crime"
Considering our law system won't give even the most law abiding, struggling, poor citizen a break even on something minor like a traffic ticket, giving a break to the prosperous and affluent for a serious crime is a double standard that is inexcusable.
To put it in in-context perspective, the idea that people are judged based on their contributions to the arts and society is roughtly the moral system Hannibal Lecter uses. True, Hannibal is typcially tough on child related offenses
But he might go easy on Polanski for his great contributions to the arts. Now while I'd probably agree with Hannibal in some cases (mainly the necessity to execute Paulie Shore for Crimes Against Humanity) it's clear he's not the best freaking moral role model.
Let's keep that in mind, respect Polanski's work on their own merits, and respect the work many others gave to those projects, and still hope that justice is served....
Polanski has made some of the most well regarded movies in his generation and definitly has achieved some great things artistically.
Because of this many are calling for lienancy or clemancy with this case. Some are saying the whole thing should have been dropped because the victim has forgiven him.
Since the whole media and film and text things are as close as a religion as I get I feel the need to weigh in.
fry em
No, not literally, but yeah...he should totally go down.
Special privileges to "special" people is the first step to fascism.
Sorry to invoke Godwin's but it needs to be said.
Should we give say, Mike Viedt a break since he's a good football player? Or OJ?
What about Preacher Edgar Ray Killen? He lynched a civil rights activists. He got away with the crime for some 40 years (specifically because the jury could "never convict a preacher") , everyone was over it, no evidence he killed anyone else after that, he was even 80 an old man so he could never fulfill his prison sentence. he was also a preacher so he was a 'special' person.
To quote the judge in that case, " each life lost was valuable and he strongly asserted that the law made no distinction of age for the crime"
Considering our law system won't give even the most law abiding, struggling, poor citizen a break even on something minor like a traffic ticket, giving a break to the prosperous and affluent for a serious crime is a double standard that is inexcusable.
To put it in in-context perspective, the idea that people are judged based on their contributions to the arts and society is roughtly the moral system Hannibal Lecter uses. True, Hannibal is typcially tough on child related offenses
Above: Understatement
But he might go easy on Polanski for his great contributions to the arts. Now while I'd probably agree with Hannibal in some cases (mainly the necessity to execute Paulie Shore for Crimes Against Humanity) it's clear he's not the best freaking moral role model.
Let's keep that in mind, respect Polanski's work on their own merits, and respect the work many others gave to those projects, and still hope that justice is served....
...with fava beans and chiante!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Real life Steampunk
Hey who doesn't love some steampunk?
This is EATR
This is EATR
Say hi, EATR!
EATR is a a harvesting military robot. In dangerous settings like toxic waste contamination or battle fields he has the ability and programing to power himself by scavanging biomas (twigs, moss etc) and 'eating' it. Inside a combustion engine uses high tech steam engineering to power him. Awesome or what!?
Hilariously Fox News originally reported him as a "Corpse eating robot" which kind of shows how horribly they mangle news.
Again on 9
To answer my Gal Pal's address, I think one problem I had with 9 (and this is problem only in i'm intentionally being critical) is the lack of motivation and back story given to the villian, Machine.
Are we to imply that Machine is evil because he is pure intellect? That seems...odd. If it's not anti-intellectual (literally) than that would mean the Machine simply is full filling it's goal. This is a common reason for AI revolts in sci-fi...
some side stories imply Skynet is villianous due to a vague objective it was given.
HAL in 2001 had conflicting objectives
Sentinals in X-men eventually went on a "destroy all life spree" because they were programed to kill mutants and their AI eventually discovered that all life diversity is due to mutation.
Furthermore, Machine seems to show some emotion, given his spark fits when a creation is destroyed. Is it a slave rebellion? I really want to know more about the origin damn it!
I also don't get WHY Machine sucked up poppit souls. Does that mean he himself DOES have a soul (part of the Professors?) which would make him...what? #0?...#10? He had a slot for the soul storage...thingy. Why would that be there if he wasn't intended to use it?
Really the sci-fi now is raising more questions that it answered about it's setting...and a cardnal sin about any sci-fi/fantasy setting is to violate your own rules. I liked the movie, I just kind of hoped the big secret they were carrying was something more unique than just 'soul'. That's kind of an easy guess...why not something else that would be a way to preserve man kind. There's no unique or innovative gear punk way to have something like that?
Rage Against him!
Are we to imply that Machine is evil because he is pure intellect? That seems...odd. If it's not anti-intellectual (literally) than that would mean the Machine simply is full filling it's goal. This is a common reason for AI revolts in sci-fi...
some side stories imply Skynet is villianous due to a vague objective it was given.
HAL in 2001 had conflicting objectives
Sentinals in X-men eventually went on a "destroy all life spree" because they were programed to kill mutants and their AI eventually discovered that all life diversity is due to mutation.
...or they could just be drunks.
I also don't get WHY Machine sucked up poppit souls. Does that mean he himself DOES have a soul (part of the Professors?) which would make him...what? #0?...#10? He had a slot for the soul storage...thingy. Why would that be there if he wasn't intended to use it?
Not THAT kind of soul!
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