Happy birthday Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart, you crap-named brilliant nutter you.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Archive for January, 2006
27
Jan
Happy Birthday Amadeus
26
Jan
Saw (100 Word Review)
Nearly a year to the day that I first looked forward to watching Saw, I had the pleasure of indulging in this chillingly calculated gorefest. The plot and characters could have been better developed, rather than just overly clever, but scene for scene this is a rollicking great ride into madness.
A definite 7/10 for sheer, insane terror.
Buy this at Amazon.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Orson Scott Card, whom I’ve called an asshat before, has let himself in for more rectal millinery by defending Intelligent Design. Luckily PZ Myers was standing by with some snappy science.
Popularity: 9% [?]
19
Jan
The Zork of Bush
For those still unable to grasp the miserable failings of the Bush administration, Defective Yeti has boiled it all down to a text-adventure game based on Zork.
Oval Office
You are standing inside a White House, having just been elected to the presidency of the United States. You knew Scalia would pull through for you.There is a large desk here, along with a few chairs and couches. The presidential seal is in the middle of the room and there is a full-length mirror upon the wall.
What do you want to do now?
> INVADE IRAQ
You are not able to do that, yet.> LOOK MIRROR
Self-reflection is not your strong suit.> PET SEAL
It’s not that kind of seal.> EXAMINE CHAIRS
They are two several chairs arranged around the center of the room, along with two couches. Under one couch you find Clinton’s shoes.> FILL SHOES
You are unable to fill Clinton’s shoes.
Brilliant stuff.
Popularity: 9% [?]
18
Jan
Al Gore, Statesman
Al Gore, about whose leadership qualities I wasn’t quite convinced in the past, is proving himself to be more and more of an all-American statesman.
Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of nuclear missiles ready to be launched on a moment’s notice to completely annihilate the country? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when the last generation had to fight and win two World Wars simultaneously?
It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they did. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it’s up to us to do the very same thing!
These are the words of an American patriot, and the 41% of US voters still supporting George W. Bush should take note.
Popularity: 7% [?]
BBC Radio 4 has a 30-minute documentary on Philip K. Dick, entitled Confessions of a Crap Artist. From the blurb:
Philip K Dick is now world famous, thanks to films like Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. But in the last years of his life he encountered something so strange and troubling he couldn’t stop writing about it. Writer Ken Hollings asks: was it Phil’s fault God talked to him or was it God’s?
Auntie delivers excellent value for her license money, as usual. Thanks to the greater British license-paying public!
Popularity: 12% [?]
06
Jan
Divine Real Estate
Televangelist and serial God-botherer Pat Robertson really is the most deluded freak imaginable. If he really believes the pabulum he spews, he should be locked up as delusional and mentally unstable. For his own welfare, because self-delusion is just a small step away from self-harm. Or perhaps he’s knowingly bullshitting when he makes statements like, “God considers [Israel] to be his.” Really? Did God buy? At least make a down payment? Is there an actual deed transfer we can have a look at? Or is it at all possible that Israel belongs to the people who live in it, who raise their children there, who consider it their home?
Considered from another angle: can the Flying Spaghetti Monster lay claim to something nice, like Tahiti?
Popularity: 10% [?]
04
Jan
Sleeping Dogs Woken
In the small Italian town of Viterbo, the Beast appears to be stirring. Local atheist rabble-rouser Luigi Cascioli has forced judge Gaetano Mautone to ask Father Enrico Righi to prove the historical existence of Jesus Christ. Righi, the local priest, denounced Cascioli for writing a book entitled The Fable of Christ, which pointed out the lack of proof for the existence of Jesus.
In this, one of the most Catholic of countries, the case will most definitely prove interesting. Will logic and reason triumph, or will arguments be made on the basis of “because I say so”? Father Righi has already set the tone for the defense:
“If Cascioli does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see it and he does not,” Father Righi said.
Of course, this isn’t a question of seeing the sun or not. It is a question of proving the existence of the sun, something which—in the case of the sun—is quite easy to do. Proving the historical existence of Jesus might prove more difficult.
UPDATE: The Internet news media have been light on details, but apparently the judge dismissed Cascioli’s case. No surprise there, I guess, but personally I was expecting some deft legal maneuvering to make the Italian judiciary at least appear impartial on the issue. Not so.
Popularity: 10% [?]
We start 2006 with a sad indictment of the morality of the British Government, who have finally devolved to the level of the United States where foreign relations are concerned. Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, was relieved of his duties by the Home Office for his protests against the tacit encouragement of torture in Uzbekistan by the British and US governments. Murray has now released documents containing proof that Britain accepted intelligence obtained under torture by the Uzbek Government, something the British have always denied.
According to Blairwatch:
The first document [PDF] is a series of Telegrams that Craig sent to the Foreign Office, outlining his growing concern and disgust at our use of intelligence passed to the UK by the Uzbek security services.
The second document [PDF] is a copy of legal advice the Foreign Office sought, to see if they were operating within the Law in accepting torture intelligence, and according to Michael Wood the FCO legal adviser; it is fine, as long as it is not used as evidence.
It’s high time that British and American politicians are exposed to a groundswell of public opinion opposed to the use of torture, by anyone, and under any circumstances.
Popularity: 8% [?]
