Posts

Posted on

Just a Few Questions…

Disclaimer: I am not Catholic, have never been Catholic, and quite frankly couldn’t give a rat’s ass what the guy in Rome wearing the fancy smock and the pointy hat has to say, but I ran across this today and felt it worthy of passing on.

“If my good friend Dr Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch. It’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.” ~Pope Francis

From Rosa Rubiconidior:

Dear Pope Francis

I saw your recent statement in Manilla in response the the Charlie Hebdo atrocities in Paris, that people who insult religion can expect to be punched. I am surprised that you seem to be excusing Islamic violence, presumably because you feel solidarity with other religions in the face of growing secularism in Europe, and find it confusing in view of official Christian teaching.

I acknowledge your right to determine Catholic Church policy and dogma in this issue, and I am aware that you have been trying to present the Catholic Church in a more liberal, more tolerant and less bigoted light and that you may even have been trying to instigate some actual reforms yet to manifest themselves, but this statement raises a number of questions which I would like you to answer please:

1. In view of what the Bible says Jesus said should be the right response to insults – to forgive and turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39, Luke 6:27-29) – how does this new, violent response to insulting religion fit in with Jesus’ teaching? Do you think Jesus was wrong or just that he made a mistake in not explicitly stating this exceptions to this rule? Or does this apparent abandonment of the ‘turn the other cheek’ principle mark a change in God’s thinking on this matter and a repudiation of Jesus’ teaching?

2. Does this violent response to insults to religion apply in principle to other insults to individuals or organizations? If so, which, please?

3. Some people might interpret a resort to violence as a tacit admission that there areno reasonable arguments which can be used and an awareness of that deficiency, and that it betrays an insecurity which translates as a perceived threat, hence the ‘retaliation’. This in turn might imply a personal commitment to an idea which is known to be defective or even a lifestyle which is known to be fraudulent and disingenuous with religion being used merely as an excuse. What would you say to these people?

4. If this permitted violent response applies only to religions, does this apply to all religions or just to major ones such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism? If all religions, how are you defining the term ‘religion’ in this context? Does it require a belief in one or more invisible deities or would you include Buddhism and neo-Paganism or religion as understood by people such as Baruch Spinoza and Albert Einstein, which would include very many openly Atheist/Agnostic scientists? For example, as someone who is in total awe at the Universe and the natural forces that have shaped it and which have given rise to life on Earth with it’s amazingly rich diversity, would I be justified in punching anyone who disagrees with Big Bang Cosmology or Evolution by Natural Selection rather than bothering to explain the science?

5. Can I define my own religion and then punch anyone who insults it or does it need to be an organized religion complete with priesthood, buildings, creed, etc?

6. How should we define an ‘insult’ in this context, please? Is it an insult to question religious dogma or to disagree with it and put forward an opposing point of view? For example, if I question the historical existence of Jesus or the validity of the claim that the Qur’an was dictated by Allah to Muhammad, or even the historical accuracy of the Bible, would this justify someone punching me? How about if I question your authority or the dogma that on ecumentical matters and matters of morality you are infallible? What if I advocate contraception, same-sex marriages or strict secularism in government, health-care and education?

7. As an Atheist, I believe that all religions are delusional in nature and have many of the characteristics of a memetic virus living parasitically on human cultures. Do I deserve to be punched by religious people who might be insulted by these views or by religious people who find the idea that they are evolved apes who share a common ancestor with the other apes offensive and insulting?

8. The other day in Oxford, UK a man was telling passers by that they were all sinners and his god would hurt us if we didn’t agree and do what he said. As a secular Humanist and Atheist I found this insulting. Would I have been justified in punching him for that insult and would he have been justified in punching me for telling him he was probably suffering from paranoid theophobia and needed psychiatric help and counselling?

9. Is it permitted for any Muslim to punch Christians who deny the divinely inspired nature of the Qur’an or the claim that Muhammad was Allah’s prophet, or for a Christian to punch a Muslim who claims Jesus was not an Earthly manifestation of God and that the only way to salvation is through strict adherence to Islam not Jesus? If not, why not? If so, to where do you see this leading humanity?

10. Is the violent response restricted to a single punch or is a slap, a push, a knee in the groin or a headbut permitted? Can it involve more than one of these and can it result in actual bodily harm? What if the punched person retaliates? Can the response include a weapon or is it always to be unarmed violence?

11. May a man punch a woman who insults his religion, or an able-bodied person punch a disabled person, or a large person a smaller one? At what age are children eligible to be punched by adults and can children punch one another?

12. What advice would you give to people living in countries where punching someone is a crime and who finds themselves in court charged with assault, affray or causing actual or grievous bodily harm? Would you support a plea of innocent or mitigation on the grounds of religious conscience or that you said it was permitted?

I would be grateful for a reasoned and prompt response to these questions, please as I feel the future of European civilisation in particular and human society in general may be enormously affected by a careless and confused attempt to implement what looks like a new, less tolerant and more violent Catholic dogma which can only be expected to result in retaliation and an escalation in communal and inter-faith violence.

Yours,

Rosa Rubicondior

Posted on

2015 is Off to a Fabulous Start

I took the OS X certification test this morning.

I failed…and rather spectacularly if we’re going to be honest.

So much for my quick ticket out of Hell.

I sincerely thought I had this thing in the hole. My only worry was that there would be several fill-in-the-blank questions, all of which I failed miserably on the practice tests I’d taken. (The wording needed to be exactly as it was in the course materials in order to get those right; if you so much as used an “a” when there should have been an “an,” you’d fail.) When the tests were all matching, true/false, and multiple-choice I consistently scored in the upper nineties. I figured even if a quarter of the questions on the final exam were the fill-in-the-blank variety, I could miss them all and still squeak by with with the minimum 75% passing grade.

Alas, it was not to be. And it’s just another one of the “death by a thousand cuts” that Denver has come to symbolize.

I’m not trying to make excuses, but the final test bore absolutely no resemblance to any of the so-called “official” practice tests I’d taken. It was all multiple choice, so thankfully I didn’t have to write anything out, but I still only got a score of 65% correct.

I can take it again, but this time it will cost me and not my employer. If I do decide to take it again, I will need to definitely pour over the course materials, because the test managed to focus on the least-discussed concepts that were covered in training and since they aren’t in any of the practice tests, they are not committed to memory.

To add insult to injury, there is a very good chance that Ben’s contract is not going to be renewed for the next school year.

We may be moving back to Phoenix sooner rather than later.

And I also found out I need $1000 in car repairs.

Happy Fucking New Year!

Posted on

That Moment…


…when you realize you’ve wasted an entire year of your life dragging yourself into a place you loathe simply because you hate interviewing.

Posted on

Me Likey

I got a new case for my MacBook.

Okay, I actually bought three: orange, black, and turquoise.

I like this style because the Apple logo is actually cut out. It’s also got very grippy rubber feet on the bottom, something the MacBooks are not especially known for.

The orange practically glows in daylight.

You can find them (for all styles and sizes of MacBook) here. They ship from China so it takes a couple weeks for them to arrive, but it’s well worth the wait.

Posted on

I’m Not an Opera Queen, But…

OMG…this.

After not hearing it for many, many years, Akhnaten has been my commute soundtrack for the past few days and has reminded me that even though all the negative aspects of who I was prior to my cancer battle ideed sloughed off and died, some of the things that still send my soul quivering are very much alive and well.

Even after all this time (I first heard Akhnaten in 1988 and I doubt I’ve listened to it in full since we moved to Denver), it still gives me goosebumps.

But then I am an admitted Philip Glass fanboy. I first became acquainted with his work by way of the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack back in the mid 1980s, and was immediately hooked on his minimalism. In my journeys I have known only two other souls who shared that Glass love; one was a neighbor in San Francisco who turned me on to Satyagraha—a piece of music which was later to become my muse—and another a dear friend who is sadly no longer with us.

While the entire opera is a slice of heaven that easily transports me away from my daily life, three cuts especially stand out. The first is the final scene of Act I, The Window of Appearances:

The Window of Appearances will forever be burned in my memory as playing while driving back to Phoenix one night after an evening of astrophotography an hour north of town.

The other two are Scenes 1 and 2 from Act II, The Temple and Akhnaten and Nefertiti:

I especially like the love poem recited in Akhnaten and Nefertiti…

(Recited by the Scribe and then sung in Egyptian by Akhnaten and Nefertiti, it is a love poem found in a royal mummy of the Armarna period, from Journal of Egyptian Archæology, translated by Sir Alan Gardiner):

I breathe the sweet breath
Which comes forth from thy mouth.
I behold thy beauty every day.
It is my desire
That I may be rejuvenated
With life through love
Of thee.

Sesenet neftu nedjem
Per em rek
Peteri nefruk em menet
Ta-i nehet sedj emi
Kheruk nedjem en mehit
Renpu ha-i em ankh
en mertuk.

Give me thy hands, holding thy spirit.
that I may receive it and may live by it.
Call thou upon my name unto eternity
And it shall never fail.

Di-ek eni awik kher ka-ek
Shesepi su ankhi yemef
I ashek reni er heh
Ben hehif em rek

Posted on

Black Mirror

It’s been called The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits for our age, and after watching the incredibly short first and second seasons on Netflix, I have to agree.

Black Mirror creeps the adult me out the way TZ and OL did when I was a kid. It hooks into our subconscious fears about the reach of technology in our lives in the same way the threat of nuclear annihilation and space exploration did in the 1960s.

Probably the most disturbing episode for me has been Fifteen Million Merits.

From Wikipedia:

A satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a sarcastic version of a future reality. In this world, everyone must cycle on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings and generate currency called Merits. Everyday activities are constantly interrupted by advertisements that cannot be skipped or ignored without financial penalty. Obese people are considered to be second-class citizens, and either work as cleaners around the machines (where they receive verbal abuse) or are humiliated on game shows.

Bingham “Bing” Madsen (Daniel Kaluuya) has inherited 12,000,000 merits from his dead brother and has the luxury of skipping advertisements. In the toilet he overhears Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) singing; he encourages her to enter into the X-Factor style game show Hot Shots, which offers a chance for people to get out of the slave-like world around them. Bing persuades her and, feeling there is nothing “real” worth buying, purchases the ticket for her. The judges (Rupert Everett, Julia Davis, Ashley Thomas) and the crowd enjoy her singing, but they state there is no room for an ‘Above Average Singer’ and instead give her the chance to become an adult actress on a pornographic TV station. After goading from the judges and the crowd, and drugged on a substance called “Cuppliance” (compliance in a cup), Abi reluctantly agrees.

Bing returns to his cell without Abi and any merits. When an advert showing Abi performing a sexual act appears on the screen, he can’t skip it (as he doesn’t have enough merits) and desperately tries to escape his cell, ramming the door until the glass breaks. He hides a shard of glass under his bed and earns another 15,000,000 merits to enter the competition. He stops buying food and pedals for months until he has enough to buy another ticket. He stands in the Hot Shots waiting room every day without expression until called to compete.

On stage he interrupts his performance, draws the shard of glass and threatens to kill himself live on the show. He tearfully rants about how unfair the system is and expresses his anger for how the judges took away the only thing he found that felt real. The judges, instead of taking his words into consideration, are impressed by his ‘performance’ and offer him his own show, where he can rant about the system all he likes.

Bing accepts and is shown finishing one of his streams in his penthouse. He stands staring out over a view of a vast green forest stretching to the horizon. It is unclear whether this is real or just another screen, and it is up to the viewer to decide if all Bing did is find himself in a larger cell.

It disturbs me because I can easily see this happening…

Anyhow, if you have Netflix, check it out.

Posted on

Quote of the Day

“We don’t need major OS releases every year. We don’t need each OS release to have a huge list of new features. We need our computers, phones, and tablets to work well first so we can enjoy new features released at a healthy, gradual, sustainable pace.

“I fear that Apple’s leadership doesn’t realize quite how badly and deeply their software flaws have damaged their reputation, because if they realized it, they’d make serious changes that don’t appear to be happening. Instead, the opposite appears to be happening: the pace of rapid updates on multiple product lines seems to be expanding and accelerating.” ~ Marco Arment

Posted on

Quote of the Day

“I’m old enough to recall when Patriot meant ‘a guy who loves America’, not ‘an angry guy with a bald eagle fetish who hates other Americans.'” ~ John Fugelsang

Posted on

Reviews of a Visit to a Small Planet

Sol 3

“An unremarkable pre-FTL scarcity world in the Orion Sector. The dominant species, which calls itself Homo sapiens (a word meaning “wise” in one of its largely defunct regional languages*) has triggered a major extinction event, and the visitor (and many of their own species) may not be able to eat without access to some form of exchange. Those interested in pre-industrial ecosystems will be disappointed or deeply shocked. This is a great place to see poverty in its natural setting, but prepare to be disturbed.

Despite repeated warnings from their own scientists (many doing impressive work despite primitive technology) several delusional belief systems (see >religion< and in particular the subheading >economics<) prevent the urgent action required to prevent imminent ecosystem collapse and their own possible extinction. This species is unlikely to leave its own stellar system, and this might be your last chance to encounter them.

Travel Advisory: The scarcity economy is having its usual effects on war, and the visitor is advised to be cautious. In many areas energy, food, even water are rationed for those low on the scarcity pyramid.

*A prima facie example of just how narcissistic and delusional most of this species is.”

_____________________

“Planet broke after the introduction of industrialized society. Manufacturer didn’t respond to repeated attempts at communication. Parts for repair unavailable at this time. Adaptor for connecting to other planets is not compatible with this planet. The majority of the inhabitants do not look like the pictures on the box. Produces a distinctly unpleasant odor in the early hours of Saturday mornings. Appears to have a broken thermostat. Contains more Kardashian than advertised. Is afflicted with excessive tides.

Would not buy again.”

_____________________

“Make: Universal Industries. Model: Earth Mk I
Registration: P (4.5 billion BC). Mileage: 2.62 x 1018 miles (approx.)
Colour: Kingfisher Blue. No. Owners: 2
Description: Great little runner, fair economy, decent amount of storage, partial service history.
Bodywork needs some minor attention. Can run a bit hot at times—air filter may need changing. Small leak in sun roof—nothing major. Does eat some oil.”

Source

Posted on

My Two Resolutions For the New Year

I’ve never been one to make resolutions for the New Year, but his year I will make an exception as there are concrete steps I can take to bring these resolutions to fruition.

TAKE MORE PHOTOS.

2014 was the first year since I started doing it that I couldn’t rustle up enough shots I felt worthy enough to be included in a yearly photo book that I’ve been sending to a good friend in Phoenix as a holiday gift. Even if you add in my iPhone and Instagram photos I couldn’t find enough that I truly liked to make the endeavor worthwhile.

This year will be different.

As I was catching up on all the people I follow in Instagram this morning, I realized I need to get my ass off the couch and get out there and do what I truly love doing.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF DISH.

To that end, I’ve finally scheduled the test to get my Mac OS X Support Credentials. I’m sensing that—unlike what my boss is undoubtedly counting on; that once I have that cert I’m one more warm body to drop to my knees and service executives and their enormous egos—it will be my Golden Ticket out of that hell hole.

Posted on

A Banner Year for the Prince of Darkness

My snark meter is off the charts. This is great!

From RAWSTORY:

2014 was a banner year for the Prince of Darkness. When he wasn’t personally bedeviling Christians, his minions were erecting statues in his honor or forcing themselves upon innocent city council meetings. Lord of Lies — this was your year!

January witnessed the unveiling of a 7-foot tall likeness of his lieutenant Baphomet that will be placed in front of the Oklahoma Statehouse. Decent Christians responded by drafting an “unlettered little bill” that would have allowed cities to erect similar monuments to Mein Kampf.

In February, Satan’s plans to destroy the economy went awry, but that didn’t stop the Dark Lord from having some big gay fun, both here and abroad. He was, however, disappointed that his scenes in The Bible ended up on the cutting room floor.

But his disappointment was short-lived, as March saw Lucifer reach new heights in the entertainment world as his film, Frozen, successfully created the next generation of lesbians. He was also able to stymie the Kickstarter campaign for Bible Chronicles: The Call of Abraham, not because he “perceived it to be a threat to his kingdom,” as the Christian extremists claimed, but just because it looked God-awful.

April was another big month for Satan — not only did he gay up some graham cracker commercials, his minions started a campaign to ban corporal punishment in schools.

May wasn’t looking so good after the Supreme Court ruled that Christians could open town hall and city council meetings with prayers — but Satanists exploited the equal-is-as-equal-does loophole in Court’s logic and flipped it to the Father of Lies’ favor. He did, however, suffer one minor legal setback, but it involved ice cream and that fellow wasn’t a true unbeliever anyway.

All things considered, though, May slots in the win column, what with getting those wily Benham boys fired from HGTV and helping his buddy Chuck Darwin grab a “toehold” on young minds.

Satan mostly took June off, only stopping by to welcome some shunned homosexuals into his flock after their Christian parents abandoned them.

But July was business as usual, as the Great Deceiver was officially recognized by everybody’s favorite Pope. He and ol’ Chuck stormed some more classrooms, then he and some secularists crashed a few weddings. More importantly, the whole ice cream fiasco was forgotten after those in his thrall twisted the Hobby Lobby decision against its original intent — after which Satan reportedly said, “Suck on that, Scalia!”

After that, August was bound to be a little bit of a letdown — and it outside of a some minor chicanery about a “black mass,” it was.

Everything was gangbusters again in September, though, starting with an old-fashioned witch hunt at the Naughty Girls Donut Shop. “Naughty girls burn in Hell!” the townsfolk shouted to no avail, for the power of Satan sustained the future Culinary Institute of America graduate against the doughnut-hating hordes.

After cornering the small-town doughnut market, the Dark Lord scored perhaps his greatest victory — a legal avenue to despoil the minds of Florida’s children with his Satanic activity book. Next to that, yet another city council invocation barely merits mention.

October opened with battle plans being drawn for this year’s War on Christmas, but Satan spent most of the month toying with tiny Christian brains. He convinced Kirk Cameron that Halloween was really a Christian holiday, then convinced another one of those Benham boys that it’d be a good idea to bust in and break up some lawful wedding ceremonies.

Contrary to popular reports, however, he had nothing at all to do with knocking down the monument to the Other Guy’s laws.

In November, the Son of Perdition hawked his new energy drink, and he would need it — what with all those activity books to deliver and the War on Christmas around the corner.

Because what a war it would be! Hobby Lobby continued blowing up in Christianist faces, Satanic holiday displays were being erected both hither and thither — even Santa defected!

Which is not to say there were no casualties — one self-styled “Catholic Warrior” got a lick in, but who would even notice after the year Satan had?

Posted on

Eleven Facts That Could Save Your Life Some Day

1. If you get stuck in riptide, remain calm and swim parallel to shore. Swimming to the shore will just tire you out faster.

2. When crying for help, call out specific people (e.g. “You with the green shirt!”). It makes people more likely to act and not be affected by the bystander effect.

3. In survival situations, while it will change depending on your body, remember the rule of threes:

◆ 3 minutes without air (maybe you’re buried in snow following an avalanche)

◆ 3 hours without shelter against the elements

◆ 3 days without water

◆ 3 weeks without food

4. Most phones are able to dial 9-1-1 even without service or a SIM card.

5. Additionally, 1-1-2 is the international 9-1-1 in most places.

6. If you see a photo of yourself (or anyone else – particularly children) where they only have one ‘red eye’ from the flash, this could be a sign of retinoblastoma (a type of eye cancer).

7. If caught in a burning building, get low. The breathable air will be near the floor.

8. Learn the Self-Heimlich.

9. Do you have a desk job? Be sure you get up at least once every two hours and walk around for 5-10 minutes. Doing this reduces the chance of developing blood clots in your calves.

10. If you’re a man and you pee on one of those pregnancy tests and it comes up positive you may have testicular cancer.

11. Just because the light turns green doesn’t mean its safe to go.

Source.

Posted on

Laden With Symbolism

I realized the other day that it has been nearly thirteen years since I left San Francisco. Thirteen. Years.

And yet, The City still appears in my dreams—always accompanied by feelings of frustration, abandonment, and a profound feeling of sadness at no longer having a home there. (Ironic, because at least consciously I have no desire to return; San Francisco is very much a city of the young and wealthy and I no longer fall into either demographic.)

In my most recent San Francisco dream, I found myself South of Market with my friend Rick (who still lives in the City). There were new highrise glass and concrete buildings everywhere I looked and I was feeling very irritated because everywhere I turned I was being presented with wonderful photographic opportunities and I’d come to San Francisco without my DSLR, only having my iPhone with me.

(In this dream, like many others I’ve had surrounding the City, my visits have been impossible day trips, driving up and returning home in a single day.)

I tried several times to get one particular shot of the late afternoon sun glinting off one of these new buildings, but people either walked in front of me and wouldn’t move, or when I moved the angles of the building in the shot were unacceptable.

I finally gave up and joined Rick for dinner in a restaurant, hoping to salvage at least a couple of the photos I’d taken. The iPhone camera app was very funky with none of the usual controls and it was confusing the hell out of me. Night fell, but the camera seemed to taking very good pictures in the restaurant even though there was no way of actually confirming it.

Rick left restaurant and I followed a few minutes later. It was once again light outside (which should’ve clued me in that I was dreaming, but sadly didn’t). I lingered to finally take that one impressive photograph up the street heading to the financial district that I was trying to capture the before; the sun was again low in the west and the sky was dappled with clouds. Everything lined up in the photo, but again, I had no way of checking if it was actually any good or if the camera had even recorded it.

After that I lost track of Rick. I walked back up to Market Street and found myself in a very confusing Civic Center station. It was a morass of vendor stalls, intersecting stairways and undulating escalators. I took one escalator down but found myself in BART. “That won’t get me to Grand View Avenue,” I thought, and headed back upstairs. I knew I needed a clipper card to ride MUNI, but didn’t have one and didn’t know where to get one.

I was carrying two bags, one from the Apple Store and one that was full of clothing. No one could provide any help in getting a clipper card and there was no place in the station to buy one. Finally one guy told me I needed to go to somewhere far north of the station to pick one up. It would’ve been too long a walk, so I finally decided to just go back up to the surface and catch a cab.

I took my phone out and saw it was completely banged up and scratched; then realized it was only the case. “That can be replaced,” I thought as it started pouring rain. I had no umbrella and resolved to getting drenched. I started walking up Market but ended up a bit north on one of the side streets. I called Rick, but had a horrible connection. I told him I was on my way back to his apartment and that I’d be there shortly. I couldn’t find a cab anywhere, so I started walking up Market Street toward the Castro.

I woke shortly thereafter.

Posted on

Just Because

Time to spread the wealth. At this point I have no recollection of where or when I found the majority of these, so if you are the original artist and want attribution, let me know. I have years worth.

Posted on

It’s Magic

Since one particular day back in 1979 when my friend Steve casually mentioned, “I was listening to so-and-so’s new album while I was in the shower today, and…” I have been incredibly jealous of the fact that he had his entire house wired for sound.

This was not common in 1979, but since he worked as a DJ at one of the popular gay clubs in Phoenix at the time, it also wasn’t particularly surprising.

It wasn’t until many, many years later while living in what was to be my last San Francisco apartment, that I was finally able to realize my dream of being able to have decent sound in the bathroom while I was showering.  I ran wires from my rig in the bedroom down the hall and into the bathroom, where they connected to some small Infinity satellite speakers I’d picked up. When all was said and done, I was admittedly kind of disappointed; it sounded great, but a lot of the anticipated thrill of doing this had disappeared during the intervening years and it got to the point that my downstairs neighbors were dropping so many snide comments about hearing 20 year old disco first thing in the morning I eventually took it all down.

When I moved back to Phoenix I wasn’t able to run the wires in a way that could be as easily hidden as they’d been in San Francisco, and an extended period of being out of work forced me to sell the gear I’d been using so I gave up on having hi-fi in the bathroom.

Fast forward to 2012 or thereabouts and the arrival of Bluetooth technology into my life.

Now I have a speaker smaller than a power strip that pumps out great sound from my iPhone at a moment’s notice. No running wires or having to mount anything on the wall. Tunes in the shower anytime I want.

It’s magic.