| Republicans are comedy gold |
[Jun. 14th, 2009|03:54 pm] |
Last year Republicans argued that Obama was a member of a radical Christian sect with a pastor that hated Whitey. And also that he was a secret Muslim. And also that he was a godless communist.
Picking up where they left off, they now seem to be claiming that a public option for healthcare would be the WORST THING EVER! It would put the government between you and your doctor! Oh, and also it would attract so many subscribers it would put the private plans out of business.
Please pick a story and stick with it. |
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| Atheist notes |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|02:15 pm] |
There's this old joke about a person stopped at an IRA checkpoint in Northern Ireland. The IRA soldier demands "Are you Protestant or Catholic?", the person replies "Atheist". The soldier is confused for a second but then says "Atheist Protestant or atheist Catholic?".
Which is just a long-winded way of saying that although I'm Druid, I'm atheist Druid.
Just saw a great quote by David Hume:
Bad things happen when people decorate their bare, inchoate, unstable and inconsistent imaginings with the baser trappings of their culture. They come out of the fog bearing ludicrous beliefs about cosmology or biology, or carrying their envies and fears, their embarrassments about sex in general or certain varieties in particular, their desire to steal some land or make war on their neighbours. Deities then become dangerous, megaphones through which emotions are whipped up and particular moral demands are given a spurious authority. People need prophets and priests to carry the megaphones, and they are often supposed to signal their rapport with the deity by making remarkable things happen.
Or, to put it more succinctly:
Whoever can get you to believe absurdities can get you to commit atrocities.
On a slightly different note... it just dawned on me that whenever an atheist is depicted on TV or in a movie, it's always the same: they grew up happily going to church until some Big Personal Disaster happened to them and convinced them that God couldn't possibly let something like that happen and therefore does not exist. If they can just work through their person anger and see God's plan, they'll get their faith back. Rendereth unto me a freaking break. Did anyone ever consider the possibility that some people might just realize that magic Jewish zombies are as ridiculous as flying pasta monsters? |
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| Take that, H.L. Mencken |
[Nov. 6th, 2008|01:41 am] |
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John McCain, with his brilliant VP pick, has just become the first person to go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. |
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| And another thing |
[Nov. 6th, 2008|01:35 am] |
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So, Obama gets 61% or so in California, while No On 8 only gets 48% or so. Assume all McCain supporters voted Yes On 8, that still leaves 13% who voted for the Obama-Bigot ticket. What's the deal with that? |
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| Just Unmarried |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|11:09 pm] |
I don't know what to say. I feel like I've just been punched in the stomach. Yesterday I was married; today I guess I'm not. Thanks a lot, California.
A few random observations:
It's really strange to me that the California Constitution can be overridden with a bare majority vote. I always thought the purpose of a Constitution was to protect minorities from mob rule. But now it seems like the California Constitution is completely meaningless. Ok, sure, the fundamental structure of the government can't be changed -- we couldn't, for example, abolish the executive branch and replace it with a parliamentary system and Prime Minister -- but, beyond that, evidently the sky's the limit. No right is safe.
I think things might have gone differently if Obama (who claimed to oppose the measure) and Schwarzenegger (who claimed he'd be there to campaign against it) had stepped up. So please pardon me if I'm not 100% on the Obama bandwagon. I understand that McCain would be a million times worse, but, come on. Clinton had "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and DOMA, and now Obama is already throwing us under the bus and he hasn't even taken office yet.
Thinking about how to win this with a future ballot measure: Yeah, demographics are in our favor: every year, more bigots will die and be replaced by new voters who can't image why you'd want to discriminate against gays. So, in theory, we'd do a little better in two years, and a little better two years after that, and so on, until we finally win. But I don't think it's that simple. For one thing, it's lot easier to get a "NO" on a ballot measure than it is to get a "YES". I think that fact alone is worth maybe 5 points. In other words, if we had another election tomorrow asking, "Should the right to marry be extended to same-sex couples?", we'd probably lose by 9 points instead of 4. Not because people are suddenly more bigoted, but because some people just tend to vote "NO" on things they don't care about. Another point to consider is that, if you keep bringing up the same damn thing every election, you're going to annoy people. It's crazy, but I think you really have to watch out for that kind of reaction and pick your spot.
So the question is, from a tactical standpoint, when does it make the most sense to bring up a ballot measure to restore marriage equality? My understanding -- and I could very well be wrong -- is that, according to the conventional wisdom, Republicans tend to be better about showing up for midterm elections, whereas Democrats are more likely to skip the midterms and just show up every four years to vote for President. Is that still true? If so, maybe our best bet is to wait until 2012.
The other factor to consider is: will Mittens be the GOP nominee in 2012? If so, it seems entirely likely that Space Jesus or Moroni or Magic Underwear Man or whoever gives the Mormons their marching orders, will suddenly decide that the best use of their money is to get Romney elected, rather than to stamp out civil rights. (The stamping will presumably come after Romney is elected.) Without the insane amounts of Mormon money pouring in to fund the non-stop, scaremongering attack ads, this suddenly looks like a different race.
I also think we've now seen which of their lies tend to be swallowed the most, and we can pro-actively design the wording of our ballot measure to circumvent them. Yeah, they'll come back with a new set of lies, but maybe these won't be as virulent. For example, the lies that seemed to stick the most were (1) if we don't outlaw same-sex marriage, your kids will be taught about it is schools; and (2) churches will be forced to perform same-sex marriages or lose their tax-exempt status. Hopefully our lawyers can come up with language that defeats both of those arguments. For example, something like, "The right to civil marriage shall not be denied or abridged on account of sexual orientation. Religious organizations have no obligation to perform same-sex marriages. Nothing in this amendment will be interpreted to require that public schools teach about same-sex marriage. Nothing in this amendment will be interpreted to affect the tax-exempt status of any religious organization." Of course, everything but the first sentence is superfluous, since all that other crap is already true whether it's in the amendment or not -- this is just to help get a "YES" vote.
Ok, sorry about the incoherent rambling, but I find it therapeutic to sit down and write about this, instead of just curling up into a ball.
P.S. Thanks to pretty much everyone on my friends list for doing their part to fight this evil. Liz and John, Bill and Cyn, Madeline, I know all of you worked your asses off. I'm proud to call you all my friends. |
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| The Three Trillion Dollar War |
[Mar. 20th, 2008|12:07 pm] |
Via The Poor Man:
"No one could have predicted that letting a semi-retarded dry drunk with a history of abject business failure run the country for 8 years might end up having negative economic consequences."
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| One year on last.fm |
[Feb. 6th, 2008|09:39 pm] |
Today is my one-year anniversary on last.fm. In that time, I have scrobbled about 20,400 songs, which works out to about 56 songs per day. The band I listened to the most in the last year is the German band Popol Vuh, with 931 listens. The song I listened to the most (172 times) in the last year is "Histoires Sans Paroles" by the Quebec band Harmonium. Looking at the list of the 50 bands I've listened to the most over the past year, the biggest thing that jumps out at me is the fact that there are virtually no American bands on the list. The only one in the top 50 is the band Oregon, who play a kind of organic world jazz. Here's a breakdown of my top 50 band list by country:
Germany: 18
UK: 14
Sweden: 3
Norway: 2
Finland: 2
France: 2
Quebec: 2
Belgium: 2
Italy: 2
USA: 1
Poland: 1
Hungary: 1 |
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| Elemental Logic |
[Jun. 16th, 2007|12:53 pm] |
I'm kind of bummed -- I finished reading Water Logic Thursday night. Friday, I was busy all day: went from work directly over to the Dragons of the Yellow Sea game, then home and immediately to sleep. But now, with nothing to distract me, I feel so bereft! Whatever will I do without Shaftal?
I've already read both of Jane Fletcher's series (Celeano and Lyremouth). Have I now exhausted the supply of queer-friendly fantasy/sf worlds? It can't be! |
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| Recent Reading List |
[Jun. 3rd, 2007|07:14 pm] |
Since I just mentioned that Not Before Sundown was the best book I've read this year, I figured I should list the other candidates. Actually, I'm not really organized enough to keep track of when I read which books, but these are the ones I see stacked up in piles next to the bed.
His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, by Naomi Novik: Seems like I read these ages ago. Probably wasn't actually this year, after all. Also, I'm getting the distinct feeling I wrote about these in a previous entry.
The Gypsy, by Steven Burst and Megan Lindholm: got this used from (I think) Madeline. It was ok. The collision of fantasy and reality kind of reminded me of Gossamer Axe by (??? can't remember).
Unquenchable Fire, by Rachael Pollack: was actually somewhat disappointed. I guess my expectations were too high after Godmother Night. The endless myths kind of bored me after a while.
Stable Strategies and Others, by Eileen Gunn: after I started reading this, I realized I had read many (if not all) the stories before. Bummer.
Air, by Geoff Ryman: almost lost be a couple of times with the slow-ish pacing, but ultimately a very satisfying and enjoyable read.
Life, by Gwyneth Jones: kind of the opposite of Air, in that it really had me engaged the entire time, but the denouement was kind of a let-down. Still, overall, this is an excellent commentary on gender politics.
Always, by Nicolla Griffith: probably my least favorite Griffith novel, or at least that was what I felt after I got far enough into the book to grasp the "scope", but the more I read the more I liked it. I wanted to be bored by the detailed descriptions of, for example, martial arts training sessions or self-defense classes, but I ended up being mesmerized. Also, the way the secondary plot (the "incident" in Atlanta) was slowly revealed made it almost like a mystery novel in a weird way. So, yeah, I still like absolutely everything she's written.
Protector of the Realm, by Gun Brooke: really bad sci-fi. Almost didn't finish.
All seven books by Jane Fletcher. They are divided into two series, as follows:
The Temple at Landfall, The Walls of Westernfort, Rangers at Roadsend, Dynasty of Rogues: this is a sci-fi series about a planet colonized by humans, where all the men die off, but they learn to reproduce using a special genetically-engineered technique that allows certain gifted individuals to merge the DNA of two women to create a child. The world is absolutely fascinating, and I was completely hooked by the "big" stories: politics, rebellion, religion, etc. The small, personal part of the stories were more run-of-the-mill, and I was even bored at one point by a murder mystery that I didn't really care about. Still, overall, this is an excellent series and I'm looking forward to further volumes.
The Traitor and the Chalice, The Exile and the Sorcerer, The Empress and the Acolyte: another excellent series by Fletcher. This one is fantasy, as opposed to sci-fi, and it is absolutely brilliant. The story is excellent, but -- again for Fletcher -- it's the world that's the most interesting part. The main population of the world live in a culture where everyone is bisexual. To be attracted exclusively to people of only one sex is, as one character puts is, as strange as being attracted only to people whose favorite color is blue. Then, into that culture, we plop down a woman who comes from a strict matriarchal culture (where women are super-strong due to an ancient magic) and homosexuality is punishable by death, and there are numerous opportunities to examine assumptions about gender and sexuality. Still, as I said, the story is what really drives this one. Also, Fletcher is clearly a better writer than many of the others on these pulpy lesbian specialty labels, and I could see her doing more ambitious writing in future. |
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| Not Before Sundown |
[Jun. 3rd, 2007|07:06 pm] |
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Not Before Sundown by Johanna Sinisalo, is a complete mindfsck of a book; devoured it in one sitting this afternoon. It was kind of disturbing, but then again, kind of not disturbing, and it's kind of disturbing that it was not completely disturbing. Or something. Easily the best book I have read this year; highly recommended. |
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| They'll Never Catch 'Em All |
[May. 2nd, 2007|05:06 pm] |
After watching the hilarity at Slashdot and Digg in recent days, I have to wonder what it is exactly that the MAFIAA is trying to accomplish. Do they really think they're going to un-ring the bell and get that key off the net? There are just too many places for it to hide.
On an unrelated note, consider the first 256 Pokemon. Each has a canonical number in the Pokedex. There isn't a number 0, but if Pokemon #256 (Combusken) uses its special "modular arithmetic" power, it becomes trivial to encode two hex digits in the name of a Pokemon. Thus, if someone wrote a simple story about 16 Pokemon, it would have the same information content as 32 hex digits. It would therefore be hypothetically possible to encode a decryption key within a story about how Blastoise, Lugia, Pidgeotto, and Ivysaur met Typhlosia, Horsea, Skarmory, and Cloyster in the enchanted forest and then traveled to Cerulean City with Teddiursa, Alakazam, Seel, and Umbreon, where Kingler, Seel, Moltres, and Sunflora had a tea party. |
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| How terribly strange to be 40 |
[Mar. 27th, 2007|11:57 pm] |
Or, as I like to call it, 0x28, since that doesn't sound quite as milestone-ish.
Celebrated by taking the day off of work, playing soccer (we lost 2-1, but I scored our goal), eating sushi, and having a "Stargate Atlantis" marathon.
I still don't feel like a grown-up. |
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| Funniest. Post. Ever. |
[Mar. 13th, 2007|11:50 pm] |
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Ann Coulter's latest column for Human Events was particularly insane, even by her formidable standards -- example: "There are more reputable scientists defending astrology than defending 'global warming'" -- and when Sadly, No got hold of it, hilarity, predictably, ensued. See the carnage here: Teh Shark Jumps Coulter. |
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| Music |
[Feb. 22nd, 2007|11:57 pm] |
After letting our music collection -- many, many, many CDs -- molder in boxes for the last decade or so, my co-Druid and I finally decided enough was enough. We used one of those CD ripping services that will rip and encode your entire collection and send you a hard drive full of MP3s. It cost on the order of $1.00 per CD, which turns out to be kind of steep, considering the fact that (as I turns out) we had precisely 1472 CDs.
Despite the painful expense, this is one of the best purchases I ever made. Previously, I had maybe 100 random CDs ripped, and I could listen to those at any time, but the other 1372 might as well have been buried in a concrete bunker -- the chances of me digging through all the boxes to pick out a physical CD and stick it into a CD player were virtually nil.
But now, woo hoo! It's like I got 1372 new albums in one day! I'm discovering all this great music that I had completely forgotten about. An Indigo Girls cover of "Tangled Up In Blue" where they don't change the pronouns! An Adrian Belew song about a rhinoceros who muses "I know the zoos / protect my species / they bring me food / collect my feces"! 26 hours of Tangerine Dream that makes perfect background music for reading! Jade Warrior! Happy the Man! Galadriel! Ozric Tentacles! Approximately two full months of music without having to hear anything twice! |
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| Temeraire |
[Feb. 6th, 2007|10:39 pm] |
I tore through the Temeraire trilogy last week like a Regal Copper tearing through sheep. Okay, I actually only read one book per day for three consecutive days, and I had to stay up until 4am to do it. (Must remember Badger's Law: The book will still be there in the morning.)
Liked the first book quite a bit. The second and third got to be a little tedious after a while: do we really need to know every spice used in every meal on a slooow trip to China and back? (Answer: no, we do not.) But, overall, they did keep me awake reading all night, so I've got to give the series a positive review.
My favorite aspect of the trilogy is the way dragons are treated differently in different societies. There are obvious parallels with slavery and the rights of women, as the prevailing societal attitudes about both of the latter also vary from place to place.
Is it too late to call dibs on the first Australian dragon? After spending my childhood on Pern, trying to decide whether I'd rather fight thread like Lessa (with Ramoth!), or be a harper like Menolly (with Beauty, Rocky, Diver, Brownie, Mimic, Lazybones, Uncle, Auntie One and Auntie Two -- hah, I still know them all from memory!), I've now decided my dragon will be a marsupial. I will ride in her pouch as she soars high over the battlefield, and I will drop sternly-worded leaflets on our enemies. |
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| Sunny California |
[Jan. 14th, 2007|12:35 pm] |
It was 24 degrees in Palo Alto today, and I have proof:
Soccer was insane this morning. First of all, whose idea was it to start a soccer game at 8am? Friday, I slept until noon and wandered into work at about 1pm. Saturday, I was not such an early bird and slept until 1:30pm. But Sunday, I had to set my alarm for 7:00?!? Oh, the pain. And I was almost late to the game because I didn't count on the five minutes it took me to scrape the ice off my windshield so I could drive.
Then, once the game started I promptly fell down -- turns out that with the ice on the field I needed grass cleats (instead of turf shoes) even though we were playing on turf. I don't think my wrist is actually broken, but (1) it's swollen, (2) my range of motion is severely limited, and (3) it hurts.
On the bright side, it's not even noon yet, so I should be able to get back to sleep. |
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| Why my house is a mess |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|08:24 pm] |
Weekday: "I have to go to the office today. I'll put off cleaning until the weekend."
Weekend: "Woo hoo, it's the weekend! Time to sit back and take it easy. I'll clean next week." |
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| That'll teach me to leave the office holiday party early... |
[Jan. 3rd, 2007|01:35 am] |
Today was my first day back at work after the winter break, so this is the first time I've seen anyone from my office since the holiday party. It turns out that they gave all the employees a fancy new 4GB iPod Nano. Except that I snuck out early -- there's nothing I hate more than parties -- so I didn't get mine until now.
On the bright side, this is the best Second-of-January present I ever got, and by a wide margin.
I was a bit worried that it wouldn't play nice with my Linux box, but it was recognized as a USB drive with no trouble, and there was software (gtkpod) that made copying files on/off a breeze.
The one thing that really pisses me off is that it does not support ogg vorbis. WTF? I've got easily over 100 Gig of ogg-encoded music, but of course none of it will play on the iPod. I'll have to either re-rip from cd to mp3 (a pain), or re-encode from the ogg to mp3 (slightly less of a pain, but a huge loss of quality). How hard would it be for Apple to support the most popular free codec? |
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