Thursday, December 23, 2010
Update on the last post!
So, I got a message back from that person who unfriended me on facebook. Get this: the reason she unfriended me was because of this blog! Apparently I shouldn't have talked shit about my ex-girlfriend in my "relationship blog". Well guess what? That bitch was the most miserable person you'd ever meet and anyone who tells themselves something to the contrary is fooling themselves. Anyways, it's none of her fucking business what I say about any unnamed person on my blog. I've never met someone so petty in my life. This isn't the first fucking time. Only someone like this would have stopped being my friend because- get this - I bit my fork too loudly. Well you know what? Good riddance. Who the fuck needs people like you anyways. Rot in hell.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Oh right, Facebook isn't an analog for real life. But then why does it feel like it is?
Recently, I realized that one of my best friends from high school unfriended me on facebook. Now, I don't know how long ago this was because, I mean, you don't keep track of all of your facebook friends. However, it is holiday time and everyone is coming home for a week or two. I noticed that my former facebook friend posted on someone else's wall that they were coming home for Christmas. I went on this person's wall to see when they would be home so that maybe we could hang out (what is facebook made for if not stalking people?), and low and behold, not my friend anymore. So of course, I'm fairly offended that this person who I thought I was on good terms with, took the time to physically unfriend me. Moreover, I sent a friend request and it's been 4 days, no answer. PLUS, I think she changed her privacy settings so I couldn't trace when she was on. Passive aggressive much? So, I sent a facebook message to her, asking her if I'd done something wrong, if she valued our friendship, yadda yadda yadda. I did this approximately 10 minutes ago.
Almost immediately after I sent off the message, I thought about how much we must value the institution that is Facebook. Who knows why this person is no longer my facebook friend. Maybe it was just an accident, maybe I'm thinking too much of this. When did being a facebook friend or not represent the value of a platonic relationship? I don't know these answers but wouldn't I feel silly if it was just a huge misunderstanding.
Did this post have any point? Not really. However, I kinda just wanted to vent my frustration at the fact that someone who was one of my best friends, who I actually hung out with like 3 months ago would say, hey, these other 301 people are my friends. You just didn't make the cut. My feelings are hurt. Am I right in feeling this way about my internet status with someone? I'm not sure. Maybe someone wants to make a comment?
Almost immediately after I sent off the message, I thought about how much we must value the institution that is Facebook. Who knows why this person is no longer my facebook friend. Maybe it was just an accident, maybe I'm thinking too much of this. When did being a facebook friend or not represent the value of a platonic relationship? I don't know these answers but wouldn't I feel silly if it was just a huge misunderstanding.
Did this post have any point? Not really. However, I kinda just wanted to vent my frustration at the fact that someone who was one of my best friends, who I actually hung out with like 3 months ago would say, hey, these other 301 people are my friends. You just didn't make the cut. My feelings are hurt. Am I right in feeling this way about my internet status with someone? I'm not sure. Maybe someone wants to make a comment?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
This Week in Ethics: James Tries to be a Good Person.
As an ethicist (fine, a student philosopher who specializes in ethics), I've been learning a lot lately about some crazy moral theories and thinking deeply about how bad a person I really am. I think the same goes for a lot of people who want to be good people but when given the choices, will usually come out looking like a total dicks. Those who know me probably know that this is especially true. Anyways, I've been examining my lifestyle and thinking of ways that I can apply modern theories of ethics. I could go the utilitarian path where I examine every situation, figure out which action would maximize happiness, and then do that; or I could go all Kantian on your ass and just follow the categorical imperative where you just don't do stuff that you wouldn't want to make a universal rule; or I could be all contractarian where I'm self-interested to the point where I feel the need to support everyone else.
I was gonna do a thing where I was going to adopt a moral principle for like a week and see if it made me feel better about myself and then report back here. Then I realized something:
All of these things are really hard to do:
Utilitarians have to examine every action. And I thought I was indecisive now. (And don't bring up rule utilitarianism because when you have to make exceptions to rules, it all boils down to act utilitarianism anyways). Otherwise, I think it would be very nice to be a utilitarian. If it weren't for John Stewart Mill's higher-order pleasures, I'd be justified in just rooting around in my own filth, masturbating on things all day. But no, I have to read Shakespeare and help people and shit. Screw that.
Kant's categorical imperative is really simple but it also puts a ban on anything that covers your ass, i.e. lying. That's right, it's never right to lie, even to save your life or that of anyone else. Remember the movie Liar, Liar with Jim Carrey? If I followed Kant's categorical imperative, my life would become a really shitty movie. Also, even if I was going to be a good person for a week, the fact that I couldn't lie (Kant claims that withholding the truth counts) would mean that all my past indiscretions would catch up to me. I mean, technically I'd be supremely moral, but I'd also be living a very sad and lonely life (maybe? If you're wondering what I could be, I haven't really done anything wrong, but my past is full of shame).
![Cover of "Liar Liar [HD DVD]"](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dVEkgSpBL._SL300_.jpg)
Cover of Liar Liar [HD DVD]
Immanuel Kant clearly wanted your life to be the plot of this god-awful movie. ---->
Deontology is therefore clearly the wrong ethical theory. Not only would your life be a never-ending series of predictable gags that an observer could only watch stoned, but they'd also have to own an HD DVD player. Oh the shame...
Contractarianism has one serious flaw: other people have to be entered into the contract. Hard to test that out. I'd be like, "I want to maximize my self-interest while acting morally. Wanna join me?" and the guy on the train would be like "fuck off buddy, you're creeping me out". It just wouldn't work.
Anyways, what I was originally trying to get at was that I am a fairly terrible person when it comes to following my moral duties. I haven't got a God to fear, and yet I still feel guilty. How strange... I think that I feel like I need to be a good person in order for my life to have meaning. Maybe I've been reading way too much Plato, but I feel like justice is an incredibly important component in the meaning of our short, mundane lives. A huge part of justice and being a just person is doing right by everyone. That's simply something that I desperately need to work on.
I want to be ethical but at the same time, I also love pirating music and software. I am also fairly sure that I'm not very effective at maximizing utility. And I really can't justify not giving most of my stuff away to needy people if I truly want to be a good person. What's more is that I lie all the time to people. Usually ones that I don't know. For example, when that guy at the bus terminal tells me about his church and invites me to his holy Jesus picnic, I nod my head and pretend to be interested. That is technically lying. It's just impossible to avoid the white lie if you want to seem to be a nice person. Every time that you lie, you undermine the institution of truth-telling, you inconsiderate asshole. Think about it.
Anyways, it's late and I didn't really think this post through. I'll update you on how the whole being a better person thing is going.
I was gonna do a thing where I was going to adopt a moral principle for like a week and see if it made me feel better about myself and then report back here. Then I realized something:
All of these things are really hard to do:
Utilitarians have to examine every action. And I thought I was indecisive now. (And don't bring up rule utilitarianism because when you have to make exceptions to rules, it all boils down to act utilitarianism anyways). Otherwise, I think it would be very nice to be a utilitarian. If it weren't for John Stewart Mill's higher-order pleasures, I'd be justified in just rooting around in my own filth, masturbating on things all day. But no, I have to read Shakespeare and help people and shit. Screw that.
Kant's categorical imperative is really simple but it also puts a ban on anything that covers your ass, i.e. lying. That's right, it's never right to lie, even to save your life or that of anyone else. Remember the movie Liar, Liar with Jim Carrey? If I followed Kant's categorical imperative, my life would become a really shitty movie. Also, even if I was going to be a good person for a week, the fact that I couldn't lie (Kant claims that withholding the truth counts) would mean that all my past indiscretions would catch up to me. I mean, technically I'd be supremely moral, but I'd also be living a very sad and lonely life (maybe? If you're wondering what I could be, I haven't really done anything wrong, but my past is full of shame).
Cover of Liar Liar [HD DVD]Immanuel Kant clearly wanted your life to be the plot of this god-awful movie. ---->
Deontology is therefore clearly the wrong ethical theory. Not only would your life be a never-ending series of predictable gags that an observer could only watch stoned, but they'd also have to own an HD DVD player. Oh the shame...
Contractarianism has one serious flaw: other people have to be entered into the contract. Hard to test that out. I'd be like, "I want to maximize my self-interest while acting morally. Wanna join me?" and the guy on the train would be like "fuck off buddy, you're creeping me out". It just wouldn't work.
Anyways, what I was originally trying to get at was that I am a fairly terrible person when it comes to following my moral duties. I haven't got a God to fear, and yet I still feel guilty. How strange... I think that I feel like I need to be a good person in order for my life to have meaning. Maybe I've been reading way too much Plato, but I feel like justice is an incredibly important component in the meaning of our short, mundane lives. A huge part of justice and being a just person is doing right by everyone. That's simply something that I desperately need to work on.
I want to be ethical but at the same time, I also love pirating music and software. I am also fairly sure that I'm not very effective at maximizing utility. And I really can't justify not giving most of my stuff away to needy people if I truly want to be a good person. What's more is that I lie all the time to people. Usually ones that I don't know. For example, when that guy at the bus terminal tells me about his church and invites me to his holy Jesus picnic, I nod my head and pretend to be interested. That is technically lying. It's just impossible to avoid the white lie if you want to seem to be a nice person. Every time that you lie, you undermine the institution of truth-telling, you inconsiderate asshole. Think about it.
Anyways, it's late and I didn't really think this post through. I'll update you on how the whole being a better person thing is going.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
20 years old - Another Year Older, Another Year Closer to Death.
And I still can't rent a car.
Today is my 20th birthday. I used to get excited by my birthday but I've noticed the past couple of years that it's gotten pretty unexciting. A birthday nowadays is more or less an excuse to get completely wasted. As fun as that is, the consequence of getting a year older is that every year seems less and less important. There's a reason that time seems to go by faster and faster the older that you get. The more time you spend alive, the shorter a year is in relative terms. Man, when I turned 7, that was a big deal. Know why? Because a year was 14% of my life. Now a year only constitutes 5% of my life. That's barely significant at all. Every year that we tack on, the shorter a year gets in relative terms. Is it weird for me to be scared that I'm gonna wake up one day soon and realize that I'm 82? Nobody wants to be 82. That would suck.
A mostly unrelated picture that makes me smile. ---------->>>
Fuck off, it's my birthday. I'll put an unrelated picture if I want to.
Anyways, I just felt like complaining about something that everyone goes through and nobody can change. It's my party and I'll complain if I want to. Just saying, life is really fucking short. Every moment is very fleeting and it gets more fleeting the further along you go. I'll write a blog sometime soon about the nature of time. In the meantime, I'm going to work on the massive post that I keep promising and haven't finished. Not that anyone really cares if I keep my promise or not...
Also, here's a picture of an adorable kitty.
UPDATE: Earlier I mistakenly wrote that 1/20 is equal to 0.5. This is entirely incorrect. A year in the life of a 20 year-old is actually equal to 5%. But one day, when I turn 200, it'll be equal to 0.5. With medical technology, I don't think that's entirely unreasonable.
Today is my 20th birthday. I used to get excited by my birthday but I've noticed the past couple of years that it's gotten pretty unexciting. A birthday nowadays is more or less an excuse to get completely wasted. As fun as that is, the consequence of getting a year older is that every year seems less and less important. There's a reason that time seems to go by faster and faster the older that you get. The more time you spend alive, the shorter a year is in relative terms. Man, when I turned 7, that was a big deal. Know why? Because a year was 14% of my life. Now a year only constitutes 5% of my life. That's barely significant at all. Every year that we tack on, the shorter a year gets in relative terms. Is it weird for me to be scared that I'm gonna wake up one day soon and realize that I'm 82? Nobody wants to be 82. That would suck.
A mostly unrelated picture that makes me smile. ---------->>>
Fuck off, it's my birthday. I'll put an unrelated picture if I want to.
Anyways, I just felt like complaining about something that everyone goes through and nobody can change. It's my party and I'll complain if I want to. Just saying, life is really fucking short. Every moment is very fleeting and it gets more fleeting the further along you go. I'll write a blog sometime soon about the nature of time. In the meantime, I'm going to work on the massive post that I keep promising and haven't finished. Not that anyone really cares if I keep my promise or not...
Also, here's a picture of an adorable kitty.
UPDATE: Earlier I mistakenly wrote that 1/20 is equal to 0.5. This is entirely incorrect. A year in the life of a 20 year-old is actually equal to 5%. But one day, when I turn 200, it'll be equal to 0.5. With medical technology, I don't think that's entirely unreasonable.
My Psychoactive Experience
This post is dedicated to Josh Kay. Thanks for cleaning up the vomit man.
Almost two years ago I had a crazy psychoactive experience. So everyone knows, I have never done any hallucinogenic drugs.
It was 2009 and I had just made a delicious salad at my now ex-girlfriend's house. I put on some ranch dressing and gobbled down my food quickly as I always do. When it comes to eating for me, it's shoot first, ask questions later. After eating this bowl of salad, I was bored waiting for my ex to finish her own food so I read the ingredients and other written facts on the back of the bottle. There, on the lid, clearly labeled, were the words - best before 07.05. Yes, you read that correct, 2005. As in the dressing was expired for 4 years. My ex's grandmother had a habit of holding on to old things. At the time I didn't feel sick so I didn't worry much about it. I knew it was a bad thing to eat expired salad dressing but I didn't quite grasp how bad.
A few hours later I was sitting around my friend's garage as I always did, just shooting the shit and you know, doing things that people who are unemployed (or employed part-time as I was), and not in school do for fun. All of the sudden, everyone's voice got distant and my head ached terribly. I closed my eyes to reduce the light sensitivity as all of the colours seemed to get more vibrant. With my eyes closed, and light shining through my eyelids, the hallucinations began. I got flashes of strange shapes and colours that seem strangely familiar, reminding me somehow of my childhood. The room started spinning and upon opening my eyes, all of the room was filled with these indescribable apparitions. My friends had no idea what's going on with me, I just seemed off in my own world. I closed my eyes again and felt like I was spinning around in a roller chair. It's then that I started to feel sick to my stomach and the hallucinations go from bad to worse. The products of my cubist painting world seem to be tormenting me. I felt like I was going to die.
My field of vision kinda looked like this -->
I got up because-as I exclaimed, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" and I ran outside where I puked all over my friend's grass. The vomiting went on for a good while until all of the contents of my stomach spilled onto the grass. You know when you burp and you can taste the hot dog you had two days ago? Ever puke and see the hot dog you had two days ago? I did. Disgustingness aside, vomiting completely cleared my mind. That's how I knew such an experience was due to the dressing and not due to any other substances I may or may not have inhaled that night. I have not had a psychoactive experience since then but just tonight I was reminiscing about it and decided to search the internet for anyone having that same experience as me from ingesting salad dressing. The search turned up nothing. It seems that there is nobody else dumb enough to eat salad dressing that expired. In fact, from the search, I have learned that I might be lucky to have survived the experience. Eating dressing even a couple months expired can give you very bad food poisoning that in some cases leads to death. This is especially true with creamy dressings that are made with milk products. Mold grows well in those products. I think that the dressing was so expired that my body rejected it hard core, maybe saving my life.
Anyways, that was my experience with hallucinogens. Doing some research, the effects I felt are similar to the effects felt by people on mescaline. So in a way, I've kinda done peyote. If anyone else has eaten expired salad dressing and hallucinated, please let me know. I wanna know if it's just me.
Also, I sincerely apologize, followers. Not just for this pointless post, but for having been gone so long, and having promised a monster post on facebook. It's in the process. I promise. Should be up tomorrow as I finish writing on the train. It comes with a new gimick...ahem...I mean...segment. Look forward to it. But not too much. Don't want your expectations to get too high.
Almost two years ago I had a crazy psychoactive experience. So everyone knows, I have never done any hallucinogenic drugs.
It was 2009 and I had just made a delicious salad at my now ex-girlfriend's house. I put on some ranch dressing and gobbled down my food quickly as I always do. When it comes to eating for me, it's shoot first, ask questions later. After eating this bowl of salad, I was bored waiting for my ex to finish her own food so I read the ingredients and other written facts on the back of the bottle. There, on the lid, clearly labeled, were the words - best before 07.05. Yes, you read that correct, 2005. As in the dressing was expired for 4 years. My ex's grandmother had a habit of holding on to old things. At the time I didn't feel sick so I didn't worry much about it. I knew it was a bad thing to eat expired salad dressing but I didn't quite grasp how bad.
A few hours later I was sitting around my friend's garage as I always did, just shooting the shit and you know, doing things that people who are unemployed (or employed part-time as I was), and not in school do for fun. All of the sudden, everyone's voice got distant and my head ached terribly. I closed my eyes to reduce the light sensitivity as all of the colours seemed to get more vibrant. With my eyes closed, and light shining through my eyelids, the hallucinations began. I got flashes of strange shapes and colours that seem strangely familiar, reminding me somehow of my childhood. The room started spinning and upon opening my eyes, all of the room was filled with these indescribable apparitions. My friends had no idea what's going on with me, I just seemed off in my own world. I closed my eyes again and felt like I was spinning around in a roller chair. It's then that I started to feel sick to my stomach and the hallucinations go from bad to worse. The products of my cubist painting world seem to be tormenting me. I felt like I was going to die.
My field of vision kinda looked like this -->
I got up because-as I exclaimed, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" and I ran outside where I puked all over my friend's grass. The vomiting went on for a good while until all of the contents of my stomach spilled onto the grass. You know when you burp and you can taste the hot dog you had two days ago? Ever puke and see the hot dog you had two days ago? I did. Disgustingness aside, vomiting completely cleared my mind. That's how I knew such an experience was due to the dressing and not due to any other substances I may or may not have inhaled that night. I have not had a psychoactive experience since then but just tonight I was reminiscing about it and decided to search the internet for anyone having that same experience as me from ingesting salad dressing. The search turned up nothing. It seems that there is nobody else dumb enough to eat salad dressing that expired. In fact, from the search, I have learned that I might be lucky to have survived the experience. Eating dressing even a couple months expired can give you very bad food poisoning that in some cases leads to death. This is especially true with creamy dressings that are made with milk products. Mold grows well in those products. I think that the dressing was so expired that my body rejected it hard core, maybe saving my life.
Anyways, that was my experience with hallucinogens. Doing some research, the effects I felt are similar to the effects felt by people on mescaline. So in a way, I've kinda done peyote. If anyone else has eaten expired salad dressing and hallucinated, please let me know. I wanna know if it's just me.
Also, I sincerely apologize, followers. Not just for this pointless post, but for having been gone so long, and having promised a monster post on facebook. It's in the process. I promise. Should be up tomorrow as I finish writing on the train. It comes with a new gimick...ahem...I mean...segment. Look forward to it. But not too much. Don't want your expectations to get too high.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Dear Blog Readers,
I just moved out to a new place in Ottawa and I'm just getting settled in, trying to find a job and attempting to build copious amounts of Ikea furniture... damn Swedes with their fantastically priced pieces of wood and metal that one day will look like a sofa bed...
Anyways, I figured I should let my loyal followers know what's up. I plan on posting much in the near future so please stay tuned. Unfortunately, since I am no longer living with my brother, I'm looking for something to fill the void left over from the Chris Murray Quote of the Week. Also, as I promised all of my former colleagues at the Laser emporium, there will be a formal goodbye letter and kick-ass poem waiting for you as soon as I have the time to write it. Also, as soon as I catch up with current affairs, I'll write on some sort of controversial issue.
Thanks for keeping yourself updated.
Anyways, I figured I should let my loyal followers know what's up. I plan on posting much in the near future so please stay tuned. Unfortunately, since I am no longer living with my brother, I'm looking for something to fill the void left over from the Chris Murray Quote of the Week. Also, as I promised all of my former colleagues at the Laser emporium, there will be a formal goodbye letter and kick-ass poem waiting for you as soon as I have the time to write it. Also, as soon as I catch up with current affairs, I'll write on some sort of controversial issue.
Thanks for keeping yourself updated.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Chris Murray Quote of the Week: August 16/10
About playing baseball in gym class:
"I hit it right back up the middle and hit my supply teacher in the stomach. I kinda felt bad for running to first."
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Who the Hell is in There?: The Vader-Fett Complex
If I wasn't nerdy enough before, this will do it. Those of you who know me probably know that I'm a huge fan of Star Wars. There's something about the original trilogy and the lore surrounding the Star Wars universe that I can't quite explain, but I just love it. Anyways, I watch the original trilogy quite often (and the new ones from time to time to give me a laugh or a Jar Jar Binks drinking game), and it came to my attention that although we know the voice actors of some of the greatest villains of all time, pretty much nobody knows who the people are inside the costumes. I mean, Darth Vader, voiced by James Earl Jones is probably one of the most well-known characters in all of North American pop culture. And for some reason, despite his meager number of appearances and I'm pretty sure only 3 lines in the whole series, Boba Fett is also one of the most recognizable characters. He has a cult following of sorts.
What I'm trying to get at is that it would kind of suck to be the guy in the Darth Vader or Boba Fett costume. First of all, the pay for an on-screen actor with no lines is really shitty. I mean, you can pretty much be replaced by anyone who has the same build. But the fact is, you're in one of the most influential film series of all time and you're in all of these awesome scenes and nobody except maybe your mom knows that it's you. It might be cool to be able to say to yourself, "Wow, I'm fuckin' Darth Vader." but when you go to tell other people, nobody would believe you. And it isn't even the same as with R2-D2 or C-3PO, or Chewbacca. The guy inside C-3PO at least does the voice, and you can at least believe it when a 7-foot tall guy tells you that he's Chewbacca or a little person tells you that they're R2-D2. But poor Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Forced to
live life in anonymity, their place in history completely unknown. Why does this bother me so much? That's a good question. 
Image via Wikipedia
Anyways, I went and looked up who the fellows in the costumes are, and this post is dedicated to them - English bodybuilder David Prowse (Right) as Darth Vader, and Jeremy Bulloch (Left) as Boba Fett.
May the force be with you guys... always.
What I'm trying to get at is that it would kind of suck to be the guy in the Darth Vader or Boba Fett costume. First of all, the pay for an on-screen actor with no lines is really shitty. I mean, you can pretty much be replaced by anyone who has the same build. But the fact is, you're in one of the most influential film series of all time and you're in all of these awesome scenes and nobody except maybe your mom knows that it's you. It might be cool to be able to say to yourself, "Wow, I'm fuckin' Darth Vader." but when you go to tell other people, nobody would believe you. And it isn't even the same as with R2-D2 or C-3PO, or Chewbacca. The guy inside C-3PO at least does the voice, and you can at least believe it when a 7-foot tall guy tells you that he's Chewbacca or a little person tells you that they're R2-D2. But poor Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Forced to
live life in anonymity, their place in history completely unknown. Why does this bother me so much? That's a good question. 
Image via WikipediaAnyways, I went and looked up who the fellows in the costumes are, and this post is dedicated to them - English bodybuilder David Prowse (Right) as Darth Vader, and Jeremy Bulloch (Left) as Boba Fett.
May the force be with you guys... always.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Work With No Chance of Laser Tag? WHAT???
Today I went to work with my Dad. My Dad works at a metal processing plant. I worked at a metal processing plant today. Holy shit does real work ever suck...
As many of you may know, I have a part-time job at Laser Quest (Live action laser tag at it's best). A job at Laser Quest can sometimes be stressful and definitely tiring. But at least no matter how tiring said laser-based work can be, it is not tiring all of the time. We have down days, we have days where we do nothing at all. We have days where one person comes in, we have days where hundreds come in. But I have never found LQ to be mind-numbingly boring. Unfortunately though, LQ doesn't find me valuable enough to give me more than 9 hours a week... So here we are.
Anyways, today I woke up at 5:30 am. Yes. For those of you who don't know, there is a 5:30 in the morning. It is still dark out at said time. Then we embarked off to work where I learned how to make the aluminum bases of industrial smoke detectors (the ones that set off sprinklers in office buildings). So from now on, when you see newly installed smoke detectors in your school or place of business, know that I probably made part of that. Anyways, in order to make this part, you take a bowl-shaped piece of aluminum, about the size of a CD and place it on a press. You then press a button which stamps a weird shaped hole in the top. Then you take that off the press and put it on another stamp while placing another bowl on the first stamp. Press button. Remove first piece and put in a bin. Repeat about 4000 times. That isn't an over-exaggeration. The odometer on my machine read 3820 at the end of the day. I literally did the same three motions for eight-and-a-half hours. One can only wonder how much it would cost to train a Rhesus monkey to do this job. I mean, after the overhead, you wouldn't have to pay it anything because it doesn't have human rights. It was really that easy.
A 70 ton press, the machine I sat at all day -->
The thing about this job was that it was so easy that my mind was not being challenged and there was nothing to keep mind occupied other than the numbers on the odometer. The radio was too far away to hear over the roar of the other machines, one which sounds exactly like an airplane flying low overhead. Not to mention that with the noise you kind of need earplugs. So in your head you're trying to think of other things but really you're just counting every time you hit that button. I made a game of this. You know when Bart gets detention on the Simpson's and he has to lick all of the envelopes? And Skinner gives him advice on how to make it go by faster? I did that. I would count how many I could do in an hour and then try to beat it the next hour. This led to some serious productivity. Another thing I would do is get excited with the patterns in numbers. For instance, I would get excited when I hit 111, 123, 222, 234,333, 345 456, 2345, etc. You have no idea how excited I was when I hit my birthday, my pin number, 2112 (Temples of Syrinx), and especially 3456. That was a high number and a pattern. Now you see why this kind of job can be freelanced out. If you had the same person doing this everyday, they'd probably kill themselves.
It is from this experience that I am even more set on a University education. I definitely won't survive in a world with no mental stimulation. So to all of you, don't give up hope, or you too will be counting numbers on a machine. Or worse! You'll get a machine without a counter!
Another thing I've decided on though, is that I also love money. So I'll be working there tomorrow and all next week as well. Hey, it's not forever.
As many of you may know, I have a part-time job at Laser Quest (Live action laser tag at it's best). A job at Laser Quest can sometimes be stressful and definitely tiring. But at least no matter how tiring said laser-based work can be, it is not tiring all of the time. We have down days, we have days where we do nothing at all. We have days where one person comes in, we have days where hundreds come in. But I have never found LQ to be mind-numbingly boring. Unfortunately though, LQ doesn't find me valuable enough to give me more than 9 hours a week... So here we are.
Anyways, today I woke up at 5:30 am. Yes. For those of you who don't know, there is a 5:30 in the morning. It is still dark out at said time. Then we embarked off to work where I learned how to make the aluminum bases of industrial smoke detectors (the ones that set off sprinklers in office buildings). So from now on, when you see newly installed smoke detectors in your school or place of business, know that I probably made part of that. Anyways, in order to make this part, you take a bowl-shaped piece of aluminum, about the size of a CD and place it on a press. You then press a button which stamps a weird shaped hole in the top. Then you take that off the press and put it on another stamp while placing another bowl on the first stamp. Press button. Remove first piece and put in a bin. Repeat about 4000 times. That isn't an over-exaggeration. The odometer on my machine read 3820 at the end of the day. I literally did the same three motions for eight-and-a-half hours. One can only wonder how much it would cost to train a Rhesus monkey to do this job. I mean, after the overhead, you wouldn't have to pay it anything because it doesn't have human rights. It was really that easy.
A 70 ton press, the machine I sat at all day -->
The thing about this job was that it was so easy that my mind was not being challenged and there was nothing to keep mind occupied other than the numbers on the odometer. The radio was too far away to hear over the roar of the other machines, one which sounds exactly like an airplane flying low overhead. Not to mention that with the noise you kind of need earplugs. So in your head you're trying to think of other things but really you're just counting every time you hit that button. I made a game of this. You know when Bart gets detention on the Simpson's and he has to lick all of the envelopes? And Skinner gives him advice on how to make it go by faster? I did that. I would count how many I could do in an hour and then try to beat it the next hour. This led to some serious productivity. Another thing I would do is get excited with the patterns in numbers. For instance, I would get excited when I hit 111, 123, 222, 234,333, 345 456, 2345, etc. You have no idea how excited I was when I hit my birthday, my pin number, 2112 (Temples of Syrinx), and especially 3456. That was a high number and a pattern. Now you see why this kind of job can be freelanced out. If you had the same person doing this everyday, they'd probably kill themselves.
It is from this experience that I am even more set on a University education. I definitely won't survive in a world with no mental stimulation. So to all of you, don't give up hope, or you too will be counting numbers on a machine. Or worse! You'll get a machine without a counter!
Another thing I've decided on though, is that I also love money. So I'll be working there tomorrow and all next week as well. Hey, it's not forever.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Chris Murray Quote of the Week: August 9/10
At Canada's Wonderland having been kicked out of line already, Chris is trying to sneak on one more ride past closing:
Ride operator woman: Hey, I remember you!
Chris: What if I used one of those Men In Black things on you?
Ride operator woman: Men in Black?
Chris: Yeah, you know, one of those flashing things?
...Moments later: What a bitch. I can't believe I held a straight face through that.
Me: I can't believe you made a Men in Black reference.
A Relationship Blog? NO! DON'T DO IT!
I have decided that it is now time to blog a bit about relationships. I'm not going to go on too long with this, I just have some stuff to say that I need to get out there. I know, you're saying "Oh James, you're so multi-talented. How can you blog about controversial issues, beards, and relationships all in the same week?" *In the background - We love you James! - Make love to me James. Please.* OR "I thought this was a blog about issues facing atheists you sissy fucker. I don't want to hear about no girly relationship issues." To answer the first undoubtedly exclaimed comment, I say thank you, I appreciate the comment but this should only be a one-time thing, then I'll go back to not taking away Casanova's thunder (a much better relationship blog). To the second comment, I'll say the same thing. I like to think that I am very diverse.
Now, today's specific topic is first time relationships. I have some personal experience in this area so listen up. First-time relationships are things that we all go through usually in our mid-teens. We find someone who we think that we like, then we think that we love them, then we realize that we hate them and we were only with them because we thought little of ourselves and to us they were the best we could do. Most of us are out of these "relationships" after a few months, and there isn't that much in the "hard-feelings" department (on the odd occasion, high-school sweethearts do succeed but mostly they just don't). Of course, sometimes these relationships go way past their primes. Like way way past. I had one of these. 2 years and 3 months past it's prime, I was stuck on a girl who treated me like shit, had nothing going for her in the attractive department, couldn't take care of herself, relied on me for everything, and then spit me out at the end. You have to wonder how things like this can go on for so long. It probably is a simple dependency complex. You feel that the other person needs you (or you need them) so much that to leave them would be such a terrible thing to do. You've already convinced yourself that you love them and that you'll be together forever and to leave them is to let yourself down. In your own mind at least.
Now, you might say, "But James, this has never happened to me, maybe you're alone in this". Wrong. I have seen this happen time and time again to some of my other, younger friends. These are people still in the early stages of finding themselves and what they want. Having taken a victory lap, I have the privilege of knowing people younger than myself very well. One terrible example I have seen is concerning a friend I had in first year university. We'll call him Brad and his girlfriend Bradtina. Now, Brad spent the entirety of first week of university trying to get laid like all single guys should do on frosh week. He noticed this great girl that he wanted to go after who was good looking, and very nice. He had the blessing of all of his floor-mates. Then one night, he met Bradtina and they hooked up for some ungodly reason and from then on, they've been attached at the hip. There is a clear reasoning for this - Brad doesn't think enough of himself to think that he deserved a girl who seemed out of his league, so he settled for one that he knew was definitely within his league.
This correlates exactly with the situation that I was in. You watch it happen like watching a train-wreck. There's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Brad was, as I was, blinded by love. You see, when you "love" somebody, you convince yourself that they are beautiful, and you convince yourself that you cannot possibly live without them. No matter what your good friends tell you about how bad she is for you, you will shrug them off and convince yourself that they don't know what love is. But all the while, you are thinking to yourself, "boy, I hope she dies first so that I can sleep with someone else before I die". You know that you're thinking it Brad, and if you're thinking it, it means that you should find someone else.
We all thought that Brad would snap out of this daze and realize that he has some self worth sooner or later. When the scandal was revealed that she had been thinking about cheating on him, we figured that the horror was over. But here's the thing, he saw the proof in e-mail form and he saw the toll she'd been taking of his wallet and he must have seen that she was using him the whole time. He called her out on it. They had a huge fight, he seemed to have grown some balls, and he threw her out (she was living in his res room). Then less than 24 hours later they were back together because she said some cheesy thing on facebook about how much she'll always love him... blah blah blah. This is an unhealthy relationship. I'd like to say to everyone reading who has pondered whether to break up with someone- DO IT. They are obviously not the ones for you, and you are delaying the inevitable. If you have broken up with someone because they were seeing someone else, STAY BROKEN UP. You will save yourself a lot of hardship. It sucks the first few weeks after, as you mourn for what was. Then you come to see your ex-partner in a light that you never saw them in before. When you break up with someone, you lift the veil and you realize that she was an ugly, self-centered bitch that had nothing in common with you. You can then move on, or stay single for a while because it's fun to look at other chicks (something I have no need to do honey muffin).
I don't regret my first relationship that much because it was a learning experience and I gained perspective out of it and had more respect for myself after. What I do regret is letting it drag out so long. I lost the entirety of my 15-17-year old-hood. Those should have been some of the best years of my life. All of the times I could have chilled with friend at parties, experimenting with drugs. But I couldn't go to because bitch-face didn't want to. All of the hot high-school chicks that I'll never be able to make-out with... These are things that we should all be able to do. When you're in high-school, if your woman, hot or not, gets in the way of you enjoying yourself, get out of it. Unless of course, as my brother just noted, "she's hot and you're banging her all the time". You, and your partner deserve better.
To make a note, I now have a hot girlfriend with whom I can hang out with my friends, have a good conversation, and who cares about herself. Goes to show you that you just have to be picky to get what you deserve.
Also, I obviously just jizzed this onto the keyboard. If it doesn't make sense to you, or you have something to add, please leave a comment.
Now, today's specific topic is first time relationships. I have some personal experience in this area so listen up. First-time relationships are things that we all go through usually in our mid-teens. We find someone who we think that we like, then we think that we love them, then we realize that we hate them and we were only with them because we thought little of ourselves and to us they were the best we could do. Most of us are out of these "relationships" after a few months, and there isn't that much in the "hard-feelings" department (on the odd occasion, high-school sweethearts do succeed but mostly they just don't). Of course, sometimes these relationships go way past their primes. Like way way past. I had one of these. 2 years and 3 months past it's prime, I was stuck on a girl who treated me like shit, had nothing going for her in the attractive department, couldn't take care of herself, relied on me for everything, and then spit me out at the end. You have to wonder how things like this can go on for so long. It probably is a simple dependency complex. You feel that the other person needs you (or you need them) so much that to leave them would be such a terrible thing to do. You've already convinced yourself that you love them and that you'll be together forever and to leave them is to let yourself down. In your own mind at least.
Now, you might say, "But James, this has never happened to me, maybe you're alone in this". Wrong. I have seen this happen time and time again to some of my other, younger friends. These are people still in the early stages of finding themselves and what they want. Having taken a victory lap, I have the privilege of knowing people younger than myself very well. One terrible example I have seen is concerning a friend I had in first year university. We'll call him Brad and his girlfriend Bradtina. Now, Brad spent the entirety of first week of university trying to get laid like all single guys should do on frosh week. He noticed this great girl that he wanted to go after who was good looking, and very nice. He had the blessing of all of his floor-mates. Then one night, he met Bradtina and they hooked up for some ungodly reason and from then on, they've been attached at the hip. There is a clear reasoning for this - Brad doesn't think enough of himself to think that he deserved a girl who seemed out of his league, so he settled for one that he knew was definitely within his league.
This correlates exactly with the situation that I was in. You watch it happen like watching a train-wreck. There's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Brad was, as I was, blinded by love. You see, when you "love" somebody, you convince yourself that they are beautiful, and you convince yourself that you cannot possibly live without them. No matter what your good friends tell you about how bad she is for you, you will shrug them off and convince yourself that they don't know what love is. But all the while, you are thinking to yourself, "boy, I hope she dies first so that I can sleep with someone else before I die". You know that you're thinking it Brad, and if you're thinking it, it means that you should find someone else. We all thought that Brad would snap out of this daze and realize that he has some self worth sooner or later. When the scandal was revealed that she had been thinking about cheating on him, we figured that the horror was over. But here's the thing, he saw the proof in e-mail form and he saw the toll she'd been taking of his wallet and he must have seen that she was using him the whole time. He called her out on it. They had a huge fight, he seemed to have grown some balls, and he threw her out (she was living in his res room). Then less than 24 hours later they were back together because she said some cheesy thing on facebook about how much she'll always love him... blah blah blah. This is an unhealthy relationship. I'd like to say to everyone reading who has pondered whether to break up with someone- DO IT. They are obviously not the ones for you, and you are delaying the inevitable. If you have broken up with someone because they were seeing someone else, STAY BROKEN UP. You will save yourself a lot of hardship. It sucks the first few weeks after, as you mourn for what was. Then you come to see your ex-partner in a light that you never saw them in before. When you break up with someone, you lift the veil and you realize that she was an ugly, self-centered bitch that had nothing in common with you. You can then move on, or stay single for a while because it's fun to look at other chicks (something I have no need to do honey muffin).
I don't regret my first relationship that much because it was a learning experience and I gained perspective out of it and had more respect for myself after. What I do regret is letting it drag out so long. I lost the entirety of my 15-17-year old-hood. Those should have been some of the best years of my life. All of the times I could have chilled with friend at parties, experimenting with drugs. But I couldn't go to because bitch-face didn't want to. All of the hot high-school chicks that I'll never be able to make-out with... These are things that we should all be able to do. When you're in high-school, if your woman, hot or not, gets in the way of you enjoying yourself, get out of it. Unless of course, as my brother just noted, "she's hot and you're banging her all the time". You, and your partner deserve better.
To make a note, I now have a hot girlfriend with whom I can hang out with my friends, have a good conversation, and who cares about herself. Goes to show you that you just have to be picky to get what you deserve.
Also, I obviously just jizzed this onto the keyboard. If it doesn't make sense to you, or you have something to add, please leave a comment.
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Beard: Your Chin's Best Friend
Image via Wikipedia
Now, you may ask: "James, why do you care so much about having a beard?" and here I will answer that question with 8 awesome, random things to do with beards.
Image via Wikipedia
1. Some of the most influential people in the history of the world have rocked epic beards. -
Both Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, inventors of communism had insanely cool beards. Also, the inventor of capitalism, economist Adam Smith did NOT have a beard and look how crappy capitalism has been lately. Perhaps if he would have rocked a beard, capitalism would have been more fun. Some other influential bearded people: Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Leo Tolstoy, Leonardo da Vinci, Santa Claus, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jesus.
Image via Wikipedia
2. Beards have a rich history dating back to the dawn of man. - Since humans did not always have tools with which to shave, our earliest ancestors rocked beards, remnants of when their ancestors' entire faces were covered in hair. Up until the time razors were invented, beards were allowed to flow free and unrestricted. And when beards were sported after that, they were often symbols of power. In ancient Egypt, only the most important people were allowed to wear beards, like pharaohs. Even the women pharaohs wore metal imitation beards and these were often also placed on cows because we all know that cows kick ass.
3. Manly men wear beards -
The manliest men that we know of in all time: the Spartans all wore beards. This was because only women and girly-men did not have them. In fact, a common punishment for cowardice in Sparta was to cut off a portion of a man's beard. Oh the shame.
Also, Epic Beard Man has a beard. For those of you unfamiliar with Epic Beard Man, click here.
4. Beards can make you look intimidating-
In fact, one of the primary reasons that I almost always sport a bad-ass goatee is so that I don't get jumped while hanging around Brampton. We all know that people who will jump you in Brampton are in fact mostly pussies who have nothing better to do. Can you imagine a guy with a beard getting jumped? No way. In your imagination, it's always a clean-shaven guy or a guy with little bits of non-beard fluff. The man with the beard never gets jumped. Would you mess with a guy with a beard if you didn't know him?
5. Chuck Norris has a beard -
When Chuck Norris talks, everybody listens. And dies.
...Nuff said.
6. All of the best ancient philosophers had beards. And they were smart. -
In fact, the ancient Macedonians all shaved, except for philosophers because it was a sign of wisdom. Some bearded philosophers: Agathon, Socrates, Plato, Plutarch, etc. Pretty much everyone except for Aristotle. What an asshole.
7. Beards are EXTREME. -
In religions, the most extreme followers have beards. For example: Hasidic Jews take Judaism to a new level of craziness. They all have beards. Amish people also wear beards. Don't tell me that they're not extreme (they will also never know I said that). Have you ever seen a terrorist Muslim without a beard? That's what I call extremism. Also, I'm gonna say Sikhism is pretty extreme, especially with their beards. Their women have to wear veils to cover up the awesomeness of their beards.
8. Adam Norton has the inability to grow one. (No offense Jon) -
The last reason for why beards are awesome is that Adam Norton cannot grow one. He is a mixture of Swede and Jew that makes him completely incompetent at growing facial hair. As you can tell from the picture below, he can never look intimidating.
His face will also forever be cold during the dark lonely nights.I expect a witty retort for this by the way. Enjoy your penis cookie and your inability to intimidate a grizzly bear the way Nate can.
In conclusion - Beards are evolution's way of favoring Men over Women (at least most of them). How else would we be the protectors of the village without the testosterone levels to make woolly mammoths extinct? Since testosterone makes beards, beards are obviously a key part to our manliness. As the old Greek saying goes,
"There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless—boys and women—and I am neither one." That is all.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Prop 8: Another Time Where What You Think Shouldn't Matter.
We all love democracy (unless you don't) but sometimes democracy can be wrong. This is kind of like in one of my earlier posts where I complained about opinion polls on major news networks. Just because you believe something to be true, doesn't mean that it is. This is especially true when people who have no authority on a matter get to decide what is right for other people.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with California Proposition 8 (or the California Marriage Protection Act [a loaded title if I ever heard one]), was a ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment in November of 2008 to add a new provision to Section 7.5 of the declaration of rights that provides that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". This Proposition Passed. It was put to a vote and a sufficient number of people voted "Yes". Yesterday though, a California Judge overturned Prop 8, calling it "unconstitutional". Let me say, thank science that there are still rational people out there.
Maybe I'm biased because I'm pro gay-marriage but if you don't like it you can eff-off to another blog.
So what I really want to get at here is the flaw of democracy. The problem is that everyone can vote. "Well hold on there..." you will possibly say, "...democracy wouldn't be democracy if not everyone could vote". That is true reader, and we all know that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried" as Winston Churchill once said. This proposition 8 thing probably shouldn't have been voted on at all then because gay people getting married doesn't affect you unless you are gay. As much as the naysayers will go on about the bull-shit "sanctity of marriage" with a 50% divorce rate and OH JESUS THINK OF THE CHILDREN! because they need a Mother and a Father figure even though they're growing up in a loving family this does not affect you.
Logically, there should not be a referendum on issues that do not affect the general public. Especially when in the constitution it already states that all equals have the right to marry. That's right, they made an amendment to deprive people of their rights and that was OK! The turn-out for this vote was so high because so many damned people were adamant about getting in other people's business. This is my problem with the Christian right. I am not deluded, and it would be better if you weren't deluded but that's alright because your delusion does not really affect me. My problem is that when your religious delusions transfer into law, you affect people who do not share your own view on morality.
With Prop 8, Gay people (who only make up about 10% of the population) had to also get 41% of the population who are straight people to vote with them. For this election, voter turnout was especially high with a turnout of almost 80% of the population. Of course, most of those people were people who couldn't mind their own business like Christians, Republicans, and Old People. Still, the vote was surprisingly close with 52% yes and 48% no.
When this proposition was struck down yesterday by a California Judge, he effectively said, "I am smarter than you, I have qualifications, I know the constitution, you do not. We will go forward with civil rights." And so, right prevailed even though the wrong voted on it. This went against the normal rules of democracy. God bless America.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with California Proposition 8 (or the California Marriage Protection Act [a loaded title if I ever heard one]), was a ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment in November of 2008 to add a new provision to Section 7.5 of the declaration of rights that provides that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". This Proposition Passed. It was put to a vote and a sufficient number of people voted "Yes". Yesterday though, a California Judge overturned Prop 8, calling it "unconstitutional". Let me say, thank science that there are still rational people out there.
Maybe I'm biased because I'm pro gay-marriage but if you don't like it you can eff-off to another blog.So what I really want to get at here is the flaw of democracy. The problem is that everyone can vote. "Well hold on there..." you will possibly say, "...democracy wouldn't be democracy if not everyone could vote". That is true reader, and we all know that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried" as Winston Churchill once said. This proposition 8 thing probably shouldn't have been voted on at all then because gay people getting married doesn't affect you unless you are gay. As much as the naysayers will go on about the bull-shit "sanctity of marriage" with a 50% divorce rate and OH JESUS THINK OF THE CHILDREN! because they need a Mother and a Father figure even though they're growing up in a loving family this does not affect you.
Logically, there should not be a referendum on issues that do not affect the general public. Especially when in the constitution it already states that all equals have the right to marry. That's right, they made an amendment to deprive people of their rights and that was OK! The turn-out for this vote was so high because so many damned people were adamant about getting in other people's business. This is my problem with the Christian right. I am not deluded, and it would be better if you weren't deluded but that's alright because your delusion does not really affect me. My problem is that when your religious delusions transfer into law, you affect people who do not share your own view on morality.
With Prop 8, Gay people (who only make up about 10% of the population) had to also get 41% of the population who are straight people to vote with them. For this election, voter turnout was especially high with a turnout of almost 80% of the population. Of course, most of those people were people who couldn't mind their own business like Christians, Republicans, and Old People. Still, the vote was surprisingly close with 52% yes and 48% no.
When this proposition was struck down yesterday by a California Judge, he effectively said, "I am smarter than you, I have qualifications, I know the constitution, you do not. We will go forward with civil rights." And so, right prevailed even though the wrong voted on it. This went against the normal rules of democracy. God bless America.
Ground-Zero Mosque: Exercise in Hate or Just an Overreaction?
I'm going to address something now in a way that will probably be unexpected for a known Atheist and Anti-theist. I figure in order to stir up some controversy, I'll post about the proposed ground-zero mosque. I'm not an expert on the subject and I frankly don't care for the building of any places of mass delusion, but I do know that those opposed to the building of this mosque probably have the wrong reasons for opposing it.
For those of you who don't know, there are approved plans for the construction of a giant mosque/community center about 2 blocks away from ground-zero in New York City. To put that in perspective, the building being knocked down to make way for the Islamic community center was hit with airplane debris.
But I digress, because this is not the stance that I will take here. I have things to say to both sides of the controversy.
A lot of people are upset that there will be a safe-haven for Muslims in the area who we all know were the people who carried out the 9/11 attacks. I mean, isn't it so distasteful to laugh in the face of the heroes who lost their lives saving those people and of the innocent people who died? As one woman put it so very well on a sign she upheld at a protest: "Don't glorify murders of 3,000. No 9/11 victory mosque".
I don't want to come off insensitive but I really think people forgot what diversity there was in the lives lost in the attacks. There were Muslims who undoubtedly lost their lives in the attacks as well. This community center will be operated by a group called the Cordoba Initiative which plans to give a voice to moderate Muslims. What do people think will happen if there was a community center where moderate Muslims have a chance to talk things out? Do they really think these people will be mobilized by the "victory" at ground zero? I think that people have lost track of who the attackers were- extremist Muslims who were at war with western values, not moderate Muslims who want their own place on the tip of Manhattan. I think this is another instance where people's sentiments get the best of them. They hear "mosque on ground-zero" and the only connections their brains can make are "Mosque = Muslim, Muslim + Ground Zero = Bad therefore, Mosque + Ground Zero = Bad. As my own father said to me when he heard about the news: (paraphrasing) "They're taking over. This is a stepping stone in their plan. If there's a mosque at ground zero then they're going to start recruiting from there." I disagree though, especially since this Cordoba Initiative has been entirely transparent so far. Moderate Muslims are the kinds of Muslims that you want around if you have to have Muslims around. They're fairly peaceful people with strange customs like insane cleanliness and prayer. They don't condone violence; if they did, it would make them extremists. I think that the one-track mindset that Americans have of a war against Islam needs to be re-directed into a war on fundamentalism, no matter the religion being associated with it.
That being said, I'm talking to you, moderate Muslims who undoubtedly will never gaze upon this page: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? Stop disturbing shit. You knew that people were going to be pissed. Yes, I know there are a lot of you, and like every religion, you like to push yourself into places where you're not wanted but holy jumping Jesus, why there? Why at ground zero? Do you want people to be angry with you? Do you know how tacky that is? Yes you have the right to build anything you want on the land that you bought, but that doesn't mean that you should. As much as people might be overreacting and as much as they're allowing their silly imaginations to run wild about terrorist training schools in the middle of Manhattan, it doesn't make it right. If you really want people to convert to Islam and embrace it, you should probably not be dicks, or else you'll just be attracting the crowd that actually blows stuff up; and the last thing you need is more bad P.R. Not that I care, because as I will undoubtedly tackle in future posts, I'm terrified of Islam so the less of you the better.
So that's what I've got.
More than anything I'm determined not to take the side of Newt Gingrich who wrote on his website, "The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over," adding that the decision over whether to build the facility was "a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites." And as always I won't take the side of Sarah Palin who wrote in a facebook message to her followers: "Many Americans, myself included, feel it would be an intolerable and tragic mistake to allow such a project ... to go forward on such hallowed ground".
All of this wishy-washy sentimental, right-wing bullshit always runs well with ignorant Americans who are always upset when people with a separate point-of-view get their way.
So readers, I beg you, let me know what you think of all this. This is one of those times where I might just be barking up the wrong tree.
For those of you who don't know, there are approved plans for the construction of a giant mosque/community center about 2 blocks away from ground-zero in New York City. To put that in perspective, the building being knocked down to make way for the Islamic community center was hit with airplane debris.
But I digress, because this is not the stance that I will take here. I have things to say to both sides of the controversy.
A lot of people are upset that there will be a safe-haven for Muslims in the area who we all know were the people who carried out the 9/11 attacks. I mean, isn't it so distasteful to laugh in the face of the heroes who lost their lives saving those people and of the innocent people who died? As one woman put it so very well on a sign she upheld at a protest: "Don't glorify murders of 3,000. No 9/11 victory mosque".
I don't want to come off insensitive but I really think people forgot what diversity there was in the lives lost in the attacks. There were Muslims who undoubtedly lost their lives in the attacks as well. This community center will be operated by a group called the Cordoba Initiative which plans to give a voice to moderate Muslims. What do people think will happen if there was a community center where moderate Muslims have a chance to talk things out? Do they really think these people will be mobilized by the "victory" at ground zero? I think that people have lost track of who the attackers were- extremist Muslims who were at war with western values, not moderate Muslims who want their own place on the tip of Manhattan. I think this is another instance where people's sentiments get the best of them. They hear "mosque on ground-zero" and the only connections their brains can make are "Mosque = Muslim, Muslim + Ground Zero = Bad therefore, Mosque + Ground Zero = Bad. As my own father said to me when he heard about the news: (paraphrasing) "They're taking over. This is a stepping stone in their plan. If there's a mosque at ground zero then they're going to start recruiting from there." I disagree though, especially since this Cordoba Initiative has been entirely transparent so far. Moderate Muslims are the kinds of Muslims that you want around if you have to have Muslims around. They're fairly peaceful people with strange customs like insane cleanliness and prayer. They don't condone violence; if they did, it would make them extremists. I think that the one-track mindset that Americans have of a war against Islam needs to be re-directed into a war on fundamentalism, no matter the religion being associated with it.
That being said, I'm talking to you, moderate Muslims who undoubtedly will never gaze upon this page: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? Stop disturbing shit. You knew that people were going to be pissed. Yes, I know there are a lot of you, and like every religion, you like to push yourself into places where you're not wanted but holy jumping Jesus, why there? Why at ground zero? Do you want people to be angry with you? Do you know how tacky that is? Yes you have the right to build anything you want on the land that you bought, but that doesn't mean that you should. As much as people might be overreacting and as much as they're allowing their silly imaginations to run wild about terrorist training schools in the middle of Manhattan, it doesn't make it right. If you really want people to convert to Islam and embrace it, you should probably not be dicks, or else you'll just be attracting the crowd that actually blows stuff up; and the last thing you need is more bad P.R. Not that I care, because as I will undoubtedly tackle in future posts, I'm terrified of Islam so the less of you the better.
So that's what I've got.
More than anything I'm determined not to take the side of Newt Gingrich who wrote on his website, "The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over," adding that the decision over whether to build the facility was "a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites." And as always I won't take the side of Sarah Palin who wrote in a facebook message to her followers: "Many Americans, myself included, feel it would be an intolerable and tragic mistake to allow such a project ... to go forward on such hallowed ground".
All of this wishy-washy sentimental, right-wing bullshit always runs well with ignorant Americans who are always upset when people with a separate point-of-view get their way.
So readers, I beg you, let me know what you think of all this. This is one of those times where I might just be barking up the wrong tree.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Funniest Commercial Ever.
I don't know why, but every time I see this Keystone Light commercial, I can't stop laughing. Base humor? Yes. Do I care? No.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Chris Murray Quote of the Week: August 2/10
Concerning my stereo:
We'll fight to the death for it. If you die, you can have it.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Dear Creationists...
Alright, so I've been reading some hilarious fundamentalist quotes from FSTDT spurred on by this awesome video sent to me by fellow blogger Dye-Go. This stuff always gets me laughing and also angry at the absurdity of the ignorance in the world. So dear creationist, I have a few things to say to you that you will undoubtedly not take to heart:
1. The "Theory" of Evolution as you so enthusiastically insist on emphasizing, may be a "theory" but that doesn't mean that it's close to being wrong. I don't know if you noticed, but the guy who came up with that "Theory" was a whole crapload smarter than you and he lived in the 1860s. Actually, "theories" (scientific ones at least) that last for over a century and have empirical evidence to support them usually have some merit, especially when you can observe living examples of it and have overwhelming acceptance of influential scientists. When bacterium mutate to adapt to antibiotics, that is literal, observable evidence of evolution. It's only really a theory because there's debate over how exactly it happens (and we're pretty sure on that), not whether it happens at all. There are really very few theories that get to become laws anyways. Especially in biology.
2. Scientists don't use big words because they want to confuse you. You're just fucking stupid. Actually, it's to their dismay when you don't understand simple concepts. As much as they try to lay it out for you, you just really refuse to listen. Deoxyribonucleic acid isn't a big word to confuse you, it's the name of a chemical. I won't even humor you with explaining why not all acids dissolve things.
3. LISTEN!!! Like, holy shit, when an "evolutionist" tries to explain something, try to just listen. Hear them out. It's not that complicated. I love the question: "If humans really did evolve from monkeys, how come babies aren't born monkeys?" OR "It took several million years for a monkey to turn into a man? Oh right, monkeys don't live several million years". This is flat out failing to try to grasp a concept altogether. Maybe you should try to just open your ears. Or close one because things just go in one and out the other.
4. It just sounds silly when you say that the earth is only 6 thousand years old. There are cultures that we know were around for well past that time, let alone all the other sheer overwhelming evidence from the fossil record. Why does it sound more likely to you that a magical man in the sky put rocks and carbon dating there to test your faith than that the earth is just really old. It's not even that damning to your religion. I mean if people are able to believe the magical man in the sky thing, I'm pretty sure they'll be cool with the earth being old thing.
I have some more stuff to say so there might eventually be a part 2 to this post. I feel ranty today.
1. The "Theory" of Evolution as you so enthusiastically insist on emphasizing, may be a "theory" but that doesn't mean that it's close to being wrong. I don't know if you noticed, but the guy who came up with that "Theory" was a whole crapload smarter than you and he lived in the 1860s. Actually, "theories" (scientific ones at least) that last for over a century and have empirical evidence to support them usually have some merit, especially when you can observe living examples of it and have overwhelming acceptance of influential scientists. When bacterium mutate to adapt to antibiotics, that is literal, observable evidence of evolution. It's only really a theory because there's debate over how exactly it happens (and we're pretty sure on that), not whether it happens at all. There are really very few theories that get to become laws anyways. Especially in biology.
2. Scientists don't use big words because they want to confuse you. You're just fucking stupid. Actually, it's to their dismay when you don't understand simple concepts. As much as they try to lay it out for you, you just really refuse to listen. Deoxyribonucleic acid isn't a big word to confuse you, it's the name of a chemical. I won't even humor you with explaining why not all acids dissolve things.
3. LISTEN!!! Like, holy shit, when an "evolutionist" tries to explain something, try to just listen. Hear them out. It's not that complicated. I love the question: "If humans really did evolve from monkeys, how come babies aren't born monkeys?" OR "It took several million years for a monkey to turn into a man? Oh right, monkeys don't live several million years". This is flat out failing to try to grasp a concept altogether. Maybe you should try to just open your ears. Or close one because things just go in one and out the other.
4. It just sounds silly when you say that the earth is only 6 thousand years old. There are cultures that we know were around for well past that time, let alone all the other sheer overwhelming evidence from the fossil record. Why does it sound more likely to you that a magical man in the sky put rocks and carbon dating there to test your faith than that the earth is just really old. It's not even that damning to your religion. I mean if people are able to believe the magical man in the sky thing, I'm pretty sure they'll be cool with the earth being old thing.
I have some more stuff to say so there might eventually be a part 2 to this post. I feel ranty today.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Chris Murray Quote of the Week: July 26/10
If I ever have kids--and I probably wont, I'm going to name at least one of them Gyarados.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
God is Ego.
Today I had the unpleasant experience of getting into an argument with my boss about God. As an Atheist you know which stance I took but he defended his claims that there is an omnipotent force watching over us out there. His proof was that there must be something out there because karma exists. He says that there is a balance of positive and negative energy. Blah blah blah... "The Secret". He didn't specifically say "The Secret" but he used the same bullshit reasoning that if you send positive energy out into the universe through the laws of attraction positive things will come back to you. Despite the fact that brainwaves and good deeds don't have charges, and if they did, as most people know (or don't), opposites attract and like charges repel. Through this logic, good thoughts or "energy" would attract bad things. Therefore, everyone should do terrible things to each other.
Anyways, as I delicately attempted to pick apart his stupid "logic" and pseudoscientific reasoning he said to me something like: "yes, maybe those good things are coincidences but I truly believe that some things are gifts for doing good..." blah blah blah he tells me about something good that happened to him. This is a reasoning that a lot of people use to "prove" the existence of a higher power. The fact is, when you receive something out of the blue, there are millions upon millions of people who receive nothing. Let me use the lottery as an example. One day there's a guy who kind of believes there might be something out there but is teetering on the belief scale. But he wins millions of dollars in the lottery one day and all of the sudden it's a gift from God. God obviously loves him and that is why he won, it's not the one in 100 million chance that randomly happened to be his numbers. I realized that a large amount of people gain faith when they win the lottery (see that lottery show that I can't remember the name of but just started on TV). This is an entirely egoistic point of view. These people believe that they were special enough to be chosen by God to win the lottery. They forgot about the part where millions of other people lost 10 bucks. The same goes for the less extreme examples of where you received X because of good karma.
What I want to say is that the Universe is fucking gigantic. I mean, it is huge to the point of disbelief. That in itself is really amazing and if I were to be a believer it would be that. Of course, then you have to realize that a "creator" would have probably invented the universe and then lost interest in the pitiful lives of us insignificant, lowly humans. Saying that you deserve something more than others in a cosmic sense is borderline retarded. Not only with winning things or not dying in a car crash or whatever, but also with things like faith healing. While you may have miraculously recovered from some ailment, it doesn't take away the fact that probably thousands of other people died from that same ailment and you are frankly the anomaly in the percentage that survived. Crazy, unpredictable, unlikely things happen. In fact, if it can happen, it probably will happen some percentage of the time. It doesn't mean that someone is looking out for you alone. If you believe that, you are narrow-mindedly closing yourself out from the harsh realities of the rest of the suffering in the world.
Therefore, God is often the interpretation that narrow-mined people have about random chance since they don't understand statistical probability. If you have a reason for believing in God, please don't let it be good things happening to you. If you live in a first-world country, good things have a high probability of happening to you. Please, readers, weigh in. That is all.
Anyways, as I delicately attempted to pick apart his stupid "logic" and pseudoscientific reasoning he said to me something like: "yes, maybe those good things are coincidences but I truly believe that some things are gifts for doing good..." blah blah blah he tells me about something good that happened to him. This is a reasoning that a lot of people use to "prove" the existence of a higher power. The fact is, when you receive something out of the blue, there are millions upon millions of people who receive nothing. Let me use the lottery as an example. One day there's a guy who kind of believes there might be something out there but is teetering on the belief scale. But he wins millions of dollars in the lottery one day and all of the sudden it's a gift from God. God obviously loves him and that is why he won, it's not the one in 100 million chance that randomly happened to be his numbers. I realized that a large amount of people gain faith when they win the lottery (see that lottery show that I can't remember the name of but just started on TV). This is an entirely egoistic point of view. These people believe that they were special enough to be chosen by God to win the lottery. They forgot about the part where millions of other people lost 10 bucks. The same goes for the less extreme examples of where you received X because of good karma.
What I want to say is that the Universe is fucking gigantic. I mean, it is huge to the point of disbelief. That in itself is really amazing and if I were to be a believer it would be that. Of course, then you have to realize that a "creator" would have probably invented the universe and then lost interest in the pitiful lives of us insignificant, lowly humans. Saying that you deserve something more than others in a cosmic sense is borderline retarded. Not only with winning things or not dying in a car crash or whatever, but also with things like faith healing. While you may have miraculously recovered from some ailment, it doesn't take away the fact that probably thousands of other people died from that same ailment and you are frankly the anomaly in the percentage that survived. Crazy, unpredictable, unlikely things happen. In fact, if it can happen, it probably will happen some percentage of the time. It doesn't mean that someone is looking out for you alone. If you believe that, you are narrow-mindedly closing yourself out from the harsh realities of the rest of the suffering in the world.
Therefore, God is often the interpretation that narrow-mined people have about random chance since they don't understand statistical probability. If you have a reason for believing in God, please don't let it be good things happening to you. If you live in a first-world country, good things have a high probability of happening to you. Please, readers, weigh in. That is all.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
When I'm bored I can do stupid things.
Today I made a parody of the 3 year old crying over Justin Bieber.
Stupid or really awesome? I think both.
Stupid or really awesome? I think both.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Dear News Networks...
When there's nothing on I usually watch CNN. *readers snarl* Yes I know it's an American news network but I always find American news more interesting and distressing than Canadian news and compared to Fox news it's pretty good. If I had MSNBC I would probably watch that. Anyways, I find it fun to look out for things that the Daily Show will probably make fun of later in the night. But I digress, the thing that has recently begun to bother me is that twitter has become a source of news for many networks. Not only twitter but also facebook and this stupid iReport thing where people send in their comments. What I would like to say to these networks is that you are evidently lazy and your viewers are mostly stupid. I don't want to hear from them. Also, opinion polls mean nothing. Why do i care what percentage of CNN viewers think that the Oil Spill sucks? WE KNOW IT SUCKS!
So dear news networks, stop going to your viewers for their opinions. You're so obviously trying to eat up time and trying too look more balanced. It's really silly.
I don't know where exactly that's going but it's just something that pisses me off.
So dear news networks, stop going to your viewers for their opinions. You're so obviously trying to eat up time and trying too look more balanced. It's really silly.
I don't know where exactly that's going but it's just something that pisses me off.
Chris Murray Quote of the Week: July 19/10
Man, the special ed teacher is hot! I wish I was retarded.
Change in plans...
I've decided that since I probably won't get a whole lot of followers anyways, I should probably not limit my audience to Atheists. Plus, everyone has heard the same points time and time again. Not to say I won't occasionally direct my attention to those topics but I don't want to get myself into a corner. I've also come to realize that Atheist blogs sometimes suck because instead of drawing in smart people, they draw in religious fundamentalists that spam the crap out of their pages with unfounded rhetoric. Maybe when I get back to studying philosophy full-time I'll be more inspired to go that way but for the meantime I might as well just post about random nonsense. Good news, I'll be transplanting Chris Murray quotes of the week here from Facebook. For those of you who don't know, my brother has a knack of saying hilarious and/or offensive things without trying to and I think he deserves a spot here.
Also, I'd like to note that I have no idea how to write a good blog so my strategy is to just write whatever with no particular organization.
Also, I'd like to note that I have no idea how to write a good blog so my strategy is to just write whatever with no particular organization.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Why Atheism blogs have readers.
One of the great things about being an atheist is that you can start a crappy blog and a bunch of reasonable, confused teenagers trying to figure out what they believe will undoubtedly google "The pros of atheism" to help them decide whether they want to be full-blown atheists, agnostics (or as I like to call them, atheists without balls), or if they want to put a jihad on the infidels. This search will undoubtedly lead them to several wikipedia pages, the league of American atheists, some Richard Dawkins stuff, and some Youtube videos. But after going to like page 1220 or something they will stumble upon this blog and I will gain me some readers. It is from here that I will start my world domination MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!
So hello to all of you confused teenagers. You have come here for one of many reasons:
a) When you realized the tooth fairy wasn't real you were like "whoa!", when the easter bunny wasn't real you were like "I shoulda seen it coming after the tooth fairy wasn't real but WHOA!" and when you found out Santa Claus wasn't real you were like "those lying bastards!". Then you probably wondered what else wasn't real and a magical man in the sky who controls the weather sounded less plausible all of the sudden.
b) You watched a lot of discovery channel as a kid and learning about evolution was interesting to you and seemed to make sense. Then when you mentioned it at school all the kids yelled at you because they "aint come from no monkeys!". This led you to do further research to prove them wrong.
c) Some tragic thing happened to you. Sorry for your loss. (Note: this can have the opposite effect and drive people towards religion. To avoid this from happening, don't let anybody die.)
...Or a plethora (always wanted to have to type that word) of other reasons. I want to let you know that you have come to the right place. Hopefully over the next while, if I don't get bored of this and decide to abort the blog, I will address the problems facing our moral minority in a hopefully humorous and intelligent way. I love comments and feedback. For instance, let me know if you have a different reason for being a non-believer than the ones stated above. For now,
May the force be with you. Always.
So hello to all of you confused teenagers. You have come here for one of many reasons:
a) When you realized the tooth fairy wasn't real you were like "whoa!", when the easter bunny wasn't real you were like "I shoulda seen it coming after the tooth fairy wasn't real but WHOA!" and when you found out Santa Claus wasn't real you were like "those lying bastards!". Then you probably wondered what else wasn't real and a magical man in the sky who controls the weather sounded less plausible all of the sudden.
b) You watched a lot of discovery channel as a kid and learning about evolution was interesting to you and seemed to make sense. Then when you mentioned it at school all the kids yelled at you because they "aint come from no monkeys!". This led you to do further research to prove them wrong.
c) Some tragic thing happened to you. Sorry for your loss. (Note: this can have the opposite effect and drive people towards religion. To avoid this from happening, don't let anybody die.)
...Or a plethora (always wanted to have to type that word) of other reasons. I want to let you know that you have come to the right place. Hopefully over the next while, if I don't get bored of this and decide to abort the blog, I will address the problems facing our moral minority in a hopefully humorous and intelligent way. I love comments and feedback. For instance, let me know if you have a different reason for being a non-believer than the ones stated above. For now,
May the force be with you. Always.
Bloggy Blog Blog Blobs
I have been advised by a blogging veteran that although blogs are difficult to start, you need to let them grow. In the words of the great Jon Ashton, "Your blog is like a fetus. Right now you could abort it and nobody would really care. You have to let it grow to it's full potential. You should start by basically jizzing on the keyboard" or something to that extent. So I have taken his words to heart (not the jizzing on the keyboard, it's hard to get out from between the cracks) and decided to go through with my idea for a non-radical yet still radical atheist blog. See the next post for details.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hello World!
Hey you non-existent people out there, just saying hi, I'm here. Expect to see more from me.
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