"Chew on that Tea-Baggers!
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Ostrich Party
"Keeping our heads in the sand and our children in abject fear since 2010."
Chew on that Tea-Baggers!
"Chew on that Tea-Baggers!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Cephus: The Pebble
A million years ago, when I took Philosophy 101, my class had a discussion about the omniscience of God versus the concept of free will. The simple upshot of the argument, which rocked my world, was that you cannot rectify the two. If God "numbers even the hairs on your head," and knows all of what is, what was and what will be (in the entire UNIVERSE!), then your steps have been ordered since "before the beginning of time."
"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Eph 1:10.
His will, not your free will... Face it, literalistic Christians, you all are on a monorail of God's design, so you might as well buckle in and concede the ride, doo-doo sandwiches and all.
I cannot, however, agree with this premise, so I lean on a Deistic metaphor.
Deism, you ask?... Kindly allow the 'internets' to explain:
Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or "The Supreme Architect") has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism#Deism_today, 20 May 2010).
So, here's the way my puny, little mind grasps it:
God is a cliff standing at the headwaters of a mighty river. I am a minuscule pebble that cleaves from the cliff and, plop, drops into the stream. Now, God knows that I will inevitably end up at the delta by the sea (heaven, hell, fate, whatever), but how long it takes and by what circuitous route through the raging waters I proceed... He does not know. His job was merely to set the pebble into motion.
So, do I believe that God is omniscient? That a being possesses infinite knowledge of an infinite universe? Come on... I already told you that I have a puny, little mind with limited comprehension.
So, to summarize my take on the Creator:
"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Eph 1:10.
His will, not your free will... Face it, literalistic Christians, you all are on a monorail of God's design, so you might as well buckle in and concede the ride, doo-doo sandwiches and all.
I cannot, however, agree with this premise, so I lean on a Deistic metaphor.
Deism, you ask?... Kindly allow the 'internets' to explain:
Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or "The Supreme Architect") has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism#Deism_today, 20 May 2010).
So, here's the way my puny, little mind grasps it:
God is a cliff standing at the headwaters of a mighty river. I am a minuscule pebble that cleaves from the cliff and, plop, drops into the stream. Now, God knows that I will inevitably end up at the delta by the sea (heaven, hell, fate, whatever), but how long it takes and by what circuitous route through the raging waters I proceed... He does not know. His job was merely to set the pebble into motion.
So, do I believe that God is omniscient? That a being possesses infinite knowledge of an infinite universe? Come on... I already told you that I have a puny, little mind with limited comprehension.
So, to summarize my take on the Creator:
- All knowing? Nah.
- All powerful? My previous supposition nullifies that.
- All good? In a world where Glenn Beck is wealthy and successful?... riiight.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Crass=Bad
I was watching TV a couple of weeks ago and saw two movie trailers within the span of ten minutes. One was for a film called Kick Ass and another was for the film Date Night where the Tina Fey character was bemoaning a fate of being “whacked off” by the criminal (or criminals?) chasing her and the Steve Carell character.
A film with the audacity to scream kick ass from the billboard and a trailer that producers felt would have the most impact using a none too subtle masturbatory reference? I can just imagine Nana and the bridge club ladies choking on their tea and cookies.
Either I am becoming a classic curmudgeon, or the flagrant baseness of public television, these days, has finally achieved a level that even I cannot withstand. Come on people, how about changing it up and going back for a little discretion and class? Return with me to the days of TV yore, when married couples were required to sleep in separate single beds and the word ‘pregnant’ was a hot button of broadcast debate.
Yes, opposition to the repressed and puritanical attitudes of the 1950’s was an understandable uprising, but hasn’t the pendulum swung back too far? Don't we hold simple elegance in high regard anymore? Are we fast becoming a nation of callous little perverts who have lost any concept of common decency?
Hell, I guess the only way to get through to this crass generation is to call Steve Jobs and have him install a Miss Manners app on our iPhones.
A film with the audacity to scream kick ass from the billboard and a trailer that producers felt would have the most impact using a none too subtle masturbatory reference? I can just imagine Nana and the bridge club ladies choking on their tea and cookies.
Either I am becoming a classic curmudgeon, or the flagrant baseness of public television, these days, has finally achieved a level that even I cannot withstand. Come on people, how about changing it up and going back for a little discretion and class? Return with me to the days of TV yore, when married couples were required to sleep in separate single beds and the word ‘pregnant’ was a hot button of broadcast debate.
Yes, opposition to the repressed and puritanical attitudes of the 1950’s was an understandable uprising, but hasn’t the pendulum swung back too far? Don't we hold simple elegance in high regard anymore? Are we fast becoming a nation of callous little perverts who have lost any concept of common decency?
Hell, I guess the only way to get through to this crass generation is to call Steve Jobs and have him install a Miss Manners app on our iPhones.
"Wimmins"
A huge ‘uglove’ tip of the hat to the creators and producers of the new TV series Parenthood, on their choice of leading ladies.
You’ve got Monica Potter, the archetypical hot catholic schoolgirl as Kristina, the wife of the elder Braverman brother. Lauren Graham with her God-given artistic neurosis as Sarah, the eldest Braverman sister. Throw in a verrry sexy Erika Christensen as Julia, the driven middle sister, and the beautiful, racially ambiguous Joy Bryant as Jasmine, the love interest and ‘baby mama’ of the youngest brother. What a package.
A total di…no, quadalectic babefest.
You’ve got Monica Potter, the archetypical hot catholic schoolgirl as Kristina, the wife of the elder Braverman brother. Lauren Graham with her God-given artistic neurosis as Sarah, the eldest Braverman sister. Throw in a verrry sexy Erika Christensen as Julia, the driven middle sister, and the beautiful, racially ambiguous Joy Bryant as Jasmine, the love interest and ‘baby mama’ of the youngest brother. What a package.
A total di…no, quadalectic babefest.
Elbe Philharmonic: Hamburg, Germany
What’s really freakish here is the contrast between the new building—a liquidy-looking glass thingamajig—and the old building it uses for its podium: a stolid, workaday 1960s waterfront warehouse (Karrie Jacobs, Yahoo Travel, 13 May, 2010).
My new favorite building IN THE WORLD. A paen to dialectic thought.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
