Musical Milestone

6 or 7 years ago, way back in my senior year of high school, I sat down and recorded a short, 3-part musical piece inspired by Dante's Inferno and submitted it to my English teacher for extra credit.

2 years ago, I decided to apply the advice of my writing instructors --share, share, share! Don't be a hoarding miser! --to my music, and began uploading videos of my original compositions set to image slideshows on youtube.

Last night, I received a comment that simply made my day:

We're reading this in my English class and [our] teacher showed this to us to help us understand it better. It's beautiful.

And so my music has come full circle! Hard to believe it's actually being used as a study aid somewhere and that there's even enough appreciation to inspire a student to leave this wonderful comment.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Global Stupid

The Demon in the Freezer

Richard Preston has quickly shot up the ranks in my esteem, so much so that I feel once again compelled to post an excerpt, this time from his book "The Demon in the Freezer." It is not often that I am impressed by a religious experience of any sort, but I was quite taken by the following tale.

Baba Ram Dass spoke glowingly of a holy man named Neem Karoli Baba, who was the head of an ashram at the foot of the Himalayas in a remote district in northern India where the borders of China, India, and Nepal come together. Girija Brilliant was captivated by Baba Ram Dass's talk of the holy man, and she wanted to meet him, though Larry was not interested. Girija insisted, and so they went. They ended up living in the ashram and becoming devotees of Neem Karoli Baba, who was a small, elderly man of indeterminate age. His only personal possession was a plaid blanket. He was a famous guru in India, and the people sometimes called him Blanket Baba. The Brilliants learned Hindi, meditated, and read the Bhagavad Gita. Meanwhile, Larry ran an informal clinic in the ashram, giving out medicines that he'd taken off the bus when they'd left it in Kathmandu. One day, he was outdoors at the ashram, singing Sanskrit songs with a group of students. Blanket Baba was sitting in front of the students, watching them sing...

Blanket Baba got a sly grin and started chanting, in Hindi, "You have no money...You are no doctor...You have no money," and he reached forward and tugged on Brilliant's beard.

Brilliant didn't know how to answer.

Neem KAroli Baba switched to English and kept on chanting. "You are no doctor...UNO doctor...UNO doctor."

UNO can stand for United Nations Organization.

The guru was saying to his student (or so the student now thinks) that his duty and destiny --his dharma-- was to become a doctor with the United Nations. "He made this funny gesture, looking up at the sky," Brilliant recalled, "and he said in Hindi, 'You are going to go into villages. You are going to eradicate smallpox. Because this is a terrible disease. But with God's grace, smallpox will be unmulun.'" The guru used a formal old Sanskrit word that means "to be torn up by the roots." Eradicated...

Brilliant packed a few things and left the ashram that night --the guru seemed to be in a rush to "unmulate" smallpox... When Brilliant walked into the office of the WHO, it was nearly empty. It had just been set up, and almost no one was working there...

"I was wearing a white dress and sandals," Brilliant says. "I'm five feet nine, and my beard was something like five feet eleven, and my hair was a ponytail down my back." Grasset had no job to offer him, so Brilliant returned to the monastery and, having not slept in at least thirty-six hours, reported back to the guru.

"Did you get the job?"
"No."
"Go back and get it."

..."I went back and forth between New Delhi and the ashram at least a dozen times. All my teacher kept saying was, 'Don't worry, you'll get your job. Small pox will be unmulun, uprooted." When at the ashram, Brilliant meditated. He would assume the lotus position...

Neem Karoli Baba would notice he was meditating, and he would walk up to Brilliant, yank an apple out from under his blanket, and throw it at Brilliant's crotch... The guru seemed to be hinting, Brilliant says now, that he needed to stand up on his feet and get back to the WHO in New Delhi, where his job awaited. [Pages 63-65]

Okay, this excerpt is getting unwieldy. To cut a long and interesting story short, Larry Brilliant eventually meets the head of the smallpox eradication program, is hired as a typist, then becomes a leading force in the successful eradication of the smallpox disease.

So, in part thanks to the borderline insane ramblings of a real-life, Yoda-like Indian guru, the most dangerous, deadliest human disease was all but eradicated from the face of the earth. Wow.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

Starring David Cross and Will Arnett. HBO is picking up the American rights. I can't wait. This clip had me laughing my ass off.

American Todd Margaret (David Cross) bluffs his way into an apparently great job opportunity, heading up the sales team in his employer’s London office. All he has to do is sell several thousand energy drinks before his boss visits him in a week. Simple. Apart from the fact that he knows nothing about British culture and nothing about sales. This is further complicated when he lies continuously to cover his ignorance and spectacularly fails to impress Alice the first beautiful girl he meets.

[link]

Happy Thanksmaskuh!

Many thanks to Corey and Jackie for hosting a lovely dinner party!

Cold Case -- Paranormal SCVNGR Game

Introducing COLD CASE, the interactive fiction, augmented reality, cellphone-based text game built for the SCVNGR platform.

...hello? ...can you help me? You're receiving messages from the Otherside. Help the soul of a deceased young woman remember clues about her murder so that she might finally rest in peace.

COLD CASE is a free, location-based scavenger hunt that takes you through parts of Boston's back bay area. The game can be played with any cell phone that has text messaging or through SCVNGR's official iphone application (recommended).

Just text the word PARANORMAL to SCVNGR (728647) to get started!

COLD CASE was designed by Depth Deception and deployed December 2009.

Not in Boston? No worries! You can can still make it through the game fairly easily (but with point penalties) by using the HINT system. How's it work? Just text HINT once you've started the game! You have 3 guesses before you are skipped ahead to the next clue.

You can also text SKIP, but in practice, this sometimes skips two clues so use it sparingly. Happy hunting!

Women Composers

Where are all the women composers? As I scroll through my ipod, the apparent lack of a female presence seems glaring and disappointing. Why haven't more ladies taken up the big orchestra sound?

Well, that's not exactly the case. Don't forget the venerable Shirley Walker. Haven't heard of her? Well, if your childhood was anything like mine, then you've most certainly heard her music. Ms. Walker was responsible for the amazing soundtrack blasting behind Batman: the Animated Series, the animated movie spinoffs, and the Superman cartoon, among other things.

Let's listen to some samples, shall we?



She's also responsible for my favorite Joker theme, the carnival-like music that is woven into the following rhythmic piece:



More Joker theme:



Her Superman Theme is so good it demands a place next to John William's famous theme.



Listen to Shirley herself as she deconstructs the Batman theme:



------------------------------------------------

Oh, and I almost forgot! Yoko Kanno deserves a shout out. How about her stirring choral piece Escaflowne: Dance of Curse:



Her work on Cowboy Bebop is as varied as it is genius:



Green Bird (Spoiler alert)

Gimme Dat Christian Side Hug

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.....

ZOMG!

Variety is the Spice of Life

Now that I'm jobless and subsisting on a diet almost entirely of PB&J, I'm constantly reminded of a story from childhood. Back when I was a young boy in Rhode Island, I lived across from what I considered to be my second family, the Lowmans. It seemed like I split my time evenly between the two homes. Some of my favorite things about lunch with the Lowmans were the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Forget the bitter wheat bread that my mother used, the Lowmans had white bread, sweet and fluffy. And forget the boring grape jelly of my household; the Lowmans wouldn't settle for anything less than strawberry jam. A revelation. Back at home, my mother's sandwiches were fine, but they seemed plain and usual. Sure, they were lovingly cut into four squares, but they lacked the exotic, sweet tongue smack that the PB&J from across street always elicited.

Fast forward some years later. I've long since moved away and I'm visiting my old friend, The Lowman's son, my blood brother. As we reminisced about our good ol' days of summer fun and PB&J's, I discovered he had a very similar impression of the sandwiches, only in reverse. As it turns out, he was a great fan of my mother's sandwiches. He relished the savory taste of grape jelly and wheat, the caring way they were cut, and the double layer of peanut butter. To his mind, his family's PB&J's were bland and boring, but my family's sandwiches were exciting and new!

It just goes to show you, there is truth in the old adage, "variety is the spice of life." Sometimes, trying something new opens up exciting new perspectives. As for me, I still prefer strawberry peanut butter sandwiches on white bread, but I've borrowed my mother's technique of spreading peanut butter on both sides to add another layer and to stop the jelly from seeping into the bread.

The best of both worlds. Bon Appetit.

Black Bear

Written by Jay Fuller


Johnny pulled up his trousers and waded into Stuckey pond. He shouldered his handmade fishing pole like a rifle. The line and hook trailed behind him, cutting the surface of the water like a nail across glass.

Birch and sumac trees had begun to show signs of the coming autumn. Here and there, deep reds and amber yellows dotted the surrounding forest. The stagnant, hot air of the summer season had started to give way to cooler breezes. Johnny relished the occasional chill. His feet plopped into the muck beneath the water’s surface, which oozed between his toes.

He stopped once he was partway submerged and reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a writhing earthworm and pierced its midsection with his fishing hook. He cast his line toward the center of the pond, where the water was dark. The bait plunged in with a tiny splash. Johnny counted the ripples as they made their way back to him.

Read more »

Dreams, Dreams

All my dreams, disappearing
Like wisps of white smoke
Dispersed by cold currents
Floating overhead
Painting the skyline gray
With bleak impossibilities
And Twenty five years of
Lovelessness.

Didn't Get the Job

:(

Did Hitler Believe in Evolution?

No, not in a biological sense and not according to his autobiography Mein Kampf, as well as his speeches and interviews. Let's set the record straight.

On the fixity of kinds:

Even a superficial glance is sufficient to show that all the innumerable forms in which the life-urge of Nature manifests itself are subject to a fundamental law – one may call it an iron law of Nature – which compels the various species to keep within the definite limits of their own life-forms when propagating and multiplying their kind. [Mein Kampf, chapter xi]

The fox remains always a fox, the goose remains a goose, and the tiger will retain the character of a tiger. [Mein Kampf, chapter xi]

On the origins of man:

From where do we get the right to believe, that from the very beginning Man was not what he is today? Looking at Nature tells us, that in the realm of plants and animals changes and developments happen. But nowhere inside a kind shows such a development as the breadth of the jump , as Man must supposedly have made, if he has developed from an ape-like state to what he is today. [Hitler's Tabletalk Tischgesprache im Fuhrerhauptquartie]

On the superiority of man:

The most marvelous proof of the superiority of Man, which puts man ahead of the animals, is the fact that he understands that there must be a Creator. [Hitler's Tabletalk Tischgesprache im Fuhrerhauptquartie]

On antisemitism and belief in Jesus Christ:

My feeling as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them. [Speech, April 12 1922, published in My New Order]

Pretty Much a HTML Expert

Guess who just added expandable posts to his weblog?

Read more »

Boar's Head Tavern Smackdown

I usually visit boarsheadtavern.com, a Christian weblog discussion, every few months and only after I've trudged through my usual websites and found that I have a few more minutes to waste on the internet. All it takes is one occasional visit into that hive of religious cacophony before I'm ready to swear it all off again.

But during my latest visit, I discovered a wonderfully entertaining discussion ongoing between Mack Ramer and a small collection of nitwits on the topic of gay adoption rights. Mack's well-reasoned and concise arguments sound off like cannonballs blasting through the illogical, inept, and frequently inane arguments of his opposition. I would like to enshrine some of the exchange here for posterity and to offer my kudos once more for a job well done.

Read more »

Happy Thanksgiving!

Why not celebrate by roasting (preferably by electricity) Benjamin Franklin's choice for the National Bird?

I wish I could have made it home. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bishop John Shelby Spong Gets Real

"I don't think Hell exists...religion is always in the control business and that's something that people don't really understand. It's in the guilt-producing control business. ...the Church doesn't like for people to grow up because you can't control grown-ups. That's why we talk about being 'born-again'"

Bishop Spong's answers in this interview are enlightening and I have to appreciate his willingness to speak on such vulnerable issues (an appreciation I doubt many senior members of the Church share.) The clip of his sermon, however, sounds like so much gobbledygook and obfuscation. "We do not yet know how to achieve being fully human." Huh? Wha?

New Song -- Marauder for String Quartet

On the Origins of Species Anniversary

150 years ago, Charles Darwin published his seminal work, "On the Origin of Species," and changed the world forever. Let's celebrate by watching a video about Bonobos.

What is Science?

Science is a splendid thing. It is the most certain you can be in an uncertain world. It embraces skepticism, while curiosity and guesswork drive the engine toward discovery. It is a noble pursuit. It lifts us out of the dark chasms of ignorance and the tepid black waters of superstition and illogic. Science is the last best hope for mankind.

If we are lucky and persistent, the Universe may let us tease out Her secrets.

Favorite Original Composition?

Hey readers and listeners ---
Can you help me out? I'm thinking about changing the "featured" song in my musical portfolio. Right now, the site directs listeners to "The Stars at Night." But I think that song is starting to get stale, not to mention the fact that it has a few musical mistakes. So, of my original compositions, what do you find most engaging and listenable? What hooks you and makes you think, "...let's see what else he's written..." A song that features a wide range of music might be worth considering. Here are my nominations, from first to last.

1) Sunrise, Sunset (simple, clean, emotive, fits video)
2) My Dear Princess (stilted but somewhat varied, interesting video)
3) Dante's Inferno I: Entering the Woods (poor quality, repetitive, but popular)
4) Star Wars: Battle of Tatooine (mass appeal, varied, somewhat unoriginal, long)
5) The Stars at Night (inconsistent, warm feelings)

I'm also considering adding a "Most Popular" section to my music portfolio. Perhaps you could list your favorites? According to youtube, the list would look something like...

1) A Peculiar Day
2) Dante's Inferno (I, II, III)
3) Crime in the Family (Mafia Theme)
4) Peaceful Cowboy (Cowboy theme)
5) Wrath of God

...but that might reflect the content of the video's images more than the popularity of the music.

Unconditional Love, The Heart of a Child

As I get older and grow more nostalgic, I've found myself re-examining the thousands of seemingly disparate threads that have been woven together over the years to create the tapestry of my life. When I consider my religious inoculations, many booster shots came from the usual places: an early fascination with dinosaurs, a strong curiosity about biology, astronomy, and science generally.

However, there is one life lesson that derives from, perhaps, a more unusual source: Ernest Scared Stupid.

This idea of unconditional love is, I think, poorly understood, especially among religious practitioners who believe in a God that loves us but who also must be feared. That very idea is an oxymoron. Any Being that threatens you with eternal damnation cannot love you unconditionally. Ernest's waltz with the troll is the perfect metaphor for selfless affection and is even more profound, to me anyway, than the sacrifice of Christ.

No, I'm serious! If the Christian God is a god of love, then He has a funny way of showing it. The very nature of His affection is apparently contingent; follow these commandments, meet these standards, and you will find His love. Very well, you can have your conditional love, but Ernest taught me about a better love, the love of a child, pure and incandescent. This is, I think, closer to a Jewish conception of God, in which the very idea of a loving God who doles out eternal punishment is laughable. There is no slight, no matter how evil or corrupt, that justifies eternal damnation, least of all from a loving God.

Guest Post from Mike

Jay's a poop head.

Ernest Scared Stupid Opening

Ever since I saw Ernest Scared Stupid when I was very young, this catchy introduction music has stuck with me. Give it a listen and succumb to its awesome quirkiness!

Sikivu Hutchinson on Religion, Racism, Sexism and Morality

Writer Sikivu Hutchinson (check out her articles here) was recently interviewed by Greta Christina (full interview here) about atheism, racism, sexism and the preponderance of white, male thinkers as the go-to spokespeople for the so-called New Atheist movement. I found the following excerpt from the interview particularly interesting:

GC: On that topic: When people criticize atheism and the newly vocal, "openly critical of religion" atheist movement, one of the tropes that I see a lot is that this openly critical atheism is disrespectful to marginalized communities like the black community. The argument goes that because religion is so deeply interwoven into black history and black culture, and because the comfort of religion is so important to a community that's had such a hard time of it, criticizing religion is disrespectful and racist. As a black atheist, what are your thoughts on that?

SH: Clearly criticizing religion is not racist. One of the charges of atheistic discourse is foregrounding how there is nothing intrinsically superior about religious observance -- its value for African Americans as a people derives from a specific cultural and historical context of institutional racism and oppression. The supposed basic moral precepts of Judeo- Christian theology -- love for one’s neighbor, tolerance, doing unto others, non-judgment, etc. -- are certainly not exclusive to religious doctrine, while the hierarchies, persecution and intolerance based on race, gender, sexuality and ideology that religious doctrine breeds effectively negate the moral preeminence that organized religion presumes. These contradictions open up a path for critical engagement by atheists of color with why organized religion has been so toxic vis-a-vis validating the rich diversity of communities of color. African American intellectuals and thinkers (see for example Frederick Douglass' critique of "slaveholding" Christianity) have always challenged the role religious orthodoxy plays in African American communities. This historical complexity has just never been "officially" recognized by white scholars.

Boy Refuses to Recite Pledge Until Same-Sex Marriage Allowed

Quite the precocious (and perspicacious) kid!

Panic in Level 4

I've begun reading Richard Preston's collection of science articles, "Panic in Level 4." Preston is a writer with a gift for affirming the axiom, "truth is stranger than fiction," or rather, more horrifying than you can possibly imagine. Consider the rare genetic disorder known as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, which is caused by the mutation of a single nucleobase (C,G,A,T) in the victim's genetic code, and results in uric acid excretions, spastic limbs, and self-cannibalism.

That's right, self-cannibalism. Warning: graphic picture.

Victims rarely live beyond their 30's. By then, they've usually bitten off several fingers, torn away their own lips, and injured their eyes or nose. Developmentally, people with Lesh-Nyhan syndrome usually do not learn to walk and are confined to wheelchairs, but they are otherwise relatively lucid and aware. They suffer from a rare, self-sabotaging impulse, an internal logical reversal that is responsible for many of their injuries. The more a Lesh-Nyan likes you, the more cruel and violent he will act toward you. Befriend a victim of the disease and you should expect swearing, the occasional punch to the groin, and spitting followed by the sincerest apologies. They often report what feels like an evil phantom taking control of their limbs. Give them a sharp utensil and they're liable to gouge out their own eyes or rip off their nose. For these reasons, they feel most comfortable when they are bound or otherwise secured.

The disease is obviously tragic. But what makes it worse is that there is an element of humanity, of lucid consciousness, that is being tormented. These are not the sufferings of a brainless psychopath. These are the sufferings of men (the disease derives from the X chromosome, so it is extremely rare in women) who want control but are denied it by their very nature. Needless to say, this condition raises all sorts of questions about free will and morality. But continuing along this thread of humanity, I'd like to share a passage that illustrates the human power to find humor in tragedy.

Murphy had a record of making trouble in shopping malls. Malls put him in a bad mood, especially around Christmastime. "Too many people around. They make me Nervous," he explained to me.

One time, his assistants took him to a mall to do some Christmas shopping. A man dressed as Santa Claus was sitting in a snow scene that day, with children lining up to meet him. Murphy told his assistants that he would like to have his picture taken with Santa (one of them had a camera). They didn't see how they could refuse the client's request. They parked Murphy's wheelchair in the line of children, and Murphy cautioned the children to watch out for his arms and legs. (Neither Murphy or Elrod had been known to lash out at a child.)

Murphy got to the head of the line. The Santa asked Murphy if he'd like to sit on his lap.

Murphy said yes. The assistants placed him on the Santa's lap. The assistant with the camera, a young man named Dan Densley, got ready to take a picture.

"Ho, ho, ho! What do you want for Christmas?" Santa asked.

"A woman," Murphy answered, and delivered a punch to Santa's jaw. Santa's beard seemed to explode, and his eyeglasses went flying. The assistants grabbed Murphy and rolled him out of the mall at a dead run.

[Panic in Level 4, Pg. 173-174]

The Caring Continuum

New Song -- Star Wars: Battle of Tatooine [Now in handy Youtube form!]

Star Wars: Battle of Tatooine [Original Composition]

The challenge: while incorporating original motifs and melodies, how closely can I recreate and rearrange classic Star Wars themes from memory without using references, listening to recordings, or cross-checking sheet music?

"Star Wars: Battle of Tatooine" is my attempt to meet this challenge.

Let me know what you think!

Benjamin Franklin: An Animated Character

I've finished Philip Dray's biography of Benjamin Franklin, "Stealing God's Thunder," and while it could have used another round of editing [Dray seems to have a penchant for digression and repeating himself] over-all the book is exciting and deeply interesting. Of course, so is his subject, for whom my esteem has greatly increased. In many respects, Franklin's life of achievements parallels my other favorite scientist, Charles Darwin. And like so many great minds, his attitude toward religion and superstition is as illuminating as a lightning bolt. As he approached his death, he offered this witty observation:

To the clergyman Ezra Stiles, who queried him about his religious views, Franklin affirmed his faith in God but admitted to doubts about the divinity of Jesus, "tho' it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble."

What an agreeable old man. Cheers to you, Benjamin Franklin, scientist and founding [grand]father of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin is EVERYWHERE

The Fresh Air Fund

Hey, check it out:



One out of four school children in the U.S. has vision problems, and 86% do not get their vision checked before age 12.

Many Fresh Air children do not have access to affordable vision care. Glasses break, are too expensive to replace, or are never prescribed in the first place. And often as a result, children's performance in academics, sports and activities suffers.

For the fifth summer in a row, OneSight offered to bring their traveling optical clinic to all five Fresh Air Fund camps.

Together with OneSight's Vision Vans – and a team of local doctors and volunteers, OneSight provides free eye exams and eyewear to thousands of children in need each year.

This summer at Fresh Air camp, OneSight's staff screened 3,295 children and counselors, gave 1,757 eye exams, and made 1,629 pairs of glasses, with 1,458 of them on-site and 171 specially driven in. The team stayed at Camp Hayden-Marks for two camp sessions, to make sure every child who needed the gift of sight was screened.

Childhood vision is a subject close to my heart for obvious reasons.
If you can help out, please do!

Fun With Bees

This is for Mike

Intelligence Squared Debate -- Is the Catholic Church a Force for Good in the World?

Speaking for the motion, conservative MP Ann Widdencombe and Archbishop John Onaiyekan. Speaking against the motion, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry. This debate is what you might call a blood bath. Hitchens and Fry mop the floor with their opponents, so much so that even I blush with embarrassment for Widdencombe and Onaiyekan.

If only Fry and Hitchens would take this show on the road, the whole of the orthodoxy might be deconverted in only a few months!

For those who just want to cut to the chase, here's the public vote on the motion before and after the debate:

Benjamin Franklin Anecdotes

I've started reading Philip Dray's biography of Benjamin Franklin, "Stealing God's Thunder," which approaches Franklin as scientist first and statesman second. The book is full of interesting anecdotes, but I found one story of Benjamin Franklin's youth particularly humorous. One day, while assisting his father with a barrel of beef in the cellar, young Benjamin suggested blessing the unprepared food once so that they could save themselves from saying grace before every dinner. I love how the economical and bright thinking that would characterize Franklin's later life seems already present in his childhood and even foreshadows his eventual antagonism toward organized religion and authority.

Akira Kurosawa's Ran

"Ran (乱?, "chaos" or "revolt") is a 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mōri Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear." [wiki]

I think if I were to teach a class on Shakespeare's King Lear, I would also make Ran required watching. It's magnificent and epic. The use of color is astounding. It's like watching a moving painting.

Heroes

I thought I'd make a list of historical figures who I consider to be personal heroes along with a list of sub-heroes or people who I admire but I either do not know enough about or, upon learning more, have discovered some disqualifying feature.

This will probably be an on-going project. Please include your own lists and suggestions in the comments.

Heroes

Charles Darwin
James Randi

Sub-Heroes

Daniel Dennett
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
Stephen Hawking
Alan Turing
Socrates
Epicurus
Harvey Milk
Kurt Vonnegut
Flannery O'Connor
Beethoven


Who is a hero? Someone who is predominately good, who may have some flaws, but is principled and intelligent, someone who has been tested by history and bruised by detractors and difficult times, but is nevertheless resilient, someone who improves life for us all, is interesting and becomes more interesting the more you delve into his or her past.

Looking at my list so far, you will notice a rather disturbing lack of women and religious people. I've thrown in Flannery O'Connor, one of my favorite writers, who was both a woman and a devout Catholic. But her inclusion is a stretch because I'm not particularly well-read of all her work and I know even less about her past. I'm tempted to add Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr, which I still may do, but I'm not yet fascinated by these historical figures.

I would genuinely like to add some religious people, but knowing my interests, this is a tough proposition because religion is often a disqualifier. Anyone know anything about Rabbi Hillel? CS Lewis might have been a candidate, but after reading the first few pages of Mere Christianity, I'm afraid he's out the door. Saint Augustine perhaps?

One of the facts about myself that I have often wondered: Am I a skeptic because my heroes are skeptics or are my heroes skeptics because I am a skeptic? There is a subtle but important difference between those statements, the second being more egocentric than the first. I am fairly confident that I found my heroes first and their conduct and history led me to where I stand today. But it's difficult to escape the suspicion that maybe I've never been as free in my inquiries as I'd like to think.

Zionsville Boys Win State 2009!

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

The part you really want to see: My brother with the assist

Congratulations to the Zionsville High School Boys soccer team for winning the 2009 state championship! Video courtesy of the IHSAA Sports Youtube channel.

Brain Processes Facts and Beliefs Same Way

A new study was published recently by Jonas Kaplan and Sam Harris. Some interesting tidbits:

Up on a screen before them, participants would read declarative statements. Some were statements of religious belief, some of religious disbelief. Some were statements about more ordinary facts. Participants had to push buttons—indicating true or false—as the researchers watched their brains light up. Belief in God, disbelief in God, and belief in simple empirically verifiable facts all lit up the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that governs your sense of self. We are, in some sense, what we believe.

The fMRI experiments do not pertain to these largest questions, of course. But they do show (again) what neuroscientists already know. "Intuition" and "reason" are not two separate activities. They're interconnected. From the brain's point of view, religious belief and empirical data are the same.

What Harris, his fellow researcher Jonas Kaplan, and the other authors of the study want to address is the idea, which has been floating around in both scientific and religious circles, that our brains are doing something special when we believe in God—that religious belief is, neurologically speaking, an entirely different process from believing in things that are empirically and verifiably true (things that Harris endearingly refers to as "tables and chairs"). He says his results "cut against the quite prevalent notion that there's something else entirely going on in the case of religious belief."

"It is generally imagined," he wrote to me in an e-mail, "that scientific facts and human values represent distinct and incommensurable ways of speaking about the world. Consequently, most people assume that science will never be in a position to resolve ethical questions or to determine how human beings ought to live." Questions of gay marriage, the subjugation of women under the Taliban, a community's responsibility to its children: all these have been relegated to the realm of religion or "values." But, says Harris, the more we know, through science, about how people live—and how they think, and what makes them happy—the more real information we'll have about how best to live together on this planet.

To casual readers, this all may seem very obvious. Of course religious believers and disbelievers really do believe what they say! But it is not just interesting that we believe what we say, but that we believe what we say in the same way, neurologically speaking. Moreover, this study adds weight to the argument against the popular position espoused by such notables as Stephen J Gould that science and religion are somehow separate inquiries into "non-overlapping magisterium."

[Newsweek Article]

9 is a Magic Number

When it came to learning my multiplication tables back in grade school, rote memorization was the method most often employed. Multiples of 9, however, are quite magical and to this day, I still use a version of the following algorithm to determine and verify multiples of 9.

Solve for y
Where n = integers 1 through 10,
x = 9 + (1 - n)
y = (n - 1)10 + x

In other words, for every product of the nine multiplication table, the sum of the digits in the product adds up to 9. For example, if you are trying to find the multiple of 9 x 6, take 6 and subtract 1 so it becomes 5. This will be the first number in your answer, so place it in the tens place.

5_

Now ask yourself what number added to 5 equals 9? 4 of course! Put this number in the ones place and you have your answer.

54

9 x 6 = 54

Try it with other integers! I only ever use this method for simple multiplication, but 9 really is a magic number so you should read up on it. And I know what you're thinking: wouldn't it just be easier to memorize the answers? Well hey, do I look like someone who likes to do things the easy way?

Any other readers enjoy using the 9 trick or some variant?

A Teacher? HAHAHA!

Woman: Hello?
Me: Hi, is this Watertown Middle school?
Woman: Yes it is. How can I help you?
Me: Hi, I just wanted to look into how I might go about applying to work as a substitute teacher.
Woman: Oh, a substitute teacher! HAHAHAHA (additional laughing in background)...

------------

Why in the world were they laughing? Based on the intonation, I can think of two possible reasons. Either they were just talking about the need for substitute teachers and laughed because of my serendipitous phone call OR perhaps they heard in my voice the naive, unbroken spirit of a young soul about to be crushed by the reality of working in middle school education.

We shall see.

Monster Shark Bitten in Half By Bigger Monster Shark

Off the coast of Australia, a 10ft great white shark was nearly bitten in half by a larger great white estimated to be about 20ft long (that's just 5ft shy of the fictional Jaws shark!)

Stephen Fry in America

Part I: New World:



The lovely Stephen Fry goes on a tour of all 50 American states in this excellent BBC documentary series. First up, the states that make up my favorite part of the nation, New England. I can't help but swell with pride and joy at this very loving portrait of the American character. Be sure to check it out!

For those just looking to see their own state's cameo:

Part II: The Deep South
Part III: Mississippi
Part IV: Mountains and Plains
Part V: True West
Part VI: Pacific

Hitchens Brings the Laughs Down Under

Those Aussies are really eating it up. I've seen Christopher Hitchens make a version of this argument several times, but never have I seen it elicit quite so many laughs! And I can't help but laugh along with them.

Which brings me to an interesting point that recently flared up on a friend's discussion board. Is it okay to laugh at religious beliefs? Generally, I think laughter and derision are perfectly appropriate responses, especially for some of the more outlandish claims, but even I wonder sometimes: Where do you draw the line? When is a belief fodder for comedians and when is a belief too sacred to touch?

Of course, I don't think a belief is ever too sacred to be touched, but for the sake of cultural sensitivities, what are the guidelines? In the quest for truth, is it better to throw political correctness and social niceties out the window? Or must we be more strategic if we are to win the hearts and minds of others? I think science offers a good role model here. Strive for skepticism and impartiality and if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

There's another good rule of thumb: if you want to laugh, just laugh and let the rest sort itself out.

"A Universe from Nothing" by Lawrence Krauss

Science is exciting and astounding. Put the time aside and watch this lecture.

"No God" Trending War on Twitter

In an amusing piece of Twitter history, the topic "No God" started trending today when tech savvy Christians (apparently led by @RevRunWisdom) began re-tweeting the old phrase, "Know God, Know Peace. No God, No Peace." Then, as atheists, agnostics, and secularists poked fun by retweeting just "No God" or "Know God, No Peace. No God, Know Peace," the topic became the most popular trending phrase of the day. So popular, in fact, that Twitter has been unable to cope with the increase in traffic. In an unfortunate effort to maintain the site, Twitter moderators have censored the offending topic. However, this act has only exacerbated the problem, igniting a firestorm of twittering protests from irreligious and free speech proponents alike.

Has Twitter acted responsibly or is the social networking site headed toward a potential PR disaster? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Related Articles:
"No God #1 Trending Topic on Twitter"
PZ Myers "Fun with Twitter"
"On Twitter, War Waged Over 'No God, No Peace'"
Trendistic "No God vs Know God"

Video Game History: Tertis Song Type A

New Song -- Sunrise, Sunset

One late night, not too long ago in fact, I was so depressed that I started to cry and as I cried, I started to hum a tune. I tried to capture my sadness through the music, imitating the gentle cascade of tears by keeping the melody simple and melancholic, moving up and down. I wrote the opening that night and named the piece, "Crying."

However, as I began to expand the piece, I noticed that a hopeful tone started to infiltrate the music. Before long, the whole reasoning behind the song had transformed. A new theme was dawning. Sunrise, sunset. Despite it's tumultuous origins, the song had become somewhat peaceful and contemplative with just a hint of its melancholic past.

It's finally finished and I'm ready to share. I hope my readers and listeners like it. It's become a very personal piece. I think you'll hear shades of Aaron Copland, Elmer Bernstein and even Mr. James Horner. Be sure to give me your thoughts!

Update-A-Rooni

So, I'm back in Boston. I moved out on something of an impulse, with the naive hope that I would land the internship with the mobile game start-up SCVNGR and avoid the shame of living at home as I turned 25. I'm 1 for 1. Unfortunately, I was not awarded the internship, but I have managed to hold on to the last lingering scraps of my pride.

Of course, those scraps are now blowing violently in the cold Boston wind. The job search is becoming somewhat desperate. I've visited with several staffing agencies, applied to numerous positions, and hoofed it through BU's fall job fair, but still I have not been able to arrange one single interview. It's a scary time, to say the least.

But there are rays of hope. I have some tantalizing leads to pursue next week and some new strategies for contacting BU alumni and lengthening the reach of my social networks. It is also helpful to remind myself that I've only lived in Boston now for 2 weeks. Landing a job takes time and patience. I will get there soon enough.

In the meantime, I'm having a lovely time meeting up with old friends and reacquainting myself with the city. Thanks to all my friends for their incredible help with the job search, settling down, and making me feel welcome. Especial thanks to Adam, Mike, and Mike's family. Their graciousness is unbounded and greatly appreciated!

Oh, and the offer still stands: the first one to help me get a good job gets a fruit basket! A whole fruit basket, guys! Can you believe it?

Ukulele Song -- Please Stay Here with Me

Now in Youtube form:



* please note, this ukulele song is an equal opportunity love ballad.

Sell the Vatican, Feed the World

Carl Sagan on Evolution

Please Stay Here with Me (Download)

Want a mp3 copy of my ukulele song "Please Stay Here with Me" to listen to at your leisure? Well now you can download it here for free! Get it while it's hot!

Bostonian Again

View Larger Map

Well, we've moved in! I'm burning through my money and I've yet to find a job. It's frightening and exciting times, to say the least. But I'm going to try to be positive!

The apartment is very nice, but very bare bones at the moment. We're slowly adding furniture. Here's hoping I find a job soon!

SMBC Theater - Just A Theory

Videogame Facts that Blow Your Mind

The Cranemaker

Look what short film recently got an official upload on Campus Movie Fest's youtube channel!

Understanding Evolution

I wrote an article. Check it out and give me your thoughts!



Understanding Evolution

"If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?" Article addresses this popular question and seeks to clarify common misconceptions about the theory of evolution and mankind's place in the tree of life.

Safety Second!

Anti Anti Vaccinaton

Don't be stupid.

In Boston

Still in Boston, waiting for things to shake out. I'm resisting writing about my progress out of some irrational fear that I might jinx myself. Hopefully I'll have some solid news to report soon.

In the meantime, I'm observing Yom Kippur with Mike's family, who have been very gracious in countless ways. We lit some candles, drank some wine, said some prayers, ate some challah and had a wonderful meal before fasting. Many thanks for including me!

The Device I've Been Waiting For

I want this. So. Bad. It's called the Courier and it's Microsoft's new foray into the tablet pc market. With rumors swirling around about an Apple tablet, this might just shake things up a bit.

Price it at $600 or less and I'm there day one.

Let's Talk About Genes

SCVNGR Internship

I'm flying to Boston this Sunday to interview for a chance to work with this awesome sounding text-based gaming company. Wish me luck!

I am a Conservative

I am a conservative.

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level
determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

[From the comments on digg.com]

New Song - Ukulele Love Ballad

"Please Stay Here with Me"
an original ukulele song written and performed by Jay Fuller.



Lyrics with Chords to "Please Stay Here With Me"

C E7 F G7
I love you, do you love me?
C E7 F G7
Let’s meet under the old apple tree,
C E7 F Fminor
I’ll sing sweet nothings in your ear
C G7 C Csus4 C
If you stay here with me

C E7 F G7
We’ll find shade from the summer sun,
C E7 F G7
Part your lips and let’s have some fun,
C E7 F Fminor
I’ll be yours forever dear
C G7 C Csus4 C
If you stay here with me

F C E7
Can you hear my heart beat true?
F C Csus4 C
It only beats for you.
F C E7
Can you hold me close and say
F G7 G7sus4 G7
Hey, I love you too?

C E7 F G7
Hold my hand and I’ll hold yours
C E7 F G7
Kiss the face that I adore
C E7 F Fminor
I will always keep you near
C G7 C Csus4 C
If you stay here with me

F Fminor C
Please stay here with me.

Ways of Knowing

[image not mine/ hat tip to Why Evolution is True]

9/12 DC Tea Party

How Many Moons Does Earth Have?

America, What the Fuck

US snubs film on theory of evolution

ANITA SINGH

September 13, 2009

A BRITISH film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Creation, starring Briton Paul Bettany, details the naturalist's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On the Origin of Species.

It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God after the death of his daughter, Annie, 10.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere today. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors turned down the film that will prove divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll taken in February, only 39 per cent of people believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site that reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder". His "half-baked theory" influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.

The film, based on the book Annie's Box by Darwin's great-great-grand-son, Randal Keynes, has caused debate on other Christian websites in America.

Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winn-ing producer, said he was surprised that such attitudes still existed.

"That's what we're up against, in 2009," he said. "It's amazing. It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it's because of what the film is about."

Early reviews have rated the film highly. The Hollywood Reporter said: "It would be a great shame if those with religious convictions spurned the film out of hand as they will find it even-handed and wise."

[article]

---

I was really excited to go see this movie. Ridiculous. Ri-god-damn-diculous.

Remembering the Fallen

And the unsung heroes.

"A loving tribute to Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge: parish priest, streetwise New Yorker, recovering alcoholic, and proud homosexual who gave his life on September 11 after administering last rites to a fallen firefighter."

Female Trouble -- Christmas Scene

I know, there's probably something wrong with me, but I can't help but find this totally subversive clip hilarious. It's a scene from John Waters's Female Trouble. I'm not that familiar with the films of John Waters beyond his mainstream work like Hairspray and Cry-Baby (even those I've only seen fragments of on tv), but I did enjoy his lecture when he came to BU a couple years ago. Perhaps I should give him a chance.

Healthcare is Communism!

It really is the same ignorant people picking a boogeyman from their childhood to justify their own political hate ideology and classism.

Favorite Film Scene: Babe, The Galliant Pig

Gives me chills and makes me teary eyed every time. Judging by the youtube comments, I'm in good company.

Musical Appeasement

All right sir, you didn't like the last song? I defy you to dislike my latest obsession, Cat Steven's "Sad Lisa." Make sure you wait for those melancholy strings. Just beautiful.

Arkady Shilkloper plays "Funk Horn"

Arkady Shilkloper plays an original composition on the alphorn with the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin. I saw this clip a couple weeks ago and didn't think much of it at the time. But since then, the song has continued replaying in my head. So now I'd say it's worth a post!

The Earth is 70% Water

The factoid that the earth is 70% water is often --if you'll excuse the pun-- floated around, but of course that's only true if you're talking about how much water covers the earth's surface. Here's an image that compares the total volume of water on the earth with the earth's volume itself (the second image compares the earth's atmosphere)

    

There it is, the blood of life, a limited resource, in all its delicate splendor.

Chimpanzees Love Magic Tricks

                  

I think most people would find the chimpanzee's reactions more interesting than the Japanese magician's illusions and rightly so. It is very clear that the chimp is predicting intention, being duped by suggestion, and is genuinely curious about and appreciative of the phenomenon. We are surprised and delighted by our common humanity with the chimpanzee. Our closeness is no illusion.

4 Chords, 36 Songs

It's all been done before... again and again and again...

Favorite Film Scene: There Will Be Blood

Let's be honest, there's probably about 4 or 5 scenes from Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece There Will Be Blood that I could list as one of my favorite film scenes of all time. But Daniel's Baptism scene is probably best in that it encapsulates all of the film's drama, tragedy, comedy and the amazing performances of the lead characters as their inflated egos clash.

The Fuller Weight Loss Program, Part Deux

I remember writing the original Fuller weight loss post, but I don't really remember the specifics or actually going through with it. And it was only a year ago!

What makes it creepier is that my current weight loss story begins more or less the same way as it did before. So to start, I'll quote:

If you had asked me a month ago about how much I weighed, I would have replied, "Oh I don't know, probably 145 maybe 150 pounds." So imagine my surprise when I eventually made it to a scale and weighed in at 160lbs.

In response to this discovery, I've once again started my usual diet and exercise regimen: breakfast shake in the morning, 20 min jog, dinner meal, crunches and push-ups before bed.

What's new is the addition of Wii Fit, which I've been using to track my progress. In 2 weeks, I managed to drop 10 lbs! Unfortunately, it seems I've plateaued, but I think I'm going to stick with the routine regardless. If I can't lose any more weight, then hopefully I can at least add muscle mass.

Doodling + UPDATE

Probably Bad News

More at probablybadnews.com

One Regular, One Indian

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

No, no, no. This has to be a ruse. It HAS to be a put on. Could anyone really be this thick? It's staggeringly ignorant!

The problem is religion is involved. And once you start talking about religion, it's almost impossible to tell what's real and what's satire. That's Poe's Law.

Free Market Capitalism and Communism: Birds of a Feather

"In theory, communism works. In theory." -Homer J. Simpson

Amidst all the rabble about government regulated health care reform, the radical free market capitalists have begun to bang their pots and pans rather loudly. With such blind passion flying around, I have to wonder if they've sat down and thought about their position. Is a free market really the magical answer to all of our health care woes?

I have always thought that the pragmatic refutation of communism is the strongest and it goes something like this: sure, the promise of equality as an end result of a communistic revolution sounds great, but getting there requires gross violations of human rights, a period of violent upheaval, and the unavoidable likelihood of abusive fascism and corruption. So while it sounds good on paper, communism in practice just doesn't work.

Well, the same argument can be levied against radical free market capitalism: sure, maybe at the end of the our little economic experiment, competitive free market forces will have created an even playing field where only the best solutions have survived, but in the meantime, we will have to suffer through unbridled corruption, monopoly, Bernie Madoff, and credit meltdowns.



Free market capitalism is the bastard cousin of the equally malfunctioning philosophy of social Darwinism. The problem with both of these worldviews is that they are fundamentally wrong. Evolution is not a calm, upward march toward progress. It has no direction. It is an arms race, a violent struggle for survival, red in tooth and claw. It is no system for decent human beings to model themselves after, social or economic.

Like most things, the best solution is somewhere between the extremes, a golden mean between too much government involvement and too little. I say bring on national health care reform if for no other reason but to add a little more competition to keep the big guys honest. It'd also be nice if my starving artist friends could just afford to see a doctor from time to time.