Church is Scary

You'd think by now I would have grown used to this strange occurrence, but it continues to surprise and unnerve me. The once small church down the road from my house recently erected a large addition complete with garish windows and an imposing steeple. They also added lights that illuminate the edifice with a light blue-green glow.

Every night, without fail, as I turn onto my road to return home after a long day at work, the church jumps onto my rear view mirror. The really strange thing is that the light and the darkened windows are in such an arrangement that the first thing my brain interprets the reflected image is of a CREEPY PALLID GHOST GIRL in the backseat of my car!

It doesn't take my eyes long to adjust, but that church has given me several brief frights over the last few months. And I am utterly baffled as to why my brain keeps making the mistake.

If there is a God, just what is He or She trying to tell me about churches???

Mentalist Derren Brown on His Religion

Renowned mentalist and magician Derren Brown recalls his journey from devout Christian to rational skeptic. (Part one of the interview)

New Song - Piano Improvisation "Doodley"

Actually, this is an old song from many moons ago. But since piano improvisations seem to be all the rage on the youtubes these days, I thought I'd post one. So here it is: "Doodley," a musical doodle featuring some of my favorite, drawn doodles.

Orchestral Game Concerts

Between 1991 and 1996, 3 Japanese orchestras performed 5 amazing concerts featuring arrangements of famous video game music.

I've just discovered a website that is hosting complete music files for all 5 concerts. Check it out and download some of these wonderful tracks. Need some help getting started? I've included a few direct links to some of my favorite songs below:

Super Mario Bros - Medley (Classic)
Legend of Zelda - Main Theme (Rivals any John Williams theme)
Kirby's Super Deluxe - The Gourmet Race (Better than the SSBB arrangement)
Visiting the Harbors of the World (Wonderfully varied, like a trip around the world)
Donkey Kong Country (Becomes surprisingly sad and beautiful)
Theme of Chrono Trigger (Adventurous, Reminds of Johny Quest)

While I'm on the subject, I recently listened to some music from the critically acclaimed video game "Psychonauts" and was greatly annoyed at how blatantly the composer borrowed from Danny Elfman's Beetlejuice theme. The fact that no one else out there on teh internets has made the same accusation angers me further. It's so obnoxiously obvious, like James Horner's theme from Honey I shrunk the Kids. (Powerhouse, for comparison)

Kill Bot Kills

Just as I've argued the tremendous life saving reality of applied science, the dark side rears its ugly head. And sure, maybe something like a hovering Multiple Kill Vehicle might ultimately save more lives than it takes, but the cost to our sense of humanity is troubling.

Science Saves!

I want to make a t-shirt with a message along the lines of "Science Saves" because, let's face it, when it comes to modern medicine, agriculture, technology and natural disaster management, science actually saves lives. However, I can't think of a clever image to add to the text. Any ideas?

Maybe I should just buy one of these t-shirts: