Good Old Neon

I’m 110% in favor of supporting local growers and buying organic, but I cannot help but think that if EVERYONE did this, the small “farms” would eventually be overwhelmed, and to keep up, they’d eventually have to grow and grow, and by growing, lose what made them special in the first place. There are 350 + million humans in this country alone, is it even possible to feed everyone utilizing local growers? And if we tried, would they simply end up being the Monsanto’s and the mega-farms of the future?

An interview with Cormac Mccarthy recently ran in the WSJ, here's the link. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572.html

At the moment, I don’t think a Fox equivalent even exists outside of some crazy left wing 9/11 Truthers website. It is home to some of the craziest conspiracy minded bullshit since all that Illuminati mumbo jumbo. For the sake of my sanity, I don’t tune in all that often, but on the rare occasion that I do, I feel as though I’ve slipped into some sort of alternate universe, or that I’m peering voyeuristically into the feverish nightmare mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. Edit: During the Bush years, right wingers vociferously accused just about anyone who opposed Bush’s policies as suffering

I'll show myself to the canoe...

Please show some mercy, I'm functioning on an hour of sleep Anyways, while we're discussing the topic, here's a not so gentle review of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals - yikes! He doesn’t have time to mention (Peter)Singer, but he compares himself to Kafka, quotes Derrida (more than once), and mistakes graphic design for profundity. One chapter begins with the boldfaced words “Speechlessness / Influence / Speechlessness / Influence” densely repeated for five whole pages. There are times when you can almost hear Foer thinking: Yes, these arguments have been made dozens of times b

Well, the gentle dressing down came by way of Steven Pinker, who, is pretty much a genuine grade-A, capital G genius – so, if I were Malcolm, I wouldn’t take it so hard. Pinker’s books cover some (emphasis on some) similar ground, but with more emphasis on evolutionary psychology, how the mind works, etc. I just finished What the Dog Saw and found it interesting and enjoyable. Gladwell may be a bit overexposed at the moment, but much of the attention is deserved – imo. He’s no Pinker, but his books get people thinking, and that’s always a good thing. I found this essay to be particularly

The worst part, is that his performance is rehearsed, calculated and about 98% phony. There is video floating around of him rehearsing one of his teary little “heartfelt” breakdowns. People eat this shit up, which is sad, because he’s laughing at them, while, at the same time, filling their heads full of nonsensical, conspiratorial bullshit. It’s entertaining, but about as good for you as a diet consisting of little more than Twinkies, Ring Dings and to drink, a 5th of Wild Irish Rose. Fox should be forced to start each broadcast day with a disclaimer reminding folks that what they’re watch

Turns out the ant god, like our god, is a malicious, 10 year old boy, which, helps explain a few things.

If you gave him and enema, he'd fit in a match box. Hmmm..now where have I seen this sort of act before... Howard Beale called, and he wants his schtick back.

Christopher Hitchens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFTj9n40rNo&feature=player_embedded

From Andrew Sullivan: You can forgive the pro-Catholic side for losing the debate in Britain on whether the Catholic church is a force for good in the world. Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop John Onaiyekan were up against Hitch and Fry. What you cannot forgive is the sheer intellectual shallowness of the defense. Just listen to the small speech above, I mean: really, this is the best we've got? In Onaiyekan, you have a classic Benedict/JP II Archbishop: dumb as a post, sheltered from the actual debate in the West, incapable of argument, and pathetic as a spokesman. The problem with the theoc

From Andrew Sullivan: As the Democrats in New York State again stick it to their gay supporters, just as the Democrats in Washington continue to do, it's worth watching this brief interaction. A constituent of state senator George Maziarz asks him a question at a constituency meeting. The question is civil, it contains many arguments, it offers any number of ways to address its points. What does Maziarz do? He simply dismisses the arguments, addresses none of them, reiterates his position that marriage is between a man and a woman, period, and gets a round of applause. No argument, no engage

Glenn Greenwald, responds to the cowardly right: The Right's textbook "surrender to terrorists" "We're too scared to have real trials in our country" is a level of cowardice unmatched in the world. ..the Right's reaction to yesterday's announcement -- we're too afraid to allow trials and due process in our country -- is the textbook definition of "surrendering to terrorists." It's the same fear they've been spewing for years. As always, the Right's tough-guy leaders wallow in a combination of pitiful fear and cynical manipulation of the fear of their followers. Indeed, it's hard to

Update – though maybe not technically celebrities, a cruise ship carrying long-time crush, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna, along with pretty much the entire cast of Suicide Girls.com just ran aground. Land Ho(s)!

Well said llynn.

I think this belongs in the New Atheist thread, in response to what hell might look like.

I agree with you to a point, our disastrous meddling in the region is partly to blame, but to simply dismiss the role religion plays is strikes me as naïve (which, I know you’re not, you know, naïve, but I couldn’t think of a more apt word, so you’ll have to forgive me for that one). However, I tend to agree with Sam Harris when he says: Anyone who imagines that terrestrial concerns account for Muslim terrorism must answer questions of the following sort: Why are there no Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers? The Tibetans have suffered an occupation far more brutal, and far more cynical, than

I think we return to the state we were prior to our births, nothingness. As Mark Twain said: I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. Would I prefer an afterlife, a cottony, harp serenaded place in which to spend eternity with loved ones, absofuckinglutely, but that’s just wishful thinking. While undergoing an emergency operation, I flat-lined for the better part of five or so minutes, although I did not achieve brain death, the point of no return, I was not treated to any sort of near death experience

Though I enjoy their music immensely, The Beatles are the single most overrated band in the history of anything.

I agree, to a point. However, the people who flew those planes into the Towers did not do so because they wanted access to our natural resources or because they were trying to acquire a particularly sweet piece of real estate, or for reasons having to do with treasure, they did so almost exclusively for reasons having to do with their religion. What they want, in essence, is a world in which we all conform to the strictest, most fundamental teachings of the Koran – that’s it. I can coexist peacefully with them, in spite of this, provided they refrain from killing people in the name of religion

I posted this story in the “forces of evil” thread. Church officials say that unless the city alters a proposed same-sex marriage law, the archdiocese will discontinue its social service programs. It is the perfect distillation of what I find so offensive about religion. Hitchens had this to say in his book God is Not Great – it too perfectly sums up my attitude: Religious faith is, precisely because we are still-evolving creatures, ineradicable. It will never die out, or at least not until we get over our fear of death, and of the dark, and of the unknown, and of each other. For this r

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Wow, just fucking wow... Catholic archdiocese gives ultimatum to D.C. Church officials say that unless the city alters a proposed same-sex marriage law, the archdiocese will discontinue its social service programs. Washington - The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it would be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District of Columbia if the city refused to change a proposed same-sex marriage law. The threat could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and healthcare. Under the legislation, which t

But until recently, the bible was interpreted literally. Christianity has evolved, in part, because much of what was once accepted as fact, the universe revolves around the earth, etc, was proven to be false. For most of our history, the bible, both the good and bad, was the absolute word of god, then, at some point, god must have got himself a really good PR person, cause he went from a crazy, petulant asshole, to the father of this really nice and mellow white California surfer dude – or, at least that’s how his role was rewritten, by man…again.