Here's some idly interesting links

mega-preacher scandals and pentecostal meltdown

and Wauism

I used to belong to Bokonon but it turned out to be a scam that wrecked the world.

But this one explains a lot:
“If you fail to read (the Bible) properly, then you begin your just damnation. If you are unresponsive … God will scourge you, and everything will fail you until you are at utter defiance with your flesh,”
The birth of christian fundamentalism came w/ the first printing of the Bible in common english in 1525.


Todays rant:
Awhile back (a year or so?) there was a theory proposed that people have a gene that makes us (them) selfish (discriptively called "the selfish gene"). it's survival benefit stems from putting ones own survival above family & friends during hard times. My arguement against it is that it would have to develop and become widespread within about 5000 years, (which is improbable) the reason being that a low density human population (> 3000 BC) lives in tribal groups where selfishness is actively culled. hoarding food from family members is unthinkable because the group has a better chance of survival than individuals (more hands and eyes to locate food & shelter). In that world, Loners are seen as witches that cause bad luck. A higher density population, like in towns big enough that you don't know everybody, provides a breeding environment for loners from a sense of isolation in the crowd, a lack of identity, & various neurosis and psychosis that "justify" selfishness. (yea witches & vampires there abound).

So yeah, sure there's a lot of selfish people around, but they still lack genetic viability, in fact any survival traits would be associated with the lack of a selfish gene.

the problem with theories & axioms, (etc.) is that they're all in ones head. to whit: there's no actual "conflict" in the real world. Floods, fires, giant meteor impacts, tsunamis, brain eating zombie invasions, species exterminatiions are all threats to the individual, but proof that the world is constantly self regulating.

In "real world" perfection there is a flawless piece of software (somewhere), (32 bit clean! according to the "rules of software"). It's not an independant entity however, because "the perfect software", like programs that compile it and the operating platform it runs on, and all the chips and hardware that usher electrons around to make the screen glow w/ the right pattern, are all based on theoretical models that seem to behave in a predictable way, until it self regulates or a zombie eats the observers brain. In the latter case, the experiment normally ceases because the observation discontinues. However, recent scientific advances (Nonlocality of a Single Particle Demonstrated Without Objections) have proven that a tree falling in the forest will make noise even if no one hears it, or to extrapolate slightly further: Zombie interference with an observation does not nullify the result, or (quite a bit further) "Rock & Roll will never die", or (the rational conclusion) "Convert to Zombiism Before it's Too Late".

OK to be honest here, this is mostly just anti-bullshit bullshit, the point here is that the stuff outside your head works fine on it's own mainly because it's uncontrollable & unknowable, (like God?), except like in abstractions. The problem is what goes on inside, (like drawing universal conclusions from limited data, kin you believe it?). Peoples brains aren't designed to work like computers, because computers don't have amigdulas and a dozen hormonal overrides (like fight or flight, shop or sleep). The most outstanding result is that people alter their environment to make themselves look good to OTHER PEOPLE, with NO regard for what it costs the world. like chain sawing the rain forests, and strip mining mountains, so they can get bling and the most buff sex (w/ a smug sneer). The cost to the world is definitely relative to how people effect people.

Real IN YOUR FACE Athiests will appreciate this link: Maggot Punks. I just discovered them by following links through my website stats & Myspace, wondering why I had so many hits to this photo (so I put an ad at the bottom):

They warms th' cockles o'me heart, but let me qualify that a little, I totally agree that hypocrites should be called out, on the other hand though, it's a waste of time to get hormonal on that same level. It just further polarizes the situation, & that's no solution, lookit GW.

The unspeakably unclean in the above picture is the larva of a kind of fly (Tachinid) that eats caterpillars. Unlike some carnivorous flies that eat dead stuff, these don't wait for the caterpillar to expire. They reproduce like The Alien using a live host, and burst forth from their chest w/ a defiant look before scurrying off to pupate & search for food.

Releases of Beneficial Organisms in the United States and Territories-1992. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous publication No.1505, 529 pp.
"Well over 20 million individuals of at least 151 species of insect and mite parasites and predators, almost exclusively of foreign origin, were released against at least 79 insect and mite pests, also predominantly introduced species, in the United States and its Territories in 1982. "... Aliens are among us.

Here's a question, what's ubiquitous, every culture claims it defines them as a people (it's religion, duh, but): What is it?

Here's an answer: people talk to themselves internally, they read cereal boxes & online blogs so that their "consciousness" will have something to do. Internal talking reinforces the personal world. "I shot 15 hoops straight today!" not bad y'know, but so what? It's important because it gives one a social context, aids security and prevents isolation. Ok, but who cares? Exactly the point, somebody has to care, so that somebody takes place in ones head, they have a persona that's defined by people we know, (or read about, or see on tv, etc.)

Ok, now we're inside your head, both of us, or maybe it's mine (looks like my junk. You got this stuff too?)

The thing that Lovers, Charlatans, Priests, Politicians, and sugar Placebos all have in common is they affect a part of a persons brain associated with how one feels about themselves. In order to do that, there must be a willingness to believe & trust, and they must know what to expect. It's not a fake effect, the effect is real, the rational is false. Treat someone like a King & they'll grow to act like one, treat them like a fool & they'll grow to act that way too. Promise them honor & security forever & they usually consider it seriously because it tweaks that little part of their brain. If negative odds are too obvious, well, there's other ways to appeal: like The Relative Situation, which depends on context "sure things are ok, but they could be better, & think how much worse it could be if... bla bla" The hook is either set or not depending on the prep work.

You can pick your demise by gender. Gun rights are symbolic of a male dominated society, how do women ever cope? Same as ever, if its not guns, its some other kind of male dominated social destructiveness (gambling, smoking, drinking, drug dealing, porn) it's male, all male, how come? Well, there's female destruction too, it's passive, things just fall apart. If you get mugged & machine-gunned, that's male (like Shiva the destroyer). But if you get lost in the desert, perish of ennui & consumed by vermin, that's Kali "Nail-Cakes", goddess of death.

Traditional (or any other kind) of gods all appear to have traits of organic life forms, they're crafty & act just like people! Do they do that on purpose or does it just seem that way? Is it fair for people to anthropomorphize the forces of the universe as if though they were just invisible mortals? (NO, IT's NOT FAIR!) As a god I object to that kind of degradation! Gods can do anything & we can make up the rules as we go along. GW Tush thinks he enjoys my favor but, he's never bothered to approach me even once, he ignores the rational advisors I put at his disposal & I certainly never speak to him. I can't believe the hubris of that man. So that you all know that I am the supreme being, I shall visit him with boils and pestilence, & cause him to be a toy for the amusement of Nail-Cakes, my chick.