Read it here.
Here is a snippet: "Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my new found atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. I learned of evolution – a theory so simple that only England’s greatest genius could have come up with it. Evolution of plants, animals and us – with imagination, free will, love, humor. I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living."
'Tis the season and all that. BTW... I am having a VERY hard time being anything other than depressed this Holiday season. If I could just randomly punch passers-by in the face I would. Can't really say why I am so angry... I really don't know. All I do know is that if slipping into a coma for the next three weeks were offered; I should instantly close with such a deal.
Bah, fucking, humbug!
HH =)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Good Grief...
Charles Schultz was a genius. Lucy holds a football. Charlie lines up to kick it. Charlie Brown is clearly aware of the history that Lucy will pull the ball away, yet decides to throw his experience, and reason out the window and run, full speed at the football. Sure enough... Lucy pulls the ball away at the last second. Charlie Brown ends up on his ass again.
This is life. One plays by the rules... has expectations of consistency... and yet, despite all evidence to the contrary, one trusts the improbable to happen. Is this stupidity inherent or is it culturally derived? Given that the bulk of Americans, currently, have tendency to celebrate ignorance, one might think it genetically endowed. "NAY", says I. It has become a part of our cultural zeitgeist. Any population that celebrates Sarah Palin is seriously fucked up; and deserving of a fitting Darwinian end. Yet, this celebratory cluster-fuck spreads like a virus across all cultural, environmental, genetic, and economic backgrounds. However, akin to most diseases it stays quarantined within the disposed group. But is this group disposed due to poor chromosomal development, or a weakened logical immune system due to constant over exposure to an environment riddled with similar pathogens?
I choose to believe that stupidity is inherent but curable. However, it takes two variables which must unite to defeat it. The first, is education. Simple exposure to information is part of the equation. The second, (which is lacking completely in public education) is "reason." When is "how"-to-think ever taught in schools? We sure as hell can not count on parents to teach that which they themselves do not possess. Some of the smartest adults I know are completely unable to analyze facts, weigh them against arguments, and then draw independent conclusions. They are smart in the sense that where cognitively untaxed innovation and creativity flourish. Yet, "stupid" when unable to let go of long-held beliefs which fail the simplest of smell tests.
Hope only thrives when acknowledging that both variables identified above can be introduced at any time to the living. One is never too old to learn how to learn. Today this gives me hope. Today this is the thought that allows me to be okay.
HH =)
This is life. One plays by the rules... has expectations of consistency... and yet, despite all evidence to the contrary, one trusts the improbable to happen. Is this stupidity inherent or is it culturally derived? Given that the bulk of Americans, currently, have tendency to celebrate ignorance, one might think it genetically endowed. "NAY", says I. It has become a part of our cultural zeitgeist. Any population that celebrates Sarah Palin is seriously fucked up; and deserving of a fitting Darwinian end. Yet, this celebratory cluster-fuck spreads like a virus across all cultural, environmental, genetic, and economic backgrounds. However, akin to most diseases it stays quarantined within the disposed group. But is this group disposed due to poor chromosomal development, or a weakened logical immune system due to constant over exposure to an environment riddled with similar pathogens?
I choose to believe that stupidity is inherent but curable. However, it takes two variables which must unite to defeat it. The first, is education. Simple exposure to information is part of the equation. The second, (which is lacking completely in public education) is "reason." When is "how"-to-think ever taught in schools? We sure as hell can not count on parents to teach that which they themselves do not possess. Some of the smartest adults I know are completely unable to analyze facts, weigh them against arguments, and then draw independent conclusions. They are smart in the sense that where cognitively untaxed innovation and creativity flourish. Yet, "stupid" when unable to let go of long-held beliefs which fail the simplest of smell tests.
Hope only thrives when acknowledging that both variables identified above can be introduced at any time to the living. One is never too old to learn how to learn. Today this gives me hope. Today this is the thought that allows me to be okay.
HH =)
Friday, August 06, 2010
Hrmmm..
Life is both the journey, AND the destination. Anyone who tries to sell you one or the other is a charlatan. At our ends, we all die. What is left? Only, the memories cherished by those we have loved. For any person of courage that is enough.
This sums up my reason d'etre. As we wrangle along the paths that life allows us to trod, we ought truly savor the gusto that life provides. Smell the wonderful smells... taste the bountiful tastes... See the glorious sights... embrace the tactile touches that thrill and enhance... and hear the sounds that celebrate being. The lesson that Shane has...
I was watching a Koi in a local pond recently. My mind imagined its life. From stream, to pond, to death. How different are we? We swim in and out of each occurrence, but in the end, we simply swim. Nothing profound... Nothing nuanced... just moving about interacting with the environments that we are given, and then dying. Do the other Koi care? Did the Koi change anything for the better? Is it just futility? My conclusion... Futility. But what a wonderful road to travel. No one else gets to trod in my shoes. That is my uniqueness. My specialty. No one thing gets to be "me." Experience what I have.
I don't get to be the Koi I watched. It is unique and only knows its own path. Our differences... I wonder, did it question my uniqueness as it gazed at me through the medium of the water? Did it see me passing through its life? Did I effect it (at least as much as it effected me?)?
Happily and peacefully swimming around my pond...
HH =)
This sums up my reason d'etre. As we wrangle along the paths that life allows us to trod, we ought truly savor the gusto that life provides. Smell the wonderful smells... taste the bountiful tastes... See the glorious sights... embrace the tactile touches that thrill and enhance... and hear the sounds that celebrate being. The lesson that Shane has...
I was watching a Koi in a local pond recently. My mind imagined its life. From stream, to pond, to death. How different are we? We swim in and out of each occurrence, but in the end, we simply swim. Nothing profound... Nothing nuanced... just moving about interacting with the environments that we are given, and then dying. Do the other Koi care? Did the Koi change anything for the better? Is it just futility? My conclusion... Futility. But what a wonderful road to travel. No one else gets to trod in my shoes. That is my uniqueness. My specialty. No one thing gets to be "me." Experience what I have.
I don't get to be the Koi I watched. It is unique and only knows its own path. Our differences... I wonder, did it question my uniqueness as it gazed at me through the medium of the water? Did it see me passing through its life? Did I effect it (at least as much as it effected me?)?
Happily and peacefully swimming around my pond...
HH =)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Just needed to push the previous post to the bottom..
The video of Lawrence Klauss was overlapping my facebook widget thingy and I just couldn't stand it any more. This post is being created just to push it down the page.
So far nothing is happening this Summer. My son is dating, working at his job, shopping, and sleeping. These are in order based upon total time per day dedicated to each activity. We see him very little. On a brighter note... we are getting along better than any parents with a 17-year-old have a right to. He bought me a Father's Day gift yesterday. I just about bawled. He's a great kid.
The 15-year-old daughter is as unpredictable as an... er... well... 15-year-old girl. One moment she is as sweet and wonder as a child can be. The next we are ducking for cover and dodging flak. Right now she seems to be in a sweet mood. She has started to meet with a psychologist. No major psychoses or anything, just felt like she needed to have an objective third party help provide some feedback and support. I must say that as a psychologist myself it was kind of strange. Given my training and skills should I have been able to help her myself? Reality dictated that the answer be "no." I am just too close and subjectively invested to provide her what she needs. It seems to be going rather well.
The wife and I are training to run the Top of Utah half-marathon. She's trying to kill me. Until last year I had never run more than 3 miles. Ran 12 miles last Wednesday (bragging here just a bit). Even so, I have gotten my affairs in order so that, in my most likely demise during the race, my family is taken care of.
My father forwarded an e-mail to me a few weeks back. The jist of it was that America is going down in flames and only acknowledging that we are a Xtian nation will it be brought back from the brink. I responded (poor judgment here) by send him a PDF of the treaty signed at Tripoli with the Babary Pirates. In article 11 it state, "as the United Stated is in no way founded upon the christian religion..." His response was to interpret me as being offended. We ended up coming to a nice compromise (he will limit the right-wing stuff he sends, and I will not send a rational refutation or a link to "snopes." In essence we agreed that our relationship as father and son is more important than any dogma, political position, or fact.
Now, for a political opinion. Obama blows. He was certainly a better choice than McCain. But he is just another corporate sponsored sell-out. His response to BP and the oil spill has sucked hard. Why aren't we pushing alternative energy like hell? If there was a time, this is it. Why isn't the CEO being frog-marched in chains to jail? Nice to see all the corporate law changes making too-big-to-fail a thing of the past (heavy on the snark).
My wife has gone nuts on the gardening this year. Our house is surrounded by flowers and foliage. Nice to sit out on the backyard sipping morning coffee and smelling the amazing odors, and seeing the amazing colors. This isn't helping my asocial character at all. =)
Later,
HH
So far nothing is happening this Summer. My son is dating, working at his job, shopping, and sleeping. These are in order based upon total time per day dedicated to each activity. We see him very little. On a brighter note... we are getting along better than any parents with a 17-year-old have a right to. He bought me a Father's Day gift yesterday. I just about bawled. He's a great kid.
The 15-year-old daughter is as unpredictable as an... er... well... 15-year-old girl. One moment she is as sweet and wonder as a child can be. The next we are ducking for cover and dodging flak. Right now she seems to be in a sweet mood. She has started to meet with a psychologist. No major psychoses or anything, just felt like she needed to have an objective third party help provide some feedback and support. I must say that as a psychologist myself it was kind of strange. Given my training and skills should I have been able to help her myself? Reality dictated that the answer be "no." I am just too close and subjectively invested to provide her what she needs. It seems to be going rather well.
The wife and I are training to run the Top of Utah half-marathon. She's trying to kill me. Until last year I had never run more than 3 miles. Ran 12 miles last Wednesday (bragging here just a bit). Even so, I have gotten my affairs in order so that, in my most likely demise during the race, my family is taken care of.
My father forwarded an e-mail to me a few weeks back. The jist of it was that America is going down in flames and only acknowledging that we are a Xtian nation will it be brought back from the brink. I responded (poor judgment here) by send him a PDF of the treaty signed at Tripoli with the Babary Pirates. In article 11 it state, "as the United Stated is in no way founded upon the christian religion..." His response was to interpret me as being offended. We ended up coming to a nice compromise (he will limit the right-wing stuff he sends, and I will not send a rational refutation or a link to "snopes." In essence we agreed that our relationship as father and son is more important than any dogma, political position, or fact.
Now, for a political opinion. Obama blows. He was certainly a better choice than McCain. But he is just another corporate sponsored sell-out. His response to BP and the oil spill has sucked hard. Why aren't we pushing alternative energy like hell? If there was a time, this is it. Why isn't the CEO being frog-marched in chains to jail? Nice to see all the corporate law changes making too-big-to-fail a thing of the past (heavy on the snark).
My wife has gone nuts on the gardening this year. Our house is surrounded by flowers and foliage. Nice to sit out on the backyard sipping morning coffee and smelling the amazing odors, and seeing the amazing colors. This isn't helping my asocial character at all. =)
Later,
HH
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How could the universe come from NOTHING? Here's how.
Watch and enjoy (its about an hour):
Therefore, God is dead.....Discuss
HH =)
Therefore, God is dead.....Discuss
HH =)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Study-- Correlation between religiousness and crime
I've been saying this all along. I just love meta-analysis! I know... I know... preaching to the choir here.
HH =)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Benny boy
"I shall conclude with observing, that Cowards can handle Arms, can strike where they are sure to meet with no Return, can wound, mangle and murder; but it belongs to brave Men to spare, and to protect."-- Ben Franklin
All the hubbub about where to try "terrorists" in America... 200+ years ago it was addressed. Today's Conservatives are simply fear mongers who hate an open, honest trial by peers. UnAmerican Fuckers.
HH
All the hubbub about where to try "terrorists" in America... 200+ years ago it was addressed. Today's Conservatives are simply fear mongers who hate an open, honest trial by peers. UnAmerican Fuckers.
HH
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