BREAKING NEWS: For Star Blazers Fans!

OK. For those of you that don't already know, I'm a total dork about some things. The old "Star Blazers" cartoon is being developed into a two-hour live action movie! As I sit here, partially ready to do a little dance, I have the same misgivings I had about the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy: either it's going to be fan-fucking-tastic! or it's gonna suck ass.

Here's a little "halla" to those that watched it before school when we were kids:



Click on the title to go to the Rotten Tomatoes news release! 

The Difference Between Taste and Talent

Recently, on my Facebook newsfeed, someone I know made a comment about how he doesn't care for the infamous Lady Gaga's music which, in turn, launched a full-on bash-fest. I was taken aback by some of the comments, one of which read "I'd like to punch her in the uterus." (I hope that commenter is about 14 years old, because that's the kind of crap I expect to come out of a teenager. From an adult, it's not funny or witty - it's just pathetic.)

Fashion is nuclear.

Let me send out a disclaimer: I'm not gaga about Gaga. She has some entertaining videos and a few of her more popular pieces are quite catchy. Would I spend money to go see a concert? Eh, probably not. I'm only using her as an example because she was the subject of this particular Facebook post. 

After reading many vitriolic statements about Gaga, I realized that there is a big disconnect. Huge, in fact. People don't understand the difference between personal musical tastes and recognizing other people's talents.

It's very simple. Just because you don't like someone's art is not a gauge of their talent.

There are thousands of talented musicians that will never see a recording contract in their lives. Why not? Because their music has zero commercial appeal. Lady Gaga happens to have huge commercial appeal. Don't agree? You don't have to. The money backing her speaks for itself.

And she is mega-talented. It can't be denied and if you do, you're just swimming in denial. She has a voice the size of a barn and a deep passion to back it. She sings, she dances, she plays piano, and she gives people something to talk about. She's a one-woman show. Before you criticize her (or anyone like her), let me ask a question: when was the last time anyone paid you to sing and dance for them? Uh-huh, that's what I thought.

I just remembered, someone mentioned their dissatisfaction with her "pandering" to the gay community in order to support her career. What she's doing is not pandering. She knows her market which is a key part of doing good business. It looks like she's doing pretty good business.

How about this: instead of bashing on other people's success or discussing whether they are talented or not, why don't you take some voice lessons or learn to dance, yourself? Seriously. It used to be that everyone had a talent because when the sun went down, all we had was ourselves. We told stories, sang, danced, or played instruments. We did shadow puppetry, played charades, and other games that engaged everyone. We weren't consumers of entertainment. It wasn't someone's job. It was part of the pleasure of living.

That would be far more interesting and entertaining than listening to talentless people sit around and bitch.

Conversation with My Nephew

Tonight, while I was helping prepare our once-a-month family dinner, my nephew, Jesse, came in to tell me about some news stories he's heard about at school. Immediately, I braced myself.

"Dude, you know what this tastes like?"

Jesse is 15 or 16. I remember very well what most young people that age consider to be newsworthy. At that age, I was interested in the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan, and Michael Jackson. (Back then, Jacko was in the papers nearly every week.) The other kids that went to school with me, their idea of news was along the lines of "Did you hear about that tramp, Tracy? She was caught with some peanut butter and, like, gag me with a spoon!" You get the idea.

Apparently, a woman went to the grocery store and accepted a yogurt sample from an employee. After tasting it, she complains to the management that it tastes like semen. "Whoa," I said. "Already there is so much that is wrong with that story I can't begin to tell you." Jesse continues, telling me that she complained to the management about the taste of semen in the yogurt. They told her that it was Greek and that people like it that way.

"Actually, that would be French."

At that point, I turned and said as an aside to my brother, "Actually, that would be French."

Click on the link to go to the MSNBC story, which isn't nearly as entertaining as the comments that followed it. 

BREAKING NEWS: President Donald Trump

Donald Trump has just announced on Piers Morgan's show on CNN that he may make a run to be the next President of the USA. This is not a joke. And I have to admit, I kinda like what he had to say, which is primarily a very strong stance against China's unfair economic policies toward the US. He says that he'll make his decision between now and June.

Vote Trump 2012?

Second Blow to The Internet By Obama Admin

This is the end of the free Internet. Lieberman wants to give power to the Executive to shut down parts of the Internet or en toto. Of course, it's for our protection. Do you really believe that? BTW, do you remember about me posting the article about how Obama wants to issue National Internet IDs to American citizens?

Tell me what answer you get when you add 1+1.

Thanks to Sheye Blaze for the link to this Huffington Post link. Click on title to read the vomitous details.

Why Can't You Leave Religion Alone?

This is one of the best articles I've ever read regarding the rise of the atheist's voice in America.
It's short, elegant, and eloquent. If you don't get it, ... well ...
Click on the title to go to the original Facebook note.
Reprinted here, unabridged and unedited, with permission of the author.


Why Can't You Leave Religion Alone?
by The Thinking Atheist on Monday, January 17, 2011 at 10:34am


The protests come every day from the religious, and they go something like this:

"Why spend your time disproving God?"

"Why not just let people believe what they want to believe?"

"Why can't you leave religion alone?"

As one YouTube commenter said recently, "No one can explain to me why it is so important to convince theists to abandon their beliefs."

The answer is simple. Pages like this one exist because religion exists.

Religion permeates our culture, shows up on our doorsteps with literature, scriptures and threats of eternal damnation, influences our science books, contaminates our political systems, indoctrinates our children and postulates that its doctrine must be followed, lest we be destroyed in body, in soul, or both.

Non-believers are simply responding to the avalanche of religious messages that bears down upon us daily.

Religion gets carte blanche to be as vocal as it wants, to knock on our doors and accost us in our homes, in our places of work, in our personal and professional lives. Believers are charged with a life mission to preach, teach, disciple, shout it from the mountaintops and to "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Religion...is everywhere.

Ask yourself. When's the last time an atheist rang your doorbell with the Good News of Humanism? How often do you find Richard Dawkins books in the dresser drawers of your hotel rooms? When was the last atheist temple erected in your neighborhood? Have you ever attended an atheist revival? Has atheism demanded 10% of your household income? How many dedicated atheist television channels come through your satellite dish? How many atheist verses were you instructed to memorize as a child? When's the last time someone thanked a FARMER (or even the cook) at the dinner table instead of God?

On a more radical front, what's the name of the last atheist who sawed the head off of an "infidel?" Or sentenced a shrouded woman to death for displeasing an oppressive husband? Or strapped explosives to his belt in order to kill hundreds in a public square? Or publicly hung a gay person for his choice of lifestyle?

It's everywhere. Religion is a pounding drum that has gone mostly unanswered for a long, long time. And religion is not satisfied with merely existing quietly in the homes and hearts of the faithful. Its very nature compels the believer to proselytize, preach, promote, convince, convert and prevail. If you play on the team of the religious, your game plan is to stay, always, on offense.

Throughout our history, those who raise a simple hand of protest against these advances have been portrayed as the real problem. Religion has attempted to marginalize and defeat legitimate questions and concerns by indignantly portraying any resistors as misguided, immoral, rudderless, angry, miserable, lost and alone.

And when skepticism challenges wildly improbable (or impossible) stories found in the bible, the Qur'an and other holy books, the religious wail, "Why can't you just leave us alone?"

The irony is thick.

And religion impedes curiosity and inhibits learning, as the much-maligned Creation Museum proves. It stymies critical thinking. It stretches us to believe the unbelievable. And it poisons the foundational teachings we are using to train up the generations of tomorrow.

Pages like mine exist as a response... a counter-argument to ensure that the cacophony of superstition does not go unchallenged. And if your belief system is so undeniable, so factual, so provable, so real and so true, certainly it can withstand the opposing viewpoints presented here and elsewhere. Certainly, it can survive the acid tests.

Just remember. Religion began the argument. It amplifies itself before the world. And it threatens all mankind with punishment upon its rejection.

We are atheists. We are moral. We are reasonable. We are thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, happy, fulfilled and well-informed.

And as long as religion insists on fixing human beings who are not broken, we will respond with the evidence that we are not the problem.

Conversation with Drunk Guest

Let me cut to the chase. I'm pissed.

About fifteen minutes ago, a drunk came through the lobby of my hotel, wanting a room. It started out as a regular check-in until I misspoke. I asked him a second time why he was going to be staying with us.

Yes, he told me right up as he was coming through the front door that his alternator was out on his car. But when you are in this kind of service business, sometimes things become automatic. So, when I got to the part of his check-in where we normally ask why they are staying with us, of course I asked. Immediately, I realized I made a mistake and was about to joke about it, like I normally do. But he flew off the handle, yelling at me.

"Shit! You don't listen worth a damn, do you?!? Did you go to college?"

"No, I didn't," I said.

"Yeah, well it shows."

What I'm thinking is that I've done pretty damn well for myself, having not gone to college, you redneck- drunken- fucking-jerk-spazoid-inbred-mongrel.

Then, I had to ask him what state his license plates were registered. He starts waving his driver's license in my face, quite belligerently, shouting "Can't you see? Can't you see? You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Fact of the matter is that I see lots of Idaho licenses from people that have plates from Montana, Washington State, even Oregon.

At this point in time, I'm ready to kick him out. I'm not paid to be abused, belittled, and insulted. There is a point where my ability to endure someone else's shortcomings collides with my sense of self-esteem. Oh, I know that my bosses would say that it's just part of the job and that I need to be nice to the guest, but the guest just crossed a line with me. When I was a bartender, I've 86'd people for this kind of behavior. Fuck the guest.

A couple of nights ago, we had something called a "110% Meeting" at work. The idea is that giving 100% is just doing our jobs. But, of course, that's not enough. We are supposed to go above and beyond (even though we don't have any true incentive to do so). Basically, like many service jobs out there, we are supposed to allow the guests to run us around and walk all over us, oh, and if need be, go lay down on the traintracks because they come so far before our own interests. Can I hear a big "SCREW THAT"? This guy is a prime example of why I think customer service is so fucked up in the US.

I have a friend who has been checking groceries at a major supermarket for many, many, years. Admittedly, his stories are much more sordid, nauseating, and unbelievable than what happened to me tonight. When I hear him talking about his own experiences, all it does is cement in my mind how I feel about customers/guests/clients. They aren't always right and it's wrong to allow them to behave badly towards the service agents that are trying to assist them. Service agents should never put up with it. I say call them out on their bad behavior. If they want to act like 4-year olds having a tantrum, I say show them the corner and send them to time out. If that doesn't work, show them the door.

I told you. I'm pissed.

Be nice to your desk clerks, waiters, taxi drivers, etc. Most of us really are trying to do a good job for you.

What Is There To Say About Arizona?

Since my original idea for this blog was to post about spirituality and politics, I would be amiss not to comment on the recent shooting down in Tuscon.

First, let me just say that this is a horrifying tragedy.

Second, my sincere apology. I've told people that the way to deal with radicals in politics would just be to shoot them before they ran for the presidency. It was my frustrated response to the insurmountable partisanship in American politics. It was wrong, regardless of the reason, for me to say something like that. Again, I apologize.

There is a lot of room for apology in American politics right now. All of the articles that I've read, all the videos I've watched, the authors have said that all of us need to own up to how we contributed to the shooting in Arizona. Yet, when you read the comments following the articles, almost every commentator is focused on blaming one side or the other, instead of owning up to the universal wrongness in our society that led up to the murder of six people, serious injuries to 14 people, and the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords.

That's where we are, folks. Not on the eve of a national revolution to rid ourselves of oppressive dictators, but dans de la merde, a nation that has gone totally lu-lu. All the legitimate politicians are exiting the scene via death or retirement and what we are left with are a bunch of whack-jobs who won't balance the nation's checkbook, on the take from corporations, and full of hateful rhetoric that stirs up all the other whack-jobs that are listening. Who cares what I say in the political arena as long as it gets me on TV or lands me a book deal? Right?

Wrong. That is a perversion of politics. American politics isn't supposed to be about personal gain or pushing your personal social agenda. It's supposed to be about performing a patriotic service by representing your fellow man. Few people in my generation were taught about having manners in public, much less about good citizenship. How do you expect them to be any kind of decent politician?

Since the shooting, some folks have jumped on the "watch what you say" bandwagon. While that sentiment sounds fine, it's a little too ambiguous and Big Brother to me. Watch what I say? My answer is "Back off, bitch." Why? In my experience, people that say things like that are generally not in the habit of using their freedom of speech. When the only people they talk to are their friends and family (not even their neighbors anymore!), freedom of speech, by and large, goes to the wayside. Don't talk about politics. Don't talk about religion. Don't talk about race. Don't talk about sex. Don't talk about money. (Holy crap. What DO you talk about???) So, telling someone else not to exercise their freedom of speech goes hand in hand with their own failure to take advantage of it. They have little or no connection to freedom of speech because they don't engage in it, therefore lack appreciation of it. If it was taken away, they wouldn't even notice.

Not in my family. Sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, politics, business, religion, ... there isn't a topic we don't touch in a single evening. And it doesn't change in public. So, yes, I'm sensitive about someone saying, in essence, to shut up. If you don't participate in public discussion, you have no business suggesting to someone that they "watch what they say".

How about I offer this, instead: "Certain topics require thoughtful consideration before speaking." See? Reasonable. Civilized. Inoffensive. Responsible. And guess what else? A perfect political statement in a nation gone crazy.

Obama Admin Wants To Be Your BFF

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS???

The Obama Administration wants to create an Internet ID for Americans.

Of course, they say that they aren't going to create a database, etc.
And we're supposed to believe them.
This is a time to get up and start calling your Senators and Representatives.
Or maybe it's time to move to Canada.
Your free speech - if you are actually using it - is absolutely endangered.



Click on the title for the CBS News Article.

Opinion | Sure, learn to speak Chinese — but learn Spanish first | Seattle Times Newspaper

My objection with this article is that the author acts like Hispanics are a new flavor of ice cream in the U.S. The number of Hispanics has been growing steadily and invisibly for years. And, oh, that's right, Hispanics only have large populations in Texas and Florida.

But he is right about languages. Spanish is the most important second language for Americans to learn.

Opinion Sure, learn to speak Chinese — but learn Spanish first Seattle Times Newspaper

Open Letter to The Food Network

Dear Food Network,

Let me begin by saying how much I enjoy your programming in general. Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Guy Fieri, ... they are some of my culinary heros. I would estimate that I spend a good 75% of my  viewing time with your channel. However, I have a bone to pick with you.

I hate your commercials.

Oh, not all of them. Just the ones that are nasty.

I don't appreciate it when I'm groovin' on Paula Deen, all fried and buttery, or Anne Burrell talking about her big beautiful [chicken] breasts then, all of a sudden, I'm watching an ad about dirty catheters. It's like eating at a restaurant and someone puts a dirty ashtray on a plate. Actually, it's worse. It's like someone pissed on my plate. In front of me. While I'm taking a bite.

I will say that I don't mind the ads about the mail-order diabetic supplies. I can tolerate ads about mesothelioma. But the dirty catheter ads? They are simply in the poorest taste imaginable.

It occurs to me to ask: don't you have anyone that reviews your ads for appropriateness?
Surely your marketing department can find better advertisers than a catheter company.

I hope that in the future, your viewing public may expect a higher quality service from you.

Love and butter,

Robert Pickett

Let's Hear What Short People Have To Say: 2011

Now that I've posted what the Christian Science Monitor thinks are some great ideas for 2011, let's hear your thoughts about it.

What do you think could happen in 2011 that would make the world a better place?


Here's a few of my own ideas:

• I win the lottery and start a little cafe.
• The War on Drugs is ended and the money refunded to the public.
• Jennifer Aniston gets a blockbuster movie role.

Not a bad start, eh?

May we all figure out what we want in 2011!

This Commercial Is High-larry-us!!!

Healthy Choice, a frozen food company, has really tapped into a particular spirit with this commercial. I've seen the others in the series and it's exceptionally funny. Because it's true. This is the "Office Space" of commercials. Click on the title.

CSM: Ideas For A Better World In 2011

I thought you might enjoy this article from The Christian Science Monitor. Don't sneer. The CSM has a reputation for it's high standard of journalistic excellence.

Some of these ideas are interesting, others are just stooo-pid, like the need to eliminate "doping" in professional sports. Really? I never knew that stopping athletes from taking drugs was going to make the world a better place. I'm sure my life would be changed immeasurably. (More like UN-measurably, if that was a word.)

Still, an idea that purports to be something good for the world deserves to be heard regardless of my personal feelings. I hope you discover an idea that inspires you. Click on the title.

Vatican Blames Children for Molesting Priests

Actually, it's the priests doing the molesting but the Vatican does blame the children, more or less. Rats-ass-inger says that the Catholic priests are victims of a society that tolerates pedophilia and child pornography. Um, since fucking when? Click on the title to go to the article on Yahoo News.

Ewww! Maybe not "anything".  Even I had standards.

If I had known I could get raped by a priest (for free, even!), I'd have joined the Catholic Church ages ago. When I was 14, I was ready to screw anything with two feet. (The thought of four feet was just too yucky to contemplate, even for this horny fucker.) All you folks that think your little boys are such angels, let me assure you that the moment the initial surge of testosterone hits our system we turn into little sexual devils. It's just that some of us hide under our halos better than others.

Anyway, what do you expect from a former Hitler Youth except for a lack of ability to accept responsibility?



What's Wrong With Christmas?

I take a lot of lumps around this time of the year because of my open dislike of Christmas.



This is not to say that I am unappreciative of the cards I've received from a few very well-meaning individuals. It's nice to be remembered, even in a small way, and I know you well enough to know it comes from your hearts. I love you guys.

HOWEVER ...

Let's face it: Christmas is a toxic extension of a religion that has become spiritually poisonous.

I could go into all the tired ways that people have hashed out the problems with Christmas - the outright deceit of Jesus' December birth, the commercialism, the insanity of shopping, the constant bitching about it, stress and suicide, etc.
Right now, I'm gonna pick on something no-one has touched so far: Christmas carols.

Just for the record, I loved Christmas carols while I was growing up. L-O-V-E-D them. Even now, my favorite is still "O Holy Night". Whenever I hear it, it makes me want to cry. (I know, I sounded like John Boehner just then.)

If you pay attention, the traditional Christmas carol is the distillation of what is supposed to be the best aspects of Christianity. Let's use "O Holy Night" as an example. Here's the lyrics of the first verse and the chorus:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Have you ever paid attention to what this song is about?
Re-read the words. Say them aloud. This song acknowledges that men live in sadness and misery. It's a call to look above and beyond. It says there is something greater than ourselves and we should be filled with awe, humility, and also ...  hope. C'est beau.

Here's another one of my favorites, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen":

God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this day,
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

Translation: Life sucks, man, but don't let it harsh your mellow. The Dude came and, like, died to help our sorry asses. It's good news. Don't worry, be happy. (Doo-doot-doot-doot-doot-doo-be-do ...)

CHEESE AND RICE! SO WHAT, ROB?

So what? Seriously?

If I presented myself to you in one way and then acted in a manner inconsistent with that, what would you call me? You'd call me a liar, a fraud, a criminal. You'd shun me and, if the situation warranted, you'd take me to court. However, the great majority of people voluntarily participate in something that puts on a ho-ho-holiday facade of love, hope, and forgiveness while extreme practitioners of the religion run rampant spreading an INEXPLICABLE doctrine of hate. Hate of women's reproductive rights. Hate of reason and rationality. Hate of homosexuals. Hate of Muslims. Hate of science. Hate of peace and fellow-feeling. Hate of everything and everyone that doesn't agree with them. You've watched FOX, haven't you?

Christmas has become the prime representation of a religion that has rotted from the inside out. "Tidings of comfort and joy" -  MY ASS. "Fall on your knees"? Yeah, and suck a big fat one. The current message of American Christians is one that lacks reasonable discourse and is filled with threats, ignorance, and violence.

Are you afraid of Muslims and Sharia? Heck, Christian Sharia is on its way. Every day you stay silent against the madness - the INSANITY - of injecting religion into politics, you willingly assist in the establishment of an oppressive American theocracy that will trample every citizen in a way that will make the Spanish Inquisition look like a little girl's tea party.

THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH CHRISTMAS.

Those Hyundai Ads on TV

Have you seen the Hyundai ads on TV with the pretty young lady and the nutball, bearded guy singing Christmas songs? They are Natali Dawn and Jack Conte; together they are Pomplamoose Music. (Piece of trivia: while studying French, I learned that "pamplemousse" means "grapefruit".) Anyway, they are well-known on YouTube for their unique take on editing music videos, their unusual creativity, and their awesome sense of humor. It's about time they got noticed for their talent.
This is the first video of theirs I found. Enjoy!

America's changing culture war | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is an interesting article on the difference between America then and now - how views on churchgoing, marriage, who is "liberal", who is "conservative", and how it's splitting along educational lines more than economic parameters, like it did in the '70s.

Opinion America's changing culture war Seattle Times Newspaper - loop