A new study says that Atheists and Agnostics know more about religion than do religious people. Now, the study doesn’t say that the godless know more about, say Christianity than Christians, but about religion in general. It’s hypothesized that the reason for this is that most Agnostics and Atheists were religious at one time and that their choice to become nonbelievers was one they really studied and thought hard about, this includes studying what others believe.
I know my own godlessness came only after a thorough review of many religious beliefs, including those of Catholicism and Protestantism, the two religions in which I was raised. If I can toot my own horn and that of other Agnostics and Atheists, this seems both an intelligent and thoughtful way to look at the issue. After all, this is a choice which many consider to be of soul-saving importance.
This is exactly what bothers me about the conclusion of this study. It leads me to believe that religious people studied no other religions before they decided to adopt their one true faith. More than likely their parents indoctrinated them at a young age and they just continued on believing. This seems a bit odd when it comes to, like I said, a decision of soul-saving importance.
The study also shows that many don’t know some of the basic tenets of their own faith. Again, it doesn’t say that Jews know more about Islam than Muslims, but that Muslims may not know all that much about Islam. This doesn’t particularly surprise me in that many of the most fanatically religious seem to only know and really stick to certain tenets of their religion. For example, for some Catholics of a certain ilk it’s not important to know every one of the 10 Commandments but they’ll memorize every single psalm, stanza or verse in the bible that damns homosexuality (and they will endlessly spew them out whenever they get the chance.) Whoops, sorry about that. Assholes have been getting on my nerves during this election season.
Veering away from the results of this interesting study to my own personal babblings, I think it takes some balls to be fanatically religious. Why? Well in the first place, there isn’t a lot of fact/proof to back up religious beliefs. When questioned about their religion, the intelligent religious will say that it’s all a matter of faith and leave it at that because there is no 2+2=4 in religion. To argue anything else reminds me of the arguments of those with deep beliefs in most conspiracy theories when they are called on to defend themselves. For example, I would expect the same reasoning from someone defending their fanatical belief in UFO’s as I would from a fanatical Mormon practitioner.
The second reason I think it takes balls to be fanatically religious is the constant contradictions that they have to live with. For example, in the King James Bible, there are the straight forward crazy things like rules for stoning women who aren’t virgins on their wedding night (Deuteronomy 22: 13-21) contrasted with the commandment “Thou Shall Not Murder.” Come on, can I kill her or not? What about my neighbor who mows his lawn on the Sabbath? Can I punish him for not keeping it holy or will god do it later?
Then there are the contradictions the religious must deal with that aren’t so black and white. Can someone who follows the teachings of the bible support wars where people will be killed in their name? Can they vote for a politician who supports said war? Can they live in a country where their tax dollars go to buy bullets that will be used to kill others?
No doubt these are tough questions they must think about, and these are only some of the most obvious contradictions from only one religion.
Even as a godless heathen I find the topic of religion fascinating, and with examining this little slice of it even more so. I think a little more study is in order.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Love your Geek
Geek Love: A Novel
By Katherine Dunn
What do you do if you run a freak show and you start running out offreaks? Well, if you're Lil and Art, you impregnate Lil and then have her eat, drink and smoke everything pregnant ladies shouldn't get within 10 feet of. Sure, you'll end up with a few mistakes, or miscarriages as some people like to call them, but there will also be a few successes. Lil and Art get lucky a few times and have a boy with flippers where his arms and legs should be, an albino dwarf daughter with a hunchback and a pair of Siamese twins who share a pair of legs.
Sounds pleasant, no?
Yeah, Geek Love: A Novel is pretty crazy. It's not so much a horror novel but it has many of the genre's characteristics. There are malformed human sociopaths, murders, dismemberment, maggots, cults and sex. On top of this, the whole thing has that greasy feeling, like how your hair feels after you don't wash it for a few days.
The book follows the Now-and-Then story style in that it's the story of an Albino Dwarf Hunchback during two phases of her life. The first phase encompasses her youth, as her and the rest of the family freak show travel around the United States enchanting locals with their, well, freakishness. Things are great until Lil and Art have another child, a boy who seems to have no deformities but is telekinetic. While this might seem to present a whole slew of opportunities, it instead heralds massive family turmoil. Artie the flippered Aqua-Boy begins a cult, the Siamese twin sisters begin experimenting with sex and somewhere along the line a half-dead horse has its legs surgically removed but still manages to run around the circus.
Yeah, it's unpleasant stuff and can only end badly and it does.
The second phase of the story follows the Albino Dwarf Hunchback in her later years. She works in radio, secretly stalks the daughter she had with her Aqua-Boy brother and becomes friends with a woman who pays beautiful women to permanently disfigure themselves.
Again, this can't end well and it doesn't.
So many bad endings...see it's a bit like a horror novel. Anywho, Dunn's writing is strong and the characters are interesting. There are two plot lines, the first (the Then part) is a bit stronger but the second (the Now part) isn't bad but seems like it was tacked on. It could easily have been its own short story.
The problem I had with Geek Love was that I had to suspend my disbelief a bit too much for my liking. Sure I can go along with things like crazy hillbilly cannibals and heroes who forget to bring maps when they enter the Soul Sucking Forest of the Dark Lords in a horror or action novel but in a more realistic, sort of dramatic novel (that was actually a finalist for the National Book Awards) I demand a bit more. For example, who is going to join a cult where the ultimate goal of membership is to have all your limbs amputated so all that is left is a torso? It might be me, but I just don't see that many people lining up for that kind of elective surgery.
In all, Geek Love did keep me reading. I was anxious to see what crazy thing would happen next and Dunn doesn't disappoint. The crazy train just keeps chugging along!
By Katherine Dunn
What do you do if you run a freak show and you start running out offreaks? Well, if you're Lil and Art, you impregnate Lil and then have her eat, drink and smoke everything pregnant ladies shouldn't get within 10 feet of. Sure, you'll end up with a few mistakes, or miscarriages as some people like to call them, but there will also be a few successes. Lil and Art get lucky a few times and have a boy with flippers where his arms and legs should be, an albino dwarf daughter with a hunchback and a pair of Siamese twins who share a pair of legs.
Sounds pleasant, no?
Yeah, Geek Love: A Novel is pretty crazy. It's not so much a horror novel but it has many of the genre's characteristics. There are malformed human sociopaths, murders, dismemberment, maggots, cults and sex. On top of this, the whole thing has that greasy feeling, like how your hair feels after you don't wash it for a few days.
The book follows the Now-and-Then story style in that it's the story of an Albino Dwarf Hunchback during two phases of her life. The first phase encompasses her youth, as her and the rest of the family freak show travel around the United States enchanting locals with their, well, freakishness. Things are great until Lil and Art have another child, a boy who seems to have no deformities but is telekinetic. While this might seem to present a whole slew of opportunities, it instead heralds massive family turmoil. Artie the flippered Aqua-Boy begins a cult, the Siamese twin sisters begin experimenting with sex and somewhere along the line a half-dead horse has its legs surgically removed but still manages to run around the circus.
Yeah, it's unpleasant stuff and can only end badly and it does.
The second phase of the story follows the Albino Dwarf Hunchback in her later years. She works in radio, secretly stalks the daughter she had with her Aqua-Boy brother and becomes friends with a woman who pays beautiful women to permanently disfigure themselves.
Again, this can't end well and it doesn't.
So many bad endings...see it's a bit like a horror novel. Anywho, Dunn's writing is strong and the characters are interesting. There are two plot lines, the first (the Then part) is a bit stronger but the second (the Now part) isn't bad but seems like it was tacked on. It could easily have been its own short story.
The problem I had with Geek Love was that I had to suspend my disbelief a bit too much for my liking. Sure I can go along with things like crazy hillbilly cannibals and heroes who forget to bring maps when they enter the Soul Sucking Forest of the Dark Lords in a horror or action novel but in a more realistic, sort of dramatic novel (that was actually a finalist for the National Book Awards) I demand a bit more. For example, who is going to join a cult where the ultimate goal of membership is to have all your limbs amputated so all that is left is a torso? It might be me, but I just don't see that many people lining up for that kind of elective surgery.
In all, Geek Love did keep me reading. I was anxious to see what crazy thing would happen next and Dunn doesn't disappoint. The crazy train just keeps chugging along!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
There, but not there
There’s a newish theory out there that some, if not all paranormal entities (aliens, Sasquatch, Loch Ness Monster, ghosts) are actually creatures from other dimensions. These creatures are said to occasionally fall into, peek into or visit our dimension on purpose or by accident.
I find this theory very intriguing. It explains all the weird things people see and why there is never any solid evidence of these paranormal entities found.
See, on the one hand I believe that too many people have seen too many weird things to discount them all. The Mothman, dragons, Spring Heeled Jack, the Houston Batman, the alien dirigibles of the 1800’s, UFO’s, Loch Ness, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons and on and on and on have been reported for years. Sure some people are just making up stories for attention, but all of them? No way, I just don’t see the numbers adding up for everyone lying or seeing something that isn’t there.
On the other hand, I’m also someone who needs more proof than a badly edited video or a blurry photo. I want Sasquatch bones or an alien skull.
If these creatures are from another dimension I’m clear on both fronts. I can believe that people are having strange encounters with otherworldly beings but that these creatures are non-corporeal and don’t stay long enough in our world to leave their mark.
I find this theory very intriguing. It explains all the weird things people see and why there is never any solid evidence of these paranormal entities found.
See, on the one hand I believe that too many people have seen too many weird things to discount them all. The Mothman, dragons, Spring Heeled Jack, the Houston Batman, the alien dirigibles of the 1800’s, UFO’s, Loch Ness, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons and on and on and on have been reported for years. Sure some people are just making up stories for attention, but all of them? No way, I just don’t see the numbers adding up for everyone lying or seeing something that isn’t there.
On the other hand, I’m also someone who needs more proof than a badly edited video or a blurry photo. I want Sasquatch bones or an alien skull.
If these creatures are from another dimension I’m clear on both fronts. I can believe that people are having strange encounters with otherworldly beings but that these creatures are non-corporeal and don’t stay long enough in our world to leave their mark.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Fear and Mosques at Ground Zero
Everybody is up in arms about the plans for building an Islamic mosque/Muslim Activity Center at New York’s Ground Zero.
In a way I can understand the opposition; I mean the evil bastards who flew planes into the World Trade Center towers believed they were honoring the precepts of Islam.
Islam + Mosque at the Site Where Radical Muslims Slaughtered Thousands of Americans = Anger.
I would think Anger is a pretty normal reaction in situations like this. For example, I don’t imagine that Muslims and Jews were too happy when Christian crusaders sacked Jerusalem and started building churches everywhere.
On the other hand, what could be more in the spirit of American acceptance and tolerance than a mosque at Ground Zero? Wouldn’t it show that we’re open minded and don’t damn the majority for the actions of a few? That we, as Americans, truly accept our tolerant Muslim brothers and sisters?
But, we don’t. Click the link above and you’ll see that 62 percent of New Yorkers oppose the mosque plans. The public won’t say it, but many Americans fear and mistrust Muslims they don’t personally know. Again, while I don’t condone these thoughts, I understand where they come from.
At the moment, Islam is not coming off as a bright shining bastion of all that is “good” in the world. I’d argue that few religions do, but Islam is doing a particularly horrible job of it right now, a bit like Catholicism during the age of the Inquisition.
Sure the deck is stacked against it, and much of the deck has been stacked by us (unending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, dependence on oil, refusal to believe that Israel can do anything wrong). But even if Americans ignore everything that is happening in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, we can’t ignore the Muslim father in Arizona who ran over his daughter because she was too westernized, that many mosques in the United States are still intolerant of women or that MF’er who killed US soldiers in FT. Hood. Why? Because it’s happening right here on American soil, right here in front of our big-fat American faces.
I’m well aware that violence and intolerance run rampant throughout all religions but we seldom get it here on camera and on home soil. All this plus knowing that Muslims committed the worst attack on American soil ever is just too much for some folks.
Now a group of Muslims want to build a mosque/activity center on Ground Zero….of course people are going to be pissed off. They don’t like or trust Muslims for all of the above reasons.
But is building a mosque on sacred ground a good idea? Yes, it would symbolize all that is good and right about America.
Should the mosque be built? No, of course not. Many people will view it as another Islamic kick in the American crotch. It’s poking at a hornets’ nest. It’s bad PR, really bad PR and it’s going to cause some Americans to dislike Muslims even more.
Whomever is heading these plans is doing a real disservice to kind and decent Muslims in America.
In a way I can understand the opposition; I mean the evil bastards who flew planes into the World Trade Center towers believed they were honoring the precepts of Islam.
Islam + Mosque at the Site Where Radical Muslims Slaughtered Thousands of Americans = Anger.
I would think Anger is a pretty normal reaction in situations like this. For example, I don’t imagine that Muslims and Jews were too happy when Christian crusaders sacked Jerusalem and started building churches everywhere.
On the other hand, what could be more in the spirit of American acceptance and tolerance than a mosque at Ground Zero? Wouldn’t it show that we’re open minded and don’t damn the majority for the actions of a few? That we, as Americans, truly accept our tolerant Muslim brothers and sisters?
But, we don’t. Click the link above and you’ll see that 62 percent of New Yorkers oppose the mosque plans. The public won’t say it, but many Americans fear and mistrust Muslims they don’t personally know. Again, while I don’t condone these thoughts, I understand where they come from.
At the moment, Islam is not coming off as a bright shining bastion of all that is “good” in the world. I’d argue that few religions do, but Islam is doing a particularly horrible job of it right now, a bit like Catholicism during the age of the Inquisition.
Sure the deck is stacked against it, and much of the deck has been stacked by us (unending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, dependence on oil, refusal to believe that Israel can do anything wrong). But even if Americans ignore everything that is happening in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, we can’t ignore the Muslim father in Arizona who ran over his daughter because she was too westernized, that many mosques in the United States are still intolerant of women or that MF’er who killed US soldiers in FT. Hood. Why? Because it’s happening right here on American soil, right here in front of our big-fat American faces.
I’m well aware that violence and intolerance run rampant throughout all religions but we seldom get it here on camera and on home soil. All this plus knowing that Muslims committed the worst attack on American soil ever is just too much for some folks.
Now a group of Muslims want to build a mosque/activity center on Ground Zero….of course people are going to be pissed off. They don’t like or trust Muslims for all of the above reasons.
But is building a mosque on sacred ground a good idea? Yes, it would symbolize all that is good and right about America.
Should the mosque be built? No, of course not. Many people will view it as another Islamic kick in the American crotch. It’s poking at a hornets’ nest. It’s bad PR, really bad PR and it’s going to cause some Americans to dislike Muslims even more.
Whomever is heading these plans is doing a real disservice to kind and decent Muslims in America.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Guilty of Reading The Girl Next Door
The Girl Next Door
By Jack Ketchum
As children, I’d be willing to bet that nearly every person commits one or more minor crimes. Whether you lift a candy bar from the supermarket on a dare, sneak a look at your Dad’s Playboy Magazines or write graffiti on a school wall, the act can make your heart race. There’s fear, but also a sense of exhilaration that you might get caught.
If you’re like me, after the exhilaration came the guilt, guilt that someone somewhere was hurt by your actions. When I got older and got into a few punch-ups, whether I was on the winning or losing side, I still felt guilty. This guilt could last for quite some time and leave me pretty depressed.
Whatever guilt I felt is nothing compared to what the main character of Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door feels. But then again, the crimes committed by David and the other kids in his neighborhood are way….way…way worse then anything I and 99.9 percent of children ever do.
Sure, they are goaded on by a woman slowly going insane but even the usually kind David, who knows what’s taking place is wrong, participates in the crimes. It’s freaking awful but oh, so well captured by the author. David’s guilt is palpable and unnerving and sits over the book like an anvil.
Guilt isn’t the only feeling Ketchum expertly captures in this novel. The tension is thick and sits heavy over the proceedings. It’s suffocating and as the violence ramps up it just gets worse and worse. Just when you can’t take it anymore the tension breaks, but…it breaks for a morbid scene of horror!
This novel is a runaway train, you can’t stop it and it will not stop for you. Ketchum’s writing is excellent this time around. He captures the mentality of children and the horror of insanity in gruesome reality. The “on screen” violence isn’t as gory and over the top as something like Ketchum’s Off Season, but that is what makes it so awful. It’s realistic and therefore horrifying and evil.
Read it!
(I assume every fan of horror literature knows this story but if not, here is a quick synopsis: girl goes to live with aunt after parents die, nutty aunt tortures girl and gets the neighborhood kids to join in. It’s based on a true story.)
By Jack Ketchum
As children, I’d be willing to bet that nearly every person commits one or more minor crimes. Whether you lift a candy bar from the supermarket on a dare, sneak a look at your Dad’s Playboy Magazines or write graffiti on a school wall, the act can make your heart race. There’s fear, but also a sense of exhilaration that you might get caught.
If you’re like me, after the exhilaration came the guilt, guilt that someone somewhere was hurt by your actions. When I got older and got into a few punch-ups, whether I was on the winning or losing side, I still felt guilty. This guilt could last for quite some time and leave me pretty depressed.
Whatever guilt I felt is nothing compared to what the main character of Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door feels. But then again, the crimes committed by David and the other kids in his neighborhood are way….way…way worse then anything I and 99.9 percent of children ever do.
Sure, they are goaded on by a woman slowly going insane but even the usually kind David, who knows what’s taking place is wrong, participates in the crimes. It’s freaking awful but oh, so well captured by the author. David’s guilt is palpable and unnerving and sits over the book like an anvil.
Guilt isn’t the only feeling Ketchum expertly captures in this novel. The tension is thick and sits heavy over the proceedings. It’s suffocating and as the violence ramps up it just gets worse and worse. Just when you can’t take it anymore the tension breaks, but…it breaks for a morbid scene of horror!
This novel is a runaway train, you can’t stop it and it will not stop for you. Ketchum’s writing is excellent this time around. He captures the mentality of children and the horror of insanity in gruesome reality. The “on screen” violence isn’t as gory and over the top as something like Ketchum’s Off Season, but that is what makes it so awful. It’s realistic and therefore horrifying and evil.
Read it!
(I assume every fan of horror literature knows this story but if not, here is a quick synopsis: girl goes to live with aunt after parents die, nutty aunt tortures girl and gets the neighborhood kids to join in. It’s based on a true story.)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Combat in Zero-G
I saw Christopher Nolan’s Inception this weekend, what a trip! Great movie, sure to be noticed come awards season.
It’s definitely action oriented, although I wouldn’t call it an action movie. It’s definitely thrilling, but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It has sci-fi elements, but it’s not really sci-fi. It’s all these and none of them, like if The Matrix, The Bourne Identity and Heat had a baby.
The acting is top-notch but with a cast like it has, that’s to be expected. The direction flows seamlessly from action to drama and Nolan’s script has enough depth and complexity that it should keep audiences talking for a bit. I don’t think its premise will generate the scholarly debate The Matrix’s did but it is definitely interesting.
See it!
(This movie has convinced me that I need more zero-g combat training.)
Here’s what I’m listening to on the Web: http://www.skeptiko.com/ and http://mysteriousuniverse.org/.
It’s definitely action oriented, although I wouldn’t call it an action movie. It’s definitely thrilling, but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It has sci-fi elements, but it’s not really sci-fi. It’s all these and none of them, like if The Matrix, The Bourne Identity and Heat had a baby.
The acting is top-notch but with a cast like it has, that’s to be expected. The direction flows seamlessly from action to drama and Nolan’s script has enough depth and complexity that it should keep audiences talking for a bit. I don’t think its premise will generate the scholarly debate The Matrix’s did but it is definitely interesting.
See it!
(This movie has convinced me that I need more zero-g combat training.)
Here’s what I’m listening to on the Web: http://www.skeptiko.com/ and http://mysteriousuniverse.org/.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Reading Rainbow
Hollywood Monster
By Robert Englund and Alan Goldsher
One, two Freddy’s coming for you…
This autobiography skips along like a nursery rhyme singing school girl. It begins with young Krueger…I mean Englund…joining an acting group for the sole purpose of picking up on girls and ends with him holding his current title of horror movie icon.
It’s a fun journey that sees Englund as a joker, husband, college student, stage snob, divorcee, struggling character actor, television star and movie star. Each section in his life is briefly described and a short story or two is shared from that period of time. The stories are light and easy and I found it disappointing that he never dips more than a gloved knife finger into waters that could run very, very deep. For example, you won’t find out how Englund feels about violence, the role he feels horror plays in society or what if any memory he channels to play a vicious child killer.
You will however discover the he loves women. It seems that not a page goes by where he isn’t mentioning the assets of a nubile young co-star or the biker chick who had him autograph her breasts.
Another thing you take away from the book is how appreciative Englund is of all those who have participated in his journey. He praises just about everyone from Henry Fonda to Jan-Michael Vincent and never has a bad word for anyone.
All in all, it’s an enjoyably quick read but too shallow to have any lasting effect.
-------------------
Recently, I’ve been a reading machine.
I don’t know if it’s my vow of celibacy or my reduced alcohol consumption but I just can’t stop reading.
Since Christmas I’ve read:
Jack Ketchum’s Off Season – see my earlier review.
Robert E. Howards’s The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane – Howard is the king of high adventure! His stories about the puritan Kane are exciting, bloody and always a welcome punch to the imagination.
Robert Englund’s Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams - see above.
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omen’s: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – a very funny tale about a demon and an angel who unite to stop the end of the world from taking place. Why? Because they’ll miss the food, wine, music and other creature comforts the world currently offers.
Louis Sachar’s Holes – an award-winning children’s book about a kid who is sent to a prison camp where they do nothing but dig holes. The background story is magical.
I’m currently a little less than halfway through Edward Lee’s Black Train – oh, lordy. This book is disgustingly wrong in so many ways but I can’t wait to see what happens.
By Robert Englund and Alan Goldsher
One, two Freddy’s coming for you…
This autobiography skips along like a nursery rhyme singing school girl. It begins with young Krueger…I mean Englund…joining an acting group for the sole purpose of picking up on girls and ends with him holding his current title of horror movie icon.
It’s a fun journey that sees Englund as a joker, husband, college student, stage snob, divorcee, struggling character actor, television star and movie star. Each section in his life is briefly described and a short story or two is shared from that period of time. The stories are light and easy and I found it disappointing that he never dips more than a gloved knife finger into waters that could run very, very deep. For example, you won’t find out how Englund feels about violence, the role he feels horror plays in society or what if any memory he channels to play a vicious child killer.
You will however discover the he loves women. It seems that not a page goes by where he isn’t mentioning the assets of a nubile young co-star or the biker chick who had him autograph her breasts.
Another thing you take away from the book is how appreciative Englund is of all those who have participated in his journey. He praises just about everyone from Henry Fonda to Jan-Michael Vincent and never has a bad word for anyone.
All in all, it’s an enjoyably quick read but too shallow to have any lasting effect.
-------------------
Recently, I’ve been a reading machine.
I don’t know if it’s my vow of celibacy or my reduced alcohol consumption but I just can’t stop reading.
Since Christmas I’ve read:
Jack Ketchum’s Off Season – see my earlier review.
Robert E. Howards’s The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane – Howard is the king of high adventure! His stories about the puritan Kane are exciting, bloody and always a welcome punch to the imagination.
Robert Englund’s Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams - see above.
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omen’s: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – a very funny tale about a demon and an angel who unite to stop the end of the world from taking place. Why? Because they’ll miss the food, wine, music and other creature comforts the world currently offers.
Louis Sachar’s Holes – an award-winning children’s book about a kid who is sent to a prison camp where they do nothing but dig holes. The background story is magical.
I’m currently a little less than halfway through Edward Lee’s Black Train – oh, lordy. This book is disgustingly wrong in so many ways but I can’t wait to see what happens.
Brutally Off Season
Off Season
By Jack Ketchum
This book is filled with cannibal children, incest, torture, blood, death, mutilation, inbreeds, sex, throat slashing, woman-on-a-spit nastiness and I read it in the span of a few hours.
I’ll spare you a long synopsis on story and character development because there is none. All you really need to know is this: Cannibal Hillbillies versus Yuppies. It’s the Scottish legend of Sawney Bean and the remake of “The Hills Have Eyes” rolled up in “Straw Dogs.” Story not required. Too bad it is needed to create a truly terrifying book.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe this is Ketchum’s first novel but he already seemed a veteran at pacing action scenes and in describing blood drenched horrors in nauseating detail. What he wasn’t so good at was all that other stuff that normally goes into a novel: dialogue, character and all that.
Because these basic concepts are poorly constructed or nonexistent you never feel for the characters. Neither are you ever able to put yourself in their place or feel connected to their surroundings.
Still, even with these failings the book is not bad. It’s a slasher setup, pure and simple. If that is what you’re after, you’ll love it. I look forward to reading more of Ketchum’s stuff when I need a break from other weighty tomes I might be consuming.
By Jack Ketchum
This book is filled with cannibal children, incest, torture, blood, death, mutilation, inbreeds, sex, throat slashing, woman-on-a-spit nastiness and I read it in the span of a few hours.
I’ll spare you a long synopsis on story and character development because there is none. All you really need to know is this: Cannibal Hillbillies versus Yuppies. It’s the Scottish legend of Sawney Bean and the remake of “The Hills Have Eyes” rolled up in “Straw Dogs.” Story not required. Too bad it is needed to create a truly terrifying book.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe this is Ketchum’s first novel but he already seemed a veteran at pacing action scenes and in describing blood drenched horrors in nauseating detail. What he wasn’t so good at was all that other stuff that normally goes into a novel: dialogue, character and all that.
Because these basic concepts are poorly constructed or nonexistent you never feel for the characters. Neither are you ever able to put yourself in their place or feel connected to their surroundings.
Still, even with these failings the book is not bad. It’s a slasher setup, pure and simple. If that is what you’re after, you’ll love it. I look forward to reading more of Ketchum’s stuff when I need a break from other weighty tomes I might be consuming.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Violently hoaxed
I recently wrote this to a friend who e-mailed me with a forward. He said he was disappointed with President Obama and that e-mails like the one he included were getting to him. The e-mail in question had a photo of the president at an event that involved the military. According to the photo description the president refused to salute during a ceremony honoring the soldiers killed in the Ft. Hood massacre:
I can understand being disappointed in a politician, but I’d base that disappointment on something more tangible than a mislabeled photo.
Pics don’t always have to be Photoshopped to be hoaxes, instead they can just be falsely attributed or described. That’s the case here. The photo isn’t from Fort Hood, it’s not taken as the honor guard passes and it wasn’t at an event to honor the soldiers killed at Ft. Hood.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/veteransday.asp
President Obama isn’t a Muslim, a Kenyan, a terrorist, a member of the New World Order or a vampire. He doesn’t hate the military, freedom, the US, babies or apple pie. He is a smart guy who loves his country and wants to make it a better place. However, he is/was a bit naïve and overestimated the things he thought he’d be able to accomplish in a year.
The fraudsters that create this crap and the e-mailers who forward it are really starting to piss me off. Instead of offering up deserved criticism that can lead to intelligent debate and actual change for the better they prey on the base fears of an overworked, stressed demographic trying to scratch through what is an extremely difficult time in our country.
It could be argued that the extreme division they’re creating in the populace is as dangerous as some of the real terror we face from foreign enemies. I fear that it may be creating a perfect environment for unjustified violence.
Anyway, sorry to get all up in arms, I hope all is well. We haven’t spoken a while. I’ll give you a call this weekend.
I can understand being disappointed in a politician, but I’d base that disappointment on something more tangible than a mislabeled photo.
Pics don’t always have to be Photoshopped to be hoaxes, instead they can just be falsely attributed or described. That’s the case here. The photo isn’t from Fort Hood, it’s not taken as the honor guard passes and it wasn’t at an event to honor the soldiers killed at Ft. Hood.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/veteransday.asp
President Obama isn’t a Muslim, a Kenyan, a terrorist, a member of the New World Order or a vampire. He doesn’t hate the military, freedom, the US, babies or apple pie. He is a smart guy who loves his country and wants to make it a better place. However, he is/was a bit naïve and overestimated the things he thought he’d be able to accomplish in a year.
The fraudsters that create this crap and the e-mailers who forward it are really starting to piss me off. Instead of offering up deserved criticism that can lead to intelligent debate and actual change for the better they prey on the base fears of an overworked, stressed demographic trying to scratch through what is an extremely difficult time in our country.
It could be argued that the extreme division they’re creating in the populace is as dangerous as some of the real terror we face from foreign enemies. I fear that it may be creating a perfect environment for unjustified violence.
Anyway, sorry to get all up in arms, I hope all is well. We haven’t spoken a while. I’ll give you a call this weekend.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Supreme Futtbucker
The Supreme Court is in session and the judges are out of their minds. Well, some of them are and surprise, surprise they all lean conservative. Although, this really shouldn’t be important as the issue seems totally nonpartisan to me, but anyway…
Their most recent decision undoes a century’s worth of campaign finance limitations on corporations, unions, non-profits and other group entities. In essence, it allows these organizations to have even more influence on who is elected to federal office.
Under the old system Widget Corporation (who makes widgets) could only spend a limited amount of money to run campaign ads in support of Presidential candidate Shamus Futtbucker. This ruling could make it possible for them to spend as much as their little heart desires, saturating all media with ads for Futtbucker.
Knowing this, Widget Corporation approaches Futtbucker with a proposition. They tell him they will bury the United States in ads championing him and trashing his opponents if, once in office, he’ll throw them a few bones i.e. lowering taxes on widgets, doing away with widget safety regulations and providing widget makers with federal funds for widget research.
What’s Futtbucker to do? He does what every other politician who wants to win does, he agrees.
If you don’t think situations like the above happen you’re serious deluded. They happen all the time and it’s extremely undemocratic. It negates all that great “Of the people, by the people and for the people” stuff the country was built on.
The question remains, why did conservative judges vote the way they did? Currently, conservative are screaming populism, the rule of the people and democracy in action as the reason for the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It’s a slam against Obama they say! The people are not happy!
Will the people be happier if big money interests have more say in politics?
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Saw the movie, Crazy Heart last night. Jeff Bridges is great and Robert Duval, as always, is awesome! You can check out one of the songs on the movie’s Web site, here:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/crazyheart/
Their most recent decision undoes a century’s worth of campaign finance limitations on corporations, unions, non-profits and other group entities. In essence, it allows these organizations to have even more influence on who is elected to federal office.
Under the old system Widget Corporation (who makes widgets) could only spend a limited amount of money to run campaign ads in support of Presidential candidate Shamus Futtbucker. This ruling could make it possible for them to spend as much as their little heart desires, saturating all media with ads for Futtbucker.
Knowing this, Widget Corporation approaches Futtbucker with a proposition. They tell him they will bury the United States in ads championing him and trashing his opponents if, once in office, he’ll throw them a few bones i.e. lowering taxes on widgets, doing away with widget safety regulations and providing widget makers with federal funds for widget research.
What’s Futtbucker to do? He does what every other politician who wants to win does, he agrees.
If you don’t think situations like the above happen you’re serious deluded. They happen all the time and it’s extremely undemocratic. It negates all that great “Of the people, by the people and for the people” stuff the country was built on.
The question remains, why did conservative judges vote the way they did? Currently, conservative are screaming populism, the rule of the people and democracy in action as the reason for the upset victory of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. It’s a slam against Obama they say! The people are not happy!
Will the people be happier if big money interests have more say in politics?
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Saw the movie, Crazy Heart last night. Jeff Bridges is great and Robert Duval, as always, is awesome! You can check out one of the songs on the movie’s Web site, here:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/crazyheart/
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Screwed
California is totally screwed. Our economy is in the dumps and the state’s credit rating was cut again. While it seems to me that all eyes should be focused on budget fixes the state’s legislature disagrees and dithers about with issues like the legalization of marijuana.
Here at my state department, we’re still pumping money into the economy with a big Executive staff trip to Sonoma for Strategic Planning and a project to plate the outside of our building with faux granite panels. Meanwhile social programs, state park hours, home care provider support, etcetera, etcetera sit precariously on the chopping block.
Sure, we’re not part of the general fund but in a case like this all state coffers should be pried open like sardine tins and the money placed where it’s needed most.
The state employees’ union hasn’t done the state or its members any favors. The governor has instituted furlough days, slashing state worker pay by 14 percent. Yes, this sucks but the union has been reactive instead of proactive. They currently have state courts tied up with lawsuits trying to stop and block furloughs and pay cuts. All this court time has so far cost the state a half million dollars more of its general fund monies. Thanks SEUI, it’s a little too late and…oh, a half million bucks short.
They should have worked with the governor and the legislature to jointly cut state personnel costs. Lend a hand in coming up with solutions, i.e. releasing all student assistants and retired annuitants, instituting a hiring freeze, beginning individual office audits, rethinking the state worker pension formula, canceling some contracts and looking over others.
Speaking of audits, I can’t forget the California Performance Review that CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had done when he first took office. An investigatory panel stuffed four fat books with suggestions on how to save state money and how to better serve the public. To my knowledge, the State Legislature ignored most and the Governor backed down on many things in the report. This was probably a bad idea because according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office:
“LAO’s Bottom Line. The CPR provides the state with a valuable opportunity to comprehensively examine how it does business. It has made a serious effort at rethinking the current organization of state government and how it delivers services to the people of California . We find that many of its individual recommendations would move California toward a more efficient, effective, and accountable government.
At the same time, the rationale for some of its reorganization proposals is not clear, it does not examine whether the state should continue to perform certain functions, and many of its fiscal savings estimates are overstated.
For these reasons, it will be important for the Legislature to evaluate the merits of the proposals individually, looking at their policy trade-offs, their likely effectiveness, and their fiscal implications.
The Legislature also may wish to consider broadening the scope of reforms offered by CPR to include a more comprehensive examination of the state and local tax system, the role of constitutional officers, the state’s system of funding education, and the relationship between state and local government.”
Sad.
Here’s is more sadness, but at least it’s from the French:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/11/star-wars-dance-video/
Here at my state department, we’re still pumping money into the economy with a big Executive staff trip to Sonoma for Strategic Planning and a project to plate the outside of our building with faux granite panels. Meanwhile social programs, state park hours, home care provider support, etcetera, etcetera sit precariously on the chopping block.
Sure, we’re not part of the general fund but in a case like this all state coffers should be pried open like sardine tins and the money placed where it’s needed most.
The state employees’ union hasn’t done the state or its members any favors. The governor has instituted furlough days, slashing state worker pay by 14 percent. Yes, this sucks but the union has been reactive instead of proactive. They currently have state courts tied up with lawsuits trying to stop and block furloughs and pay cuts. All this court time has so far cost the state a half million dollars more of its general fund monies. Thanks SEUI, it’s a little too late and…oh, a half million bucks short.
They should have worked with the governor and the legislature to jointly cut state personnel costs. Lend a hand in coming up with solutions, i.e. releasing all student assistants and retired annuitants, instituting a hiring freeze, beginning individual office audits, rethinking the state worker pension formula, canceling some contracts and looking over others.
Speaking of audits, I can’t forget the California Performance Review that CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had done when he first took office. An investigatory panel stuffed four fat books with suggestions on how to save state money and how to better serve the public. To my knowledge, the State Legislature ignored most and the Governor backed down on many things in the report. This was probably a bad idea because according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office:
“LAO’s Bottom Line. The CPR provides the state with a valuable opportunity to comprehensively examine how it does business. It has made a serious effort at rethinking the current organization of state government and how it delivers services to the people of California . We find that many of its individual recommendations would move California toward a more efficient, effective, and accountable government.
At the same time, the rationale for some of its reorganization proposals is not clear, it does not examine whether the state should continue to perform certain functions, and many of its fiscal savings estimates are overstated.
For these reasons, it will be important for the Legislature to evaluate the merits of the proposals individually, looking at their policy trade-offs, their likely effectiveness, and their fiscal implications.
The Legislature also may wish to consider broadening the scope of reforms offered by CPR to include a more comprehensive examination of the state and local tax system, the role of constitutional officers, the state’s system of funding education, and the relationship between state and local government.”
Sad.
Here’s is more sadness, but at least it’s from the French:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/11/star-wars-dance-video/
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Avatar
I saw Avatar twice over the holiday season, once with my Dad and sister and another time with my Mom. Seems the general viewing populace is enjoying it, as it is poised to become the number one grossing movie of all time. I think my Dad fell asleep but he still says he liked what he saw. My Mom went crazy for it and I think it maybe one of her most favorite movies of all time.
Sci-fi and movie geeks are split. While some find it a science fiction masterpiece others are disappointed in the plot’s lack of originality. The haters have a point. While it is visually stunning the plot is a rehash of the stranger-in-a-strange-land-leads-primitive-natives-against-a-technologically-advanced-invader kind of stuff. It’s been done a million times, but I found that Avatar did it really, really well.
Director, writer, producer James Cameron is a master storyteller. He captures the magic, heroism, sadness, humanity and adventure that allows the viewer to place him or herself right in the middle of the movie. He manipulates the audience’s feelings pulling them to highs and dropping them to lows right along with the movie’s characters.
Cheap and gimmicky? Perhaps, but still enjoyable. After all, a movie, book, television show, whatever doesn’t have to alienate someone with its hipness or tangled intelligence to be fun.
Not only did some sci-fi geeks not like it, Conservatives are in a tizzy over it. According to them, it’s anti-military, anti-business, anti-Catholic, anti-American, anti-human, anti….well, you name it. To them it’s just plain evil. It’s a liberal ideology guide put in place by the godless Cameron.
If that is the case, nearly half of all popular media is bound to upset them. Anyway, I give it two-thumbs up.
Best UFO footage of the 2009! http://www.ufocasebook.com/2010/video2009.html
Sci-fi and movie geeks are split. While some find it a science fiction masterpiece others are disappointed in the plot’s lack of originality. The haters have a point. While it is visually stunning the plot is a rehash of the stranger-in-a-strange-land-leads-primitive-natives-against-a-technologically-advanced-invader kind of stuff. It’s been done a million times, but I found that Avatar did it really, really well.
Director, writer, producer James Cameron is a master storyteller. He captures the magic, heroism, sadness, humanity and adventure that allows the viewer to place him or herself right in the middle of the movie. He manipulates the audience’s feelings pulling them to highs and dropping them to lows right along with the movie’s characters.
Cheap and gimmicky? Perhaps, but still enjoyable. After all, a movie, book, television show, whatever doesn’t have to alienate someone with its hipness or tangled intelligence to be fun.
Not only did some sci-fi geeks not like it, Conservatives are in a tizzy over it. According to them, it’s anti-military, anti-business, anti-Catholic, anti-American, anti-human, anti….well, you name it. To them it’s just plain evil. It’s a liberal ideology guide put in place by the godless Cameron.
If that is the case, nearly half of all popular media is bound to upset them. Anyway, I give it two-thumbs up.
Best UFO footage of the 2009! http://www.ufocasebook.com/2010/video2009.html
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Uncomfortable without exercise
I stopped exercising for awhile. I hurt my wrist in November and couldn’t lift weights, then the holidays kicked into full-swing and the gym was closed off-and-on for renovations; I guess it was a perfect storm that gave me the perfect excuse to skip a few weeks. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t gorged myself on holiday fare and washed it down with massive amounts of alcohol.
The last few weeks of my exercise sabbatical my breathing became labored. It wasn’t to the extreme of an asthma attack but it was a little worrying. Riding my bike home from work, which even at a leisurely pace doesn’t take longer then 20 minutes, left me noticeably more winded than usual.
My heart also felt like it was beating too fast for what I was doing everyday. Walking up some stairs or taking a walk with my Mom left me feeling weird, like I was having a panic attack where my heart would begin to race for no reason. Playing soccer the day before I hit the gym again made me feel like my heart was going to explode.
My sleep patterns became irregular. For the last week or so of not working out I was waking-up around 2:30 A.M. I’d lie in bed feeling like my heart was beating too fast and my breath was short. Eventually, around two hours later I’d fall back asleep but this interruption left me crazy tired the next day.
All in all, it made me very uncomfortable and I didn’t like it one bit. I felt sick when I knew I wasn’t but I started questioning myself anyway. Would I have a heart attack? Did I have asthma?
So I ran and lifted weights the last three days and I feel amazingly better than I did. My heartbeat and my breathing feel much closer to normal and my sleep has been out of this world. As a matter of fact, the Monday night after I exercised for the first time in two months my sleep was freaking fantastic.
Note to self: DON’T STOP EXERCISING FOR SUCH A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
The last few weeks of my exercise sabbatical my breathing became labored. It wasn’t to the extreme of an asthma attack but it was a little worrying. Riding my bike home from work, which even at a leisurely pace doesn’t take longer then 20 minutes, left me noticeably more winded than usual.
My heart also felt like it was beating too fast for what I was doing everyday. Walking up some stairs or taking a walk with my Mom left me feeling weird, like I was having a panic attack where my heart would begin to race for no reason. Playing soccer the day before I hit the gym again made me feel like my heart was going to explode.
My sleep patterns became irregular. For the last week or so of not working out I was waking-up around 2:30 A.M. I’d lie in bed feeling like my heart was beating too fast and my breath was short. Eventually, around two hours later I’d fall back asleep but this interruption left me crazy tired the next day.
All in all, it made me very uncomfortable and I didn’t like it one bit. I felt sick when I knew I wasn’t but I started questioning myself anyway. Would I have a heart attack? Did I have asthma?
So I ran and lifted weights the last three days and I feel amazingly better than I did. My heartbeat and my breathing feel much closer to normal and my sleep has been out of this world. As a matter of fact, the Monday night after I exercised for the first time in two months my sleep was freaking fantastic.
Note to self: DON’T STOP EXERCISING FOR SUCH A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
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