Michael Kindt's Blog, page 413
February 5, 2012
"When I first learned that Hitchens was diagnosed with an excruciating and terminal cancer, it caused me to doubt my atheism." - Norman Finkelstein
Expostulate about the pointlessness
Duplicated but self-referential
Viciously futile and in that sense
It spreads and spreads
Nothing useful may do something harmful
It survives simply because it survives
Fundamentally suggesting only the arrangements
The world willy-nilly
Mischievous or evil
By-products or symptoms
Sometimes manifestations of pure malice
Designed to kill us or make us suffer
People humming and whirring
The whole elaborate paraphernalia
Is enough to understand
First that every second is identical
Who manufactures those humans?
Elephants, cherry trees, and mice?
Flowers put into the world?
We are closing in on a definitive answer
You will understand that I wish to leave you
More roundabout, analogous
An essential part of the efficient
Execution of message
^^^That's a poem I wrote awhile ago when I was fascinated with word collages. Specifically, building a collage out of bits and pieces of sentences found in a prose work by another author. I would rearrange these bits and pieces, putting them together in a way that seemed euphonious to me, creating new meaning. That's my job as a human, I figure: creating new meaning.
No, I don't expect a raise anytime soon.
Anyway, the poem above is taken from one of Christopher Hitchen's books. He died, by the way, vanishing forever into nothingness—or so he would have us believe.
In the book, I remember him railing against the creationists, and I agreed right along with him. Ridiculous to think that an all-powerful entity created the universe. Then, later on in the book, he was talking about the big bang and the "actual" beginning of the universe, and I realized he was a goofball.
There is no difference between the creation of the universe and the beginning of the universe. For the atheist, I suddenly realized, it takes an act of faith to believe the universe just began randomly, for no reason at all, just as it takes an act of faith to believe the universe was created by a god.
"God can't be proven, therefore there is no god" is a fallacy. It can easily be turned around. The absence of a god can't be proven, therefore there is a god. x=y, y=x. Sorry, but you can't define one unknown by another. Well, you can if you want, but all you get is the UNKNOWN, so you haven't defined anything.
Recently, I have enjoyed picking on atheists, ever since my discovery that their belief system is faith-based, and I have always enjoyed getting under the skin of the devout. Lately, however, I'm no longer seeing much of a difference between them.
The problem with science is that it walks around in the universe with blinders on, and the problem with religion is that it surrenders human thinking over to shit like church and dogma.
I imagine the scientist sitting in a darkened theater trying to figure out cinematography. He watches the images on the screen. He makes notes about them, measures them, times them, discovers patterns, colors and nuances of colors. He learns a lot, but not about cinematography. He'll never learn about it, either, until he turns around and looks at the projector.
I imagine the religious person—religious in the traditional way, mind you—as staring vacantly into space with a smile plastered on his face. He has turned his thinking over to someone or something else. He's nothing more than a cell in the Borg Collective of God.
Science is merely a tool and we are wrong to use it for metaphysical work. Doing so renders us religious, even if we insist we're not. It's nothing more than a wrench and we should stop ascribing to it the powers of a trained mechanic.
So what's next? That's what I wanna know.
February 4, 2012
COUPLES WHO COHABITATE ARE HAPPIER THAN MARRIEDSWe've...
COUPLES WHO COHABITATE ARE HAPPIER THAN MARRIEDS
We've heard that married people are happier, but according to a new study, that might be a bunch of hooey.
In terms of health, self-esteem, and psychological well-being, marriage offers little benefit over simply living together without wedding rings, the study found.
"Being in a romantic relationship, irrespective of the legal form, does provide some benefits," says study researcher Joseph Lowry, an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology. "We just can't say what exactly."
The findings also suggest that cohabitation was the better option over marriage. Study participants agree.
"Simply living together offers all the positives without any of the negatives," says Justin Elders, 29, who has cohabitated with his girlfriend Leslie for the past two years. "I get regular sex, someone to do the dishes, and never have to meet her parents."
Kari Inger, 25, echoes a similar sentiment. "I've been living with Tom for almost a year, but I know that anytime I get bored with him or find someone richer, I'm gone in a matter of hours without a messy divorce."
"It's great being in a committed relationship," says Laina Wilkes, 31, who has lived with her boyfriend Derek for over three years. "But it's especially great because that commitment is on my terms. As soon as Derek gets fat from drinking all his stupid 'craft' beer and laying on his ass watching sports, I can pack my bags and go. I'm free to find someone better, someone who maybe does a fucking sit-up once in awhile."
Many previous studies looking at the benefits of marriage have focused on comparing married couples with single people, which, according to Lowry, is invalid due to the fact that single people are as miserable as people in relationships. "They're just more honest about it. Humans are hardwired to think that whatever their life is like at the moment sucks hairy hog balls. It's the grass is always greener syndrome. Single people want to be married, married people want to be single."
Eric Rodriguez, 40, who will be celebrating his fifteenth wedding anniversary this June, agrees. "It's gotten to the point where I fantasize about having my own apartment. The wife'll come home and explode at me because of all the jizz on the classifieds, screaming 'How am I gonna find the yard sales now?! How am I gonna find the yard sales now?!' It's a total nightmare. Please, for the love of God, shoot me in the face."
In general, people who are married claim to be happier than when they were single or just living together, but that's only because their spouses are in the room "If you take them aside," said Lowry, "their eyes fill with tears and they beg for rescue."
The researchers emphasized that that they are not saying that marriage is irrelevant. "That would be controversial and likely to anger all the people who have been raised on Disney and romantic comedies. But, yeah, marriage is irrelevant."
The study is published in this months's issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.
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February 3, 2012
@early-onset-of-night:
i'm writing this mostly for you mr. kindt, and also because i think my small group of followers might find this interesting.
recently a young man moved into my house and i have come to find that he is somewhat full of himself. we were swapping out the DVR in my bedroom with the regular cable box in the living room. i asked what time it was because i wanted to tape jersey shore. and do you know what he said? "every time you watch jersey shore a book commits suicide."
i laughed so hard and he had no idea why. what a tool. he quoted something he saw on facebook (as he has no tumblr) and didn't even know who wrote it. but i do.
and in my self defense: the ONLY reason i watch jersey shore is because it is literally the only forty five minutes i can have drool running down my face with my tongue hanging out. i don't have to use my brain at all. i spend eighteen hours a day on top speed (plus insomnia), and so on friday afternoon or saturday morning when i want to COMPLETELY veg out, i turn a little jersey shore on. i let my brain turn off while my eyes stay open, and sometimes i have it running in the background while i fold laundry or clean my room. so sue me.
Now that is hilarious! I'm glad I'm being quoted far, far away. What fun! That post has certainly made the rounds. I saw a printout of it in the teacher's lounge of my son's school. I didn't say it was from me :)
J.C. Penney is turning its back on One Million Moms.Previously,...
J.C. Penney is turning its back on One Million Moms.
Previously, I wrote in my very serious way about how J.C. Penney hired Ellen DeGeneres, a terribly charming homosexual woman, to be it's spokesperson. I also wrote in my very serious way about how the group One Million Moms was all pissed about it.
You may have read that article. Remember how serious I was in it? Do you recall my important journalistic tone? Boy, I sure do—almost like it was yesterday, which, of course, it was.
The One Million Moms is a franchise (or something) of the hate group American Family Association. I'm not being facetious in calling them a hate group. The Southern Poverty Law Center has defined them, correctly, as such. You see, if you team up with other people, forming a group, and then hate on gays and Muslims, you're a hate group.
Even Jesus is embarrassed by these losers and has changed his religion on Facebook from "Christian" to "Spiritual" in an attempt to distance himself.
In an emailed statement to Yahoo! Shine today, J.C. Penney confirmed it "stands behind its partnership with Ellen DeGeneres."
The One Million Moms, numbering far less than a million by the way, are upset. "Today we learned that our obsession with the way other people fuck doesn't matter at all to J.C. Penney and that makes us very sad. America and everyone in it (except for us) will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity."
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) applauded J.C. Penney's decision to stick with DeGeneres, but not really. Seriously, do you think they were all clapping around the water cooler? They did, however, issue a statement of support.
"This week Americans spoke out in overwhelming support of LGBT people and J.C. Penney's decision not to fire Ellen simply for who she happens to love," said Herndon Graddick, senior director of programs and communications at GLAAD.
GLAAD says it has received nearly 25,000 signatures on a website dedicated to showing support for J.C. Penney and DeGeneres.
Defeated, the One Million Moms who don't even number a million have returned to their favorite pastime of shooting dirty looks at strangers.
previous article :: source
But seriously.
It's kind of a cute idea. I sense, though, that it will become very annoying very quickly. In fact, I was going to shell out a buck and put a message next to this post, but, alas, I don't get to pick the message. You have to select from a list of pre-existing messages. I was gonna put TYPING THIS WITH RAGING WOOD or something. Oh well. Tumblr done lost out on a buck :)
February 2, 2012
One Million Moms, a side project of the hate group American...
One Million Moms, a side project of the hate group American Family Association, is very angry at JC Penney.
You see, JC Penney, probably drunk at the time on the white man's fire water, hired Ellen DeGeneres, an openly gay person, as it's spokesperson.
"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the One Million Moms wrote on their website.
By 'traditional', of course, they mean 'backward'.
The One Million Moms is asking people to call JC Penney and complain.
"Please," they beseeched, "for the love of God, pick up that phone and take a stand against all this evil homosexuality going on. Ellen and people like her need to stop expressing their sexuality they way they want and start expressing it the way we, the One Million Moms, think they should."
The problem with the One Million Moms, despite the fact there isn't even close to one million of them, is that Ellen DeGeneres is probably the most beloved television personality going.
"We just don't get it," the One Million Moms lamented. "How come it's not the 50s anymore?"
The One Million Moms want JC Penney "to replace Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokesperson immediately and remain neutral in the culture war that only exists in our one million heads."
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD) has responded to the One Million Moms with a resounding "fat chance."
"A vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members," Herndon Graddick, a GLAAD spokesman said in a written statement. "Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions, is not only a smart business practice, but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture."
DeGeneres' daytime talk show has more viewers than the One Million Moms has moms. Ellen averages a whopping 3.38 million viewers. Pretending for a moment, like the One Million Moms themselves, that there really are one million moms in One Million Moms, that's still 2.38 million more viewers than One Million Moms.
So they lose. They must now, officially, fuck off.
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PLANNED PARENTHOOD SAVED MY LIFE
Very cool new Tumblr.
February 1, 2012
Your blog earlier said that you were accepting questions. But all I can think of to say at the moment is Hello.
This is from a couple days ago, but Hello back. Come over for and I'll whip you up a Manhattan :)
