Happy Friday, Kids!

Since the Quail has been a whole lot of gloom, doom, and coverage of droughts, flies, and other signs of the endtimes today, I have some non-news to report.

Today...in Snakes!
- A local Texan, Jackie Bibby, set a new world record on Monday by lying in a bathtub for 45 minutes with 87 rattlesnakes, none of which were defanged. If this guy isn't single, he should be. Yikes.
- Theives in the West Midlands, UK stole a six-foot boa constrictor, ten other snakes (including a four-foot Black King snake), cash, and a Nissan Micra. The robbery itself is weird enough, but who the hell keeps that many snakes on hand?

African Pundits Make Keen Insights into U.S. Politics
- AllAfrica.com reprinted Nicholas Sengoba's column from this week's Kampala "Monitor" about Why "Big Brother Is Better Than Elections". The article actually parallels the reality show to Ugandan politics, but I find that you can just as easily substitute "American elections" and "American Idol."

Biscuits and Beer: All That's Missing Are the Fine Bitches (Who Will Be at Quail-fest Tonight)
- For those of you who are punking out, not coming to tonight's Quail extravaganza, and going to Atlanta instead, note that the Candler Park Flying Biscuit has a Sweetwater beer dinner special tonight, November 9. Basically, the Biscuit will be serving a special three-course meal with three separate Sweetwater select brews. More details after the jump.

Oprah Gives Love Advice
- CNN has a link to Oprah.com on "How to (Not) Get a Man", looking at the advice given by books like "The Rules" and explaining why that doesn't work. Now, like every other middle class woman--hell, every woman--in America, I love me some Oprah. Which is why I'm not going to make a joke here about Oprah not actually having a man herself. I'll leave that to y'all.

[Insert Magic Wand Joke Here]
- And "Equus," also known as the "Naked Harry Potter Play," is coming over to Broadway in September 2008. Daniel Radcliffe will be reprising the central role for the play's '08 Broadway run.

Athens Graphic Novel Event!

We are T-forty five minutes from Sid Jacobson's forum on his most recent project. For those of you who don't know much about Sid Jacobson, check out this interview from Slate. A quick reminder about the event details.

"More than Superman: The History of Comics from Yellow Journalism to The 9/11 Report"
Host: Sid Jacobson
Time: 3-4pm
Date: TODAY!
Place: Student Learning Center, Room 214

Does praying for rain equal an admission of incompetency?

Yesterday, Greg posted a story about a city in Tennessee that has completely run out of water, and in that piece, made brief mention of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue's call to pray for rain.

Granted, I think the people who find comfort in prayer should pray for rain; however, the American Humanist Association, like many others I'm sure, justifiably is pretty irritated by this request.

From the article: "Humanists see Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's call for a rain prayer to be a divisive distraction from the work of government." I think this is pretty cut and dry. While I would agree the water situation has gotten to the point that an act of God will be the only way it can be mediated, is a mandate for prayer an admission of the capitol's failure as a governmental entity?

My argument with this situation is not regarding the prayer itself. Clearly, we're fucked as far as our water supply goes, regardless of its causes (massive drought, poor government planning, lack of individual conservation, the list goes on). I also understand that prayer is an important part of life for many Georgians, and I won't go so far as the bitter humanists and say it doesn't work; the fact is that I don't know if it works or not, so why not try?

Yet, the message implied from this action is that God created this disaster and only He can get us out of it, which from a governmental (and individual) standpoint misdirects responsibility from our own negligence.

Nuclear Apocalypse Friday!

In my post about the situation in Pakistan earlier in the week, I neglected to mention the biggest issue of all: What is happening with Pakistan's nukes?

Luckily, In From the Cold has it covered. From the post:

"This much we know: trying to monitor, control (or even, eliminate) Pakistan's nuclear arsenal amid escalating violence would be difficult, if not impossible, for a variety of reasons. Three decades after Islamabad launched its efforts to get the bomb--and almost a decade after the country's first announced nuclear tests--there is much we don't know about Pakistan's program, including the status of its weapons, their locations, and security measures in place at various nuclear-related facilities."

Scary stuff. I am hoping that our military leadership is more competent than our civilian leadership, because this is a pretty awful situation. How should this effect our stance towards the current political standoff?

OK, sorry about all the doom and gloom. Have a good weekend everybody. If you are in Athens tonight, be sure to stop by our little shindig. I promise there will be no discussion of nuclear weapons, internet pornography, or condo booms.

Does Internet Porn Reduce Sexual Violence Against Women?

At the last Pasty Quail editorial meeting we debated the merits of recent study that suggests that the rise of freely available pornography on the internet has contributed to dramatically lower rates of sexually violent behavior against women. For more background on the study, Reason Magazine now has an article discussing the issues. From the article:

"Since 1993, violent crime in America has dropped by 58 percent. But the progress in this one realm has been especially dramatic. Rape is down 72 percent and other sexual assaults have fallen by 68 percent. Even in the last two years, when the FBI reported upticks in violent crime, the number of rapes continued to fall."

The data certainly seems conclusive at first glance, but, as we discussed on Monday, it is impossible to create a controlled environment for something like this. Although 1993 was one of the first years that internet access became widely available to Americans (AOL launched its Windows compatible version in January '93), there could be any number of contributing factors to the declining rate. Its an interesting theory to contemplate nonetheless. What do you think?

Apparently, God doesn't really like Kentucky basketball

Contrary to the opinions set forth by a new Kentucky recruit's prophetic mother, God appears to favor his own, a little Baptist school named Gardner-Webb.

As many people no doubt have heard, this little Cinderella story defeated #20 Kentucky at home on Wednesday night, and though it was the second game of the season, this spells some pretty heavy embarrassment for UK. I know at least one member of the Quail's team is unhappy about this outcome, but, being a North Carolina fan since childhood, and a UGA fan since being at school here, I revel in the desecration of one of the most storied programs in college basketball history.

Southern Baptist Convention censures dissenting opinion

Anyone surprised?

The Southern Baptist Convention has censured one of its preachers, Wade Burleson, for "multiple violations" of the organization’s International Mission Board's policy.

From the article: "The censure motion stated that Burleson had 'repeatedly failed' to abide by provisions in the code of conduct adopted in March 2006 governing trustee service, including requirements that trustees 'refrain from public criticism of Board approved actions' and 'scrupulously avoid either the fact or the appearance' of having disclosed information or private conversations from trustees meetings.

The motion also cited requirements that trustees 'speak in positive and supportive terms as they interpret and report on actions by the board, regardless of whether they personally support the action' and that trustees 'are to refrain from speaking in disparaging terms about IMB personnel and fellow trustees.'"

I understand that there isn't an issue from the committee's perspective: their rules are cut and dry. However, the censure raises questions of how the "committee" actually functions; what is the point of a committee if there is to be no disagreement on its decisions?

Here's Burleson's own take on the matter.

'Saudi and Egyptian Nukes Would Mean Apocalypse', Says Israeli Minister

This is exactly why we can't have an Iranian Nuke. From the Jerusalem Post:

"Egyptian and Saudi Arabian intentions to begin or revive their nuclear programs in the face of Iran's continued race toward nuclear power present an "apocalyptic scenario" for Israel as well as for the rest of the world, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday."

The jury is still out on whether the Iranians actually have the capability or will-power to build a bomb and the necessary delivery systems. However, as they inch closer to those achievements, the other states in the region are certain to get nervous and start thinking about their own preservation. If a nuclear arms race takes off in the Gulf, we are all in very big trouble.

Perimeter Center Preparing For Next Condo Boom

The AJC has a story about the area directly surrounding Perimeter Mall and just North of Atlanta. From the article:

"A dozen towers — some 20 stories tall — are on the drawing board. If all the towers are erected, more than 10,000 people would live in 5,805 condo units scheduled to be built over the next three to 10 years. This puts Perimeter in line to become the kind of mini-city emerging at Atlantic Station, along Peachtree Street near the Fox Theatre in Midtown and in Buckhead. People can live within walking distance of their jobs, shops and a MARTA stop."

The traffic in that area can be horrendous; let's hope that with more people actually living there (as opposed to driving in for work and shopping) that they will be more inclined to walk or use public transportation.

Also, does Atlanta really need more condos?

Breaking News from FOX: There Are Pictures of Drunk People on Facebook!

A short but eloquent photo essay from the nice folks over at Newscorp FOX.

Today's Agriculture Story: Giant Balls of Frozen Flies to Save North Carolina Produce

Seriously.

The problem: Mexican Fruit Flies have been found in produce in North Carolina. This destructive pest can destroy massive amounts of crops; they lay eggs in various types of fruit, which is eaten by the larvae and causes the fruit to rot.

The solution: Breed millions of male fruit flies, and sterilize them with radiation. Then freeze the flies, to put the to sleep. Take a huge ball of froze, sterile flies and drop them from an airplane into agricultural land. Since fruit flies only mate once, and mating with sterile male flies means that no offspring are produced, this is an extraordinarily effective way to limit the damage of these pests.

Science is awesome.

Fed Chairman Bernanke to Congress: We Will All Drop Dead

Bert Bernanke, chairman of the Fed, testified before the US Congress yesterday. Apparently there is some kind of crisis in the sub-prime mortgage market, and the massive infusions of cash and interest rate cuts aren't doing anything to help.

While Bernanke stopped short of saying that we are diving headfirst into a recesiion, he did say that growth in the US economy could be expected to slow dramatically through the remainder of '07 and at elast into early '08. Here's a quote from the new big cheese: "Quite frankly, I think we are at a moment of economic crisis stemming from four key areas: falling housing prices, lack of confidence in credit-worthiness, the weak dollar and high oil prices."

Really, this whole economic crisis has little practical effect on me. I have almost no assets, and my wilderness survival skills should be good enough to keep me alive in a post-industrial, post-apocolyptic United States. For those of you that actually own things, or didn't learn wilderness survival skills in the Boy Scouts, I wish you the best of luck.

More Web Antics From Radiohead

Pitchfork claims that Radiohead will be doing something on the internet tonight. Check the link for more information.

Orme, Tennessee: Atlanta's Canary?

CNN has an article about a small town in Tennessee that has totally run out of water. The city has limited all water usage to just 3 hours every afternoon. From the article:

"Volunteers take turns three days a week driving a tanker truck or Orme's diesel-belching 1961 fire truck to a hydrant near Bridgeport, Alabama, 2½ miles down the road. Making several round trips, they haul about 25,000 gallons of water back to Orme each day."

I might be wrong, but I don't think Atlanta will totally dry up. However, I would not be surprised to see complete limits on water use during certain hours of the day.

I tend to think that Sonny Perdue's plan to pray for rain is a little tacky. Unfortunately, that might be the only thing left to do in our attempt to stave off a major economic disaster. (Thanks Kyle)

Smokers Need Not Apply: And This Time, It's For Real

To give you an idea of how much ground the "No More Smoking" crowd is covering, here are recent pieces by OneElf, Dan, and one by me.

Westgate Resorts, the largest private employer in Central Florida, has instituted a new policy barring employees from smoking cigarettes (no word on cigars or pipes). This includes smoking on the employees' own time, in the privacy of their own homes. President and CEO David Seigel had this to say: "When I found out it was legal to discriminate against smokers, I put the policy in place."

Unfortunately, Rob Reiner could not be reached for comment.

NEWSFLASH: Religious Endorsements for President all around

The religion blogosphere was up in arms yesterday over Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani in the Presidential race. As CNN reports, former presidential candidate and Kansas senator Sam Brownback also announced he would support John McCain, but the main focus in the following opinions center upon Robertson's intensely conservative social politics in a conflict of interest with Giuliani's relatively liberal social agenda.


First, Mollie at GetReligion simply lays out the facts, pointing out the very situation I've mentioned above. Why would one of the most notorious social conservatives in the U.S. support a candidate that is effectively pro-choice and not a champion for anti-homosexuality?

Well, Gary Stern addresses that very question: "There appears to be no other Republican candidate for evangelicals and conservative Catholics to rally around. Maybe security has become enough of a concern to conservatives that they are willing to look the other way at Giuliani’s support of abortion rights."

With conservative judges on the bench, are the pro-lifers just not worried about the abortion issue? Or, is the argument less relevant because of birth control and understanding more about sexual education?

I would doubt either, so the question remains prominent, addressed again here by BeliefNet's David Kuo, who asks: will this spell doom for the social conservatives? Aside from the abortion issue, if Giuliani is elected through support by the Christian Coalition, what happens to the war on homosexuality?

However, as Stern mentioned, the overriding issue surrounding Robertson's support for Giuliani seems to be his stance on security. BeliefNet's resident unapologetic political conservative Rod Dreher says, “Robertson explained that fighting Islamofascism is an issue of overriding importance to him, and that Giuliani is the best candidate in that sense. That makes sense to me. I don't agree with him, but what Robertson is saying is that this particular issue is so important that it cancels out Giuliani's objectionable stances.”

Dreher also gives a grocery list of other candidates seeing support from major religious figures.

In the end, then, it seems as though a more compromised stance is unavoidable from the conservative side of the current political spectrum. Will the disagreement between Religious Right groups spell defeat for the Republican candidate, whomever it may be? Again, this situation shows the importance of religious influence on the election; I guess, that is, if it affects the outcome. Only time will tell.

Deep Breath: News Dump

As I've been having trouble getting my synapses to fire all day long, hopefully my thoughts conveyed themselves well in my previous post. I have another one online, so hopefully that will make its way up today. In the meantime, here are some new news items and some leftovers for your early afternoon perusal.

- Possibly of highest importance, the Canadian Dollar is now at $1.10. Shit. In fact, there’s a lot more going on with the dollar, and here are a BUNCH of economic issues.

- From the world of film, here's a review of the new Bob Dylan flick. If it's anything like any other Dylan film, it should be pretty awesome.

- Floating in the abyss of the weird, Scientologists are being harmlessly useful.

- Finally, in lighter news, Disney's Michael Eisner calls the Hollywood writers' strike "stupid." Hmmm, is that because they're trying to take money from you that's rightfully theirs? Incredible.

The Church Business

Yesterday, I mentioned the spiritual dilemma of one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., which displayed a unique change of heart from one of the chief purveyors of American Christianity's love affair with capitalism. Though pastor Greg Hawkins' statements may send his community up in arms (what do you say when your pastor admits he's been incorrectly preaching to you, and you've believed everything he's said?), I admire his honest attempt to be a beacon for the Lord, and reevaluate himself where he sees issues with his ministry — for better or for worse.

On a slightly related topic, I have a couple more stories regarding the other side of church doctrine, the one that is after the bottom line.

First off, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa is probing several preachers across the nation (two of which are in the Atlanta area), all "known for preaching that financial blessings are part of Christian life." This invocation is not terribly uncommon; however, Grassley's inquiry comes in context with these preachers' propensity to live well beyond the means of their congregations.

For example, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Ministry in Lithonia, Ga., already was investigated by the AJC, which ran a story in 2005 "that looked into Long's founding of a charity that paid the minister more than $3 million over a 3-year period, bought him a $1.4 million house and paid for the use of a $350,000 Bentley car."

Other stories of the like fit in here, and it raises the question of where all the money these churches are making goes. Clearly, there is much charitable work being done, and obviously, much of the capital goes into improving church facilities (see the sprawling campus of Marietta, Ga.'s Johnson Ferry Baptist Church for an example); however, much of that money often goes into the pastor's pocket.

While I do hope that these allegations are untrue and that they are isolated cases, the cynic (some might call it realist) in me believes that these investigations are occurring with legitimate cause. These large churches, especially in affluent areas, make ungodly amounts of money (pun intended), and under the whole "separation of Church and State" premise, many of the church leaders sneak their way around paying taxes.


Moving westward, New Life Church in Colorado Springs — famed parish of the notorious Ted Haggard — is in rebuilding mode in the wake of Haggard's homosexuality scandal.

Basically, Haggard was one of the chief voices in American Evangelicalism, consistently decrying homosexuality as well as dealing with other moral/political issues, until he was mired through the outing of his relationship with a male prostitute in addition to his penchant for methamphetamine use.

Yesterday, The Colorado Springs Gazette reported on New Life Church a year after Haggard's dismissal.

Immediately following the scandal, "active membership dropped from 14,000 to 10,000 and donations to the church dipped by 10 percent. Layoffs hit the church’s staff. The church has withdrawn from the national political scene. And New Life members say their swagger is gone, replaced by humility."

However, since Haggard's replacement at the top of the church hierarchy, New Life is back on its feet: “Sunday attendance has jumped from 6,000 to 7,500 since [new pastor Brady] Boyd was named senior pastor in August, and thousands attend high school groups, college groups or small groups throughout the week. Giving is growing, now down about 8 percent to 9 percent from its peak. The church has a $12 million operating budget and 150 full-time staff members.”

In other terms, these situations are quite reminiscent of the famous Enron scandal — or any other large corporate misdeed, for that matter — and the key point in these news items are their financial ramifications. The way in which these churches are represented paints a picture not of a house of worship, but simply a corporation with a corrupt leader.

This, then, begs a question that is commonly overlooked in our capital-obsessed media: what does this do to spirituality in these congregations? If financial success is preached as a sign of Godly favor, how does the revelation that this success has not been legitimate for some of these pastoral figures affect the beliefs of the masses?

Music News

- The CMAs (Country Music Association Awards) were last night. For a list of highlights and the winners, click here.
- Idolator has an excellent piece on Optimal Media Production, a German company hoping to revive the dying recording industry by selling discs that are vinyl on one side and CDs on the other and scratch-and-sniff discs. I wonder what Amy Winehouse's next album will smell like.
- In "stating the obvious news," Bloomberg has a piece on a recent study revealing an "alarming number of references to sex, alcohol, and drugs" in popular music. For their next trick, Bloomberg hopes to report that the sky has turned a deep shade of blue.
- Did you know that a recent UNC study revealed that your brain actually diminishes your ability to see when you try to listen to complex sounds? BBC News has the scoop.
- And Creative Loafing tackles T.I.'s latest federal firearms charges and notes how the recent culture war of hip-hop in America shows that "hip-hop is on trial, and everybody's snitching".

Facebook Unveils A New Advertising Platform

Facebook has unveiled a new ad platform that allows participants to target specific social groups based on their sex, age, relationship status, geographic location, and interests/activities. Also, businesses can start their own facebook page, which fans of the partcular product or company can then join; those who join will likely receive updates from the company on their feed and have the opportunity to send invites and information to other friends.

It will be interesting to see how Facebook continues to make the transition from elite college-oriented social networking site to a mainstream destination for web-surfers. Will their efforts to monetize this traffic ruin the things that made Facebook worth going to? Will more corporate involvement simply inundate the system and destroy all of the social aspects of the site?

We have been experimenting with the social advertising options on Facebook over the past few weeks. So far we have had only lukewarm results, but we have not spent much money on it either. If you happen to see our ad come up, please let us know.

Not To Be Upstaged By Pakistan, Former Soviet Republic Georgia Hosts Coup Attempt, Declares State of Emergency

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has declared a 15-day national state of emergency. Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli claims that the "Russian Special Services" are involved in the civil unrest, which has endured for 6 days now, and is also claiming that a coup attempt has taken place. This is a shame, following only 3 years after Saakashvili was elected (Wikipedia on the "Rose Revolution").

Here are a few pictures of the riot police and the protesters; and here's to hoping that everything is resolved in a peaceful, democratic manner.

McDonald's: Healthier than Sit-Down Chain Restaurants?

Today's Full Disclosure Moment: I hate those national, franchised, sit-down restaurants. Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, Bennigan's, Rafferty's, Chili's, O'Charley's, Beef O'Brady's, and all the rest. They employ the lowest order of waitstaff and kitchen staff, their menu's are overpriced, the booze is insanely expensive, and the food just isn't very good.

There, I feel better. On to the news:

This article, which unfortunately abuses the statistical data a bit, inspired me to do a little research on my own, and the results are somewhat surprising. Even spotting the big sit-down chains the benefit of the doubt, and ordering a Big Mac and Large Fries at McDonalds, you will consume more calories, and more calories from fat, by sitting down and eating a $12 dollar burger, served with wilted lettuce and a pickle heated by the glow lamps, brought to you by some kid who couldn't get a job at a non-corporate restaurant.

McDonalds (McDonald's Nutrition Information):
- Big Mac: 540 cal, 260 cal from fat.
- Large French Fries: 570 cal, 270 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1110 cal, 530 cal from fat.
Ruby Tuesday's (PDF of Ruby Tuesday's Nutritional Information):
- Ruby's Classic Burger: 1,013 cal, 639 cal from fat.
- "Fresh Hot Fries" 359 cal, 117 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1372 cal, 756 cal from fat.
Chili's (PDF of Chili's Nutritional Information):
- Chili's Oldtime burger: 800 cal, 396 cal from fat.
- Homestyle French Fries: 430 cal, 236 cal from fat.
- TOTAL: 1230 cal, 632 cal from fat.

Feel free to do a little research on your own and add your favorite artey-clogging sit-down Americana restaurant in the comments.

UK 16-Year-Old Gets Best Birthday Surprise Ever

Clearly, my parents did not love me as much as this kid's parents do.

Nobody has brought this up, yet, but what about the stripper? Is it normal for her to go into a high school to perform? Does she normally get to finish the show? Did she get paid?

Pictures of Lake Lanier

The AJC has some eerie pictures of drought-stricken Lake Lanier. (Thanks Nate)

Athens Event = Comics + Debate

Discussion: "More Than Superman: The History of Comics from Yellow Journalism to the 9/11 Report"
Guest Speaker: Sid Jacobson, whose work can be seen above, is an author, songwriter, and former editor of Harvey Comics.
Date: Friday, November 9th
Time: 3-4pm
Place: UGA Campus, Student Learning Center, Room 214

Students in Statesboro Fight For Right To Party; Fail

Last weekend, the AJC ran a story about a brewing political battle in Statesboro, Georgia that pits the town's old-timers against students at Georgia Southern University. The trouble actually started two years ago:

"a Georgia Southern professor brought pictures of "Ladies Lockup" night, a weekly event in one of [city-council member and bar owner, Will] Britt's clubs, to a City Council meeting. The poster-size photos showed bartenders with giant sprayers on their backs pouring neon green concoctions into girls' mouths as others chanted for them to chug more. The women drank free liquor for two hours before the doors opened to a crowd of waiting men willing to pay a cover charge to get in. The pictures rankled many residents and horrified some city leaders. Not long after, the city yanked Britt's liquor license at The Woodin Nikel and at Legend's, another establishment he owned in town."

Since that incident, the town has banned happy hour specials and prohibited bars from serving more than one drink per customer at a time. Also, Bulloch County, where Statesboro is located, does not allow the establishment of liquor stores. Naturally, the students are pissed off, and hoped to put their votes to use and end the old-timers grip on power. However, the old-timers weren't ready to just give in; more from the article:

"Four residents have challenged more than 900 students' right to vote in Statesboro, saying they haven't lived in the city long enough to make decisions about how things should be run in Statesboro, a city of 25,000 people — roughly 14,000 of them students — about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta."

The students have complained that they have been intimidated and disenfranchised by the town's tactics for maintaining control of the local government; the ACLU and the Office of the Secretary of State have launched investigations of the matter. Unfortunately for the students, following yesterday's election, it appears that their agenda will fall just short, regardless of the investigations.

Whew, I can't believe I made it through this entire post without making fun of Statesboro or Georgia Southern, despite the ample opportunities to do so. If you would like to take your swipe, please post it in the comments.

"The Office" Writers Speak About The Strike

From the video: "We're supposed to get 11 cents for every 200 trillion downloads" - Mike Schur

Megachurch paradigm Willow Creek goes back to the drawing board

Interestingly enough, one of the most successful megachurches in the United States, Willow Creek in Chicago, recently realized that its propensity simply to grow its numbers as opposed to focusing on preaching the gospel was "a mistake," according to pastor Greg Hawkins.

From the article:

"The size of the crowd rather than the depth of the heart determined success. If the crowd was large then surely God was blessing the ministry. Churches were built by demographic studies, professional strategists, marketing research, meeting 'felt needs' and sermons consistent with these techniques. We were told that preaching was out, relevance was in. Doctrine didn’t matter nearly as much as innovation. If it wasn’t 'cutting edge' and consumer friendly it was doomed. The mention of sin, salvation and sanctification were taboo and replaced by Starbucks, strategy and sensitivity."

This is a particular topic of interest for me at the current juncture in my academic career, but the article is pretty self-explanatory, so I won't go too much more in depth. Basically, this is a perfect representation of many of the problems with what is commonly called the "evangelical" movement (see here for a similar discussion from a few weeks ago). Seeing some of it firsthand, the megachurch focus often loses sight of its individual parishioner in light of the overall amount of "God's work" that it is doing.

In the true Calvinist sense, then, more people means more blessings from God. While this may or may not be true, in his statements, Hawkins seems to have realized that the true purpose of religious worship is lost when people don't understand the foundations of their practice. If a Christian life is supposed to be different from a life connected with American business and popular culture, then clearly, Willow Creek's model needed reevaluation. In my personal experience, I have trouble distinguishing between a Wednesday night worship service at the local megachurch and a concert at the 40 Watt later that evening. Of course, there's not as much booze at the former, but the reaction to the music appears strikingly similar.

Anyhow, the point is that I don't think there is a problem with this practice if people are spiritually connecting with it. However, as Hawkins suggests, that is precisely the problem: there has been a blurred distinction between the secular and sacred worlds for them to the point where he believes it is spiritually threatening for his members. In his words:

"What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."

I understand where he's coming from, and respect his honesty in the matter. But, what does this become for the movement that has risen from Willow Creek's example? What does he do with all the money he's made? What do his parishioners do when they hear that their pastor has "been mistaken" in leading their worship?

Ridiculous British Laws

Yep, this is just like it sounds.

A couple choice favorites:

The Number One: "It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament."

"In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter." Good to know when you're walking home wasted, as can be the case in Scotland.

"It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing." How do they enforce this??

Thanks to my sister Rita for sending this along.

Potential Media Censors on the warpath: MTV, BET are misrepresented targets of public outrage this time

In recent weeks, protesters have been gathering outside Viacom studio executives' houses to protest demeaning images of minorities on MTV and BET.

Now, I'm not going to say that these protesters are incorrect in saying that the images are degrading, nor do I want to denigrate their seemingly appropriate complaint. However, this is a strange demand:

"Among other things the protesters want media companies like Viacom to develop 'universal creative standards' for video and music, including prohibitions on some language and images."

Hmmm. . . didn't this already happen?


The question here lies in who is going to create the standards. Another protester explains, “A lot of rap isn’t rap anymore, it’s just people selling their souls," and while this may or may not be true, does this not seem like a matter of personal preference? Clearly, as was shown by Ms. Gore and her group in the example above, censorship does not end these violent and degrading images; much of popular music reflects the interests of the greater masses — this is why it's referred to as "popular music."

“Why are these corporations making these images normative and mainstream?” asked Mr. Coates, 34, a pastor of the Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md. “I can talk about this in the church until I am blue in the face, but we need to take it outside.”

This is a fair argument, if the corporations were creating these images. However, the fact remains that these representations already are normative and mainstream for better or for worse; the corporations have a little thing called "market research," and they sell what is being bought. Granted, they might put something more wholesome on TV, but then they'd lose ratings. If you dislike the way this works, addressing the foundations of our economic system rather than those who are simply working as a part of it seems a more appropriate course of action. Also, while we're on the subject of propriety, going to these people's houses, where they probably live a separate life from the one behind their desks at Viacom, seems questionable.

In contrast, "'[Creating] standards is a coded way of exerting control on free expression,' said Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the School of Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California. 'People are less interested in broad representation than in hand-picking the images they approve of.'" He continues by explaining, "'I believe everything is permissible in speech and imagery, [but that] doesn’t mean that I can’t object to it.' In a still-segregated society, he said, people often get their ideas about other groups from what they read, see and hear."

This is an unfortunate consequence, and I agree with the protesters on this account: the public has a very skewed image of what they understand as "urban" culture. At the same time, is it not every person's responsibility — if we're going to arbitrarily pin responsibility on people here — to become educated regarding the things they don't understand? It's not like the resources are unavailable.

The fact is that many people want to be prejudiced against hip-hop, and as a result, many artists, I'm sure, continue to make "offensive" music in order to perpetuate this prejudice as a protest of their own. In that context, there is not much being done from either side to learn about the other. However, censoring and ignoring this conflict seems to do very little to remedy the situation.

However, though I am taking a step way beyond my usual bounds in doing so, I will defend the Industry and say I don't think the "blame" falls on them. For example, "Viacom’s standards for language and images already prohibit some of the most common racial and gender slurs, gang symbols, gratuitous violence and drug use in music videos, said a spokeswoman, Kelly McAndrew. A statement from Viacom said in part the company was 'concerned about negative portrayals of African-Americans in the media' and takes a 'positive pro-active approach' with programming that respects freedom of expression and serves an audience with diverse interests."

In other words, they do keep an eye out for this, and maybe aren't even happy with the things that are being portrayed in the videos and on the records. The corporation is solely responsible for distributing them, and I, for one, appreciate the job they do (although the music on MTV and BET doesn't suit my particular appetite most to all of the time). In the end, then, the "issue" remains on the level between the artist and the viewer, and comes down to a matter of personal tastes.

Will that conflict ever be resolved? Probably not. But in the meantime, I think a more productive course of action would be to address the way we feel about things that are offensive to us and accept that they exist apart from us instead of marching off to some random stranger's house on a Saturday morning to try and make them purge the world of everything that is personally distasteful.

How bored are you, really?

Do I have the time-killer for you.

If you ever wanted to know the top 101 U.S. cities that have the smallest percentage of Doctorate degrees, or the top 101 zip codes with the most drinking venues (Athens' very own 30601 was 86th, checking in with 26), now you can. Enjoy!

We Have Random Notes

- The "Wall Street Journal" teaches you how to spot a rich person.
- The WSJ goes on to explain to you why Hova\Jigga\President Carter is the new Alan Greenspan. In short, it's because in his "Blue Magic" video, he proves to us that he's loaded by flashing a stack of 500-euro bills. Perhaps Ms. Bunchen started a trend.
- Michael Jackson is on the cover of "Ebony Magazine". This is a brilliant opportunity for an off-color joke, but I'll leave that to Hebbard.
- And as long as we're talking about "Ebony," check out this article on "Bush's Insane Approach to Cuba".
- The "New York Times" explains why the fat shall inherit the earth. Seriously. According to CDCP and National Cancer Institute, "overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal weight, underweight or obese. Now, investigating further, they found out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight group." Get the scoop after the jump.

Pathetic Excuses and the Law

More news from Australia...Philip Spiers was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnap and rape of a woman in 1997. Spiers asked the court to reduce his sentence because his actions were caused--not on his own will and volition--but because of a funnel-web spider bit him 12 days before the crime and might have left him with a viral illness that made him incredibly angry. Fortunately for the sane men and women of Australia, rage by spider bite is not a justification or excuse cognizable at law.

Hip-Hop Lyrics + Teenagers = Sex?

Public health researchers at Columbia are studying hip hop's influence on teenage sexuality, whether the overt sexuality of the music, lyrics, and dances has an impact on early sexual behavior. Turns out the primary influences on sexual behavior are alcohol, drugs, and peer pressure.

However, researchers are still looking into whether certain types of lyrics spur adolescent sex, after the RAND Corporation's 2006 landmark study that suggested that teenagers who were exposed to sexually degrading lyrics were twice as likely to start having sex within 2 years of the beginning of the study.

My question to you, dear reader, is: "Do teenagers actually listen to the lyrics and internalize the messages therein or do they just memorize lyrics to look cool?"

Drugs: They're What's Wrong with the Kids

Bindeez are a popular toy in Australia and the UK. In addition to Bindeez being the ugliest toy on earth, Bindeez were recently discovered to possess a chemical that converts into GHB when ingested. That's right, people. Your kids are tripping on the "date rape" drug, allegedly manufactured into their toys in China.

Jenkem: It's all the rage

Every one of us is hesitant to say it for the first time, but I'll go ahead and do it: What IS wrong with the kids today?

That's right, Jenkem is a new drug made from human sewage, made popular here by some kids in Southern Florida. Excellent.

Update: The Latest Radiohead Album

As it turns out, Radiohead's innovative marketing and distribution strategy for its latest album, In Rainbows, might have been less of a revolution and more of an affirmation that people like free stuff. From the AP:

"Some 62 percent of the people who downloaded "In Rainbows" in a four- week period last month opted not to pay the British alt-rockers a cent. But the remaining 38 percent voluntarily paid an average of $6, according to the study by comScore Inc."

I suppose we will have to wait and see how sales of the physical CD and the $82 boxset do before declaring this experiment a success or failure. However, I think it is clear that if you allow people to choose what, if anything, they will pay for an album, they are more likely to pay nothing. Thank you, Radiohead, for helping us all to better understand microeconomics.

Pakistan in Turmoil

Pakistan was thrown into political chaos on Saturday when President Pervez Musharraf declared 'emergency rule', fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and placed many of the nations leading judges, lawyers, and opposition party members in state custody. From CNN:

"Musharraf's declaration [of emergency rule] noted a "visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks" and it blamed a judiciary that was "at cross purposes" with his government's efforts "to control this menace.""

This is the second time this year that the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, has been fired. His strict interpretation of the Pakistani constitution appears to be preventing Musharraf from running the type of dictatorship that he sees necessary. Again from CNN:

"Chaudhry, who was reinstated to the court in July, has led key rulings that have weakened Musharraf's grip on power -- including lifting the exile imposed on opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 bloodless coup."

As you might imagine, this whole situation creates a difficult spot for the US. Musharraf's government has emerged as a reluctant ally in the war on terrorism; additionally, Pakistan has become perhaps the most important location on the planet for controlling the training and supplying of radical Islamic fighters. While Musharraf certainly could have done more to help the US and its allies in the region, he has at least allowed access to the country's most troubled locales.

This is where the problem arises, the administration wants to support democracy and needs the government of Pakistan to support its continued fight in the area, but it is unsure of what type of reception it would get from a democratically elected one. The administration risks hypocrisy if it gives full support to the dictator Musharraf, but it risks heavy military and strategic losses if it doesn't.

AT this point the Bush administration seems to be erring on the side of supporting democracy in Pakistan. Bush has demanded that the current regime hold elections as soon as possible, and that Musharraf should remove his ties to the military. The administration has also threatened to cut aid to Pakistan, but it is unlikely that this will happen for fear of alienating moderate Muslims. Since aid is the only practical leverage that the US has against the Musharraf regime look for lots of talking coming out of Washington, but little to no action designed to oust the current government.

For more information - The New York Times has an article on the initial government crackdown here. CNN has excellent running coverage on the crisis, which can be found here. Finally, Slate has an article explaining why Pakistani lawyers always seem to be mixing it up with government forces; find that here.

Start the Countdown: 1 Year to Election '08!!

Yes, thats right we are just 1 short year away from electing another group of incompetent/ineffective legislators and an administration that has no interest in listening to the people that elected it. Hooray!! Anyways, here are a few quick hits from todays election news:

- Ron Paul raised a record $3.8 million yesterday in celebration of Guy Fawkes Day. I don't really like Ron Paul - if you have a problem with Bush's communication issues on camera, this guy is gonna drive you crazy. However, I have to admit, his internet campaign has been impressive; also, the fact that he has maintained a presence in this campaign is amazing.

- Colbert has officially ended his presidential campaign. There are reports that Obama's supporters made calls to the South Carolina Dems, urging them to leave Colbert off the ballot. Although the South Carolina Democratic Executive Board's vote to bar him from the ballot was a major defeat, I have a feeling that the writer's strike was the final blow. I was really looking forward to a debate involving Colbert and the other 'real' candidates; oh well, maybe next time.

- Hillary's campaign has wobbled a little recently, but she still appears to be the one to beat on the Democrat's side. She leads Obama by 19 points and Edwards by 30 points.

- Mike Huckabee is playing to his strength and aggressively campaigning to Christian Conservatives in an effort to unseat Romney and Guiliani from the top of the GOP heap. He was seen preaching from the pulpit in several Dallas-area Baptist churches last weekend.

So far, the Pasty Quail staff has been unable to decide on which of the candidates to support in the upcoming elections. Personally, I don't like any of them, but I am open to hearing your opinions on who we should get behind and why. Give us your thoughts in the comments section.

In Defense of Duane Chapman

By now, I'm sure that you all of heard of "Dog the Bounty Hunter," a slightly ridiculous reality show in which A&E follows the last man on Earth (namely, Duane Chapman) to respectably rock the mullet and skip trace. Accordingly, I also presume that you have heard about the recording of Chapman's angry tirade against his son's black girlfriend, in which he used a colorful epithet better known as the "N" word. Since the recording has surfaced, Chapman's show on A&E has been pulled indefinitely, pending A&E's "investigation" of the matter. Chapman has reportedly apologized for his rant multiple times and met with prominent members of the Black community to express his shame, including Hebbard's nemesis, Reverend Al Sharpton.

Alternet, one of my favorite Cali blogs, has a commentary piece by Earl Hutchinson on Chapman's excuses and defenses, couching the author's call for the show to be pulled in terms of what might happen were the situation racially reversed. Hutchinson argues that were Chapman a Black man and caught calling his son's white girlfriend a number of expletives, his show would have been pulled in minutes.

However, I'm not convinced that pulling the show off the air is the proper response to the controversy. While his comments may have been horribly offensive, demeaning, and hurtful towards Blacks, women, and Black women in particular, his comments are also real. By pulling him off the air, maybe A&E is sending the message that certain attitudes are not acceptable. But is that message that these attitudes are not acceptable or these attitudes are not acceptable in public? Rather than confronting his attitude head-on, by cancelling the show, A&E is effectively pulling a CYA move and shoving racism--real racism--under the rug. I'd be far more impressed if A&E kept the show on the air, but made him do penance on-air. But those are just my initial thoughts. Any takers?

Connecting the Disconnected: Writer’s Strike, “The Golden Compass” and the Religion of Atheism

Since we haven’t mentioned the Hollywood writer’s strike yet, here’s a quick overview of its logistics. Basically, the writers union is understandably upset that its representees are not receiving royalties from the networks, which are capitalizing upon the writers' work through new media outlets (see the bourgeoning world of internet commerce for an example).

While Slate weighs in on the situation with a tongue-in-cheek look from the writers’ perspective, prominent religion-in-culture blog Idol Chatter takes the situation on as it stands.

I understand that this may be a strange topic to cover from a religious perspective, but fear not, that segues into another recent Hollywood controversy.

Earlier yesterday, the same blog addressed a current uprising regarding the new film "The Golden Compass," which apparently is under fire for "selling Atheism for kids."

Having not seen the movie (it’s not out yet), nor having read Philip Pullman’s novel upon which the film is based, I can’t make too much of an argument for either side. However, even if Pullman is evangelizing Atheism, it doesn’t seem like this should raise any bigger questions than "The Chronicles of Narnia," which, in conjunction with its acknowledged Christian theme, remains a delightful fantasy, enjoyable as such by itself. Again, I can’t say for sure, but I’d imagine that the film "The Golden Compass" can function similarly, depending on how the viewer understands its greater meaning. And, in my experience with children — which is admittedly limited — it seems to me that they’d be much more interested in the cute dragon than the philosophical implications of a world without a monotheistic deity.

(and, for the record, Pullman denies any atheistic leaning whatsoever)

Just for reference, Christianity Today covers the same topic in this review.

Finally, this situation pinpoints something about which I’ve been thinking for a while, that being Christianity’s relationship with Atheism.

I’m not sure if this is a new concept, but I find it interesting how this particular writer engages with Atheism, denoting "mean Atheists" (see her example, Richard Dawkins, below) and "nice Atheists." The overriding theme here (and with those protesting the film) suggests that Atheism is a religion in its own right, and it is addressed just as evangelical Islam or Hinduism might be.


I think this is perfectly appropriate, as Atheism is a religion in its own right, though I’m not sure many Atheists would agree with that. On principle, atheists (note the lowercase "a") would be autonomous from any movement, but, as is generally the case, most philosophical ideals mobilize easily within a group of common believers. Therefore, Atheism (capital "A") has become for some an anti-theism (and in the West, anti-monotheism), and in that case, the targeted enemy of most religious groups.

The ironic part for Atheism, though, is that it becomes a monotheistic concept when it is dogmatized, as South Park so aptly showed in its episode “Go, God, Go” from last year. If you care to read the synopsis, it’s here.

I know that's a lot to jam into one post, but it gave me plenty to ponder on this bright Tuesday morning.

Pledging Sexual Purity

Okay, kids...I have a confession to make. After last night's Quail editorial meeting, I went home and watched a "Tyra" rerun on Oxygen. (Hey--no judgments!) But this post is not about my tragic life as a spinster. Instead, it's about Tyra's topic of the day, which was the growing popularity of purity balls.

Purity balls, for the uninitiated, are events featuring fancy dress and dancing that are typically attended by fathers and daughters. At purity balls, daughters pledge to remain virgins, and fathers pledge to protect their daughters' purity of body, mind, and soul. The Huffington Post provides a link to clips from yesterday's show here.

Purity ball advocates put forth interesting arguments about maintaining strong relationships between fathers and daughters: a greater focus on spending time together and so-called "intentional parenting". Glamour also has an excellent feature on purity balls. Any thoughts, dear reader?

Public Service Announcement: How to Never Pay for Music Again

Wired has a special "How To" article on fun ways to never pay for music again. Enjoy, kids.

Breaking News on Bundchen

Yesterday, we covered this important news story about Gisele Bundchen rejecting the American dollar.
Dealbreaker.com, your tabloid news source for all things Wall Street, has the latest on Bundchen's currency preferences. Apparently, Bundchen may accept payment in dollars, and the story about her preferring euros may have been the work of the news-hungry Brazilian press. We here at the Quail will stay tuned for any and all updates.

Mukasey Close to Being Confirmed as New Attorney General

The New York Times is reporting that Michael Mukasey has received the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which basically guarantees his confirmation for the post of Attorney General. There are major concerns about Mukasey's stance on waterboarding and other methods of 'enhanced interrogation' techniques (he supports them), but it seems that the White House was able to exert just enough pressure on Congress to push its man through (lame duck, my ass). From the article:

"Republicans on the Judiciary Committee praised Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge in New York City, as eminently qualified to head the Justice Department. Senators Schumer and Feinstein were more qualified in their praise, acknowledging the nominee’s qualifications and declaring that the best qualification is that Mr. Mukasey is not Alberto R. Gonzales, the former attorney general."

Considering that it is highly likely that Mukasey will be the next attorney general, it is probably worthwhile to take another look at the Op-Ed he wrote for the New York Times back in August on the treatment of Jose Padilla. You can find a link here.

Lakshmi Embodied

Lakshmi Tatmae, named after the Hindu goddess of wealth (Lakshmi) seen above, entered surgery this morning. Why is a surgical procedure for a little girl halfway across the world of significance? Because young Tatmae suffers from isciopagus, which means that she has eight instead of four limbs. Believed by some in her village to be the living representation of the goddess, many disagreed with her parents' decision to have her extra limbs (and additional organs since she has two chests and stomach cavities) removed. This brings us to an interesting question. Should a child be allowed to suffer--Tatmae was initially projected not to live beyond her teens--if she is believed to be a living deity? (Photos are after the jump.)

Robots & Sex

Nerve recently posted a link to a "Popular Science" article, memorializing the sexiest fembots throughout the ages.

Dr. Pasty

As a nod to Hebbard's recently announced mission to get more attractive women on the Quail and as a part of my own concerted effort to get more sex coverage, I would like to introduce you to Janine.
If you know who this woman is, the following articles would likely be of interest.
- The Metro, yet another of Britain's tabloid dailies, revealed the results of a recent survey of masturbation among adults. Interesting findings? The men's restroom at an office near you also doubles as a popular area for, shall we say, self-service.
- As long as we're talking about surveys, Durex released the results of its worldwide sex survey last month. This has prompted a flurry of anxious reporting across the globe, from the China Daily to the Sydney Morning Herald. And before you ask, the country with the largest average number of sexual partner is Turkey (14.5) compared to the global average (9.5). The U.S. average is 10.7.
If you have a minute to check out the Durex link, check out the statistics on Iceland. I always figured there wasn't much to do there, but the Icelanders seem to have found ways to keep themselves busy.
- And lastly, Alternet has a piece on the Moaning Lisa, a video game-like interactive puzzle intended to show users how to generate orgasms in the female body. Among the many interesting features of the Moaning Lisa is that she doesn't work the same way twice; you cannot repeat the same sequence of touches to get her to orgasm.

Criticism of the American Health Care System

The various problems with the American healthcare system are a frequent topic of debate amongst the editors here at The Pasty Quail. Can you tell which side these guys fall on?

The study mentioned in that article is even better than the piece itself. Schoen, et al. compare 8 nations, 7 of which have universal healthcare: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their findings are suspect at best, and border on the ridiculous. Who woulda thunk it, but the citizens of the United States pay the most per capita for health care, and are more likely to go without care because of money. Here's another little tidbit:

"In the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, where adults can switch their basic insurance coverage, we asked about changing plans in the past three years. German rates were relatively stable, with only 10 percent switching. In the Netherlands, at a time with new choices, 25 percent switched in the past three years. U.S. adults reported the most frequent changes: 32 percent had switched, and 14 percent had done so more than once (data not shown)."

[Two things, just for the record: (a) The healthcare systems in Germany and The Netherlands allow competition by private insurance firms on everything but price, which is set by those respective governments, (b) and that "data not shown" is theirs, not mine.]

One last nugget of wisdom:

"Based on responses about having a regular source of care with easy contact by phone, knowledge of medical history, and care coordination, the findings indicate that only about 50–60 percent of adults across countries have a primary care source with key attributes of a medical home. In the United States, having such a relationship depended on insurance and income: Insured and higher-income patients were significantly more likely than uninsured and lower-income patients to have a medical home (53 percent of the insured compared with 26 percent of the uninsured for adults under age sixty-five; 58 percent above-average compared with 42 percent below-average income for all ages)."

There are some very real problems with the healthcare system in America: not enough people have access to basic healthcare, especially amongst the poor and the elderly. And the systems we have that are designed to help those people get access to the services they need are woefully insufficient. These topics, and a few others (like the role that HMO's play in determining the level of care received by the insured party), would make great topics for comparative healthcare surveys.

Unfortunately, this study doesn't touch those subjects. Instead, the writers slant the survey so far to one side of the issue as to render their own findings worthless. Even worse than that, they have removed the focus of the debate from the issues that we can solve, those issues that do deserve our attention.

Mark Twain once said "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics." This survey is a great example of that point. By asking questions that skew the focus away from the issues that matter, and instead focusing on a political agenda, the writers have concocted a pile of data that means nothing; they have robbed the very people they are attempting to help.

PetroChina Becomes World's Most Valuable Company

The day after its stock was made available for trading on the exchange in Shanghai, the price nearly tripled, raising the company's valuation to $1 Trillion dollars and making the Chinese energy giant the world's most valuable company. Even though PetroChina has only a quarter of the revenue claimed by Exxon-Mobil (the largest US company, valued at a sneeze-worthy $488 Billion dollars), it is now valued higher than the entire Russian stock market; PetroChina is worth more that Exxon-Mobil and General Electric combined.

However, PetroChina's stock fell more than 8% on Hong Kong's index, and some speculators are classifying this huge valuation (55 times earnings, to be precise) as a stock market bubble; Warren Buffett said two weeks ago that Chinese share prices have risen too fast. Analyst Larry Grace, with Kim Eng Securities Co. in Hong Kong, had this to say:

"Production is static with limited upside for the next three to four years... As for the downstream, the price controls and overall regulatory trend limit the company's earnings."

Image depicts a PetroChina Filling Station; click to enlarge.

A bunch of things about which I am not learned enough to comment

- The Car of the Future. Awesome.

- ExxonMobil still hasn't paid the $2.5 billion in punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which happened 18 years ago.

- Barack Obama is Dick Cheney’s cousin? What? Well, Obama has some choice words for this family member.

- An open letter to Santa to lose some freakin’ weight. A choice excerpt: “Despite Santa burning 600 calories an hour from delivering presents, the problem lies in the tasty mince pies left as a treat.”

- Have a great Monday afternoon!

Phoenix to By-Pass Windows; Allow Use of Core Applications on System BIOS

From the article:

"Phoenix Technologies is the company responsible for many computers' basic input/output system, or BIOS, the firmware code that runs when your PC starts up. Usually, the BIOS identifies the hardware on your PC and initializes components, then lets the operating system handle everything else, from storing files to connecting with networks to running applications. In essence, HyperSpace is a simple operating environment, a layer on top of the BIOS, that runs side-by-side with Windows and can efficiently implement some of the most commonly used apps on a PC."

Basically, this means that instead of waiting 4+ minutes for Windows to load just to check your e-mail, you can just hit F4, boot up Outlook or Firefox, and get the job done. I'm always open to new alternatives to running Windows, and this sounds like a promising way to get functionality out of your compuer without having to deal with slow load times. And in a world where PC's are losing market-share to mobile devices and video game consoles, fast boot times and easy acces to the internet may help PC manufacturers retake some of that ground.

Today in Robots!

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or DARPA), a subsidiary of the Department of Defense, sponsored its biannual Urban Challege contest this weekend. The Urban Challenge is a competition to develop the best and most efficient "autonomous" vehicles, that are capable of driving unmanned. The US military hopes to use the technology to unmanned combat vehicles before the end of the next decade.

The Hottest Thing (Huzzah!) Since Sliced Bread

Since it's been at least two days since we've had a post about tattoos, I'd like to take up the mantle and give you your daily dose of tattoo news.
- Forbes has a story on whether tattoos weigh you down on the corporate ladder. Forbes' answer? It depends on where you work and what you do. Ironically, however, "according to a study a few years ago by CareerBuilder and Vault.com for Salary.com, 42% of managers interviewed said that their opinion of someone 'would be lowered by that person's visible body art.' Yet about the same number of managers, 44%, said they themselves had tattoos or other body art that was not 'visible.'"
- Time has a story on tattoo bans for police departments and certain segments of the armed forces. Does a tattoo ban present an unlawful restraint on freedom of speech? Leave your thoughts on the constitutionality of the bans after the jump.
- And the London Times has a report on the rise in popularity of branding, which, for the uninformed, is exactly what it sounds like.

Theocracy Now!

Here's a short film by Max Blumenthal on the state of religious discourse in the 2008 Presidential campaign, called Theocracy Now. It's about 8 minutes in all.



And then, some commentary from the site where I found it, just for some other contextual reference.

Stay tuned as this portion of the campaign heats up.

Suicide Bombings and Video Games

From the article: "I do not mean, of course, to trivialize the ghastly, horrific impact of real-life suicide bombing."

From the authors head: "And in order to avoid this, I will compare it to how I play HALO 3."

What famous pop-culture character is your favorite college football team?

These are a year and change old, but I thought about them this weekend and they're worth a solid look if you haven't seen them before, or an entertaining re-look if you have; they're a great time waster either way.

- College Football teams compared to rappers

- College Football teams compared to Simpsons characters

Video Still Killing the Radio Star

2007 saw newspaper circulation fall for almost every major newspaper in the country.

Surprised? Neither are we.

Cellphone Jammers are Illegal, Sweet

Think of all the law students across the country that could be saved embarassment at the hands of over-sensitive academics if they put one of these in every classroom...

C'mon, is this what passes for "brainwashing" these days?

When I saw that a university in South Africa has been accused of brainwashing students, naturally, I had to give it a click.

To my surprise: "Allegations against the church include getting students to pay 10 percent of their bursaries, scholarships or earnings to the church; church members becoming slowly isolated from their friends and families; and members only being allowed to date within the church.

There have also been reports of one or two members having breakdowns because of what the critics call the preaching of 'unwarranted demonic fear of brimstone, fire and hell.'"

Maybe this is a bad thing, but that sounds like "Sunday" to me. Come to the U.S., kids, and we'll show you how it's done.

Attention Americans: She Doesn't Want Your Money

Just like Warren Buffet, Bill Gross, and Jim Rogers, Gisele Bundchen now refuses to accept payment in U.S. dollars. Given the decreasing value of the dollar, the world's highest paid model will no longer take payment in the currency, which is speculated to decrease further in value after the Fed's cuts in interest rates and the growing instability in the U.S. housing market.

HEBBARD EDIT: In my continuing (but rarely mentioned) quest to have more pictures of beautiful women on this website, I removed this piece from an earlier financial article and will leave it here.

Antagonizing the Antagonist: Is Feminism a Sin?

I discovered this little tidbit cruising the religion blogs, which includes excerpts from a young woman's Masters Thesis on the Sin of Feminism.

This young scholar at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville argues that Feminism is a sin dating back to the fall of man, which resulted from Eve's questionable choice of fruit. Formerly suffering as the "stereotypical Generation Y feminist: anti-marriage, anti-child rearing and corporate ladder hopeful," our author underwent conversion to Christianity and now is revived of these misgivings.

The statement of purpose in the article, which you can find here in its entirety, hinges on this statement: “From the time the first feminist, Eve, came on the scene, until now, we have been in a cosmic battle against the flesh and Satan.”

Unfortunately — as I was understandably intrigued as to where this argument might go — I'm not convinced as to why Eve is a feminist; that part is stated without explanation as if it is unquestionable fact. No doubt for this young woman it is, but if she's going to approach the issue utilizing a logical argument, it should connect logically.

In other words, I appreciate religious discourse through scholarly argument; hopefully I can make a living doing it one day. However, one of the most difficult parts about writing academically, especially in this discipline, is understanding that nothing can be taken for granted. Thus, when our author says, "a woman can't wake up one day and decide to be a Proverbs 31 woman any more than a man can wake up and decide to lead like Christ," I'm not quite sure what she means. The terms are undefined, and especially if she's trying to sway others not already of her opinion — or those who don't know the truth, as she may see it — it would be beneficial for her to speak in common terms.

With regards, then, to religious discussion in both the academy and in the everyday world, I think it might behoove people to recognize that others conceptualize God and Religion differently than they do. You can't point to Bible and expect me immediately to believe it anymore than I can hand you a Radiohead CD and expect you to believe they're the greatest rock musicians since The Beatles. Plus, religion is much greater than just cognitive belief, but that's a topic for another time.