November 19, 2004
Go From Here?
I Woz Ere {embedded mov. sound. sfw.}
A Tale of Two Christianities
Born-again liberal Christians. Do you think that mainline denominations are hemorraging members? Wrong. Fundamentalist Christianity is the way of the future and all US Evangelicals worship the same political party? Not so fast, buddy. Many scholars and theologians think that it's time for liberals to take Christianity back. Oregon State's Marcus J Borg, for example, argues that Christianity "still makes sense and is the most viable religious option for millions". He contends the earlier paradigm, based upon a punitive God, simply doesn't work anymore for too many people.
It is an argument for an alternative to the literalist and exclusivist tradition that has dominated Western Christianity in the modern era. According to Borg, "So different are these two views of Christianity that they almost produce two different religions, both using the same Bible and language. A time of two paradigms is virtually a tale of two Christianities."
There is, for example, an alternative view to the Resurrection Narrative not as report of an actual, physical event but as means for Jesus' early followers to express the miracle of his continuing spiritual presence among them, after his execution. It is in short an 'emerging paradigm which has been developing for over a hundred years and has recently become a major grass-roots movement within mainline denominations'.
Just don't be afraid to ask questions. Not even about the dogs beneath the Cross. More inside.
Do you like fast-forwarding through commercials on a television program you’ve recorded? How much do you like it? Enough to go to jail if you’re caught doing it? If a new copyright and intellectual property omnibus bill sitting on Congress’s desk passes, that may be the choice you'll face.
Let's hope this legislation goes lame duck like this session of Congress.
We know where this WTO sits on the issues...
Tiny Plastic Huts
Roger Ramjet He's Our Man....
Roger Scramjet, he’s our man!! Mach 10, 7000mph New York to Tokyo in 2 hours! The future of global air travel? Or something else? What does Russia think of our new precision time-critical strike
weapons with significant stand off capability as well as prompt global
reach? Oh, nothing really...
Friday Fun
Our Whizeels iz tha Shizeel Awesome compositing, audio and 3D work. I like art that make me want to step in to its world, (Note: QuickTime). The incredibly low barrier to entry for this kind of project, as compared to 10 or even 5 years ago blows my mind.
The Invisiblity Game
The Invisibility Game. How good is your mouse control when you can't see your cursor? Frustrating. As. Hell.
An interview with Lee Marvin
"The dog gets no Pernod in this house!" An interview with Lee Marvin, by Roger Ebert, back in 1970. Man, what a character.
Addiction to porn destroying lives.
Addiction to porn is destroying lives, Senate told. Experts compare the effect on the brain to that of heroin or crack cocaine.
Human Pacman
Free MoMA!
MoMA Free Tomorrow for New York MeFi Readers! Well, everyone, actually. The Museum of Modern Art in New York reopens tomorrow and graciously offers a day of free entrance for all. Your chance to avoid the much-criticized $20 admission (views: con, pro-fessional, mayoral). Even good old free-admission Fridays bear the price tag of aggressive name-branding [paragraph 6] by an image-crazy donor (it's not charity anymore if it's advertising, folks, much less design-heady classiness-by-association). Some reports (scroll) from the press preview.
US Troops Killing and Torturing Journos in Iraq
US Military 'still failing to protect journalists in Iraq' (Guardian link, reg. req use bugmenot.com)
This isn't the first time allegations of mistreatment of journalists have been levelled at the US troops. Nor is it the second and the military has even admitted to killing an Arab journalist and some are questioning if the US military wants to kill journalists? The list of dead journalists and another list from AlJazeera.net, continues to grow.
And, because I'd not seen if before and don't recall seeing it here before, the Iraq Body Count database (the civilian death toll) and here it is, all on one big page.
This isn't the first time allegations of mistreatment of journalists have been levelled at the US troops. Nor is it the second and the military has even admitted to killing an Arab journalist and some are questioning if the US military wants to kill journalists? The list of dead journalists and another list from AlJazeera.net, continues to grow.
And, because I'd not seen if before and don't recall seeing it here before, the Iraq Body Count database (the civilian death toll) and here it is, all on one big page.
funky hebraica that sells
Register that bicycle
No bicycling in NYC without a license? That's right, a new law -- apparently the first of its kind in the nation -- proposed this week by bike-bashing Bronx Councilwoman Madeline Provenzano, will carry serious fines and even jail sentences for violators who ride unregistered bicycles on city streets. And yes, there will be a $25 per bike registration fee. Way to encourage alternative transport in this crowded, congested, polluted town. What next? Licenses for rollerblades, skateboards, wheelchairs? How about my running shoes -- during peak traffic they're faster and more hazardous to fellow city dwellers than my beat up old Trek, any day.
I Love The Internet.
Depeche Mode 101
handlebars instead of handouts
Mustaches For Kids - the 6th Annual NYC Mustaches for Kids Holiday Mustache Growing Contest and Fundraiser is back. Exciting fundraising competition. (see also Seattle chapter)
Duck and cover
My God, It's Full of Stars
Count Your Stars - an addictive gamelet to subvert any attempt at Friday productivity.
Reporter Convicted for Refusing to Give Identity of a Source
Next in the "America slowly slipping toward fascism" saga: Reporter Convicted for Refusing to Give Identity of a Source. Mr. Taricani would be one of only a handful of journalists to go to jail for refusing to identify a source. Mr. Taricani was convicted in connection with a long-running federal investigation called Operation Plunderdome, which resulted in the conviction of at least nine city officials, including Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., who was sentenced to 64 months for racketeering conspiracy.
His bad: refusing to identify the person who leaked him an F.B.I. videotape in 2001 related to an investigation of government corruption in Providence.
Why worry? It's GOOD for you!
GOP looking to repeal food labeling law. Would this have anything to do with our recent impasse with Mexico (and with the EU) over GM foods? Or of recent reports of a possible mad cow case in the US?
Call Marge, Re: horror
Planet Simpson. An author's-eye look at the warts-and-all business side grind of book publishing, complete with a FedEx horror story, Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood being asked "So…do you sing, or do you play an instrument?", and the immortal interview question "Doooode: which character on The Simpsons is the hottest?" (Note: one mildly NSFW photo on the main page).
Echo? Echo, did you say?
Blood on the Tracks
Daily commute getting you down? Thinking of ending it all? Just step out in front of a train and it'll all be over in a moment. Or maybe not.
A visual guide to how not to pull a car out of the water
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