This comic is drawn lovingly in the style of Cyanide & Happiness, whose irreverent humor it is in no small part inspired by.
20 May, 2013
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
As a staunch supporter of the freedom of speech, as well as one for whom blasphemy is a treasured pastime - not because I enjoy offending people, but because the idea that anything is sacred undermines the very principle of free speech - I have decided to participate in Everybody Draw Mohammed Day (which I only found out about this year). For an explanation of why it is important to participate in this recent tradition if you value freedom, I refer you to Greta Christina, who has already done such an excellent job that I needn't reiterate her points.
This comic is drawn lovingly in the style of Cyanide & Happiness, whose irreverent humor it is in no small part inspired by.
This comic is drawn lovingly in the style of Cyanide & Happiness, whose irreverent humor it is in no small part inspired by.
09 April, 2013
Weekend Constravaganza
As I write this, a mild 69 degree night-time breeze blows in through the window, [hopefully] heralding the sudden and long-awaited arrival of Spring, after a long March embittered by cold, frequently freezing temperatures. It is a shame the change in weather did not come a week earlier, but nevertheless, the shifting season is a sure indicator that it is once again con season in Pittsburgh. Last weekend marked not only my annual pilgrimage to the anime convention Tekkoshocon, but also another Steel City Con (a local toys, comics, and pop culture convention). The last Steel City Con I went to - two Decembers ago, if I'm not mistaken - awarded me Linda Blair's autograph (you might remember her as the possessed girl from The Exorcist), and this time, the con boasted one Madison Lintz, the girl who played Sophia on the hit AMC television series The Walking Dead. In other words, it proved to be a very busy weekend.
Of considerable note this year is the fact that Tekkoshocon has moved back into the big ol' downtown convention center - the DLLCC (David L. Lawrence Convention Center) after the past two years in a nearby cramped hotel building. As such, there was much more space this year - particularly in the halls and stairways. But as a result, the con - and the people attending - was much more spread out. Certainly, the hotel was much too small for the con's crowds, but while the convention center gave us lots more space (more than we needed, truth be told), the con itself felt smaller in comparison, and it didn't seem like there were as many people - or cosplays - there.
I'm not saying I prefer the hotel - although it would have been lots less stressful if they had actually finished the grand ballroom staircase like they promised, as the worst part was getting between the first and second floors either via the deathtrap stairwell or the overloaded elevators - just that it had a kind of coziness to it. It's much harder to find people (and chase them down) and see everything there is to see when everything is so spread out. On the other hand, I sincerely hope that Tekkoshocon's future involves the kind of growth that would make having this much space necessary, although I can't say how realistic that dream is.
On a related note, while the space was very well utilized for the Dealer's Room and Artist's Alley (located, for once, on the showroom floor), I, among others, found it particularly inconvenient that they were situated so far from the rest of the con (panels, video rooms, main stage, etc.). It seemed like you had to walk a mile just to get from one node of the con to the other. And while the ample space all around is welcome for cosplay photoshoots and keeping the hallways navigable and such, having all that space between two very important poles of the convention, requiring your repeated traversal, can be a bit frustrating, and doubtless more tiring than is desirable. I can't say what possible solution there could be for this problem, however, as having the Dealer's Room on the showroom floor was very appealing.
Being back in the convention center (for whatever reasons), the con this year was stripped back to the standard Friday, Saturday, Sunday schedule, with no on-site programming on Thursday, as with last year. In the case of my group of pilgrims, this was just as well, as the rest of my group was not very well-impressed with Thursday's con atmosphere in previous years (although that's one thing I disagree with them on), and scheduling would have made one more day of con madness more trouble than it would have been worth. As such, we arrived in town on Thursday night and proceeded eagerly to the con on Friday morning (and I do mean morning - like, before noon!).
In recent years, you might recall, I have become very fond of cosplaying. This year, I regret that lack of funds and other issues resulted in me not doing all the cosplays I was planning. I still hope, however, to work through the kinks in my Chii bandage and White Rock Shooter prospective cosplays, among others, so that I can debut them next year or some other time in the future. But this year, I whittled my cosplay down to one single costume - which consisted of me recycling my trusty Japanese schoolgirl uniform (which I usually find some excuse to wear at least once every year), refitted with a bright red bow and coupled with that unique hairstyle that can only be associated with Tsukino Usagi - the magical girl who moonlights as the crime fighter Sailor Moon!
So instead of focusing on my own cosplay this year, I thought it would be a good opportunity to refocus my efforts on getting pictures of other cosplayers, since I kind of used that as an excuse not to get as many pictures last year. Unfortunately, though, as it turns out, I didn't get a whole lot of pictures this year, either. Part of that was due to my anxiety on Friday, and the fact that we chose to leave Tekkoshocon for a few hours to hit up another con, but on Saturday I found to my surprise that being in cosplay, despite my anticipation that it would make me more self-conscious, actually made me feel more comfortable about asking other people for their picture. I don't know if it has to do with the idea of putting on a mask or alternate persona and allowing that to buffer my thoughts and my actions (like it might with an actor), or if it's because I feel like a participant - like I'm playing the game, and am not just an outsider in street clothes wanting to get pictures of those nerds in funny costumes - but either way it helped.
Still, though, it seemed like I was seeing less cosplayers overall that impressed me - and that could be because of the quality of cosplay this year, or more likely the difficulty in tracking people down over the large space, or else just my becoming accustomed (and, in a sense, bored) of the cosplayers I see every year, exacerbated by my changing and refined tastes as a photographer. I'm not sure about that, though, and anyway, another contributing factor may be the rising popularity of American cartoons among Tekko-goers - Homestuck is inexplicably popular, as is My Little Pony, among others (including the usual comics offenders).
Whatever the case may be, despite my not putting very much effort into my cosplay this year, I did have a couple people ask for my picture on Saturday, and several that expressed their approval of my crossplay. I ran into one other Sailor Moon in particular who was very friendly and interested in getting a picture of the two of us together (I have to admit, placed side by side with a real girl just emphasizes - at least in my mind - all the ways in which I don't measure up to my own visual ideal).
There ended up being a lot of potentially interesting panels (although still not as much on topics of my preference as I would have liked) that I didn't make it to this year, mostly due to scheduling. One exception was the Better Than It Sounds panel about anime series with stupid (or weird) names that are actually good. The best thing I got out of that panel was a description of the cult hit series Madoka Magica, which was totally hyped up for me by being described as Sailor Moon meets Neon Genesis Evangelion (two of my favorite series!). From how it sounds, it's like what Evangelion did to the mecha genre (adding in angst and all that), but with the mahou shoujo - magical girl - genre instead. I've got to watch it.
Speaking of watching, I got to watch the AMV contest again this year. There actually wasn't a whole lot of great AMVs, but it was worth it for the one Serial Experiments Lain AMV alone (Terror In The Depths Of The Wired). It was set to an instrumental track from the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack, and it was fantastic. I voted it best in show, but it didn't win any awards. Lousy judges. (Yes, that includes the audience members who voted :p). There was also a great romance AMV set to Victoria Justice's Best Friend's Brother, but the award went to a Toradora video featuring Taylor Swift's poppy We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together instead.
I made it to the Extreme AMV contest again this year, since I enjoyed it so much last year, but it was unfortunately pretty lackluster. Allegedly this was due to a sheer lack of submissions. There was a funny AMV using explicit clips from La Blue Girl, and a violent one with Hellsing imagery, but only four videos in total, and nothing to go totally gaga over. Ah well. Note to AMV makers: don't be shy, make those extremely violent, pornographic AMVs with pervasive [foul] language - we want to see them! I would love to see an Urotsukidoji (Legend of the Overfiend) AMV, or even just an AMV that serves as an ode to tentacle rape - that would be awesome.
For, like, the first time ever, I didn't buy anything in the Dealer's Room this year. Money was tight on the one hand, and on the other, I didn't see anything that totally blew me away. Except this great Black Rock Shooter figure, but I wasn't going to pay $70 for it... Although, apparently, somebody else was, because it was gone when I looked again on Saturday. There were a lot more dakimakura (body pillows) this year, although after last year's complaints (I'm sure), they were either on display and crudely censored with post-it notes, or wrapped in plastic with only a tiny cardboard picture on the corner to look at. I was sorta hoping to get one, but as I said, I didn't see one that really blew me away. Plus, I get really self-conscious looking at the 18+ stuff. It's silly, but even though I'm an adult and everything, when they put up signs and talk about checking IDs and stuff, it just makes me feel like a kid again, like I'm trying to get away with something, and I have to avoid getting caught. It's bogus.
I haven't much to say about the rave that I haven't said in years past. Fun atmosphere, but I can never really get into it, on account of me not being much of a dancing, partying kinda guy. But it's like I want to be. Plus, people start taking their clothes off (not all of them, mind you), or switching into skimpy, sexy raver gear to go dancing in and that's pretty cool to see. Of course, flashing lights aside, there's not much light in the rave, so you can hardly get the benefit of enjoying the eye candy. :-\
Although on that note, I was treated to a marvelous surprise on Saturday, when it became clear that the convention center was also being rented out to a serious cheerleader competition. Early on, there were scores of young cheerleaders gathering in the halls and even, to an extent, mingling with congoers and cosplayers. And then later, in the walkway overlooking the two larger showrooms in the building, I had the opportunity to join the myriad other Tekko-ers spying on the cheerleading competition, watching their bombastic, tumbling performances. It was like something straight out of Bring It On! It was not at all an experience I was expecting, nor one that seems in tune with the whole atmosphere of being at an anime convention, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy the spectacle, and if it didn't amplify my overall enjoyment of the weekend. Hell, I wish that were a regular feature of the con, and not just a happy scheduling accident. I might have to consider getting tickets to a cheerleading competition instead of an anime convention next time! ;p
And finally we come to meeting Madison Lintz, although it actually happened early in the weekend - on Friday. I'm always nervous meeting people, and especially interacting with people I don't know very well, but I wasn't even prepared for how nervous I was anticipating my meeting with the girl who played Sophia on The Walking Dead. The scene where spoiler happens (if you've seen the show, you can guess what I'm talking about), was such a heartbreaking moment, and one of the greatest moments in TV history, in my opinion. I told Madison as much, even if I did so very awkwardly. But she was very professional and took it in stride. Then I got her autograph and posed for a picture with her, for a very modest fee. It was certainly one of the highlights of a very busy, and at times stressful and exhausting, but ultimately very exciting, weekend.
Post-script: One thing I forgot to mention was checking out one of the musical guests. Last year I remarked that, despite being a musician and a music-fan, I hardly ever check out the musical guests at anime conventions (at least partly due to the fact that it's not Japanese music I'm largely dedicated to). So this year, I made a point to attend one of the concerts. I picked Dazzle Vision, which seemed to offer the best chance of hearing some rock n roll screaming guitars. Unfortunately, the only screaming was in the vocals, as it was a screamo band, and the guitar parts were harsh and uninspiring. I was disappointed, but they just weren't my style. It was worth checking out, though, and I'm willing to give some other acts a chance in the future.
Of considerable note this year is the fact that Tekkoshocon has moved back into the big ol' downtown convention center - the DLLCC (David L. Lawrence Convention Center) after the past two years in a nearby cramped hotel building. As such, there was much more space this year - particularly in the halls and stairways. But as a result, the con - and the people attending - was much more spread out. Certainly, the hotel was much too small for the con's crowds, but while the convention center gave us lots more space (more than we needed, truth be told), the con itself felt smaller in comparison, and it didn't seem like there were as many people - or cosplays - there.
I'm not saying I prefer the hotel - although it would have been lots less stressful if they had actually finished the grand ballroom staircase like they promised, as the worst part was getting between the first and second floors either via the deathtrap stairwell or the overloaded elevators - just that it had a kind of coziness to it. It's much harder to find people (and chase them down) and see everything there is to see when everything is so spread out. On the other hand, I sincerely hope that Tekkoshocon's future involves the kind of growth that would make having this much space necessary, although I can't say how realistic that dream is.
On a related note, while the space was very well utilized for the Dealer's Room and Artist's Alley (located, for once, on the showroom floor), I, among others, found it particularly inconvenient that they were situated so far from the rest of the con (panels, video rooms, main stage, etc.). It seemed like you had to walk a mile just to get from one node of the con to the other. And while the ample space all around is welcome for cosplay photoshoots and keeping the hallways navigable and such, having all that space between two very important poles of the convention, requiring your repeated traversal, can be a bit frustrating, and doubtless more tiring than is desirable. I can't say what possible solution there could be for this problem, however, as having the Dealer's Room on the showroom floor was very appealing.
Being back in the convention center (for whatever reasons), the con this year was stripped back to the standard Friday, Saturday, Sunday schedule, with no on-site programming on Thursday, as with last year. In the case of my group of pilgrims, this was just as well, as the rest of my group was not very well-impressed with Thursday's con atmosphere in previous years (although that's one thing I disagree with them on), and scheduling would have made one more day of con madness more trouble than it would have been worth. As such, we arrived in town on Thursday night and proceeded eagerly to the con on Friday morning (and I do mean morning - like, before noon!).
In recent years, you might recall, I have become very fond of cosplaying. This year, I regret that lack of funds and other issues resulted in me not doing all the cosplays I was planning. I still hope, however, to work through the kinks in my Chii bandage and White Rock Shooter prospective cosplays, among others, so that I can debut them next year or some other time in the future. But this year, I whittled my cosplay down to one single costume - which consisted of me recycling my trusty Japanese schoolgirl uniform (which I usually find some excuse to wear at least once every year), refitted with a bright red bow and coupled with that unique hairstyle that can only be associated with Tsukino Usagi - the magical girl who moonlights as the crime fighter Sailor Moon!
So instead of focusing on my own cosplay this year, I thought it would be a good opportunity to refocus my efforts on getting pictures of other cosplayers, since I kind of used that as an excuse not to get as many pictures last year. Unfortunately, though, as it turns out, I didn't get a whole lot of pictures this year, either. Part of that was due to my anxiety on Friday, and the fact that we chose to leave Tekkoshocon for a few hours to hit up another con, but on Saturday I found to my surprise that being in cosplay, despite my anticipation that it would make me more self-conscious, actually made me feel more comfortable about asking other people for their picture. I don't know if it has to do with the idea of putting on a mask or alternate persona and allowing that to buffer my thoughts and my actions (like it might with an actor), or if it's because I feel like a participant - like I'm playing the game, and am not just an outsider in street clothes wanting to get pictures of those nerds in funny costumes - but either way it helped.
Still, though, it seemed like I was seeing less cosplayers overall that impressed me - and that could be because of the quality of cosplay this year, or more likely the difficulty in tracking people down over the large space, or else just my becoming accustomed (and, in a sense, bored) of the cosplayers I see every year, exacerbated by my changing and refined tastes as a photographer. I'm not sure about that, though, and anyway, another contributing factor may be the rising popularity of American cartoons among Tekko-goers - Homestuck is inexplicably popular, as is My Little Pony, among others (including the usual comics offenders).
Whatever the case may be, despite my not putting very much effort into my cosplay this year, I did have a couple people ask for my picture on Saturday, and several that expressed their approval of my crossplay. I ran into one other Sailor Moon in particular who was very friendly and interested in getting a picture of the two of us together (I have to admit, placed side by side with a real girl just emphasizes - at least in my mind - all the ways in which I don't measure up to my own visual ideal).
There ended up being a lot of potentially interesting panels (although still not as much on topics of my preference as I would have liked) that I didn't make it to this year, mostly due to scheduling. One exception was the Better Than It Sounds panel about anime series with stupid (or weird) names that are actually good. The best thing I got out of that panel was a description of the cult hit series Madoka Magica, which was totally hyped up for me by being described as Sailor Moon meets Neon Genesis Evangelion (two of my favorite series!). From how it sounds, it's like what Evangelion did to the mecha genre (adding in angst and all that), but with the mahou shoujo - magical girl - genre instead. I've got to watch it.
Speaking of watching, I got to watch the AMV contest again this year. There actually wasn't a whole lot of great AMVs, but it was worth it for the one Serial Experiments Lain AMV alone (Terror In The Depths Of The Wired). It was set to an instrumental track from the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack, and it was fantastic. I voted it best in show, but it didn't win any awards. Lousy judges. (Yes, that includes the audience members who voted :p). There was also a great romance AMV set to Victoria Justice's Best Friend's Brother, but the award went to a Toradora video featuring Taylor Swift's poppy We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together instead.
I made it to the Extreme AMV contest again this year, since I enjoyed it so much last year, but it was unfortunately pretty lackluster. Allegedly this was due to a sheer lack of submissions. There was a funny AMV using explicit clips from La Blue Girl, and a violent one with Hellsing imagery, but only four videos in total, and nothing to go totally gaga over. Ah well. Note to AMV makers: don't be shy, make those extremely violent, pornographic AMVs with pervasive [foul] language - we want to see them! I would love to see an Urotsukidoji (Legend of the Overfiend) AMV, or even just an AMV that serves as an ode to tentacle rape - that would be awesome.
For, like, the first time ever, I didn't buy anything in the Dealer's Room this year. Money was tight on the one hand, and on the other, I didn't see anything that totally blew me away. Except this great Black Rock Shooter figure, but I wasn't going to pay $70 for it... Although, apparently, somebody else was, because it was gone when I looked again on Saturday. There were a lot more dakimakura (body pillows) this year, although after last year's complaints (I'm sure), they were either on display and crudely censored with post-it notes, or wrapped in plastic with only a tiny cardboard picture on the corner to look at. I was sorta hoping to get one, but as I said, I didn't see one that really blew me away. Plus, I get really self-conscious looking at the 18+ stuff. It's silly, but even though I'm an adult and everything, when they put up signs and talk about checking IDs and stuff, it just makes me feel like a kid again, like I'm trying to get away with something, and I have to avoid getting caught. It's bogus.
I haven't much to say about the rave that I haven't said in years past. Fun atmosphere, but I can never really get into it, on account of me not being much of a dancing, partying kinda guy. But it's like I want to be. Plus, people start taking their clothes off (not all of them, mind you), or switching into skimpy, sexy raver gear to go dancing in and that's pretty cool to see. Of course, flashing lights aside, there's not much light in the rave, so you can hardly get the benefit of enjoying the eye candy. :-\
Although on that note, I was treated to a marvelous surprise on Saturday, when it became clear that the convention center was also being rented out to a serious cheerleader competition. Early on, there were scores of young cheerleaders gathering in the halls and even, to an extent, mingling with congoers and cosplayers. And then later, in the walkway overlooking the two larger showrooms in the building, I had the opportunity to join the myriad other Tekko-ers spying on the cheerleading competition, watching their bombastic, tumbling performances. It was like something straight out of Bring It On! It was not at all an experience I was expecting, nor one that seems in tune with the whole atmosphere of being at an anime convention, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy the spectacle, and if it didn't amplify my overall enjoyment of the weekend. Hell, I wish that were a regular feature of the con, and not just a happy scheduling accident. I might have to consider getting tickets to a cheerleading competition instead of an anime convention next time! ;p
And finally we come to meeting Madison Lintz, although it actually happened early in the weekend - on Friday. I'm always nervous meeting people, and especially interacting with people I don't know very well, but I wasn't even prepared for how nervous I was anticipating my meeting with the girl who played Sophia on The Walking Dead. The scene where spoiler happens (if you've seen the show, you can guess what I'm talking about), was such a heartbreaking moment, and one of the greatest moments in TV history, in my opinion. I told Madison as much, even if I did so very awkwardly. But she was very professional and took it in stride. Then I got her autograph and posed for a picture with her, for a very modest fee. It was certainly one of the highlights of a very busy, and at times stressful and exhausting, but ultimately very exciting, weekend.
Post-script: One thing I forgot to mention was checking out one of the musical guests. Last year I remarked that, despite being a musician and a music-fan, I hardly ever check out the musical guests at anime conventions (at least partly due to the fact that it's not Japanese music I'm largely dedicated to). So this year, I made a point to attend one of the concerts. I picked Dazzle Vision, which seemed to offer the best chance of hearing some rock n roll screaming guitars. Unfortunately, the only screaming was in the vocals, as it was a screamo band, and the guitar parts were harsh and uninspiring. I was disappointed, but they just weren't my style. It was worth checking out, though, and I'm willing to give some other acts a chance in the future.
09 January, 2013
Looking Back
As this blog has ostensibly become about me becoming a better person (crossing the "bridge to better days") - although I have no intention of coming here to sap about all my problems (gee, have I changed that much already?) - I thought it might be a nice gesture to list all the 'great accomplishments' I've made, things of note that I've done or experienced over the past year, now that we are looking ahead into the new year and all. So here's what I've been up to over the last year:
Pros:
* I've moved.
* I got a cell phone.
* I got into better shape (for the summer at least).
* I recorded my first album since actually becoming decent as a guitar player.
* I took lots of great pictures, most of which with my new cell phone.
* I spent a week-long vacation at a nudist camp, and attended a nude volleyball tournament - an experience that I won't soon forget.
Neutrals:
* I quit therapy (I felt we reached the limit of what was possible through talk alone - and that just wasn't enough. Plus it's expensive).
* By the end of the year, I decided to try medication for my anxiety (this could be a huge pro in the longterm, but right now it's pretty crappy - I don't think my body likes drugs).
Cons:
* I had my first visit to the ER, and my first overnight (twice over) stay in a hospital (it was a pure nightmare).
* I basically found out that I have a shitty heart, and so now I'm on indefinite medication. You'd have to know me to know how much that pisses me off. (Even though I was perfectly fine without medication until that one freak occurrence this year).
All in all, it was a pretty productive year, with ups and downs, and despite the downs, not at all the worst year of my life (thanks in no small part to the ups). But I'm not over the bridge just yet.
Pros:
* I've moved.
* I got a cell phone.
* I got into better shape (for the summer at least).
* I recorded my first album since actually becoming decent as a guitar player.
* I took lots of great pictures, most of which with my new cell phone.
* I spent a week-long vacation at a nudist camp, and attended a nude volleyball tournament - an experience that I won't soon forget.
Neutrals:
* I quit therapy (I felt we reached the limit of what was possible through talk alone - and that just wasn't enough. Plus it's expensive).
* By the end of the year, I decided to try medication for my anxiety (this could be a huge pro in the longterm, but right now it's pretty crappy - I don't think my body likes drugs).
Cons:
* I had my first visit to the ER, and my first overnight (twice over) stay in a hospital (it was a pure nightmare).
* I basically found out that I have a shitty heart, and so now I'm on indefinite medication. You'd have to know me to know how much that pisses me off. (Even though I was perfectly fine without medication until that one freak occurrence this year).
All in all, it was a pretty productive year, with ups and downs, and despite the downs, not at all the worst year of my life (thanks in no small part to the ups). But I'm not over the bridge just yet.
12 December, 2012
Keeping the 'Christ' in Christmas
I've been seeing signs here and there this early winter season with the slogan "keep the Christ in Christmas". Normally, I'm a "let people celebrate however they like" kinda guy, but there's something about this that bugs me. I can see where this perspective comes from, with the commercialization of Christmas and everything - there's nothing controversial about Christians wanting to preserve the true meaning of Christmas. I think the problem comes in where we have to accept that Christmas isn't strictly a Christian holiday (anymore).
Now, I personally would be on board with a widescale move to redesignate Christmas as a purely Christian holiday that only Christians celebrate - I would be more than happy to get rid of the pressure of being expected to celebrate Christmas within my family regardless of my religious beliefs (and level of devotion). But let's be realistic - that ain't gonna happen. Christmas has splintered whether the Christians like it or not, and now it is as much a secular holiday as it is a Christian holiday.
And I don't see why that's so bad. Christmas is, generally, a nice holiday (regardless of my personal feelings about it), and I don't see why people who are irreligious shouldn't be able to celebrate it in the commercialized, secularized form that currently exists. Ideally, we would call it something different, and disconnect it with the religious traditions of Christmas - call it Winter's Day or whatever. That way, the Christians could be all about "Christmas is about Christ", and the rest of us heathens could be content to celebrate our Winter's Day without feeling like we're locking horns with the Christians by subverting their holiday traditions.
But, as it stands, the holiday that so much of us celebrate, whether religious or not, and particularly when talking about the media outlets and the music and the decorations we see every December, is Christmas. So when I see a sign that says "keep the Christ in Christmas" I can't help thinking, "well, that's all well and good for you Christians, but I'm an atheist, and the last thing I want to emphasize in my winter holiday celebrations is some religious mumbo-jumbo."
See, in my experience, 'Christmas' is a word used to designate winter holiday celebrations (not specifically those of a devout religious bent), and anyone who is advertising the need to put the Christ back into Christmas is essentially telling me that I need to not only put religion into my winter holiday celebrations, but to put specifically Christian beliefs into my winter holiday celebrations - and that's offensive. But, that is characteristic of the Christians, after all, who have historically been overly concerned with conversion and saving souls and forcing everybody else to think the way they do.
Now, I'm a reasonable person, so I'm more than happy to renounce the name 'Christmas' for my winter holiday celebrations, but as long as everybody else I bump into (religious or not) is using that name, it's not really going to stick. So, if there is to be any kind of resolution to this dilemma, there are going to have to be a whole lot more people willing to do as I am. I can't force that to happen, so it's out of my power. I'm willing to concede Christmas to the Christians; whether or not it happens depends on the rest of you 'not really religious' Christians and ex-Christians, and you people who help to turn the commercial marketplace into an advertisement for Christianity each December, reinforcing the extremely offensive notion that America is a Christian country.
The ball's in your court.
Now, I personally would be on board with a widescale move to redesignate Christmas as a purely Christian holiday that only Christians celebrate - I would be more than happy to get rid of the pressure of being expected to celebrate Christmas within my family regardless of my religious beliefs (and level of devotion). But let's be realistic - that ain't gonna happen. Christmas has splintered whether the Christians like it or not, and now it is as much a secular holiday as it is a Christian holiday.
And I don't see why that's so bad. Christmas is, generally, a nice holiday (regardless of my personal feelings about it), and I don't see why people who are irreligious shouldn't be able to celebrate it in the commercialized, secularized form that currently exists. Ideally, we would call it something different, and disconnect it with the religious traditions of Christmas - call it Winter's Day or whatever. That way, the Christians could be all about "Christmas is about Christ", and the rest of us heathens could be content to celebrate our Winter's Day without feeling like we're locking horns with the Christians by subverting their holiday traditions.
But, as it stands, the holiday that so much of us celebrate, whether religious or not, and particularly when talking about the media outlets and the music and the decorations we see every December, is Christmas. So when I see a sign that says "keep the Christ in Christmas" I can't help thinking, "well, that's all well and good for you Christians, but I'm an atheist, and the last thing I want to emphasize in my winter holiday celebrations is some religious mumbo-jumbo."
See, in my experience, 'Christmas' is a word used to designate winter holiday celebrations (not specifically those of a devout religious bent), and anyone who is advertising the need to put the Christ back into Christmas is essentially telling me that I need to not only put religion into my winter holiday celebrations, but to put specifically Christian beliefs into my winter holiday celebrations - and that's offensive. But, that is characteristic of the Christians, after all, who have historically been overly concerned with conversion and saving souls and forcing everybody else to think the way they do.
Now, I'm a reasonable person, so I'm more than happy to renounce the name 'Christmas' for my winter holiday celebrations, but as long as everybody else I bump into (religious or not) is using that name, it's not really going to stick. So, if there is to be any kind of resolution to this dilemma, there are going to have to be a whole lot more people willing to do as I am. I can't force that to happen, so it's out of my power. I'm willing to concede Christmas to the Christians; whether or not it happens depends on the rest of you 'not really religious' Christians and ex-Christians, and you people who help to turn the commercial marketplace into an advertisement for Christianity each December, reinforcing the extremely offensive notion that America is a Christian country.
The ball's in your court.
08 November, 2012
On the Legalization of Pot
(In the wake of this article)
You know, worst case scenario - pot turns people into lazy, incoherent douchebags. Again, worst case scenario - legalize pot and people will use it indiscriminately, irresponsibly. I don't think this would realistically happen, but let's talk worst case scenario.
Is it really so bad? The way I see it, it's like natural selection - survival of the fittest. So, a subset of the human population gets addicted to pot and lays on the couch all day instead of going to work. So? They eventually become poor from not being able to hold a job, and guess what - that's more jobs for the people who are smart enough to avoid doping up (or the "few" smart enough to use pot responsibly, and not recklessly).
I fail to see why this is a bad thing. I think taking drugs is stupid, personally - although I believe there is such a thing as decency in moderation. The threat of addiction is, of course dangerous, which is one of the reasons I prefer to play it safe and not dip my toes in the water.
But then again, we can talk about different drugs and what they do (as well as how addictive they are). Some drugs are perfectly legal - like caffeine. Other drugs are legal but regulated - alcohol and tobacco. But that doesn't mean they're safe.
If anything, instead of outlawing pot for totally arbitrary reasons - there should be some kind of scientific inquiry into its effects and its level of danger, on the grand scale. Everything I've heard and read suggests that pot is more benign and less poisionous than alcohol and tobacco. So what's the big deal?
But, I would argue even further than that. Worst case scenario - legalize pot, and it opens the door for the bleeding heart liberals who want the right to decide what they put in their bodies (funny idea, that). So what? If some idiot wants to ruin his life and send himself to an early grave snorting cocaine and shooting up heroine, so be it.
It's one thing to want good lives for other people, and to want to guide them when you think they're making a mistake. But, ultimately, it's their life and their decision. And it would probably be a much safer decision without all the underground bullshit that comes with prohibition. You know, gang violence, impurities, and all the damn secrecy. I say, bring it all out into the open, and we'd all be better equipped to handle it.
You know, even from a Christian perspective, there's no virtue in forcing a man to avoid temptation - he has to choose it himself. Not that I put any weight in the Christian perspective, but it's worthwhile to point out the hypocrisy inherent in that view. Funny thing I was thinking the other day - God makes sketchy promises of rewards after death for avoiding temptation, but giving in to temptation is its own reward - here and now.
You know, worst case scenario - pot turns people into lazy, incoherent douchebags. Again, worst case scenario - legalize pot and people will use it indiscriminately, irresponsibly. I don't think this would realistically happen, but let's talk worst case scenario.
Is it really so bad? The way I see it, it's like natural selection - survival of the fittest. So, a subset of the human population gets addicted to pot and lays on the couch all day instead of going to work. So? They eventually become poor from not being able to hold a job, and guess what - that's more jobs for the people who are smart enough to avoid doping up (or the "few" smart enough to use pot responsibly, and not recklessly).
I fail to see why this is a bad thing. I think taking drugs is stupid, personally - although I believe there is such a thing as decency in moderation. The threat of addiction is, of course dangerous, which is one of the reasons I prefer to play it safe and not dip my toes in the water.
But then again, we can talk about different drugs and what they do (as well as how addictive they are). Some drugs are perfectly legal - like caffeine. Other drugs are legal but regulated - alcohol and tobacco. But that doesn't mean they're safe.
If anything, instead of outlawing pot for totally arbitrary reasons - there should be some kind of scientific inquiry into its effects and its level of danger, on the grand scale. Everything I've heard and read suggests that pot is more benign and less poisionous than alcohol and tobacco. So what's the big deal?
But, I would argue even further than that. Worst case scenario - legalize pot, and it opens the door for the bleeding heart liberals who want the right to decide what they put in their bodies (funny idea, that). So what? If some idiot wants to ruin his life and send himself to an early grave snorting cocaine and shooting up heroine, so be it.
It's one thing to want good lives for other people, and to want to guide them when you think they're making a mistake. But, ultimately, it's their life and their decision. And it would probably be a much safer decision without all the underground bullshit that comes with prohibition. You know, gang violence, impurities, and all the damn secrecy. I say, bring it all out into the open, and we'd all be better equipped to handle it.
You know, even from a Christian perspective, there's no virtue in forcing a man to avoid temptation - he has to choose it himself. Not that I put any weight in the Christian perspective, but it's worthwhile to point out the hypocrisy inherent in that view. Funny thing I was thinking the other day - God makes sketchy promises of rewards after death for avoiding temptation, but giving in to temptation is its own reward - here and now.
06 November, 2012
A quick note on voting
I understand that some people think voting is this uber-important thing. But there's this self-righteousness associated with voting that really pisses me off. "Vote, or you're a pathetic jack-ass." "If you don't vote, you're an idiot and you can't be my friend and I don't understand you."
If another person thinks voting is worth it, that's fine, it doesn't bother me that much, and I can still be friends with them. But the way people proselytize about voting - like as if it's not enough that they vote, they have to get you to vote, too. It reminds me of Christian missionaries, and you can probably guess how I feel about them. It's like, give it a break already.
All your arguments you have for voting may be entirely sound, and you may even go so far as to think that you can't believe in democracy and not vote. Well, let me tell you something, I don't believe in democracy. At least not in the sense of majoritarian rule. Voting for me is a broken system and I'm not going to participate in it because it doesn't do anything for me, it just takes my rights away from me.
Even if I happened to be in the popular majority (and that's never going to happen), and the elected candidate is working in my favor, it's still not fair to everyone else, and I still won't get the consideration I deserve because a) no one politician is that powerful, and b) the government on the whole isn't working for the good of the people, it's working for the good of the government.
Actually, that's just how the system works. If you think the patriots that built this country protected against that eventuality, let me just tell you one thing - the Constitution is open to interpretation. Whose interpretation? Why, politicians, naturally. And who puts them in their seats? The majority!
I don't believe in democracy. So go, enjoy your excitement on Election Day - you're entitled to it, and I wouldn't take that away from you. Just stop acting like if I don't vote, there's something wrong with me (and you, for not trying harder to change my mind), okay? Thanks.
If another person thinks voting is worth it, that's fine, it doesn't bother me that much, and I can still be friends with them. But the way people proselytize about voting - like as if it's not enough that they vote, they have to get you to vote, too. It reminds me of Christian missionaries, and you can probably guess how I feel about them. It's like, give it a break already.
All your arguments you have for voting may be entirely sound, and you may even go so far as to think that you can't believe in democracy and not vote. Well, let me tell you something, I don't believe in democracy. At least not in the sense of majoritarian rule. Voting for me is a broken system and I'm not going to participate in it because it doesn't do anything for me, it just takes my rights away from me.
Even if I happened to be in the popular majority (and that's never going to happen), and the elected candidate is working in my favor, it's still not fair to everyone else, and I still won't get the consideration I deserve because a) no one politician is that powerful, and b) the government on the whole isn't working for the good of the people, it's working for the good of the government.
Actually, that's just how the system works. If you think the patriots that built this country protected against that eventuality, let me just tell you one thing - the Constitution is open to interpretation. Whose interpretation? Why, politicians, naturally. And who puts them in their seats? The majority!
I don't believe in democracy. So go, enjoy your excitement on Election Day - you're entitled to it, and I wouldn't take that away from you. Just stop acting like if I don't vote, there's something wrong with me (and you, for not trying harder to change my mind), okay? Thanks.
18 October, 2012
The Green Pill
Meaning is a human construct. It is not a property the universe possesses, that only humans are capable of grasping. It is an artifice, that only the human mind* is complex enough to construct. And while it bears some decided advantages (I would wager that bestowing life with meaning is a powerful survival advantage), getting lost in it can bear grave disadvantages - most notably in a willing blindness to the truth, like when faced with the fact that our consciousness will most likely someday return to the nothingness from whence it sprang, and not live on in an eternal afterlife.
(*It is conceivable that an organism with a comparable percentage of the capacity of the human mind may experience some level of 'meaning', and that a hypothetical organism with intelligence surpassing that of man's potential could also experience 'meaning', perhaps on an even more sophisticated level.)
I would be a fool to suggest that fantasy can not have a positive impact on life - but to get lost in it, losing sense of reality in the process, is dangerous. I do not think anyone's enjoyment of movie pictures, for example, are seriously hampered by the knowledge that they are just dramatic fantasies. On the other hand, those that allow themselves to remain trapped within the theater - like those chained inside of Plato's Cave - who are ignorant or unwilling to recognize the true nature of the world outside, may be doing themselves a disservice; but, more importantly, on a mass scale, their influence can negatively affect the quality of individuals' lives, as well as the advancement of human civilization on the whole.
Yes, I'm saying that meaning is a fantasy - but I'm also acknowledging that fantasy can have meaning. The impetus for this whole line of thought was the classic philosophical conundrum that presents itself in The Matrix as the red pill/blue pill question. Yes, of course, life in The Matrix is more comfortable than life out in the harsh, depressing world of reality. That's probably why so many people have turned to religion over the course of human history. For some of us, like myself, there is perhaps some virtue in enduring hardship for the sake of truth, and being free from deception. But here's the kicker:
Life in The Matrix may be more comfortable than life in the real world, but it is those who recognize The Matrix for the artificial construct that it is that have the power to mold that construct to their will, giving them abilities and experiences they couldn't dream of whether in The Matrix and ignorant of its artifice, or out in the real world. It's the ones who recognize the deception, but do not shun its deceptive properties, that are in a position to control it and wield it for their own ends. It is not simply a question of red pill or blue pill - harsh reality versus comfortable illusion. I urge you to take the green pill - so that you can begin to recognize the code and program it to suit your needs - in a sense, becoming our own gods. And as a transhumanist, I believe this is what we ought to do as a society on the whole.
(*It is conceivable that an organism with a comparable percentage of the capacity of the human mind may experience some level of 'meaning', and that a hypothetical organism with intelligence surpassing that of man's potential could also experience 'meaning', perhaps on an even more sophisticated level.)
I would be a fool to suggest that fantasy can not have a positive impact on life - but to get lost in it, losing sense of reality in the process, is dangerous. I do not think anyone's enjoyment of movie pictures, for example, are seriously hampered by the knowledge that they are just dramatic fantasies. On the other hand, those that allow themselves to remain trapped within the theater - like those chained inside of Plato's Cave - who are ignorant or unwilling to recognize the true nature of the world outside, may be doing themselves a disservice; but, more importantly, on a mass scale, their influence can negatively affect the quality of individuals' lives, as well as the advancement of human civilization on the whole.
Yes, I'm saying that meaning is a fantasy - but I'm also acknowledging that fantasy can have meaning. The impetus for this whole line of thought was the classic philosophical conundrum that presents itself in The Matrix as the red pill/blue pill question. Yes, of course, life in The Matrix is more comfortable than life out in the harsh, depressing world of reality. That's probably why so many people have turned to religion over the course of human history. For some of us, like myself, there is perhaps some virtue in enduring hardship for the sake of truth, and being free from deception. But here's the kicker:
Life in The Matrix may be more comfortable than life in the real world, but it is those who recognize The Matrix for the artificial construct that it is that have the power to mold that construct to their will, giving them abilities and experiences they couldn't dream of whether in The Matrix and ignorant of its artifice, or out in the real world. It's the ones who recognize the deception, but do not shun its deceptive properties, that are in a position to control it and wield it for their own ends. It is not simply a question of red pill or blue pill - harsh reality versus comfortable illusion. I urge you to take the green pill - so that you can begin to recognize the code and program it to suit your needs - in a sense, becoming our own gods. And as a transhumanist, I believe this is what we ought to do as a society on the whole.
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