Comments on: TEN RANDOM THOUGHTS #11

by: Mark Hasty

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 04:08:10 +0000

I’ve got that book! I’m working on a review for Blogcritics, if I ever find the time to make it publishable.

There are actually two versions of ‘Crap Cars,’ one American and one British. There aren’t many cars which appear in both books.

by: Vidiot

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 19:33:00 +0000

I like “House” a lot, but I wish Fox would quit pre-empting it for drek like “American Idol”, which they seem to do three weeks out of four.

And Dan Neil is fantastic. (By the way, there’s a new book out called “Crap Cars.” Saw it in the bookstore, and thought of you.)

by: Me

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:17:59 +0000

I used to like House, but I’ve gotten away from it. The characters are ok, the problem I have is the patients. They always have some ridiculous combination of 7 diseases. Not everyone in the world is Monty Burns.

by: Tom G

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 00:53:08 +0000

DQ rocks. I live in a rural area where my only fast food options are McD and DQ. DQ gets all of my business. Their FlameThrower burger is excellent.

The wife & I like ‘House’, too.

FSM is amusing–about as amusing as ID–and not much more. The way I see it, you’re either a creationist or you believe it’s all just random chance. The creationists (billions of ‘em) have a wide array of options to consider. Indeed, I’d wager that the non-God-of-Abraham crowd (Hindus, Buddhists, Scientologists, Aboriginals around the world, etc.) outnumber the Jews, Christians and Muslims combined. Maybe it was Martians. Maybe the ancient Greeks were right all along. Who knows? Nobody knows. We all believe (though I guess some might admit to just being stumped by the whole question). What differs is what we believe. IMO, the ‘random chance’ crowd has the most faith.

I like Dave’s “There is a strong notion in Danish society that Islam is not tolerant of free speech.” There should be an award for the understatement of the week around here. Dave–you could have saved yourself a few keystrokes if you had stopped at ‘tolerant’.

by: Dave

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:02:54 +0000

Two comments: First, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is an attack on creationism. The closely-related Invisible Pink Unicorn (PBUH) is the traditional atheist attack on Christianity and other monotheistic religions. The IPU is not inherently funny, but much of the writing about Her is absolutely hilarious as a spoof of scripture and of interdenominational strife. I should go dig some up and link it, but you can probably find it yourself.

Second: the images of Mohammed were intended to make a point. There have been a number of attack in Denmark recently on those who were critical of Islam in one way or another, some of which resulted in deaths. There is a strong notion in Danish society that Islam is not tolerant of free speech. The original cartoons, from what I understand, were a protest against the attempt by Muslims to shut down speech they found objectionable.

by: M1EK

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 15:50:55 +0000

Mark,

From the outside, they are pretty clearly poking fun at those who are trying to push ID into science class. Not at Christianity.

by: Paul

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 03:30:09 +0000

Nothing beats a DQ blueberry malt.

Except, of course, a DQ pineapple malt.

by: Mark Hasty

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:34:59 +0000

You’re probably right, M1EK, I am too close. It’s hard (for me) to tell if they’re just poking fun at ID, or if they’re saying that believing in God makes about as much sense as believing in a FSM.

Calling themselves “Pastafarians,” though, is hilarious. But maybe people in Jamaica don’t agree . . .

by: M1EK

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:18:57 +0000

Dude, you’re too close to it to see it, but the FSM is pretty freakin’ hilarious. And the problem with declaring that something’s just offensive for offensive’s sake is that, as with the FSM, one guy’s “almost funny” is ten million peoples’ “freakin’ hilarious”.