So I heard about a documentary called Zeitgeist. I watched about the first 30 minutes of it (it's online, so you can watch it all without downloading or anything).
I do care who is religious or not if they see this movie, but I have a test for anyone who is. And technically, for a test, you can't really pass it up unless you have a reason to fear it.
Anyway.
Go to the following link (takes you to the page with the movie):
http://zeitgeistmovie.com/
Let it load for a bit, without watching it. It's a full movie, so let it load like...the first 20 mins...it only will take a few minutes.
The first 8 minutes or so are intro music and whatnot, so skip that.
Play from the 9 minute mark, all the way to the 20 minute mark. That's right, watch just a lousy TEN MINUTES, and that's all you have to suffer through.
After watching that ten minutes, you are allowed to pummel my email and blog with whatever your thoughts are...and more importantly, how you can explain what you've seen.
That's all. Quite simple, really.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Video Games: A Lecture.
I figured that today, since I am sitting here doing nothing most of the night, that I would tackle hardcore issues in the world today, in hopes of discovering fresh, new ideas to help the public with said issues.
Today, I choose Video Games.
Many people, usually girls (Girl, you know it's true), are in the business of bashing video games, seeing them as useless, time-wasting garbage (ad lib).
What people don't realize is that video games have qualities similar to that of books. For instance:
1. Promotes creativity.
2. Enhances Dexterity (4 out of 5 physician studies showed that video game playing enhanced finger and arm dexterity almost 60% better than "Cranking one off")
3. Promotes good long-term memory retention, as most players attach classic video games to fun past memories. Like word association, if you will.
4. Similar to books, video games give you the escapism of going to other worlds, times, and places. They let you live other characters lives, and have control over their development, enhancement, and in some games, even their health and career.
It's not just a physical act of sitting on your ass and not doing anything that is enjoyable. That's called sleeping, and if you just want to be immobile, that's a better choice. Most people who mock video games are those who have never even tried to play one. Let's look at a few classics:
CASTLEVANIA
Beginning with "Castlevania" back in...oh...what was it, like 1988 I think...
These games were simplistic. You are a vampire hunter, sworn to hunt down and kill Dracula. Easy enough? Sure, until you fight zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and undeadites all over Transylvania. There are roughly 20 games that follow the Castlevania game plotline, each one similar, but slightly different then the others. They have become cult classics.
MEGAMAN
Megaman has spawned many sequels (most notably Megaman 3 among the Smallwood family), from the first all the way to Megaman 8, and then restarting with Megaman X, and all the way continuing consecutively to Megaman X5. These games feature robots gone bad, and Megaman must destroy them, then use the weapons he's taken from them to use as a Special against the other robots. It's quickly addictive.
Today, I choose Video Games.
Many people, usually girls (Girl, you know it's true), are in the business of bashing video games, seeing them as useless, time-wasting garbage (ad lib).
What people don't realize is that video games have qualities similar to that of books. For instance:
1. Promotes creativity.
2. Enhances Dexterity (4 out of 5 physician studies showed that video game playing enhanced finger and arm dexterity almost 60% better than "Cranking one off")
3. Promotes good long-term memory retention, as most players attach classic video games to fun past memories. Like word association, if you will.
4. Similar to books, video games give you the escapism of going to other worlds, times, and places. They let you live other characters lives, and have control over their development, enhancement, and in some games, even their health and career.
It's not just a physical act of sitting on your ass and not doing anything that is enjoyable. That's called sleeping, and if you just want to be immobile, that's a better choice. Most people who mock video games are those who have never even tried to play one. Let's look at a few classics:
CASTLEVANIA
Beginning with "Castlevania" back in...oh...what was it, like 1988 I think...
These games were simplistic. You are a vampire hunter, sworn to hunt down and kill Dracula. Easy enough? Sure, until you fight zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and undeadites all over Transylvania. There are roughly 20 games that follow the Castlevania game plotline, each one similar, but slightly different then the others. They have become cult classics.
MEGAMAN
Megaman has spawned many sequels (most notably Megaman 3 among the Smallwood family), from the first all the way to Megaman 8, and then restarting with Megaman X, and all the way continuing consecutively to Megaman X5. These games feature robots gone bad, and Megaman must destroy them, then use the weapons he's taken from them to use as a Special against the other robots. It's quickly addictive.
...and let's not forget, the wonderful classic...
RPGs (Role-Playing Games)
Zelda
The Final Fantasies
Chrono Trigger
RPGs are usually the backbone of hardcore gamers. Almost everything popular has been made into an RPG, including "Super Mario RPG"...which is also a great game.
RPGs let players build a character up from scratch, gaining them experience, new powers and skills, purchasing weapons, and getting together with other players to accomplish the games quests and goals (Teamwork...another perk).
The popular RPG currently would undoubtedly be World of Warcraft, which has over 7 million players currently enrolled online.
We end today with a idea. The idea that many people should consider video games as a hobby, much like any other. But not just that. They deserve to be put on as high a pedestal as any other hobby.
Why are fishing, golfing, reading books, and listening to music all acceptable hobbies, yet video games get the stigma?
I know what my wife would say..."Video games take up too much time."
Well...that's somewhat true...to those of us who need to learn to manage time better. But then again, I know people who can spend an entire day off work reading a book for 8+ hours, and they're never looked down upon for it.
It's worth a thought.
But right now...I gotta grind my warrior to 70.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Garbage to the Nth Degree. Lightly Censored, with Mayo.
I saw a blog today (oh, Boy). It was a religious blog, to say the least, but one of those religious blogs that makes many of us rational thinkers want to pull our hair out in frustration, like unto trying to explain quantum physics to a wee babe.
The posts were one thing, with the never-ending battle with "I have to find a way to insert Jesus into everything I do all day no matter if it's ordering a pizza or changing a diaper" Syndrome, but the movie at the top of the page was something else entirely.
I call it "Mr. Jeezy-bit and Satan: An Interpretive Dance"
It's a GodTube video, from some concert, where a guy dressed as Jesus (only looking like Justin Timberlake, and wearing a purple stripe for a sign of holy wealth or something) is dancing with a teenage girl, who is then accosted by 5 other people in masks, the front runner being in Black (SYMBOLISM?!), which then "tempt" the girl to run around the stage like crazy, get depressed, and at one point, even point a gun at her head onstage. In the end, amidst the rock and roll spiritual Lollapalooza, Justin Christ knocks them all down, and hugs the girl.
Ahem....
WTF??????!!!!!
The obvious frivolity aside, the thing was so melodramatic, it made "Dark Shadows" look like a sonnet. It was the most contrived piece of saucy crap I've ever seen.
And apparently, this is a very popular video, as I found it later on other blogs as well. It's so ridiculous I can't even explain the ridiculousness. I am with lack of expletive ridiculosity.
And why am I telling you all this?
Why do I care?
Just don't go to the site anymore, right?
What caused me to write this long ass novel?
It actually made my chest hurt. It caused me physical pain and anger, because unfortunately, these people are the majority. But at least I don't pretend to like it, despite my obvious loathing, and then spew hatred behind backs.
No, hatred and I are good friends.
It really does makes me sound horrid, doesn't it?
I'm not one for letting things go, and I'm not one who is able to turn a blind eye while others backstab each other until one of them hits a kidney. Not my style.
Religion drives me crazy.
It starts wars, perpetuates violence, and teaches everyone that if you don't think like everyone else, you are worthless.
There's no other way to say it. It's just really sad.
The posts were one thing, with the never-ending battle with "I have to find a way to insert Jesus into everything I do all day no matter if it's ordering a pizza or changing a diaper" Syndrome, but the movie at the top of the page was something else entirely.
I call it "Mr. Jeezy-bit and Satan: An Interpretive Dance"
It's a GodTube video, from some concert, where a guy dressed as Jesus (only looking like Justin Timberlake, and wearing a purple stripe for a sign of holy wealth or something) is dancing with a teenage girl, who is then accosted by 5 other people in masks, the front runner being in Black (SYMBOLISM?!), which then "tempt" the girl to run around the stage like crazy, get depressed, and at one point, even point a gun at her head onstage. In the end, amidst the rock and roll spiritual Lollapalooza, Justin Christ knocks them all down, and hugs the girl.
Ahem....
WTF??????!!!!!
The obvious frivolity aside, the thing was so melodramatic, it made "Dark Shadows" look like a sonnet. It was the most contrived piece of saucy crap I've ever seen.
And apparently, this is a very popular video, as I found it later on other blogs as well. It's so ridiculous I can't even explain the ridiculousness. I am with lack of expletive ridiculosity.
And why am I telling you all this?
Why do I care?
Just don't go to the site anymore, right?
What caused me to write this long ass novel?
It actually made my chest hurt. It caused me physical pain and anger, because unfortunately, these people are the majority. But at least I don't pretend to like it, despite my obvious loathing, and then spew hatred behind backs.
No, hatred and I are good friends.
It really does makes me sound horrid, doesn't it?
I'm not one for letting things go, and I'm not one who is able to turn a blind eye while others backstab each other until one of them hits a kidney. Not my style.
Religion drives me crazy.
It starts wars, perpetuates violence, and teaches everyone that if you don't think like everyone else, you are worthless.
There's no other way to say it. It's just really sad.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Three-quarters of the earth's surface
...is covered in butter.
I mean, why?
Why is it that every single recipe someone uses on Food Network MUST include several pounds of butter?
Unless you're Ina Garten...then you use butter AND chocolate AND cream AND 10 pounds of animal fat.
THAR SHE BLOOOOOOOOOOOWS!
Ahem...
for instance, take Ina's "Outrageous Brownies". I've pasted the ingredients only below:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces
1 POUND OF BUTTER?! I saw the show, too...It makes only 20 brownies. Give me a moment while I go tally up the amount of fat, will you?
Let's see...
1 pound butter = 32 tablespoons...which are 11g of fat each. So that's 352.
1 oz walnuts has 16g fat. 3 cups is 24.9 oz...so... 398.4 g fat there.
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (which is 7g fat per 14g serving) has 85g of fat.
1 lb + 12 oz (so 28 oz) of semi-sweet chips is 793.8 grams (and it's 4g fat per 15g of chips)....so...carry the 3.....and that's another 211.68 grams of fat.
So...to total this...
We have:
Butter = 352 g
Walnuts = 398.4 g
Unsweetened Choc. = 85 g
28 oz. chocolate chips = 211.68
-----------------------------------------
TOTAL = 1,047.08 grams of fat.
divided by 20 brownies...............
-----------------------------------------
52.34 g per brownie. 52 and a half grams of pure FAT in each brownie.
...and let's not even mention the amount of cholesterol from those eggs.
Now, I know people will say "Oh God! Like we're not supposed to have any fat in our food? How idealistic! What a radical! BLAH BLAH BLAH!"
No....you don't need enough butter and milk and shit so all you taste is pure fat. I don't know about you, but when I make chocolate brownies, I want them to taste like chocolate brownies, not BUTTERIZED SOLID.
I don't like that "I gotta give birth to a camel now!" feeling after eating.
I mean, why?
Why is it that every single recipe someone uses on Food Network MUST include several pounds of butter?
Unless you're Ina Garten...then you use butter AND chocolate AND cream AND 10 pounds of animal fat.
THAR SHE BLOOOOOOOOOOOWS!
Ahem...
for instance, take Ina's "Outrageous Brownies". I've pasted the ingredients only below:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces
1 POUND OF BUTTER?! I saw the show, too...It makes only 20 brownies. Give me a moment while I go tally up the amount of fat, will you?
Let's see...
1 pound butter = 32 tablespoons...which are 11g of fat each. So that's 352.
1 oz walnuts has 16g fat. 3 cups is 24.9 oz...so... 398.4 g fat there.
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (which is 7g fat per 14g serving) has 85g of fat.
1 lb + 12 oz (so 28 oz) of semi-sweet chips is 793.8 grams (and it's 4g fat per 15g of chips)....so...carry the 3.....and that's another 211.68 grams of fat.
So...to total this...
We have:
Butter = 352 g
Walnuts = 398.4 g
Unsweetened Choc. = 85 g
28 oz. chocolate chips = 211.68
-----------------------------------------
TOTAL = 1,047.08 grams of fat.
divided by 20 brownies...............
-----------------------------------------
52.34 g per brownie. 52 and a half grams of pure FAT in each brownie.
...and let's not even mention the amount of cholesterol from those eggs.
Now, I know people will say "Oh God! Like we're not supposed to have any fat in our food? How idealistic! What a radical! BLAH BLAH BLAH!"
No....you don't need enough butter and milk and shit so all you taste is pure fat. I don't know about you, but when I make chocolate brownies, I want them to taste like chocolate brownies, not BUTTERIZED SOLID.
I don't like that "I gotta give birth to a camel now!" feeling after eating.
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