July 28, 2011
Mr. Louderstill
.
I am trying to be a better person/less judgmental asshole.
Mr. Louderstill has lived in the house next door since before I became his neighbor. He is younger and that makes me wonder if I am sometimes being a stick-in-the-mud old fart when I get severely annoyed by his penchant for activities of advanced decibellàge. I may be a curmudgeon, but you’ve got to know the man is a menace to peace and quiet.
Think of any noisy mechanical apparatus and chances are he owns one. Monster truck with glass-pack exhaust – check. Four-wheelers (several, none street legal, including a two-seater that he was letting his eight-year-old drive) – check. Chainsaw, pressure washer, power blower – triple check. He also has jet skis, which of course don’t affect my household, but I bet if it snowed here more often he’d have a snowmobile that he could race up and down our road. He owns an auto body shop and so occasionally has side projects going in his garage, complete with an air compressor and several vwip-vwip-vweeeeeearr tools that it runs. Then there are the fireworks. New Year’s Eve and July 4th without fail, and usually at annoying intervals into the post-midnight hours instead of just doing as the pros do and lighting them all off in quick succession (they’re illegal in our state but available in startling abundance in two adjacent ones, split between roadside kiosks and ballpark-lighted supermarkets of sparkly danger nicknamed with the premise of some certifiable proprietor).
There is some relief in our son having overcome most of his problematic sensory overload from the noise, and now that the dogs are gone we don’t have to worry about puddles of pee caused by abject fright.
But that’s not all we get. Mr. Louderstill recently installed a widescreen television and surround stereo speakers out on his deck to add to the fun of his redneck friends (a.k.a. the Smokersons) watching NASCAR races or some CMT tripe. They’re pointed in our direction and even that’s not usually too bad if we stay indoors, but when they get the subwoofers cranking, boy, I’ve felt my kitchen wall vibrating. He has a pool and his guests’ young children can often be heard screaming with aquatic delight until well past any halfway responsible bedtime. Adding to the fun two doors down are the Methicks, from whence Mr. & Mrs.’s drug and alcohol-fueled disagreements come. They’re hard enough to tune out, becoming intolerable when their yappy dogs get worked up with either them or any random breeze.
Essentially, Mr. Louderstill has little and often no regard for his neighbors. Not long after we moved in he told us that he didn’t plan on staying in his house forever. It was Mrs. Louderstill #1 that got to move out (said she couldn’t take the degradation anymore), and she was pretty nice and sometimes even sheepish about her boorish then-spouse.
We have some pity for him because we’ve suspected his work and party ethic are fueled by a hyper-recreational use of drugs. For several reasons we would prefer to simply (or even complexly) just not be his neighbor anymore. That’s the easiest way.
How do you reach out to people that make your skin crawl?
.
Labels: anger, Assholery squared, don't mix, humour, madness, NASCAR, neighbors, rants, rednecks, words
November 01, 2007
Max does it again
.
Max Blumenthal, that is. Just a few days ago he took his camera and his pointed inquisitiveness to the Value Voters Summit sponsored by right-wing Christian organization Focus on the Family and its D.C. lobbying arm Family Research Council. Before seeing this I thought I'd heard every idiotic and vitriolic angle from the religious right, but I confess I was astonished by several statements made by these so-called moral people in Max's video. In the accompanying column Blumenthal speaks about the new turn by some evangelical Christians to move away from the heated dogmatic issues and address ones more in line with benefiting all of society, not just issues that exhalt the people going to heaven while excoriating the hell bound:
Check out the video from his latest adventure
.
Max Blumenthal, that is. Just a few days ago he took his camera and his pointed inquisitiveness to the Value Voters Summit sponsored by right-wing Christian organization Focus on the Family and its D.C. lobbying arm Family Research Council. Before seeing this I thought I'd heard every idiotic and vitriolic angle from the religious right, but I confess I was astonished by several statements made by these so-called moral people in Max's video. In the accompanying column Blumenthal speaks about the new turn by some evangelical Christians to move away from the heated dogmatic issues and address ones more in line with benefiting all of society, not just issues that exhalt the people going to heaven while excoriating the hell bound:
Alas, Max says it seems that no one told those gathered at the Value Voters Summit about this friendly new initiative, and "If anything, the movement seemed more extreme and paranoid than it did four years ago."Recently, there has been a lot of mainstream media noise about a new, more socially conscious evangelical movement rising from the angry ashes of the Christian right. Pastors like Rick Warren and "evangelical feminist" Bill Hybels are supposedly bringing issues like the environment and poverty to the forefront of the movement's social agenda, while pushing anti-abortion and anti-gay activism to the wayside.
Check out the video from his latest adventure
.
Labels: don't mix, family, Holy Crap, politix, religion, vitriol
October 09, 2007
The FEAR
.
I received a blanket e-mail via my company's mailroom address with the subject line, "RE: CHRISTMAS STAMP What The Heck is The Matter with this Country??" Here is the message (verbatim):
The myriad wrongness here is astounding. Just taking on the most obvious point, one of our editors was enterprising enough to "Reply to All" with this clarification: "This is NOT a Christmas stamp. It marks the end of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday."
To which I, being much less of a neck sticker-outer, replied only to him: "Thank you sincerely for clarifying that for everyone that got spammed by this, Ralph [not his real name - I don't stick other people's necks out either - ed]. Perhaps there is a need to also clarify (or determine) company policy regarding unsolicited e-mails, no?"
To which Ralph [ibid] replied, this time just to me, "You wouldn't believe some of the stupid emails I got in response."
ME: "I probably would, but if you are of a mind to paraphrase, I give you my ear (eyes)."
I will update this post should Ralph forward any of the aforementioned stupidity upon me. And to bring all my readers up to speed, here be further clarification from amaana.org, a personal Shia Muslim's website (which appropriately points out in its disclaimer, "Allah says in the Quran 'Do not revile the faith of others as they may revile Allah in return"):
So now let's talk about The FEAR. The FEAR has been around a looong time, as evidenced by the ostensibly holy scripture commonly known as The Old Testament and the first book therein (paraphrased here):
America is rife with The FEAR, and in recent years she has strengthened her grip outside the traditional religious territory. She's there in the media ("We now go to Ted in the newsroom, who has a report about something totally new that can screw up your life, and will just leave it at that") and of course politics, never more evident than this campaign season, where the Republicans are hot on the twisted version of FDR's adage, "We have nothing to lose but fear itself."
Yes, The FEAR has power. The FEAR is a master of divide and conquer. The FEAR got George W. Bush elected in 2004. In a vicious circle of voting block influence, The FEAR has Congress paralyzed from protecting civil liberties (oh how The FEAR hates civil liberties) and doing the decidedly un-fearful majority voter's bidding.
And now The FEAR, in a genius move that reveals the depth of her bag of tricks, has folks worrying about postage stamps. As a strong believer in Thomas Jefferson's apocryphal Wall of Separation, I can't say I'm all tickled about any religious stamp being produced in government-run facilities. But the USPS is it's own strange gig in the bureaucratic U.S. of A., and I guess if they can sponsor a bike team then they have sort of grandfathered in their right to do whatever the hell they please. Like any retail business, the bulk of their profits comes during the winter Saturnalia frenzy, so I wish themgods peed luck <-- derived from Lucifer, BTW <-- in their endeavors to prosper.
What's bothering me is this endless parade of The FEAR among people who supposedly have an all-powerful savior who, through some sanguineous transubstantiation, is supposed to have their back. C'mon, Christians! Jesus Up for Christ's sake! If you don't want to vote for a Muslim, fine. But don't characterize ONE man's victory to the House of Representatives as some pre-apocalyptic abomination that justifies questioning his qualifications. Along the same lines, it's a fucking postage stamp, OK? You (nor I, for that matter) are compelled to buy it because it doesn't appeal or apply to us. End of story, not beginning of boycott. And ohmylord the Postal Chief [sic] is a Muslim? That's gotta be one of the seals cracking open, surely.
"What The Heck is The Matter with this Country?"
Indeed.
.
I received a blanket e-mail via my company's mailroom address with the subject line, "RE: CHRISTMAS STAMP What The Heck is The Matter with this Country??" Here is the message (verbatim):
I would guess that the 'Postal Chief 'must be Muslim too. I won't buy his stamp either....."And have a very 'MERRY CHRISTMAS"
Infuriating. It is true, I checked snopes.com.
CHRISTMAS STAMP
How ironic is this??!! They don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp, but don't dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property?
This one is impossible to believe. Scroll down for the text.
If there is only one thing you forward today.....let it be this!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military Barracks in Saudi Arabia!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks!
Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative first class
Holiday postage stamp. Bull!
REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp
When purchasing your stamps at the post office. To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors.
REMEMBER to pass this along to every patriotic AMERICAN you know!!!
The myriad wrongness here is astounding. Just taking on the most obvious point, one of our editors was enterprising enough to "Reply to All" with this clarification: "This is NOT a Christmas stamp. It marks the end of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday."
To which I, being much less of a neck sticker-outer, replied only to him: "Thank you sincerely for clarifying that for everyone that got spammed by this, Ralph [not his real name - I don't stick other people's necks out either - ed]. Perhaps there is a need to also clarify (or determine) company policy regarding unsolicited e-mails, no?"
To which Ralph [ibid] replied, this time just to me, "You wouldn't believe some of the stupid emails I got in response."
ME: "I probably would, but if you are of a mind to paraphrase, I give you my ear (eyes)."
I will update this post should Ralph forward any of the aforementioned stupidity upon me. And to bring all my readers up to speed, here be further clarification from amaana.org, a personal Shia Muslim's website (which appropriately points out in its disclaimer, "Allah says in the Quran 'Do not revile the faith of others as they may revile Allah in return"):
For the last 1400 years, over one billion Muslims throughout the world pay special attention to the esoteric (batin) matters by practising the exoteric (zaher) fasting by refraining from dishonesty, stealing, unethical actions, and other activities that would lead one astray. A Momin's (believer's) life is a journey to become one with the Essence and her daily life is a mirror of her spiritual beauty.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down daily, not having anything to eat, drink, smoke or indulging in sexual relations. A special feast is prepared for the breaking of the fast, where everyone present is invited to partake of the dinner after the all-day fast.
The month ends with special festivities on the Eid al-Fitr (Day of Feasting) celebration when families and friends truly rejoice for having completed the commandment of Allah by successful abstinence and by zikr (remembrance of Allah) at all times.
So now let's talk about The FEAR. The FEAR has been around a looong time, as evidenced by the ostensibly holy scripture commonly known as The Old Testament and the first book therein (paraphrased here):
Abraham said, "The fear of God ain't in this place, and they would be a-slayin' me most fersuredly."The FEAR is no mere emotion, as is often assumed, nor are her siblings The DOGMA, The HATE, The IGNORANCE, The SCHADENFREUDE, The XENOPHOBIA and Anorexia (who has pretty much split out on her own because she is so not into the encumbrances of a definite article and all caps). The FEAR is well known among historians and especially sociologists who have researched the use of verbal influences on mental collectives. The FEAR camps near every pulpit nearly every sabbath, imbuing her self-righteous Way To Be upon the malleable masses who come to love her "enlightenment."
America is rife with The FEAR, and in recent years she has strengthened her grip outside the traditional religious territory. She's there in the media ("We now go to Ted in the newsroom, who has a report about something totally new that can screw up your life, and will just leave it at that") and of course politics, never more evident than this campaign season, where the Republicans are hot on the twisted version of FDR's adage, "We have nothing to lose but fear itself."
Yes, The FEAR has power. The FEAR is a master of divide and conquer. The FEAR got George W. Bush elected in 2004. In a vicious circle of voting block influence, The FEAR has Congress paralyzed from protecting civil liberties (oh how The FEAR hates civil liberties) and doing the decidedly un-fearful majority voter's bidding.
And now The FEAR, in a genius move that reveals the depth of her bag of tricks, has folks worrying about postage stamps. As a strong believer in Thomas Jefferson's apocryphal Wall of Separation, I can't say I'm all tickled about any religious stamp being produced in government-run facilities. But the USPS is it's own strange gig in the bureaucratic U.S. of A., and I guess if they can sponsor a bike team then they have sort of grandfathered in their right to do whatever the hell they please. Like any retail business, the bulk of their profits comes during the winter Saturnalia frenzy, so I wish them
What's bothering me is this endless parade of The FEAR among people who supposedly have an all-powerful savior who, through some sanguineous transubstantiation, is supposed to have their back. C'mon, Christians! Jesus Up for Christ's sake! If you don't want to vote for a Muslim, fine. But don't characterize ONE man's victory to the House of Representatives as some pre-apocalyptic abomination that justifies questioning his qualifications. Along the same lines, it's a fucking postage stamp, OK? You (nor I, for that matter) are compelled to buy it because it doesn't appeal or apply to us. End of story, not beginning of boycott. And ohmylord the Postal Chief [sic] is a Muslim? That's gotta be one of the seals cracking open, surely.
"What The Heck is The Matter with this Country?"
Indeed.
.
Labels: Assholery squared, don't mix, Holy Crap, politix, rants, religion, The FEAR, TJ
February 27, 2007
An evol conspiracy of heck fire proportions
.
Ben Bridges, a Republican state representative in Georgia, has made a name for hisself by decrying for years the teaching of evolution in Georgia’s public schools (don’t fergit kids – we’re the home of the “evolution disclaimer textbook sticker”). But even ole’ Ben is backing away slowly from a powder keg to which some fiendish cohort stenciled his name. It seems that a feller by the name of Marshall Hall sent out a memo regarding a buttload of “indisputable evidence – long hidden but now available to everyone – (that) demonstrates conclusively that so-called ‘secular evolution science’ is the Big-Bang, 15-billion-year alternative ‘creation scenario’ of the Pharisee Religion.”
Sufferin’ Septuagint! What’s the number to call?!
By the time the memo got out to several other state legislatures and, hold on to your hats, was presented in the Texas House (NO WAY?! Way.) by an acquaintance of Rep. Bridges, ole’ Ben, in sync with the Anti-Defamation League breathing down his neck, saw the scripture on the wall. “I did not put it out nor did I know it was going out,” Bridges told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I'm not defending it or taking up for it.”
Smart move, and seemingly not too hard to put the distance between him and Hall, especially if you take a gander around the latter’s website, the official site of the Fair Education Foundation, Inc. The main thrust of Hall’s game is to have evolution declared a religious teaching and therefore also subject to Constitutional scrutiny heretofore levied upon the teaching of creationism/intelligent design. He had ostensibly worked with Bridges to introduce a bill in the Georgia House that “calls for an end to all teaching of evolution-based ‘science’ in tax supported education.” The decision was made to not introduce the bill, according to the FEF website.
In his list of the “long hidden but now available facts” Hall puts forth the claim of the religious roots of evolutionism, beginning with a citation (from a now unavailable webpage) of Nechunya ben HaKana, a first century Kabbalist who asserted that if you know how to use the 42 letter name for God you could decipher the time between the creation of the universe and man. Some 2000 years before Douglas Adams, Nechunya estimated the age of the Universe at 15.3 billion years. Hall continues looking down his nose at such cosmic spiritualist science by citing the calculations of physicist and, by Hall’s estimation not so coincidently, Kabbalist Gerald L. Schroeder, author of The Science of God, who put forth something along the line that the six days of creation could be calculated to equal the approximately 15 ¾ billion years that make up the universe’s age. Not being a stranger to far-out religious calculations, I’ve heard this sort of figuring in other circles, and I say “why not?” After all, if we’re going to get churchy, let’s throw in the scripture from the Second Book of Peter which states “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” If that doesn’t just mesh right in with Big G’s Moving In Mysterious Ways concordat* (and He backs it up in a diatribe to the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD). Nyaaah.
I fear that Hall may be on to something then. Evolutionist teaching may well be built upon a religious foundation. But should we snatch up the rug of tax dollars for public schools that teach evolution? Certainly not if Hall’s plan is the alternative. He displays on his home page a photo of a lamp-like device that appears to be causing a model of Earth to levitate motionlessly in the air, accomplished by “an electromagnet and computerized sensor hidden in its display stand.”
“Could God have engineered something like that for the real Earth?” he asks. “The Bible and all real evidence confirms that this is precisely what He did, and indeed today’s cosmology fulfills an anti-Bible religious plan disguised as ‘science.’ The whole scheme from Copernicanism to Big Bangism is a factless lie. Those lies have planted the Truth-killing virus of evolutionism.”
OK, not so out-of-whacked for a guy who advises you to “Please Fasten Your Mental And Spiritual Seat Belts” before embarking on a trip through the wonders of his website, which includes such nuggets of wisdom and observation as:
I found quite amusing his assessment of “Kabbalist” Carl Sagan: “by all accounts, a perpetually stoned ‘exobiologist’,” and he prattles on with the usual anti-semitic conspiratorial crap against Einstein, Spielberg, Eisner and others.
I commented at PJ’s place the other day that I have no patience with these types, having actually walked in their midst in another lifetime. But I also said I take issue with scientists who seem to follow a course of study as if to disprove the existence of God. I find that almost as disingenuous as the former folk, and indeed I see that elitist scientific attitude as the likely driving force behind the so-called faithful’s ranting – they’re pissed off that someone is putting their religion to a test by the numbers. Any Higher Power, in my humble and supplicative estimation, is not quantifiable on purpose, and makes the frothy-mouthing on both sides seem ridiculous.
*term aptly coined by Mr. Terry Gilliam
Ben Bridges, a Republican state representative in Georgia, has made a name for hisself by decrying for years the teaching of evolution in Georgia’s public schools (don’t fergit kids – we’re the home of the “evolution disclaimer textbook sticker”). But even ole’ Ben is backing away slowly from a powder keg to which some fiendish cohort stenciled his name. It seems that a feller by the name of Marshall Hall sent out a memo regarding a buttload of “indisputable evidence – long hidden but now available to everyone – (that) demonstrates conclusively that so-called ‘secular evolution science’ is the Big-Bang, 15-billion-year alternative ‘creation scenario’ of the Pharisee Religion.”
Sufferin’ Septuagint! What’s the number to call?!
By the time the memo got out to several other state legislatures and, hold on to your hats, was presented in the Texas House (NO WAY?! Way.) by an acquaintance of Rep. Bridges, ole’ Ben, in sync with the Anti-Defamation League breathing down his neck, saw the scripture on the wall. “I did not put it out nor did I know it was going out,” Bridges told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I'm not defending it or taking up for it.”
Smart move, and seemingly not too hard to put the distance between him and Hall, especially if you take a gander around the latter’s website, the official site of the Fair Education Foundation, Inc. The main thrust of Hall’s game is to have evolution declared a religious teaching and therefore also subject to Constitutional scrutiny heretofore levied upon the teaching of creationism/intelligent design. He had ostensibly worked with Bridges to introduce a bill in the Georgia House that “calls for an end to all teaching of evolution-based ‘science’ in tax supported education.” The decision was made to not introduce the bill, according to the FEF website.
In his list of the “long hidden but now available facts” Hall puts forth the claim of the religious roots of evolutionism, beginning with a citation (from a now unavailable webpage) of Nechunya ben HaKana, a first century Kabbalist who asserted that if you know how to use the 42 letter name for God you could decipher the time between the creation of the universe and man. Some 2000 years before Douglas Adams, Nechunya estimated the age of the Universe at 15.3 billion years. Hall continues looking down his nose at such cosmic spiritualist science by citing the calculations of physicist and, by Hall’s estimation not so coincidently, Kabbalist Gerald L. Schroeder, author of The Science of God, who put forth something along the line that the six days of creation could be calculated to equal the approximately 15 ¾ billion years that make up the universe’s age. Not being a stranger to far-out religious calculations, I’ve heard this sort of figuring in other circles, and I say “why not?” After all, if we’re going to get churchy, let’s throw in the scripture from the Second Book of Peter which states “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” If that doesn’t just mesh right in with Big G’s Moving In Mysterious Ways concordat* (and He backs it up in a diatribe to the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD). Nyaaah.
I fear that Hall may be on to something then. Evolutionist teaching may well be built upon a religious foundation. But should we snatch up the rug of tax dollars for public schools that teach evolution? Certainly not if Hall’s plan is the alternative. He displays on his home page a photo of a lamp-like device that appears to be causing a model of Earth to levitate motionlessly in the air, accomplished by “an electromagnet and computerized sensor hidden in its display stand.”
“Could God have engineered something like that for the real Earth?” he asks. “The Bible and all real evidence confirms that this is precisely what He did, and indeed today’s cosmology fulfills an anti-Bible religious plan disguised as ‘science.’ The whole scheme from Copernicanism to Big Bangism is a factless lie. Those lies have planted the Truth-killing virus of evolutionism.”
OK, not so out-of-whacked for a guy who advises you to “Please Fasten Your Mental And Spiritual Seat Belts” before embarking on a trip through the wonders of his website, which includes such nuggets of wisdom and observation as:
The Earth is not rotating...nor is it going around the sun (That makes for a pretty quick scamper that old Sol does each day from the east down to the west)
The universe is not one ten trillionth the size we are told (I agree, it’s not)
“All that remains is to understand the role that Hi-Tech Fraud, occult mathematics, Kabbalist-friendly scientists, Space Agency complicity, etc. have played in transmuting True Science into an evolution-based false science.” (Seriously, that’s all...)
I found quite amusing his assessment of “Kabbalist” Carl Sagan: “by all accounts, a perpetually stoned ‘exobiologist’,” and he prattles on with the usual anti-semitic conspiratorial crap against Einstein, Spielberg, Eisner and others.
I commented at PJ’s place the other day that I have no patience with these types, having actually walked in their midst in another lifetime. But I also said I take issue with scientists who seem to follow a course of study as if to disprove the existence of God. I find that almost as disingenuous as the former folk, and indeed I see that elitist scientific attitude as the likely driving force behind the so-called faithful’s ranting – they’re pissed off that someone is putting their religion to a test by the numbers. Any Higher Power, in my humble and supplicative estimation, is not quantifiable on purpose, and makes the frothy-mouthing on both sides seem ridiculous.
*term aptly coined by Mr. Terry Gilliam
Labels: don't mix, politix, religion
