JFOFlyer

Love That Brit

2005-05-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

In honor of the movie's release:

"The Babel fish," said the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy quietly, "is
small, yellow and leechlike, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It
feeds on brainwave energy received not from its own carrier but from those
around it...the practical upshot of all this is that if you stick a
Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any
form of language.
"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so
mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers
have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof for the nonexistance of
God.
"The argument goes something like this: 'I refuse to prove that I exist,'
says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'
'But,' says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It would
not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own
arguments, you don't. QED.'
"'Oh dear,' said God, 'I haven't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes
in a puff of logic."

Douglas Adams is amazing.

Big Ideas=Good, Hillary=Bad

2005-05-06T09:16:00.000-04:00

Let's hope Clinton's polarizing effect and continued involvement with Democratic politics (publicity stunt for hillary '08? ewwww) don't hurt the huge potential this initiative has. God bless him for wanting to use his stores of good-will and social capital for something important.

Quoting Jesus

2005-05-04T06:51:00.000-04:00

From a New York Times article on the hilarious Stephen Colbert's Daily Show spin-off:

[Colbert's] character has also been known to break into song with a guest -
as he did during an interview with Senator Bob Graham of Florida, who was goaded
by Mr. Colbert into teaching him his campaign jingle.
Asked if there would
be similar musical interludes on "The Colbert Report," Mr. Colbert said, "That's
safe to say."
He added, "You can't hide that light under a bushel, to quote
Jesus for comic effect."

Malaysian Babies

2005-05-03T17:29:00.000-04:00

The US Congress is debating a national driver's liscence or at least regulations for state liscences. Malaysia wants to start fingerprinting babies.
In both cases, of course, human rights activists are crying 'big brother'. For me, increases in police efficiency and national security could be well worth it.

A Picture=1000 words

2005-05-03T17:24:00.000-04:00

This poor kid's formative years will be marred by chaos and violence. I wonder what he and his generation will growing up believing about America. [hat tip: AFP and yahoo news]

Racism

2005-05-03T09:44:00.000-04:00

This article is genuinely shocking, but I was personally far more disturbed by some of the comments posted in response. e.g.:

“I do not believe there is a single decent Muslim in this country, or anywhere
else in the universe.”
“Honestly, right now, I think the idea of a 'good muslim' is a myth."
"...they need to be killed immediately"

Incredible. I wonder if Mohammed Atta and his 9/11 compatriots used the same logic: Some Americans are evil. All Americans are the same. All Americans are evil. QED. Time for justice.

Optimism

2005-05-02T03:19:00.000-04:00

To be filled with insight and wisdom...