2003-04-28-6:50 p.m.
Email Update: My Dinner With Andre
His answers are in italics.

I have never read any philosophers works. I have probably heard some or came upon some of there work in passing but I have formulated all my concepts based on my own observations. That's good in that your ideas are truly your own, but now that we've established you know how to think, reading a book of that caliber is certainly not beyond you, nor would it hurt. You might, rather than being "tainted," find your self inspired and hunger for more. I recommend these authors: *Richard Dawkins (Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow) *Stephen Hawking *Joseph Cambell (The Power of Myth) *George H Smith (Atheism: The case against God) *Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead) *Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) ***** *Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials trilogy-soon to be three movies) Of course, the last two in the list are the most entertaining. I well NEVER classify myself as any singular type of subscriber to any one type of thinking or sect. My theories change daily. Is that necessarily a good thing? What about trusting your own thinking? It's okay to be mostly sure about stuff sometimes, too. Just start with a couple of basic concepts and work your way up. It's also okay to change your mind anytime you want, but what about this: Reality is. You wouldn't believe it, but many people challenge this notion. I do not. I know that reality exists beyond myself and my experience. I am inconsequential to many things in this universe; many things that live and die without knowing or having personally encountered me. Last week I started a club,,It's members are those life forms in this physical Universe that contemplate other wordly life forms contemplating eachother and some form of God. I call it "The 99zillion mile high club",,lol. To be a member,just close your eyes,take 8 slow breaths while contemplating the above and feel laughter and awe within. Oh, man (what is your name again?), don't get all Doug Henning-rainbow-magician-transcendental on me! There are many ways to feel spiritually connected to the universe, yes. That awe and laughter can happen, you know, without contemplating "the above" or God, either. After all, what is the above on this earth except for sky, and we've seen that. Outside the atmosphere, above no longer exists. Heres a concept,,think of every thing in the universe,known and unknown,call it all,and now call it god,,there ya go,we have simplified this "profound" dumb ass question of "is there a god". I know you hate labels, but that's called Pantheism. That's basically what Einstein believed; did you know that? better question is , is there a point of absolute nothingness? Even if all of this came from some point of void,that kinda stipulates that "void" has the ability to be something,leading to existence in any form,weather it is or aint how it seems is pointless to me.How the hell do you pull something out of nothing?,lol Right. Nothingness does not exist. It is the lack of existence. to go forward, there is also no outside of all.

I just remembered something about myself. I have been striking up these conversations with people ever since I was in high school. This is just the first time I ever documented it. They sort of scare me a bit. I did this to one gentleman when I was at The Evergreen State College in Olympia WA. He started following me around after that, and I deliberately ignored him. Well, that was ten years ago at least. He also had a lot of social problems. But the sad thing is, after he sort of drifted away I found out later he had shot and killed himself. I stopped having these sorts of conversations for awhile after that until I found the internet. Now, this was the way to carry on these kinds of conversations without any messy encounters, I thought. That was until I decided to meet one of those strangers I was talking to. Now, here I am, typing away in his apartment, 3500 miles from home in a province where I do not speak the language, getting ready to tie the knot. Best laid plans, they say.

2003-04-28-10:08 a.m.
Now Playing
Vegas Vic's Naked City

Vegas Vic's Naked City -- An Eclectic mix of Crime Jazz, groovy Bachelor Pad, Cool Spy music, funky Soundtracks, and new and old skool lounge tracks

Vic plays a fine collection of some of my favorite albums, including Vampyros Lesbos Sexadelic Dance Party," Bachelor Pad Royale" from the Ultra-Lounge series, Shut it! Music of the Sweeney, Casino Royale, Shake Sauvage, Beat at Cinecittà, Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music by Esquivel! Crime Scene from the Ultra Lounge series, Music from Peter Gun, I, Swinger by Combustible Edison, and Jet Society by Eighteenth Street Lounge Soundtracks.


Sunday's DVD
Office Space (1999)
A concise, well-paced, tight comedy. Lots of real laughs. I give it an 8 out of 10.

Bob Slidell: What.. what would you say... you do here? Tom: Look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn customers so the engineers don't have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! Tom: It's a "Jump to Conclusions Mat"! You see, you have this mat, with different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO! Bob Slydell: If you would, would you walk us through a typical day, for you? Peter Gibbons: Yeah. Bob Slydell: Great. Peter Gibbons: Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door--that way Lumbergh can't see me, heh--after that I sorta space out for an hour. Bob Porter: Da-uh? Space out? Peter Gibbons: Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.

Sites of the Day
Homestar Runner
Seriously, this site is awesome. If you don't go there right now and spend the entire day watchin' toons and lookin' for easter eggs, you're full of crap. Of course, I waited until today to mention it, because Monday is Strongbad email day! You might even want to join the Livejournal Community or bookmark the Easter Egg clue page. Homestar is "made from the best stuff!"


Children's Offering Envelopes: givin' it up for the...ew. Should I even go on? Priests are still putting their hands in kids' jeans, but this time to take their lunch money.

Weight Watcher's recipe cards
My family had a card catalog of recipes that I was a bit obsessed with. These cards are from exactly the same era, probably the same year. I remember my dad and I used to laugh at the section called Men's Favorites, which was pretty much steak, barbecue, and sandwiches. There was a children's party section that had all sorts of cakes in shapes that I was convinced I would one day make. And that was before Martha Stewart!

Satanism 101
You think you know what Satanism is? Cutting organs out of cows and leaving them in cemetaries surrounded by candles and chalk circles? No, that's high-school Blue Oyster Cult stupid stuff. Check out this message board andthe website to answer all your questions about LaVeyan Satanism. It's kind of like Ayn Rand Objectivism, rational egoism with black and red and rituals. Nothing to freak out about, and the people on the board are quite intelligent and pleasant.
From the essentials section:

The Nine Satanic Statements I Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence! II Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams! III Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of hypocritical self-deceit! IV Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates! V Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek! VI Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires! VII Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all fours, who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development, has become the most vicious animal of all! VIII Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification! IX Satan is the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years! From the Satanic Bible

They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II
The armed forces have quite a wide variety of folks on staff, some of whom are hired to be computer experts, some musicians, and some are painters. They paint what they photograph in combat, it becomes property of the United States Government, and then it goes into the war history collections in DC. There are many current combat art sites, including several from artists themselves. They must not be official combat paintings.






What the f*** do you think you're doing? Dance Remix
Madonna's chastisement is heard after downloading songs from her new album. So what did you expect, Oh Holy Mother of Heaven? The kids turned your million-dollar voice into mashups and remixes.

In Today's News
More flap about boobs, but this time, these are actually covered. What some politicians will do to hide the fact that they are heterosexual! Don't answer-next we'`ll be wearing - I don't want to think about it.
Hey, will the government now "help me" with my split ends, and less-than-white teeth by banning me from singles' bars? The government isn't stopping people from smoking: it's making smokers cold. But, hey, I guess the smokers will get all the good patio chairs in the spring.

Seizing the Spoils of War
Stuff we looted from Iraq.

2003-04-27-2:31 p.m.
Now Playing
A Prairie Home Companion This show started-if you can believe it-in 1969. So, if you haven't heard it at least once, you're either not American or you don't own a radio.

Has your family tried 'em: Powdermilk? Has you family tried 'em: Powdermilk? Well, if your family's tried 'em, well, you know you've satisfied 'em, They're the real hot item: Powdermilk! Powdermilk biscuits, in the big blue box, give shy people the strength to get up an do what needs to be done. Made by Norwegian bachelor farmers, so you know they're pure, mostly.

DVD of the Day
Amadeus (1984) is one of my favorite movies. Make sure if you can, to pick up the director's cut, because the double-side I got had no extras but some text pages and a soundtrack. I was disappointed. I didn't have stereo hooked up to the tv, either. I think I'm going to purchase this one, and I'm not going to watch it again until I get my stereo surround back.
I don't know about how true this story is, as far as Salieri's relationship with Mozart. But, as the text extras on this DVD mentioned, there is some contemporary evidence for elements of the play. Beethoven, in his diaries, mentioned that Salieri suffered a nervous breakdown towards the end of his life, and did spend some time in an "asylum" (like the one in the movie?) and, in outbursts, would accuse himself of killing Mozart and intervening against Mozart's appointments.

Update: spam response (no longer considered a spam)

From Savgate, whoever he is, and my responses.

You are Hilarios lADY,,, i LIKE IT. I wish more people would call me "lady." You are way outside the box like myself. Regular is boring. Your questions are good. I well answer in the order recieved. Thanks for your speedy response. 1.Items like trees and any other physical object are ACTUALLY THERE,,lol Good! You show promise. They are "figments" of our imagination as well as existant without our perception. How is that so? Reality,,to me at least, is based upon relative perceptions. Relative to what? I like to think of the physical universe as just a small aspect of the more encompassing ethereal universe. That shows thinking. So you're saying The Universe isn't really The Universe, which means everything? Are we in a bubble within a bubble? 2. The nature of the universe is to self create,grow,reach apex,exist and experience,then decay,not exist and repeat.Thats also the model for all life in the universe and most inanimate objects as well.(all of this is subject to change,just observations that work for me) You sound deistic/pantheistic. As in, God created a mathematical equation and left it at that. So why call it God at all? And if objects self-create, why this bigger universe (where it seems physical rules don't apply) at all? 3.All life in the universe is extremly important. As humans though,I dont hold us above animals being that were still ruled by our animal instincts more so then our intellect,but we are very complex and with time our morality and conscienceness increases. Very good. Have you heard of "determinism?" 4.God is tricky,with any form of existence,there has to be a medium for that object to exist(void),the opbect it self(light) and a viewer(us or some type of god). Those 3 (to me) make up simplest existence,,,,,wellll,i like to say god is the parameter setter and self creator. You just said that for a god to exist, it needs to be some kind of object, and something needs to see it, like us or an additional god? I'm not clear. But doesn't this mean it cannot exist at all? Or are you now a polytheist with lower, less powerful gods? Why does there have to be a parameter setter? We change through time(evolution) and adapt to enviroment,but god sets the parameters and is everything,we are god,it is us, so we, or Living Things set the parameters? and i bet there is a mystical physical lifeform ancient in yrs who is the closest thing to a living god, Er, what's it's name, how old is it, and what's it's favorite color? You're making me laugh now. That sounds like Ramtha and channeler stuff. but the ominpresent god is in everything, Ok, so the polytheistic thing is starting to take shape in your ideas. Do you really believe this, or are you doing a stream-of-consciousness thing? God is good and bad,man and female,on and off,light and the void and the interaction,,,the completed cycle? You're a polytheistic deist. A personal uninterested gods kinda guy. You should start a religion. Whew,,lol The mind needs a workout just as much as the body. Can we still be friends? What's in it for me? (lol) I well aswer the rest soon!!

Sites of the Day
Stark Effect
The gentleman who puts this site together goes into fileshare programs, I presume, and searches for something called Mic in Track. That is when someone makes a recording on his computer with the mic, on Windows Recorder or some such thing. Coincidentally, some very personal things can get passed around the web. Watch what you record, if you use these programs! This week's mic in track is particularly sensitive:

Nothing illustrates the cruelty of adolescence better than this mic in track. In it, a teenage boy (with help from his friends) calls up his ex-girlfriend, who is 14 years old and already a mother, to brutally harass and berate her... and she stays on the phone for over ten minutes. It sounds like something out of a Larry Clark film, but it's all too real. Warning: this track features a great deal of profanity and disturbing language. Probably the most unsettling thing about this MIT is that it even exists. The kid who recorded this obviously wanted to listen to it again and again... I have been hesitant to post this because of its content. Let me make it clear that I do not condone the treatment this girl gets, nor should anyone.

Personally, I'd like to take this young gentleman with me into the catacombs of Paris-the places you're not supposed to enter-find a passageway with a wet floor and about three feet of human bones underfoot, take his flashlight and leave. But it would be cool if he made a recording of his screams for mercy we could retrieve later.
The character of the young woman is irelevant here. The kid needs a real dose of his own medicine. It's entirely possible he does get it-from Mom or Dad.

Graveyard of the Gods is a freethought message board I occasionally post on when François isn't on it. I post under "Pennycentury," and "Franc28" is an excellent flamewarrior. He really has a way of making people furious-while being right. He really is the sweetest boy I've ever met, next to some of the gay ones I knew in grammar school. I think I might marry him.

In Today's News
Pilots blame spilt coffee for cockpit nudity
I love the reprter who wrote this story. It progresses as any story about pilots who claim to have spilled coffee in their laps and took their pants off would, then it takes a brilliant twist:

Southwest started out as an airline that asked some of its in-flight crew to 'show a little skin'. When the airline first took to the skies about 30 years ago, its flight attendants dressed in hot pants, although its pilots wore full uniforms.

You go, girl!