It won’t do

Published
by
Distraction
on 28/06/2008
in Journal
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I just found out that Suzanne Vega is blogging for the New York Times.

Suzanne Vega - Measure for Measure

It was six years ago, almost to the day, I and my brother went to the Parkpop festival to hear Suzanne Vega sing. And sing she did. Great day, one I’ll never forget. To our surprise, it was announced that she would be signing CDs after the show. We queued up, and as we walked slowly towards the counter, we awkwardly tried to decide who would get to keep the one CD we could afford to buy. Suzanne Vega was pretty much going through the motions, distracted, I seem to remember. For us, though, it was a unique opportunity to meet Suzanne Vega - if only for the broken minute it takes to sell and sign a CD.

I still have the CD.

Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits

Published
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on 24/06/2008
in Journal and News
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“Life is worth losing”, George Carlin once said. Well, he’s lost it, and the world just isn’t as funny anymore. I hope he’ll give god an earful. If anyone can, it’s this bearded fella.

So long, George!

georgecarlin.com
Seven dirt words
George Carlin @ Wikipedia

Musicophilia

Published
by
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on 19/06/2008
in Mind and Philosophy
. 0 Comments

Dr. Oliver Sacks talks about Musicophilia.




Sue Blackmore debates Alister McGrath

Published
by
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on 17/06/2008
in Philosophy
. 0 Comments

You can download the mp3 here. (And you don’t need to have Quicktime, inspite of what it says on the page.)

47 miles of barbed wire

Published
by
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on 16/06/2008
in Journal and News
. 0 Comments

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley died two weeks ago, on the 2th of June. I didn’t have much to say then. I don’t know much about his life, but I do know he Rocked this world as hard as he could in his 80 years, and the schokwave will keep on goin’.

So ladies, and gentlemen, I give you

Who do you love?
I walk 47 miles of barbed wire,
I use a cobra-snake for a necktie,
I got a brand new house
on the roadside,
Made from rattlesnake hide,
I got a brand new
chimney made on top,
Made out of a human skull,
Now come on take a walk
with me, Arlene,
And tell me, who do you love?

Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

Tombstone hand and a graveyard mine,
Just 22 and I don’t mind dying.

Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

Who do you love?

I rode around the town, use
a rattlesnake whip,
Take it easy Arlene,
don’t give me no lip,

Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

Night was dark, but the sky was blue,
Down the alley, the ice-wagon flew,
Heard a bump, and somebody screamed,
You should have heard
just what I seen.

Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

Arlene took me by my hand,
And she said ooowee Bo, you
know I understand.

Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

Let’s make cars louder!!!

Published
by
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on 12/06/2008
in Journal, News and Technology
. 0 Comments

A bill intended to protect blind people and other pedestrians from the dangers posed by quiet cars will be introduced Wednesday in Congress.

The measure would require the Secretary of Transportation to establish safety standards for hybrids and other vehicles that make little discernible noise, including an audible means for alerting people that the cars are nearby.

Is making cars louder the wisest, and most effective, choice? Are the blind really at risk? And if so, if the purpose is to protect as many people as possible, are they the majority of pedestrians killed in car accidents? I do wonder if this is not just another case of politicians reacting to a sympathetic, and vocal, lobby. And making cars louder does seem a ridiculous idea.

References:
Congress to take up issue of silent hybrid cars.
News release by congressman Ed Towns.
The bill.

A monopoly of magic

Published
by
Distraction
on 08/06/2008
in Ideas, Journal, Philosophy and Thoughts
. 0 Comments

Religion sell magic: gods, demons, angels, miracles… Well, not quite: Religion does not sell real magic. Rather, it sells comfort and solidarity to those who want to believe in magic. You pay now, but you don’t get the magic now - miracles don’t happen when you want them, after all. What you get is the promise that your beliefs will be verified to you after you die.

Science neither makes nor tolerates such nefarious promises. And science does deliver true magic: artifial limbs, airplanes, automobiles, computers, internet, vaccines - the list is enormous. Furthermore, it exposes religion for the dubious promise, human weakness, and unsupported belief it is.

This, I think, is where science and religion conflict. Science infringes on religion’s market. The appeal of the deliverables of science is too great, and its rewards are obvious and immediate. In contrast, religion is chain-bound to its one and only proposition: “Pay now, receive when you are dead.”