Lio.
It reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes, which I respect; it's almost wordless, which makes me respect it even more.
Here are some articles about the writer, too.
And if you don't already, you might like Pearls Before Swine and Pooch Cafe
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Three comics that I find funny
I mean three days' worth of comic strips, not three series. The series is called "Tom the Dancing Bug" and it mostly sucks, like most political comics.
What's wrong with political comics? (I'm not talking about one-shot cartoons that show up in the opinion pages here; I'm talking about daily comics like Non Sequitir or Prickly City) They're smarmy. They make fun of some poor schmuck who screwed up or said something dumb recently (Bush is an easy, and regular, target) and act like they said something hilarious. The whole thing is a "this moron; at least we're better than him" wink-wink at the reader. And if the reader won't go along, then it's a "you like this moron? At least I'm better than you."
Tom the Dancing Bug is a pretty normal political comic, most of the time. But sometimes he drops the political shtick and writes "super fun pak comix", or a bunch of unrelated cartoons:
one
two
three
That's all, and goshdarn GoComics only archives something like 30 old comics, so the links won't last too long!
What's wrong with political comics? (I'm not talking about one-shot cartoons that show up in the opinion pages here; I'm talking about daily comics like Non Sequitir or Prickly City) They're smarmy. They make fun of some poor schmuck who screwed up or said something dumb recently (Bush is an easy, and regular, target) and act like they said something hilarious. The whole thing is a "this moron; at least we're better than him" wink-wink at the reader. And if the reader won't go along, then it's a "you like this moron? At least I'm better than you."
Tom the Dancing Bug is a pretty normal political comic, most of the time. But sometimes he drops the political shtick and writes "super fun pak comix", or a bunch of unrelated cartoons:
one
two
three
That's all, and goshdarn GoComics only archives something like 30 old comics, so the links won't last too long!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Change of pets
I always thought I'd want to have a ferret. Turns out hedgehogs are cooler. I present as evidence "tubing"; this is apparently a fun thing that hedgehogs like to do and it is also the cutest thing ever.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A review of Europe, Letterman-style
I could go on and on about things in Europe. But as the New York Times Bestselling Advice Books list shows, people just want lists. Fine with me! Here are a few I came up with:
First, all the places I went, in chronological order, with approximate durations:
- St. Anton, Austria, 4 days
- Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Paris, 2 days
- Amsterdam, 2 days
- Brussels and Bruges, Belgium, 1 day each
- Cologne, 1 day (for Carnival)
- Verbier, Switzerland, 3 days
- Rotterdam, 2 days
- Berlin, 3 days
- Freiburg, Germany, 2 days (to see the Black Forest)
- Antwerp, Belgium, 1 day
- Cologne, the Rhine River, the Mosel River, Trier, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Leiden, the Keukenhof gardens, Delft, 7 days (with my family)
- London, 4 days
- Amsterdam, 1 day (for Queensday)
- Budapest, 3 days
- Amsterdam, 1 day (class trip to see museums)
- Marrakesh and Essaouira, Morocco, 3 days
- the Hoge Veluwe National Park, the Netherlands, 1 day (another class trip)
- Gerona and Barcelona, Spain, 4 days
- Seville, Granada, Alcala de Henares, and Madrid, 7 days
- Bratislava, Slovakia, 2 days
So if you'd like to know anything about these places, let me know! Except Paris. I didn't really even see that at all; can't help you there.
Okay, now, even better: ordered lists. Let's do this in a top-N style. If I don't list something, it's not because I didn't see it. It just didn't make the list.
Top N trips I went on, out of the above trips
1. Morocco. It was really something different. And I got a lot of good stories out of it.
2. London. Hanging out with Erik was a lot of fun. Plus, I actually got to see the city, not just the tourist sights, I think.
3. Bratislava. The pretentious-indie-fuck in me just loves to find The Next Big Thing. Plus, Vic was the best guide ever.
4. St. Anton. First taste of Europe, traveling alone, and the Alps, all in one. Fun, lonely, expensive, and exhilarating.
Top N tourist attractions, where a "tourist attraction" is kinda just something to see. Markets, museums, and restaurants will have their own separate lists.
1. Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
2. Alhambra, Granada
3. Gellert baths, Budapest (not these baths in particular, although they were nice. I guess all the baths are nice though.)
4. Roman Amphitheater, Trier
5. Devin Castle, Slovakia
6. Real Alcazar, Seville
7. Grand Place, Brussels
8. Marksburg Castle, on the Rhine River, near Koblenz, Germany
9. Cologne Cathedral/Seville Cathedral (they both kinda get the nod because they are not the prettiest cathedrals ever, but they sure are big.)
Top N Museums
1. Tate Modern, London (aka just "the Tate." It's free!)
2. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (This museum convinced me that I do, actually, like art.)
3. Comic Book Museum, Belgium (if you've ever read any Belgian comics, or if you can speak French or Dutch, it's probably even better. If not, you might find it kinda alienating.)
4. Reina Sofia, Madrid (I was really tired going through this. But there's some good stuff: Dali and the surrealists, and Picasso's Guernica)
5. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Even after three visits, it's kinda nice. It might help to have some background in Dutch art, so you know why it's cool. Or you can just go look at the dollhouses and the Night Watch, and say, wow that's big.)
6. Pergamon Museum, Berlin
7. Zwack Unicum Museum, Hungary (not much to look at, but there is a tasting included)
Top N Markets
1. Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh (This market is not just stores; it's performances, singing, dancing, a local hangout, shit fucking good food, snake charmers who will take your money, mosques calling you to prayer, and the world's best orange juice)
2. Borough Market, London (coolest array of food I've seen. Only downside, and reason it's not #1 for a food lover like me: it's expensive)
3. Camden Market, London (everything but food. I wish I were trying to decorate a house in London, or that I had a huge suitcase.)
4. Freiburg Market (this little town of 200,000 puts on this awesome food/crafts/toys market every day of the week)
5. Boqueria, Barcelona (it's so colorful! if I lived here and could buy food from here, this would go up in the ranks)
6. Grand Market Hall, Budapest (cool building, but too tourist-oriented)
7. Maastricht Friday Market (I bought all my food from here, and got to know some of the people. Downside: about half the market just sells underwear and fabric.)
8. Haeckescher Market, Berlin
9. Market Hall, Bratislava
10. Queensday, Amsterdam (the city turns into a big flea market. Crummy stuff, but a lot of it!)
11. Coin, Stamp, and Bottle Cap Collector's Market, Barcelona (I just stumbled across this. Lucky, eh?)
Top N Beers
1. Chimay (blond or Triple; I didn't like the Double so much)
2. Duvel
3. Brugse Zot (after De Halve Maan brewery tour in Bruges. Really hit the proverbial spot.)
4. Palm (best beer you can buy by the case)
5. Zlaty Bazant (Slovak)
6. Korenwolf (wheat beer from Gulpen, near Maastricht. Also, it has a picture of a hamster on it.)
7. Cantillon Lambic (tastes and looks like Champagne)
8. Bellevue Kriek (beer with cherries?! Tastes like soda!)
Top N other drinks
1. Mint tea, Morocco
2. Gluhwein, Germany and Switzerland
3. Unicum, Hungary
4. Riesling wine, Germany
5. Chocolate, Spain
6. Cinnamon tea, Morocco
...
10439836784. Homemade Absinthe (and by that I mean, cheap vodka with wormwood soaking in it for a week. Supposedly makes the absinthe effect. Doesn't actually. Actually tastes awful.)
Top N Restaurants/Meals (keeping in mind that the restaurants I visited were mostly pretty cheap, and mostly the kind of place that one person could sit down at without anyone giving him dirty looks. Giving equal weight to the food and the restaurant.)
1. Vietnamese dish that I can't even remember except that it was really good, Monsieur Vuong, Berlin (awesome Vietnamese, and cheap!)
2. Steak with Morel mushrooms and kohlrabi, Zum Weißen Schwanen, Braubach, Germany (cozy little restaurant/hotel, and not cheap, butith the family!)
3. Vegetarian rijsttafel, Gadjah Mas, Maastricht (A rijsttafel is a great thing: 10 or 12 or 18 or so different dishes, in small portions, so you try a little of everything and you have a good meal.)
4. Lamb with some sort of peanut sauce, Waka Moon, Brussels (the atmosphere of this tiny joint is awesome, and the Congolese (I think) food was great too)
5. Bryndzové halušky, 1 Slovak Pub, Bratislava (A great authentic place, despite the name, and the meal cost about $3.)
6. Fish and chips, Rock and Sole Place, London (the best!)
7. Stuffed cabbage and fruit soup, Poszonyi Vendeglo, Budapest (little corner restaurant. This tasty meaty dish kept me full all day!)
8. Pintxos, bar whose name I cannot remember, Gerona (open-face sandwiches with fish or something else tasty and visually pleasing, with toothpicks in them)
9. Vegetarian stuff, Neal's Yard, London (more for the atmosphere than the too-salty food)
10. Flammkuche, restaurant whose name I forget, Freiburg (crispy Alsatian pizza, very German restaurant)
11. Goulash and dumplingy noodles (could be halusky, even, who knows?), Mensa, Budapest (the place looked like an old Communist-era cafeteria, except cool.)
12. Falafel, Maoz, Amsterdam (I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite European fast food. Well, tied with kebabs I guess. But the neverending salad bar at Maoz is really nice.)
Top N hostels
1. Rambutan Guesthouse, Granada. The way people talk about it on hostel website reviews, you'd think that everyone there participated in a massive cult worship service or something. Nope- It's just the friendliest, nicest hostel I've seen, with the coolest array of people and activities, that might make even a tightly-wound traveler like me kick back a bit and actually enjoy a few days! Imagine that!
2. The Bunker, Verbier. Or rather, I'm glad I stayed there once; I'm not sure if I would want to again. It deserves a mention, though, for being in Switzerland and being at least sort of affordable. It's really bare-bones though. Great for ski bums. I'm not one.
3. Backpack Guesthouse, Budapest. I guess. Too hippie/party oriented for me. But still friendly, and a lot of resources, and easy to meet people.
Top N ethnic foods (this one's unordered, because it's too big for me to pick)
Everywhere: muesli, kebabs, milk that lasts a long time
Austria: pate, leberwurst, blutwurst, currywurst
Benelux: Belgian waffles, herrings, kwark, stroopwafels, rijsttafel
Germany: wursts, spaetzle
Switzerland: horse
England: fish and chips, English breakfast
Hungary: goulash, langos
Morocco: couscous, tagine, snails, sheep's head, that honey cake
Spain: queso manchego, jamon Iberico, chorizo, salchichon, churros
Slovakia: palacinky, forinelli, horalcky, richman, bryndzove halusky
And, after 9 lists, more than half of which were about food and drink, it's bed time.
First, all the places I went, in chronological order, with approximate durations:
- St. Anton, Austria, 4 days
- Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Paris, 2 days
- Amsterdam, 2 days
- Brussels and Bruges, Belgium, 1 day each
- Cologne, 1 day (for Carnival)
- Verbier, Switzerland, 3 days
- Rotterdam, 2 days
- Berlin, 3 days
- Freiburg, Germany, 2 days (to see the Black Forest)
- Antwerp, Belgium, 1 day
- Cologne, the Rhine River, the Mosel River, Trier, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Leiden, the Keukenhof gardens, Delft, 7 days (with my family)
- London, 4 days
- Amsterdam, 1 day (for Queensday)
- Budapest, 3 days
- Amsterdam, 1 day (class trip to see museums)
- Marrakesh and Essaouira, Morocco, 3 days
- the Hoge Veluwe National Park, the Netherlands, 1 day (another class trip)
- Gerona and Barcelona, Spain, 4 days
- Seville, Granada, Alcala de Henares, and Madrid, 7 days
- Bratislava, Slovakia, 2 days
So if you'd like to know anything about these places, let me know! Except Paris. I didn't really even see that at all; can't help you there.
Okay, now, even better: ordered lists. Let's do this in a top-N style. If I don't list something, it's not because I didn't see it. It just didn't make the list.
Top N trips I went on, out of the above trips
1. Morocco. It was really something different. And I got a lot of good stories out of it.
2. London. Hanging out with Erik was a lot of fun. Plus, I actually got to see the city, not just the tourist sights, I think.
3. Bratislava. The pretentious-indie-fuck in me just loves to find The Next Big Thing. Plus, Vic was the best guide ever.
4. St. Anton. First taste of Europe, traveling alone, and the Alps, all in one. Fun, lonely, expensive, and exhilarating.
Top N tourist attractions, where a "tourist attraction" is kinda just something to see. Markets, museums, and restaurants will have their own separate lists.
1. Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
2. Alhambra, Granada
3. Gellert baths, Budapest (not these baths in particular, although they were nice. I guess all the baths are nice though.)
4. Roman Amphitheater, Trier
5. Devin Castle, Slovakia
6. Real Alcazar, Seville
7. Grand Place, Brussels
8. Marksburg Castle, on the Rhine River, near Koblenz, Germany
9. Cologne Cathedral/Seville Cathedral (they both kinda get the nod because they are not the prettiest cathedrals ever, but they sure are big.)
Top N Museums
1. Tate Modern, London (aka just "the Tate." It's free!)
2. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (This museum convinced me that I do, actually, like art.)
3. Comic Book Museum, Belgium (if you've ever read any Belgian comics, or if you can speak French or Dutch, it's probably even better. If not, you might find it kinda alienating.)
4. Reina Sofia, Madrid (I was really tired going through this. But there's some good stuff: Dali and the surrealists, and Picasso's Guernica)
5. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Even after three visits, it's kinda nice. It might help to have some background in Dutch art, so you know why it's cool. Or you can just go look at the dollhouses and the Night Watch, and say, wow that's big.)
6. Pergamon Museum, Berlin
7. Zwack Unicum Museum, Hungary (not much to look at, but there is a tasting included)
Top N Markets
1. Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh (This market is not just stores; it's performances, singing, dancing, a local hangout, shit fucking good food, snake charmers who will take your money, mosques calling you to prayer, and the world's best orange juice)
2. Borough Market, London (coolest array of food I've seen. Only downside, and reason it's not #1 for a food lover like me: it's expensive)
3. Camden Market, London (everything but food. I wish I were trying to decorate a house in London, or that I had a huge suitcase.)
4. Freiburg Market (this little town of 200,000 puts on this awesome food/crafts/toys market every day of the week)
5. Boqueria, Barcelona (it's so colorful! if I lived here and could buy food from here, this would go up in the ranks)
6. Grand Market Hall, Budapest (cool building, but too tourist-oriented)
7. Maastricht Friday Market (I bought all my food from here, and got to know some of the people. Downside: about half the market just sells underwear and fabric.)
8. Haeckescher Market, Berlin
9. Market Hall, Bratislava
10. Queensday, Amsterdam (the city turns into a big flea market. Crummy stuff, but a lot of it!)
11. Coin, Stamp, and Bottle Cap Collector's Market, Barcelona (I just stumbled across this. Lucky, eh?)
Top N Beers
1. Chimay (blond or Triple; I didn't like the Double so much)
2. Duvel
3. Brugse Zot (after De Halve Maan brewery tour in Bruges. Really hit the proverbial spot.)
4. Palm (best beer you can buy by the case)
5. Zlaty Bazant (Slovak)
6. Korenwolf (wheat beer from Gulpen, near Maastricht. Also, it has a picture of a hamster on it.)
7. Cantillon Lambic (tastes and looks like Champagne)
8. Bellevue Kriek (beer with cherries?! Tastes like soda!)
Top N other drinks
1. Mint tea, Morocco
2. Gluhwein, Germany and Switzerland
3. Unicum, Hungary
4. Riesling wine, Germany
5. Chocolate, Spain
6. Cinnamon tea, Morocco
...
10439836784. Homemade Absinthe (and by that I mean, cheap vodka with wormwood soaking in it for a week. Supposedly makes the absinthe effect. Doesn't actually. Actually tastes awful.)
Top N Restaurants/Meals (keeping in mind that the restaurants I visited were mostly pretty cheap, and mostly the kind of place that one person could sit down at without anyone giving him dirty looks. Giving equal weight to the food and the restaurant.)
1. Vietnamese dish that I can't even remember except that it was really good, Monsieur Vuong, Berlin (awesome Vietnamese, and cheap!)
2. Steak with Morel mushrooms and kohlrabi, Zum Weißen Schwanen, Braubach, Germany (cozy little restaurant/hotel, and not cheap, butith the family!)
3. Vegetarian rijsttafel, Gadjah Mas, Maastricht (A rijsttafel is a great thing: 10 or 12 or 18 or so different dishes, in small portions, so you try a little of everything and you have a good meal.)
4. Lamb with some sort of peanut sauce, Waka Moon, Brussels (the atmosphere of this tiny joint is awesome, and the Congolese (I think) food was great too)
5. Bryndzové halušky, 1 Slovak Pub, Bratislava (A great authentic place, despite the name, and the meal cost about $3.)
6. Fish and chips, Rock and Sole Place, London (the best!)
7. Stuffed cabbage and fruit soup, Poszonyi Vendeglo, Budapest (little corner restaurant. This tasty meaty dish kept me full all day!)
8. Pintxos, bar whose name I cannot remember, Gerona (open-face sandwiches with fish or something else tasty and visually pleasing, with toothpicks in them)
9. Vegetarian stuff, Neal's Yard, London (more for the atmosphere than the too-salty food)
10. Flammkuche, restaurant whose name I forget, Freiburg (crispy Alsatian pizza, very German restaurant)
11. Goulash and dumplingy noodles (could be halusky, even, who knows?), Mensa, Budapest (the place looked like an old Communist-era cafeteria, except cool.)
12. Falafel, Maoz, Amsterdam (I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite European fast food. Well, tied with kebabs I guess. But the neverending salad bar at Maoz is really nice.)
Top N hostels
1. Rambutan Guesthouse, Granada. The way people talk about it on hostel website reviews, you'd think that everyone there participated in a massive cult worship service or something. Nope- It's just the friendliest, nicest hostel I've seen, with the coolest array of people and activities, that might make even a tightly-wound traveler like me kick back a bit and actually enjoy a few days! Imagine that!
2. The Bunker, Verbier. Or rather, I'm glad I stayed there once; I'm not sure if I would want to again. It deserves a mention, though, for being in Switzerland and being at least sort of affordable. It's really bare-bones though. Great for ski bums. I'm not one.
3. Backpack Guesthouse, Budapest. I guess. Too hippie/party oriented for me. But still friendly, and a lot of resources, and easy to meet people.
Top N ethnic foods (this one's unordered, because it's too big for me to pick)
Everywhere: muesli, kebabs, milk that lasts a long time
Austria: pate, leberwurst, blutwurst, currywurst
Benelux: Belgian waffles, herrings, kwark, stroopwafels, rijsttafel
Germany: wursts, spaetzle
Switzerland: horse
England: fish and chips, English breakfast
Hungary: goulash, langos
Morocco: couscous, tagine, snails, sheep's head, that honey cake
Spain: queso manchego, jamon Iberico, chorizo, salchichon, churros
Slovakia: palacinky, forinelli, horalcky, richman, bryndzove halusky
And, after 9 lists, more than half of which were about food and drink, it's bed time.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Global warming ?
Huh. Just finished State of Fear, which I picked up on a whim for $1 at Half Price Books. Wow! As usual, Michael Crichton has given me something to think about. As usual also, it was a quick and easy read through incredible adventures in distant lands, complete with a likable super-intelligent character with encyclopedic knowledge of everything, a few buffoons who disagree with said character, nefarious schemers releasing global terrors, and a sprinkling of techie gadgets and hot babes.
Disregarding for a moment the fact that State of Fear is a novel, Crichton lays out a pretty convincing argument that global warming is not actually happening, and that it's just the latest pseudo-scientific fear propagated by the media. Historically, the Cold War and nuclear winter was another such fear; the deterioration of the human gene pool was another. The Cold War just led to a big arms race and a lot of unnecessary bomb shelters and Spam; the gene pool thing led to eugenics.
"But, Dan, how can we disregard the fact that State of Fear is a novel? It's a work of fiction!" Right, but (in typical Crichton fashion) he's done some research. Disregard the scenes where, for example, a couple of untrained lawyers rescue themselves from an Antarctic crevasse with pretty much just a rope, and concentrate on the scenes where something is being debated. Whenever John Kenner (the smart character) starts preaching to one of the buffoons, it's always backed up with a lot of data and citations. Sure, anyone can throw in a bunch of footnotes. But I trust Crichton to make them pretty legitimate. And it made me think for a minute: what IS my basis for believing in global warming? Besides "of course global warming is happening" or "all the scientists know global warming is happening."
Even better, what's YOUR basis?
Now, this merits further research, for sure. A quick googling shows that Crichton's drawn a lot of flak over this book, which either means he's wrong, or he's right. (in the top 10, he's got one supporter, and it's the Heartland Institute, which is a conservative think-tank, isn't it?) Hopefully, later I'll actually do this research and decide for myself. (Right now, I'm still surrounded by a pile of THINGS, so I should clean those up.)
Whether he's right or not, Crichton at one point reiterates the fact that we live in so much fear! If it's not the environment, the media is stirring up fear about terrorists, or murderers, or diseases, or identity thieves, or whatever. Stop being so afraid, get out there and live your lives like we did thirty years ago! (minus the Cold War.)
Disregarding for a moment the fact that State of Fear is a novel, Crichton lays out a pretty convincing argument that global warming is not actually happening, and that it's just the latest pseudo-scientific fear propagated by the media. Historically, the Cold War and nuclear winter was another such fear; the deterioration of the human gene pool was another. The Cold War just led to a big arms race and a lot of unnecessary bomb shelters and Spam; the gene pool thing led to eugenics.
"But, Dan, how can we disregard the fact that State of Fear is a novel? It's a work of fiction!" Right, but (in typical Crichton fashion) he's done some research. Disregard the scenes where, for example, a couple of untrained lawyers rescue themselves from an Antarctic crevasse with pretty much just a rope, and concentrate on the scenes where something is being debated. Whenever John Kenner (the smart character) starts preaching to one of the buffoons, it's always backed up with a lot of data and citations. Sure, anyone can throw in a bunch of footnotes. But I trust Crichton to make them pretty legitimate. And it made me think for a minute: what IS my basis for believing in global warming? Besides "of course global warming is happening" or "all the scientists know global warming is happening."
Even better, what's YOUR basis?
Now, this merits further research, for sure. A quick googling shows that Crichton's drawn a lot of flak over this book, which either means he's wrong, or he's right. (in the top 10, he's got one supporter, and it's the Heartland Institute, which is a conservative think-tank, isn't it?) Hopefully, later I'll actually do this research and decide for myself. (Right now, I'm still surrounded by a pile of THINGS, so I should clean those up.)
Whether he's right or not, Crichton at one point reiterates the fact that we live in so much fear! If it's not the environment, the media is stirring up fear about terrorists, or murderers, or diseases, or identity thieves, or whatever. Stop being so afraid, get out there and live your lives like we did thirty years ago! (minus the Cold War.)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Three in one day! Czechs and Catholics.
First, Godfather Peter, don't put too much pepper on my pork!
Second, can we all give the Catholic church a break? I feel like a lot of people have these weird misconceptions about the actual Catholic faith, for two reasons:
- many Catholics don't actually know what the Catholic faith is
- people confuse Catholics with fundamentalist Christians
The Catholic church, at least according to their rules, is very reasonable on most things! Granted, I totally disagree with them on a lot of things, and I could never be Catholic, but overall they're not so bad.
Let me start with a disclaimer: This is all based on four years of Catholic high school theology class. I could be wrong on some things. I don't have citations from the Catechism; I could go get them, but then, this blog is read by at most four people anyway, so I don't think I'll bother. To you four: if you want to dispute anything, say so, and I'll look it up.
Misconceptions about the Catholic Church:
1. They interpret the Bible literally.
Catholics are totally not about interpreting the Bible literally. They go out of their way to state that anyone who does so is incorrect. If you get into an argument with a Catholic who starts quoting Bible verses (besides, say, Matthew 22:36-40) at you to prove his points, stop arguing, because you are probably arguing with a fool.
2. The Old Testament is as good as the New.
The Catholic Church is all about Jesus, which means that, while there are valid things in the Old Testament, the New Testament overrides it. So if you see stuff in the Old Testament about, you know, how you can't get into heaven if you have no balls, or whatever, realize that the New Testament ("Love God and love thy neighbor") overrides it.
3. The Catholic Church doesn't want you to use a condom.
The Catholic Church is against contraception because they think it'll lead to promiscuity. HOWEVER, any true Catholic will tell you, if you're going to have sex before marriage, use contraception.
4. If you're married, you should have as many kids as you can. Sex is only for babies.
Not really... Sex within marriage that is primarily for pleasure is okay, as long as you're open to having a kid, if you do get pregnant. They advocate "natural family planning", which is to say, if you don't want a kid, only have sex during times of the month that you probably won't conceive. (note that I personally think that this is one of their more preposterous rules. But that's what they say!)
5. The Catholic Church hates gay people.
Again, not exactly... the Catholic policy is "Gay people are okay, gay sex isn't." Again, I think this is kind of bollocks, because it treats gayness as a problem, and it arbitrarily denies some people the pleasure of ever having sex.
6. Speaking of people denied sex, priests are all child molesters.
No no no. I don't have numbers, but I don't think, percentage wise, priests are child molesters any more than anyone else. Most priests are great people. Now, when a priest does abuse a child, it's particularly creepy, because they're the voice of God and all, and I don't mean to excuse the priests that did abuse kids. But the problem was with a few individuals, not the church or its teachings.
7. The Pope is infallible.
Well, the pope IS infallible, according to the church, if he speaks ex cathedra. Basically, the Pope can issue an infallible decree if he wants, but only if he says it's infallible, and only if it's about church matters. If the Pope says "chocolate is better than vanilla", we don't all have to switch. It's only been officially used a few times.
8. The church is the root of all evil.
This is popular among new young liberals, I guess. One of my friends in Maastricht was convinced this is true. Sure, they're responsible for the Crusades, Inquisition, etc. But they're also responsible for so many instances of helping people, teaching, healing, etc. I think, if you get out the big ol' scales, the church turns out good in the long run.
Okay, that's all the church-defending I'm doing today. They're really not that great. But they're better than a lot of people give them credit for.
EDIT: I thought of another one!
9. The "Unforgivable Sin."
You may have heard about The Blasphemy Challenge. Perhaps you've actually looked up the bible verse, Mark 3:29, that they're referring to. Wow, seems like a pretty open-and-shut case, right? Blaspheme against the holy spirit, you can't be forgiven!
But maybe, because you are a smart Christian, you looked up, I dunno, a couple verses around it. You don't have to look far; Mark 3:28 is probably enough: "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them." At any rate, even without this verse right before it, the whole "unforgivable sin" thing wouldn't hold up, because again, you're not supposed to take the Bible literally.
So what does Jesus mean? What's actually unforgivable? The actual "blasphemy" is shown by your actions and your life, not by a few words you speak into YouTube at some point. As long as you live a good life, or even if you live a crummy life but are at least trying, God will forgive you. God forgives anything, if you want it. The only unforgivable sin is not wanting forgiveness.
Like him or not, the Christian God does not work in magic words, and these self-righteous smug goons claiming that he does kinda pisses me off.
Second, can we all give the Catholic church a break? I feel like a lot of people have these weird misconceptions about the actual Catholic faith, for two reasons:
- many Catholics don't actually know what the Catholic faith is
- people confuse Catholics with fundamentalist Christians
The Catholic church, at least according to their rules, is very reasonable on most things! Granted, I totally disagree with them on a lot of things, and I could never be Catholic, but overall they're not so bad.
Let me start with a disclaimer: This is all based on four years of Catholic high school theology class. I could be wrong on some things. I don't have citations from the Catechism; I could go get them, but then, this blog is read by at most four people anyway, so I don't think I'll bother. To you four: if you want to dispute anything, say so, and I'll look it up.
Misconceptions about the Catholic Church:
1. They interpret the Bible literally.
Catholics are totally not about interpreting the Bible literally. They go out of their way to state that anyone who does so is incorrect. If you get into an argument with a Catholic who starts quoting Bible verses (besides, say, Matthew 22:36-40) at you to prove his points, stop arguing, because you are probably arguing with a fool.
2. The Old Testament is as good as the New.
The Catholic Church is all about Jesus, which means that, while there are valid things in the Old Testament, the New Testament overrides it. So if you see stuff in the Old Testament about, you know, how you can't get into heaven if you have no balls, or whatever, realize that the New Testament ("Love God and love thy neighbor") overrides it.
3. The Catholic Church doesn't want you to use a condom.
The Catholic Church is against contraception because they think it'll lead to promiscuity. HOWEVER, any true Catholic will tell you, if you're going to have sex before marriage, use contraception.
4. If you're married, you should have as many kids as you can. Sex is only for babies.
Not really... Sex within marriage that is primarily for pleasure is okay, as long as you're open to having a kid, if you do get pregnant. They advocate "natural family planning", which is to say, if you don't want a kid, only have sex during times of the month that you probably won't conceive. (note that I personally think that this is one of their more preposterous rules. But that's what they say!)
5. The Catholic Church hates gay people.
Again, not exactly... the Catholic policy is "Gay people are okay, gay sex isn't." Again, I think this is kind of bollocks, because it treats gayness as a problem, and it arbitrarily denies some people the pleasure of ever having sex.
6. Speaking of people denied sex, priests are all child molesters.
No no no. I don't have numbers, but I don't think, percentage wise, priests are child molesters any more than anyone else. Most priests are great people. Now, when a priest does abuse a child, it's particularly creepy, because they're the voice of God and all, and I don't mean to excuse the priests that did abuse kids. But the problem was with a few individuals, not the church or its teachings.
7. The Pope is infallible.
Well, the pope IS infallible, according to the church, if he speaks ex cathedra. Basically, the Pope can issue an infallible decree if he wants, but only if he says it's infallible, and only if it's about church matters. If the Pope says "chocolate is better than vanilla", we don't all have to switch. It's only been officially used a few times.
8. The church is the root of all evil.
This is popular among new young liberals, I guess. One of my friends in Maastricht was convinced this is true. Sure, they're responsible for the Crusades, Inquisition, etc. But they're also responsible for so many instances of helping people, teaching, healing, etc. I think, if you get out the big ol' scales, the church turns out good in the long run.
Okay, that's all the church-defending I'm doing today. They're really not that great. But they're better than a lot of people give them credit for.
EDIT: I thought of another one!
9. The "Unforgivable Sin."
You may have heard about The Blasphemy Challenge. Perhaps you've actually looked up the bible verse, Mark 3:29, that they're referring to. Wow, seems like a pretty open-and-shut case, right? Blaspheme against the holy spirit, you can't be forgiven!
But maybe, because you are a smart Christian, you looked up, I dunno, a couple verses around it. You don't have to look far; Mark 3:28 is probably enough: "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them." At any rate, even without this verse right before it, the whole "unforgivable sin" thing wouldn't hold up, because again, you're not supposed to take the Bible literally.
So what does Jesus mean? What's actually unforgivable? The actual "blasphemy" is shown by your actions and your life, not by a few words you speak into YouTube at some point. As long as you live a good life, or even if you live a crummy life but are at least trying, God will forgive you. God forgives anything, if you want it. The only unforgivable sin is not wanting forgiveness.
Like him or not, the Christian God does not work in magic words, and these self-righteous smug goons claiming that he does kinda pisses me off.
Karl Rove and Max Rebo
In the spirit of "things that are funny", here's something that's funny in the "odd" sense.
Here's something that's funny in the "funny" sense. (You can skip ahead to scene 5, because the funniest bit is "Max Rebo's Greatest Hits.")
Here's something that's funny in the "funny" sense. (You can skip ahead to scene 5, because the funniest bit is "Max Rebo's Greatest Hits.")
Suppose this is an omen that I should post concert reports
I just got back from lunch with my grandparents at Perkins Restaurant and Bakery. Our waitress was none other than the aunt of one Kevin Barnes (lead singer/creative force of Of Montreal).
Wow! If you tell me that the world is not The Truman Show, I would argue with you a little bit!
Anyway, I've been meaning to gush about these concerts I saw in Barcelona, as part of the Primavera Sound Music Fest so if you'll indulge me, let's begin.
In chronological order, the first one is Justice. I got in late, and I really just wanted to see Girl Talk, but Justice was on first. I didn't know them, but I really enjoyed their Ratatat-meets-Metallica-meets-some-pop-girl-group techno dancey shtick. And now, apparently they're one of many Next Big Things. Check them out!
Girl Talk himself was pretty nuts. He did mention that he was from Pittsburgh. He also mentioned his real name, which is always weird when a one-man band says what his actual name is; it's like "Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines" or something. "Hello, I'm Girl Talk. My name is Greg Gillis." Whatever. He did what I've seen him do before, which is apparently mix a lot of songs together on his computer. I can't tell if he's actually doing something or just clicking "play" on his premixed tracks. I mean, most of the work must happen before the show, right? He can't be real-time thinking "oh yeah, something by the Pixies would sound good now." Whatever he does, it gives him plenty of time to dance around the stage, undress bit-by-bit, and crowd surf. Apparently he's a mild-mannered engineer or something in his day-to-day life, and then he goes off and plays these insane shows. What a champ.
That was Thursday. Friday was somewhat less successful, although it wasn't Beirut's fault! These guys were pretty fun to see live, even if all their songs blended together as they do on his record. How can one 20 year old kid, plus a bunch of backing musicians, create such old-world eastern-europe sounds? I felt like I was back at my grandmother's Ukranian home, or chomping on pretzels in East Germany, or, you know, doing whatever it is you do in Warsaw, or somewhere else that I've never been.
Modest Mouse brought the night a turn for the worse. I knew they were popular, but whoa. I could not get a seat where I could see the band. They had a huge standing area, packed full, plus a huge hill, also full. I could hear the music, sort of; it was all from the new (kinda ehh) CD, plus some Good News For... tracks, and then "Doin' the Cockroach." I swear. THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE BANDS TO GET TOO POPULAR! It's not just pretentious indie-fuckery! (although there is some of that too...) Maybe someday Modest Mouse will play a show where they just run through The Moon and Antarctica, but until then, I won't go seem them. Especially when they're playing at, you know, Mellon Arena.
I stopped by Los Planetas, who are apparently big in Spain, but whose music was pretty goshdarn average.
Somewhere in here, I ate some food, which might have been a bad call. Even worse: said food was Churros and Chocolate, which is the heart attack combo of the month. Churros are fried dough sticks. Fine. Chocolate? I expected a little drizzle of chocolate sauce. Nope! It's a cup of melted chocolate bar. Hell with "how do they not get fat?"... I want to know "how do they not have stomachaches all the time?!"
Then I had to wait for Hot Chip and Kid Koala, so I decided to check out Bonde Do Role, described by someone else as "a Brazilian band, a little bit like CSS", and I thought, well that's good; CSS mostly sucks but has put out a good song, so maybe another band can take that catchiness but make it better. Nope! The only thing that makes Bonde Do Role similar to CSS is the kinda weird and not great looks of the chick who sings. Also, she acts real slutty on stage, and they all scream a lot. However, a look at their Allmusic page reveals the quote "The joke is to be as stupid and cheesy as you can be," so maybe I just made the mistake of taking them seriously. Maybe their record's worth a listen.
Due to late scheduling changes, Kid Koala and Hot Chip went on at the exact same time. Well, Hot Chip is the choice there I think, but I had to leave after like three songs anyway, because I felt like hell.
Saturday! I still felt a little like hell, but I was not going to miss these shows! Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were first, and by George, they're still champs. Notable moments include his mixing in lyrics from Daft Punk's "One More Time" in the end of "Little Dawn." Then he closed (or almost closed) his too-short-but-not-his-fault show with a new song called "La Costa Brava", which is about the Costa Brava, which is the coast that Barcelona's on. I like this song a lot! And did I mention that I got to meet the man himself afterwards? What a cool dude.
Next, to complete the best double billing ever, Architecture in Helsinki took their goofy selves to the stage. Wow, they're nerds! And there are only six of them, which surprised me. Cool things: 1. the horn they use is actually a trombone, not a trumpet; 2. their new songs sounded pretty good; 3. they look like total social outcasts, and they dance awkwardly as hell, but boy are they having fun on stage! Also, "Maybe You Can Owe Me" flowing into "Do the Whirlwind" was as transcendent as I thought it would be.
Feeling awful again, I sat down to watch The Good, the Bad, and the Queen. I couldn't hear them though.
I also stopped by Patti Smith, because I needed somewhere to sit. Patti who? I remember thinking "she's famous, right?" She sang "Because the Night" and then I remembered that. "Wait, isn't she some kind of hippie?" Then after the song she called out "No war! We don't need no fucking war!" Oh yeah, right.
Finally, Sonic Youth took the stage, and I stayed around to see this show, because I owe it to my uncle, who has great musical taste and really wanted me to like Sonic Youth, and also to my status as an indie fuck, because they were playing through their album "Daydream Nation", which makes pretentious writers go all gaga. It was really pretty good! I realized that they're like the ancestors of Broken Social Scene, not most of the immediately-accessible bands that I like, and I should listen to them as such, and then it was pretty good. Their vocals fade in and out of the music. Also, they are weirdly aged. The one guitarist looks like he's in his 20's, the girl who plays bass looks like she's in her 30's, the drummer in his 40's, and the other guitarist maybe 50's? Clearly, those can't be true; they've all been around since the 80's, so that makes them, what, all 40's by now? They are a distinctive bunch.
By Sunday, I was too sick even to see Of Montreal. So it goes.
Wow! If you tell me that the world is not The Truman Show, I would argue with you a little bit!
Anyway, I've been meaning to gush about these concerts I saw in Barcelona, as part of the Primavera Sound Music Fest so if you'll indulge me, let's begin.
In chronological order, the first one is Justice. I got in late, and I really just wanted to see Girl Talk, but Justice was on first. I didn't know them, but I really enjoyed their Ratatat-meets-Metallica-meets-some-pop-girl-group techno dancey shtick. And now, apparently they're one of many Next Big Things. Check them out!
Girl Talk himself was pretty nuts. He did mention that he was from Pittsburgh. He also mentioned his real name, which is always weird when a one-man band says what his actual name is; it's like "Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines" or something. "Hello, I'm Girl Talk. My name is Greg Gillis." Whatever. He did what I've seen him do before, which is apparently mix a lot of songs together on his computer. I can't tell if he's actually doing something or just clicking "play" on his premixed tracks. I mean, most of the work must happen before the show, right? He can't be real-time thinking "oh yeah, something by the Pixies would sound good now." Whatever he does, it gives him plenty of time to dance around the stage, undress bit-by-bit, and crowd surf. Apparently he's a mild-mannered engineer or something in his day-to-day life, and then he goes off and plays these insane shows. What a champ.
That was Thursday. Friday was somewhat less successful, although it wasn't Beirut's fault! These guys were pretty fun to see live, even if all their songs blended together as they do on his record. How can one 20 year old kid, plus a bunch of backing musicians, create such old-world eastern-europe sounds? I felt like I was back at my grandmother's Ukranian home, or chomping on pretzels in East Germany, or, you know, doing whatever it is you do in Warsaw, or somewhere else that I've never been.
Modest Mouse brought the night a turn for the worse. I knew they were popular, but whoa. I could not get a seat where I could see the band. They had a huge standing area, packed full, plus a huge hill, also full. I could hear the music, sort of; it was all from the new (kinda ehh) CD, plus some Good News For... tracks, and then "Doin' the Cockroach." I swear. THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE BANDS TO GET TOO POPULAR! It's not just pretentious indie-fuckery! (although there is some of that too...) Maybe someday Modest Mouse will play a show where they just run through The Moon and Antarctica, but until then, I won't go seem them. Especially when they're playing at, you know, Mellon Arena.
I stopped by Los Planetas, who are apparently big in Spain, but whose music was pretty goshdarn average.
Somewhere in here, I ate some food, which might have been a bad call. Even worse: said food was Churros and Chocolate, which is the heart attack combo of the month. Churros are fried dough sticks. Fine. Chocolate? I expected a little drizzle of chocolate sauce. Nope! It's a cup of melted chocolate bar. Hell with "how do they not get fat?"... I want to know "how do they not have stomachaches all the time?!"
Then I had to wait for Hot Chip and Kid Koala, so I decided to check out Bonde Do Role, described by someone else as "a Brazilian band, a little bit like CSS", and I thought, well that's good; CSS mostly sucks but has put out a good song, so maybe another band can take that catchiness but make it better. Nope! The only thing that makes Bonde Do Role similar to CSS is the kinda weird and not great looks of the chick who sings. Also, she acts real slutty on stage, and they all scream a lot. However, a look at their Allmusic page reveals the quote "The joke is to be as stupid and cheesy as you can be," so maybe I just made the mistake of taking them seriously. Maybe their record's worth a listen.
Due to late scheduling changes, Kid Koala and Hot Chip went on at the exact same time. Well, Hot Chip is the choice there I think, but I had to leave after like three songs anyway, because I felt like hell.
Saturday! I still felt a little like hell, but I was not going to miss these shows! Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were first, and by George, they're still champs. Notable moments include his mixing in lyrics from Daft Punk's "One More Time" in the end of "Little Dawn." Then he closed (or almost closed) his too-short-but-not-his-fault show with a new song called "La Costa Brava", which is about the Costa Brava, which is the coast that Barcelona's on. I like this song a lot! And did I mention that I got to meet the man himself afterwards? What a cool dude.
Next, to complete the best double billing ever, Architecture in Helsinki took their goofy selves to the stage. Wow, they're nerds! And there are only six of them, which surprised me. Cool things: 1. the horn they use is actually a trombone, not a trumpet; 2. their new songs sounded pretty good; 3. they look like total social outcasts, and they dance awkwardly as hell, but boy are they having fun on stage! Also, "Maybe You Can Owe Me" flowing into "Do the Whirlwind" was as transcendent as I thought it would be.
Feeling awful again, I sat down to watch The Good, the Bad, and the Queen. I couldn't hear them though.
I also stopped by Patti Smith, because I needed somewhere to sit. Patti who? I remember thinking "she's famous, right?" She sang "Because the Night" and then I remembered that. "Wait, isn't she some kind of hippie?" Then after the song she called out "No war! We don't need no fucking war!" Oh yeah, right.
Finally, Sonic Youth took the stage, and I stayed around to see this show, because I owe it to my uncle, who has great musical taste and really wanted me to like Sonic Youth, and also to my status as an indie fuck, because they were playing through their album "Daydream Nation", which makes pretentious writers go all gaga. It was really pretty good! I realized that they're like the ancestors of Broken Social Scene, not most of the immediately-accessible bands that I like, and I should listen to them as such, and then it was pretty good. Their vocals fade in and out of the music. Also, they are weirdly aged. The one guitarist looks like he's in his 20's, the girl who plays bass looks like she's in her 30's, the drummer in his 40's, and the other guitarist maybe 50's? Clearly, those can't be true; they've all been around since the 80's, so that makes them, what, all 40's by now? They are a distinctive bunch.
By Sunday, I was too sick even to see Of Montreal. So it goes.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
You don't know how lucky you are
I'm back in the US of A. Made it safe and sound. Then began a whirlwind of family visiting, starting with a welcome-home/birthday party surprise for me, and continuing by hanging out with the family all weekend. (NOTA BENE it's father's day tomorrow so do something nice for dad I guess; Dillard's would suggest that you buy him some nice pants so he can play golf)
First impressions of back home:
- Glad to be back, yeah yeah, family and friends, and free water in a restaurant and you know.
- Everything is so wasteful! Everything! I can't drive without getting mad at the amount of concrete all over the place; I can't clean my room because there's so much paper that I'm throwing out that I should be recycling; I can't buy things in stores because they keep giving me so many plastic bags. Maybe this is the "reverse culture shock." Maybe it's unrelated to Europe. Maybe it's me getting on my pretentious environmental high horse, which, let's be honest, I have no right to even own the saddle of.
- I am going to set a bunch of goals for the next two weeks, and they will pass without me accomplishing a single one. Aaargh!
- I still really like cereal. Look out, Frosted Mini Wheats!
First impressions of back home:
- Glad to be back, yeah yeah, family and friends, and free water in a restaurant and you know.
- Everything is so wasteful! Everything! I can't drive without getting mad at the amount of concrete all over the place; I can't clean my room because there's so much paper that I'm throwing out that I should be recycling; I can't buy things in stores because they keep giving me so many plastic bags. Maybe this is the "reverse culture shock." Maybe it's unrelated to Europe. Maybe it's me getting on my pretentious environmental high horse, which, let's be honest, I have no right to even own the saddle of.
- I am going to set a bunch of goals for the next two weeks, and they will pass without me accomplishing a single one. Aaargh!
- I still really like cereal. Look out, Frosted Mini Wheats!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bratislava is nice!
Next person who references "Eurotrip" or "Hostel" when I mention Bratislava gets punched. It's a great place.
Also I'm coming home Friday, although kinda tomorrow because I'm just running the stay-up-all-night for an early flight, and I'm excited!
Also I'm coming home Friday, although kinda tomorrow because I'm just running the stay-up-all-night for an early flight, and I'm excited!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
It's nice to know that some things remain constant
Like, even if I'm in some foreign country for a couple weeks, and even if I get kinda sick and don't want to eat anything at all period, I can still polish off any box of cereal in three days.
I'm mostly better now, though. Tomorrow I'm off to Madrid, and then Bratislava on Tuesday, and then home on Friday. It will be very nice!
Not that sickness and homesickness are the one headline from my trip to Spain, though. Here are some headlines that are more appropriate:
The Sagrada Familia: it's The Best.
I'm Staying in a $14 Hostel with a View that People Would Pay $1400 For
Churros with Chocolate? Are You Kidding?!
I Saw All These Great Bands Like For Serious.
See you folks in a week!
I'm mostly better now, though. Tomorrow I'm off to Madrid, and then Bratislava on Tuesday, and then home on Friday. It will be very nice!
Not that sickness and homesickness are the one headline from my trip to Spain, though. Here are some headlines that are more appropriate:
The Sagrada Familia: it's The Best.
I'm Staying in a $14 Hostel with a View that People Would Pay $1400 For
Churros with Chocolate? Are You Kidding?!
I Saw All These Great Bands Like For Serious.
See you folks in a week!
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