pogoism

I don’t normally need a lot of convincing that religion is a load of baloney, but this “documentary” annoyed me.

I use speech marks, as Bill Maher did a *really* bad job. For one, he’s not that funny. He might have been in the 80s, possibly the 90s, but he’s not anymore. Rather than it being a serious, well thought-out piece about religion, it became more of an attack on anyone who dares hold any belief about anything. He interviews a whole list of people, but almost every time, before he showed the interviews, he set them up as comedy characters. For instance, he would show footage of them pre-interview saying “testing testing” into their microphones and so on.

He chose some poor subjects for interview, clearly just for comedy purposes. I don’t want to sound like a boring git, but if you’re going to try and do a documentary about a contentious subject like religion, you should at least try to show some balance and give your participants a fair chance to express their views. In one scene with Mohamed Junas Gaffar, of the Taiban Mosque in Amsterdam, he showed him receiving a text message. On the screen appeared some mock captions, which show the imam plotting to kill Bill after the interview. A pretty cheap shot, and a total stereotype.

In another, he interviewed Rev. Ferre van Beveren, of the First Universal Church of Cantheism – a religion based on the inherent goodness of the cannabis plant. When Maher got bored of the conversation, he pretended that the Reverend’s hair was on fire. Hilarious.

He showed the extremes of religion (such as anti-Zionists, people claiming to be Jesus Christ, and ex-gay ministers), and never showed us the more moderate sides, constantly bombarding us with images of war. He clearly hadn’t done his research well either, because at one point he showed images from the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which, if he’d looked into it a little more, isn’t to do with religion.

Finally, and probably the biggest thing that bugged me about this movie, is that he doesn’t have the balls to actually confront the people he interviews directly. He attacks religion through smarmy captions or during his monologues. The one saving grace of this film is his genius reaction when, after interviewing the Democratic Senator from Arkansas Mark Pryor about his creationist beliefs, he says “you don’t have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate, though”. Comedy gold.

via Gossip Boy

Gossip Boy found this post on the WBC (the God Hates Fags people) website, which hints that they might be planning some kind of mass suicide, like Jonestown in 1978.

Pretty much everyone hates these guys. Frankly, I’d be surprised if that had many more than a handful of true supporters outside their own community, Oh, and they just lost a big lawsuit.

Here’s their post in full, or read the key bits below…

BECAUSE IT’S ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE…THAT’S WHY DUMMY!

We are particularly urgent about it, because the time is shortly to come when we will grant you your wicked wish, Doomed america!

Let us see how that is shortly now to play out, my angry little sodomite-loving friends.  It’s about time for us to leave this place.

When we’re done, we will leave your filthy land and be placed safely out of the reach of the horror that will then land upon you swiftly and certainly – in one hour.

We pray it to be any day now, for the promises of our God are sure and certain.  We finished our job in Napa County – one of the few we have left – and then went to tell the Saints of our God-blessed exploits and our joy.

We gotta go, peeps!  We gotta go!  And when we do, it’s time for this filthy nation to receive of all the plagues that your Creator has promised.  The reason there is such urgency in those words … such passion in the irresistible call from our Saviour, Husband, and Friend … is because when that time comes for this rebellious nation – which is spiritually called Babylon and has become literally Babylon by the inexplicable and forcible snatching of that Mesopotamian land where ancient Babylon sat – it is going to be very fast and very violent, such that all mankind is utterly and simply amazed.  Check out the words, fools … it’s all about the words!

Photo via Flickr user feastoffools.

This is why I love science – imaginative free stuff!

It’s a highlighter *and* a pen – shaped like a syringe.

Amazing.

Summer’s here! Huzzah!

I’m debating whether to get flip-flops, but I think I’ll look like an eejit ‘cos I’ve got stubby legs and small feet :(

Every weekend I talk to my mum back in England, and I always suggest films she should watch. She watches them, and most of the time she likes them. So, on Sunday’s I’ve decided to do a short blog called “Read, Listen, Watch”, where I recommend things I’ve come across during the week that you should, well, read, listen or watch.

• Read: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. [Amazon.com]

I love Swedish crime novels, particularly Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander books, so this book really appealed to me. Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced financial journalist, accepts a case to investigate the disappearance of teenage heiress Harriet Vanger. Helped by sociopathic hacker Lisbeth Salander he unravels the mysteries of her disappearance. I cheated and listened to it on audiobook, but it’s a gripping story that’ll have you hooked.

• Listen: Fist of God, MSTRKRFT [iTunes]

There were quite a few contenders this week, as I also got Röyksopp and Erin McCarley’s new albums. As much as I love these, MSTRKRFT’s new one is the one I’m going to recommend. It’s a brainless album, and seems to take a lot from Justice’s debut Cross. It’s intense, the only down tempo track being John Legend’s Heartbreaker, and it’s the first album I’ve listened to in a long time that left me worn out after the 39 minute run-time.

• Watch: In the Bedroom [IMDB]

I’ll be honest, this film wasn’t what I was expecting. Instead, the story begins with a college kid, Frank, back at his parents home in Maine where he is dating an older women with two small children. Her ex-husband returns, and after a few violent episodes, he kills Frank. The film portrays his parent’s relationship and life as they grieve for their son. A powerful film.

…and that you should check out.

• Coffee Helps
• Paddy in Buenos Aires
• Petite Anglaise
• Mermaid Left as Ligan
• A Life in Northern Ireland
• Drop Dead Chris
• I Can Has Cheezburger?
• Joe. My. God.
• Pam’s House Blend
• Towleroad
• Flippin’ Yank in Norn Iron
• Mr Ulster
• South Belfast Diary
• Your Friend in the North

Any other blogs you think I should be reading? Comment me :)

Do you RSS? It’s the easiest way to keep up with your favourite blogs, y’know! Here’s a great guide that’ll tell you all you need to know about RSS…

For a place I thought I was going to hate, I sure do like Reno. A lot.

I’ve been here for almost 8 months now, and I can honestly say they’ve been the best 8 months ever. I’m constantly reminded that I have to leave in 4 months, and that makes me so sad.

I’m not sure what I find so alluring about Reno. If you Google it, it looks horrific – and to some extent it is. It’s certainly not a place I’d want to come on holiday, but it’s the little things that make this city what it is. Things like walking out of my apartment in the mornings and seeing the spectacular view of the Sierra Nevadas covered in snow against a perfectly blue sky. Things like finding the little pockets of humanity amongst the downtown casinos, like Java Jungle, Pneumatic Diner and Dreamers. The bewildering diversity of places to eat - Ethiopian, Japanese, Mexican and Basque to name but a few. The huge array of things to do outside Reno, like snowboarding and kayaking. Lake Tahoe, one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been, being 40 minutes away.

Then there’s the things that are more general, things about America. Before I arrived in August, I had that typical view that the media in the UK portrays about America and it’s inhabitants. They were all wrong. Americans aren’t stupid. They get irony. They’re not all gun-toting, religious, conservative rednecks. It’s a wonderfully diverse country, and one that I’ll be proud to say I spent a year in.

Finally, and by far the best part about my year here are the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made. Before I arrived I promised myself that I’d go out and make a big effort to meet people, rather than get locked into a group with the people I’m here with. I’m glad I did, I’ve got some amazing friends here, friends who I hope I’ll never lose contact with. Melissa, who I met through a guy I dated for a short while, is a great friend. We have a lot in common – travelling, music, eating out. Lauren, who I met at a really awful Halloween party because I didn’t know anyone there, and neither did she. Alonso, who is by far my best friend here, I met by chance. After a few months of texting etc, we finally met up again … the rest, as they say, is history.

I’m really going to miss this place… *sigh*

I’m aware I’m behind the ball here, but I just watched the Susan Boyle clip on Youtube.

This video has been posted on Twitter, blogs, Facebook and most news sites over the last week, but I didn’t really believe the hype. I’m not a great fan of shows like Britain’s Got Talent, The x Factor et al, and so every time I saw links to this video I never paid attention.

Before I say any more, you should watch the video, if you haven’t already.

Phenomenal.

It honestly left me speechless, and I felt ashamed after watching it. I’m sure everyone thought that she was just going to be the run-of-the-mill talentless entrant to one of these competitions, but as Amanda Holden said, it really was a wake-up call. It’s frightening to suddenly be aware of what a society we’ve become.

Anyway, watch the video. It made my day, I hope it makes yours too :)

Update: Theres a great article about this over at HuffPo that’s well worth reading.

Last Sunday, Lauren and I went to Animal Ark, near Reno. Animal Ark takes in animals that cannot be released back into the wild for whatever reason, and gives them as realistic an environment as possible. It’s located in the middle of the desert, about 12 miles from Reno.

They house a variety of animals – mountain lions, coyotes, cheetahs, foxes, owls, falcons and badgers, and all the electricity the site uses comes from green sources such as solar and wind.

So, without any further ado… some pictures.