The Blog - The Archive

Mmm... Politics...

Read the most interesting comment on slashdot today:

WWJT: Who would Jesus Torture?

Although some "Christians" might argue the following logic:

God allowed Jesus to be tortured.
God = Jesus.
Therefore, Jesus allowed Jesus to be tortured.

Golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Jesus says: Do unto others as I (God) would do unto (others) Jesus.
Therefore, Torture others, coz Jesus says it's okay.

When leaders in the Pentagon and Justice Department failed to take the high road and walked away from the Geneva Convention at Abu Gharib and Guantanemo Bay, they began walking the morally dubious path.

Bush's moral certainty excuses immoral activity. Some could compare it to bin Laden's moral certainty that calls for innocent slaughter. Committing crimes in the name of God doesn't make it less wrong.

I was thinking of adapting the 'Christian logic' for my message board signature, but it was a bit too long really...

There was something else I was going to blog today, but I've forgotten already. Oh well, maybe later.

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   I went out today with Heidi and Emily...

We saw the Chatswood Musical Society's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar". It was fantastic. All the singers were fantastic, with great voices.

My only real problem was Jesus' sometimes lisp. He was a great Jesus, and I approve of them casting people with speech difficulties. However, it makes it hard to take a dying man's words seriously when they're "I'm Firthty". Also, he had issues with his "fwiendth".

Oh, and the second trumpet was so horribly out of tune. The player kept stopping because he could hear how bad it was. But you could ignore it, because we were having fun.

The people behind us talked the entire way through, and giggled whenever their friend came onstage. Heidi had to tell them to shut up at one point, which I think was fair.

Despite this barrage of complaints, I really did find it to be a great experience. I've never seen JCS before, and it was good good fun. Sure, some of the theology I find a little flawed, like getting Mary Magdeline mixed up with Mary sister of Lazarus, but it's all good. And got me thinking about religion, which is something I haven't done a whole lot of recently.

Who knows, I might even go to church tomorrow.

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Just another day in paradise...

Or not, as the case may be. This is just a short update to tell you that I'm currently unhappy with my lot, but I'm going to persevere and not let it get to me anymore than it currently does.

I'm reading the Anne of Green Gables books at the moment. My Grandma bought them for me many years ago while in Canada, but she didn't buy me the first three books in the series, believing I already had them, so I never got around to reading them (and buying the rest) until now. How anyone can be depressed while reading those is beyond me.

There's an update on the site proper, should you wish to view it. It's graphicsy.

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Wow, guys, make with the spoilers why don't you?...

Okay, for the weak of heart, this post deals with the sixth Harry Potter book, so if you don't want to hear about it, jump on down to the next post and enjoy some minor post-election ranting.

Okay, so I was reading over the Sydney Morning Herald website, when I stumbled across this gem: Potter character to be killed off
Well, okay, so she's revealed ahead of time that someone else will die. That's not a problem really, unless you were hoping to be spoiler-free and the headline just ruined that for you. But that's okay. We can deal with that.

The problem I have stems with the fact that, after blathering on about how J. K. Rowling likes to tease her fans online by releasing tidbits of spoilers, the article goes on to talk about how she did that for book five. Which is okay too, really.

What I take issue with is the last line of the article: "Potter fans had to buy the book to discover it was Sirius Black who met his end."

Wow, guy, way to destroy the climax for anyone who hasn't read it yet. I mean really, would it have been that difficult to say "Potter fans had to buy to book to discover which of the beloved characters met their end."? You know, something with a little bit of subtlety.

I'm reminded of a bus trip in to uni one morning many years ago, when two girls were loudly discussing the plot twist of The Sixth Sense. Now, I understand their right to sit and talk about a movie they had just seen, but it had only opened the night before, and I'm sure most of the people on the bus were interested in seeing it at some point. But now I still haven't been bothered seeing the movie, because I already know what happens.

Sure, that was an old spoiler, but still, I don't expect to see my newspaper going on about Anakin losing his hand in episode ii, and I don't want my newspaper to be telling me what happened in a previous book unless it's in a book review where it fits.

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And then...

Well, the good guys lost the election, John Howard is going to fuck over the universities and spend a good part of the next four years sucking up to America, and generally it's a bad day for all involved. But we live and learn, and hopefully people will think twice before reelecting him next time.

Anyway, Korinne told me the other day that her avatar needed to be smaller than it was, so I made her another, mostly the same, but fitting the specs of the message board she wanted to use it on: Have a good sunday, all.

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   Sucking down a "Fruthie" and blogging in my lunch break...

Actually, the drink is rather nice. Liquid, the bubble tea place on campus, is running a promotion this week where fruit smoothies ("fruthies") are going for $3 instead of their usual $4.60. So I thought I'd give one a whirl. It's a strange mix of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, applejuice, icecubes and strawberry frozen yoghurt. And since it's a bubble tea place, it has tapioca pearls in it as well. Very odd, and yet strangely addictive. Also, incredibly thick, which makes it hard to swallow.

James discovered something interesting the other day: if you do a google image search for heretics, last year's halloween post shows up. That's very nifty. I wonder who else has linked to it?


I found the best online personality quiz yesterday: Which Element Are You?
I'm Helium (He)
Lucky Number 2

You are balanced and independent. You might not form strong bonds with others but when a party is on you are first on the scene.

You consider yourself the most noble of gases. But is it really noble to hog your electrons and live apart from the rest of us, Helium? Your first report card read "does not work or play well with others" and frankly you don't seem to get that that's not a compliment. Sure you're rare here on earth but in the universe at large your type is common as mud (SiO2.C2HnOx). In fact you're so colourless, odourless and unreactive it's hard to know you're around. Take note: the world doesn't revolve around you Helium. (Ok strictly speaking it does because the stupid sun is about 80% Helium, but here on earth you're NOTHING!).

Famous Heliums
Ghandi
Jesus
Laurie Oakes

Ideal Partner
Don't bother Helium. You are the original lone wolf - it takes about 13000 Volts to get you to even mingle let alone bond and settle down with anyone else. Stop wasting our time and just float on out to space where you belong.

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So, the Election's Heating Up...

John Howard tells us that if we vote for the opposition, it'll mean "change for the worse", while Mark Latham is busy telling us that John Howard is "campaigning on fear". The Greens decided not to hold a Press Conference, and no one knows what the Democrats are smoking. I kinda can't wait until it's over.

I can't help but think that I shouldn't voice political opinion here, because the internet is a public forum, and anyone could read it and bag me out. But that's kinda the way a blog is meant to work, isn't it? It's silly really.

If the truth is told, I don't really care who wins the election on Saturday, so long as John Howard isn't voted back in. He's a complete loser (like most every politician), but he keeps lying and lying to the Australian public, and he's screwing over university students, which is a pity considering how many of them live and study in his own damn electorate.

I mean honestly, I'm not sure Labor will do a better job of running the country, but I can't see how they'd do any worse. For one thing, they really seem to not approve of being Bush's toadies, which is something that Australia does need less of. Which reminds me, wow is he someone who needs to be voted out. You Americans have a choice about whether or not you vote, make it and vote for someone other than Bush. The world will thank you for it.

Actually, I think the best reason for voting someone other than Howard in is that it will bring some sort of balance to Australian politics. The Liberals (the "right-wing" party) have been in too long, and it's starting to take it's toll. In a few years, I'll be encouraging you to vote the other way. It's the way these things should be.


And since I fear I've never blogged this one before, here's a link to John Howard's blog. It's quality reading, especially before the election.

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I's alive...
And I made an avatar for a friend today: Hooray team! Okay, so it's not that exciting really. And I do keep meaning to post, but I can't do so from uni, and my internet at home was not at all reliable for a long time. But anyway, here's something to make you chuckle:

Priests scuffle at Holy Sepulchre
By Middle East correspondent Mark Willacy

Dozens of people have been injured in a fist fight between feuding priests at one of Christianity's holiest shrines.

The fist fight between Greek Orthodox and Franciscan priests took place on the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified.

It began when a Greek Orthodox procession passed a Roman Catholic chapel and the priests started arguing over whether a door to the chapel should be open or closed.

Jerusalem police say four priests were detained after the brawl.

Custody of the church of the Holy Sepulchre is shared by several Christian denominations and each jealously guards its territory.

Source: ABC News (the australian one, silly), September 28, 2004

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