Logic Vs. Irrationality

During a drunken discussion recently, a friend and I debated religion versus atheism. Actually that’s not entirely true, we discussed spirituality versus lack thereof. Being drunk, the argument tended to meander around in various states of clumsiness. My friend, being drunk and an atheist, used logic to argue his points. Myself, being relatively spiritual, and also drunk, stumbled around poorly constructed ideas regarding perception, idea and faith. I don’t remember how it ended up and really, it doesn’t matter. Two days later that friend confessed that he didn’t remember anything of the discussion (although I think he is being polite because his semi-drunken logic was semi-drunken solid vs. my drunken lack of a well constructed argument). I, however, remember many aspects of the discussion. In retrospect I think the discussion, in of itself, is pretty ridiculous. Think about it. Two drunk guys arguing in a bar about something that inherently can’t be argued. Logic versus Irrationality.

First off, I am a believer. Do I believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins? Well, I wouldn’t necessarily go that far. Then again, there are plenty of nuts that live in the modern world that do plenty of wacky things both good and ill. Is it plausible that some guy about two thousand years ago was delusional and justified his upcoming death as an excuse to forgive humans of sin, which in turn, founded a new religion? Absolutely! Hell, people started looking at George Lucas as a new prophet and “The Force” as a new religion, not so long ago and not so far away.

We live everyday with sets of beliefs and perceptions that may or may not be true. From silly things like expecting your car to start to assuming a traffic report is accurate. These beliefs and perceptions are based off of a history of events and expectations of a future. On a personal level, we often don’t have the hard facts of these beliefs. We simply take someone else’s word for it and history bears it out. We also use these small beliefs and perceptions to construct our reality around us. Now, oversimplification aside, religion, spirituality or whatever you want to call it, is a more complex series of beliefs and perceptions based from what we are taught, what we see and how we react (internally or externally) to construct this reality around us.

Logic is the application of a set of rules defined by a physical world, on concepts that we usually have hard facts about. The rules of logic are made up from observation, hard facts and a history of repetition. People use this logic to help them understand the world around them, or, their reality.

The difference is that you can apply logic to many everyday things and bear out hard evidence of why your beliefs are well founded. But this wasn’t always true. We didn’t always know what air was or why we needed it. Science, or more aptly, the progression of applied logic to the natural world, continues to define our beliefs of how things work and why. When we take these things for granted by not really knowing how they work, aren’t we are being irrational?

The only point I am trying to make with all this CRAP, is this... Religion is inherently irrational because of the lack of hard facts. Millions of people, for whatever reason, use religion in a positive way. Many also use it in a negative way. (George and Osama, anyone? Yes, they are the same to me.) They have no real reason for it, they just feel that it is true (whether this feeling came from thousands of years of religious brainwashing, or not, I don’t know). They have faith because they believe yet logically it CANNOT be defined.

My car will start today because I have faith. My faith in my car is logic based because I have lots of facts to support my faith. Logic CAN be applied to this.

I believe that there are many things beyond human understanding (right now) one of which includes an intelligence (or several) beyond our comprehension. Does this mean I think about a god in a white toga and Birkenstocks? No I don’t. Is this belief irrational? Yes, it is. It is mostly based from my observations, my feelings and my speculations about what my reality consists of. Am I delusional? Possibly. After all, I do think the Great Zombie Apocalypse is coming as prophesized by Romero. Objectively, I’d say that’s out there.

My friend also believes that there are many things beyond human understanding (right now) but none of which include an intelligence beyond our comprehension, at least not in a “god” way. His beliefs are based from his observations, his feelings and his speculations about what his reality consists of applied to his logic. Is he delusional? Possibly. He does think Kevin Smith is a humble and ingratiating guy and Bill Maher is a comic genius, after all. I’d say that’s pretty fucking delusional.

Irrationality and logic DO NOT MIX. People will continue to believe what they will believe. Some of it based on logic, some of it not. Most of it, bullshit. All of it is our reality, even if that means 6.5 billion variations of reality.

Of course I have to show an example of seriously delusional fuckheads here...

Unseen World

Beware the Hair! or The Greatest Show on Television!

Mullets are funny, no doubt, but in a much earlier published article I made reference to the fact that people that wear Mullets must be given some respect because they have an incredibly strong sense of identity and comfort with who they are( or are incredibly self deluded). If not, how could they wear those silly things. Here I present a VERY good reason why you shouldn't make fun of mullets. Not only does Brock Samson's mullet create a sense of individuality, but making fun of his mullet will give him a reason to use his license (pictured above) as he often does, anyway. Not only is he a virtually unkillable, murder machine, but he is an archtype in all other areas. Despite his mullet he is enviable for his pure manliness. No big SUV's here, just an old Charger kept in tip top shape (and also a killing machine). To see more of Brock just watch the Venture Bros. on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim or buy Season 1 out on DVD now. Great Mullet, Great Show!
.

.

If you need more proof, how about this image...

.

.

.

.

.

.

If you need any more coaxing to watch one of the best shows on TV, try these images...

.

.

.

.



Hell, after you get past the focus of the image just look at some of the surrounding characters!

Hearts and Flowers!

Hooray for sugar and spice and everything nice!

A friend received a unique challenge to write his blog about something good like hearts and flowers. I thought it was a pretty interesting challenge so I decided to take it up also. Instead of showing how the manufacturing of construction paper leads to global warming (not to mention deforestation of protected forests, illegally due to the negative side effects of globalization.) Or how the flower industry is just a horrible made up idea that manipulates men and woman by making them think that flowers are actually important somehow (Though admittedly it’s less damaging than the diamond industry, billions of plants are murdered each year!) I decided to approach the challenge in a straight forward way…

Hearts

I remember those paper hearts we all used to have to cut out of construction paper in school. I actually used to really enjoy making them. Something about cutting that simple pattern, with just enough challenge for little hands to feel a sense of accomplishment. Never cared for the pink, and that red paper always seemed too cinnamony colored for me. But the tactile experience was something I’ll always remember.

.

.

Here are some photos of other favorite hearts of mine…

.

.

.

.

Flowers

Delving into my sensitive side, I’ll admit that I have always loved daisies!

My mother loves roses, but I say, ptuh! to that. With all that needless complexity, no way. The daisy was it for me. There was always something appealing about them. The simple white petals evenly radiating outward from a clean yellow center. Reminding me of the sun, yet not so blinding. Clean, simple design and to me, proof of perfection. If I gave a girl daisies, that meant I really loved her, even if she didn't see it that way!

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Anyway, here are some photos of really strange and unusual flowers...

Interesting Image of the Day! Bos'n say, "Fuck you!"

When you really gotta say, "Hey, man. Fuck You!" Take it from the classical Japanese attitute and do it with grace, dignity and humility. Follow old Bos'n's example and bow slightly followed with a spirited, "Fuck you!"

My Sweet Ride!

A funny thing about cars…

As I was driving home the other night musing about my buddy Karl’s H3 blog when a Ferrari Modena pulled up along side of me. Well, needless to say, overcompensation rarely gets bigger than a Ferrari. Then I started to think, hmm, how does my car compare to that Ferrari and a H3?

Now it’s important to understand something about my sweet ride. When I bought it I researched it extensively and I had also decided that it would be (if I could help it) the last combustion auto I would buy. Now recent safety alerts aside (all of my recalls pertaining to this particular Nissan were taken care of years before CNN got wind of them) it has proven to be a reliable and rugged little car and I am completely happy with it.

Excuse the pun, now onto the meat of the article…

Ferarri Modena – Price: Approx $150,000 or greater depending on options
MPG 16 Highway 11 city / 400 Hp / 3.6 liter V8 / 0-60 in 4.4 seconds

Hummer H3 – Price: Approx $29,000
MPG 20 Highway 16 city / 220 Hp / 3.5 liter inline 5 / 0-60 in 9.2 seconds

Nissan Sentra – Price: Approx $15,000
MPG 28 Highway 22 city / 126 Hp / 1.8 liter inline 4 / 0-60 in 8 seconds

So here is how my sweet ride stacks up…

Sentra has 31% of the HP of the Ferrari
Sentra has 57% of the HP of the H3

Sentra has 175% of the Highway MPG and 200% of the city MPG of the Ferrari
Sentra has 140% of the Highway MPG and 137% of the city MPG of the H3

Sentra has 55% of the acceleration of the Ferrari
Sentra has 115% of the acceleration of the H3

Sentra costs 90% less the the Ferrari
Sentra costs 49% less the the H3

So if I read these stats correctly in order to feel like a man and go twice as fast as I am in my Sentra and use almost twice as much gas, it will cost me 10 times as much for the Ferrari! Are they fucking nuts!

How's that for the law of diminishing returns.

And if I want to complete my homo-erogenous sense of penis envy by purchasing the H3 I’ll still use a third more gas, actually go slower and pay almost twice as much! What the fuck is going on here?

And as a final note, how many sports cars or manly trucks do you see on the road from ten years ago? How many sensible and economical cars do you see on the road from ten years ago? Well, some of the trucks are still around but if there are any sports cars like this around they are stored in Ferris’s buddy Cameron’s dad’s garage. But you still see many of those old Saturns, Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, Fords and such trucking along. Getting people to and fro and taking care of business. With that said, I think the rest is pretty fucking obvious. Be a man and don’t react to advertising propaganda telling you what you should drive. Look at the facts, research the truth and act.

Dark musings...

I fall into a maelstrom of rage. Anger frustration and bitterness fill my being. Every victory is taken away, even the little ones. Everyday grows dimmer, the darkness encroaching upon me. Nothing works right, nothing is sure. My soul is falling through an endless void. I fail myself at every turn. Infantile anger is all I know as nothing works and everything seems against me. I am unable to take pleasure even in small little things. No happiness is found and truth slips away. What I think I know seems to be wrong as a mirror image twisted, as if in a funhouse. I never laugh anymore, I never cry anymore. Is there nothing for me? I don’t know where to go and I don’t know how to start, the road is lost to me. I am alone in a dark desert and I can’t find my way, no moon nor stars to help. Friends care but even they appear as mannequins trapped behind plate glass windows inside an empty store. Frozen with their concerned smiles I don’t know how to reach to them. The way is shut, the path grows dark and I can not pass. Every day I feel myself slip a little more, unwilling to create the fantasy that most use to remain afloat. I have no home, I have no heart, my soul is lost. When does this end? I can’t find my way but who can help? When does this end? The emptiness is inside me, except for the rage. Why have I been left like this, is it my own doing? How do I fix it? I don’t like the manual everyone else is using, they blindfold themselves for a days contentment. That’s not for me, but it seems nothing is. I am an anachronism and a misanthrope. I will die off because Darwin was right. When does this end? Is there nothing for me?

North Korean Missile Testing...

Bush says, “What these firings of the rockets has done is, they've isolated themselves further, and that's sad for the people of North Korea.”

Japan has also said, “…this is clearly an act of provocation.”

Wow, strong stuff. But let’s break this down, shall we…

Kim Jung-Il is sitting in his palace. (Ok, I admit the guy is too much, an ego driven tyrant, I get that) and then one day he hears through the media that a large and powerful national leader says that he is essentially a terrorist “rogue” nation and part of everything that is wrong in the world. Hmm.

Then he watches in dismay as that same Super-Power invades another nearby “rogue” nation and overthrows it’s ruling regime.

That same Super Power then lies, cheats and finally bullies it allies to get it’s way into invading another one of these so called rogue nations, disposing the dictator and forcing a democratic system on it.

Gee, let’s work this out. You live on a street in which you like to keep to yourself (even if you are an asshole). One of your neighbor’s kids (We’ll call that kid Dennis) goes and throws a cherry bomb down the rich neighbor’s toilet (Ok, maybe a bad metaphor for 9-11 because the cherry bomb thing would be kinda funny) How about Dennis kills all the pets of the rich neighbor (We’ll call him Sam) in violent and disturbing ways.

Everyone on the street is shocked, and rightly so, especially the rich neighbor Sam. Sam’s wife pitches a fit and Sam’s manhood somehow comes into question. Sam then gets all of the neighbors together and talks about how the bad neighbors on the street are ruining everything for everyone else. One of those neighbors and houses is you.

Sam then goes to one of the bad neighbor’s house (We’ll call him Stan) kicks in the door, breaks a bunch of stuff in Stan’s house looking for that no good Dennis. Since Dennis was hiding in Stan’s house and Sam had a right to be pissed, everyone on the street kind of looked the other way.

Then Sam argues with the other neighbor’s about going to another bad neighbor’s house (We’ll call him Hank) and roughing him up. Now the other neighbor’s say, “Wait a second Sam, who the hell do you think you are?” But Sam is unrelenting, he bullies the weaker neighbor’s, lies to his own family and throws money at the remaining objectors. Then he kicks in Hank’s door and beats the living shit out of him.

Now you and the other remaining “bad” neighbor decide to buy a gun and some ammo then you go out and start practicing with it. And you’re labeled as the bad guy!

Of course this stupid little story is obviously over simplified and nukes are way more scary than guns and Kim Jong-Il is way more of an asshole than most neighbors but it illustrates some good points. We, the United States of America, brought much of this upon ourselves. We need to accept that responsibility first and foremost. Hopefully we can get this resolved because this is some potentially scary shit and could spiral into World War III. I’m suitably scared and I’m also facing the fact that my own government brought all of this about. How about you? Still don’t want to vote?

Bizarro #1 or Mark Pillow's Greatest Work

Well, I was never much a fan of Superman. I always thought he was kind of a boring character. Y'know, indestructible and all that. With some notable exceptions (listed at the bottom) it has been proven that Ol' Supes is pretty damn dull (mostly because of weak writing, Superman Returns NOT excepted). That or some crappy and cheesy chick fantasy show (remember Lois and Clark, bleech). Anyway, I'm not here to talk about Supes but his far superior doppelganger brother/twin (depending on your source and perspective) Bizarro!

His history being what it is, I am only going to focus on his screen personas (small and big). So in no particular order let's go...

The horrible Superman III did have an interesting sub-plot involving red kryptonite and an evil Supes fighting a good Clark. Now, it is easy to argue why this is NOT an incarnation of Bizarro. I, however, believe that it is. Superman's suit is off color (a classic theme of Bizarro's). This guy is also a negative image and personality of Superman. 'Nuff said.


Lois and Clark had their own version but I'll not bore you with the details nor a photo.


What the hell is this!?! Believe it or not, this is an image from Superman IV. Even if you saw this movie (and not many did) you probably don't remember this because it stayed on the cutting room floor. This handsome chap was none other than Nuclear Man #1 and was (supposedly) intended as homage to Bizarro. Yeah, right.



The 88-92 Live Action Superboy (season 1 out now on DVD) also had a version of Bizarro.
Yikes, does this look like high quality television?








Finally, here is Mark Pillow’s finest work as an actor! I give you, Nuclear Man #2! Arguably this is the realization of Lex Luther’s goal when he created Bizarro way back in the late 1950’s. The only problem is that Nuclear Man pretty much sucks. If you blame anyone, blame Golan and Globus for fronting the money for this pile of Phantom Zone crap. His hair does blow convincingly in space, though!



Superman the Animated Series also had their own version of Bizarro and for my dollar, I thought this was the best. This Bizarro is the easiest to relate to also because he always tried to do the right thing for the right reasons he just lacked the facilities to know what right really is. He never meant to but he usually just made things worse. (Symbol and colors altered to reflect the post "Crisis" Bizarro.)



Okay, now some notable exceptions in which Superman was actually interesting…

Superman the Motion Picture
Superman II
Superman the Animated Series season II
The Dark Knight Returns
The Old Fleischer Cartoons (of which I still have a DVD of that I owe Crasskins)
Kevin Smith’s Superman Script (Naw, I’m just kidding about this one, it sucked)

The summer movie you should see...

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Okay everyone, this is one of those moments where your moral outrage should continue to build and sustain itself. One of those times when you should stand up and write your Senator, Congressman, Mayor, Bookie, Whore and anyone else that will listen. I won't spend much time writing about it because someone else spent much more time preparing information about it here, (The Electric Car) I will hit the high points.

1.) It ran completely emissions free.

2.) It ran without any noise.

3.) It maxed out at 183 mph (80 mph computer controlled)

4.) It was produced over ten years ago!

Sadly, I must admit I saw one of these beauty's for lease (they were never for sale) when I was younger, and didn't pursue leasing one. Therefore, it's partly my own fault they are gone. The point is, the technology is already out there.