Presbyopic and awesome.
Just Call Me “Six Eyes”
August 17th, 2010This is The Song That Never Ends
May 27th, 2010There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There’s a hole,
There’s a hole,
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea!
There’s a well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s some oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s a gusher in the oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s a pipe in the gusher in the oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s a break in the pipe in the gusher in the oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s some mud in the break in the pipe in the gusher in the oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s some junk in the mud in the break in the pipe in the gusher in the oil in the well in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
A Brief Message to Muslims
May 11th, 2010This was originally posted as my comment to Thunderf00t’s video, Islam Fail:
Muslims, peaceful and not-so-peaceful: Only when you learn to keep your peace when provoked, instead of feeling that you must vehemently and/or violently defend your Allah and Muhammad, who (if they exist) can defend themselves just fine, then will such provocations become unnecessary, and thence stop. The weakling answers mocking with threats, and only invites more mocking. The strong man has nothing to prove.
Open Letter to Comedy Central
April 23rd, 2010Dear Comedy Central,
I think Comedy Central’s censorship of Episode 201, and now also of the Super Best Friends episode on SouthParkStudios.com is completely over-the-top and unacceptable for a reputable media outlet in the United States. Do you not see the negative societal trend that you are contributing to? If something needs to be sacred in our society, it is satire— and not any particular religion.
Robert McNally
To everyone else: You can still use BitTorrent to download Episode 201 as it aired (with Comedy Central bleeping out even Mohammad’s name and Kyle’s final speech about intimidation that didn’t even mention Muhammad), and the Super Best Friends episode.
The Ironwolf Blog: Five Years of Whatever I Find Interesting
March 30th, 2010Five years ago today I started this blog. When I announced it on my old web site I promised a blog where, “I do not guarantee postings of any particular frequency, quality, or any other word ending in ‘y.’”
Today I’m proud to say that I’ve kept that promise. And I’d like you, my loyal readers, to know that I intend to go on keeping it.
You’re welcome.
My first post here was my small poetic meditation on mindfulness, “Meta.” Here it is again, and here’s to the next five years!
META
Do you love your ability to love?
Do you tolerate tolerance?
Do you hate “hate?”
Do you think about your thoughts?
Are you awake to being awake right now?
Are you aware of your awareness?
Are you in the habit of making good habits?
Are you living your life?
When you walk, do you direct your steps?
When you listen, do you let the speaker in?
When you talk, do you know who is speaking?
When you experience this poem, what do you feel?
Do you love your ability to love your ability to love?
Clapping Music
March 14th, 2010This is an experiment I did to start learning Logic Pro. It’s an arrangement of Steve Reich’s Clapping Music in an minimal electobeat setting.
Three From Roy Zimmerman
March 13th, 2010Roy Zimmerman puts the “wry” in “rhyme.” Or something.
Defenders of Marriage
Creation Science 101
Jerry Fallwell’s God
Bill Moyers Journal: The Supreme Court and Marriage Equality
February 27th, 2010The two marquee lawyers who fought each other all the way to the Supreme Court to decide whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would become President are at it again. Ted Olson is a conservative, and David Boies is a liberal. But this time they’re fighting as allies to defend marriage equality.
This is the finest discussion I’ve heard about the marriage equality issue. Moyers takes the devil’s advocate position throughout, posing objection after objection that’s been advanced by the religious right in America. Watch as these two brilliant lawyers deliver absolutely devastating rebuttals. It shows that ultimately, the only “argument” against same-sex marriage is a religious one advanced by those who would, if they could, destroy our democracy and turn it into a theocracy. With them in charge, of course.
Please, listen to this interview and pass it on to your friends. The audio is below, or you can watch the entire show’s video on the PBS web site.
Bill Moyers Journal: Theodore Olson and David BoiesWhat’s Up with Ironwolf?
February 14th, 2010If you follow this blog, you know that there’s been times when I’ve posted several times a week, sometimes on trivialities, sometimes on controversial topics that have garnered hundreds of comments. You’ve probably also noticed that I haven’t posted much lately. Well, I haven’t (yet) succumbed to any of the curses that have been put on me by the religious nuts who have sometimes crossed my path. But my life has been rather complex lately, and hasn’t left me a lot of time for blogging… although since I can’t resist surfing, I’ve still been regularly posting cool stuff I find to my tumblelog.
Specifically, I have just concluded my divorce— an emotionally and financially draining process that took the better part of a year. I know what you’re probably thinking, and so I’ll say it for you in the words of a dear friend of mine: “Congratulations, and I’m sorry.”
Fortunately, I have a reasonably cordial relationship with my ex, and our two young boys are dealing well with mostly spending time with mom or dad separately. The one constant in this process has been that we both want what’s best for the children, and they know they have a mom and dad who love them.
While we’ve all been through considerable pain during this time, I now find a sense of relief, renewal, and liberation in finally being able to close that chapter of my life— not unlike the emotional and intellectual epiphanies I experienced when I finally gave up religion almost 15 years ago, near the start of my marriage. My views on family and relationships have evolved significantly over the years, and I plan to write more about those changes in the coming months.
Happy Valentine’s Day, you crazy kids!
12 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Illegal
February 7th, 2010So a while back I asked for the real reasons for why some people are against legalizing same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, no-one responded and I had to end up debunking an anti-gay marriage web site’s answers. Well, still no-one’s answered so I did a little more digging and discovered the answers are already out there, as seen on Reddit. So finally, here are the top 12 reasons why gay marriage should be illegal:
- Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.
- Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can’t legally get married because the world needs more children.
- Obviously, gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
- Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage is allowed, since Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
- Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are property, blacks can’t marry whites, and divorce is illegal.
- Gay marriage should be decided by people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.
- Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
- Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
- Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
- Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
- Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven’t adapted to things like cars or longer life-spans.
- Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a “separate but equal” institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.
