tales of an ordinary girl

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!

Civil Rights
Maine legalizes same-sex marriage
Maine became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage Wednesday after Democratic Gov. John Baldacci abandoned his earlier opposition and signed into law a bill allowing gays to wed.

The governor's signature came less than an hour after the measure won final approval from the Maine Senate, which voted 21-13, with one absent, to pass the law. The House passed the bill Tuesday.

Games
Dragon Age ditches SecuROM, online activation
We have good news for Dragon Age fans out there: Bioware has announced that the game will only require a basic disc check for authentication if you'd like to play offline. Even better? No SecuROM.

International
Blink Changed My Perspective
Anyways, the whole thing made me realize something important. Just like I don't want to be racist, Chileans don't want to misunderstand me. The girl at Starbucks wasn't purposely trying to not to understand my Spanish. It's just that her subconcious has been so conditioned to believe that Gringo = English-speaking that her concious heard nothing but white noise when I was speaking Spanish. After a few minutes, once she realized that I did speak Spanish, she was able to understand 100% of what I said on the first try, even though my accent hadn't changed, the words I was saying hadn't changed, but all of a sudden, because her concious had finally made the switch, we could communicate. That's why Spanish speaking people who already know me, have no problem understanding me. I've also found that people who have been previously prepped, as in, my husband has told them "I'm married to a gringa who speaks Spanish," usually don't have a heard time with my Spanish either. Nor do my gringa friends' Chilean husbands and boyfriends because their unconcious now has probably been conditioned to think that gringas do speak Spanish.

Religion
Why We Need Earthquakes
This is not to suggest, as the scientist and philosopher Leibniz once argued, that ours is the best of all possible worlds. But ours may be the best of all feasible worlds, at least as viewed from a human perspective. This recognition will not stop people from bemoaning the next earthquake, but it should at least stop us from blithely assuming that the Creator could have done a much better job. - Emphasis mine - Ed

Sci Fi
John Scalzi - The Star Trek Movie Cheat Sheet
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Plot Haiku:
It's Kirk and Picard!
They get together, and not
In a fanfic way!

In the latest, soon-to-be-published episode of the podcast we talk about happiness and whether religion makes people happier than non-religious people. I'm not going to rehash what we said, but I did want to add something related.

Lately I've been euphorically, ecstatically happy. I don't get up bouncing with joy, but by the time I get to work I have so much energy that I'm about to burst. I don't really attribute it to work, although lately even work has been better. I attribute it to running.

I've always hated running. The only time I ever ran regularly was in junior high school when I played volleyball and basketball. I suck at sports. You only have to see me in action to know. I'm short and uncoordinated - terrible attributes for basketball. I don't have a lot of arm strength and though I could set a ball nicely for a spike, I couldn't get a ball served over the net to save my life. But I loved playing.. in practices. I even loved running in practices. It was hard work, but I was in the best shape of my life. And there was something about pushing my body to do more that was exhilarating.

Since then I've avoided running. If you don't do it regularly it's a chore. Breathing is difficult, sweating is guaranteed - and I hate sweating worse than I hate running.

Anyway, a few months ago I bought a Wii Fit board thinking it'd be fun to play around with for a while, but not seriously thinking it'd replace a gym (it doesn't). I started out with some yoga and resistance training and after a few days tentatively tried running. The first run was 2 minutes. I thought I was going to die before I reached the end. I was dripping with sweat. But I stuck with it, eventually moving up to 4, then 8, then 10 minutes. By then running was starting to not feel so bad. Breathing was much easier. When I ran it felt like I was stretching my lungs rather than killing them.

Eventually I worked up to 30 minutes. After that I started trying to run faster, getting to 5 miles in 30 minutes. Then I started trying to best my 5 minute time. (Wii Fit is good at motivating you to do better the next time.) Last week I ran 5 1/2 miles in 30 minutes. If I'm able to keep improving I'll be at a 5 minute mile soon.

Not that I think I'm actually running 5+ miles. The Wii is probably hedging a little bit or miscalculating my stride length. I'm not sure how it calculates. It does know how tall I am (by me telling it and I told it how tall I think I am). Eventually I'll get some kind of nifty fitness gear and run outside once the weather is a little cooler and test how far I run. Or try running on a treadmill. Although a treadmill seems awfully boring at the moment.

I'm even motivated enough to get up at 5 am to run, even after staying up late (for me now) to record the podcast. Of course by 3:00 Friday afternoon I'm ready to crash, but what else is new?

But the worst thing is that I have a guilty pleasure. When I run I pop in a DVD to watch instead of watching the clock. It makes the time go faster. Even as much as I'm enjoying running, I still wish it was all over about 20 seconds after I start.

Lately I've been working through the first season of Smallville. Yes, Smallville, that sickly sweet, teenage soap opera. I picked up the first two seasons several years ago for $15 a piece, but I never opened them. I wasn't even sure why I purchased them other than the idea of the show seemed slightly interesting and it was a good deal.

While my parents were visiting I needed something my dad could watch. When we get together we don't sit down and talk. First my dad will turn on the television. Then my mom will get out her DS or laptop and start playing games. Then my nephew will beg to play computer games on my computer. And then my brother will fall asleep. That leaves me either watching television or furtively typing emails about how miserable I am. Eventually everyone gets hungry and we go out to eat where we talk and sometimes argue. A normal, happy family, right?

Anyway, our movie selection wasn't too palatable to my dad and after watching Fallen, Open Range, and The Secret of Nimh he needed something else to watch. I scanned the television series I had and remembered Smallville. Bonus, there are hours of episodes in just one season. I didn't need to find anything else the rest of his visit.

I stuck the DVD in and went back to whatever I was doing, probably playing a video game. But as the show played I felt myself drawn in. After about five episodes I was hooked. Even though the episodes are predictable and squeaky clean I find they're perfect for watching while I'm running. I don't have to pay too much attention. Even though I know what's going to happen next I still find myself entertained enough to keep watching. And the shows are short enough to finish up as I'm cooling down on the couch.

I tried watching something educational, even something scientific a couple of mornings, but I find myself zoning out and not absorbing most of the information. So, Smallville it is, at least until I run out of episodes. Then there are always repeats of BSG, B5, Dead Like Me, and Arrested Development to consider. I have running material for the rest of the year.

So, despite always thinking I'd hate it, running makes me happy. And I've built up enough motivation to keep at it. Who says you need religion to be happy? Besides, religion never made my ass look good.

Atheism
Looking for That A-Ha Moment
A Discovery Channel (or similar) program regarding Jesus or the History of the Bible made on off-hand comment that there was controversy over the historicity of Jesus. It wasn’t the main topic of the show, it was one comment, an aside, one sentence – but to me it stood out like neon. I could say that it was the sudden flash The Exterminator was talking about, but if it hadn’t been for the earlier nudges, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.

Another holiday effort from a group of atheists
I'm afraid that when people whine at me that we need to be more sensitive to those pious beliefs, when I'm told that atheists must be more tasteful, unaggressive, and quiet, I know what an exercise in futility that is — our very existence is offensive to some, and just the fact that we're living in freedom is an affront to the religious right. You can't win by accepting their rules and surrendering, so you might as well raise a ruckus and offend, offend, offend. And do it proudly.

Movies
The Golden Compass
This is a coming-of-age story set in a conflict with an evil religious empire bent on expanding their control, and willing to experiment on children to do it. It's barely detectable in this movie. I think if the producers had been a little braver and set this up as a clearer parable for the dangers of wedding political control and religious belief, it would have been a much more comprehensible and powerful movie.

Constant Viewer: I Am Legend
This third film version of a 1954 Richard Matheson novel is mildly entertaining but, as is so often the case, it hardly lives up to its pre-opening hype. Others will no doubt comment at length on how the film serves as none too subtle propaganda for a very strong version of the precautionary principle so popular these day among many medical ethicists.

Music
Because I heard it on the radio today.
Watch another video from sader-mama.

Philosophy
Are Mystical Experiences the Result of Natural Causes?
Now, simply think of common, non-mystical experience as one kind of map — say a road map — and mystical experience as another kind of map — say a strata map. Let’s even say both maps are created by the same cartographer (i.e. by natural causes). The point is, both could be equally accurate — and equally false — and equally useful fictions. There is no reason to suppose that if common, non-mystical experience is a useful fiction, then mystical experience cannot be an equally useful fiction.

Poetry
Of Grief in Dusty Corners, Take 2
This is a beautiful poem. The way the words fit in with the meter is very natural. When I read it out loud it flows together so well I could almost take it for prose. I love the second stanza. I love the tie in between mathematics and odds and evens, and especially the word cornucopia. That may sound silly, but I love to say that word.

Religion
The Reason/Belief Disconnect
This is known as confirmation bias. Religious thinking, where the existence of an all powerful, omni-benevolent god is presumed, expects that the good things we experience, especially the rare ones, are the result of supernatural intervention. It is the rarity of the event that allows people to expect that there is no rational, material explanation, and hence it must be an act of god. Good things that happen every day, like making a green light when you’re in a hurry, or finding the item you want to purchase is on sale, are not usually attributed to acts of god (though I’m sure some fervent believers are inclined to do so). Once indoctrinated, (or infected) with the religious presuppositions, one is biased to expect that good things only come from god, so when they do, their bias is confirmed.

You Shall Be My Witnesses
Whenever stories like these erupt, Christians everywhere are quick to ask non-Christians not to judge the whole body by the misdeeds of a few and to consider the substance of their doctrines rather than the content of their characters. This plea is not entirely misplaced, for any group contains subsets of those who deviate from group norms. But there is another group of believers that, with regard to the persuasive power of their witness, is far more problematic for the Body of Christ than the egregious examples cited above. These are the believers with whom people rub shoulders every day: the gossips, the hypocrites, the domineering, the selfish….

Unholy Union: Secret Sin and Spiritual Abuse
They returned a week later to find no improvement in their friend’s condition. Again, they prayed for her with fervor, but to no avail. Before leaving, they boldly announced to this young lady that she had not been healed because she harbored a shameful secret sin, a sin she would have to acknowledge, confess openly and seek forgiveness for before healing could occur.The so-called friends left, satisfied within themselves that they had done all they could. They were confident that their faith was pure, blameless and sufficient to accomplish mighty works. The reason their prayers had not yielded the results they sought was not due to any fault of theirs, nor to any lack of will or power on the part of their God; surely, the blame for their failed healing attempts lay within the young woman’s own sin-stained soul. Needless to say, the injured woman was devastated by their harsh verdict.

Deeply Disturbed...
This news today has awakened me once again. I can not sit by and watch while lives are destroyed and lost. If you have followed this blog, you'd know that leaving the Church for me has been an emotional roller coaster. Recently, the questions keep popping up in my head - who am I? What is my moral code? Where do I claim that this code comes from? How do I want to live? Who do I want to be? What do I want to do with my life? In working to leave the Church, I became something of a blank slate. No answers, but lots of questions.

Christmas sets a trap
In the fourth whereas (Christians identify themselves...), King apparently hopes to get a statement of faith into the congressional record. It actually makes no grammatic sense in the contest of the resolution. The whereas' are the reasons for the resolution. The first three make logical sense (whereas there are lots of Christians in the country, we support one of their holidays). The fourth does only makes sense as an effort to deny other religions the same support (whereas Christians believe in salvation through Christ, we support their holidays. If they didn't believe that, we wouldn't support them).

Jesus Loves Poly/Cotton Blends
Oh, those gays and their agenda. I cannot tell you how many times I get stopped on the street by some lesbian who starts humping my leg and then thrusts her "agenda" right in my face. Then I have to go around all day smelling like lesbian agenda, and it's just not very pleasant. God have mercy on our souls if we ever end up like the UK. Every single person over there? Gay. They even have gay babies.

Here's my impression of Barry Arrington
Now, if I was a giant screaming asshole like Barry A, I'd say something like, "People like Bill O'Reilly who make up the imaginary 'war on Christmas' or Ann Coulter and her remarks about Christians being 'perfected Jews' should consider themselves responsible for this event. If they didn't promote their pro-Christmas, pro-Christian agenda, no one would feel the need to attack Jewish people for wishing them a Happy Hanukkah."

theological child abuse
I know many people will discredit his words because of his actions. But I believe him. I lived through very similar experiences and I know for a fact that stories like this are true. I’ve seen parents and pastors act like this, and I know the rest of what goes along with it. Religious indoctrination, when it fails to create pliant and obedient sheep, causes extreme emotional distress and constant mental torment. That’s bad enough for adults, but for children and teenagers, the terrors are beyond anything that can be created by ghost stories or horror movies. I’m 46, quit going to church over 15 years ago, and I still have nightmares. And I am not alone. I am in an ex-fundamentalist support group where I hear stories of adults, and even senior citizens, being haunted by their childhood religious indoctrination over and over and over again.

Science
Voyager 2 probe reaches solar system boundary
On the way, the Voyagers could help determine the source of mysterious radio emissions from the edge of the solar system, which may be the result of CMEs from the Sun crashing into the interstellar medium.

Life in the Dead Zone
I also wanted to point readers to this list that I recently came upon over at bloggingheads.tv on their Science Saturday “diavlog” between science writers George Johnson and John Horgan (two regulars). John Horgan was one of those responsible for compiling this particular list, called The Stevens Seventy Greatest Science Books.

This deadly religious resistance to vaccinations
But why was she so certain the MMR campaign should be stopped? Phillips presented her argument as if she was simply siding with one scientist against another. But in reality, she disputes on religious grounds the very basis of vaccinations: evolution. She says that creationism should be taught in schools, and that evolution is “only a theory.” So it’s no wonder she is so hostile to (and ignorant of) vaccination science. Vaccines only work because we can observe evolution, live, as it happens. Take the flu virus. It is constantly changing – you can watch it under a microscope. That’s why you need a booster shot every year: because the virus has evolved. That’s why a vaccine against the 1918 flu virus would be radically different to a vaccine the 2007 flu virus: it has evolved. Yet when Professor Colin Blakemore, head of the Medical Research Council, pointed out this elementary scientific truth, she accused him of seizing any sneaky opportunity to “beat the drum for Darwin” and for claiming “there was no intelligent design in a virus, only the mindless force of natural selection.”

A letter to a high school student
A lot of people worry that without some moral absolutes, moral behaviour is impossible. I think this is wrong, because we evolved to be a social species, and that means that ordinarily, humans are cooperative and well behaved. But the question how moral behaviour evolved and how to justify a moral standard are two different things. Myself, I think that if a moral duty is a duty, that is justification enough. But I am a bit outside the mainstream on that.

Sci-fi
The Zombie Robert Heinlein Rises From the Grave Yet Again to Annoy the Politically Correct
Heinlein’s flat-out readability is why, two decades after his death and now more than half a century after the publication of some of his most famous works, the man is still in print when the vast majority of his contemporaries are not, why he’s still actively influencing the genre, why being favorably compared to him is still a significant coup, and why people are still tearing their hair out that he’s still out there, despite his antediluvian sexual and political stances. If they really want him gone, the solution is simple: Put something out there that’s as readable as what he offers, and which offers a different political and social viewpoint.

Skepticism
Applied Kinesiology and Self Deception
The video is supposed to be a demonstration of AK. What it is really a demonstration of is self-deception, and as such it is very interesting. The subject seems to really believe that his strength is decreasing when he says the name “Hitler.” The lesson should be clear - the human capacity for self-deception is almost limitless. Therefore, we cannot trust anyone’s subjective experience.

Dogic and I have discussed this a little, and it's helped me understand why I like the show. My husband doesn't really care so much for it. Characters like Starbuck and Baltar bug the heck out of him.

I like the characters though. To me they're more real than most tv series I've seen. The events that surround them are fantastical, but the characters react in, what are to me, believable ways.

Last night's episode though left me puzzled. I just hope that something happens later this season or next to redeem it. I'm not a "destiny" type of person, but even if I was, the "destiny" seemed pointless. I'm just hoping there's more to it.

But back to the characters, here's a quote from Dogic based on a conversation we had about why some people are so turned off by the characterizations in BSG. He's much more eloquent than I am and he said what I basically wanted to say.

I think he’s a great character, (as are all the characters in BSG), because it shines light on the fact that many people…probably even most people…have deep down fears and strong emotions over certain issues and events, and when any of us are put into situations that trigger these deep issues, we often will behave emotionally or irrationally or selfishly.

Especially after the last episode, I can relate to a character who grew up very intelligent in an otherwise backward community, and thus has always been an outsider, and is naturally very defensive and afraid of other people, and yet has contempt for other people. Maybe this is just my own observation, but from people I’ve met in my life, I’ve noticed that the more alone a person is, the more insecure (and whiney) they become. Whiney is just the external manifestation of insecurity.

So, ya, Baltar is an unpleasant person, but I really like the character. It’s VERY real.

I've always liked flawed characters. I think people can do bad things and still be good people. That doesn't mean they're not responsible for the bad decisions or they can't be tormented by them. In fact, someone who agonizes over a bad decision is often seen as heroic. But the agonizing can also go too far, eating away all the aspects that make a person good.

They've done a good job of portaying that in the Admiral, his responsiblity as a leader and his desire to do the right thing. Sometimes he comes off as harsh, even unlikeable, but you can always see the internal struggle and what it's cost him.