I'm tired... But It Must be Told. Greedy Businessman, Absconding Atheism, The Raven

With all the media (read: books, music,  internet, movies, tv) that I find my consuming on a daily basis I have decided to start keeping record of how my mind is interacting with all of these inputs. So now you the reader will be subjected to my run-on sentences and mindless mumblings in completely rough form.

Essentially I am now going to attempt to create a sorts of Input/Output documentation through this blog and let the public eye examine, destruct, construct, and consume my thoughts.

I'm tired and I don't want to do this, but I'm sticking to it because I said I would... Oh and the first story I saw this morning hit me in a strange way... I'm talking about the Windsor to Detroit bridge that I found out about today in the national post (story)... It straight up reads like a story about Scrooge McDuck. The guy (a self-made billionaire) owns the Ambassador bridge (the only bridge into Michigan) and makes millions of dollars a year in tolls because he holds a monopoly. This guy doesn't want another bridge connecting Canada to Detroit (FYI Canada is paying for most of the costs sans US Border Crossing building). So since the guy doesn't want it to happen what has he done? Helped draft up a public vote for cross-border bridge building for the entire state of Michigan! Pretty diabolical huh? Want some more ammo? The guy is misconstruing the facts about this bridge building project with a tv ad series airing right across the state. 

Mr. America is trying to tell people the money is better off spent on schools and roads in Michigan. It's a shame the money is coming from Canada...i.e. not Michigan's money to spend.

I also read about atheists today... In an article from salon.com this guy is against atheists with superiority complexes and consider them to be just as terrible as the evangelicals that he escaped from.

Essentially he calls for people to move beyond their faith and belief systems and embrace people as people with the ability to do great things when they rally around causes with that their faith supports.

Of course nothing is better than the comments section of opinion based websites so I spend as much time reading the comments as I do the article. Here's a selection of comments...

Geowalk07:There are, what? TWO or THREE well known antagonistic atheists and this threatens to divide people? Virtually every other atheist is quite mum on the subject until/unless cornered by antagonistic religious zealotry or driven to be vocal about it by the threat of religion-based policy that threatens to curb our rights.

Reply from goeswithness: He wasn't limiting his remarks to the famous people. What everyone does and how everyone views others - even if they keep their mouths shut - influences the atmosphere of the world we live in. Hatefulness is toxic to the hater.

And let's not even talk about the toxic atheism in Salon comments.

reply from Geowalk07: There are no atheists standing on street corners screaming at believers; there are no atheists knocking on my door on Sunday mornings or holidays, asking to come into my home to preach; there are no atheists sending missionaries out to the hinterlands to convert "heathens" to their point of view. Atheists are completely unrepresented in local and federal governments; they have no political power (yet), but their mere existence is viewed as a threat by believers, and, "heaven" forbid, should someone mention that they do not believe any gods they are viewed as being antagonistic.

Are you saying that even when silent, atheists are being antagonistic simply because they hold a minority view and live, act and vote according to that view? Is merely being atheist an antagonistic act?

If someone asks, I will tell them that I do not believe in their god. If, in a public setting, someone is pushing for religiously based policy changes that threaten to impinge on my rights, I will speak up. Why should atheism, of all philosophical views, remain hidden? Are the beliefs of the religious so tenuous, so fragile, that they cannot withstand any sort of push-back?

The conversation continues over on the website.... Seriously read internet comments! They're great!

I watched Daybreakers,  starring Ethan Hawke as vampire with morals, Willem Defoe as hick cured vampire who creeps me out, and Sam Neill as big bad corporate businessman. Ethan Hawke is a scientist trying to find a blood substitute as there is a blood supply crisis (hint: oil) and meets a group of surviving humans and Willem Defoe who cures himself from vampirism by quickly exposing himself from sunlight and submerging himself in water to put the flames out. I don't think it's worth a watch.

I also watched The Raven starring Vicent Price as the protagonist magician, Boris Karloff as the antagonist magician, and Peter Lorre (Igor) as comic relief magician and young (and attractive) Jack Nicholson as Peter Lorre's son. The chemistry between these three actors is freakin awesome and I am ashamed to say I fell asleep in the middle of the movie because classical music really soothes me. 

The best they could do for Special Effects.... At leas they tried.