My eyes, my eyes!

Translation? I had to hunt down the lyrics by Googling "Ellines tou exoterikou" and putting it through Babelfish. The Greek lyrics are mostly about living Greek culture outside of Greece, which apparently not many Greek kids do today. But you can get a sense of the nostalgia even from the scant English lyrics.

To my Christian friends: Do not be upset or dismayed that non Christians attempt to explain moral behaviour in evolutionary terms. In doing so, they are are tacitly consenting to the necessity of moral standards even as they deny their source, as well as subtly denying the logical implications of extreme atheism; "if there are no standards, everything is permitted."

After a longish interest in Orthodox Christianity, YouTube decided to be a troll and decided to throw in a video that is a case for the atheist way of life (whatever that is). I didn't watch the video because the full text is available in the "more info" section.

Some argue that religious life is the best way to live. They claim life without a god is sad and depressing. Statements like "I could not imagine my life without God", and "My life would be meaningless without God", are common defenses for a religious life. The following is a list of advantages atheists enjoy over a religious life. I invite the religious viewers to submit a response video with the advantages of a religious life.

The strawman statements that Mr. FightingAtheist makes are defenses for the existence of God rather than the "a religious life." It has been shown that one can believe in the one without the other. There are those like Ilana Mercer who uphold the greatness of the Jewish tradition and law despite personal unbelief in God. There are also those who believe in a God without practicing the substance of a religious tradition; C.S. Lewis mentioned such people in Mere Christianity. Others, like Rev. Dr. Kathleen Ragsdale, honestly believe that women could and should have abortions to pursue their own happiness in direct opposition to centuries worth of Christian moral teaching (such as the whole "doing nothing out of selfish ambition;" oh, and the whole "thou shalt not murder" thing).

But that is besides the point. What I think FightingAtheist is getting at is that religious people are illogical. Let us see more.

Atheists can make moral decisions based on the specific context. Having absolutes like "Though Shall not Lie" stops people from thinking for themselves and making the right decision based on the situation at hand. In what situation would be okay to lie? Most religious people would say, never. Atheists would disagree. For example: If you were living in Germany hiding Jews in your attic during the holocaust, and Hitler's Nazis knocked on your door and asked if you were hiding Jews, would it be okay to lie to save the lives of the Jews in your attic? I believe trying to save their lives would the moral and proper choice. Atheists have the power to do what's right for all humanity, rather than the forced perspective of doing what is right for a god.

Unfortunately FightingAtheist shoots himself in the foot with this shaky example. "I believe trying to save [Jews'] lives would [be] the moral and proper choice" contradicts his earlier criticism of moral absolutes. Furthermore, from where is he forming these contexts, if not the inside of his ass? I agree with him that saving the Jews is correct, but that his reasoning is wrong. And what exactly is his metric of determining which commonly known moral precepts are rigid or flexible?
He also misunderstands the Judeo-Christian laws that he is trying to criticize. "Thou Shalt Not Lie" is a simplification of "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness." The context of this commandment is within the context of a Mosaic court of law (and thus divinely inspired). Furthermore, both Judaism and Christianity boil down all the laws to "Love the Lord Your God" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." These are the two greatest commandments. If anything you do contradicts either of these, you have transgressed. Loving one's neighbor means caring for their physical well being loving God means preventing evil. The atheist may not "need" God to act moral, but he cannot explain why certain acts are good or evil apart from His law.

Atheists can experience healthy outrage at the outrageous without fear of questioning God's plan. We can be outraged when a friend dies of a horrible disease, or is killed in a car accident. It is okay to be upset at disasters and horrible events. It is not a part of any plan. It is just a horrible event. Atheists try to learn from them and not just chalk it up to God's Plan. We use science to understand catastrophic events like hurricanes, and tsunamis. This gives us the ability to save lives. If we think a magical plan is going to happen no matter what, then why try to stop the events or make things better. Atheists do not wonder if a god is punishing us. Yes, there is cause and effect, and our actions effect how we live, you should save for retirement, and if your diet is bad you'll end up fat, or sick, or both. But if an airplane part falls on your house, it is an accident. If you find a 5 dollar bill on the sidewalk, it is an accident. No magical intervention, no magical wrath, these are just accidents. Life has an element of chance. This may not seem comforting, but here is another way to look at it: Your loved one dies in a completely random car accident where nobody could possibly be blamed. Is it more comforting to know the accident happened because of bad luck or is better to think the accident could have been prevented by an omnipotent being that could have stepped in and saved them from an untimely death, but your god decided to just let them die? You don't have to be frustrated thinking "Was it because I didn't pray enough?" "Was God mad at me or them?" "Maybe I should have prayed more." Atheist take comfort in knowing there is no plan.

Healthy outrage, but illogical outrage. FightingAtheist says nothing happens due to a magical plan. Then he says because of this lack of plan, we don't have to worry about anything. His tangent about scientific inquiry is quaint, but entirely beside the point.  If nothing is worth worrying about, then nothing is worth changing. He makes the (incorrect) assumption that religious people believe that absolutely everything that happens is due to God's "plan" and then does a 180 and says that things like prayer and good works could affect the outcome of events. This is contradictory; if God had a plan, then no amount of prayer and supplication could affect it.

And I would love to see him approach a family dealing with the loss of a daughter in a car wreck with the comforting words of "I know the pain that you feel right now, but know that your daughter was a pawn in the game of chance known as life and this stuff just happens."

Atheist can be friends with everyone without having the thought in the back of their mind that this person's lifestyle may be evil. You have the power to accept people for what they are. Enabling you to enjoy their quirks rather than chastise them for being unique. Atheists can have relationships with people who have alternative lifestyles without feeling like they have to save them from some deity that is going to condemn them for being themselves. After all, if there was a creator, then he has made everyone the way they are. Atheists don't fear that a large part of the earth's population is going to hell for being true to themselves.

So can Christians. So, in fact, did Jesus. However, He came to Man in the manner that a physician visits the sick; in order to cure them. The difference between Christians and atheists is that the former believe that there is a definitive moral standard handed down from One greater than man; atheists (as mentioned before) pick and choose morals based on (preference/inertia/nothing in particular).
Christians do not chastise people for quirks; they convict others of sin. Christians who are not hypocrites are aware of their own sins and confess them to others. When a Christian criticizes or judges a person's uniqueness on grounds other than sin, that is a result of the culture and not the Christian law.

The problem here is that FightingAtheist is basically calling for a "whatever is good for you is good, so let's live in peace." The only problem is that this moral "system" only works if humans were islands to themselves. Going back to the "defending the Jews from Germans" example, the Nazi could tell FightingAtheist that killing Untermenschen is part of who they are and that mass murder is just one of their quirks. FightingAtheist is now torn between not worrying in the back of his mind that the Nazis are evil and protecting the lives, a moral code that he holds supreme for no reason whatsoever.

Atheists do not live with the fear of hell. This is one of the hardest things for religious people to shake and one of the best rewards. Religious people love the thought of heaven, but fear hell as a consequence. In order to lose the fear of hell, you have to let go of the false hope of heaven. Atheists have done both.

Living without the hope of heaven or fear of hell means that 1). any good thing you do while alive will never profit you anything and 2). any evil thing you do will never go unpunished. Death is the common fate of good and evil alike. One writer I read (I believe he was Polish) noted that it is not religion, but atheism that is the opiate of the people. The idea that for all of our selfishness, greed and sin we have no punishment is very comforting.
And the second to last sentence of that paragraph makes absolutely no sense. No, wait....

... none of it makes sense. This guy is an idiot.

Atheists raise freethinking children; let them pick a religion, or none. What would you have picked? This is hard for parents. If a child wanted to be another religion, or even atheist, it would be devastating to most religious parents. Why not teach them about all religions and tell them why you believe the one you do, and then let them choose? Atheists do not force atheism on their children. We simple let them see the evidence for and against religion and let them make up there own mind. They may change there mind several times. This is okay. Atheists love their children no matter what belief they are drawn too. That is the beauty of free thinking. You can raise your children according to your values without feeling as though you have to defend Bible stories that even a child can see are fiction.

The problem is that teaching no respect to the ways of elders not only can lead to a different belief system, but one so different that it contradicts everything that the parent holds dear. You cannot teach children free thought (read: tell them to pick a convenient moral code) and expect anything good to come out of it.

You can still love them, though. With this a Christian agrees. But don't be too disappointed if a "free thinking" child reasons his way past the swiss cheese-like logic of the "atheist life" as presented here and grows up to be a Neo-Nazi.

Once upon a time, Snake fought Pikachu for Samus's hand in marriage.

Pikachu used his Thunderjolt but Snake dodged and threw a grenade at him. While Pikachu was stunned Snake closed in with a knee + elbow combo, sending the thunder rat to his death.

Snake was happy. "Oh baby I wanna bang you" said he.

But Samus was a lesbian and ran away with Nana to the South pole.

Snake hid in his box and cried and ate a land mine, killing himself to death.


Meanwhile Ike and Marth looked on and then had mansex. The end.

Today is the day that a day that a door that was closed to me will be bolted down, welded shut and guarded by a three-headed Rottweiler so that I would never even occur to approach that door again.


I'm not as upset about it as I would have been if you told me about this five years ago. I'm not going into any specifics, but I will say this is about a girl, and the late teenage DORAMA that ensued after the whole rotten thing crashed and burned. I thought I loved her, but the truth is that distance and the one-sidedness of the whole thing would ensure that nothing would ever come of it unless I drastically inconvenienced myself in order to pursue a relationship.

Another opportunity is showing up on the horizon. This time, it seems that things are a bit more perfect; there's another out there who I can sympathize with and who strikes me as a more interesting person. There's still the distance problem, but it's much shorter this time and it's in a place where I have many friends and family.

It could fail again, but oh well.

Nothing else helps a slob turn into a neat freak like an unexplainable ant "infestation." The scare quotes are there because it's not quite huge enough (maybe... ten or so ants in the kitchen counter area at any given time) to warrant mass panic in anyone but the most severe insectophobes.

I started my counterattack by discarding opened and possibly compromised foodstuffs in my cabinet and by sealing possible points-of-entry with duct tape. But I need better countermeasures than this. For one thing, I can't even tell where those little bastards are coming from. I'd do a thorough sweep of my cabinet, but I don't.... partially due to laziness and partially because the little girly wuss inside of me recoils at the possibility of finding a giant colony in my pantry.

Also, I don't know of any effective ant repellant. Thoughts?

 

 

We are all taught that first impressions matter. I won't argue with that, as usually the most potent memory you have of someone is the first one. There is, however, something that can make or break how the first impression will turn out, and I call that the Zeroth Impression.

The Zeroth Impression is what you know of a person before meeting that person face to face. This can usually be through story, word-of-mouth, gossip, chatter, and increasingly in the Internet age, through IM and fora. I would also consider letters a form of Zeroth impression. 

I just recently learned a harsh lesson about the Zeroth Impression. There was someone I wanted to meet in person very much. My zeroth impression of this person was that [person] was erudite, intellectual, humorous and quirky. What I didn't realise was that [person]'s impression of me was that I was a violent borderline sociopath. What I learned even later was that this Zeroth Impression was formed from grossly exaggerated stories about things that I did. I realized however, that the things I did were true, though the account of them was grossly distorted.

By the time it came for me to meet this person face to face, the first thing I was forced to do was explain myself and my actions in front of several people. While I came to the discovery that the stories against me were either false or misunderstood or distorted, it was too late. The Zeroth impression had tainted what would have been a normal first meeting. Our first greeting was not your cheery "hi! hello! how are you?" but a veritable inquisition.

From then on, you could cut the awkwardness with a knife. 

You can draw two conclusions from this story. First of all, in all communications, you must maintain your conduct beyond reproach so that your Zeroth Impression will be a positive one. Second, you must guard your honor jealously.

And thirdly, shit happens sometimes. Deal with it.

Just came back from watching Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. And the Fallen is...

( SPOILARZ!!!! )( SPOILARZ!!!! )( SPOILARZ!!!! )

 

Karl Malden died today at the age of 97. I'm not too aware of all the movies he was in, but I remember him fondly as Lieutenant General Omar Bradley in Patton (even though he did NOT look like the part).

I realize that this is another dead celebrity in what I would term the "Celebrity Death Scare of 2009." People will react differently to the same piece of news. But what I am about to post, from a random forum, is just plain assholish:

For better or worse (most likely for better), I will be stepping down from the Con scene after Anime Expo '09. I've thought of a number of reasons why:

1. The people. My main push for going to them in the first place was because of the wonderful people in CAA. As the years went by, the number of CAAites going to AX dwindled, with the exception of '07 when several CAAites flew from the East Coast (and unfortunately, that year just so happened to be the worst AX ever). This year, friction between me and others almost, almost forced me to stay home (and waste my fifty bucks). Who is the cause of all this? You don't need to know, and I'm not going to tell you. 

Besides them, there's also the con going type. I've come to a realization that people who are at their emotional peak during cons are wretched zombies the rest of the year and I don't want to become like that. (Too late?)

2. Fandom. As in my fandom in Anime. The peak of my anime obsession is way past over. I devolved from a nutcase who insisted on d/ling TYPE-MOON fansubs as they appeared to a less-than-casual fan who hasn't even cracked open his Samurai Champloo DVD's months after obtaining them in Southeast Asia. I haven't even watched Naruto, only recently became partially literate in Bleach (I personally believe that everything that happens after Soul Society is a form of illusionary masturbation from Aizen, wondering how an epic battle between him and Soul Society would have turned out if he didn't use is godlike power to behead everyone with his fingertips) and didn't particularly care about FMA, FMP, One Piece, and a whole bunch of others. Still, my mother thinks I'm obsessed with Anime. She doesn't realize I'm actually a TvTropes fanatic (even though the hideously apparent PC/leftist bias sometimes rubs me the wrong way).

3. Saturation. AX 09 will be my THIRD con in the same CALENDAR YEAR. With repeat exposures to the soul-sucking Con environment, I realise that cons, regardless of venue, talent or events TEND TO BE THE SAME. (Comic-Con is only slightly different due to mainstream media exposure). I don't care about seeing shitty Death Note cosplayers do the Caramelldansen in stuffy rooms and nailing crossplaying Mellos with Yaoi paddles in San Jose because I'm 300% sure it's just like seeing shitty Death Note cosplayers do the Caramelldansen in stuffy rooms and nailing crossplaying Mellos with Yaoi paddles in Los Angeles.

4. Cost. This should be obvious, but unlike most fanboys, I actually have a job and have quite a bit of money put away somewhere. Still, money wasted is money wasted, surplus of savings or not.

5. Maturation. Fanboys pride themselves on patronizing a medium more "mature" than American cartoons but it becomes clear that watching [hyperbole]cartoon shows with copious amounts of blood and massively proportioned females[/hyperbole] does not logically presume maturity. Spending the greater part of one's time, effort, and worry about chasing entertainment seems (to me, anyway) rather childish.

It may not seem like it, but one of my ambitions in life is to become a family man and father of several children. This requires a lot of maturity. I don't think I'll ever achieve this by finding Future Mrs. Funnibunney in a con (and while I know that people have met over cosplay and hobbies, I doubt that has led to any relationships or marriages beyond the superficial). 



Once this decade-long phase of mine finally dies, I believe I'll do something more worthwhile like mending old friendships or cultivating new ones. OFFLINE.

 

 

I was recently in Fanime Con in San Jose. It is not normally a con I go to but I went up because I had to help my aunt (twin of my deceased aunt) move to a new apartment (you know, it's hard to stay in the place that hosted your sister's deathbed).

The con seemed mostly perfunctory. I now ponder why I go to cons at all since I don't really attend panels, don't need to go to them to do blind anime viewings and am not J-enculturated to know or care about the latest Ayumu Hayuwhateveryoucallit clone to attend any of her concerts. But that's not important right now.

Right, on to the topic title. There were Christian evangelists outside who held a sign  that said "Turn to Jesus or burn in hell." As provocative, threatening or inappropriate as the sign sounds, as a Christian, I do not have any argument against the basic truth of that statement. I only question the wisdom of evangelising to a group of people whose exposure to Christianity and the Gospel is through the filter of semiliterate internet atheists who bathe in the brakish waters of tetrachannel. (I'm not going to explain what that last word means; use your imaginations). They called the anime fans sinners who need to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus.

Naturally, they didn't like that. 

Ravi Zacharias said that many peoples' resistance to Christianity is not just because of the checkered past of its history, but do to its basic message. People do not like being told that they are imperfect or intrinsically evil. Those same people have also been deluded by the world that there is no right or wrong and that ethics (if they exist) is simply a vaguely defined rule of "Be nice to people." The people who were most vehemently opposed to the message of the evangelists were the ones who were the most deeply mired in sin. People who described themselves as bi or homosexual simply closed their hearts and minds to what they were trying to say.

To be fair, the evangelists made it really hard for people like me to defend them. One person in particular was screaming down another guy's throat for being a liar when it looked to me like all that the so-called-liar was doing was repeating the same question because the previous person would not actually have a dialogue or answer the fucking question. Also one thing that irked me was one of the evangelists pride at being a saint. I reminded him that Paul described himself as the chief of sinners and he shut me down saying that I took the verse out of context. (I also distinctly remember Paul saying that he would only boast in his infirmities and boast at the Grace of Jesus Christ or something to that effect). Someone also said the evangelists considered cosplay a sin, but since that someone was one of the anti-Christian, I can't be sure if the evangelists actually said that or if that's what the anti-Christian thought they said.

In all, the whole display was a giant freaking mess. Neither side was listening to each other. The anime fans made their own signs to mock the evangelists (such as "The end is coming, sin while you still can", "this guy is on drugs" etc.) and did weird things to try to annoy them. Like the Caramelldansen. You know, because Swedish techno pop is to Christians what Holy Water is to vampires.... I think I read about it in a magazine. 

While I am upset that the evangelists seemed to care more about preening than winning souls to Christ, I do admire that they spread the Word even as those who harden their heart to it mock them. I just think 1). that for any meaningful evangelism to occur, the Christian must identify with the anime fan WHILE AT THE SAME TIME not compromising Scripture. 2). we must remember that man cannot save man. Only God can save man. And only the Holy Spirit can open the eyes of man to show the Lordship of Christ. 3). the synthesis of grace and truth is important in the ministry. Truth without grace makes the Christian seem hard hearted while grace without truth runs the risk of accepting sin and false doctrine.

I would like to find someone who has elephantiasis and have him cosplay as a Bleach Anime character.

You may start hating me now.

Today was my aunt's funeral. Apart from being around her during my formative years in the Philippines and some visits 13 years later in Canada (followed by more visits after the initial diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004), I never really was around her all that much. Still, tears flowed liberally from my eyes because, after all, even though it was brief, she was my surrogate mother for a few months.

My father noted in his eulogy that she "never quit. Her body did; she didn't." He was right. She never let her illness sour her disposition and was a bright spot in the lives of everyone she was around. During the past year or so, when I spent time with her it was not like I was spending time with someone who was dying.

Of course, we mistakenly thought she was getting better, at the time.

Part of the shock of all this is that she 1). will leave an inseperable twin sister behind 2). died before her mother, my grandmother, will and 3). was the [second]youngest of her siblings. Dad told her, "Do NOT make me go to your funeral." He wanted her to attend his funeral.  

For my part, I'm thankful that my last moment face to face with her was executed almost flawlessly; it was full of hugs, kisses and tears. Actually, her last words to me were over the phone--"I'll miss you."

She is in God's hands now.

So called because between Good Friday, when Jesus died as the propitiation of our sins, and Easter Sunday, when He rose to signify his conquest over death, there was Saturday. We don't hear much about this Saturday in the Gospels besides Jesus's followers observing the Sabbath.

This So-So Saturday wasn't for me. I drove all the way from Sunnyvale to San Diego with a four hour detour at BobtheDuck's domicile. Friday, on the other hand, didn't feel good. I asked for the day off from work because my aunt is in the last stages of cancer. She has already had the Last Rites and everything and all that is left is to spend the last few weeks with loved ones. When my Mom asked me, regarding the trip, "Did you have fun?" My reply?

"As much fun as you can have with someone who is dying."

There are two types of last moments together--those that you don't know you'll spend and those that you do. I have never experienced the former, but in a way, it might be more merciful to both sides than the latter case. In the latter case, which I did experience, the heart feels heavy with grief. The passing may think, "Did I make the most of my life? Was I a good person? Is God pleased with me? Is there anything hatchets I need to bury? Why does this happen to me?" The grieving may think, "Was I kind enough to this person? Is there more I could have done for her? Did I upset her? What will life be like without her?" etc.

Most of the day, I didn't feel any different from how I feel on a day to day basis. When I left that evening, however, the feelings streamed out my face and I couldn't control myself. What is an adequate thing to say to someone who you know with absolute certainly you will never see again? At that moment I was so overcome by my feelings that I couldn't understand what I was saying. The movies make it look too easy. At the very least I did tell my aunt that I loved her.


Well, I hope I didn't soil your Pascal Planning. I hope that when you have to come to terms with a dying relative the proper words will come out of your mouth. And above all, I pray for love and peace between you and everyone you know.

Because having one on the one day that everybody expects them is kind of anticlimactic.

I hope nobody ever dies on this day. Because, like, no one would ever believe it.