neorants

… I have no idea how I missed seeing this video amid all the hype around the Tom Cruise one. Winner of the best feel good quote of the year:

If you leave this room after seeing this film, and walk out and never mention Scientology again, you are perfectly free to do so. It would be stupid, but you can do it. You can also dive off a bridge or blow your brains out - that is your choice.

Looks like Oprah’s getting into the religion biz.

It seems like Time would have foreseen the problems with a headline like “The Pope’s Sex Abuse Challenge”. The headline evokes some kind of twisted adaptation of The Pepsi Challenge in which the participants are asked to identify whether it is a member of the clergy or a layman who is penet… You know, never mind. I’ll hang onto my eternal soul by not finishing that joke.

This movie should be interesting. Regardless of anyone’s views on the subject, Ben Stein is a pretty interesting guy. He’s been involved in everything from political speech writing to hosting a game show, but I never expected him to do a documentary like this. Color me surprised. And impressed.

By Victims of Science. So. Much. Win.

I saw the documentary, Grass, recently, and it really reinforced why I feel the way I do about legalization. I am not necessarily opposed to legalization itself, as it wouldn’t impact me in the least, any more than cigarette smoking being legal. That is, whether it’s legal or not has no influence on whether I believe it is a wise choice to make — punching yourself in the face repeatedly isn’t illegal either, but it’s still stupid. What I am opposed to is the “legalization movement.” This group is every bit as preachy as the other side, and the average guy I know who advocates legalization is just as willing to spout misconceptions and half-truths.

It’s just obnoxious, and annoying. Of all the potential freedoms from government influence they could be fighting for, this is the cause they pick? Honestly, just grow a plant of your own, toke up in your house, and find a new cause to champion. You’re not helping your cause by being a whining loser, and there are so many more worthwhile causes to advocate — causes that will have a meaningful impact on society.

I thought this was a reskinned iTunes until I enlarged the image. I don’t know anything about the app itself, and I do see they have a few features iTunes doesn’t, but still, the resemblance is uncanny. I know there are only so many ways to do a music player UI, but they may at least wanna make the top portion less carbon-copied.

So lately I’ve been playing skate. It’s a skateboarding game, kind of like the Tony Hawk games, but better. Let me first say that if you had asked me whether it was better on the first or second day I played it, I might have expressed a somewhat different opinion, because the game’s learning curve is steep. The control scheme is called “flickit” and its name comes from the fact that most tricks are executed by pulling the analog sticks on the controller in one direction, then flicking them in another direction quickly.
Continue reading ‘skate.’ »