Choices ?

I've been wondering about the idea of free will.

How is it a freely given choice if  punishment for choosing the wrong choice is so severe?

I am sorry folks .

My net has been down and will continue to be down for a while, I am borrowing access from an old friend for a while.

But, I am still lurking about reading all your  posts and comments. My crappy cell phone, however will not allow me to comment or post any of my own...suck!

Anyway, I'll throw this one up for a chuckle (or not) until I can return triumphant ( or not ;-)

helmet laws suck !

Motorcycle helmets are a good idea. The mandatory use of said helmets is a bad idea.

Having ridden motorcycles most of my adult life, I am finding it frustrating here in Tennessee wearing a helmet. Yes I know I SHOULD wear one, but isn't that my decision?

I am way past 21 years. At what point am I considered capable of making those tough decisions? Is it the governments job to protect me from myself? I have never requested, nor do I feel the need for such protection from myself.

I really like the feel of the wind in my face and hair. The helmet really restricts that feeling.

Good Blues

Damn, this is some good Blues.





another mule kickin' in your stall.........

Epicurus

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?

Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing?

Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing?

Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing?

Then why call him God?

Sacrifice !

I understand sacrifice. I know a parent will sacrifice almost anything so a child will be happy and healthy. I know a lover will sacrifice things so their mate can gain something. I am familiar with the concept.

I do not, however understand the sacrifice that was Jesus' Crucifixion.

If I am christian, I must believe Jesus death was necessary for my salvation, that he had to die so my sins would be forgiven. I hear this enough to know the general idea.

What I do not understand is, why is such sacrifice needed? According to the holy books, God made man in his own image.

IF we are in God's image, what is the problem?

I hear Jesus' blood cleansed us all. Why the need for blood? Why would a loving god require blood sacrifice? Do we really want to worship such a nasty entity, requiring blood seems sadistic?

It makes no sense.
God needs us to sacrifice blood, because we are inherently bad. God has a son, Jesus. God sends his son, who he loves very much, in place of our blood sacrifice. Because said son was sacrificed, we no longer need to make blood atonement.

If this God had a son, why would he not just send him here to tell us how to be better, perhaps even show us? Couldn't God come up with a better way to accept our penance?

If I can see the silliness involved with this plan, how does it slip past a SUPREME BEING ?

Go to Hell, an exercize in playful perfidy

I have been assigned to defend the punishments of Hell.

Let's examine The Bible's description of Hell:

"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." - Revelation 14:10-11

Wow, that's pretty harsh, an eternity of fire and brimstone - with not even single break to rest their weary souls.

Dante writes of a Hell that is personalized to fit our sins. Lusters, like myself, are given to blow in the winds of Hell for all eternity. Violent folks are boiled in a bloody river. The worst possible punishment is to be next to Satan, frozen in the ninth circle of Hell. This Ninth Circle is reserved for the most treacherous of people - those treacherous to their masters


Who could possibly deserve such a treatment?
Jacob Schafer!

Schafer started his killing spree in Huntsville Alabama. He killed the man he thought to be his wife's love interest. He murdered the man with a hammer, beating him to death.
Then Schafer traveled across state lines into Tennessee where his wife and family lived.
Schafer's first stop was at his Father-in-Law's home where he killed the Father-in-law and his brother-in-law. He used knives this time - with a stun gun back-up, lest the fight get the better of him.
Next Schafer went two doors down to his wife's home. He killed his 16 year old step son and one of the boy's friends (another 16 year old boy- unlucky kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just visiting). Schafer saved his wife for last (so she could witness his crimes?). Stabbing and hacking her with a knife as well.
Killing all he wanted, Schafer called the local police, took his four year old daughter to the porch and sat and waited for the police to arrive.

Yes, Hell is justified for this guy.
I believe there is no punishment we, as a society, can met out that will do justice for this guy.

Motorhead !

I know I've put it out there before, but I do so like Motorhead :-)




If the stars fall down on me,
And the sun refused to shine,
Then may the shackles be undone,
May all the old words cease to rhyme,
If the sky turned into stone,
It will matter not at all,
For there is no heaven in the sky,
Hell does not wait for our downfall!

Let the voice of reason chime,
Let the friars vanish for all time,
God's face is hidden, all unseen,
You can't ask him,
What it all means,
He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Let right or wrong alone decide,
God was never on your side.

See ten thousand ministries,
See the holy, righteous dogs,
They claim to heal,
But all they do is steal,
Abuse your faith,
Cheat and rob,

If god is wise,
Why is he still,
When these false prophets,
Call him friend,
Why is he silent,
Is he blind?!
Are we abandoned in the end?

Let the sword of reason shine,
Let us be free of prayer and shrine,
God's face is hidden, turned way,
He never has a word to say,
He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Let right or wrong alone decide!
God was never on your side!
No,
no,
no!

He was never on your side,
God was never on your side,
Never!
Never!
Never!
Never!
Never on your side!
Never on your side!
God was never on your side,
Never on your side...


:-)

Under the Covers ?

I'm not real sure how this really works, but I have been Tagged by Asylum Seeker to list my pick for best and worst cover songs.

Worst; Wow, where do I begin?
I suppose to be really bad, a cover would have to have taken a decent song and made it bad - at least demonstrably worse. There's a lot of that out there.

A lot of metal bands do covers of shit songs. The song still sounds bad. However, it really didn't change much, other than get a rockin' metal beat.

I suppose, I'm not real fond of Ryan Adams version of a really grand old Stones tune, Brown Sugar.

I am a blues fan, but I don't care for this


I like the Stones a little better.


I'm sure there are much worse covers out there( I purposely stay away from Country covers of great songs, to say they suck is redundant), but this one seems to change a good ole classic.

Now, for improvements, or, atleast, differing versions that I really like :-)

Soooo much out there that I like !

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jimi's Watchtower. Wow he really outdid himself there. Dylan is good, but Jimi OWNED that song ! In the same vein, Janis Joplin really took "Me and Bobby McGee" to different level.

I like what G&R and Metallica did with their covers. Both bands took good songs and presented them to me in a way that I thought was good.

I like Jordis Unga covering a song covered by Nirvanna


It's a tough call, I like both covers.


And YES, Both are an improvement over Bowie, not that his was bad.


My favorite cover?

None other than Jeff Buckley covering "Halleluja" by Leonard Cohen
I know a lot of people may be saying, "But, mac, you're an atheist! WTF??" Yes I am, but, this aint about god. It's beautiful music, evoking, well, you know ;-)


The song(Buckley's cover) kind of turned me on to Cohen. He is a wonderful songwriter.



Oh yeah, I was supposed to tell four others to do this as well. OK, here goes....the first four people who see this are commanded to compose their own list!

I suppose it's a catholic thing, I don't understand.....

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Father Albert Cutie( father Oprah), of the Miami Arch Diocese:

Q:
As a celibate Catholic priest, you've probably been asked this before. How can you give advice to married people and people who want to get married?

A:
You don't have to be mentally ill to be a good psychiatrist. I don't think you have to be someone who has a real problem in order to relate to people's problems. When you are in the help industry, especially as a priest, rabbi, or minister, you're constantly hearing from people talking about marriage or sexual dysfunction. People naturally turn to religious figures for advice. Half the people who write to me are not Catholic.
In the Spanish-speaking world, everybody gets that. In the English-speaking world, however, people always ask, "What authority does that person have to talk about relationships?" It's prejudices and biases and stereotypes about what a priest can and can't offer. But in the Spanish-speaking world, that's never been an issue for me, because those who have listened to my shows or watched them or read my columns, they get what I do: It's no-nonsense practical advice for everyday life. It's not dogmatic and pushing religion down your throat.



Well, I think, perhaps, the good priest may know a little more about Love than he let on.
It would seem he has been caught "fondling' a woman on a Miami beach. Article

Now, that's not really a problem for me. I do , however find it hipocritical of the church to treat this man like a pariah, when they give pedophiles a slap on the wrist and send them to another Parish.

Whattsamatter Catholic church? Do you prefer your sexual scandals to involve little boys?

A brief glimpse into my idiocy.....

Spring has arrived here. As a motorcycle enthusiast, I am compelled to ride my bike now, it's not just a good idea, it's the law ;-)

I rode to work today - terrible idea. Riding home in a downpour with tornado sirens sounding around me and wind gusts blowing me around was not a whole lot of fun. But, the Old Girl needs a good cleaning anyway, this will just make me do it sooner and better.

Arriving home wet, tired, and hungry, I found pictures of a few pieces of fruit that I thought were interesting.



I now have another reason to really like apples....YUMM!



I'm not sure what this is, but, they sure look tastey...



And a pepper for the ladies ;-)




If you are offended by silly images of mishapen(?) fruit, sorry

Who's a dummy ?

I hear a lot of fellow non-believers chide and put down theists.
I'd like to think I'm just not that mean. BUT, I must admit, I often think christians must be that dumb. Why else would they continue to believe such rubbish as is in the Bible, refusing to acknowledge that that book is just pure non-sense?

I think this guy, The Amazing Atheist,says it much better than I can, and he's slightly funnier than me too ;-)



He just makes sense....even if he's kind of mean.

Cult?

Imagine, if you will, a religion who would force a nine year-old rape victim to remain pregnant or risk eternal damnation.

Seems incredible?
No, it seems all to real. Only it's not some fringe Jesus cult doing such a hideous thing. It's none other than our friends at the Catholic Church !

The poor girl was raped by her step-father. Her Mother and her Doctor were excommunicated for allowing her to have the abortion.

Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said in an interview Thursday in Rio De Janeiro,

"The law of God is higher than any human laws, When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication."

I know what you're thinking" Yeah, but this is America, this couldn't happen here". Just keep your head buried in that sand.

No word yet on the poor girls fate. What ever will the Church do with such a dastardly child ?

Bad Popes !

I was just thinking Benedict was a really bad choice for Pope.

Then I realized " He's not even the worst Pope named Benedict"

Let's look at possibly the worst Pope ever, certainly the worst one named Benedict:

Pope Benedict IX: the Pope who sold the papacy





Benedict IX was Pope from 1032 to 1044, again in 1045, and finally from 1047 to 1048, the only man to have served as Pope for three discontinuous periods. Benedict gave up his papacy for the first time in exchange for a large sum of money in 1044. He returned in 1045 to depose his replacement and reigned for one month, after which he left again, possibly to marry, and sold the papacy for a second time, to his Godfather (possibly for over 650 kg /1450 lb of gold). Two years later, Benedict retook Rome and reigned for an additional one year, until 1048. Poppo of Brixen (later to become Pope Damascus II) eventually forced him out of Rome. Benedict’s place and date of death are unknown, but some speculate that he made further attempts to regain the Papal Throne. St. Peter Damian described him as “feasting on immorality” and “a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest” in the Liber Gomorrhianus, a treatise on papal corruption and sex that accused Benedict IX of routine homosexuality and bestiality.


Sure sounds like a great Namesake to me :-)

Was there a real flood?

This story has always bothered me. I can't imagine how anyone with half a brain could believe the story of Noah's Ark as literal fact.

From the bible, the size of the darned thing does not begin to approach necessary dimensions:
Genesis 6:14-16

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

ONE window? The smell must have been atrocious !
Of course, ya can't forget Noah was 600 years old at the time. Perhaps he possessed a wisdom unknown to today's younger crowd. Maybe he could have pulled it all off.

Or, perhaps Penn and Teller are on to something here....

Thanks pboy, you've sent me off on a tangent.......

Reading a blog earlier today, from someone I consider pretty well stacked in the smarts department, I was thrown back into my past. Specificly my history with addiction.

Jan 17 1992:
I am a mess. I drink way too much, and do some crazy shit when I drink (very very,crazy). I was drinking and riding my bike in this nasty Ohio winter. 15 degrees and getting colder, at 3 AM all I wanted was to get off that frozen death machine and crawl into bed with someone warm. I got caught, as it happens to everyone who does this stuff, sooner or later.

Looking at a stiff fine and a few weeks in jail OR going to six months of AA classes and out-patient therapy was my choices....I did not take option one.

Which leads me to this memory, AA. AA is a 12 step program, a quasi-religiouorganization, as I see it. The steps themselves demand we pay allegience to god. God as we understand him, of course.

Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

That, in essence, is a 12 step program.
I could not get around the religious aspects of the thing. BUT, I knew I had to give up the booze or I would wind up like my dear uncle Joe- a skid row drunk!

The guys in the organization tried to help me. They said the group could be my higher power...... Sure, I don't mind thinking of god as a bunch of drunks.
Another suggestion was a chair. YES, a chair. I was to put my faith in a higher power in a chair!

I found all their options insulting. If their god was so good, why did he(she/it) allow all of them to become drunks in the first place? Why make a person with the disposition to become an addict?
I mean, if he's to save them, who made them that way?
That's right, he did. Nobody seemed to see this but me. Luckily, I'm just anti-social enough not to care what other saw and I didn't.

In all of it I was struck with their utter insistence that their's was the only to remain sober.
Is it just me, or does this look like another group's M.O.? Read sobriety as salvation. Now you may see what I felt.

I have since learned of a few options that don't rely on god for salvaltion(sobriety), but after 17 years, I think I'll stick with my method....Just don't do it anymore? Though, I would not exactly recommend someone else do it my way, it has worked for ME.

I found this video and thought it so funny. I had to share it here :-)

Hi

Hey, I'm just jumping into the fray, as it were.

I'm not sure I have much to say, but I'll spout non-sense from time to time anyway.

I don't really care how many folks see this. It's just an excercize for me. I'm working out a few things in my head, trying to shake off some cobwebs. I've been in a funk lately.

I'll be writing about some things that will be of interest only to me most likely. Things like my lack of religion, my wonderful son, my way too kind wife, er, ex-wife, the things that led me to seperation from said wife, you know, stoopid things.

Oh shit, who knows, I may not write much at all here. I'm not sure.