Tuesday, April 20, 2010

So I'm in an Astronomy class...

I've been in an astronomy class this semester at college and have really enjoyed it. I've learned a ton about stars, galaxies, and the physics behind them. I've visited the observatory (once for points in the class) and looked at the Orion Nebula, Mars, and Saturn. It was awesome. I talked with the professor about Carl Sagan and Cosmos and he seems like a totally awesome guy.

So today we started talking about Cosmology. I knew we would reach this point, where we would discuss the Big Bang and the origins of the universe. Throughout the course he's dictated the age of the universe to be the proper billions of years I've come to expect and readily admitted the limitations of our knowledge in certain aspects. He discussed the progression of our understanding through time and to date has been extremely modest and clear about what we know and don't know.

So here we go. We contract the universe to a single point. We go back billions of years. I knew this day was coming. I'm expecting the rational, modest professor I've heard all year continue this trend.

...And he does. Mostly.

He puts up this comic. It gets a chuckle, and I'm okay with this. It's a quaint admission that the majority of the world thinks this way. He then moves on to describe the Big Bang and its meaning, referencing Plank Time, which is supposedly the farthest backwards in time the current scientific models are accurate (10^-43 seconds after t = 0, by the way).

But then things get a little hairy for me. He discusses how anything before that point is "faith". An irking word choice to me, but true. We don't know; we only know the aftermath. He says something akin to if you want to believe the universe hatched out of an egg or is on a turtle's back, you're welcome to. Again, more humor, and I'm really feeling the Occam's Razor at this point.

He then says he's a devout Christian who believes that this is how the supreme being make it all work. It was short and sweet, but pretty heavy on me. I should say that afterwards he made no more mention of this and discussed the positive evidence for the Big Bang theory.

This all left me very conflicted. On one side, I've lost a lot of respect for this professor who has taught a very enjoyable class. On the other, I know this is too rash of a sentiment for someone who has been so rational this whole time. It's been an ongoing progression since my semi-outspoken atheism that I've respected fewer and fewer people as I find they enjoy sky cake. "How can people compartmentalize their sense and reason so?" I feel a constant need to correct people's terrible misconceptions. I get annoyed at having to maintain societal norms when I want to smack religious people around (mostly verbally).

So now we're getting outside the classroom, here. I know I need to curb my "enthusiasm" ("evangelism", more like it), but the rational me can't stand to see people living in such ignorance. I can't find that line between tolerance and, frankly, bullying. I don't want to be "that atheist guy" that people fear to talk to, and I often fear that's what I've become to some.

Tell me I've judged him too harshly. I want to say that most of the people I know view it as a harmless propagation of love, but isn't that just tolerating the fanatical? I have a hard time enjoying superficial pleasantries when I know my friends have misconceptions on a universal scale. How do I reconcile a religious person and their beliefs?

To date I've been playing what I can only describe as a game at this point. My rule has been to not bring up the topic unless it's brought up before me. ...But I've been feeling like a hyena, waiting to pounce on any utterance of a god or the theological.

I probably have to answer the question myself, but any perspectives would be welcome.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Well this certainly doesn't help.



I know nothing of war, but these guys had a tough decision to make, and they made it. I didn't think that camera looked like an RPG, I thought the group had a relaxed stance, but I wasn't in a warzone flying in an Apache putting my life on the line. So the first salvo was a terrible mistake, and probably not an isolated incident (for war in general, not just Iraq).

The van, however, really crosses the line for me. What possible reason did they have to destroy that? They were likely innocent civilians trying to help someone. The trigger-happy and nonchalant attitude of the soldiers involved I understand to be a part of the military mindset to some extent, but this is where it goes awry. ...To think that people younger than me are deciding whether someone will live or die.

The subsequent cover-up and warping of the event I've come to expect, though it is no less enraging. This, I think, is an equal or greater crime than the event itself.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Hideout Helm Lobby

So this is one of those semi-annoying little activities that I actually completed but never posted to Facebook. It's been sitting on my desktop for ages, so I thought I'd actually put it up. Some are funny, some are just stupid. Sorry I didn't cheat to make it more interesting.

RULES:
1.Put Your itunes/ipod, windows media player, etc. on Shuffle or random
2. For each question, press the next button, and the title of that song is your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS
4. Put any comments in [brackets] after the song name
5. You can not use the same song twice

Disclaimer: I redid 2 of them that were an ancient midi file and a jazz ensemble playing a song I didn't recognize.

1. Are you male or female?
"Your Racist Friend" - They Might Be Giants

2. What do people feel when they're around you?
"Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)" - Les Rythmes Digitales [This is from a commercial for the Citroen C4 that featured a dancing transformers-like car. I had to look up the title, and it's much funnier since I did.]

3. Describe your current relationship.
"Run Like Hell" - Pink Floyd

4. Where would you like to be now?
"I'll Stick Around" - Foo Fighters

5. How do you feel about love?
"Final Fantasy 10 Journey's End OC ReMix" - GrayLightning, PixieTricks, Sephfire

6. What’s your life like?
"You" - Pat Metheny Group

7. What would you wish for if you had only one wish?
"All Right Now" - Free

8. Say something wise.
"Da Dip" - Freak Nasty

9. If someone says “Is this okay?” You say,
"Sandstorm" - Darude

10. How would you describe yourself?
Festive Overture Op. 96 - Shostakovich [As performed in my high school symphonic band in 10th grade]

11. What do you look for in a girl/guy?
"Everyday Normal Guy 2" - Jon Lajoie

12. How do you feel today?
"Legs" - ZZ Top

13. What is your life's purpose?
"The Art of War" - Valve Studio Orchestra

14. What is your motto?
"Shiny Magazine" - Jet

15. What do your friends think of you?
"Aurora" - Foo Fighters

16. What do you think of your parents?
"Canteloupe Island" - Herbie Hancock

17. What do you think about very often?
"Kickstart My Heart" - Mötley Crüe [Quite true, it's one of my favorite songs]

18. What is 2 + 2?
"When Christmas Comes to Town" - Matthew Hall/Meagan Moore [From The Polar Express soundtrack]

19. What do you think of your best friend?
"Half-Life Song 20" - Valve

20. What do you think of the person you like?
"No One Knows" - Queens of The Stone Ages

21. What is your life story?
"Dave WTF BBQ" - Pure Pwnage

22. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Eat It" - "Weird Al" Yankovic

23. What do you think of when you see the person you like?
"Gimme Stitches" - Foo Fighters

24. What will you dance to at your wedding?
"Get Outta MySpace" - Pure Pwnage

25. What will they play at your funeral?
"Show Me Your Genitals" - Jon Lajoie

26. What is your hobby/interest?
"Kongo Jungle" - Hirokazu Ando

27. What is your biggest fear?
"PARANOiA EVOLUTION" - 200

28. What is your biggest secret?
"Zelda 64 A Storm in the Desert OC ReMix" - ?

29. What do you think of your friends?
"Counting the Days" - Goldfinger

30. What will you post this as?
"Hideout Helm Lobby" - DK 64

...So many Foo Fighters, Jon Lajoie, and PP, for some reason. I'm certain that iTunes doesn't fully randomly shuffle songs.