Delusional

I'm sure most people have heard of or read about Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. Although I haven't seen the film, the documentary follows a man's attempts to eat nothing but McDonalds for an entire month. The other interesting twist is that he always says "yes" when asked if he'd like to "Super Size" his meal. Just about anyone can predict the outcome.

What surprises me more than the outcome of the documentary is the distorted self-image of many U.S. Americans. Most people, even when overweight, don't see themselves as such. In fact, 6 of 10 overweight folk believe they're at a healthy weight. Take this blogger, for example.
He talks as if 5' 9" and 170-175 pounds is a reasonable weight (his post inspired this rant, by the way). Are you kidding me?! Sorry David, but that's well outside the range of healthy. Unless you're some kind of ripped body builder, you probably need to shed at least 10 pounds.

And this, I think, is the more important idea to take away from Super Size Me. As U.S. Americans, we have a horribley distorted view of what it means to be fit and healthy. Most people don't eat fast food for every meal. They do, however, overeat at almost every meal. Even if we're not at McDonalds, we treat ourselves to super sized portions. Additionally, most American's don't get nearly enough exercise. The National Academies' Institute of Medicine recommends one hour of cummulative exercise EACH DAY. Those of us who manage to meet the one hour exercise minimum and eat reasonably rarely have to concern ourselves with weight issues.

For the last seven years, I've been a vegetarian. Naturally, my fat and calorie intake is pretty low. I also exercise for about an hour each day, 40 minutes of which is running or swimming. For the last seven years, my weight hasn't fluctuated more than 5 lbs. At 5' 9", my weight has stayed within the 137-142 lb range. For most of that period my weight has stayed between 138-140. Granted, I'm at the low end of the Body Mass Index.

If people had a more realistic notion regarding eating right and exercise, we wouldn't need films like Super Size Me to tell us we're a bunch of lazy gluttons.

For a really good laugh, read the comments on the linked blog. Check out all the people trying to dismiss the negative effects of smoking and passive smoke. As a smoker who presently isn't smoking (I can't begin to explain how much I freaking miss cigarettes), I'll be the first to admit smoking is the root of many health evils. If you're going to smoke, drop the denial gig and admit you're risking serious health issues (and exposing others to those risks, too). Even when I was smoking, I was crystal clear about what I was doing to myself. It's a choice, and a choice that will probably lead to negative health consequences.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

End of An Era . . . And Quality Television

Kathleen and I watched an episode from the 3rd season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer last night. Since last summer, we've been slowly making our way through each of the seasons--we're about halfway through the Season Three DVD collection. As the episode ended, Kathleen remarked, "It's kind of depressing to realize that there won't be any new episodes of Angel or Buffy next year." I agreed.

I've ranted about this repeatedly, but I'm going to say it again. As the following link emphasizes, through a farewell to Angel oddly enough, quality television is on the verge of extinction. The corporate money mongers of the media giants don't care about quality, only profit. Quality, thought-provoking television with small, but dedicated, fan-bases simply doesn't bring in enough cash. For whatever reason, the majority of the U.S. public isn't interested in sophisticated television. Instead, viewers are content to consume the crap that is reality television. Aaarrrggghhh! The very thought of another season of Bachelor, Bachelorette, Average Joe, or American Idol drives me nuts!

Anyway, here's a great piece about the end of Angel . . . and quality television.

Reality television is taking over, make no mistake, and it’s primarily because it’s so inexpensive. Point a camera at some exhibitionistic moron and let it run. No need for writers or story editors or effects people or even actors. And because people just keep watching and watching this stuff, the ad revenue keeps pouring in, and with a smaller production cost than even your most low-rent scripted show, the profit margin is immense. It makes sense. It sucks, but it makes sense.

The casualty is quality television, of course. Television that challenges and moves while it entertains, television that utilizes the medium’s inherent serial nature to really connect an audience with characters’ lives, television that goes beyond what television normally tries. Just look at Joss Whedon’s recent history: Buffy ended at seven seasons through a mutual agreement between Whedon and star Sarah Michelle Gellar, but his fledgling (and fantastic) Firefly was unceremoniously dumped after half a season, and Angel was hacked off at the knees during one of its most successful runs.

Summer Readings List

In addition to disserting, I'm trying to catch up on some reading. Here's the list of books I'd like to read this summer.

Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity
Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician*
In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992
Siouxsie and the Banshees: The Authorized Biography
The Fortress of Solitude: A Novel
Soul of the Fire
Faith of the Fallen

*I wrote my MA thesis on Samuel Adams. He's always been my rabblerouser of choice.

They Did It Too!

Do the recent articles about coalition partners also engaging in prisoner abuse smack of something a kid would say? I'm sure at one time or another, my mother or father busted me for doing something I shouldn't have been doing. I suspect there was a time when I pointed at my younger sister and whined, "But she did it, too" just take some of the heat off myself. It's a tried and true rhetorical tactic that those of us with siblings learn at a very early age. Of course, when you're the older sibling you're familiar with the parental resonse: "As her older brother, we expect you to set a good example."

As a citizen of the United States of the Empire, I'll step up and say it. We're supposed to be the leaders of the free world, the champions of democracy, and the protectors of all that is good! I expect you, the leaders of this country and the members of the military, to set a good example. Don't give me any of that lip about Poland and other coalition countries. I'm very disappointed in your behavior. You should know better. Now go to your room!

If it was only that simple.

Guest Starring Al Gore as The Voice of Reason

You know something is wrong with the political system when Al Gore, the former Vice President and loser of the 2000 election campaign, is one of the few making any sense.

"George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world."

If Gore had campaigned with this kind of fire, he'd be President right now.

The Realities of War

Practically ignored in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal are the Iraqi female prisoners who have told their attorneys they were raped by U.S. soldiers. The Taguba report confirms that some women were indeed raped by American G.I.'s. There is one photo of an American soldier having sex with an Iraqi woman. And there is the by now infamous story of how American soldiers harnessed a 70-year-old woman and rode her around, calling her a donkey.

One hint of the rape aspect of the torture scandal came last December, when a note smuggled out of Abu Ghraib by a female prisoner claimed that American guards were raping the female detainees. There are few women in the prison; the note said some of the women were now pregnant. According to a report last week in The Guardian (U.K.), the note urged the Iraqi resistance to bomb the jail to spare the women further shame. Amal Kadham Swadi, one of seven Iraqi female attorneys who are attempting to represent detained women, visited a detainee at a U.S. military base in Baghdad last November and later told The Guardian, "She was the only woman who would talk about her case. She was crying. She told us she had been raped. Several American soldiers had raped her. She had tried to fight them off, and they had hurt her arm. She showed us the stitches. She told us, 'We have daughters and husbands. For God's sake don't tell anyone about this.' "

Although the Taguba report makes specific reference to the abuse of female Iraqi prisoners, the Bush administration has refused to release photos of Iraqi women forced at gunpoint to bare their breasts—no doubt to spare Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld further embarrassment.

The Way the Music Died

If you're interested in the present state of music and the music industry, tune in to Frontline on Thursday night. The program will focus on how "MTV, compact discs, corporate consolidation, Internet piracy, and greed have contributed to a perfect storm for the recording industry. FRONTLINE examines how the business that has provided the soundtrack of the lives of a generation is on the verge of collapse."

Changes

I'm giving the blog a bit of an overhaul. Nothing too drastic, obviously, but I was getting tired of that split pea green & orange look. I've also started to use Bloggers built-in "comments" system. I'm hoping the new "comments" will be a bit more stable than the old.

Cringe Worthy

I can't stop looking at the following links. It's like a horrible car wreck, but funny.

The Justice League of My Little Ponies
The Justice League of My Little Ponies: Dialogue!

Which Magickal Order are You In?


You are an Elementalist. Your magic stems from the
forces of nature. You might be a forest
nuturing Druid, a storm-creating Weather-Wizard
or any of the many Elementals, but one thing is
sure-- your bond with nature is strong. You can
rely heavily on nature to support yourself
aesthetically or physically for it lends you
both comfort and strength. Your instincts
rarely fail you. You are vibrantly passionate
but are sometimes carried away by your own
emotions.


Which Magical Order Are You In?
brought to you by Quizilla

More Nonsense Names

Last night on VH1's Best Week Ever, several actors, musicians, and comics commented on the name of Gwyneth Paltrow's new baby (Apple). The topic lead to a general discussion of the wacky names stars give their children. For instance, Jason Lee apparently named his child Pilot Inspektor. What? Who could forget Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa? One of the comedians on the show suggested a great name: Steelwool Wombat! In honor of wacky child names, or the horror of wacky child names, I've decided to offer a list using objects found in my home office.

Bamboo Hematite
Rune Kneebrace
Converse Incense
CD Staple
Button Lipbalm
Kleenex Paperweight
Stickynote Ticketstub
Amethyst Smudgestick
Gargoyle Tealight
Socks Hoseclamp
Boxfan Candlestick
Lampshade PowerPuff
Slate Coffeemug
Thesaurus Lunchbox
Altoid Envelope
Snowglobe Bookend
Scissors Litterbox

Picking a reasonable name is the first step in good parenting. These stars are setting their kids up for a boatload of teasing. Sheesh.

PSAs


The Deadly Cicada
New Strain of Ebola
The Dangers of Mountain Biking
Hazardous Material: Stinky Socks
Lack of Sleep Leads to Tiredness

The Dukes

I cannot believe this DVD collection would be on anyone's "must have" list.

Get Crackin'!

According to Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry, "I'll lure those who support Nader. Really? Well, he'd better get crackin'. To this point, I haven't seen anything that makes me want to vote for Bush-lite. To lure me away from the Nader camp I'll need to see the following:

1. a firm commitment to peaceful conflict resolution.
2. a concerted effort to address the current corporate welfare state.
3. support for a universal healthcare plan.
4. support for the equal rights of gays and lesbians (including marriage, NOT a civil union)
5. opposition to The Patriot Act.
6. support for the Equal Rights Amendment (legislation that guarantees equality in pay, job opportunities, insurance, social security, and education for women). Can you believe we STILL haven't added this amendment to the Constitution. How ridiculous is that?

There's a good list of starting points, Mr. Kerry. You've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. Once you've shown me your ardent support for these positions, I'll post the next half dozen.

STFU

There's a particular individual who insists on exposing me to pro-war propaganda by way of email and direct conversation. I receive letters sent home from soldiers in Iraq (most of which are written by the U.S. military and signed by soldiers--I've ranted about this before), jokes about the way U.S. personnel treat POWs, and reminders that the U.S. MUST bring democracy to the barbarians of the Middle East. In addition to the war talk, I also keep hearing about how "there are too many queers on television" and that the prospect of same sex marriage is ridiculous. Despite my repeated requests to stop, I've tried email and direct conversation, he just keeps on spouting the Republican Party line. He laps up the gruel he's fed by conservative pundits and regurgitates it to everyone within spewing distance. No unique thought, no analysis, and no critical engagement. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know how well that message is received. The worst part of the entire situation is that he thinks my anger over these issues is funny. When I reach my limit, lose it, and rant about 10,000 civilian casualties in Iraq, he laughs and tells me I take the world too seriously. How can anyone laugh about all those people? I just don't get it.

I'm tempted to unleash my full, more-liberal-than-Ralph-Nader, fury but know anything I say will fall on deaf ears. If it doesn't come from Fox News, it's not legit. Unfortunately, I'm not really in a position to cut off all contact with him. Still, I can limit my interactions to once every several months. If I do some planning and benevolent lying, I could conceivably limit contact to a couple times a year.

I'm all about a good debate, but this has gone way beyond that point. I'll make one more attempt to get him to stop with the nonsense. If that doesn't work, I'll initiate Project Isolate and Ignore .

I'm Free

Final papers have been returned, final exams have been graded, final grade bubble sheets have been bubbled and submitted to the appropriate departmental personnel. In other words, I'm done.

I'm free
I'm free
And freedom tastes of reality

I'm free
I'm free
And I'm waiting for you to follow me

Sanity

More sane talk from a handful of reasonable people:

How to Get Out of Iraq

A Letter From Ralph Nader

This is why Nader will probably be getting my vote in November:

Dear Mr. President

Why isn't anyone else willing to ask these kinds of questions? You go, Ralph.

WTF Department: Apple Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow has named her new daughter, Apple. Seeing that Gwyneth has broken the fruit barrier, I thought it might be fun to throw out some other great names for children. If you could name a child after any fruit, what fruit would you pick? I think I'd go with honeydew melon.

Offer your fruit/name of choice in the comments.

Valid?

::student walks up to my desk at the front of the room during exam period and points to question 15::

Student: Is asking the author of an article a valid test question?
Me: Was the article and author listed on the study guide?
Student: Um, yeah.
Me: Was the article an assigned reading for the class?
Student: Uh, I don't know.
Me: It was on the syllabus and we discussed it in class. The question is valid. Good luck.

And Now for Something that Makes Sense

A call to create a Department of Peace.

What an excellent idea! Let's put together a branch of our government that actually searches for non-violent solutions to problems. Imagine a group of people who honestly try to understand an issue from several different perspectives, then try to solve the problem with all those perspectives in mind. It's brilliant! Which is exactly why it will never happen.

Insanity

Do people really believe Rush Limbaugh is some kind of genuine political commentator or analyst? Personally, I can't stand to listen to the guy for more than 10 minutes. His use of fallacious reasoning boggles the mind. The sad thing is that millions of uninformed people soak up Limbaugh's ridiculous statements and then spout those same lame argument to family, friends, and co-workders. Unfortunately, I happened to catch some of Rush's comments on the Iraqi prisoner abuse schandal. I nearly broke my hand banging my fist against the steering wheel. Here's an example of what Limbaugh had to say about the recent abuse of Iraqi prisoners:

LIMBAUGH: Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off?

Are you fucking kidding me? A fraternity intitiation? He's comparing the abuse of prisoners to a fraternity initiation? Arrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!

You Cannot Escape Your Destiny

Or can you? A poster to a spiritual message board I frequent posed an interesting question. He asked, and I'm paraphrasing, "How do you feel about destiny? What about free will and choice?" I responded with the following.

For me, destiny is the result of choice. The choices I make influence my fate(s). Over the course of several years, several spiritual principles have become part of who I am: love, tolerance, compassion, non-violence, and the like. I made a conscious choice to both learn about those principles and make them a part of my everday life. As a result, I often find myself helping those in need, speaking about the importance of tolerance, and the like. The actual acts of helping or speaking are, of course, choices. If I'm to remain faithful to the principles of my path, however, I have to choose to act.

If I'm walking through a grocery store and see a parent hitting a child, can I just sit back and watch? I could, but that would go against the principles to which I adhere. As such, I'd approach the parent and say, very gently, "Hands are for hugging, not for hitting." Was it destiny or fate that brought me to that particular situation? Probably not. Based on my choices, however, I was fated or destined to act.

Close Encounters

A UFO encounter covered by major news outlets?

BBC Coverage
CBS News
MSNBC
USA Today

There are those who believe that the US Government has known about the existence of extraterrestrial life since the 1940s. Why the secrecy? One of the claims is that the people of the world couldn't handle the full extent of the truth. In other words, if we understood just how prevalent intelligent life is in the universe, we'd have a huge Terran freakout. Some speculate that information will be leaked slowly to the public so that we can handle the change in our collective perspective.

What do I believe in regard to UFOs? Well, I can't imagine we're the only intelligent life in the entire universe. Consider that every star out there probably has some kind of planetary system, the odds are kind of odd that we'd be the only oasis capable of supporting life. Yes, I believe we probably aren't alone. That said, I'm pretty skeptical regarding the issue of visitation. If extraterrestrials are visiting Earth and people in the government are in the know, it would take a HUGE conspiracy to keep everyone quiet. Someone would eventually talk and they'd do so VERY publicly (as opposed to revealing the info on a SciFi channel "Investigative Report"). While I'd love to find out that benevolent aliens are all around us, I suspect that isn't the case.

Anyone want to visit the Roswell, NM UFO Festival with me?

Hell Week

I finished grading 165 final papers just in time to start grading 165 final exams. I'm not sure if Finals Week is more difficult on the students or instructors. All the time I've spent sitting at my desk grading papers is becoming hazardous to my health, just ask my aching back. On top of school, I spent several hours tonight writing Mary and Charles' wedding ceremony. I think the rehearsal dinner is a week from Friday and the wedding proper is a week from Saturday or Sunday. This is my first crack at writing a secular ceremony from scratch and I think I did a damn fine job. Ultimately, Mary and Charles will be the judges of my ceremonial proficiency. Once the wedding is complete, I'll check and see if they mind if I post a copy for popular consumption.

I'm off to bed. I need to get up early tomorrow and hit the lap pool before giving another final. If I don't do something to stretch out my back (swimming usually does the trick), I'll be hobbled by the end of the week. I believe a massage may be on the horizon.

Archaeology Update

Just trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Oldest Book
Trail of the Grail
Majestic Maya
In Search of Noah's Ark!

Contest of Champions

Gene brought an interesting message board thread to my attention. The basic debate, which goes on for 13 pages, centers around who would win a battle between Batman and Superman. While I tend to lean toward Supes, there are circumstances under which Batman would emerge victorious. Clearly, Superman has Batman outclassed in virtually every important category. He's stronger, faster, more durable, and possesses virtually inexhaustable endurance. Batman, on the other hand, is smarter, more ruthless, and has tons of cool toys at his disposal. Batman definitely has the edge in the "cheat to win" category--Supes isn't called a "Boy Scout" for nothing. If Superman has no idea Batman is coming (an ambush), Bats wins. Any kind of sneak attack involving kryptonite and Batman finishes Superman in less than a round.* If Superman knows Batman is coming at him, he devises a plan to separate Batman from his kryptonite and then pummels Bats into submission with a finger flick. If Superman knows something is up, how could anyone get with miles of him? Super hearing and telescopic vision make it difficult to sneak up on someone.

There you have it. In a straight up confrontation, Superman wins easily. If he has an opportunity to devise an ambush, Batman takes home the Goblet of Fire. If I analyze the heroes according to their respective bases, Superman wins again. The Fortress of Solitude is WAY cooler than the Batcave. I bet Alfred gets tired of cleaning up all the guano.

*Novices to the DC mythos should be aware that Superman is also susceptible to magic. In recent years the kryptonite/magic vulnerabilities have become less important. Superman's power levels have been scaled back from the Can-Survive-Nuclear-Blast levels of the Golden & Silver Ages of comics to something much more reasonable. For example, Thor recently went toe-to-toe with Superman in the JLA/Avengers crossover.

A Minion of Satan!

According to the following article, I'm doing the Devil's work!

The pentagram is worn too casually as an adornment to believe otherwise. The casual prevalence of body-piercing in both males and females, rendering the flesh susceptible to infection for the sake of vanity, is one of the most sinister cultural developments of recent times. I don’t know about bookshops in the States but walk into any Brit one and you see the prevailing cultural appetite in the rows and rows of books on true crime and serial killers. As Alan Bloom recorded in The Closing of the American Mind, the most critical cultural influence on the young is music, and from the Sixties onwards, when the now Sir Mick Jagger proclaimed his sympathy for the devil (‘I killed the Tsar and his Ministers’, ‘I rode a tank and wore a general’s rank when the blitzkrieg came’), the message of Christian rejection is the one that’s blasting through the headphones. The mistake was not taking Sir Mick at his word.

I regularly display two pentagrams, nine piercings, and four tattoos (each of which indicates my interest in spiritual paths other than Christianity). I'm sure the music to which I listen isn't going to score any points, either. If I try REAL hard, I can smell the fire and brimstone that await me in Hell. Wait, that's someone smoking outside.

I'm off to grade papers. In the name of Satan! ::gives the heavy metal hand gesture::

Popculturetopia

I can barely stand to read or watch the news anymore. In fact, I've become so angry with the world that I've stopped doing the news thing for a while. Instead, I'm focusing my attention on school (only 125 papers and 170 final exams to go), my own writing, and pop culturish stuff. With that in mind . . .

Blondie is Back
Holy Piccaso!
Mean Girls*
Star Wars Live Action TV in 2006! w00t!
Friends: The Death of the Sitcom?**

*Surprisingly good . . . in a Clueless kind of way.
**Although I haven't been a regular follower of Friends, I'll be tuning in tomorrow night. ::shrugs:: I teach Popular Culture. What's your excuse?

Mmmmm, Crunchberries

Derek: Did you check out the new Superman statue on my desk?
Matt: No, I didn't see it.
Derek: I got it when I purchased a twin pack of Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles.
Matt: Ugh! You at that stuff?
Derek: I usually eat organic granola. I treat myself once a week.
Matt: I have a new favorite granola. Have you tried the Hemp granola at Wild Oats?
Derek: No, but I'll have to give it a try. I usually eat the low fat apple cinnamon granola. My favorite is the ginger granola.
Matt: I love that stuff. I could eat two pounds a week.
Derek: Me too. Kathleen eats sugary cereal almost every day. She loves Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries.
Matt: Screw the Cap'n Crunch, just give me the Crunchberries. I always buy a box of the Christmas Crunch.
Derek. Me too.

There Be Dragons Here

A GOLD Dragon Lies Beneath!

My inner dragon is the most honorable of all. I enjoy shape-shifting, humans, and the occasional crusade to save the world. I'm what you might call a Draconic Knight. Click the image to try the Inner Dragon Online Quiz for yourself.



The entire description of the Gold Dragon reads as follows:

Your Inner Dragon is the most honorable of all. Golds are the third rarest of all the dragons (after Platinum and Chromatic dragons) and have a station in society that reflects their rarity. You are what one might call a Draconic Knight. Golds live by a strict code of chivalry and commitment. Remember Draco? Yep, Gold Dragon. Your appearance is fearsome and all-mighty but you'd never stoop so low as to bring any harm to a human. As a matter of fact, that's strictly contrary to your code of conduct. You're one of only two dragon types that is aligned "Lawful Good" and is proficient in the use of magic and spells. If you're curious, the other is Platinum, the King of the Dragons. Your piety, beauty, wisdom, and inner strength are absolutely without parallel.

But of course, being a Gold Dragon isn't all high ethics and codes. You like to fly around scaring things, advise humans in their affairs, and shapeshift. Strike that, you LOVE to shapeshift. And you're great at it. In fact, if you're a Gold on the inside, you might be a Gold on the outside, too - just in human form. Your favorable attributes are honor, chivalry, truth, kindness, gold, mining, protection, wisdom, bravery, and trustworthiness. You might be a bit too trusting of humans at times, but they're just kids compared to you. If anyone threatens your humans or tries to kill you, you could strike back with your breath weapon - Fire. But then, no one's tried anything that stupid in the last couple thousand years. After all, you're about 54 feet long.

I'm an ethical dragon who helps people? Go figure.

The Human Spirit

Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit—such as love and compassion, patience, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

On the Cessation of Suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

Time for some work.