Although Boortz makes some valuable points here, he’s a little soft on Islam in general. Islam is not a religion of peace, nor does its central text shy away in any sense from its blatantly sanguinary, absolutist doctrine. That so-called minority of Islam is actually following its religious directives quite faithfully. The Qur’an is clear about this…

• Qur’an 8:12 – “Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: ‘I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.”

• Qur’an 2:191 – “…kill the disbelievers wherever we find them”

• Qur’an 9.33 – He it is Who sent His Apostle with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions.

• Qur’an 2:193 – “And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah”

Hundreds more verses of love and tolerance await you at this link.

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

Oskar isn’t exactly what you call a popular 12-year-old boy. Pale and outcast, he spends his days stewing over the regular bullying he endures at school, stabbing a tree with a knife, imagining his tormentors at the other end of his blade. His sadness and vulnerability are utterly palpable. He’s alone in a way only a truly outsider child knows. Until he meets Eli.

Eli is an outsider as well. In fact, she’s a vampire. She’s recently moved into Oskar’s Swedish suburban neighborhood with someone who appears to be her father — and later proven to be her sort of Renfield, given the task of acquiring blood for her. Problem is, he’s not very competent, which nudges Eli further into having to feed herself. During this stressful time, Eli and Oskar develop a close friendship, culminating in romance. Eli teaches Oskar to stand up for himself. And Oskar? Well, Eli’s just plain glad he’s there for her.

This coming-of-age, romantic horror movie (yes, all of that) is set amidst the bleakness of northern European winter — desolate and cold, no matter how many people are around. Much is the metaphor in this film: loneliness, isolation, and standing apart from the rest are prevailing themes here. It also takes place in 1982, with a scattering of visual clues to the time period throughout. A certain puzzle cube comes to mind. Yes, you might want to put on your thinking cap because there will be some symbolism, which only adds to an already wonderful story led by some solid characters. Despite the rare moments of supernatural occurrence, you are held tight to a very realistic situation between two people contending with the rest of the world. You almost forget this is a scare picture until the blood starts flowing.

Let The Right One In is more than just a tale of revenge — although it’s fair to say that the bullies get their just desserts. It adequately captures a very dark period in the childhoods of many, those who didn’t fit in and often didn’t want to. And through it all, finding that one safe spot where time stands still and everything is perfect, away from the noisome masses. Of course, it’s a horror movie, too, but wrapped up inside an oddly charming tale. Just not Disney charming. Highly recommended.

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

• Suffer the little children to wear cutesy Bible propaganda to bed.
• Eyebrow piercings are so ’90s. And that whole branding thing has been completely played out. How about a subcutaneously implanted touch-screen that runs on blood?
• Holy hair extensions! Woman’s life is saved… by her own bulletproof weave!
• You’ve lost your child to a kidnapper. Your entire life is turned upside down… especially since tax time is coming!
• You call it steak. I call it art.
• Celebrate Black History Month in the schools by reenacting slave life? Are you out of your cotton-picking mind?

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

The 22nd addition to my Apple Retro Collection is the eMac. No, not the iMac, but the eMac. This model of Apple computer lasted about 4 years from 2002-2006, was the final PowerPC Mac ever made, and was initially geared towards the educational market (hence, the “e” in eMac). The eMac is definitely in that class of Macs that I like to define as oddball Macs, right alongside the eMate 300 (technically not a Mac but certainly Apple-branded), the G4 Cube, the clamshell iBook, the G4 iMac, and still many others. It was among the last of the all-in-one CRTs from Apple but managed the jump in processor class to G4 and a bigger 17″ screen. Think of it as the oversized albino stepchild of the G3 iMac. I like its freakishness. And I even got it for $60 under its used market price. It’s a keeper.

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

MacHEADS is finally available on 2-Disc Special Edition. The limited DVD features over 2 hours bonus material including Steve Jobs discussion; Apple co-founder Steve Woz presents his book iWoz; Early Macintosh vintage clips and archives; The Newton; The first color Macs; MUGs history and contribution to Apple’s success, and more. Keep up with the latest on this new documentary through its official blog. (Which reminds me, I should one day get around to reviewing that other Mac documentary.)

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

Stop-motion animated music video for the track, “Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free” by Zombie Zombie. Directed by Simon Gesrel and Xavier Ehretsmann, it’s an homage to the director and soundtrack composer John Carpenter. True horror fans will instantly know which movie…

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

from the official website: Why are we here, and what are we supposed to do about it? What started the Universe, and was it a mistake? Does God exist, and why does he seem so interested in our sex lives? After exploring the phenomenon of TREKKIES, filmmaker Roger Nygard takes on The Nature of Existence. As he roams the globe to the source of each of the world’s philosophies, religions, and belief systems, Nygard interviews spiritual leaders, scholars, scientists, artists, pizza chefs, and others who have influenced, inspired, or freaked out humanity.

Magus Peter H. Gilmore of the Church of Satan appears in this documentary as an interviewee. To access the segments in which he appears, click over to this profile page for the video links.

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Dividing this into five parts, the following are part of “the fifty commonly heard reasons that people often give for believing in a god” addressed in Guy Harrison’s book, intuitively titled, 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God. The commentary after each “reason” is my own. (Caveat: I haven’t read the book. If you have, feel free to post your comments.)

41. Science can’t explain everything.

Religion can’t, either. At least not in an evident, provable, and incontrovertible way. And wishing certainly doesn’t make anything so. Finding an archaic body of text that appears to conveniently fill in the gaps of human knowledge does not make the text factual, no matter how many ways you attempt to spin or reinterpret it to your own liking, your own set of circumstances, or your level of religious moderation. Lies are printed all the time. I see them daily in newspapers, magazines, and websites, as well as books as old if not older than yours. Try coming to terms with the fact that there will probably be answers that are outside of your reach during your lifetime. The next step isn’t belief, but mindful acceptance.

42. Society would fall apart without religion.

Here are the nations with a majority of its population being atheists: Sweden, Vietnam, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Czech Republic, Finland, France, and South Korea. And, lo and behold, none of them have collapsed due to moral decay or a lack of religion. Shouldn’t they have already destroyed themselves through anarchy and godless disregard for all things nice? How terribly inconvenient. How not in line with the religionist agenda. How not instantly translated into a Jack Chick comic tract (though, if there IS a Chick tract on this, my predilection for unintended humor compels me to see it).

43. My religion is so old, it must be true.

Welcome to what sociologists call the Appeal To Tradition (or, more specifically, argumentum ad antiquitatem). Logical fallacies like this have been debunked by many, going as far back as Ancient Greece, so read up on it if desired. The only people fooled by this old-equals-true bunk are the simple-minded, the lazy, and the uneducated. In other words, the perfect candidates for spiritual belief.

44. Someone I trust told me that my god is real.

I’ve no doubt that during my childhood, some trusted and even well-intended relatives who still love me very much might have impressed upon me the literal existence of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. But then I grew up and, as the Bible says, I “put away childish things.” Trusted people can tell you all sorts of things, and have the best of intentions, and even might believe it themselves. Doesn’t make them correct. Knowing that, you also might not be as good in bed as your girlfriend says, your cuteness might not flush with your parents’ indiscriminate praise, and that outfit you’re wearing probably does make you look fat.

45. Atheism is a negative and empty philosophy.

As stated before, atheism is not a philosophy, it’s a position. If you’re looking for philosophy, it’s not there. As for negativity, it certainly isn’t the godless who are constructing afterlives of eternal burning or similar torment, or leading jihads and inquisitions, or demanding (by ostracism, belittling, or worse) that people reject their inescapable carnal nature in pointless pursuit of spiritual fancy. A whole lot of blood has been spilled for the appeasement of gods over the course of human history, far more than any non-religious war campaigns. The roar of these facts deafens me to the cries of “negative” from atheism’s pot/kettle/black detractors.

46. Believing in a god doesn’t hurt anyone.

Define “hurt.” Certainly, the iniquities visited upon man by man in the name of a god cannot be ignored or simply dismissed as past indiscretions while the Middle East and neighboring nations are still embroiled in theological turf wars. The delusional aspect of god belief and the resulting consequences of self-denial also don’t disappear because you say so. Throw in community rejection, bigotry, obnoxious door-to-door preachers, and crazy people of all medication needs who seem to think they’re sent by God to loudly exclaim their promotion to the world, and at the very least, it’s apparent that many believers have a real issue with tolerance and space.

47. The earth is perfectly tuned to support life.

The earth is actually rather adept at shrugging off life as well, as evidenced by all forms of natural disaster, famine, plague, drought, climate changes, and other tests of Darwinian proportions. The earth also cannot correct certain types of damage the human animal has done to it without making itself even more inhospitable to life, human or otherwise. The biosphere, therefore, is flawed from our self-preserving viewpoint.

48. Believing is natural so my god must be real.

Murder is natural. Deception is natural. Earthquakes, meteors and floods are natural. And there are plenty of examples of conquest, rape, slavery, and theft throughout the animal kingdom that are part and parcel with the natural order. Of course, just because something occurs in nature does not necessarily mean that it is beneficial or even worthy of practice. Belief is natural. But when it blindly sidesteps reason and moves into the arena of faith is when all of the trouble starts. And, again, believing something and knowing something are not two different ways of representing the same thing. It’s either one or the other. Make your choice.

49. The end is near.

Get a street corner, a sandwich board, and a megaphone. Then wait for the police to haul you away.

50. I am afraid of not believing.

A testament (pun intended) to the harmful power of indoctrination. Fear keeps the believer in line a good part of the time: fear of eternal damnation, fear of making individual choices, fear of being alone in the universe, and even fear of having to admit being wrong. For some, leaving this slave state behind requires some big steps, yet we all take similarly-sized ones to mark our entry into adulthood. Think of it as part of the maturation process, no different from developing autonomy from your parents and living your own life on your own terms. Besides, it’s a common fact that the godless get to have all of the fun, free of senseless sexual restrictions, rampant absolutism, moral subservience, and all of those terrible, terrible church songs. Still, they’ve got something with those Catholic schoolgirl outfits. Yeah, those can stay.

•••••• Bookmark It ••••••

Hide Sites