Emotional Truth

d r i f t g l a s s: Two cents on a Million Little Pieces.:

"I do know that once upon a time I dated an otherwise nice woman who insisted that her “emotional truths” be given equal weight to mere “factual truths'. So for example, on several occasions when she got all cranked up believing she had been wronged, after she clearly and verifiably learned that she had been in error, she was of the adamant opinion that she was still owed an apology.

(And in the interest of full-disclosure, at some point, near the end of our brief sojourn together, having grown tired of it, it is likely that I might have loudly opined that she was out of her fucking mind. And she might have insisted that I take it back. And then it’s possible that I might have suggested that whether or not it was really-for-real-true, she should honor the fact that I “felt” she was nuts as being “emotionally true” and get a doctor to write her a scrip for lithium ASAP.

Because I can be kind of a bastard sometimes.)

She was quite insistent she was right-ish, because in her mind, a thing and how you feel about a thing were both equally valid and correct ways of being “true”.

And in my travels I have met a whole lot of people like her, and they are all, to varying degrees, just plain wrong. "

Veganism a threat to national security, apparently.

ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: ACLU to Feds: Stop Spying on Vegans:

"The American Civil Liberties Union has released photographs that the government took of vegans protesting in front of a honey-baked ham store."

The March of Progress

The Truth About the State of our Union:

"According to the non-partisan National Journal, since President Bush first stood before Congress and the nation in 2001, the median income in this country has decreased, the jobless rate has jumped from 3.9% to 4.9% and the number of families living in poverty has increased from 8.7% to 10.2%. Our trade deficit has doubled. Inflation has gone up. Personal bankruptcies have gone up. Consumer debt has gone up. College tuition has gone up. And, the price of gas has gone up. All the while, this Administration has turned a $128 billion federal budget surplus into a $319 billion deficit.

Today, almost 6 million more Americans do not have any health insurance than when President Bush took office. In total, over 45.5 million Americans, or over 15% of our total population, have no health care coverage at all.

During his 2003 address, President Bush told the nation that Saddam Hussein 'had biological weapons sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax', 'materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin', 'as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent' and 'upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents'.

Today, almost three years after the start of the President's war of choice, we know Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, had no connection to al-Qaeda and posed no threat to our nation. Yet, our armed forces are bogged down in the middle of civil war that our own generals say cannot be won by military force. Our presence in Iraq is counterproductive and has cost the lives of over 2,200 US troops and $250 billion."

Check out the big brain on the Dalai Lama...

Meditation found to increase brain size:

"People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input."

"The only thing we have to fear..."

Fafblog! the whole worlds only source for Fafblog.:

"'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,' says me.
'And zombies,' says Giblets.
'Yes, and zombies,' says me. 'But we should also fear our fear of zombies.'
'Fear of zombies is useful,' says Giblets. 'It got us way up in this tree out of reach of the zombies.'
'Well yeah that's true,' says me. 'But maybe it prevents us from workin together with the zombies to overcome our differences.'
'As long as the zombies adhere to their rigid pro-eating-us agenda no compromise is possible!' says Giblets.
'But Giblets that's what compromise is all about,' says me. 'Maybe if we compromise on gettin eaten they'll compromise on pork tariffs an the border dispute.'
'Zombies will never give up their pork tariffs,' says Giblets."

That's some basic NLP right there...

Tricks of the Trade: Trainer:

"If you want to get people to participate in a workshop or presentation, ask them 'What questions do you have?' and wait for someone to answer. The usual 'Any questions?' acts as a participation deterrent, as it requires the questioner to be a speed bump in the presentation. 'What questions do you have?' implies that participants are expected to say something, and they often will."

It's like a Zen Koan

Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle - 3PM Update Payroll:

"3PM Update Payroll

Bookkeeper: What is Susan's last name?
Office Manager: Susan who?"

I have GOT to start watching 24.

Kiefer Sutherland Vs. Ye Rustic Inn - Defamer:

"“24” STAR Kiefer Sutherland shocked staffers at the Ye Rustic Inn in Los Feliz, Calif., the other morning when he bellied up to the bar around 9 a.m. demanding to start a tab, reports Steppin’ Out magazine. Editor Chaunce Hayden says the normally thick-waisted Sutherland looked “rail-thin” when he entered the tiny dive bar with a group of rowdy pals and ordered a round of drinks. According to witnesses, when presented with the bill, Sutherland claimed his wallet was “indisposed” - “It’s been stolen! I promise I’ll come back and pay.” At that point, things got weird. “He started to go into a series of karate kicks in the middle of the floor while the bartender, waitress and several customers looked on,” Hayden reports."

It's a Nine-Elevenmas miracle!

Fafblog! the whole worlds only source for Fafblog.:

"Now some crazy people say the president broke some silly old laws like FISA and the National Security Act and the Fourth Amendment. Are these crazy people crazy?
A. They sure are! Maybe those laws worked back in 1978 back when Leonid Brezhnev was snortin coke with Ayatollah Khomeini and groovin to the hits of the Bee Gees, but in today's dark and dangerous times they just aren't enough.
Q. Things sure have changed since the innocent days of mutually assured destruction! But is it legal for the president to ignore the law?
A. Maybe not according to plain ol stupid ol regular law, but we're at war! You don't go to war with regular laws, which are made outta red tape and bureaucracy and Neville Chamberlain. You go to war with great big strapping War Laws made outta tanks and cold hard steel and the American Fightin Man and WAR, KABOOOOOOM!
Q. How does a War Bill become a War Law?
A. It all begins with the president, who submits a bill to the president. If a majority of both the president and the president approve the bill, then it passes on to the president, who may veto it or sign it into law. And even then the president can override himself with a two-thirds vote.

...Well if you want, the president can stop the illegal wiretapping just for you.
Q. Really? Well thanks, that'd be great!
A. And then the terrorists can come and eat you.
Q. Wait! What?
A. Cause without the wiretaps there's nothin to stop the terrorists from eatin you, yknow. The terrorists and their army of bees.
Q. Oh no! I'm allergic to terrorists AND bees!
A. Oh that's too bad, cause now the president hasta stop the illegal wiretaps and let alllll those terrorist bees eat you.

...Q. Can the president eat a baby?
A. If that baby has suspected ties to al Qaeda, then it's the president's duty to eat it - for the sake of national security.
Q. The president doesn't want to eat sweet, delicious babies. He just wants to protect America from the growing threat of a rogue baby insurgency."

"Keep in mind, there is nothing that I’ve ever put out that there isn’t some white corporation hasn’t permitted you to see."

NEWSARAMA - ANIMATED SHORTS 256: CHECKING IN ON KAPPA MIKEY:

"Boondocks did create an episode that raised the hackles of a number of people on both sides of the political spectrum. Entitled “The Return of the King,” the episode was about a monumental dream lead character Huey Freeman has. In it, Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t killed, but did lie in a coma for over three decades. King comes out of the coma at the end of 2000, but is soon branded a traitor to the U.S. when he takes a pacifist’s stance to the current Iraqi War. King becomes a pariah in his own country. Everyone, both white and black dumps him on. Finally, after one tremendous speech, King bolts for Canada, never to return.

...“Keep in mind, there is nothing that I’ve ever put out that there isn’t some white corporation hasn’t permitted you to see. This whole idea that I’m some crazy, fearless guy is not coming from me. It’s coming from everyone else. There’s no validity to it. If I did something that was really that scary, I wouldn’t be allowed to do it. Just realize that somewhere there’s somebody, probably white, who probably works for a major corporation and is making money off of what I do. That’s the truth.

“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m some sort of political leader and my show is the start of some political movement,” Magruder continued. “It’s not. It’s jokes, comedy and satire. Yes, it’s commentary and political satire, but it’s still jokes. I shun the idea that I have some kind of leadership role to play.

“What I’m really trying to say is we should have politicized entertainers and political leaders. Both. I mean just because James Brown wrote some political songs, that doesn’t make him a political leader and we shouldn’t mistake him as such. What we have is a void in black political leadership and we are turning to quickly to black entertainers to fill it. That’s not necessarily the best move to make.”"

A couple good guidelines...

How to Do What You Love:

"It might be a good rule simply to avoid any prestigious task. If it didn't suck, they wouldn't have had to make it prestigious.

...The other big force leading people astray is money. Money by itself is not that dangerous. When something pays well but is regarded with contempt, like telemarketing, or prostitution, or personal injury litigation, ambitious people aren't tempted by it. That kind of work ends up being done by people who are "just trying to make a living." (Tip: avoid any field whose practitioners say this.) The danger is when money is combined with prestige, as in, say, corporate law, or medicine. A comparatively safe and prosperous career with some automatic baseline prestige is dangerously tempting to someone young, who hasn't thought much about what they really like."

"...it’s very possible that ultimate truths simply can’t be expressed"

Ten Things I Hate About the Occult - Pop Occulture:

"Criticism from the “normals” - if you get interested in the occult, chances are your normal friends and Christian family are going to think it’s silly at best, or crazy and dangerous at worst. The thing about this that gets me the most is that these people (especially Christians) are essentially telling you that your need for exploration, questioning and personal experience are bad and wrong - simply because that’s not where they themselves are at. They typically tell you to stop, and “accept Jesus” without answering the needs of those people who desire a more thorough exploration of these subjects.

...The Real/Fake Debate - Is magic real? Do ghosts, aliens, conspiracies and god really exist or are they projections of our own internal processes? These sorts of existential occult questions used to keep me up at night (and sometimes still do), but there comes a point when you have to move past it all, and start looking at the effects of belief. What changes in your life if you accept God as real? What about if you start practicing spells? How does that change your attitude and approach to the world? The other questions of existence become a moot point after a certain point also when you realize that it’s very possible that ultimate truths simply can’t be expressed (see above).

My Life - Lastly, what the hell does all this occult stuff have to do with my or your “real” lives? We go to the office, or wherever, spend time with family, friends and loved ones, and how can we reconcile all the weird research and mental questioning to the simple joys and challenges of every-day life? None of the occult books seem to address any of that, any of these basic questions about what’s life for, and how do we live it to it’s fullest?"

Don't reduce the world to false dualisms. That's what I say.

Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle - 5PM Happy Hour:

"5PM Happy Hour

Attorney: We're smarter for making the correct decision to the everyday question: drink or work? Correct answer: drink and work."

Dominicans

Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle - 1PM Lunch:

"1PM Lunch

Co-worker: I don't really pay that much attention to politics. I mean, I don't even know the difference between a Republican and a Dominican."

"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" - Captain Renault

Rigorous Intuition: Sex, Drugs and Three-Card Monte:

"Former DEA special agent Michael Levine likens the 'War on Drugs' to the con game three-card monte: the grifter lays down three cards on a table, shows you that one is the Queen of Spades, then turns them over and quickly shuffles. He asks if you can pick the Queen, and you saw some guy before you win easily, so you reach for your wallet. Guess what? You lose. And you know that guy who won? He's part of the scam.

In the early seventies Levine was assigned to the Hard Narcotics Smuggling Squad, which investigated all heroin and cocaine smuggling through the port of New York City. In Kristina Borjesson's Into the Buzzsaw he writes that 'we could not avoid witnessing the CIA protecting major drug dealers'"

Beautiful writing...

Soko ga Shiritai!: Rhythm of the Ocean:

"When you pare to simplicity, you also approach elegance and purity."

What opposition party?

Rove's Early Warning:

"What Democrats should have learned is that they cannot evade the security debate. They must challenge the terms under which Rove and Bush would conduct it. Imagine, for example, directly taking on that line about Sept. 11. Does having a 'post-9/11 worldview' mean allowing Bush to do absolutely anything he wants, any time he wants, without having to answer to the courts, Congress or the public? Most Americans -- including a lot of libertarian-leaning Republicans -- reject such an anti-constitutional view of presidential power. If Democrats aren't willing to take on this issue, what's the point of being an opposition party?"

They have to do that or people might have healthy attitudes about sex and children...

...but we can't do that.

This is America dammit!

Soko ga Shiritai!: Empathy, anyone?:

"Are teenagers really so stupid that the only way to moderate them is through some angle of scare tactic? And isn't cultivating the attitude that pregnancy is an undesirable burden instead of a momentous responsibility bankrupt, detrimental to women, and well, asinine?"

Brilliant

Treehugger: Sweden Raises The Renewable Energy Bar:

"'Sweden Plans on Being the First Country in the World to Be Free From Oil in 2020'"

You want to be optimistic...

Seattle Miracle Spring Water - Pop Occulture:

"I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and believe that there is a basic level of intelligence out there. But it seems from my interactions with these people that there are a boat-load of people out there who are just begging to be taken advantage of when it comes to religion and “magic.”"