At least not when it's coming from "Christians."
Those folks have lost sight of the fact that Christianity started out as a Jewish cult. One of a multitude of cults within Judaism, from what I understand. Somehow this one got out of control. Today we'd say it went viral.
I guess the technical term for this would be "schism." The birth of Christianity represented a schism within the Judaic belief system.
It wasn't long before the usurpers infected vast swathes of the Roman Empire, and before you know it, the Jews who had masterminded the latest craze were turning on the Jews who didn't sign up.
The passage of time has allowed a lot of your Christians to forget their roots. The usurpers have in the interval also suffered numerous schisms. In fact, the earliest days of Christianity were schism city all the way.
Then you had your big split in the main church, and after that Martin Luther invented protestants. The fact that the word "protest" is part of their name is an irony lost on most of them today.
All this schisming has thrown some real absurdities at the canvas of history. Look at "the Troubles" for example. They're all white and they all love Jesus, but they're ready to start a new war if this Brexit thing gives them the excuse.
And apparently the schisming continues to this day. I heard that one of the local Amish communities suffered a schism because the Bishop made a couple of the brothers swap farms. There may have been some coveting involved... the neighbours's wife or ass or both.
Which underlines once again the fact that we're just human, no matter how many schisms it took to make us who we are.
We're all brothers in spite of the schisms.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Falling Downs going to the dogs
From time to time me and the Farm Manager talk about getting another dog. Boomer, our Rottweiler-Shepherd mix, is closing in on fourteen years. She's not quite as nimble as she used to be. Stumbles now and then on our morning ramble, and in the hot weather I'd shave a couple of kilometres off the walk just to make sure she's not over-stressed.
Our baby, the Tennessee Treeing Brindle, is seven. She's never known a day without another dog since she arrived here, and we intend to make sure she never does.
The upshot of these periodic discussions was that when the time was right, we'd add a third hound to the pack, and we developed a few criteria.
No puppies. They spend a year or more chewing everything they can clamp their jaws on. Lucy literally ate the better part of a couch, not to mention numerous shoes, random articles of clothing, and a Bible.
No sirree; no more puppies for us. We'd get a dog from the pound about Lucy's age. That way they'd hopefully expire around the same time, freeing us to explore some non-canine pet options.
Second criteria; it's time for a smaller dog. When the FM "walks" one of our girls she looks like she's wakeboarding. She's got both hands gripping the tow-rope while she struggles to stay upright... while the dog goes wherever it wants.
Here's the new hound.
Meet Phil. A fourteen week old Mastiff.
Ticked all the right boxes, obviously... Sure, fourteen weeks isn't quite seven years, and ya, she's maybe not gonna grow up to be a "small" dog, but what the hey. She'll be meeting her new sisters on the weekend.
We had dinner at the Twin Dragons tonight. Best water-view of any Owen Sound restaurant by far, and the food's pretty decent too. The two of us can get out of there for fifty bucks including the buffet, a couple of drinks, and a generous tip.
The FM's fortune cookie read:
A new member is joining your happy family soon.
I couldn't make that up.
Our baby, the Tennessee Treeing Brindle, is seven. She's never known a day without another dog since she arrived here, and we intend to make sure she never does.
The upshot of these periodic discussions was that when the time was right, we'd add a third hound to the pack, and we developed a few criteria.
No puppies. They spend a year or more chewing everything they can clamp their jaws on. Lucy literally ate the better part of a couch, not to mention numerous shoes, random articles of clothing, and a Bible.
No sirree; no more puppies for us. We'd get a dog from the pound about Lucy's age. That way they'd hopefully expire around the same time, freeing us to explore some non-canine pet options.
Second criteria; it's time for a smaller dog. When the FM "walks" one of our girls she looks like she's wakeboarding. She's got both hands gripping the tow-rope while she struggles to stay upright... while the dog goes wherever it wants.
Here's the new hound.
Meet Phil. A fourteen week old Mastiff.
Ticked all the right boxes, obviously... Sure, fourteen weeks isn't quite seven years, and ya, she's maybe not gonna grow up to be a "small" dog, but what the hey. She'll be meeting her new sisters on the weekend.
We had dinner at the Twin Dragons tonight. Best water-view of any Owen Sound restaurant by far, and the food's pretty decent too. The two of us can get out of there for fifty bucks including the buffet, a couple of drinks, and a generous tip.
The FM's fortune cookie read:
A new member is joining your happy family soon.
I couldn't make that up.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Weed report
When I ran into that old school grower the other week he gave me a couple of samples to try. This guy is known for his organic stuff. It's popular among folks who care about what they're doing to their bodies... the same kind of folks who pay five bucks or more for a dozen farm-fresh eggs from free-range chickens.
Here's what I thought. Something branded CR was a decent mellow. I like that. Some people want to get messed up by the stuff they smoke. That's not me.
I just want to get mellow and stay there for a spell. If my mother calls during that spell, I want to be able to talk to her.
Not for me that new school bud that's been treated with every yield-boosting and buzz-boosting chemical known to man, by people who are just in it for the money.
And the other sample, called "green beer" or something, was more or less similar. I could function, but I knew I was stoned.
The reason I like to support these old school growers is a) because I've proven myself useless at growing my own, and b) I'd rather support these guys than the army of suits who have descended on the legal weed free-for-all.
Also, it's nice to know where your shit comes from.
It's not often we get to do that since Clint Eastwood stopped building Torinos.
Here's what I thought. Something branded CR was a decent mellow. I like that. Some people want to get messed up by the stuff they smoke. That's not me.
I just want to get mellow and stay there for a spell. If my mother calls during that spell, I want to be able to talk to her.
Not for me that new school bud that's been treated with every yield-boosting and buzz-boosting chemical known to man, by people who are just in it for the money.
And the other sample, called "green beer" or something, was more or less similar. I could function, but I knew I was stoned.
The reason I like to support these old school growers is a) because I've proven myself useless at growing my own, and b) I'd rather support these guys than the army of suits who have descended on the legal weed free-for-all.
Also, it's nice to know where your shit comes from.
It's not often we get to do that since Clint Eastwood stopped building Torinos.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Hats off to Prince Harry
Prince Harry hogged the headlines all day.
Seems he bagged a lassie and they're gonna tie the knot. Why anybody would give a shit is the part I can't figure out.
Be that as it may, I'd like to take my hat off to Prince Harry with this salute to the time Prince Harry bagged a wog.
Oy, he's a real man... got blood on his hands.
There was a little diner in Neustadt called Hat's off to Harry. Harry, or whoever it was owned the place, had dreams.
He dreamed of owning a pool hall.
So he took the plunge and built one. On top of his diner. Yup, had to build an entire second story to accommodate the new venture. Even got himself a liquor license!
He done it up right.
He was ready to go!
Pool-cue totin' rubes from all around flocked to the place. Even made a couple visits myself.
Then the county's new smoking regs kicked in. If a denizen of the pool hall wished to smoke a cigarette, she or he would have to work their way down a long flight of stairs, and then move fifteen metres from the entrance way.
I know! That's what you do in a pool hall - smoke!
Smoke and drink beer. Billiards is an afterthought.
It was tits up for Harry.
Which is a timely reminder that sometimes the winds of propriety shift. Never mind the pool hall - I can remember when people smoked in the supermarket.
I can remember when I was a pump boy at John's Supertest in my teens, every other car that pulled in on a Friday or Saturday night had open liquor in it. That's not kosher anymore either.
Things change.
The winds of propriety shift...
Seems he bagged a lassie and they're gonna tie the knot. Why anybody would give a shit is the part I can't figure out.
Be that as it may, I'd like to take my hat off to Prince Harry with this salute to the time Prince Harry bagged a wog.
Oy, he's a real man... got blood on his hands.
There was a little diner in Neustadt called Hat's off to Harry. Harry, or whoever it was owned the place, had dreams.
He dreamed of owning a pool hall.
So he took the plunge and built one. On top of his diner. Yup, had to build an entire second story to accommodate the new venture. Even got himself a liquor license!
He done it up right.
He was ready to go!
Pool-cue totin' rubes from all around flocked to the place. Even made a couple visits myself.
Then the county's new smoking regs kicked in. If a denizen of the pool hall wished to smoke a cigarette, she or he would have to work their way down a long flight of stairs, and then move fifteen metres from the entrance way.
I know! That's what you do in a pool hall - smoke!
Smoke and drink beer. Billiards is an afterthought.
It was tits up for Harry.
Which is a timely reminder that sometimes the winds of propriety shift. Never mind the pool hall - I can remember when people smoked in the supermarket.
I can remember when I was a pump boy at John's Supertest in my teens, every other car that pulled in on a Friday or Saturday night had open liquor in it. That's not kosher anymore either.
Things change.
The winds of propriety shift...
Why the battle to preserve "net neutrality" has nothing to do with fighting censorship
The sacred world wide web is positively aflame with screeds denouncing the imminent collapse of a "free internet."
Hey, don't get me wrong; I too am 100% aboard for a "free internet." I'd be 200% aboard if the Farm Manager wasn't paying the equivalent of three cases of beer to access this "free" service every month. That ain't "free" where I come from.
But what's interesting is how much of this outpouring of concern conflates "net neutrality" with censorship. Check out this article at Salon, or check out the previous post about Sarah Kendzior.
The purveyors of this misconception want you to believe that the fate of the First Amendment hinges on a FCC vote that will be held on December 14.
It doesn't.
Big Tech are already censoring what you see by tweaking their search algorithms in such a way that you are far less likely to have your patriotic eyeballs alight on offensive and subversive anti-American propaganda.
It's entirely possible to preserve the "net neutrality" at stake in the FCC decision while expunging every trace of critical anti-Empire opinion from that neutral net.
We are being bamboozled yet again.
Hey, don't get me wrong; I too am 100% aboard for a "free internet." I'd be 200% aboard if the Farm Manager wasn't paying the equivalent of three cases of beer to access this "free" service every month. That ain't "free" where I come from.
But what's interesting is how much of this outpouring of concern conflates "net neutrality" with censorship. Check out this article at Salon, or check out the previous post about Sarah Kendzior.
The purveyors of this misconception want you to believe that the fate of the First Amendment hinges on a FCC vote that will be held on December 14.
It doesn't.
Big Tech are already censoring what you see by tweaking their search algorithms in such a way that you are far less likely to have your patriotic eyeballs alight on offensive and subversive anti-American propaganda.
It's entirely possible to preserve the "net neutrality" at stake in the FCC decision while expunging every trace of critical anti-Empire opinion from that neutral net.
We are being bamboozled yet again.
Sarah Kendzior; disingenuous, misguided, or just plain stupid?
I like Sarah Kendzior. Back when she was a freshly minted Dr. Phil who found herself squeezed off the tenure track, she used to write about that. The writing was heartfelt and convincing because she knew what she was talking about.
She has yet to find that track, but she may no longer care. Check out the brand she's built. This woman is going places! She's one 60 Minutes profile away from becoming a serious public intellectual!
But when I consider that, and when I read of the various accolades she has won over recent years (Foreign Policy named her one of the 100 people you should follow on Twitter to make sense of global events - as if Twitter is required to make sense of global events...), I have to marvel at the fact that the bar has been set so astoundingly low.
Take her latest effort as "op-ed columnist for the Globe and Mail" for example; Gutting net neutrality is a death knell for the resistance.
Ah yes, "the resistance!"
That one word conjures all sorts of imagery of heroic anti-Nazi derring-do in occupied Europe during the '40s. The French resistance. The Dutch resistance...
The Greeks and Poles resisted too. In every case we saw courageous citizens, infinitely out-manned and out-gunned, standing against the Nazi behemoth.
Although she is fully aware that's the image you'll carry in your mind's eye when you read the word "resistance," that's not the resistance Kendzior is talking about. No, she's talking about the resistance to Trump's election victory. This is not a resistance led by courageous partisans hiding out in the woods and risking their lives for a cause.
It is a resistance led by Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Party elite that a year ago lost an election in spite of having more Wall Street money behind it than any previous campaign in US electoral history.
It's not the resistance of the oppressed.
It is the resistance of an entitled ruling class clique who are pouting because another, perhaps slightly less entitled ruling class clique, grabbed the steering wheel out of their hands.
I can see why they'd be pissed.
At the same time, the claim that the Dem Party establishment or any of the mainstream media platforms Kendzior regularly appears on are even remotely threatened is beyond hokum.
Seriously?
Some players in the internet ecosystem want to squash net neutrality so they can make more money, not because they want to silence the Globe and Mail and the US news sites the Globe reflexively parots, the Washington Post and the NYT.
Pretty sure they're not interested in silencing Kendzior either.
As you know, all those platforms are vehemently anti-Trump.
What's being silenced are media platforms that question the narrative of Kendzior, Dem Party elites, and the "resistance," sites like RT and Sputnik and Michael Chossudovsky's Global Research.
So relax, Sarah... so long as you continue to faithfully toe the official DNC line, you've nothing to worry about!
She has yet to find that track, but she may no longer care. Check out the brand she's built. This woman is going places! She's one 60 Minutes profile away from becoming a serious public intellectual!
But when I consider that, and when I read of the various accolades she has won over recent years (Foreign Policy named her one of the 100 people you should follow on Twitter to make sense of global events - as if Twitter is required to make sense of global events...), I have to marvel at the fact that the bar has been set so astoundingly low.
Take her latest effort as "op-ed columnist for the Globe and Mail" for example; Gutting net neutrality is a death knell for the resistance.
Ah yes, "the resistance!"
That one word conjures all sorts of imagery of heroic anti-Nazi derring-do in occupied Europe during the '40s. The French resistance. The Dutch resistance...
The Greeks and Poles resisted too. In every case we saw courageous citizens, infinitely out-manned and out-gunned, standing against the Nazi behemoth.
Although she is fully aware that's the image you'll carry in your mind's eye when you read the word "resistance," that's not the resistance Kendzior is talking about. No, she's talking about the resistance to Trump's election victory. This is not a resistance led by courageous partisans hiding out in the woods and risking their lives for a cause.
It is a resistance led by Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Party elite that a year ago lost an election in spite of having more Wall Street money behind it than any previous campaign in US electoral history.
It's not the resistance of the oppressed.
It is the resistance of an entitled ruling class clique who are pouting because another, perhaps slightly less entitled ruling class clique, grabbed the steering wheel out of their hands.
I can see why they'd be pissed.
At the same time, the claim that the Dem Party establishment or any of the mainstream media platforms Kendzior regularly appears on are even remotely threatened is beyond hokum.
Seriously?
Some players in the internet ecosystem want to squash net neutrality so they can make more money, not because they want to silence the Globe and Mail and the US news sites the Globe reflexively parots, the Washington Post and the NYT.
Pretty sure they're not interested in silencing Kendzior either.
As you know, all those platforms are vehemently anti-Trump.
What's being silenced are media platforms that question the narrative of Kendzior, Dem Party elites, and the "resistance," sites like RT and Sputnik and Michael Chossudovsky's Global Research.
So relax, Sarah... so long as you continue to faithfully toe the official DNC line, you've nothing to worry about!
Saturday, November 25, 2017
What the f@ck is a hubcap diamond star halo?
Seriously?
I mean, we listened to this shit all the time. Nice tune. You can kinda bop around to it if you're so inclined.
But what exactly is a hubcap diamond star halo?
I've spent the evening jogging down memory lane. Did you have any clue that Billy Idol had a duet thing out there with Miley?
Holy shit!
Who knew?
More to the point, who cares?
Anyway, laptop battery fading fast...
I'm outta here!
I mean, we listened to this shit all the time. Nice tune. You can kinda bop around to it if you're so inclined.
But what exactly is a hubcap diamond star halo?
I've spent the evening jogging down memory lane. Did you have any clue that Billy Idol had a duet thing out there with Miley?
Holy shit!
Who knew?
More to the point, who cares?
Anyway, laptop battery fading fast...
I'm outta here!
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