“The Prerequisite Of All Criticism”

That’s what criticism of religion is:

It took us centuries of battles between dissenters and established religion, and the stages with which it was symbiotically entwined, to win the rights that the short-memoried invertebrate liberals now cravenly surrender!

The secular and social rights we have, the freedom from power-inflated superstitions armed to the teeth with the coercive power of a state, the right to think for ourselves and express our thoughts

Back To CA

I’ve got a 7 AM flight, and just got cleaned up from demolishing the kitchen, so I don’t have time to comment on this “Blackstar” story. Fortunately, over at RLV News, it’s all Blackstar, all the time. Clark Lindsey has comments here, here and here.

I agree with Clark–it’s a pretty fishy story, with a lot of inconsistencies. I remain a Missourian on this one for now.

[Monday morning update, from LA]

Jim Oberg has an update at MSNBC.

Why I’m Not Watching The Oscars

a) I’m busy tearing down walls and removing cabinets in the kitchen (though I could still listen while doing that, amidst the noise of the hammering and reciprocal sawing).

b) I haven’t seen any of the movies that are up for awards.

c) I have no interest in the glitterati–I think that for the most part they’re pompous, pretentious pseudointellectuals, attempting to make up for what they know are largely lucky breaks (surely there are many more great actors and directors than are given opportunities in Hollywood–just look at how much it helps to be have a family member in the business) in their success, by “giving something back” in the form of wacko progressive politics. I’ve also lived long enough in LA to have met many of them in real life, and for the most part, they’re not even people you’d particularly like to know.

d) I have no interest in listening to their inevitable ignorant digs, or outright rants, at the president, or Republicans (though I’m no big fan of the president or Republicans myself–I just find the Bush-hating derangement tiresome, when there are so many real things that they could be criticizing both for).

[Update a few minutes later]

It just occurred to me that I did see “Pride and Prejudice.”

But I’m still not watching.

Why I’m Not Watching The Oscars

a) I’m busy tearing down walls and removing cabinets in the kitchen (though I could still listen while doing that, amidst the noise of the hammering and reciprocal sawing).

b) I haven’t seen any of the movies that are up for awards.

c) I have no interest in the glitterati–I think that for the most part they’re pompous, pretentious pseudointellectuals, attempting to make up for what they know are largely lucky breaks (surely there are many more great actors and directors than are given opportunities in Hollywood–just look at how much it helps to be have a family member in the business) in their success, by “giving something back” in the form of wacko progressive politics. I’ve also lived long enough in LA to have met many of them in real life, and for the most part, they’re not even people you’d particularly like to know.

d) I have no interest in listening to their inevitable ignorant digs, or outright rants, at the president, or Republicans (though I’m no big fan of the president or Republicans myself–I just find the Bush-hating derangement tiresome, when there are so many real things that they could be criticizing both for).

[Update a few minutes later]

It just occurred to me that I did see “Pride and Prejudice.”

But I’m still not watching.

Why I’m Not Watching The Oscars

a) I’m busy tearing down walls and removing cabinets in the kitchen (though I could still listen while doing that, amidst the noise of the hammering and reciprocal sawing).

b) I haven’t seen any of the movies that are up for awards.

c) I have no interest in the glitterati–I think that for the most part they’re pompous, pretentious pseudointellectuals, attempting to make up for what they know are largely lucky breaks (surely there are many more great actors and directors than are given opportunities in Hollywood–just look at how much it helps to be have a family member in the business) in their success, by “giving something back” in the form of wacko progressive politics. I’ve also lived long enough in LA to have met many of them in real life, and for the most part, they’re not even people you’d particularly like to know.

d) I have no interest in listening to their inevitable ignorant digs, or outright rants, at the president, or Republicans (though I’m no big fan of the president or Republicans myself–I just find the Bush-hating derangement tiresome, when there are so many real things that they could be criticizing both for).

[Update a few minutes later]

It just occurred to me that I did see “Pride and Prejudice.”

But I’m still not watching.

Home For The Weekend

But we’ve ordered new cabinets for the kitchen, and just found out that they’re going to be here three weeks earlier than previously anticipated. Which mean that we start tearing down walls, because I have to go back to CA Monday morning. No blogging for me.

Well, except for this.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!