They finally noticed

Today, AP posted the first mention I've seen (in the MSM) of the Rock Beyond Belief Concert. They said just about nothing but at least they didn't trash it.

The Concert is a very cool thing -- the first official gathering of non-religious troops that is sanctioned by the brass. It took a ton of work on the part of the organizers. The military was not thrilled with holding an event for atheist military personnel. But they had to say yes, and they did.

It should be amazing. Dawkins is heading the event but there are tons of great speakers and acts. I'm very happy for all atheist military members. This is a monumental, first-ever event.

Trashing the Dalai Lama

PZ did it yesterday and I'll happily chime in. I detest the Dalai Lama and group him with Deepak Chopra. They both mouth nonsense to the gullible and call it wisdom.

But I've got a special distaste for the DL because of two things. One is that so many liberals love him. This makes me ill. The man says idiotic, unconnected things, smiles -- and liberals drop to their knees. This doesn't say much for the logic circuits of these folks.

The other reason is that I once saw him interviewed on TV, and he expressed his opinion of homosexuality. I don't have a transcript but as I remember it, he said homosexuality was a categorical error, a mistake. He said we aren't really homosexual, we just mistakenly think we're gay. Actually, according to the DL, there is no such thing as homosexuality.

Indeed. Another celibate man in a dress attacks gay people. And he often says he's against gay marriage. He's very clear about this. Still love him, liberals?

People, don't look toward religion for anything except nonsense and hatred. Both items are their stock in trade.

PS: The reason there is a focus on the odious DL of late is that he just received a ton of money from the oppressively idiotic Templeton Foundation. Isn't that sweet? The kings of woo crowned another favored messenger. Disgusting. (And I'm very upset with Sean Carroll for accepting money from the Templeton Foundation. It's a stupid thing for a scientist to do. They push religion, not science. Science and religion cannot co-exist, yet making believe they can co-exist is the purpose of the Templeton Foundation. It's a braindead organization and no self-respecting scientist should accept a dime from them. It's tainted money.)

OMD!

I just tossed two aspirin into a dish . . . and they landed on edge and remained standing! Now, if this was merely a one-aspirin toss, you might write it off. But this was an official two-aspirin toss and both landed on edge. It must be a sign! It's gotta be!

After hours spent in meditation, I believe I know what this means. Dog has given me a sign because he's so goddamn happy about the upcoming publication of Xmas Carol. That has to be it! Dog is speaking to me!

Now I know how Pat Robertson feels.

What is wrong with the media?

I see so much off-the-wall wording in media stories. It's all over the place:

Romney trumpets rush of conservative endorsements . . .

Obama touts whatever . . .

Seriously, what's wrong with these people? They can't just write a clear and factual news item. Instead, they jam every story into one of their pre-fab molds that are designed to make politics into a game. It's not only stupid, it's destructive.

An emboldened Obama . . .

A volley of words from . . .

Gingrich soldiers on . . .

I mean really. They're myth-making. Their goal is not to report anything; it's to create waves, wonderful waves that will bring the papers and TV stations more business. Talk about ulterior motives. They're playing games with the lifeblood of our country and they don't give a damn. It's sickening.

And the following actual headline is no better:

April leap or May slog, Romney on pace to GOP nod

Oy. I think this means the headline writers have fallen off a cliff.

The GOP candidates

I don't understand why any attention is paid to the Republican primaries. What is there to say after you've taken one glance at these lying stooges? Nothing.

They've got a Ken doll running against a Mr. Rogers doll, and there's a nasty Troll doll in the background. And yet the media devotes endless hours of TV time to these clowns every damn day. Nothing could be more boring or meaningless.

If the media ever decided to get real again and report truthfully on things that matter to our country, all the stupidity would go poof in an instant. The kind of brainless banter that passes for American dialogue these days can only exist in an information vacuum.

But the media provides this very thing. As long as they fail to say this is true and that isn't, nothing will change. Without real investigative journalism and a firm commitment to truth, rationality and logic, the country will go down the tubes.

This accounts for the flushing sound you hear.

Please create this app

I want an app that can sort through the sea of ebooks and come back with a useful list of new ebooks that I might like. They're out there but there's no way to find them.

I should be able to give the app a list of the books that I Iove and then set it loose on the ebook ocean. But I don't want it to just compare genres. I want it to analyze ebook reviews. It should compare the words used in these reviews to the frequency of words used in reviews of actual, you know, good books. Seems this might produce useful results.

It also needs a filter that reads book samples and tosses aside all the illiterate books so they're not included in the results. Anyone can publish a book these days and most of them are dreck, including many of the most popular ebooks. Popularity does not mean quality. Today, it often means the reverse. It only tells you what the Illiterati think. (Personally, I view all "top ten" lists as a handy references for things to avoid.)

Certainly there's a need for an app like this. It's not only difficult for authors to get noticed but equally difficult for readers to find a book they might enjoy. There are just too many of them.

Someone start working on this today. Thanks.

No one wants to go to the popey guy's forum

The Vatican tried to pull off a science scam but nobody bit. AP tells the tale in Vatican Cancels Stem Cell Forum.

The Pontifical Academy for Life had organized the "Responsible Stem Cells Research Congress" for April 25-28 at the Vatican. But its website said that because so few participants had signed up, the event was canceled. 

Awww. The poor popey guy. He must feel so bad. All those invitations and no RSVPs returned. I wonder why? Could it be that actual scientists have no interest in meeting with a bunch of stuffy, old priests who want to tell them they are evil? Nah, that can't be it.

Unable to simply say: "Nobody wanted to come," the Vatican web site tossed out this bunch of words:

"Unfortunately, the scarce number of sponsors and registrations would have adversely affected the positive outcome of the meetings, and therefore this prompted the organizers to take the necessary steps to cancel the conference," the Academy website's said.

We get it. Popey guy holds party; no one comes. Awwww!