I think at this point we're just reading the same text and drawing different readings (irony!). "I’m just trying to understand if you think there’s a difference between established religion and homemade (but earnestly believed) home-cooked religions, especially concerning the amount of evidence that support them." -->Well, in the philosophical sense, no, the same psychological underpinnings are present across belief systems, and there's always a difficulty in "proving" where the supernatural elements come into play. In the cultural/anthropological sense, there are differing reasons behind certain denominations flourishing versus others that dwindled (and very often they were seeking different things). Each religion may have a different point where they leave off the natural world and ascribe certain phenomenon to a divine/mystical order. That would determine whether you could more readily or not gather evidence for/against legitimizing a religion's claims to outsiders.
Recent Comments from Cy85
- Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage
I think at this point we're just reading the same text and drawing different readings (irony!). "I’m just trying to understand if you think there’s a difference between established religion and homemade (but earnestly believed) home-cooked religions, especially concerning the amount of evidence that support them." -->Well, in the philosophical sense, no, the same psychological underpinnings are present across belief systems, and there's always a difficulty in "proving" where the supernatural elements come into play. In the cultural/anthropological sense, there are differing reasons behind certain denominations flourishing versus others that dwindled (and very often they were seeking different things). Each religion may have a different point where they leave off the natural world and ascribe certain phenomenon to a divine/mystical order. That would determine whether you could more readily or not gather evidence for/against legitimizing a religion's claims to outsiders. - Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage
"You seem to think this thought experiment is more compassing than it is. It’s merely an illustration of what an outlandish belief without evidence looks to a person outside the religion." -->I give you that, but right at the end he tacks on something beyond his experiential anecdote about what religious looks like to an outsider, prescribing behavior to be used around these individuals. That's where I take issue. "This is just bad thinking. We have no need to wait for something like that; disbelief is the obvious response. You don’t believe (or take seriously) any fancy fantastical and magical idea I make up, nor should you. " -->Well, yes, it's the obvious response, but I'm involved in the social sciences, so figuring out WHY you have a fantastic or magical idea is part of my work. Just saying "they're crazy, forget them" is lazy thinking for anyone following the scientific method. "I have not managed to find out what you think separates one myth from the gods of the religions you want to encourage interfaith dialogue between." -->I'm not sure what you're saying here. Could you clarify? If you're talking about, "what really separates religions that can be bridged?" then that's a whole 'nother discussion I'm ready to have. - Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage
I had an Ethics & Morals class where an Evangelical literally could not conceive that there was more than one definition for a given word ("bliss") than what his pastor had explained it to him as. He was actually disrupting the lecture because he wanted everyone to understand his definition of the concept as right, and the philosophy we were discussing as wrongly using HIS word in a different context. I don't like how narrow the focus of the thought experiment is, because I'm an advocate for inter-faith dialogue. This is just another atheist taking a high-brow, elitist stance that anyone religious is delusional/insane, and we just have to wait for evidence to prove to them away. The guy made a big metaphor that does nothing but tell a joke. I love Sagan's science lectures and points about humanity's place in a wide, open universe, but this is pretty far from the humanist stance I would expect from him. - Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage
Too Long; Did Read. Much as I like Carl Sagan, I get tired of allegories and analogies discussing the problem of trying to make the ineffable "effable." First of all, if there's not thermodynamic exchange, I don't want people saying "fire." If there's no fire, it ain't fucking fire being breathed. Second of all, we're not talking about an unobservable phenomenon that many people say they've experienced, we're talking about a phenomenon that people attribute a nature, a will, a sentience too, that they must not only interact with, but give authoritative influence to. He's saying, "treat it like any other unexplained phenomenon" but it's not puzzling subatomic particle behavior, it's a serious cultural divide that actually starts real world conflicts. So no, I'll let my friend think about there being an invisible dragon in his garage, but I won't let him be a dick about it when I can't experience it. 'Cuz then I'm avoiding the real issue. Even if I can't disprove it, I can damn well hold him responsible for how he behaves because of it. - Comment on Elect Zaphod Beeblebrox
Don't Vote For Stupid.
Portal 2: Co-Op Game
(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Fall 2011 Video Game Playthroughs: Fable III, Portal 2, Fallout 3 GOTY
Portal 2 Co-Op (4.5/5)
Other than online multiplayer or the occasional console tag team, I rarely play cooperative mode. Up to this point, the best experience I could claim was from plowing through the Halo trilogy one weekend with a college buddy, and even then, the actual “help your teammate complete a task” moments were few and far between.
With Portal 2, the gameplay is similar to the main game, but distinctly different. It takes you awhile to remember that having four portals as opposed to just two means you can try all kinds of complicated stuff. And yet, there were three times I forgot I could just HAND a weighted cube to my teammate. Overall, I lucked out in getting a decent random-assigned partner, who was on the same level as me for figuring out puzzles.
The Co-op campaign had enough new spin on the game mechanics to warrant a playthrough, but none of the great story of the main campaign. Unless you can deal with the player-competence lottery and long stretch of time needed to run the whole thing in one go, it’s a pass without local friends and a night free.
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Portal 2: Main Game
(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
Fall 2011 Video Game Playthroughs: Fable III, Portal 2, Fallout 3 GOTY
Portal 2 (5/5)
It’s not very easy to follow-up a successful game like Portal, especially given how unintentional the impact of the game was on the market. With the second entry Valve came and not only kept the challenge and fun of the original short game, it added new twists and showed just far they’ve come in environment creation and storytelling.
Despite it being a puzzle-platformer, the depth of the game is incredibly beyond many of its First-Person rivals. Music, art design, characterization; all of them are top-notch and only add to an incredibly tight game, delivering a huge experience in a relatively small setting.
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Fable III: DLC
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
Like most DLC, this is really just some new maps and costume options*. If you like the story elements in this series, there’s some interesting little bits, but really nothing too original. As breathtaking a design as Traitor’s Keep was, I disliked it for being used as the hub for all the missions, requiring a lot of running to and from the center of the island to the docks.
*The above was my preferred end-game costume, after my royal attire and Pirates-style main quest garb.
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Fable III: First half
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
Fall 2011 Video Game Playthroughs: Fable III, Portal 2, Fallout 3 GOTY
Fable III (3.5/5)
The visual style, music, humor, side-quests and challenge level were pretty good, but the game faltered for issues with navigation, travel time, and the dev team’s attempt to over-simplify the control scheme made combat a bit of a chore to get accustomed to.
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Trolljegeren
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
“TrollHunter” (2010)
If you’re into stuff like Hellboy/B.P.R.D., check it out.
It uses the same “found footage” angle as “Blair Witch,” “Paranormal Activity,” “Quarantine,” and “Apollo 18,” but the camera work is actually pretty solid; helps that they’re shooting in some damn beautiful parts of Scandinavia.
(commence Internet troll jokes in the comments)
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Pause for a moment for a sponsor!
Coffee Makes Everything Better
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
The day isn’t charted by AM or PM; it’s Before Coffee and After Coffee.
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Kate Mara, movie close-up
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Makeup criticisms be damned, she is cute as hell.
Also, Ted from HIMYM’s first film, HappyThankYouMorePlease, ain’t half bad.
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A Single Man
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Same guy (Dan Bishop) who does production design on Mad Men worked on this.
(Apologies for non-HD screencaps, but again, there was some cool cinematography in this flick)
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Harry Brown: Beautifully Shot Ugly Crimes
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favorites
“You have failed to maintain your weapon, my son.”
3 Comments
Aperture Science Innovators – Salt, Asbestos, Curtains
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Add to favoritesTags: Gaming, Portal 2, Wallpaper
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Another Dark Knight 4pane meme
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The Joker next tried hiring paranoid schizophrenics as his henchmen. Instead of following his precise instructions to the letter, they got confused easily and wandered off.
knowyourmeme.com/memes/dark-knight-4pane
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THEME DAY: Your Ride
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Meet Zoolander.
2009 Ford Focus. First “new” car I’ve ever had. Everything before was a clunker hand-me-down.
Why do we call it Zoolander? Because it’s BLUE STEEL.
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National Personification: THE WEBCOMIC!
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“Scandinavia and the World” is a webcomic where-in the history and modern day politics of the countries are played out as if they’re all on some messed up anime sitcom (yes, not unlike “Hetalia: Axis Powers” if you know what the hell that is). Your usual Deviantard wank-fest stuff, but some of the strips are kind of funny.
Here’s some of the ones featuring America.
Not included: the running joke of Denmark being REALLY racist without ever realizing it. And Sweden’s sister being a total slut.
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House Cast on RV trip
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Add to favoritesTags: Advertisements, Television, Wallpaper
Most recent season cast photo? Shoop? Who knows, who cares? Although a little Amber Tamblyn love wouldn’t hurt (she has been rockin’ those stockings on her guest appearance).
January 12, 2012 at 3:56 am
www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5207-Top-5-of-2011
Looks like there’s some consensus up in here.
January 12, 2012 at 8:47 am
imgflip.com/memes/templates/slowpoke.jpg
January 13, 2012 at 7:31 am
Indeed.
My entire gaming habit runs on getting the stuff consistently rated “interesting” or better by a wide group of critics after it’s been out awhile and can be had for a decent price (a la Steam).
January 12, 2012 at 2:02 pm
you lookin for a game review job?
January 12, 2012 at 3:35 pm
By “job” are we implying payment?
January 13, 2012 at 7:27 am
Not really. Just like fostering my long-winded opinions on the masses, like every other troll on the net.
But if you got a webspace needs game reviews, let me know (not that I currently have much time with a new job for extensive playthroughs).
January 12, 2012 at 9:15 pm
SSPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCEEEE!