Happy Halloween!

Ah, my second favorite holiday is upon us! Carol, Rachel and I spent the weekend creating a "haunted forest" through the woods next to our house so trick or treaters will have an exciting adventure as they come to claim their candy at our front door. Okay, maybe exciting is too strong a word, but definitely entertaining. Okay, well, maybe entertaining isn't exactly right. Hmm. I'll go with interesting, bordering on not tedious. Yeah, that's it. Swish!

We've always been into Halloween but last year's purchase of a fog machine (and the fun we had fogging up our porch and Halloweeners) convinced us to go even farther this year. Our haunted forest has a lit entry arch, a lit path between the trees, a shrunken head, a voice-activated ghost, voice and motion activated rocks, cobwebs and spiders (one that drops down), and a spooky graveyard. I'm taking off work early so I can finish everything. Muwahahahahahahahahaha!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Suppose he's listening to Cher?

Spotted on (the) Google Earth, this is a cool land formation in Canada that looks like an American Indian listening to an IPOD. Of course, it's just another example of Pareidolia, like seeing a face on Mars, the Madonna in a taco shell or an angel in the clouds. What's really interesting is that you can actually see two different faces, depending on which lines you use as the mouth and eyes. An article about this image and other cool things found on (the) Google Earth is here.

I find it fascinating that our brains find such images in randomness.

I Love Halloween!

Last Friday night, my wife, the kids, two of my daughter's friends, and I took the winding country roads to backwoods Maryland to experience Markoff's Haunted Forest. It's one of the best "haunted houses" in the US (although it's in a woods rather than a house, of course.) There are many fun things to see and do, including the walk through the woods, huge bonfires, and a haunted bus. Frankly, I am rarely as happy as I am just sitting in front of a roaring bonfire on a chilly night with a cup of hot cider. We had a great time and Markoff's will now certainly become an annual event.

There's a great article about the place in today's Washington Post. Be sure to check out the Photo Gallery as well.

Worst. Congress. Ever.

There's a very interesting article in Rolling Stone about the current Congress.

Inside the Worst Congress Ever

I am really hoping there's a large shake-up in a couple of weeks. Term limits are starting to sound good again.

Renaissance Disconnect

Last Sunday, my family spent the day at the Maryland Renaissance Festival with some friends and their kids. We go every couple of years and have a great time. The Maryland RenFest is huge and well-organized, consisting of permanent buildings set in nice woodlands. The entertainment - the joust, music and comedy - are of professional quality as are the costumes, props and other elements of the setting. The food may not be particularly authentic (can you say medieval cheesecake on a stick?) but it's good and plentiful.

Despite all of this, some of the attendees (and I assume they were attendees and not professional staff), don't seem to understand the whole "medieval festival" part of it. We saw people, strolling around as if completely appropriate, dressed as:

Captain Jack Sparrow
A Jedi Knight
An 18th Century British Soldier
An X-Wing pilot
and Trinity from the Matrix

Yes, a woman in black leather and vinyl with slick-backed hair, a black trench coat and dark sunglasses certainly fit in perfectly with the renaissance theme. And, no, she did not look like Carrie Ann Moss.

Huzzah.

The rest of the world is on notice.

CNN has posted questions and answers with William H. Bennett. In answer to the question of whether the rest of the world has lost faith in America, Bennett said (emphasis added):

BENNETT: I don't think the rest of the world has lost faith in our democracy and government. It is fashionable in some precincts to condemn the United States. We have not been popular in the Middle East for many years, and the university class (in Europe, especially) has a "sophisticated" view that is aped by academia in much of the U.S. professoriate.

But many millions of people around the world love America, Americans and the things America represents. If [people] virtually anywhere in the world ... saw a group of soldiers coming over the hill and could pick which flag they were carrying, the American flag would still be the choice of many.

Now far be it for me to criticize Mr. Bennett's choice of metaphor, but this deserves a resounding, "what the hell?" Maybe it's just me, but if I saw a group of soldiers coming over the hill and I could pick which flag they were carrying, I'd make it a white flag.

Other fine choices might be:

• Your own flag (everyone loves a parade.)
• The flag of the United Arab Emirates (who couldn't kick their butt?)
• The French flag. (see above). (Okay, that was too easy.)
• The flag of the Klingon Empire (which would signal, rather than a terrifying invasion, the start of a local Trek con, bringing much money into the local economy.)

If it were the American flag coming over that hill, I'm pretty sure most of the Middle East, Africa, South America, Europe and Asia would have the good sense to be scared out of their wits. Maybe Bennett was thinking of Antarctica.

I have to do what to whom??

Miami Archdiocese apologizes to Foley

Wow. How bad does your behaviour have to be that you have to apologize to Mark Foley? It doesn't get any more humiliating than this.

Imbalance of Terror

One of my friends watched the original Star Trek episode, "Balance of Terror" the other day and we got to talking about it. It's the one where the Romulans attack Federation outposts along the neutral zone and Kirk must decide whether to chase the invading ship back across the zone to destroy it before it reaches Romulan space.

There's a scene where the command crew is debating on their next course of action. I suspect that were that scene written in today's political climate, the scene might go a little differently. (Forgive the improper script formatting.)

SPOCK
I agree – attack.

KIRK
Are you suggesting that we fight to prevent a fight?

MCCOY
Based on what? Memories of a war over a century ago? On theories about a people we've never even met face-to-face?

STILES
Doctor McCoy, why do you hate the Federation?

MCCOY
What?

STILES
Besides, we know what they look like.

SPOCK
Yes, indeed we do, Mr. Stiles. And if the Romulans are an off-shoot of my Vulcan blood – and I think this likely – then attack becomes even more imperative.

MCCOY
War is never imperative.

SPOCK
Seriously, Doctor. If you hate the Federation so much, why are you even at this meeting? Shouldn't you be attending to the wounded on the Romulan ship?

MCCOY
I do not hate the Federation! I'm simply pointing out . . .

KIRK
Bones, Sulu has already laid in the course. We must stay the course. If we cut and run now, the Romulans win. Do you want the Romulans to win?

MCCOY
Of course not, but we should consider . . .

KIRK
Then it's settled. We'll attack the nearest Klingon ship. That'll show those Romulans.


And . . . scene.

Thanks very much. I'll be here all week.

War on Manta-Terror

Holy cow! They said that Steve Irwin's death by stingray attack was just a fluke.

Now there's this: Stingray jumps into boat and stabs man in chest.

With America's troops spread thin in Iraq and Afghanistan, the stingrays have mobilized and started their deadly, barb-filled, campaign against us. It was a bold, but inevitable, move on their part. Their jealousy of our legs and the fact that we aren't as flat as pancakes has enraged them for centuries.

I am sure the President will call for immediate sanctions. So remember, if you buy Sting's new album or see a game with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the terrorists win.

Freezing My Bum Off

Ahhhhh . . . . We have entered the joyous season of Temperaturverwirrung!

I work in a large, stone, federal building. Every year about this time we go through the same drill. Since autumn weather in DC is unpredictable and the people who operate the building aren't clarivoyant (and really, who is?), they don't know whether to turn on the heat or leave on the air conditioning. Their compromise is to leave the heat off until the dead of winter. This at least makes things easy on them.

For the rest of us, on cold autumn days like today, see the title of this post.

Outrage

I find this outrageous.

In the past three years, the Manassas City Council has received two applications for home-based massage therapy businesses, and members have approved both. Then Howard Daniel, who is gay, applied.

The backlash against Daniel's request began last month when nearly two dozen people, many of them members of a local church, spoke in opposition to it at a public hearing. When it came time for the city to decide on Daniel's application the next week, council members balked and voted instead to consider changing the city's zoning laws.

Keep in mind the following:

• The neighbors all approved the home business.
• The protestors don't live in the neighborhood.
• The guy is trying to run a legitimate business.
• The client load was below what other home businesses have.

You have a right not to like gays. That speaks to your character, of course, but that's your choice. But to go out of your way to harass them, to hurt their ability to make a living, to treat them differently for something that's none of your business is just plain wrong.

I do take some comfort in the many supportive comments posted after the article.

Literary Picks

Thought I'd mention two books I'm very excited about. last week I read Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation in one sitting. It's short, clearly written and in plain language spells out the danger of the current religious climate in America and the world. I highly recommend it, although I doubt it will change the mind of the deeply religious.

The second is The End by Lemony Snicket, the last in the 13 book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events. These are wonderful books full of humor, orphans, danger, eyebrows, peril and ankle tattoos. The End is out today and I'm looking forward to finishing it this weekend.

Interview with Richard Dawkins

Salon features an excellent interview with Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a very eloquent but plain-spoken advocate for science. He's often demonized by both the evangelicals and some scientists who would rather he not be so blunt, but his thought is clear and his arguments persuasive. Check it out.

Noah's Eyesore

Last Sunday I was driving through Western Maryland on my way back from Charleston, WV, when I saw this alongside the road.





This is, of course, Pastor Richard Greene's rebuilding of Noah's Ark in building form. I had heard about this project before and was happy to see it in person. Pastor Greene describes the project thusly, on his web site:

Night after night in April, May and June of 1974, Pastor Richard Greene had a vision in which he saw a large ark located on a hillside and people coming from all over the world to see it. Through this repeated vision, God told Pastor Greene to build his congregation’s new church as a replica of Noah’s Ark. The church was to be built as a sign to the world of God’s love and the soon return of Jesus!

Construction started in 1976 and after thirty years, this collection of poured cement and steel beams is the only result. There are many possibilities this suggests to the rational mind:

1. Pastor Greene is mistaken about his message from God
2. God doesn't love us all that much
3. Jesus will return maybe not so soon as we thought
4. God loves practical jokes
5. There is a god but Pastor Greene was delusional in April-June, 1974
6. There is no god and, thus, Pastor Greene was delusional in April-June, 1974

I'm sure there are more possibilities. I leave it to the reader to decide. In any event, as an example of American roadside kitsch, this is definitely an interesting one.

Duct Tape

Recently I've discovered something really odd. My twelve year old daughter loves duct-tape. She absolutely loves it. In addition to taping up everything she owns that's become even a bit ragged, she's actually created duct-tape clothing - hats, vests, even pants. Her Halloween costume is made of duct-tape.

Apparently, she's not the only one: Freakish Duct-Tape Products

I do recognize that duct-tape is an amazing product that's incredibly useful. But as a hip new fashion, I wasn't aware. So, I'm out of the duct-tape loop. Should I be concerned about this? Does this make me uncool?

I guess the biggest question is if wearing clothing made from heavy-duty adhesive tape is considered cool, do I even want to be cool?

Away for the Weekend

I'm heading out to Charcon in Charleston, WV, this weekend. If you're not familiar with modern boardgames, check out the link to Boardgamegeek in my Links list. It will be enlightening.

I'll be staying up until 4AM for the next couple of nights playing boardgames and loving every minute of it.

Reality Disconnect

Columbine Dad blames secularism for Amish School Massacre

"This country is in a moral free fall. For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum, expelling God from the school and from the government, replacing him with evolution, where the strong kill the weak, without moral consequences and life has no inherent value. We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion. Abortion has diminished the value of children."

I can't imagine what this guy went through with the loss of his son, but what a bizarre, twisted, inappropriate thing to say about a horrific massacre (by a home-schooled Christian, no less) in an Amish school house.

Those godless Amish with their frequent abortions, expelling God from their private schools! Will they ever learn?!?