The evolution equalizer

I'm tossing this idea around, but it seems to me that the Darwinian survival of the fittest is countered by technology and authentic justice. Technology can compensate for the lack of fit and the justice compels that that teachnological compensation be made available to those "not fit."

So with this, I am happy to announce that human evolution is over. Thank you.

Kill'em in the name of the Lord

Pat Robertson calls for the assasination of Chavez

“You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,” Robertson said. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”

Something about the love of Christ that oozes from high profile conservative Christians and Catholics.

I got encountered

Okay, so I went on Marriage Encounter this last weekend. It was deep in the hills of West Virginia, the woods were dark and inviting, the crickets chirped incessantly, and we talked about feelings all weekend.

I will say that it is much better than Engaged Encounter which was so demeaning and cheesey, I was sick. I thought we were treated as adults here which was good. Overall, very good experience, much recommended. Being the cynic that I am and as allergic to cheesiness as I am, I found much to commend in the weekend. Anytime, you get to focus on marriage is a good thing.

One of my most memorable moments was watching a huge cricket caught in a spider's web. It was great, I'm talking National Geographic stuff. The cricket, huge, huge cricket, thrashed and thrashed to no avail. The spider, a furry brown nasty looking thing, scuttled around the web strengthening the web and then in a quick north-south scuttle it stung the cricket. It took almost two hours for the thrashing to stop and then dinner, for the spider, that is.

The next day another huge, huge, huge, fly looking bug (twice the size of a bumble bee-what on earth are they breeding in West Virginia?) got caught in the same web, but the spider was no were to be found. It had either fallen, or was just plain full. So that wasn't quite as exciting.

Oh, and the weekend was great. I guess with Marriage Encounter, you can find one in your particular faith tradition, so it is very adaptable. The key to ME is to help you focus and discuss feelings. It doesn't actually give tools for problem solving, but that's okay. Talking and communicating is half the battle. So, cool.

In the meantime, I am clueless as to what's going on in the world. So, time to catch up.

What's With High-Profile

conservative Catholics, hyocrisy and affairs?

It's Msgr Eugene Clark

Via Welborn's site.

I've seen him quite a bit on EWTN and am not a fan. But then again, I'm not a fan of anyone on EWTN. Hypocrsy aside, I suppose the lesson stands, don't presume to be all-holy, it is not difficult to fall.

What a Pickle isn't

I'm ashamed to say that I did not know that pickle was not a fruit, so to speak. I think somehow I assumed there was such a think as a pickle plant, I guess. In course of conversation with my wife, the truth became clear to me, a pickle is pickled cucumber.

I am now wiser than I was yesterday. Eating pickles will never be the same again.

Peter Jennings RIP

Peter Jennings Dead at 67

This is one of those "like wow!" news items. I don't know that I felt anything special for the guy, but you just don't realize how much a part of your life these anchors are.

May he rest in peace.

Definitely Not The Year's Best Science Fiction

I'm reading a book called The Year's Best Science Fiction: 21st Annual Collection. It appears to be an anthology of science fiction put out each year. I was attracted to it because I like to read smaller name and more obscure authors. Something about reading small potatoes authors, I suppose like myself, seems more raw and real to me.

Anyway, so far, I am not at all even close to being impressed. The first story was not very good. It goes on and on and on and it takes 25 pages to even figure out what is going on. It is overly stylized, i.e., the author seems to be trying to be cool. There are way too many hard core-sci fi references, which may be interesting to hard core sci fi enthusiasts, they bog down the story and frequently snap you out of the reading flow. You feel like the author is really trying make a point about his tastes.

I read about 20-30 pages of the first story and abandoned it. I finally figured out what was going on but I had absolutely no interest in seeing how it ends. The second story seems a touch promising, so we'll see.