the blending continues…
What, exactly, is the difference between the two parties, again? I seem to have forgotten…
Oh, right…
Pander on, you scumbags. Pander on!!!
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION TO HIGHLIGHT DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF FAITH LEADERS WORKING TOWARD COMMON GOOD
First-Ever Faith Caucus Meetings to be Held at Democratic Convention
Invocators and Benedictors to Include Pastor Joel Hunter, Rabbi David Saperstein, Sister Catherine Pinkerton, Reverend Cynthia Hale, Archbishop Demetrios, Cameron Strang
Plus Coloradans Polly Baca of Greeley, CO, Reverends Kang of Aurora, CO
Interfaith Gathering to Open Convention Week on Sunday, Aug. 24th, featuring Local Clergy Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali, Rabbi Steve Foster, Reverend Lucia Guzman, University of Colorado Student Kathryn Ida
DENVER - In keeping with Barack Obama’s personal commitment and the commitment of the Democratic Party to put faith in action, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) and the Obama for America campaign today announced that the 2008 Democratic National Convention will recognize the tireless efforts of those in the faith community working toward the common good.
“Senator Obama is a committed Christian, and he believes that people of all faiths have an important place in American life,” said Joshua Dubois, Obama For America Director of Religious Affairs. “He’s proud to work with the Democratic National Convention Committee on a Convention that fully engages people of faith in dialogue, celebration and prayer. We are honored that so many religious leaders are reaching across partisan and ideological lines in this Convention to address the values that matter to Americans.”
“Democrats have been, are and will continue to be people of faith - and this Convention will demonstrate that in an unprecedented way,” said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. “As Convention CEO and a pastor myself, I am incredibly proud that so many esteemed leaders from the faith community will be with us to celebrate this historic occasion and honor the diverse faith traditions inside the Democratic Party.”
Each night of the Convention, the official program will begin with an invocation and end with a benediction delivered by a national faith leader or an individual who is active in their local faith community. Among the group selected to deliver these opening and closing prayers are a Republican pastor of a leading Evangelical church in central Florida, a major young Evangelical leader, a nun from a diocese in Cleveland and a Methodist couple, both ordained ministers from Arvada, CO.
National leaders from a range of denominations will host the Convention’s first-ever Faith Caucus meetings during the week where they will discuss bringing people of faith together to address some of the most pressing issues of our time.
On Tuesday, August 26, the Faith Caucus will hold two panel discussions - “Common Ground on Common Good,” an opportunity to discuss finding common ground on the moral issues of the day, and “Faith in 2009: How an Obama Administration will Engage People of Faith.” On Thursday, August 28, the Caucus will convene for “Moral Values Issues Abroad,” a panel on how the faith community can work together to address pressing moral issues around the world, and “Getting Out the Faith Vote,” a session on how to appropriately engage communities of faith in the 2008 election.
In addition, a first-ever Democratic National Convention interfaith gathering will kick off the week, bringing delegates, elected officials, local residents, musical guests and spiritual leaders from many communities of faith together for a unique gathering. In addition to keynote remarks, the program will include readings from diverse religious texts, prayers and musical selections.
I quit… no, really..
After a bit of discussion, I signed on to play a sadistic plastic surgeon in this movie:
http://thegolfmovie.com/
It should be very fun. An old friend, Drew Rosenberg, is directing and I get to write off all my trips to the driving range and such. Yep, my golf will keep children from getting medicine! Yay!
Speaking of sports… I really hate sports. Following a team… thinking they give a fuck about you… Fighting with people because of bullshit. And… soccer riots. Hockey riots. Basketball riots. Football riots. Really dumb.
But, I sure like playing tennis.
I played back in the high school. Tournaments, “the team”, all of that. I haven’t played, more than a couple of times, since 1980. That’s why I decided to join the Los Angeles city league and begin playing matches against people who do play all the time.
About a month ago, the first time I hit a ball with another person was, literally, my first match. And, since I’ve spent most of the year in a blue funk, I’ve um… put on some weight and was out of shape. So, the first two matches I played, I was remembering how to play and I was winded and in pain, so I forfeited the matches. Then, I played someone else when I was sick and forfeited that one, too.
And it brought back all of the stuff I used to go through in my head about winning and losing and hurting someone’s feelings… really nuts. But I was finally able to let all of that crap go and won two matches last week.
It’s pretty cool. My body is staging a bit of a mutiny. At least my right knee, wrist and elbow. Ice is my friend.
Yeah, playing bass, web programming and tennis. It’s good for the tendons. Oh yeah.
Voice activated computing is going to come along at just about the right time, me thinks.
Speaking of voice. The bride and I got the jesusphone.
Pretty damned cool. Yep.
ONEOFUS!
Close Minded Skeptics
There is a science message board that doesn’t allow any input from people who disagree. They feel that it’s important that no dissenting views be heard because science can’t take any investigation.
Oh, wait… I’m completely mistaken.
If you want to kill your robot, take a trip over to http://www.wiki4cam.org/ and see how open minded the folks who run the “Alternative Medicine” wiki are.
And I quote:
Everything that does not fall into the realm of modern medicine has been labeled as pseudo-scientific or unscientific at Wiikipedia.
Um… yeah.. Exactly. If it’s not science. If it can’t be tested or falsified, it’s not science. It’s not medicine.
What had happened, apparently, was that anyone posting about Alternative Medicine on wikipedia was getting pestered by others posting facts, studies and results, showing how those subjects were pseudoscience. Instead of learning, they decided to do what any fringe group does, cry “establishment interference!!!” and start a wiki that didn’t allow input from skeptics. No examination.
Imagine if a drug company began their own wiki and removed any dissent. People would go nuts and riot in the streets. (I exaggerate to clarify)
Being the passive/aggressive person I am wont to be, I created an account and posted an article about “Tree Therapy” which we all know is great for dealing with Dandruff, among other things.
Yep, you don’t invite me to your pool party, I will hop the fence and pee in it when you’re not looking.
Here’s the link http://wiki4cam.org/wiki/Tree_Therapy.
Feel free to update and make changes. I’m sure they’ll take it down…
Silence the truth about TREE THERAPY!!!
Here’s the article:
Tree Therapy
Template:Tl
Contents [hide]
1 Tree Therapy
2 The Early Experiment - Norway
3 More Studies - Paris
4 More Studies - Weehauken
5 Tree Therapy - MethodTree Therapy
Tree Therapy is based on the findings by Hanneman follower, DVM. Sarno Falluga of India, stating that repeated encounters with specific types of trees, namely Oak, Pine, Fir & Bissel, show curative qualities not found in allopathic treatments of such complaints as: dandruff, depression, fatigue, colon warts, athlete’s foot & the grippe.
Early tests, conducted at Falluga’s office in Bombay, 1953, had three patients, “A”, “B” & “3″, returning time and time again to the doctor’s home-based facility seeking a remedies for, in this study’s case, dandruff.
Falluga’s training in World War II with the 34th infantry, took him to Norway, where he found his own skin conditions clearing up after spending three weeks camping on maneuvers in a forest with fellow corporal, famed Norwegian Raquetball Champion, Skaalen Flaksgaang. Having come from a long line of dandruff sufferers, Falluga immediately began requesting test subjects in the Norwegian daily “De Kaaken”.
His superiors were skeptical of the claims made by Falluga (and now Flaksgaang, as well) and did everything they could to stop his important experiments. Some have pointed to the obvious connection of Commander Westmoreland’s connection with the Richard Johnson, (of the Johnson & Johnson family who would later go on to market dandruff “cures” such as “Head & Shoulders” and “Cruex”.) as the reason for the seeming blockade on his upcoming tests. Undaunted, Falluga now had over 7 subjects on which to test his treatment.
The Early Experiment - Norway
Flaaksgaang & Falluga (F&F) travelled by burro through deep snow to the darkest woods of Norway in early 1954 with their 7 test subjects. Placing 2 subjects at distances of 2, 4 and 20 feet from trees, F&F were hoping to establish a TDM or “tree distance matrix” for the cure.
Unfortunately, one of the 20ft subjects left in the night, complaining of the cold, so Falluga joined the remaining subject, Anneka Juilius, in the tent for the next week of the study. (see biography regarding first child)As predicted, the subjects closest to the tree who had dandruff (1) (One) had dandruff no longer. The two subjects who were 4 (four) feet away from a tree had some positive results and the two subjects at 20 feet, Falluga himself and former Miss Norway, Anneka asked for another week in the tent.
After the week ended, neither of them had dandruff. Skeptics charge that the extra week has some relevance in this outcome but the negative energy is unwelcome and besides the point. In a letter to his father in India, Falluga had written that his dandruff had cleared up after only ONE DAY (1 DAY!) in the tent.
More Studies - Paris
Anneka’s father flew her by private helicopter, April 1953, to Paris.
Falluga followed, needing to conduct further tests with Anneka.More Studies - Weehauken
Anneka was taken to Weehauken, New Jersey, USA in the middle of the night.
Two days later, Falluga, borrowing the money from Flaaksgaang, went AWOL and found himself in Weehauken, New Jersey, USA.Less than one month before the birth of their first (of eight) child, Falluga patented his Tree Therapy with the U.S. Patent Office, patent: #1009849938-b99
Tree Therapy - Method
The medical establishment in addition to the CAM establishment were not welcoming to Falluga’s treatment, so much was not known about the methodology until the middle of last year when his grandson, Dag, published his first children’s book “Norway is for Fun!” and outlined the therapy in an article for the “Burbank Naturalist”.
Here are the steps outlined in Dag’s treatise:
1. Wash hair throughly in a tincture of honey, water, baking soda & honeywater.
2. Stand with back to tree, breathe in the beauty of nature.
3. Raise arms to “creator”, palms upward.
4. Take 4-15 steps from tree, feeling the connection and spirit inside. (if connection feels broken, start from step 3, not 2).
5. When directed to by inner voice (or fence) stop, turn and face the tree and sit cross legged.
6. If a tent is available have it pitched.
7. Wash hair with warm apple cider vinegar
8. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.Dandruff = None.
wheat wheat wheat wheat
We want to be a part of something, a tribe, a pack, a family. Church used to be a good place for that but fortunately for all of us, fewer people are going to church. The problem is that church and religion are being replaced with stuff that can be more dangerous. Bad science and bad information.
Man, I miss the good old days when religion dealt with invisible bullhockey instead of tangible bullhockey. It was so much safer then. (Within my lifetime, that is… The crusades and Spanish Inquisition seem like it was a pretty unsafe period.)
Food Allergies, specifically WHEAT, seem to be a growing religion.
Like the environmental religion, food allergies have some connection to reality. There are people who are truly allergic to wheat. The gluten in wheat is what the unfortunates who suffer from Celiac disease are allergic to. Take a couple bites of bread, pizza, etc., and there is a possibility that you die. It’s a serious allergy.
“Crap-Based Medicine” (thank you, Dr. Steven Novella) preys upon people who “don’t feel good”, as it’s such a wonderfully subjective complaint. Wonderfully subjective complaints are best treated with wonderfully subjective cures.
First off, a “wheat allergy” can be responsible for weight gain!!! Cutting out wheat will help you lose weight. No, really? Here’s the thing: Simply focusing on what you eat is an important part of losing weight; keeping a written record of your diet is one of the first things an evidence-based dietician or doctor will suggest you do to lose weight. The success of many diets like Atkins, is that you are removing something from your diet. If you can’t eat carbs, you can’t grab a muffin at 7-11 after work… you’re eating fewer calories. Remove wheat, you remove A LOT of calorie-opportunities from your life. If anyone removes wheat from their diet, they’ll lose weight. (Does that mean that we are all allergic to wheat? Google “wheat allergy” and you’ll find a couple of folks who actually believe that to be true.)
Thanks to the placebo effect, if you’re “not feeling well” and you’re told by someone you respect that x will help, you will most likely feel better. The wheat allergy diagnosis is also accompanied with the “Big Bad Food” and “Big Bad Chemical” arguments with a bit of conspiracy thrown in: The food companies sell you things that most people can’t “process naturally”, mainly bread. Plus we all know about those chemicals they indiscriminately pump in to our food so if you remove wheat from your diet, you will feel better.
By cutting out wheat you:
- are doing something
- have a special diet
- are standing up to something larger than yourself
- are beating “them”
- are no longer part of the crowd
each one of these have a religious analog… david/goliath, chosen one, dietary restriction, etc. You’ll also be exposed to literature you’ve never been aware of before… you’ll have a “good book”.
It’s been said over and over, so I will join the club and say that with all of the information out there, it’s really important to be able to tell the good information from the bad information… the, er, wheat from the chaff, as it were.
The genius writer, Eddie Gorodetsky, coined the phrase “comedy-like in nature”. He’s talking about something that has the look and feel of comedy; it sounds or looks funny but isn’t. (Hello, redundant!) Sitting around and repeating the catch-phrases from Saturday Night Live is “comedy-like in nature”. You’re not doing the work, you don’t have to even understand what is funny, you only have the appearance and the result of the work.
Saying you have a food allergy is science-like in nature. It sounds like science. It sounds like you know what in the heck you’re talking about but you might as well just say “Quantum” or “E equals M-C Squared!”. And, with so much science around us, we want to feel like we know what the hell is going on. But science is difficult and boring. A control group isn’t exciting won’t get you the attention at a restaurant that a food allergy will.
I think that if you want to be a part of a special club, actually joining a special club is the way to go. A softball team is so much better than a club who spreads bullhockey.
Nigerian Spam Scam Scam Review - Reno, NV
A really great review from the Reno show. Not just because it’s a good review, but he also writes about a couple of the important ideas. (important in terms of the show… not in terms of the real world)
BY FORREST HARTMAN • FORREST @ RGJ.COM • JULY 31, 2008
Nearly everyone has received one: An e-mail from a supposed Nigerian, desperate for assistance from an American who will help retrieve millions of dollars from the Nigerian government. Usually, the e-mailer promises a huge sum to the kind soul who provides a few thousand dollars for bribes or other incidental expenses.
Most people recognize the scam and delete the message immediately, but there are those who respond. Dean Cameron, architect of “The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam” theatrical production, says the results can be disastrous. In some cases, Cameron noted during his Tuesday night Artown show, Nigerian scammers have kidnapped and killed Americans. So, he didn’t feel at all bad for striking up a long-running correspondence with a scammer and turning it into an extremely funny show.
In presentation, “Spam Scam Scam” is simple. Cameron and his costar, Victor Isaac, stand behind podiums. Each has a laptop, and they do the production reader’s theater style, illustrating points with graphics displayed on a large screen between them. Sometimes, Cameron even pauses to play recordings of actual phone conversations.This is theater for the electronic age, with computers and digital photos key to both the show’s presentation and concept. The technology does not, however, make things sterile or cold. Cameron’s personality is infectious, and his sharp sense of humor is everywhere.
“Spam Scam Scam” starts lecture-style, with Cameron talking in brief generalities about Nigerian scams. Then, just when it seems he will deliver a PowerPoint lecture, he slips on a red satin smoking jacket and takes on the affectations of a very different Dean Cameron. This version lives in Florida, is more than a little off balance and was able to pique his scammer’s interest with one simple line.
“Great! Do you have any toast?”What follows is snippets of Cameron’s correspondence with his Nigerian pal, carefully edited to keep things moving. Cameron reads his portion of the e-mail with a nasally voice and zest, and on the opposite end of the stage, Isaac handles the responses. While it’s likely that one man wrote all of the e-mails to Cameron, they supposedly came from multiple people, so Isaac creates distinct characters for each. And he is great.
Even better than the performances, is the material itself, all culled from the most unlikely conversations you can imagine. Cameron repeatedly prodded his would-be conman with purposeful typos and ridiculous misunderstandings, including references to the Western Onion wire service, a request to know which city he should visit in Amsterdam and the following jewel, written in response to a request to ship money via DHL.
“Who is DHL? Is that a hockey league. There is a minor league hockey team in Miami, but I don’t think they are Nigerian.”
Folks who want to read more of the correspondence, can do so at Cameron’s Web site — www.spamscamscam.com — but that’s not as much fun as watching Cameron and Isaac deliver the lines live.
If this show ever makes it back to Reno, theater lovers will do well to attend.
Pretty nifty, eh? I like the good reviews. Especially when they’ve actually been watching and listening!
Yay!!!