Flummoxed

The Salt Lake Tribune used the word "flummoxed" in one of their headlines today.

"Flummoxed" is a word that does not nearly get enough use.

I think all of you need to make a goal to use this word at least once in normal conversation by the end of the week.

I think Ben Stein has gone off the deep end.

In an interview with the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Ben Stein said the following amazing thing in an interview with Paul Crouch, Jr.

Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [i.e. biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.

Crouch: That’s right.

Stein: …Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.

Crouch: Good word, good word.

I'd pay good money to put him and Michael Moore in a room together and watch them go at it - although from a safe distance.

Attention blog friends: I will pay you $20 (or 120SEK) to come clean my bathroom.

Dave on the Beach

I just listened to all three hours of Philip Glass' opera Satyagraha three times in a row.

Any of you who are familiar with Philip Glass know that it's pretty much the same four measure theme repeated for 10 minutes straight, then replaced with another similar theme which is repeated for 10 minutes straight.

Despite this, I find his music fascinating, and this opera is no exception. Especially the first two sections of the first act.

I wish I had known about the Metropolitan Opera performing it this week - I would have gone out to see it.

Oddly enough, I'm not really much of an opera person. Go figure.

Next up is to tackle the two operas that bookend this one ... Einstein on the Beach and Akhnaten.

No Intelligence Allowed

So Ben Stein's new movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" comes out tonight.

I haven't decided if I'll see it or not.

From what I've read online and talking to a few people who have seen screenings of it, it sounds like this is like the Michael Moore for the opposite end of the political spectrum: occasional facts with lots of careful editing to prove a point. I suspect some people will end up worshiping Ben Stein just as some people seem to worship Michael Moore, but fortunately the rest of the population is intelligent enough to see both as pure schlock. At least I hope they're intelligent enough - sometimes I have my doubts.

Perhaps it will be worth a rental. But only after it's moved out of the New Releases section.

Time to be chatty again?

It occurred to me that I've only been posting once or twice a month for, well, quite a while.

When I was blogging a few years ago, you would often get one or two posts from me a day, and at least several a week. I've been slacking, what can I say?

But now that some people are actually reading my blog, I think I'll start posting more often again.

For some reason, I haven't used my camera in four months. The urge to use it has been hitting me again. I want to take some pictures tonight, but there were two caveats: 1) I didn't want to put on pants, and 2) I didn't even want to get out of the chair I was sitting in. That limited my options quite a bit, so I settled on these horribly misnamed wintergreen lozenges that only AARP members and I seem to like.

Third

The new Portishead album is quite different from their previous stuff. Yet at the same time, it's unmistakably Portishead. Overall the sound is more empty, industrial and futile sounding than their previous work.

Unlike the first two albums, Third doesn't open strongly. Both Cowboys and Mysterions are immediately hummable and catchy. But Silence doesn't have a hook, or really even a clear sense of direction. The vocals don't even enter until you're over two minutes into the song.

Actually I'm too sleepy to type the rest of my thoughts on this, so I will just say that my favorite songs are Hunter, Plastic, and We Carry On. A friend also says that We Carry On is the strongest track on the album so far, so give that one a shot first.

Rotten Ronnies

I've never been much of a fan of McDonalds and rarely eat there. In fact, I only eat there when my coworkers are going there and I'm dying of hunger.

However, now that the American Family Association is suggesting a McDonalds boycott (it's not official yet), I may have to find myself visiting there more often!

"McDonald's ... has given a significant amount of money, I might mention, to become a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce," Wildmon explains. "Among the many other things that the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce promotes is hate crimes [legislation], the ENDA [Employment Non-Discrimination Act]. [T]hey're dedicated to pushing the homosexual agenda."

The best, however, are the comments at the end of the article.

"So McDonalds decided to turn against what made them - FAMILIES with CHILDREN. Now they choose to support those we refuse to allow around our children so I say shut them down with no business. Let the homos take their children there, oh wait they cannot do that as they CANNOT have children so they try to steal and brainwash ours. McDonald may want to talk to Ford but in the meantime I will be the first to call my local McDonalds and let them know they will lose just like all other perversion supporters."

The one day I wish somebody would just come over and lounge with me and cheer me up seems to be the one day nobody wants to.

The last week has left me physically and emotionally exhausted. Driving 50 miles each way to spend the night with my grandmother so she doesn't have to be in her place alone. Helping her with routine tasks like dialing a phone or pouring some milk. Going through pictures, cards and other memories that have accumulated over the last 83 years. Seeing my grandmother and my father's pain as they give their final farewells.

Somebody come hold me.

Things I do not like.

I woke at 4 this morning to my father calling me. My grandfather had been hospitalized, and the doctors gave him an hour to live.

I quickly hopped out of bed and got dressed and made my way down to Provo with my father and his wife. Unfortunately it was too late - he had passed of heart failure just a few minutes after the phone call.

Today I've been helping the family get their affairs in order. My grandmother is nearly blind, so I've been helping her make the phone calls she needs to make. It hasn't been easy having to hear her repeat the same story over and over to every person - how my grandfather woke her up in a panic because he couldn't breath, how the ambulances came, etc.

Of course, hearing it over and over probably isn't as bad as having to tell it over and over.

I've never had anybody close to me die until today. I don't think I like it much.