Category: General

Richard Dawkins is quite an outspoken secular humanist who is driven in his goal of encouraging complacent religious persons to critically address (and reject) their religious beliefs. He argues that religious moderation gives credence to religious fundamentalism which is potentially dangerous as it is based on faith rather than reason.

The BBC interview above is concerned with his latest book “The God Delusion“. The book is clearly part of his campaign to inspire and spread atheism in what he sees as a disturbingly religious world. Earlier in his mission, he also wrote and presented a 2 part television documentary called “The Root of All Evil?“. (Videos are available on the linked wikipedia page or on Google Video here and here).

I find that Dawkins’ frustration is very tangible in all of these videos. His emotional investment in this issue is plainly exposed; something that appears to be very difficult for someone who comes off as rather reserved. He clearly doesn’t like dealing with people who are nonchalant in regards to widespread support of an illogical premise: faith.

Video found via VideoSift.

(I could only find the German version of the movie poster floating around the web.)

A few weeks ago, spinboy posted a link to the D.O.A. trailer and asked the question:

Perhaps the greatest movie ever?

We saw it the other day, and it didn’t take long for us to discover the answer: No.

More thoughts (and possible spoilers) after the jump.

Continue reading “D.O.A.: Dead or Alive”

This video shows a remote controlled plane with mounted camera that transmits to a video headset. Also, the camera orientation is controlled by the headset so the pilot can “look around” while flying the plane.

It’s great how the internet allows people to share the realisation of their dreams. Here’s a description of the video by the author:

One of my goal was to fly one day between trees and over beautifull landscape. No doubt now, my dream have come true.

More videos here via Reddit.

This is a followup to my previous post on the Australian government’s proposal that immigrants should have to undertake (amoung other things) a citizenship pledge in order to become Australians.

Call me a back-flipper if you want, but I’ve changed my mind. I believe that there should be a pledge because I’ve found the perfect candidate: Affirmation by Savage Garden.

It’s Australian. It was performed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It contains messages addressing all current social and health issues including obesity, equality, mental health, reconciliation, religious moderation, and financial security. Above all it carries an overriding message of peace and unity. Isn’t this exactly what we want for Australia?

Let’s imagine what would happen if the song is adopted. For a start, citizenship ceremonies would become a lot more fun. Imagine people from all backgrounds energetically singing and dancing along to the music of one of Australia’s greatest musical exports. This could help reinvigorate Savage Garden record sales and bolster the Australian music industry. If we’re lucky, the band might even decide to get back together. What a boon for the nation that would be!

Lyrics after the jump.

Continue reading “My suggestion for the Australian citizenship pledge”

The Australian federal government is proposing that, in order to become Australian citizens, immigrants should have to pass a number of Australian language and history tests and sign some sort of pledge to adopt Australian values. The reason given for this proposal is to improve national identity, but the implied reason is to also bolster national security.

The government believes that immigrants are refusing to assimilate into Australian society and forming their own insular groups. They are concerned that this behaviour results in immigrant communities that do not contribute or hold allegiance to Australia. In the worst case, they worry that such groups may present a danger when their beliefs constrast significantly with wider Australian society.

There are a number of a serious flaws in the logic behind the government’s proposal. Primarily, the government fails to differentiate between culture and ethics. Secondly, the proposal is necessarily divisive contrary to its purpose. Finally, full implementation of such a policy would be incredibly difficult as “Australian culture” is almost impossible to define.

Continue reading “Criticism of the Australian Government’s citizenship testing proposal”

I added a subpage for Took Be Gi to my Places to Eat guide. Hopefully, it’s the first of many (okay, at least a few) subpages with details for my favourite restuarants.

Took Be Gi was always going to be the first restaurant that I would create an individual page for. After all, it’s my absolute favourite place to eat in Perth! The staff are incredibly friendly and the food is excellent. The only shortcoming is that it’s very small, but they can acommodate larger groups (8-10) if you are willing to wait outside or come back later. If you do go and check out Took Be Gi (or if you have already been there), feel free to leave your thoughts on that page.

I’m trying to work out a standard format for the restaurant pages. In particular, I want to try to make it easy for people to find the restaurants. I’ve had a play around with the Google Maps API and I’m going to try to embed maps. I’ve also got to remember to take my camera when I go out to eat! Just having a photo of the sign outside the restaurant should make it much easier to find. 🙂

Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with the world. Perhaps that’s immature, but it drives me to try and change things. If I had to choose between adolescent angst and middle-aged detachment, I’d go with angst every time.

I guess this post is a sort of follow-up to “I feel like Sonic Attack!” and “I feel like Sonic Attack! (Part 2)” in that I just sat down, started sketching, and saw what came out. It’s art based on gross exaggeration of a transient feeling due to circumstances outside of my control.

But hey! I have a new bike now, and I feel like the long-term trend in human ethics is definitely pointing upwards.

The BBC is reporting that Richard Hammond, host of popular car program Top Gear and science program Brainiac, has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. I’m including an image since people who kind-of-know-who-he-is might recognise his face.

He was driving a “dragster-style car” at a former RAF airfield. After admission to hospital and initial treatment, his condition was reported as “stable”.

Update: A followup story on the BBC website includes diagrams of the scene. It also mentions “significant brain injury”, but also implies that he is (hopefully) going to make a good recovery.

Update: Looks like Hammond will be alright. The BBC is reporting that his recovery is “remarkable”. He’s anticipating a ribbing from his fellow Top Gear hosts.

Just watched Requiem for a Dream for the first time. Hadn’t heard anything about it. Didn’t know what it was about. I was very surprised.

One line summary after the jump (possible spoiler… but only marginally).

Continue reading “Requiem for a Dream”

I’ve just recieved my first pay from a new job and I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. Not as in “what should I blow it on?”. More as in “what do I feel I should use my money for in general?”.

In my cultural background there is a feeling that what you do with money you first receive (after not having money for a while) communicates who you are and dictates your future directions in both finances and life in general. So you should try to do something good with it. Although I don’t really believe in the spiritual side of this custom, I do think it is based on something of merit. What I spend this money on will communicate (to some degree) what I’m about; Not only to others, but also to myself. It could also provide a vague peek into my future (via reasonably deduction).

Here’s an example. Let’s say that I blow my first pay on video-games (something that only I benefit from). You could infer that at some level I may always be wanting for money (because I spend all that I have on “frivilous” things as soon as I get it). It also communicates that I’m a selfish git, and reflects poorly on me and my family (who presumeably raised me to be this way). Another example: Maybe I could save it, but does that mean I’ll end up miserly? Is it right to hold onto money in case of future hardship even though there are so many people who need it right now? Final example: Obviously going straight to the casino is a bad sign!

Anyhow, (long-story-short) I’ve pretty much decided to donate a reasonable amount of my first pay to various organisations, give some to my family, spend a bit on Heidi and myself, reinvest some into my business ventures, and then put the rest into a new bank account. (I’ll have to wait for my second pay day before buying those games…)

So what would you do with your first pay?