"Tyrant"

The Smart Man and I have been watching the new FX series Tyrant. We think it's pretty good, full of politics, people behaving badly, and moral ambiguities. However I've been hearing criticisms of the show, mostly surrounding the idea that it's racist, and depicts Middle Eastern cultures negatively. And to that I say: Shut the fuck up.

Seriously?


Are they seriously going to suggest that entitled Middle Eastern men never rape lower status women with impunity?

Are they seriously trying to imply that Middle Eastern Regimes don't have a history of oppressive dictatorships and murdering their citizens?

Are these critics trying to say that members of the LGBT community aren't persecuted in Middle Eastern countries?

Are they seriously trying to say that the events depicted in Tyrant don't happen on a regular basis in that region of the world?

Bitch, please.

It's not like the American entertainment industry lets America off the hook, either. Consider The Wire, or Syriana, or House of Cards, or any number of other shows that expose the seediest parts of American society (can you say "Reality TV," or perhaps "Media coverage of the latest school shooting?").

The Wire showed an important aspect of American urban life, just as Tyrant shows an important aspect of Middle Eastern life in unstable or oppressive regimes. The stories of the former do not imply that every black man in America is a drug dealer, a murderer, a thief or an addict. Just as the stories of the latter don't imply every man in the Middle East is some sort of animal who can't wait to savage women and shoot boys in the street. Get some perspective, people.

Not-So-Legendary

I have to say - it drives me crazy when people say this person or that accomplishment is LEGENDARY.

Legendary. Really? Some overpaid high school graduate runs around a basketball court throwing a ball into a little hoop and he's legendary?

I don't think so.

Jonas Salk was legendary. Stephen Hawking is legendary. William Shakespeare was legendary. LeBron James? Not-so-legendary.

Which is not to say that sports figures can't achieve that status. But in my mind, their athletic prowess on its own isn't enough to grant them such accolades.

In order for someone to be considered legendary, I think they have to accomplish one of two things: Either fundamentally change the way we look at the world, or fundamentally change the way we live in the world. So while there is no question that Mr. James is an extremely gifted athlete who works his butt off to achieve a truly impressive skill set, he's not legendary. Jackie Robinson - he was legendary. Muhammad Ali - again, legendary. In my opinion, Mr. James just doesn't make the cut.


Who do you admire that fundamentally changed the way we look at the world, or fundamentally changed the way we live in the world?

Matters of Fact versus Matters of Belief

I read an article the other day in the New Scientist, called "Living in Denial: Why Sensible People Deny the Truth." The author makes some excellent points regarding how denialism is the most natural thing in the world for humanity, and actually looking at the world with a critical frame of mind requires work, and lots of it. The basic hypothesis was that people deny the findings of science because to accept them would relinquish a level of control that makes them uncomfortable.

An extremely thought-provoking article, and I recommend it.

And I was thinking about it the other night while lying awake with no hope of recapturing sleep, and this quote from Pat Moynihan came to mind:

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

I realize I have a low tolerance for the woo and denialism - faith healing, homeopathy, dowsing, young earth creationism, climate science denialism, chiropractic - all of it drives me up the wall, because from my point of view, it seems so very ignorant. Willfully ignorant, in fact. And yet, people who choose to live their lives based on faith don't bother me. People who choose to believe in psychic phenomena don't bother me. I don't agree with their point of view - but they don't bother me.

What bothers me is when people attempt to confuse issues of belief with issues of fact. Issues of fact are those that can be settled by the scientific method. Issues of belief are those that can't. Seems simple enough, but I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who confuse this very simple rule of thumb in preference for what they FEEL. Here are some examples:

FACT: Vaccines do not cause autism. We know this is a fact because numerous scientific studies have proven it to be so.

BELIEF: Vaccines cause autism. We know this is a belief because when the evidence is presented, it consists of "mommy instinct" and logical fallacy, which does not meet the litmus test for the scientific method.

FACT: Evolution, or something very much like it, is the mechanism by which life developed on this planet. We know this is a fact because research and experimentation has proven it to be so.

BELIEF: Creationism, or Intelligent Design, or God Did It, is the mechanism by which life developed on this planet. We know this is belief because the hypothesis is based on religious dogma, which is by definition unfalsifiable. The scientific method does not support the hypothesis.

Conversely, I believe science and rationalism should keep its nose out of metaphysical hypotheses that cannot be falsified. I have no issue with the study of religion, and although I don't share the viewpoint of people of faith, I see value in learning about it. Like so:

BELIEF: God is real, and cares about each and every one of us.

FACT: There is no fact - the hypothesis is unfalsifiable, and as long as those who believe the hypothesis do not try to confuse their belief with FACT, there is no problem.

So what gets my goat about manufactured controversies such as vaccines or evolution is the deniers' predilection for attempting to confuse their BELIEF with FACT, and getting everyone else to do the same. The facts of a hypothesis have no correlation to a specific individual's (or group of individuals') emotional investment in the outcome - reality is king. If your point of view is so all-fired defensible, the logical shenanigans used by the anti-vaxers and the Intelligent Design crowd aren't necessary. Simply defend your position using the tools of the scientific method, and let the best hypotheses win.

I once had a devout friend ask me if I would change my mind about evolution and a creator God if I was confronted with irrefutable evidence that was contrary to the accepted scientific point of view. My response? "Of course." That's science, and to quote XKCD, it works, bitches.

Happy Birthday, Sesame Street

I love Sesame Street. When it first came out forty years ago, I was just the perfect age to get the most possible benefit out of it, and mine was the first generation to grow up on Burt and Ernie, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the Grouch.

I love the fact that everyone who's anyone has guested on the show, and used their individual talents to help educate kids on such important concepts as the alphabet, counting, the value of diversity and basic good manners.

I'm having a terrible time selecting a video for this birthday celebration, as there are just so many I love - the"C is for Cookie" song, the celebrity alphabet song, Patrick Stewart's "B or not a B" soliloquy, plus that perennial favorite, the Rubber Ducky song. But I'm going to have to go with Patti LaBelle's soulful alphabet song, just because watching Patti makes me happy, and watching Patti with the Muppets makes my heart sing. I'm also including the classic "Rebel L," just because I can't watch it without singing along. "I'm just a Rebel L, singing LALALA!"

Happy Birthday, Sesame Street. You guys ROCK.

Because I'm Twelve

Remember when I said I probably wouldn't have as much time to think up content as I used to due to the commitments of my new job? Yeah, today I'm calling in that chip.

I love the show "Glee." I love the stories, I love the music. I realize that makes me resemble a twelve year old girl, and you know what? I don't care. The show is charming and sweet, and I have a soft spot for choral music that this show touches.

This clip is from episode 4, where the high school football team, who couldn't win if their opponents were from an old folks home, decide to try a more unorthodox approach. Their new kicker is a young gay man from the Glee Club who has had trouble telling his father about his sexuality, and uses the music of Beyonce to help him achieve a spot on the team. Because he's successful, he convinces the rest of the team to give it a whirl, too.

Buzz Aldrin - Gangsta'

Buzz Aldrin just released his very first rap song, called "Rocket Experience." He cracks me up - what a good sport, and he's probably the only rapper you will ever see here at HCDSM.

“I’m not too good at carrying a tune, but I do have rhythm,” says Aldrin, who got the idea from a family member who felt the genre would have a broad reach. Aldrin’s ShareSpace Foundation, which promotes science and exploration, is one of three beneficiaries of the song’s iTunes sales. “I want kids interested in space. It’s their future”….[Aldrin] says rapping with Snoop Dogg proved almost as daunting as space. “Snoop had this great hand language going as he sang, which was hard for me,” Aldrin says. “But when it comes to getting people’s attention, comedy goes a long way.”

The first is the official video, the second is the "making of" with Snoop Dog and Soulja Boy.

Buzz Aldrin's Rocket Experience from Buzz Aldrin

Making of Buzz Aldrin's Rocket Experience w/ Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli from Buzz Aldrin

Go, Buzz!

Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino is one sick motherfucker, and I'm glad he's working out his deep seated mental issues on film instead of going on a killing spree.

Brad Pitt nails the deep southern accent and was actually quite funny (instead of annoying) in this movie.

Christoph Waltz kind of steals the show, and I spent a lot of the time watching him wishing I could punch his character in the throat. But I like Aldo's solution better.

I wonder how many illiterate SOB's will actually think the end of the war was accomplished by a group of sadistic Jewish misfits called "The Basterds" as a result of this film?

Areer-va-deer-chi!

Overtaken

I have been overtaken by the Ebola today, so instead of actual content, you get something I saw on my flight from Phoenix on Frontier Airlines. I can't embed, but if you're a sucker for a bass (as I am), and enjoy a good cry (as I do), click through and enjoy.

Lawrence Beaman sings "Old Man River" on America's Got Talent.

HAHAHAHAHA

In light of my entry yesterday on the unholy partnership of Oprah and Jenny McCarthy, here's an offering from The Amateur Scientist that I just LOVE.




H/T to Skepchick

The Abandonment of Guilty Pleasures

I have a confession to make. I've watched Oprah on and off for over 20 years. It was my guilty pleasure.

Oprah has been on my DVR for many years - I watched her show while using the Evil Machine of Torture. On the occasions when she decided to be a purveyor of woo (The Secret) or the interviewer of the sordid (Ted Haggard), I simply skipped the episode and moved on. Overall, there were enough shows that interested me that I continued to watch.

I will now pause so the gallery can shame me with their ridicule. Ridicule which, it turns out, I absolutely deserve.

Because recently Oprah decided to form a "partnership" with that freeze-dried wackaloon Jenny McCarthy, and that's pushed me over the edge and brought me to my senses. I'm way over the edge on this one.

You all know I think Jenny McCarthy is anti-science, anti-evidence, anti-health, anti-children and quite possibly the stupidest celebrity on the planet. Her anti-vaccination hoopla presents a public-health threat unrivaled in this century, and the fact that she seems perfectly okay with kids dying from preventable disease so long as her pet theory (i.e., vaccines cause autism) isn't challenged by science and reality makes her incredibly immoral, as well. On a good day, I want to smack her in the face with the Shovel of Doom™. On a bad day...well, let's not go there.

So Oprah's decision to partner up with this skanky dumbass really sticks in my craw. I tend not to care too much about what I consider to be "harmless" woo like past life experiences, ESP, and other supernatural claims that cannot be verified by empirical evidence and the scientific method. But this woman is encouraging behavior that kills children. And Oprah is giving her a platform for her crap, a platform that reaches millions of people who may just take Jenny McCarthy and her anti-science bullshit seriously.

This is not okay, Oprah. It's irresponsible, and it's hypocritical. You claim to care deeply about kids, and yet you allow this complete crackpot to use your production company as a jumping off point for her anti-children ideas - ideas that have soundly and repeatedly debunked by science.

You've lost me, Oprah. Forever and for good, because this is simply unforgivable. I said it in email, and I'm saying it here. Queen of daytime T.V., my ass. Queen of crap-based medicine, more like.

Star Wars Fans - Bitter Betties, or Effin' Funny?

H/T to Joe Albietz.

We've Made Up - Over the Swine Flu!

Bill Maher and I have been on the outs since he disappointed me by indulging in bad behavior as it relates to the movie Religulous. My opinion was that turning yourself into a big liar, liar, pants on fire in order to trick people of faith into participating on your film was wrong, and poor Bill was duly struck from my celebrity boyfriend list.

However, like a good girl who can't lay off the bad boys, I've reinstated Bill to my celebrity boyfriend list, and here's why: Swine Flu.

Bill did a segment on Swine Flu and science deniers that made my heart sing and my lips curl in uncontrollable tee hees.

You're back, Bill. You have redeemed yourself in my eyes, and my celebrity seraglio is now open to you once again. But don't let me catch you being a big, fat liar again, you hear?

Animusic - So Cool

I'm not usually a huge fan of animation, but this deserves some admiration.


H/T to my Hot Mom.

Sesame Street Rocks the House

I'm a busy human today, working on a short fuse project. So in my absence, enjoy this "who's who" of Sesame Street cameo's from that classic, "Put Down the Duckie."

The Stupidest Movie Evah

So yesterday the Smart Man and I were watching Liam Neeson kick some serious ass at our local theater. Hmm...Liam Neeson.

But I digress. This post isn't about Liam Neeson, in spite of his long-term presence on my celebrity boyfriend list. This is about what is quite possibly the Stupidest Movie Evah.

The Smart Man and I were treated to the previews of a movie called Crank 2: High Voltage, starring Jason Statham (rowr) and GFY favorite Bai Ling.

The premise is that Jason Statham's character, Chev Chelios, has his heart "stolen" from his chest and replaced with an artificial construct. The bad guy wants Chev's heart because it's nearly indestructible, presumably due to the poisoning it endured in that cinematic triumph, Crank.

The catch in this story is that the artificial heart must be "charged" periodically in order to keep beating. This, of course, leads to Chev electrocuting himself in various ways as he attempts to track down his own heart.

Really, Lionsgate? Really? You brought us Dogma. And Monster's Ball. And Hotel Rwanda. And Akeelah and the Bee.

This is the kind of drek you choose to distribute when funny talented folks like Elana Frink are still struggling? Shots of Jason Statham electrocuting his nipple and tongue with a car battery?

I may sink into despair. Won't you join me by watching this trailer?

Taken

Just returned from watching Taken with the Smart Man.

Liam Neeson's character was a total badass - almost as badass as Rob Roy.

Of course, I'm pretty much willing to watch Liam Neeson read the phone book, but I thought the movie was a decent action flick.

Hmm...Liam Neeson!

My Nerd Love Rawks the House!

I can't tell you how tickled I am that my Nerd Love, Neil deGrasse Tyson, rawked the house at the Union Square Barnes and Noble to the point where Gawker was going WTF?*

Evidently, mobbing a scientist who writes books about, you know, science, is inconceivable to the folks who fawn over Paris Hilton's banal utterances.

::snort::chuckle::hee::

That's my Nerd Love, baby. Go science!


*No, I don't read Gawker. Lay down the crack pipe. I learned about this from the Incomparable Rebecca™ over at SkepChick.

Dude, Really - Spend Some Time With a Real Girl

So the Smartin' Man and I went to see a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan last night at one of our local theaters (The Continental, for you local readers).

I enjoyed seeing the movie on the big screen again, and of course, the experience was somewhat bittersweet, what with Mr. Montalbán passing away this week. I think of Khan as his signature role, and really, the guy could read the phone book and I'd be happy.

Of course, the screening brought out the nerds (including the Smartin' Man and myself). There was only one Star Trek uniform that we saw, but the percentage of undatables in that theater was rather high.

Like the guys sitting behind us. They were both in their thirties. The younger one was giggling like a schoolgirl (literally), and the other kept talking about a "tentative date" he had for some upcoming nerd event. They seriously, seriously, needed to spend some time with real, live girls. Not on-line girls, not WoW girls - live, breathing, girls, who weren't being paid to be there, who might take them under their wings and teach them the art of conversation.

Wow.

Ricardo Montalbán, 1920 - 2009

You were smokin', dude, even in your 60s. And you were apparently a good and decent man who stayed married to the same woman for 63 years and contributed to his community.

Rest in Peace.

Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men Insult of the Month

Last night the Smart Man and I were watching a little T.V. (Two and a Half Men reruns), and a commercial kept coming up for the sanitary pads Always.

In this commercial, the announcer was proclaiming the pads were "über absorbent!"

After watching this affront to good taste for about the sixth time, I made the comment that commercials for feminine hygiene products, birth control and erectile dysfunction medication should be forbidden from using popular or slang language. The Smart Man said they should just call the product "The Über Pad" and be done with it.

Later in the evening, I was telling the Smart Man about a less than sharp student in my current DU class. The student in question believes the class forum is the appropriate place to proselytize about his religious belief. The Smart Man's reaction was to exclaim, "He's an Über Pad!"

Cue gales of laughter.

Why, yes. I am easily amused. And the Smart Man cracks me up.

So Über Pad is our new insult here at Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men. Use it in good health.