Synaxis TV

I woke up at 4 a.m. for some reason but got back to sleep. Japanese was good and then I had lunch with department folk. After that I read for culture and society and did some reading notes then heard about the terrible stuff going on in New Orleans. Later I took a look at Ethnoquest, went to Borders and looked at Gothic Beauty magazine, then did some more reading for culture and society.

What a great movie! (Far better than Zoolander!)

I told my friends that I imagined this film as some sort of sequel to Napoleon Dynamite, because there was a certain geeky but lovable quality both main characters shared.

One of the other things that I liked about this film is that the humor is very accessible. The jokes seemed to be those that my friends would share with each other rather than scripted humor that no one would actually use with each other. Steve Carrell is a genius. (And I didn’t know he was in the American version of The Office!)

It’s also interesting that the cast of the film was so diverse. I was especially surprised that the obsession of one of the characters turned out to be a squat dark-skinned full-figured Indian girl.

What’s kind of funny about this film, though, is that it is a stealth conservative movie, secretly promoting the idea of saving sex for marriage.

This is my favorite line from the movie: “You know how I know you’re gay? Because you listen to Coldplay.”

Disclaimer: This should primarily be read as a personal explanation of why I am an atheist. I know that there are assumptions and experiences underlying my perspective that others do not hold and have not shared.

When I see natural disasters like the hurricane that hit New Orleans I am reminded of what I consider to be the most potent atheological tool — the argument from natural evil.

I find it best to start off a discussion of this sort with some words from Epicurus:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

So, if there is evil in the world, then how can there exist a God that is both all-powerful and omnibenevolent? Well, most answer this question by saying that evil exists in the world because humans have free will, but that doesn’t explain natural evil.

In some regards, excusing God, if such a being were to exist, from the state of our universe would be akin to excusing a builder if the home he built had the minor defect of causing the people that lived there to randomly be killed in some gruesome manner.

Some might remark that we are somehow responsible for the effects of these disasters simply by choosing to reside in their path, but, as comical and heartless as such a response is, why would a loving God put his creation in such an inhospitable environment?

A slightly more palatable response might be that the state of this universe is somehow necessary for it to function properly, but if that is the case then can I really be expected to regard a being typified by the poor construction of this universe as God?

Yet others might remark that it is simply a mystery better left to faith, and I’m ok with that on some level, but I must say that it is precisely that kind of answer that will forever keep me from being able to believe in such a being.

Caveat: I suppose that the claim that Satan is responsible for natural evil could be made as well. Though that would seem to collide with Christian intepretations that simply regard natural disasters as God smiting his/their enemies, though it seems that God would at least be able to be a little more precise with his smiting.

Blanton went over Ethnoquest in human cultral diversity, then I went to Arby’s with Suzanne. After that I spent some time setting up Drupal (there’s a technology certificate, but you have to use something with threaded forums). In culture and society we talked about what separates the two. Then I found an easy way to concatenate files in unix. And after that I went to Subway with Hubert. We went to Target and then I spent a bunch of money at Staples. Back at home I helped the mirroring process along, played with the demo of Drupal, and then talked to Richard about CMSes.

I bought the book for Japanese then went to class. After that I went to the anthropology orientation. Then in ethnographic methods we made drawings and later in our analytical class I decided to work on furries. After class I went to get a blizzard with Suzanne (felt a little guilty) then we watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (much sadder than I expected; Suzanne didn’t care for the changes from the book). Later I started to copy things over from my linux box.

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Thought this line on page 28 was quite funny:

“Damn women, with…with their hair…and their faces…,” muttered Darwin.

Mark went with me to church and the minister drew an interesting connection to the heretic Pelagius. When we couldn’t find this breakfast place Mark had been to I went to Khana Khazana with Hubert instead. I went to the library and copied some Sedaris from GQ, took a nap, then read some Agar. Later I read some Empire at Vienna, then made some updates at home, and talked to Richard about “Getting Things Done.”

I went to Hodson Bay to look at bikes but they were all very expensive. Then I got quarters at the bank for laundry, which was very time consuming (the laundry you idiot, not getting quarters). Later I went over to Suzanne’s for a smoothie party (I stopped at Target to look at bikes but they were out of the one that I wanted). The smoothies were good, but I had to leave when they started watching “Zoolander.” I gave Mark a call and we went to see “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” which was fucking wonderful.

I woke up at 9:40 a.m. then sat in on Japanese 301. I set up a wiki for Blanton’s class then went to the taste of the union with Becka, Hubert, and Suzanne (the chicken was best). After going back to Best Buy to get a router instead of an access point, I set up a wifi system for Suzanne, then I went with her and Becka to Moe’s for dinner. Later I went to Hug and Nicks’ place and we watched “The Wedding Date,” which was ok but not a typical movie for me.

I just had one of the most horrible experiences of my life.

There’s a place here in West Lafayette, IN, called the Neon Cactus, a club/bar/torture device. From the hordes of drunken idiots I’d seen stumbling in and out I had a hankering that it wasn’t the place for me, but some of the new kids in town wanted to check out the place and I thought that maybe, just maybe, with them, it wouldn’t be so bad. I was wrong.

In all actuality, the general part of the club wasn’t so bad. There were still all of the people that I generally dislike and/or hate, but it was just your regular college hoochie/frat kind of place. Unfortunately, I descended into the deep dark pits of the Neon Cactus known as — the piano bar, white/Normal central.

I was already a bit tense and nauseous from the hour long wait it took to get in, but the fun didn’t stop there. My immediate response was simply, “What…the…fuck…” Everyone sang along to the piano man’s terrible act cultishly chanting now and then with their cups raised in the air. Part of my disgust was, of course, aesthetic. For example, I had to resist wretching when he played “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn. But it didn’t help that he followed that up with some “patriotic songs” singing “Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue” by Toby Keith with lines such as “And you’ll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.’ `Cause we`ll put a boot in your ass; It`s the American way.” Then there was the misogyny, such as when he commented on a girl’s “hot ass.”

I’m tempted to say that it is hard to explain how I felt, but it’s not. I felt nauseous, alienated, outraged, and tense. Of course, some of that tension came from the fear that he might single me out for not participating and make me sing along all by myself, as if there weren’t enough pressure to conform already.

I thought that I would be fine here. I was optimistic and enthused. I thought this year would be different. But this experience has forced me to question all of that. I can’t look at this town the same. I can’t look at the people in this town the same. The irony is that I just spent two months in Tokyo, yet I never experienced a sense of culture shock there in any way, shape, or form that might possibly compare to this. At least I’ll never wish that I was Normal again.