2012 Reading List

My reading list for 2012

Required:
“Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson” - Jann S. Wenner and Corey Seymour
“On The Road” - Jack Kerouac
“The God Delusion” - Richard Dawkins
“The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.” - Greg Koch, Steve Wagner, and Randy Clemens
“The Bible” - Unknown

Optional:
“God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” - Christopher Hitchens
“Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” - Jon Krackauer

There will most certainly be some other books mixed in with those, and I most certainly won’t finish the entire Bible, but these are the ones on my stack staring at me the hardest.

Some might be surprised by my inclusion of the Bible.  I was thinking about it a couple of months ago and realized that although I rail on Christianity and the Bible quite a bit, I haven’t personally read it in quite sometime.  Besides, Lao Tsu said, “Know your enemy” and I can’t think of a better way of learning their tactics.  For the record, the Koran and the Torah will be on future lists for the same reason.

Shut the hell up about Tebow

Guess what, if I wanted to watch people pray on Sundays I’d go back to church.

I really enjoy football, but I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time following it (Sarah might disagree with this statement).   I watch a fair amount and I don’t miss many Seahawks games, but I don’t watch the draft, I don’t follow college ball (although I keep an eye on the Huskies, Ducks, and Utes), and I don’t set aside my Sundays to watch every pro game. So I generally know the big names, but it’s not unusual for me to hear a name that I don’t recognize.

Six weeks ago I barely knew the name Tim Tebow, little did I know how much I would relish those days.  At that point all I knew was that the Denver Broncos had an Evangelical Christian quarterback that was using the sidelines and interview time to preach to everyone that was looking or listening.  In fact, I had to ask a friend of mine, who’s a Broncos fan, “Who’s this Tebow guy I keep hearing about?”  Coincidentally, I ended up watching the Broncos beat the Bears in overtime later that day and the entire bar was cheering for the Broncos.

Since that fateful day the Tebow furor has continued to grow and it’s to the point where I can’t get away from the damn name.  SNL is doing skits involving him (very funny by the way), Bill Maher is tweeting about him (also hilarious), people are referring to him as “God’s quarterback” and other bullshit terms.  A recent survey shows that 43% of Americans believe god is involved in Tebow’s success and Tebow’s pastor says that Tebow’s wins are God’s wins.

First and foremost, if god is spending his/her time determining the outcome of a football game his/her priorities are way out of whack.  In case everyone has forgotten, the US is still involved in a war in Afghanistan.  Thousands of people are dying every day in Somalia.  Radiation continues to leak in Japan.  A significant portion of the world’s population is living at a level of poverty that most in the US can’t even imagine.  Apparently god already has more to deal with than he/her can handle so if he/she is spending his/her time fixing NFL games then I am not impressed.  And yet, people continue to worship a god that they believe cares more for multi millionaires playing a game for a living than starving children and I find this terribly disturbing and depressing.

However, let’s assume that god has a vested interest in the NFL, why would god favor Tim Tebow?  The majority of NFL players are Christian and Tebow is not the only one that makes a big deal of it.  Troy Polamalu crosses himself before every play.  Ray Lewis certainly isn’t quiet about his faith.  Tony Dungy couldn’t conduct an interview without mentioning his Christianity when he was coaching, and those are just three examples.  That’s not even mentioning the millions of people that pray for their team every Sunday so why does Tim Tebow get to sit at the right hand of Jesus?

What I can’t figure out is why the Tebow mania in the media?  Denver squeaked into the playoffs with one more win than the Seahawks.  Of the eight remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs four have won the Super Bowl and Brady has won three.  Brees not only has had the best season of his career, but has one of the best seasons of any quarterback in history.  Rodgers and the Packers nearly had a perfect season and watching them play is like watching poetry in motion.  Who do I keep hearing about and who is  dominating the Sports Center airtime?  Tebow.  Tebow has exactly 0 championships and has had an average season.  While he does have spectacular moments he’s inconsistent at best.  I would argue that Cam Newton had a much better season and he’s a rookie.

All I can hope for at this point is that the Patriots beat the Broncos soundly (again) on Saturday and the hype will just go away.  The sports commentators and fans can begin talking about something other than Tebow.  Football coverage will return to football instead of Christianity.  I am so sick of seeing “The Tebow” I can’t stand it.  I spent the first 15 years of my life watching people pray on Sundays and if I wanted to see it again, believe me, I know where I can go.

In conclusion, I would like to tell Tebow to shut the fuck up using a reference from the book he supposedly loves:

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
- Matthew 6:6

Did god lie to Michele Bachmann?

Yesterday Michele Bachmann pulled out of the race to become the Republican nominee for president even though she said that she felt god told her to enter the race.  As I see it, there are only five possible conclusions that can be gleaned from this:

1) God was just fucking with her.  If god is all knowing and all powerful then he/she told her to enter the race knowing full well that she was going to fail miserably.  This could have been a practical joke to make her look like an idiot.  I would first say that she doesn’t need any help looking like an idiot.  But, if god was playing a practical joke I think it was pretty damn funny.  However I would argue that if god really is that cruel then she/he doesn’t deserve to be worshipped.

2) God was talking to her, but she misunderstood what god was saying.  If this is the case then apparently Bachmann doesn’t understand what god is saying when god does decide to talk to her.  Since Bachmann claims to live much of her life according what god tells her then the question arises, how much of her life has been wasted because she’s misinterpreting what she’s being told?

3) God wants Michele Bachmann to be president, but isn’t powerful enough to pull it off.  This instance would sure cause everyone to redefine the term “god”, huh?  Even Carl Rove can get his shitty candidate elected so if god can’t do it then I would argue he/she should not be worshipped (see possibility 1).

4) Michele Bachmann is bat shit crazy and really does believe god talks to her even though she/he does not.  A real argument can be made for this one and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case.  In fact, I wouldn’t be be surprised to find out her dog, cat, bird, and guppy talk to her, too.

5) Michele Bachmann is a lying sack of shit who was counting on the fact that a frightening amount of the American population votes based on religious beliefs instead of rational, thought out, reality based ideas and is stupid enough to believe anyone that claims to hear god.

I’d be willing to bet it’s option 5.

The anti 2010 resolution

A couple of years ago I made sort of a loose New Year’s Resolution to not be as confrontational as I had become.  I did this because I found myself debating (some might call arguing) more often than I really wanted to and, all too often, the debate really serving no purpose.  So, along the lines of the “you attract more flies with honey than vinegar” idea, I decided I would either find diplomatic ways of stating my opinion or downright biting my tongue.  This year I am giving up on this idea.

I made my decision to reverse course for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is that I realized that in addition to honey, flies are also attracted to shit so that’s probably not a sound philosophy.  Second, I began looking at the people that I admire most:  Hitchens, Dawkins, Abbey, Thompson, Carlin; none of them are what anyone would consider diplomatic in fact, they really liked to fuck shit up.

So, while I certainly don’t put myself near their level, I have decided that I am going to try to be more true to who I believe I am, even if that means irritating some people.  As a part of that I’m going to try to be more active on my blog.  I am going to write my opinions, uncensored.  I’m going to write what I want to write because I enjoy it and miss doing it.  It’s my blog so if you don’t like what I have to say then don’t read it.  If no one cares then that honestly doesn’t bother me.  However, if people are interested in getting to know me beyond basic Facebook posts then that’s great.  If people agree with me, fantastic.  If my fingers get sore from online debates then that’s a possibility too.

I do not intend for this to be solely about politics, religion, philosophy, or overall bitching, but there will be a fair amount of that.  I hope for it to be a place where I can describe the events of my life in more detail than a Facebook post or Tweet allows.  Many of you know that Sarah and I travel a fair amount so maybe something I write will inspire to you to try a place you’ve never been to before.  I have far too many interests than my time or money allow so maybe a hobby that you’ve never considered will sound interesting.  Who knows, maybe I’ll realize my opinions and life aren’t nearly as interesting as I think they are and I’ll bore the shit out of you, I’m okay with that, too.

After a few months of this new direction I might find myself in a position where the only person that talks to me is Sarah.  If that’s the case, then I might re-evaluate.  On the other hand, I might attract more people who’s conversation I really enjoy or spark a few lively debates where both parties learn something, which is really what I hope happens.