Obi-J

Remember way back when there was this thing called the “internet boom” and all of a sudden there was a whole steaming pile of crap to entertain you? All you had to do was type a few letters or click that little old mouse? I’m not saying there isn’t still a lot of wonderful crap out there, but in particular I miss all those whacky flash cartoons that were coming out of nowhere and by the truckload. One of my favorites was Mr. Wong , as well as a few others there on Icebox. There were a bunch of other sites including Icebox that had artists on the forefront of flash animation. Actually, they were just a bunch of jackasses spending too much time in front of the computer. But I loved them for it. Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief at the time, there wasn’t a whole lot of cash in cartoons about an asian man peeing on elivis’ grave or a frog in a blender. But I’m glad to see that others are carrying the torch. (via Rambiling Rhodes)

I have yet to see it, but apparently Anchor Man isn’t the riot the commercials claim it to be. Not that I expect it to be and oscar contentder, but Will Ferrel’s one funny guy and I’m just disappointed to hear it wasn’t that good. Maybe people just needed to be a little more drunk or stoned to fully enjoy it. Mostly, those whove commented said the comedy was just too dumb. Was it dumber than Dumb and Dumber?

I don’t mind dumb movies or stupid humor. For the most part I only watch comedies, and they’re definitely the only genre of movie I’ll watch more than once. I just don’t need to watch a drama since reality is entirely too dramatic already. Last night Amy and I watched Euro Trip. It’s rather dumb and predictable, but funny nonetheless. On par with American Pie, but with more nudity. So even if you don’t think it’s funny you’ll still have some reason to watch, right? I just liked that the movie gave me hope that it’s possible to simply look at a woman, or maybe write a few emails, and they’ll get straight to the action. No date, no flower, no romance, just straight up lovin. If only life were so grand.* I’m sure those discussing sexism and feminism over here would love this movie. But if you ignore all that, you’ll at least get a few chuckles out of Euro Trip.

*I hope you sensed the sarcasm there

This year will be my first year going to Burning Man. Originally Amy and I had planned to go it alone rather than join a camp due to our inability to commit to anything. But more and more of our friends are deciding to go, many of whom have been a few times already. And thus the planning of great things has begun.

The first and one of the most important items to have on the playa is a shade structure. Something to keep the sun at bay. Domes seem to be the most common, but not exactly the easiest to construct. Then I came across this, which is simple and would be fairly easy to engineer and construct. But I want to modify it by closing the ends a little bit to provide more of an enclosure. I described this to Justin, my co-engineer, and mentioned that it would look like a turtle’s shell. Many excanges later we figured we could make a second smaller room that would serve as the turtle’s head and a lounge.

The design is in my head and I tried drawing it, but I want a more formal design. And so I’m attempting to teach myself AutoCAD, but it’s not going very well. I promise though, the turtle will be born!

Gay marriage has been in the forefront of people’s minds ever since Massachusetts legalized it and San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses. Since the federal government wouldn’t take action to secure marriage rights for gays, many states have taken the issue on themselves. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was the onslaught of gays in the media like Queer Eye, Queer As Folk, and the L Word, but conservatives are pushing hard for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. They feel that marriage needs protection. As Amy has pointed out, it’s to save the children and to protect the fabric of society. Though, they never seem to back up or state what the danger is. Only that God has made it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. But they seem to forget things like separation of church and state.

So I did some searching to find out why certain groups are so adamantly against gay marriage. Here are a fewof their arguments:

Argument #1
The implications for children in a world of decaying families are profound. A recent article in the Weekly Standard described how the advent of legally sanctioned gay unions in Scandinavian countries has already destroyed the institution of marriage, where half of today’s children are born out of wedlock.

So are more children being born out of wedlock due to gay marriage, or is it a separate issue all together? There’s no link to this recent article (would’ve been nice) nor does it indicate whether there was a trend toward more children being born out of wedlock prior to gay unions being sanctioned. Furthermore, there’s no indication that this situation has been harmful to children. Basically this “argument” uses quantitative data to make qualitative assumptions.

Argument #2
The introduction of legalized gay marriages will lead inexorably to polygamy and other alternatives to one-man, one-woman unions.

Why don’t they make us even more fearful and state it’ll lead to incest, beastiality or marriage to inanimate objects? Polygamy isn’t even the issue here. The issue is whether or not two individuals have the right to marry.

Argument #3
An even greater objective of the homosexual movement is to end the state’s compelling interest in marital relationships altogether. After marriages have been redefined, divorces will be obtained instantly, will not involve a court, and will take on the status of a driver’s license or a hunting permit. With the family out of the way, all rights and privileges of marriage will accrue to gay and lesbian partners without the legal entanglements and commitments heretofore associated with it.

Uhhh, now they’re just making shit up. Again, be afraid, very afraid. The gays are coming!!

Argument #4
With the legalization of homosexual marriage, every public school in the nation will be required to teach that this perversion is the moral equivalent of traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Textbooks, even in conservative states, will have to depict man/man and woman/woman relationships, and stories written for children as young as elementary school, or even kindergarten, will have to give equal space to homosexuals.

This brings us to the argument of whether being gay is how they were born or a lifestyle choice. Like many have said before, individuals have no reason to choose to be gay. It’s a hell of a lot easier to be straight. Being gay can be a harsh reality. At some point we’re going to have to accept it as fact that some people, not all people are gay. Accepting it doesn’t mean all of a sudden everyone will turn gay. And schools aren’t there to teach students about relationships, nor will they have to teach them how to be gay. But students will have to treat all other students, including those that are gay, as equals. But that’s true today. Gay issues may need be discussed in health class, but there’s no need for a gay curriculum.

Argument #5
From that point forward, courts will not be able to favor a traditional family involving one man and one woman over a homosexual couple in matters of adoption. Children will be placed in homes with parents representing only one sex on an equal basis with those having a mom and a dad. The prospect of fatherless and motherless children will not be considered in the evaluation of eligibility. It will be the law.

I’m sure this situation comes up often (that was meant to be sarcastic). There’s no study that proves having two gay parents is harmful to children. So it make sense that a court can’t base their decision solely on sex and orientation of the parents. What is important is placing the child in a safe, loving home, where he/she will be supported.

Argument #6
Foster-care parents will be required to undergo “sensitivity training” to rid themselves of bias in favor of traditional marriage, and will have to affirm homosexuality in children and teens.

Wait, so foster parents are currently teaching kids they’re temporarily caring for about what a real family is? And with gay marriage they’ll have to teach the kids about being gay? Again, they’re just making shit up. Foster parents are their to take care of children that have been removed from broken homes. It’s not a freakin’ training camp for sexual orientation.

Argument #7
How about the impact on Social Security if there are millions of new dependents that will be entitled to survivor benefits? It will amount to billions of dollars on an already overburdened system. And how about the cost to American businesses? Unproductive costs mean fewer jobs for those who need them. Are state and municipal governments to be required to raise taxes substantially to provide health insurance and other benefits to millions of new “spouses and other dependents”?

Sheesh, here they go again making shit up and throwing out baseless figures. Somehow gay marriage will magically create people. I will concede that there may be an increase in costs associated with benefits given to new spouses, but that’s only because this segment of the population has been denied the right to marry.

Argument #8
Marriage among homosexuals will spread throughout the world, just as pornography did after the Nixon Commission declared obscene material “beneficial” to mankind.11 Almost instantly, the English-speaking countries liberalized their laws against smut. America continues to be the fountainhead of filth and immorality, and its influence is global.

“hey there guy, look over there”. It’s nice that they’re comparing this situation to porn. Like they’re the same thing. It may be true that porn is detremental to the world (I’m not arguing either way here), but it really has little to do here. If gay marriage spread around the world, then that’s all those country’s choice.

Argument #9
Perhaps most important, the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be severely curtailed. The family has been God’s primary vehicle for evangelism since the beginning.

Separation of church and state is important in maintain a free country for all individuals. While the exact phrase ’separation of church and state’ is not in the Constitution, the first amendment guarantees freedom of religion. Without separation there is no way we can have freedom of religion because the country will be guided by the majority’s religion.

Argument #10
The culture war will be over, and I fear, the world may soon become “as it was in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37, NIV). This is the climactic moment in the battle to preserve the family, and future generations hang in the balance.

See response to Argument #9

Once again, these argument provide no proof that gay marriage will be a detrement to society and children. It’s talk designed to arouse fear, that’s it. It’s troublesome that give such easy access to information that they can’t provide anything but bible text to back their position. But my research pointed to socioeconomic status having a greater impact on children’s performance than the number and type of parents they have. And again, there’s no significant study on the impact gay parent on children.

Come on people, let’s think here and not get all “Reefer Madness” on this issue.

A few weeks ago I attended a bachelor party to send off a good friend before tying the knot. It was pretty typical in many ways, and quite unusual in others. The unusual parts were the best, which included great friends, fast cars, too too many drinks and a hot tub full of naked women. Contrary to popular belief, it was the standard affair of taking the bachelor to the strip club that wasn’t my cup o’ tea.

Don’t get me wrong, the idea of a beautiful women dancing to music and seductively removing their clothes is a great one. It’s every hetero guy’s dream. Hell, it’s even mine. But reality is a whole other bag of chips. The bachelor party took us to the New Century which happened to be just around the corner from our watering hole, the ever classic Edinburgh Castle. I had had a few too many at the Castle prior to entering the Century, so I was keen on taking a seat and relaxing. But strip clubs ain’t about relaxin.

Upon entering the Century I found a nice comfy seat in the back of the darkly lit and crowded room. But I was immediately approached by one of the “dancers”. She sat on my lap whispering sweet nothings into my ear. Her seduction was quite calculated, but I couldn’t forget that this woman was a professional. Her strategy was like virtually all strippers: sit on your lap for longer than necessary while repeatedly telling you to go upstairs or into some back room where the fun will be. They swear it’ll be worth it. And guess what? There’s no obligation. Just go with her and she’ll explain how it works. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. She swears it’ll be amazing. Did she forget to mention that there’s no obligation? Come on, just go upstairs. It’ll be great, and on and on…

I never did make it upstairs that night, but maybe I should have. Looks like it would’ve been worth it.