Happy new year, etc, etc, etc. I hope your long weekend was joyful. I apologize for the four day break. Us federal types had Tuesday off as well on account of the Presidential Cult. That's like the Roman Imperial Cult where the emperor was worshiped as a deity. Speaking of which, if I hear one more person utter the phrase, "the emperor has no clothes," I'm going to flip out and start cracking skulls.
My weekend was surprisingly enjoyable. I had some good friends in town as well as my son. However, if anyone cares the first was also my six year anniversary, and in light of the current situation, it was somewhat depressing. Six years. Surprisingly, the whole anniversary thing still means something to me. I guess if I had an [in]significant other like some people do, maybe it would have been just another day. In time perhaps.
Someone informed me that they were very interested in what I thought about the Saddam Hussein hanging. Too bad. I'm not a circus monkey and I don't do tricks on command. To you I say, ask your buddy. He'll provide you with your opinion now; he seems to have done admirably thus far.
Instead I'll mention the buffoonery that is Pat Robertson. Apparently god has informed him that a terrorist attack-induced mass killing would occur in late 2007. Pat tells those of us without a direct line to the almighty that "The Lord didn't say nuclear, but I do believe it will be something like that." The omniscient one is suspiciously vague in his revelations to Pat. Conveniently, as is the case with most prophets and fortune tellers, this vagueness on the part of god allows for a bit of latitude when interpreting results. Usually, anything can be used as evidence of successfully predicting the future. Storms and typhoons and tsunamis ravaging the US coastline in 2006? Easy, the heavy rain and flooding in New England partly fulfilled the prediction. So, storms plus tsunamis plus ravaging equals heavy rains and flooding? Interesting. I find it funny that the receiver of these messages is virtually never able to hear the message clearly; it's always garbled or spoken in riddles. One would think that a being as powerful as god would be able to send a clear, concise message that left no room for error. But that takes some of the mystery out of it, and without mystery it isn't nearly as exciting. And it leaves room for god to be infallible; error in the prophecy is attributed to the flawed human who clearly didn't interpret the message correctly, not god who simply failed to communicate the message properly. When is it going to be time to place the blame where it belongs?
Let me put it to you this way: I brief a senior staff member and he misinterprets my analysis because of my inept communication style. I'm vague, speak in riddles, and just plain ambivalent as to whether or not he "gets" what I'm saying. I've done my part, right? I've told him what my analysis is. It's HIS fault that he didn't interpret it right. The onus is on him to take appropriate action. No. Wrong. Try again. It's my fault because I failed to properly communicate. People are vague and speak in riddles because they don't know the answer. They use wishy-washy phrases and blame failure on the misinterpretation of their findings. Thus either god is vague because he doesn't know what he's talking about, which would be very bad for all the believers, or Pat Robertson is full of it. I'd suggest variations of both. Folks, if this guy wasn't citing god as his prime source, we'd throw him in a loony bin. People who receive messages from anything other than the almighty are ruled out as nut cases. Frankly, I think that anyone who claims to be in contact with an omniscient being is a nut case.
Even more hilarious is Robertson's assertion that he has a "relatively good track record…sometimes I miss." For one, he basically took god out of the equation because he's claiming ownership over his prophecies. That's bad news, right? Shouldn't he give credit where credit's due? Or is he simply speaking of his track record of deciphering the riddles god puts forth to him as his personal messenger? If I were god, I'd get tired of people mucking up my messages. Secondly, I find it hard to put much stock in any soothsayer that uses terms like "relatively" in describing their success in the fortune telling business. Hey, I'm a relatively good investment banker, just give me your money and we'll find out.
Word of the Day: Favonian (adjective): pertaining to the west wind; soft; mild; gentle.
On This Day in History: Leonardo da Vinci tests his flying machine, and thankfully for the Wright brothers, he does so unsuccessfully (1496). Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther (1521). JRR Tolkien was born (1892). The Roman festival honoring the Pax, the goddess of peace, is held (also 30 Jan and 04 Jul).
"So down comes the sky, for no reason why, you're in this all alone. With no help from me, you're free to be, misery all on your own." - Evolocity "Too Far"
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