religious fanaticism

PBS documentary on DocWorld titled THE ACCUSED: DAMNED OR DEVOTED? about religious fanaticism in pakistan led by a cleric named rizvi, is truly frightening. They seek to have put to death anyone who criticizes their muslim faith, based on a blasphemy law. These fanatics remind me of the MAGA movement here in the USA led by trump, only much worse. Makes me wonder why can't that happen here, or anywhere? The answer is it can, and probably has, at one time or another.

do u believe in miracles?

 for many years i've disbelieved in free will. It was obvious that everything we did, everything we thought, everything that happened to us, was the result of our genes and our environment, going back to our conception, to our universe's conception. none of which we have ever had or ever will have control over. But lately, perhaps out of desperation ,i've been entertaining the idea of miracles, of events which are or seem to be beyond the bounds of nature, or supernatural.  a manifestation of god.

i'm much more into science than theology. i suppose in a way i'm no different from faith based religion in that i must take on faith many scientific claims, often because i'm not smart enough to understand their derivation, for example einstein's theories of relativity and of a space time vortex warped by gravity.

some scientific claims are pretty mind blowing, like the big bang theory of how our universe came to be. Before the big bang, there was no time and no space. Everything was compressed into nothing, so all that existed was nothing. Then suddenly there was something, the big bang, the beginning of time and space. It's all very counter intuitive, all very mysterious. Maybe it was a miracle. or maybe it was a black hole that became too massive.

anyway, i've also thought or felt for a long time that our world is fucked, and that if it exists god is responsible, (and must be a dickhead). There's no way to fix what needs to be fixed, especially in the very short time remaining before our species makes itself extinct by making earth uninhabitable for us.

i'm also plagued by loneliness and a great alienation from society and culture. and, apparently, inability to acquire very close friends, trusted colleagues, (surprised i spelled that word right), and compatible mate(s) / lover(s). It seems i'm a misfit everywhere, with whomever i'm with. It's been so pretty much my whole life. Will it ever change?

if a miracle happened once, perhaps there are more to come. I certainly hope so, for it seems that is what it will take to salvage our world, and my social life.

wouldn't it be nice?

 touching poetic lyrics of this beach boys classic highlight the frustrations of young lovers in a society / culture which suppresses teenagers freedom, especially their sexuality and their ability to openly have erotic relationships with all the benefits derived from fulfilling those passions. (we're only young once!)

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong?

You know it's gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together
Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through?

Happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending
Wouldn't it be nice?

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray
It might come true (run, run with you)
Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do
We could be married (we could be married)
And then we'd be happy (and then we'd be happy)
Oh, wouldn't it be nice?

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But let's talk about it
Wouldn't it be nice?

carlin and kennard

 just finished memoir by kellie carlin, comic george's daughter. glad i did, as it showed her dad in a broader more human light, as a mortal man who suffered from a very bad heart for much of his adult life. a courageous man who in the face of death (he would be dead in 4 months, and knew his heart was failing him) gave this great stand up performance for his last hbo special. despite failing health, and an aging brain, it showed he was still at or close to the top of his game. as usual, he saves his best stuff for last. one bit in particular resonates with me, in which he tells us why he doesn't like to be around most sheeple beyond a minute or 2 (because he can't stand listening to the stupid and uninteresting things they have to say).

George Carlin -- It's Bad for You -- 1080p Remaster

recently watched this outstanding discussion featuring matt kennard with abby martin:

Trump's Naked Imperialism & How the British Empire Never Died - YouTube

some favorite porn

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This must be a nightmare

below is a link to post written by kevin moore from new zealand and published on guy mcpherson's blog NATURE BATS LAST 14 years ago. it details the mess that industrial civilization has created, and foretells of the consequences to come:

This must be a nightmare – Nature Bats Last

what a difference 200 years makes

according to a PBS documentary about the life of john marshall of u.s. supreme court fame, he first met the 'girl' who was to become his wife of about 1/2 a century when she was 'almost 14' and he, a revolutionary war veteran, was about 12 years older. according to his wikipedia article, he very quickly began courting her, and they married less than 2 years later when she was 15,  he 27. they had 10 children in all, only 6 of whom lived to adulthood, and his wife polly also had at least 2 miscarriages, which together with losing some infants while she was in her 20s adversely affected her health for the rest of her life. according to the doc., when she died, marshall was very bereft, strongly suggesting their union had been very happy and fulfilling while it lasted.

they weren't 'white trash' virginians. from prominent families, she was the daughter of the state treasurer, he, the first cousin of future president and famous author of the declaration of independence, thomas jefferson. so apparently it was considered perfectly ok for ladies as young as 13 to be seriously pursued or courted by a considerably older man, and to marry very young.

my, how attitudes have changed regarding the propriety of 'adults' courting and even marrying 'children'. nowadays a prince can be dethroned for the apparent transgression of having had sex with an underage 'girl' of 17 when he was considerably older. these bare boned facts form the basis for the public outrage / scandal that has at times been headline news in recent years regarding prince andrew, which forced his older brother the king to very recently basically disown him. granted, there were other aggravating circumstances involving the young lady who alleged she was his victim, that she had been 'trafficked' into becoming an under age escort to a very prominent clientele of alleged intelligence agent jeffrey epstein, andrew's fellow 'pedophile'. 

u may have noticed that i've placed quote marks around certain words above, indicating my disagreement or questioning of their propriety. for example, i think the same thinking that scientists use to distinguish adults from juveniles in the so called animal kingdom should also apply to us humans. i think the fact that 'laws' have been made which arbitrarily choose some age past puberty as the time when children become adults is simply reflective of the way modern governments, while claiming to uphold freedom and virtue, are in fact becoming more oppressive and orwellian in their control.

i think it is perfectly natural and healthy and that it should be perfectly legal for post pubescent 'children' to be viewed and treated like young adults, including in matters of eros. 

nature doesn't play games. none of us know if we'll live to see tomorro. to live as though it's guaranteed is foolish. to deny youth the rights and expectations of adulthood, including in intimate matters, is to demand of them they postpone such pursuits for years beyond the time nature has determined it's time to be and act like an adult. to have kids and marry (maybe not in that order) if they wish. to seize the day, carpe diem. to suppress that is to steal something precious and irreplaceable, as we only get one life, one youth, and it must/ should never be forgotten that tomorro isn't guaranteed.

of course, not only youth are adversely affected by overbearing laws and attitudes which rob them of erotic autonomy, among other things. had john marshall been born 200 years later he couldn't have courted and married a 'girl' in her middle teens when he was 12 years older. to try to do so would invite the full wrath and heavy hand of not only the almighty government but of a public brainwashed to regard such a thing as an abomination and marshall as a disgusting predatory pervert pedophile!

of course, marshall would have known better than to try such a thing had he been born in 1955, instead of 1755. it's prohibition saturated pop culture, like in the lyrics of this hit song from 1968:

Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl
You're much too young, girl

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap - Young Girl - HQ