George Aar

"Cannery Row" with Nick Nolte and Debra Winger. I never even heard of it and just happened upon it on a cable channel once. A classic, made even better with the voice-overs of John Huston. I loved it... BTW, I should note, this is an amalgam of "Cannery Row" and a Steinbeck short story "Sweet Thursday", so it's not for the purists. Being as I've never cared for Steinbeck anyway, I thought Hollywood actually improved on the original for a change.

Yeah, it's been said already, but - hoping to still cash in on the prize - I'll say 1963, and the announcer - Dick Konkle.

I forgot about him being in "Gilbert Grape". I don't know as that changes my opinion much, though, as I thought the movie was somewhere between uncomfortably weird and ugly. And I didn't pay much mind to DiCaprio in it. And I've never even heard of "The Basketball Diaries". I was basing my opinion mostly on "Titanic" and "The Man in the Iron Mask". Both of which were lame performances - TMITIM incredibly so. Being an erstwhile fan of Howard Hughes, I guess I'd be more comfortable with someone of the stature of DeNiro, Hoffman, or maybe Warren Beatty to play the part. DiCaprio just strikes me as too much of a lightweight. But then, whaddo I know?

Here's a blurb from Dr. Barrett's site (I'm sure he's just another Godless, unrepentant skeptical bastard): http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelate...ygencooler.html In a world where anecdotal or apochryphal evidence garners as much (or more!) credence as anything else we're guaranteed to spend an awful lot of time wandering down blind alleys and clearing out smoke from our nether regions. What is the appeal of "alternative" medicine, herbal remedies, and quack medical devices anyway? Animosity towards supposed "evils" of modern medicine? Desperation? Anxiety from having an untreatable illness? All of the above? I really don't get it. I'd think we'd have all had our fill of unsubstantiated, wild-a$$ed claims by now. I guess not... And BTW David, though I can't think of a single thing we agree on, it is good to see you back. Welcome...

I just caught "Ebert and Roepers'" review of the new Scorcese film THE AVIATOR, about the life of Howard Hughes. They both think it's the greatest movie since BIRTH OF A NATION, I guess, and have predicted doubled-digit Oscar nominations. I've got to wonder about the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead, though. I guess I need to actually see the movie and make up my mind, but damn, the kid has all the acting ability of a turnip, doesn't he? When I first heard of him in the part I thought it was the worst casting choice since putting Matthew Broderick in GLORY (what, Jerry Mathers wasn't available?). We'll see next week...

The Amazing Randi has been dealing with the Penta Water folks for quite awhile now. Just put "Penta Water" in the search engine here to see what he has to say: http://www.randi.org/

Biblefan Dave, Re:"I never saw any 'classic wayfarers' when I was in TWI." Well you must not have been looking. That's the only possible explanation I can come up with. I saw thousands of them during my tenure. Huge crowds of glassy-eyed, fawning, servile lackies waiting upon the MOG with bated breath, hoping - beyond hope - that maybe, possibly, they could be called upon to offer him a dinner-mint or an ashtray to buttout his cigarette. TWI, as cults go, was hardly unique. Certainly no more so than Amway or The Mormons. The fact that you still revere it's founding principles as anything other than bait says more about you than any of your posts. And yes, I'm filled to overflowing with anger and bitterness, so you can spare me your diagnosis...

Reikilady, I wasn't actively trying to offend you, though I guess I did an adequate job in that regard. I just have little patience for anything that has a rather "loose" basis in reality. You know, concrete, provable, reliable, reproduceable, results. As in, not just "I did it and I feel great" testimonials (which are a dime a dozen, regardless the regimen) but more like scientific, multiple, double-blind studies, published in peer-reviewed journals. Of course then, I also feel the same way about Christianity or any other religion that touts "faith" over reason. Rationality is for those who are fed up with religion, spirituality, or B.S. in general. I'll take my reality full-strength if you don't mind...

D., "George -- with your being a big fan of the Orient, I would of thought you would give this a little more credence." No, I like the culture, I LOVE the architecture, the people, the trains, I even like karaoke (a little), but I've found that Asians are amongst the most superstitious people on earth. Chi (or Ki in Japanese) is one's supposed "life force". Even in greeting (in Japan) you'll often hear someone ask "O genki desu ka?" Sort of equialent to the American "How are you?", but literally means "How is your 'ki'" - your life force. There's tremendous emphasis on it, but damned little understanding. I even saw a Kabuki play where there was a young prince whose life was being threatened by assassins. To see how severe the threat was, his nurse would take his pulse to see if his "ki" was fading. In ancient China it was forbidden to ever cut open a dead body, so there was little (if any) understanding of organs or ciruclatory systems and such. Yet the new-age, granola junkies laud all old chinese healing regimens as if they were written in stone by the hand of the Almighty. Acupuncture, herbal remedies (Rhinoceros horn and Tiger penis being some of the more esoteric comodities), Feng Shui, etc. is all given great credence by lots of folks who should damn well know better, IMHO. In Japan they have auspicious numbers, days, foods, omens of all sorts, rituals of every description, and there no rhyme or reason to any of it. Add to that the two major religions that most everyone observes (Buddhism and Shintoism), and you end up spending an awful lot of time bowing, praying, clapping, burning incense, and generally just doing a lot of pointless stuff. I play along - to be polite - but I don't pay any mind to any of it. All of this sort of stuff has been tested time and again. And in properly designed and blinded studies they always fail. But - like with any superstition - the true believer is not to be disuaded.

Well, not being a real fan, I let Mr. Carroll do the talking: http://skepdic.com/reiki.html Like homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and assorted other pseudo-sciences, I find it hard to work up much enthsuiasm for any of it.

And then there's this: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/News/noni.html Let's see, multilevel marketing, unsubstantiated health claims, myriads of "true-believer" testimonials, and little or no clinical trials. I think I hear my Bull$hit meter alarm going off...

Linda, "Given the sailors' fondness for strong drink, maybe it's a good idea that they're out in the oceans rather than marching with the ground troops!" Yeah, access to nuclear weapons is fine, but we don't want a bunch of drunks marching out of step...

I haven't heard a good review of the movie yet. And the one hour promo-disquised-as-programming "History vs. Hollywood" on the History Channel didn't manage to generate much heat either. Even Oliver Stone seemed like he was bored with the effort, when interviewed. I'll wait till it's on "TCM"...

Well, front page headline in the Seattle P-I today "Recruiters feel the pressure". I guess there's going to be $12 million additional added to recruitment budget and 1,000 additional recruiters are going to be manning the offices around the country, to shore up the sagging recruitment numbers. If that doesn't get the roles filled, whadaya think they'll do next, hmmm?

Nah, I don't think my reasonings have got much of anything to do with Wierwille anymore. I've kinda returned to my pre-TWI mindset, which was pretty rabidly agnostic (is there such a thing?). My default premise with regards to any holy writ, is "why should I?" If there's no real evidence that it's anything but what it's critics have always said it was, i.e. a bunch a fairy tales and myths sprinkled with a few worthwhile old sayings - why bother? In contrast, if there was some real, conclusive proof that there really were all sorts of divine prophecies, incredible encryptions, and irrefutable godly wisdom contained in The Bible, well that would be a starting point. A reason for looking further. But, sadly, such does not seem to be the case. So I'm content filling my head with "worldly" wisdom - well, maybe not "filling", but adding some in every now and then. Not much happening tomorrow. Suzie's out of town, my girl is going off to dinner at her boyfriend's folks (she's in love). So that leaves me here with the boy child. I guess we'll have dinner at my sister's place (not my favorite). Too bad, Thanksgiving's about the only holiday I really like, and it's not shaping up too good. Ah well, we're still breathing. Still much to be thankful for ( I wonder to who?)...

Excath, Sorry, rules are rules. 10 point penalty!

Laleo, I'm concerned. You haven't responded. Is that because my keen insight has undermined your fragile theology and you're laid low and utterly distraught? Or is it because my reasoning is so banal and insipid that it didn't warrant replying?

Dabob, I don't think I'm quite up to the level of discourse you're willing to endure, but here's my 2 cents. Re:"Everybody in this life eventually picks a belief system, whether christian, redneck, buddhist, communist, businessman, hippie, blue collar, academician or athiest. He settles into his favored cult, and surrounds himself with likeminded cultists. They congratulate and pat each other on the back and say how wise are we." Sorry, but this is just, well, wrong. Personally (and I think I'm part of "everybody") don't surround myself with likeminded cultists. Hell, even my wife is still a Christian. My friends and associates? For the most part I don't even know their religious leanings. Though I do business with one lady who is not just a "believer" but goes on to accept just about any absurd notion. Homeopathy, Aromatherapy, Feng Shui, every claptrap nonsensical B.S. that comes her way. She believes it all. I still like her, still spend time with her, even enjoy her company. I just don't share her credulity. Maybe the statement is more reflective of YOUR mindset, hmmm? And please, let go of the notion of "science" being a religion. Science is the antithesis of religion. Religion requires you to accept unsupported beliefs. Science requires you to question EVERYTHING (if you're going to do it properly, anyway). Science is about learning. Religion is about knowing. And if I quit believing in science, it doesn't go away. You got a problem with somebody's stance in science? Call him on it. You just better have some data to back up your call. You gotta problem with someone's religious stance? Tough luck. That's what he believes and he's not required to prove anything to you (afterall, it's between him and God, right?) And you wanna have a game of "dueling reference points for truth"? You ask God for revelation about what to do if the sky goes dark, and I'll go to a astronomy table and tell you when the next solar eclipse will occur, how long it will last, and from what areas of the earth it will be seen as total or partial. You don't accept science on faith. It either presents a plausible case based on facts, or it doesn't. No wondering, praying, yearning, or self-deprecation required. Oh, and re: the ACLU and the Orient. Why the hell would they care about the temples or prayerwheels or any of the rest? Despite what some may claim, they aren't out to eliminate religion, just to defend The Bill of Rights and our quaranteed civil liberties under OUR constitution. And near as I can tell, our Bill of Rights doesn't apply outside of our borders anyway. There's more, but I'm getting bored...

I should add, the way I see it playing out is that the draft won't be instituted until after the next terrorist attack. When that happens (and we all know it's just a matter of "when" not "if", don't we? I'm sure Dubya and the boys do.) it'll be a piece of cake to slide that through congress and past the public. You don't want to be unpatriotic do you?

Well, I don't share the optimism of the other posters, I guess. Currently we already have a draft of sorts. They call it "stop loss" or somesuch. Basically it means that they'll hold the current guardsmen and enlistees as long after their hitch runs out as they deem necessary. Recruiting numbers are down, our forces are already stretched way too thin, and God only knows where Dubya and co. are going to invade next. The soldiers have to come from somewhere. You do the math. For another opinion you might want to read this: http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews....8.5473952738491

I wonder if anybody else has been following the Coleman Hawkins' retrospectives that have been on the radio of late to commemorate his 100th birthday? I've listened to him in passing before, but this is the first time I've ever really listened . The man was a phenomenal talent. A very "loose", comfortable style, you knew he was never straining to do what he did, but it was also obvious that he was doing the (almost) impossible. I guess he never practiced either. He was formally trained - classically at that - but he claimed to never practice, he just played. And he played because he loved to. And that's obvious when you hear him. He played almost until his dying day, giving his last performance from a wheelchair. What a shame I never saw him in concert.

But do you take out the garbage regularly?

Oh, and BTW, If the ACLU wasn't around, who would be out there defending The Bill of Rights? The government? The legal system? The church? For all their faults and excesses (which there may be), I'm glad somebody cares enough about the constitution to do something to make sure it's enforced. You may fire at will...

Dabob, I have a little different take on the whole Communist/religion thingy than Garth. I'm quite sure that Communism did replace religion in the Soviet Union and China. And that National Socialism performed the same function in Germany. It was their religion. The state became the provider for all of life's needs, just as ALMIGHTY GOD had earlier. They changed the script a little, but the bottom line remained the same "Pay your obeisance to God, or suffer the consequences". They just had a little different form of theology. The coersion and brutality remained pretty regular for religious zealotry, albeit horrendously more efficient, due to modern technology. Anytime "faith" trumps reason, I get jumpy. Whether it's to an invisible Holy Thunderer, or to a benevolent, vague, but all powerful "State", rest assured, trouble is brewing. And just "for fun" (ala Roy), here's a snippet from Richard Dawkins to chew on: http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html

Laleo, But why do we need to personify sound ethics? If I say I always try to be very giving because I always ask myself "What would Santa Claus do?", does that make the concept anymore credible? I wouldn't think so. Personally I think forgiveness is a good attribute to have simply for one's own well being. Vengence is corrosive to your mental health. And I'm sure I'm not the first one to have figured that out. And the fact that that idea was written down many thousands of years ago doesn't surprise me much. But it also doesn't lend any credibility to the supposed "wisdom" propounded elsewhere in the book, because the rest of the book may well have been written by someone else. So the idea that there are some sound "truths" propounded in the Bible don't necessarily mitigate all the B.S. that's in there as well. It's not simply a matter of people (or "prophets") being "wrong". And I certainly don't have any animosity towards a "Jesus" or Mohammad, or Buddha, or any other supposed seer or holyman. I simply don't hold to an a-priori assumption of their validity. If there's some sort of evidence of their supernatural insights, I'd be happy to look at that. But in the case of Jesus and The Bible, I don't find any such evidence. In fact there's ample evidence to the contrary. And so, I've abandoned the search. I'm not going to spend a lot of time at Ron Popeil's house looking for the cure for cancer, and I'm not going to spend it trying to figure out "What Jesus Would Do" with my life. Why would I? And as far as Christianity shaping history, don't you think it's as likely due to the fact that the country with the biggest army adopted it as anything else? Sposin' Constantine had become a Scientologist? Creepy, huh?