So Long to Ya, 2010

Well, dear readers, 2010 is drawing to a close. As you well know, this has been a tough year for lots of people out there. It's also been a difficult year for me personally, but I do hope I've managed to share some interesting material and stimulate your minds in ways that will inspire you to think critically, to find awe in the world around you, and to become a more educated citizen of the world.

Cheers to a happy new year!
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Kim Jong Il Ends Nuclear Program for Lead in Next 'Batman'

It's not unprecedented for The Onion to publish some fake story that's so completely within the realm of plausibility that: a) lots of people (and even journalists, corporations and governments) are convinced by it, b) you gotta double check to make sure it is in fact a fake story, and c) it may prove itself one day to be completely prophetic and therefore true.

And of course, when the story is about Kim Jon Il pulling bat shit crazy stunts, there's a good chance that, given enough time, all three conditions above may end up being satisfied:

Of course, in my mind, this is what he would really end up looking like:


What I want to know is who would play Robin? :)
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Silent Monks Singing Halleluia: Epic WIN

Whatever one's thoughts on religion, it is an undeniable fact that some of the best art of all time is associated with religious devotion. Sure, many great artists were commissioned by the church and they went where the money was, but I'm sure at least a moderate number of them thought their art was a way of expressing an aspect of the transcendent.

Now, demonstrating that sometimes a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that many apparent problems can be overcome with creative solutions, the following choir of silent monks performs an incredibly awesome rendition of Halleluia.

Merry Christmas!
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An Existentialist Take on Christmas

Sure, everyone loves Christmas. And what's not to like? Good company, good food, exchanging gifts, the priceless look of uninhibited happiness in children, to say nothing of the delicious milk and cookies left by the fireplace? :)

But have you ever wondered whether Santa himself loves the holiday? Does his annual pilgrimage around the world not remind you of a futility not unlike that of Sisyphus and his cursed boulder? In today's video, Santa becomes an existentialist tragic hero...

And unless you want to experience existential despair during your travels, make sure not to fly out of Franz Kafka's International Airport :)
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The History of the Two-Party Vote

If you happen to enjoy demographic data being animated, like when Hans Rosling does it (here or here), or when a map shows you the march of democracy across human history, or even when a map shows you what Presidents were in office during different wars, then you are going to really enjoy this: an animation of the two-party vote system in the good ol' U.S of A. since 1920.

Now, I'm no serious student of American history, so I was really surprised to see when different areas of the country have professed their allegiance to blue or red ideals, and my guess is you'll be surprised too.

Now, did you know that Demography Today Magazine is now targeting demographer demographic? :)
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Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

So you probably know that last night there was a lunar eclipse, the first in something like 732 years to coincide with the winter solstice, so it was the kind of event that could help me justify to myself taking a break from grading term papers and final exams to breathe some fresh air and commute with nature... or as close as you can do that in New York City...

I went out to my local park with camera and tripod in hand and did my best to photograph the event. Considering I'm not a professional, and that after half an hour of standing in the cold I couldn't even feel my fingers or my lips anymore, I'm quite pleased with the results, but my amateurish attempt is nothing compared to the following video William Castleman captured in Florida.

Can we please have the next eclipse on a nice and warm night? :)
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Debate - Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

The question of whether Islam is a religion of peace is, as any intelligent person realizes, extremely complex. When debating any issue, philosophers are fond of trying to define their terms so that the conversation is focused and everyone understands what everyone else is talking about.

In that spirit, for instance, one could try to make a distinction between the religion of Islam itself and what some individuals do in its name. The fact that some extremists do extreme things in the name of their religion doesn't necessarily mean the religion itself is to blame. Just think of lunatics in your own religion: do they speak for your religion?

We should also be weary of creating hasty generalizations from what a vociferous and militant minority may do to what most followers of a particular religion do. Sure, it's the few nutcases that make the news, so we should always ask ourselves how representative of the larger population the nutcases really are. As a minority (assuming they are a minority), the extremists could not, by definition, represent Muslims generally.

On the other hand, if we look at the religion itself (its scriptures, history, cultural practices, etc.), one could make the argument that those we call 'extremists' are actually simply taking their scriptures, respected figures and cultural traditions more seriously than the vast majority of nice, well-meaning moderates. In that case, the fundamentalists would be the right representatives of their religion, since they take its commandments to be categorical and not merely suggestive. This, of course, would apply to all religions.

Finally, we can't arbitrarily pick and choose only passages of scripture that confirm our initial position and ignore those that contradict our intuitions. That's both lazy and irresponsible.

As such, my view (if you care at all) is that Islam is neither a religion of peace nor a religion of war: because its messages are so self-contradictory, logically inconsistent and convoluted, my verdict would be that Islam is a religion of schizophrenia... and ditto for Judaism, Christianity and virtually every other religion out there. As such, I do tend to see them all as dangerous to the mental and psychological health of their followers. And if you don't believe me, just look at what happened to G.W. Bush :)

Anyway, here is the debate between Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Douglas Murray vs. Zeba Khan and Maajid Nawaz.

Did you ever imagine that a debate about Islam would include two cuties? :)

Check out other important and stimulating debates.
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