May 222018
 

Some time back some people got it in their heads to see if cats would step on the Koran. Why did they decide to test this? Who the frak knows. But the end result was a whole lot of YouTube videos made by Muslims showing cats refusing to step on Korans. This was touted as evidence that cats know that Korans are special, and thus the Koran is the true and inviolable word of God, and thus everyone should convert to Islam.

There are two immediately obvious problems with this:

1: It’s really easy to edit videos. Cats don’t like stepping on things they’re uncertain about, so getting footage of them not stepping on open books on the floor should be fairly easy.

2: I can think of other supernatural explanations for why a cat might not step on a book. If we’re positing cats having knowledge of good and evil and the ability to detect and avoid evil, they would avoid stepping on a Necronomicon. And so their avoidance of a Koran might have a different interpretation…

It’s a dumb thing. But then… this is the internet we’re talking about. “Dumb things” are its bread and butter.

If you’re of a mind to, wander over to YouTube and search for “cat walking on Koran/Quran” or some variation thereof. Bunches of videos, the vast majority of which are from Muslims either carrying out the “challenge” or reacting to other videos.

I’ve not seen too many contradictory videos. Possibly because how many non-Muslims have Korans, and how many of *those* have cats, and how many of *those* want to go to the bother. But there’s this guy, who is a Christian apologist who has a bunch of videos about how Islam is wrong, and he took up the challenge. Included at the beginning are a number of clips of cats avoiding Korans for your viewing pleasure:

Which led to this “reaction video” featuring a highly excitable young guy who promptly goes into vitriolic denial mode:

Part of the denial is the claim that those aren’t *real* Korans, but instead dictionaries. So, the Christian guy goes back to the drawing board and tries it again, this time going to some pains to show that those are indeed actual Arabic language Korans, and that the cat will nonchalantly step on them for some food.

 

Which has led to this reaction video, which this time seemed to accept that indeed the cat is stepping on the Koran, but that the cat is somehow being forced into it (with the gentle offer of food, which I can assure you is no effective way to “force” a cat into doing something the cat doesn’t want to). And as a result of the acceptance of a cat stepping on a Koran… threats of violence come out. Contain your shock.

The whole thing is patently absurd. But here we are, in an age when not only are we looking at manned missions to Mars within just a few years, but also a return of astrology; cars shot into solar orbit while more people are buying into the idea of a flat Earth; genetic engineering curing diseases while people are rejecting vaccines; incredible advanced in understanding the basic nature of the universe while more and more people are believing that the world is only 6,000 years old. People are using technologies that simply didn’t exist a generation ago to argue about whether a cat will step on a frikken’ book.

Fine. Great. Modern civilization is doomed.

 Posted by at 6:23 pm
May 202018
 

Some time back I posted a link to some YouTube vids of kulning, a form of Swedish singing used to bring in cows (don’t laugh, it seems to work). That sort of singing appealed to something in my Scandinavian DNA. It’s calming and beautiful, and seems to hearken back to Olden Times.

But then… there’s another side to northern European “olden times” music that also appeals to me. There’s a group called “Heilung,” composed of various norther European musicians, who create “neofolk” music that seems to be a mashup of what you’d think Vikings would sing before they made a mess of an enemy force, and modern metal music. And damn but it works, mixing Old English with Old Norse and Old German and Saami languages and styles with modern mixing.

There’s “Hakkerskaldyr” (“Shield Formation”), which is very much a Viking take on a Haka. The lyrics are in I believe old Norse and an English translation can be read HERE. The video below was made by a fan, and is just a “lyrics” video, but does an interesting job of it. I’d love to see this being sung in a modern public school…

There’s “Krigsgaldr” (“War Spell” or “War Incantation”), one of the few that’s mostly in English. It’s an interesting take on the concept… the singer doesn’t *want* war, but it is being thrust upon him, and he’s a-gonna go all Viking as a result. Heilung released an animated video for it that is really rather remarkable in the use of ancient Scandinavian imagery in an animated form. With a bonus cameo by Darth Vader!

 

Heilung has released both studio and live music. And I think the live versions are better. They performed live at “Castlefest” in the Netherlands last year, and they put on one *hell* of a show. Most of the music – vocals and instrumentals – are very, very definitely masculine… which makes the occasional feminine work just that much better.

There’s “Alfadhirhaiti,” which if it doesn’t get your blood pumping… you ain’t got no Viking in your soul, son.

There’s “In Maidan” with is basically just a repeated recital of the Futhark, the “alphabet” of the Norse runes. And it comes across as a religious or magical incantation of power… which, when you think about it, would have been very appropriate for the Vikings. The Futhark allowed them to record their words and thoughts for the ages, which is power indeed, and if there’s magic, it’s one of the strongest.

 

The whole 1 hour 16 minute show is in one convenient vid:

This is about as politically incorrect as a musical form can get without actually trying. It’s firmly rooted in Northern European traditions; there is a bit of cultural appropriation in the use of throat singing (generally though of as Mongolian and Tibetan, but there is something like it in Saami tradition, and if the Vikings didn’t use it, they *should* have); the songs don’t make a fetish of being weak and compliant; it’s *proudly* masculine; the musicians don’t seem to have the proper proportion of diversity. These musicians and their music would probably scare the pants off your average SJW. Its touting of European paganism would not fly in many places in Europe today.

 

 Posted by at 9:10 pm
May 142018
 

“Cultural Appropriation” is an integral part of American culture. So anyone attempting to stop Americans from appropriating bits of other cultures is by modern definition, a racist bigot. And in that spirit, I propose a new holiday: Nakba.

As an example: Cinco De Mayo. Ask your average American what Cinco De Mayo means, and the answer will probably be some variation of “get trashed on tequila or whatever other form of booze is handy.” Ask what the *origin* of it is, and you’ll probably get a blank stare. In 1861, France invaded Mexico and toppled the government. On May 5, 1862, Mexican forces defeated the French and installed their own President. Huzzah! But then the French came back a year later, toppled *that* government, and installed an Emperor. So, you know… huzzah?

Cinco De Mayo is apparently celebrated far more in the US than in Mexico. And doubtless *vastly* more than in France. But however widespread it ain’t, the American form of the holiday has little to do with the Mexican origin. And why not? The actual events have nothing to do with the US, any more than St. Patrick’s Day does, and yet Americans of all ethnicity will happily wear green and cheesy plastic “Irish” crap and go get trashed, blissfully ignorant about tales of snakes and trinary shamrock gods and whatnot.

And to Nakba. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence. A lot of people were annoyed by that, including pretty much all the surrounding Arab nations. So the Israeli War of Independence promptly began when the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria launched a war of extermination to drive the Jews out of Palestine. Having just survived the Holocaust, the Jews of Israel were in no mood for such genocidal shenanigans and put up one hell of a fight, in the end not only surviving the onslaught but gaining some territory. It is truly one of the greatest stories of survival in the face of overwhelming odds in all of human history.

During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, hundreds of thousands of Arabs who had been living in the land that became Israel left. Some were driven out by the Israelis; some left because they did not want to live under Jewish rule; and some left because the Arab military commanders *told* them to leave in order to clear the path for the Arab armies:

Jamal Husseini, Palestinian representative to the United Nations, wrote to the Syrian UN representative, at the end of August 1948, “The withdrawals were carried out pursuant to an order emanating from Amman. The withdrawal from Nazareth was ordered by Amman; the withdrawal from Safad was ordered by Amman; the withdrawal orders from Lydda and Rale are well known to you. During none of these withdrawals did fighting take place. The regular armies did not enable the inhabitants of the country to defend themselves, but merely facilitated their escape from Palestine. All the orders emanated from one place…”

Regardless of the reason why the “Palestinians” (actually Jordanians and then Israelies, but they refused Israeli citizenship and were abandoned by the Jordanians… so… shrug) left Israel, the Israelis did not want them back and did not allow them back. Given that Arabs  had just tried to genocide the Jews, it should hardly come as a surprise that the Jews of Israel would not be keen on importing a whole bunch of people who still wanted them all dead. And so the “Palestinians” holed up in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where they and their descendants largely remain… because while the Israelis did not want them, neither did the Arab states. It is now SEVENTY FRIGGEN YEARS, and they remains stuck in essentially a trailer park awaiting some fanciful “right of return” that’s never coming. So to the “Palestinians,” the War of Independence is known as the “Nakba”or “catastrophe.” Seventy years of catastrophic economic and cultural stagnation that could have been avoided if they’d signed on with the Israelis rather than fighting them or fleeing. But… shrug.

So, I say that Americans should start celebrating Nakba Day with all the historical accuracy and depth we reserve for the likes of Cinco De Mayo, St. Patty’s Day, Halloween, Easter, Christmas and all the rest. Turn it into a day filled with booze and celebrating, capped off with a night-time party filled with fireworks and bacon. Mmmm, bacon. Because nothing would be more historically relevant for both the Arab and Israeli sides than bacon, because BACON IS AWESOME. When it gets discussed in school, focus on the extraordinary history of Israel: how a nation of people  who had just barely survived one of the greatest mass exterminations in history gathered in a place that’s honestly just not that good, managed to survived *multiple* efforts to exterminate them *again* and made the desert bloom. How they started off with hare-brained notions of socialism based around collective farming communities (which at the time were not that hare-brained, as even long before Israel was a nation it made sense for Jews in the region to band together to defend themselves against attempts at genocide), and even though they kept the kibbutz, they reformed them and now Israel is a capitalist powerhouse, certainly in far better economic shape than any of the nations that have tried to drive them into the sea.

So, next Nakba Day, don your yarmulombrero, hoist a stein of colt 45 Malt Liquor, pour out libations in honor of Loki and Coyote, fry up a few pounds of bacon and sing a round of “Harvey and Sheila.”

 Posted by at 11:10 pm
May 092018
 

HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice

Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010)

Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING

Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Issued: Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 8:02 AM HST
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Notice Number:
Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min
Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m)
Area: Hawaii

Volcanic Activity Summary: The steady lowering of the lava lake in “Overlook crater” within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano has raised the potential for explosive eruptions in the coming weeks. If the lava column drops to the level of groundwater beneath Kīlauea Caldera, influx of water into the conduit could cause steam-driven explosions. Debris expelled during such explosions could impact the area surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu and the Kīlauea summit. At this time, we cannot say with certainty that explosive activity will occur, how large the explosions could be, or how long such explosive activity could continue….

BALLISTIC PROJECTILES
During steam-driven explosions, ballistic blocks up to 2 m (yards) across could be thrown in all directions to a distance of 1 km (0.6 miles) or more. These blocks could weigh a few kilograms (pounds) to several tons.

Smaller (pebble-size) rocks could be sent several kilometers (miles) from Halemaʻumaʻu, mostly in a downwind direction.

Yow. If’n yer on the big island… heads up. Also watch out for ash, which should do a dandy job of trashing aviation downwind of the volcano.


But wait! There’s more!

Iranian forces fire rockets at Israeli military in first direct attack ever, Israel’s army says

The Russians are backing Assad. The Iranians are backing Assad. If the Iranians keep up this sort of thing, the Israelis might well stomp right on in to Syria. And the Russian forces on the ground would be *really* well advised to tell Assad that he dun goofed, and to discretely back out the door.

I’ve long supposed that a century from now, Damascus might be one of the bigger cities in Greater Israel.

 Posted by at 7:23 pm
May 042018
 

Muslims Recoil at a French Proposal to Change the Quran

A manifesto published in the French daily Le Parisien on April 21—signed by some 300 prominent intellectuals and politicians, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Prime Minister Manuel Valls—made a shocking demand. Arguing that the Quran incites violence, it insisted that “the verses of the Quran calling for murder and punishment of Jews, Christians, and nonbelievers be struck to obsolescence by religious authorities,” so that “no believer can refer to a sacred text to commit a crime.”

The basic notion of a government telling a religion what to believe? Ha. The idea of a western government successfully petitioning Muslim leaders to change the book that they think is the actual unalterable word of what they think of as a god?

Best o’luck, France.

 Posted by at 12:21 am
Apr 212018
 

Ark Encounter’s Latest Attendance Numbers Are Ken Ham’s Nightmare

Their stated expectation for annual visits works out to an average of 117,000 per month. What they got:

2017:
July: 142,626
August: 106,161
September: 83,330
October: 93,659

November: 51,914
December: 36,472
2018:
January: 13,250
February: 17,961
March: 62,251

That’s neat.

The question is: what is this thing going to be when it’s inevitably sold off? Hopefully the locals will be able to successfully sue Ham & Co. to recoup the money they spent to bring this disaster to town, but if not it’ll be a useful lesson that, let’s face it, will be ignored too many times in the future.

It’s hard to imagine what it could be successfully and profitably turned into. It’s not exactly well situation to be a good hotel, casino, convention center or office building. I wonder if it’ll wind up just going up in flames; it’s not like it’d fully trust that it’s build the best, modern building codes.

 Posted by at 8:57 pm
Apr 182018
 

To really no surprise, Barbara Bush, wife of George HW Bush, mother to Dubya, died yesterday:

Barbara Bush, Wife of 41st President and Mother of 43rd, Dies at 92

Babs was a dignified lady, and she sounds like she was a hoot. She and GHW celebrated their 72 anniversary a few months back… and I would not be in the least bit surprised if he joins her soon.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s meet the face of the modern left wing as they deal with Barbara Bush’s passing: Randa Jararr, professor of English at Fresno State in California:

 

 

 

 

She is a *tenured* professor, which makes it quite difficult for the school to fire her (the whole point of tenure). And *should* the school fire her for her personal views, expressed on her own time and not on school equipment or systems? I believe… no. She should *not* be fired. But then, I don’t believe  that anyone expressing conservative, libertarian, scientific or Republican views should be fired either.

That said: being a publicly funded dickhole in a position to spread venomous propaganda to the generation that thinks that snorting condoms and eating Tide pods is a good idea? Yeah, there should probably be some sort of consequence. Suggestion: any parent sending their Lil Tyke to Fresno State should make sure that they don’t take any classes from Jararr.

Now, something that probably*should* result in in direct action against her and/or her bank account is a tweet should made in response to the flak she was getting. She posted her phone number in case anyone wanted to call her. Interesting, right? Except no.The phone number was actually that of the Arizona State 24-hour crisis hotline. The entirely predictable result was that the hotline was bombarded by people calling to complain to her… potentially clogging up the lines for someone who might have actually needed the service. I don’t know what if any laws that might violate, but it seems likely to be legally problematic.

Did we care about Jararr before this? nope. Doubt much of anyone had actually heard of her. And I’ve little doubt that she’ll be remembered even a few weeks from now, unless she does a masterful job of keeping herself in the news. but she is instructive about the views of many on the left: they was people who disagree with them to die, and they will celebrate those deaths. And the fact that Jararr was largely unremarkable before this is instructive: it’s not like the left was disavowing her *before* this.

 Posted by at 4:32 pm