Ze Frank's- True Facts About The Tarsier

Posted by Glenn Caine at 7:08 PM 0 comments

Labels: Animals, funny, Nature, People Of Interest, tarsier, videos, Ze Frank

Tweet

Alex Jones, Info Wars, and Prison Planet.com

Though I suspect the majority of you who manage to find your way to this site were already well aware of his existence, last week, much of the world had it's first introduction to Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, after he appeared on Peirs Morgans talk show and semi-coherently frothed and ranted about gun control. Not one to pass up an opportunity for a little free press, this appearance was immediately followed with an equally insane visit with the Huffington Post, where Jones expanded his ramblings beyond guns, to include some of his other pet conspiracies about vaccines and GMO, amongst other things. He also opted to trade in all the screaming he did about revolution during his appearance on Morgan's show, with an even more theatrical outburst. Which he screamed, red faced, into his webcam as the interview drew to a close. It was more than a little comical, honestly. -

"THEY'VE GOT POISON IN THE WATER! POISON IN THE WATER! THIS IS A NORMAL RESPONSE TO THIS! THIS IS HOW THEY SHOULD HAVE RESPONDED TO HITLER! YOU'RE IN DANGER! YOU'RE IN DANGER! YOU'RE IN DANGER, EVERYBODY WATCHING! THEY CONTROL BOTH PARTIES! YOU'RE IN DANGER! WAKE UP! GET OUT OF YOUR TRANCE! THEY SHOULD HAVE RESISTED HITLER LIKE THIS!" 

Now, as I said, I suspect most of you already knew exactly who, and what, Alex Jones is. Or if you didn't before, hopefully you do now. And I actually spend a good 15 minutes or so talking about him on this week's episode of the podcast (hint, hint) so I don't want to draw things out too much here as well. But his ever more frequent encounters with David Icke ( Who WILL get an entry of his very own, someday) alone, are enough to warrant adding Alex Jones to the collection of crazies I've been slowly compiling on the site over the years. So just in case, let's start with the basics, via the opening paragraph from Jones' entry on Rational Wiki:

"Jones is the most visible (and literally loudest) proponent of the grand Unified Conspiracy Theory wherein just about every current event can be tied into the NWO's nefarious schemes. The NWO is the framework which every new conspiracy-of-the-week can be fit into. According to Jones' broadcasts and various "documentaries," the scaffolding around which the NWO was built came about over two hundred years ago when the Rothschild banking family, the Illuminati, and the Freemasons came to power. Since then, things have snowballed into a complete worldwide conspiracy of every government and corporate entity."

But, less you think a site called Rational Wiki, might be a bit biased in it's description of the man, you need look no further than either of Jones' own  dot coms; Infowars, and Prison planet, to see that the paragraph above barely even begins to scratch the surface. Because woven within the impressive tapestry of crazy he's managed to fabricate for himself, there is also a deep undercurrent of  religious nonsense as well. In fact, most, if not all, of the beliefs and conspiracies Alex pushes ultimately boil down to "Satan-O-Phobia"- which is a stupid word I just made up, cause, it's late, and I'm too lazy to find a better one. Also, I like it. and it's my blog so, deal.

Take, for instance, a meandering conspiracy involving (amongst other things) the short lived Lone Gunmen series, and which stretches all the way back to 1993, before culminating in what the Info Wars article describes as: "what some have called a “mega ritual” event: 9/11." [Because, obviously] "If 9/11 was set to be one of the largest mass rituals in history, it would require some of the grandest predictive programming that could be conjured, beginning as early as 1993 with various questionable insertions into the popular Simpsons TV show."   

And, yes, Alex and friend's are "truthers" too. But honestly, wouldn't it be weirder if they weren't?

But the thing about Alex Jones that's most important to remember, and the real point I wanted to make, is that, like David Icke, and most other popular and successful conspiracy theorists, he isn't really that screaming nut you saw on CNN and the Huffington post. I mean, yes- he's a nut. But he isn't an idiot. And he knows how and when to perform for his audience. And that's exactly what he was doing on both his most recent appearances, and it worked better than you may think. Because he also knows how to sell an idea- it's what he does. And as silly as he may (hopefully) seem to you, he has A LOT of fans. And there are even more people in the world who are already primed and ready to buy into his ideas, if only he could somehow reach them. This week alone, I encountered several people who had never heard of him before, and though they agreed that he was a little over the top, they really liked what he had to say. And that's just scary.

So if you weren't before, make yourself a little more familiar with Alex Jones. Because it's a safe bet that he's only gonna get louder from here.

-CAINE- 

Sources: Info Wars, Rational Wiki

Lastly, check out this 1999 documentary from Jon Ronson "Secret Rulers of the World - Bohemian Grove - Alex Jones & Mike Hanson"

Posted by YouTube user: MikeHansonArchives

  

Posted by Glenn Caine at 6:41 AM 0 comments

Labels: Alex Jones, conspiracy, Conspiracy Theories, Critical Thinking, info wars, People Of Interest, Skepticism

Tweet

Gangnam Style, Call Me Maybe, The Third Eagle of The Apocalypse, and Fun With Numbers

Posted by YouTube user: thirdeaglebooks 

Every once in a while the Internets gives us something we just can't help but be thankful for. Sometimes, it's a brief video of one of your favorite astrophysicists dancing to a Michael Jackson song. Other times, it's something so seemingly surreal, you just can't help but ponder how it came to be. The subject of today's entry, most definitely falls into the later category.

In his video "Antichrist Numerology In Gangnam Style", as well as countless other acts of crazy on his YouTube channel (including several more on both songs in question), former furniture engineer (cause apparently, that's a thing you can be) turned self-proclaimed "Co Prophet of The End Times" and "Third Eagle of the Apocalypse" AKA William Tapley, uses the age old pseudoscience of numerology to decipher the deep philosophical meaning behind the videos for "Gangnam Style" and Carly Rae Jepsen's, "Call Me Maybe". Both of which it turns out, are littered with secrete messages from the Antichrist. Which I don't completely disagree with. Well, I do. But I would like to think that the creators of such things are actually THE devil.   

Using the convoluted, Sudoku-like number game, that is numerology, numerologists like Tapely (who's also a Catholic, BTW. Which seems conflicting, but, whatever) are able to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and otherwise BS their way into discovering triple fives and sixes or whatever else they might like, wherever they may go looking for them. From there, it's just a simple matter of applying the correct (and always predictable) theological/supernatural associations, with a little bit of confirmation bias, and serving of personal agendas in order to make your case.


In his video breakdown, The Co-prophet wastes little time before offering irrefutable proof of his claims; beginning his dissertation by decoding the scene to the left. A scene which he believes, is obviously meant to be a depiction of the four horseman of the apocalypse, as well as the lesser known two scantily clad dancing girls of the rapture.

In fairness, I added the bit about the dancing girls. But, really? THOSE are the four horseman? How disappointing would THAT be?



From there, we move on to the first "REAL" bit of numerology in the video, when Tapley clearly establishes that PSY is meant to rep his man the dark lord, based on the appearance of the number 18 on a column in this next scene. Which, as he clearly explains, can be decoded as:  

" 8 + 1 = 9, Or, of course, as the Antichrist's number, 6+6+6."

Yes, of course it could.  It's like when your math teacher taught you that 11 + 2 = 13. Unless of course it doesn't. In which case, the answer is 4. No? ... Never happened? DAMN YOU PUBLIC SCHOOLING!

Later, PSY apparently goes on to meet his rival, "the man in yellow" (believe me I'm just as shocked as you are to find out there's apparently an actual story arc involved) who young William pegs as a representation of the g-o-d, because he is: A) PSY's enemy. Remember, PSY is the devil. And, B) There are 3 fives on the man in yellow's license plate. I mean, really. They're right there. Ya, they're separated by some other stuff, but they're there. You can't argue with facts, man.

There's also another long winded and convoluted bit about the number of numbers a woman in the video has on her shirt, and who/what she's supposed to be. But otherwise, things pretty much deteriorate completely from that point into personal interpretations about god being depicted as cowardly (since his guy wears yellow) and weak (since his guy looses) and a few other pretty standard Antichrist/rapture related apocalypse nonsense about multiculturalism, ETC. but there's nothing particularly entertaining about them. And my absolute favorite of Tapley's mental leaps in this video, actually comes in his much less thorough decoding (in this video anyway) of Carly Rae Jepsen's, Call me maybe. Which, again, he concludes to be a nuanced allegory for the war between god and the antichrist. In this case, with Carly representing Satan/sin, and the gay man in the video representing god, based on the iron-clad logic that his fake phone number begins with the prefix 555. But that's not even the best part.

That honor goes to the astonishing feat of mental contortion required for his decoding of the song's chorus. Which he believes is the Antichrist announcing his arrival, by saying:

" I [The Antichrist] just met you, and this is crazy [This, being the tribulation] so here's my number [gives you the mark of the beast] so call me maybe [my name is Mabus]". Yes, THAT, Mabus.

Mabus, if you don't know, being one of MANY interpretations of the name given to the Antichrist by Nostradamus. That's right, he actually managed to find a way to force a Nostradamus reference into all of this. Amazing.

It could probably go without saying that this is all ultimately very silly, if for no other reason, then because this man has clearly put more thought and consideration into the content of these two songs and videos in nine minutes, than anyone involved in creating them did in the entire production process. But the real, and ultimately unanswerable question you have to ask when you discover people like William Tapley is; is he for real? And the truth is, Poe's law is a thing for a reason. And with something this seemingly overtly insane, you can never really know for sure. Although I am inclined to think he means it. Because if this IS a character, and not a genuine statement of belief. He has both, persistence (given he's been at this since at least 2008) as well as one dry-ass sense of humor.

And I haven't even mentioned his music yet...

-CAINE-

Yes, that's right kids. The Third Eagle of the apocalypse apparently even managed to make it onto CNN earlier this year, after writing a BEAUTIFUL song for Mitt Romney. Which, sadly, did not become the theme for Mitten's campaign, as Tapley had hoped. But I've chosen a different selection from his catalog, an anti-abortion ditty called, "Love Of Life (Let Our Father Plan Your Family)". Enjoy!

Posted by YouTube user: thirdeaglebooks  

*EDIT:  After looking around a bit more, it seems Tapley may actually have made it on CNN first, for his video about phallic symbols at the Denver airport; which is God damn hilarious, BTW. But does it really matter?*

Posted by Glenn Caine at 8:01 PM 0 comments

Labels: Bible, Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jasper, conspiracy, Critical Thinking, Cults, Gangnam Style, numerology, People Of Interest, Poe's Law, prophesy, PSY, Religion, Revelation, Skepticism, superstition, Wiliam Tapey

Tweet

And Now, Neil deGrasse Tyson Dances To Michael Jackson

Posted by Glenn Caine at 7:24 PM 0 comments

Labels: Astronomy, astrophysics, geek, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nerd, People Of Interest, Science, videos, Vimeo

Tweet

Craig Ferguson- Why Everything Sucks

Posted by Glenn Caine at 4:52 AM 0 comments

Labels: comedy, Craig Ferguson, Critical Thinking, Freethought, funny, People Of Interest, TV

Tweet

Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Anyone

Posted by YouTube user: bigthink

Last week, a website called Big Think, released the above video, in which Bill Nye shares some of his thoughts on why creationism is not an appropriate thing to teach children to believe. Not surprisingly, this prompted a predictable response from both sides of the..issue? Debate? No... Ummm.... AH: Prompting a predictable response from both sides of the ongoing commentary on the meaningless and distracting waste of time that is the non-theory of creationism and intelligent design, and the non existent scientific controversy over evolution. Which the creators of said non-theory have deliberately manufactured, in order to try and keep their nonsensical, simpleminded little fantasy about the nature of reality alive just a WEEeee-bit longer. Ya, that seems right. Unwieldy, yes. But right.

In case you don't know (are you new here?), creationism (young Earth creationism, creation science, intelligent design, ETC.) is a made up, pseudo-scientific means, of  attempting to prove a literal interpretation of the bible, through the age old  art of special pleading, and a little good ole fashioned misinformation, self-delusion, and denial. But -like every other established cell of the Abrahamic religions- intelligent designers aren't content to live in their own lukewarm pool of happy ignorance, and have spent the better part of the past 60 years or so, attempting to subvert science education, and even the public understanding of the basic words and terms associated with science, in order to wedge their personal religious beliefs into the public consciousness. Their tactic of choice for achieving this goal, has been through continued and still ongoing attempts to eliminate or at least retard the teaching of evolution in public schools, while deliberately re-branding and mislabeling their own biblically inspired belief system as a legitimate science. Which, not to spoil the ending for you, BUT- it isn't. 

Just in case I haven't been clear enough about my feelings on the subject yet, either here or in past writings, it's safe to say that I am not a fan of creationism/intelligent design; or whatever the hell it is they may be calling themselves this week, or at any point in the future. More to the point, it's one of the many worthless ideas in the world that I see as deserving of only ridicule, disrespect, and out right dismissal, as it is of absolutely no intellectual value whatsoever. I genuinely don't think I can make my feelings about it any more clear than that. And yes, the fact that it's a religious interpretation of reality doesn't win it any points, where my particular world view is concerned. But the real reason I think creationism deserving of  uninhibited criticism and attack, is the fact that it's creators and promoters openly and deliberately work to deny and disguise the religious nature of  their beliefs, in order to subvert the general public's understanding of the scientific facts of reality. Also, it's just silly.

Whatever your feelings on people's rights to their personal beliefs and interpretations of reality; and on a personal level, I'm fine with people believing whatever nutty thing they like, provided it doesn't impact my existence in any way shape or form; determining the value of creationism is simple. Your proposed model of reality is either, A: a personal philosophical view without need of outside verification. Or B: it's a scientific theory. You don't get to have it both ways. If it's a personal choice, then you are free to shield both it and yourself, from the facts which contradict it. But, if you choose to label what you believe a science, then it must stand up to critical scrutiny and the trials of the scientific method. If it cannot, and intelligent design (creationism, ETC.), can't, then it is not science.

-CAINE-

Posted by Glenn Caine at 1:49 PM 0 comments

Labels: Bill Nye, creationism, Creationist, Critical Thinking, Cults, intelligent design, People Of Interest, pseudoscience, Religion, Science

Tweet

Something From Nothing- A conversation W/Richard Dawkins & Lawrence Krauss

Posted by Glenn Caine at 5:17 PM 0 comments

Labels: Atheism, Critical Thinking, Education, Freethought, Lawrence Krauss, People Of Interest, Richard Dawkins, Science

Tweet

Things That WILL be Awesome: NERDIST on YouTube

Posted by YouTube user:Nerdist

I suspect most of you already know this, but just in case you don’t. Two days from now, Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist Industries will begin airing original video content via it’s new channel on YouTube. I’m a big fan of Hardwick’s and the Nerdist, and the shows thus far announced for the channel look awesome. So if you haven’t already, then go do as Zombie Hardwick says, and subscribe to the Nerdist channel on YouTube

As for those of you who are somehow unaware of Chris Hardwick or the Nerdist podcast. First of all, I forgive you, only just, but I do. Seriously though, how did you even get here? And are you sure you’re really a geek? Now go Nerdist.com to atone for your ignorance.

You can thank me later.

-CAINE-

Posted by Glenn Caine at 2:19 PM 0 comments

Labels: Chris Hardwick, General Geekery, Nerd, People Of Interest, reccomendations, shorts, Stuff I Like, Youtube, Zombies

Tweet

A Year of Gunplay With FreddieW

Posted by Glenn Caine at 11:13 PM 0 comments

Labels: FreddieW, General Geekery, People Of Interest, videos, Youtube

Tweet

George Hrab's Twitter song (Dragon Con 2011)

Posted by Youtube user:ipeeepay

Normally, I'm not much for puns. But somehow, George manages to make them funny. So, for those of you who also enjoy George Hrab (Music/The Geologic Podcast) and terrible, terrible puns, I give you both; along with Evan Bernstein (The Skeptics Guide to The universe) and Brian Brushwood (NSFW/Scam School/Weird Things).

And if you are a fellow skeptic/science geek/ETC, who is somehow unfamiliar with George, Brian, or Evan, be sure to follow the links provided to check out their various podcasts, as well as the rest of George's music.

-CAINE-

Posted by Youtube user: ipeeepay

VIA: GGB on Tumblr

Posted by Glenn Caine at 11:36 PM 0 comments

Labels: Brian Brushwood, Dragon Con, Evan Bernsteing, funny, General Geekery, George Hrab, Music, Nerd, People Of Interest, Skepticism, videos

Tweet

Stephen Fry on Life, Desire, 42, and The Philosophy of Star Trek

Posted by Glenn Caine at 11:44 AM 0 comments

Labels: 42, Critical Thinking, Freethought, Interveiws, People Of Interest, Philosophy, Star Trek, Stephen Fry, videos

Tweet

Piff The Magic Dragon VS Penn & Teller

Posted by Glenn Caine at 11:54 PM 0 comments

Labels: Art/Artists, Critical Thinking, funny, General Geekery, magic, Penn and Teller, People Of Interest, Piff The Magic Dragon, TV, videos

Tweet

Behemoth Frontman Facing Blasphemy Charges in Poland

Posted by Glenn Caine at 9:26 PM 0 comments

Labels: Behemoth, Blasphemy, Freethought, Music, Nergal, People Of Interest, Religion

Tweet

Felicia Day, Sean Astin- Behind The Scenes: When Galaxies Collide

Posted by Youtube user: SpitzerScienceCenter

With Yesterday’s successful launch of the shuttle Atlantis into space, the final mission for NASA’s long run shuttle program, I thought I should share something sciency, and spacey; given that I don't really have any original thoughts to share where the end of the shuttle program is concerned.

So here’s a funny little video from the Spitzer Science Center in which Felicia Day, tries to explain some of the real science behind Galactic Collisions to an overzealous producer looking for something a little more sensational. It’s also a depressingly accurate depiction of how the worlds of mainstream media and entertainment tend to treat such topics.

Posted by Glenn Caine at 4:57 PM 0 comments

Labels: cosmology, Critical Thinking, Felicia Day, funny, General Geekery, People Of Interest, Science, shorts, Space

Tweet

Talking Funny with Ricky Gervais, Louis Ck, Chris Rock And Jerry Seinfeld

So aside from science, sci-fi, video games, and the usual assortment of things you’d expect a man who happily proclaims himself a Godless Geek wherever he may go to be into, I am also a huge comedy geek. No, that doesn’t mean I spend my free time following my favorite comedians around the country like the grateful dead, or obsessively collecting obscure recordings and memorabilia. This particular obsession isn’t about being a fan-boy, it’s about what I see as the true value and meaning of great comedy. Because I believe, that at it’s best comedy isn’t just about making someone laugh, it’s about making them reconsider how they see the world around them, it’s about challenging conventions and other peoples values and ideals, and it’s about expressing who you are and embracing your individuality, regardless of whatever social consequences doing so may bring.

That may sound a little strange to you if you’re just a casual fan with a favorite comedian or two. But trust me when I tell you, that I am not the only one who sees comedy as more than mere performance art or mindless distraction, but as the most popular, accessible, and purest form of free thought, self expression, and critical thinking in the world today; one whose influence has had a large hand in shaping my own view of both myself, as well as the world around me over the years. But that doesn’t mean that good comedy has to be deeply philosophical, insightful, or even particularly meaningful to be good, it just has to be funny.

So what is it that makes something funny? How do you build a successful act? Is there anything you really cannot, or simply should not joke about stage? And what makes a “good bit”, a good bit?

In the HBO special, “Talking Funny”, Louis CK and Ricky Gervais, along with Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, spend an hour together sharing their answers to those questions and various others, as well as discussing the world of comedy and performing in general. The end result, is as interesting and insightful, as it is entertaining. So Weather your a comedy geek like me, whose fascinated with the process and motivations behind making good comedy, or you just happen to be a fan of any of the above comedians looking for a good laugh. This show is both hilarious and fascinating, and you should really check out all four parts.

-CAINE-

VIA: GGB on tublr

Posted by Youtube user: JohnOath

Posted by Glenn Caine at 1:08 PM 0 comments

Labels: Critical Thinking, Freethought, funny, People Of Interest, TV, videos

Tweet

Christopher Hitchens' Letter to the American Atheists National Convention

Posted by Glenn Caine at 4:22 PM 0 comments

Labels: Atheism, Critical Thinking, Freethought, People Of Interest, Religion

Tweet

Tim Minchin's "Storm" The Animated Movie

Posted by Glenn Caine at 11:00 PM 1 comments

Labels: Alternative Medicine, Animation, Art/Artists, Critical Thinking, Freethought, funny, Music, People Of Interest, pseudoscience, shorts, Skepticism

Tweet

Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic

With the sea now frozen over, and months of sustained darkness, snow storms, and extremes frosts setting in, the team would have to remain on the base, isolated from the outside world, until the ship which brought them to the site was able to return the following year.Unfortunately for the team’s doctor, then 27 year old Leningrad surgeon Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov, it didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse.

By April, Just a few weeks into the their extended isolation on the base, Leonid had begun to fall ill, suffering symptoms of weakness, nausea, malaise, and later, a pain which began in the upper part of his abdomen before ultimately shifting down to it's lower right quadrant. The symptoms were unmistakable, and by April 29th Rogozov was certain of the diagnosis, writing in his journal:

“It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends? Who could be of help? A polar explorer’s only encounter with medicine is likely to have been in a dentist’s chair.”

The surgeon knew that his only chance for survival was an operation, but transportation at this point was clearly impossible, and as the only doctor on the team, Rogozov new his only option was to perform the operation on himself. Preparations began the following day.

After having several members of the team help prepare a make-shift OR in his room, Leonid assigned each of his new assistants specific tasks and showed them how to administer artificial ventilation and injections with the drugs he had prepared in case he lost conscientiousness during the procedure. Once these preparations were complete, and the doctor had helped to properly sterilize his assistants, as well as his operating room, at 2am local time, Rogozov began to perform his own appendectomy.

Lying in a semi reclined position, Leonid began the operation, first injecting himself with the anesthetic procaine before making a 10-12 cm incision into his abdomen with the aid of a small mirror. Though he would turn to the mirror throughout the procedure to try and get a better look at what he was doing, Rogozov worked primarily by feel, using his ungloved hands to feel around inside of his abdomen in order to locate and remove the inflamed organ. Which he did, fighting through weakness and vertigo, and working mostly blind, in just an hour and forty-five minutes.

Leonid went on to make a full recovery in just two weeks, and returned home the following year, where he would live a full life up until his death from stomach cancer in September of 2000.

-CAINE-

To read more excerpts from Leonid's Journal, as well as a more detailed description of the procedure itself, be sure to read the original article from the British Medical Journal’s (BMJ) website.

This story was also posted on: Compendium oF Strange.

Posted by Glenn Caine at 12:20 AM 1 comments

Labels: Biology, medicine, People Of Interest, Science, Strange

Tweet

Et tu Spock?

How could I possibly in good conscience mention Captain Kirk's birthday birthday but not Mr. Spocks? Answer: I can't. Sure, had I remember that today was Leonard Nimoy's 80th birthday I probably would have just mentioned the two together, but what can I say, I guess I'm just not a very good Star Trek fan.

Posted by Glenn Caine at 1:35 PM 0 comments

Labels: funny, General Geekery, Movies, Music, People Of Interest, Photography, Sci-fi, TV

Tweet

Shatner's 80th

But I simply could not pass up the oportunity to share one of my favorite things in the history of recorded time, Two of my favorite beings in the known universe, William Shatner and Henry Rollins (who's 50th I failed to mention last month), together performing the track “I can’t Get Behind That” from Shatner’s 2004 album, “Has Been”. Happy belated 80th Bill!

Enjoy.

-CAINE-

Unfortunately, there is no official video for this song, why no one set up a camera to record this session I’ll never know, but the song itself is the important part, so just hit play and listen!

Source: Compendium oF Strange

Posted by Glenn Caine at 2:06 PM 2 comments

Labels: funny, General Geekery, Music, People Of Interest, Sci-fi, Weird Things

Tweet