Two Articles I Would Literally Regret Not Sharing With You

So I thought I was on holiday break.

But two articles I came across recently are so good that I realized that I would literally regret not sharing them with you.

First is this piece by Ricky Gervais. It's from The Wall Street Journal and it explores the roots of his atheism. Comedians are some of the brightest users of language around, so it should come as no surprise that this piece is sharp, cutting, and extremely thought-provoking. Here is just one of the many outstanding passages that the piece contains:

The dictionary definition of God is “a supernatural creator and overseer of the universe.” Included in this definition are all deities, goddesses and supernatural beings. Since the beginning of recorded history, which is defined by the invention of writing by the Sumerians around 6,000 years ago, historians have cataloged over 3700 supernatural beings, of which 2870 can be considered deities.


So next time someone tells me they believe in God, I’ll say “Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupiter? Mars? Odin? Thor? Krishna? Vishnu? Ra?…” If they say “Just God. I only believe in the one God,” I’ll point out that they are nearly as atheistic as me. I don’t believe in 2,870 gods, and they don’t believe in 2,869.

Kudos to you, Mr. Gervais.

Second, and maybe more importantly, is this piece from GQ by Mary Rogan. Brian Burke is a name that any hockey fan knows, one that is synonymous with words like ruthless, and domineering, and notorious bad-ass. When his son Brendan died in a car accident in February of 2010, it was a tragedy. But it was also the start of Brian's new role--as a gay rights advocate.

You see, Brendan was a pioneer--a high-profile name in the sports world, certainly the first in the professional hockey world, who was openly gay. He came out during an ESPN.com interview, after he'd told his family. His older brother Patrick remembers how it happened, right after he'd returned from a road trip to Rhode Island:

"I had a bunch of bags in the car, and I went inside to tell Brendan he had to help get the luggage out. We're walking to the car and he said, 'I have something to tell you: I'm gay.' I said, 'Are you being serious? Are we having this conversation, or are you just joking around?' He said, 'No, I'm serious.' I said, 'Well, that doesn't change anything, and I love you—now grab those bags and let's go inside.' The whole conversation was about thirty seconds long, and when I opened the door I yelled, 'Mom, you owe me twenty bucks—I told you he was gay!'"

I was in tears for most of this piece, and I expect you will be too.


And that's all until 2011.
JS

Try Not To Eat Your Screen

You don't even want to see what he'll do if you tell him Jesus wasn't born in December.

I wanted to give you all some reading before the crush of the holidays begins to hit. I'm sick, so don't expect much wit.

-This is a piece from Discover that looks at a group of scientists  on the verge of uncovering just where scizhophrenia comes from. Their description:

Schizophrenia has long been blamed on bad genes or even bad parents. Wrong, says a growing group of psychiatrists. The real culprit, they claim, is a virus that lives entwined in every person's DNA.

Scary, but interesting, stuff.

-This is a piece from The Washington Post by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. It is an answer to Sarah Palin's suggestion that religion should actually be a part of government. As long as it's her religion, of course.

-Christopher Hitchens may be dying of cancer, but that isn't stopping him from writing, and boy, does he rip The Tea Party and Glenn Beck a new one here.

-Doughnut Plant is amazing. If you don't like Doughnut Plant, we can't be friends, simple as that. They just posted a new gallery of photos, which you can find here. Be careful not to try and eat your screen.

-As 2010 begins to end, we will surely be inundated with lists proclaiming "The Best _____ of 2010." Here's one worth paying attention to though--Roger Ebert's 10 best movies of '10.

That's all for now, maybe even until the New Year.

Have a happy and a healthy.
JS

Happy Holidays

Insane Christmas Decorations

In the spirit of the Holiday Season, here are five SIX videos that I can't stop watching:

Blake Griffin's Top 10 Dunks



This was posted on Twitter by--well, I forget. If it was you, sorry. But yeah, it's official, Blake Griffin makes me want to watch basketball. I'm sure he'll get busted for something soon enough, or make some heinous PR move, or give out tainted capons on Christmas Day, but until then, he gets the love.



The Making of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt



This was posted on just about every Tech blog. I don't care though. This is the first new-wave technology car that actually made my eyebrows move. And considering it's a Chevy, well, that's saying something.



Fast Food Sushi by Epic Meal Time



Via @dpante, the Epic Meal Time boys (and girl) have been known to bring the pain. Surely you remember such classics as the Massive Meat Log and the Greasiest Sandwich Ever. Fast Food Sushi continues their reign of terror on our minds and arteries. And I feel really bad saying this, but, um, some of that "sushi" looks really good.



Rudolph (You Don't Have To Put On The Red Light)



Via Devour, this mashup is threatening to become one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. Pure genius.



North Point's iBand Presents: Christmas Music



This is Devour's latest. I know our collective attention spans are perilously short, but the seven minutes it will take to watch this is so worth it. Just don't tell these guys that iPads are meant to be consumption-only devices. They might not like that.

UPDATED

Fight Club For Senior Citizens



Do I even need to comment on this?


And that's all I've got for now, folks.

Happy Holidays,
JS