David Nikithser

This Saturday, Don’t Be Stupid

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:46:41 +0000

So the latest dipstick getting a pile of media attention is the pastor in Florida who thinks an appropriate way to commemorate the anniversary of the worst tragedy in recent American history is with a metaphorical act of stupidity and jingoism that should, frankly, cost him his job.

Do you know who the worst terrorists in American history were? Confederate soldiers. They completely rejected our American system of government, aligned with a rogue state, and killed almost 100 times as many patriotic American citizens as the terrorists nine years ago did. I’m willing to bet at least a few of those soldiers were Christians. Have we seen any calls to burn bibles in the states that seceded? Of course not – because that would be ridiculous. Not every Rebel soldier was Christian, and those who justified their actions on religious grounds would probably be seen as extremists by their fellow brethren. See what I’m getting at here?

I’ve never been much of a “call to arms” guy with my blog – mainly because almost nobody reads it – but I’m going to do it here today. If you understand that not every brown person is a terrorist, and if you’re willing to accept the good in some people rather than inciting more violence based on focusing on the bad in a few people, and if you are capable of thinking for yourself and not mindlessly following a particular political or religious ideology, join me on Saturday.

Find a Middle Eastern restaurant in your area, and have a meal there. Or just stop in, say hello, and buy a Coke. Let the proprietors know that we’re not all hateful lunatics.

“Bleeding heart liberalism”? ”Missing the point”? No. I feel the people who attacked us should be utterly removed from the planet. The “point” I’m “missing” is how burning a book helps (and how you can tell me it doesn’t hurt) with our efforts to accomplish that. Burning a holy book is a baseless, pointless, hateful act that accomplishes nothing except angering our enemies. The devout followers of Islam we all live with in our communities, our workplaces, and the rest of our lives don’t need to watch a creep destroying something they hold sacred out of misdirected anger and an inability to incorporate a little subtlety in their thought processes.

Are you with me? Good. Tweet this blog post. Tell your friends. C’mon out on Saturday and make a small attempt to counter the ignorance with some intelligent, positive activity.

You can find restaurants in your area using any one of the following sites:

Yelp
U rban Spoon
Zagat
CitySearch

I should be in Atlantic City this weekend, so I’ll be doing my research to see where I’ll be eating. I’d be curious to hear where you all went. Please include details about your trips in the Comments.

Rob Thurman – “Chimera”

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:51:52 +0000

Has everyone seen the trailer video for the brilliant urban fantasy author Rob Thurman’s latest offering, Chimera?

She’ll be appearing at Dragon-Con in Atlanta from September 3-6 – make sure you check it out!

Politics: My Rules Of Engagement.

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:50:51 +0000

My Tweetstream has recently been overrun with folks who are really, really into politics. And that’s cool – but let me warn you, I don’t argue well in this regard, mostly because I only deal in fact. See, my take on politics is a lot like my take on religion – I don’t have much time for either. I feel religion is a bunch of mindless joiners killing each other over who’s got the cooler invisible friend; politics is much the same – unthinking ideologues screaming at each other over who’s side is represented by the better liar.

That being said, I’ve obviously got some interest in how the country I live in is run, so I’ll occasionally respond or voice my opinion in some regard. But before you engage me in any kind of political discussion, debate, or argument (the logical type), let me provide some ground rules. Violate any of these, and my position is simple – you’re wrong, can’t defend your point, and our discussion is over. They are:

1. Cite primary sources. See, I’m an empiricist – I deal with the reality of situations. And politics is *not* about opinion. It is about making decisions, and decisions cannot be made based on opinion. They can only be made based on the judicious examination of fact. That said, when you say that a policy isn’t working or that a particular elected official is doing a bang-up job, I want sources. Numbers. Scientifically-viable statistics. Not polls, not editorials – facts.

2. Those sources had better be neutral. If you’re a conservative and you’re using Fox News as your source? I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. Seeing as there is no left-wing media, it’s hard to find an analogous example for the “other side”, but you get my meaning. Personal ideology should come *as the result* of careful thought, not *instead* of it.

3. If you cite a book, I want the footnote/endnote/reference as well. I want to be sure you’re abiding by rules 1 and 2 above.

4. Resort to name calling or pointless “one-liner-ing” and we’re done.

This is my attempt to raise the discourse about our political conversation in this world. Too many of us reduce every decision affecting our fellow citizens to its component platform talking points instead of just thinking things through logically and figuring out what makes the most sense. Granted, that second concept is harder – but that’s partially because we’ve been inundated with loud, obnoxious punditry via the TV news. Why have an intelligent debate about a particular issue when we can have two talking heads who’ve read a sheet of talking points photocopied by an intern scream at each other for half an hour? One brings solutions, the other brings ratings. Which one should matter more?

So – be smart. Think. Let’s talk about the issues. But stick to the rules.

Current Mood: contemplative

I am a bad techie.

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:10:07 +0000

Why would I say that?

I almost never use bookmarks.

I still type “www” before almost every web address I enter.

I almost always prefer a paper calendar to the one in my iPhone.

I’m not a Mac *or* a PC. I use both.

I don’t use an Address Book for email – I usually just type the address in.

I’ve no passionate commitment to any one game console. I do own a Wii though.

I discovered G4 last week.

The most complex app on my iPhone is Yahtzee.

Are you a bad techie too? Leave your reasons in the comments.

Current Mood: amused