"Rad"

I've been hearing a word lately that I remember fondly from my youth - but it's been people other than me saying it, total strangers even - That word being "rad".

Is it just me, or is this word making a comeback?! And if so, I'll tell you, I couldn't be happier :)

That's pretty rad.

The Verdict

The verdict is expected today in the Kent Hovind case. Whatever happens, this will be a landmark case.

Look, I don't pretend to know everything about this case, or have a vast knowledge of law, but what they want to do to Hovind, is this really justified?

In contrast, Al Sharpton reportedly still owes 4 million dollars to the IRS, but for some reason he's still allowed to walk around freely as we speak.

But whether you think he's a tax cheat or not, it's important to realize that the man has already spent the better part of a decade in prison. You know as well as I do, many people convicted of murder and rape are receiving much lighter sentences than that.

Heck, the IRS has recently come out and apologized for mis-applying "structuring" laws, (laws primarily designed to target drug dealers and the like) against law-abiding Americans. They've already taken Kent's property and left him with basically no money, what more is truly justified?

The court in this case claims that everything Kent does is "motivated by greed", but if you have any experience of the man, it's pretty evident, whether you think he's delusional or not, that he operates in good faith, that he is motivated not by greed, by a sincere desire to spread the gospel.

In my view, this case is about much more than taxes or letters. In my view, these prosecutors and judges have taken a personal interest and investment in seeing that Hovind rots in prison for the rest of his life. Pray that the Feds don't make you their target. Pray for God's purpose to come about in this case, whether we will presently like the verdict or not. Pray for Kent Hovind.

A Belated Tribute

Nobody wore it like you, Mr. Nimoy.

Living where I do, I don't come across celebrities very often, but Leonard Nimoy was an exception. I took an unlikely visit in 2010 to western small town Vulcan, Alberta, literally finding myself mere feet from the man. You can read about it and see my photos here - http://blog.deantfraser.com/2013/02/i-encountered-spock.html

A Salute!

photo via Merchant of Venom.

I salute you, sir! Let's give the political correctness a rest, because, come on, who are we kidding - It's a Christmas Tree.

Ok, I'll Say It; Summer Is Horrible.

Yeah, I'll probably feel differently in five minutes, but you've got to let me get this off my chest.

Summer is horrible.

I get up in the morning and before I've done anything, I'm sweating. Sticky, greasy, smelly sweat. I'm just sitting in a chair, sweating. I've hardly even moved yet today, what did I do to deserve it? Go have a shower, get out, and then start sweating again. The air starts to get heavy. I feel strange, it's almost like being sick. I'm know not sick, but I feel like I'm sick. It's going to be a looong day.

Ok, sure, but what about all the great things you can do in the summer, like going to the beach? Yeah, the beach! The beach is great! The oppressive unceasing sun beating down on your already blistered red skin, inducing a paranoia to inspect that weird brown spot on your elbow every five minutes. The dry, aching, cracked lips. The boiling, soupy, eye-stinging salt water that leaves a pale brown foam and makes your hair all crusty. The horrible infestation of sand that gets EVERYWHERE; in your butt crack, in your armpit hair, in your eyelashes - and boy, if you get it in your shoes, IT AIN'T EVER GOING AWAY.

And this is not to mention the people at the beach. Folks shamelessly walking around letting all their flappy folds of flesh hang out EVERYWHERE. But not only that; even normally attractive people look gross and old at the beach. The harsh unforgiving light of the summer sun accentuates every pimple, bump, and crease, and the salty water washes off all the makeup and makes your hair look thin and straw-like. On the beach, you look like greasy month-old ham with sweat-caked dog hair on top.

"Oh, well why not just go inside and turn on the air conditioning?" Well, that's great if you have it, but what if you dont? Any hey, it's not like electricity costs any money! Summer blackouts from the overload on the power grid, what could be more fun?

Well at least I can go out and enjoy the life and the energy of those cool summer nights, right? Sounds great! But NOPE. This potentially wonderful nocturnal reprieve from the blistering heat is ruined by the most aggravating of creatures; That's right, the mosquito. The bane of my existence for 3 months every year. SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED, SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED, SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED. AAAAARRRRRGH! My arms and legs make it look like I picked a fight with an alley cat in heat!

Want to hang out at a friend's evening backyard party? TOO BAD, THE MOSQUITOES ARE OUT! Light some candles or spray yourself with all the toxic chemicals you want - it won't help, you'll see. "These mosquitoes are eating me alive! We'd better go inside!"  Well that's fine, but I ALREADY SPENT ALL MY TIME INSIDE OVER THE WINTER!

At least everything is a wonderful lush green now. Oh wait, it was already lush and green in the spring! At least I could go out in the fresh fragrant spring air without MY LUNGS HEAVING WITH HUMIDITY, without MY SKIN SCORCHED AND INSECT BITTEN or without MY SMELLY CLOTHES STICKING TO MY GREASY SWEAT DRENCHED BODY.

Come to think of it, maybe that's what Summer really is; a twisted, mutated, steroided-out extreme version of Spring. AND IT JUST WON'T END.

But in case I haven't said it - Oh Autumn, with your crisp, fresh, invigorating touch. I love you. Come quickly.

Please, share your comments!

Think About It: "Tolerance"

"Tolerance."

Have you ever noticed that whenever someone implores you to be "tolerant", they always place within that request an expectation for you to not tolerate something? Think about it.

What are these people really saying when they demand you to be "tolerant"? Are they really "tolerant" of your view if they expect that you should change it? See what I mean?

What do people really mean by "tolerance"? Tolerance of what?

The same holds true for "close-mindedness". You'll notice that whenever someone dismisses your view because it's "close-minded", that they're actually being "close-minded" to the possibility you could be right.

So where does that lead us? What should we be tolerant of, and intolerant of? Should each person just be tolerant of whatever they feel like they should be tolerant of? Should you be tolerant of something simply because another person tells you you should, or because the majority opinion of the day says you should?

Is it actually a question of "tolerance" at all?

Who's standard should we use to determine what to be tolerant of and what not to, after all? I do have an answer, but you're probably not going to like it...

Think about it.

Just for the record...

Al Gore said this in 2008. The very snowy and cold winter we've been having here in Canada aside, have you been paying attention to the north and south poles this year, Mr Gore?

Look, I get that the issue is complex, but whether anthropogenic global warming is real or not, I just want to make sure this one doesn't disappear down the memory hole...

No, I actually *don't* watch "The Walking Dead"...

It's odd, I'm often approached by others who tell me about some show they are watching and they genuinely seem surprised that I'm not watching it. They reference some character on one of these shows and I have no idea what they are talking about. Sometimes it's in multiples too, I'm often amazed at the extensive list of shows people tell me they watch!

And this is all on top of the video games, role-playing card games, comics, and movies that people tell me they're into!

Some of these shows (maybe most of these shows?) just don't sound like something I would enjoy. I'm not turned on my zombies or vampires either....  But even if I was interested, there's too much to do and too few hours in a day as it is! Where do you people find the time to consume all this stuff?!

I didn't watch the Sopranos and I didn't watch 24. I don't watch Vampire Diaries, I don't watch Mad Men, I don't watch Boardwalk Empire, I don't watch Walking Dead, I don't watch Game of Thrones, I don't watch Breaking Bad, and I don't watch Sons of Anarchy. And I know next to nothing about them. And I'm fine with that.

I have a handful of shows I enjoy, and watch them when they come around. I can't imagine taking on much more though. America's Got Talent has been an adequate summer distraction for a few years, but for whatever reason I've grown pretty cold towards it this year. I've been giving "Under the Dome" a shot, but (for a number of reasons) it feels more like a chore to watch the further it goes. I've missed the last couple of episodes and don't expect I'll be going back.

Frankly, if I had to choose, I would prefer to drop shows rather than pick up new ones.

People tell me that this or that show is "superb" or "basically the best show ever". Well, I don't know whether it is or not, but that's the problem. There's always going to be a show come around (or game, or movie etc.) that is the new "best ever". How can I keep up with it all? Do I even want to? Blech.