Mr Mahatma--who is a Mr in real life--lives in the valleys of Southern California with his wife, a herd of Dears, and an impressive collection of books. Pnorny!
He is reachable at:
littlemrmahatma@yahoo.com

All writings are copyrighted 2003-2008 and trademarked: Little Mr. Mahatma

tBlog Mirror

Some fun links:
Little Miss Attila - polar opposite and origin of LMM.

Critical Sites:
Dr. Forbush Thinks
Slashdot
Games Slashdot
UserFriendly
James Randi
Snopes
Home of the Underdogs
The Sun Online

For those generous in spirit, heart, and wallet:

One of the seemingly untouchable cornerstones of the Bush election campaign is National Security, particularly Homeland Security, and how safe is keeping America. The Democrats don't have any retort to this because to take an opposing side would imply that they don't want a safe America. Meanwhile billions are being shoveled in to the Black Hole that is Homeland Defense. And I always thought the Republicans were for shrinking the Government not increasing its fat content.

But I diverge. The problem is Homeland Defense *MAY* be doing something against terrorists but we'll never know. Meanwhile good old American crime is still with us. And, really, if you stop to think about it for two seconds you'll realize that Homeland Defense can not in any way, shape, or form, stop the determined foreign or homegrown terrorist.

9/11 was a spectacular, terrible, tragic act - no doubt. But now the terrorists know they don't have do anything on that scale ever again. In fact, they don't have to do anything every again. All they have to do is threaten to do something and - Boom! - Homeland Defense raises the security level. Even if terrorist did do something it could be small scale - a McVeigh car bomb for example - just enough to get the paranoia back to insane levels.

The terrorists have won. That's it. Yay to them. They've disrupted our Government, our economy, our lives. They've instilled a new level of panic and paranoia to our daily routines. Airline travel, once a minor pain in the butt, has become a major pain in the butt. Homeland Security in order to protect us must take away enough liberties to keep eyes on us.

So again I admit the terrorists have won. Now get rid of Homeland Defense and put the money saved into Education. Give me back more of my personal freedoms, especially Speech. Get Bush and his wacko bunch out of Office. Let's get some sense of normalcy back into our lives.

And for the terrorists we'll have an awards ceremony in Beverly Hills...

Blog, Blog, Blog...

Little Mr Mahatma is expanding the numbers of mirrors for two reasons. The first is that zBlogger is proving most unreliable as a backup mirror. The second is that when I started searching for alternates I got caught up in the quest and so this will kind of review what's out there. All of these sites offer free blog space and are relatively quick and painless to open accounts.

Blogger is my primary site. It's reliable, easy to configure the look, and easy to submit posts in batches with custom HTML (by that I mean I could copy one big file in with headers as I specify, as opposed to entering in things piecemeal with header and text separate). I was also to add two RSS feeds. Atom is part of Blogger's world and Feedster was easily added. Blogger allows you create and delete sub-blogs so you can have more than one blog entity out there. Finally, Blogger has Google behind it. Blogger, of all of the sites reviewed here, was the best - hands-down.

zBlogger was my backup mirror. It was easy to configure and easy to submit posts in batches. However twice now it's gone down, as in dead, kaput, no response, which makes sychronization between sites a chore. I liked the look but it's become too unreliable to recommend as a primary blog site. Pity.

LiveJournal was very easy to start and seems very reliable, however customization is not as easy as Blogger and zBlogger. Entering posts in a single shot isn't easy. Titles are entered separately from text, though you can skip titles and enter everything in the text box. It just doesn't look as neat when it comes out. LiveJournal does have the advantage of having people post responses but some of the other sites offer the same.

eBloggy also has the advantage of having people post responses. Posting is split like LiveJournal. Character count is nice. Blue Ice template is very nice looking. And they have a decent template editor. This may become my main secondary mirror.

Blog-City Not as neat to work with as other sites. Configuration is confusing. Somehow my blog entry ended up as my header, or maybe it's intended that way. It looks horrid. Blog-City is there; it's free.

Blog Drive. Annoying creation of account. It wouldn't accept "littlemrmahatma" as a username but didn't say why it was invalid, nor give examples of acceptable formats. No category for Politics. No easy link to see new posts. No batch posts. Fairly easy configuration of all aspects of page howver. Better than zBlogger and Blog-City.

In summary, if you truly can't stand Blogger than likely you won't like any of the other sites because they all overlap functionality. Blogger happens to be the biggest, best, and generally easiest to configure. eBloggy, Blog Drive, and Live Journal I'd recommend as alternates for different reasons. eBloggy is like zBlogger - easy but more reliable. Blog Drive has great configurability once you get your account opened. LiveJournal is nice and simple. Heck, they're free. Try them all out!

I may have ranted on this topic previously but I'm too lazy to look through the back posts and, besides, it's a topic worth belaboring. Once again the gripe is against those who claim Moral Superiority because of their belief in God, or even that morals can only stem from such a belief. By now, you may have figured out that I'm not such a believer. Whether there is or isn't a God just isn't relevant to me. After hearing umpteen times that "God works in mysterious ways" it's become obvious that if we can not know God then we don't need to worship or expend any energy in such a Godly direction. Theism leads to contradictions which leads to living a more complex life, one full of confusion and open to misguidance. Those at the head of organized religions routinely interpret and misinterpret their gospels towards ends most human. As such organized religion is a constant display of man controlling man and not always in the best possible ways.

The morality from Theism is not one of personal responsibility. Instead responsibility is shuffled off to a convenient deity. Consider the following:


A man enters a daycare with a gun and kills small children. He is a fervent believer in a religion. He honestly believes that his actions were because God wanted him to. By our U.S. law he is obviously guilty but from a religious standpoint, is he? Are the children he killed going to heaven? If so, then his actions aren't heinous for certainly heaven is a better place than what is found in real existence. If the children are not of the same religion as the killer, he may be going to a better place for killing heathen and so depending on his religion his actions are again justified and acceptable.

Pretty lame. And as religion further infects our government what once was clear murder may become grey due to religious overtones. Religious-based morality - can anything be more harmful. Remember when Dubya called the war against the Taliban a crusade? That's how religions co-exist peacefully, by one side killing the other with full Moral justification.

Morality without the religious basis puts responsibility for one's action right back on the person doing the actions. The killer killed the children - he is responsible. A-Theistic Morality removes the blinders of religion and allows a clearer focus of events and actions. It allows for the development of Law that can apply towards all peoples equally without prejudice. It allows for clearer and freer communication. It unites people instead of dividing them into warring beliefs. Religion - faith - does not belong in a truly civilized society, for if we are to advance as a civilization we have to move beyond Gods, ghosts, superstitions, and things we believe in without evidence. To advance as a civilization we need to recognize a morality without the influence of God(s).

Rebuttal about Christianity

I got the following from a recent James Randi commentary. It's worth reading and darned impressive for one so young.


Jacob Spinney-An 18 year-old Atheist’s Rebuttal to “5 Crucial Questions about Christianity”

Osama bin Laden and Iran

in the recent State of the Union address I got the distinct feeling that bin Laden would be conveniently caught (as previously predicted) some time before the Presidential election. Bush made it sound like they have or know where all the Al Qaeda terrorists are and it's just a matter of rounding up them dogies. Bush knows that if he does trot out bin Laden before the election he will not only win but he can use the event to hide whatever the hell is going on with Hussein. Hussein represents a weak spot for Bush et al. because of previous family connections and U.S. sanctioned activities. Either Hussein has to get rid of that harmful information (*cough* reprogramming *cough*), his trial and execution has to be kept under wraps, or his trial and execution has to be damn fast. I bet the Iraqis will opt for the latter. Bring him in - Bang! Guilty! - take him out - Bang! Dead!.

The other feeling I got was that if Bush is honestly elected then we will be going against Iran next. I think I called this a year ago before the invasion of Iraq. Bush has already given a warning shot across the bow. Besides there's that oil thing.

zBlogger Dead Again

zBlogger appears to be comatose again so my mirror may or may not be updated any time soon.

Last night was the third State of the Union Address presented by the appointed President George W. Bush. Admittedly he's gotten better at reading and delivering speeches. The smirk is not as apparent and his ability to handle multi-syllable words has improved, though he still needs work on "nuclear". It probably gives him a thrill to say that word.

Highlights: When Bush mentioned affordable prescription medicine for Medicare folks, the cameras cut to Ted Kennedy rolling his eyes and looking to the heavens. I think Teddy wanted to bury Bush beneath one of his jowls. Don't worry Teddy, you'll be able to afford your medicine. You're still privileged.

Not too soon after that Bush was prattling on another topic, the crowd was going wild, and the cameras cut to Hillary Clinton sitting silent and somber. She looked like she'd rather be somewhere else, perhaps even with her husband. Hey Hillary, if you think you can do better, why don't you run for President? Get a nice boy intern... Wait a second, why am I picking on her? I'd probably vote for her.

I enjoyed the moment when Bush, saying how parts of the Patriot Act were soon to expire, got momentarily flustered at a smattering of applause. However that moment was quickly overwhelmed by those True Patriots clapping for complete renewal. Civil liberties be damned! We talking nasty terrorists. Bush probably had the House Gestapo take those who clapped against the Patriot Act outside for "re-processing".

In all, a typical White House dog-and-pony show. Listening to Bush, you'd think we had a perfect economy, perfect peace, and an undefeatable military. Yet, of course, all is not well. We're in a war with terrorists (whom are everywhere), religion has yet to be fully integrated into our school systems and government, there's a patch of healthy trees in Washington in need of deforestation, and there's still billions of dollars waiting to be siphoned over to the wealthy. Bush's work is not yet done. America is bleeding but not yet dead.

What gets me is the blatant hypocrisy or maybe it's irony. Two examples: First, Bush mentioned how we *HAD* to go after Hussein because if we didn't then the United Nations would look impotent. We had to take out Hussein so that Hussein wouldn't make the United Nations look bad. Bush neatly sidestepped the fact that we unilaterally went blazing into Iraq against the wishes of the United Nations. So, we made the United Nations look impotent. More importantly, it sent the signal that whatever went on in the world had to do so under the eyes of the U.S.. The actions of the U.S. towards Iraq pretty much spelled the end of the United Nations as any type of world authority. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WoMD) were mentioned as a likely reality if Hussein had stayed in power. Even Bush is waffling against his own words that Hussein *HAD* WoMD and thus we had to go in and get him. Lies begets lies begets lies.

Second, Bush stood up there and talked, like most recent U.S. Presidents, about the need for world peace. How the U.S. is committed to peace. how we're a peaceful nation. Blah, blah, blah. Then, he talked about the war against the terrorists. We won't stop fighting until the terrorists are gone. Homeland Security is making sure we will be safe from terrorists. Terrorists everywhere! Even your neighbors might be terrorists!

How can we be about peace if we're committed to a nebulous open-ended ill-defined war? What defines the moment when terrorism is officially eradicated? Are we talking about prosecuting or eliminating those terrorist groups who've actually comitted acts, or are we expanded the territory to include those who may do heinous acts? Is intent enough for a conviction or elimination? How about those who talk about doing heinous acts, but really wouldn't (like most teenagers, for example)? Are mere words enough for suspicion and detention? If I bad mouth the policies of the Government is that Freedom of Speech or inciting terrorism? Where's the lines? Bush's War on Terrorism is a convenient excuse trash our civil liberties, to destroy everything that America stands for, in the name of Homeland Security.

Terrorism is a concept that may or may be not be acted out. To have a war on a concept opens the door for mass persecution and unnecessary paranoia. No wonder Rumsfeld looked so gleeful with Bush going on about the Patriot Act. He was thinking "POWER!" How can we have peace in our nation when the citizens fear their very Government. How can we have peace in the world when the most powerful nation in the name of peace seeks to eradicate any group or country that doesn't see things the same way?

What's next - Thought Police?

If you - the reader of this crappy writing - consider yourself a true Patriotic, Freedom-loving, peaceful American then come November do not vote Republican and perhaps not even Democrat. Vote third party. We need a change. We need more options.

Swear Words on TV

There was a news item on TV that Californian Representative Doug Ose is trying to get a bill that would limit profanity on TV. The news cited a "Parents Television Council" statistic that showed profanity increasing 95% in the past couple of years during prime viewing hours, to something like 5.8 words per hour.

From the "Parents Television Council" (PTC) site - here

"Foul language increased overall during every timeslot between 1998 and 2002. Foul language during the Family Hour increased by 94.8% between 1998 and 2002 and by 109.1% during the 9:00 p.m. ET/PT time slot. Ironically, the smallest increase (38.7%) occurred during the last hour of prime time - the hour when young children are least likely to be in the viewing audience."

"The good news is that there were some minor qualitative improvements. That is, in every time slot, mild oaths and curses comprised a larger share of the foul language in 2002 than in 1998, which means that harsher terms (scatological and sexually indecent language, for example) became marginally less prominent."

I admire the intent of the site - giving parents a resource to determine whether a TV show is appropriate for kids to watch. Though it'd be just as easy for the parents to take responsibility themselves, watch the shows, and make their own judgement calls. I fear that the efforts of the PTC are more politically motivated, that providing resources to parents isn't their goal. Instead they want to dictate policy. So I did a little snooping.

According to FTC 2001 tax statement that you can download from their site the President of the PTC is Brent Bozell. (And look Pat Boone is on the statement as well.)

Brent Bozell appears to be behind the Media Research Center (MRC) and a few other groups. The MRC mention that their purpose is to keep balance in the Media. By that they mean offsetting anything that's Liberal or anything they disagree with by using Political Activism. Mind you I found this out because of the "Liberal" media reporting their study to begin with so I think the issue really boils down to:

This is yet another Conservative Group seeking power and control. This Bozell person seems to have his fingers in quite a few web sites, all nicely linked to each other. And look the PTC brought in $6 million dollars in 2002. How much money are we talking here behind all these groups?

Call me a Liberal if by that you mean some one who loves Freedom and personal responsibility. Consider this. The FCC has already said that there are certain words that can't be said on TV (reference George Carlin). The PTC wants to expand that list to include derivations, so "fuck" is outlawed except as an adjective. The problems is that if derivations get forbidden, how long before non-English versions (e.g. merde and scheiss) and their derivations get added. How long before the list is expanded? End result is censorship.

I'm sick of Conservatives trying to control my judgements for me. Censorship doesn't work. Once you start down the road of censorship you have to continue down it until you end up trying to control damn near everything and you can't do that for one simple reason. Human variability. We're all different in our thoughts, desires, interests, and needs. With over 280 million people in the U.S. alone, it's a guarantee that no matter what rule you make there'll be someone to break it. Outlaw cannibalism. Look! - There's someone posting on the Net looking for a willing body for consumption. And there's 200 replies. And there's the meet, the meat, and the eat. It happened in Germany.

With so much human variation you can either try to control as much as possible or teach responsibility and control the occassional damage from having so much freedom. Conservatives want to control as much as possible - clean words mean clean thoughts. Say "No!" to drugs means no drug users. But hypocrisy creeps in, witness Rush Limbaugh and his drug problem. You end up with the Haves (those who make the rules but don't necessarily follow them) and HaveNots (those who have to follow the rules). Conservatives preach responsibility but avoid it like the plague.

This prelude to formal censorship overlooks intent. If "fuck" and "shit" were removed entirely from our language, other words would fill the void. We seek words to express our intent. If I drop a hammer on my foot and scream "Boggywoggle!" it'd mean the exact same thing as "Shit!". If anything, I want the FCC to say that under Freedom of Speech all words are allowed on TV. I'd rather teach my kids that some words are more polite than others, and not make an issue of it. Tell them that certain words are outlawed and you guarantee that you'll be hearing those words over and over and over. Instead of censorship let's teach responsibility and manners. Hey, that'd shrink the Government too.

On a different path of venting what's also gets me is that the FCC list is only - what - 8 or 10 words. That's it? For the whole of English language with umpteen gazillion words the FCC could find so few worthy of penalty? What has happended to language? Where's the variety? "Fuck" is it - the ultimate swear word? How disappointing. Perhaps "boggywoggle" should be the ultimate swear word. Ooohhh...

The version of Little Mr Mahatma on the Blogger site has now been RSS activated, meaning - theoretically - you can get this blog as a news feed. Why you'd want to - I don't know. It was just something to do. Check it on Feedster. Now let's see if Little Miss Attila follows lead.

Obviously election time. Bush is shooting for the Hispanic vote by suggesting that illegal aliens become legal aliens. He's shooting for the intellectual vote by suggesting we return to the moon and send manned voyages to Mars. What next? The tree-hugger vote by declaring the Pacific Ocean a National Wildlife Refuge? The American Motorist vote by declaring that Fords and Chevys are now the Official Cars Makers of America? Will he go after the overweight persons vote by declaring all calories and consumption thereof not only American but morally correct and acceptable to God?

It just doesn't end.

But I meant to talk about Mars, the Planet, not the Mythological figure. A manned mission to Mars sounds great - sci-fi brought to life. But realistically it's a long way off. Even now sending robots, we're running about a 60% success rate of even reaching the planet. That's getting there. We've yet to get there and come back. Figure a long time until that process is worked out and expect a very low success rate at the start. In short, sending people to Mars any time soon will be a suicide mission - plain and simple.

And there's the expense of sending people. You have to send everything - food, clothing, entertainment, work - with them in a reliable environment. You have to process and recycle as much as possible and have systems to do the recycling. And the systems have to be redundant as much as possible. In short again, very expensive.

As neat as it sounds to send humans to Mars there is no real reason any time soon. Exploration can be done cheaper, faster, and with far less risk by using robots. The only things robots can't do is deliver votes during an election year.

Dean and Religion

The local paper has had articles about Howard Dean and his wavering position on Religion. That is, his religious beliefs and how they factor into his Political beliefs. It's a perfect Republican setup. The Republicans think they hold the Moral high ground, what after Clinton's sexcapades. Never mind the lies and illegalities regarding Iraq, the Republicans think that their every move is morally in the right and clear. They attack the Democrats from this snooty highpoint and the Dems don't know what to do.

If any of them had any cajones (balls for you gringos) they'd turn it around and shove it back at the Republicans. By simply holding the correct American position that Religion has *NO* business in Politics, that our Founders specifically stressed a separation between Church and State and anything else in un-American, the Democrats could launch a political offensive and drive the Republican back into their gold-gilded whorehouses. Shove the Republican Morality right up their behinds from whence it came. Put them on the defensive. Make them explain why the Constitution should be trampled, why Civil Liberties should be discarded, why our Environment should be ruined, why our future should be hocked.

And if the Democrats won't do it, perhaps a third party will take up the cause and put both Parties on the burner. Heck, the Democrats aren't that much better and are in many ways as bad as the Republicans.

Where's my ulcer medicine?

Religion and Prisons

Florida now has a faith-based prison. That is, the prison will offer religious counseling to the inmates. Fall on the ground, speak in tongues, pass Go, and get out of jail. Yes, the Lord is an easy path out of Hell.

But there's more to it. Consider this scenario:

I live in Florida. My religious convictions are such that I am firmly against abortion, deadly firm against it. An abortion clinic operates blatantly nearby and that's an abomination accroding to my religious beliefs. I blow it up and am caught. No one was injured. I get sent to the Jeb Bush "Die Religion Macht Frei" Prison for Rehab. Mind you, I am a fervent believer. Now, what are they going to tell me in prison that I don't already know? My actions are bad? No, my actions are justified by my Biblical beliefs. And there - right there - is the problem. Religion is a matter of faith and interpretation. The Bible (and near every religious text) can and has been interpretated to justify every action that humanity has inflicted on fellow humanity.

When you have something like the Bible that says "Thou shalt not kill" and then somewhere else has God demanding that tribe be destroyed, you essentially have justification for polar opposite types of behavior. The direction of action is our choice but who's to say what is a good choice. To the bomb-throwing anti-abortionist their actions are justified, correct, and likely supported by choice selections from the Bible. Send them to Religious Prison and get what?

A prisoner "getting" Religion in no way guarantees that they will become non-threats to Society. Instead, they may become different forms of threats.

Why do we so desperately need to reinstate and reinforce the separation between Church and State? Because if the Religion enters Politics it's a small step to place them as equally important to the being of a country. From there it's a small step to place Religion as more important than Politics. And from there the great nation of the United States of America reduces itself to the level of its enemies - those run by clerics screaming for blood. It becomes a small step to consider those people not of the proper American religious backgrounds as enemies of the State, as National Security risks. And we're back to wearing stars on our clothes, tattoos on our wrists, and re-opening Manzanar.

Here are my predictions for 2004, some of which I mentioned before:

A new reality TV show will be about the making of a reality TV show. It will be called "Meta-Reality" and will have contestants compete to come up with and produce reality TV shows. The winner will get his/her own reality TV show.

The Stock Market will go up, except sometimes it will go down.

Oprah Winfrey will run for Governor of California.

bin Laden will be caught around late July or early August, in time for Bush to milk the moment for his election campaign.

Bush will win the election, due to voter apathy, a Democratic meltdown leading to a candidate exciting as mud, and rigged electronic voting.

The erosion between Church and State will continue thanks to the Administration until Christianity is declared the National Religion and all public schools will require crosses in the classrooms. The Pledge and our currency will change to say "under Jesus". Jews, Muslims, and other "Peoples of Concern" will be required to wear identifying patches on their clothing.

Schools will be required to teach to the lowest common denominator. The teaching of Evolution will be replaced by the simpler concept of Creationism. Most school topics will be replaced by Religious Studies, namely that "Jesus is Lord!" and all else depends on your Preacher. School test scores will plummet but who will care?

Our Civil Liberties will be further eroded with little bleating from the masses due to Ashcroft and his Gestapo, and the Department of Homeland Security keeping a tight rein on the citizens, all in the name of National Security and stopping terrorism.

The Environment or what's left of it will be open only to those who can afford the National Park passes, namely CEOs. It won't matter much since the National Parks will be logged under, driven over, or coated with oil.

(Oil company: "Oooops, we had a little oil accident."

Administration: "We see you supported Bush in the campaign. Your fine will be $10 million..."

Oil Company: "That's a little steep. Our shareholders (cough) Cheney might not approve that."

Administration: "Skip the fine then. Clean up the oil."

Oil Company: "Can we get a grant for the cleanup?"

Administration: "Of course, have some Superfund money.")

Bush will find the need to invade more countries but only those posing real threats to National Security (translation - countries with oil): Venezuela, Mexico, Iran...

We will as a nation become our own worst enemy thanks to an Administration that cares little about anything except its own selfish concerns.

(Note about predictions: I'll publicize the successes ad nauseum. Failures will be glossed over. My goal is to become a famous Predictor, make lots of money, and appear on talk shows to snootily look down on those who don't have the "Gift". Wish me luck!)

An appropriate quote by a great author:

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual."
- John Steinbeck, East if Eden

Trick 2 Review

Oh blissful New Year. I finished watching the DVDs of a *GREAT* TV show called "Trick 2". I stumbled upon this marvelous show quite by accident when channel flipping during a commercial break of Alias. In Los Angeles our Channel 18 shows mostly Asian programming and so while flipping I stopped - hmmm, english subtitles, strange acting and cinematography, plots about shams and scams - PERFECT!

Synopsis from here: "Nakama Yukie plays Naoko Yamada, an amateur magician who has a series of adventures debunking claims of paranormal phenomena along with her sidekicks, a professor and a pair of oddly-coiffed police detectives. In "Trick 2," these cases include a ghost cab murderer, a "psi-trailer," a young boy who can visit "divine punishment" on unsuspecting victims, and an ancient wizard in a remote forest village. (This latter story gives the series' creators the chance to parody "The Blair Witch Project.")

Along the way, plenty of strange things, both chilling and hilarious, befall our heroes. In fact, there is quite a bit of humor in the "Trick" series, mostly puns (both verbal and visual). Not all of these translate accurately into English, but that just adds to surrealism of the show."

Official Trick 2 website

Sunday nights came down to Jennifer Garner or Nakama Yukie. OK, I stuck with Alias until the repeats started then switched to Trick 2. But happiness to discover the Trick 2 series on DVD.

I got the 4-DVD set on Ebay from a seller based in Taiwan for $18 plus $8.50 shipping. This is a great deal - cheaper than buying in the U.S. - and the package arrived quickly and in fine shape. I noticed another offering on EBay from a seller located in the U.S. but the price is about $10 more. Regardless, get the DVDs for a great show comparable to and perhaps better than the X-Files. It's rare to have a non-documentary show that takes on these paranormal frauds and explicitly reveals tricks of the trade.

Now if the powers that be would see fit to release Trick (season 1) and the Trick Movie on DVD with English subtitles, life would be properly peachy. If James Randi would produce a similar show, life would be more than properly peachy - it might actually be more rational and less irritating. And I don't mean a re-hash of The Magician that once starred Bill Bixby, more like Trick 2, a show that skewers current trends of idiocy in both blatant and subtle ways. one of these days...in the meantime, get Trick 2 and watch out for the scene with the supposed double-blind experiment.

PBS Down The Rabbit Hole

PBS usually has great shows and certainly deserves support. It's willingness to have programming that "normal" TV won't touch, shows with intelligence, plays, Britcoms, musicals, Education. However, I recently caught a show about Feng Shui, you know, the trendy, politically correct movement concerning arranging a house to improve "chi".

Plain and simple - what a load of rubbish.

The few moments I saw and that was all I could take showed a diagram of 8 attributes over which they plotted a diagram of a house and showed that because the house didn't cover a certain area, the chi was out of balance. This imbalance however could be corrected by filling in the space with a plant, or a pool, or re-building the house.

Folks, I'll save you the cost of a Feng Shui specialist. Are you dissatisfied with the way your house looks? Change it. Lighten up dark corners. Move furniture around. Add in plants. Take away plants. Clean up the cat poop. Put in a skylight. Change the shades. Change the paintings. Move.

Why do you need someone else (much less pay them) to tell you how you should feel about living in your own space? Are you that much of a sheep? Are you not capable of having your own opinion? Must you follow every ridiculous trend just to puff up your meager life to your friends? Cliche time: Get a life!

BCS, USC, and BS

Quite amusing actually. Here we have USC, a team voted number 1 in the two main football polls, a team which has just trounced Michigan in the Rose Bowl, a school that I cannot stand, wailing and whining that they're Number One when according to BCS they're not. Either Oklahoma or Louisiana State will be Number One. East Coast Bias screams the Trojan Faithful. Damn Computers yell the pollsters.

Yet. If anything the BCS needs to get rid of the poll element and keep it mechanical..errr...electrical. The polls are the fickle points. Oklahoma dominates nearly the entire season, loses one game, and - bam! - the polls knock them down. USC loses early on, plays weaker teams, and - bam! - they're Number One when Oklahoma falters. C'mon, the coaches and sportswriters' polls are popularity polls based mostly on who has the best record. The people doing these polls can't compute strength of scehdule or average margin of victory week-in and -out. They get the poll sheets, check the sports section, see who won and lost, and adjust accordingly. The fact that they put out polls during preseason shows little basis in reality.

That's why the human element needs to be reduced in BCS. Keep it formulaic based primarily on strength of schedule. That'll penalize a cream-puff schedule and reward shit-tough football. Of course, that will penalize creampuff Conferences but, hey, nothing's perfect.

The bigger problem is Playoffs versus Bowl games. I just can't see a solution for this. Too much money and tradition involved.

By the way, UCLA, listen up! There's a coach available just fresh from the NFL. Steve Spurrier - heard of him? He sucks at the NFL level but he's had some success with the College game. You should invite him out to L.A., wine him, dine him, wine him some more, stick some starlet tits in his face until he signs on the dotted line. "Run-and-gun" is just fine for Bruin football.