Year: 2007

Catholics Can No Longer Dance Under Poles

Vatican report abolishes concept of limbo:

“Our conclusion,” the commission said in its 41-page report, is that there are “serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and brought into eternal happiness.” The commission added that while this is not “sure knowledge,” it comes in the context of a loving and just God who “wants all human beings to be saved.”

The scary thing is that so many people take seriously the very notion that babies might have to face the wrath of god because they neglected to get a little tap water sprinkled over their heads at the appropriate moment. Or that the issue is even being debated by anyone. What a load of utter bullshit.

In case anyone was wondering why I’m an atheist, I guess this is pretty much as good an illustration as any.

Charlotte Squidport

I’ve been meaning to post the Simpsons snippet about Springfield Squidport since (since removed) I wrote my own two rants on Charlotte, urbanism, etc., but I was finally inspired by Mark’s addition to the literature on the subject.

It’s just that this clip comes to mind every time I hear some civic booster in Charlote (or whatever other city) going on and on about how the right “upscale” development will make the city in question some sort of urban paradise. Gosh, if we could just get a Crate & Barrel, it would make everything perfect. Just like Paris, right?

Funny thing is, we both rather like Charlotte. It’s a pleasant enough place, and even though we didn’t end up living there long term, I don’t think either of us was absolutely averse to the idea. The problem with Charlotte, as opposed to some other cities, is that too many people there actually listen to these assorted civic boosters, message board clowns, and other decidedly anti-urban “urbanisists”, and that the “shopping mall as substitute for urbanism” mentality has really take root. As long as it’s “dense” and “upscale”, after all..

Obviously, this mindest is by no means limited to the Queen City, but its followers there sometimes seem almost as common as Baptists.

On Duct Tape

Hmmm. Less than a year as a homeowner in the south, and I’ve alredy become one of those guys who think most of life’s problems can be solved (or at least minimzed) through the creative application of duct tape.

I’d be scared if I weren’t too busy fixing the gutter.

Randomly Monday

Random stuff for a Monday morning:

  • I enjoyed the severely stormy Sunday, really. It was cool. But the storms are over, and that wind that’s sounded like a freight train pouding the house pretty much continuously since last night really needs to stop now, thanks.
  • In North Carolina, it costs $2.88 a month to have AT&T not list your number in the phone book. Apparently, it costs even more in some other states. There’s something very wrong with that.
  • Since moving back east, I’ve been surprised at how many papers still run “Funky Winkerbean”, which has managed in recent years to become the most bleak and depressing thing ever to grace the comics pages. This (via here) pretty much sums it up.
  • They’re kidding, right? Short-distance one-way traffic on adjacent streets is one thing, but a ten-mile stretch involving two streets that are separated by several blocks in some areas is another entirely. The whole idea seems prepoterous to me, even given LA traffic.