The Truth About Environmentalists

I’d thought about several ways to begin this post. Should I talk about Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth?” Should I talk about Greenpeace? Global warming? What about how to store nuclear waste from power plants, or warheads? There are a lot of things I could talk about, seeing as how America is the worlds #1 polluter per capita. But, I chose not to talk about these things. I chose to start off by saying that no one really cares about the planet. Not in and of itself.

The truth is that the only reason anyone claims to care about this planet at all is because our actions may, at some point, cause our own lives to suffer some type of inconvenience. We might end up in an uncomfortable situation. Ocean levels may rise, threatening our Oceanside condo. Without an alternative source of energy, we might not be able to get to work, in order to consume more stuff with the money we earn. And, of course, we all need to heat our homes. Why do we need to do that? Because humans couldn’t actually live in the Northeastern US, in the winter, without heat. Humans didn’t originate in cold climates. We moved here. It was our choice. So we need to make our lives comfortable. It’s our “Manifest Destiny.” Meaning, we do what we want, when we want, in the name of God or Allah or Buddha – or just because we really, really want to no matter what.

And how do we make our lives comfortable? Well, that comes at the expense of the planet. We burn wood, fossil fuels, anything. And we never worried about this stuff before. Not until it became known that we may not be able to continue with this behavior ad infinitum.

And so, a search for alternative fuels ensues. We need to be able to constantly consume.

But how much do our actions really effect this planet? Possibly in little ways. Sea levels rising. Stronger storms. Radiation. But, so what? Would that be considered significant change? Our planet has been through a lot worse than those little things in its 4,500,000,000 years in existence. Humans have been roaming this planet for only a few hundred thousand of those years. Heavy industry has only been around for a few hundred years.

We’re so self-important, aren’t we? I don’t think we could stand the realization that we’re only a temporary fixture on this blue and green marble floating through space. That nothing we do could really effect the planet in any significant way. Nothing we could possibly do couldn’t simply be flushed away by a tsunami. Even the most toxic radiation goes away after a few hundred thousand, maybe few hundred million, years. No real significant impact.

What has our planet been through before we humans entered the picture? Ice Ages. Nuclear winter. Meteors. Molten lava covering its surface. Solar radiation (before the presence of a strong atmosphere). So yeah, these things have had a little more of an impact on the Earth than we humans and our Styrofoam and our CFC’s.

The interesting thing is that if we do end up being a big enough pest to our planet, it will simply rid itself of us. We’re merely a parasite on Earth’s skin, picking and tearing and biting. Hurricane Katrina was Earth scratching an itch. So was the Black Plague.

Our planet isn’t worried about carbon monoxide. It has its own corrective mechanisms. Whether it be rising oceans or increasing planet temperature; it will all eventually lead to a disruption in food supply, an increase in disease, and an eventual end to the human race. The Earth makes no distinctions between humans and any other object on its surface. Just ask the dinosaurs about that.

Our planet will be here long after we’re gone. There’s nothing we can do to destroy it. And that fact alone probably hurts more than the illusion that we are destroying it (making our lives inconvenient). Maybe that’s our “inconvenient truth.” The fact that anything we do is actually insignificant as far as global impact is concerned.

This is not to say that I have a pessimistic view on life. I’m just thinking about it in terms of objective reality. Putting our role in the Universe in perspective.

I suppose this is the real dilemma of the human condition. We are controlled by the survival instinct, putting our own survival above anything else. At the expense of anything else. Maybe it’s a struggle to be self-important. Maybe, because of the way our mind functions, it’s impossible for us not to be self-important.

I think it’s great that we’re looking for alternative sources of fuel. But we shouldn’t be doing it under the false pretense of wanting to “save the planet” by not burning fossil fuels. Do it because you don’t want to end up paying $15 for a gallon of gasoline. Our economy depends on an economical fuel source. And how much does our economy matter to the planet? Ha. That’s funny.

Anyway, read a book.

Nine Inch Nails: Year Zero [I'm Scared]

Nine Inch Nails has a new album coming out this year entitled “Year Zero.” Have a look at the teaser video. [As a side note, if you stop this video where the sign passes by, you can see that it says "I Am Trying To Believe." If you go to www.iamtryingtobelieve.com, this is another part of the Year Zero story.]

I don’t know about you, but I found it to be pretty scary. It reminds me of their video for “Gave Up.” Or, pretty much any video from the Broken album. Here’s the “Gave Up” video.

WARNING: Not for those with a weak stomach! Do NOT click this link if you puke easily. This is a very graphic video.

Trent was quoted as saying that “Gave Up” makes “Happiness In Slavery” look like a Disney movie. In case you are one who didn’t click the link, this video is basically showing a guy being tortured, cut up and eaten by another guy. Pretty bad.

My point is that Nine Inch Nails always has a certain quality to their videos. The home video camera quality. Distorted. Static. The camera is constantly moving, making it seem even more real.

That’s the exact feel this new “Year Zero” teaser gives. Some guy’s cruising down a highway in the desert somewhere and he just happens to catch this thing, which looks a lot like a hand (referred to as “The Presence”), coming out of the sky. Scary. The first time I watched it, I jumped. Well, I didn’t exactly jump, but it’s how it made me feel. A really eerie sensation went through my body.

I’m really excited about the new album, though. The marketing for this album has been innovative, to say the least. The previous link describes the whole story pretty well.

The entire thing is almost like a game. A puzzle. You learn about Parepin; a supposed mind-control drug that the government is putting in our water supply, they say to “prevent bio-terrorism.” Then the story brings you to another site that talks about a Year-Zero based religion called the Church of Plano. The story goes on and on.

The peculiar thing about these sites is that they are all very difficult to read. The text is garbled in a lot of places. But, you are able to read everything if you view the HTML source of each page.

I find this whole thing infinitely interesting. This has to be one of the most elaborate projects Nine Inch Nails has ever taken on. Here is a great place to start if you’re at all interested in the “Year Zero” phenomenon.

Also, the music on this album is said to be totally different from anything Nine Inch Nails has ever done. Trent says that it’s “[h]ighly conceptual. Quite noisy. Fucking cool.”

I’m excited. 4/17/2007 is the date.

Read a book. Oh, and I’m not really scared. I just keep telling myself that hand (the Presence) isn’t real.

There’s No Such Thing As Psychic Ability

This post is intended as a step forward in human evolution. A clearing of the mind of distractions, falsities, and lies. To free from our consciousness this disease… this plague of so-called psychics. People who claim to have “paranormal” abilities.

There is no such thing as Paranormal Ability, or ESP. Whatever you want to call it. Fact.

As soon as this topic is brought up, images of Sylvia Browne are conjured in most people. She’s the one who’s pretty much a permanent guest on the Montel Williams show, telling people that she can talk to dead people, foresee illness, and tell the future with her “Spirit Guide,” Francine. This woman is such a fraud – along with all the others.

Then there’s that Uri Gellar guy. Supposedly he can bend spoons, move things with his mind and all this garbage. A simple magician’s trick. See for yourself.

As you can see, it’s all nothing but simple tricks. Nothing “psychic” about any of this at all. In fact, that “Faith Healer” with the wireless radio reminds me of something a little like what happened with our President, George W. Bush. Didn’t he use a wireless radio while debating John Kerry? All these fakes need a little “prompting” now and then.

The following 2 clips are from my favorite radio show, The Paul Harris Show on KMOX in St. Louis. The first one is his radio interview with James Randi (1/24/2007). The second one is his interview with the creator of StopSylviaBrowne.com. Both worth a listen.

James Randi

Stop Sylvia Browne

Also, it should be noted that James Randi is offering $1,000,000 for anyone who can PROVE that they posses psychic abilities. Sylvia Browne has accepted this challenge, but that was back in September of 2001, and she still hasn’t actually stepped up and taken the test.

Sylvia Browne once told an audience member on the Montel Williams Show that she was having pains in her stomach because in her previous surgery, one of the doctors left a surgical instrument inside her. Her next bit of advice was for this woman to go have an MRI done.

Do you know what an MRI is? It stands for MAGNETIC Resonance Imaging. Anyone who has a surgical instrument inside themselves, entering a booth which is, essentially, a giant magnet is going to be in extreme pain, if not dead.

Liars, cheats and deceivers… every single one of them.

One final note on James Randi. My good friend Aaron wrote to James and his comment is posted on the site. You can read it here.

Read a book… not the future.