Quick update, just two things to share. First up, I’m stoked, and I get to ride it later this month, here’s a cool video of the North Shore Connector:
And io9 has some cool remakes of Disney posters. Alice in Wonderland is by far my favorite (Snow White is also very good):
Alright, update for everyone, heavy on the videos, but I hope you enjoy them all:
First up, a fan-made trailer for a Mega Man movie. It takes a while to pick up, but not bad for less than $1,000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ2NA–PFbE
Scientists are working on new self-healing materials that use the energy from the sun to repair themselves, pretty amazing!
I just finished reading the Hunger Games Trilogy, and it was awesome, now I need to go see the movie. In the meantime though, here is a trailer for The Hipster Games:
The NYT covers addictive digital games, pretty awesome.
Big stuff from Google with their augmented reality glasses, and the inevitable remake of it:
Also from Google, they’ve been working on using Street Maps technology in museums around the world, now they’ve shot the interior of the White House:
So…Santorum is crazy. For a while, he was campaigning on a platform of outlawing porn. I was talking with a friend this week, a speaker brought into her work place was also known for going on tirades about pornography. And we all agree, it’s a case of “He who doth protest too much…” But anyway, in response, porn stars (ahem, hard, ahem, working Americans who would be put out of work) came together to make a video in protest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwMzFyyKWNc
One of my favorite church signs, going viral:
And lastly, holy crap, you know people are stretching when they want to protest Desmund Tutu. I saw him speak at my church, and the man is amazing and a living saint. If you ever have the chance to listen to him lecture, please do, you will not regret it, I promise.
That’s it for now, thanks everyone, have a great one!
Written: 4/7/2012
I’ve worked on camp staff for ten years. This upcoming season will be my eleventh. It is safe to say that camp staff certainly changed my life for the better. Each summer is different, and special in its own way with hardships and achievements, but I can look back at each one with a smile (although truth be told, sometimes it is getting harder to differentiate each one from those around them).
I was able to find a core group, and make friendships that have lasted since. And while I’m still at least cordial with just about everyone I worked with, there certainly is a group from camp that I consider family. I can look back and some of the crazy moves we had, the back-breaking manual labor, the long, hot hours in program and the crazy nights in the staff site with fondness. I can also look back and know that we made a difference in the lives of young people, for the better.
One of the things that we sometimes don’t talk about, or maybe even admit out loud, is that the staff needs the experience and can learn and grow just as much as the campers, to some degree at least. For a humerus look at this, check out Camp Confessions, while some are more specific to Girl Scout or even non-affiliated camps, they all ring true. Slate also looked at the summer camp culture in an article from a while ago. It’s interesting to see those so invested in the outdoor classroom of camp and how it can change their lives.
I love the mountain that I’ve worked on for ten years (although, and I’m not shy about this fact, it is not my favorite camp), and thinking about losing that oasis is frightening. I work personally with the Rangers and know all the staff, but when I finally am able to move onto a new job, I fear I will never see camp again, at least until the discriminatory policies of the BSA are changed.
Yes, I’m sure I could go up to visit if no event was going on, I could probably even go up for some of the service weekends, we all know we need more volunteers to get everything done. But I don’t want to have to go back into the closet to volunteer a weekend of my time, even if it is for a place that I hold so dear.
And do I even dare to dream of a time when I could take a boyfriend on a tour of the place that shaped me so profoundly? To hold his hand at The Rock, or share a kiss at Spear’s Point, gaze at the stars from the floating bridge or hike the Courage Trail, showing him all of my favorite hiding spots in the woods, the place where I held my Vigil?
Maybe it is too much to ask.
All my best,
The King of Spades
My annual tradition, which is still theologically accurate:
Quick update for everyone, and hopefully I’ll be back again later today, here’s what I’ve found this time:
First up, the NSFW trailer for the new movie Ted:
And speaking of NSFW, check out the first episode of Savage U. It’s edited for a younger audience, so short clips, almost sound-byte quality, but its a good watch.
For your daily dose of political news, check this out:
Sad that there is such a price discrepancy!
Geek and Sundry kicked off this week with two great videos, first up a new music video from The Guild:
And the first episode of The Flog:
And lastly, I will also be back with my annual Good Friday post, but until then, enjoy this:
Another update for you, mostly videos, so let’s see what we have today:
First up, NASA captured fire tornadoes on the sun that would engulf five Earths:
The perpetual motion bulldog:
And a fun video with iPads:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53_qvMQfvOE
I don’t think I can embed this, so check out the birth of a book here.
And a bit of news, Canada is going to be taking their penny out of circulation. The measure is expected to save about $11 million dollars.
And lastly, some very frightening news: even if the chemicals are killing you, your doctors can’t tell you about them, because it’s proprietary information. Of course it’s about fracking.
That’s it for now, I’ll be back soon!
Written: 4/1/2012
I’d like to share a wonderful video that brings together the history of marriage through the church (via the lens of California’s Prop 8, which was funded very prominently by out of state Mormons):
All my best,
The King of Spades
Written: 3/31/2012
This makes me fucking insane. The fact that this kind of thing happens drive me up the wall and makes me just want to rage against every being in the Catholic hierarchy, as well as those that can’t understand my frustrations with the members of the Church that lets this continue:
Father Marcel Guarnizo, the cleric who presided over the ceremony, doesn’t like gay people: during communion he refused to give the grieving daughter a piece of the Eucharist. From The Advocate:
Barbara Johnson says that Father Marcel Guarnizo told her, “I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church that is a sin.”
Denying Ms. Johnson the Eucharist apparently wasn’t enough for Fr. Guarnizo, who reportedly “left the alter” when Ms. Johnson delivered her mother’s eulogy, and later refused to attend the gravesite.
To deny someone, on one of the absolute saddest days of their lives the closure that they need, is horrific. He not only denied her communion, but refused to finish the funeral, not even going to the grave site. The priest has been suspended, but now is saying that his diocese is lying about the whole situation and he tries to let his bigotry stand.
So this was pretty bad. But it’s hardly any worse than anything the Vatican, or US Cardinals, do on a daily basis to gays, or to pro-choicers. How is the Catholic churches annual attempt at influencing the US elections on behalf of the Republicans, when they ban John Kerry, for example, from taking communion, any less “intimidating”? And it’s not intimidation when the Catholic church cuts off services to foster children in Illinois and DC than simply treat gay people fairly? Trying to influence legislation by abandoning needy kids isn’t intimidation? Talk to the kids the Catholic bishops used as their pawns. And let’s not even speak of the intimidation involved in aiding and abetting the rape of young children.
I know that there are good people out there who are Catholic, I can see how it can bring peace and good things to someone’s life. But I cannot understand how people can allow things like this to happen.
Update: You’ll notice that this is Part V, although I think I lost Part III. The others aren’t really ready to be published, they will take a lot more work, but I’ll be working on them eventually.
All my best,
The King of Spades
Written: 3/31/2012
I guess sometimes I forget that those coming behind me still have it tough. That school is still sometimes hell, and oftentimes, not from classmates, but from school principles and administrators.
Case in point, Dorthy Bond, a principal from Tennessee was forced to resign after telling LGBT students that they were going to hell.
I could never understand treating children like that, and especially someone in education spreading untruths like that.
All my best,
The King of Spades
Written: 3/31/2012
This is floating around, and I’ll share it from AmericaBlog:
I’ve been forced to explain homosexuality to my kids (aged 3 and 4) because their uncle is gay. This incredibly difficult and traumatic experience went as follows:
Child: Why does Uncle Bob go everywhere with Pete?
Me: Because they’re in love, just like Mummy and Daddy are.
Child: Oh. Can I have a biscuit?
We’re all scarred for life. Scarred, I tell you.
All my best,
The King of Spades
