Movie Update

Religulous: 1.5/4 stars. So-so documentary that claims to be about religion but is really about Bill Maher's view of religion. Even though I basically agree with most of Maher's points, I had some big problems with the film. For one, he only goes after the Abrahamic religions, doesn't touch Hinduism or Buddhism. Second, the film has an almost Tom Green-like confrontational style that I find uncomfortable to watch. Third, he talks to extremists, and spends almost no time talking to people who are more moderate in their religious beliefs, or who approach their faith with their intellect-- too much shooting fish in a barrel, not enough tackling the bigger questions and issues involved. Lastly, I'd compare making a film about how ridiculous relgion is to making a film about how ridiculous romantic relationships are. It's easy to make a lot of good, persuasive points, but the argument ignores something fundamental about the human condition. You can't really dismiss religion entirely, it's not going anywhere no matter how badly you want it to.

Barack Obama Does Not Care About White People

A picture from North Dakota.

You Know You're a Dork When

You do this.

One Trillion Dollars

What does one trillion dollars look like?

Bill Hicks on Jay Leno

Hits it right on the head:

Movin' on Up

The wife and I have left Manhattan for the slightly greener pastures of Western Westchester County. We know, however, that this was more of a transitional move than a permanent re-settlement. She eventually wants to settle in a small town like the one she grew up in, and I'd just as soon return to New England town life, and leave New York City and environs behind, keeping it as a memory of something cool and different I did for a couple of years.

We're looking to move within the next couple of years. We want to find a place where we can both get jobs, where we can afford to buy a house (eventually), and where we'd feel comfortable raising a family, should we decide to do so someday.

Here's where we're looking:

1. Further Upstate- We would stay in New York State, but basically just move further up the Hudson. Some of the communities we're considering are Hyde Park, Kinderhook, and Saratoga Springs. Each of these places are within an hour and a half of the Massachusetts Berkshires, where her parents will be living year-round. The area isn't prohibitively far from New York, should we want to go into the city for a weekend, and there are plenty of cultural offerings in the Berkshires. Staying in New York State would be easier for us in terms of our licenses. Unfortunately, the nearest big city for us would be Albany, which isn't that great a place.

2. Burlington, VT- I've never been there, but the wife has, and I'm eager to check it out. It's four hours from where her parents will be, but it's a college town, and Montreal is only two hours away, should we want a big city fix. It's supposed to be a nice place and it's right on a gigantic lake. It would be really cold in the winter though.

3. Greater Boston area- We're looking at Plymouth, the Lexington-Concord area, and the Newburyport-Amesbury area. The biggest drawback is that these aren't as affordable as some of the other places that we're considering, but they would provide very easy access to Boston. We both have family and friends in the area, too.

4. Portland, Maine- Portland is only about two hours from Boston, so it's close enough to go there in a day. It would also be about four hours from where the wife's parents would be. It would probably be similar to Burlington, only Portland is more of a city than a college town, though it's a nice one. Again, the weather would be cold, but I'd like living near the ocean.

We're planning to visit each of these places again, and then move maybe as soon as Summer of 2010.

Hello Americans, I'm Dead

Paul Harvey (1918-2009)

RIP