A to Z Challenge: Junk and Four J’s (J)

Junk Science – is an expression used to describe scientific information considered spurious or fraudulent (fake). The concept is often invoked in political, legal, and religious contexts. The term became popular in the 90s. Recently, it has been invoked to criticize research on the environment or public health effects of corporate activities, and occasionally in response to such criticism. There are books on this. One is by Dan Agin, who in his book, Junk Science, harshly criticized those who deny the basic premise of global warming. It is somewhat different from pseudoscience and fringe science.

Jesus Christ – may have been a (perhaps mythical) Jewish male who allegedly performed miracles to prove he was a god or the son of one. His mother was a virgin or was impregnated by the Jewish god. Christ is rumored to have been killed by Romans at the encouragement of some Jews by crucifixion, an unpleasant form of legal execution common about 2,000 years ago. Maybe the largest religious belief in the world today. The original source of the term zombie, since he was supposed to be dead and then walked around and visited old friends before he went physically to heaven with a promise to return soon. Has been seen with Elvis.

Jamais vu – The opposite of déjà vu, which is a feeling of recollection. Jamais vu is when an experience feels like it is the first time even when the experience is a familiar one. This occurs in certain kinds of amnesia and epilepsy.

Jinni – I wrote about these last year. These spirits of demonology make many appearances in the Koran.

Jogini – are women who are forced into prostitution by a religious custom known as devadasi in India. While this was banned in 1988, that law is not enforced in all parts of India.

A to Z Challenge: Insanely Incredulously Intelligent (I)

Incredulity is the quality or state of being incredulous = disbelief. Such a big word applies to little old, seriously old, me. Synonyms: disbelieving, distrustful, doubting, mistrustful, negativistic (say it’s not so!), questioning, show-me, skeptical, suspecting, suspicious, unbelieving.

I Ching (Book of Changes) – is ancient Chinese text with 64 hexagrams, which is the number of possible combinations of six broken or unbroken lines that represent two primal cosmic universal principles, yin and yang. Six is curious because five would be the more favored number by Chinese. However, theories supporting six are reasonable if not solid. Those in tune with the tao (path or way) have deciphered meanings to come up with some good fortune-cookie wisdom, but little has changed world-wide. Much more than what one can learn in a book or two apparently requires extensive philosophical study.

Illuminati – was a secret society founded in 18^th Century Bavaria with a political agenda which was to happen through subterfuge, secrecy, and conspiracy. Paranoid conspiracy theorists (PCTs) believe the Illuminati still exists. PCTs, and other similar groups, believe we are nearing the end of civilization as we know it. They are closely tied with religious fundamentalist and UFO/alien cult groups. If I named names, you would recognize some. What people believe is scary.

Intelligent design (ID) – is a process by which creationists attempt to stake a scientific claim to prove god exists and created everything. It is, of course, a metaphysical claim. Sadly, many people think that evolution and natural selection (and if you like, chance) disprove, or are attempts to disprove, god. While the arguments can be made, such arguments do not logically say that the existence of god is precluded by natural selection. Both are possible. A god could have designed natural selection. ID is weak despite its many advocates (see junk science).

Insanity – is when a person suffers from a serious delusion. When many people suffer from a delusion, it is called a religion. (Robert M. Pirsig)

A to Z Blog Challenge: Good God of Glossolalia’s Ghost (G)

God or gods – are:
(1) In Christianity and other monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

(2) In certain other religions, a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity, goddess, divine being, celestial being, supreme being, divinity, immortal creator, a demiurge or godhead; maybe an image, idol, animal, or other object worshiped as divine or symbolizing a god.

(3) An adored, admired, or influential person.

(4) A word used for emphasis or to express emotions such as surprise, anger, or distress, such as, “God, what did I do to deserve this?”

God of the Gaps – is a religious argument presented to fill scientific gaps of knowledge. This fallacy assumes that an act of God is the explanation for an unexplained phenomenon, which is a variant of an argument from ignorance fallacy. It’s nuts, but it gets worse.

Ghosts (poltergeists) – are alleged disembodied spirits of dead persons. A poltergeist is (literally) a noisy spirit. People believe ghosts exist, but they don’t. The idea is fun, the stories are scary (fun), and Casper serves a purpose. But the reality is there are no ghosts. Sorry.

Glossolalia – is speaking in tongues, which is semantically and syntactically unintelligible speech. If one is schizophrenic, it is called gibberish. If one is a charismatic Christian (including some Catholics) it is called the gift of tongues. I think it is crap and many believers agree with me. Mumbo-jumbo which fails to rise to the more respectable level of woo-woo. The trick is to maintain one’s composure when one of them starts this crazy shit.

A Sunday Morning Letter (Not A to Z)

Ya know what?
I want you to think of me, sitting here, thinking of you.
I am writing this and wondering about who’s reading it.
That’d be you. Where are you?

Did ya watch the video on farting yesterday. The wife
nearly busted one. Then she found four more on line.

I am sitting on my back porch in a double chair, an outdoor loveseat thingy.
Got on an aggie ball cap with mossy oak on top.
I don’t often wear camo or this, but
two bucks at Tuesday Morning, it works. Better ‘n bald.

Wearin’ old shoes, soft on bottoms so I can walk quiet.
They’re battered and worn stringy deals with counters I’ve walked down
cuz I’m lazy – unofficial slides.

My shorts match the ball cap.
Also got a white tee undershirt thingy,
kinda my Brando look.
It’s been a cool rainy day here in central Texas.

I looked up a while ago, and a fucking pole cat (skunkaroo)
was charging me from across the grass –
headin’ my way, a friendly Pepé Le Pew comin’ to say Howdy.
He heard me
and skedaddled back yonder toward the neighbor’s house.
Dang it! Wanted a selfie with old Pepé.

Do any colleges use pole cats or skunks as mascots?
I know a while back
McMurry U. in Abilene, TX was NCAA forced to quit bein’ Indians.
Apparently it upsets folks who want to be called native Americans
or something. But not Indians, so why it matters?
Anyway, McMurry Pole Cats, we’ll spray your ass.
Honest Injun.

I think McMurry got a new one (War Hawks).
It’s a Methodist affiliated bunch. 1,500 studs.
I would not be offended if they named it after me (Billy Goats?).
The hawks don’t care, and it sounds kinda Indian name-ish anyway.
The University celebrates native heritages every year.
Maybe someday all the kissin’ up will get some love.

I took a lot of classes at TCU (Disciples of Christ) to get a Master of Public Administration.
They got the government’s money, but I quit going.
They wouldn’t let me smoke and drink beer in class, so I found a friendlier bar with better music.
Fuck the Horny Toads! Cool purple though.

I lived near Baylor for a while.
One frat night the studs invaded my local Coonass Bar there.
Ya gotsta love ‘em Southern Baptists. We don’t drink (or dance, or have sex, or vote left).
“Oh, no sir. We don’t go to Baylor. County Junior College. That’s us.”

Ima wearing a hoodie thingy, light weight with Air Force patch.
Wife or daughter steals it sometimes. It was cool earlier,
but rain’s gone now, and it’s warming up around here.

Wife just came and asked if I wanted to go for a burger, beer, and fries.
I get silly questions like that all the time.
I’ll be back, but I ain’t gunna stop thinking about cha.

I’d give ya a big hug, but Ima Demo and thinkin’ bout runnin’ fer prez, and you know – Joe.
He’s from Scranton.
We almost hoodies, me and old Joe.
No mo’ touchy-feely shit until after the Inauguration.

We back. It was some mighty fine eats and good old Red Poppy ale.
I cleaned my plate.
Ain’t cha proud?
The place was great in all areas I review on restaurants and bars.
I did not check out the boy’s room.
Never been there cuz wife read a bogus review and x’d the joint until now.

Then we went to Wally World to bra shop.
I got lost somewhere else so as not to confuse the natives.
I was thinkin’ about you. I hope yer having a good weekend.
Tomorrow is G-day on A to Z.

Cheers, Bill

A to Z Blog Challange: We Were Fung Shui Farting (F)

Farting in church – In first grade, Jimmy Sauer and I were punished by a nun for laughing in church. She didn’t know why we lost it. We were held after church ended. I was sure my father would kill me. He didn’t. Jimmy was the one who started it when he farted.

Fung Shui (foong shway) – makes sense. Shocked? For us to live in harmony with our environment rather than against it is what this ancient Chinese philosophy is all about. However, the exploiters of new age woo-woo would not miss the opportunity to scam us with paid-for fakery. There is more fake fung shui out there than real, so keep your bull shit flag close at hand. Be skeptical.

Faith – My adult son was fretting as we drove home due to our gas gauge showing empty for a long time. When we pulled into our driveway at home, I said, “Oh, ye of little faith.” He had good reason to worry. We were driving on fumes. I got lucky. Faith is a non-rational belief contrary to the evidence. Very often people equivocate faith and belief with conclusions which are fact-based upon lack of evidence. I say there are no gods because there is no evidence they exist, Roman and Greek mythology notwithstanding. That is not faith, it is based purely on evidence, or the lack of.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Paraskevidekatriaphobia) – Our next one is in September of this year. This is the morbid, irrational, and superstitious fear of Friday the 13th. This may be the #1 superstition in America today. There is even a web site; http://www.friggatriskaidekaphobia.com/

There is also a similar word for fear of the number 13 (triskaidekaphobia). Some people do not have enough to worry about, right? Apparently, when you can pronounce it, you’re cured.

This video is a must watch and listen.

He who farts in church sits in his own pew.

A to Z challenge: Equivocating Extreme Ecotoplasmic Exorcisms (E)

Equivocating – is using ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself. It includes being evasive, noncommittal, vague, or ambiguous. One may evade or dodge the issue, beat about the bush, hedge, hedge one’s bets, fudge the issue, or parry questions or shilly-shally. I’m sure that I have wrapped myself in this when cornered. See also palter and tergiversate.

Ectoplasm – is clear in the movie Ghost Busters. See it if you haven’t. It’s in the movie, as are the producing spirits. You gotta be a true believer to buy into this garbage, but that is what it’s all about. Mediums and psychics have allegedly produced this stuff, fake ghost snot, of course, but some mumbo-jumbo types still believe it’s real.

Exorcism – is real. There’s even a movie, The Exorcist. Scared the living shit out of me, back in the day. The problem here is the reason for exorcisms is bull shit. There are no evil spirits. Real harm has been done to people with and without serious mental health problems. The Catholic Church stands behind this crap, but I doubt if all RC’s find it believable.

Extreme Unction – used to be last rights for the dying, and for many it still is. A sacrament “instituted by Christ” for spiritual aid and health, includes remission of sins, and to restore bodily health to a seriously ill Christian. The priest rubs blessed (by a bishop in RC, or by priests in orthodox) oils onto body parts (maybe even men’s loins; women, maybe not).

Every RC priest I’ve known hates this. Tipping is allowed. Only priests can do it, not deacons or nuns. Therefore, you might call a priest for a dying Catholic. The priest may condemn you to hell for interrupting his dinner/sleep/poker-night or whatever for such nonsense. It’s BS, but if you’re trying to cover all your bases, make the call.

A to Z Blog Challenge: Divine Druid Dreams (D)

Divination (fortune telling) – is nonsense. It is an attempt to foretell the future or discover occult knowledge by interpreting omens or with supernatural powers.

For example: anthropomancy is by reading organs of newly sacrificed humans, bronchiomancy is reading the lungs of a sacrificed white llama, cephalomancy is from reading a donkey’s head, cromniomancy is onions, haruspicy is reading the guts of sacrificed animals, hepatoscopy is specifically their liver, astrology, dowsing, myrmomancy is watching ants, necromancy is talking to the dead, omphalomancy is from the belly button. There are also dreams, bird flights, tea leaves, or cheese holes, reading bubbles of piss, and finally (one that makes sense) divination by wine. There are many more.

Sounds crazy, but are these are no more looney than thousands of people believing a man or woman when they say, God spoke to me. I don’t think fortune tellers are making a killing reading belly buttons these days but give them a deck of cards and a glass ball—Lady Wanda-woo-woo is divining all the way to the bank.

Druids – actually existed as a group. They exist today as a way of looking at human life within nature. Ancient druids were the wise men (and women) of the Celts. They were written about in different ways by ancient Roman writers and may have been a religious group in some way. However, little information is known other than they predated the Celts in the British Isles because the practices were private and there are no real temples or written traditions.

Druidry was integrated with Celtic culture and Druids were held in high esteem apart from the warrior class as judges, prophets, soothsayers, wise men and keepers of the collective memory.

I like the tie to nature and have few issues with groups that hold nature in high esteem. I do too, but not as gods or a religion. There is no proven historical link between ancient Celtic druidism and modern-day Wicca, but the claim has been made.

Dreams – are normal. Other animals also appear to dream. Making important real-life decisions, or foretelling the future with dreams may be fun, but it is unreliable woo-woo and may be dangerous. Much too much in the way of (conflicting) books and articles have been written about dreams over the years for me to dive too deep here. I have never believed that any god talks to any animal or human through dreams. It came to me in a dream. In your dreams. Dream on, dream on, dream on…. I like music about dreams.

A to Z Challenge: Giants, Cults, and Coincidences (C)

Cardiff Giant – is currently on display as America’s Greatest Hoax, this fake fossil is 10-feet tall with 21-inch feet from about 1869. P. T. Barnum was so impressed by its popularity, he had a copy made. It was a fake of a fake, but people still paid to see them, knowing, but not believing, they were fakes. Apparently, people could not be persuaded that this was not a real giant like the one in the Bible called Goliath. Given proof to the contrary, they still believed it to be a real fossil and paid to see it. Even with irrefutable proof, people will continue to believe what they want.

Cults – are:

How members of large religions refer to smaller religions or denominations (Mormon, Scientology, Amway, Order of the Solar Temple, Heaven’s Gate, Jonestown).
How I refer to all religions due to the us versus them thinking; intense brainwashing/indoctrination; criticism and humiliation; fear, anxiety, and paranoia; controlled information. Also, beliefs in heaven, hell, angels, devils, gods (living and dead), reincarnation, trinities, transubstantiation, and the list goes on and on.

Membership consists mostly of manipulated and deluded people and especially children.

Coincidences – The word used to name the reason for actual events that people who believe in one or more gods do not believe in. This is the opposite of everything happens for a reason. The best-known homages to a coincidence are shit happens, and it is what it is. Maybe these could be shit caused by god. See the law of truly large numbers to take a deep dive into this term.

A to Z Blog Challange: The B’s of Questions, Controls, and Codes

Begging the (and the loaded) question. – I had to call an unscheduled board meeting in December to vote on budget issues that had come up suddenly and needed to be voted upon before the fiscal year ended. The village baboon asked me, “Why did you wait until December to address those issues?” I regret being kind by explaining that I did not know about them before that.

You beg the question when your premises assume without proof the stand/position that is in question. More examples:
Question: How do you know that the bible is divinely inspired?
Answer: Because in the third chapter of II Timothy it says, “all scripture is given by divine inspiration of God.”
Prosecutor to defendant: So how did you feel when you killed your wife?

Brainwashing (mind control) – indoctrination to accept regimented ideas. We are all indoctrinated with many things. Religion is probably the biggest one and that indoctrination often continues for a lifetime and is more noticeable later in life. Stress, isolation, and repetitive (perceived or real) threats are effective tools.

It is important to understand that (for purposes of definition) this involves control of the thoughts or actions of another without his or her consent.

Bible Code – Apparently, predictions of contemporary events and some birthdays have been surmised from the bible using computers to decode what some believer thinks god placed there. If so, only god knows why. It is ridiculous. Run enough words and letters of any large book or books through some computer program and it might just come up with the name of the 50^th President of some country that does not exist yet.

So? You don’t have to be agnostic or atheist to recognize this bull shit for what it is.

A to Z Blog Challenge: Three Logic Fallacies (A)

Ad hominem fallacy – is attacking the person rather than the argument or point itself. The personal is irrelevant to the argument the person is making.

A guy posted to me on Facebook, Your an idiot.

I replied, It’s you’re. You’ve been schooled by an idiot.

Since this happens so often, religion and politics are poor topics (blogs excepted).

Ad hoc hypothesis – is an argument to explain away facts that seem to refute theory or research outcomes. It is created because woo-woo is often just that. This fallacy is common in paranormal research and in the work of pseudoscientists.

A lot of ESP research with poor results is defended as being tainted by the thoughts of non-participants. When the light flashes, we are experimenting, so everyone must stop thinking and feeling or our findings will be bogus. Sho’nuff.

Argument to ignorance [argumentum ad ignorantiam] – is a logic fallacy claiming something is or isn’t because the opposite has not been proven. Two sides are:

1) god exists because you cannot prove she does not,

2) god does not exist because you cannot prove that he does.

It basically uses what we do not know. Medicine uses this. We lack enough research to know if that is healthy, thus it is not healthy.