I would like to being by quoting a person called Neil Butcher, residing in Brighton, who wrote this in response to this BBC article on creationism.

The media wrongly describes this as a debate between creationism and evolutionary theory. In fact, the debate is between creationism and the whole of science as we know it. If the universe is less than 10,000 years old, then: all of geology and biology are wrong; the speed of light has been wrongly calculated, so Einsteinian physics is wrong; the distance and speed of other galaxies has been wrongly calculated, meaning that all of astronomy and therefore Newtonian physics are also wrong. For informed people to challenge accepted scientific orthodoxy on the basis of proper evidence is always healthy, but to debunk the whole of science on the back of a story passed down by some Iron Age goat-herders is just self-delusion.

Indeed, since the positions of many celestial bodies are based on basic triangulation, these distances being incorrect would discredit elementary geometry.

But that is only on the topic of "young-earth" creationism. As for creationism as whole, perhaps the notoriously politically-correct Europeans (and their Ministers of Education) should consider the following:

One aspect of the creationism/evolution debate that doesn't get enough play is the fact that it automatically favors the Judeo-Christian-Islamic worldview over all others. What about the rest of us religious nuts? What about the Vaishnavas who believe that the world we perceive is but one in an innumerable sequance of worlds, each created by Brahma, who sits upon the lotus flower which blooms, wilts and dies an innumerable number of times from Vishnu's belly button, Vishnu in turn himself coming into being and destroying himself countless times on the surface of the cosmic ocean? What about the Shaivas who say that all of that is true, except that the cause of Vishnu's rebirths is the cosmic dance of Shiva? What about the dozens of pre-modern Hindu views of the begining of the world which were not so lucky as to survive into the contemporary Vaishnava/Shaiva/Shakta religious division? What abbout the Buddhists who say that discussing the origin of the world is like a man shot with a poisoned arrow asking the name, occupation and hime village of the person who shot him before he will accept medicine? And what about those who will say that the world we see is hanging from the branches of Yggdrasil?

What about the religious atheists (like me) who think that all this talk of omnipotent, omniscient creator gods who give a damn about what we humans do is a ridiculous fairy tale that distracts from the real point of religion?

If Europeans are as hesitant to criticize religion for fear they might seem prejudiced, as the delightful Pat Condell insists, well then, me too! I want my world view taught to school children. Every person the the planet with an opinion on the matter send it in on a card and have it taught to school children. After all, the Pope's, Stephen Hawking's and my opinion are all of equal weight, right?

Take note! I just thought of a reason why having a President Palin might not be so bad:

This thought came to me while watching Matt Damon's interview in which he described his fears about a Palin presidency. Damon worried what skills Palin, a self-proclaimed hockey mom, might bring to a confrontation with Vladimir Putin.

Hang on! Vladimir Putin! Isn't that the guy who keeps being photographed topless, sunlight reflecting off of his muscular torso as he goes fishing in the Russian wilderness? The guy who recently shot a rampaging tiger that was about to devour a camera crew?

Who better than Palin to have a sit-down with Putin? She can invite him to Alaska to hunt wolves from airplanes, talk fishing and compare sporting rifles. Maybe after meeting in the Kremlin they can have a game of hockey.

I'm not kidding. Putin has gone out of his way to create the image of Macho Manly Man. Maybe having a politician who shares some of his interests, whom Putin can bond with, might not be so bad. After all, when the time comes for serious discussion, there will be handlers and diplomats out the wazoo making sure neither Putin nor Palin say anything stupid.

If America's goal is to regain the respect of countries like France and Germany, Obama's their man. He has the kind of sophisticated, educated air that Europeans like. But if the goal is peaceful relations with Russia, a good-looking gun-loving chick with a journalism degree might be just the ticket.

Perhaps doomsday isn't just around the corner.

You see, this is what happens. The Canadian federal parties go and do something moronic like not want to let May into the debate, I intend to write about my feelings on this subject but get lazy for a few days, and before I know what's what the Canadian public are up in an uproar about this and the party leaders decide to pull their heads out of their bums. Now everything is hunky dory, and I have no political topics to comment on today.

So here are some other reflections:

1) I saw a man with tiger stripe tattoos on the subway this morning! His arms and neck were covered in furry stripes. Presumably, the rest of him was too. ZOMG!

2) After discussing the matter with the UN, NATO, OPEC and the Freemasons, we've come to an agreement where celebrities I would like to sleep with are no longer allowed to be gay. Anderson! Ger your ass back over to this side!

3) This website makes me feel better. However, I still indend to plan for the worst (and hope for the best).

The conversation went something like this:

Wei-Tom: There's a lot of prostitutes in my new neighborhood.
Me: That should make your dating life simpler.
Wei-Tom: Dum-pshh... All I have to do is pay lots of money.
James: You can get full service for $70.
Me: That's true. I read the adult classified at the back of NOW magazine, and I am shocked at how little some of those girls charge.
James: Why do you read the back of NOW?
Me: I think it's a barometer of our culture. Like, last February *everyone* was offering bare back blow jobs. And last month *everyone* was offering brown and golden showers.
Boss: Wei-Tom! There you are!
Me: Oh... That was embarrassing...

Comrades! I break my blogging silence to bring you this:

I am ever amazed at the ways that U of T finds to tell the student body to piss off. Yesterday I went to Hart House, to take advantage of my status as a recent graduate and receive a discounted gym membership. You see, as an alumni, they now worship the ground I walk on - and thus I get towel service. Yes, while students can sweat (both metaphorically and literally) all over the floors and no one will care, my sweat will now be sopped up by a pristine white towel, still warm from the dryer.

I indulged myself: Though I was well aware that this towel made me a member of the bourgeoisie, I draped it over my shoulder like a victory sash. I strutted through Hart House, knowing that my sweat was more valuable to the University than that of all 50 000 enrolled students.

Bwa ha ha!

Who doesn't love talking about American politics? I certainly enjoy nothing better than a hot cup of tea and a rant about what they are doing wrong this time. Here's what they are doing wrong:

Everyone is trying to be politically correct by asserting that Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy is irrelevant to Palin's potential presidency (I say presidency because if she and McCain win, it'll only be - what? three months ? - before John kicks it). In principle I agree. After all, were running for office I would certainly hope that people wouldn't judge me based on my family. The situation is somewhat different though, if your teenager is knocked up and you've been supporting abstinence-only sex-ed the whole time. I don't care that Bristol Palin is pregnant; so many girls her age are. What I don't understand is why her mother thinks that, even though abstinence-only didn't work for her family, it might work for someone else's. Wouldn't this be a great time to say something like "I support and love my daughter, but this experience has given me cause to re-evaluate my views on the content of state-funded sex education programs."?

Then again, changing your opinion based on available evidence is not a Republican value.

Today, in the course of one conversation, my father aged fifteen years.

So, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I was going to give you a nice rant about how scat is going to ruin society (and my predictions for the next big fetish) but the inspiration has left me. Instead, here's a random meme I stole!

What would you be if you could be...

A Vegetable - A tomato, the glue of gastronomy.
An Animal - Elephant
A Fruit - I am a fruit. But if I had to be another kind, I'd be a lychee: Sweet, juicy, but with a DEADLY PITT!!
A Colour - Aubergine.
A Household Object - A spork.
Article of Clothing - One of those thongs for men with a zipper in the front.
A Drink - A Starbucks Chai Latte. Warm, frothy and spicy...
A Famous Person - Einstein.
A Film Character - The Narcoleptic Argentinian from Moulin Rouge.
A Cartoon Character - Spongebob Squarepants.
A Car - A pickup truck or a cherry picker.
A City - Tokyo. Confusing, complicated and full of girls swimming in fish tanks.
A Country - Holland. Prostitution and euthanasia for all!
A Mythical Creature - Jesus. (Oh snap!)
A Chocolate Bar - Lindt 70% cacao - anything else, and you may as well be eating cat poop!
A Book - Chapter 10 for the Rg Veda.
A Sport - Speed skating or men's swimming. I think you all know why.
A Word - "Testicle"
One of your Family - Darian.
One of your Friends - Miranda. She seems to know what she's doing.

ZOMG! There are only six weeks until Vega's birthday!

Have you thought about what YOU will do for Vega this year, how you will let her know how much she means to you? Let's face it, without Vega, your life would be empty and meaningless.

Vega has made gift giving easy, with her handy online wish list, found here. Music is, as always, preferred.

I have decided to break my long blogging silence in order to bring you something awesome: Wizard rock. It is music based on Harry Potter. For more information, go to wizrocklopedia.com

I haven't heard any of this stuff yet, but based on the lyrics, I am guessing it must be the greatest music of all time. Take, for example, the following song by Draco and the Malfoys, called "My dad is rich."

My dad's always there
To open all my doors
You have to call a patronus
Just to catch a glimpse of yours

My mom says she loves me
When she tucks me into bed
How's your mommy doing
In the Mirror of Erised?

My dad is rich and your dad is dead
My dad is rich and your dad is dead

Your dad's on his journey
To the great beyond
When you're dueling you might see him
Come out of someone else's wand

You may have freed our house-elf
Or brought doubt to our family name
But your parents still got toasted
By a big, green glowing flame

My dad is rich and your dad is dead
My dad is rich and your dad is dead
My dad is rich and your dad is dead
My dad is rich and your dad is dead

Last Thursday, before my math class I stopped by the ladies room. While I was in the stall, I noticed strange flashes of light. I couldn’t for the life of me think what it could be.

As I stepped out of the stall, I heard it: The distinct beeping of a digital camera.

The person in the stall next to me was taking pictures of themselves.

Oh my god, the perversity!!!

I was glancing through the latest issue of the Strand, one of U of T's many fine student newspapers. In it, I saw a photograph which has inspired me to create one of the greatest Halloween costumes ever! Behold:

It will be the most awesome Halloween ever.

About two weeks ago, I was walking home along Wilcocks and Robert streets, when I noticed there were two houses for sale. I rushed home to tell my dad, and to urge him that we should buy. It has always [read: since last year] been my dream to live on Robert St. The houses there are charming and small, built before the days of the cookie-cutter paper-mache house. The dream was to buy such a house, and fill it with Great Danes and children adopted from Eastern Europe. I would make sugar cookies in the shape of the Ampelmensh, and be happy.

But I digress...

Earlier this week, as I was taking that same route home, I saw that both houses had been sold. Seeing as how *ahem* certain friends have been trying to sell a certain house in a certain suburb for months, I was amazed with the speediness.

I'm sure you don't think much of my story, but the experience made quite the impression on me. Within two weeks, someone had bought my dream house.

Now what am I going to do with all these Eastern European children?

I am breaking my blogging silence. Not that it was a real silence anyway, not a silence silence... I just didn't have anything to say (Or, on at least one occasion, didn't know what to say. But let's more forward...).

As you ought to know by now, we Ontarians are having an election on October 10. Aside from the usual selection of leadership, we are also having a referendum to chance our very electoral system. But there's no need for me to bore you with the details: http://www.yourbigdecision.ca/ has all the info you'll need.

But here's one more reason why I'll be voting in favour of MMP:

The NDP candidate for Trinity-Spadina is Rosario Marchese. He was Minister of Culture and Communications back when the NDP formed the Ontario government in 1990. But, for some reason, he was kicked out of the cabinet a year later. Wikipedia does not explain why. I will be voting for him, because he is NDP, and because I finally live in a riding where voting Orange will mean something.

The Liberal candidate is Kathryn Holloway. She was originally a member of the Green Party. She established or was involved in loads of environmental organizations. She eventually left the Greens because of internal politics. From what I've read about her, I like the cut of her jib. She sounds like a person I'd like to represent me in the government.

But I'm not wild about her party. So I won't vote for her.

But if we adopted MMP, I could.

In case you were wondering: The reason I haven't posten anything in weeks, and the reason why I probably won't post anything for weeks to come is that I'm bored. I'm bored, and it's starting to make me despressed.
Oh well. I'll be home in three weeks.

Things That Rock

The following conversation on the Oomph! Facebook group wall:

Will: I joined this group not too long ago, and forgot to mention that I traveled some 3,000 miles to see them play at the Rockharz open air festival. The weather was miserable, but OOMPH! delivered in a big way. As a sidenote Dero crowd surfed twice and kicked the guy next to me right in the face.
Vega: @ Will: That's way hardcore.

Note that I was refering to the kick to the face. I'm so hardcore, I think that getting kicked in the face is hardcore.

Friends who don't mind when you are bitchy for an afternoon.

Being the world's best suitcase packer EVER.

The Salvador Dali exhibition on the Ku'damm. Best nine euros I've spent all week.

Goodbye, Lenin!

The CN Tower, especially when compared to the Fernsehturm.

Wansee (though not the mosquitos there).

Kaffee Burger on Torstraße! Furthermore, the following people in Kaffe Burget also rock: Dragkings. Drunk guys who are easliy amused by a bindi. Hipsters. Strange old man in black cloak who gives away flowers in exchange for money. The bartender, who smokes on the job. Softcore goth freaks who recognize me as one of their own, and smile.

I am leaving Berlin, at some ungodly hour of the morning tomorrow (Since when do we have a 7 A.M.?!). It was fun. I'll miss it.

To be honest, nothing much happened this week. So, I will amuse you with my poignant observations on life in Berlin.

There was a guy in Viktoriapark parcticing his skills with a sword. That's way hardcore.

The Indian foor around here leaves much to be desired.

We are having schitzel week in the cafeteria, and my heart sings! We have had a differant kind of schnitzel every day this week. The simplest, yet most elegant of foods. Noble, innocent, and pure...

I saw Das Leben der Anderen again last night, but without the aid of subtitles. It remains an awsome movie, which you really ought to see.

Berliners are only marginally more hedonistic than Torontonians. The only major differances are that you can drink beer anywhere, any time; that prostitues are more accessable, even in twilight hours; and that softcore porn is available in any news kiosk. Forthermore, since I have had sex in a graveyard once in Toronto, and zero times in Berlin, I feel that Toronto is way more deviant. (Was that too much information?)

The goth scene around here is not the greatest. Now granted, it may well be that I just haven't been able to find the good stuff. Perhaps I need a tour guide into the Dark side of Berlin. But I have a suspicion that even that would not really help: It is my opinion that the lines between Goth and Punk are blurred here. The goths lack a certian elegance that Torontonian goths have, they seem like they just rolled out of bed. The haircuts are more of what I associate with the Punk scene, and everything seems a little too messy, not sufficiently put together (Of course, that's Berlin in a nutshell. It'll be lovely to come home, where people have to bathe and get dressed up before going out for the night).

Seriouslay, what's up with the sneakers in nigh clubs!?!?

It has been raining for the past three weeks. Not without interruption, of course, but not a day has gone by that was not gray, cold, and miserable (With the notable exception of last weekend). Consequently, it's been rather difficult to persuade myself to go out exporing. Naps have been plentiful. They say that summer will return this weekend, and the sunshine and warm temperatures ought to stick around for a while. I certainly hope the forcasts are correct, because it's my last weekend in Berlin, and I want to go to Wansee!

It's my last weekend in Berlin! How did that happen!?!

Aw man! Why didn't anyone tell me that it's been two weeks since I posted! Now there's even more that I have to catch you up on. Okay, maybe if I just give the very basics:

June 24: My new roommate, Paula, arrived. We went to see ''Shreck the Third.''
June 25: Bought some CDs, went to Stammtisch.
June 27: Went to Zeughaus, had a kneipetour with some people from school. There's a place on Kastanienallee called Zaza that has amazing (though expensive) sushi.
June 28: Saw the movie ''Barfuß.'' I don't see what all the fuss about Till Sweiger is about.
June 29: Tour of Jewish Berlin (Or more accurately, Jewish Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte).
June 30: Daytrip to Potsdam. Rain. Schnitzel.
July 1: THE GLORIOUS ANYVERSARY OF OUR NATION'S INDEPENDANCE! Fleamarkets, the Reichstag, and Holocaust Memorial (Again. That thing never gets old).
July 2: Ku'damm and KaDeWe. More CDs. I am now the proud owner of six Oomph! albums. Goodness, how they've changed since the early days. We saw Avril Lavigne signing autographs in a mall! Classy!
July 3: Kreuzberg and Victoriapark - a voyage into the West. Bergmanstraße has some cool goth shops and Indian restaurants. Or, as I like to call it, home. I'll need to go back some time.
July 4: Museum für Naturkunde and Indian food. Clearly, I was inspired.
July 5: Charlottenburg Schloss and a night on the town.

My powers of condensation are mighty and impressive. Rain is jealous of my condensation powers.

Hoping for sunshine. Doing to Dresden on Saturday. Salvador Dali and Indian buffet on Sunday. Only two weeks left in Berlin! Where did the time go?

PS: I take no responcibility for any spelling mistakes made. Ich spreche jetzt nur Deutsch.

Meep! I guess blogging regularly while on holiday is not as easy as it sounded. I suppose I try to make up for it with detailed captions on my photos... which themselves take a few days to get done.

Let's do this real fast:

Thursday, June 14: Jillianne and I went to Hambuger Bahnhof, a contemporary art gallery. It was mostly crap, and I knew it would be, but I went in with the attitude ''know your enemy.'' Fortunately, my enemy seems pretty wimpy, so we'll be okay. There was an exhibit of the works of one guy who just does canvases with one or two or three colours. There was a video of him talking about his work and what the colours mean to him. It's all bullshit. There was also an exhibit entitled ''Shmerz'' (Pain). It was more of a museum, rather than art. Lots of examples of crucified Christs, old medical equipment, and photos of masturbation machines that had killed their owners.
Later that night, we watched the movie ''Liegen Lernen,'' which was about a man learning how to commit - one of my favourite topics for media, right behind ethnic gay men coming out to their families.

Friday, June 15: In the evening there was a Kneipetour, i.e., a bar hop. We went to two bars, and then got caught in a downpour. It was kind of nice.

Saturday, June 16: I spent the day on Museuminsel, as documented in my photos. I hit up the Bode-Museum, Pergamonmuseum, Lustgarten and Nikolaiviertel. I also did some shopping at a little market that local artists had set up near the Museuminsel. I got a really cute painting that I look forward to showing off.

Sunday, June 17: We went on a day-trip to Spreewald, i.e., to the forest on the Spree. We went canoeing, and it was really great. ^_^ I've developed a fondness for canoeing, and this place was particularly lovely. We were surrounded by trees, birds and dragonflies. At one point we took a shortcut right through a little town that had all these canals - the lawns and gardens of people's houses went right up to the water! We also made friends with some guys form the US Airforce Academy, with whom we hung out a lot the following week.

Monday, June 18: I woke up in a bad mood. Didn't do anything. I eventually recovered form my mood and took pictures of myself to commemorate that fact, but was unable to find anyone to do anything with. Boo.

Tuesday, June 19: I went to the Gemäldegalerie, which I enjoyed immensely. Had Indian food for dinner with Airforce guys.

Wednesday, June 20: Went to the Neue Nationalgalerie. I managed to sucker Jillianne and a few Airforce guys into coming with me. She, two of the guys and I wandered around Nikolaiviertel afterwards, and had dinner at a very old, traditional German restaurant. I had wild boar. It was pretty good. Not boring at all.

Thursday, June 21: Solstice! I returned to Museuminsel, to kick ass. I finished the Pergamonmusem, as well as the Altesmuseum, Berliner Dom, and Alte Nationalgalerie. It rained like it had something to prove.

Friday, June 22: After class, Jillianne and I met with a girl who is in Jillianne's class, Rosio. Rosio lives in Berlin and is married to a German. She took us on a ride around town in her convertible! We also stopped for coffee and cake, and it was a wonderful afternoon. We then met the Airforce boys for dinner, and went dancing at a place called Kaffe Burger. I think this was the best day I've had so far in Berlin.

Man, if that was real fast, I don't want to know what it's like when I take my time.

I do need to take a moment to say how amazing the club was. It was the sort of thing you can only get in Goth clubs in Toronto: people were just dancing, free, relaxed, not looking to impress anyone, just dancing for the love of the music. And, I hear that most of the clubs in Berlin are like that. I think that Berlin and I are going to get along very well.

My last two days were so amusing, I had to tell you about them right away:

On Tuesday, a bunch of people from the school went to see the Topografie des Terrors, a display built on top of the remains of the SS headquarters. It turned out to be mostly reading, so we didn't stay too long - although what we did see was some pretty heavy stuff. My room mate and I wandered around a bit, saw a few sights (photos on Facebook). Perhaps the most memorable part of that night was seeing the prostitutes.

Not too far from where we're staying, there's a square with a shopping centre, some really neat cafes, and hookers. You know which one's they are, because they wear a uniform of sorts: Corset, making their waists scarily small, and a fanny pack. I think they are also required to wear white, because many of them did, although there was one in black (From a different brothel, perhaps? Or a freelance worker?). Unlike in Toronto, they are allowed to approach customers, and they did so with gusto. Virtually every man in the square to approached. We even got to see one succeed in securing a client. She was walking up the street, and well-dressed man was behind her. She kept throwing him glances and chatting with him. He in turn was doing a little dance as he walked. Once they got off of the main road, they linked arms, and presumably went to an apartment somewhere.

Having thus lost my innocence, I was ready for Wednesday.

Jillianne (the room mate) and I were going a check out a boat party. When we got there, it didn't look like much, so we left.
On the way there, we had passed by a theatre which was showing... ''Daddy Cool,'' a musical based on the music of Boney M! We went to the ticked counter, found that a show was going to start in ten minutes, and quickly bought tickets. It was loads of fun! Anyone familiar with Boney M will know that their music is peppy and bouncy and fun. Jillianne wasn't very familiar with them, but I grew up on Boney M (In addition to Herman's Hermits, the Beatles and Stones) so I found myself singing along and having as much fun as the middle-aged Germans around us. The best part was that is was spontaneous and unexpected. (Actually, the best part was the ''By the Rivers of Babylon'' sequence. The spontaneity was a close second)

And so was my arduous experience.

I last left you one week ago, after I had taken myself on an adventure into the city centre. As I said, pictures of that are on Facebook, in the album called ''Impressions of Berlin.'' That day included seeing Potsdammer Platz, the Holocaust Memorial, the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag and a saunter down Unter den Linden. (I also did post pics of my room, as I said I would).

On Wednesday I took a long walk around this area, Prenzenlauer Berg. Berlin has twenty-three districts, and up until recently Prenzenlauer Berg was the hippest (The hip-ness of a district changes very fast. The ''in'' place to be now is Kreuzberg). It's a lovely area, with lots of parks, cafes, restaurants, shops, and plenty of apartments

I should have kept my eyes more open, however, because I hear that Prenzenlauger Berg is home to a lot of celebrities. Aside from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt having an apartment here, there's also German actor (and heart-throb) Daniel Brühl, who starred in ''Goodbye Lenin!'' Furthermore, and far more interestingly for me... wait for it... some of the members of Rammstein eat at the restaurant in my hotel lobby! I haven't seen them as yet, but now I always check who's in the restaurant when I pass by.

On Thursday I went with a bunch of people to Checkpoint Charlie and the Jewish Museum. The museum was very nice, though disorienting. The architecture is bizzare, with sloping floors and sharp corners. However, that's the effect it's supposed to have.

Friday I went down to the Ku'damm (or Kurfurstemdamm) the main shopping area. I had fun wandering around and admiring the shops (And I bought a new Oomph! album) and the got back to the school to meet up with some people for a night of salsa dancing. Actually, that's total hyperbole. I only danced a little bit, with the only male school friend who knew how to salsa. Everyone else at the club was far too good to pay much attention to us novices.

Saturday we took a day trip to the nearby town of Brandenburg. We took a canoe trip around the town (Which obviously has a lot of rivers) followed by a late lunch at a town fair. Sunday I vegged out, and yesterday there was another of those Monday-night socials for the students (It's called the Stammtisch).

As for this week, things that I have planned include a boat-party on the Spree, and barhop on Keruzberg on Friday, another canoe trip (I really enjoyed canoeing), shopping on the Ku'damm, and a trip to the zoo (Knut, here I come!)

As for me, I'm pretty lonely. I don't really fit in with the people here, or at least I don't really feel close to anyone. I miss my friends. Furthermore, I'm going through one of those phases where sex and romance make me physically ill. Those two things seem to occupy my thoughts a lot.

I like it here, but I can't wait to leave.