Disappearance

I didn't really. Disappear, that is. I just seem to have spent too much time staring at computer screens lately. So I haven't blogged in a while. I've got some good topics brewing in my half-mad brain, though. Like naked Aragorn (sort of), and . . . I forgot what else. Oh well. Time for tea. Blogging later.

Religion and Literature?

Now this is truly frightening. (Link via Bookslut.) I think I'd rather be left behind. (And my contrary side wonders: What if the Rapture already happened, but we just haven't noticed because so few were taken up?) Here's a nice quote:

"We believe that God has raised up America to be a tool in these last days, to get the Gospel to the innermost parts of the earth."

Yikes. How about this one:

"I realize that our message is inherently offensive and divisive . . ."

The really scary thing is how many people truly believe this stuff.

Bad Science

Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, shows how that organization has manipulated science to discredit boitechnology and genetic modification of food plants (and has, in the process, hindered people trying to help impoverished farmers and the environment) in Battle for Biotech Progress. (Phew, long sentence.)

The programs of genetic research and development now under way in labs and field stations around the world are entirely about benefiting society and the environment. Their purpose is to improve nutrition, to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals, to increase the productivity of our farmlands and forests, and to improve human health. Those who have adopted a zero tolerance attitude towards genetic modification threaten to deny these many benefits by playing on fear of the unknown and fear of change.

It's a very eye-opening essay. (Link via Frankenstein Journal.)

Crackpot: Vikings Again

I just sent a letter to the editor of the News Leader regarding the "Vikings in the Valley" article, basically saying the things I said in my blog entry, only worded more professionally. Actually, I just cut and pasted and edited. I also offered to write an article critiquing the full "The Last Viking" essay. We'll see if they take me up on it, or if my letter even gets into the paper.