Neal Jansons

"Are you tired of guys and girls who want nothing more than to hold your hand? Have you had enough of 200-year-old men with nothing better to do than date high school girls? Are you longing for the days when vampires were Vampires, and all too eager to tear your goddamn throat out, right before lapping up a bowl of hemoglobin poured straight from your steaming jugular?! Brother, have we got you covered. Hit the jump now for our guide to vampires that really suck." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"The next time you see a picture of a tea party protest, look closely and try to identify anyone in that crowd under the age of 30. If you identify as many as five "ralliers" in that age group, you should keep that picture because it will be a collector's item. The fastest growing group of voters today is 18 to 30 year-olds. The idea that they don't vote is a myth. Out of the 80 million votes that sent Obama to the White House, around 24 million were from the MTV, Xers, and Millennial Generation. The newest group of emerging voters are often identified as the "O" Generation. That "O" represents Obama, not "old folks." Eighteen to 30-year old voters will soon outnumber the remnants of baby boomers who are beginning to look like peculiar artifacts to a generation that is all in on the idea of "change." Young voters are not going away. There is a greater chance that the people in those tea party photos will see far fewer birthdays than the 18 to 30-year olds who seem to have very little... more... - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"You've read all the reviews and interviews, and watched all the spoof videos. Most of you reading this have probably already watched the film, too. Today, as The Twilight Saga: New Moon finally reaches theaters, it sorta feels like the day after Christmas -- all this hype, work and constant coverage building up to the release of just one film ... and then it's over. Now the "real" fans will begin their endless geeked-out debates on their own fansites, and the rest of us will talk about the film's boffo box office while preparing for three weeks worth of nonstop promo for JAMES F*CKING CAMERON'S AVATAR! ROAR! So while you drink the last of your blood energy drink, and begin breaking down the Bella and Edward Nativity Scene that's currently on your front lawn, why not let our good buddy Kevin Smith have the last word on all things Twilight. During his panel at this past San Diego Comic-Con, Smith went off for about four minutes on the Twilight Phenomenon, and took us through the... more... - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

His daughter's apparently a HUGE Twilight fan so he has to deal with the fandom right in his own home. Heh. Must be fun, I'm sure. - pea

"Without any scientific education or background, Kirk Cameron uses religious faith in the Bible to expose errors in “The Origin of Species”, written by Charles Darwin. In a recent YouTube video, Cameron lays out a plan to subvert ‘Darwin Day’ on November 22, 2009, which date marks the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species.” Cameron says that he, Ray Comfort and other activists plan to deliver 50,000 copies of an altered version of Darwin’s book to students at dozens of U.S. universities. Cameron contends that America is brainwashed by atheistic science. Cameron explains that this “very special” edition of the “Origin of Species” will include an introduction explaining “Adolf Hitler’s undeniable connection” to the theory of evolution, and highlighting “Darwin’s racism” and “his disdain for women.” Cameron’s edition also exposes the “many hoaxes” of evolutionary theory, while presenting a “balanced view of Creationism.”" - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"This Saturday's London rally against sharia law and all religious tyrannies should be huge. Millions of people are suffering at the hands of clerical regimes, especially our Muslim brothers and sisters in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. Sadly, the turn out in Hyde Park will probably be quite small. This is odd. Most liberals and leftwingers would protest loud and strong if these persecutions were perpetrated by a western regime or by Christian fundamentalists. But they get squeamish when it comes to challenging human rights abuses committed in the name of Islam. They fear being denouned as Islamophobic. They confuse protests against fundamentalist, political Islam, which seeks to establish a religious dictatorship, with an attack on Muslim people and the Muslim faith. These are two very different things. Saturday's protest is in defence of Muslim people – and all people everywhere – who are victims of any form of religious tyranny." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

Every so often I believe this, or that if I could talk to her in person we'd get along. The feeling never lasts though :P - Lo

Such resonances with people, places, and ideas guide me through my life. I call it the "synchronicity highway". Of course, other people call it pareidolia and a mild symptom of schizophrenia, but meh. In some schools of ceremonial magick, the "Oath of the Abyss" is where the aspirant "takes complete responsibility for his present incarnation and must consider every experience, thing or... more... - Neal Jansons

"American history is brought to life by children in this true-to-life reenactment of the first Thanksgiving." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"Some parents try to teach their infant children a foreign language, but d'Armond Speers took his son's linguistic education to a whole new level. Speers claims that he spoke to his son only in Klingon for the first three years of the boy's life. Not only did his son start parroting the alien language; Speers' interest in Klingon has also landed him a job. When a dictionary and translation software company called Ultralingua sought to create applications based on a Klingon dictionary, they turned to Speers, who is a software consultant and expert in computational linguistics." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

Teaching a kid to speak klingon from a young age = awesome. Limiting a kid's exposure to English (or any other language frequently used in the real world) during first three years of life = not awesome. I'm assuming he didn't take it that far, though it wasn't really clear from the info given. - Lo

"Ray Bradbury has some simple advice to those of you who are struggling to get your science fiction published: Don't ever quit working." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"I am liking this trend. Roxanne Westover, a 17-year-old from Ohio, stopped standing for the Pledge of Allegiance after learning in her history class that she didn’t have to. “I’m an atheist, and I believe the pledge isn’t something toward our nation,” she said. “It’s more like a religious oath, and I believe that if I stand I’m still participating in it.” Several times, she was “written up and send to the principal’s office” for not following suit and pledging. The ACLU contacted the school and did their thing. As a result, it looks like there will be no further punishment for Roxanne." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"Start with a fundamental lack of understanding that many of the same services on which one relies are payed for by the same taxes one hates having to pay. Add a deep but highly selective mistrust for government (i.e., it really only applies to Democratic officials). Toss in a pinch of racism and a sprinkle of serious delusion (e.g., birthers, deathers, czarists, etc.). Heat to a rolling boil over the fires of misinformation and extremist propaganda provided by Fox "News" and right-wing talk radio. Now add several measures of Christian extremism. Congratulations, you have cooked up a tasty Bachmann protest that would make Sarah Palin proud!" - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"A police officer who used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl after he said her mother gave him permission has been suspended – not for using the Taser but for not having a video camera attached when he used it." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday unveiled his long-awaited plan for expanding medical coverage to millions more Americans over the next decade, setting the stage for a historic Senate debate on a healthcare overhaul. [...] Republicans, who have criticized the Democrats' initiative as a step toward government control of the healthcare system, are already planning a series of delaying tactics, including forcing the entire bill to be read aloud on the Senate floor. "It's going to be a holy war," Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said Wednesday evening." - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet

LOVE LOVE LOVE - Lo

"There's a hilarious new meme in the wingnut sectors of the internet: someone's coined a bumper sticker slogan encouraging people to pray for Barack Obama. But here's the funny part: it's really a secret Christian code for "Kill the President!' Posters to various message boards tell stories of seeing bumper stickers with the message "Pray for Obama—Psalm 109:8" on the highway, only to look up the verse and find, "Let his days be few; and let another take his office."" - Neal Jansons from Bookmarklet