Argh!

Some people claim that there's such a thing as writer's block. I wouldn't know. However, I seem to be experiencing blogger's block. Which is a very common condition. It usually sets in after a week or two, after a new blogger's first forays onto the blog scene. They've tried this whole blogging thing out, posted the usual my-life-sucks-but-now-it's-awesome-oh-look-at-this-funny-picture-my-aunt-sent-me entries and gotten bored by the entire thing. Me, I'm not like that. I actually had a good thing going with my blog. I posted fairly often, sometimes with the help of my Treo. Once I started working at Microsoft, my post frequency actually increased. Some days I'd write as many as 3 posts. Then, insurmountable amounts of bugs and features and blah blah blah came along. Work is tiring. So, my blogging slowed down. This also coincided with the fact that my Treo's mail program decided to wig out on me, robbing me of that great ability to snap-and-email my blog posts. So, my blogging slowed down yet again. Then, more work. And yet more work. Did I mention there was more work? I did? Oh, OK. Good. I didn't want to make it seem like I didn't have enough work to do.

I just can't seem to find the time to blog. And when I do, I can't put into words what I'm thinking. I've got these ideas, stuff about Easter, funny stuff happening at work, arguments about torture, etc., but I'd rather read Heinlein (which is yet another topic I want to cover) than sit here and type up paragraphs after paragraphs. So, maybe I'll write about this blogger's block and the stuff I haven't had time to write about.


An artist in NY made a full-scale statue of Jesus, right in time for Easter. The statue is made of chocolate. So, unsurprisingly, a bunch of Catholics got pissed off, organized themselves into a frenzy and boycotted the exhibit, showering the hosting hotel with letters, e-mails and phone calls. The hotel pulled the plug. Sigh. What the story doesn't mention is the "why". Why did the artist make this statue? Was the chocolate Jesus simply a logical progression from the already-illogical combination of Jesus' resurrection and chocolate eggs left behind by a magic bunny? If so, I applaud. It's poignant. And probably tasty. Second, why are Catholics so pissed off? As some people on the "Atheists at Microsoft" mailing list commented, how is chocolate different from wood, metal, plastic, etc.? Are the Catholics upset because of the theory I suggested, that the statue is simply the result of a logical progression?

The article also had a very curious phrase, said by one of the Catholics opponents in his description of the statue: "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever". Isn't this an oxymoron? "Christian sensibilities"? If Christians were sensible, they'd be atheists. And, still focusing on this particular quote, I wonder what was the "worst assault". Was it "Dogma"? Maybe "The Last Temptation of Christ"? I bring up movies because they are more widely seen and known. Ooh, wait, I got it, maybe it was Sinead O'Connor's curious appearance on SNL? As I've said before and will say again, making "zealots" angry is like shooting fish in a barrel. People who believe so strongly in something and refuse to even consider the possibility of being wrong are just too easy to piss off. Consider the above-mentioned examples, Muhammad cartoons, Salman Rushdie. Also, and this is only for the daring, try arguing a person's long-ingrained beliefs. That should be fun.


That's all I can do for now. Be thankful that I'm actually going through with the post. Pushing that damn 'Publish' button is pretty hard, actually. Particularly if the post is not up to my liking. Hopefully sometime in the near future I'll write up a blog entry about Heinlein and Settlers of Catan (two different topics).