Names

Did you know that Penn Jillette named his kid Moxie Crimefighter? For my money that is probably the best name I have ever heard. I think all of the names I would want for my kid would quickly be knocked down by whoever I happen to put in a family way. Would any girl let me name our kid Achilles? Or Nowaki? (do you know the kanji for that one there? ed, i'm looking at you here...it is old Japanese for typhoon.)

Speaking of Penn Jillette I have been re-watching the old Penn and Teller series The Unpleasent World of Penn and Teller. It reminded me of how much I used to like them. Their kind of magic (directly influenced by James Randi) is rad because if you get the joke and you get the trick it teaches you something about not being a sucker. Not just at the carnival, but at the church and at the election and in front of the TV. I very much enjoy how them revealing how the trick is preformed is just as much another trick. Clever. Unfortunately I think a lot of this good feeling is lost when I watch their program Bullshit. While a lot of the show is decent, it can't get around the fact that Libertarianism is so much the belief system for twelve year old boys. It makes all arguments so much easier to say that freedom is good control is bad so therefore that applies absolutely in every situation. For example, they are right on about drug control. It is ridiculous and self defeating. People who are reckless and want to poison themselves will. The best we can do is deal with and minimize the problems his causes to society. Meanwhile, they lambast recycling as foolhardy claiming that most of it ends up in the dump and anyway we have enough room. Well, as with population growth, space is a fallacy. We have enough space for lots of things. We don't have enough RESOURCES. And that's the bottom line. So if you attempt to discuss waste without discussing overpopulation, you are having a pointless conversation. It is just shallow comfort to yell 'freedom' at the problem and hope it goes away when organization and effort are necessary.