Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Lady Gaga: "Born This Way"

Lady Gaga released the above new single last month. It's being marketed as something of a gay anthem, with its catchy lyrics like "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track baby, I was born to survive." The overall theme seems to be "love yourself for who you are" which is, undoubtedly, a nice sentiment.

On the other hand, there's been some question about the appropriateness of the lyrics. For example, her use of the word chola (among others), with one critic stating:

Are Latinos supposed to be grateful that a white superstar, born of privilege, included a racist shout out to our community? Not all Latino ladies are 'cholas' in the barrio, some of them are teachers, writers, engineers and nurses and doctors.

Here are the complete lyrics:

It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'Cause you were born this way, baby

My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She pulled my hand and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir
"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are"
She said, "'cause He made you perfect, babe"
"So hold your head up girl and you'll go far,
Listen to me when I say"

(Chorus 1)
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way

(Chorus 2)
Ooo there ain't no other way
Baby I was born this way
Baby I was born this way
Ooo there ain't no other way
Baby, I was born this way
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way

Don't be a drag - just be a queen
Don't be a drag - just be a queen
Don't be a drag - just be a queen
Don't be!

Give yourself prudence
And love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice your truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be myself, respect my youth
A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (hey hey hey)
I love my life I love this record and
Mi amore vole fè, yay (love needs faith)

(Repeat Chorus 1 and 2)

Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're Lebanese, you're Orient
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby you were born this way

No matter gay, straight, or bi,
Lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track baby
I was born to survive
No matter black, white or beige
Chola or Orient made
I'm on the right track baby
I was born to be brave

(Repeat Chorus 1 and 2)

The video features pink triangles and unicorns and I don't know what the fuck else, which I guess is gay? I am no fan of pink triangles, and steadfastly refuse to wear one. But hey, reclamation and all that, I guess, so wevs. All kinds of other stuff goes on in the video that I don't feel qualified to comment on.

Anyway, what say you? New inclusive anthem of queer empowerment? Or insensitive cultural appropriation? Neither? Both? Discuss.

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This Is A Real Thing In The World

[Image: A bag of imported Doritos featuring two mascots (maybe) that are, I dunno, wrassling perhaps, or doing acrobatics, one of whom has their foot planted firmly in the other's "bathing suit area."]

If anyone knows what's going on, feel free to explain. And if you can translate the bag, I'd appreciate it. I want to know exactly what flavour these are.

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Really, Gearbox? Really?

by Shaker and Shakesville Moderator Scott Madin. Cross-posted at Fineness & Accuracy.

[Trigger warning for objectification, sexual assault, broad-spectrum misogynist fuckery.]

I had really expected that nearly two years ago would be the last time I'd write about Duke Nukem. I'd happily put the character, the franchise, and its gleeful participation in the worst traits of gamer culture, out of my mind. Until Gearbox Software announced they had acquired the rights and that the vapor-for-fourteen-years Duke Nukem Forever would be seeing release after all. So, thanks for that, guys. That's just swell.

Since that miserable announcement, almost like clockwork, predictably awful globs of congealed misogyny have been flung forth from Gearbox HQ, splattering all over the gaming press. They held a press event at a strip club; they flagrantly violated PAX's longstanding "no booth babe" policy (a policy which, it seems, contrary to how it was presented, was basically voluntary all along); and most recently they announced that the multiplayer capture-the-flag mode (a de rigueur component, of course, of any multiplayer shooter) would be entitled "Capture the Babe," and that when a player had "captured the babe," slinging the presumably-otherwise-passive female character over his shoulder, she would occasionally "freak out," and need to be slapped (on the ass, Gearbox hastened to clarify, not the face! So that's OK then) to "calm her down."

...yeah. The aim of the game mode is to 1) abduct sexually objectified "babes" who have no agency of their own, but 2) who hysterically "freak out" at being bodily lifted up and hauled around, 3) who you then physically abuse to ensure their compliance, and 4) collect them as trophies.

I was going to write at more length about this, but Gunthera1's excellent post at The Border House pretty much covers it, so I recommend reading her if you need more background or detail.

I'll add a couple of other notes, however. As a bit of background, Randy Pitchford from Gearbox was on the "Irrational Interviews" podcast produced by Boston-based Bioshock developers Irrational, back in February, and when asked about the challenges of marketing games, he (I'm afraid I'm paraphrasing from memory, but I don't believe I'm misrepresenting him) explained that seeing marketing materials for a game is like "when you meet a girl (sic), and you decide in 5 seconds 'would I do her, or not?'" It's obviously a total shock that a fellow like that might be insensitive to concerns about sexist content in the game he's making.

And finally, Penny Arcade — having, perhaps, after the Dickwolves debacle, decided to prove everyone wrong who ever praised them for attempting to take a thoughtful approach to game-related controversies — have joined in, with a comic showing Tycho, in an exaggerated "moral scold" posture, wagging his finger at Gabe and declaiming, "Did you know there's a mode in Duke Nukem where you slap a woman's bottom?" In the second panel, Gabe, looking bored, responds, "Did you know there's a mode in Call of Duty where you murder, like, a million people?" as Tycho appears taken aback. In the third panel, Gabe continues, "It's called Call of Duty."

In an echo of their deliberate misrepresentation of criticism of the "Sixth Slave" comic, here they misconstrue the DNF criticisms as being solely about the slap rather than about using women as trophies — literally objects — ignoring that at least within the conceptual framework of the game enemy soldiers in the Call of Duty games have agency and contend directly with the player, and slandering hundreds of thousands of soldiers as "murderers" into the bargain.

It seems like for every lovely moment like David Gaider's eloquent rebuttal to an aggrieved "Straight Male Gamer," there's still a half-dozen episodes which (to borrow Mr. Walker's phrase) make my spine hurt. This is why we can't have nice things, game industry.

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So the President Gave a Speech Last Night

The text of the speech is available here. Basically, he defended his decision to go to war "intervene" in Libya and explained why he felt obliged to take "action." This is probably the most important section, in terms of defending and justifying the mission:

Much of the debate in Washington has put forward a false choice when it comes to Libya. On the one hand, some question why America should intervene at all—even in limited ways—in this distant land. They argue that there are many places in the world where innocent civilians face brutal violence at the hands of their government, and America should not be expected to police the world, particularly when we have so many pressing needs here at home.

It's true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right. In this particular country—Libya—at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandate for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arab countries, and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves. We also had the ability to stop Qaddafi's forces in their tracks without putting American troops on the ground.

To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and—more profoundly—our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.

Mm, well, sometimes we're different. And sometimes we turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. Which was kind of his point, when he started.

On the one hand, I understand this reasoning and sympathize with it. Just because we can't prevent every horror in the world ever doesn't mean we shouldn't try to prevent some. I agree with that. I just question the basis on which the US tends to make its decisions about where to intervene.

[TW for sexual violence] Why is it, for example, that journalists being sexually assaulted in Libya is a reason to intervene, according to the president, but the hundreds of thousands of women who have been raped in DR Congo is not a reason to intervene there? Is their plea for help not loud enough?

Anyway. Discuss.

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Open Thread

Hosted by a plunger.

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Question of the Day

Following up on a post I wrote earlier, about the forthcoming Scarface DVD and Humidor (MSRP: $999.99):

What film would you like to see get the fancy schmancy DVD boxed set treatment? Feel free to include whatever extras you'd like to throw in too.

For example: I'd like to see The Tin Drum packaged in a replica of Oskar's tin drum, with a bonus DVD of the documentary Banned in Oklahoma, a period map of Danzig, a copy of the original novel by Günter Grass, and a tin of eels. I'd slap down 100 Deutschmarks for that.

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This Is A Real Thing In The World

Scarface Limited Edition Blu-Ray with Humidor. MSRP: $999.99.
Now, it's beyond me why anyone would spend 1000 USD, or the comparable in Bieberdollars (or even in CUP), on a DVD of one of the world's most terrible movies. Yeah, there are some extras including a documentary (yawn) "on the film's effect on culture," and a copy of the original 1932 version. There's a scorecard "allowing you to keep track of the number of F-words said and bullets fired" because I guess in the long history of the internet no one has ever bothered to count those before and you couldn't google that or anything. Speaking of the internet: link.

There's a humidor too, which is nice, I guess, though I am not sure how any of this adds up to $1000.

The film, despite being awful in just about every way, is exceedingly popular. I'm not sure how it became such a cultural milestone. It is so ridiculous and over the top, every moment of it, from Pacino's terrible accent to Giorgio Moroder's sitar-heavy score to whomever's direction (De Palma maybe?) All of which rests on a pile of garbage known as the script.

How does anyone watch Pacino spit out lines like "All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one" and not burst out laughing? Because that's my reaction. The only redeeming quality this film has is that it is just fucking hilarious. Sadly though, it was meant to be deadly serious.

So, yeah, I won't be picking up this one. But hey, don't let that stop you!

[Via.]

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Daily Dose of Cute

Video Description: Dudley the Greyhound plays with his favorite new toy, a plush pig, which has a squeaker, a honker, and crunchy ears for maximum noise-making fun. The only thing that can make him abandon Piggy is when he thinks food might be on offer.

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Recently, Dudley has started not wanting to go in his crate when we leave. It's not that he won't, because he's a good boy, but he is obviously less thrilled about it than he used to be. We suspected he's confident enough in this environment now that he feels like he doesn't need the crate anymore, so we started, in small steps, getting him used to being home alone. (And the crate's still there if he feels like he needs it.)

He's been ridiculously awesome. He hasn't been destructive, hasn't peed in the house in protest, hasn't even touched the catfood.

So yesterday was a big test: Three hours at home alone. I bought him Piggy so he'd have a nice reward for being a good boy if he'd done well. And he did! He greeted us at the door with a wagging tail, not even looking the least bit anxious, so he got his new toy.

And they are now officially BFFs.

When he does the wild ear-flapping (seen in the video @ 1:15), I just laugh and laugh and laugh.

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Today in Freedom and/or Information

William Cronon is a professor of history, geography, and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For what it's worth, he's kind of a big deal.

Professor Cronon wrote an invited op-ed piece in the New York Times. He also started a blog. Because Cronon's a state employee (or more to the point, because a lot of Wisconsin Republicans these days are disingenuous assholes), the Republican Party of Wisconsin decided to use the state's open records law to rifle through his campus e-mail. They're looking to see if Cronon said anything mean about them.

I'm a student of Wisconsin's (and the university thereof's) history, and I can't find anything factually incorrect about Cronon's Times column. He even got the quote from Joseph Welch right. I suspect that might be part of the problem.

The accuracy of Cronon's assertions hasn't deterred the Republicans. They want to know if Cronon used UW resources to criticize the administration of Governor Scott Walker. Actually, that's not true. What I suspect they want is to intimidate academics from pointing out the absurdness, illegality, and extremism of Walker's positions.

It's true that you can't use state resources for political activity. (Whoops!) However, I see a few glaring problems with the Wisconsin Republicans' position:

1) The professoriate. (Hooh! Good gawd y'all!) What is it good for? If its members aren't allowed to exchange ideas, it's worth approximately nothing. This would appear consistent with recent Republican policy.

2) The State of Wisconsin has an interest in getting professors to use their e-mail for all communications. It's a lot like how some companies give out pagers and let their employees use them for personal business. The more often you check your work e-mail, the more useful (theoretically) you are to your employer. This brings me to:

3) The internet is not a series of tubes. Using paid government employees to campaign for or against politicians is illegal. The same goes for driving your state vehicle to a protest. E-mail messages, on the other hand, are essentially free. Google gives them away.

I'm with Krugman. This campaign isn't about ensuring the sanctity of the civil service, it's about destroying the operation of the academy.

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Blog Note

Shaker BrianWS is visiting for the day (woot!), so I'll be out for the rest of the afternoon.

Please remember that when I'm not around, we're down one moderator, so take extra care in commenting, and be patient with and respectful of the other mods who will be picking up my slack.

See you tomorrow!

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Monday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, makers of Deeky's Giant Exfoliating Gloves, for all your showering needs.

Recommended Reading:

Phil: A Kind of Ungainly Balance

Fannie: [TW for homophobia] DOMA Update: Woman's Deportation on Hold

Andy: [TW for homophobia] A Presbyterian Minister's Change of Heart on Homosexuality

Adrienne: [TW for racism] Catching Up

Echidne: Today's Great Picture

And Happy Blogiversary to Bitch Flicks!

Leave your links in comments...

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Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Jordy: "Dur Dur D'être Bébé"

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Number of the Day

351: The number of abortion-related bills making their way through state legislatures this year.

NARAL, an abortion-rights group, tries to track each piece of abortion-related legislation making its way through state legislatures. Last year they tracked 174 bills. This session's count is already up to 351.

...Those on the anti-abortion side have little to lose by throwing whatever bills they can at the wall and seeing what sticks. Even if their measures conflict with Roe v. Wade, a subsequent court battle provides opportunities to publicize their position. And there's always the next session to revise the language and have another go.

Three hundred and fifty one pieces of legislation designed to subvert the autonomy and agency of more than half the population, and our "pro-choice" and "feminist" Democratic president cannot be arsed to give a national address protesting this legislative assault on a guaranteed right.

351.

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Headline of the Day

"Would You Wear an Ascot?" Ummm.... Maybe.

Bonus image accompanying article:

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Open Thread & News Round-Up: Japan Reactor News

There are some new concerns about the state of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant today. As before, good information is difficult to come by, but below are links to some of what I've been reading this morning; please feel welcome and encouraged to leave additional links in comments.

Science—Japan Radiation Map Roundup: "If you want to know what's going on, ask the nerds. As fears swelled over radiation from Japan's battered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the days after the 11 March quake, computer-savvy individuals around the globe had an immediate reaction: show people the data. Within days, individuals began tracking down and using the data to create interactive maps and graphs of radiation levels in Japan."

New York Times—Tainted Water at 2 Reactors Increases Alarm for Japanese: "Japan's troubled effort to contain the nuclear contamination crisis at its stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a setback on Sunday when alarmingly high radiation levels were discovered in a flooded area inside the complex, raising new questions about how and when recovery workers could resume their tasks. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator, said the elevated radiation levels in the water, which had flooded the turbine buildings adjacent to the reactors at the plant, were at least four times the permissible exposure levels for workers at the plant and 100,000 times more than water ordinarily found at a nuclear facility."

Guardian—Japan nuclear plant says partial meltdown caused water contamination: "High levels of radioactivity in water leaking from a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulted from a partial meltdown of fuel rods, Japanese officials have said, amid growing fears that radiation may also have seeped into seawater and soil."

BBC—Humanitarian crisis gets outside help:

More than 190,000 people are living in temporary shelters.

For the first time since the disaster, the government has permitted a foreign medical team to enter the country to treat victims, the Japan Times reports.

The health ministry has lifted a ban on holders of foreign medical licences from practising in Japan, allowing a team of 53 medical aid workers from Israel, including 14 doctors and seven nurses, to work.

Some 20,000 US troops are bolstering Japan's Self-Defence Forces, delivering aid to some of the worst-hit areas in what is said to be the biggest bilateral humanitarian mission the US has conducted in Japan.

As more radioactive water spills, there are, quite obviously, increased concerns about the people living in temporary shelters.

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Suede Working On New Material

Good news, Britpop fans: Legendary band Suede are working on new songs. Woot! Oh, but there's a catch. They may never see the light of day.

Speaking to Rolling Stone Indonesia, singer Brett Anderson said that though the band were working on new songs they won't release them unless they are "outstanding".

Harrumph!

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Open Thread & News Round-Up: Libya

Here's some of what I've been reading this morning. Please feel welcome and encouraged to leave additional links in comments. The same commenting guidelines are still in effect.

AP—US officials: Libyan operation could last months:

U.S.-led military action in Libya has bolstered rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi's forces, but the international operation could continue for months, the Obama administration says.

Ahead of President Barack Obama's national address Monday to explain his decision to act against the Libyan leader, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in appearances on the Sunday talk shows that the intervention had effectively rendered Gadhafi's forces defenseless against air attacks and created the conditions for opposition advances westward.

In interviews taped Saturday, Gates and Clinton also defended the narrowly defined U.N. mandate to prevent atrocities against Libyan civilians and said the U.S. had largely accomplished its goals.

"We have taken out his armor," Gates said, adding that the U.S. soon would relinquish its leading role in enforcing a no-fly zone and striking pro-Gadhafi ground targets intent on violence.

Clinton said "we're beginning to see, because of the good work of the coalition, his troops begin to turn back toward the west - and to see the opposition begin to reclaim the ground they had lost."

...Gates said the no-fly zone was fully in place and could be sustained with "a lot less effort than it took to set it up." He said the Pentagon was planning how to draw down resources that will be assigned to European and other countries pledging to take on a larger role.

But asked on ABC's "This Week" if that would mean a U.S. military commitment until year's end, Gates said, "I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."

New York Times—Libyan Rebel Gains Could Be Fleeting, U.S. Military Says:

As rebel forces backed by allied warplanes pushed toward one of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's most crucial bastions of support, the American military warned on Monday that the insurgents' rapid advances could quickly be reversed without continued coalition air support.

"The regime still vastly overmatches opposition forces militarily," Gen. Carter F. Ham, the ranking American in the coalition operation, warned in an email message on Monday. "The regime possesses the capability to roll them back very quickly. Coalition air power is the major reason that has not happened."

Guardian—Turkey offers to broker Libya ceasefire as rebels advance on Sirte: "The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signalled that Turkey is ready to act as a mediator to broker an early ceasefire in Libya, as he warned that a drawn-out conflict risked turning the country into a 'second Iraq' or 'another Afghanistan' with devastating repercussions both for Libya and the Nato states leading the intervention."

Meanwhile...

Guardian—Syrian troops fire teargas at protesters in Deraa: "Security forces in Syria are reported to have fired teargas and fired shots in the air as anti-government protests flared again in the southern city of Deraa. The unrest followed clashes in Latakia over the weekend in which at least 12 people died, and promises by the authorities to lift emergency laws restricting public gatherings and allowing arrests on the grounds of national security."

Bloomberg—Clinton Says U.S. Won't Intervene in Syria:

Clinton said the elements that led to intervention in Libya -- international condemnation, an Arab League call for action, a United Nations Security Council resolution -- are "not going to happen" with Syria, in part because members of the U.S. Congress from both parties say they believe Assad is "a reformer."

"What's been happening there the last few weeks is deeply concerning, but there's a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities," Clinton said, referring to Qaddafi's attacks on the Libyan people, "than police actions which, frankly, have exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see."

"Each of these situations is unique," Clinton said, referring to the North African and Middle Eastern countries dealing with change and unrest, a list that now includes Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Bahrain.

And in Yemen...

AP—Yemeni militants seize control of weapons factory: "Islamic militants seized control of a weapons factory, a strategic mountain and a nearby town in the southern Yemen province of Abyan Sunday, said a witness and security officials, as a political stalemate in the capital causes security to unravel around the country. The fragile nation has been rocked by weeks of mass protests against the long-serving president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who refuses to step down."

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Akira Coming to (A Very White) Big Screen

Hey, remember The Last Airbender? That was a movie that came out last year and pissed a lot of people off because: A) the whitewashing of the cast, and B) it sucked. I haven't seen it, so I can't confirm nor deny its suckitude. But if the internet is any barometer, and the internet is always right, the film was garbage. Also, no one was really arguing that it wasn't whitewashed, were they?

Well, along those same lines, a live action adaption of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is coming to the big screen. For those who don't know, the comic series is about (forgive me, I'm working from memory here and it's been 20+ years since reading it) about rival gangs of motorcycle hooligans made up of reform school delinquents from Neo-Tokyo who stumble into a government conspiracy involving psychic children. Or something. Anyway, there are motorcycles and laser beams and lots of Japanese kids in the thing.

So, naturally, Hollywood's top choices for actors to fill the roles of these Asian teens include:

Robert Pattinson, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix.

Because when I think Asian teen, the first person that pops into my head is thirty-six-year-old Joaquin Phoenix. I especially loved his performance in the biopic Walk The Line, as famed Japanese singer Johnny Cash. Plus he was awesome in Space Camp back when his name was Leaf.

Hoo boy. What a disaster. Discuss.

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Doomsday Pinpointed

Hold onto your bootstraps, Shakers! The end is fucking well nigh. As they say. Very nigh at that. Like two months away. Less than, really. Nevermind all that Mayan bullshit about 2012. The world is set to end May 21, 2011.

That is according to Harold Camping of Family Radio Worldwide. I don't know who Family Radio Worldwide is, but I checked and they run two stations here in town. They're on AM, so I've never heard them. Not even by accident. Nonetheless, Camping has pinpointed the exact day of dooms, using the following method:

1. According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
   
   
2. Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
   
   
3. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.
   
   
4. The time between April 1 and May 21st is 51 days.
   
   
5. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
   
   
6. (5 x 10 x 17)² or (atonement x completeness x heaven)² also equals 722,500.

See? I dare you to argue with that. It can't be done. Seriously, I am sure it is impossible to counter any type of argument against that. Of course, I am not a mathematician, so I could be wrong. Camping isn't a mathematician either, so who knows if he is wrong. I bet he believes he's right. I bet a lot of people believe he is right.

If Camping is wrong, then a lot of people have wasted a lot of money painting RVs. If he is right, there'll be a lot less traffic after the Rapture.

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Open Thread

Hosted by matches.

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