Nighty-night!

(10)

At the moment I am inclined to posit a general subject for next week: LSD. If you wish to be up to speed on this subject then I recommend that you start with a Google Search of LSD, and go from there.

Nighty-night!

Screw Jesus

(9)

I take the subject from Today, of course, which posed the question to us this week. As I thought about this very serious question it dawned on me that Today may have partially confused the idea of 'sexy' with the idea of 'erotic.' 'Erotic' is a sub-category of 'sexy.' 'Sexy' is a very general term covering a wide range of human social interaction whereas 'erotic' is a narrow sexual category. Many things are sexy whereas few things are erotic. For example: your smile is sexy, not erotic. Your cunt is erotic, not sexy.

Your personality can be both sexy and erotic. If your personality is not sexy then neither is it erotic. Both sexiness and eroticism reside in your brain.

You can do absolutely nothing to change (turn) your fundamental sexual interest. It is hard-wired. Nothing you do will ever change it. Even Acid won't change it. You are stuck with it. Better enjoy it.

And don't worry your pretty little heads about whether Jesus would approve of your erotic predelections. Screw Jesus. None of His business.

Rash Limbo

(8)

Nearly 2330L and I'm wondering about Rash Limbo. Is Rash a druggie? Where was Jesus? Is it possible that Rash does not have Free Will after all?

Concerning the problem with Iran: Shouldn't Iran have the freedom to create a nuclear technology? I think so. Iran's quest to go nuclear seems to express an understanding of modern economics: 'Before you run out of oil you'd better have an alternative energy source in place.' Iran is only doing the rational thing, not waiting for Jesus or the 12th Imam. We should be engaging Iran in face to face discussions concerning this matter instead of threatening them with violence.

Which brings us to my final note: 'What is sexy?'

What is sexy?

Follow Your Nonbelief

(7)

I just discovered (actually re-discovered) that if I publish a piece prematurely I cannot recall it. Once published it hangs out there in the blogosphere until I either delete it or modify it. This means that if I publish right from the beginning of a piece you will be able to sort of 'hang on my every word' by periodically refreshing this blog. Are you that interested? Oh well... Forget it.

Which brings us to the subject of Acid in everyday life. What is the significance of this thing called, 'Acid?'

Acid is Revelation. For example, if you are a dumbass Christian waiting for Jesus to return tomorrow, then today is your lucky day. If you are afraid to die, if you wish to escape to the Promised Paradise even if only in the form of a phase transition, if you would prefer not to rot in your grave until your resurrection, then today is your lucky day: You can actually go out into the world of drug dealers and buy yourself a hit of Acid. That hit of Acid will transport you to the place which Jesus himself called, 'The Kingdom of God.'

Do you believe that? Of course not (now listening to Mozart Piano Concerto #21). And my advice to you is to follow your non-belief: Do not run to the nearest drug dealer and buy a hit of Acid. Do not ingest illegal drugs of any kind. Do the rational thing instead: do the research. Use your glorious brain. You are familiar with the VOOT, ad nausum. Time for you to become familiar with other stuff.

Naked Existence

(6)

Speaking of 'complex language,' here is a quote from Aldous Huxley describing his first 'Mescalin trip' (Mescaline):

"I took my pill at eleven. An hour and a half later, I was sitting in my study, looking intently at a small glass vase. The vase contained only three flowers-a full-blown Belie of Portugal rose, shell pink with a hint at every petal's base of a hotter, flamier hue; a large magenta and cream-colored carnation; and, pale purple at the end of its broken stalk, the bold heraldic blossom of an iris. Fortuitous and provisional, the little nosegay broke all the rules of traditional good taste. At breakfast that morning I had been struck by the lively dissonance of its colors. But that was no longer the point. I was not looking now at an unusual flower arrangement. I was seeing what Adam had seen on the morning of his creation - the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence."

One of the most interesting aspects of Harris' book (The End of Faith) is that, having rejected Faith as viable method of knowing anything, he embraces Mysticism, specifically Eastern Mysticism as a method of learning about 'spiritual' matters. Harris likes the idea of meditative introspection (meditation) which has been used by the 'Eastern Paradigm' (my concoction) for millenia. This is counter-intuitive in American culture which is at once pragmatic and Pentecostal.

How could Harris have arrived at this unusual method? My guess is that Harris has done Acid. My guess is that Harris, being Jewish and logical simultaneously, concluded, while staring at his circumcised penis during an Acid trip, that The Holocaust of the 1940s demonstrated the futility of penile mutilation in the name of any sort of pact with the VOOT Diety.

Reading the Mail at 300 Baud

(5)

Was I right about that? I'll never know. I did my duty and informed the government about my creation and even sent them a sample Word Salad diskette. They replied, thanking me for the information, but did not seem to be very interested in the details of my system. I suspect that the system was virtually unbreakable if used in 'one time mode' but that once the encryption mechanism was known it was a fairly easy 'break' using NSA computers. I tried to generate local interest in the system at the time by pitching it to BBS operators as a private way for their members to communicate; however they preferred to ignore it. I think they liked to read the mail. My system would have left them in the uncomfortable position of being mere postpersons, unable to open the envelopes.

Nowadays encryption is routine, but I think of myself as a sort of pioneer in that respect.

Unbreakable?

(4)

Codes are much in the news recently due to the activities surrounding the book, The Da Vinci Code. I love codes, not that I pay much attention to them. I first learned about codes (and ciphers) while attending Radio Traffic Analysis classes at Kelly AFB back in 1955. My main interest was ciphers. And although I didn't have much to do with codes and ciphers back in those days as a 'novice' stationed at Shiroi AFB, Japan (I mostly just read and notated stuff like, 'UDCH DE RKXX QSA IMI K,' I retained an interest in the subject.

So when I decided to develop a cryptographic word processor back in the '80s I drew upon my knowlege of ciphers. The big problem I had at the time was how to create a string of 'random' numbers. I eventually found the solution in the form of a 32 bit shift register which fed back on itself at a couple of places (I think). I would load the shift register with four ASCII characters from the encryption key, then produce a string of numbers which would be 'added' to the ASCII values of the text to be encrypted. I would then load the next four characters of the encription key and do it all over again. And then again. The encryption key was always 12 characters long. (If you typed in less than 12 characters the program simply repeated what you had typed in to get to 12 characters.) To make things more interesting I would at each stage rotate the four ASCII characters around the 32 bit register such that the final result was that your text had been encrypted a total of 12 times by 12 entirely different bit-streams. If you were really paranoid you could even encrypt the encrypted text, ad infinitum.

I considered the system unbreakable if no two messages were ever encrypted with the same key.

Mariachi Anthem

(3)

Whew. Elegant but complex. I could never do anything like that. I prefer simple language like, 'Old and Odius Testament.' Such simple language assumes a great deal of knowlege on the part of the reader but does not tax the reader's knowlege of English. No doubt I developed this style as I interacted with Kootch over the years.

On this general subject I saw on the news today that a Mexican version of The National Anthem has been created for folks who would rather sing it in Mexican. Apparently something was lost in the translation from American to Mexican but the music was saved. Is this a good idea?

I think not. It seems to me that if you are going to mistranslate the words you also need to mistranslate the music. I'm waiting to hear the first mariachi version. Should be fun.

Complex Language

(2)

Finally finished The End of Faith only to discover there is an 'epilogue.' I look forward to reading that too. Then there are 60 pages of notes, followed by a huge bibliography, followed by an index, all of which would keep me busy for years if I were so inclined.

I am amazed by how much I agree with the contents of this book! The epilogue begins with this quote:

"My goal in writing this book has been to close the door to a certain style of irrationality. While religious faith is one of the species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction, it is still sheltered from criticism in every corner of our culture. Forsaking all valid sources of information about this world (both spiritual and mundane), our religions have seized upon ancient taboos and prescientific fancies as though they held ultimate metaphysical significance. Books that embrace the narrowest spectrum of political, moral, scientific, and spiritual understanding - books that, by their antiquity alone, offer us the most dilute wisdom with respect to the present - are still dogmatically thrust upon us as the final word on matters of the greatest significance. In the best case, faith leaves otherwise well-intentioned people incapable of thinking rationally about many of their deepest concerns; at worst, it is a continuous source of human violence. Even now, many of us are motivated not by what we know but by what we are content merely to imagine. Many are still eager to sacrifice happiness, compassion, and justice in this world, for a fantasy of a world to come. These and other degradations await us along the well-worn path of piety. Whatever our religious differences may mean for the next life, they have only one terminus in this one - a future of ignorance and slaughter."

Yearly Rituals

(1)

That was wierd. At least it served to remind me to put on some music, in this case Beethoven symphony #6. And at the moment I'm not at all inclined to concoct an interview with 'our Dear Lord Gaia.' Yeeesh.. So don't hold your breath.

Kootch is away. She took off for her annual visit to her family in Japan. I drove her to the airport early Tuesday morning, unloaded her bags, and gave her her yearly kiss. She seemed delighted, remarking, 'I only get kissed once a year?' I forgot to pat her on the butt this time.

Since then I have been doing the 'digital padlock tango' whenever I leave the apartment. I back up the locks with a listening device to detect whether the door has been opened and the locks tampered with. On two occasions in the past I have returned to find that one of the locks was hanging on the staple decoupled from the chain. Since it is not possible that I failed to hook the chain link into that connection when I performed the locking ritual I know that 'they' had opened the door and 'broken' the combination to that particular lock. Nice of them to let me know about that.

You Can't Love an Alien God

(8)

Unfortunately you will have to wait until next week for the answer. Stay tuned. I promise to then deliver an interview with Our Lord Gaia which will go a long way in the direction of answering your fundamental questions. So be ready: think up some fundamental questions.

Frankly, as I now think a bit about such an interview I am getting a bit hot. Gaia! What a woman! Guys will be naturally inclined (psychologically) to adopt such a new deity. But will Gals be so inclined? I think not. Therefore I would like to propose a slight modification to the concept of, 'Gaia:' Gaio, consort to Gaia. This worthy Diety would be a 'duality' in the sense of Two Gods reigning side by side. Most women would probably snuggle up to Gaio, whereas most men would probably choose, Gaia.

And as a well-known bigot I can not fail to point out that homosexuals of both sexes would probably reverse the above choices, as well they should: you can't love an alien god.

Zat Eez Zee Klestion

(7)

Should not we as a species finally recognize the Inevitably Recognizable? Should not we as a species begin to cooperate with Our Dear Lord Gaia?

For example: Shouldn't we use our modern engineering skills (technology) to supplement Dear Lord Gaia's obvious attempts to maintain the status quo, temperature-wise? That is to say, should we not devise a technology which will aid our Dear Lord Gaia in Her quest to save a million species from extinction? Specifically, should we not contribute to 'global dimming' through the use of modern technology? Furthermore, does not our True Lord Gaia expect this of us? Did She not prepare us for this?

There is no doubt we could add our money to global dimming if we wanted to do it. No doubt. But should we?

Zat eez zee klestion...

Our Dear Lord Gaia

(6)

(Whew. Glad to be out of that little circle. (But am I? (Just dawned on me that I forgot to put Beethoven on. Arghh. Now running BPC#1.)))

Interesting in this respect is the notion of, Gaia, the notion that Earth itself is an 'organism' which is capable of 'self defense' in some sense. The recent Nova piece on 'Dimming' is an example of what Gaians (?) might believe in that respect: as 'greenhouse gases' and atmospheric pollution have tended to cause increasing temperatures, Gaia has produced a countermeasure in the form of 'global dimming' which serves to limit increasing temperatures - up to a point.

Which brings up the question of whether it is profitable for our species to continue to believe in old and odius religion. Should Gaia become our new god?

Wouldn't that be more 'economic?'

Everything Dies

(5)

But is the Bush period really an aberation which lies outside the realm of evolution? Obviously not. Evolution is, '...the way it goes, but sometimes it goes the other way too' (True Romance).

As I reread this it strikes me that this is not too different from a 'dream sequence.' Of course it is a form of 'streaming consciousness' but far more coherent than a dream. In fact, I would call this almost a book review, a book review of a fictional book, somewhat like Stanislaw Lem's short story, Non Serviam.

But to continue logically: Suppose Mankind's successes in the evolutionary realm eventually result in a planet-wide catastrophe: will that result negate some or other Principle of Nature? Not at all. Everything dies.

Jesus is Very Busy

(4)

(Am I going too fast for you? No? Good. I am making this stuff up as I go along...)

Which brings us to Modern American religion/economics. America prospered economically because it was able to evolve without the shackles of old and odius religion. We are an evolved society, the product of a natural process. Until Bush.

Bushian Fundamentalists seem to be trying to take us back to the good old odius days of Revelations. They have forgot that modern Law and modern Economics evolved from ancient religious ideas. Indeed, they reject the whole notion of 'evolution!'

Bushian Fundamentalists hopefully-expect Jesus to arrive soon, not realizing that Jesus is very busy.

Evolution is a Good Thing

(3)

The Law assumes that most of us have a certain amount of 'free will' but not too much. The law is even willing to grant some of us the 'insanity excuse.' Law is much more flexible in these matters than religion. Why is that? Obviously, Law evolves whereas Religion stagnates. Evolution is a good thing.

It would seem to follow that the older a religion is the more it stinks in the ethical realm. Take, for example, the ancient punishment for theft: amputation of the 'thieving hand.' Good thing? Probably not, at least not in the economic sense, and economics is an important modern consideration. The failure of Muslim societies which practice 'Sharia Law' is a good example of old and odius religion failing to understand modern economics. The notion that, 'relegating fully half their population (women) to ignorant menialism fatally cripples them economically' still seems to be escaping them. Idiots!

Which brings us to China. China has no history of fundamentalist religion. Confucianism and Buddahism were merely suggestions, not The Infallible, Changeless Word of God. Therefore, China had no history of 'fundamentalism' to put limits on its evolutionary processes, and as a result it now buys fully half of the world output of cement.

Go Figure

(2)

Nothing in the news served to jolt me out of my unpleasant situation, so I turned to the web. (I also abandoned 3.2 beer for the moment in favor of a double shot of booze.) What does this link suggest? Do you understand this story? I don't but I have an excuse; you don't. Which naturally brings us to the subject of 'free will.' What is that, exactly? Is 'free will' a scientific term or a metaphysical term?

Do you know anybody who has 'free will?' Do you have 'free will?' Does an addict have 'free will?' Does an obsessive-compulsive have 'free will?' Probably not. And WHTZSNM is gonna burn all our sorry asses in Hell to satisfy His zero-sum proclivities? And we don't even have free fucking will!?'

Go figure.

Happy Easter!

(1)

Obviously, post #7 in the previous series should have read, '... every planet in the universe containing creatures with Free Will...' Jesus would probably be very lonely, for example, on Venus.

And by the way I forgot to wish you a Happy Easter so I'll do it now. Sorry.

I actually don't have a list of possible subjects tonight. Been too involved in the switch from dialup to cable. I must say I am delighted with the improvement in speed and security which cable provides and I recommend it highly. Blogger, especially, has become much more 'user friendly' with the increase in speed.

Spring is springing in Colorado and I am beginning to get back in shape by doing bike rides. Did my fourth ride today, and discovered that higher tire pressures can significantly improve performance. So far so boring. News time...

Not to Worry

(10)

Never play C-III on Acid unless you love the music. In fact, it just now hit me that you could theoretically play an Acid game right from the start! Try it! My guess is that unless you allow the United Nations from the very beginning you will be crushed.

Concerning the '12th Imam' I am just a bit worried. It seems that Jesus and the 12th Imam are in a race to see who arrives first. Whomsoever arrives first will determine forever the mode of worship of WHTZSNM (or AMFL - take your choice). But as I seriously apply my limited brain cells to the problem I become calm, convinced that ugly old myths are universal and, 'not to worry.'

Myths you will always have with you.

Never Play C-III on Acid

(9)

Which brings us to the twelfth Imam and whether you can play C-III on Acid.

I don't know. Never tried. I did try playing chess on Acid, one time. I was about 30-45 minutes into an Acid trip and played a game with Kootch on the kitchen table. The kids (also beginning to Trip) were watching. Kootch was our 'babysitter' at the time.

We played a quick game and I easily defeated poor Kootch who was not a very good chess player. But during the game I was struck by the grotesque barbarity of (stomps above me as I write this) what I was doing. I hated it even as I was (more stomps above) defeating Kootch in a simple opening. I saw myself for the very first time as a 'psychological carnivore' and I didn't like what I saw.

Kootch took her quick defeat in the style of a good sport, although she was a little surprised at my 'Acid ability.' Following the game we all went our seperate ways: Kootch did her usual thing of supervising the goings-on, the kids did their usual thing of whatever that was, and I did my usual thing of listening to Beethoven on the living room couch.

This brings us to the question of whether you can play C-III on Acid. My take is that you might be able to manage it for about 40 minutes but you will ruin your game by bonding to your opponents, especially your female opponents. My advice is, never play C-III on Acid.

A Big Universe

(8)

me: Without going into excessive detail can you give us a general idea concerning approximately when Jesus will be available for a 'second coming' on Earth?
gd: Standby... ok, got it. This is only an approximate date, could be sooner, could be later.
me: Stop stalling. Hit us with the date.
gd: About 362, 642 AD.
me: Whew.
gd: It's a big universe.
----------

I ended the conversation at that point, satisfied that I had nothing to worry about.

Jesus is Very Busy

(7)

me: Is it true that Your Only Son Jesus volunteered to get us all out of that 'zero sum game?'
gd: True. I was doubtful at first, but when I saw His suffering on that last friday I was satisfied. What a Son!
me: I agree. And His Sacrifice solved the zero sum problem?
gd: Yes, for Earth.
me: Earth?
gd: Earth. Other planets, unfortunately, have the same zero sum problem.
me: Are you suggesting that Jesus must be re-incarnated on other planets which have intelligent life?
gd: Bingo!
me: So Jesus has to be crucified on every such planet in the universe in order to satisfy Your ' zero sum criteron?'
gd: Exactly.
me: Most interesting. So, is Jesus busy?
gd: Very busy.

The Zero Sum Game

(6)

gd: I run a zero sum game.
me: Pardon me?
gd: Zero sum. Don't you understand the concept?
me: I understand, I think.
gd: Then you understand that I need revenge. Every offense against Me demands revenge, it's My Nature. Zero sum.
me: If I read You right, You are incapable of simple forgiveness. You need payback.
gd: Exactly!
me: But why involve Your Only Son? Couldn't You have just punished our pet goats?
gd: Been there. Done that. Didn't work.
me: Please explain.
gd: Well, as the human/goat population exploded I discovered that I was not getting My share of goats. Sin was winning the game against revenge. Humans were committing more sins than they were sacrificing goats. This was unacceptable. Think of it in terms of 'celestial economics:' do it long enough and You end up in the hole.

Interview With WHTZSNM

(5)

It seemed to me as I wrote the last entry that this could possibly be an auspicious time to call WHTZSNM, so I dialed 666 on the Brown Telephone:

gd: Don't tell Me: it's friday, right?
me: We call it 'Good Friday.'
gd: Good?
me: This is the day we celebrate Jesus' crucifiction.
gd: Fiction?
me: Cru-si-fic-tion. We must have a bad connection.
gd: Well it's your telephone, don't blame Me.
me: Are we on the same page here? I'm referring to Your Son Jesus. He died for our sins against You.
gd: You should have a son like Jesus. He's the best.
me: I have two daughters.
gd: You don't know what loyalty is until you have a son.
me: Be that as it may, I am calling to clarify some points concerning Your Son's crucifiction.
gd: Fire away.
me: why did You find it necessary to send Your Son down to Earth to be crucified?

This is a Test

(4)

Ready for this?

If you fall into the category of those folks who would like Jesus to arrive as soon as possible then you are cheering the Iranians on concerning their possible nuclear weapons program. You can't wait! If Jesus comes soon enough you personally will not have to die! You will be 'swept up' with the hundreds or possibly thousands of other faithful folks into the arms of Jesus, leaving your panties behind. Lucky you.

On the other hand, if you are at all worried about the Iranian nuclear program then you fall into the category of those folks who would just as soon Jesus wait awhile. The longer the better.

There is no 'pass-fail' aspect to this test. This test simply places you into one of two categories.

And now you know.

Now or Later?

(3)

Interesting news this week concerning Iran nukes. Seems Iran has produced a small amount of UF4 (Uranium Floride). Estimates concerning when Iran will have a 'nuculer weapon' range from a year or two years to ten years, with the most credible estimates at around three to five years. Should this worry us? That is the question.

I'm not worried... at my age. I might not be around in three to five years. Also I live in Colorado, USA, a very long way from Iran. If I was French I might be worried. If I was Israeli I might be very worried. Might not. Why worry?

I've heard stories of a coming 'Apocolypse,' of course, from the usual Christian nutcakes. The 'Left Behind' series is the most definitive current example. Jesus is on the way they say and is due to arrive momentarily. So be ready. Wear clean panties. Don't let Jesus catch you with your undies down.

So far as I can determine there are two opposing schools of thought concerning the imminent arrival of Jesus: One school wants Him to show up now. Immediately. The other school would just as soon He wait awhile. So: to which school do you personally belong? That is the other question. And how can you tell?

Lucky you, I am here to put your minds at rest concerning this matter. I am here to help you decide whether you would like Jesus to return now, or whether on the other hand you would prefer that Jesus arrive... later.

Happy Passover

(2)

I had to laugh at the idiot DEA agent who accidentally shot himself (on video!) while giving a lecture to school children on the subject of 'gun safety.' Apparently he was in a classroom full of children playing with a loaded automatic pistol. Is that wise? Shouldn't there be a law against that? Anyway, during his lecture on gun safety he shot himself 'in the thigh.'

I was immediately reminded of the movie, Young Frankenstein, where the lecturer (Gene Wilder) stabbed himself in the thigh with a scalpel accidentally while making a point to his medical students. Incredulous, he opened his hand, stared at the embedded scalpel, closed his hand around it again, then announced, 'Class dismissed.' It was a funny moment.

So, what does one say at such a moment? The video did not favor us with his post-shooting comment. Had he seen, Young Frankenstein, and if so did he have the presence of mind to mimic the famous Wilder scene? Probably not. He probably said something incredibly lame.

I couldn't help speculating on another possible scenerio: suppose the bullet had gone a little higher than his thigh. Suppose he had shot himself in the penis. Would he have had the presence of mind to say something like, 'Happy Passover?'

Holy Week

(1)

I obviously mixed up the 'cockpit' view with the 'virtual cockpit' view there. Oh well...

I lost interest after post #4 for some reason, and spent the rest of the evening watching tv, including JC Superstar; but except for the rerun of the Herod's swimming pool song none of it interested me. I stopped boozing, ate supper, and hit the sack. Saturday was a much better day than it usually is, hangoverwise. I think the problem was a late breakfast which interferred with alcohol absorbtion. Sleep deprivation may also have contributed (faint boom).

Some possible subjects for tonight:

----------
Mexicans demonstrate. Will Jews lose control of the government?
Apocalypse now: Jesus vs The Twelvth Imam.
Can you play Civilization III on Acid?
Young Frankenstein revisited, sort of.
Holy week.
----------

Tiktaalic

(4)

The big scientific news tonight is 'Tiktaalic,' a 375 million year old fossil which is described as a 'missing link.' Seems this ancient 'fish' has the head of a crocodile and upper limbs resembling those of modern mammals. Sucker could 'do pushups.' The lower skeleton apparently was mostly 'fishlike.' I am impressed.

But something seems to be missing here: a fossil which shows the transition between fishhead and crochead - something 'in between.' Will we ever find it? And if so, what other gaps in evolutionary 'theory' will that discovery then reveal? We can only guess.

The Business View

(3)

I spent the morning flying from Salina, Kansas to Denver (tap). It was one of those days I love to fly: precipitation, low visibility at the destination airport... ATC chatter was too dense to allow me to do any reading (yep, I'm still on The End of Faith) but it was fun to observe the changing weather patterns along the route. I chose the 'snapshot' version of (Jeppeson) weather over the 'update' version because I just can't trust my web connection.

I am still amazed by how well FS2004 does weather. True, my 'frame rate' goes way down at times of complex weather, but I accept that as 'the way it goes...'

I spend most of my time in the 'virtual cockpit' attending to the business of managing the autopilot, radios, ATC, gear, flaps, etc, and most of the rest of the time in the 'virtual chase plane' observing the (in this case) Boeing 737 I am 'flying' and the surrounding scenery.

Every now and then I switch to the 'actual cockpit' view. I pan to the left, looking out the window, then to the right, back to the instrument panel. Before I leave I usually pan over to the right. There is an empty seat there, the co-pilot seat. Interestingly, the sound changes as I look in that direction as if my ears also moved with my eyes. Then I return to the business view.

Walk Across My Swimming Pool

(2)

The New Testament is also in the media mill nowadays in the form of The Gospel of Judas, which has recently been resurrected from fragments of an ancient manuscript. The gospel claims that Judas was only doing God's will when he 'sold out' Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. It makes sense. Somebody had to deliver Jesus into the hands of his enemies and Judas was elected, so to say, to be the 'designated deliverer.' Poor Judas.

Look at it this way: Jesus had to be crucified for our sins, otherwise every one of our sorry asses would burn in hell forever after it bit the biggie. It just makes sense: Jesus had to be crucified. Right? No? Maybe I'll give WHTZSNM another call tonight to clarify the situation.

In any case, this new gospel fits nicely with the story of Judas as told in Jesus Christ Superstar, 'the movie,' which I have on tape. Judas is black (African-Israeli) in this movie. He is also a close confidant who is assigned to do the dirty deed. I must have seen this musical a hundred times and I love it. One of my favorite scenes is the meeting with Herod where Herod sings, '... Prove to me that you're no fool: walk across my swimming pool!'

Fascinating Reading

(1)

Obviously, God saw where the conversation was headed and didn't like what He saw. I think I was about to quote some more info from Harris' book concerning the recommended punishments for violating the Ten Commandments. The punishment for working on the sabbath, for example, is also death (Exodus 31:15). He must have seen that one coming.

Death is also the punishment for 'cursing one's father or one's mother (Exodus 21:17), and for adultery (Leviticus 20:10). I have not verified the last two yet. Standby while I break out my booger bible... yep, Harris is correct. The Word of God is fascinating reading. Try it. And don't forget that a remake of 'The Ten Commandments' will air on TV Monday night! Should be fun to watch.