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TopSun, 29 Feb 2004
Feb 29, 2004, 13:55
[home/politics]
Special Day Today
Apparently, today is a special day! No, I’m not talking about the once-every-four-years leap year day, but an anniversary of Pierre Trudeau’s retirement from politics.
Thanks to Trudeaupia
~Jason
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Sat, 28 Feb 2004
Feb 28, 2004, 14:53
[home/curiosities]
Check Out These Awesome Cars
I just came upon a site thanks to Frederique with really cool cars.
This car has a built in boat motor, which automatically drops down from the rear bumper, along with side fins, to allow it to skim along on top of the water!
This one looks like it has a built in motorcycle and jet ski which can be lifted off the back with a built in crane!
I gotta get me one of those! 
~Jason
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Feb 28, 2004, 14:10
[home/politics]
Health Care Smealth Care
I can’t say it any better than this:
Stephen Harper calls Belinda’s comments on allowing “two-tier” medicare a “rookie mistake”. Even Andrew Coyne seems to step in line with the conventional wisdom that thou shalt not question the Canada Health Act.
On that point I think I’ll stick my neck out and say they’re all wrong and Belinda’s right. I think Canadians know perfectly well our current system is not sustainable and are prepared to listen to someone who will stop lying to them. Reforms are needed that may involve co-payments for services as are done in right wing extremist countries like France. Alberta is about to experiment with such reforms soon, and I’d note that Quebec and British Columbia just ignore the private care being offered in their provinces. The public system isn’t delivering so no one is about to shut down anything that resembles a health care service.
~Jason
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Feb 28, 2004, 01:58
[home/journal]
journal
I just spent the day at a pastors’ conference. It was interesting to hear the nearly opposite messages from two of the speakers I heard.
The first session was delivered by a well known and successful CEO in a large public company.
He was frustrated with the lack of organization and planning he had seen in the church. Often tens of thousands of combined man-hours are put in each year, with only a handful of new believers to show for all the hard work. He felt that since the stakes are so much higher in the church than they are in business— life and death and eternity— a reevaluation of our purpose and strategies and a harsh bottom-line judgement was perhaps crucial if the church is to reach the potential God wants for us.
The other session was more thought-provoking for me. I’ll give you some background first.
I’ve had ten years of experience in churches that have operated using a strict bottom-line. Their measurement of success and efficiency caused many people to be treated in decidedly non-Christian ways. Measurement might have a bad reputation to me.
However, the problem isn’t so much the measurement; we need to constantly reevaluate our effectiveness. No, the problem is the measuring stick we use.
By which ruler do we measure success? If it is by the number of people who come through our doors, or decide to follow Jesus’ teachings, then how do we account for the ones who have moved in some quiet ways for which we cannot know or measure?
Even that is a simplistic evaluation. A more important question to me: is being successful even important?
The second speaker talked about three different kinds of churches: the status quo church, the success church, and the undeniable impact church. Many of his ideas come from the book, “The Church of Irrisistable Influence.”
While the “status quo” church may be more common, with its focus on the big bad world, its goal of maintenance, it’s inward direction, and values of predictability— I have not had the unfortunate experience of serving in such a place. In fact, I think I’ve always been part of “success” churches where my bent toward innovation was encouraged.
The success church seems like the best way to go on the surface. With a focus on drawing people into the church, and a goal for growth, this type of church seems genuinely passionate about fulfilling Jesus’ call. But the direction is still inward, like the status quo church— it’s about inviting others into the church.
They value life-change, innovation, experience, and enjoyment and are committed to outreach, all of which is good, but there could be so much more. The church is more than a spiritual health-club.
The undeniable impact church aims to give to the community around it in service. Jesus modelled a no-strings-attached service to hurting and wanting people around him; not because he was trying to grow the number of his followers, but because he wanted to demonstrate the Father’s love and to see them turn from their sins.
If churches follow his example, they will focus on equiping and training their congregation to go out and serve, with goals to influence, impact and care for their community. Unlike the status quo church and success church, the direction isn’t inward. Life change, and innovation are still important, but they’ve added spiritual and care impact, and personal ministry in the world to their value list.
None of the three approaches are necessarily wrong. Part of being a success church might be judging successfulness based on results. The truly innovative church will understand that loving people— without any strings attached— is more like Jesus’ approach. We aren’t trying to get them to come to church, we’re not trying to manipulate their minds, we’re just being like Jesus, and letting the Holy Spirit do it’s work of life change.
Jesus often gave reasons why he came to the earth. Among other reasons he said, “I’ve come to seek and save the lost,” “I’ve come that you might have life, and life more abundantly,” and “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me need not live in darkness.”
If that was why Jesus was here, shouldn’t we, as his followers, be about the same work he was doing? We should be seeking and saving, giving more abundant life, and leading people out of the darkness.
~Jason
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Thu, 26 Feb 2004
Feb 26, 2004, 13:45
[home/journal]
So Disappointed!
How depressing! I rushed home from the conference early to see my family, and was surprised they didn’t meet me in the garage while I was getting the car unloaded… usually Seth comes running with ‘da da’ but not this time.
I was wondering, “Did something terrible happen? Is she even home? Did she get home ok? Was someone there to pick her up at the airport??”
Then inside everything was as I left it and I was suspicious. I walked through the house, and there were no coats, shoes, or people!!! 
I just about cried!
Apparently her plane was cancelled because of fog yesterday, so now I’m picking her up tonight.
I cannot wait! Today is our TENTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Imagine, TEN YEARS OF PASSIONATE LOVE! It’s almost too good to believe.
~Jason
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Tue, 24 Feb 2004
Feb 24, 2004, 10:02
[home/journal]
Seeing Old Friends
I saw an old friend from my New Jersey days today. It had been five years. As I drove away from our meeting place I fought to keep tears at bay.
Seeing old friends is sour and sweet.
On one hand, I’m thrilled to lay eyes upon someone I love and miss. The old memories come flooding back, and we reminisce together.
We were old friends for a reason. A comradery instantly rematerializes between us. We chuckle fondly, and nod inwardly. “This is my friend,” we say. “I remember this! I sure like this person.”
And that opens the door to the sour part.
On the simplest level, we wish we could still be together. We miss the connection; the joking; the laughing; the understanding..
On a deeper level, some of these favourite memories can be difficult. Sometimes they’re events we’ve pushed away intentionally, or the memories are connected in our minds to those events.
Many times, the rememberances are of things that could have been. I may recall plans made, that never materialised. That brings yet another unfortunate emotion to heap on all the rest: disappointment.
But let’s not stop there.
There’s the mourning of time lost. There’s regret for not staying in touch. The friend’s children have grown, and I have missed it. This person has had many experiences of which I have not been part. I have had many experiences as well.
So then one mourns the lack of time to sufficiently reconnect. Though rapport can be instant, one cannot overlook the changes found inwardly. There is a realisation that both parties have moved. How does one communicate, in an authentic and believable way, that this change has transpired? Is that even required?
That brings yet another sadness. I find myself fighting inwardly to be myself. I either begin questioning the authenticity of the change that has taken place within me, or begin realising that many of the old quirks are still there. Sometimes we even regress, because it’s comfortable to play the part one has always played. We slip into old ways of relating. What should I feel now?
The solution is to either open up, or clam up. My desire to do this, is directly proportional to the renewed commitment I have to the relationship. Will it be another five years until we speak again? Next time, will our children be teenagers?
My default behaviour is to want to pour it all out at once. “This is who I am now. This is what I’ve done. This is who I’ve become.” — Generally positive statements. But what I’m really saying is, “This is why you should be impressed with me. This is why I’m so great. This is why you should love me.”
As I drove to meet Doug, I determined to not go that route. I wasn’t going to list my accomplishments over these last five years. I wasn’t going to set myself up as anything more than the fellow I was. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to, so I practiced in my mind the questions I would ask. “How’s Jen? How do you like your new ministry? How is Jacqueline doing after her accident?” I thought of as many questions as I could. This visit wasn’t going to be about me if I could help it. At least, I wasn’t planning to “glorify myself.”
“What have you become? Give me more examples of why you’re so great. Give me more reasons to be impressed with you. Give me more reasons to love you.”
We had a great time. I left with laughter and tears. And it won’t be another five years until we meet again.
~Jason
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Mon, 23 Feb 2004
Feb 23, 2004, 08:23
[home/journal]
Utilizing the Internet
A friend of mine, Tom Johnson, mentioned that I could write my own book on utilizing the Internet, and that made me think about something: what if this site (or even a new site) was borne from this idea in which I start to develop the how-to’s of a lot of the things I do on computers.
For example, I could have a section on PC recording, with links to great free filter plugins, software I prefer, step by step directions, trouble-shooting and so on.
I could have a section on making web sites and my perspective on what makes a site successful; clips from favourite articles I’ve read on e-marketing; and stuff like that.
I could have a section on Perl programming where I lay out my goal when I write Perl scripts, how I go about it, how I think of programming differently than other people which makes it easier for me.
Anyone care to comment? Bad idea? Useful? Other potential topics?
~Jason
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Sun, 22 Feb 2004
Feb 22, 2004, 17:02
[home/curiosities]
Make Yourself into a Southpark Character
Here’s a funny site: make yourself into a Southpark Character. What do you think? This look like me?
Compare it to this picture.
Make yourself into a Southpark Character.
~Jason
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Sat, 21 Feb 2004
Feb 21, 2004, 14:50
[home/journal]
I’ve Been Published!
The coolest thing just happened to me!
Back in 1999 I wanted to learn to program CGI scripts and make my sites more interactive. I fell upon CGI101.com and read the free chapters there. It was laid out in such simple-to-understand ways that Scrabble was born, later renamed to Crossword.
After that I kept programming, thirlled by the new world opened to me: the Internet was no longer static text, but interactive, virtual-reality ready to sweep users off their feet.
In gratitude I shot an email off to the writer of this web site. She politely nodded a few sentences back in response and that was the end of it.
Until now.
Her next edition is coming out in a few days, and she’s sending me a complimentary copy! Not only that, but my name and web site will be included in the book as well as in the press release:
February 23, 2004
For Immediate Release
“CGI Programming 101, Second Edition”: Web Programming Made Easy
People who build web pages will eventually want to add a guestbook, order form, page counter, or other interactive elements to their website. CGI Programming 101, by Jacqueline Hamilton, explains how to do this in simple, easy-to-understand terms. The book shows readers how to write useful, real-world web programs, starting with simple guestbook forms and building up to more advanced applications.
Since its first release in 2000, CGI Programming 101 has become a valuable resource for many web developers. UK web designer Chris Evans says, “I bought the first edition of CGI Programming 101 when it first came out. Since then I’ve used it on more or less every project I’ve worked on. It’s fantastic. It’s simple to understand, is presented in a logical order, it’s good to read from cover to cover, and good to dip into.”
The second edition has been substantially revised, with 100 pages of new material. It teaches good programming practices from the beginning, including use of the industry-standard CGI.pm Perl module. Readers will learn how to protect their form-to-mail programs from being hijacked by spammers, how to build a cookie-based shopping cart, and how to develop a password-protected website. Quick-reference pages and an improved index help readers find information easily.
There are also several online tutorials to help readers set up their own web server and write CGI programs on any computer system - including Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix.
The first six chapters of CGI Programming 101 are available on the book’s website at http://www.cgi101.com/book/. These chapters teach the basics of CGI programs, how to create a guestbook form, how to send mail from a CGI program, and how to read from and write to data files. This material alone has helped many people get started with CGI programming. Jason Silver of Intelliscript.net says, “About four years ago I stumbled onto CGI101.COM and read the free chapters on Perl programming. Somehow, some way, it inspired me to program my first script. Since then I’ve become an incorporated business, selling Perl scripts and doing custom programming. My scripts are in use all over the Internet - I’ve sold thousands of them!”
The 2nd edition of CGI Programming 101 (ISBN 0-9669426-1-2, 320 pages, $29.95) will be available in bookstores in April 2004. Visit http://www.cgi101.com/book/ for more information or to order the book.
Is that cool or what? I can’t wait to read past the first six chapters! haha!
~Jason
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Feb 21, 2004, 13:47
[home/journal]
IQ Test
I just took an IQ test over at Tickle.com, and found out I’m not as dumb as I thought. 
Congratulations, Jason!
Your IQ score is 129
This number is the result of a formula based on how many questions you answered correctly on Tickle’s Classic IQ test. Your IQ score is scientifically accurate; to read more about the science behind our IQ test, click here.
During the test, you answered four different types of questions — mathematical, visual-spatial, linguistic and logical. We analyzed how you did on those questions, which reveals the way your brain uniquely works.
We also compared your answers with others who have taken the test, and according to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is an Insightful Linguist.
This means you are highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. And that’s just some of what we know about you from your test results.
Aw sheesh, thanks!
I’ve always suspected IQ tests of being slanted toward certain thinking styles, (if I was politically correct, I’d say mentally discriminatory!). In fact, some of the questions were downright sexist! 
~Jason
What Is IQ, and other questions
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Feb 21, 2004, 12:11
[home/journal/faith]
Chinese Christians Everywhere
I’ve noticed lately how many Chinese Christians attend our church. So many of the medical university students from Mac who attend our earlier contemporary service are Chinese.
What drew me to post a comment was this blog in which Martin Roth notices the same thing.
Because the media are generally not interested in Christian good news stories they have missed the other side to the tale - the growth of the local Chinese church and the fact that so much of this expansion comes from migrants who arrive as Buddhists and then find Jesus.
An example of what is happening is Melbourne’s Evangelical Chinese Church, which I visited recently. Started in 1978 with 10 members, it now attracts some 1,400 worshippers (including children) to 10 services each Sunday, in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, at four locations. And it is still growing.
Another example of press bias; why do we never hear these stories? Another example of anti-Christian sentiment; why would the advancement of Buddhism preclude reporting the growth of Christianity?
I shouldn’t ask.
~Jason
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Feb 21, 2004, 00:33
[home/journal]
Amazing Musician
I just watched John Mayer do a concert on PBS. Amazing. This guy isn’t a typical pop-star.
Truth be told, when I first heard his single “Your Body is a Wonderland,” it was released through the original mp3.com back in about 2000. No one had heard of him, and I loved this song.
Tonight he played some wicked blues with Buddy Guy and Double Trouble. He’s no schmuck, that’s for sure. I’m very impressed.
It sure makes me want to get out there on a stage and entertain like that. Maybe someday.
~Jason
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Fri, 20 Feb 2004
Feb 20, 2004, 22:25
[home/journal]
What is Blogging All About Anyway?
My friend Austin has made a good point. He figures we bloggers are all just exhibitionists at heart.
And I love it. I love every second of it. I find sometimes that I cannot write to an empty reader. That is, if no one is going to read what I’m writing, then I can’t write. I get stuck staring at the blank Word file for minutes, sometimes even hours, before I give up, or force something out, because I know (or believe) that no one is going to read what I write there. But on this blog? People are reading, so I can write. And it’s usually about rather foolish subject matter, too. If I can’t do something unless other people are ‘watching,’ does that make me exhibitionistic? If I enjoy writing more because people are going to read it, am I bordering on a mental disfunction?
Read more.
It’s true for me too; I probably wouldn’t blog if it wasn’t for 231 visitors a day coming to my site to check things out! I guess we’re all just perverts, eh Austin?
A big benefit for me in blogging is that I feel like it encourages me to establish opinions about things and to stretch my mind to learn more. It also forces me to chronicle my ideas. If I notice something interesting on television, or feel annoyed about some news story — whatever, it used to be that this was lost forever. Not now.
Friends and family feel like they can stay in touch with me now too— though they don’t comment on my stories as much as I’d like them to.
So if you haven’t tried blogging, why not give it a shot? You’ll get a real rush; and you won’t be arrested for streaking!
~Jason
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Feb 20, 2004, 21:42
[home/webdesign]
Test 
I’m writing a Blosxom plugin to read smiley code and turn them into images automatically. At this point I’m making my own images, but I think I’ll find better ones on the net and use them. Here’s what I have so far.
~Jason
To download this plugin for use on your own site, go here.
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Feb 20, 2004, 10:02
[home/politics]
Warming Up My Globe
I was just watching David Suzuki whine because the media didn’t cover his environmental petiion in 1993 as “newsworthy”.
You remember David, he was the host for the famous science show, The Nature of Things. He popularized science for everyone in the seventies. I loved that show when I was a kid. I loved David: any man that could make science so simple; that could bring great ideas within reach of a small boy; well this kind of person was great!
Now I’m starting to wonder: is this guy really a scientist, or a sensationalist? His conclusions seem to be so oversimplified; his anti-American comments— that disgusts me; he over-generalizes; is this what scientists do?
“We are each other,” he said to Buddhist monks, “because we breathe the same air… We are air.”
Huh? Now he’s religious? He mentioned Jesus Christ more than once; Joan of Ark was also on his list. This is starting to sound more like a political speech.
Now, I grant you, he’s famous because of his ability to connect un-scientific people with scientific ideas. Maybe he needs to be sensational in his statements so we’ll listen? Maybe he needs to over-simplify solutions so we dummies can understand? Maybe over-generalizaton is the quickest path between two ideas. But is that science?
I don’t think so. Apparently global warming is not as sure a thing as some would have us think.
However, for a number of years now, temperature measurements have been made via balloons and, in an even more thorough and comprehensive fashion, via satellites. The records established by those means show no or at worst only almost imperceptible global warming. Of course, those records are unbiased by human error and undistorted by the fact that temperature readings taken in urban areas are affected by the heat-island effects of the cities in which many are taken and that taint the results of global averaging of global temperature records.
Don’t mishear me: I’m all for living responsibly in our environment. It’s evil to pour oil on the ocean, to waste unrenewable resources; I think recycling is basically a good thing, and I participate. But I won’t be influenced by fear-tactics that are unsupported scientifically. Since most of our pollution (that allegedly causes global warming) comes from industry, the solution is to close down big factories. That’s not likely to happen. I think these people are more anti-development than pro-environment.
David, go back to your science show, leave politics alone. God knows, nobody trusts politicians. Or maybe we’re naive ignoramuses.
~Jason
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Feb 20, 2004, 01:31
[home/webdesign]
Pinging Weblogs.com
I am justing adding a feature to automatically ping weblogs.com every time my site is updated.
Neat.
~Jason
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Wed, 18 Feb 2004
Feb 18, 2004, 17:15
[home/politics]
the GAG law - I’m Gonna Gag.
All I can say is wow. It’s illegal for citizens to spend money on political advertising during an election. It seems the government wants to gag citizens from free speech. What are they afraid of?
Read this.
Apparently February 10th was to be the date for a supreme court ruling on this for Alberta. Anyone know anything about this?
~Jason
p.s. Here’s another article.
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Feb 18, 2004, 16:33
[home/politics]
Are We Dictator Primed?
I have just read a profound summary of an article on the demise of Venezuela from wealthy oil nation (petrostate trying to evenly distribute the wealth) to broken dictatorship. Reading it felt too much like reading a history of Canada’s late days.
This needs to be a wake-up call for us as a society. We must stop thinking of the government as an eternal fountain of hand-outs. Since the early days of free land offered to would-be settlers, Canada has set the tone for gimme-gimme-ness among it’s inhabitants.
It’s probably too late, but change can start with just one person… Will that be you? (Look for the article entitled: Kanada’s Krony Kleptocracy)
~Jason
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Feb 18, 2004, 14:11
[home/journal]
Congratulations To Austin
I thought congratulations to Austin Fusilier was in order— he just got ‘trackbacks’ up and running on his site.
Now he needs a good graphic… can I help you there Mr. Texan?
~Jason
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Tue, 17 Feb 2004
Feb 17, 2004, 22:26
[home/music]
New Feature to MP3 Database
Today I purchased the WimpyPlayer for JasonSilver.com so people can stream mp3 files of songs I’ve written without downloading the song or owning mp3 software… streaming! Ya!
Check it out!
~Jason
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Feb 17, 2004, 13:30
[home/movies/passion]
Actor Who Played Jesus Comments
I read an interesting quote from Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion.’
Caviezel, who spent days in freezing temperatures, nearly naked and covered in makeup “wounds” that made his skin raw, says he could not have endured what he did without God.
“What you saw on screen is my living, breathing faith,” says Caviezel. “I needed all the grace could spare. I was sick with a virus, I dislocated my shoulder carrying the cross, I was struck by lightning while hanging on it. I had nowhere else to go but the arms of God.”
Read the whole article here.
~Jason
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Mon, 16 Feb 2004
Feb 16, 2004, 23:51
[home/movies/passion] That’s not to say I didn’t laugh out-loud at some of the clip edits… obviously meant to attract sensational attention, but that’s the press for ya.
Is that awesome or what?
Mel Gibson’s Interview
I watched Dianne Sawyer’s interview with Mel Gibson re: The Passion of the Christ tonight. I was really impressed with Mel’s on-track description of our faith. Overall, an excellent interview in which Dianne asked mostly good questions.
“When asked who killed Jesus, Gibson said, “The big answer is, we all did. I’ll be the first in the culpability stakes here.”
All I can say is BRAVO Mel. I hope and pray that this film creates a new curiousity among people to read about Jesus, and to seek for themselves.
Regarding the anti-semetic accusations, I thought this was an interesting article, actually written by a Rabbi, Daniel Lapin.
Many individual Jews have shared with me their embarrassment that groups, ostensibly representing them, attack Passion but are silent about depraved entertainment that encourages killing cops and brutalizing women. Citing artistic freedom, Jewish groups helped protect sacrilegious exhibits such as the anti-Christian feces extravaganza presented by the Brooklyn Museum four years ago. One can hardly blame Christians for assuming that Jews feel artistic freedom is important only when exercised by those hostile toward Christianity. However, this is not how all Jews feel.
Go see this movie. I saw it, and was really impacted— I still am.
~Jason
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Feb 16, 2004, 13:53
[home/politics/politically_correct]
Scholarship for Whites Only
Wow, this is quite the stunt… not sure what I think about it, but I’m sure curious to hear what you think! Is this fair?
New scholarship created for whites only
~Jason
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Feb 16, 2004, 13:46
[home/curiosities]
Beautiful and Strange Art
I just found some stunning photos of an old prison: check it out. This guy is a master photographer! I love his style.
~Jason
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Feb 16, 2004, 13:04
[home/journal]
Bruce and Justin and Forgiveness
I was surfing through channels this afternoon and happened to pause on the John Walsh show. What I watched moved me.
A gentleman named Bruce Murakami lost his beautiful wife and eleven year old daughter when a young reckless teenager careened into their mini-van while street racing.
What a demonstration of forgiveness.
Bruce spent years tracking down this family-killer, seeking vengence and even trying to change the traffic laws for the street on which this crime occured.
Rather than send Justin Cabezas to prison, Bruce decided to forgive him
, and honour the memory of his family by taking him to high schools around the country to talk about his regret and to direct them away from similar behaviour.
The entire audience was weeping, Justin was crying, Bruce too… every one was impacted by this selfless, constructive demonstration of restoration and forgiveness.
It looks like Bruce’s guestbook is getting a lot of hits since airing; check out all the posts on the 16th of February!
I couldn’t resist in posting my own comments.
God bless you Bruce, keep the faith and keep modelling Jesus’ life.
~Jason
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Sun, 15 Feb 2004
Feb 15, 2004, 00:08
[home/church_work/valentines]
It’s Over!
Amazing, this evening’s Valentine’s Party was the best ever. We even had the audience spontaneously erupt into a congo line! Probably 60-75 percent of the crowd were visitors to our church, affirming it as a great way to connect with our community. Looks like the ’80s next year, and we’re getting started right away!
~Jason
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Sat, 14 Feb 2004
Feb 14, 2004, 12:13
[home/politics]
So I Offended You
So I hurt your feelings— poor baby gonna go cry to momma? Can’t take a little teasing?
Canada continues to sink to a new low. When you can’t laugh at yourself; when it becomes evil to poke a friendly joke (a joke that is, frankly, quite funny), then you’ve got a serious problem. Conan O’Brien’s Montreal sketch will be removed from future airing; we dare not offend twice in a row!
Political correctness, in my opinion, is an evil monster which threatens our freedom of speech and expression.
~Jason
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Feb 14, 2004, 10:13
[home/politics] This is an excellent essay on the positive and negative aspects of political correctness: the real need to not be cruel with words, and the ramification of pushing this too far.
PC - Politically Correct, or Pain in the Can
It really annoys me when we start tinkering with historical documents still in use today, purging them of “offensive” language. From here:It is somewhat more disturbing, however, when it becomes a matter of “correcting” historical artefacts: historical documents or pieces of literature that now give offence, notwithstanding the different cultural contexts in which they were originally written. (One interesting recent example, of course, is the bible itself, which in a contemporary version has been carefully purged of its sexist cast.) In such cases, the emotional comfort and so-called “self-esteem” of a group is seen to take precedence over historical authenticity.
What’s behind all this? Postmodernistic attitudes about relatism in regards to truth. This quote from the same site does a good job at illustrating the logical (if you can call it logic!) steps we have taken as a culture to get here:
In the minds of the critics, then, political correctness reflected a process by which the historical norms and assumptions of the academy, and its ways of doing things, were dismissed as relativistic and built on sand. The notion of hiring and promoting staff, and grading students, on the basis of objective, competitive merit was dismissed as a kind of self-serving delusion which simply protected the interests and values of a dominant group. But if universally agreed-upon criteria and standards were no longer possible, how then were decisions about such things as performance to be made? The positivistic or rationalistic process of the old order was seen to be tragically flawed; but no other generally agreed-upon alternative could be found. So the process of decision-making - in hiring, in admissions, in curriculum design, and so on - would have to move to a different category altogether: from what was argued at least to be a scholarly or intellectual process, to a blatantly political process, wherein the various “stake-holders” would bargain on the basis of group interest for different kinds of hiring practice, student evaluation, and the like. From the traditionalist perspective, this sort of forced contract and lack of mutual trust effectively meant the end of what the uni-versity was all about. Without a generally agreed-upon intellectual or scholarly process for deciding what should be studied, or without shared cultural understanding of what the enterprise was all about, the institution seemed to dissolve into a holding company of separate tribes. Post-modern theory had become contemporary practice.
~Jason
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Thu, 12 Feb 2004
Feb 12, 2004, 10:57
[home/curiosities]
Spot the Fake Smile
Here’s an interesting site I found yesterday: Spot the Fake Smile. I did pretty good at spotting the fake ones, but I also called a lot of them fake that were actually real smiles! My score? 13 out of 20. How did you do? Leave a comment and tell me your score.
~Jason
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Feb 12, 2004, 10:46
[home/journal]
Canadian Broadcasting Confusion
I’m often annoyed that our “cultural identity” seems to be completely governed by the media. They decide what is okay to say and what we mustn’t say; they ridicule; they esteem and we all zombie-ize like it’s Gospel truth.
In the first place, we’re CANADIANS! We don’t have a cultural identity, so why pretend? Our country’s barely 100… hardly time to create culture; especially when we were a melting pot to begin with (and continue to be)!
Sometimes I wonder if Canadians are too dense to realise they’re puppets of liberal pluralistic agenda? Many of us seem to think only what we’re told to think. We all grandly hate the U.S., we mock conservatives, we think we’re so beyond the ‘arrogant’ nature we ‘detect’ in Americans; all the time boldly demonstrating X-treme Snobbery.
That should be a new sport for winter games! Canadians would win every time!
~Jason
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Wed, 11 Feb 2004
Feb 11, 2004, 16:41
[home/church_work/valentines]
It’s Finally Arrived
Tonight is the first full dress rehearsal for our 2004 Hamilton’s Best Valentine’s Party, and I’m getting more excited every second! In an hour and a half the team begins to arrive, donning costumes and buzzing with anticipati