Why Is Abortion NOT Murder?

Okay, today's topic is ABORTION. 

First of all, I am male and so I know that for this topic, a lot of people, mostly women, are going to discount or disregard my view purely based on the fact of my gender. So I am going to approach this discussion differently. I do not aim to offend anyone so please, resist the urge to come to this topic with an emotional chip on your shoulder. Let us reason this out and submit to superior reason or logic.

"Human life begins at conception/fertilization." 

The question of when life begins is not even necessarily a philosophical or a theological one. Rather it can be easily answered with elementary biology (i.e science). There is really no dispute scientifically as to the fact that human biological life begins at the moment of conception - and if left undisturbed would develop into an adult. 

It seems the bitter debate therefore, is NOT really on whether human life begins at conception (because it does), but on when after conception can we assign person-hood. This is where it gets murky and begins to invite all sorts of philosophical debates. Some would say the living embryo only becomes a person as soon as a heartbeat is detected, some would say as soon as a brain has formed, others would say only when the fetus is developed enough to be able to survive outside the womb. But I hope you can see that so far, the question of when the life actually began remains pretty much universally agreed upon because it is not opinion but empirical fact.

Given this widely accepted fact, can someone respectfully and rationally explain to me why abortion is not murder (the taking of human life) even if the laws of a land permits it? I am open to be persuaded by reason or facts that I might not have given deeper or finer thought. Let's keep it civil and more importantly informative.

Any takers?

Afro Music Remix by DJ Shinski

A friend shared this special remix from the famous DJ Shinski. If you have never heard of him, you'd do well to check this video out as well as some of his other work on Youtube. I thoroughly enjoyed it and so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!


   

Change, Thy Name Is Death!

Sometimes I let my mind roam. When I do, I find myself pondering some issues. Well, now I am thinking of that cold inevitable destiny of all living flesh—Death. Yes, it is a topic that people shy away from for its transparently gloomy nature. But if we are to fully appreciate each breath, each waking moment then we must make time every now and then to ponder on death. Oh that man could fully understand what lies behind the grey curtains of Mortality! That great veil cast formidably over all living matter! Would that people could experience, even if only briefly the transition brought about by Death!

You see, you've been told that at death, you cease to exist. You've been told that once you breathe your last, and lay down your once proud head in submission to the cold grip of Death, everything about you comes to a final end. You have been told that your body decomposes quickly to nourish the plethora of soil-inhabiting devourers of carrion, and that that's where the story ends. But of course, your intelligence rebels against this because you perceive yourself to also be something much more intangible than your material composition; something much more enduring; something much more profound. Your consciousness rebels because you find it difficult to accept that your rational incorporeal parts will simply get lost—thermodynamic laws or not! Why indeed should life exist—in a world of indescribable pain and suffering one may hasten to add—if Life's teleological imperative is nothing more than Death? And how indeed can you explain to other equally immortal fellow travelers, though they be blissfully unaware or painfully unimaginative, the great realms you might have traveled to when you allowed yourself to be rid of your ideologically-driven, perception-limiting, earth-bound shackles? For indeed, you do realize that you can shut your eye for a moment and be totally and instantly transported to vistas grand and indescribable in beauty; and in like manner, you can also find yourself, complete with your rational and sensory attributes, away from your present physical state or from erstwhile scenes of glory into scenes of squalor. With a clarity unfettered by the strictures of contemporary science, you know within yourself that you are part of some undying—though changing—life stream.

Having convinced yourself on your own immortality—a conviction which persists in you despite the familiar taunting of Godless skeptics who would fain be addressed as scientists—you are once again left with the nagging question of why you are apprehensive and unsettled by the idea of death. Yes, that fearsome foe that has in time humbled all tenants of this house of clay! The truth is that no matter how much you try not to think about it, one thing is certain. It is the fact that with time, everything returns to dust; with time, the hair turns grey, and the breasts sag, and the powerful limbs grow weak, and the eyes grow dim. As Death approaches closer and blows his breath on you: your muscles atrophy, and the brain turns to mush and can hardly remember what it has always known. Yes, youthful beauty fades, adolescent vivacity disappears, and juvenescent strength is gone. Finally, when Death, like a punctual creditor, knocks at the door of this temporal tabernacle, to collect his due doubtlessly, the indwelling Man, without choice or resistance, links his arm with Death and trudges off into that deep dark unknown.

Flavour - Golibe (A Translation)

   

Flavour N'Abania has indisputably become one of the iconic African musicians of our time. His music transcends national barriers and language, and is being played all over the African continent and beyond. As a matter of fact, he has global appeal and Africans in every corner of the globe cannot be any more prouder of such an illustrious son. Indeed, without question, he is living true to his chosen name in bringing melodious flavor to whatever musical masterpieces he features in. It is not surprising therefore to note the increasing number of musical collaborations he has been graciously invited to participate in.

Perhaps, the remarkable and laudable thing about Flavour—one which never ceases to impress me—is that despite his success, he has never forgotten his roots or his closest fan base (his Igbo audience). Many artists in his shoes (i.e who are enjoying phenomenal global success) would have long yielded to strategic business or financial pressure to modify or rebrand themselves (especially their music) to cater specifically to the needs of a global audience. Not Flavour. Yes, he might tinker around every now and then and drop a song that might be universally understood and appreciated. However, it seems his stroke of awe-inspiring genius comes shining through most brilliantly when he creates songs that seemingly cater just to his Igbo audience. Yes, those songs he renders in Igbo (interspersed with some English/Pidgin English) are his chartbusters, his crème dela crème, his magnum opus.

Here's another powerful song Golibe, from his latest album (Thankful)—a song that appears to have been carefully created by Flavour for one beautiful woman that he wants to marry (and by extension, all his female Igbo fans who could understand what he is saying). Indeed, it is a musical kiss blown by Flavour to all womenfolk worldwide. Men can enjoy it only in so far as they identify with Flavour's passion and wish to appreciate their own women with the same loving candor.

The words of the song will be rendered in bold font after which I’ll give an underlined direct or literal translation where necessary. Then, in brackets, I’ll explain in its proper context.

Reflections On The Michael Brown Incident

Clearly, there is a problem in the United States that needs to be addressed urgently and jointly because it is now threatening to shatter the fabric of this society and bring with it far-ranging consequences—it is the menace of a mercenary, trigger-happy, brutal, rights-trampling police force. The stats have simply become alarming and something needs to be done urgently before popular discontent boils over into the kind of unrestrained outpouring of violence that hastens societal implosion.

First of all, as anyone might have noticed, the police force is increasingly becoming militarized. It seems that every police department in this country is being supplied, nay saturated indeed with increasingly sophisticated and terrifyingly destructive mass killing gadgetry. One suspects that as certain military equipment leave US military arsenals, they invariably wind up in police stations around the country. The effect is there for all to see: there has been a precipitous increase in police brutality and senseless civilian casualties especially in black communities. The cases are out there and in alarming proportions too— it seems the police force, for what reason I cannot exactly determine, are increasingly becoming trigger-happy, law-stomping, blood-thirsty hooligans who have forgotten that their primary responsibility or duty is to faithfully serve and protect the public. Only someone who is willfully ignorant or completely disingenuous would dispute this.

A popular adage suggests that if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Nowhere is this truer than in the way the police force has morphed over the years especially in the way they approach their duties. You get the nagging suspicion upon watching some of these police drills, that many of them actually carry themselves like they are supposed to be soldiers and secondly, that they are above the law and can indeed take actions including the careless termination of civilian life without fear of reprisal or reprimand. Could it be that many officers in the force need to be retrained and specifically instructed on other non-lethal means of conflict resolution? For that matter, do we need to psychologically profile prospective applicants to law enforcement to weed out unsavory and unprincipled elements who possess destructive, conflict-seeking personalities? Do these police departments really need all these heavy, scary, advanced military machinery (with full military battle regalia) to effectively discharge their duties to their respective communities?

What needs to be done before the growing number of senseless casualties at the hands of overzealous police officers (over incidents that could have been properly handled), and the rising numbers of police brutality cases, reaches a critical mass capable of sparking a bloody civilian backlash? How about the idea that police officers should be kitted with cameras on their persons to document their actions out in public? Those cameras and their recordings can serve as indispensable teaching/instructional tools for the police force on how to properly handle situations as well as function as an effective deterrent to police ego trips, dereliction of duty or the contravention of established laws or rules.

Now, I wish to make a caveat here—one which I ordinarily should not be making save to silence would-be knee-jerk critics. By no means am I alleging that I think blindly that ALL police officers are guilty of gross negligence or that all police officers have become incompetent, knee-jerk purveyors of death. I am certainly aware that the profession is inherently dangerous and furthermore that many men and women have lost their lives serving as police officers. There are numerous instances that a police officer's quick response was the difference between their own life and death. Nevertheless, this does nothing to diminish the larger point which is that despite the presence of honorable men and women in the police force who discharge their duties conscientiously, there is a creeping and troubling uptick in the number of police brutality cases and in the frequency of avoidable civilian deaths at the hands of their own colleagues. It is like the proverbial oily finger that soils the rest.

This brings me to the whole Michael Brown Incident.

Interstellar's Faux Pas

Lately, I had been hearing a lot of buzz around the new movie Interstellar so I decided to see the movie to see what all the rave reviews were about. First of all, if you are not into sci-fi, or you really couldn't be bothered to watch movies with an overwhelming science background, then this movie is not for you. Please watch something else. If you watched Gravity, and you loved the movie, then Interstellar is another movie that explores the subject of space travel. It was brilliantly written, and the dialogues in the movie were faithful, to a great extent, to the true and current state of astrophysics and cosmology. So I'll definitely recommend it.

However, there were certain aspects of the movie that are scientifically inaccurate. I'll attempt to point out just a few instances where the movie took too much liberty with their presentation and thus presented something more akin to fantasy. Now, there is a possibility that what I am going to state here, based on what I was able to hear and understand, may not reflect what the script writers had in mind. There is also the possibility that upon watching the movie again later on, and having the benefit of understanding everything that was said, some of these faux pas may be forgiven and written off simply as a movie director's "artistic license". At any rate, for those who have seen the movie, let's examine some of the assumptions and false leaps that were found in the movie:

A) In the movie, just as you might expect, there is an exploration of the concept of a wormhole. Because of the vastness of each individual galaxy, human deep space exploration is not going to be physically possible. Light travels at an incredibly high speed—299,792,458 meters per second. As a matter of fact, nothing in this physical universe travels faster; it is the fastest speed at which matter can travel. Now, let's do some math. If light travels at 299,792,458 m/s, can you imagine the distance in miles that light might travel in a year? That's a whopping 5,878,499,817 miles. Yup, almost 6 trillion miles! That is an astounding distance. However, here's a more startling fact: our own Milky Way galaxy (one out of billions of other planets in the universe and by no means one of the biggest) is so vast that traveling at the speed of light in a year, it will take you 100,000-120,000 years! Let that sink in for a moment. Our space travel shuttles are not flying anywhere close to the speed of light. They are not even flying at up to 10% of that speed. But assuming we pretend that they are indeed blazing at the very speed of light, it is going to take a manned rocket over 100,000 years to traverse our galaxy alone! That is simply stupendous.

In the movie, the crew have to fly to a different galaxy. So, there has to be a means to achieve this on a manageable time scale. That is where the concept of a wormhole comes in. A wormhole is a hypothetical space-time bridge or tunnel. The idea was that for these space explorers to get to a different galaxy they had to pass through a wormhole which would in effect patch them through to the other side of the universe. It is necessary to point out though that wormholes are still very much speculations and have no basis in empirically verifiable science. In other words, there is absolutely no observational evidence for wormholes. I think too many times, people accept the concept of wormholes a little too easily as though they are brute facts of nature but they are not. Yes, the physics of a wormhole is neat and the equations of the theory of general relativity may hold true in hypothetical wormholes, but the larger point is still that they are useful fictions and have no empirical substantiation. It is needed to make a movie like Interstellar—they can get to the interesting parts of the universe they want to get to and not be stuck on a flight that will literally take about 100,000 years to complete (longer than the humans flying them can ever hope to live even if they had a hundred lifetimes).

Spreading Some Holiday Cheer

I came across this clip and thought I'd share. Now, I have heard this Christmas song many times, but I was singularly struck by how these guys sang the song. See if this does not cheer you up a little.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Freedom's Fighter Marches Into Glory

President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is dead. He finally succumbed to his ailments and died at the ripe old age of 95. However, he has become an iconic figure of history and will always be remembered fondly or celebrated for his dogged fight against the injustice and oppression symbolized by Apartheid. Here was a man who was imprisoned for 27 years (on Robben Island) and he valiantly chose to suffer and perhaps meet his death if such a sacrifice would bring about the end of a system of subjugation, marginalization and oppression.

He won the fight against racial segregation and marginalization in the end, and when the first elections in South Africa were held in which the erstwhile disenfranchised black South Africans voted, he was overwhelmingly elected as the president of a new and modern South Africa—a rainbow nation where all races and creeds can live together in harmony. He exemplified forgiveness and the nobility of the human spirit because he was even willing to forgive his captors inviting them to his inauguration. Indeed, South Africa might have been embroiled in bitter wars of attrition by a newly liberated black majority against their white compatriots if not for the example set by Mandela's tone of forgiveness and national reconciliation.

Here we have a man who grew up in poverty suffering the indignities that the black people were subjected to in the land of their birth. Then he joined the struggle for the liberation of the common man and for this he lost his freedom and nearly his life. Many people with similar stories, who somehow wind up in positions of power and influence tend to forget their humble roots as they stubbornly cling to power and prestige. This is rampant in Africa. The leaders simply refuse to give up power even when the citizenry have indicated that they'd rather see someone else in that office. This was not the case with Mandela. Even though he was the de facto "father" of New South Africa, in a move embodying the loftiest democratic principles, Nelson Mandela willingly vacated office and handed over the reins of power after just one term—he could have easily transmuted into a megalomaniacal power-hungry politician corruptly snatching out successive terms in office. His example showed that he was never interested in corrupt self-enrichment or self-advancement, but that his was genuinely the soul or essence of service and devotion to timeless principles that collectively exalt the human race.

We have lost a global icon and treasure. May other leaders wherever they are be inspired to draw lessons from Mandela's shining example.

Adios Madiba!

Do Mermaids Truly Exist?

        

Oh I have seen this video before. As a matter of fact i have even watched a full-length documentary examining whether mermaids are really in existence, and examining the body of evidence produced to show that mermaid might possibly exist. People who watch Animal Planet channel regularly might have also seen one of these documentaries.

Now, the obvious question is "Do Mermaids truly exist?". To answer this question satisfactorily, there has to be some sort of consensus (agreement) on what a mermaid really is. The reason I say this is because, unless there is this agreement, it is possible for two people to look at the same body of evidence and come to contrasting conclusions. There are vastly more life in the world's oceans and seas than we have on land; and a great many species that currently do exist have never been seen or discovered by man. This should at least be obvious to everybody--the oceans and seas form 70% of the earth's surface--and man has not successfully explored every part of the remaining 30% land--how much less map out the vast 70%. Secondly, even with the best gadgets to help us, man can only go so deep in the water --after a certain depth the pressure reaches a catastrophic and fatal limit which must not be exceeded by further deeper exploration. Thirdly, there are creatures called 'extremophiles' which live in extreme conditions like near geo-thermal vents, in the saltiest environments, under anaerobic conditions, in the deepest, darkest recesses of ocean floors. I said all this just to impress on you the immensity of the world's ocean and the teeming life it contains which are not yet known to us.

Having said all this then, is it possible that among the life unknown to us which have nevertheless dwelt in the dark deep, there might be something which can be called a mermaid? One marine biologist answers yes. He went ahead (in case you find time to watch his documentary) to show what he thought he found which seemed to be the remains of some sort of proto-human-- some form of intelligent-looking humanoid life-form with a fish-like tail modified for swimming, webbed hands, a pronounced crested ape-like skull etc. His work was heavily criticized and discredited by other scientists, but this marine biologist is sticking to his story. Some form of video evidence was later produced by some submarine-inhabiting, deep-sea explorers. 

Akpor's Exalted Praise

  


I don't even know what else to say to you but just check this praise song out and see if you like it.

Amazing Stunts

People can be awesome--yes indeed.




To salute the indomitable human spirit that drives us to relentlessly push hard till we succeed, I want to show you amazing feats of athleticism and raw skill. I am sure you will find this entertaining. Do you think there is anything on here that you could actually do? Highly doubtful, say I. Now, enjoy!

Bunichat Discussions: When Sparks Fly! (Prologue)

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I have come across a lot of different personalities and characters in the Bunibuni chat room. There is something unique about our Bunibuni chat room where people can see and hear each other—the interactions become very real. As anyone who has spent any length of time in chat rooms would readily attest, many chat rooms out there are really little more than directionless aggregations of total strangers forced to share a chat space for a short while before they go about their regular businesses. In ordinary chat rooms, most of the interactions are written. A participant would type up some contribution and post it hoping to receive some feedback or a response. If someone reads it and responds, then some discussion can be had. Otherwise, as new chatters can readily tell, it is possible for no one to read or bother replying things that one might type up and post.

It is therefore hardly surprising to discover that in such chat rooms (where one cannot see or hear other participants) there is a level of detachment that a participant often feels with respect to the other members of the chat room. To many people in such faceless and voiceless chat rooms, chatting is just some abstraction; something impersonal or far removed from real life social interactions albeit that from time to time as people continue to converse by means of typewritten text on screen, the degree of estrangement or anonymity begins to dwindle. Some may even wind up trading phone numbers or their personal pictures in a bid to get to know or understand their interlocutor more clearly. At any rate, the anonymity, aloofness or detachment that is usually the case for users of most chat rooms has the effect of coarsening the discourse—why indeed would one be mindful of the way one addressed some ‘moniker’ on the screen? After all, when one logs off, it is assumed that one instantly forgets the brief and usually directionless exchanges there. It is therefore hardly surprising to notice the deplorable, uncivil and decadent prattle that make the rounds in these festering conversational cesspools where there are no rules or enforcers to check against the vagaries of irresponsible unbridled speech.

Bunibuni Originals

Thousands of people have visited the Bunibuni chatroom over the years. Indeed, as one of the pioneers of LiveChat, I can tell you without mincing words that I have come across a wealth of different characters and personalities. I am sure that as time continues to pass, unless Bunibuni chats cease, there shall yet be a lot of interesting people to come to that chatroom.

At any rate, it is necessary to recognize the pioneers of Bunichat. These men and women are literally the earliest chatters that graced the chatroom. I am sure if you ask many of them to reminisce about those early days, you would immediately notice the tinge of sadness mixed in gladness in their voices and mannerisms as they recount a time long ago when they absolutely loved and cherished the chatroom. I’ll call these pioneering, trailblazing statesmen and women the Bunibuni Originals. It is a special class; a special honor bestowed on these people. It is recognition of their impact in making Bunichat the sort of place that eventually drew in hundreds and hundreds of different chatters over these years.

One more thing—this list cannot be updated to accommodate other names because these names represent the verifiable and active first set of chatters. I am sure that there are others who came pretty close to the time some of the names on the list showed up. Therefore, it is important to realize that those names you recognize to have come a short while before you came are as a matter of fact the last of the Originals set. This is truly the first 30 people to start using the LiveChat/BuniChat room. Take the time to read and ponder over their names to see if you still remember them, and if you do remember, try to see if you can come up with about 5 things about them.

It goes without saying that some of them are no longer around now—they are, in true ancestral fashion, departed. Some are around but quite busy and now occasionally check to see what might be happening in the room. These special ladies and gentlemen really ought to command the unquestioned respect of latter-day chatters because they are in a real sense the chat room grandfathers and grandmothers. Please if you meet or run into any of them and you feel like you need a fresh perspective on how much fun chatting could be, or on past history, or for tips, feel free to engage them and they would tell you a few things that may be of interest to you.

Well then let’s get to it. In addition to yours truly (Godfather/PaaKofi), here in no particular order are the Bunibuni Originals:

Taken 2

 

I glanced at my watch. Only 20 minutes before the movie begins. Am I going to get there on time with weekend traffic already beginning to form? What if I do not get there in time, do I have a backup plan? Is it better to postpone this till tomorrow? These and more queries raced across my mind as I got into I-495 on my way to the movie theatre. I had been waiting for the movie Taken 2 for about a month now, and goodness knows I did not want to be late.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have a particular odd thing about me when it comes to watching movies. It is that I want to be seated down comfortably BEFORE the movie begins. Any regular movie enthusiast knows that there is usually that 15 minutes of previews for movies that are coming out later in the year AFTER which the movie one comes to watch starts to show. I am such that if I missed these previews and then let’s say the real movie has proceeded by as little as only 2 minutes, I cannot watch that movie for that allotted time—I’ll simply go and get a refund or get tickets for the next scheduled show! I don’t know why that is, but that’s how I am wired. So, you can tell that I was flying like hounds out of hell as I raced towards the theatre. Weird? If yes, then I am guilty.

At any rate, I got there just in the nick of time. I hastily pulled into the parking lot, made a wide sweeping arc and came to rest in my parking spot; then I jumped out of the car and was bounding straight into the theatre because I needed to be seated BEFORE the previews begin. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see two women parked in their SUV staring at me in utter disbelief as they leisurely rolled up their windows. They must be wondering whether I had forgotten something in the theatre judging by the way I was hurrying along.

Luckily for me, I did not have to wait long to buy my ticket. Oh yeah, that reminds me—I think I have to sign up with Fandango in order to get my tickets in advance. It does not make any sense that up till now I’ve not done so. In no time at all I found myself slithering to the back of a packed movie theatre. I found a good seat at the back of the theatre but I have to say that it didn’t make sense that so many people had already come out to see this movie at this time. What in the world were they trying to prove? What was their business out here this early on the weekend? Seriously, isn’t this why there are Saturdays—so that all these over-expectant people can come out in the evening of a Saturday and thus not wreck my Friday movie watching experience? Somehow they must not have gotten that memo.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the pleasure to announce to you that this movie, Taken 2 was good. Before you decide to see this movie however, do yourself a favor and see the first installment if you’ve not already done so. At this point, I am tempted to break down the movie but I know you would not like me to ruin the experience for you before you got the chance to see it, right?

Liam Neeson may be 60 years old but in this action-packed flick, he was dealing out justice and exacting vengeance with all the grit of a young, daring swashbuckler. This was better than the first installment—a feat that is rarely seen these days. I think I’ll hunt down more movies from him in the past now. Go and see the movie—you might just like it!

Birthday Cake....

You may have heard it said that birthdays are just nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake. I don’t know how true this saying is, and frankly I don’t care about cakes or birthdays. But on my birthday this year, as strange as this might sound to you, someone surprised me with a personal cake for my birthday. This year is the second year in a row that I’ve had my birthday celebrated in the company of friends and family. I am not usually one for big mushy moments, so l sometimes find myself wondering why my friends and family are always secretly organizing these overly sentimental get-togethers and putting me smack dab at the receiving end of suspiciously warm and elaborate well-wishes. At any rate, the event was a rousing success and it helped remind me once more the invaluableness of genuine friends and a loving family.

As for that cake, it did not have an amazing evening I am sorry to say. Hungry souls devoured the cake no sooner than I had dropped the knife with which I cut the cake. All’s fair in a gathering of hungry but emotional birthday well-wishers, and they did justice to the cake and the food that were prepared on that day. If I am alive to see another birthday, I hope I can have some much needed peace and quiet. You know what? I think I’ll just skip town when the time comes. Why? There is a limited number of times I want to see close friends and family get misty-eyed and cheerful at the same time. What about you? How did you celebrate your birthday?

End Of A Glorious Season

 

After what must have seemed to some like an interminable span of time, the second season of the Godfather’s General Knowledge Trivia (GFGKT) game has now officially come to an end. It was a very memorable and powerful season for me personally, and I know that it was for you too. Over the course of 10 different episodes, our amazing Bunibuni contestants jostled fiercely for a spot on the leaderboard of Bunibuni’s distinguished intellectual giants—and that did not fail to come with its fair share of high and low moments. At any rate, I want to use this medium to express my deepest appreciation and regard for these sharp minds who have participated in these grueling mental games. My hope is that at the end of it all (when you cast your mind back over the entire season), you would have genuine cause to say that the questions asked were challenging and that you learned or took home a thing or two.

Season 2 was very different from the pilot season.

First, the grading was different. For those who were around in season 1, you might remember that we used a winner-takes-all formula. The first person to answer a question correctly walked away with all the possible 5 points for that round. As a result, we had an unsettling situation where many people knew the answers to questions, but could never get on the leaderboard because they just weren’t that fast in typing. It was also doubly frustrating when you consider that the time interval between the first 3 correct answers could in some cases literally be milliseconds! It did not seem fair to me that people would struggle to type in a correct answer and lose out simply because a faster typist got to the screen a hair-raising millisecond first.

To that effect, I tweaked the grading scheme for Season 2 games. I began to accept the first three correct answers to hit the screen:

• first person got the full 5 points;

• the 2nd person gets 4 points if his or her answer immediately followed the first person’s answer OR 3 points if there is any incorrect answer before the 2nd correct answer gets to the screen; 

• 3 points if the 3rd answer immediately followed the 2nd person who got 4 points OR 2 points if the third person’s answer came immediately after the 2nd person gets three points OR 1 point if the third person’s answer came after an incorrect answer follows the 3 points earned by the 2nd person. 

This may sound complicated and perhaps unfathomable to some, but do not worry, I have done it often enough times that it is second nature to me now, and I take due diligence to honestly and accurately give each contestant the point(s) he or she has worked hard for. At this juncture, if you are a new participant, you can always go here to read the basic rules of the game to see how we play.

The second thing that was different about season 2 was the increased number of participants who came out week after week. At first I had my doubts about the level of interest that Bunibuni members would show for this game. Let’s face it—there are a number of things that people might as well be doing rather than spend the 2.5- 3 hours it takes for us to get through an episode. Besides, not too many people are eager to sit in an adrenaline-packed atmosphere slugging through hours of rigorous mental activity against other equally highly-motivated competitors. Far too many people would fold like cheap suits under that sort of pressure. It was therefore amazing to observe that more people actively participated in season 2 as is reflected by all the names which found their way to the leaderboard. Of course, not everyone who participated found a way to get on the score sheet which is why we must sincerely congratulate anyone who made it to the board at all. It is a testimony to the mental brawn in glaring supercharged display evident at any one of these trivia games. If you missed this season due to one circumstance or the other, do not fail to be part of Season 3; I can guarantee that you will find it richly rewarding.

A Few Irritating Things

By nature, I am the sort of person that deeply respects people’s personal space; one that likes for people to live their lives how they see fit—provided that such choices on their part do not in principle disrupt or needlessly interfere with mine. In many aspects, I am somewhat introverted: albeit public speaking or social interactions have never been a problem of mine. As a matter of fact, in social settings, I can freely interact and have as much fun as the next guy. I say these things beforehand because I am about to list a few things that I do not particularly care for; things which may, if interpreted wrongly, be fodder for some muddleheaded simplistic misrepresentation of my character or disposition.

You can call these things my pet peeves or whatever names you fancy—and I guarantee you that as often as I remember more of these things, I’ll add to this list. I am also willing to bet that you may find some points on which you and I are in agreement. Now, if after reading this, you are convinced that these annoying things are completely baseless and without merit, or that I am due for some psychiatric evaluation, do yourself a favor—take a long walk off a short pier. Got it? Good! Now that all the self-righteous turd-buckets have left this page, feel free to enjoy, or not enjoy: I didn’t ask you to read this anyway, did I? Of course I didn’t—you are reading at your own risk. There, I have given you fair warning.

Plasas: To Eat Or Not To Eat?

 

I was talking to a Sierra Leonean friend of mine recently and somewhere along the discussion I remarked that I had never tasted a Sierra Leonean dish. Judging by her reaction, it was as if I had said something that was completely incredible. How was it possible that I had some Sierra Leonean (Salone) friends and never got to try one of their dishes? On different occasions she had mentioned that she cooked something called plasas—and I think at this point I really wanted to know what plasas looked and tasted like.

So she started to describe this Salone dish called plasas in a tone of voice that suggested it was something I would really love to try. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I absolutely love a challenge—and I’ll try any dish at least once to see what it might taste like. I might pass out afterwards, but it will never be said that I was presented with a properly cooked traditional African dish and I simply refused to taste it.

Now, her attempt to describe this dish was not a success at all. She ended up confusing me. It was probably the excitement of wanting to win me over to some Salone cuisine, but somehow in the process of describing what plasas were she had mentioned potato leaf, cassava leaf, bitter leaf, pepper soup, boil soup, peanut butter soup, rice and stew, okro, fufu, tola and a lot of other things. My eyes began to cloud over; it was just a lot of information. As she explained, she said that plasas was just a mixture of leaves with creatures! I immediately began to cringe. I had that uncomfortable feeling one might have when confronted with a disgusting sight. What sort of unsightly little vegetation-ingesting little creatures like caterpillars or grubs might have actually made their way into the pot? At that point, unsure of how to describe this without confusing me any further, she simply began to look for an online picture to show me just what the dish was like.

While she searched, I took the opportunity to deride Salone cuisine. How indeed could people eat sugary or sweetened akara balls? How is it possible for someone to drink garri with salt instead of sugar? And on what planet, do people eat rice with groundnut paste? Yes, I told her quite plainly that in my estimation, and judging by some of the things they ate regularly, Sierra Leoneans had a weird palate. Now, if you are a Sierra Leonean reading this, resist the temptation to swear at me under your breath or to simply close the page. I was only kidding, okay? Don’t get your undies in a twist already. My heckling only served to get her to poke fun at Nigerian cuisine which sort of amused me greatly.

Thor

 

Last weekend, I went to see the movie Thor. After hearing or reading people talking about another sensational movie from Marvel comics, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to check out this movie. It was in 3-D, so as you can imagine, I already prepared my mind for what promises to be a grand visual and auditory experience.

Suffice it to say that after seeing the movie, I can’t remember why I thought this movie would be spectacular. It really was just an overhyped CGI baby—as a matter of fact, if anyone is used to watching movies from Marvel comics on superheroes, they’d be hard-pressed to reconcile this movie Thor with their distinct expectations.

Without any apologies, I don’t think it deserved to be on 3-D. The movie was big on computer generated imagery, but not much about it required it to be in 3-D. There would not be much of a difference if this was rendered in 2-D. It would just be like any other old-fashioned CGI-dominated sci-fi set in some fictive realm in outer space. To be blunt, that’s all this movie really is—a cheesy, overly fictionalized, computer graphics-generated harum scarum set in some unknown realm of space.

Apparently, they just took the Norse myths of old, and worked out a story. It is the story of how Thor, the son of Odin, king of the Asatru pantheon, rebelled against his father’s methods and was subsequently cast out of Asgard. Thinking his father to be weak, old and ineffective, Thor took it upon himself to go with a few of his friends to Jotunheim to fight the Frost Giants. There he quickly discovers that bravery can only lead you so far without wisdom and cunning. Luckily for him, his father Odin arrives just in time to save the Asgardian warriors from certain annihilation down in Jotunheim. Thor gets banished to earth where he learns the necessary lessons in humility, circumspection and sacrifice. Afterwards he is restored to his former estate.

That is the movie in a nutshell. You’ll have to watch the movie to see the details. I am not quite telling you to see this movie or not to see it. You'll have to make that decision yourself. If you love sci-fi then there is a good chance you’ll like this movie. For the rest of us who thoroughly enjoyed movies like the Xmen series, the Spiderman series, Iron Man 1&2, Incredible Hulk, Batman and other quality Superhero movies, I can say this movie did not meet to the mark; it left much to be desired. It just reminded me of that hopeless movie Watchmen—and we all know what a colossal flop that was. I hope the upcoming Superhero epic called Captain America is way better than this.

What are your thoughts on the movie? Did you like it? If yes (and I suspect most people would say YES), what about this movie really tickled your fancy or made it such that you would recommend this movie to anyone? Other than the CG-imagery, was there much about this movie that suggested the rugged, human superhero to you?

Review: Sam Harris vs William Lane Craig

I just finished watching a debate held at the University of Notre Dame between Sam Harris and William Lane Craig on the topic “Is Good From God?” The audio and video of this debate can be located further down on this page in the comment section. I'll encourage you to watch or listen to it as objectively as you possibly can.

First of all, I have to commend Sam Harris for actually agreeing to a debate on an issue like this. He is one of the four horsemen of Atheism in the world, and as such, his views on the issue of morality, is predictably going to carry some weight.

As we have seen, Dawkins has refused to debate Craig despite a flood of requests for him to do so. After all, as the chief apostle of Atheism in the world, you would think that he shouldn’t feel any qualms about an honest discussion on the God-issues he regularly inveighs against. What is he so terrified about that he consistently shuns a debate with Craig? If he is so sure and correct about his beliefs, and he wants to expose the pathetic ‘ignorance’ or unreasonableness of Theism, then he shouldn’t mind a discussion/debate with one of Theism’s strongest apologists.

Dennett has also interacted with Craig—Dennett is also a philosopher like Craig.  But as we have seen in that exchange, and with other debates involving Dennett, he is practically useless at formal debates. As a matter of fact, he is so inept at it that you can practically feel his embarrassment when he is trounced by the opposite side.

What about Hitchens? Hitchens is probably the most oratorical of the New Atheists, but he came to the debate with Craig very unprepared; unprepared to deal with the arguments that Craig laid out and sometimes, even unprepared to have his own positions logically and critically examined. As a result he was also defeated in that debate.

Now, I have to point out that the rightness or wrongness of a worldview is not predicated on how poorly or how magnificently someone performs in a debate. But you have to marvel at the unjustified arrogance of the New Atheists when their best spokespersons are regularly confounded in debates against the side they deem to be populated by unsophisticated ‘faith heads’ and possibly delusional or psychopathic people.

Back to this debate with Sam Harris—I have to say that Sam Harris actually carried himself well. His task in this debate seemed to be to establish that science has a say in any discussion on Morality. He wanted to show that “the good” is just anything that tends to increase or maximize creaturely survival and comfort; and that “the bad” is anything that tends to decrease the chances of creaturely survival and comfort. His debate was liberally sprinkled with strong moral declarations. There wasn’t any doubt that he clearly apprehended a realm of objective moral values. On the existence of clear and objective moral values, he seemed to be pretty much in agreement with Craig. The only difference was that he could not provide a basis or foundation for these moral values that he eloquently espoused.

Craig, as he was wont to do, agreed with Harris’ moral indignation at some things that happen in the world.  However, Craig’s burden in this debate was to show that objective moral values were properly grounded in God. In other words, the debate was not about whether Atheists could be moral, or whether they can live and act morally.  Craig already concedes that indeed Atheists can and do live moral lives. The debate also was not on Moral Epistemology (which is how we come to know morals). It was on Moral Ontology—the existence in the real world of moral imperatives. Craig would argue that on an atheist worldview, there is no anchor or foundation for morality and as such, nothing on atheism makes morality binding on us. His argument seems to be that you need a transcendental anchor (in God) for the moral imperatives that force themselves on us.

Frankly, there was nothing new in this debate. If you’ve ever watched Atheists and Theists debate publicly and openly on the issue of Morality, you’ll find that the same issues are talked about ad nauseam. In fact, at this stage, it appears that the two sides are set in their ways and cannot be persuaded by the other no matter how well their viewpoints are articulated.