Dan Hagen

I’m talking about the guy who shows up at a party with his guitar and starts playing without being prompted, thinking that this will make him appear deep and talented and probably get him laid. He’s wrong. Everyone hates that guy and they all wish he’d just shut the hell up and go home because, seriously dude, are you completely oblivious to the fact that a bootleg of the new album by the Faint, which won’t be released for six months, is on the stereo, and also that the redhead you’ve been hitting on all night came with Frank, who makes way more money than you and is an accomplished marine biologist? … Anyway, the point is that you don’t need to be the most awesome thing in the room, and trying to be will generally result in the opposite reaction.

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.” more »

Someone took MRI scans of various fruits and vegetables and animated the results. This is a cantaloupe.

(broken images removed)

You can see the rest here.

In high school astronomy class, Mr. Lund held an open forum one day for students to discuss their thoughts on the big bang and the creation of the universe. I found it both exciting and intriguing – even if some of the students’ ideas were a bit stupid.

As to be expected with such a discussion, references to the possibility of the existence of a god or gods came up. I made a point that science is used simply to explain “what is” and not “what isn’t.” As it stands, using science for the sole purpose of further exploring the possibility of a god or supreme being is impractical. While absolutely no one can say for sure if there exists such a being, the evidence leans further and further toward no. So, while science is great for explaining something that “is”, it currently cannot explain something such as a god, which most likely “isn’t.”

Mr. Lund stated that this is why topics on god belong in the “theological realm”, and not in the “scientific realm.”

It sounds agreeable at first, but after a moment’s thought, it baffles me. Theological and scientific realms? Have you forgotten the fact that for thousands of years, religion was indeed used to explain scientific/natural phenomena?  Horus and Ra’s sailing of the sun, Prometheus’s creation of fire, to name a couple. more »

Your computer monitor uses less energy when rendering a darker image.