Mar102010

Florida decides to hurt its own economy

The Scene by Interhuss Designs (also me)

Anti-gay forces in Florida have effectively stopped entertainment industry tax incentives for movies and TV shows with gay characters. Way to lose jobs! They say it has something to do with not being “family friendly”. Last time I checked, hate was not a family value. But perhaps fear is?

I have worked in the entertainment industry quite a bit and am originally from Florida…excuse me, that’s Miami. South Florida is a whole other lifestyle than the rest of the state.

This just seems to be shooting yourself in the feet. With the economy as fragile as it is with people begging for more job creation, doesn’t make a lick of sense to remove that large part of revenue generated by the entertainment industry. This could potentially upset enough people in the entertainment industry to not go to Florida at all for Los Angeles Lite. That is, except for Kirk Cameron flicks. And I’d doubt that he’d spend 75 million on any of his projects.

Feb222010

Evolution Controversy in Israel

Teach the controversy! Oh, well, wait..

The chief scientist in Israel’s ministry of education, Gavriel Avital, “sparked a furor” by questioning the reliability of evolution and global warming, leading to calls for his dismissal, according to Haaretz (February 21, 2010). “If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students to pursue and grapple with other opinions. There are many people who don’t believe the evolutionary account is correct,” he was quoted as saying. “There are those for whom evolution is a religion and are unwilling to hear about anything else. Part of my responsibility, in light of my position with the Education Ministry, is to examine textbooks and curricula.”

Hava Yablonka of Tel Aviv University told Haaretz that Avital’s statements were tantamount “to saying that space should be given in textbooks to the view that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it. It’s astonishing that the chief scientist of a government ministry can say such bizarre things.”

Feb192010

Next Stop: Vegas!

Interhuss Designs

By this time next week, I’ll be in Vegas for the first full day. As you may recall, I temporarily moved to Miami. Much of what I set out to do has been accomplished and what’s left is not for me to do anything about.

Another cross-country move and I’m very excited, though there’s an amalgam of bustling emotions. Now I can make all those conventions I never could. I plan on attending TAM this year but have not purchased the very pricey ticket yet. If you’re going to be there, let me know.

Feb92010

Ghostly Spam

Gather ’round fellow skeptics! Yesterday morning I received a submission to The Coming Out Godless Project that I thought was a bit off-topic. A first I thought it could be satire but upon a second glance, it seemed like human spam. It wouldn’t be the first time. Here’s Sandra Brothers’ story: