Have Some Photos

Radio 4 Moral Maze: Gay Marriage Debate

Melanie Philips: Lowest.form.of.human.life. (RealPlayer Listen Again link, may disappear after a week)

I'm almost too angry to type, mostly due to the fact that the cretinous bigotry of these supposedly intelligent people does seem to provide a wonderfully watertight refutation of any sort of belief in humanist progress. Some quotes for you:

"(Heterosexual) Marriage is essential for...the healthy transmission of human identity"
"A lot of homosexual relationships don't bear close (moral) inspection"
"The heterosexual married family is the building brick of society - I think that's pretty irrefutable"
"Do you have any moral problem with homosexuality?" - "Yes I do - Because I am a Christian who believes in Scripture..."

And so on and so forth. This is exceedingly vexing and depressing.

More later, when I am less incandescent.

EDIT: Also, if you look to the previously-completely-useless sidebar on the left, it now contains functional, updated links to shiny rhexis content that you might not have seen before. More will be forthcoming in the next week or so. Probably.

More Photoshoppery

The ever-talented Luke Martin starts his solo career, seeking out new creative horizons.

The And The Horse You Rode In Ons

You Need To Read This

US troops use napalm in Iraq [possibly NSFW or weak stomachs: one VERY graphic image]

Furthermore

Sony BRAVIA

Sony BRAVIA advert.

This is a thing of beauty.

Why Hello There!

1. I am drunk.

2. It has been a long time since I have made a drunk post on The Rhexis. Hence...

3. I am drunk.

I Hate You

"Oh, I listen to everything!"

If there is a phrase that drives me right up the wall at social functions, it's this one. I find small talk irritating and pointless enough as it is, considering that all it really is is empty waffle; airspace filler until someone thinks of something that's actually interesting to say, or gets bored and wanders off for another drink, both parties immediately forgetting everything that was just said.

You see, what this phrase really means, is "I don't have an opinion!" It is also entirely possible to extend this meaning to "I am an incredibly boring person." What it almost certainly does not mean is that they actually listen to "everything," a fact that can be easily exposed by simply questioning this vapid loser. "Oh, so you don't listen to jazz fusion? Or Erik Satie? Well what do you listen to then?"

What it very probably does mean is the person listens only to radio and chart singles. They allow the flavour of the week to be shoved down their gullet, relying on someone else's opinion of what constitutes "good music," safe in the knowledge that they will never have to make their own decision. They probably own several "NOW!" CDs.

This is deeply tiresome. You're attempting to find something out about someone, and possibly make a connection, and here they are telling you that they are essentially a blank sheet on which other people can write their own opinions. You could go down the road of talking about your own tastes in an attempt to stir some mental activity in your companion, but generally they don't know, don't care, or they like "that one song." Not good enough. There's nothing to talk about there, and you're back to square one.

What's especially irritating is that somewhere deep down, this person probably does have an opinion. They probably have an few albums at home that they like, perhaps a musician that they like more than the others that they listen to. You could go down the road of attempting to extract this, but when someone claims to listen to "everything," that's not exactly an easy task, and well beyond the limits of my patience.

Of course, when people say "I have pretty eclectic taste," that's not so bad, as long as they've got a something to back it up, for example, "I'm a big fan of Indie, but I also enjoy Reggae." You've got somewhere to go from there, because they've indicated a preference. When you don't do that, the message that you're sending out is that you're incapable of forming one. That makes you a very boring person.

Form your own opinions, scum. Then people might actually be able to have a meaningful conversation with you.

As long as that opinion isn't "I like rap." Because then I won't want to talk to you anyway.

And I Won't Miss You At All

Grounded. Boxed in.