A little bit more of Fry and Hitchens

From what I can recall this is only the second time that Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry have come together in public to discuss the matter of religion. Yesterday, they teamed up against Ann Widdecombe and Bishop Onaiyekan (of Abuja, Nigeria) to argue against the motion, "The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world". Unlike their discussion at Hay Festival in 2005, this debate centered on Christianity, demanding they focus their efforts. Seeing as this was a formal debate, conducted under proper auspices, here are the numbers:

Before the debate:
For - 678
Against - 1102
Don't Know - 346

After the debate:
For - 268
Against - 1876
Don't Know - 34

Well, what did you expect would happen? For all intents and purposes, that constitutes a rout. As someone remarked over at Richard Dawkins' website, "that's what they get for showing up to an artillery duel with water pistols". Apparently, the exchange is to be broadcast on BBC World on 7th and 8th November. Not one to miss, I imagine. There were even reports of Derren Brown in the audience. Fancy that.

god an' that

The blog is spluttering away like an infant but I'm currently tied down writing a lengthy philosophy essay discussing what I consider to be the best contemporary argument for god's existence. The prompt does seem rather pointed upon reflection. (Why not ask what the worst argument is and why?) In consummate style and poise that comes only from years of repeated adventures under the cosh, the essay is due tomorrow and I have barely begun. I don't quite know why I'm bothering; my first essay for the class, entitled "Does God Exist?" received a 'B', or, in American-speak, 8 out of 10. The grading was pretty inexplicable, which I'm sure you'll have already presumed. At the time I was quite tempted to post the essay, indicating the points where the instructor made a mark or a comment and refuting them. Perhaps I should have done this with him personally at the time, but I was too insulted to approach him. Nevertheless, here is the first paragraph of that essay. Just ask for more if you're so inclined.

In my experience, to ask someone who believes in God what exactly they mean by ‘God’ is to hear of a concept, a notion, or an entity that one had not previously entertained. Indeed, because the principles and bases underlying the potential for God’s existence are so dynamic, one individual’s perception of God is regularly removed from another’s, not to mention one’s own. This quality, as I have described, lends the potential for God’s existence its great strength, but also its great weakness.

New Depths from the GOP

Anyone good with Photoshop want to knock together a George Bush banner with a swastika for the S?
Well, admittedly, this is pretty funny.

Thereon

Is her last sentence a stretch? Discuss.

The Golden Suicides

Connoisseur of kitsch, and the most talented writer of our times, Bret Easton Ellis is writing a screenplay with Gus van Sant, the helmsman of 2008's Milk, tentatively titled, 'The Golden Suicides' or 'The East Village Suicides'. It's based on the dual suicide of the inseparable couple, Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake, which was masterfully transcribed to print by Nancy Jo Sales for Vanity Fair's January 2008 publication. Bizarrely, the article is currently the magazine's most popular article online. I recall reading the article when it was published nearly two years ago. Normally, I'm not one to enjoy personality prose or the public veneration of a private tragedy, but something about this story resonates rather poignantly with me and, it would appear, with many others. Sales calls it "a kind of modern Romeo and Juliet story", but that's somewhat modest. She's accurate, however, in labelling Ellis "a great chronicler of the modern macabre", so we're left with our appetites well and truly wetted. First, do yourself a favor; print the article and read it during your favorite hour of the day.

Hassle the Hoff

Yesterday, during Arizona's definitive victory over testicle-suckers anonymous, Stansbury, I met David Hasselhoff. He was doing nothing in particular, except slurring his way through the National Anthem. I remember the time he went over to the UK a couple of years ago for a brief publicity visit and remade a name for himself, leching around television presenters and grooming hipster teenagers in London clubs. One has to admire his commitment to the figure of college clown. What a tool.

Hitchens In Oz

I pass these on for what they're worth. Illuminating that speeches and debates of this sort are becoming somewhat popular as spectacles in themselves. The Ancient Greeks would be green with envy. Hitchens is on particularly fine form, humorous and enlightening.

. Interview for QTV - video from Radio Broadcast.
. Australian Q&A Panel Show (similar to Britain's Question Time).
. Keynote speech and interview at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas.

In case you were wondering...

I set you free.

Slowly we unfold
As Lotus flowers,
And all I want is
The moon upon a stick,
Just to see what is.
Just to see what is.

Comma

I can't help it. Michael Yon knows what he's talking about. Read.