Cruise Parody

I thought about posting something about the Tom Cruise Scientology video when it first hit the Internet, but the thing was creepy enough to be hilarious on its own.

It's good to see, however, that some folks are having fun with it. Check out this parody video with Jerry O’Connell.



Not too shabby.

The Virus Spreads

My Rinderpest.com tentacles are stretching out all the time, irritating larger and larger groups of people on the Internet.

In the latest step in my plan to take over the entire bloggerhood, I am now also posting at Memoirs of a Skepchick.

Rebecca Watson, the ass-kicker that runs the joint over there, in a fit of inspired insanity, asked if I wanted to be a regular contributor to her site. I laughed maniacally, and said "Of course".

If you're not familiar, the Skepchick blog chronicles skepticism/science/critical thinking, and how they affect and are affected by women. Oh, and all the regular writers there are women.

Yes, you heard it right. I'm the only guy!! I rule!

Anyway, you can read my first post over at Skepchick here, if you're interested. And if not, don't worry, I'll still be posting here as well; every chance I can get my lazy ass into gear.

Those Darn Lights Again

It becomes difficult to tell if the media coverage causes an incident to become sensationalized or if the sensational events spark the media coverage. If I were guessing, I'd say it's probably the former.

Until the story broke into the national spotlight some week and a half ago, there were only a few local newspapers reporting on the lights seen in the night sky over Stephenville, Texas, and a few local radio stations and TV stations covering it. And of course, there were only a few locals wondering publicly about what the hell they'd seen. The story was quite small, and the reported phenomena were likewise quite small.

But you throw in some CNN coverage, Anderson Cooper, national TV, and articles in some high profile newspapers, and everyone wants to get in on the act. Seems half the state of Texas is now claiming some sighting or contact. Stories of strange aircraft and bizarre lights in the sky are filtering in from all over the region, complete with blurry photos and new claims of outrageous abilities that strain the laws of physics.

Not only that, but the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) is now investigating the case.

If you're not familiar with MUFON, their website states in the top banner that the organization is "Dedicated to the Scientific Study of UFOs for the Benefit of Humanity". Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? An organization looking critically at these cases for the benefit of humanity. How altruistic. Glad someone is on the case.

But if you're like me, statements like this tend to get your bullshit meter buzzing. This one did mine. So I looked at MUFON's website more thoroughly, and found many things that make me think that perhaps their elevator is not going all the way to the scientific top. They appear to be starting from the conclusion that UFOs are spaceships and working backwards; that is, they have a conclusion and then fit the scant "evidence" in after the fact, instead of examining all the evidence thoroughly and then drawing a conclusion.

Take a look around that site, if you have a minute or two, and see what you think.

Under the link titled What MUFON knows to be true...After 36 years of research, I found this telling bit of information:

1 UFOs ARE REAL – “We are NOT alone”
2 Our Universe is TEEMING with LIFE – “The scientific data shows that our planet is being visited by other intelligences on a regular basis”
3 UFOs (Unconventional Flying Objects) deserve scientific study – “UFOs display technology that if understood, and used wisely, could benefit our planet and greatly advance all mankind.”

Well, apparently MUFON has a different idea of what it means to investigate something scientifically than the rest of the scientific community. I mean, point number 1 above is pretty vague, and not of much use. Yes, UFOs are indeed real. They're probably misidentified man made aircraft or natural phenomena, but they are real. And we are, in fact, not a lone. There are over 6 billion of us humans walking the globe and billions of other species to keep us company. But point number 2 is what jumped out at me; especially the part in quotes.

"The scientific data shows that our planet is being visited by other intelligences on a regular basis"

Scientific data? What scientific data?

Where exactly is this data? Who collected it? What does it consist of? What independent parties or agencies have examined it? And how was that specific conclusion drawn?

Knowing what we know about MUFON, I think we can safely assume that the data is only in the hands of MUFON. It was collected by their representatives, each of whom no doubt became an investigator in four easy steps. It consists of the overblown, anecdotal evidence and grainy video and photos supplied by ordinary folks who want to be on Anderson Cooper's show. It was examined by exactly zero independent agencies. And the conclusion that "our planet is being visited by other intelligences on a regular basis" was drawn because that's what their biased, little minds want the evidence to show.

And of course, point number 3 is assumed based on the fact that they believe point number 2 to be true. But in reality, UFOs, if they are mechanical objects, display technology we already understand, because we invented it. And if they are simply misidentified natural phenomena, they don't contain technology at all. Although it would indeed benefit some people, MUFON included, to get an understanding of how nature works and forget about their alien technology delusions for a while.

Anyway, this story just keeps on growing. And it probably will continue that trend, as long as big media outlets are on the case. I mean, outside of those of us who live in Texas, who ever heard of Stephenville before this nonsense came to light?

Soak up your 15, Stephenville.