Pro Crastinator, Comparing Groups and Game of Thrones.

Monday, my friend! How are you!? Hmm... well, grumpy, I see... cheer up, my friend... tomorrow, you will be Tuesday!

When the weekend comes, I don't want to work.

My problem (among many others) is, I am never at a loss for work-related things to do. And as the weekends approach, I psyche myself up to get a lot done with the time I have. Two full days! Think of all the stuff I could accomplish! But then Friday night, I'm like, "Hey, it's Friday. I've worked all week. I'm gonna take some time and unwind." So I play a game, or surf around some of the fun/funny sites I like to browse, and I look up, and it's after midnight! Well, at least I've got Saturday.

Saturday morning, same thing. "It's a beautiful day! I think I'll fart around a while, get in the zone. Prepare myself to work on some stuff in the early afternoon." I look up, it's after midnight! Where'd the day go? Well, at least there's Sunday...

I put the "pro" in "procrastinate". So much to do... so much that didn't get done...

OK, I'm going to make an odd observation here... don't be offended, please... I'm going to draw a parallel between "being a Christian" and "being gay"...

Wait, hear me out, here...

OK, while I'm certainly not saying they're two sides of the same coin, I do see some weird similarities between these two subcultures (for lack of a better word), which is curious to me, since there seems to be little-to-no overlap between them.

• Both groups have a very small subset that are the most vocal, while the vast majority are low-key about their "beliefs". It's pretty safe to say that it's the relatively-few outspoken ones in both groups that tend to cause the stereotypes about each group to exist, and set the tone for the way the rest of the world perceives the group as a whole. Whether it's the flamboyantly gay parade marchers with the in-your-face costumes and attitude, or the Bible-waving, street-preaching, sign-holding pseudo-evangelists railing against "sin", the very fact that they're most visible leads (I believe) those outside of their group to think "they're all like that". All gays must be over-the-top hedonists, all Christians must be over-the-top self-righteous or "hateful" (like those Westboro freaks) or at least backward stooges.

• Somewhat related, both of the groups complain about being persecuted. Oddly, it seems that its the small vocal subsets that complain the loudest - and the small vocal subsets that seem to be the cause of the persecution they complain about! Don't believe Christians complain about being persecuted? Listen to how we whine on the radio stations about the way Christians are portrayed in mainstream media and Hollywood...

• Both groups claim they were "born that way." Though with the Christians, we call it "being pre-destined". Actually, we Christians have another wrinkle, too... we were born sinners, too... and then we were chosen for salvation by God before we were born. It seems to me, in both cases (and in both groups), it's used as a way to avoid taking responsibility for our decisions. If we choose to be a Christian (or to be gay), then deal with the repercussions! Take the good with the bad! Yes, I realize there are verses that seem to support the idea of being chosen before we were born. But there are also numerous verses that talk about each of us being rewarded in exact accordance with our actions.

I'm certainly not trying to justify or promote being gay, don't get me wrong. People can choose to live that way if they want, I don't care. Just "man up" and take the hit when you get grief for it. It's a "head vs heart" thing. No one can convince me, no matter how logically sound their argument, that it's "normal" to be gay, because my gut tells me otherwise. With my head, I hear the arguments, and many of them sound legit. But in my gut, I know the simple biological fact of "it takes a man and a woman to make a kid" overrides any argument that being gay is the same as being straight. It's not the same, and it's not "just as normal"; it's abnormal. Quit trying to make me put them both on equal footing!

By sheer proof of numbers alone, being gay isn't "normal." Even by the gay communities' best guess, they're only 10% of the world's population (which I think is still far too high a guess). So by definition, the 90% group is "normal", and the 10% is not.

Now, if you want to think of "normal" and "abnormal" in terms of positive and negative connotations, that's your call. To me, in this case, they're neutral terms. And I'm not saying that the "normal" group is justified in vilifying and mistreating the abnormal group, based on numbers. Numbers should mean exactly squat. Either be a Christian or don't be, whether anyone else is or not. And take the benefits with the drawbacks. And when people mock you for believing in an Invisible Man up in the sky, take the hit and don't squawk. Own your choice; let God sort the rest out, I say. And if you choose to be gay, quit whining about the flack you get... and don't tell me you were "born that way"... that's ridiculous. Own your choice, take the good with the bad.

But I think those three main points are where similarities cease. For the life of me, I can't figure out why someone would want to go to such great lengths to define themselves by their sexual preference. Seems such a shallow, vapid way to define oneself. Then again, perhaps not all gay people define themselves that way, and I'm a victim of my own observation, in reference to forming my opinion of the whole based on the retarded behavior of the vocal minority... who knows...

All that to say, I think these traits (the vocal minority, the complaining about being persecuted, and claiming you were "born that way") are more traits of human nature itself, rather than a byproduct of one of the two belief systems I've commented on. I'm sure in just about any group, there's the loud front lines types, the whiners and the justifiers/excuse-makers...



Would have saved about 6 hours of movie if it had played out like that! Go Gimli!

So it looks like Game of Thrones will begin airing on April 17th, on HBO. As much as I'd love to see it, I can't justify subscribing to HBO to watch it, since I don't want the rest of the filth on that channel in my house. Now that I mention it, I'm sure Game of Thrones will have a boat-load of filth in it as well, if the books are any indication. When I first heard of a proposed deal to bring Game of Thrones to HBO, I remember thinking it made perfect sense. HBO has the budget to bring the series to life in a grand way, and GRRM's series has the sex, violence and language to fit in with HBO's normal line-up. So, I'll likely wait for the DVDs to come out, so I can do a little strategic fast forwarding...

Still, you can't help but be stoked watching some of the trailers. Here's the latest, and it's a gem...



Here it is, ten o'clock Monday night, and I have projects I'm avoiding. Better steel myself and get back to it, otherwise I'll look up and it'll be after midnight!

Hope my "observations" about didn't offend anyone. Just rambling, really... and for all I know, I could be full of soap. I mean, in a sly, quiet way, I do sort of admire the vocal minority in the Christian community... the evangelists who go out there to "save a lost world"... I usually just play video games...

Adios y'all.

Dave