TV Quote of the Week

Who needs God when you've got me?
--Ali Larter, Heroes, "Godsend"

The Invention of Lying and the Myth of America

I once rented the 2009 movie The Invention of Lying from the local library, and one of the first things that came to my mind while I was watching it was the notion that this imaginary world where the movie is set -- a locale where no one can say anything but the harshest and bluntest of truths -- was supposed to be a fictional version of America. Or at least a fictional version of America as it must have seemed to English actor/writer Ricky Gervais when he first came over to this country from his homeland.

After all, Americans tend to take pride in being more honest than the English, more direct than the English and less likely to shade the truth with diplomatic white lies than the English.

So while the latter half of the film can be seen as a religious satire, the original inspiration might have been the temptation to poke fun at us "straight-talking" Yanks in such a way that most of us wouldn't catch on.

Of course, if you don't like that theory, I have others... but I like this one best.

As for the religious aspect of the movie, I found the premise of the movie to be a lot kinder and sympathetic toward religious people than I expected even though I found its idea of religion being just another form of lying to be more than a bit questionable.

Then again, the most questionable part of the movie was the part that expected me to believe that a woman who looked like Jennifer Garner could ever fall in love with a guy who looked like Ricky Gervais. After all, Gervais is not exactly famous for playing likable characters in his native England, let alone romantic heartthrobs. And though his character in this movie is a lot more sympathetic than, say, the character he played in the UK version of The Office, the romance between his character and Garner's still seemed less than convincing.

Then again, when I look upon some of the more unlikely real-life relationships I have witnessed since this movie was first released, it seems more and more believable. Or at least as believable as one might expect from a movie about lying.

Random Thoughts

What does it say about my life that my initial response to the first declaration of love I have received from a woman since I broke up with my former bride-to-be was to try to argue her out of it?

Do I have to vote for a presidential candidate this year?

If automation is truly putting an end to the repetitive and soul-destroying jobs of yesteryear, why do so many of the jobs available nowadays tend to be repetitive and soul-destroying?

Of course, having to continually search for work in this economic climate isn't exactly an ego-booster either.

If atheism is so fashionable nowadays, why do so many people other than me throw around words like "soul-destroying"? I thought atheists didn't recognize the existence of a soul.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Dexter: “Those Kinds of Things”

At long last the truth about Dexter Morgan is out! He's an atheist. Not that most of us didn't see that coming. But it is interesting to see yet another admitted atheist on the air now that House M.D. has finished its final season.

That said...

A former cast member of The George Lopez Show -- i.e. Aimee Garcia -- is joining the show to play Angel Batista's little sister Jamie -- and Dexter's nanny. (Apparently there is some law in Hollywood that almost every TV show has to have at least one nanny played by a Hispanic actress--perhaps because having a nanny played by Scarlett Johansson would be too unrealistic.)

Lt. LaGuerta is finally getting a promotion, but alas, she did not exactly secure it through honorable means. For shame!

On the plus side, Vince Masuka is actually acquiring some interns this season -- and some smarts to go along with them. However, one of the interns might not be what she seems...

Anyway, in this week's episode, Dexter Morgan goes to his high school reunion in order to avenge a woman who had been nice to him back in high school -- and finds himself to be surprisingly popular. No, that last part was not meant to be a meta-comment on the show's popularity -- though it is tempting to take it that way.

In addition, his sister Debra stops an armed man wearing body armor from shooting up a crowded restaurant. And no, I did not make up that last part. And given that this episode first aired last year, it can't be blamed on recent events.

Pop Song of the Week: "Dear God"

The song least likely to be used in Rick Perry's Presidential campaign.

Random Thoughts

All generalizations are wrong -- including this one.

Anyone else wonder how many drivers respond to the presence of traffic enforcement cameras at certain intersections by automatically speeding up every time they approach such an intersection?

Everyone wants to be an aristocrat and no one wants to be a peasant. Yet a society that contains nothing but aristocrats can't possibly endure.

Everyone involved in a dispute likes to believe that the other guy started it.

The valuable one's contribution to society is, the less attention one gets from Hollywood.

Logic and reason would seem to indicate that calling someone stupid or evil is not likely to convert them to one's particular point-of-view. Yet many atheists who supposedly believe in logic and reason often respond to religious people by calling them stupid or evil. And of course religious people do the same thing to atheists as well.

The less likely one is to have known someone who experienced a revolution, the more likely one is to call for one.

The more privileges one has, the more one is likely to complain about one's setbacks.

The same person who complained about the elder generation in his youth will inevitably complain about the younger generation in his senior years.

If you want to see what most people really think about the importance of law and order, just see how they respond to a traffic ticket.

Quote of the Week

The way I like to put it is, if religion is a crutch, then what do you call someone who goes around kicking crutches out from under people? A fearless seeker of the Truth or a bloody sadist?
--Stephen Browne, "The Hot Button Issue," Rants and Raves, September 22, 2006