I suppose I’d strat by saying that fanaticism is fanaticism, from whichever direction it comes. Matthew, I think you’ve heard me rant on about that elsewhere. I really do think the opinions people have are less imoprtant than the attitudes they carry their opinions with. With a bad attitude (and I really think a disrespect for anybody who doesn’t agree with you ids the biggest one), you can easily turn the best of causes into the worst. Not hard to do.

I guess it can take us a long time to learn that the force of our arguments is not increased by the force with which we voice them. The precise opposite is often the case.

Which gets me to your very first comment: you got that one right, matthew. until we learn that you can’t demand for yourself what you’re not prepapared to concede to others, Nobody is without their prejudices, but we do have the obligation to think how our prejudice, with a very small change can be used against us. It makes us behave a little better!

No argument on ring tones from me. hear! Hear!

I have a bit of a thing about cell phones, but then I’m something of a Luddite at heart…

being something of a Luddite, I tend to leave MySpace alone. I looked in on it once. I wonder, though, whether blogging isn’t a kinder, gentler form of this sort of thing. I suppose it depends how you use it - or any other Internet tool. I, of course, would NEVER think this would apply to our esteemed host here (actually, the interest in communications technology makes this a useful exercise for the studies), but I suppose all these things do tend to encourage exhibitionists. All present company excepted, of course!

Porn…well, some seem to get off on it. It can be (unintentionally) hilarious, but the one time I got caught in a traditional stag with tow alleged calssics, I was bored out of my tree. Maybe I got inoculated from all the racy paintings done for an edition of “the Decameron” my parents left incaustiously in my reach when I was 12.

I think the anti-tobacco lobby are building up into the new Prohibitionists, with very much the same results. I never did think much of smoking, partly because I’m highly allergic to it (BTW, a reason for leaving marijuana alone too), but I found that a number of myrelatives who smoked like chimneys were going to it all the more if I lectured them. And a lot of people still start soley for the reason of irritating the modern-day “Mrs. Grundys” of the world.

I’d suggest you average fourth-grader is a lot more literate than any number of aduilts.

Which seems to be a long-winded way of general applause, but there it is. Pu tup blogs, and you open yourself up to gasbags like me!

I’ll have to try that “Commentator Porn” game sometime. Sounds like it could be fun. Not really a game to play with the family, though (then again, I had an hour-long conversation with my mom a few weeks ago on the Rocky Horror Picture Show, so I guess in today’s society, nothing is taboo).

In the State of California, legislation will go into effect starting tomorrow (January 1st, 2007) that will make it illegal to leave a pet in a parked car without adequate nourishment in the form of food and water. Doing so will cause animal control to break into your car and remove the animal at your expense. It will also be illegal to tie up an animal (mainly dogs) to a public object like a bike rack, lamp post or stop sign for more than three hours.

Gay marriage (let them marry, damn it! They are no more or no less then anypone else!) and animal rights (animals rights = very bad, animal welfare = very good) are my two biggest things I think.

hahaha MySpace. CrackSpace. CrackStalk. I just set whatever new pic I want commented on to my default, and people see it, and comment if they want to. End of story.

Porn is hilarious. Don’t believe me? Watch it on mute, and pretend you’re a sportscaster. And throw popcorn at the screen. Seriously.

Yes, I am aware I am killing myself, slowly but surely. I’m also totaly grossed out by the fact I smoke. One day, I might even motivate myself to quit. Until then though, I’ll hold onto it’s the only bad habit I have, and without it, I’d be perfect. :P

Ditto on pets… they didn’t ask to be carted around, and if they did, sometimes tough love of being left home alone for a bit is better for them. Common sense, people.

PSA brought to you by Radio Matthew. hehe

Awesome post. It made me want to ranble incoherrently here and there, but over all, I dug it. And agreed completely. :)

Happy New Year’s Matthew!