Jason C. Romero's Website

Jehovah’s Witnesses

I got a visit from some Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they said some standard things, like, “Where do you think the universe came from?” I said that, like God, the universe is mysterious and likely without a beginning. I also explained how natural disasters, like earthquakes, hurricanes, and meteor strikes make it difficult for me to believe in God. They said that these things are part of the endtimes, and that God is going to cleanse the earth of wickedness like He did with the flood. I didn’t know they thought this (they are premillenialists as opposed to postmillenialists). They also talked about how Christians are better than non-Christians, because non-Christians don’t care enough to go around to people’s doors to talk to them, though I do know of some atheists who did this.

The Nonexistent Post Office

I need to get a post office box for the summer, but I forgot the post office closes early on Saturday and got a slow move on, so when I left the house the post office I wanted to use was closed. However, the USPS website showed that there was another post office that was still open, so I decided to go there. I didn’t find it in the spot where I thought it was, and had to get on a computer in the union to get the address again. Eventually, I found the building it was supposed to be in — but it was an old(?) mathematics building and the doors were locked. I called the USPS and it didn’t list this location. So, the USPS lied to me. I’ll just have to go on Monday before I head out of town.

Myrdene Sighting

As I was heading home I saw Myrdene Anderson walking across the street — she must be here for the qualitative conference that I completely forgot about. I parked as quickly as I could and ran after her, but could not find her again. Preemptive answer: I don’t think she has a cell phone.

ScanSnap Lust

I’ve known about the Fujitsu ScanSnap for a while, and I was jealous when Karen Nakamura got one, but I got the urge again lately for some reason, and the videos I watched didn’t help. I didn’t realize that there is a portable version in addition to the desktop version, but it’s still a little expensive ($280 as opposed to $430). It’s this video of someone slicing off the binding on some manga that has really got me going though (I think he is using an XD-500 stack paper cutter). That is exactly what I have always dreamed of doing — slicing up books and magazines and scanning them. At least until I can afford this $250,000 automatic book scanner or the Scan Robot.

Rape by Fraud

I mentioned this NPR story about a woman who was tricked into having sex with her boyfriend’s brother (he pretended to be the woman’s boyfriend) to Angie, and she made the connection to a scene in Revenge of the Nerds where Louis tricks a cheerleader into having sex with him by pretending to be her boyfriend. I never would have thought of that, and it’s weird how such a morally questionable moment is stuck in there and flew under my radar so long ago. Some others blog about this “rape scene” here and here.

As for the case, while it definitely seems wrong, it’s hard for me to consider it rape, since there was no force involved and there was some form of consent. However, it does remind me of the inability to consent if you are drunk. So maybe this could somehow be counted as rape because you cannot consent to sex with someone unless you know who they are. Like the story mentions, though, this seems to cast the net too widely, where it includes people who don’t disclose their “real” identity, such that anonymous sex would count as rape, as would lying about being a CEO or a rock star. I suppose this example sits in that gray zone where many lies cannot be prosecuted under the law, even if those lies are used to have sex with someone.

“English Mill Town Welcomes Lesbian Families”

This NPR story says, “Hebden Bridge was just another dying mill town in the English county of Yorkshire until a new community developed in the area. By 2001, the proportion of lesbian to heterosexual residents in the valley had outstripped London, Manchester or Brighton. The lesbians have found a welcoming environment where they can raise families without stigma.” Interesting to think about the social effects of economic power and security. Certainly puts some wind into the ol’ base and superstructure debate.

Review

I’m not entirely sure how or why the day passed by so quickly without me doing anything of substance. I guess I sank into my feeds, which I was trying to catch up on. I finally cleaned up my mess too, but that didn’t take long either. I thought about going to see Iron Man, but it just doesn’t appeal to me, so I stayed home to read The Power and the Glory and listen to Mr. Oizo instead.

Links

• Looks like there is another full feature film on YouTube: The Cult of Sincerity. (Via Film Flap.)
• There’s a good video that explains podcasting. (Via the Society for Applied Anthropology podcast blog.)
• There’s something striking about this parent notification system, but I can’t put my finger on it.