Has anyone seen the documentary "The Gift"? It's an independent flick, check out what little info they have on IMDB:

Anyway, it's about a subculture of men who fetishize the HIV virus, and it's one of the most disturbing and sad things I've ever seen. But I was struck at the connections to web culture and web communities. The general trend of porn sites is to fetishize the repulsive -- in many ways it has been claimed that net.culture drives us to the fringe of acceptability and palatability. Sites like SnuffX (http://www.snuffx.com) and Stileproject (http://www.stileproject.com) have been longtime suppliers of images and movie files of mixed porn and snuff. I saw this as really connected to that sort of gruesome one-upmanship that goes on in these "backrooms" of the Internet. I think that once there's a whole group of people ingesting and commenting on these kinds of subjects, then it's inevitable that some kind of community would be formed. I've seen design sites where you could be shot for using a dropshadow. Or gaming sites that cater (unofficially) to very particular tastes. There are the meta-customs we see in all boards and forums, but each individual site has particular rules and traditions. In many ways, the phenomena described in "The Gift" reminded me of these odd, insular discussion groups.

Anyway, I was just really struck by how much the Web and websites were involved in building and maintaining the subculture covered in the documentary. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Wow, I'm so sad I haven't written on here more. Here, check out and come back soon. I'll write something more. I promise.

How Time Flies. I can't even believe that it's been over 30 days since I touched this journal. Shows you how good I am at this kind of thing, huh? I would like to use the excuse of being in Idaho for a couple of weeks, but I would then have to confess that I had easy access to the web, piggybacking on some unknown neighbors with an open wifi node on my in-laws' block. So no excuses. In fact, I feel extra guilty because I was recently told that my good buddy Tim has been journalling consistently for several years now, making precise notes of his life. How cool would it be to look back and see what you had for lunch three years ago? My grandfather kept a ledger of his expenses and income for his whole life. I've always been fascinated by it -- how much was rent in 1954? What did my mother and her brothers get for Xmas in 1961? It's all there.

So until I come up with a better form of documentation, I suppose sporadic updates on Elmwood Strip will be the most detailed listings of what I've been doing. So far I've had no expenses today. No food, either. And not even a cup of coffee. I must be mad... Time to go get me some...

OK, so Paul got back to me re:my last post and brought my attention to this humorous poster that Matthew put on his (e:strip) blog. Then I saw Holly's PhotoChop of the image, which is way funny. So then I thought: Well, I should do a PhotoChop, too... So here ya go...

Xmas is always such a pain. And I don't mean to sound all Scrooge-y or Grinch-ish; I love the idea of coming together with family and friends to celebrate life and relationships, and I think the middle of winter is a good time for that kind of thing. No wonder so many belief systems of all kinds recognize the winter solstice as a conspicuous time of year. But don't go thinking that I'm arguing for some kind of "alternative" religious viewpoint.

I'm an atheist.I love being an atheist. I feel as good about being an atheist as most folks feel about being devoted to any religion, club, or team. Sometimes I even want to tell people about it, to prosyletize the joy of living in a godless world. But what's the point?

Still, it's sometimes made very clear just how on the outside we are. The holiday season brings it to the forefront. How will I raise my children to be proud of their atheism in the face of such cultural pressure to believe the lie? How do we celebrate the completion of a year, the bonding of a family, the accomplishments and hardships of a community without encouraging the destructive impulses of Christianity?

Public school funds can be diverted to counterproductive religious schools. Faith based organizations are being given more and more responsibility. In some states it is possible to be forced to sit through prayer before receiving state and federal assistance. The religious radicals of Christianity have led us into conflict over and over again; conflict within our western, American culture as well as conflict with other religious radicals. The past few years have exposed in bitterly clear ways the full effect of religious wrath and the numbing, dumbing effect of religion as the proverbial opiate of the masses.

Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas all refuse atheists the right to hold office according to clauses in their state constitutions. Massachusetts excludes non-Christians from equal protection under the law.

These are just a few examples of more gratuitous discrimination that many will dismiss as relics of old attitudes. But the attitude still very much exists. We're told to pray by the President often. Our crusades in the Middle East (the Administration's words; not mine) are a playing out of age-old religious differences, which were played out, in the first place, in service of dubious economic goals. Our Pledge of Allegiance... Our God Bless America... Our Shortsighted Ignorant Approach to Humanity...

Happy New Year