Toren Atkinson’s Absolute Blog

There’s this silent film called “Greed” that’s supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. It’s been on my list for ages. I don’t normally watch silent films because they’re a bit jammy and a bit clangy, but this one interested me as it’s about how a winning lottery ticket ruins the lives of those involved (this timely moral goes back to 1924). It was on TCM recently and I taped it, so I’m watching it in chunks when I go to bed. The original was NINE HOURS long, but the studio cut it down to two. Back in the day, film that was cut was recycled for the silver in it, so ‘restored’ films were few and far between. However in this case, a film afficionado made a four hour version using stills. It’s a little annoying to go from film to watching the Ken Burns effect, but I only just started the film last night, and maybe I’ll become accustomed to it. One thing that occurs to me…now that we have the technology, let’s recut all silent films so instead of watching the actors mouths move and wonder what they’re saying, and then go to a full screen board with text on it…may I recommend English subtitles? Sacrilege? Or brilliance? You decide. I’ve actually been watching DVDs with the English subtitles on, even when it’s a film in English. I find that it has three benefits:

1. You never mishear anything that’s mumbled, or when a biker goes by outside your window;
2. It’s way easier to pick up on proper names;
3. You never get too much reading.

Try it and let me know how it goes. You may be surprised. I’ve found that movies I’ve seen a few times, seeing everything in print along with it adds some new information.

Oh, and The Simpsons Movie is worth watching if you haven’t seen it. I give it a 7.79/10. And it’s playing at my fave theater – THE RIO on Broadway! Yay! They got a couple of new staff there, including a courteous and fetching Asian number in braces.

In other news, my mom is on Facebook.

Practice, man, practice.

I am having a hell of a time getting past the guitar solo in Judas Priest “Electric Eye” on Guitar Hero Rocks the ’80s.

But in real music history today, I went to practice in Chilliwack at Mountain of Madness Studios. We’re working out how to perform a couple of the songs off the new album in a live in-your-face environment. Songs like “Return to Melanesia” and “Ride the Flying Polyp.” Also we’re working on costumes. Old timey diving suits and melanesian grass skirts, to be precise.

Additionally, Postmark Media may be coming to record our entire show. We may offer the show on compact disc, or we may save it for some secret special future project. Which means I better start memorizing lyrics.

Mmm – mini donuts!

Not nearly as many interesting lanterns this year as the last time I went. Bumped into friends and then immediately lost them in the crowds. Note to festival goers for next year: No bikes, no dogs. Also, stay home so there’s more room for me.

Now I go to sleep, then get up and hit the Greyhound to Chilliwack. Gotta practice for the big show!

Okay, so that’s kind of weird. I write the post below asking what the biological advantage of religion is, and completely by chance, within 48 hours, I happen to listen to an interview with Dr David Sloan Wilson, author of the book, “Evolution for Everyone” on Quirks & Quarks. He talks about that exact thing, among other things like the evolution of art and music. Basically, his theory is that religion is one of many systems to create cooperative, functional social groups, AKA communities (which as you may guess, are a good survival mechanism)

Go here to listen to it:

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It’s really worth a listen. He even talks about the “sideshows” — the “sterile, Machiavellian intelligent design” sideshow and the Dawkinsesque “strident, angry attacks on religion” sideshow that throws the baby (such as it is) of religion out with the bathwater. These sideshows both draw attention away from what he calls the “main event” – serious study of religion from an evolutionary perspective.

Although the interview doesn’t really address the question as to why SOOOOOO MANY humans lean towards forming groups believing in superstition/God, rather than groups coming together in the Cult of Measuring Things Empirically (haha).

I just finished watching part one of “The Root of All Evil?” Richard Dawkins unfortunately named TV series on religion. Apart from the name, and the fact that Dawkins comes across as a big jerk and loses his temper which weakens his argument(s) when he confronts religious zealots, I have a simple criticism of his approach.

Religion is basically a complex, structured form of social superstition. The problem isn’t Catholicism or Judaism or Muslim..ism…, because getting rid of those isn’t going to address the fact that people–consistently, historically–need to find some kind of meaning to their lives. And for many, “faith” is the easy answer. Religion surrounds us and the dogma is easily accessible, even if it’s completely bonkers. As an added bonus, it’s generally quite social, which can be said to be a positive aspect. What I would like to see is a very critical, very scientific dissection of the part of our brains, minds and thought processes that makes faith and superstition so seductive. Johnny believes in God and the bible; Susan believes in the healing powers of crystals; Jan believes in past life regression; Ruprecht believes in astrology, chakras, reflexology and karma. What do these have in common? They fly in the face of being measured, of being quantifiable, and for some reason most of us like it that way. Most of us are drawn to this sort of vague, intangible, but still very organized beliefs of what exists behind the everyday world of rock, air and flesh.

Why should that be? Why is it that I can live out my life, happily and with a very strong sense of morality; that I can sleep sound at night with the belief that I am not going to be resurrected, I am not going to a paradisal afterlife, my destiny is not tied into the constellations, that there is no soul or other magical immortal energies within my body?

An enormous body of evidence compiled by millions of researchers tells me that my body is a machine composed of an incredibly complex organization of chemicals — the tiniest cog in a process which took billions of years to develop, founded in chance and completely devoid of meaning — which will some day stop working and everything that was Toren Atkinson is going to decompose and scatter. No grand creator. No spiritual destiny. Just worm food, baby. How can I find that to be completely reasonable, and still help that complete stranger with her groceries, or pick up that twenty dollar bill someone just dropped and give it back to them when there’s nothing in it for me, knowing there is no omniscient overseer judging my actions?

So what is the biological advantage in believing in baseless fantasy? Surely there must be some reason for all this unreason..it’s so hugely prevalent in our species!

I’m kind of surprised about what a big hubbub The Symphony of Fire–or whatever it is called these days–commands. I’ve lived in Vancouver for years and years, and I’ve seen a few. There’s some loud flashes of light, which eventually smokescreen themselves, and uninspired music. Some of them are new and interesting, it’s true, but not a large percentage. I guess it’s something to do, but it’s never really worth the inconvenience of finding a spot, getting home SLOWLY, and generally dealing with crowds.

Maybe some day they’ll get wise to my subconscious, and make things a little more Devoesque.

Third time’s the harm!

Does this change your voting?

Again, rough draft:

Better or worse than the nightgaunt concept?

Okay I have been thinking about biting the bullet and doing some silk screened Thickets shirts, so that the fans can finally get some black shirts. Here is my first pass at a design, very rough. Basically the idea is a nightgaunt trailing a tattered banner. The design could be chest, or could be on the bottom of the shirt, which seems to be the style of the time, along with wearing an onion on your belt.

Thoughts?