Wake Up The Echo Chamber

Yesterday, I went over to Victor's in Redmond to meet a friend for a cup of coffee. Arriving first, I chose a table on which the previous occupants had thoughtfully left a religious tract. In the tract ("Big Daddy?"), a Christian student single-handedly disproves Darwin's Theory of Evolution in 20 small comic book pages. The arrogant professor, retreating in ignominious defeat, leaves the university because he "can't teach it any longer." If you don't believe me, read it for yourself here. (Never let it be said that I don't let the opposition speak for itself.

Intrigued, I visited the web site of Chick Publications, publisher of the tract. A banner of happy faces from multiple ethnic groups greeted me. Scrolling down quickly gave me the opportunity to purchase The Enchanter, an "incredible history of Mormonism" revealing the "history that Mormon recruiters don't want to tell you." (Mitt Romney, these are the boots you licked in Houston.) Scrolling down further, I discovered the availability of other tracts neatly organized by religion, so that you can easily choose your own personal hobby horse of bigotry and ignorance. These include Catholicism (natch), Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Masonry, and -- since by Chick's lights it is a religion -- evolution. (Curiously, there were no anti-Semitic tracts: Who made them the chosen people?) I also learned that the earth is some 4,400 years old and that dinosaurs still walk the earth. (It's a little vague on where, although Pensacola, Florida and "Lock" Ness appear to be likely spots.)

Meanwhile, in an astonishingly blindered, Fidel Castro-like ramble, a blogger who calls herself The Anchoress explains why George Bush is a great president with personal qualities so admirable that one might confuse him with Francis of Assisi. Iraq? What Iraq? And as for Hurricane Katrina, he warned New Orleanians to evacuate their beloved city. The presidential buck ended there. You'll be surprised to hear that The Anchoress doesn't mention torture, rendition, signing statements, the unitary executive "theory," outing a CIA agent, the ballooning deficit, the ever-growing income gap, Halliburton, Blackwater, the mortgage crisis, or the recession. She is a baseball fan, though, so we have some common ground.

As for the new Gnarls Barkley CD, I give The Odd Couple two thumbs up. Lovely ballads like "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" complement up tempo numbers anchored by rock drumming that someone had the genius to think of including. I have a feeling that this one will make my top 10 list in December.