Disqus - Latest Comments for gerardmcgarry

Re: New Video: An Atheist On The Afterlife – WTF??

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:05:00 -0000

Another UK atheist here, and I find the idea of any kind of afterlife completely absurd. The only afterlife we can expect is the molecular hoedown known as decomposition. And please stop making blanket statements on behalf of entire continents while questioning other people's intelligence. It's uncivilised.

Re: New Video: An Atheist On The Afterlife – WTF??

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:01:16 -0000

Also, is your place in Heaven like a tenured position or can you get kicked out if you do something dumb enough?

Re: New Video: An Atheist On The Afterlife – WTF??

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:00:10 -0000

I love that you picked up on how much 'heaven' would change someone. I mean, do we have corporeal form or are we amorphous spirit blobs? Do I have an apartment in heaven? If technology on Earth changes, do we get the latest iPhone or does the afterworld have the Ultimate iPhone? Is there sex? I think I might miss sex if I had to spend eternity with it. And what's my marital status in the afterworld?

The more you think about these things, the more you realise you have to 'imagine' an answer. And we all know that's just a fancy word for 'making shit up'.

Re: FERGUS FINLAY: Bishops are wrong. Where is the God of love and compassion?

Gerard McGarry — Sat, 16 May 2015 12:55:52 -0000

What he's doing is pointing out that the key commandment from the New Testament is to "love one another as I have loved you". Since biblical sources are frequently being cited in this debate, he's merely pointing out that there are aspects of Catholic culture that would compel the religious to show compassion and accommodation.

But as your counterargument shows, the Bible can be interpreted in vastly different ways, meaning that you can find passages to justify hatred and exclusion or love and acceptance depending on your agenda. Which, when you think about it, doesn't make it a very good source of morality or instruction.

It's worth pointing out that religion doesn't hold the monopoly on marriage, so applying biblical rules is a little silly. People outside Christianity can get married. Are their marriages invalid? Older couples can get married with no view to procreation. Are their vows less sacred? Allowing a same-sex couple to legitimise their relationship and claim the same legal rights and entitlements that the rest of us hold isn't going to shatter the earth, despite what some people might think.

Re: Get started with gulp

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 16:17:36 -0000

@shakyshane - That was a stroke of genius! I've been looking for days for a way to combine Jekyll, Gulp and SASS. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing that!

Re: Cut It Out, Atheists! Why It’s Time to Stop Behaving like Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins

Gerard McGarry — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 08:52:01 -0000

Hello Chuck. You've been a busy boy trolling this entire thread, haven't you? Where precisely have I asserted that anything should or must not be permitted?

Re: Cut It Out, Atheists! Why It’s Time to Stop Behaving like Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 11:04:50 -0000

Interesting post Steve. On one hand, I disagree with you - I think sometimes the Conservative Christian mouthpieces we see in the media are exactly the kind of people we want to identify against. Even if I was a moderate Christian, I would probably want to point at those people and say "I'm not like that. I fundamentally disagree with his worldview."

However, you're right about the perception of atheism as a movement. If we continue to frame ourselves as a reaction AGAINST something, then people on the outside are always going to view atheism as repugnant. I get that some of us are angry and outraged at religion. Perhaps it's time we gave the word (and the movement) a makeover.

What being atheist means to me is being liberated from archaic, superstitious worldviews and free to choose my morality based on empirical evidence. But aside from that, we must still be able to speak our minds to reach out to others who are doubting. But yes, constantly reacting to wingnut opinions is probably not the most constructive use of our time. Though as you said, not without its attractions.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Twitter'd: TOTAL RECALL (2012)

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:13:00 -0000

I went in with high hopes. The fight scenes and CGI were amazing at the beginning, but the whole film lasted so long and had so little of the cheese/humour of the original ("Hey, man. I got FIVE kids to feed..."). By the end, Lisa and I were almost brain dead with boredom.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: MERLIN, 5.7 – 'A Lesson In Vengeance'

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:30:46 -0000

Ah, Dan! I missed the first two episodes of Merlin this year and at one point decided that I'd given this show too many years of hoping it would improve. So I decided that it just wasn't worth catching up on anymore.

But I also decided that I'd watch your reviews to see if the show had somehow managed to transcend all its cliches and ridiculousness. I'm glad to report that after a strong opening, your scores have been nosediving, week on week. It seems that five series' later, Merlin is still relying on the same tired bag of tricks, as if Camelot was stuck in the magical version of Groundhog Day.

You literally watch TV so I don't have to!

Re: Dan's Media Digest: FRINGE, 5.5 – 'An Origin Story'

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:24:27 -0000

I really hope Peter isn't the seed of the Observer master-race. That would be a bleak direction, even for this show.

Also, I wonder if it was misdirection, but should we be questioning the things Peter "doesn't know that he doesn't know"? Like how the Observers recovered from the resistance attack so quickly and what that means about how they're transporting goods from the future?

Re: Dan's Media Digest: FRINGE, 5.4 – 'The Bullet That Saved the World'

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:18:44 -0000

The death came as a total shock. But Joshua Jackson and John Noble played the aftermath beautifully. I felt that for the first time, Peter really had an insight into what drove Walter to cross universes and abduct him all those years ago. I kind of wonder if Peter will be compelled to try something similar or if he'll succumb to dark, vengeful feelings.

Re: True Blood 511: “Sunset”

Gerard McGarry — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:11:39 -0000

Just watched this episode last night. What began as a feisty series about a psychic surrounded by vampires and werewolves has turned into a total mess. The major characters have flip flopped so many times now, no one trusts their motivations anymore. I'm actually surprised that neither Moyer, Paquin or Skarsgaard have walked away at this point. The show is an incoherent embarrassment.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: FRINGE, 4.22 – "Brave New World: Part 2"

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:24:46 -0000

I said it was hit and miss, because as you pointed out to me on Twitter, it was supposed to work as a final ending to the series. Even at that I thought it was too twee, too 'everything tidily resolved, now go about the rest of your life, and by the way we've taken your powers away'.

You make a good point about the Observers though, and hopefully it'll be resolved in Season 5. What flips this secret society of hat-fetishists from simply Observing (and ensuring their interpretation of the timeline is protected) to becoming antagonists? I don't recall any clues in the narrative as to what their agenda is or who might be controlling them. Unlike David Robert Jones, they seem to have a flat power structure. No-one in particular seems to be giving them orders.

Re: Game of Thrones Audition Tapes – Arya & Sansa

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:06:19 -0000

They've both come on in leaps and bounds since being on GoT, much better actresses today. Had to laugh at Maisie though - she's got a slight Smeagol vibe in this audition footage!

Re: What Is Wrong (GASP) With GAME OF THRONES

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:01:24 -0000

I guess they have to burn through it at a decent rate, if only because the actors are likely to move on to other projects or - in the case of the children in the cast - grow up too quickly to be feasible in their roles anymore.

Also, I quite like the idea of the pacing of the show putting pressure on George R.R. Martin to churn out the final two books in the series! I'm halfway through A Dance With Dragons right now, and then...nothing. I need the next book to be ready within the month, dammit!

Re: 20 Amazing Examples of Using Media Queries for Responsive Web Design

Gerard McGarry — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:40:37 -0000

I've been obsessing about how to cater to mobile users without providing loads of different iterations of the site for specific devices. The Owltastic site is a brilliant example of responsive design, and potentially a great starting point for anyone wanting to learn these techniques.

Re: I wish I had never heard of Google+’s brand pages

Gerard McGarry — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:35:38 -0000

Aw, man, I wish I'd read your post before I impulsively created a page for our business! Instead I fired ahead, thinking I'd figure out how to allow my collaborators to add content to the page. Presumably the features will catch up with us, but it'll be hard to invest totally in Google+ for our business if everything has to be filtered through me.

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.7 – "A Good Man Goes To War" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:37:16 -0000

If the Baby River was a Flesh avatar all along, then there's no particular reason for Older River to have stayed away - she wouldn't have been crossing her own timeline. Unless she needed to let The Doctor reach his 'rock bottom' before motivating him with her true identity?

Oh, and Dan - the skeletal hand thing I tweeted you about last night: there were three words on screen just beforehand - "Time Runs Out". Enigmatic, for sure, because if it's The Doctor's hand, how can he die twice?

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.7 – "A Good Man Goes To War" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:28:09 -0000

If memory serves me right, River knew that hooking himself up to the CAL computer in the library would kill The Doctor, hence she opted to sacrifice herself. Regeneration didn't seem to be an option for The Doctor, so it wouldn't have worked for River either.

Re: HOUSE “Moving On” (Season Finale) Review

Gerard McGarry — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:57:02 -0000

Haha - or a spin-off series "All About Taub", a hilarious comedy about a divorcee plastic surgeon juggling two baby mamas while being demeaned by his limping boss and colleagues!

Re: 'OUTCASTS' 1.2 ~ Dan's Media Digest

Gerard McGarry — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:50:22 -0000

We're in familiar territory here Dan - based on the first two episodes, my conclusion is "Nothing to see here", but we'll probably watch the whole series in case we're proved wrong.

Watching the second episode of Oucasts, I found myself wishing there were more Jimmy Nesbitt submarine dramas.

I simply don't care for the characters, don't really 'get' the setting or the premise for the show. It feels like the last remnants of humanity on a desert outpost waiting for someone to deliver a story. The EastEnders in Space gibes might be cruel, but so far they're on the money.

Re: PRIMEVAL Series 4 Episode 3 Review

Gerard McGarry — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:01:54 -0000

Primeval is embarrassingly bad TV sometimes, isn't it? You really have to switch your brain off, especially where Burton is concerned - a multi-millionaire businessman who built a security system that's solely reliant on HIS EYEBALLS? Hilarious!

I'm going to predict that whatever New Dawn is, it'll be tied into Gideon and Matt's quest and ultimately greedy "big business" will be behind whatever they're looking for...

Re: 'PRIMEVAL' 4.2 ~ Dan's Media Digest

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:02:18 -0000

I don't know why we're all surprised - Primeval was always this weak. It's a dinosaur-per-week series with a bit of espionage, power play and - most bizarrely - governmental interference thrown in for good measure.

At face value, it's lightweight escapist action-adventure that the whole family can tune into. Not as deep or far reaching as Doctor Who, but with the premise of the series being temporal anomalies and dinosaurs, there isn't that much scope.

My advice: Switch off brain, enjoy the pretty people chasing dinosaurs for an hour. That's all.

Re: Top 10 Pirated TV Shows of 2010

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:20:09 -0000

@Dan - That's a good point. I must admit I was staggered at those numbers for Heroes.

@MoreTears - Of course the US networks should care about overseas viewers - many of these shows are global brands now. People over here give a damn about what happens in Grey's Anatomy, House, True Blood and Dexter and more. I believe that some episodes are available to UK viewers on iTunes after their transmission in the US, which provides a revenue stream for the network AND gives the UK viewers a chance to see the shows as quickly as possible.

Re: Top 10 Pirated TV Shows of 2010

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 08:54:50 -0000

House isn't so bad anymore since this season at least the UK was only a week behind the USA. Dexter and True Blood are essentials for me - partly because it's horrible to be a fan of these shows and have to wait for almost a year to catch them on UK TV.

I guess these figures shouldn't be used so much to gauge piracy, but more to show there's a rabid fanbase for American shows out there. Maybe it's time the networks over there found better ways to provide viewing services for overseas fans.