VGrafLive

06/21/2024

Arrrgghhh.

Many of you are unaware that I am an Ordained Minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) - A.K.A. Pastafarianism. Yes, by His Noodly Appendages, it is so.

I have been following the latest chatter about some people requiring the posting of some particular set of religious rules, i.e., "Commandments", in every classroom of every school in a particular State in a particular Country.

My - Our - sense is, first, that such action would contravene the First Amendment of that Country's Constitution which prohibits the Government and States therein from establishing any Religion. That seemed a good idea back in 1776-1789 and continues to be one.

That said, should that State and the increasingly bonkers (a Common Law legal term) determine to allow this action to go forward, we think it only fair that all Religions, including the FSM, be able to have its fundamental moral precepts likewise posted.

Here I offer for your consideration those Eight Condiments of FSM:

What are the basic rules, the basic dos and don’ts, of Pastafarianism?

The FSM gave the pirate Mosey 10 commandments (his pirate gang called them “Condiments”) in stone tablets to distribute to the world. He dropped them while carrying them and two got shattered on the way, accounting for pirates “flimsy moral standards”. In the end this is what he came up with :

The Eight I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts

1) I’d really rather you didn’t act like a sanctimonious holier-than-thou ass when describing my Noodly Goodness. If some people don’t believe in me, that’s okay. Really, I’m not that vain. Besides, this isn’t about them so don’t change the subject.

2) I’d really rather you didn’t use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don’t require sacrifices, and purity is for drinking water, not people.

3) I’d really rather you didn’t judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, okay? Oh, and get this in your thick heads: Woman = person. Man = person. Samey – samey. One is not better than the other, unless we’re talking about fashion and I’m sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia.

4) I’d really rather you didn’t indulge in conduct that offends yourself, or your willing, consenting partner of legal age and mental maturity. As for anyone who might object, I think the expression is go f*** yourself, unless they find that offensive in which case they can turn off the TV for once and go for a walk for a change.

5) I’d really rather you didn’t challenge the bigoted, misogynist, hateful ideas of others on an empty stomach. Eat, then go after the b*******.

6) I’d really rather you didn’t build multimillion-dollar churches/temples/mosques/shrines to my Noodly Goodness when the money could be better spent (take your pick): 1. Ending poverty 2. Curing diseases 3. Living in peace, loving with passion, and lowering the cost of cable; I might be a complex-carbohydrate omniscient being, but I enjoy the simple things in life. I ought to know. I am the creator.

7) I’d really rather you didn’t go around telling people I talk to you. You’re not that interesting. Get over yourself. And I told you to love your fellow man, can’t you take a hint?

8) I’d really rather you didn’t do unto others as you would have them do unto you if you are into, um, stuff that uses a lot of leather/lubricant/Las Vegas. If the other person is into it, however (pursuant to #4), then have at it, take pictures, and for the love of Mike, wear a condom! Honestly, it’s a piece of rubber. If I didn’t want it to feel good when you did it I would have added spikes, or something.

These Condiments were copied from The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as revealed to Bobby Henderson.

Thanks and Ramen.

P.S., I'm also a proud card-carrying member of the Secret Science Club. https://www.instagram.com/secretscienceclub/

P.P.S., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

P.P.P.S., https://www.spaghettimonster.org/

P.P.P.P.S., And, finally, for those of you living in a cave:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/us/louisiana-ten-commandments-landry.html

05/27/2021

1984? And AI? If Microsoft's Brad Smith is deeply concerned, why shouldn't I still be? And you?

How is your sleep? Are you curled up next to some altar, dreaming of the future just as I did?

你的睡眠怎么样? 你也曲身躺在圣坛旁，像我做的那样，梦到未来么?

Will you then awake, as I, to find your doom over you lustily looming, and in the distance your destruction storming through the breach, with the innocents already wailing?

你会像我一样，醒来发现 你的厄运正在逼近，看到未来，你的毁灭
在无辜的人哭泣声中 正冲破缺口扑来?

Will you cry out in that falling night, what have we wrought?
Or are you teachable, as Faustus was not?

你是否会在那个堕落的夜晚大声呼喊，我们做了什么? 或者你是驯良的，不同于浮士德吗?

- from "Cassandra", Stephen Dale Davison

Tech executives warned that democracy has to win the AI arms race, in a new BBC Panorama.

04/06/2021

03/02/2021

Creepy and fascinating. If the truth no longer matters, may as well do fiction well...

This is very surreal.

03/02/2021

A long-awaited report says the US president should ignore calls for a ban on autonomous weapons.

01/16/2021

12/24/2020

Dr F Election Fraud short 12 14 20

12/17/2020

Life Imitates Art Imitating Life.

There's an old Russian expression, "Не вешай лапшу мне на уши." - "Don't hang noodles on my ears" meaning "don't try to make a fool of me".

We've been reading much lately of the recent case of a John le Carré-quality caper. Excerpting from the NY Times:

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia denied on Thursday that he was behind the near-deadly poisoning of his most prominent political opponent, telling journalists with a laugh that if Russian agents had wanted to kill Aleksei A. Navalny, “they would have probably finished the job.”

Mr. Navalny, a 44-year-old opposition leader with an online audience of millions, was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent in Siberia in August. He fell ill on a commercial flight and survived thanks to the pilot’s emergency landing and the ambulance crew that met him on the airport tarmac.

Mr. Putin, speaking at his annual, hourslong news conference, acknowledged that Russian intelligence agents were tracking Mr. Navalny’s movements across the country. But he insisted that American intelligence was behind the uproar over the attempted poisoning. He said an investigation by an international group of journalists published on Monday that uncovered apparent involvement by Russian intelligence had also been engineered by the United States.

The accompanying video clip is from the "Muscovy" scene of VgrafLive's Dr. Faustus. (Go to Vgarflive.org to subscribe for free and get a link to watch the entire play).

https://youtu.be/aSLqn_MgNxA

Happy Holidays, Merry Maskmas and a very joyful New Administration Year.

Dr F Muscovy Tea short 12 17 20

12/08/2020

AI Ethics: Can it work by honor system alone?

Faustus (to the Chinese Emperor): I have the power to end these affronts. My very same spirits can also closely observe the affairs of men, their schemes, their practices in the market, in the workshop, the field, in their homes.

And in Faustus's "Alternative Facts" scene:
SECOND SCHOLAR. I, likewise an academic, have beheld these alternative facts with my own eyes and ears. Sadly, too simple is my wit to discriminate the sham from the true.

Ethical guidelines are the only tool to date to control AI systems. They're not doing much for our rights, finds a new report.

And subscribe to watch Cassandra & Dr. Faustus at vgrafglive.org.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-trouble-with-ai-why-we-need-new-laws-to-stop-algorithms-from-ruining-our-lives/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=27468788681198626856345596332252&mid=13194007&cid=1526954615

Ethical guidelines are the only tool to date to control AI systems. They're not doing much for our rights, finds a new report.

12/04/2020

PUPPETEER OR PUTIN? Faustus, 2.0 nails geopolitics in today's weaponized AI (artificial intelligence).

Act 2 of VgrafLive's Dr. Faustus features a fictional 16th century Russian Tsar, Kukolnik (Russian for "puppeteer"). The accompanying Defense One article shows how well our drama captures our 21st century world.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/12/putin-urges-ai-limits-thee-not-me/170458/

Sign up at VgrafLive.org to see our play.

An attempt to parse the two themes sounded by Russian leaders on artificial intelligence.

12/02/2020

The Beat Behind Cassandra

That eerie out-of-any-time timpani holding Cassandra in its grip was created and performed by:

Michael Schott (drummer) is glad to be a part of the team bringing Dr. Faustus' story into a modern light. He is a musician and drummer, native to New York City. Music has brought Michael to interesting places as a performer and teacher, having played here in New York, the Hudson Valley, and across the globe in countries like India and Ecuador. He is very excited to help out in this show that brings more awareness around AI and our relationship with it.

Hear his work at vgraflive.org and in this trailer: https://youtu.be/XupJXeLltfM

11/26/2020

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

Channeling very first Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible, our Tsar Kukolnik (“puppeteer”) reflects the history and leaders of both 16th and 21st century Russia.

Alex Gagné (Tsar Kukolnik, Cardinal) is thrilled to be a part of this modern cutting edge telling of the classic Faustus. остерегайтесь знакомых вам демонов! (Russian for “beware of the demons you know." Alex has also performed Off-Broadway: Camp Morning Wood- A Very Naked Musical (playwrights Horizons). Off-Off Broadway: Love Labour's Lost (Shake and Bake), Richard III (Bridge Production Group), Romeo and Juliet ( Gorilla Rep). Regional Theatre: Charlie's Aunt (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, NH), Midsummer Night's Dream (North Carolina Symphony), Pinocchio, Jungle Book, Born Yesterday ( Peterborough Players). BFA Acting- University of North Carolina School of the Arts. actoralexgagne.com

Ralph Louis Davila (Defense Minister Gruchev, Cardinal), is honored to take part in Michael Frenchman's Synthetic Science Theatre production of Faustus, a modern-day representation of a play which after centuries is still applicable. This play as constructed by Frenchman shows that today’s technology may have already had significant implications for the human race. Ralph has also recently photo doubled for Mark Ruffalo in his 2020 Emmy Award winning performance in the HBO series, "I know This Much Is True", which is based on a Wally Lamb Novel, Directed by Dereck Cianfrance. Ralph has also held many featured and Background roles in series such as HBO's "Succession", Showtime's "Billions", HBO's Gilded Age (currently in production), America’s Journey, as well as performed in various other film, theatre, and series productions.

Nicholas Sperdute plays Foreign Minister Medvedevich as well as Scholars 1 & 2 in “Alternative Facts”.

See them in Act 2, Scene 6 of Dr. Faustus, 2.0 at vgraflive.org.