Author Archives: Scott Bowles

Let’s Get Ready to ROOOOOOOBOT!

 

I suck at socializing. I can’t help but ask people too soon about their faith, their politics and, especially of late, their favorite reality TV show.

That last question might not sound as weighty as the first two party-downers, but consider the subtle nosiness of the question. What you’re really asking: What speaks to your inner angels (or demons)?

The answers can be fascinating. My oldest buddy admits he loves reality shows about renovating dilapidated pubs and bars. Another loves dating reality shows. Another, who has about as much culinary expertise as I (Pop-Tart, anyone?), loves reality cooking shows. My mom never misses Judge Judy.  Image result for judge judy

There have to be deeper psychological layers to the shows’ appeal. Are they wish fulfillment? A satiation for fairy tale or just endings? A peek at a career path not taken?

Sure, there are risks in the ask — namely the douchebag who likes to brag he doesn’t own a television. Beware anyone who boasts of cultural fasting.

And I’ll concede: I’m a little worried about my own guilty pleasure TV: Battlebots. Does it mean I have a thing for headlessness?

I wonder because that’s what introduced me to the show, a gladiatorial-style battle to the death between remote-control robots.

These aren’t Rock Em Sock Em robots. They have flippers, flame throwers and firepower. These things weigh 200 pounds, feature lawnmower saws, and boast blades that spin as fast as a helicopter’s. One shoots a five-pound lead cartridge 300 mph at its opponent, like a Campbell’s Soup can in a howitzer.

My favorite bot, though, is Ice Wave, which has a 54-inch spinning wheel with a firefighter’s saw that rotates at 250 mph. I was channel flipping when I happened upon Ice Wave’s upcoming match, a fight with a stubby spin bot that looked like a fire hydrant with rabies. 

When the bell rang, the hydrant charged toward Ice Wave, which simply began firing up its spinner. Fearless and fast, stubby hurled toward the blades, hoping to defeat Ice Wave by knocking it on its side.

Instead, Ice Wave decapitated stubby with one rotation. In a subsequent battle, Ice Wave was tipped on its side — only to slash its opponent vertically in two. That’s how legends are born, folks (Alas, it lost in the playoffs for the most anti-climactic of reasons: A battery short left it immobilized).

But this reality show, too, suggests something deeper about human nature: Our bloodlust. And given our increasing understanding of that lust, it just may be carving the future of sport.

Consider: Football, from the NFL to Pop Warner, is seeing declining revenues, ratings and participation.. The UFC and mixed martial arts are a niche sport at best. And boxing — once the most popular sport in America — essentially retired as a legitimate competition when Ali did. Image result for violent pop warner hit

All three  share a macabre plotline: the primate desire for violence. High school districts nationwide have already banned head-butting soccer balls out of concussion concerns, and more than 15% are considering measures banning children’s tackle football outright. And if moms pull their kids out of school football, it’s Friday Night Lights out.

So let the bots battle. Teams gain no advantage through misogyny or racism. Women kick mens’ asses all the time on Battlebots. Parent-child teams are common.  It’s kinda like Star Wars chess. And come on: who doesn’t want a game piece that can eat an opponent? Image result for star wars chess scene

One suggestion to Battlebots producers, though: You may want to put a self-destruct button on every copy of your matches for the near future. Because if our Artificial Intelligence overlords ever see what we made them do, we may face the wrath of Ice Wave.

May I suggest this instead?

 

Oh My Jehovah!

 

Man, I pray to god there isn’t one. Or, if there is, she isn’t a Jehovah’s Witness. I guess the accurate term would be The Jehovah’s Witness.

The reason is simple: I think I offended two of her followers today.

I was at my own Mass — in front of the TV on NFL Sunday — when the doorbell rang. Esme and I walked out to greet them two women standing outside my patio gate.

“Hi,” the older of the two women began. She looked to be in her 60’s, her colleague perhaps in her early 20’s.  “I’m Virginia. Are you happy with the way the world is headed?”

I could see the Bible in her hands as she spoke, so I could foretell the way the day was headed. Before I could reference Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now (which cites global poverty and violence statistics that suggest the world actually is getting better), she continued. “Do you know about the book that can bring you peace in these times?”

And so we were off. I’m not so much an atheist as an antitheist. Don’t gimme that wussy agnostic bullshit. Pick a side, jersey up and get on the field. I immediately liked Virginia; she was gung-ho for Team Jehovah, and unafraid to say so.

However, I don’t like arguing with the religious. That’s as fruitful as arguing with Trump voters or tree stumps. Still, religious beliefs intrigue me. So I instead engaged — probably more than she would have preferred.

“I’ve actually done a little studying of it,” I answered. “And I have a question.”

Not knowing me, she briefly looked optimistic.

“Certainly,” she said, nodding. “What is it?”

“The Bible is 2,000 years old,” I said. “It says if you follow the words of the book, you’ll be rewarded with heaven.” She nodded again, though less enthusiastically. I don’t think she liked the use of numbers here.

“So that means millions of souls, going way back to the caveman, didn’t know about the Bible, or even Christianity,” I said. “So do they go to heaven or hell?”

She actually perked up and began thumbing through the Bible, explaining that Jehovah’s Witnesses believe those who died before Christ actually are dead. But that they would all be resurrected on Christ’s return and be judged by Him accordingly (though I’m still a little vague on what constitutes a good caveman soul).

Now the questions flew out so quickly I needed verbal Depends. “Ok,” I asked. “How about this: Every year, nine million children under the age of five die (it’s actually more, 21 a minute, according to UNICEF stats), most from preventable causes. If I could put a stop to that, I would. Why doesn’t he?”

She didn’t hesitate and smiled. “I can tell you’ve thought a lot about this,” Virginia said. “But remember: God gave man a choice. Man can choose God’s path, or he can reject it. And you’re right; man has done awful things to man. But that is because of the choice that man has made. You don’t think God killed those children, do you?”

Open mouth, insert foot.

“But God created man — and every instinct we have,” I responded. “God could have given us a rabies shot against hate and didn’t. I think he is the greatest mass murderer on Earth.”

She closed the book, offered another sincere smile. “Well,” she said. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

“I don’t agree to that!” I mock-shouted in a futile attempt to insert humor. Virginia laughed, though her colleague, who was silent though the exchange, simply scowled. Virginia and I actually seemed to enjoy the talk: We expressed our honest feelings — and appreciated an exchange that didn’t end in shouts or bitterness. Her colleague, however, clearly saw me as an uninformed heathen and was ready to leave.

I hope Virginia comes back. I have more questions. And she engages more thoughtfully than any believer I’ve ever met. Most non-believers, too.

But I give a reunion about a snowball’s chance in hell.

 

 

 

Riding Steerage

 

If the UN’s report on global warming didn’t send you into apoplectic shock, you may want to buy a blood pressure monitor. That way you can tell if you have a pulse.

In short, the report said, global warming will kick into lethal high gear in 12 years. So you’ll likely be around for it. Your children, however, may not; given the U.S.’ recent rejection of science, there’s no indication we have any interest in slowing the train to oblivion.

Which leads to the question: Given our president’s disdain for science and the UN, why don’t they punch back and recognize America for what it really is: an intellectual third-world nation.

For instance, I’d be fascinated to see a UN climate study that excludes the U.S. Just assume Trumpanzees will continue to worship coal and hairspray. What if much larger nations — India, China, Indonesia, for starters — took  the problem seriously and acted on it?  What if, instead of simply measuring worldwide economies (which the U.S. dominates), the UN measured stupidity in taking countries into account?

Turns out they did. In 2015, the UN defined 17 goals for any country claiming to desire complete, sustainable development. The goals range from ending poverty, to gender equality, to environmental preservation. The next year, a worldwide study was released.

And the U.S. report card from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ain’t pretty.

USA! USA!

Poverty

Food security and nutrition

Health

Education

Gender equality

The US is also, with Lesotho, one of only two countries in the world that do not mandate paid maternity leave.

Energy

Employment

Infrastructure

Inequality

Housing and urban development

Peaceful living