You guys must enjoy the peace. But do you have those door-to-door religious salespeople? They're the worst...

Aw. Thanks. I have to agree with you, though. There is a reason religion is kept out of state. But I think the fight over religion will never end. Honestly, I think one thing that may help take us closer to world peace is the abolishment of religion entirely. I mean, pretty much every war ever fought in human history has been because of religion, and if it wasn't about religion, religion slowly crept it's way in to becoming the largest reason to keep that war going. But we do what we can. The truth is, as long as there are people, there will be a need to define what cannot be explained. I contend to this day that because of the Silmarillion(sp?) alone, the whole story of Middle Earth will create one of the largest religions around in the next few thousands years or so. Like all religions, the current ones will die out to be replaced by others. It's the way it is.

All forums have their dumbasses mixed in amongst the good people. Even Planet Zeppelin gets it share of fools, though, admittedly, they disappear a lot quicker then the ones here tend to...

I'm not gving into them. I believe in God and always will. But I'm also fair and realistic. I understand the facts. The only proof of God is the Bible. Everything that was at one time attributed to God is now exlainable scientifically and naturally. Does that mean God does not exist? I don't think so. To me, it means God works within nature. But when you try and and go into who created God, what was before, etc, it gets extremely confusing and has honestly made me question my beliefs once or twice.

I take it you've never seen one? They do exist. "Absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence." Most likely. But they have evidence. It might be little, seemingly inconclusive stuff, like hair follicles and footprints, but they can't match the hair or footprint discover to any creature we know exists. Amen.

I have to admit even I have trouble with that question. No matter how much you argue what created what and so on and so on, eventually you get to the point where, well... something just was. It's very starnge that all of this exists because when you come to the question of what created it... well... are you willing to accept that something was never created... it was just always there? I don't know how I feel about that, honestly. I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself. Sometimes I do find my belief in God slipping, to be honest, because there are alot of things that don't make sense, but then, there's a lot that doesn't make sense when you don't believe in God, either because... really... what caused the Big Bang? Why was that matter volatile? And where did that matter come from, anyways? How was it made into that small, hot, volatile ball? That wasn't just there. Something created it. But what? And what created that something? Either way, whether you believe in God or not, something started it all, but the question of where that something came from just serves to make us more confused... And that, my friends, is where faith and the belief in God exists. In that state of confusion where people wonder "what came first, and how did it get there?" Is the idea of God a made up lie? I never said it wasn't. I believe it, but that doesn't make it true. After all... many of the Germans believed the Jews were to blame for their problems. That turned out to be a lie. Many Pilgrims believed there were witches among them. We know now those killed in the Salem Witch Trials were innocent for the most part. Us humans have a history of believing lies. So just because so many, including myself, believe in God, that doesn't make God real. I'm the first to admit that. But I do believe in God regardless.

Why? As a believer in God myself... they do have a point. We do have evidence of big Foot (yeti hair, yeti footprints, etc). All we have for God is a book written and bound by humans. All we have for God is faith. The best evidence beyond the Bible for God has all been scientifically and naturally explained. In fact, I think there's enough to say, at this point, that God is science. Why? There was a time when Thunderstorms, Clouds, Child Birth, Gravity, etc, etc, etc were contributed to God. Now we have explanations that are more "down-to-Earth." God works within the confines of Nature. Not because he has to, but because he understands our need for explanations. It works against Him/Her with some people, to be sure, but because God works only within Nature, and everything (S)He does happens within Nature, it can be explained scientifically. Cool! I envy you. I just can't lookat it like that. I just hope there's more. And besides... this: "When I die, I can think of nothing more beautiful than becoming part of the compost that feeds the plants that feed the animals that feed the people." kinda grosses me out...

I have to believe there's more out there. It makes life pointless to me. Whenever I get in a debate with an Atheist they tend to miss the part where I say "to me." Obviously my beliefs aren't true for everyone. But what I mean is this. To an Atheist (are you one?), there is no life after death. When we die... that's it. There's no more. Nothing. Notta. I can't accept that. That's not to say I'm not living my life to the fullest. I'll fully admit that an Atheist probably leads a fuller life then anyone who believes in religion, and may even make their life more meaningful as a result of being an Atheist because they believe there's nothing after death. But, for me, there has to be more. Why shouldn't there be more? When I die, I don't want that to be it. I want to go on. Whether that be reincarnation or heaven or whatever, I just hope and pray there's more beyond this. That's all.

God. I believe God caused the Big Bang. Yes, yes, atheists, I know. Ridiculous, not possible, etc, etc, etc... but ledzeppIV is right. Something had to cause the Big Bang. Something had to set it off. It didn't just come from nothing. Big Bang is proof that there was, at least, something there before. Something created that tiny, volatile speck of matter which would expand into the Universe, which still is expanding to this day. Here's what I think. Something was there before. I call that something God. Y'all just don't have a logical explanation for it, yet, so you're waiting for one. "God" doesn't necessarily mean some humanoid-looking spirit in a flowing white robe, a long, flowing white beard, and long, flowing white hair who can control nature. God may very well be that spark that set the Big Bang off.

For starters, my Mom's side of the family is Catholic. My Dad's side is Jewish. My brother was converted to Judaism as a baby. My mom converted next and I converted at 13 because I wanted a Bar Mitzvah. Now my Dad is studying to be a Cantor. If done right, the debate is not pointless, but quite insightful. And I was not picking a fight. So white flag... truce... whatever... I sincerely just want some thoughts on that. Believe me, I don't appreciate the person calling those of us who believe in God idiots, but I'm not about to pick a fight for it, either. We all believe differently when it comes to God and religion, and people just have to deal with that. For example... even though I am a Jew, and a proud Jew, I believe in the Big Bang and Evolution, and I believe God plays absolutely no part in what happens on this planet and never did, hence Free Will. But I believe in God because even with Natural Selection, we are too complication to be a coincidence. We were mapped by something... hence, God. But that's what I believe. I don't pretend it's the truth. It's quite possible that we're all (all relgions, all athiests... everyone, from the past, the present, and the future) wrong, and when we do die we're gonna find out the real truth and be like... WTF ? It's also quite possible that the early Greeks and Romans were right and we're all destined to go to Hades. It's also possible that the Christains are right and Jesus was the Messiah and he really is the only way to Heaven. It's also quite possible that Muslims are right. It's also quite possible that Athiests are right. No one knows for sure. Not even me. I believe it, but I don't claim it as fact. It is my truth, not everybody's truth. I have to believe in God because I have to believe there's more out there beyond this life. I could never be Athiest because I find it hard to believe our lives are that pointless. But then again, it's quite possible that they are. Always remember that when it comes to God, no one had, has, or most likely will ever have any kind of proof. It comes down to what we believe.

I just love how no one has answer for this.

I also believe in God, but there is something about your beliefs I think is a tad ridiculous. The fact that you don't put as much stock in the Old Testament but take the New Testament more seriously. Did you know all the miracles in the Old Testament can be explained naturally and scientifically? But in the New Testament, the miracles truly are supernatural. In the Old Testament, all the miracles God performs, especially the ten plagues, are limited by nature. What He does in the Old Testament are things that can happen in nature. Look at the ten plagues. Read any of these links: http://www.google.com/search?q=The+Ten+Pla...lient=firefox-a And you'll see that they all can explain the ten plagues naturally. Even the parting of the Red Sea, which is actually mistranslated and is in fact supposed to be the Sea of Reeds: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&cli...amp;btnG=Search But then you get into the New Testament, and suddenly God is working outside of Nature? Now, granted, I'm Jewish, so I may be a bit biased. But based on Miracles alone, I would say the Old Testament is a bit more viable than the New Testament.

I agree with you about the Loch Ness Monster. That lake is huge, but not THAT huge. With all the expiditions out there, we WOULD have found the Loch Ness by now if it existed. The creature, in order to stay hidden for this long, would have to live at the bottom of the ocean. Plus, the best picture around of it is a fake, which really doesn't help. Am I ruling out the Loch Ness completely? No. But I think it's more likely the Loch Ness is a myth. Big Foot, on the other hand... it depends. How many of this species are out there? Just how intelligent are they? Do they bury their dead under 6 feet or more of Earth like we do? There's really no way of knowing. There are ways they could hide their dead, and if there's only a ridiculously small number of them throughout the world, then, yes, even their dead could still be hidden. Besides, how do you explain this?: http://stephendsullivan.blogspot.com/2008/...truth-yeti.html

I love how people discount things just because we have no scientific explanation for them, yet. Remember, people... there was a time when we had no scientific explanation for air, gravity, the sun, time itself, clouds, the blues sky, the night sky, stars, the moon, thunder, lightning, rain, snow, ice, water, tornados, hurricanes, etc, etc, etc. Everything had to be discovered at some point. And don't give me this "well they weren't as technologically advanced as us." So what? Does that mean if we still have no scientific explanation today it simply can't be possible? Fuck No! Hell... the next generation is gonna be twice as advanced as we are. Then they'll be saying the same things. The fact is, eventually, we may find a plausible, natural scientific explanation for ghosts... one that explains why they exist, not one that debunks them. The fact is it's quite possible that science may in fact come up with an explanation legitimizing magick, and not one calling it a fallacy in someone's delusional head. So what if we havebn't discovered Big Foot yet? They say we've only discovered 20% of the living species on this planet. Sure, most of those are bugs and sec-creatures, but if it's a rare enough and intelligent enough species, it's quite possible that Bigfoot and its cousins (like the Yeti) are avoiding detection? How is that possible, you ask? It can't be that smart, can it? Well, whose to say, in some ways, if Bigfoot did exist, the species isn't more intelligent then us? I fully believe dolphins are way more intelligent then we are. Do we absolutely have to be the most intelligent species on this planet? Just because there's no scientific explanation for something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It simply means science has figured out how to explain it, yet. Period. Remember: "Absence of evidence does NOT equal evidence of absence."

A recording of this would actually be interesting. Plant was in a chair the whole time? Wonder if it was a totally acoustic set? I wonder if there is a recorded archive of it somewhere?

ELP fans? Yeah! ELP has always been my second favorite band (after Zep, of course). Pirates is one of the greatest songs ever written. Keith Emerson is the greatest keyboardist alive. He could do things with his left hand that most keyboardists could only dream of doing with their right hands. Not many keyboardists were that amazing (two who almost equal him are Oscar Peterson and Rick Wakeman, IMO, both keyboardists I also love). I wish Greg Lake did more work with the guitar. He was really was an incredible guitarist. Just listen to his solo in Karn Evil 9 1st Impression Part 2. How is it that that solo is not rated in the top 10 guitar solos? It's amazing! Emotion, power, attack, technique... that solo has it all. And Greg's acoustic stuff is just extraordinary. Carl Palmer, IMO, is good enough to be rated with the likes of Keith Moon, Bonzo, Neil Peart, Sonny Emory, Neil Rich, etc. He was an incredible percussionist. And only Palmer worked well with the band. When it was Emerson, Lake, and Powell, it just wasn't the same. Yet another band I'd love to see reform, along with Pink Floyd, Cream, and the Yardbirds with all 4 of the guitarists at the same time (Anthony "Top" Topham, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page).

^ Interesting choice of thread to break that news in... Anyways... always wondered just how to make sushi? http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Make_Sushi Have fun.

Hmm... Maybe... You know what? If that's what we're gonna use the T-Rex for... bring him on!

True. But there's still the fact that our ecosystem has evolved without the Wooly Mammoth. I've no doubt reintroducing any dead species would be a very, very bad thing for our ecosystem, regardless of why that species died out in the first place.

You're absolutely right... Unless the fucking animal-rights activists have anything to do with it. Oh, that T-Rex could make a significant dent in the population, but they'll be sons-of-bitches ready to die to keep that T-Rex alive because "it's an animal and has its rights."

Then something goes terribly wrong. What if that T-Rex escapes? What if, like in the movie Jurassic Park, that T-Rex had frog DNA, making it a-sexual? So it start reproducing... rapidly. Soon T-Rex's are running amok and humanity is in quite a bit of danger... No. It's one thing if we keep it dead and learn about it that way. But alive? NOT a good idea...

Don't take this the wrong way, but dear God, I hope not. The creatures are dead. We would disrupt the ecosystem of the entire planet if we tried to reintroduce them. Would you hope the same if they found an intact... Tyranosaurus Rex or another very large meat-eating dinosaur?

Anyone in the mood for Mexican tonight? I hope so, beacsue you're about to find out how to make the best, easiest, and tastiest Mexican Nacho Dip/Taco Filling there is... mine. So, first, you take a big pan or pot. I always do it in a pan. You turn on the stove and spray the pan with oil. Low-medium to medium is usually the best temperature. Also, you should go ahead and get your oven heating up to 200-300 for the nachos or Warm (below 200) for the hard/soft shells. As soon as you've sprayed the pan, put in 1 or 2 (or more) cans of black beans (depending on how much you want to eat and/or how many you're feeding), salsa, mexican spice, sour cream, and shredded cheese. You can also add, if you want, mushrooms, olives, peppers, chili peppers, guacamole... whatever your heart so desires. Add all this right away. Actually, you could even add all this before you turn on the stove, if you want. It wouldn't make a difference. Now, if you're doing nachos, make sure you have plenty of tortilla or nacho chips. Take shredded cheese, and on an oven pan or one with large sides, make levels like this (starting from bottom of pan up): 1. chips 2. cheese 1. chips 2. cheese Until you run the possibilty of dropping all the chips and cheese on the floor or use up all the chips. Heat your oven to low (around 200 to 300), put the pan in the oven, and let it stay there until the cheese is melted. As soon as it looks like the cheese is fully melted, take the nachos out immediately, or you'll run the risk of burning them. Nachos are good, but not when they're burnt. If you're doing tacos/burritos, turn your oven to warm, let it warm up, wrap the soft shells in aluminum foil, place all the shells (soft and hard) on a cookie sheet, and let them warm. Of course, if you like your shells cold or room temperature, you could always just leave 'em out. Once the dip starts boiling, let it go for about 30 more seconds, and then take it off the heat. Put it in a big bowl, get your nacho and/or hard/soft shells, and put the dip and the nachos/shells on the table. In small bowls, put any left-over toppings, quacomole, and whatever else you like on your Tacos/Nachos. Now, enjoy!

Wasn't this cake featured on The Ultimate Recipe Showdown as a cupcake?