About Funky Dung
Who is Funky Dung?
29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic.
I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil.
Why Funky Dung?
I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!"
Whence Ales Rarus?
I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P
Wherefore blog?
It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907)
Statement of Faith
I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements.
I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church.
I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter.
Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces.
May He take full possession of me for ever.
May His divine unction cause my face to shine.
May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart.
May His understanding enlighten my darkness.
May His counsel guide me.
May His knowledge instruct me.
May His piety make me fervent.
May His divine fear keep me from all evil.
Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it.
Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005)
I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't
we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o'
the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your
neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback.
Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester"
Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without
further ado, here are my answers to his questions.
1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you
favorite Pink Floyd song and why?
Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for
singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to
pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if
it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather
unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music,
but the lyrics describe me pretty well.
New World Man
He's a rebel and a runner
He's a signal turning green
He's a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machine
He's got a problem with his poisons
But you know he'll find a cure
He's cleaning up his systems
To keep his nature pure
Learning to match the beat of the old world man
Learning to catch the heat of the third world man
He's got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He's old enough to know what's right
But young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
He's a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He's a writer and arranger
And a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his power
With weapons on patrol
He's got to walk a fine line
And keep his self-control
Trying to save the day for the old world man
Trying to pave the way for the third world man
He's not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He's noble enough to know what's right
But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church.
At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of
obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately
to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the
Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me,
even as a former Lutheran.
During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "
Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph
in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself.
Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith.
Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a
particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To
know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is
something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing,
thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is
alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil.
3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever
done?
I set up
WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews
of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :)
4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman?
"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."
5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be?
That's a tough one. As a member of
the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of
Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick
one, though, I'd probably pick
"Sing
of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.
Sorry, Eric, but I’ve got to call you on this one. I *don’t* know how many dead people vote every year, and you’ve given no evidence that they constitute a problem. I’ve always been inclined to believe that (outside of party machine locales like Chicago) graveyard votes are mostly urban myths. However, I’m always glad to be convinced by actual research, if you could point me to anything reputable.
I could go either way on the ID issue, but always get worried when I hear of people finding ways to prevent folks from voting. Maybe we should instead go with the indelible ink approach that we applauded so loudly in Aghanistan and Iraq. You could still get an ineligible voter pretending to be a dead man (if he did his research, and the voting district was careless in maintaining its voting rolls, and he didn’t mind going to jail if the district wasn’t as careless as he expected) but only once per election. With the current system, he could presumably vote as many times as he could prepare fake IDs (subject to the same caveats as above).
Well, to be honest, I was feeling flippant when I wrote that. My point, though, was that voter fraud is a real problem. I don’t think anyone denies that.
You’re right that there are likely better solutions than use of photo IDs for curbing it. Actually, I really like the indellible ink idea. In fact, I’m going to amend this article to reflect your suggestions. Thanks. 🙂
I love the ink idea. I’d be proud to walk around with that ink stain.
You’d probably get discounts at restaurants and bars, too!
Do we really want to increase voter turnout? Do we really want people voting to make a fashion statement? (For that matter, do we really want people attending Ash Wed Mass so that they may be seen of men as “good Catholics”?) I say anything that keeps the marginally apathetic home on election day (or Ash Wed) is a good thing.
I have to admit the requirement of a photo ID which cannot be obtained freely does fall quite clearly as a “poll tax”… however nominal the fee might be. Simply relax the law to let people present other convincing forms of ID, which may be obtained for free or that ID-less people might already have (bank statement, utility bill, SS card, in various combinations). Or, better, add a provision to the statute that state (non-driver) photo IDs be free.
Always the faithful curmudgeon…
I’m not arguing that the Ash Weds phenomenon is a good thing. However, if it could be exploited to get people voting, I think it’d be a good thing. There are too many Monday-morning quarterbacks in this country. People talk about governmental matters like they’re discussing the weather. When one compares the number of people complaining about government to voter turnout (even just anecdotally), it’s seems that there are likely a number of non-voters amongst them (though I admit I can’t prove it).
I like Australia’s solution. Every citizen must check in at a polling place. There’s no compulsion to vote, but if you’re there, why not?
Well, I think the idea of the ink is interesting. It doesn’t prevent one of the biggest types of frauds and that is people who aren’t citizens legally voting. That’s been a huge issue out West.
Again Funky, why specifically (other than a bumper sticker) is it a good thing to get more people (who would otherwise be too lazy or apathetic or unwilling to pay a $25 fine) out there to vote. Do you really want that vote to count the same as yours, i.e., that of a person who would presumably crawl 3 miles on broken glass to vote? I absolutely agree it’s a good thing to eliminate voter fraud, but forcing uninterested, apathetic, lazy people to vote just gives uninterested, apathetic, lazy people a bigger voice… they don’t deserve it. Let them stay home and watch Oprah or play Gamecube. Bitching about results on Wednesday AM is relatively harmless, and surely worth putting up with if paired with the net social benefit of morons not bothering to vote.
And why, Adam, is having non-citizens vote such a fraud? I can see that it might be illegal, but does that make it fraud? Ought it be illegal? Why not give resident aliens the right to vote? They have as much stake as citizens (many if not most of whom don’t bother themselves to vote anyway) do. They pay taxes (including FICA), purchase homes, bank, shop, cart kids to soccer practice, and engage in all the other civic things that “citizens” do.
…
A couple of things:
I have actually been poor enough in my life that I wouldn’t drop a sawbuck on anything that wasn’t an absolutely necessary expense, such as food or rent. Had I been forced to spend that to vote, I might not have voted. And I’m a pretty determined voter. And I was never as poor as many of the people I’ve met in my life.
Second: I like the indelible ink idea, but I would modify it to put the ink on people’s foreheads. For the aesthetic reason that it would look more mysterious, and for the practical reason that putting ink on people’s fingers–I don’t care how indelible it is–will lead to lots of inky fingerprints everywhere: on clothes, keyboards, hands, etc. Bad idea…really bad idea.
Thirdly: it’s your blog. You get to be flippant if you want.
1) Thanks for offering that perspective. However, I’d counter that regardless of your limited funds, you’d probably have a driver’s license, which is adequate ID. Of course, those without a license and insufficient funds to get a photo ID might still be likely to choose food over voting. Then again, there’s still the option of a subsidy. I just don’t see reason for the NAACP to be totally against this idea. Is it flawed? Yes. Should it be totally scrapped? Not necessarily.
2) That would certainly fit well with the Ash Weds motif. 😉
3) This is true, but I try to keep high standards for myself. I also appreciate constructive feedback and try to act on it when I think it’s reasonable. I have no problem with blogs being highly biases and full of from-the-hip opinions – in fact, I think it’s actually an asset – but if we get too comfortable with unsubstantiated claims and accusations, the medium will devolve into meaningless noise. As it stands, there are already a lot of people indiscriminantly parroting rhetoric and propaganda from both sides and butchering statistics (when they use it at all). I’d rather not contribute to the problem.
It’s not a matter that the rule is innately racist, it’s that provides potentially racist authorities with powers they can easily abuse.
They’ll tell black people that their IDs look fake, and tell them to leave or be arrested, and most people in that situation will aquiesce.
This is just like the reading requirements where white people were given THe cat runs and black people were given shakespeare and failed regardless of whether they coudl read it.
I’m not wholly invested in this discussion, but regardless of racial implications, I’m not sure requiring a form of id that can’t be freely obtained by everyone passes constitutional muster. Therefore, it seems requisite that the government would either have to make such identification freely available to everyone or not require it at all.
You shouldn’t pay people to vote, and you shouldn’t charge them for it either.
“But opponents say it will keep thousands of voters away — especially poor and elderly people who don’t have drivers’ licenses and can’t afford to pay for a state-issued ID card. They say the new Georgia law essentially requires many black people to pay a fee before voting.” -NAACP
This is not a racial issue. It is a class issue.
—
Well, seeing how blacks make up a disproportionate number of the poor, they’ll take a worse beating.
I haven’t been able to find the numbers, but I remember reading or hearing that the number of poor EuroA (EA) is higher than the number of poor AfroA (AA)? (or was it total on welfare?)
Perhaps the percentage of AA poor is higher, but the total number of EA poor is higher.
The NAACP has a stake in this issue, but it is primarily a class issue.
Actually, never mind my qualm. CP (which NAACP represents) have a stake in this issue so the NAACP should have said something, which they did.
—
I wash the ashes off with holy water as soon as I leave the church. Christ disliked the Pharisees and Seducees for using outward signs of piety to put everyone else down.
“Look at me – I’m holier than you” is not what Ash Wednesday is about.
Great blog, BTW!