Is Isaac Hayes Really Dead?

Being a bit of a fan of South Park meant that I was familiar with Isaac Hayes' membership of the Church of Scientology or the Cult of Scientology. The Church vs. Cult issue depends on your definition of either church or cult. Nevertheless, Hayes (photo) was a star long before ever signing on to be the voice of Chef in South Park. Hayes was the voice of the theme song of the movie Shaft.

However, this post is not really about Hayes' fame and fortune but whether or not when he was found dead last week crumpled next to the treadmill whether he was really dead or not! Now, if that sounds a little confusing, it should not be. Scientology believes that Hayes simply moved onto another body or as the Scientologists would have you believe, Hayes has gone onto claim his next piece of "meat". Scientologists believe that the human body is just a piece of meat that is inhabited by a spiritual being known as a thetan.

Hayes was a dedicated convert to Scientology, so much so that in July 1997 Hayes and fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley founded the Church of Scientology in Memphis. The thing about Scientology is that it cultivates relationships with the rich and famous by convincing them that they are better than everyone else and in some bizarre way better than the rest of us not so rich and famous people.

I am guessing that Isaac Hayes has not chosen to inhabit my body, although I would not mind being able to sing! Unfortunately, the exact means of Hayes' spiritual being finding a new piece of meat is not entirely clear. However, the means of transfer is apparently an inside secret for those who are members. Therefore, if you want to know how the Scientology version of reincarnation works you will either need to become a member or wait patiently like the rest of us until a convert un-converts and sells the story to the National Enquirer.

For those of us who were not alive or were too young when Hayes hit his popularity peak in the 60's and 70's, our acquaintance with him and his spiritualism came via South Park. The beauty of South Park is that the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have no shame and are prepared to satire anything and everything without fear. This included a satire of Scientology and in particular the most famous face of Scientology after its founder L. Ron Hubbard, Tom Cruise.

Hayes' main beef with the episode was:

There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins. Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honoured. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.

However, as South Park co-creator Matt Stone pointed out:

This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology… He has no problem — and he’s cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians.

So, it would seem that Hayes' had no beef with ridiculing all other religions but got a little upset when his own came under the harsh glare of the South Park sun. To many this would be hypocrisy in a somewhat extreme form.

Yet, those scientologists are a little crazy. It was not all that long ago that Tom Cruise was off on a crusade against psychiatry as being phantom science and medicine. This included some ranting about Brooke Shields and post-partum depression.

Scientology -- A religion or a cult?

As Fox News Channel is fond of saying, "we report, you decide".

Wikileaks -- Real Anonymous Whistleblowing

There is a lot of talk about online or cyber-activism but what does that really mean. I should have written about this particular site earlier. Wikileaks is an online activist site plus plus. It is more like a forum for online dissidents. These dissidents are anonymous but are responsible for putting into the public sphere confidential and secret documents.

This ability will ultimately outstrip the need for a freedom of information legislation as people can upload documents almost completely anonymously. I guess though, one should never under-estimate "big brother" and the reach that they have. It might not all be black helicopters and secret troops but it is kind of surprising that the Australian founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is still able to claim that not one of the leak sources have been uncovered.

There are now some 1.2 million documents on the site and not one has been censored or removed since being uploaded. This suggests that the documents have withstood all critical evaluation. The site had been focused primarily on corporate deals and government. However, there has been a recent shift in focus to the upload of documents that focus on the more shady sides of religion, cult, and celebrity.

This has seen documents uploaded about Wesley Snipe's tax problems, including his tax returns and bill. Other documents about Church of Scientology and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Wikileaks claims to have been responsible for swinging the Kenyan election by releasing document that showed that the then Kenyan leader, Daniel Arap Moi, siphoned off billions of dollars in government money. Other claims that Wikileaks make are that it was the first site to make available the US Rules for Engagement in Iraq and also the Operations Manual for Guantanamo Bay detention facility. This Operations Manual highlighted how the US was going to hide certain detainees from the International Red Cross.

In a mark of credibility, Wikileaks has been referenced 662 times on nytimes.com, 207 times on guardian.co.uk, and 86 times on washingtonpost.com.

Assange, grew up in Australia but moved to East Africa two years ago and has worked as a security consultant, professional hacker, activist and researcher during that time.

So, if any of my readers have documents in their possession that might be considered to blow the lid on some kind of issue, then consider uploading them to Wikileaks. You might not get any credit for exposing the deceit of others but it might just make the world a better place.

Tryptophan

It is being reported that research into tryptophan is showing that the conversion of this amino acid into serotonin makes people feel happier about their lives. So, the belief is that perhaps this amino acid can play a role in alleviating the symptoms of depression and anxiety. My advice would still be to seek professional help no matter what the scientologists say! However, having a little knowledge of how diet can help you will never go astray.

The report suggests that foods high in tryptophan will be most beneficial to lifting your mood from that of melancholy to something a lot more cheerful. The foods identified so far include mung beans, lobster, turkey, asparagus, sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, pineapple, tofu, spinach, and bananas. The food I eat least on this list is lobster because it it too expensive for my taste buds (except on rare and special occasions).

My question is this:

If I was to supplement with tryptophan because I felt I was not getting enough of the amino acid through my diet, can I over-compensate and get too much tryptophan and end up being too happy?

Or is it like other supplements where you just pee away the excess? There is nothing like pissing your hard-earned salary down the toilet!

Nevertheless, I guess if it makes you feel better what harm is there in that. Some people can always do with feeling a little better, particularly if it is the difference between a good and a bad day!