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| Friday, January 29th, 2010 | | 4:46 pm |
Creationist FUN!
Ohmigod, I can almost not believe this. These nutty fundies are staging a hunt for pterosaurs in order to prove that the 'twisted' view of evolution is wrong. By finding these critters that lived 'side by side with Adam and Eve' they hope to convince us all that evolutionary theory is wrong wrong wrong. Of course, it could be a joke. But remember Poe's law, and then read it and weep... http://objectiveministries.org/creation/projectpterosaur.html Current Music: yammering commuters | | Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | | 11:56 am |
Happy Blasphemy Day!
Yes, today is blasphemy day. I had fun with it, of course, and submitted a number of blasphemous haiku's to the CFI Blasphemy Day contest. I also ran into a rant with the usual complaint that no one ever picks on the Muslim's, because we're afraid of them...and we know that Christians won't do anything about it. (seen any dead abortionists in the news lately?) My reply is below, and I share both to ease the original blogger's mind, and to ensure that you all know I'm being fair with my abuse. :) ======================================== ======================================== ==== Just to keep the record straight...it's not just the Christian mythology that I blasphemed today. I also took on the Muslim's favorite pedophile, Mohammad. And Shiva and that entire retinue. Odin got a poke in his good eye from me as well. I don't have time for all the ancestor worshipers; after all it's only one day! Mormons and their angel MORONi got the nod, Baal was bitch-slapped and I will continue on through the day as other imaginary friends occur to me. There is no god. If there were a god, it wouldn't be worried about what I think; so neither should any of you all worry either. Happy Blasphemy Day! ======================================== ======================================== ==== Current Mood:  chipper | | Friday, August 28th, 2009 | | 10:10 am |
| | Saturday, August 15th, 2009 | | 12:57 pm |
Photographic Fun
I've uploaded a small sample of my recent pictures. Still learning to use the new Canon, of course. One of the things I've learned is that I absolutely can NOT trust the auto-focus for any fine work. It's great if I'm leaving things at 5x7 or less, but once I start looking at larger formats one can see that it's just ever so slightly off if the DoF is very shallow. Anyway, this link is to one of my favorites taken last week on the coast near Mendocino. Pelican didn't want to get his feet wet, I think. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63597369@N00/3824231114/in/photostream/ Current Mood: pleasedCurrent Music: Dan Fogelberg -- The Innocent Age | | Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | | 1:25 pm |
Mocking Mohammad -- Or, "I'm tired of Allah that jazz"
I am puzzled. Really, I am. I read repeatedly that most Muslim's are gentle, peace loving folks. They believe in "Live and let live" and would never harm anyone. Yet every time I see someone who has the temerity to mock Muslim beliefs, draw pictures of Ol' Mo ( http://www.jesusandmo.net/), or laugh at some of the more archaic and silly beliefs of Islam, they are abused and threatened with death. Or worse, having to listen to apologists spouting drivel for days on end. So this post is an open, public post. Maybe the title will draw in someone who is a Muslim to respond, because to be honest I don't have any Muslim friends or even acquaintances. Everything I know about Islam I have learned through reading what I could stomach of the Koran, and the clearly biased bullshit in the news. So tell me, am I worthy of death because I laugh at the "Jesus and Mo" comics? Does the fact that I reject Mohammad as a pedophilic cult leader mean I should be killed? Is my disbelief in Allah reason to behead me? Or, possibly, am I allowed my different point of view? Current Music: "It Only Makes Me Laugh" - Oingo Boingo | | Friday, February 13th, 2009 | | 10:15 am |
| | Thursday, February 5th, 2009 | | 11:19 am |
| | Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 | | 1:53 pm |
From: A Few Words About the Devil
Written by Charles Bradlaugh (1833-1891) For myself, the only Devil I know is that black Devil ignorance, fostered by knavery and tyranny; a Devil personified by the credulous many, and kept up in the past by the learned but treacherous few, who preferred to rule the masses by their fears, rather than to guide them through their love. This devil has, indeed, not been a roaring lion, but a cowardly and treacherous boa constrictor; it has enveloped in its massive folds glorious truths, and in the fierceness of its brute power has crushed them in its writings. But oh! a glorious day is coming: amid the heretofore gloom of night the bright rays of the rising sun are piercing, the light of truth dispels the mists of ignorance. Bright facts drive out dark delusion; might truths triumph over pious frauds, and no longer need men be affrighted by the notion of an omnipotent fiend, wandering through the earth, ever seeking their damnation. For the entire essay, see http://skeptically.org/bible/id16.html Current Mood: pleasedCurrent Music: Don't Shoot Shotgun - Def Leppard | | Monday, January 26th, 2009 | | 11:53 am |
| | Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | | 10:03 pm |
ID vs. Science
Okay, so it's rather self-serving. It's still funny. The only debate on Intelligent Design that is worthy of its subject ::: 08.11.2005, 10:38 [] Moderator: We're here today to debate the hot new topic, evolution versus Intelligent Des--- (Scientist pulls out baseball baat.) Moderator: Hey, what are you doing? (Scientist breaks Intelligent Design advocate's kneecap.) Intelligent Design advocate: YEAAARRRRGGGHHHH! YOU BROKE MY KNEECAP! Scientist: Perhaps it only appears that I broke your kneecap. Certainly, all the evidence points to the hypothesis I broke your kneecap. For example, your kneecap is broken; it appears to be a fresh wound; and I am holding a baseball bat, which is spattered with your blood. However, a mere preponderance of evidence doesn't mean anything. Perhaps your kneecap was designed that way. Certainly, there are some features of the current situation that are inexplicable according to the "naturalistic" explanation you have just advanced, such as the exact contours of the excruciating pain that you are experiencing right now. Intelligent Design advocate: AAAAH! THE PAIN! Scientist: Frankly, I personally find it completely implausible that the random actions of a scientist such as myself could cause pain of this particular kind. I have no precise explanation for why I find this hypothesis implausible --- it just is. Your knee must have been designed that way! Intelligent Design advocate: YOU BASTARD! YOU KNOW YOU DID IT! Scientist: I surely do not. How can we know anything for certain? Frankly, I think we should expose people to all points of view. Furthermore, you should really re-examine whether your hypothesis is scientific at all: the breaking of your kneecap happened in the past, so we can't rewind and run it over again, like a laboratory experiment. Even if we could, it wouldn't prove that I broke your kneecap the previous time. Plus, let's not even get into the fact that the entire universe might have just popped into existence right before I said this sentence, with all the evidence of my alleged kneecap-breaking already pre-formed. Intelligent Design advocate: That's a load of bullshit sophistry! Get me a doctor and a lawyer, not necessarily in that order, and we'll see how that plays in court! Scientist (turning to audience): And so we see, ladies and gentlemen, when push comes to shove, advocates of Intelligent Design do not actually believe any of the arguments that they profess to believe. When it comes to matters that hit home, they prefer evidence, the scientific method, testable hypotheses, and naturalistic explanations. In fact, they strongly privilege naturalistic explanations over supernatural hocus-pocus or metaphysical wankery. It is only within the reality-distortion field of their ideological crusade that they give credence to the flimsy, ridiculous arguments which we so commonly see on display. I must confess, it kind of felt good, for once, to be the one spouting free-form bullshit; it's so terribly easy and relaxing, compared to marshaling rigorous arguments backed up by empirical evidence. But I fear that if I were to continue, then it would be habit-forming, and bad for my soul. Therefore, I bid you adieu. Current Mood: amused | | 4:37 pm |
| | Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 | | 7:56 am |
ARGH! This is not a work topic, right?!
We have meetings. Daily meetings. Every meeting with my employer has a 'Safety' topic at the beginning and many have a 'Quality' topic at the end. Normally it's innocuous crap like "Don't fall off a ladder" for one, and "Listen to your customers" for the other. In today's meeting the 'Quality' topic was "7 Principles for Balanced Living", as shown in the headings below. I had no problem until the last one. (I've taken out the text for all but the offending item) 1. Attitude 2. Accountability 3. Commitment 4. Supportive Relationships 5. Service 6. Personal Mastery 7. Faith People with a deep spiritual perspective often say that it is their faith that helps them to see their lives within a larger perspective and gives them a sense of belonging to a greater whole. Of course the topic presenter went on with a little song and dance for each topic. I was only listening with one ear (I'm at a remote site, so I work through the meeting with the phone on 'speaker' so I can hear) but item #7 really caught my attention. It pissed me off. I'm so tired of people assuming that we all have 'faith' in some fairy tale. That we all agree that blind belief trumps intelligent choice every time. That anyone cares about your Sky Fairy based beliefs at work. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR IMAGINARY FIEND SAYS! (no, that is not a typo) So I took my phone off 'mute' for the first time in weeks for this meeting and, into a pregnant pause where the question "Any discussion?" was echoing said, "Actually I think my absolute lack of faith is what does me the most good." Queue the nervous laughter and a quick end to the meeting. I hope someone was offended. Current Mood:  irritatedCurrent Music: Boiling Blood | | Thursday, January 8th, 2009 | | 10:54 am |
| | Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 | | 10:01 am |
Finally, a use for Confession.
Why didn't I think of this when I was an altar boy? ================ "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl". The priest asks, "Is that you, little Johnny Parisi?" "Yes, Father, it is." "And who was the girl you were with?" "I can't tell you, Father, I don't want to ruin her reputation." "Well, Johnny, I'm sure to find out her name sooner or later, so you may as well tell me now. "Was it Tina Minetti?" "I cannot say." "Was it Teresa Volpe?" "I'll never tell." "Was it Nina Capelli?" "I'm sorry, but I cannot name her." "Was it Cathy Piriano?" "My lips are sealed." "Was it Rosa Di Angelo, then?" "Please, Father, I cannot tell you." The priest sighs in frustration. "You're very tight lipped, Johnny Parisi, and I admire that. But you've sinned and have to atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for 4 months. Now you go and behave yourself." Johnny walks back to his pew, and his friend, Nino, slides over and whispers, "What'd you get?" "4 months vacation and five good leads." Current Mood: amusedCurrent Music: Purring Cat | | Friday, December 5th, 2008 | | 10:26 am |
How DARE you exist!
That's pretty much the message that atheists get whenever they dare to make themselves known. The link below is to a story about a seasonal sign put up by atheists to celebrate the Solstice. Apparently the GodBots didn't like it, and stealing from atheists isn't a sin. Someone took the sign. Pretty pathetic folks. Is your godlet such a wimp that you have to steal signs to assist him? Find a new Sky Fairy for cryin' out loud! http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/05/atheists.christmas/index.htmlPartial text from sign: (since it's apparently not supposed to be seen, let it be seen all the more!) There are no gods. no devils. no angels. no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds. And, apparently, encourages theft and censorship. Remember kids, Jesus Steals! | | Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 | | 12:31 pm |
Prescient Carl Sagan
Does this sound the least bit familiar? It's from "The Demon-Haunted World", and I'm sad to say it sounds like the America of today with it's reflexive acceptance of religious ignorance and bigotry. Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness. | | Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | | 2:59 pm |
Okay, me too. Quote of the day time.
Lucretius, from De Rerum Natura When in full view on the earth man's life lay rotting and loathsome, Crushed 'neath the ponderous load of Religion's cruel burdensome shackles, Who out of heaven displayed her forehead of withering aspect, Lowering over the heads of mortals with hideous menace, Upraising mortal eyes 'twas a Greek who first, daring, defied her; 'Gainst man's relentless foe 'twas Man first framed to do battle. Him could nor tales of the gods nor heaven's fierce thunderbolts' crashes Curb; nay rather they inflamed his spirit's keen courage to covet. His it should first be to shiver the close-bolted portals of Nature. Therefore his soul's live energy triumphed, and far and wide compassed World's walls' blazing lights, and the boundless Universe traversed Thought-winged; from realms of space he comes back victorious and tells us What we may, what we must not perceive; what law universal Limits the ken of each, what deep-set boundary landmark: Then how in turn underfoot Religion is hurled down and trampled, Then how that victory lifts mankind to high level of heaven. Current Mood:  okay | | Thursday, November 6th, 2008 | | 12:58 pm |
LJ and the G1
All right! There is a pretty nifty LJ app for Android that I can use on the G1. This phone gets better every day as more apps make it to the marketplace. | | Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | | 9:14 am |
It's time for War.
I'm ashamed of over 50% of the people in my home state. I had high hopes for true religious freedom and equality of persons, but it doesn't appear to be in the cards. This time. The fact that the Abrahamic faiths have managed to force their religious view onto the rest of society, including those whose religious view differs in the matter of same-sex marriage, is proof that democracy is not always good, and that our First Amendment rights are of little use at this point in history. Those of us who view religion as a primitive evil to combat are still anathema. People who want to allow happiness are the enemy of the majority. Those who love outside of a sky fairy's blessing are 'less than' the followers of the Demon of the Desert. I'm tempted to give up on this country in disgust and let it continue it's trip to Christian Taliban rule in America. I think most people probably deserve it. But I won't because there are too many good, loving, honorable people who will be hurt by this. It won't stand forever, but it is something we have to deal with now. If it just takes a simple majority to change the state constitution (which seems insane to me since true majority rule puts the 9 foxes in the hen house in charge of what's for dinner, ignoring the wishes of the last hen) then we need to take the majority and change IT. All those vapid unthinking children I saw in Sacramento this weekend with their bright smiles and signs promoting hatred need to be made to understand that there is more than one way to look at the world, and that their sky fairy is not the final word. Over the last ten years I've gone from devout Evangelical, to Seeker, to Agnostic, and now to Atheist. I've made this journey with rational thought and eyes open to reality. And now it's down to this; I'm at war. I am at war with religion. I'm not a 'New Atheist', or a 'Strong Atheist', or a 'Militant Atheist'. I am an Anti-Christ. I am Anti-Mormon. I am a defiler of the Prophet. I spit on Shiva. I am a denier of every dogma and a blasphemer of every god. I HATE religion. I hate what it does to people. I hate what it did to me in the past, what it does to good people in the present, and what it's trying to do to all of us in the future. This, the bigotry and hatred and fear that denies an entire sector of the population basic rights, this is what religion does. I will not stand quietly and watch it continue. I am at war with religion. And if you can't address your beliefs rationally and defend them with evidence, then I am at war with you. Current Mood:  determined | | Thursday, October 9th, 2008 | | 1:20 pm |
Planned Parenthood benefits via Sarah Palin.
This made me laugh out loud. ======================================== ======================================== ==== Donations To Planned Parenthood In Palin's Name Brought In Over One Million Dollars Posted: Oct 8, 2008 11:47 PM PDT Updated: Oct 8, 2008 11:47 PM PDT KENNEWICK, Wash. - There is currently an email going around encouraging people to donate to Planned Parenthood in the name of Sarah Palin. It is unclear who started this email but Planned Parenthood reports that it has brought in over one million dollars in donations to the organization. Sarah Palin will receive a thank you note in the mail for every person that donates in her name. Leaders with "Planned Parenthood Votes", the political arm of the Planned Parenthood organization said over 30,000 people have donated in her name. Planned Parenthood Votes Representative Brian Griffith said, "We are amazed at the phenomenal amount of support we've seen as a result of this email campaign that spread across the country." The Benton County Republican Chairman Patrick McBurney called the email hateful, sad and twisted. He said, "It's a left wing response designed to show contempt to the Republican ticket. Calls to the Sarah Palin's Washington State and National headquarters were not immediately returned to KNDU. Current Mood: amused |
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