Today's Viral Facebook Question

"If you were stranded on an island with three celebrities, which three would you choose?"

Predictably, some of my FB pals said Jesus.  At first I was just disgusted that they couldn't even play a simple game without invoking the deity, but then I realized...

You wouldn't starve, because he'd rain down loaves and fishes
You would have wine, made from seawater
You could walk on water to get back to civilization when you got tired of fish and wine.

Sounds like a deal.  I wouldn't pick him, though.  Too preachy and there's nothing in the Bible about him every washing anything but his feet.  Stinky crazy preacher, yech.

I think I'd rather pick one of those home improvement dudes and Wolfgang Puck to provide the victuals, and then a (male) porn star for entertainment.  One who could hunt and fish would be a bonus.

The Week in Links

R.I.P. Judith Hayes, a.k.a. The Happy Heretic, 1945-2012.   I just discovered her blog today and I'm so sad that I never got to know her work before this.  She started blogging before it was called "blogging."  Her book is still for sale at amazon.com.  They call her the "Erma Bombeck of the secular humanist community.

New Zealand priests have to stop using ipads in the pulpit.  I wonder if they use them in the confessional.  That has to be the most boring part of their day.

A former nun in India has written a book that I hope gets translated to English.  Her advice to young girls: do not go to a priest for counseling or confession.   Sounds like she has some tales to tell.

But then what fake priests do in India is also shocking.  Child sacrifice to find hidden treasure?  Crazy.

Mr. Cranky reviews a film that proves that Christians shouldn't produce films.

A Christian & a Muslim ask hotels to stop selling pay-per-view porn.   Apparently they know that religious people are buying this stuff, because they certainly wouldn't care if atheists watched bad porn.

The Washington Post  on Elevatorgate Part Deux.  My first thought was 'wow we look so bad now,' but then I remembered that some of my friends have been harrassed at professional conferences.  Maybe some people just need to be reminded that you should behave at a conference the way you would at home, or better.

As yet another storm passes by my parched Indiana city, I realize we should try performing a frog wedding.

Lutheran church needs a liquor license to serve liquor at weddings (but not for communion?)  ... but the law states a license can't be granted within 100 feet of a church.  Well, they are the church and no other church happens to be next door, so they get licensed!

SkepChickCon: Don't Feed the Trolls (video)

I wish I could have attended the conference but I don't have the funds to fly all over to meet skeptics and atheists. Fortunately, internet people put their stuff up on the internet, for example, this panel about harrassment on the internet:

Women and a few men talking about sexist attacks on the internet and especially in the Skeptical & Atheist realms.  If you think they're exaggerating, check out the comments people have posted.

Some of my graduate school professors had to deal with a lot of dirty tactics by their male "colleagues" and of course I have known women who have been victimized in a variety of ways. So... I'm a bit shocked but if you are a guy who hasn't been the confidante of a woman who has dealt with abuse, you may be seriously shocked by what these people have to say:

• Women who blog on the internet get rape threats
• Women on the internet get death threats
• Women do indeed get raped in elevators
• Women get stalked by "trolls" who turn out to be dangerous

Men who find women threatening want to shut us up, and we who don't shut up have known this for years. We deal with it in ways that most men would never imagine.

Personally, I don't want to deal with that shit so you won't see my picture and real-life name here.

Quote of the Day: Lawrence Krauss

"The purpose of education is not to validate ignorance, but to overcome it."



...at about 30:00 here:








He said it in reference to the assertion that biology teachers should "teach the controversy."



His comments on cosmology are also very interesting. I admit, I sometimes don't understand him but this talk is excellent an very understandable.

20/20 "What is Heaven?" videos

The videos are up now! (Flash)  Watch the whole 2 hours or the segments:
The whole shebang:  http://abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026/VD55216980/2020-76-heaven

Betty Bowers on Abortion

Your Sunday School teacher never quoted these Bible passages!

If you're not familiar with Mrs. Bowers or Landover Baptist Church check out the True Christian [tm] site.

Some News of the Week

A few newsworthy items of late: 

The Demon Defense doesn't hold holy water but this story does help to explain why there are so many tiny congregations in the crazier denominations

Whites-Only pastors' conference in Alabama.  These nutters believe that "Europeans and their descendents" are the chosen people.  uhhhh have they read the Bible?

Maybe they were just upset about the Black pastors who disagree with Obama about gay rights.


Then there is a pastor who teaches a funny version of genital hygiene.  Apparently you don't have to be Catholic to be a pedophile.

The Catholic Church in Philadelphia continues to clean house

Presbyterians decide against changing the definition of marriage.  The proposed new definition would be "between two people," which imho is a bad idea because it doesn't imply the two have to be adults.  "Man and woman" indicates adulthood on both parts.

The Village Voice exposes Scientology's marriange "counseling" method.  If Katie Holmes didn't know the religion was abusive before trying this, she'd know it afterward.

Circumscision:  Something Muslims & Jews can agree on