If thou gazest long into the Pit, the Pit will also gaze into thee

A year or two ago I read an article in The Economist where they were discussing the way the Americans were self sorting. They were moving into all Republican or all Democrat neighbourhoods, only watched tv networks where they'd only see what they already agreed with, only socialized with people fro...

Where's the mooning smilie when I need one?

Re: fainting - I'm told by EMS workers and other first responders that you can tell if a person is really unconscious vs. just faking it by picking up hir forearm over hir face and letting it drop. If the person is unconscious, the forearm and hand will drop uncontrolled and smack hir in the face; i...

I agree that Diamond's Collapse is excellent, though my reading on sustainability and limits to growth topics tends to be more from the environmental than from the historical perspective (so forgive me if I don't participate in the Roman history thread). In the environmental vein, there's the classi...

From Greta's blog: A woman walks into a cafÃ©, orders a coffee and, before she pays, crosses off â€œIn God We Trustâ€ on her $20 bill. The woman is me, and scratching the motto off money is something I often do. This time the woman behind the counter gave me a look. Irritated, offended. She looked ...

Cockatiel. Awesome pets, very friendly and sociable. Not enough people realize that there are alternatives to the dog/cat variety! They are awesome pets. I had a cockatiel all through undergrad and grad school ... he was my study buddy (poor thing!). One time he was walking around on my bed while I...

The backchannel-induced apology (can we call it an enema?) by Carrier is consistent with Myers' recent post about the New Statesman piece. He seemed rather noncommittal prior to that. http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/08/23/nice-article-on-atheism-in-the-new-statesman/ Nope. The body text ...

Atheism+/-: Heteroatheous, haploinsuffatheient

Atheism-/-: Atheist null, mutant atheist

Huatheist+: Humanist-atheist transgenic

Atheism(flox): Conditional atheist

So far I've yet to see the promised diversity of #atheismplus. And I use the term diversity the way they'd use it, which is the way that makes me want to vomit out my earholes. So far their movement looks like the affluent gated communities that I avoided like the plague when I was house-hunting he...

Many humanist groups have a huge diversity problem. Many humanist groups are overwhelmingly made up of older, middle-class, college educated white men â€” and while the groups typically embrace the idea of diversity in theory, some individuals in them can be very resistant to the idea that maybe th...

@ JackRayner - I just think that many people like having sex a lot and they aren't always careful about contraception. In the US, where Puritanical values prevail, some people are embarrassed to admit that they like having sex a lot, and so they'd rather pretend that they have sex just once or twice...

@ Steersman - At least bark scorpions are easy to spot in dark corners, if you have a UV lamp. Carrier's ilk can disguise themselves better. You or I could be right about Ophelia, or she could be something else altogether. Lots of people lie about themselves on the internet, so we'll probably never ...

From http://www.facebook.com/events/173599326109684/174571069345843/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity Juggernaut of Secular Awesome Anti-Trolling Day http://i.imgur.com/QuGs9.jpg http://i.imgur.com/KKQFN.jpg Anyway, I am excited for Wednesday! I have been the recipient of hate on Twitter this weekend, so...

I got a brief consultation today on the "transient prosopagnosia disorder" that Watson supposedly had ... as we all suspected, it's complete bullshittery. It actually goes by another medical name: shit-faced drunk. Yes, the primary gain is that she can "suffer" from a real disorder, as opposed to h...

http://twitter.com/AngrySkepchick/statu ... 8611355648

Angry Skeptic Woman@AngrySkepchick

We'll show you all. #AtheismPlus will be what New Coke was to Coke Classic. Wait . . .

Hahahahahaa!!!

I've encountered bark scorpions that were more rational and compassionate than Richard Carrier appears to be. Re: Ophelia's tweet - I've been saying all along that she strikes me as a person from a very wealthy background. Too much of an elitist to mingle comfortably with the lesser mortals in her i...

I can pull that album from my record cabinet in 15 seconds flat if you like, Scented Nectar.

Perhaps it is obvious from my above rant that I care deeply about reproductive and developmental biology, from the standpoints of basic research, women's reproductive rights, and child health and well-being. I see the crap from Akin and his fellow winged monkeys as a direct, serious threat to all of...

Za-zen wrote:Barnowl i see you don't believe in the power of prayer

Some of my religious zealot colleagues who know I'm an atheist have been praying for me, and so far no results. Nada. Nichts. Bupkiss.

:mrgreen:

PZ has posted a video from the makers of Mr Deity that tries to make a humorous point involving the subject of rape. Yes, it's a rape joke. So you can make rape jokes, after all, so long as they target Republicans. According to PZ So itâ€™s OK! (Just remember, itâ€™s mocking apologists for rape, no...

Welcome, Corylus! http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/archives/2207/comment-page-1/#comment-20136 If you mean â€œrational people will be making mental notes of who is irrational, then documenting it, and publicly informing their colleagues of it,â€ then yes. There is no other way to promote a ratio...

Linky to Jen's food post. Foie gras was also consumed. Honestly, it's too easy ... like falling off a log. A log made of veal and stuffed with foie gras, decorated with escargot to represent bracket fungi. In related foodie news, is it wrong that I made an ice cube tray full of yogurt-peanut butter...

Linky to Jen's food post. Foie gras was also consumed. Honestly, it's too easy ... like falling off a log. A log made of veal and stuffed with foie gras, decorated with escargot to represent bracket fungi. In related foodie news, is it wrong that I made an ice cube tray full of yogurt-peanut butter-...

The vegan issue has reared its meat-free head at Greta's: http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2012/08/21/why-atheism-plus-is-good-for-atheism/#comment-89741 Why should I sign on to GLBT and racism issues if youâ€™re not willing to even acknowledge the massive injustice of the factory farming industry?...

The animal welfare/vegan issue has been brought up in Jen's "Walk the walk" thread: http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2012/08/atheism-its-time-to-walk-the-walk/#comment-98033 Nested comments follow, some along the lines of "you'll have to pry the bacon from my cold dead hands!!!" CityzenJane claim...

Ummm ... errrr .... Otherkin

If that shows up on med school applications next year, then I quit. I'm very supportive of maintaining a diverse student population, but I have my limits.

Wonder how they'll negotiate animal welfare issues, with all the biologists amongst them? I've read some of the posts on philosophical aspects of animal welfare by Jean Kazez, and it seems that the general consensus in the field leans towards making their conference meals vegan only. Will that be p...

Wonder how they'll negotiate animal welfare issues, with all the biologists amongst them? I've read some of the posts on philosophical aspects of animal welfare by Jean Kazez, and it seems that the general consensus in the field leans towards making their conference meals vegan only. Will that be p...

Dick Strawkins: Is Jen McCreight targeting society in general or just the atheist community with her objectives? From her most recent post, it sounds as if she's targeting just the atheist community: And as I said in my original post, I had been brainstorming with people to start a secular social ju...

â€˜Atheism Plusâ€™: Iâ€™m Sceptical Please keep the comments nice. No 'Girlyban. Enjoy.', if you know what I mean. I can respond in more detail at your blog, Notung, and I'm in agreement with most of your points (at home on lunch break currently, prior to a long afternoon teaching in anatomy lab). ...

Atheism Plus! Day One and the first orders of business: 1) Design new logo 2) Plan for Surlyramics of new logo 3) Repeatedly congratulate selves on Twitter and other social media 4) Scold others for not prioritizing their online petitions Yeah, I'm on board with that as an effective social justice m...

This is from CrappyChiknSammichGate, but kinda funny in the context of Atheism+! : http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2012/08/so-you-were-just-called-a-bigot/#comment-94019 Jen says: August 2, 2012 at 12:39 PM I donâ€™t use IBM and I only eat fair trade organic chocolate from Theo Chocolate in Seat...

As a New Wave Atheist, all my social justice activism will be guided by the titles of Duran Duran songs. Girls on Film : anti-pornography, anti-exploitation in the fashion industry Hungry Like the Wolf : wolf conservation, food distribution to the needy Tiger Tiger : tiger conservation New Moon on M...

Well, it's looking like our New Wave Atheism will be leaving Plus in the dust. They don't even have a genre of music to go with their movement! http://www.scentednectar.com/sneerfactor/images/smiles/laugh-05.gif We definitely have better hair too. :mrgreen: Ring and a ring and a ... a-a-atheism plu...

New wave atheism yes!

This one has coffee, a young woman, and a proposition:

[youtube]djV11Xbc914[/youtube]

Since the weather is unusually adverse and freaky, and because I am often plagued by bizarre dreams, I propose that we start a Last Wave Atheism movement. What with the impending environmental apocalypse and all, we will NOT be having any meatspace conferences ... that will eliminate the jet-setting...

Baby-melting acrylic yarn soakers and the internet faked deaths of indie yarn dyers/knitting workshop organizers are the only topics on Ravelry that generate as much drama and misinformation as does copywrong.

Heehee - Stefunny is now finding that the Vacula-Amy-DMCA thing isn't as clear-cut as she thought (this comment, and those below): http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2012/08/17/it-isnt-enough-to-feel-righteous/#comment-109738 Hilarious! Of course she'll cling stubbornly to her beliefs about...

I don't think he wanted the Sally HighStrung assumption to be true either. I wonder how successful she is at this whole raping herself business. What if both sides are equally strong. She'd pass out exhausted before any forcing of sex could occur. Or learn how to embroider! 'Scuse my spam, but if y...

Myers has a post on for-profit universities in the US: Have you been following Doonesbury for the past few weeks? Itâ€™s been all about the progressive destruction of the American university, as the old model is replaced by the for-profit university, a hideous scheme in which state and federal suppo...

MKG: Neither is "worse". It just depends on one's outlook as to whether one sees the affliction as a burden, or as an opportunity. I chose the latter. More like Jill Bolte Taylor's "stroke of insight" then ... a very commendable attitude, and one I'm not sure I could muster in the same situation. My...

@ MKG- Ahh, but it depends on how I choose to remind myself to ask my colleagues about transient prosopagnosia, and on the specific difficulties I might have this afternoon. If I write "transient prosopagnosia" on a slip of paper, and later can read the words phonetically (therefore not alexia) but ...

intermittent or temporary prosopagnosia An urgent interruption from a pedant! It is correctly called " transient " prosopagnosia. (You may now resume watching The Simpsons.) Transient prosopagnosia - that's it! I'll make sure to use the word when I ask my colleagues about that variant of the disord...

Dilurk: However, I am still confused as to why RW herself cannot recognize or know who this guy is. I am also confused why she would not have reported the lurker, or had someone accompany her upstairs. The time to feel nervous (for me anyway) is precisely before getting on the elevator if I see a lu...

sacha: (Barn Owl, I consider you a non-Merkin - please let me know if that annoys you) I'm honored to be considered a non-Merkin. If only it were true. ::bows:: It's so hot and oppressive here today, that I suspect it would be more pleasant to live in the fissured asscrack of a febrile, flatulent rh...

I'd be happy with a cloaca, especially if I could be a garuda like those in China MiÃ©ville's Bas-Lag novels. And each of us had a cloaca for a few weeks during early embryonic development, before it became divided into a urogenital sinus and an anus. Here's a joke on the subject, courtesy of my PhD...

@ DownThunder- I'm encouraged by the annual addition of renewable energy sources to the grid here. It's also now illegal for homeowners associations to prohibit people from adding solar panels and using outdoor clotheslines. A plug-in hybrid car would make a lot of sense for someone like me, but the...

@ Tigzy - Less than 10% of US homes use oil furnaces for heating: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=oil-versus-natural-gas-home-heating It varies regionally within the US too - I went to grad school in the Pacific Northwest, and lots of homes used wood stoves for heating much of the t...

I confess an enduring fondness for Tony Husband's Yobs cartoons in Private Eye . So wrong, yet so funny. :lol: Commenter davem makes some good points on Myers' superficial Deepwater Horizon post: http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/08/12/thats-not-a-still-from-the-latest-sci-fi-blockbuster/c...

Whats her complaint? That sport doesn't result in anything tangible so it can't do any good. The olympics only provide inspiration for millions of people in a country that is battling with an obesity epidemic, but you know... Oh, but i'm sure that if you took the Olympics away people would automati...

Brian Maaaayyyyyyy!!11!111!1!

Dude has a PhD in astrophysics. :banana-guitar:

And Morris dancers ... AHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

Thing is, you can trivialize just about anything that people find enjoyable, comforting, inspiring, interesting, or entertaining, if you compare it to MSF, cures for cancer, etc. I would have thought that a philosopher would be above such specious moral oneupsmanship. Closing ceremony for the Olympi...

Benson ragging on the Olympics: Iâ€™m there. It can be beautiful and/or impressive to watch, but itâ€™s still just sport , itâ€™s not heroism. Itâ€™s not geeks landing a one-ton mobile science laboratory on Mars. On Mars. There you get the incredible accomplishment and you get the mobile science lab...

Dilurk: I could not watch more than a few minutes of the start. It's revolting. Ditto. She's just another boring, self-involved slacker with a whiny, jaded voice. In unrelated news, who would have thought that bathing two small (10 lb and 11 lb) dogs would be such a prolonged and messy struggle? I h...

Off (the current) topic, but since there are some other equestrians here .... Stephen Colbert has political reasons for mocking dressage, and his segments on Olympic dressage are very funny (and I say this as a fan of the sport, as participant and spectator), but IMO there is untapped comedy gold in...

Can someone please explain to me why revealing Screed's real name will result in murder? Is there something I've missed? It can't be just because she is trans. I mean according to her post about a bloke seeing her in the street and calling her disgusting, she's not a very convincing female and ever...

bhoytony: 'm not saying there isn't any chance of danger in being trans, only that I fail to see how knowing her real name makes any impact. You don't know if she is early in the process. Maybe she just isn't very convincing after the process. Exactly - I've no doubt either that transgendered indivi...

Horace: If you believe what they write about half of the women who regularly post on Pharyngula were raped, several by different men at different times. I always wrote this off as something that they are saying for dramatic effect, but I am not an expert on the subject. I'm no expert either, and the...

They're all wallowing in the cybermuck, but seriously, wtf else do they have to do most days? Ophelia's busy day, by her own account: Gee, I was thinking about other things this morning â€“ the column I have to finish for TPM, the column I have to proofread for the Freeth, stuff I have to do in the ...

Tigzy: I have no love for the FfTB crowd, and this latest shitfest they're involved in amuses me greatly. But Tf00t has come out of this pretty stinky himself, and like Watson, I reckon he's a pretty conniving little fucker, and not to be trusted. I wouldn't trust any of one of them any further than...

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