hodgepodge: pick n’ choose

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My professor referenced an obscure Bare NakedLadies song in order to make a point today in class. I seriously doubt that anyone in that room other than me had even heard of the song. This class has some terrible readings (think 120 pages of stereo instructions) but this prof does a good job of explaining things and he’s Canadian so occasionally I get these hilarious and strange references.

My weekend was GREAT- thanks for asking. Both my teams won and the hockey game went to overtime and was wonderful. The weather was incredible, the food and beer plentiful and tasty and the friends didn’t make fun of me as much as usual!

I went to lunch with a friend who is moving away in a week or so, to Rhode Island. He was a proprietor of a favorite local hangout and also happens to be gay. He told several stories over lunch of people, recently, who informed him they would not go to a gay-owned store or who actively tried to convince him to renounce his evil, godless ways. It’s a tragedy to me that in 2007 we still have so many intolerant people. Even if I didn’t approve of the gay lifestyle, what happened to common decency? Why do you purposely seek out and offend people? -any people?

10 Nov

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A Question of Faith

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I have come across several excellent articles over the past few weeks (some posted below, some not) about faith in America, the place of atheists in society and the true value and effect of religious justification and personal prayer. I’m preaching to myself here so it’s a little silly but for no other reason than to save these link, here are a few that I found especially intriguing:

Losing Our Religion – Jerry Adler

A Dissent: The Case Against Faith – Sam Harris

Thank Goodness – Daniel Dennett

27 Apr

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New York, New York

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Went to New York this past week. I have been several times now but of course the city is still fascinating (an amusement park for adults). The only difference is that now, as I begin to figure out my way around, and things are familiar, the city becomes more comfortable- which is a strange sort of feeling for NYC.

Interestingly, however, I have recently had cause to ponder the (unfortunately) defining moment of the city: 9/11. In my class, we spoke of the “Falling Man”; an article and a series of photos of a man who fell or chose to jump from the North tower on September 11th. This photo ran in thousands of papers on September 12th, but somehow after that both that photo and all mention of the jumpers become taboo. The photo humanizes the tragedy in a way that the burning towers, though horrible, cannot.
The writer of this article, and several other writers, have spent a great deal of time enlarging the photo to try to determine who the man is. There have been several guesses, and the families of those to whom he might belong have been very distraught to see the photo. Obviously it’s sad and scary, but also, suicide is against many people’s religion. Several families refused to believe their loved ones had jumped and subsequently been condemned to hell – understandably so. It’s sad to think that this picture adds a layer of agony on what must already be an unspeakable tragedy.

Also in the news this week, the “Freedom Tower” to replace the Twin Towers, is being constructed. I’d like to end this post on a positive note but it would be un-realistic of me to not be concerned. I understand why we need to rebuild what has fallen but I still don’t want my loved ones in that building. That being said, I know that even if they hit every building in NY, we would rebuild.

01 Dec

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Ruminations on God from Penn

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Read “There is no God” by Penn of Penn and Teller.

And before you comment, I know that a comedian isn’t the authority on the existence of a higher being. And he isn’t claiming to be. He just happens to have some interesting comments, some of which I agree with.