So much to blog about, so little time to blog. Here’s a roundup of interesting links that I’d considered writing about, but they’re beginning to back up (I’ve currently got 21 firefox instances running on my computer, each one having 4-8 tabs open). So here’s the latest roundup of stuff to frustrate, annoy, enrage, and enjoy:
- First, here’s a very cool list of frequently confused words. Wish the schools taught this stuff.
- Google’s Blogger has a neat little thingy called Blogger Play that will threaten to consume too much of your time; it’s basically a website which presents random photos from the blogs they host. Very addictive.
- Which way do you see the dancer spinning? I see her spinning clockwise, and can’t for the life of me see it in any other way…even after utilizing the spinning dancer hack site, which includes helpful lines drawn for perspective. A fun experiment, even if Scienceline.org discredits it.
- While poking around for good Christmas/Advent messages on the net, I encountered a piece by Marcus Borg on beliefnet.com, entitled Christmas in the Present Tense.
- The government is at it again, looking to avoid the need for pesky search warrants, and pressing civil servants, in this case firemen, to report people who express discontent with the government. Remember kiddies, thoughtcrime is bad.
- The putrid debate over teaching creationism in the schools reached a new low as the Texas state director for science curriculum is forced to resign simply because she forwarded an article thought to be critical of creationism.
- A new report arrives saying that Iran suspended the nuclear weapons program four years ago. A dismayed GW Bush says it doesn’t matter.
- Christopher Hitchens continues to prove he’s
atheism’s smartest evangelical propheta rhetorically skilled idiot by assuming there’s only one meaning to Hanukkah and using his dimwitted interpretation to bash the entire concept. Fortunately, in stark contrast to my last post on this blog, he gets called on it. - What is it with Texans? My theory is that since some of the prettiest girls in the USA are grown in Texas, it makes everybody turn into blubbering fools. Anyway, an Austin police officer, in accordance with his departmental policy, refuses to taser an elderly man. His reward was to get fired.
Which way do you see the dancer spinning? I see her spinning clockwise, and can’t for the life of me see it in any other way…even after utilizing the spinning dancer hack site, which includes helpful lines drawn for perspective. A fun experiment, even if Scienceline.org discredits it.
WRONG. She only spins counter-clockwise. ;P
There is no spin
I can make her spin both ways! She usually starts spinning the other way when I decide to give up. But most of the time, she spins counter-clockwise.
Although certain anti-theists will agree that Hitchens’ arguments, based on presentation as opposed to content, reinforce a negative perception of atheism in society. However, these basic points remain: As there is ultimately no direct evidence to support the existence of a deity or deities, it is superstition. Therefore, it is an illogical and irrational belief. However, it can be far from harmless. It provides a religious person a moral and sometimes social justification for behaviors detrimental to social progress. Another atheist likened it to giving everyone a handgun. Perhaps the majority of people wouldn’t use it to cause harm, but some would. It could be argued that religion can be progressive: As society changes, religion reflects these changes through interpretation. This may sometimes be the case, but there will always be polarizing figures like the late Jerry Falwell who take a perverse view of social evolution to justify spreading bigotry, hate, and intolerance.