like it! click it! 'cold hearted orb that rules the night removes the colours from our sight red is gray and yellow, white but we decide which is right and which is an illusion' -the moody blues
we loved the his dark materials books and enjoyed watching the golden compass. we looked forward to seeing sequels and were greatly disappointed when we learned that none would be made.
on sexual intelligence: 'every organized religion has highly specific answers to this question. they mostly involve “god doesn’t want you to do sex this way; god strongly prefers you do sex that way.” and if you disagree with god about your sexual expression, see rule #1.
organized religion typically imagines sexual “morality” as involving limitations. in most cases, the less sex you have the better god likes it; god, apparently, also wants you to limit the number of sexual partners with whom you do the right or wrong sexual acts.'
and
'grownup atheists don’t need to fear some metaphysical being in order to prefer doing what’s right—all clear-thinking adults prefer doing what’s right. and grownup atheists don’t need a one-size-fits-all menu of sexual acts. they know that doing only the sexual acts on god’s preferred list is no guarantee of moral decision-making or ethical behavior. and they have experienced the deep satisfaction of ethical decision-making while rockin’ the house with taboo sexual acts that would make seraphim and cherubim blush.'
'here are some questions that have haunted me for years. how many preachers actually believe what they say from the pulpit? we know that every year some clergy abandon their calling, no longer able to execute their duties with conviction. this can never be a decision taken lightly, and many of them labored on for years before taking the leap. are they the tip of an iceberg? is there a problem of deep hypocrisy separating many pastors from their flocks? what is it like to be a non-believing preacher? how do they reconcile their private skepticism with the obligations of their position? and how did they get into their predicament?
several years ago i set out to get some answers, in collaboration with linda lascola, a clinical social worker with years of experience as a qualitative researcher. i had told her of my interviews with deeply religious people while writing my book, "breaking the spell" (2006), and of my surprise at how many of them were eager to tell me, in confidence, that they didn't believe a word of the doctrines of the faith to which they were devoting their lives. was this also true of ordained clergy? with some help from me and a network of advisers, lascola identified some brave informants, all currently protestant pastors with congregations, and interviewed them at length and in depth--and of course in deep confidence.'
i share much of patrick stewart's experience and mostly the only way i have learned to handle the searing ripples of memory is to try to ignore them. still, the effects are deep and arise in almost every facet of my existence.
'the fact of your own existence is the most astonishing fact you'll ever have to confront. don't dare ever say that life is boring, monotonous or joyless, whatever your world view.' - richard dawkins
the opposite of hatred is love the opposite of tyranny is love the opposite of censorship is love the opposite of evil is love the opposite of politics is love the opposite of war is love the opposite of god is love - salman rushdie
i'm going to be fiddling with my blog design a bit... i like the fact that, with a tiny hack, i can use any background picture i like... so i'll be switching around for a while.
like it? click it! this is one of the first little planets i made before the olympics in beijing. it's not at the best intersection and it really was just an experiment. i'd finally settled on uploading this one. i'd forgotten all about this and saw it yesterday when i was digging through some pictures.
i've added notes on the original flickr image page for the various buildings: national stadium (bird's nest) national aquatics center (watercube) national indoor stadium digital building pengu plaza (to me, an eyesore)
like it? click it! this is not a good time for greece.
people i talk to -- professionals -- are anxious, depressed and angry. sometimes they express a willingness to take to the streets. some back down because they don't know to what extremes that can lead. everyone suspects that this crisis will be deep and that it will take away decades of efforts to improve their situation and the future of their children.
this is one of a string of buildings made of glass, steel, granite and marble, on kifissias avenue in northern athens. these have little personality of their own -- they prefer to reflect, as if they're saying 'don't mind me... i'm not really here. i'm both invisible and intimidating.' it's situated on a bit of marousi named paradisos... or paradise, a commercial node attracting multinational companies, services and shopping centers.
'mono lake has a bizarre, extraterrestrial beauty. just east of yosemite national park in california, the ancient lake covers about 65 square miles. above its surface rise the twisted shapes of tufa, formed when freshwater springs bubble up through the alkaline waters.
felisa wolfe-simon, a geobiologist, is interested in the lake not for its scenery but because it may be harbouring alien life forms, or “weird life”. mono lake, a basin with no outlet, has built up over many millennia one of the highest natural concentrations of arsenic on earth. dr wolfe-simon is investigating whether, in the mud around the lake or in the water, there exist microbes whose biological make-up is so fundamentally different from that of any known life on earth that it may provide proof of a shadow biosphere, a second genesis for life on this planet.'
and
'dr wolfe-simon has theorised that there may be life that chose an “evolutionary pathway” to utilise arsenic. if such microbes existed, it could suggest that life started on our planet not once but at least twice. in turn this would help to support the idea that life is much more likely to have started elsewhere in the galaxy.'
here are the ten commandments, in their proper order of severity -- and their punishments:
1. i am the lord your god, who brought you out of the land of egypt, out of the house of bondage. you shall have no other gods before me.punishment: genocide, death
2. you shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. punishment: genocide and death
3. you shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain, for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.punishment: death
4. remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord your god. in it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. for in six days the lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. therefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.punishment: death
5. honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the lord your god is giving you.punishment: death
6. you shall not murder.punishment: death but not always
7. you shall not commit adultery.punishment: death
8. you shall not steal.punishment: fine, slavery -- if caught stealing a slave, then death. night thieves, death.
9. you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.punishment: hate and scorn
10. you shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.punishment: hate and scorn
(bolds are mine. not that there's a definitive list, as they vary depending on the version or source... you'd think that something this important would be pretty clear everywhere, wouldn't you?)
observe widdecombe thinks the ten commandments are the basis for how we live... observe how she recites them out of order... (fry should not have apologized, but he's a nice guy.) observe how she conveniently leaves out their punishments.
this list contrary to the innate morality most of us have, and most certainly contrary to most societies' constitutions and laws.
like it? click it! the title, corresponding to the greek καλό μήνα, meaning, good month, is what people in greece say to each other on the first of every month.
in greece, you get a good day, a good morning, a good afternoon, a good evening, a good night, a good week, month, year.... it's kinda nice.
click pic to source
from the description: 'this spectacular “blue marble” image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire earth to date. using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet. these images are freely available to educators, scientists, museums, and the public. this record includes preview images and links to full resolution versions up to 21,600 pixels across.'
