I have a MISSION for all heathens across America for November 19. Please watch the following video: (it’s 6 minutes long)
Pharyngula wrote about this the other night and noted that the giveaway is now 100,000 books at 100 universities, that Darwin’s text will remain intact, and the 50 page foreword will be rewritten to be more fair to atheists. (Does that mean it will be 50 blank pages?)
You probably have to be American to get the joke in the title. Do other countries have Life cereal? I have no idea. That’s a phrase of my husband Butch’s anyway. I personally think the original Life cereal is the best, not the fancy versions that they also make, like cinnamon, chocolate oat crunch, etc.
Anyhoo, this is a roundup post in which I cover several topics that are tenuously connected at best. Here’s what I’m rambling on about:
I’m a citizen scientist now! WOOT!
Encyclopedia of Life!
My Flickr
Moving the body affects how we think – a study
Prayer and meditation may reshape the brain – a study
First, I want to talk about a ScienceDaily report: Massive Online ‘Macroscopic Observatory’ Of Earth’s Biodiversity To Be Created. “Wanted (soon): observations from environment-minded citizens that will allow science to study biodiversity at a planetary level in a massive, comprehensive virtual observatory of historic importance.”
This guy, Edward O. Wilson, created a website, Encyclopedia of Life (eol). His dream: “Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth…” and they are starting to do just that. A page for every species. If you read the ScienceDaily article, it will be amazing. You’ll be able to get information from the Deep Web from images, maps, classification, common and scientific names, links to research and papers, etc.
It’s already there now, and growing all the time. In the future you’ll also be able to get genome sequences and much much more. Basically anything you want to know about a species will be there, at your fingertips, all on one page, for free. My scientific geekiness is giggling with delight! Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes you just have to give props where they’re due. Johnny left a comment somewhere around here yesterday with a link to a youtube video. It was so brilliant I have to share it with you immediately. It’s about everyone’s favorite lord, Jesus. Apparently he had a meeting with a group of angels before he had himself impregnated into poor, innocent Mary. This is the video from that meeting. It’s 8:40 minutes long, but entirely awesome. Thanks, Johnny, for letting us know about it!
What I don’t get is that nowhere in the bible is Australia mentioned, and Jesus and the angels are obviously from Down Under. Checkmate, heathens! HA!
Anyway, along the same lines, I have been pretty active on Facebook for a couple weeks or so. Every day people ask me to join causes and groups for one well-meaning reason or another. But no group really makes me feel like I’m doing something through joining. So I had to start my own! It is brand new, so go join today! Invite your friends and family, and together we can make a difference with ZERO EFFORT!
We can all sleep like innocent babies in our comfy beds tonight, secure in the knowledge that we made a difference by joining 6 Zillion Strong.
Think of all we can do if we simply join together. We can save whales from extinction! And polar bears from starvation! And so much more! Join today and then say hi on the discussion board and tell us who or what you want to save today! Since I’m the Founder, you can leave your comments here, but to truly make a difference, at this time, the only way is to join 6 Zillion Strong on Facebook.
If you feel we need to branch out already, to help spread the love and caring, leave comments here, and maybe we can make a group on HDC that can try to match the great works done by 6 Zillion Strong on Facebook.
Together, we can do anything. And it literally takes ZERO EFFORT! Join Today!
EDIT: this is a test. But watch this 9 minute video anyway, because it’s funny. These are the only two I’ve seen but Johnny says NonStampCollector is awesome, and I tend to agree.
The other day I told you to write or call the White House to add your voice as an atheist regarding the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the issue of the separation of church and state. I thought I’d share my letter with you. Here it is, short and sweet.
Dear President Obama and staff,
Thank you for your hard work.
As an atheist and a taxpayer, I am dismayed and alarmed that my tax dollars are funding a faith based program like the Office Of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. The government should not have anything to do with religion, as stated in the Bill of Rights. We are a country founded on freedom of – and from – religion.
If we must have a faith based program, please at least get rid of the Bush era rules that are still in place. Please issue an executive order barring proselytism and employment bias in all publicly funded programs run by faith based organizations. Please make these programs fully accountable to the public and please make sure my tax dollars do not go to an advancement of religion in any way.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
An ethical atheist
Here’s a link to the First Amendment if you’d like to refresh your memory on the wording. He’s our president. Let’s at least try to hold him accountable to our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
First, let’s do the other goodness. The political bit follows. My friend has been busy lately and I want to share what he’s been doing.
Global Atheist is an aggregate site that refreshes every 15 minutes. It’s a great place to scan lots of awesome skeptical and atheist sites at once.
Now for the Rambling Political Bit:
After about 2 years of campaigning and general political nastiness, it’s over. We’ll have a new president soon! Change is in the air! President Barack Obama. I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad it’s done.
It seems that most of America is probably relieved and happy today, while some people (like my parents) are very angry and busy selling off their stocks so that they can leave the country. Maybe they can move to Canada. Oh wait, Canada really IS a socialist country. Just teasing.
Hopefully things will settle down, and people will get on with their lives. My phone didn’t ring all day from the Republican party, telling me how to think, so it was nice to have some peace and quiet.
I feel like there is so much potential for positive change. I hope good things will be able to happen with a new administration.
What does it mean to us, the little people, to have a new president? Hopefully a lot. In my humble opinion, things can only get better after the past 8 years. Apparently most of America agrees that it was time for something different. WOOT!
You have different types of extremists in this crazy world today. Each one that I can think of makes me scratch my head in wonder. As in what the fuck is the deal with these nut cases.
The first type I’m going to cover is religious extremists. The types that blow up cars, ram planes into buildings, etc. This really boggles my mind. Why do people kill in the name of some (likely imaginary) god? I’ll state it this way for the religious. If we weren’t meant to think for ourselves, why would god give us a brain and free will? He or she could have easily designed us as mindless robots. So why all the violence in the name of religion? I guess some haven’t evolved into civilized individuals. They still hold on to the values of the dark ages where freethinkers or infidels were burned at the stake. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the neatest idea on so many levels. So you need to unwind and play a game. You’re tired of windows solitaire. How about playing a game that could contribute to curing a disease? How about helping science with your big awesome brain!?
You can go here to read about the science behind the “game”.
So basically, in a really simple nutshell, you’re using your intuitive awesome brain to do something that would take computers a huge amount of time and expense to do.
Proteins are part of lots of diseases, so understanding how they fold on themselves is very important. Read the rest of this entry »
My Letter To President Obama
The other day I told you to write or call the White House to add your voice as an atheist regarding the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the issue of the separation of church and state. I thought I’d share my letter with you. Here it is, short and sweet.
You can use the White House contact form like I did, or you can write or call:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
Here’s a link to the First Amendment if you’d like to refresh your memory on the wording. He’s our president. Let’s at least try to hold him accountable to our Constitution and Bill of Rights.