Leaving Religion

If you or someone you love needs help leaving religion, there are many resources out there. A quick Google search can reveal thousands of results for any particular religion. Here are a few.

* Ex-Cult Network

* Ex-Christian.Net

* Leaving Scientology

* No Longer Quivering

* Leaving Religion

These are just a handful of many, many, many places to go online to get help. Religion is a virus of the mind and the cure is out there, all you have to do is seek help. Places like the ones mentioned above offer support for the individual, and support is one of the key factors in leaving religion. You are not alone, it is not your fault, there is nothing wrong with you, you can get through this. The first step is to acknowledge the problem, then the next step is to reach out. Good luck to you.

(I have to mention that the deconversion stories at No Longer Quivering are very touching. They are both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. The Quiverfull movement is a very extreme "splinter cell" of Christianity and it basically equates to female slavery. The women that leave that particular religion are very brave indeed. Thank you courageous ladies, Kriss.)

The Best Art Show of The Year

The super best art show ever is at Espresso Metropolitan right now, and will be showing for the rest of the month. Ever year South Side Art Center brings the work of their students (developmentally disabled adults) to the cafe, and every year they sell like hot cakes.

All proceeds go to more art supplies for the students and they are attractively priced. Although this years prices are slightly higher than last years, which is testimony to the shows popularity.

Long time cafe patron, Paul Bayse (I never spell your name correctly), tutors the students in painting and together they come up with uninhibited, childlike and playful paintings that are on the walls of many Curtis and Landpark homes.

Come check out Espresso Metro's favorite art show of the year, ever year, and pick up a painting to support the arts and decorate you home. I have several of them.

* Please do not be an idiot and come into the cafe and say, "did a bunch of retards make this," not because it is not true, it is, but because that would be mean.

When Anger Comes to Town

The article, "When Anger is an Illness" (Wall Street Journal ) hits very close to home for me-too close. I was raised with anger. I experienced anger on a daily basis growing up and it had a very influential affect on me. Still to this day, anger is a source of frustration that brings me to tears, produces anxiety in my life and is one source of my depression. Now anger is called Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

Raymond Novaco, University California Irvine, coined the phrase "anger management" in the 1970's. Since the 1980's, Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) has been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and in the new DSM V IED and Temper Dysregulation Disorder will be combined, because both are believed to start in adolescence. Just like every other human trait, anger can have roots in genetics (hereditary) and it can be learned. Stress, high pressure jobs and life in general can be sources of anger. A byproduct of other emotions, like sadness, grief or shame, anger affects 1 in 20 Americans.

Anger is so prevalent in society there are a myriad of courses/programs designed to combat it. It is now required of lawyers, doctors and law enforcement (to name a few occupations) to attend a civility course. These programs can run anywhere from $300 hr. to a one day seminar to online courses. Anger in the workplace forces employers to send employee's to any one of these courses to save that persons job and to save coworkers from "walking on eggshells."

It is OK to get angry form time to time-it is a basic human emotion. But when it becomes a destructive force in ones life, something must be done about it. Talk therapy is a common and universally accepted form of treatment, and in some cases a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) can be used. Brain scans show that when angry the amygdala lights up. The amygdala is the part of the brain that helps to regulate memory and process emotions. Also shown in brain scans, of angry patients, is a lack of activity in the frontal cortex which controls our impulses. The frontal cortex helps us choose between good and bad actions, and helps override or suppress unacceptable social responses.

I can see my father in myself when I'am easily irritable and/or make those in my environment "walk on eggshells." I was steeped in fear growing up because any action could produce a great amount of anger from my father. Even if we did good my father would get angry and yell and berate us and get physical. If we did bad, which is part of being a kid, well, you really got f*'d up. Until recently, I have managed my anxiety and depression (which is hand in glove with anger), but I can see my fathers anger coming out of me when someone does something common like ask a question, or if things do not go perfectly throughout my day, or if I stew and obsess on something that has happened (obsessive compulsive behavior is also associated with anger).

Uncontrolled anger can wreak havoc in ones life and for those surrounding that person. Simple things like being aware of your anger or stepping back from the situation can help to manage ones anger. If you take a "time out" for a couple of minutes or as the WSJ article recommends "wait..an hour before sending that email", and that particular issue is no longer important, then "it's not worth getting angry about." Do yourself and everyone in your environment a favor, manage your anger and live a better and happy life.

A Tale of Two Concerts

Trying new things is so important in life. Expanding one's horizons and having new experiences benefits the mind, the body and the person. In the past couple of weeks Team-Bro has attended two experimental jazz shows. Of all the musical genre's, jazz has been the most elusive for me to enjoy. One must learn to appreciate wine, it is not intuitive, and likewise, one must learn to appreciate jazz-especially experimental jazz.

Avant-garde jazz artists (the legendary) Roscoe Mitchell and Rudresh Mahanthappa (sax), Mark Dresser (standup bass), Gerry Hemingway (percussion) push the boundaries of their art with innovation and creativity. Mitchell has been at the forefront of avant-garde, or experimental, jazz for thirty years, while the other three have taken up the torch to continue and expand the music, successfully fusing African and Indian themes to American jazz.

This is your brain on jazz. It is suggested that as one ages you must exorcise your brain. Doing crossword puzzles, learning the piano or learning to appreciate an art modality are all good endeavors to work out your brain. Experimental jazz is very challenging to appreciate and I can almost feel the new connections forming in my brain. The brain is like a muscle in that if you don't use it, you will lose it. Atrophy can settle in if one is not attentive to the brain. Music is the language of life and learning a new language is a worthy exercise to keep the brain in shape.

Sitting the audience of both shows reminded me of going to Grateful Dead shows in the 90's. Not at all sonically, whether it be tone or chord progressions, but experience wise. My Deadhead days of the 90's was a mind expanding experience where I learned to appreciate the language of the "jam band." Before that I could only appreciate the verse-chorus-verse format of typical radio songs. The Dead could jam a song for 20 minutes and take the listener on a journey; the two experimental jazz shows was very journey-esque. They could "break it down" and bring it back up. They could groove in the "pocket" or they could explode into musical chaos on the "dime." The new neural connections must have been forming at exponential rates (not really, I just mean hella), and it was so pleasing on many levels simultaneously-intellectually, spirit and musically.

The iconoclast Roscoe Mitchell has for decades torn down the boundaries of art and music. He has won numerous awards and grants and through his teaching, influenced many. While destroying the "box" of my monotonous experiences and history, I have learned a new language of comprehension, while exorcising and making new connections in my brain. You should do it too.

Body Count No More?

Would you trust the woman in this picture over a doctor for medical advise. Jenny McCarthy the outspoken anti-vaccine advocate has convinced many to do just that. Along with her husband, the very weird looking Jim Carrey, Jenny has a body count to account for, until now.

Recently "the one who knows better than doctors" has recanted her belief that homeopathic treatments cured her son of autism. It is this belief that as threatened the herd mentality that is so important in preventing the spread of disease. Now, in recent interviews, "Body Count" admits that her son was misdiagnosed as autistic and probably has Landau-Kleffner Syndrom.

Also recently, the Lancet "fully retracts" the earlier paper that stated vaccines are the cause of autism. Since the publication of that paper, thimerosal has been taken out of vaccines, and numerous studies have concluded that vaccines are safe and not the cause of autism. Still celebrity endorsers, like "Body Count" and Oprah, have encourage many to not use scientifically proven measures and go the Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM) route.

In the wake of recent conclusions have the promoters of woo changed their tune-no. They have just moved the bar. Now their battle is not thimerosal, but the over all safety of vaccines. They still want to waste precious research money testing the obvious and the worst part, they are still encouraging parents to not vaccinate their children.

Until then, please keep your dirty stinky disease infested kids away from me and the rest of society. I do not want treatable diseases to come back and I do not want to take medical advice from non-doctors.

Debunking the Shroud of Turin, Again

A replica of the Shroud of Turin will be on display at Lady Guadalupe Parish here is Sacramento says Sacramento Bee article, "Science, Faith Have Clashed on Cloth." Rev. Lino Otero says, "I love being challenged by agnostics." Ok then, here we go.

According Gary Vikan carbon 14 dating shows, "it could not possibly have come into contact with the historical Jesus (if there ever was a historical Jesus-I'm agnostic on that)." He continues, "...it was very clearly, very self consciously doctored in order to become an icon." The Shroud was created at a time when religious icons brought tourism and money to towns displaying said religious icons. It seems the same is happening in Sacramento right now. At a cost of $100,000 from private donations, the church hopes to bring in visitors to see one of three such displays in the country.

The Shroud first appeared in 1357 and was in possession of French nobleman Geofrey de Charnay. Bishop of Troyes, Henri of Poitiers, believed it to be a fake, why, because the artist that claimed to make it told him so. 30 years pass, and in 1389 Henri's successor, Pierre d'Archis states, "The Shroud is a product of human handiwork." Although the Pope at the time allowed the Shroud to be displayed, he did so with caution and only if a priest were present to acknowledge that the Shroud is Not the true burial cloth of Jesus.

Walter C McCrowe, in biblical Archaeology Review (Nov/Dec 98), "I concluded in two papers...that the Shroud was painted in 1355." Other papers confirmed the results with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray determination and carbon dating. The Shroud was produced around 1355.

Rev. Lino Otero, "Our search for the truth is guided by faith." And that is the problem. Faith is has already come to it's conclusion. Conformation bias will skew the results because of preconceived beliefs. Where is the scientific method and the search for the truth? It is nowhere if faith is the guide.

One million tickets have been sold for the April 10-May 23 viewing of the original Shroud in Italy. Usually the original Shroud is only viewed every 25 years. Pope Benedict XVI requested the early showing of the display, but why, why now. Perhaps the church needs to make money for all the money that has been going out to pay abuse victims and the selling of property these past years (purely speculation on my part, but it does make sense).

The Vatican has not taken an official stance on whether the Shroud is authentic or not; but I'm sure that they do know that pilgrimages will bring in big money-for the original Shroud and its replicas. Why do believers still flock to see an unauthentic icon that has been debunked several times over, from a church that has lied and hurt society several times over-cognitive dissonance.

* I almost forgot about this one, I'll just link it here.

* This guy wrote a post debunking my post, check it out, and thanks for stopping by.

News Roundup Sunday, Feb, 28

Baby Boomers are smoking my weed. New studies show that senior citizens are going "Bob Marley."

The first person to be nice to me on twitter, Angie Jackson (@antitheistangie) creates history by live tweeting her use of the abortion pill, RU486. Religious wingnuts are outraged (they are always outraged, esp. when it comes to allowing women to have choices) and she has received hate-mail. ATAT has also received a great amount of support from the blogosphere and twitterverse. You go girl.

The first ever meeting between White House Officials and the Secular Coalition for America has taken place to discuss child medical neglect, faith based initiatives and military proselytizing. Meetings like this are not uncommon...for other organizations, but it is a first for us (atheists). The religious right was in an uproar because they do not want us to have a place at the political table-and that is why this meeting was so important.

The Huffington Post (Hello Arianna, my name is Kriss) recently started Huff Post Religion where they hope to foster a "conversation" about the most important topic in the world today-religion. Other papers have similar sections, and I think the more the merrier-but only if we get a voice also.

The Danish newspaper that printed and reprinted cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammad issued an apology for their totally typical and harmless actions. Because the newspaper printed cartoons, fear and hate was spread in the name of religion... and that is why people become atheist in the first place.

Last but not least, Skeptic Cat makes me laugh and provides links to the best skeptic articles in the universe. You can follow him on twitter @skepticcat.

Religion in the News Feb. 25, 2010

Phillip Garrido has "been hearing the voices of angels for years," his lawyer says. Garrido looks to be going for the mental defense tactic and has pleaded, with his wife, not guilty to kidnapping Jaycee Dugard. Dugard was kidnapped at age 11 and was held for 18 years. Garrido's lawyer states "...Garrido outlines his ability to control sound with his mind and his gift of being able to speak with the tongues of angels." Whatever that means.

Gay marriage is still a topic, even though it is 2010. Religion still tries to control people, even if you do not practice a religion. In Maryland, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler released an opinion saying same sex marriages performed in other states could be recognized by Maryland's legal system. Same sex couples cannot get married there, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Don't Ask Don't Tell is still being debated even though the President during his campaign said that he would repeal DADT. The Christian military is homophobic...surprise.

For the first time ever the White House will brief a secular/atheist organization. It is common for the White House to brief organizations on current policies, but this is the first time we have been invited. American Atheist president, Dr. Ed Buckner said, "We will not be seeking support for atheism...We seek an end to special rights for religious ideas and beliefs...The privileging of religiosity violates the First Amendment and good sense." Once again, a step in the right direction. Now if we can just end tax exempt status for churches.

There is a new religion section at the Huffington Post. It will be dedicated to"...providing a provocative, respectful and hopefully productive forum for addressing the ways in which religion intersects our personal, communal, national and international life." Good luck to them. Dialogue is good as long as it is civil and respectful. In USA today there is a section called Faith and Reason which for the most part, is very good. The more the merrier. I wish that every newspaper had a dedicated religion section.

The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento ran a $400,000 advertising campaign to invite lapsed Catholics to return to church. Christian privilege anyone. If atheist ran TV ads there would be an uproar. Our neutral billboards get vandalized, Christian organizations threaten to boycott the billboard companies and generalized Christian hate rears its ugly head. Church officials in Sacramento claimed that there was a marginal increase in attendance. This may be true in the short term, but the American Religious Identification Survey shows that religious worship has been declining for decades.

This is religion in the news for Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010.

United Coffee House

For those not in the know, the above picture is not a machiato (macchiato). A traditional machiato is espresso and a spoonful of foam/milk. It has been bastardized into a 1:1 ration of espresso and foam/milk, or sadly a 1/3 to 2/3 of espresso to milk/foam. Machiato, depending on the country, means stain, mark or drop. It was originally developed to inform waiters which drink was which-the 'mark' told them that was the drink. As a barista you instantly know something about the customer if they say, "eXpresso" or order a St#b*cks machiato, which is a vanilla latte with caramel. Likewise, you know something about a cafe if they serve the traditional machiato or the bastardized modern version. United Coffee House, 2114 Sutterville Road, serves the traditional.

SacramentoCoR.org's billboard, "Are you good without God? Millions are." is right next to the cafe, and you know that I like that. This particular spot has been two pizza places and a BBQ spot. The outside used to have the appearance of a shack, but the new owners have transformed it into a eye pleasing and comfortable spot. Bamboo plants and triple bulbed street lamp style lights adorn the front of the building. Inside is anything but a shack. Clean, crisp and uncluttered interior, couches, matching tables and chairs, and good art (as opposed to bad art that inhabits many cafes) all contribute to a spacious feel. Maximum capacity says 49, but it feels like it can handle much more.

The owner, Tiffany, with her green eyes, was very nice, and she made my (traditional) machiato while her husband rang me up. I'am not a fourth wave coffee snob, and I believe what former cafe owner Eric Gong said about coffee, "It's just water and beans." Of course it can be more than that, but for all practical purposes, it is water and beans. It is like making breakfast. If you mess up bacon and eggs, then you are an idiot. It's not rocket science. I had a machiato, an eight ounce dark roast and light roast, a green tea and a berry bran muffin. All were fine and if you do not agree with my 14 years of coffee experience and my 21 years of restaurant/deli experience, then the problem is with you, not United Coffee House. All cafes basically have the same products with the similar distributors. If a place truly has top notch product, and there are places like that, then you are paying top notch prices. UCH, just like Espresso Metropolitan, has fair prices that any college student can afford and product that is nothing to complain about.

The atmosphere is laid back, and "Tiff" chills with her customers, calling many by their first names. The magazine selection was very good, the New Yorker, Smithsonian and one of my favorites, Utne. The newspaper was available for a quick read before class or work and the music was good. My opinion is that bossa nova is the prefect music for cafes. If you don't like bossa nova, then you don't like life.

Unfortunately, if you are a student at Sacramento City College, then you have to cross the river called Sutterville Road. Sutterville and Freeport Blvd are the worst streets to cross if you want to live to see the next day. So many businesses, on both streets, suffer because of this and parking issues. Please note, this is not the fault of the owners of UCH or any other business owners on these streets; but it is a concern.

United Coffee House is the new kid on the block, and I wish them success. The prices are just right for the average college student, the atmosphere is laid back-as a coffee shop should be-the owners are nice and the product is good. Often I'am asked about competition and I always say that there is enough pie to go around. The more the merrier. Sacramento needs more small business owners and more independent cafes. I know that times are tough, but if you have some dollars to spare, spend some at United Coffee House and keep Sacramento cafes independent-as they should be.

Blog Promotion

Now that I consistently have two readers I feel that I can talk a little about blog promotion. There are a million gazillion blogs out there, and if you are a skeptical/atheist blogger, then the competition is really tough for consistent and dear readers. Of course content is the most important factor and being prolific a close second, but there are also many other things you can do to promote your blog and get the message out.

For the atheist blogosphere there are two blogrolls that you must get on if you want to gain readers. The first one is Mojoey's Atheist Blogroll. This one is seen on all the main blogs in one form or another. At last count there was aprox.1500, and truthfully, I haven't check it lately, so it might be much more. Richard Dawkins' Out Campaign also has a blogroll with just as many blogs as Mojoeys. All you have to do is send them a 'line' and when you get accepted, write a post about joining the blogroll. Think about all the blogs (almost all of them) that have one of these two 'rolls' in there sidebar. Just by joining them you (potentially) will be seen by thousands of readers.

Many blogs have there own blogrolls and the process is the same to get on those. The smaller blogs usually just promote a handful of blogs, but it doesn't hurt to ask. All they can do is say no, or not respond (Friendly Atheist, Atheist Revolution, Skepchick..). If they do respond, then cool for you; you just got free advertising. The kindness of Internet atheists is tremendous and so far I've been blogrolled on Dr. Jim's Thinking Shop and Tea Room, Atheist sites.com, Redheadedskeptc and Skeptic Cat (off the top of my head). Skeptic Cat is an Internet sensation and has thousands of hits on the blog. To be on SC's site, or any other blog site, is free advertising and to me personally, I think it is totally cool to be sandwiched between The Redheaded Skeptic and Lagunatic (yum and hellooooo).

Speaking of Skeptic Cat, I'm also on the news feed. So when ever I write a post, it is automatically fed into the sidebar and my newest post is just a click away. On twitter there is the GlobalAtheist news feed. Doug runs that and if you ask him, you get on the news feed. Everytime you write a post it will be tweeted to his thousands of followers. He also has a blogroll (thanks again Doug).

Social networking sites is another great place to promote your work. I use Facebook and on the 'wall' I put a small amount of content that is not in the post, or a different picture to mix it up and give the reader a little extra something something. I used to blog using myspace, but then I moved to blogger. Now I just post links on myspace to announce the new post, but realize that myspace needs to have an agreement with your host, otherwise the links will not work. Myspace does not allow my links to work but I put them up there anyway so the reader can copy and paste to get to my blog. Twitter is my favorite blog promotion tool. Of course you have to have some kind of following for this avenue to work, but with patience and time you can easily have hundreds of followers, which in turn is hundreds of potential readers. You can follow me @thesexyatheist.

There are two social networking, meet up places that I belong to. Think Atheist and Atheist Nexus. I blogged once at TA and linked to my blog with the hope of attracting readers (Honestly, I very rarely go to either place). But..., everytime you go to a blog, leave a comment in the comment section and if possible, leave you calling card in the form of your URL. Many have the option of leaving your URL so you should leave it. If people like your comment(s), then chances are that they will probably like you blog also. If there is no URL option, then at least comment then people can go to your profile page and if it's set up like mine, then they can go to your blog from there.

In writing whether it is journalism or short stories, the first line is the catcher. For a blog, the name you choose is the catcher. Happy Jihads House of Pancakes, Angie the Anti Theist and Atheist Revolution are great catchy names. If you are scrolling down a blogroll of a thousand or so blogs, naturally the one with the interesting/bizzare/funny or catchy name will make you double check. Of the thousands and thousands of atheist/skeptical blogs, many have atheist or skeptical in the name. But how many are Kriss the Sexy Atheist? See what I mean.

Blogging/writing is fun an should be done for yourself first. If you desire to share your words then there are a couple of things that you can do to promote you site. You can use photo's and video's on your blog or have cool backgrounds and a bunch of stuff in the sidebars, but the most important thing is to have great content. That is what will bring people back. When I started krissthesexyatheist, I knew that I could not "out scholar the scholars", so I decided that my goal was to show the humanity of atheists. You to should find your niche. Like I said earlier, the competition is tough out there, and there is no shortage of blogs to read. These are just a few examples of what I have done and I'm sure that there are many more great ideas out there. If you are having troubles getting readers and followers, then go topless on your avatar. Sex sells. I didn't create that, I just acknowledge it. Good luck to you and don't steal any of my readers.

* One of the results of promoting your work is that it will end up all over the Internet, which is cool. I was googling KTSA and one of my post was here. Check it out.

Gay Porn in Ugandan Church

Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, showed gay porn to 300 church goers-some children-in an attempt to educate his parish on the sins of homosexuality. Uganda is currently trying to pass a bill that could mean the death penalty for being homosexual. The activist group, Behind the Mask, has already criticized the pastor.

Ssempa commits a logical fallacy in saying that "The major argument that homosexuals have..." is privacy and what they do in their bedrooms is their business. Actually, no one said that and the major argument is human nature and genetics. The proposed bill has outraged the world and there are ties to Pastor Rick Warren (US, Saddleback Church) influencing the proposed legislation.

Obviously Pastor Ssempa doesn't know statistics, or is unwilling to apply them. In statistics there are mutually exclusive and independent events. What someone does in their own bedroom, and for the most part their own lives, has no affect on what other people are doing-independent event. Ssempa said, "In Africa, what you do in your bedroom affects our clan, it affects our tribe, it affects our nation (that is why we will kill you if you show love to a person of the same sex-my emphasis)." Ssempa's reasoning skills are poor at best. It is the same argument that gay marriage will destroy hetro-marriage. There is no relationship between the two. In this case causation is not correlation.

President Obama called the proposed Ugandan anti-gay bill "odious (deserving of hate)." In Uganda right now homosexuality is illegal, but Ssempa can show gay porn to children and describe it with words like, "This one is eating another man's anus." Gay rights group, Behind the Mask, in criticism said, "Showing pornography in church in the presence of minors is twisted homophobic propaganda, where homosexuality is equated to pedophilia and pornography." Sounds like what they are trying to establish in the trial here in California. Xenophobic sheep spreading lies, misinformation and propaganda all because they believe that their book told them so.

Instead of showing porn in church and teaching about homosexuality, or teaching hate, which is what it really is, hows about Pastor Ssempa teach concepts in statistics (independent events) and philosophy (logical fallacy). Oh wait, it's the church, critical thinking skills, reasoning and skepticism are not allowed, but promoting hate and bigotry is.

The Barracuda and the Bible

"Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of every woman...but the woman is the glory of man...man was not created for the womans sake, but woman for the mans sake."

Gross, stupid, wrong and unfair. I really hate the anti woman, anti equality message of the bible, and so does Sarah Palin. If she did live a biblical life, then Todd would be the head of the household and she would be silent. The "Barracuda" is a right wing conservative Christian that believes in the end of times, that Creationism should be taught in the science classroom and a literal interpretation of the bible.

Because women were created second, and from Adams rib, they are second class citizens in the eyes of the church, "so saith the lord." The bible states that women must yield to their men and there are many examples of husbands giving their wives away and even their daughters. Women are unclean and their silence is a virtue. The "Barracuda" has certainly not been silent in her criticism of the President, or any male democrat in office. The short time that she was governor she "ruled" over men, even though the bible says that women cannot teach (lead). Did she vote for bills according to Todd's wishes, because the bible says that she has no vote, Todd has her vote-because it is his vote, God said so.

Cherry picking form the bible is the only way it can be used. It contradicts itself left and right. Love thy neighbor, but only if you neighbor practices the same splinter cell of Christianity that you do. Shun worldly possessions, help the poor, do not use the church for monetary gain, unless you are the pastor of a mega church and subscribe to the gospel of money. Turn the other cheek, unless you are brown and worship another god and have oil resources. Do not covet thy neighbors wife, and if you do just self forgive yourself and then blame the women-because women are the root of all evil according to the church, the bible and "Him."

Conservative Christians want us to return to a more "biblical" time where women submit to their men and are silent. That is of course you have something to gain, like Palin. If you can achieve status, wealth and somekind of power, then you don't have to live by the "rules". You can be a hypocrite and contradict what you preach. The rules are for everyone else, but we already knew that.

Calculators Will Make Us Dumb

I remember when pocket calculators came out and every math teacher in the world claimed, "It will make the world dumber." After all, you no longer had to add, subtract, multiply or divide by longhand. It was just a few taps of the button away. Now a days, these crazy kids have something called Virtual Nerd.

Virtual Nerd is the brain child of Leo Shmuylovich a former test preparatory tutor and University of Washington graduate. Along with his graphic design business partner, they came up with a video tutorial, much like YouTube, that covers math and physics. The student can study whatever lesson he/she wants, and the questions and answers for that lesson, or any other, are just a click away. It seems comprehensive and any question the student might have has been thought of and the answer is there.

Shmuylovich claims, "...everybody is built to do math." I agree with him, but there is no Asian/Indian math gene that makes us genetically more prepared to do math (I know because I suck at math). Math, especially algebra, is very difficult to learn and it takes a lot of hard work to get through it. Some people (seemingly) pick up math very quickly and others not so quick. Just like when the calculator came out, the student still had to work hard and understand the concepts.

Virtual Nerd cost $40 a month and if you paid for a tutor (which I did at age 33) that only pays for two sessions. Still it is no replacement for a teacher or a real tutor and hard work. The tutoring industry is a billion dollar a year industry for a reason, it helps students. If I were taking a math class right now, I might do both.

Math is so important to learn. You might never (knowingly) use math in your everyday life but if you study math you are sharpening your critical thinking, reasoning and deduction skills. Math will help you to think abstractly about solutions and the frustration of going through the process, and making it, will help you in problem solving situations latter. I'm kind of nerdy in that I think it is a great accomplishment to solve a page long problem, and get it right. There is joy and the satisfaction of a job well job, a job where you challenged yourself, and you won. Math can give you understanding.

Did the calculator in the 70's make the future generation dumber (or the abacus)...well yes and no. I think we went both ways simultaneously, but that is not the fault of the calculator-it's just a tool. Virtual Nerd is a tool also. Sure the older generation might look at it as something that makes this generation weaker and dumber, but that wouldn't be the fault of the technology. Like Chuck D. said in the lecture a couple of weeks ago, "Become a nerd." Well said my rapper icon homie.

To Debate or Not Debate

Since the arrival of the Four Horsemen I have watched many an online debate (mostly Christopher Hitchens). Before their arrival, I basically knew nothing about the format and even now, still know very little. What I do know is that we (mostly) always loose. Why is that?

Debating is not so much an exchange of information (in some cases it is and it should be) as it is a "charm contest." If debates were decided on content alone, then atheists would win everytime. How can William Lane Craig win most of his debates when he is debating for the suspension of all natural laws as we know it-resurrection, an unprovable God. He is charming and has a way with words; quite likable actually. Also he is a professional and he is good at his job, as he should be.

The atheist v. Christian debates are usually an atheist professor against a professional Christian debater like D'souza or Craig. These guys do this as a job, so of course they are good at it. They have debated topics like the existence of God or the Empty Tomb many times over and over. An atheist professor, on the other hand, may be able to talk about biology till the break of dawn, but that doesn't mean he/she will be able to speak concisely and focused on the topic at hand. How many times have you had a professor talk about something, get sidetracked, then the student asks, "Is this going to be on the test." To speak in soundbites, while debating, is preferable to professor speak (aka rambling)-which many have accused Hitchens of doing.

Speaking of Hitchens, debates are usually held in churches. I have always thought it was quite brave of him, or anyone, to go into the "den of sheep." Just like in sports, there IS a homefield advantage. In that situation everyone's mind is already made up-no fence sitters there.

Debating follows a format, it is not a free flow or exchange of information. One debate tactic is to overload your opponent with topics to address. Craig does this a lot. He will give his opponent too many subjects to respond to in the allotted five minute rebuttal period. When the opponent does not respond to all of his points that is considered a drop. A drop is not good and it makes it look like you are avoiding the previous points.

These are just some thoughts off the top of my head. If this was a debate, I would have probably lost. Should atheist debate Christians, you bet we should (and when I say we I mean people much more qualified than myself). As far as I know, there are no professional atheist debaters out there, so I don't expect the results to change anytime soon. Debating is like a football game. If you win the coin toss you get the ball first, score first and put your opponent on the defensive. The best team or the best athletes don't always win. The team with the best execution wins. The same goes for debates.

I actually look up to Craig and D'Souza because they are so masterful at the game of debating (come on now atheist, give credit where credit is due-nothing wrong with that). What the casual observer has to remember is, it's just a game. Knowledge doesn't change with the outcome of a debate. Knowledge is the same regardless of the outcome. For example, is the Resurrection now possible when an atheist loses a debate or is the earth now 6/10,000 years old-no way man.

News Roundup, Monday 15

High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a GPS guided rocket system, accurate within a yard, accurately killed ten in Afghanistan, including five children. U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, apologized saying, "We deeply regret this tragic loss of life."

This last weekend CSU East Bay president, Mo Qayoumi, and other university leaders "fanned out" to more than 100 black churches to encourage families and children to prepare and attend college. Only one in five black children are eligible to attend CSU. Two weeks ago at the Chuck D. lecture he also encouraged a college education over a "street" education. I like the idea of going to black churches to promote education. Generally speaking, believers are less educated and earn less. Hopefully, this promotion will lead to more atheist in the black community.

More news is coming out about Harvard trained neuroscientist Amy Bishop who killed three of her colleagues after she was denied tenure. Apparently, in 1986 she was suspected of fatally shooting her brother (later cleared) and 1993 she was suspected of sending a pipe bomb to a colleague at Children's Hospital Boston. I guess education isn't everything.

The Christian US Military is still years away from repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Just like the Chris Rock joke says, "If gays want to be miserable too, let them," when talking about gay marriage. The same goes for the military, if gays want to fight unjust wars, and kill hella brown people, then let them. Who better to shine boots and keep weapons sparkling clean than gay homies (that is not a joke, it's true-there might be less weapons malfunctions).

Seven year old samba queen is creating quite a controversy and it's all "who smelt it dealt it." If you think it is "pervy" to let a seven year old dance on a float and promote her culture, the problem is with you. I've been to many "carnival" type celebrations and one of the best parts is seeing the children promote their culture. I did Filipino Folk dancing as a child and there was nothing wrong with that. The Carnival in SF is full of children participating on samba teams, floats and bands. Shame on you "pervs."

The most important news topic today....A new ordinance to stem the spread of medical marijuana dispensaries is calling for the end of on site pot consumption. Hello government, don't touch my weed. That is the news round up for Monday 15, Feb, 2010.