Watching my feet

I go everywhere with me camera. Sometimes I find interesting subjects beneath my feet. Take this pre 5k chalk on a cracked sidewalk. I could not resist. I think it was the texture that attracted my interest.

Technorati Tags: street photography, photography

Contra-Contraception

I’ve often wondered why American religious conservatives are so hung up on sex. Contra-Contraception explores some of the issues. The article also helped clarify a problem that has been circling around the edge of my consciousness for a few years. Why are European pregnancy and abortion rates so much lower than those in America? By the end of the article, I had my answer; Europe is a collection of secular nations. Unlike in America, religion does not get to influence the message. So, if I follow my twisted logic to its natural conclusion, conservative religious fundamentalists actually contribute to increased abortion rates.


Technorati Tags: religion, abortion, fundies,

Evolution is a lie

I have a pious friend who believes that I exaggerate when I say I am assailed by fundamental Christians who feel the need share their views with me. The process is insidious. I encounter it in conversations with friends and co-workers. I pass billboards and placards while with the fundie message while I drive around the city. And, I run into the worst sort of nutballs at public venues who spread their brand of poison under the guise of free speech. Take this verdant nutball. He proclaims evolution a lie while his fellow devotee proclaims people like me a fool. I encounter this in one form or another everyday. Usually, it is email or an in-your-face bumper sticker. On occasion, I encounter people like this fundie who wish to "love" me to death.

I ignored this nutball. I did not want too, I wanted to confront him. Whenever I encounter people like this, I want to respond. After all, whom was this meant for if not for me? Atheists are all of 3% of the population. This means that all but a handful of people in the park were Christians already. This was an in-your-atheist-face attack on me. It offended me. In fact, it still does. The “I can prove it” implies the same old discredited Intelligent Design argument. It was like being pitched a big old softball, I could hit it out of the park every time. However, I have a policy of keeping my child away from hate and nutballs, so I checked out a photography exhibit instead. I was much happier as a result.


Technorati Tags: San Diego, Nuballs, ID, Christians, Fundies, Atheism

Geocache fun in San Diego

My family and I went on a geocaching adventure in San Diego this weekend. Balboa Park is full of cached sites. We found a few while enjoying a wonderful day in a unique park. Los Angeles has nothing like Balboa Park. I highly recommend a visit.

I shot this picture near a formal arched walkway.

Technorati Tags: geocaching, San Diego, photography, flowers

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

One of my favorite lines from the invasion of Iraq surfaced in the May 8th issue of Newsweek in an article about the crisis in Iran titled Iran: Tehran's Known Unknowns. When Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld uttered “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” to a skeptical American public it was suppose to convey the meaning that a hidden menace was obscured behind Saddam’s incompressible and defiant actions. I believed Iraq was dangerous at the time because their actual behavior seemed to indicate that they were hiding a dangerous military and subversive religious agenda from the rest of the world. France and Russia objected to taking any direct action, as I recall, China did as well. What is different with the situation in Iran today?

France seems to be siding with the rest of Europe and the United States. Of course, they are doing it in their own special French way which means they will most likely side with Russia before the end. China and Russia are deeply involved in potentially lucrative economic considerations. China needs Iran’s oil, Russia wants free market access. Both countries motives are blatantly obvious and should be discounted when dealing with rouge counties like Iran.

Iran has a nuclear program. They have deliberately hid their activities from the safeguards of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. They have purchased machinery through illicit means which will facilitate the creation of weapons grade highly enriched uranium. The icing on this nuclear cake is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments demonstrating a total lack of concern for any UN resolution and a strong desire to remove Israel from the map. Imho – Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. They may intend to use it on Israel or other hapless non-Islamic countries. Russian seems intent on providing the technology; China seems intent on providing the money. The UN is helpless. Must we act alone again?

I hate say it (because I am not a Rumsfeld fan), but Rumsfeld and Rice may be right. Iran is dangerous. They must be confronted and their nuclear ambitions thwarted. It pains me to side with Rumsfeld. He is too arrogant to be trusted. Yet, Ahmadinejad pushes us towards accepting Rumsfeld on face value. Ahmadinejad must be mad – he pokes his finger in the eye of a giant who has already demonstrated a devastating ability to topple governments and the unilateral resolve to do so.

Technorati Tags:
Rumsfeld, Rice, Ahmadinejad, Iraq, Iran, War

Bad omens - ill tidings

We stopped in the California desert on the way to Las Vegas this weekend to stretch our legs at a rest stop. I shot a few photos of the enormous ravens that follow the I-15 looking for carrion. Ravens are generally viewed as a sign of bad luck. I am glad that I am not a superstitious man because my gambling trip turned out to be a bust. I played poorly at the poker tables and for the first time in recent memory, came back a loser. I also played poorly in a poker tournament. I had the dubious distinction of finishing dead last amongst 55 participants. Dead last is otherwise known as the “first man out” and is not a title to wear proudly. My wife went on to finish third in the same tournament. She played well.

On our way home, we spent over two hours stuck on the uphill grade west of Primm. An SUV rolled near the summit. We saw the ME loading a body bag into the coroner’s wagon. It was right out of CSI, except that the ME’s were short, dumpy, and wholly unattractive. The roadside death put a chill on our trip. It is always unsettling to see the results of a traffic accident. It is like playing to lotto, only you lose big time if your number comes up.

The bad thing about the drive to Vegas, besides the constant tragic accidents, is its inconsistency. On a good day, the drive will take 4.5 hours. On a bad day, it can take 9 hours. You never really know, it is a crapshoot really. When somebody dies along the side of the road, it can make for a long day. We departed at 11:30 and arrived at 5:45. It was a long day. Like I said, it is a good thing I’m not superstitious. I can understand how some people can be.

*** I sure wish I could spell better ***

Technorati Tags: Las Vegas, Photography, Poker, Driving

Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain

Well, since I don't believe in "the Lord" I guess it might be ok to use his name in vain. All it's going to take is one more fill up at $10 more than I am used to paying. These prices suck. Yesterday EXXON announced record profits. I think we all know how EXXON did it


Technorati Tags: Gas Prices, EXXON, GAS

Thou shall read the bible

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has made my nutballs list. According to Sarah Childress of Newsweek, Georgia plans to teach the Good Book in schools . Governor Perdue signed a bill allowing the teaching of Bible classes in public high schools last week. Didn’t he learn from Kitzmiller? Religion does not belong in our public schools. Hiding ID and Christian philosophy inside a Bible Literacy Project textbook titled “The Bible and Its Influences” and then teaching it to our children is dishonest and an abuse of authority. Teach our children science. Prepare our children for college. Don’t dumb them down with religious views.

This smells like bible school at public school. Teach the bible in Sunday school. Keep religion out of the public school system. It makes sense. Our children need to learn about how to learn, not what to believe. Science teaches how to learn. Parents teach what to believe

A line from the article – “We simply have to teach ‘This is what happened – make your own judgments’,” sends the real message that Christian zealots intend for our children. Christians want an opportunity to teach our child about their religious beliefs so that our children can determine if they wants to become a Christian. Great – does they get to learn about Islam, Buddhism, and Wicca too? I ask, does this metaphysical indoctrination program really belong in our schools? Oh hell no.

I predict a crushing defeat three years and 10 million dollars into the future. And… a 10% drop in George’s SAT scores.

Technorati Tags:
Georgia, Purdue, Nutballs, Religion, Christianity, Newsweek, Bible, Bible Literacy Project

Carson Ugly #23 - The dragon car

A tip of the hat to my friend and coworker Mark. He spotted this monstrosity on Sepulveda in Carson a few days back. What can I say, this car is so Carson.

Technorati Tags: Carson ugly, Carson, Photography

Understanding the Angry Atheists

Rabbi Marc Gellman takes a stab at understanding me (an angry atheist) in his latest commentary at Newsweek. His lighthearted respect-me-and-I-will-respect-you opinion piece was a refreshing read. Atheists were not vilified or pilloried as normally happens when a pious person pontificates. No, instead atheists are encouraged to

...see things as Spinoza urged, sub specie aeternitatis—“under the perspective of eternity.”

In other words, atheists are encouraged to get religion. Rabbi Gellman, shame on you. Why am I an angry atheist? Because few days go by without somebody, usually a fundamentalist Christian, attempting to tell me that I am (i) evil, (ii) blind, or (iii) need Jesus. The effort is so insidious, so pervasive, so overwhelming intrusive that in the end, a simmering anger lies just below the surface of my jovial smile. Sometimes it erupts, but rarely in public. For my part, these eruptions take the form of sarcastic commentary. I enjoy poking fun at the insanity of modern fundamentalist Christianity. Humor is my therapy.


Technorati Tags:
Atheists, Christianity, Christians, Gellman, Religion

Day of Silence

I heard a couple of complementary news stories about the Day of Silence effort going on in our schools. It seems that Gay and Lesbian students are bringing attention to the fact that their sexual orientation is a cause for bullying and violence. It is a shame really, nobody should have to put up with this kind of abuse. I appreciate the approach used to highlight this issue. I think it is well within the non-violent protest tradition of King and Ghandi. Of course, there is a dark side – Fundie Christians take the next day as a Day of Truth. There is no King or Ghandi in their hate filled homophobic approach to in your face abuse. These Christians are in fact the very epitome of the bully our Gay and Lesbian friends are protesting. What is an atheist to think? It seems obvious. The Christians should keep their hate filled rhetoric to themselves. Lifestyle issues are a matter of personal choice. Butt out.

The Day of Silence has a PDF if you are interested in organizing in your school. (well.. maybe next year)

Technorati Tags:
gay, lesbian, doyofsilence, dayoftruth, christians, atheists

Iranian War Watch

I worry about Iran. It seems likely we are heading to a confrontation, maybe even a war. With Iran telling the world they will retaliate if America attacks. The war of words keeps getting more intense. What is more troubling is that Iran does not threaten war. Iran threatens to retaliate with terrorism. They threaten a great many other things. Take for instance, wiping Israel off the map. I'm sure religion has nothing to do with it.


Technorati Tags: Isreal, Iran, war, Religion, Islam

Brian - at the reception

I attended a family wedding this weekend were I took this moody photo of my cousin Brian. This is the only un-wedding reception wedding photo of the bunch. The rest look like they would be part of a wedding album. Not that I mind – it was a very special occasion. My brother-in-law finally tied the knot. It was a Catholic wedding, a long ritual I had not been exposed to in years. I had forgotten how symbolic every little aspect of the ceremony was designed to be. If I had not been a sponsor/candle lighter, I would have missed most of the symbolism. I don’t get it – Vegas is so much more my speed. Play some cards, have a few drinks, get married, it’s all good.

Congratulations Don and Vicky!


Technorati Tags: Photography, weddings, family

Mike shoots Pong

I am trying to teach my 11 year old son two things currently, how Dawin developed his thinking on evolution, and the art of photography. I call it specialized extracurricular home schooling. I teach Darwin in response to his exposure to a nutball fundie friend who filled his head with unscientific crap-o-la. I teach photography because I love it and he appears to be interested in the subject. I gave him my camera at a recent party. His only instruction “be careful”. He produced this photo of his cousin Pong – I love it. He also shot two dozen other outstanding photo’s. I asked him what he was thinking while he was shooting, he said he was trying to take pictures that I would find interesting. He did a good job, there was not a single snapshot in the bunch.

This picture is his best. I gave him instruction in the zone system a few months ago. He used it in most of his photos. In this one, he lined up Pong’s left eye in the upper left zone junction. The effect is visible. The picture is interesting. He made his poppa proud.


Technorati Tags: Photography, Teaching, Home Schooling

Turner an Atheist, Fonda a hypocrite

Jane Fonda, a former Atheist, was on a PBS special with Barbara Walters recently. She recounted Ted Turner's reaction to her conversion to Christianity. Apparently Fonda felt the need to hide her interest in religion from her husband for fear that he would talk her out of it. I read the phrase “hide her interest” as code for lying. Fonda’s first Christian lesson appeared to be about dishonesty. How nice.


Technorati Tags:
Atheism, Religion, Christianity, Fonda, Turner