Blogroll Update: two by two

They join in pairs. There must be a flood or something. First up, The Science Pundit.  He writes about science and other important stuff, like playing Bohemian Rhapsody with with fart sounds. It is truly amazing.

Our second entry has only a single post, so he automatically qualifies for double secret probation. Which means, I'll drop in soon and if he's not posting, I'll have to whack him. Please welcome Atheist Movies, (actually Atheist Movie at the moment) I sure hope he continues to post.

Technorati tags: atheism

Oddly Bruce Almighty

I was reading the Bruce Almighty entry at Wikipedia when I found this odd bit. I posted it here because it might not be there tomorrow.

The film caused controversy because God contacts Bruce using an actual phone number rather than a number in the standard fictional 555 telephone exchange. The original telephone number was 776-2323. No area code was included. Several people and groups sharing this number have received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to talk to God. Oddly enough, some of the calls went to a church located in Sanford, North Carolina, whose pastor also shared the same first name as the Jim Carrey's character in the movie.

Technorati tags: Bruce Almighty, trivia, movies, culture

Aardvarchaeology : Four Stone Hearth 11

My favorite Swedish archaeologist and blogger, Dr. Martin Rundkvist of Aardvarchaeology, is hosting the science carnival Four Stone Hearth 11. It makes me want rush right out and learn all about this "science" thing Martin writes about so much...

My favorite:

Chris at Northstate Science looks at the relationship between archaeology and creationism. (It's what he was made to do).

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: Science, Carnivals

I want a name

Can somebody give me the name of the idiot who determined that moving up daylight saving time was a good idea? I don't like waking up before dawn. It throws my whole day off. This morning was the worst. I felt like a grouchy old bear.

My posting has dried up too. I came home from work on Monday and Tuesday tired, too tired to post. I could not find the energy to write. Heck, I could not even find the energy to log on the Christian Counter Strike server and kill a few Christian kids in a rousing gun game - and I love killing the kiddies. It is so much better than drinking a beer and watching the TV.

Give me a name... I need to write a nasty email. I might even use profanity.

Technorati tags: ChristianCS, Time Change, Blogging

First atheist in congress

Well... kind of an atheist. He does not believe in a supreme being.

Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, D-Calif., is the first openly "nontheistic" member of congress, the Secular Coalition for America announced Monday, March 12.

Of course, he's a Unitarian. I attended a Unitarian service a few years back as part of a survey of religion course. It was weird and made me feel uncomfortable.

Technorati tags: atheism, Unitarians, Fortney Stark

Former Waco pastor headed for prison

A friend in Waco passed this gem along to me. A local pastor was being served with an arrest warrant when he jumped in a car and lead police on a high speed chase. Ron Keener was the quintessential pastor and community leader who turned to a life of crime. Why does this story sound so familiar?

Keener, dressed in black-and-white striped jail clothes, answered Morgan’s questions in a loud, clear voice and only nodded in agreement when Morgan commented how unusual it was for him to be sentencing someone to prison who has a master’s degree from the Southwestern Theological Baptist Seminary.

I've been to Texas a couple of dozen times. When in Texas, I do not drive over the speed limit out of fear of an old school beat down. I cannot imagine what occurred when Keener was finally caught. I bet he was eating pudding for a month.

While looking into this story I found Bad Religion. It chronicles Keener type offenses from 2005 on.

Technorati tags: hypocrisy, Waco, Texas, Ron Keener

There is dumb, and then there is dumb

The anti-300 petition - Dr. Hamed Vahdati Nasab might just be on the dumb end of really dumb. Did I mention I think he's dumb? 

Technorati tags: The 300, Frank Miller, Vahdati

Former Pastor Must Serve for Statutory Rape

I have been planning a regular religious hypocrisy section here at Deep Thoughts for over a year. Every time I start to write it, I get discouraged. These acts of violence, abuse of power, larceny, or just plane dishonesty upset me. So I pass on posting in favor of more upbeat stories. The story changes when people like convicted child rapist Gregory Stanley Dempsey come to my attention. These types of asshats are why I want to write the hypocrisy section. Dempsey molested a young boy at the Oak Street Baptist Church. When sentenced to almost four years in prison for his crime, Dempsey bemoaned his inability to find work.

He ((Dempsey) said the incident has cost him to lose his home and life savings and he is having difficulty finding anyone who will hire him.

Asshats and nutballs - they piss me off.

Dempsey's story is typical. He had power and influence. He had unsupervised access to children, and he had co-workers who just did not care. Even after his conviction, his friends are standing by him - I can hear them now - "He is not a bad guy really, he just likes to sodomize young boys". I am sure his work for Jesus is much more important.

Technorati tags: Hypocrisy, Baptist, Gregory Stanley Dempsey, religion, rape

Priests to purify site after Bush visit

 Bush defiles a holy Mayan site with his Christian presence. Right....

Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace. He also said the rites — which entail chanting and burning incense, herbs and candles — would prepare the site for the third summit of Latin American Indians March 26-30

I not saying this sound crazy - OK wait, I am saying this sounds crazy. Do the spirit guides (whatever they are) purify the site after every visitor, or just after the evil ones? Do I need to tell them I'm coming before I visit?

Technorati tags: George Bush, Mayans, Religion

Not beer - tacos

I stopped for a diet soda on my way home from work Thursday. Del Taco sells a macho sized drink big enough to quench the thirst of a small family, it was just want I needed. Since this is my neighborhood Del Taco, the manager recognized me. He added a sample shredded beef taco to by drink order gratis. I was pleased. The taco tasted like the tacos my childhood friend's Mexican housekeeper used to make. Yummy.

Not Beer - I think the sticker is guerrilla marketing for the website alliance wake.

Technorati tags: Photography, alliance wake, not beer, stickers

My Wal-Mart phobia

I happened upon a book review for The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy. I've read the book. It's good. It does not change my anti Wal-Mart bias. I will not shop at Wal Mart. I will not buy their shoddy products. I will not camp in their parking lot, nor will I smile at the senile greeters. Every experience (all two of them) have been life altering digressions into banality and frustration. I will not go back, ever. I'll even pay more for my paper towels. I don't care. Wal-Mart sucked the life out of me. it will never happen again. I don't care if Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox think otherwise. Wal-Mart sucks.

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart, Phobias, Book Reviews

Blogroll Update: Die Eigenheit

Die Eigenheit has joined the Atheist Blogroll. I'm listening to his repost of Six Seconds That Changed The World as I write this. Wow, I mean wow - welcome to the team.

Technorati tags: Atheism, Music

Onwards and Forwards: why I am not an atheist

 I am confused, Onwards and Forwards goes out of his way to tell us why he is not an atheist, but also goes out of his way to tell us he is an something like an atheist. He is not a Christian, is not a theist, is not agnostic, and is not even religious. that means what.... an atheist or a polytheist, or a nutball. 

He states five reasons for not being an atheist:

1. Worldview

2. Scientism

3. Belligerence

4. Intolerance

and 5, atheism is closed. 

Atheism is not an open, but a closed way of thinking. Atheism does not seem willing to ask: “Is there not a concept similar to ‘god’ that would prove useful for explaining the world?”; “What is religion good for?”; “What do the religious mean - beyond what they manage to say?” Atheism is just plain not curious enough for me.

Of course, he does not address what actually means, he instead focuses on his perception of people who are atheists. His thinking is flawed. What a shame.

I encourage the atheist community to pay Onwards and Forwards a visit - he needs clarification.

Technorati tags: Atheism, nutballs

Blogroll Update: Two nuubs

The Thermal Vent spews godless goodness as our newest member of the Atheist Blogroll. Did I mention he likes really cool science? 

Acrylic is our first tumblr blog - it looks interesting and it has all the right bloggy pieces, so I let him join. He's new - so it's double secret probation for the next three months.

Technorati tags: Atheism

woohoo - 100,000 hits

Deep Thoughts had its 100,000 hit today.  I started my blog on May 10th, 2004 with Freeway Rant.  My original intent was to provide a place to let off steam while I was attending graduate school. I posted on whatever popped in my head, and shot lots of pictures. Over time I drifted towards Atheism, partly in response to Bush and his fundie minions, and partly because I care about the subject.

Deep Thoughts gets about 300 hits a day and is ranked something like number 7,000 on Technorati. My fellow bloggers tell me Deep Thoughts is a top 10 atheist blog. The truth is, I don't really care. I write because I've always wanted to be a writer and photographer... which is an escape from the mega IT geek I turned into. Mostly, I write to relax, have fun, and meet a few other like minded people.

I have a few rules: I keep it clean, I don't write about work or what I do for a living.  I try to be nice, and any nutball is fairgame. I am a people watcher at heart, odd people intrigue me. Take libertarians, I am one myself, but I cannot stand the vast majority of those I meet. Libertarians are crazy, with bizarre and frightening ideas.  The same goes for the super religious (and super atheist) people I meet.- they all tend to be a little crazy. What is left is the great unwashed middle - it feels like home.

I do not have any plans to stop posting. I may change my editorial slant a little. I'm on an atheism tear at the moment, but I feel like writing about art and music, and now that spring is here, I will start posting pictures too. My off work priority is a book project , however, I will still put an hour of my day into Deep Thoughts, plus - I love keeping up the Atheist Blogroll.

I want to thank everyone who has been kind enough to visit Deep Thoughts over the last few years. Your kind words and encouragement has helped me to smile after long days spent at a thankless job. Heck, I even like the fundie nutballs, so don't stop sending the hate-filled emails!

Technorati tags: blogging