I'm sure they're all very upset about it.
I had to go to church on Saturday for my wife's friend's wedding. A Roman Catholic church to be exact. Here are a few observations:
1) For a Roman Catholic church, it was quite modest. It is surrounded by trees and large sections of the walls are glass. You seem almost to be in the forest yourself.
2) It is fucking scary listening to people recite prayers or saying things in unison. It's like they've all been brainwashed into some sort of crazy cult...oh, wait...nevermind.
3) The one part of mass that I actually really like is the "peace." If you are not familiar with Catholic mass (I'm not sure if other sects do this) at some point during the service everyone turns to the people around them, shakes hands, and says, "Peace be with you." I think this is great. Strangers turning to strangers and wishing each other peace in their lives. People really do seem sincere when they do this, and it is not necessarily a religious act. I would like to experience that more.
4) Church etiquette for an atheist or non-Christian: When everyone rises for some reason, I rise. I don't do any of the praying or the crossing or anything, but I stand to be polite. When everyone kneels to pray, I just stay seated. There's no way I'm getting down on my knees for anyone. (insert gay joke here)
What do you think?
1) For a Roman Catholic church, it was quite modest. It is surrounded by trees and large sections of the walls are glass. You seem almost to be in the forest yourself.
2) It is fucking scary listening to people recite prayers or saying things in unison. It's like they've all been brainwashed into some sort of crazy cult...oh, wait...nevermind.
3) The one part of mass that I actually really like is the "peace." If you are not familiar with Catholic mass (I'm not sure if other sects do this) at some point during the service everyone turns to the people around them, shakes hands, and says, "Peace be with you." I think this is great. Strangers turning to strangers and wishing each other peace in their lives. People really do seem sincere when they do this, and it is not necessarily a religious act. I would like to experience that more.
4) Church etiquette for an atheist or non-Christian: When everyone rises for some reason, I rise. I don't do any of the praying or the crossing or anything, but I stand to be polite. When everyone kneels to pray, I just stay seated. There's no way I'm getting down on my knees for anyone. (insert gay joke here)
What do you think?
Yesterday we had an assembly at school 9th period (the last period). I appreciated this because 1) the auditorium is air conditioned and 2) because the auditorium is near the main entrance/exit. Once the final bell rang, I bolted out the front door to my car, hoping to beat the buses and traffic on the LIE. I get to the Northern State on the Sunken Meadow and there's fucking traffic already! It's only 2:30, what the fuck?
Then I see this asshole:
Then I see this asshole:
I guess he didn't see the myriad of signs stating that commercial vehicles are prohibited on the parkways and that there are low bridges. He also failed to notice the sign right before the bridge (you can see it just to the right of the trailer) that says the bridge is only 11'6".
It's a good thing this happened so early. I bet the road was cleared within an hour, in time for the normal cluster-fuck on a Friday afternoon.
Oh! One time on the way home from college I sat in traffic for about two hours on the Cross Island Parkway, which is only 10 miles long, because some jackass rented a U-Haul and got stuck in the underpass at the Southern State. Some people...
A lot of people have heard about the 2008 murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue, NY, my home town. It was on CNN, the NY Times, lots of places. The event shined a light on the anti-Hispanic sentiment that is common on Long Island. Recently the ring leader of the Patchogue-Medford High School students who went out looking to beat up "Mexicans" was sentenced to 25 years for 1st degree manslaughter.
But that's not what this post is about. In this week's issue of The Long Island Advance there was an article about the Mayor of Lucero's home town, Gualaceo, coming to Patchogue. Marco Tapia Jara met with the mayor of Patchogue Village, Paul Pontieri, and Deputy Mayor Steve McGiff. Mr. Jara also traveled around the village and had a chance to meet with some of the many immigrants from Ecuador.
Mr. Jara said, "The people here are very grateful. We can say our villages are alike. This gives us the idea that Patchogue welcomes harmony." I am not quite sure about that, myself, but it is nice to hear this sentiment from a visitor. Mr. Jara was also able to reunite with his brother and sister who left Ecuador for Long Island when he was young.
Mr. Pontieri is planning on visiting Gualaceo soon to visit Lucero's home town.
I think this is a great way to share culture and ideas, and hopefully to promote tolerance. Although, the mayors of the towns are obviously already tolerant. Perhaps there should be an exchange program for young people in Patchogue and Gualaceo to see learn about each other's lives.
Mr. Jara continued, "The politicians from the village of Patchogue support the families of Ecuador. We have confidence in Patchogue. From my heart I have a feeling of happiness."
Laughing in Purgatory: It's all about Atheism, parenting, and comedy.
This blog has only been around for a few months, but it is updated regularly. Andy runs the site, and it is interesting and funny. I'll be adding this to my new Atheist RSS feeds.
Sober Without Gods:An oasis of free thought and expression for those who seek to live a sober life based on reality & rationality with the support of people who've been there.
This is another new blog, and I really like the idea of it. Fortunately I don't have any problems with drugs or alcohol, but even so I always resented the 12 step programs for excluding atheists and nonbelievers. Apparently AA is bullshit anyway (see Ed's post here) but it still pisses me off.
Atheist Revolution:Breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America
This blog is amazing. Vjack has been running this site since 2005 and it's really well organized and written. One of the things I really like about the site is that Vjack enjoys giving advice to new bloggers, and there are a lot of tips and suggestions for improving your blog and getting more traffic. Better yet, the advice it tailored to atheist bloggers. Needless to say I'll be spending the next couple of evening perusing the Revolution.
As always, check the Atheist Blogroll for these and other great sites by and for atheists.
Not much happens in this chapter. Sarah bears Abraham a son, Isaac. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael out of his camp at the request of Sarah. Hagar and Ishmael are dying of thirst in the wilderness but the angel of god came to them and showed them where to find water. Again god says that he will make a great nation of Ishmael.
I think this is interesting because it confirms to Jews and Christians that their god is also the god of Muslims, and that they are a legitimate Abrahamic religion.
Genesis 22
This chapter is a real doozy. It exhibits one of the worst aspects of religion. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and Abraham obeys without question. Of course, when Abraham gets Isaac on the altar and is preparing to kill him the angel of god stops him. It was all a test to see if Abraham “feared” god.
This is a prime example of how religion is bad for humanity. People will commit crimes, murder included, because it is “commanded by god” or in the name of god. This chapter of the bible teaches us that this is good. The command of god is more important, even, than our very own children.
This world would be much better off if people cared first for their fellow man and second for their invisible god.
“In the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her.”
There are other references to The Lord of the Rings in the Led Zeppelin songs “The Battle of Evermore” and “Misty Mountain Hop” and some people believe “Stairway to Heaven” is also about LotR, but I read somewhere that the band denied that.
Even if the band wasn’t purposefully referencing The Lord of the Rings, listening to “Stairway to Heaven” always makes me think about Tolkien’s world.
“In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings…”
This line alone would not make me think of LotR, but taken with the others I interpret this to be about Tom Bombadil. Tom is the songbird because he sings everything, and the “tree” is Old Man Willow because that is where the hobbits first encounter Tom.
“In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees…”
Smoke rings, as far as I know, don’t occur naturally. Bilbo and Gandalf smoke their pipe weed and blow smoke rings together in times of peace. This line sounds like some character longing for those relaxing days.
“…and the forests will echo with laughter.”
Makes me think of the Ents, but they don’t laugh much. Not that strong of an argument for this one.
“There’s a feeling I get when I look to the West, and my spirit is crying for leaving.”
In Tolkien’s mythology/history of Middle-Earth, the elves awoke in the east and traveling west, toward Valinor where the gods lived. The elves that remained in Middle-Earth, and those that traveled back from Valinor, have a spiritual urge to return. Around the time of The Lord of the Rings the time of elves is fading and the era of man is beginning. Indeed, in both the books and the movies we have scenes showing the mass exodus of Middle-Earth by the elves.
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