1. Car dealership advert tells atheists to 'shut up'

Comment #185838 by Marc Weeks on May 28, 2008 at 7:05 pm

This is not very surprising if you think about it. No one prays like a Ford owner.

2. Sun's properties not 'fine-tuned' for life

Comment #183759 by Marc Weeks on May 22, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Dear Rod-the-Farmer,

You wrote: "Anyone need a good editor/proof-reader?" Why did you hyphenate "proof-reader"?

Cordially,

Marc

3. Texas Megachurch Minister Busted in Internet Sex Sting

Comment #181849 by Marc Weeks on May 18, 2008 at 11:54 am

I'm with Hitchens on this one. There's a radio talk show host in San Francisco, Bernie Ward, who pled guilty to having child pornography. He made his name as a talk show host by going after the Catholic hierarchy for ignoring or covering up child abuse committed by the priesthood. One wonders if Ward--and others like him--speak out about so fervently against these acts just to have some sort of defense when they're caught.

4. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #181210 by Marc Weeks on May 16, 2008 at 4:09 pm

I think this Mr. Dice has some explaining to do himself, what with his name encouraging gambling and all.

If you can be aroused against your will with this picture, then you're not even safe from Mrs. Butterworth.

5. Bible Theme Park Faces Opposition in Tennessee

Comment #181196 by Marc Weeks on May 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm

I wonder if they'll have a Pharoah's wheel?

6. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181186 by Marc Weeks on May 16, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Doesn't the word "banishment" appear in their dictionaries?

You'll notice they were strangled, which I've always heard is the most personal way of killing someone. It isn't like the relative detachment of shooting someone. To strangle someone, you need to hate them. But if you don't hate them necessarily, then you would to need to feel that you had some sort of sanction to do what you're doing. Enter God, stage left.

7. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #179865 by Marc Weeks on May 13, 2008 at 10:48 pm

Thanks, Quine, it's always nice to hear Carl again, and I'm glad that so much of his work is online. He was better than any teacher I ever had. I'm glad I got to hear him lecture in Berkeley (I got to hear Stephen Hawking there, too, years later). I remember intentionally forfeiting a tournament chess game so I could be there when Carl's lecture started. I should have kept playing, though, because the person introducing Carl decided to list all of his awards and honors. I might have been able to play another game! It was an interesting talk he gave, but he struggled to make it easier for the uninitiated but also technical enough for the UC Berkeley crowd. I just had the sense of an enormous intellect lurking below the surface, which was the same way I felt about Stephen Jay Gould.

Okay, sorry, I'm gushing. Carl did no wrong in my eyes, mainly because of the way that he inspired me to increase my awareness of the sciences, even if I lacked the discipline for a formal education.

My favorite Carl quote was concerning the efficacy of bomb shelters, given the yields of the nuclear weapons of the day: "They will serve as efficient crematoria for those who do not wish to litter the streets."

8. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #179838 by Marc Weeks on May 13, 2008 at 9:08 pm

There's that word "chance" again.

What was the analogy Carl Sagan (or maybe it was Richard himself) used about the probability of chimps accidentally typing a Shakespearean play? Of course it would be nearly impossible, unless the chimps received some sort of acknowledgement as they typed that they had chosen the correct letters (an analogy, I guess, to a favorable adaptation to an environment).

Do I have that right?

You folks are all pretty smart--even when your exasperation makes you stray into invective and ad homi...hominm...ad honomym...uh...name calling. But no one ever said these posts have to be publishable.

Keep up the good work. I appreciate it.

9. World's most prominent atheist takes on the Biblical God (and other topics)

Comment #175195 by Marc Weeks on May 4, 2008 at 7:45 pm

As she sang "Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?," all I could think of was Terry Jones of Monty Python singing "Never be rude to an Arab."

I've been aware of these two for a long time. I remember once he spoke about where Hell might be--I think it was in a globular cluster or something. In this video he says that Heaven's in the north, in a hole (??) in Orion, which isn't near the north so much.

I like at the end when Rexella says that Jesus's resurrection is a "fact of history," yet she goes on to add that you need faith. Why?

Jack's always driven me nuts by the constant scripture quoting. It almost sounds like he's trying to sneak the stuff in there subliminally, like: "Rexella and I had dinner last night--1 Timothy 4:1 and God said, 'Let's eat!'--and it was just marvelous.

By the way, I'm writing this e-mail from the World Headquarters of I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

I work with someone who talks about teaching Bible study and at church camp--this, by the way, is someone who can't pass a simple civil service test--and I'm waiting for the day that she approaches me on this subject. Actually, the whole office is full of Christers, the "everything happens for a reason" lot.

I heard another tornado survivor say yesterday that God's hand had protected them from being flattened. One would naturally conclude, therefore, that God hates little girls, one of which he allowed to be killed by a falling tree.

Where's that hole in Orion when you need it?

10. Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90

Comment #146187 by Marc Weeks on March 18, 2008 at 6:04 pm

I will always remember attempting to read his book "The Ghost of the Grand Banks," referring to the Titanic, of course. I started reading it once and found it tough going, mainly because I had never heard of fractals or the Mandelbrot Set. A year or so later, it suddenly occurred to me that I might by then have the knowledge to successfully tackle the book. It turns out I did, and it was an enjoyable read.

ACC was a true visionary--a word I don't think I've ever heard applied toward, say, a Pope.

I hesitate to use RIP, taking note of what website this is, and I'm certainly not going to try to write something like I'm talking to him, so I'll just say that the human race was better off with him alive.

11. Pale Blue Dot

Comment #118746 by Marc Weeks on January 30, 2008 at 10:49 pm

I remember watching Cosmos while I was in the Air Force. I immediately went to a nearby planetarium gift shop and bought a bright red Astroscan telescope. I accidentally "discovered" the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and sprinted back to the dormitory to try to persuade someone else to come out and take a look. No one would come out, unfortunately.

Many years later, with the aid of a home-built 24" reflector on a Dobsonian mount made by a friend, we got over a 1000 people to come out and take a look at Comet Hyakutake. It was the happiest night of my life.

I had just mailed a letter to Carl when I heard he had died. My timing has never been what you would call exquisite. But I hope that Ann Druyan received my letter and took comfort in yet another testamonial, if you will, regarding Carl's influence on someone's life.

Thanks for the video. It is much appreciated in these difficult times.

12. King Me!

Comment #114102 by Marc Weeks on January 21, 2008 at 11:27 am

I have read about creationists getting hammered in debates regarding things like transitional forms, etc., and then moving on to the next town, the next debate, and repeating the same arguments!

I guess at some point they must have decided that if they can't persuade fence-sitters or those on our side that EVILution is blasphemy, they'll content themselves merely with preventing defections from their own ranks.

13. Presentation on Atheism

Comment #105678 by Marc Weeks on January 1, 2008 at 2:06 pm

I enjoyed the video, especially the plane crash scenarios. I hadn't thought of the nose-first crash scenario with all the passengers walking away, brushing the dust off--that was excellent.

My favorite miracle-buster is why is God interested only in internal medicine. If someone's legs were severed in a car accident and were too mangled to be reattached, but the next day the patient awoke with new legs, now that would be the miracle. (Still, though, we might want to take another look at cell growth, etc.) But that never happens. It's always "I can see!," "My diabetes is gone!," "My cancer is cured!" These are typically fraudulent, incomplete, or unjustified claims, not open to investigation.

If you want a miracle, how about this?: I just managed to wrestle the computer away from my 6-year-old son for 5 minutes.