Mike Dunford of Questionable Authority was born this day some years ago. Wish him a happy birthday.

… this would be a good time to “attend” the “A” Week on Facebook event. Click here and RSVP and put the big A in there as your face.

But that it has always been true does not excuse …

Continue reading Patriarchic institutional structures exist to manage power and sex →

…. I had a feeling this was going to happen….

Anyway, praise FSM, I’m talking about him being gay, not being, like, a climate change denialist or something.

Check it out.

In truth, this is not really all that interesting. I mean, like, whatever. But the guy is the original skeptic, he’s 81, and he always has interesting stuff to say. So it is really all that interesting after all.

Duwayne is a friend, regular commenter, and fellow blogger. He blogs here. Go wish him a happy arbitrary day of the year fest.

No, not the earthquake. This.

… the anniversary. Check it out.

When stupid belief systems collide:

Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for “sorcery.”

In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a Beirut based satellite TV channel.

Source, more.

This is it: The fate of health care reform will be decided in the next 48 hours.

It could come down to a vote or two. And that means that right now, every last message to Congress makes a difference.

It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment. Even if you’ve already called and written your representative, it’s time to send one last message. If you haven’t yet weighed in, now’s the time. And please send this on to friends, neighbors, colleagues, former roommates, and anyone who cares about health care reform.

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to your representative.

CLICK HERE

Jessica Palmer (of bioephemera) has an entry at Collective Imagination Blog about the role of “small talk” in maintaining good health. Check it out.

The Lese of the Ituri Forest raise food in gardens, and they exchange various things for wild animal meat hunted by the Efe (Pygmy) foragers with whom they live in close economic and social association. But the Lese also hunt and gather, to varying degrees, with some individuals never doing it, others often engaged in the process, and among those who are, some degree of speciality. One Lese man I knew hunted only elephants, another mainly fished, and one of the men I most often worked with trapped small forest antelopes using snares. I will call him Marque.
Continue reading The animal research experience →

We shared this planet for fifty years. We lived through cold below freezing, and we lived through heat and mosquitoes. We saw Mexico together. He gave me rides on his motorcycle and let me drive his Jeep when I was far too young. He let me know that Bob Dylan is just a poet and not a singer and wondered why people spend good money on records and tapes when FM radio is just fine and free.

Click to continue reading “Hey, Dad”

I’m writing some things that are more unruly than usual. I’m also sleeping 12 hours a day for very good medical reasons. Rumors that I am addicted to Hulu are completely incorrect, although I did enjoy watching the maiden voyage of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea last night.
Continue reading What I had for brunch →

I recently posted an appeal for help for Minnesota’s Camp Quest, and one commenter noted that atheists should not have summer camps. Others have chimed in with reasons why that commenter was wrong. Here, I’d like to tell a simple story of one girl’s experience and why it may have been better for her to attend an atheist summer camp than the camp she did actually attend. This story was told to me by a good friend who’s name I’ve slightly altered.
Continue reading Why should there be an “Atheist Sumer Camp” like Camp Quest? →