Canarysong

By MajorMalfunction on Sep 12, 2011 at 1:45 PM

Anyway, if you join fb, let me know where to find you. I'll delete message here once I get it and add you over there.

By MajorMalfunction on Sep 12, 2011 at 1:02 PM

You should hear my eight year old when somebody says jesus or god on TV. She's a chip off the old block. LOL I've pre-ordered the new Dawkins children's book about science that's coming out in the next 30 days. The kid watches Through The Wormhole With Me. Some anti-theists think it's better to expose children to all religions so they aren't taken in by any, but I think it's best to keep them away from them entirely, teach them critical thinking and reason, the precepts of the sciences and they'll be well and truly inoculated by the time they grow up. I never told them Santa was real either; I feel that the whole Santa thing is an early infection vector of the meme. Once kids find out Santa isn't real, the groundwork and wiring is already set for the big lie to take over.

By Canarysong on Sep 12, 2011 at 9:51 AM

Thanks for the bellylaugh; I'll try that line sometime! That IS what fundies fear about the internet; some fundie bloggers have warned their followers about the corrosive effects of internet exposure to scientific and philosophical challenges to religion on chidren's religious 'education' (brainwashing). Your kids are lucky that you are raising them to think for themselves.

By MajorMalfunction on Sep 12, 2011 at 9:38 AM

And that's exactly why the fundies fear the internet. Because they can't control their childrens' self-education. I like to tell the conspiracy nuts that the aliens won't land until we get rid of our gods. That keeps them tied up in knots long enough for me to make my getaway usually.

By Canarysong on Sep 12, 2011 at 9:33 AM

Omg... that sounds like the book that I would most like to read next! Thanks for telling me about it. I have never been a believer, and yet I have always been fascinated with religion, especially the history of various religions and their (often unfortunate) impact on civilizations. If we can get past the current escalation of insanity, we might have a chance of surviving on this planet. There is hope... Religion is on a quick path to extinction in niine countries, and even in the US younger people are increasingly less religious than previous generations.

By MajorMalfunction on Sep 12, 2011 at 9:22 AM

Yeah. there's some good folks over there who are also sick of having to respect people's childish beliefs. I'm familiar with Harris, and have Why Darwin Matters. I tend to lean towards the evolutionary biology side of things, myself. I love to get into "discussions" with people who claim there are no transitional fossils. D'oh! Wrong! Lulz I can also recommend another book I just had called to my attention that I"m reading right now and it's transforming my discomfort with religious delusion into outright disgust. The Christ Conspiracy by Acharya S. http://www.amazon.com/Christ-Conspiracy-Greatest-Story-Ever/dp/0932813747 I knew that Jesus was a mythological figure as opposed to an historic one, but this book makes a very strong case that it was completely and cynically made up as a form of control by the early church fathers, who forged the gospels. And the burning of the ancient knowledge offends me even more to think how much further along we could have been in science and humanity if it weren't for zealots burning the proofs that they made the whole thing up out of whole cloth.

By Canarysong on Sep 12, 2011 at 9:13 AM

Thanks for posting the link on The God Virus. I haven't read that yet, but I'm adding it to my 'to read' list. I've read most of the books from Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris (LOVE!!), Daniel Dennett, and Dan Barker. The only book of Dawkins' that I have read is The God Delusion. Since my background is in the social sciences, I tend to gravitate toward those before I tackle more unfamiliar territory like evolutionary biology. I have just started a book that you may be interested in... 'Why People Believe Weird Things' by Michael Sherman. He basically says that humans have evolved to look for patterns in their environment. While this might help them hunt prey, recognize cause & effect, etc., it also can lead to errors. These errors often result in seeing patterns where there are none (hurricane as god's punishment for gay marriage and other such nonsense). Some of his other books (I haven't read) include 'The Believing Brain', 'Why Darwin Matters', and 'The Science of Good and Evil'. Here's a link to a TED Talk on the topic: http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception.html I guess I really do need to finally break down and join the rest of the world on Facebook, huh?

By MajorMalfunction on Sep 12, 2011 at 6:47 AM

I agree with you. I've completely eradicated all superstitions from my psyche and done some serious reading about why these beliefs persist in our minds. I'm convinced the viral model is absolutely correct. It made insulating myself from it even easier. But I agree, the world has moved past this stuff and pretending it's OK when it's not is just plain wrong. I have taken a page out of Dawkins' book. There is no need to be apologetic or treat them with a soft touch for thinking it's baloney. I don't know if you're on facebook, but I belong to several atheist/freethinker groups there. I do my best rants on the subject there as well. LOL

By Canarysong on Sep 11, 2011 at 10:51 PM

The fundies sure get their panties in a twist, don't they? (re: comments on the atheist demotivational) I didn't have time for this BS today, but I can't really hold my tongue anymore when the subject comes up. I am very tired of pretending that religious beliefs are anything other than nonsense.... very dangerous nonsense.

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 31, 2011 at 9:24 AM

*curtsey* Fanx!!

By Canarysong on Aug 31, 2011 at 9:09 AM

Congrats on your recent FPs!

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 29, 2011 at 1:45 PM

It's all good! I'm happy you were so happy for me, even if it is too early. LOL

By Canarysong on Aug 29, 2011 at 1:40 PM

Yes, it did. I loved it! Sorry about the premature congrats... I told Winnie earlier that caffiene hasn't managed to clear my head today - I guess that's more true than I even realized! (maybe I should try it in an IV drip!)

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 29, 2011 at 1:36 PM

LOL! I have no idea what you're talking about. But thank you! From your comment, I'm assuming the chalkboard one made it to voting?

By Canarysong on Aug 29, 2011 at 1:34 PM

Oops! I was looking at the voting page, sorry! Well let's just wait a few days... that one will make the FP!

By Canarysong on Aug 29, 2011 at 1:30 PM

Congrats on your history FP! (that made my teeth hurt!)

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 26, 2011 at 10:16 PM

I'm usually clueless about who's on the FP until and unless I get an email about it. It was just chance I saw the congratulations notice cross my dash. It's why I tell people don't worry about congratulating me because I never pay enough attention to the FP to do it for them. LOL

By Canarysong on Aug 26, 2011 at 10:00 PM

Whoa! Thanks for telling me! I wouldn't have seen that until tomorrow. Yay!

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 26, 2011 at 9:54 PM

Ha! Now you have an FP. Congrats!

By Canarysong on Aug 26, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Definitely! Imagining them messed up is much funnier! Kind of what I would like to do when someone comes at me with a 'free sample' of perfume. They usually back away pretty quickly when they notice the murderous look in my eyes :D

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 26, 2011 at 9:18 PM

You're welcome! I was going to put "paper boy" but "avon lady" worked so much better.

By Canarysong on Aug 26, 2011 at 9:17 PM

'Basil and the Avon lady' was the perfect thing to see at the end of the day. I love going to bed chuckling. Thanks for that!

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 21, 2011 at 7:57 PM

I'm nothing more than a pop culture storage system. LOL

By Canarysong on Aug 21, 2011 at 7:56 PM

True. Not to mention prolific... and clever. You deserve it!

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 21, 2011 at 7:52 PM

Wow! Thanks for telling me that. There's something to be said for being thematic to the current events.

By Canarysong on Aug 21, 2011 at 7:50 PM

Hey, in case you don't know... Your fp LOL is being seen by a lot of people that may never look at ICHC! I just saw it on the 'Zite' app on my iPad. (It's a personalized magazine, kind of like 'Pandora' is for music.) Double congrats!

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 14, 2011 at 10:28 PM

Oh, good! We're so outnumbered we twisted non believers need to stick together.

By Canarysong on Aug 14, 2011 at 10:27 PM

Thanks for accepting my friend request. Loved your 'Edna & the ceiling fan' LOL! You're twisted - I like that! I'm happy to have a fellow atheist cheezpal :)

By MajorMalfunction on Aug 14, 2011 at 10:11 PM

http://cheezburger.com/MajorMalfunction/lolz/View/4860015872