Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sunday, May 02, 2010
ArkWatch
This was posted in 2006 on the Nonkinsense blog. Recently, there has been yet another Noah's Ark siting claim, I have decided to repost it here. [Edited from the posting on the Nonkinsense blog.]
In August 2006, during a taping of "This Week In Atheism," we (the panel of two others and myself) commented on an article regarding a certain Dr. Bob Cornuke of the Christian Worldview Network. Dr. Bob had just returned from Iran with what he claimed is "stunning evidence they may have found" Noah's Ark. [For decades certain Christian fundamentalists have been claiming that the Ark is located on Mt. Ararat in present-day Turkey. Nevermind that virtually every piece of "evidence" brought back was either inconclusive, refuted, misinterpreted or blatant lying about scientific proof and a false claim that the Turkish government had authenticated the find.]
What this means is that, apparently, having failed to legitimize the site in Turkey, they've moved the location to Iran. Since the Ark seems to be moving from place to place, I have asked viewers to please let us know if they've seen it. Thus, I inaugurated "ArkWatch." So, we have been asking viewers on almost every show, "if you've seen Noah's Ark PLEASE let us know."
OK, how do you know if you've seen evidence of Noah's Ark? Surprisingly, you don't have to be WARSHED IN THE BLUDDA JESUS, but it helps.
The following items or conditions COULD qualify as evidence that you have encountered Noah's Ark:
1. Two pairs of dead animals.
2. Two pairs of live animals.
3. Two pears.
4. An impression in the ground or rocks roughly in the shape of a very big boat or you actually see a very big boat or you can do an impression of a very big boat.
5. An impression in the ground or rocks roughly in the shape of the ribs of a very big boat.
6. An order of ribs.
7. An original 45 RPM disk of the 1961 release, "Gypsy Woman," by The Impressions.
8. One or more large oval stones with drilled holes in the top indicating that they could be anchor stones.
9. Just the holes.
10. You're stoned. (See Item #9)
11. A picture of the Ark taken from space.
12. A picture of Noah taken from space.
13. A picture of Noah taken taken from space during karaoke night while singing the 1961 release, "Gypsy Woman," by The Impressions.
14. You realize that if you repeat the word "ark" at least five times quickly you've pretty much nailed Popeye's laugh.
15. You wake up hung over and realize that you pretty much nailed Popeye and to make matters worse, there are now FOUR dead animals.
Keep your eyes peeled because Noah's Ark could be coming to your neighborhood!
Sincerely,
The Arkmeister
In August 2006, during a taping of "This Week In Atheism," we (the panel of two others and myself) commented on an article regarding a certain Dr. Bob Cornuke of the Christian Worldview Network. Dr. Bob had just returned from Iran with what he claimed is "stunning evidence they may have found" Noah's Ark. [For decades certain Christian fundamentalists have been claiming that the Ark is located on Mt. Ararat in present-day Turkey. Nevermind that virtually every piece of "evidence" brought back was either inconclusive, refuted, misinterpreted or blatant lying about scientific proof and a false claim that the Turkish government had authenticated the find.]
What this means is that, apparently, having failed to legitimize the site in Turkey, they've moved the location to Iran. Since the Ark seems to be moving from place to place, I have asked viewers to please let us know if they've seen it. Thus, I inaugurated "ArkWatch." So, we have been asking viewers on almost every show, "if you've seen Noah's Ark PLEASE let us know."
OK, how do you know if you've seen evidence of Noah's Ark? Surprisingly, you don't have to be WARSHED IN THE BLUDDA JESUS, but it helps.
The following items or conditions COULD qualify as evidence that you have encountered Noah's Ark:
1. Two pairs of dead animals.
2. Two pairs of live animals.
3. Two pears.
4. An impression in the ground or rocks roughly in the shape of a very big boat or you actually see a very big boat or you can do an impression of a very big boat.
5. An impression in the ground or rocks roughly in the shape of the ribs of a very big boat.
6. An order of ribs.
7. An original 45 RPM disk of the 1961 release, "Gypsy Woman," by The Impressions.
8. One or more large oval stones with drilled holes in the top indicating that they could be anchor stones.
9. Just the holes.
10. You're stoned. (See Item #9)
11. A picture of the Ark taken from space.
12. A picture of Noah taken from space.
13. A picture of Noah taken taken from space during karaoke night while singing the 1961 release, "Gypsy Woman," by The Impressions.
14. You realize that if you repeat the word "ark" at least five times quickly you've pretty much nailed Popeye's laugh.
15. You wake up hung over and realize that you pretty much nailed Popeye and to make matters worse, there are now FOUR dead animals.
Keep your eyes peeled because Noah's Ark could be coming to your neighborhood!
Sincerely,
The Arkmeister
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
To see "Expelled" or not to see...
OK, so the dilemma here is that I feel I shouldn't comment on the movie unless I've seen it, but at the same time I don't want to give money to Liars for God. Of course, I could wait until it goes to cable, which I suspect will be much sooner than the producers would have hoped. I don't know if its even playing in New York anymore. It would be amusing to see it with a bunch of friends and laugh through it.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
34th Annual American Atheists Conference
The 34th Annual American Atheists conference (we no longer refer to them as conventions) was held in Minneapolis, MN. Among the speakers was Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss, a physicist and cosmologist who gave a fascinating lecture entitled “Much Ado About Nothing: A Cosmic Mystery Story” regarding the structure--and future--of the universe.
It was my pleasure to introduce one of the speakers at the convention (most of my one-liners fell flat): Robert Lanham, author of the book The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right, containing humorous profiles, and indicates by their level of importance to the movement, the wing nuts at the center of the Evangelical Right, e.g., Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggart (who was seeing a male prostitute, unbeknownst to the author at the time), and includes some of my personal favorites: Joyce Meyers, Jimmy Swaggart and the inimitable Jack Chick. If you've never heard of Jack Chick you've probably seen one or two of his little cartoon tracts. They are approximately 3"x5" booklets of about a dozen pages and usually feature stories depicting a young person being seduced by Satan and then burning in Hell in the last frame. His tracts are very popular and are widely collected by believers and non-believers alike. I have a small collection of my own. Nobody doesn't get it like Jack Chick doesn't get it. I consider him to be the Garry Trudeau of Assholes.
I also managed to tape four segments of one of my cable shows, "NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape)"; two with Dr. David Eller, a professor of anthropology at a state university in Denver, Colorado. I interviewed him three years ago at the Philadelphia convention. At the time he was promoting his book, Natural Atheism, which is a great introduction to anyone unfamiliar with the subject. This time we discussed, in part, his new books, Atheism Advanced and Introduction: Anthropology of Religion, the latter being more of a text book. He dispelled many of the misconceptions of what religion is "about." It is not, for instance, about "God," a shared experience, morality or mythology, although they each may be included in a given religious view. His speech to the convention was entitled, “Religion is Not What You Believe: How Religion Works without Belief or Meaning to Colonize Experience.”
The other interview I did was with Jack Richter, a gay man from the St. Cloud, MN area who is an ex-member of an "ex-gay" organization called EXODUS, a Christian organization devoted to "curing" gays. I asked him about his background, etc. and how he found his way into--and out of--EXODUS. Unsurprisingly, there is much hypocrisy connected with the organization and much cheating on the program. He is also a trained opera singer and has a mellifluous voice, having studied in New York.
Among the items discussed is one of the great ironies of the extreme Evangelical Right: their homophobia is based upon the King James translation of the Book of Leviticus in the (misnamed) Old Testament. King James was notoriously, unapologetically, IN YOUR FACE gay. I think it is one of the great tragedies of human literature that King James didn't do the translation himself instead of commissioning contemporary scholars. If he had written his own bible we would now know what Jesus was wearing. How much better off would the world have been if instead of fire and brimstone the Gospels had been written thusly:
"As He gave His Sermon on the Mount Our Lord looked FAAAAAABULOUS, fresh as a daisy and all ready for the beach in his cherry red terry cloth robe and cowl combination with sandals from Caesarea.
He spake thus unto the multitude: 'Blessed are those who save their receipts!'
And the multitude clicked in the air three times and responded, 'You go, girl!'"
It was my pleasure to introduce one of the speakers at the convention (most of my one-liners fell flat): Robert Lanham, author of the book The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right, containing humorous profiles, and indicates by their level of importance to the movement, the wing nuts at the center of the Evangelical Right, e.g., Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggart (who was seeing a male prostitute, unbeknownst to the author at the time), and includes some of my personal favorites: Joyce Meyers, Jimmy Swaggart and the inimitable Jack Chick. If you've never heard of Jack Chick you've probably seen one or two of his little cartoon tracts. They are approximately 3"x5" booklets of about a dozen pages and usually feature stories depicting a young person being seduced by Satan and then burning in Hell in the last frame. His tracts are very popular and are widely collected by believers and non-believers alike. I have a small collection of my own. Nobody doesn't get it like Jack Chick doesn't get it. I consider him to be the Garry Trudeau of Assholes.
I also managed to tape four segments of one of my cable shows, "NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape)"; two with Dr. David Eller, a professor of anthropology at a state university in Denver, Colorado. I interviewed him three years ago at the Philadelphia convention. At the time he was promoting his book, Natural Atheism, which is a great introduction to anyone unfamiliar with the subject. This time we discussed, in part, his new books, Atheism Advanced and Introduction: Anthropology of Religion, the latter being more of a text book. He dispelled many of the misconceptions of what religion is "about." It is not, for instance, about "God," a shared experience, morality or mythology, although they each may be included in a given religious view. His speech to the convention was entitled, “Religion is Not What You Believe: How Religion Works without Belief or Meaning to Colonize Experience.”
The other interview I did was with Jack Richter, a gay man from the St. Cloud, MN area who is an ex-member of an "ex-gay" organization called EXODUS, a Christian organization devoted to "curing" gays. I asked him about his background, etc. and how he found his way into--and out of--EXODUS. Unsurprisingly, there is much hypocrisy connected with the organization and much cheating on the program. He is also a trained opera singer and has a mellifluous voice, having studied in New York.
Among the items discussed is one of the great ironies of the extreme Evangelical Right: their homophobia is based upon the King James translation of the Book of Leviticus in the (misnamed) Old Testament. King James was notoriously, unapologetically, IN YOUR FACE gay. I think it is one of the great tragedies of human literature that King James didn't do the translation himself instead of commissioning contemporary scholars. If he had written his own bible we would now know what Jesus was wearing. How much better off would the world have been if instead of fire and brimstone the Gospels had been written thusly:
"As He gave His Sermon on the Mount Our Lord looked FAAAAAABULOUS, fresh as a daisy and all ready for the beach in his cherry red terry cloth robe and cowl combination with sandals from Caesarea.
He spake thus unto the multitude: 'Blessed are those who save their receipts!'
And the multitude clicked in the air three times and responded, 'You go, girl!'"
Monday, August 20, 2007
NYC Atheists Cruise
NYC Atheists will be hosting a 5-day cruise from NYC to Nova Scotia from 8/25 thru 8/30. Hopefully, I will have pictures and clips and a report. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
33rd Annual American Atheists Convention, Seattle, WA, April 6-8, 2007
Probably one of the best conventions in the past several years! Presentations and lectures were given by luminaries such as attorney Eddie Tabash, one of the few open atheists who has run for public office, Edwin Kagin, legal counsel for American Atheists, actress/comedienne Julia Sweeney who also signed copies of her CD, Letting Go of God, Frank Zindler, the managing editor of American Atheists Press and the author of books such as The Jesus the Jews Never Knew, Robert M. Price, author of books such as, Deconstructing Jesus, The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man and The Da Vinci Fraud, and evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci, author of Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism and the Nature of Science who has been a guest on my public access cable TV show, "NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape)"--and will be again soon. The presentations were made in the main ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle and the place was jammed! I hope this is indicative of the pendulum, if not swinging back in the other direction, at least slowing down in its move to the Religious Right (Reich).
Entertainment was provided by songwriter/guitarist Larry Gallagher (http://www.larrygallagher.com/) who autographed copies of his second CD, “Can I Go Now?” Also, Jesus H. Christ (http://www.comedyjesus.com) dropped in to tell us that we atheists were actually closer to his compassionate philosophy than most of those who claim to believe in him and held a brief Q & A. Afterwards, he posed for pictures with audience members.
I managed to tape two segments for my cable TV show. Julia Sweeney very kindly consented to sit for one segment. She is very nice--what you see is what you get. I think I may have embarrassed her at one point in the discussion when we noted that many of the qualities we detest in one another as human beings we worship, accept, if not expect in "God." I remarked that it's much more fun to be an asshole than to pray to one. In any case, she good-naturedly took it in stride. I invited her to appear on the show any time she is in New York, but I don't know if she'll be willing to risk being put on the spot again. ;-)
Another guest on my show from the convention was (among other things) a former monk, Matthew T. Taylor, Sr., author of the book Tent Revival for Agnostics, which can be purchased at sites such as Amazon and http://www.tentrevivalbooks.com.
Looking forward to next year's convention, although as of now I don't know where it will be. I hope any non-affiliated atheists and agnostics who are reading this will become involved. For more information, go to American Atheists and/or NYC Atheists.
Entertainment was provided by songwriter/guitarist Larry Gallagher (http://www.larrygallagher.com/) who autographed copies of his second CD, “Can I Go Now?” Also, Jesus H. Christ (http://www.comedyjesus.com) dropped in to tell us that we atheists were actually closer to his compassionate philosophy than most of those who claim to believe in him and held a brief Q & A. Afterwards, he posed for pictures with audience members.
I managed to tape two segments for my cable TV show. Julia Sweeney very kindly consented to sit for one segment. She is very nice--what you see is what you get. I think I may have embarrassed her at one point in the discussion when we noted that many of the qualities we detest in one another as human beings we worship, accept, if not expect in "God." I remarked that it's much more fun to be an asshole than to pray to one. In any case, she good-naturedly took it in stride. I invited her to appear on the show any time she is in New York, but I don't know if she'll be willing to risk being put on the spot again. ;-)
Another guest on my show from the convention was (among other things) a former monk, Matthew T. Taylor, Sr., author of the book Tent Revival for Agnostics, which can be purchased at sites such as Amazon and http://www.tentrevivalbooks.com.
Looking forward to next year's convention, although as of now I don't know where it will be. I hope any non-affiliated atheists and agnostics who are reading this will become involved. For more information, go to American Atheists and/or NYC Atheists.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
This is a REAL horror movie!
They may be coming to a neighborhood near you!
They may already be THERE!!!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
ArkWatch at Nonkinsense
Noah's Ark is apparently moving. First, its indentation was sighted on Mt. Ararat in Turkey, but recently someone saw it in Iran. For more information, please use the Nonkinsense link.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Dave Fitzgerald
Here is a link to Dave Fitzgerald's blog. Dave is in the San Francisco area and is the Action Coordinator for San Francisco Atheists. His multimedia presentation, "The 10,000 Christs and the Evaporating Jesus," which he hopes to turn into a full-fledged book and DVD, was given at the 32nd Annual American Atheists convention in San Antonio, Texas this past April (on Easter weekend, no less!) . If you've never delved into Christianity (or paganism, for that matter), it's a real eye-opener!
I'm looking forward to having Dave as a guest on my local public access cable TV show, "New York City Atheists Live! (On Tape)" just as soon as he can get his butt to New York. Anyway, check out his blog!
I'm looking forward to having Dave as a guest on my local public access cable TV show, "New York City Atheists Live! (On Tape)" just as soon as he can get his butt to New York. Anyway, check out his blog!
Friday, January 13, 2006
Thursday, December 29, 2005
OK, so I lied.
THIS is the last post of 2005. The American Atheists Winter Solstice brunch was held on Sat., Dec. 17th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clark, New Jersey. It was great fun, as usual, after which many of us went to American Atheists, Inc. headquarters in Cranford, NJ for the taping of 4 segments of "Atheist Viewpoint," a public access TV show co-hosted by myself and Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, Inc. The Post-winter solstice brunch segments are my favorites because they are done before a live audience and there is much more energy and feedback. If any members of American Atheists are going to be in the New York/New Jersey area and would like to see the headquarters and possibly attend a taping, please go to http://www.atheists.org for more information.
See you in 2006!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
See you in 2006!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
OK, so THIS is my last post in 2005.
I just wanted to tell you that I have nothing to tell you other than HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
American Atheists Winter Solstice Brunch
This will probably be my last post for 2005. [OK, keep the applause down.] American Atheists, Inc. will be holding its annual Winter Solstice Brunch at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clark, NJ. For more information go to http://www.atheists.org.
As usual, I want to apologize in advance for my behavior.
As usual, I want to apologize in advance for my behavior.
Monday, March 28, 2005
31st Annual American Atheists Convention
I'm only updating because I was shamed into it by the owner of http://www.nonkinsense.blogspot.com who has been updating his blog since before he had a blog!
I attended the 31st Annual American Atheists Convention held at the Hyatt at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA. I specifically name the hotel because their service to us was exceptional and I feel they deserve mention. If you ever patronize the Hyatt at Penn's Landing be sure to mention they were recommended by someone who attended the atheists convention.
I spent most of the time running back and forth and up and down the elevators waylaying some of our eminent guests, speakers and performers for taped interviews on my local public access cable TV show, "NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape)*." One of the guests was Dr. David Eller, author of the book Natural Atheism, a real coup as he is one of my heroes. Other guests included two atheist activists from Alabama (of all places!), a married couple and their son who were forced to leave a small town in that center of culture and enlightenment, Mississippi, when they complained to school officials that their son's teacher was holding prayer and Bible study in the public school in violation of the U.S. and Mississippi constitutions. Needless to say, it became a local media event and the knuckle draggers in the local media deliberately filmed their residence and published their home address so that they would be harrassed and exposed to danger. They were unable to pursue legal avenues because no attorneys in Mississippi were willing to risk their careers to defend them. In a similar incident in that state ten years earlier the attorney representing the party was ostracized and to this day is considered a pariah and cannot get employment. If I have time I will post more on this incident. Another guest on the show was Lori Lynner, a singer/guitarist/actress/dancer who performed a selection from her recently released CD, "(Little Extremes)". For more information regarding Lori's CD please go to her website, www.lorilynner.com. Again, time permitting, I will post photos.
I would encourage all atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and liberal religionists to become active in toilet training the government to obey its own laws. Besides, when you stay in hotels you get to keep those cute little shower caps and shampoo bottles.
OK, rant is over...for now.
*For information regarding when the show is seen in NYC see one of my posts below.
I attended the 31st Annual American Atheists Convention held at the Hyatt at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA. I specifically name the hotel because their service to us was exceptional and I feel they deserve mention. If you ever patronize the Hyatt at Penn's Landing be sure to mention they were recommended by someone who attended the atheists convention.
I spent most of the time running back and forth and up and down the elevators waylaying some of our eminent guests, speakers and performers for taped interviews on my local public access cable TV show, "NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape)*." One of the guests was Dr. David Eller, author of the book Natural Atheism, a real coup as he is one of my heroes. Other guests included two atheist activists from Alabama (of all places!), a married couple and their son who were forced to leave a small town in that center of culture and enlightenment, Mississippi, when they complained to school officials that their son's teacher was holding prayer and Bible study in the public school in violation of the U.S. and Mississippi constitutions. Needless to say, it became a local media event and the knuckle draggers in the local media deliberately filmed their residence and published their home address so that they would be harrassed and exposed to danger. They were unable to pursue legal avenues because no attorneys in Mississippi were willing to risk their careers to defend them. In a similar incident in that state ten years earlier the attorney representing the party was ostracized and to this day is considered a pariah and cannot get employment. If I have time I will post more on this incident. Another guest on the show was Lori Lynner, a singer/guitarist/actress/dancer who performed a selection from her recently released CD, "(Little Extremes)". For more information regarding Lori's CD please go to her website, www.lorilynner.com. Again, time permitting, I will post photos.
I would encourage all atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and liberal religionists to become active in toilet training the government to obey its own laws. Besides, when you stay in hotels you get to keep those cute little shower caps and shampoo bottles.
OK, rant is over...for now.
*For information regarding when the show is seen in NYC see one of my posts below.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Last 2004 Update (Probably)
If you're reading this it's probably because you came here by accident. I rarely update this site and will probably not do so again until after the first of the year--2057. This is because my CPU consists of chicken wire wrapped around a flashlight battery. And also because I don't have enough RAM to get a sheep pregnant.
But as long as you're here...
I am currently involved with two Manhattan Neighborhood Network public access TV shows:
Atheist Viewpoint, which is produced by American Atheists, Inc. and is taped at American Atheists HQ in New Jersey. I co-host the show with Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists. She is my fearless leader. "Viewpoint" can be seen on Sundays at 1:30PM on MNN Channel 56.
NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape), which is sponsored by New York City Atheists, Inc, of which I am a board member (lucky them!). I am the host of this show and like to think of myself as the David Letterman of the Hopelessly Damned. "Live! (On Tape)" can be seen on Thursday evenings at 8PM on MNN Channel 67.
So you see, not only am I an atheist, but I play one on TV!
Both shows are shown in the boro of Manhattan, but "Atheist Viewpoint" is shown in almost 50 markets throughout the U.S. They deal with issues of importance to atheists, freethinkers and anyone who is interested in maintaining absolute separation of church and state. If you have suggestions, comments or questions use the contact information provided in the context of the shows. Or you can do your bitching here.
But as long as you're here...
I am currently involved with two Manhattan Neighborhood Network public access TV shows:
Atheist Viewpoint, which is produced by American Atheists, Inc. and is taped at American Atheists HQ in New Jersey. I co-host the show with Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists. She is my fearless leader. "Viewpoint" can be seen on Sundays at 1:30PM on MNN Channel 56.
NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape), which is sponsored by New York City Atheists, Inc, of which I am a board member (lucky them!). I am the host of this show and like to think of myself as the David Letterman of the Hopelessly Damned. "Live! (On Tape)" can be seen on Thursday evenings at 8PM on MNN Channel 67.
So you see, not only am I an atheist, but I play one on TV!
Both shows are shown in the boro of Manhattan, but "Atheist Viewpoint" is shown in almost 50 markets throughout the U.S. They deal with issues of importance to atheists, freethinkers and anyone who is interested in maintaining absolute separation of church and state. If you have suggestions, comments or questions use the contact information provided in the context of the shows. Or you can do your bitching here.
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