Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
New York eye doctor Emil Chynn is a hopeless romantic. For a first date, he’ll shell out a $100 reward. He’ll offer free eyelash-enhancer Latisse or pay $200 for the second date; he’ll offer free Botox or pay $300 for a third date; he’ll offer free Juvederm injections or $400 for a fourth date; and free Lasek surgery on one eye worth $2,000 or $500 cash for a fifth date. But Chynn, 47, has his standards. He won’t even consider dating any applicants unless they confirm that they meet the following criteria. [Click headline for more…] Read more
There’s no spiritual message so clear and straightforward that a creative Bible-beater can’t find a way to claim it means the opposite of what the original source intended. How many Christians do you know who somehow never understood — or more accurately, never lived by — one of their prophet’s purported core messages — to love one another, to love your neighbor as yourself, etc.? Add to that pantheon of hypocrites and obfuscators the officially disgraced Reverend Gordon Klingenschmitt, a.k.a. “Dr. Chaps.” Whoops, sorry, wrong picture. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Demure girls’-school teacher by day, super-powered destroyer of villains by night. That’s the Burka Avenger, a female Pakistani superhero who helps children fight corruption, child labor, discrimination, and, most of all, the Talibanesque oppression of girls who are just trying to get an education. She can fly, and she immobilizes enemies by shooting pens at them and clonking them on the head with books. The TV show, set to debut this month, was created by Aaron Haroon Rashid, a local pop star known as Haroon. [Click headline for more…] Read more
You may recall that almost six weeks ago, the city of Evansville, Indiana approved the temporary public display of 31 eight-feet-tall plastic crosses along the public riverfront, spread out over a four-block area. The church that wanted to erect the Christian symbols stressed that they’re (supposedly) not intended to promote religion; instead, the crosses were to be interpreted as an “art display,” because Bible-camp kids would decorate them. The children will have to find other things on which to unleash their creativity. That’s because District Court judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled yesterday, just five days before the exhibit was to open, that the crosses would be a violation of the Establishment Clause. Barker’s decision (embedded below) was the outcome of a suit filed by local plaintiffs Chris Cabral and Nancy Tarsitano, who found the ACLU on their side. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Ensign Sean A. Cruz is an active-duty officer who graduated last year from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He likes the place so much that he asked for permission to get married there. To be precise, he would like to tie the knot in the Naval Academy’s Main Chapel: The Chapel’s wedding coordinator, Claire MacCallum, asked Cruz to submit an application, and eight weeks after he did, she turned him down. The reason? Cruz, his name notwithstanding, is not a Christian. He had told MacCallum that he had chosen Jason Torpy to do the ceremony; Torpy is the president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and a registered Humanist celebrant in Maryland (as well as an occasional contributor to this site). Cruz is also a MAAF member and a Humanist, so the request makes a lot of sense. [Click headline for more…] Read more
