In the recent film 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young professional with his life seemingly worked out: a rewarding career, a charming girlfriend, and a nice house. But then he hears the worst news he could expect: those pains he’s been having in his back are due to a rare form of spinal cancer. It’s an R-rated comedy, and the idea was to portray illness in an irreverent and unsentimental way. Seth Rogen is on hand as the best bro, who… Read more
Here’s the whole story in a nutshell: Back in 2006, 11-year-old Jake Finkbonner had a bad case of flesh-eating bacteria. Really bad. The prognosis for his survival wasn’t good. And the pictures are pretty disturbing. After many surgeries and more than a week spent in a hospital, Jake started to get better. Today, he’s doing just fine. Who should get the credit for his recovery? The family knows who they’re thanking and the Pope is taking that a step further:… Read more
A sign reading “Have a safe holiday season,” donated by American Atheists and sponsored by Travis M*A*S*H (an atheist group), can now be seen at the Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California: Staff Sergeant Dan Rawlings had to fight to get that sign up there, despite there already being a Nativity Scene and a Jewish Menorah on the premises. And a day hadn’t even gone by before someone tampered with the setup, moving the light illuminating the atheist message… Read more
I know where I’m placing my $10,000 bet. This lovely juxtaposition brought to you by Austin, Texas. (Thanks to Keith for the link!) Read more
Lawyer Dave Niose, the president of the American Humanist Association and longtime advocate for church/state separation, is going to be releasing a book in July, 2012 called Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans. The description makes me want to pre-order a copy already: In Nonbeliever Nation, David Niose argues that America was never in fact a Christian nation and shows how the Religious Right successfully took control of the social and political narrative. He takes us across the country… Read more
One of the displays outside the Loudoun County Courthouse in Virginia: ***Update***: A couple more images of the sign: (via Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) Read more
(via Toothpaste for Dinner) … The cartoon reminds me of this fantastic Louis CK bit (start at the 0:35 mark… NSFW): … Can’t forget this comic from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal! Read more
We’re still awaiting the judge’s ruling on whether Cranston High School West gets to keep its Prayer Banner, but in the meantime, Jessica Ahlquist, the high-schooler who’s leading the charge to take it down, has been talking about the case in a few select venues. A few months ago, she was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Youth Activist Award by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A transcript of her speech is finally online: A lot of irrelevant stuff came up at… Read more
