The winner of the Project Reason video contest (and $10,000) was Chris Redford, who made this video: Redford is a member of the Society of Open Minded Atheists and Agnostics (SOMA) at the University of Kansas, an affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance. There was a nice article about him and his deconversion today in the campus newspaper: The biggest shift in Redford’s religious transformation came in March of 2004, when he read a New Mexico professor’s controversial review of… Read more
I’m speaking in Orlando, Florida today, and yesterday I spent a day at Disney World with members (and friends) of the Secular Student Alliance at Valencia Community College! Sounds wonderful, yes?! It was fun. No doubt about that. However, the weather did not want to cooperate… Jesus must hate us. On the upside, we visited a place at Epcot Center called Club Cool, which offers free tastes of Coca-Cola products around the world. There was a nasty little beverage called… Read more
This movie is coming out in a couple weeks. I can’t wait to see it, for obvious reasons: Almost as good as watching a movie about popcorn while eating ba—well, you get the idea. Read more
There are a number of clever ways to respond when Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church comes to your area to protest… whatever ridiculous thing they’re protesting. Recently, the Pastafarians at the University of South Carolina counter-protested with funny signs: Cute. Funny. Attention-getting. But there’s an even better way to respond to the hate. I’m especially excited because this one took place at my alma mater, the University of Illinois at Chicago. UIC student Jason Connell used the protest as a… Read more
Toast is good. Buttered toast with jelly is delicious. But Flying Spaghetti Monster Toast is divine: The awesome ladies at Negative Entropy offer directions so you can make them yourself. Check it out! Read more
Almost exactly a year ago, I posted about St. Johns County School District in Florida and how they were including the following song in an elementary school concert: When a couple parents filed a lawsuit, their children were not just told they wouldn’t have to sing the song — they were pulled from the whole concert altogether. It was a horrible way for the school to handle the situation. Anyway, there’s an update on the case. The School Board settled… Read more
My spring break has started and I’m in Florida for a few days — if you’re in the Orlando area, stop by Valencia Community College on Monday afternoon for my talk! … In the meantime, here’s something random and fun. Friday was my friend Anne’s birthday and her boyfriend Jaime decided to throw her a surprise party. Our college friends were there, along with her family and his. I brought along a camera… and I added a few captions to… Read more
The Humanist Association of Ottawa has a new, revamped website that looks pretty nifty. I love the banner 🙂 They now have sections specifically for locals who want to meet other atheists (even if they don’t want to become official HAO members), a blog that I hope will be updated frequently, and an event calendar bursting with opportunities. And it’s just fun to say HAO (in my head, I’m pronouncing it HEY-oh). Check them out, and if you’re in the… Read more
… and I think I’ve found the perfect one! I’ll take three of them. (Thanks to Stacie for the link!) Read more
Heather (a.k.a. CompletelyLovely) has a lovely song written to the tune of “Jesus Love Me.” It’s probably NSFW if you have the speakers turned up. In case you missed it, be sure to stick around for the last 15 seconds of the video. The unsung lyrics might be my favorite 🙂 (via The Atheist Jew) Read more
