Remember History teacher David Paszkiewicz, the guy who was caught on tape preaching to his class? Remember how the student who taped him, Matthew LaClair, got death threats from the community of Kearny, NJ? Well, the case is (somewhat) resolved… As of Tuesday night, there is no teaching religion in Kearny schools– The school board adopted that policy. Sounds good, right? Well, the teacher still has his job. And the school adopted another another policy months ago: No tape recorders… Read more
I mentioned last week that I would be a guest on a Christian TV show called Life Today. I found out that if you are in that area and you’d like to be in the audience, free tickets are available! C’mon and show your support! (And if you don’t live near Dallas, I fully expect you to fly out there and join us.) The show is filmed at 1801 West Euless Boulevard in Euless, Texas 76040 (near Dallas). Taping will… Read more
Rapture Wreaks Havoc On Local Book ClubMARION, IN—Following last week’s rapture, which transported four members of the Millersville Mockingbirds Book Club to heaven in order to be with Jesus Christ, the three remaining members have reportedly been scrambling to maintain a regular Wednesday meeting schedule as well as the usual coffee-and-pastry rotation.”It’s a shame because I think Shirley had the most stimulating opinions, and I was really looking forward to hearing what she’d have to say about [Fannie Flagg’s Standing… Read more
I got my ACLU membership card yesterday. Very exciting. Maybe it’s just me. I always thought someone saying, “Bob is a card carrying member of the ACLU!” was an accusation, coming from our McCarthy-era past. It’s obviously nothing to be ashamed of–in fact, one should take pride in supporting such an organization. But the phrase was just one of those things people said. It wasn’t a slogan or anything. But I was wrong. I guess the ACLU takes it to… Read more
A random posting. But it’s worth it, I promise. This American Life did an episode this past weekend on the theme of “Quiz Show.” The third act was hilarious. Robin Epstein discussed a game show she produced and wrote questions for on the Oxygen network. It was a show made to empower young women, to show them it was cool to be smart. Except it didn’t work… A clip from the show: Host: What amendment gave women the right to… Read more
Outreach Magazine (a Christian publication) did an an interview with me for their March/April issue. The writer, Heather Johnson, was a pleasure to talk with, and she did a great job of not taking me out of context and asking some great questions. Outreach also provides a “web exclusive” excerpt-of-the-month from I Sold My Soul on eBay! I’m happy to say the first chapter of the book is now available for you to read! (And your feedback on it is… Read more
Hey, Chicago people that are 21 and older! This Wednesday night (Feb. 21) at 7:30pm, TiVo American Idol and come to the second floor of Hopleaf Bar at 5148 N. Clark. The Bookslut Reading Series is bringing some great writers to town. You will be able to listen to and meet: Chris Mooney (The Republican War on Science) Deborah Blum (Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death) Jennifer Ouellette (The Physics of the… Read more
God is a vegetable in a wheelchair. Jesus is the fascist CEO of a corporate Church. A Cold War is ongoing between Heaven and Hell. This is the setup for protagonist Matthew Ford, a young man who “sets into motion that final prophecy that leads to the End of Days” in a novel by (ironically named) Matthew Moses. The book is called Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days. And you can read the first three chapters here (Word Document). If… Read more
I’m getting sick of hearing about Jim Carrey’s new movie, The Number 23. Not coincidentally, it opens this Friday, the 23rd. It’s about how Carrey’s character gets obsessed with the number 23 and starts seeing it everywhere he goes. Of course, this is all a coincidence. If I asked you to look specifically for the number 55, you’d start seeing it everywhere you went. In fact, pick a random number. Look for it. Count how many times you see it…. Read more
Humanist Mama Stephanie’s little boy is my new favorite person. He catches on pretty quickly. And I’m guessing one day, he’ll save his mom from an awkward “birds and the bees” conversation, too. Read about his channel-surfing adventures here. [tags]atheist, atheism, Jesus, Christian[/tags] Read more
