September 30th has rolled around again. That means that it is time for International Blasphemy Rights Day. This year is different since they added the word "Rights" to the name. That makes things more positive, I suppose. That's not going to stop me from blaspheming everything right and left though. (Fuck your god, whichever one you worship.)
The Center for Inquiry has also been doing a Campaign for Free Expression and had a video contest. They just announced the winner and I thought it was particularly moving:
He's makes an excellent point. The first amendment isn't there to protect popular ideas. They can take care of themselves. The first amendment is meant to protect unpopular, unsavory and yes, even downright hateful ideas. It protects my right to say "fuck all gods" but also protects Fred Phelps, the KKK, holocaust deniers, idiots who want to burn Korans, and even idiots who want to build a mosque in Lower Manhattan. Freedom of speech means that sometimes assholes win, but that is infinitely better than the alternative of allowing the government to squash dissent with impunity. Today is about celebrating the fact that everyone has right to be wrong. If we don't allow others to exercise it then we all lose.
International Blasphemy Rights Day 2010
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Thursday, September 30, 2010 | Published in activism, atheism, irreligion, video
Louie, Louie, You're Gonna Cry
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Sunday, September 26, 2010 | Published in Christianity, larf, religion, skepticism, video
I love Louis CK. I'm man enough in my sexuality to say that. He's easily my favorite stand up comedian right now. That's more than likely because I'm a balding, pudgy middle man with two kids. He has an amazing ability to capture the quiet desperation that most American men seems to shamble through these days. (Plus he's not afraid to get extremely dirty with his jokes.) I'm not quite ready to give him Discordian sainthood yet because he needs to do something amazing to reach that plateau.
Currently he has a hilarious show on FX simply called Louie. It's mostly clips of him doing stand up interspersed with scenes of him dealing with his family and wondering aimlessly around NYC. Brilliant stuff (especially the guest spots by Rickie Gervais as his asshole doctor). If you are in the US you can watch all 13 episodes on Hulu.
I'd especially like to call attention to episode #11: God. In it he flashes back to when he was a Catholic school kid. An evil nun brings in a creepy medical doctor to scare the hell (literally) out of the kids by going into gory detail about the horrors of crucifixion. I didn't go to a Catholic school but I went to enough Good Friday services as a kid to hear the exact same sermon as an impressionable youngster. The episode raises some interesting issues about how religion uses fear and guilt to convert children who don't know any better. There's also a very touching scene with his mother near the end that shows a good example of how skeptics should present religion to their own children. You can check the episode out here:
But if you are outside the US or are reading this post after the video expires then just enjoy this clip from when Louis was on the old Conan show.
Or this clip where he investigates the Catholic Church:
All clips NSFW, obviously.
Currently he has a hilarious show on FX simply called Louie. It's mostly clips of him doing stand up interspersed with scenes of him dealing with his family and wondering aimlessly around NYC. Brilliant stuff (especially the guest spots by Rickie Gervais as his asshole doctor). If you are in the US you can watch all 13 episodes on Hulu.
I'd especially like to call attention to episode #11: God. In it he flashes back to when he was a Catholic school kid. An evil nun brings in a creepy medical doctor to scare the hell (literally) out of the kids by going into gory detail about the horrors of crucifixion. I didn't go to a Catholic school but I went to enough Good Friday services as a kid to hear the exact same sermon as an impressionable youngster. The episode raises some interesting issues about how religion uses fear and guilt to convert children who don't know any better. There's also a very touching scene with his mother near the end that shows a good example of how skeptics should present religion to their own children. You can check the episode out here:
But if you are outside the US or are reading this post after the video expires then just enjoy this clip from when Louis was on the old Conan show.
Or this clip where he investigates the Catholic Church:
All clips NSFW, obviously.
St. Anselm's Pizzeria
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | Published in Christianity, irreligion, larf, logical fallacy, satire, skepticism
1. If I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable, then I can think of no pizza greater
1a. If it is false that I can think of no pizza greater, it is false I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable
2. Pizza is greater than no pizza
3. If the pizza I am thinking of does not exist, then it is false that I can think of no pizza greater.
4. If the pizza I am thinking of does not exist, then it is false that I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable
Conclusion: If I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable, then I am thinking of a pizza that exists
1a. If it is false that I can think of no pizza greater, it is false I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable
2. Pizza is greater than no pizza
3. If the pizza I am thinking of does not exist, then it is false that I can think of no pizza greater.
4. If the pizza I am thinking of does not exist, then it is false that I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable
Conclusion: If I am thinking of the Greatest Pizza Thinkable, then I am thinking of a pizza that exists
What God Wants, God Gets
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, September 1, 2010 | Published in atheism, Christianity, discordianism, irreligion, religion
"God wants goodness. God wants light. God wants mayhem. God wants a clean fight." Roger Waters
If God is omnipotent (and we are told by his followers that He most definitely is) then we have to assume that this is the universe that He wants to exist. What God wants, God gets. Therefore God wants pain, suffering, famine, death, disease, and war. If He wanted it any other way He'd just snap His fingers and make it all disappear. He must really love seeing humans in pain. (And don't give me that nonsense about God not wanting to interfere with our "free will". An omnipotent/omniscient being would find that problem trivial.)
The logical conclusion then is that God is a dick or He is not omnipotent (or both). Either way that is not an entity worth of worship. Better to stick with Eris instead. You know where you stand with Her. Yes, she is a heartless Bitch but you know She just does it out of boredom, not malice.
If God is omnipotent (and we are told by his followers that He most definitely is) then we have to assume that this is the universe that He wants to exist. What God wants, God gets. Therefore God wants pain, suffering, famine, death, disease, and war. If He wanted it any other way He'd just snap His fingers and make it all disappear. He must really love seeing humans in pain. (And don't give me that nonsense about God not wanting to interfere with our "free will". An omnipotent/omniscient being would find that problem trivial.)
The logical conclusion then is that God is a dick or He is not omnipotent (or both). Either way that is not an entity worth of worship. Better to stick with Eris instead. You know where you stand with Her. Yes, she is a heartless Bitch but you know She just does it out of boredom, not malice.
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