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The Passing of a Loved One

Greta Christina recently lost her father.

My father died on October 1, 2012, at the age of 79.

My dad, like me, was an atheist. And when you’re an atheist and a non-believer, and the people you love die, you don’t get to tell yourself that they aren’t really dead. You don’t get to tell yourself that you’re going to see them again someday, in some hypothetical post-death existence that somehow both is and is not life. You have to accept that death is really permanent, and really final.

This may be surprising to many believers… but atheist ways of dealing with death and grief are not actually dire, or hopeless, or without consolation. I’ve been surprised, in fact, at how comforting my humanism and my naturalism have been during my grief.

Go over there and read it. It’s that rarest of obits, one from an atheist. Illuminating, uncompromising, and very, very touching.

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How the Wind Does Blow

I don’t know why this intrigues me so much, but there’s a place online where you can see close-to-realtime maps of the actual WIND — Wind Map — in motion!

Click to zoom, mouse-hover to see the wind speed at any point, and look at some of the past maps to see weird and wonderful patterns of the river of atmosphere flowing over and around us.

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Balls Out at the Speed of Sound

CREDIT: Jay Nemeth/Red Bull Content Pool

There are a lot of “stunts” I don’t care much for. David Blaine standing for 72 hours in a chamber with Tesla-coil lightning … well, he might as well have stood there for 72 hours with a coin taped to his forehead.

When I was about 5 years old I decided I would stay up all night by myself, just to see what it was like. The answer is: Boring.

Ditto for David Blaine. Yes, it’s sort of impressive that someone can stand on their feet for 72 hours without a bathroom break. But it’s the standing there that’s the real deal. The rest is just bells and whistles, which makes it a silly accomplishment, and not worth watching. Continue reading “Balls Out at the Speed of Sound”

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Bad Answers: Inevitable Result of Mistaken Beliefs

Looking at a story in the news this morning.

Study: Free Birth Control Leads to Fewer Abortions

Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concludes. The findings were eagerly anticipated and come as a bitterly contested Obama administration policy is poised to offer similar coverage.

The project tracked more than 9,000 women in St. Louis, many of them poor or uninsured. They were given their choice of a range of contraceptive methods at no cost — from birth control pills to goof-proof options like the IUD or a matchstick-sized implant.

When price wasn’t an issue, women flocked to the most effective contraceptives — the implanted options, which typically cost hundreds of dollars up-front to insert. These women experienced far fewer unintended pregnancies as a result, reported Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published Thursday.

Let me do something special with this next paragraph: Continue reading “Bad Answers: Inevitable Result of Mistaken Beliefs”

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Sam Harris Nails ‘Moral Cowardice’

Sam Harris hit one out of the park with his Sept. 19 piece On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God.

The latest wave of Muslim hysteria and violence has now spread to over twenty countries. The walls of our embassies and consulates have been breached, their precincts abandoned to triumphant mobs, and many people have been murdered—all in response to an unwatchable Internet video titled “Innocence of Muslims.” Whether over a film, a cartoon, a novel, a beauty pageant, or an inauspiciously named teddy bear, the coming eruption of pious rage is now as predictable as the dawn. This is already an old and boring story about old, boring, and deadly ideas. And I fear it will be with us for the rest of our lives. Continue reading “Sam Harris Nails ‘Moral Cowardice’”

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50 Things to Do Before I Die

This is a self-indulgent repost of an older piece, freshened by thoughts of my recent 60th birthday:

I stumbled across the title phrase some time back, and Googled it. I found several lists and scrolled through them.

One of them was all “Go watch the Masters golf tournament,” and “Sit ringside at Madison Square Gardens for a boxing match,” and “See the Tour de France in person,” and it just seemed like most of it was a lot of crap you’d do to impress other people, instead of having an adventure exclusively for your own self.

I mean … golf?? Boxing? Sit on your duff and watch OTHER people do stuff? In a crowd? In a CITY?? Sheeeeit. I pass. Continue reading “50 Things to Do Before I Die”

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Blasphemy Day Post! Plus Ungodly Recipe!

In case you’ve forgotten, it’s International Blasphemy Day.

And you know, considering they made up a whole international holiday and stuff, it would be a sin not to pitch in and enjoy the day to its fullest. You know, insulting Mohammad. Insulting Jesus. Dressing up as nuns and priests and doing an obscene song and dance number. Posting some fun blasphemous comics online. Continue reading “Blasphemy Day Post! Plus Ungodly Recipe!”