Indie Feed

I am constantly looking for new music to enjoy. I am glad to have found a podcast that facilitates this task by introducing me to an eclectic assortment of musical styles. IndieFeed has become an excellent source of music for me. Directly from their website:

IndieFeed delivers fresh and quality-filtered music selections to audiences seeking extraordinary content experiences. Unlike mass-oriented broadcast companies, IndieFeed delivers targeted, single-serving shows optimized for desktop and mobile use, providing valuable content choices for busy quality-conscious people.

IndieFeed’s mission:

Become the trusted, reliable source for new music on the internet, create an equitable promotion model that grants bargaining and financial power to artists, and gives control and meaningful choice to consumers.

Enjoy!

Founder of Anti-Vaccination Movement 'Acted Unethically'

On the skepticism side of things, the father of the antivaccination movement was shown to have acted unethically in his overall research method. This included improper sampling procedures, directly paying for children's blood samples at his own child's birthday party (what a party!), and performing medical procedures in which he was not trained. Read ahead (here, here):

The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism acted unethically, the official medical regulator has found. Dr Andrew Wakefield's 1998 Lancet study caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting in a rise in measles - but the findings were later discredited. The General Medical Council ruled he had acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in doing his research.

The 1998 paper caused a plummet in MMR vaccinations and a resurgence of the diseases that it so prevents (shown above). Since the publication of the study, scientific literature has shown definitively that there is absolutely no link between MMR vaccine administration and development of autism.

To think that this 'controversy' is still around after all these years. Sigh.

'Academics Fight Rise Of Creationism At Universities'

A recent article has shed some light on creationist infiltration at universities throughout the United Kingdom. Have a read:

A growing number of science students on British campuses and in sixth form colleges are challenging the theory of evolution and arguing that Darwin was wrong. Some are being failed in university exams because they quote sayings from the Bible or Qur'an as scientific fact and at one sixth form college in London most biology students are now thought to be creationists. Earlier this month Muslim medical students in London distributed leaflets that dismissed Darwin's theories as false. Evangelical Christian students are also increasingly vocal in challenging the notion of evolution.

I use the word 'infiltration' with purpose—I see no substantive reason for a student of the biological or medical sciences, or any sciences for that matter, to be getting a higher-level education when they do not understand the theory of evolution. I will again stress the fact that it is not a matter of acceptance, it is a matter of understanding.

"There is an insidious and growing problem," said Professor Jones, of University College London. "It's a step back from rationality. They (the creationists) don't have a problem with science, they have a problem with argument. And irrationality is a very infectious disease as we see from the United States."

Precisely. When presented with the astounding amount of evidence that elegantly fits together to form the theory of evolution, one would have to be inane, or at least performing an astounding array of mental gymnastics, in order to dismiss it with a straight face. There is no argument from ignorance here. These students have, in fact, been presented with this very evidence.

A 21-year-old medical student and member of the Islamic Society, who did not want to be named, said that the Qur'an was clear that man had been created and had not evolved as Darwin suggests. "There is no scientific evidence for it [Darwin's Origin of Species]. It's only a theory. Man is the wonder of God's creation." He did not feel that a belief in evolution was necessary to study medicine although he added that, if writing about it was necessary for passing an exam, he would do so. "We want to become doctors and dentists, we want to pass our exams."

Excellent. A medical student. Evolution is not only intricately intertwined with medicine, as it is with every branch of science, it is central to it. As a minute example, antibiotics lose their efficacy over time specifically due to the mechanism that drives evolution, natural selection. There is so much more to it. Here's a lecture on it.

At another London campus some students have been failed because they have presented creationism as fact. They have been told by their examiners that, while they are entitled to explain both sides of the debate, they cannot present the Bible or Qur'an as scientifically factual if they want to pass exams.

Enough pussyfooting around already. Fail them out. My point stands, religion breeds ignorance.

A Tablet For This Age

Just a quick share today. I found the above slide in Apple's keynote for the introduction of its new product, the iPad, quite fantastic. Kudos to the original author, who's name I am still trying to dig up.

"Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it."

Tongue-in-cheek, perhaps.

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part VII

So, for the preliminary roundup—the atheists came in third place! We were ahead of twins, believers and contact sports athletes, but behind nerds and politicians, sadly. However, one of our team members, Kevin Kindred, ended up being the highest scoring individual on the show. Kudos to the man!

The results were judged entirely by average IQ results, it seems. I am particularly interested to see if I can find the margin of error for each average in the raw data (if I can obtain it). The average results were close enough to each other that I am skeptical as to their statistical significance. If the margins of error between each group overlap, it is unlikely that there is any actual significant difference. Hopefully, I will get my hands on the raw data for the groups and run it through some tests. The strictly scientifically significant results may not by quite as sensational as those a television show would hope for and have thus been omitted. Averages look so much more exciting, for comparative reasons.

Other than that, the evening was quite amazing. Before the show, the teams were seated at separate tables in the same large hall. During the three-hour wait time before the show, a few people from the atheist team, including myself, took the opportunity to walk around and introduce ourselves to the rest of the teams. The eclectic group of individuals was fascinating to talk to. Of note was Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, who quickly asserted her stance as a believer, but just as quickly made note of her daughter, who is an atheist. On the other end of the spectrum, one chat with a conservative politician ended up in a fiasco of sorts, which I was not a part of, but will link to later when I obtain Justin Trottier's take on it.

There are many Canada-wide results that I want to sift through and detail in a later post. If you would like to look through these results yourself, they are available here.

Again, I would like to express my gratitude to the CBC and Shannon McKinnon, the associate producer of the show, for the opportunity of being part of the team representing the atheists in Canada.

Here is the link to the full show for those of you who missed it:

CBC Test the Nation: IQ — Watch The Full Episode

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part VI

What an exciting show! I will detail a lot more about the experience tomorrow, but seeing as I have been busy with transporting myself to Windsor today, I am spent. Here is the link to the full show for those of you who missed it:

CBC Test the Nation: IQ — Watch The Full Episode

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part V

For those of you who don't know, I will be on the team representing Canadian atheists tomorrow night at 8pm, on CBC Television. The show is called Test The Nation: IQ. I am arranging for the broadcast to be recorded so as to republish it somewhere online afterward.

I am still unsure of what to expect, but at least I know this is legitimate, as I have been recorded as one of the atheist team's official members on the website. There are some very exciting people to meet come tomorrow (Marc Garneau, George Strombolopolous, Elizabeth May). Hopefully I will get a few autographs if the opportunity presents itself.

I will do my best to tweet about the experience throughout tomorrow—follow along: twitter.com/palanski

To Overdose On Homeopathy

To overdose on a homeopathic remedy is to overdose on nothing. At least not on the purported 'active' ingredient. The laws that govern everything around us are at play here, it really isn't a question of viewpoints. In an attempt to draw attention at the charlatan nature of the homeopathic industry in Britain, and hopefully worldwide, an activist group has recruited 300 of its members to 'overdose' on an entire bottle of homeopathic pills. Expect no ill effects.

More than 300 people who style themselves as "homoeopathy sceptics" will each swallow an entire bottle of homoeopathic pills in protest at the continued marketing of homoeopathic medicines by Boots, the high street chemist chain.

In an open letter to Boots last November, the 10.23 Group wrote: "The majority of people do not have the time or inclination to check whether the scientific literature supports the claims of efficacy made by products such as homoeopathy. We trust brands such as Boots to check the facts for us, to provide sound medical advice that is in our interest, and supply only those products with a demonstrable medical benefit. We don't expect to find products on the shelf at our local pharmacy which do not work."

The letter also warned that the products could be dangerous if they led patients to delay seeking proper medical assistance because they believed homoeopathy could treat their condition.

I found some directions for taking generic homeopathic pills, which called for 2 tablets a day for an individual weighing in at 150-200 pounds. This particular container came with 100 pills—50 days worth of 'treatment'. Try that stunt with any actual medication, and you will quickly find yourself, at best, in the emergency room having your stomach pumped or, more likely, dead within a short period of time. Not so for a homeopathic remedy. Any homeopathic remedy. I assure you.

The otherwise reputable pharmaceutical company, Boots, let its quickly let its colours show with the following statement:

"We know that many people believe in the benefits of complementary medicines and we aim to offer the products we know our customers want."

In other words: "people believe it works and they want it. We're willing to make a profit selling them the product they want, even if it isn't actually efficacious." Where is the line drawn? Should it be permissible for a company to sell an item that is known to have its effect rooted entirely in the placebo effect?

Many people will quickly claim that there is no harm to be had to those who opt for this route, since they are reaping the benefits of the placebo effect anyway. But what of those who are indeed ill. The little warning labels on the sides of these homeopathic remedies, calling for the patient to seek medical advice 'if symptoms worsen,' will be the cause of their demise. Time is of the essence when it comes to curing many of the afflictions and diseases that the homeopathic, quack and otherwise pseudoscientific charlatans would like you to believe they are capable of alleviating.

Now you know, right?

Drinking Skeptically — Roundup

Whenever I hold these drinking skeptically meetings, I don't really expect anyone to show up. This is why I am especially pleased when people attend every once in a while. In any other case, I am unfazed by sitting in the cafe and reading for an hour or two—this is not something out of the ordinary for me.

Last night I was greeted by a gentleman who had previously introduced himself through an email exchange after he had found my site. We spent a good two hours chatting about all things skepticism. A really good time.

Wonderist, as he calls himself online, brought up a few interesting things that I will expand on at length later, but one of which I will mention here. There naming distinction between the old-school 'leave-them-be' atheists and the 'new' atheists, who are much more vocal in their disdain for all things religious. The use of the latter moniker brings with it the idea that these types of atheists have only now just sprung up, that they are part of a fad. Although the name is new, the 'movement' is not. Wonderist brought up the idea of introducing a new term, which he dubbed 'unapologetic atheists' to circumvent this misnomer.

As much sense as this makes, the long standing proverb is that 'grouping atheists is like herding cats'. This is indeed true, as most atheists one will come across are independent thinkers and tend to be non-conformist overall. They are also bombarded with about a million different labels for their stance. Although the 'unapologetic atheist' label is descriptive and fitting—and definitely a way I would describe myself—I feel it will likely be lost in the ether.

Many topics were covered last night, making for a very interesting and involved non-stop discussion. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

The meeting is open to anyone, really. Being a non-skeptic, theist or otherwise, should probably encourage you to attend, to come and ask questions. Hope to see you next month!

25 Ways To Spot Quacks

'Quackwatch.com' is a website I find myself referring to constantly. It is a well researched database of the pseudosciences and the history behind them. Much of the website is devoted to answering any question one may have regarding the science and research that do or do not support the the many types of quackery we are exposed to daily.

To be informed is to be protected from being swindled by the peddlers who try to sell their snake oil around every corner. In this spirit, quack watch has published a list of '25 ways to spot quacks', which I will republish below. There is a full description for each of these points that can be read here.

1. When Talking about Nutrients, They Tell Only Part of the Story.

2. They Claim That Most Americans Are Poorly Nourished.

3. They Recommend "Nutrition Insurance" for Everyone.

4. They Say That Most Diseases Are Due to Faulty Diet and Can Be Treated with "Nutritional" Methods.

5. They Allege That Modern Processing Methods and Storage Remove all Nutritive Value from Our Food.

6. They Claim That Diet Is a Major Factor in Behaviour.

7. They Claim That Fluoridation Is Dangerous.

8. They Claim That Soil Depletion and the Use of Pesticides and "Chemical" Fertilizers Result in Food That Is Less Safe and Less Nourishing.

9. They Claim You Are in Danger of Being "Poisoned" by Ordinary Food Additives and Preservatives.

10. They Charge That the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) Have Been Set Too Low.

11. They Claim That under Everyday Stress, and in Certain Diseases, Your Need for Nutrients Is Increased.

12. They Recommend "Supplements" and "Health Foods" for Everyone.

13. They Claim That "Natural" Vitamins are Better than "Synthetic" Ones.

14. They Suggest That a Questionnaire Can Be Used to Indicate Whether You Need Dietary Supplements.

15. They Say It Is Easy to Lose Weight.

16. They Promise Quick, Dramatic, Miraculous Results.

17. They Routinely Sell Vitamins and Other "Dietary Supplements" as Part of Their Practice.

18. They Use Disclaimers Couched in Pseudomedical Jargon.

19. They Use Anecdotes and Testimonials to Support Their Claims.

20. They Claim That Sugar Is a Deadly Poison.

21. They Display Credentials Not Recognized by Responsible Scientists or Educators.

22. They Offer to Determine Your Body's Nutritional State with a Laboratory Test or a Questionnaire.

23. They Claim They Are Being Persecuted by Orthodox Medicine and That Their Work Is Being Suppressed Because It's Controversial.

24. They Warn You Not to Trust Your Doctor.

25. They Encourage Patients to Lend Political Support to Their Treatment Methods

These may seem commonsense in many cases, but if that were really true, the pseudosciences wouldn't be a 33.9 billion dollar industry in the United States alone, right?

Drinking Skeptically — New Time!

Unfortunately, a conflict arose in my schedule that will force me to be occupied until approximately 9:30 tomorrow night. I hope to meet anyone who has put aside the time to attend this meeting, but it will have to be postponed until 10pm.

Wednesday Night @ 10pm at Milk Coffee Bar.

More information can be found here: Drinking Skeptically.

Hope to see you there!

John Travolta: Haiti Needs E-Meters

Currently, the 'Church of Scientology' is doing what some religions do best—it is taking advantage of a humanitarian disaster in order to promote itself and recruit new members. In fact, one of the most publicized members, John Travolta, has "personally arranged to fly 'volunteer ministers' to Haiti."

Anywhere people are suffering, Scientology's yellow-shirted "volunteer ministers" can be found lurking near news cameras and claiming to help people with their bullshit technology. They performed "purification rundowns" on recovery workers sifting through the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11, administered "touch assists" to victims of the tsunami, distributed literature after the Virginia Tech shooting, and are on the ground in Haiti right now warning the starving, dehydrated populace about the dangers of psychiatry.

John Travolta is using his air miles to help the Haiti relief effort by planning a mercy mission to the earthquake ravaged nation.

The movie star and celebrity member of the Church of Scientology has become the latest big name to dig deep to help the victims of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude tremor.

He says, "I have arranged for a plane to take down some volunteer ministers and some supplies and some medics. I hope that inspires others as well. It's needed."

So precisely what does this desperately needed help consist of? To be fair, Scientology claims to have airlifted some actual medical professionals to Porte-au-Prince, a move that is hard to argue with even if the doctors are cultists and are accompanied by a retinue of recruiters and glorified masseuses who are there not to help but to carry on their "crusade to build a better world," as the web site for the cult's volunteer ministers program puts it, through the application of L. Ron Hubbard's paranoid and power-mad fantasies.

Convicted of fraud in France, Scientology continues to enjoy religious rights protection in the United States. Kudos to Canada, which does not recognize it as a religion at this time.

To me, the sad thing is that Travolta's son, Jett, has recently passed away due to a seizure caused by his neurological disorder. This neurological disorder could have been treated symptomatically to a certain degree and would have likely prevented the death of the boy. The only problem is that the Church of Scientology officially does not recognize any diseases that manifest themselves as psychological, such as those of Jett, and thus prevents the treatment of them. In essence, Travolta lost his son because of the lunacy of his church. Yet he continues to subscribe to this admittedly ridiculous ideology. I'm dumbfounded.

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part IV

Exciting stuff!

I have received what appears to be the final email from CBC detailing exactly what I am expected to do come Sunday afternoon and evening. Looks like the only thing I really have to worry about is doing my own makeup. As I have never put on any makeup, I think I will attend the live shoot au naturel and hope for the best. The only restrictions on clothing are no stripes, checkered patterns, white tops or tops with large logos. It seems that most of the show will be minimally interactive, but there is promise of the hosts chatting with members of the teams throughout.

I cannot wait for the weekend already.

Drinking Skeptically — This Wednesday

Wednesday Night @ 8pm at Milk Coffee Bar.

More information can be found here: Drinking Skeptically.

Hope to see you there!

Superheroes: An Argument

Today, I witnessed an argument that, to me, was quite hilarious. Two of my co-workers got into an almost three hour 'discussion' about superheroes. Specifically, they opined which superhero would come out victorious when pitted against any other superhero. Both co-workers, unlike me, have an extensive knowledge of the powers that are associated with each fictional character and the discussion progressed quickly through some of the more popular DC and Marvel heroes.

The real argument began when the scenario of Hulk vs. Superman came up. To me, an uninitiated and naive lay man, the answer would obviously be Superman. However, as I found out today, there are many limitations to Superman's strengths that are not necessarily shared by The Hulk and vice versa. Also, personality traits, which are as important to a superhero's skill set as his/her powers, are to be taken into account when deciding the outcome of this battle. For example, even though Superman could easily use his vision to fry The Hulk's brain and end the battle, he would never do such a thing, because his own self-imposed moral code forbids him from this action.

No matter how many hypothetical situations could be described, there really was no way to assign the victory to either party. In the end, it came down to the realization that they were arguing about fictitious characters with undefined powers and untestable strengths. No matter how much time they would spend defending their opposing conclusions, there would not be a satisfactory outcome.

Reminded me of other similar arguments about fictitious characters that we are exposed to at a much more grand scale throughout our lives.

Update. Looks like my friends at work aren't the only ones who have had this discussion: Superman vs. Hulk: Who Would Win in a Fight?

Skeptics and Humanist Aid and Relief Effort

A redditor has stolen the words directly from my mouth. As such, I will republish what he wrote, slightly edited for grammar:

A dose of (cynical) reality, amidst a humanitarian tragedy:

The man in the picture is as much a hero as the doctors saving lives in Haiti right now. Maybe even more so, as he's potentially saving thousands by giving up his sanity in exchange for other people's health. The people that inhabited those bodies are dead, there's no bringing them back. Only thing you can do is to stop the meat from harbouring deadly diseases. I applaud this man — it's a job someone has to do, and he'll pay the price.

The picture above prompted me to donate to the humanitarian relief fund provided by the 'Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort' — SHARE.

All donations—100 percent with no operating costs retained—will be sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders , which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and is working against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.

The needs of those who’ve lost their family members, their homes, and their livelihoods will be very great. Your assistance will make a huge difference for the victims of this tragic disaster. Please join us and other humanists and skeptics as we help those in need in this time of crisis.

Good intentions and thoughts do little (read nothing) in our world. Money makes the world go round.

'Creationist Claims Index' — iPhone Application

Not that I don't have a lot of applications installed on my iPhone, but they are mostly the free ones. Yesterday, I was informed of an application I thought worth dishing out 99c for—the Creationist Claims Index (iTunes link). The website itself is an invaluable tool that aggregates all the common arguments creationists use and how to refute them intelligibly. This application is basically the handheld iPhone version of the website.

You won't see me be whipping out my iPhone the next time I am confronted with a creationist argument—I prefer to know these refutals off the top of my head. Regardless, I find this topic endlessly fascinating and find myself browsing through the website anyway once in a while. This will just be a good read whenever I find myself bored.

A little more research has shown me that the income from this application may not be going to the original publishers of the Index, TalkOrigins. At least the publisher is offering promotion codes for free download of the program. Still, I find a few problems with this setup. I smell legal issues brewing.

Part Animal, Part Plant

I like to think I am photosynthetic—I often find myself more full of energy and cheer when the sun isn't hiding for the day. Although there may be some psychological effects associated with sunshine exposure, there really isn't any physiological means (that has been discovered) by which an animal can attain energy directly from sun exposure. Evolution has yielded two separate kingdoms of heterotrophs (animals) and autotrophs (plants) that maintain their energy needs through different routes. These routes have not really converged in any other means other than symbiosis.

Now, scientists are reporting the discovery of a sea slug that has a fully functioning plant pathway inside its animal body. The slug has accomplished this feat by incorporating genetic material from its main food source, algae. Extrinsic genetic material incorporation (transformation) is commonplace within the microbial and viral world, but not in multicellular animals.

The slugs can manufacture the most common form of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that captures energy from sunlight [..]. A radioactive tracer [was used] to show that the slugs were making the pigment, called chlorophyll a, themselves and not simply relying on chlorophyll reserves stolen from the algae the slugs dine on.

In essence, this is a novel class of animal/plant. A rewrite of the textbooks may be necessary. This is exciting stuff!

'Avatar' Is A Threat To Religion?

Commissioned by the Vatican amidst their own scathing reviews, Avatar is now being denounced by the holy authority for "flirting with modern doctrines that promote the worship of nature as a substitute for religion."

[Avatar] gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." [It] "cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium."

While doing its best to reenforce the idea of environmentalism in its followers, the Vatican seems overly concerned with introducing the notion of nature neopaganism. As immersive as the world of Avatar must be, I can imagine a few more pressing issues that the Vatican should focus its attention on.

I suppose that the Vatican does have a few things to worry about. After all, if a few feeble minded individuals convert to neopaganism after watching the movie, we may all be doomed—"neopagans often feel a duty to protect the Earth through activism, and support causes such as rainforest protection, organic farming, permaculture, animal rights [etc.]"

Oh no!

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part III

As much as I would like to overlook it, the word 'atheist' carries with it a generally unappealing connotation. The collective mind of our society has somehow agreed that an atheist is an unmoral, reprehensible person that should be shunned in some way. This is why there are so many different names out there that synonymously represent the atheistic condition (see brights, skeptics etc.). Although there are minute to large differences between these varied labels, the underlying presumption is the acceptance of a naturalistic worldview, devoid of supernatural beings or explanations. Most atheists will agree with this basal statement, I believe. The grounds upon which one continues to build their own worldview from there will introduce the variability that is known not only in the atheistic community, but also in any other group of individuals trying to define themselves.

With all this in mind, I feel an immense amount of pride when I think about the step that the CBC is taking in its inclusion of 'atheists' among the other five groups competing on 'Test the Nation: IQ'. The last few years have been very vocal for atheist communities worldwide. Rational and inquisitive thinking, fuelled by the ability to attain information on a whim, have strongly propagated the movement in my generation. Acceptance of those who prescribe to the 'good without god' way of life is gaining ground alongside this movement—this upcoming show is a perfect example of this.

I am extremely excited to be a part of this. Thank you CBC.

Americans’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push

A podcast I listen to almost religiously, The Bugle, was recently reporting on a new bill put forth in Uganda that would bring about a death penalty to those ruled as being homosexual or engaging in homosexual activity. Yes, the death penalty. Other facets of the bill included reparations for 'victims' of homosexuality and other equally ludicrous propositions. It turns out that the entire thing has been pushed through the government system by a small troop of evangelical Christians who made presentations a few months ago (download the recordings). Read the news article detailing the mess:

The theme of the event, according to Stephen Langa, its Ugandan organizer, was “the gay agenda — that whole hidden and dark agenda” — and the threat homosexuals posed to Bible-based values and the traditional African family.

For three days thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how “the gay movement is an evil institution” whose goal is “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”

The three Americans who spoke at the conference — Scott Lively, a missionary who has written several books against homosexuality, including “7 Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child”; Caleb Lee Brundidge, a self-described former gay man who leads “healing seminars”; and Don Schmierer, a board member of Exodus International, whose mission is “mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality” — are now trying to distance themselves from the bill.

The Ugandan government, facing the prospect of losing millions in foreign aid, is now indicating that it will back down, slightly, and change the death penalty provision to life in prison for some homosexuals. But the battle is far from over.

The naiveté of the Ugandan government and its people is difficult to comprehend. I haven't a clue how the 'homosexual lifestyle' can pose a threat to traditional family values or threaten to displace them. Homosexuality isn't exactly conducive to genetic propagation and as such is more or less isolated in its nature—homosexuals aren't multiplying and forcing their lifestyles onto other people, unlike Christians and other religious sects.

The evangelizing Christians have bit off more than they can chew and are now distancing themselves from what was arguably their exact intent. What falls on deaf ears in North America was rapidly absorbed and acted upon in an African country where superstition and Christianity have fused to create a frightening chimera. I imagine that in a perfect world their slanderous statements could at least somehow be litigated, but I know that this will likely not be the case.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Those close to me, including my co-workers above, went out of their way to make it a special day for me.

This is just a big collective 'thank you'.

CBC Test The Nation: IQ — Part II

Although it seemed mostly official in an earlier post I made, it became entirely bona fide news yesterday: I will be part of a team representing Canadian atheists on CBC's Test the Nation IQ TV show, which is scheduled to air live on Sunday, January 24th, at 8pm.

Here is part of the final email that I received from the producer of the show.

Hello Atheists!

Thanks so much for your patience - we have narrowed down the teams, and if you are on this email you are a part of the LIVE national broadcast of Test the Nation: IQ!

The event takes place at the CBC studios on Sunday, January 24th. The show airs LIVE at 8pm, and we start bringing the teams earlier [than that].

[..]

I can't wait to meet you all!! You will be a tough team to beat, I think. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have.

Congrats on making it onto TTN:IQ!

All the best,

Shannon

I am excited not only for the television show itself, but to meet George Stroumboulopoulos, who will be a co-host of the show. Having had grown up watching him on MuchMusic as a VJ and the following him as he became a successful talk show host on 'The Hour', I feel I will be lucky to meet him.

Apart from all the niceties, there's already some interesting rivalry and stereotyping showing itself. Meet Justin Trudeau and his response to one of the questions asked of him as a representative of the politicians:

6. Anything to say to the other teams?

I am a nerd, and an athlete, and a believer. So I can't trash talk my own kind, and I won't trash talk twins, because while I'm going after one, the other'll sneak up behind and smack me, and as for the atheists, well, they won't believe anything I have to say to them anyway, so what's the point?

Inanity and segregation apart, as the 'Opposition Critic for Youth and Multiculturalism', I would like to point out the following chart and news article:

Get your demographics straight, good sir—there's a good chance both of those twins are atheists, plotting to 'sneak up and smack you', even if they are not teenagers. Oh wait, I even found some atheist twins that will be on the show. Yikes.

Resuming The Writing

Let's get back to it. The new semester brings with it a little bit of extra time that will be devoted to writing once again. Perhaps not as often as I would like, but I will do my best to keep up with my own conscience. Most of my classes this semester revolve around obtaining my minor in philosophy, along with completing the final requisite for my biology major.

I have yet to hear the details personally, but I will likely be a member of a team representing atheists on a game show known as CBC: Test The Nation IQ. I am excited about it, but seeing as I have only received an email from the producer, rather than a phone call with the details, I remain reserved in excitement.

Hope you will stick around. Welcome back.