1. Bill Maher's Religulous Opens Today

Comment #259762 by The Soilworker on October 3, 2008 at 9:33 pm

I saw the matinee this afternoon and I was impressed. Side-splittingly funny whilst apocalyptically sobering. It had a great many "Lord Privy Seals" but these were clearly designated for comedic purposes, unlike 'Expelled'. I recommend the movie to everyone. I basically laughed my ass off. The last 5 minutes (much like Maher's show) were his laser-guided monologue that was great and slightly "preachy" (pun very much intended).

All in all, I would definitely watch this movie over and over again. I'm already stoked for the outtakes and deleted scenes on the DVD...

2. Sherri Shepherd, Bill Maher Spar Over God: Bill Tells Sherri She Should Go To Psych Ward

Comment #257767 by The Soilworker on October 1, 2008 at 4:58 am

I already found my local theater that's showing the movie - I'm going Friday afternoon!! And in Atlanta of all places! The capital of "I've got a welt from the Bible Belt!"

3. The God Delusion's cameo in season premiere of 'Family Guy'

Comment #256929 by The Soilworker on September 29, 2008 at 6:44 pm

Sam Harris is the way to go. His honeyed words can send anyone rushing to reason (and also perhaps your welcome embrace). He is beginning to be my favorite of the 'horsemen'. I have loaned my copies of his books out, though not in hopes of obtaining affection. Not to mention his boyishly handsome manner as he paces about the dais, destroying strawmen like they were...um...men made of straw.

4. The God Delusion's cameo in season premiere of 'Family Guy'

Comment #256919 by The Soilworker on September 29, 2008 at 6:22 pm

This is evidence, again, of Family Guy's superiority over South Park. Don't get me wrong, I watch South Park all the time and many parts are humorous but Parker and Stone are politically/ethically/spiritually/wholly apathetic and never take a stance on anything. It's like they are either too dumb or too afraid to commit. At least Seth MacFarlane is not afraid to announce, either with stealth or balls, his disgust with religion and the maddening right-wing.

5. A biologist reviews an evolution textbook from the ID camp

Comment #254864 by The Soilworker on September 26, 2008 at 10:36 am

Of Pandas and People, 3rd Edition...

6. Russian woman put on trial in Dubai for drinking juice in public

Comment #254853 by The Soilworker on September 26, 2008 at 10:15 am

Why can't the crazy Muslims simply fine/arrest the shopkeepers for even selling food and drink at all during the day? Wouldn't this skip the hassle of molesting tourists? Surely Allah frowns upon the selling of delicious juice during the day as much as he would the person that drinks it. They are simply peddling temptation.

What a backward fucking corner of the world. The heat has gone to their heads. Perhaps if they weren't so blinded by their ignorance (and weren't so dehydrated) they could see the kingdom of morondom that they've lived in for centuries.

7. More atheists are sharing their views

Comment #254848 by The Soilworker on September 26, 2008 at 10:10 am

I also experienced a sense of euphoric relief and 'weight-off-my-shoulders' as the beginning of the article states. And I'm glad the rational people of Louisville can meet at an eatery for burgers and drinks and discussion. In Dubai, apparently, this type of thinking-whilst-consuming is grounds for nothing short of decapitation...

8. Russian woman put on trial in Dubai for drinking juice in public

Comment #254845 by The Soilworker on September 26, 2008 at 10:04 am

Just ignore Sargeist and Greybishop; they are clearly apologists and giving cover to irrationality under the veneer of even-handedness...

One should already know that juice-drinking is a slippery slope to apostasy. That's how the great civilizations of the world crumbled. One minute you enjoy the cool, refreshing taste of delicious fruit juice, the next you join the ranks of the godless, backsliding damned...

9. Primordial Fish Had Rudimentary Fingers

Comment #254043 by The Soilworker on September 25, 2008 at 7:57 am

I must admit that I was excited by the title of the article but slightly disappointed when there wasn't an image. Not even an 'artist rendering'.

Mbee -

As far as Americans and their time-honored gesture of disapproval are concerned, the only reason we use one finger is so that we can carry things with the other hand while still getting the point across. At least that's what I do. I mean, I can't simply drop my Zune while listening to Sam Harris so that I can put TWO fingers up, can I?

10. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190795 by The Soilworker on June 9, 2008 at 3:04 pm

I'm glad everyone can find something to focus on against Bill Maher. The fact that he is making a movie that is (hopefully) holding a mirror to the world and showing them how ridiculous they are simply isn't enough for the armchair elitists in this forum. I agree with earlier posts about accepting Bill Maher as an ally against theistic idiocy - we don't have to agree with him about everything under the sun to appreciate the point of this film. Bill is funny, cynical, and somewhat iconoclastic when it comes to all things religious. Even if it wasn't intended to be a comedy, I'm certain it will be hilarious because WATCHING FUNDIES EXPRESS THEIR MORONIC IDEAS IS FUCKING FUNNY. What isn't funny is the damage they do to education and policy.

Expose documentaries usually have an air of comedy and look-how-retarded-this-is appeal to them. Iraq movies show how retarded the war is, healthcare movies show how backward healthcare is, and religious films depict the stupidity of religions. Sit back, enjoy the movie, and take comfort in knowing that if only one person of faith in that theater sees the error of their ways, then the film is a success.

11. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #175408 by The Soilworker on May 5, 2008 at 11:03 am

Holocaust denial is just as stupid, if not moreso, than the denial of evolution. In fact, I can understand if fundies can't see that the evidence of evolution is around us but requires more grey matter to process. Holocaust evidence, on the other hand, is definitely tangible and immediate (dont get me wrong, evolution evidence is too). Why don't you pro-Palestine fuckers go the hell away and just admit that you hate Jews and you want to squabble over that chalky, arid shithole for millenia. I'm no Jew sympathizer or anything, but the denial of the Holocaust is simply asinine. All forms of internment camps and forced submission and captivity are terrible - no one is playing favorites. Jews and Palestinians are equally retarded for fighting over a veritable wasteland. Why don't we just stick to the topic at hand which would be the above video/interview and at least leave the squabbling to the forums.

12. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #175116 by The Soilworker on May 4, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Pretty run-of-the-mill interview. The sound of trucks backing up in the background is rather obnoxious though...

13. Museums teach society lacking in science literacy

Comment #173115 by The Soilworker on April 30, 2008 at 11:24 am

Though I'm supposed to be working and I'm on the clock when I'm at the zoo, I find myself simply watching the animals for hours upon hours and forgetting that "oh yeah, I'm supposed to be interpreting to the zoo guests." I've been going to Zoo Atlanta since I was 5 and I would've never dreamed in a million years that I would work there! Hooray for our giant pandas and second largest U.S. gorilla collection!

14. Museums teach society lacking in science literacy

Comment #173000 by The Soilworker on April 30, 2008 at 8:21 am

I'm an informal educator! It's fun! I work at Zoo Atlanta. I work alot with the NightCrawler program which is an overnight experience that school groups can participate in - they can spend the night in the zoo! The only downside to my job is having to see all the "religious academies", christian and jew alike, that are a tremendous disservice to the kids. I don't tiptoe around them though, I tell it like it is! Pandas are an excellent example of evolution! Embrace them!

P.S. - Upon seeing a Smilodon (saber-toothed tiger) skull and hearing me talk about it, a kid actually came up to me and told me, "um, we learned that there is no prehistory". Sadness. Disgrace. Religion.

15. Upside-down church sculpture on hit list

Comment #155539 by The Soilworker on April 4, 2008 at 5:31 pm

None of the aforementioned sculptures are anywhere near as scandalous as "The Mexican Who Had Sex Again". The town was torn for months.



I agree with Rod The Farmer's comment at the top - the intent is kinda vague. I mean, I kinda take it as the church BEING the device that roots out evil. I don't think it's iconoclastic ENOUGH for me. How about a church or mosque that's perpetually aflame? Wonderful symbolism to keep the Canadians warm...

16. Beware the Believers

Comment #152369 by The Soilworker on March 30, 2008 at 8:36 pm

It's simply much too clever to come from the ID camp. I enjoy parody and hip-hop and atheists, but I'll be damned if the funniest part aren't the disembodied/juxtaposed heads floating around with all their new-found finery. Hitchens' face was especially hilarious, what with the "I heart booze" sweatband too.

17. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #148689 by The Soilworker on March 23, 2008 at 3:46 pm

Calm down, MPhil:

Comparing scientists and Darwinian processes to Nazism and genocide is HARDLY on par with calling a puffed-up security/copyright enforcer a "Gauleiter". To be honest, I had to Wiki it to know what it was. I'm sure it was an analogy to the guard's inflection and "presence" rather than to his intent, which was the low road that EXPELLED took...

18. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #148684 by The Soilworker on March 23, 2008 at 3:38 pm

While I AM sorry you had to sit through that schlock film (without PZ with you for good-natured under-your-breath film critique), I would have LOVED to see the look on Mathis' face when you stood up in the audience! Priceless! Oh the knots in his stomach and lumps in his throat! I can't wait to watch this film (and the nonsense it advocates) implode on itself...

19. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #148604 by The Soilworker on March 23, 2008 at 11:46 am

Please don't misinterpret my original post as anti-semitic, simply that I hate that the showing of random Hitler/Panzer/death camp clips invoke rage and guilt and people completely miss the boat in the fact that genocide and rational thought/reason are complete opposites. When the nutjobs say that science and progress created the technology for such genocide, why not say that the creation of swords, catapults, arbalests, etc. was responsible for crusades and jihads? It is at best a completely fallacious claim and at worst, a dangerous and malicious attempt to dismantle any attempts at true scientific advancement.

20. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #148601 by The Soilworker on March 23, 2008 at 11:41 am

Ben Stein is a conservative, fundamentalist, narrow-minded Jew who feigns intelligence. So he knows some trivial facts and speaks in a droll monotone - that doesn't give him a shred of veracity. His pathetic attempt at film shows this. I can't even call it a documentary since it hardly documents anything that isn't spliced, misrepresented, duped, or stolen (infringed).

The proposed (imagined) notion that creationists are being discriminated against and are being UNDERfunded is simply asinine. Entire MUSEUMS are constructed to house nothing but lies. Tax breaks and subsidies are handed out to religious organizations like candy, all the while short-changing actual science during which time people like Stein create such schlock.

21. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #145020 by The Soilworker on March 17, 2008 at 7:22 am

"....utter bullshit!"

Um, I just had to hit the DUMP button...



How absurd. It's satellite radio which means people pay good money to hear Dawkins say "bullshit". Brava, Richard. Let them hit the DUMP button a dozen times in any interview. Grrrr. Only in the U.S.S.A.

22. The ethics of mixing science and religion

Comment #142555 by The Soilworker on March 12, 2008 at 6:01 pm

NOT taking money from a blatantly religiously motivated fund (or at least headed by one) is NOT a moral. Fuck that! Take the money - goodness knows that religion owes science WAY more than 1.6 million....

23. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #132777 by The Soilworker on February 25, 2008 at 7:46 am

I think "bashing" takes on its UK meaning here, I wager. Hitchens uses it alot in the sense that to "bash on" means to carry on, to persist, to plow forward, implicating some resistance to the forward progress. Clearly, the babies (and their parents) were meeting different forms of resistance. And rightly so.

24. Richard Dawkins on five of his favorite books

Comment #132168 by The Soilworker on February 24, 2008 at 11:44 am

I would have bet money that some Douglas Adams would've graced the list....

25. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #132159 by The Soilworker on February 24, 2008 at 11:21 am

It really hit home for me because my biological father is just like that guy (the redneck, I mean). He tried to "raise" me in the abhorrent Southern Baptist tradition; thank goodness for visitation rights and the fact that most of my childhood was spent with my socially-liberal, not-very-religious mom. I can pity the young boy but I also realize that it only takes a little seed of doubt to germinate into a blossoming, robust tree of reason. All hope is not lost for kids like him...