1. 'Growing Up in the Universe' now available free online

Comment #88059 by mummymonkey on November 14, 2007 at 12:46 pm

#26
Thanks ligfietser.

2. The Turning of an Atheist

Comment #84927 by mummymonkey on November 4, 2007 at 8:31 am

Shame on them.

3. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #83830 by mummymonkey on October 31, 2007 at 12:24 pm

Excellent. The courtiers reply demolished.

4. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #67972 by mummymonkey on September 5, 2007 at 1:01 pm

Tyler Durden said "Aren't radio signals sound waves?? How can sound waves travel at the speed of light? "

Indeed. But these babies are equipped with astrosonic boosters (they go up to eleven) which amplify the sound up to astrosonic levels. More than capable of interstellar travel.

5. The New Atheists

Comment #67433 by mummymonkey on September 3, 2007 at 12:20 pm

"But to what end? Living without God means turning toward something. To flourish we need coherent secular popular philosophies that effectively answer life's vital questions."

Wow! Glad I found this out before it was too late. I need something to turn to and fast before I flunk the "Life's vital questions" exam.

6. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65738 by mummymonkey on August 26, 2007 at 7:58 am

Student Grant appears to have answered my question as I was typing it. Way to go!

7. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65737 by mummymonkey on August 26, 2007 at 7:56 am

How "protestant" are the non-denominational schools in NI? At my schools in rural Perthshire there was no religion at all. Unless you count the weekly assembly when we mumbled our way through "All things bright and beautiful" before being told not to throw snowballs in the school grounds.

8. Only secular schools will overcome sectarianism

Comment #65714 by mummymonkey on August 26, 2007 at 12:55 am

Living in Scotland I'm not aware of this "embittered divide" which seems to be visible only to journalists, bishops and politicians looking for votes. Protestants, catholics and godless heathens such as myself get along just fine thank you.
And it's Copland not Copeland.

9. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #63245 by mummymonkey on August 13, 2007 at 4:33 pm

Steve Wright's playlist from the show could be described as - "mostly harmless". It has to be said though there is some dross in there.

Title: She Drives Me Crazy
Artist: Fine Young Cannibals

Title: I Love Your Smile
Artist: Shanice

Title: You Can't Hurry Love
Artist: The Supremes

Title: Got To Get You Into My Life
Artist: Earth Wind & Fire

Title: Dear Jessie
Artist: Madonna

Title: Never Give Up On A Good Thing
Artist: George Benson

Title: The Way I Are
Artist: Timbaland

Title: Let Me Out
Artist: Ben's Brother

Title: Denis
Artist: Blondie

Title: Stronger (radio edit)
Artist: Kanye West

Title: Stumblin' In
Artist: Chris Norman

Title: Tears Dry On Their Own
Artist: Amy Winehouse

Title: To All The Girls I've Loved Before
Artist: Julio Iglesias

Title: Don't Leave Me This Way
Artist: The Communards

Title: Jump
Artist: Van Halen

Title: Rock Me Amadeus
Artist: Falco

Title: Don't Look Back In Anger
Artist: Oasis

Title: Perfect
Artist: Fairground Attraction

Title: Lean On Me
Artist: Red Box

Title: Dream Catch Me
Artist: Newton Faulkner

Title: Hold On
Artist: KT Tunstall

Title: Young Folks
Artist: Peter, Bjorn and John

Title: Big Girls Don't Cry
Artist: Frankie Valli/ The Four Seasons

Title: When Will I See Your Face Again
Artist: Jamie Scott

Title: Devil Gate Drive
Artist: Suzi Quatro

Title: I Can See Clearly Now
Artist: Johnny Nash

Title: Feel The Need In Me
Artist: The Detroit Emeralds

Title: Shut Up And Drive
Artist: Rihanna

Title: Three More Days
Artist: Ray LaMontagne

Title: Three Little Birds
Artist: Bob Marley

Title: Poison Arrow
Artist: ABC

Title: Can The Can
Artist: Suzi Quatro

Title: If You Can't Give Me Love
Artist: Suzi Quatro

Title: She's In Love With You
Artist: Suzi Quatro

Title: Tonight The Streets Are Ours
Artist: Richard Hawley

Title: An End Has A Start
Artist: Editors

Title: Sexy! No No No...
Artist: Girls Aloud

10. Unreasonably superstitious

Comment #62729 by mummymonkey on August 11, 2007 at 3:41 am

Yes the Bullshit Detective was a kind of cross between Penn & Teller's Bullshit and Watchdog.

11. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Edd Doerr

Comment #58540 by mummymonkey on July 25, 2007 at 6:40 am

Thanks BicycleRepairMan.
I should have said I'm aware of the various arguments both for and against. I was just interested to hear Hitchens had taken a view. It seems to me there is not enough evidence either way. Of course I may be accused of fence-sitting!

12. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Edd Doerr

Comment #58531 by mummymonkey on July 25, 2007 at 6:11 am

Interesting to hear Hitchens say he doesn't believe in a historical Jesus. I wonder why and when he came to this view.

13. Hitler Was an Atheist Who Killed Millions in the Name of Atheism, Secularism?

Comment #56394 by mummymonkey on July 15, 2007 at 3:21 pm

"Protestants were even more attracted to Nazism than Catholics"

A bold statement. I'd like to see evidence for that.

14. In Ducks, War of the Sexes Plays Out in the Evolution of Genitalia

Comment #36800 by mummymonkey on May 2, 2007 at 11:10 am

Dr. McCracken - first name Phil presumably.

"The correlation was incredibly tight" - well duh!


/schoolboy humour.

15. Almost Human, and Sometimes Smarter

Comment #32611 by mummymonkey on April 17, 2007 at 3:16 pm

"... when she went to Africa nearly a half-century ago, at least a million chimps lived in the continent, and "now there are perhaps only 150,000."

A chimp holocaust, nothing less.

16. T. rex tissue shows they are related to chickens

Comment #31440 by mummymonkey on April 12, 2007 at 5:17 pm

Tyrannosaurus pecks

17. Even non-believers must recognise the moral necessity of Christianity

Comment #30612 by mummymonkey on April 9, 2007 at 3:07 am

The Brute excels himself once again. Fresh from blaming the black citizens of New Orleans for the ravages of a hurricane, he now wants us to pretend to believe in the Christian God in order to keep the muslim hordes at bay and the masses in check.

At least he's consistently offensive.

http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/bruce_anderson/article310246.ece

18. The Fifth Flea!

Comment #28281 by mummymonkey on March 28, 2007 at 3:46 pm

Epeeist is correct:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

O would some Power the gift to give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!

19. Battle for Europe's secular values

Comment #22540 by mummymonkey on February 19, 2007 at 5:25 pm

"We affirm the importance of literature, music, and the visual and performing arts for personal development and fulfilment"

But not as important as football, cricket and going down the pub for a pint with me mates.

20. Richard Dawkins' Report Card

Comment #17004 by mummymonkey on January 10, 2007 at 4:09 am

Why would anyone want to wash porpoises in ink?

21. Do galaxies follow Darwinian evolution?

Comment #15803 by mummymonkey on January 3, 2007 at 4:59 am

If natural selection was at play, might one not expect the odd square galaxy to pop up. Just as one might expect the odd white blackbird?

22. The Komodo Dragon's Tale

Comment #14492 by mummymonkey on December 22, 2006 at 5:14 pm

Re comment #14425 by BillySands

That's a fascinating fish.

The Amazon Molly (Poecilia formosa) is thought to have originated as a result of hybridization between P. latipinna and P. sphenops.

In the northern part of its range, P. formosa mates with males of P. latipinna; in the southern part with P. sphenops.

Offspring are effectively clones of the female as no genetic material is used from the male. The male's sperm is required only to trigger embryo development.