Author Archives: brucefp

Balticon 42 Reflections (Part 1: What are those kids doing here?)

Posted on by

So, over Memorial Day weekend the wife and I brought the kids to the annual convention of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society better known simply as Balticon.

This is our third year in attendance. Science Fiction literature, Science, Fantasy, original fiction and even music. Each year has been more enjoyable and fulfilling than the last. This is a weekend that we look forward to all year. All of us. Even the kids. Especially the kids. Yes, my 16 year old son and 14 year old daughter are really the driving force for this outing.

For many of the panels, mine were the only kids in sight. Not the only kids at the convention, of course. Plenty of young people gaming and in cosplay. Not many (any) in the Science Panels and just as rare in the the Podcasting panels where we spend much of our time.

Over the last few years genre podcasting has become something of a virtual Greenwich Village. It is a place for risk taking, edgy creation and the free sharing of ideas and talent. The community developing around this new market is particularly tight-knit and supportive of each other, finding “cons” like Balticon and Dragon*Con rare opportunities for in-person socializing and collaboration.

My son and daughter were 14 and 12, respectively, the first time we went to Balticon. Being more outgoing, my son found the game room and made friends. My daughter clung pretty close to my wife and I. We’re the introverted ones. Really more like spectators than participants. It was a pretty big deal for us to muster the courage to say “hello” and gush a bit on a favorite author (Tee Morris) and Podcaster/Essayist (Mur Lafferty).

Last year, we were a bit better and had actual conversations with very cool people like Steve Eley, Matt Selznick, J.C. Hutchins, Michael Mennenga and Evo Terra.

When this year rolled around we consciously committed to be more like my son and step out of our shells. We spend countless hours over the course of the year listening to these people read their stories, talk about their lives and keep us informed on the latest in geekdom. It was such a waste not to engage with them in person when the chance presented itself.

It wasn’t easy. Getting out of your comfort zone never is. Then again, it is where the biggest rewards are.

This is going very long, so I want to wrap up. The point of all this talky-talk is to thank the wonderful group of podcasters who treated us so well, AFTER providing us with countless hours of entertainment. I think the following fragment of an email I sent to Soccergirl after bringing my 14 year old daughter to her very ‘R’ rated show, helps to explain:

"I'm a conservative person by nature. OK, maybe I should say introverted,
not conservative. My kids, however, really are not and I think that is a
gift. I've always told them that "just putting it out there" reaps far
greater rewards than playing it safe. Even if it is very difficult for
me to demonstrate that personally.

So, there you go. It was kind of like Steve Austin upping somebody's
clearance. The kids are in a new ball park now. Whether they choose to
take risks in the same way you did, or just carry with them how exciting
it was to see someone be emotionally brave, they're probably better off
for the experience."

I could have written very similar sentiments to George Hrab, Mur, Tee and many others who have inspired and enriched us.

I found this particular post very difficult to write, not emotionally or anything like that. I just had a lot to say and I didn’t know how to structure it. Oh, well, there it is.

— Icepick

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Let the punishment fit the crime???

Posted on by

So, I was committed to my next entry being something different.  Maybe a movie or book review, since I’ve been reading a lot lately and “Iron Man” rocked.  Sadly, I haven’t had the time or discipline to do so. Then this drops in my lap and I just had to do it.

Headline, Story and Joke all rolled into one. How could I resist?

“Priest sent to prison for having sex with inmates”

Thanks, Fark !

“When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” — Oscar Wilde

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

May 1st: National Day of Reason

Posted on by

The Naional Day of Reason is held on the first Thursday in May to coincide with the National Day of Prayer.

Sure, it was established to counter the National Day of Pretending to do something useful but it is the way it is observed that makes it cool.  Instead of a day of protesting the waste of public funds for politicians et. al. (OK, that happens too) , the preferred way to spend the day is in service.  Yes, actually doing something good not WAITING for some invisible friend to get it done for you.

So get out and give blood (that is what I am going to do), volunteer, plant a tree, donate time or money.  Be a good HUMAN!

Admiring his crops, a farmer asks his friend how his corn grew so high.

In reply his friend told him, “I have to give God all the credit. I pray every day before and after I go to work the fields”.

“That’s amazing!”, the farmer said, “What happens when you don’t go to work?”

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

CBS Sunday Morning: Weird Juxtapositions

Posted on by

CBS Sunday Morning, in general, continues to be the epitome of excellence in television. This particular Sunday morning, April 27th, they aired an excellent piece on Jeremy Hall. Jeremy Hall is a soldier in the U.S. Army who in his second tour in Iraq faced persecution from fellow soldiers and superiors for his lack of superstitious beliefs. This persecution necessitating a personal body-guard and, eventually, a trip stateside. The reporting on this subject was up to Sunday Morning’s high standards.

Following the commercial break, the next piece was a commentary by Ben Stein. Yes, Ben Stein, mouthpiece of the creation science supporting documentary Expelled. Mr. Stein was commenting on the situation with the polygamist cult in Texas. He likened the state assault on an institution that was illegal and immoral to the Nazi’s. I find it particularly heinous that Mr. Stein associates anyone with whom he disagrees with Hitler’s Nazi party. As he did with evolution proponents in Expelled. Further, Mr. Stein appears to feel that the state of Texas should continue to turn a blind eye to the persecution of women and children as they have for decades.

In both cases it points out the responsibility of the state, actually the responsibility of all of us, to provide for the safety and well being of the minority. In the case of Jeremy Hall and others like him, the military as an instrument of the people of the United States has a responsibility to represent the people of the United States. All of them. Even the 16% who don’t believe in a supernatural deity. The state of Texas, after many years of turning a blind eye, finally took its responsibility seriously for the children of FLDS church. By bringing those children out of that corrupt society, where adult men can take young girls as their brides and women have little or no rights, they have fulfilled the promise of our secular society.

“The laws of humanity make it a duty for nations, as well as individuals, to succor those whom accident and distress have thrown upon them.” –Thomas Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, 1807. ME 11:144

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Re: The Fingerprints of God are never too far away

Posted on by

Mr McGhee,

After reading your commentary “The Fingerprints of God are never too far away” in the Baltimore edition of The Examiner, I thought I might be able to give you a few pointers on anti-evolution marketing. I’ve read quite a bit on the subject and think I’ve come to be quite versed in effectively communicating that position.

First off, I would like to really commend you on the opening paragraphs. Solid, subtle, biting. You’re firing on all four cylinders here.

Close-minded. Accept their view by faith without questioning. Hostile. Angry. Willing to punish those who disagree — these are all charges that have been frequently laid at people of many faiths who believe that Charles Darwin got it wrong.

That’s right, they don’t like us. They call us names, just because we disagree with this musty guy who’s been dead for almost 200 years anyway. What could he possibly understand about the world, he didn’t even know there were going to be cell phones!

I also liked how you bridged the time from Darwin to now by referencing H.L. Mencken (and hey, way to bring it close to home with a Baltimorean!), the Scopes Trial and even Nazi Eugenics on the way to the new Expelled Movie.

A couple of notes here.

You might have wanted to make a little comment about the difference between a scientific theory and the immoral application of said theory. I mean, you don’t want to give the impression that you would throw out nuclear medicine and energy just because someone built a bomb using the same foundational theories, right?

Also, being up front with the fact that you haven’t seen the movie is great, but you might want to take it a little slow with referencing it sight-unseen. You really never know what a piece of rhetorical garbage it might be.

Moving on, you drop in a quick paragraph setting up the rest of your article. I think you got it right, “Science and theology should not be seen as competitors”. You should have stopped there and not gone on with the whole “colleagues in pursuit of the common goal of truth”. By establishing them as peers you’ve given Science equal authority on divining truth. This is going to be problematic. You can’t effectively undermine solid scientific theory unless theology trumps science. You have to be able to bring in god and have him bitch-slap evidence, or we’ve got nothing.

Well, I guess the damage is already done. Let’s see if we can’t recover a little in the next paragraph.

Let’s start with my dog. Patches is half Jack Russell Terrier and half Beagle – a JackaBee. No one denies you can take two different breeds of dog and mix them to make a superior animal

Whoa! Kevin! What are you doing here? We already established that Eugenics is evil by associating it with the Nazis! Now you’re trotting out little Patches a “superior” animal that is the result of not one but two directed breeding programs. You’re killing me here.

At least you gave us the little heads up that you’re going to be using humor, or the “Two dogs produce more dogs – not monkeys” line would seem just juvenile. In this context it comes across as kind of cute.

Over the last 50 years, many fossils have been discovered that have been touted as providing “further proof” of evolution. What is not described with each of these new headlines is that fossils of “transitional life forms” are very rare in the fossil record. Rather than science seeking “the missing link” that proves evolution, there are literally thousands of gaps in the fossil record which have no satisfactory explanation.

So, one of the things I’ve noticed in other articles like this, is you really have to stay away from discussing actual paleontology and biology. You don’t want to take on scientists on their own turf, you’ll just look kind of dumb. “Missing link”?? You just don’t hear anyone talking like that any more. I think the scientists have moved on from that old saw and now describe evolution as more of an ongoing process making everything a link. With many, many transitional fossils that clearly establish an evolutionary record we need to pick a better argument than having paleontologists find every one, or they’re going to have us explain why the bible doesn’t list every animal on the ark and how they survived the trip.

Our life experiences suggest that things don’t really work that way. Newton’s Second Law of Thermodynamics famously states that the natural tendency of the universe is away from order and toward chaos, rather than the other way around. If I drive my 1991 Honda into a swamp and leave it there for 50 years – or 50 million years – does anyone think that what will emerge is a Mercedes?

This is that comedy thing again? I have to say, it doesn’t really work here. First, Newton has nothing to do with the Laws of Thermodynamics (his laws had to do with motion). Second, it is pretty well established that biological systems do conform to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Is the car thing an analogy? To what? If I drown a rabbit in the swamp, it ain’t coming out either. So what?

Does such a concept really ring true – from the goo to the zoo to you? From time immemorial, reasonable people have seen in one another the very image of God. The next time you hold a newborn baby, look very, very carefully at her tiny fingers; and then ask yourself, what kind of an engineer could design something so perfect? I have dear and brilliant friends who spend their days looking through both telescopes and microscopes, and what they see are not the products of random selection or cosmic chance, but the fingerprints of God.

Your summary paragraph. As I stated before, you’ve undermined your “god trumps everything” argument by putting Science on an even footing. I like the newborn baby angle, it’s touching. I’m choked up. A baby’s fingers, though? Perfect? Maybe it’s been a while (my daughter is fourteen), but there’s a lot more perfect stuff about my kid than her fingers when she was born. Why not go for the whole brain thing? Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Well, Kevin, I’m sorry. Now that we’ve gone through the whole thing together, I really would suggest you ball it up and start over. Get your thoughts together. I think the comedy angle was a bust. Maybe you’re more cut out for flat out demagogy, you were out to a really good start demonizing scientists. I think you just got lost along the way trying to support a theological position with reason instead of emotion. It doesn’t really work.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Added to Atheist Blogroll

Posted on by

I’ve added “Something to Say” to the Atheist Blogroll.

This was not done through any desire for self-promotion or aggrandizement.  It is just a little bit of giving back to a community, or movement if you will, that has provided me with a much needed sense of belonging.  Through the Internet and the many blogs, podcasts and resources available I’ve come to the realization that I’m not alone.  Far from it, I am part of a thriving community that is no longer silent and isolated.

If only to say, “I’m here too”, I thought it was important to be listed.  Please visit one of the sites in the sidebar under “Atheist Blogroll”.

“The genius of any slave system is found in the dynamics which isolate slaves from each other, obscure the reality of a common condition, and make united rebellion against the oppressor inconceivable.” — Andrea Dworkin (1946 – 2005), American Feminist and Author

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

No evidence of neglect??

Posted on by

I just read an A.P. story from Wausau, Wisconsin about parents having 3 of their children taken from their home after a 4th child died from undiagnosed and untreated diabetes. The parents believe that healing comes from god, as it says in the bible.

They didn’t pray for their daughter to die, but they did pray her to death.

As disgusting as I, and any other reasonable person, would find this story. It was even more horrifying to hear the quotes from the authorities. After having the surviving children checked out by physicians, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said, “There is no physical evidence of abuse or neglect. None” I don’t think you’re looking hard enough, Dan! Maybe you should look at 11-year-old Kara’s corpse. Kara, who hadn’t seen a doctor in 8 years and who passed away of treatable diabetes.

“They believed up to the time she stopped breathing she was going to get better. They just thought it was a spiritual attack.”, Vergin said. Honestly, how is this really any different than the voices in their head telling them to cut the demons out of her?

If you were hoping the state would provide some kind of protection for the rest of the kids, aged 13-16, it is unlikely. While I expect their would be follow-up by the appropriate agencies, the parents will probably get their kids back since Wisconsin has laws to protect the misguided followers of ancient superstitions. Janine Geske, a Marquette University law professor says that in Wisconsin a parent cannot be accused of abuse or neglect of a child if in good faith they selected prayer as a basis of treatment for a disease.

According to the grandmother, the girld had been ill for several days and by last Saturday couldn’t walk or talk.

“… Religion may not be the root of all evil, but it is a serious contender..” — Richard Dawkins

More references:

Wisconsin’s faith-healing law faces fresh scrutiny

Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Teapot Worship? Doesn't sound so bad.

Posted on by

I came across an article about a Malaysian woman jailed for worshiping a giant teapot which I thought might be, at the very least, amusing. Unfortunately, the lady and the late lamented Teapot cult were really just subtext to a much more disturbing situation.

While Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of worship, it is currently interpreted as meaning you are free to worship as your parents did. Kamariah Ali, our teapot worshiper, is being jailed under Sharia law since she was born a Muslim. Never mind, that she no long self-identifies as one, the Malaysian constitution defines all ethnic Malays as Muslim and Muslims in Malaysia are subject to the Sharia courts.

This is particularly poignant in light of the recent Pew Forum survey on the U.S. Religious Landscape which shows that about a quarter of Americans exercise their freedom of religion by choosing not to practice the faith of their parents. This is the expression of freedom of religion only possible where there is a complete secular constitution and separation of church and state.

“If you have a faith, it is statistically overwhelmingly likely that it is the same faith as your parents and grandparents had. No doubt soaring cathedrals, stirring music, moving stories and parables, help a bit. But by far the most important variable determining your religion is the accident of birth. The convictions that you so passionately believe would have been a completely different, and largely contradictory, set of convictions, if only you had happened to be born in a different place. Epidemiology, not evidence.” — Richard Dawkins

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Dust off that ghost!

Posted on by

This is a pretty quick post, since it doesn’t seem to require much. Check out the video in this article from NBC11 in San Francisco.

I guess this kind of thing fills up space on the evening news when there can’t possibly be anything important to report on. I mean what with the war in Iraq over, ignorance finally conquered and the presidential election resolved.

Anyway, some nice lady who can’t seem to take pictures without the flash lighting up the dust in the air and IT’s NEWS???? How credulous do you have to be to buy into this stuff?

Not only is it pretty easily explained, but they don’t even ask for her to reproduce the effect. The reporters don’t even talk to anyone who might have a better explanation. Really, really sad.

It gets even better. Following the link to the nutty lady’s website http://www.irmaslage.com , might lead one to think this was more about publicity than human interest.  Irma Slage is a psychic, author and lecturer to the gullible.  Seems she’s not just a charming lady with an odd habit of taking really bad pictures.

“Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish. ”

— Mark Twain

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

The World Ends in 2012! Can I have your stuff?

Posted on by

In the last couple of days I’ve heard people mention the belief that the Mayan Calendar foreshadows the end of the world in 2012. They Mayan culture is long gone, why has this meme come to the surface now?

Well, there have been a spate of news articles about the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012. The quesion, as posed by USA Today, “Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?”.

If you hit Amazon.com looking for books and such on the subject you get quite a variety with titles like, “The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies and Possibilities” and “The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind”. Some might dismiss this as typical New Age bunk, but there is always a portion of the credulous who will have anxiety after learning of apocalyptic predictions.

What makes the Mayan apocalypse any different from The Millenium, The Great Disappointment of 1844 or any other prediction of the end of the world? Well, I think it has a lot to do with some of the mystique of Pre-Columbian Meso-American cultures like the Aztec, Inca and the Maya.

Honestly, when you hear someone speak of the Maya, what is the first image that comes to mind? Is it of an long lost advanced civilization with lost knowledge we have yet to recover? Is it of ancient astronauts?

The Mayan culture was extensive and advanced, but it seems unlikely they had any prescient knowledge of the end of the world. I think it would be great if we could ask them. Unfortuntely, this advanced culture with foreknowledge of the end of the world collapsed over a thousand years ago.

So, if you are convinced the world will end in 2012…. Can I have your stuff?

“The End of the Universe is very popular, people like to dress up for it, Gives it a sense of occasion.” — Douglas Adams in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail