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Below are the 25 most recent friends journal entries:

May 17th, 2008
05:50 pm ljsecret [rivka_] [Link]	Submission Post #72 Submission Post #72 Comment anonymously with a link to your secret. All comments are screened. IP addresses are not logged. PLEASE NOTE: Do not resubmit secrets from the last submissions post! There are still 9 pages of secrets to be posted this Monday-Wednesday. ( READ THE RULES BEFORE SUBMITTING ) NOTICES AND REMINDERS: SECRETS CONTAINING PORNOGRAPHY OR OTHER SEXUALLY EXPLICIT IMAGES WILL NOT BE POSTED AS OF 12/02/07. PHOTOBUCKET SECRETS WILL NOT BE POSTED AS OF 2/23/08. WATERMARKED IMAGES (i.e. so-and-so made this at deviantART or GettyImages/Veer/etc.) can and will be removed at the moderator's discretion due to copyright laws. So, if you want to ensure your secret is posted, do NOT use a watermarked image. Submissions post- or ms paint-related secrets and secrets with any type of identifying signature will not be posted. Maximum image size allowed is 800x600 pixels. (Width being 800 pixels, height being 600 pixels, respectively! This is confused a lot so make sure you have them correct!) Do not submit a secret more than once to the same Submissions Post. If after two weeks have ended and your secret has not been posted, you may resubmit it. This post will be closed after 30 pages of comments have been received. All secrets involving music and/or music artists will be discarded. However, secrets containing lyrics are acceptable so long the artist is NOT mentioned whatsoever. Have a suggestion or comment? Tell us here. Current Mood: nauseated Current Music: simple kind of life :: no doubt (Leave a comment)
09:28 am sfwriters [ysabetwordsmith] [Link]	In media res: for your "Like This" collection ozarque has posted a brilliant set of story openings, all with the same beginning phrase, about finding an alien stuck in a storm drain. They are quite different from each other, in terms of the story they set up and the characters they introduce. If you're looking for examples of idea brainstorming, instant characterization, or in media res ("in the middle of things") openings, here's something to tack on your wall and label "Like This." Current Mood: busy (Leave a comment)
10:18 am antitheism [omniverse] [Link]	Speaking of Gay Marriage... (7 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:59 am shinjiko [Link]	eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. eeeeeeeeeee. eee eee eeeeeeeeeeeepppp. eee-puhh. EEE-PUHH. eeeeeeeeeee! Current Mood: REALLY FUCKING STOKED! (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
May 16th, 2008
09:40 pm antitheism [ghost_warlock] [Link]	Jesus vs. mermaid Revealing Starbucks logo gets mixed reviews Mermaid's makeover draws a response as coffee chain tries to break slump Starbucks Corp. has a new more revealing logo of its trademark mermaid. The logo — which offers a more revealing look at the coffee chain's mermaid symbol and goes with brown instead of green as its color — is getting mixed reviews from marketing and public relations experts. "It's unusual," said Sally Baker, who runs Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Great Ideas Public Relations. "I'm not sure most people will get it." ( Read more... ) (34 comments \| Leave a comment)
04:05 pm ljsecret [rivka_] [Link]	Secrets #629 ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) Current Mood: rushed (368 comments \| Leave a comment)
05:58 pm antitheism [luno] [Link]	Local community for atheists in MN I didn't see anything for or against community ads in the community's bio, but I'll keep it brief. I've started tcatheist for fellow skeptics and apostates in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota metro area to talk about local activities, get-togethers, etc. (1 comment \| Leave a comment)
05:46 pm atheism [luno] [Link]	Local community for atheists in MN I didn't see anything for or against community ads in the community's bio, but I'll keep it brief. I've started tcatheist for fellow skeptics and apostates in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN metro area to talk about local activities, get-togethers, etc. (2 comments \| Leave a comment)
03:28 pm atheism [ruby_soco] [Link]	Slutbucks!!!!!! Slutbucks Why can't they just leave art and logos be? What little kid is going to say, "Mommy? Why is that lady naked with her legs spread like a whore from Sodom?" It's a ^$#@*%# mermaid!!!!! Feelings? Comments? Fun making? (33 comments \| Leave a comment)
01:34 pm antitheism [theblackmeat] [Link]	Offensive and inappropriate My sister, skailet, was denied using Richard Dawkins's "We are all atheists about most of the gods humanity has believed in. Some of us just go one god further," for her senior yearbook quote, because, apparently, expressing non-Christian beliefs is "offensive and inappropriate." I'd push it if it were me, but she's not as perverse as I am. Current Mood: cynical Current Music: Laisse Tomber les Filles - April March (36 comments \| Leave a comment)
11:02 am antitheism [phyxius] [Link]	Malaysia woman scores rare legal win to quit Islam KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian religious court granted a woman's wish to formally renounce Islam on Thursday, a decision described by her lawyer as a landmark case that could enable many others to leave the faith. (4 comments \| Leave a comment)
12:49 pm antitheism [durandal_1707] [Link]	The stupidity is moving north for the summer... Not even New England is safe anymore. Found this out via An Apostate's Chapel, which has always been a good read for me. Honestly, as someone who's been stuck in one of the dumber states in the U.S. (Florida), I've always looked favorably upon New England (where a lot of family has lived) as being one of the more rational and well-educated regions of the country. So I have to ask, how the [non-existent place] did this guy become a director? At least the Dept. of Education up there is shooting this moron down without much ceremony. Current Mood: angry (14 comments \| Leave a comment)
06:40 am antitheism [rakehell] [Link]	"A belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." - Joseph Conrad (4 comments \| Leave a comment)
02:11 pm sfwriters [authicer_ray] [Link]	YWriter4 Just thought I`d better post some information regarding a free downloadable Writers tool-kit I found while browsing the Internet the other night. I spend a considerable amount of time fiddling with it, and it`s since displaced anynotions of using commercial fiction-writing software aids that I might have had. In my humble opinion, it compares very well to programs such as WritersBlocks and NewWriter. And its considerably cheaper to boot. Here's a link to the software. http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter4.html Take a look at my most recent live journal post for links and details of other nifty things you can find on the Spacejock website. (3 comments \| Leave a comment)
05:39 am atheism [pathofreason] [Link]	Free Evolution DVD's from Howard Huges Medical Institute Free Evolution DVD's Courtesy of Howard Hughes Medical Institute. I don't know if any of you guys have heard about this but feel free to order a few to give to your Theist friends. I have ordered a couple and I highly recommend the Ken Miller DVD. You can either check out my website for more info http://www.pathofreason.com Of follow this direct link http://www.hhmi.org/catalog/main?action=product&itemId=323 Everything is free about this, Free S/H and free DVD's This isn't some kind of gimmick, just want to pass along the offer. Current Mood: awake (16 comments \| Leave a comment)
May 15th, 2008
06:56 pm atheism [zhukora1] [Link]	I don't think this has been posted here before. An Atheist Goes Undercover to Join the Flock of Mad Pastor John Hagee American Christians who speak in tongues basically all try to sound like extras from the underworld set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. If you want to pull it off and sound like a natural, just imagine you’re holding a rubber replica of Harrison Ford’s heart in your hands: Umm-harakashaka! Loo-pa-wanneee-rakakakasha, Meester Jones! But I didn’t think of this at the time and just went another route. “Let it out, Matthew,” the coach repeated, clutching my forehead. “Just open your mouth.” I shrugged and rattled off the lyrics to the song “What is Autumn?” by the Russian rock band DDT: What is autumn? It’s the sky The crying sky below your feet. Flying about in puddles are the birds and clouds. Autumn I’ve not been with you for so long! It’s actually a beautiful song, but with my eyes rolled back in my head and recited in Russian it sounded demonic enough. ETA: Damn. Nevermind. (7 comments \| Leave a comment)
07:24 pm ljsecret [scapegoat] [Link]	Secrets #628 ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (438 comments \| Leave a comment)
04:39 pm atheism [mothwentbad] [Link]	John Spong So, what do you think of John Spong, if you've read any of his stuff? I don't really have a rant on the topic, but I've been reading The Sins Of Scripture. The main thesis is that Jesus was awesome, but that the Bible is human invention, more or less, and not The Word Of God. I find him a lot more convincing when he agrees with atheists than when he vaguely sketches out what faith is actually supposed to be good for, naturally. I'm a little spotty on my scholarship, but it seems like he's not giving Jesus a hard enough time. For example, he says that Jesus didn't really talk about Hell all that much - which I guess is sort of true, if you don't count the parables. And I haven't found any discussion of the "not bringing peace, but bringing a sword" passage, either. And another one about how the town which does not take in the disciples will have it worse on the day of judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah. I'm pretty sure that there are enough strikes against the biblical Jesus to put him in serious danger of being cut along with "the sins of scripture". Though if pressed, maybe he'd regard later stuff as the additions of later writers. I don't really know enough to be able to evaluate each of his points, though. Too often I found myself thinking "is that really so? That might be interesting." But I'm not so sure. One of his weaker moments is when he has it both ways - he claims both that "no one comes to the father but through me" was a defiant separatist verse thrown in during the mounting tension of the Judaism/Christianity schism, but then he also claims that the verse means "this happens to be how we come to God, and we don't know of anything else that works for us". He should've stopped while he was ahead. So I guess it's refreshing on the whole, in that 85% of the book is devoted to saying, "no, it's just a book. It has a human history. People wrote it. Don't be daft." (8 comments \| Leave a comment)
05:11 pm antitheism [loser_anda_user] [Link]	Gay Marriage California's top court overturns gay marriage ban I had the hugest grin on my face until I got to this part: A coalition of religious and social conservative groups is attempting to put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine laws banning gay marriage in the state constitution. Damn. It makes me so mad. (56 comments \| Leave a comment)
05:11 pm antitheism [g_manluver] [Link]	The difference between believing and knowing something Just a short opinion journal to see opinions of fellow antitheists. Am I the only one that finds is HORRIBLY IRRITATING when someone says they "believe in evolution" or "used to believe in evolution"? Evolution is the foundation of modern biology. You do not believe in biology; you understand the science of biology. Believing in something suggest is may or may not be true, such as ghost/spirits for example. Evolution itself (not to be mistaken with variants such as Darwin's theory) is true, thus suggesting it may or may not be true is INCORRECT. Saying you understand evolution is much better as it suggests to others that evolution is knowledge rather than assumption. Otherwise it confuses people, which may explain the sheer volume of creationists which assume it is no higher than their own beliefs which are unfounded. Also you cannot stop believing in evolution, that would be about relative to stop believing in reality itself. Personally I think anyone that says they no longer believe in evolution probably never understood it to begin with. So does anyone agree that we should avoid suggestion evolution is a belief? (88 comments \| Leave a comment)
04:11 pm atheism [furthling] [Link]	Joe Campbell on $deity So, I recently re-read Joseph Campbell's "Occidental Mythology," part of his four-volume "Masks of God" series, which was his attempt to put forward to the general public the most scholarly and thorough statement of his understanding of religious psychology and history-- written, bear in mind, forty five years ago. Made notes as I re-read it, and though I've still got doubts about some of the archeology and anthropology he makes reference to, some of it seemed like it might amuse or interest the comm (various boldface mine): ( Read more... ) (Leave a comment)
11:47 am sfwriters [ysabetwordsmith] [Link]	Poetry Fishbowl on My Blog Today Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! I will be checking my blog periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems. Feed the Fish! Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror). I am especially looking for: settings characters alien or phantasmagoric motifs events poetic forms But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have the first edition of Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms which covers most common and many obscure forms. I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems on my blog so everyone can enjoy it. Current Mood: busy (4 comments \| Leave a comment)
08:35 am antitheism [rpeate] [Link]	The Final Solution? I have posted about this before (a few years ago, I think), but in light of recent conversations I feel like exploring it again. Religion as Disease We agree that religion is a wrong, perhaps even a symptom of a larger problem with Humanity. What role does government (or Society in general) have to play in addressing, or, treating, if you will, this symptom? When we see other mentally ill persons going without treatment, such as someone suffering schizophrenia unsupervised, we likely think to ourselves there is neglect occurring--whether by state or society. Where are that person's friends or family, for example? Where is the state? Is there no private money with which to treat him or her? Why is he or she roaming the streets unprotected? If we consider religion to be a symptom of mental illness, if we consider the asylum of the Earth to be run by the lunatics called "the religious", is there not the same obligation to treat it as we would any other medical condition? Science might one day come up with a drug to knock out the religious centers of the brain. If science creates a way to eliminate religion medically, should it do so? Does it have the right to do so? Religion as Crime I think we all know that it has traditionally been religion that has specialised in outlawing and punishing certain thoughts and views, and I have always taken an "err on the side of caution" approach to this topic, believing as I do that prohibition only increases interest by making it rebellious and "cool". But if we agree that government has a duty to protect us from harm, from violence, does government have a responsibility to protect us from religion and the religious? One could argue that a lie is violence committed upon Reason or the mind. My personal view, at this point in history, is not to use government to restrict or ban religion. And I think the majority of you would be satisfied to genuinely and completely separate church and state at this point also. What a wonderful step forward that itself would be! Education My personal view has been that education is the best way to end religion as we know it on Earth, that it will never result in a complete cessation (human beings will always believe some irrational things), but that it might bring about the end of religious institutions, at least institutions that dominate large portions of the Planet. How did you come to be antitheist? My parents taught me, so, in my case, education was sufficient. Do we have an obligation to teach others, or does everyone have the right to be irrational? This is the underlying question in all cases. What is the final solution to the religious question? The user-info states we will not advocate doing harm. How do we define doing harm? Is not it harmful, even "causing harm", to let someone suffer mental illness through our own inaction, or the inaction of the state? Your thoughts? (28 comments \| Leave a comment)
08:31 am antitheism [rakehell] [Link]	I can't recall which myth this corresponds with, but close enough: (17 comments \| Leave a comment)
08:06 am atheism [boy_ish] [Link]	Oprah Anybody heard about all this "Oprah is an atheist" crap? Last night my boyfriend told me that his hick/redneck family (in Indiana) was discussing Obama (and how he's a Muslim, ya know, and apparently his mom wrote a thesis that Obama has to keep under lock and key because omg it'd totally ruin him!), as well as how Oprah is apparently an atheist, and said she doesn't believe in god on her show and "it's on youtube." Um, yeah. It goes without saying that his family is full of nuts, but I still wondered where the crap this came from. Or at least, how his crazy family (internet illiterate) got a hold of it. Here's the video I found telling Christians to band together against Oprah: ( Clip behind cut ) Here's a longer version of the show clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwGLNbiw1gk Anyone else have crazy people claiming this stuff in real life? Oprah's arguments sound pretty rational (yet still religious), to me. Nothing of atheism or denying god, just acceptance of those who don't follow the intolerance of religion, and of generally being tolerant yourself. OMG, HOW DARE SHE! KILL HER! THAT'S WHAT JESUS WOULD DO! Current Mood: cynical (41 comments \| Leave a comment)

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Revealing Starbucks logo gets mixed reviews