Archive for September 12th, 2008
I’m coming out…
Posted by CyberLizard in Atheism, Politics, Religion on September 12, 2008
… so you better get this party started.
I really liked the first one. Turns out I’m really bad at my lyrics. The Pink song is “I’m coming up” not “I’m coming out”. Diana Ross did the “I’m coming out” one.
Anyway, the point is that I’m coming out. And it’s not what you think. Not that I have anything against that kind of coming out. Really.
Anyway, what am I babbling about? There’s a new icon in my sidebar. A big scarlet ‘A’ (Most people would call it red, I like the implication of “scarlet A”). I’m talking about The OUT Campaign. You can read Richard Dawkins’ Introduction to it. It’s doing my little part to help the world realize that godlessness does not equal lack of morals or satanism or eating little babies (or communism or anti-americanism or any of a number of other things the Xians would like you to believe about us). One really big point to make is that we are NOT trying to eradicate Christians, or any religion for that matter. Our biggest gripe is that religion is trying to be forced into places it doesn’t belong.
The presidential election cycle here in the United States has forced me out of the closet. The ramrodding of so-called “Christian values” into our government must stop. It is literally sickening to me to see our country betrayed this way by a bunch of hypocritical bullshitters. I believe that our founding fathers would be rather disgusted by what’s going on today. Archiving Early America has a great article that clearly shows that the intent of our government is secular. My favorite is this quote from the Treaty of Tripoli back in the late 1700′s:
As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries. [emphasis mine]
I mean, you can’t get much clearer than that. This was written in the last term of George Washington’s presidency and signed into law by John Adams during his presidency. Pretty unambiguous statement from our founding fathers themselves, eh? One of the basic principles of our country is freedom of religion. This also includes freedom from religion.
So I’m coming out. Reason must win. The motto of the Scottish clan that I am technically a member of (Keith) is “Veritas vincit” (Truth conquers). I’m going to hold to that and work to make it so.
Links to a few other good Atheist blogs that I follow:
Pharyngula
Rev. BigDumbChimp
Possummomma (aka, Atheist in a minivan)
Atheist Revolution
Enemy Combatant Trailmix Appreciation Club
Some people should NOT be performing
Posted by CyberLizard in Religion on September 12, 2008
Thank you, Rev. BigDumbChimp, for giving me a good laugh.
He taught me how to praise my god and still play rock-and-roll
Apparently this guy’s mistaken about a number of things, not the least of which is the definition of “rock-and-roll”.
And did they rip off those dresses from my high school choir? [/inside joke]
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The Oh of Pleasure
Posted by CyberLizard in Science, Sex on September 12, 2008
The headline caught my eye, I must say:
Stroking reveals pleasure nerve
Thank you, Jenny Carpenter, Science Reporter for the BBC, for this hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism.
A new touch-sensitive nerve fibre responsible for the sense of pleasure experienced during stroking has been described at a UK conference today.
Oh, it gets better:
The nerves tap into a human’s reward pathways, and could help explain why we enjoy grooming and a good hug, a neuroscientist has explained.
His team used a stroking machine to reveal the optimal speed and pressure for the most enjoyable caress. (emphasis mine)
I know a few people who would like to get their hands on that machine.
In order to isolate the touch-sensitive nerves responsible for the pleasure experienced during stroking, Professor McGlone designed a “rotary tactile stimulator” – a high-tech stroking machine.
“We have built some very sophisticated equipment, so the stimulus [of stroking] is very repeatable.”
Now this is the kind of science I can get into! Unfortunately, the article goes on to destroy my hopes and dreams:
Professor McGlone points out that these touch nerves are not responsible for the pleasure experienced from rubbing sexual organs, nor are they found in a person’s palms or soles.
Well, then, what’s the point?
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