March 2008
“No self respecting guy will date you because he does not want to sleep with a...”
– Plucked from the comments section of my last column; add that shit to the Hate Mail Greatest Hits Collection. Jeez. (via jennabrom) Don’t you just love the mentality that women “use themselves up” by sleeping with men? As if we’re of a limited quality and somehow damaged goods for enjoying our...
Adobe Photoshop Express Online and Free →
Adobe has released a version of Photoshop Express that you can access for free via the web. Upload your photos, edit them and then display them. The free account comes with 2GB of storage. You can of course browse other people’s photos.
“I would turn off all the light in the jails if I could, but it would pose a...”
– Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (via azspot) How they celebrated Earth Hour down Maricopa way. A jail with a vacancy sign!
Organic food 'no benefit to health' →
There is no peer-reviewed evidence to show that there is any clear health benefit to eating ‘green’ produce, according to Lord Kerbs of Jesus Collage, Oxford. The argument in this article revolves around the nutritional content of organic and non-organic foods. Current research seems to indicate that there is no difference in nutritional content or that organic food is safer....
Women leave doomsday cave - smh.com.au →
Several female members of a non-hysterical religious cult in Russian have left a cave in which they and other non-hysterical members of the cult had been awaiting the end of the world. The doomsday cult members have been barricaded in a cave in central Russia since October. They had been refusing to come out until the end of the world which they predict will be sometime in May. Authorities...
“Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world...”
– Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), 1135 - 1204 (via sarahcroberts)
something i'm tired of on the internets
jessicagoldharalson: smug, christopher hitchens-style atheism that dismisses any incarnation of religious faith as the domain of hysterical idiots I am not smug, I prefer the term overly self confident. However, I shall endeavour to refrain from using the term hysterical to describe people.
What time is it?
jeanhannahedelstein: I think my phone and computer know when Daylight Savings kicks in and out, so I assume that they have already set themselves forward…but what if they haven’t? Cursed technology. My snot-filled head is ever so confused. We have this very real problem in Oz right now. A number of states have decided that this year we will delay the end of daylight savings by one week. So our...
“A lot has been said about politicians; some of it complimentary, but most of it...”
– Eric Idle (via sarahcroberts)
FaithTrip.org →
A new social networking site for young Catholics will be launched on March 31st by Church Resources, the telecommunications arm of the Australian Catholic Church. Groups and individuals will be able to have their own pages on the site, although word filters will be used to weed out the devil.
Young urged to abstain →
The New South Wales Health Department website will have its safe sex message updated during the Catholic World Youth Day to recommend abstinence. Currently the advice reads, “The most effective way to protect yourself and your new and casual partners is to consistently practise safe sex by always using condoms.” But during July’s event an addition will be made, “You reduce...
0.0001%
Was Earth Hour cool or what? Sat in the dark for an hour last night watching a DVD. Apparently because of Earth Hour Sydney will have reduced it’s electric power consumption by 0.0001% over the year, that will put an end to global warming. NOTE: figure supplied by the The Chaser as reported in the SMH. Also be warned, ageing breads cynicism.
Do We Have a Moral Obligation to Iraq? →
Mark Rowlands tries to take self-interest out of moral thinking, but rather than coming up with an answer we’re left with more questions.
'We Make Our Own Heaven' →
The Humanist Community of Palo Alto, get together for a few hours every Sunday in what might be called a congregation. They discuss the idea that truth arises from reason, from science and from free thought. I don’t know if it’s just the way the article is written, it is in the “faith” section of ABC News after all, but the group looks like it is trying to structure and...
Who you going to call? →
Iowa county board has given it’s OK for ghost hunters to check out a one-time insane asylum. This action has been taken at the request of the Johnson Country Historical Society which operate tours thorugh the building. While no paranormal events have been recorded their attitude is you can never be too safe so they called in the Carroll Area Paranormal Team as a kind of...
Christian school defrauds Australian Government of... →
The school board of a private Christian school has sacked its principal after it was found he defrauded the Australian Government of $AUD2 million of taxpayers money. Ex-Principal Lyn Mazey had lied about the number of students enrolled at the school in order to get more government funding. He claims that he made no profit from the fraud and that all money was used on the school. Despite this...
How to Eat Cats →
It’s 20 past midnight here in Oz which makes it Caturday! So time for another cat recipe!!!! This time it’s Beer (Irish Stout) Roasted Cat; too bad I didn’t find it time for Paddy’s Day. NOTE: the article includes photos of how to skin your cat, so probably not a good idea to read this while eating your coke and chocolate at breakfast. I don’t condone the eating of...
Coalition forces bomb Basra →
Didn’t we just have our second “Victory” in Iraq? We must be going for a third.
“The Shake Up are a hardworking and rocking...
I will never be the girl...
hydeordie: soupsoup: dazzlingdelta: sarahcroberts: who knows who to bake the perfect cake. amen sister alternatively, none of these are dealbreakers. my trick (i like to bake…a lot) is you have to let it cool completely before you ice it, then stick it in the fridge w/ just a thin layer of icing on it and that will give you a nice “primer” to ice the rest in. when my mother taught me that...
The History and Philosophy of Humanism and its... →
I Just love the title of this one. A fairly straight forward overview of what Humanism is all about. “Humanism is the naturalistic philosophy or way of life centered on human concerns and values that asserts the dignity and worth of humans and their capacity for self-actualization through the use of reason and scientific inquiry.” - Steven Schafersman. “any moderately...
“If you want to go forward, you put it in D. If you want to go backward, you put...”
– Hillary Clinton (via mattlehrer)
Women forced to remove nipple piercings before... →
Mandi Hamlin, of Texas, claims she was forced to remove her nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane. Ow! Strangely enough she was allowed on with her belly button piercing in place.
“It is one of the classic philosophical fallacies to derive an ‘ought’ from an...”
– Richard Dawkins. Interestingly, one of the great adversaries of secular humanism, Walker Percy, often complained that scientists make that precise mistake when they confuse the scientific method for a sound metaphysics. For many serious scientists and serious believers, religion and science are...
Man shoots wife while trying to install satellite... →
Ms 37% →
A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll claims that Hillary Clinton’s approval rating has dropped to 37%. Barack Obama was on 49%. The poll of 700 registered votes has a margin of error of 3.7%.
Another Great Australian Invention: Sex →
Researches claim they have found the earliest evidence of sexual reproduction in the form of 565 million year old fossilised organisms found in Australia. The Australian Government has now taken out a patent on the act and will severely fine any unlicensed activity.
Ingredients for life found on Saturn's Moon →
Remember the space probe, Cassini, that had the off planet “car wash” the other day? Well it’s little encounter with Enceladus’ geysers has shown up water, organic chemicals and warmth. The basic ingredients for the soup of life.
World ends in May: Cult →
A Russian doomsday sect have agreed to leave a cave on April 27th, which they have been living in for more than four months. This will give them a chance to celebrate the Russian Orthodox Easter before the world ends, they claim, in May.
Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing Instead... →
11-year old Madeline Kara Neumann was sick, rather than call for medical help her parents prayed. Madeline took 30 days to die. The parents blame themselves, they believe that they didn’t have enough faith. The mother believes that Madeline may still be resurrected. Madeline leaves behind three siblings who are still living with their parents; “They are still in the home. There...
i don't believe it
hydeordie: it is only lunch time on wednesday? are you SURE it’s not thursday yet? i was positive it was thursday…no good. It’s Thursday morning here. Pretty nice autum day too.