Monthly Archives: August 2010

Bad Universe is Good TV

Posted on August 31, 2010 by John C. Snider

Just watched Phil “Bad Astronomy” Plait’s new Discovery Channel Show Bad Universe.  Great stuff!  He’s an enthusiastic and engaging host.  We’ll be watching the whole series.  Minor quibble: Phil uses his signature phrase “Holy Haleakala!” about six times too many … Continue reading →

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Posted in astronomy & space, science, television | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Podcast #99 – Mary Roach (Packing for Mars)

Posted on August 28, 2010 by John C. Snider

We interview Mary Roach, author of the bestselling science-humor book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void.  She’s also the author of Stiff (about human cadavers), Spook (the scientific inquest on life after death), and Bonk … Continue reading →

Podcast #99 - Mary Roach (Packing for Mars) [ 38:23 ] Download (5771)
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Posted in astronomy & space, books, humor, interviews, medical research, podcast, science | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Atlas Shrugged: The Movie

Posted on August 24, 2010 by John C. Snider

It looks like a film version of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged will finally be a reality! At least the first 147 of 1000+ pages… Fifty-some-odd years after its publication, Atlas Shrugged is still selling briskly, and is still controversial. Rumors … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, movies, news | Tagged , | 1 Comment

First the Hitch, and now P-Zed?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by John C. Snider

Say it ain’t so!  The indefatigable PZ Myers has posted that he’s about to undergo (and at this point may already have undergone) heart surgery.  The good news is it sounds like they caught whatever’s ailing him in time.  If … Continue reading →

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Greydon Square: The Kardashev Scale

Posted on August 22, 2010 by John C. Snider

We heard Greydon Square perform at the 2007 Atheist Alliance International Convention in Washington, DC.  I admit I was a bit skeptical: a black rapper singing for several hundred mostly older, mostly white nonbelievers?  In the middle of the day? … Continue reading →

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Books maybe you should know about, Pt. 2

Posted on August 21, 2010 by John C. Snider

Back in April, I posted “Books maybe you should know about,” a list of upcoming freethought books I thought fellow freethinkers might like to read.  We were about to cover about half the books on that list.   And now, the … Continue reading →

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Answering “Seven Questions You Should Ask an Atheist”

Posted on August 19, 2010 by John C. Snider

I stumbled, quite by accident, across this blog entry by Tom Elliff (who has been, among other things, president of the SBC Pastors Conference and two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention).  “Seven Questions You Should Ask an Atheist” is … Continue reading →

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Posted in atheism, christianity, commentary, ethics, religion | Tagged , | 1 Comment

1 in 5 think Obama’s a Muslim?

Posted on August 19, 2010 by John C. Snider

Frankly, I don’t believe the recent Pew Research poll that indicates 1 in 5 Americans believe President Obama is a Muslim.  Sure, there’s some percentage of abjectly ignorant people who think that, but what this poll shows, IMHO, is the … Continue reading →

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Hitch fights on…

Posted on August 11, 2010 by John C. Snider
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Podcast #98 – The Crescent and the Moonpie

Posted on August 9, 2010 by John C. Snider

In our live presentation to the Atlanta Freethought Society, “The Crescent and the Moonpie: Islam and the American South,” we look at the history of Islam in the Antebellum South, then jump forward to discuss  how Muslim communities are being … Continue reading →

Podcast #98 - The Crescent and the Moonpie [ 1:04:44 ] Download (5634)
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Posted in civil rights, history, islam, news, podcast, politics, religion, religious rights | Tagged , , | 1 Comment