Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Great new TED talk
This will be a super quick post. There's a great new talk on TED's website. Michael Specter: The danger of science denial If you don't know about TED, then i strongly recommend you check it out immediately. I do warn you that a day will disappear quickly as you watch inspiring, informative talks from so many great people. Enjoy.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Good News, Bad News/Rant & Recipe
OK, time for another post (past time really, sorry.) Three topics for today, lets start on a high note. I just discovered this recently from a topic on another blog Friendly Atheist but there's a National Day of Reason and its coming up soon! May 6, so mark you calendars. Sponsored by the American Humanist Association in a response/protest of the National Day of Prayer which they feel (rightly so in my opinion) is exclusionary toward non-Christians and also violates the separation of church and state. I think this is a great idea, but i can't find why its on May 6th, wish it were a weekend, I'd love to have a Day of Reason picnic at a local park. Anyone who knows the significance of this date, please let me know.
Next topic, which saddens and angers me. Another child bride has died in Yemen. The girl, 13 years old, died of internal injuries suffered when her husband forced himself on her sexually. (CNN report i read said she was 12) While the Catholic abuse scandal is getting lots of press (deservedly so, its appalling) this kind of thing gets less coverage. Its not an apples to apples comparison, but if there was what they called a wedding, there was presumably a member of the Islamic clergy present. This is institutionalized child abuse endorsed by a measurable percentage of the Muslim world. The article shows a heartening number of people protesting; but compare this protest to the riots after the Dutch cartoonist drew cartoons that were deemed insulting to Mohammed. This is not a cultural difference, this is very clear universal moral outrage to me. A girl of 12 or 13 is not mentally, emotionally or physically prepared for marriage. Lest i be accused of cultural or geographic bias, i think its equally terrible that girls of similar ages are married into plural marriages in fundamentalist Mormon cults right here in my home state of Arizona. I cannot thus far recall any of them dying but that in no way excuses the practice for anyone of any belief system.
Here are some fighting words; if you feel the need to have sexual relations by way of an arranged marriage to a child, you are not a man, you are SEXUAL PREDATOR. And i don't buy it as just a different society with different customs. Considering the showing of the soles of the feet or shoes an insult is a cultural idiosyncrasy; men kissing one another on both cheeks by way of greeting instead of shaking hands is a regional societal difference. Forcing 12 or 13 year olds into marriage with drastically older men is abuse, pure and simple. Any culture or religion that tolerates or endorses such practices is barbaric.
Dramatic change of topic, to preserve my sanity. I went to a terrific Freethinker potluck this past weekend and brought along a sweet and spicy vegan friendly stir-fry. As per some requests, here is the recipe as near as i can recall/guess since i tend to kind of throw things together.
Sweet and spicy stir fry
1 whole fresh pineapple; peeled cored and cut into bite size pieces
2 red bell peppers; cut into bite sized pieces
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 or 2 handfuls of cashews, rinsed if they are salted
2 green onions, finely sliced
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup of brown sugar (adjust to taste)
1 chipotle pepper very finely minced plus 1 teaspoon or so of the adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon oil (something that copes reasonably well with high heat)
salt & pepper to taste
Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger chipotle pepper and adobo sauce; set aside.
Heat oil in wok on medium/medium high heat, add cashews toss/stir constantly to avoid burning for about 2 minutes. Add red pepper, toss/stir an additional 2 minutes. Add pineapple, toss/stir 2 more minutes. Add water chestnuts and sauce, reduce heat to low and simmer in the wok for about 5 minutes.
Optional step; remove all veggies from wok with slotted spoon; then allow sauce to reduce by half, adjusting seasonings for desired balance of sweetness and spiciness.
Pour sauce back over veggies in serving dish, stir, top with green onions.
Also: not being a vegan myself, when i make this at home for myself i also add 1 lb. of cut up white meat chicken at the same time as the red peppers.
Next topic, which saddens and angers me. Another child bride has died in Yemen. The girl, 13 years old, died of internal injuries suffered when her husband forced himself on her sexually. (CNN report i read said she was 12) While the Catholic abuse scandal is getting lots of press (deservedly so, its appalling) this kind of thing gets less coverage. Its not an apples to apples comparison, but if there was what they called a wedding, there was presumably a member of the Islamic clergy present. This is institutionalized child abuse endorsed by a measurable percentage of the Muslim world. The article shows a heartening number of people protesting; but compare this protest to the riots after the Dutch cartoonist drew cartoons that were deemed insulting to Mohammed. This is not a cultural difference, this is very clear universal moral outrage to me. A girl of 12 or 13 is not mentally, emotionally or physically prepared for marriage. Lest i be accused of cultural or geographic bias, i think its equally terrible that girls of similar ages are married into plural marriages in fundamentalist Mormon cults right here in my home state of Arizona. I cannot thus far recall any of them dying but that in no way excuses the practice for anyone of any belief system.
Here are some fighting words; if you feel the need to have sexual relations by way of an arranged marriage to a child, you are not a man, you are SEXUAL PREDATOR. And i don't buy it as just a different society with different customs. Considering the showing of the soles of the feet or shoes an insult is a cultural idiosyncrasy; men kissing one another on both cheeks by way of greeting instead of shaking hands is a regional societal difference. Forcing 12 or 13 year olds into marriage with drastically older men is abuse, pure and simple. Any culture or religion that tolerates or endorses such practices is barbaric.
Dramatic change of topic, to preserve my sanity. I went to a terrific Freethinker potluck this past weekend and brought along a sweet and spicy vegan friendly stir-fry. As per some requests, here is the recipe as near as i can recall/guess since i tend to kind of throw things together.
Sweet and spicy stir fry
1 whole fresh pineapple; peeled cored and cut into bite size pieces
2 red bell peppers; cut into bite sized pieces
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 or 2 handfuls of cashews, rinsed if they are salted
2 green onions, finely sliced
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup of brown sugar (adjust to taste)
1 chipotle pepper very finely minced plus 1 teaspoon or so of the adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon oil (something that copes reasonably well with high heat)
salt & pepper to taste
Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger chipotle pepper and adobo sauce; set aside.
Heat oil in wok on medium/medium high heat, add cashews toss/stir constantly to avoid burning for about 2 minutes. Add red pepper, toss/stir an additional 2 minutes. Add pineapple, toss/stir 2 more minutes. Add water chestnuts and sauce, reduce heat to low and simmer in the wok for about 5 minutes.
Optional step; remove all veggies from wok with slotted spoon; then allow sauce to reduce by half, adjusting seasonings for desired balance of sweetness and spiciness.
Pour sauce back over veggies in serving dish, stir, top with green onions.
Also: not being a vegan myself, when i make this at home for myself i also add 1 lb. of cut up white meat chicken at the same time as the red peppers.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Introduction and explanation
Hello all and welcome to my new blog. I am very new at this and will make many, many mistakes along the way. I am honored that anyone at all besides myself is taking the time to read this, thank you.
One of the first things I want to address is the name of this blog; it is in response to and a satire of the bumper stickers I have seen proclaiming “real men love jesus.” As an avowed atheist, I would obviously disagree with such a statement. My initial response was ‘real men love reason.’ Ha, very clever I thought to myself, but am I really that caught up in what makes a ‘real man?’
Since I consider myself enlightened, I don’t really concern myself if things I like are manly or not. I like some traditionally manly things; a thick medium-rare steak, quality beer, American football, fast cars etc. I also like some less manly things; fruity drinks, mysteries with cats in them and fuzzy slippers. So I don’t care much if I am perceived as being a real man or not, but I do try to be smart. If any self identified real men infer something from the comparison, such is their right.
Secondly, I realize the modern politically correct title of my site would be ‘smart people love reason.’ Please don’t misunderstand, I think women are in every way the intellectual equals of men, and are just as capable of loving reason. But if I replaced men with people then the only word I have in common with my object of satire is love. While the Beatles advised that love is all you need, I wanted to keep more reference to the original. So I apologize if any women feel slighted or left out, I truly do value your opinions and feedback about this blog.
Lastly I am also aware that love might be inappropriate, especially from a purely logical point of view. What I mean is one can see the obvious value and merit of reason especially in comparison to dogma or superstition, but that doesn’t mean one loves it. From a quasi-Vulcan point of view, loving reason is illogical. However ‘smart persons realize the merit of reason’ doesn’t have the same appeal.
So exclusionary or illogical as it might be, the blog will remain titles “smart men love reason” perhaps with the subtitle ‘smart men love smart women too’ but then I might alienate the gay community, with whom I have no quarrel at all.
Now that that’s out of the way, what exactly is this blog about? Well, its goal is to be about reason, especially in response and contrast to religion .Its meant to be a place where I can share my ideas about free-thinking, atheism and how they fit into an alarmingly religious 21st century America. I make no secret of my general disdain and rejection of religion, and while I lack the education and fame of those such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, I think I have some relevant ideas and observations to contribute. If this gets any readers, I look forward to reading what you think about my postings.
I will have tangents. Atheism and related subjects does not fill my entire life. I love food, and there will be mentions of cooking and restaurants and food in general here. I am also an avid board game collector and player and that topic will invariably come up also. But I will try to keep the main thrust of this blog about atheism and related world views.
As a final thought, I will also be re-reading the bible, probably in a fitful manner as I begin my blogging journey. If I come across any particularly noxious passages that haven’t gotten much airplay (unlike say the tale of Lot who is the most just man in Sodom because instead of letting the raving mob rape his angel guests, he offers his virginal daughters instead. Terrific example of biblical ‘morality’ but has been referenced in many works) I’ll be sure to mention them here and my reactions and thoughts about them. I’ve probably babbled on long enough for this first entry. See you in a few days.
One of the first things I want to address is the name of this blog; it is in response to and a satire of the bumper stickers I have seen proclaiming “real men love jesus.” As an avowed atheist, I would obviously disagree with such a statement. My initial response was ‘real men love reason.’ Ha, very clever I thought to myself, but am I really that caught up in what makes a ‘real man?’
Since I consider myself enlightened, I don’t really concern myself if things I like are manly or not. I like some traditionally manly things; a thick medium-rare steak, quality beer, American football, fast cars etc. I also like some less manly things; fruity drinks, mysteries with cats in them and fuzzy slippers. So I don’t care much if I am perceived as being a real man or not, but I do try to be smart. If any self identified real men infer something from the comparison, such is their right.
Secondly, I realize the modern politically correct title of my site would be ‘smart people love reason.’ Please don’t misunderstand, I think women are in every way the intellectual equals of men, and are just as capable of loving reason. But if I replaced men with people then the only word I have in common with my object of satire is love. While the Beatles advised that love is all you need, I wanted to keep more reference to the original. So I apologize if any women feel slighted or left out, I truly do value your opinions and feedback about this blog.
Lastly I am also aware that love might be inappropriate, especially from a purely logical point of view. What I mean is one can see the obvious value and merit of reason especially in comparison to dogma or superstition, but that doesn’t mean one loves it. From a quasi-Vulcan point of view, loving reason is illogical. However ‘smart persons realize the merit of reason’ doesn’t have the same appeal.
So exclusionary or illogical as it might be, the blog will remain titles “smart men love reason” perhaps with the subtitle ‘smart men love smart women too’ but then I might alienate the gay community, with whom I have no quarrel at all.
Now that that’s out of the way, what exactly is this blog about? Well, its goal is to be about reason, especially in response and contrast to religion .Its meant to be a place where I can share my ideas about free-thinking, atheism and how they fit into an alarmingly religious 21st century America. I make no secret of my general disdain and rejection of religion, and while I lack the education and fame of those such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, I think I have some relevant ideas and observations to contribute. If this gets any readers, I look forward to reading what you think about my postings.
I will have tangents. Atheism and related subjects does not fill my entire life. I love food, and there will be mentions of cooking and restaurants and food in general here. I am also an avid board game collector and player and that topic will invariably come up also. But I will try to keep the main thrust of this blog about atheism and related world views.
As a final thought, I will also be re-reading the bible, probably in a fitful manner as I begin my blogging journey. If I come across any particularly noxious passages that haven’t gotten much airplay (unlike say the tale of Lot who is the most just man in Sodom because instead of letting the raving mob rape his angel guests, he offers his virginal daughters instead. Terrific example of biblical ‘morality’ but has been referenced in many works) I’ll be sure to mention them here and my reactions and thoughts about them. I’ve probably babbled on long enough for this first entry. See you in a few days.
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