Fish in Space

Those who know me are aware that I have a deep appreciation for music, particularly classical music. I'm also a big fan of heavy metal; they have more in common than people realize. My Lady is frequently amused when I'll be listening to the radio and be able to successfully identify the composer and often the composition. I'm not the music geek I could be, but I know what I like. What I really like is when a band combines both rock and classical music. For years my favorite example of this was Apocalyptica's rendition of Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King" but today I've discovered a new favorite. This is 2 Cellos playing "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. You're welcome.

I occasionally interact with people online who confess that they're deeply depressed and entertain thoughts of suicide. My heart goes out to such people, and I try my best to help them. I was diagnosed with depression once (you sit around unemployed for three years and not be depressed!) but it was never serious enough that I needed to seek help for suicide prevention. Simply put I'm far too egotistic to contemplate prematurely ending my life. I'm just too important for that. I'm sure this surprises no one. All joking aside there are some very good resources for people who are contemplating suicide. On the web there's It Gets Better where there are countless video testimonials from others who have struggled with depression and suicide. If you don't have the web and you're in the US there's 800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline who come highly recommended for talking people through their problems and exploring alternatives. Sometime...

Anyone following current events is probably aware that Arizona's legislature passed a blatantly anti-gay bill masquerading as religious freedom . Today the news reports that Governor Jan Brewer is likely to veto the bill which would dodge a bullet in this dangerous legal precedent. But this leads me to the question of why she's probably going to use her veto. Is it because discrimination is wrong? No. Is it because it's a blatant violation of our First Amendment ? Also no. It's because the economic price would be too high . But privately, sources closer to Brewer say she's more likely to bend to warnings from business interests who say the law would unleash an economic backlash similar to the one that followed the state's controversial immigration law in 2010. I'm all for people doing the right thing, but I prefer to see them done for the right reasons. If the reason you're doing the right thing is centered entirely on economic calculation then you...

Alternative title: Why is knowledge so important? In the atheist and skeptical communities there's an awful lot of emphasis on the role of knowledge or its lack thereof in determining what we believe. We think it's vitally important that we be able to verify what we think is true because our beliefs inform our actions; no one crosses the street or buys a product unless they can justify to themselves why they think it's a good idea or at least better than the alternative. Some believers, including members of my family, claim that faith is superior to knowledge which is why it's better to believe than to know. I've been struggling to come up with a succinct argument to describe why I feel knowledge is so important to our beliefs. I think it crystalized when I read this open thread in the Guardian about whether or not aliens are atheists. Of course there's lots of back and forth about how they'd be believers because that's obviously true or whether the...

Today I ran across a discussion that rehashed the Problem of Evil , specifically some problems I had early on with how an all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent god can create an entire universe knowing that the fate of its creation is to have 99% of it suffer in eternal torment that it inflicts on them. Some Christians try to reconcile this by saying that their god isn't truly omniscient, or doesn't exercise his omniscience all the time (ref: Mr. Deity ). Others claim that he willingly refrains from exercising his omnipotence in order to preserve free will and so forth. None that I've met are willing to concede that if he exists he saw the wholesale death and suffering of humanity and did nothing to correct it because he either doesn't care or wants that result. The problem, as far as I see it, lies in magical thinking. You have this god who is supposed to be looking out for you and your best interests. The world doesn't really seem engineered to give you the ...

Debating online as I do I'm frequently presented with an argument that begins with some variation of this: "What seems more likely?" I have a problem with this question. Lots of things that "make sense" to us have turned out to be false. It used to make sense that it was impossible to fly. It used to make sense that order could not arise from chaos. It used to make sense that things couldn't spawn out of nothing. However, we have verifiable evidence that the reality is different from what made sense to us. There are ways for us to fly. Order can come from chaos. Quantum mechanics have produced something from nothing. These assertions were all based on our personal bias, not because we actually know the answers. That's why we have to check our assumptions and avoid relying on our gut when making proclamations when deciding what is or isn't preposterous. Reality is always the final judge.

Becoming an adult is a scary process. At some point you realize that when a problem arises, you can't keep running to your parents to fix it. You have to take responsibility for the problem yourself. It's now your job to be accountable for what you think and what you do; no one else can do it for you. Stepping away from religion is the same way. It was comforting to think that you always had an "out" from death and sin. Now that comfort is being revealed as a lie, and what are you going to do? That's why so many people are genuinely afraid of death, because they don't want to abandon that feeling of comfort. Once I finally came to terms with the fact that I alone am responsible for the good or bad in my life, I realized I am truly free. I don't have to live up to a set of standards that are conflicting. I don't have to win the approval of a score-keeper who never gives me feedback on how I'm doing. I don't have to interpre...

I'm a fan of Bill Maher. He's not my favorite comedian (that distinction would go to Robin Williams; his stand-up comedy Live at the Met still makes me laugh) and his humor is frequently hit or miss, but he does provide moments of pure genius . His "documentary" Religulous scored some hard hits , but he enjoys a lukewarm reception at best from the atheist and skeptical communities. I find it ironic that Stephen Colbert, who in his private life teaches Sunday School is more popular with atheists than Bill Maher who goes after religion like a rottweiler with a sore tooth. We swoon over Hitchens in spite of his neoconservatism and make excuses for Dawkins' dismissal of feminism and male privilege . They're all controversial positions and where people stand on them is of less interest to me than the fact that the atheist and skeptical communities still show them unconditional love -- but not Bill Maher. Maher fucked up with his opinions on vaccinations . He ...