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Minaret Verboten?

First we must chase the elephant out of the room by stating that, contrary to what many European leaders claim, the Swiss minaret ban does not curtail the freedom of religion. Swiss Muslims are still allowed to worship, at home or in mosques.

Surprisingly, the French foreign minister Kouchner expressed his shock, saying “[i]t is an expression of intolerance and I detest intolerance”. A few years ago, France banned the headscarf in public schools, which apparently is not an expression of intolerance. To the benefit of the French, though, they banned all forms of overtly visible religious dress and symbols, while the Swiss target Islam specifically with their ban on minarets. Continue reading, Inshallah!

Getting Hitched

On Tuesday, 22^nd of September 2009 at the Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel in Scotland, the unimaginable happened: I got married to a bookworm! Since this was a secular humanist ceremony, officiated by a member of the Humanist Society Scotland, we were able to fill in the ceremonial details any way we wanted. Therefore, we had written our own statements and vows. With permission of the boss, I’ve reprinted my geeky, skeptical, rational statement below the space-folding jump. Make the jump»

Moon

With a perfectly timed premiere alongside the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the titular celestial body, the science-fiction film Moon finally touched down in the UK. Supposedly a move back to Sci-Fi classics such as ‘Silent Running’ and ’2001: A Space Odyssey’, Moon actually brings a breath of fresh air to the stale life-support systems of most contemporary Sci-Fi productions. Launch to the rest of the review»

Die Trekkies, Die!

And then, George Lucas came along to destroy the Death Star by shooting torpedoes made of unnecessary back stories down the exhaust port (Patton Oswalt alert!)

Astronomically Insignificant

The earth and the sun compared to several other celestial bodies; how insignificant we are (insert sigh of awe). I don’t know the original source of this file but I believe it is OS from NASA. Larger (readable) version can be found here.

Book Review: Your Inner Fish

You know the joke about the lawyers and the sharks? Well, after reading Your Inner Fish, you will have to modify the punch line to “we are all sharks”. Swim to the rest of the review»

Childhood Origins of Resistance to Evolution

This is an old, unpolished file I dragged up from my folder filled with notes and clutter. Come back daily till the 12th of February for the Darwin Day advent posts and links!

In a 2002-2003 study about a third of American adults indicated that evolution is “absolutely false” (Miller et al. 2006). Disturbing as these results might be, the origin of this misconception concerning life’s humble origins lies not solely with, as one might expect, religious fundamentalism or plain ignorance. Don’t resist! Read more»

I Just Lost The Game Again

It might be predetermination or just coincidence, but for some reason The Game pops up frequently for the last few weeks. So, I am loosing The Game all the time. What is this game?

It’s a simple game, and, unbeknownst to you, you are already playing it! The Game has only three rules: (1) you are playing The Game, (2) whenever you think about The Game, you lose, and (3) loss must be announced. You can announce your loss on The Game’s website (I don’t).

Yes, I just made you lose The Game! You loser!

Book Review: The Age of American Unreason

True! American intellectual culture is even more depleted than the elusive, Iraqi uranium stockpiles that apparently have been depleted into non-existence. Susan Jacoby makes that point come across clearly and quite eloquently. Filled with interesting details and plenty of harsh criticism, Jacoby has written an interesting tome on, among other things, why Americans are so obsessed with folksy people (George W. Bush, anyone?), and why so many Americans fear “intellectual elitists” (Obama, anyone?). Continue reading this post»

Haggard’s Law

It seems to happen so often: a public figure bashes everything he or she considers to be wrong or sinful, to later be caught involved in what he or she so denounces. Mark Foley tried to lure young guys in his bed. Larry Craig was found tap-dancing for some action in an airport bathroom stall. Glenn Murphy Jr. deliberately got guys drunk so he could give an oral examination. And the list goes on!

Well, I non-statistically analysed all these observations and discovered Haggard’s Law! Continue reading this post»