Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Rest of the Media

Here is the rest of my regular podcast listening and blog following…


Podcasts


Blogs


PS, Yes my iPhone is only a 3GS.  I suppose if it were any more retro it would have fins and no seat belts.

Biodork Asks

What are your favorite science resources?

 

Biodork (aka Brianne Bilyeu) is a blogger of my acquaintance.  She is also a host on the Atheist Talk radio program (and podcast) originating here in the Twin Cities.  She's preparing for an interview on the topic of resources for adults who want to learn more about science. I answered her question thus...


Science-related podcasts I consume on a regular basis include:



There are many iTunes and iTunes U science courses.  Here are a pair I’ve listened to twice:


There have been many others I no longer follow and iTunes and the iTunes U offer many more choices.  Find what works for you.

UPDATE: I also like NOVA on PBS by way of TPT.  Oh yeah, and real books.

Image credit: http://freethoughtblogs.com/bluecollaratheist/2012/03/27/reason-rally-pictures-at-a-revolution/ftb4/

Monday, February 25, 2013

Who Would Miss Him?

Rush Limbaugh is merely a paid entertainer...


He is not a thoughtful man.  He is not a public intellectual.  He plays his audience - and many of his critics - like a fiddle.  Anger, hatred, and fear-mongering should not be a spectator sport, let alone a profit center.  There are many important issues that divide our country, but his toxic tirades are not part of the solution.  His angry tune exists only to sell soap for his sponsors.  We need not buy their soap.

SIGN HERE: Tell Limbaugh Sponsors - We Will Not Buy Products That Support Misogyny, Racism and Hate Speech

Now, for the hard part.  Here are the names of Limbaugh's national sponsors I currently do business with or have in the past year:

AAA
Ace Hardware
AT&T
Girl Scouts
Home Depot
McDonalds
O’Reilly Auto Parts
Subway
UPS Store
Wal-Mart
Yahoo

UPDATE: I sent "letters" (feedback forms) to AAA, AT&T, and Yahoo.  I'm going to miss Ace, O'Reilly, and Subway until they come around.  My BMI will not miss Girl Scout cookies or McDonald's. 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Powerful, Thoughful, Important

Watch Mind of a Rampage Killer today...


Mind of a Rampage Killer captures the complexity of this troubling issue.  It's part of PBS' ongoing coverage titled After Newtown.  You can watch it on public television or online at the PBS website.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Alone in a Growing Crowd

Day of Solidarity for Black Non-believers...


The skeptical and atheist communities (factions feels a truer word these days) are rife with fractious discord.  Epithets fly, partisans claw their way to the peaks of enlightenment, and thought-leaders apply more passion to discerning what separates us than to finding what we might hold in common.  There are days I wouldn't care join this club if it would have me.

All the while atheism, agnosticism, and apatheism continues to grow as religion meets the needs of fewer and fewer Americans.

Still there are people who have left their faith communities - and sometimes their families - behind who are trying to make place for themselves at the Nones table.  Once again it seems that persons of color are under-served by a largely white, mostly male community.  Are black atheists content to patiently waiting their turn?  No, once again, persons of color are creating community.  In 2011 author Donald Wright called on blacks to set aside the fourth Sunday of February as a Day of Solidarity for Black Non-believers.

I am not black and my black friends are mostly church-going or mosque-attending folk.   I am a fellow non-theist though.  I understand that blacks suffer in special ways when they announce to friends and family that they are also members of minorities that even many blacks despise.  I sincerely hope that black non-believers can create community while other atheists cannot be distracted from their priviledged discord long enough to create anything.