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Sagrada Família via Domus.
Training his agile thoughts volatile as air,
He's civilized the world with words and wit and law…
Distinguished in his city when law abiding, pious,
But when he promulgates unsavory ambition, citiless and lost.
And then I will not share my hearth with him.
I want no parcel of his thoughts. – Sophocles, Antigone
Without a doubt the highlight of my trip to Barcelona a couple years ago was touring the work in progress that is Sagrada Família, the final masterwork of architect
Sagrada Família has been entirely funded by donations (today mostly in the form of admission charges to tourists, I believe). It was originally projected to potentially take some hundreds of years to complete. However, with modern design and fabrication techniques, the current projected completion date is 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death. Though still unfinished, the church was consecrated on November 7, 2010.
Sagrada Família via Domus.
Back in March Domus magazine published a fantastic essay on Sagrada Família called "In-Finite Architectures" by Oscar Tusquets Blanca. Blanca was very forthright in admitting his own change of heart towards the building over time.
At the start of 2002, to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the architect Antoni Gaudí, Domus asked me to write an article on the controversial issue of the continuation of construction work on the Sagrada Família Church. Published in May of that year, my article explained that, in the early 1960s, while I was still at university, I had been one of the instigators of a manifesto against the continuation of the church, which received the unconditional support of all the intelligentsia of the day—from Bruno Zevi to Giulio Carlo Argan, Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier…..How could we have been so wrong? This wonder would not exist if people had listened to us 50 years ago. It would have remained a ruin or it would have been finished by an in-vogue architect of the time….I do not know whether it is the finest work of the last century but it will certainly be the greatest religious building of the last three.
Sagrada Família photo by The Urbanophile.
While one can never attribute ultimately pure motives to anything or anyone, clearly the Christian religion was a major inspiration for Gaudí. It's difficult to imagine such a project even being conceived, much less executed, absent the reality of faith.
Which immediately raises another question. We sense in our gut as we tour this place that it is a product of another era, one closer perhaps to that age which produced the medieval cathedrals than our own, no matter what the calendar might say. Will there ever be another buildings like this created again? Perhaps there will be, but the mere fact that such a question can be asked in all seriousness shows the change in our world.
Angkor Wat (12th century). Originally a Hindu but now Buddhist temple currently located in Cambodia that is the world's largest religious building.
Claudio Monteverdi's "Vespro della Beata Vergine" (Vespers of 1610)
In ages past it almost went without saying that the greatest artistic works of humanity were in large part inspired by the religious impulse. Certainly not all artworks were so-inspired, and certainly art of a religious nature might also be inspired in part by temporal matters such as advancing the career of the artist or symbolizing the earthly power of the king or church. Nevertheless, the power of faith was often very real in the life of the artist – Monteverdi became a priest and Bach was a devout Lutheran – and the spiritual often informed the scope, theme, content, form, etc of the work not just for the artist, but for the audience.
The Parthenon (5th century BC). Image via Wikipedia
JS Bach, Mass in B Minor (1749)
Today it is quite a different story. Even among those who profess passionate religious faith, that faith no longer seems capable of inspiring the greatest creative endeavors of the human spirit. Indeed, listen to prominent Evangelical Christian leaders and they practically brag about how little money they spend on facilities. I've yet to see a mega-church structure that in any way impresses architecturally. Syrupy contemporary Christian music often can't even match the simple profundity of the hymns, much less approach the great masses and other religious works of serious creators past. Evangelical Christianity is not exactly noted for its production of high art.
The rationale is frequently that of accessibility and investing in mission versus grandiose edifices. Yet in the process we have a movement that has become unmoored from the transcendent and the overwhelming glory of God. This is perhaps faith that can inspire good works, but not great ones.
The more passionate strains of Islam fare no better. Though the discouragement of representational art in Islam closed off some fields of creative endeavor, Islam produced some of the most striking works of architecture in human history, as well as many fantastic non-representational works. Yet today I'm unaware of any powerful artistic movements in fervent Islam to match its religious passion.
Süleymaniye Mosque (1558), Istanbul
Interestingly, non-religious art has fared not much better. I'm generally a contemporary art skeptic. Even at its best, this work tends to be idiosyncratic and highly context specific (anchoring it to a particular time and place rather than to the universal). Too often in degenerates into cheap political statements and pretentiousness. How many contemporary art works do many of us really believe represent the highest and greatest achievements of which humanity is capable? How many do we really think will be marveled at hundreds or thousands of years from now, except perhaps as examples of our age? As for too much contemporary serious music, don't get me started.
Lest I sound too much like a curmudgeon, architecture has fared perhaps a bit better. I suspect many of our buildings will stand the test of time. But even here we see self-indulgence and an excessive fascination with novelty. Yet above all what these buildings lack is any sense of transcendent purpose.
New York City
It's not surprising to me to see what we so-often get today when motivated by purely humanistic concerns, namely the tall building. The author of Genesis seemed to get that in his gut when relating the story of the Tower of Babel. Yet despite their impressiveness, these buildings generally lack any larger spiritual purpose.
We seem to have forgotten the creation of sacred space as an essential function of the city. Our cities themselves no longer satisfy the longing of the human spirit for transcendence, to be part of a cosmic order greater than ourselves, to inspire extravagant gestures that seem to defy the strictures of our existence. Today, we seem satisfied with simple commercial success and the basics of production and consumption.
Nietzsche mourned when he said that God was dead, not because he believed in God, but because he understood what the passing of God meant to our modern world. With the death of God, something in the human spirit perished along with Him, even for those who still actually believe.
As for the question of whether we will ever produce another great artistic statement for God, perhaps we won't even finish the last one. As Blanca noted:
The second and certainly more serious problem is that of finding contemporary artists capable of executing the Master's figurative designs. Gaudí wanted the facades to explain the Holy Story in pictures, the way medieval cathedrals had done. That was already a difficult demand by the start of the twentieth Century but the genius of Gaudí solved the problem on the—almost kitsch—Nativity facade with walls that fold into figures, many created from casts of real people and animals (George Segal 50 years earlier). The pitiful result of the Passion facade, commissioned to the sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs, shows the huge difficulty of pursuing the same course of action. The main Glory facade has yet to be built. Finding a contemporary artist anywhere in the world capable of taking on this task is the biggest challenge now faced. Figurative art is having a difficult time, that with a religious content even more so and an art that can express the Glory of the Resurrection is now extinct. Contemporary art has given us many crucifixions but no remarkable resurrection.
Sagrada Família
Related: Religion and the City


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|Helium nanodroplets doped with xenon and rubidium atoms: a case study of van der Waals interactions between heliophilic and heliophobic dopants.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 23047686 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|In this work we apply density-functional theory to simulate a double-dotation of He-clusters with Rb and Xe atoms. We investigate the influence of the He droplet environment on the weak van der Waals interaction between xenon and rubidium. The heliophilic Xe resides inside the droplet, while the heliophobic Rb stays on its surface. The effect of this spatial separation, the stability of the system and its properties are discussed in the context of future experiments.
|Johannes Poms; Andreas W Hauser; Wolfgang E Ernst
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|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-10-9
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|Title: Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP Volume: - ISSN: 1463-9084 ISO Abbreviation: Phys Chem Chem Phys Publication Date: 2012 Oct
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|Created Date: 2012-10-10 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
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|Institute of Experimental Physics, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 16, A-8010 Graz, Austria. firstname.lastname@example.com email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com.
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A mug shot compilation of meth addicts that shows how the progression of drug abuse impacts their looks over a relatively short period of time.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Just how cold is it in Kentucky? Apparently cold enough for an escaped prisoner to decide to turn himself in.
Authorities said the inmate escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday. As temperatures dropped into the low single digits Monday, officials say the man walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police.
Robert Vick, 42, of Hartford told the clerk he wanted to turn himself in and escape the arctic air, Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said.
Vick was checked out by paramedics and returned to Blackburn Correctional Complex, Roberts said.
"This was definitely of his own volition," she said. "It's cold out there, too cold to run around. I can understand why the suspect would turn himself in."
Vick would have been dressed in prison-issued khaki pants, a shirt and a jacket when he escaped, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said. Wind chill readings were 20 below zero Monday in Lexington.
The Lexington Fire Department treated Vick for hypothermia Monday evening, Roberts said. A call to the department was not immediately returned Tuesday morning.
Vick was serving a six-year sentence for burglary and criminal possession of a forged instrument at the time of the escape from Blackburn Correctional Center.
There was no answer at the Sunset Motel and Restaurant, where Roberts said Vick surrendered, on Tuesday morning.
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August 30
Podcast Episode
Day in Tech History: August 30th
Microsoft releases version 3.0 of Microsoft Office, including: Word 2.0c, Excel 4.0a, PowerPoint 3.0, and Mail. It will later be repackaged as "Office 92."
Microsoft releases version 7.0 of Microsoft Office as "Microsoft Office 95." The suite includes the first appearance of Word 7.0. It also includes Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0, and Mail 3.2 from the Office 4.3. The suite coincides with the release of Windows 95, and it is the first 32-bit version of the suite. This suite is available in Standard and Professional versions. The Professional version includes Access in addition to the suite's other applications.
Australian government's website is anonymously hacked.
AMD releases the 500 MHz K6-2 processor. Visit the AMD K6-2 processors' official website. Price: US$167
Apple unveils a new personal computer (PC) called the Power Mac G4 at the Seybold conference in San Francisco. It uses the PowerPC G4 (PPC74xx) series of microprocessors, and it has the ability to perform one billion operations per second and is up to twice as fast as the fastest Intel Pentium III computer.
CompUSA, Inc. announces plans to reduce its 3,600 commercial sales force by half as part of the reorganization plan that they had previously announced on Thursday, June 24, 1999.
Microsoft shuts down its Hotmail free email service for approximately two hours. The shut down comes after receiving confirmed reports that hackers have breached some of the service's servers by entering Hotmail accounts through third-party Internet providers without using passwords.
"The United Loan Gunman" break into a ABC newscast.
Swedish programmer Lars Aronsson founds Elektrosmog, a Stockholm-based discussion group on public wireless LANs. Around the same time, similar grassroots wireless networking groups pop up in London, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. Browse a list of wireless community networks by region.
Version 4.5 of the Job Access With Speech (JAWS) screen reader program for visually impaired users is released for Windows. This version adds quick navigation keys to Internet Explorer, for navigating between HTML elements on a website. The software is produced by the Blind and Low Vision Group at Freedom Scientific of St. Petersburg, Florida. Its purpose is to make personal computers with Windows installed accessible to blind and visually impaired users. It accomplishes this by providing the user with access to the information displayed on the screen via text-to-speech or by means of a braille display and allows for more comprehensive keyboard interaction with the computer. Visit Freedom Scientific's official website.
The MiMail email worm, written in the C programming language, first emerges.
Acclaim Entertainment, a leading American video game developer, files for Chapter 7 bankuptcy, with debt over US$100 million.
Scientists led by Natalia Dubrovinskaia, at the University of Bayreuth in Germany publish research on the process by with they have created a material harder than diamond, long known to be the world's hardest substance, by compressing carbon-60 molecules in the journal Applied Physics Letters. They dub the new form of carbon "aggregated diamond nanorods." A material's hardness is measured in terms of its isothermal bulk modulus, which is a measure of how a solid substance's volume changes as pressure is applied to it at a constant temperature. Diamond has a modulus of 442 gigapascals, while is even less compressible with a modulus of 491 gigapascals.
Tandberg Data, a Norwegian manufacturer of data storage products, announces that are buying the assets of the Exabyte Corporation, a manufacturer of magnetic tape data storage products, for US$28 million. The acquisition will be completed on November 20, 2006. Read the press release. Visit Tandber Data's website.
Version 2006.1 of the Gentoo Linux operating system is released.
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Microsoft launches Bing for Android phones
Google shuts down TV advertising sales platform


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Mackey: Bad year gets worse for Nishioka, but Twins offer clean slate
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It's pretty safe to say Minnesota Twins infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka will never experience a 12-month period quite like the one he had in 2011.
The year began with Nishioka commanding more media attention, by far, than any player on the Twins' roster during spring training -- a contingent that included 10-15 Japanese reporters, plus a handful of American media members following him daily and analyzing his every motion, even during simple stretching drills.
But after suffering through a broken leg, a strained oblique, a .226/.278/.249 batting line, and some of the worst defense played by any infielder in baseball, Nishioka's performance warranted having only two Japanese reporters stick around through September.
And now, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation, Nishioka is also going through a divorce from his supermodel wife, Naoko Tokuzawa, just months after the couple celebrated the birth of their first child in August.
Rock bottom.
Nishioka, 27, is owed a total of $6 million over the next two seasons, so no, he won't be cut.
Nor will he be traded, as no team has interest in paying him that $6 million.
And even though he does have minor league options, "I haven't given that much thought," general manager Terry Ryan said by phone Wednesday. "I hope it doesn't come to that."
Instead, Nishioka will head down to Fort Myers later this month to fight for a utility infield spot behind Jamey Carroll and Alexi Casilla.
"I think he is aware that it was one of those transitional years that didn't go too well," Ryan said. "I was with him quite a bit down in Florida when he was rehabbing from the broken leg, so I got to know him just a little bit. Not as well as (former GM Bill Smith) or (assistant GM) Rob Antony. ... But I watched him down there.
"I keep reminding myself that last spring he had a decent spring for us. It fell apart, we all know that. He got hurt right out of the chute, and he never got it back to the way we thought it might be. But nonetheless, he's going to come in and compete for a job."
Nishioka's rock bottom moment on the field came in Cleveland on Aug. 14, when starter Carl Pavano took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning.
Indians outfielder Ezequiel Carrera reached on a bunt single to start the frame, but Pavano induced a hard-hop double-play ball off the bat of Shin-Soo Choo, only to see the ball glance off Nishioka's glove and roll into the outfield. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Nishioka botched another chance at turning a double play when he booted a grounder hit by Jason Kipnis.
Two batters later, Nishioka bobbled a slow roller by the heavy-footed Travis Hafner and later forgot to cover second base on a grounder to the right side of the infield.
Pavano wound up allowing only two runs despite Nishioka's defensive gaffes. But the stress of pitching around the extra outs was enough to send the veteran right-hander into a blinding, cooler-beating dugout rage.
At the plate, Nishioka struggled catching up to fastballs, and the coaching staff noticed him trying to compensate by starting his swing earlier -- a tweak that did little to help his production. Even when Nishioka did make contact, he didn't drive the ball with any authority, as shown by his paltry total of five extra-base hits.
Going back to his success in Japan, Nishioka's league-leading .346 batting average in 2010 was aided significantly by a .399 batting average on balls in play -- an unrepeatable number that in most years would sit below .350. Batting .346 was an aberration, not a norm.
So, what's his upside? And what can the Twins expect in 2012?
"That's a good question. I don't know," Ryan said.
"I can tell you what kind of skills he has. He runs, he's a switch-hitter, he out to have the ability to steal a base with his speed. He's got enough arm strength to play short, he's got enough athleticism to play shortstop. I think there's a transition here compared to Japan, because a lot of his games are played on turf over there and he waited for the ball to get to him. That's what happens on turf, you can do that because it's a much quicker hop, and certainly the hops are truer and all that stuff.
"But the game over there is different than from here. I don't think there's any doubt, and I suspect he probably recognized that as well. But we're going to clean the slate is what we're going to try to do. We'll see if we can pull out of him what our people evaluated out of Japan."
When Nishioka went back to his home in Japan in October, the Twins sent him there with clear offseason objectives, mainly building more strength and getting more comfortable charging grounders.
"He is working out hard and much more seriously than last year," said Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony via email. "He knows what to expect and he is stronger, especially in his lower half. We expect him to come to camp and compete for a job.
"No one is assured of anything, but we are hoping Jamey Carroll comes in and settles down the shortstop position. Nishi has the ability to play (second base) and (shortstop) and I believe he will battle Casilla for the (second base) job. If he performs well he will be in position to start or be a valuable utility player."
And that's not to say Casilla's job is vulnerable. He's the incumbent starter, and Twins decision-makers have praised the way he played in May and June prior to the hamstring injury. But Casilla's inability to stay healthy could open a door at some point.
That is, if Nishioka is able to walk through it.
"I'm hoping, obviously, with a year now of experience," Ryan said, "and a familiarity with the manager and coaching staff, and ballpark, and the league, and the travel, I'm hoping like heck it's a better experience for all of us."


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Flash PhotographyThe EOS-1D Mark IV features the acclaimed E-TTL II flash metering system. With any of the flashes in the EX Speedlite line, E-TTL II provides reliable flash output whether shooting fill-in flash pictures in sunlight, or using flash in total darkness. The camera's new 63-zone Evaluative Metering Sensor is also used for flash metering with an improved flash metering algorithm which reduces the chances of overexposure with wide-angle shots in which the main subject occupies a small area. If you prefer a broader area for flash metering, Custom Function II-4-1 allows shifting flash metering so that all 63 zones of the sensor are used equally to calculate flash exposures.
The Speedlite 580EX II is perfectly suited to the EOS-1D Mark IV. It has improved reliability of communications through the direct contacts, has a metal flash "foot," and is dust-/water-resistant as with the 1D Mark IV. Other new features include a PC socket on the flash unit, and an external metering sensor for non-TTL autoflash if desired. With the EOS-1D Mark IV, you can set most flash settings using the camera's menu. It has the same power as the previous Speedlite 580EX (maximum guide number of 190 ft./58m at ISO 100) and, when mounted on the camera, automatically compensates for the camera's sensor size, enabling high output flash, with more flashes per charge. It includes an AF-assist Beam, which works in conjunction with the EOS-1D Mark IV's focusing system, and automatically sends color temperature information to the camera when the flash fires, for more accurate white balance rendition with flash photography.
Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 IIA*Canon's new Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 IIA* is designed for the EOS-1D Mark IV. Powered by the camera battery, its compact, weather-resistant design easily integrates with the EOS-1D Mark IV. Packed with wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g, 100BASE-TX Ethernet connections and built-in WPS for secure connections and with multiple file transfer options, it helps professionals keep pace with the ever-changing demands of their jobs. The WFT-E2 IIA also supports USB host capability to attach an additional external hard drive or to add GPS support. Remote Live View also allows photographers to capture images from a remote distance using any browser-enabled device such as a smartphone or notebook computer. A Camera Linking shooting function lets photographers link up to 10 multiple WFT-E2 IIA enabled cameras for simultaneously shooting from various angles (11, including the Master).
* This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.


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Best of News
This aerial photograph taken on January 5, 2013 shows the devastated... NachrichtenfotoAustralien,Auto,Fegen,Feuer,Feuerwehrmann,Fotografisches Bild,Geographische Lage,Horizontal,Kleinstadt,Luftaufnahme,Naturkatastrophe,Retter - Rettungsaktion,Tasmanien,Unfall und Katastrophe,Verbrannt,Wohnhaus,Zeigen,ZerstörungPhotographer AFPCollection: AFP 2013 AFPThis aerial photograph taken on January 5, 2013 shows the devastated town of Dunalley after bush fires swept through the area. Thousands of people have fled wildfires raging on the Australian island of Tasmania that have destroyed at least 80 properties amid fears that at least one man died in the blaze, police said. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Chris Kidd (Photo credit should read Chris Kidd/AFP/Getty Images)


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WholeFoods Magazine SourceBook: The Natural Products Directory
News from industry food companies.
News and Notes from industry suppliers.
The next generation of eco-packaging innovation was on display at Expo West 2011 in Anaheim.
Magnesium intake has been linked to diabetes.
Expo West 2011 was a hit! Read about the key points you should remember from the show.
As the Expo West show floor opened the morning of Saturday, March 12, a moment of silence was held over the public address system to honor those affected by the disaster.
Self-interest can be a driving factor behind the success of eco-friendly household products. That's because beyond the sustainable, earth-friendly ideals they represent, the products in this segment also serve to address issues of personal health.
When I was seven, my dad took up club sports-car racing. Two-seat, open-air roadsters from England, Germany and Italy began to appear in the U.S. Marques like Alfa Romeo, Austin Healey, MG, Porsche and Triumph, as well as Ford-engined AC Cobra and Chevy Corvette made the weekend trek to Lime Rock raceway in northwestern Connecticut for drivers to test their skills.
Your customers may soon be asking you about the new...
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New home construction built up again in 2012 in Collier, Lee counties
NAPLES - ■ The city of Naples had one application for a multifamily permit and six applications for commercial permits last year. That compared to three applications for multifamily and nine for commercial permits in 2011.
■ In Marco Island, the city issued 74 permits for single-family homes last year, up from just 25 in 2011. There were no multifamily permits and only a few commercial permits pulled in 2012, one of them for a new 4,000-square-foot office building for Chase Bank, city records show.
■ In Bonita Springs, the city issued 244 residential permits last year, up from 181 in 2011, according to a report by its Community Development Department. Several new communities have launched in the city, including Bonita Lakes, a Toll Brothers community near Interstate 75, and Bonita Isles off Old 41 Road, which is being developed by a newcomer from Canada, Minto Communities LLC.
■ In Fort Myers Beach, home building picked up in 2012 with the town issuing 19 single-family permits worth more than $8.5 million. That compared to two in 2011 worth $470,000.
■ In Fort Myers, the city issued 571 new single-family permits last year, up from 337 in 2011. In 2012, there were 16 multifamily permits pulled, the same as in 2011. Meanwhile, commercial permits dropped to 41 last year, down from 46.
Lee and Collier counties saw a flurry of building permit activity last year, driven by a growing demand for new single-family homes.
"It's the best year we've seen in a long time, in a very long time for our company throughout Florida. We have seen a rebound in all of our communities, whether that was in Tampa, Palm Beach, Collier or Lee counties," said Patty Campbell, president of G.L. Homes' Southwest Florida division.
In Southwest Florida, the builder's communities include Botanica Lakes in Fort Myers and Marbella Lakes, which is nearly sold out off Livingston Road in Collier County. At Riverstone, G.L.'s newest community off Immokalee Road in North Naples, 200 homes have sold in the past year.
"We are not the only bright spot," Campbell said, pointing to other national builders such as Lennar, Pulte and Naples-based Stock Development that all saw a jump in activity in their communities across Southwest Florida in 2012.
Seeing her competitors do well gives her more confidence in the recovery of the local real estate market from the Great Recession, she said.
More affordable prices, lower interest rates, shrinking home inventories and improved consumer confidence are among the factors boosting new home construction in Southwest Florida, area builders say.
"It's very encouraging to see that people are coming out and looking at homes and buying homes, despite the fact that the economy is still looking shaky," said Brad Hunt, a chief economist for Metrostudy, a housing market research firm. "Part of what is going on is that people had delayed a home purchase for a year or more, waiting for the economy to turn around or more importantly waiting for home prices to turn around and now that home prices are starting to go back up again, buyers are feeling much more confident about buying a home."
While home-building has picked up in both counties, Collier has come back stronger in the single-family home market.
In unincorporated Collier, which doesn't include the cities of Naples and Marco Island, contractors pulled 1,243 single-family permits in 2012, up more than 35 percent from 913 in 2011. Permits for multifamily homes, which includes condos and townhouses, rose only slightly over the year with 51 pulled in 2012, up from 41 in 2011.
In Collier, some of the more active communities include Treviso Bay off U.S. 41 East, Fiddler's Creek along Collier Boulevard near Marco Island, and TwinEagles off Immokalee Road in North Naples. Interest from home buyers has also picked up in the town of Ave Maria, 17 miles east of Naples, county permit records show.
In Naples, the city tracks permit activity by applications, not issued permits. There were 141 applications filed for single-family permits last year. That compares to 80 in 2011 and 66 in 2010.
"Single-family was up last year, but the other permits (multifamily and commercial) were down slightly, not that they were that much before," said Sue Monroe, the city's land management coordinator.
In Lee County, contractors pulled 556 single-family permits in 2012 worth $126.6 million in the unincorporated area, which excludes cities. That was up nearly 50 percent from 2011 and up 68 percent from 2009, when home building hit a historic low, according to a report by the county's Department of Community Development.
As a comparison, the county issued 373 single-family permits in 2011, valued at $86 million.
Last year, permitting for multifamily homes also picked up in Lee. Contractors pulled 189 of those permits in 2012, up 35 percent from 2011 and up 141 percent from 2009.
Lennar is building homes in 15 communities in Lee and Collier counties, including Hawthorne in Bonita Springs, Emerson Park at Ave Maria, and a revamped Treviso Bay, which it acquired in 2011 after the development fell into foreclosure.
"We had a definite increase in sales in 2012. We also had a lot of new communities that we brought on. So that is obviously going to increase your sales pace as well," said Matt Devereaux, vice president for sales and marketing for Lennar in Southwest Florida.
The company continues to look for more opportunities to grow its footprint in Southwest Florida.
"We want to make sure we position our company right and that we make sure we have the right offering for people in the market looking for a home," Devereaux said.
Jennie Gasperson owns Nolen's Permitting Service in Naples, a company that pulls commercial and residential permits for its customers, which include contractors and homeowners. She said her business last year was definitely stronger than in 2011, though "not as good as it was back in the glory days" of the building boom that abruptly ended in 2006. She's also noticed more owners pulling permits for renovations and additions.
"There is just more money now," she said.
The competition among builders continues to grow, as more new ones enter the market and others come back as it recovers.
Neal Communities is one of the new homebuilders in Lee and Collier counties. The company has built more than 8,000 homes in Sarasota and Manatee counties. It started acquiring land here in 2012 and now is building in several communities including Verandah in Fort Myers and Villa Palmeras in Estero, where sales will begin in February. The builder will launch another new community off Collier Boulevard this summer.
"We are very bullish about the market down here. We entered the market in a significant uptrend," said Michael Greenberg, vice president of Neal Communities.
The building trend is expected to continue. Much of the demand is coming from second-home buyers, but builders say they've also seen more young families wanting to move up and new year-round residents wanting to buy.
"People are finally moving on with life," said Hunter with Metrostudy. "They were delaying home purchases because they were afraid of falling home prices and afraid of losing their jobs. Now those things are turning around."


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Volunteers make invaluable contributions to our organization in a number of positions. Their work is enjoyable, rewarding, and makes a measurable difference for the Friends of HCL. Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com with questions and to apply.
Clerical Support
Help with clerical tasks in the our office at Minneapolis Central Library, including preparing mailings and working on special projects. The number of opportunities to serve as a Volunteer Clerical Assistant vary throughout the year. Strong attention to detail and ability to operate office equipment required.
Event Assistant
The Friends of HCL host 60 events annually, including Talk of the Stacks, Pen Pals, Childish Films, and more. We seek outgoing, friendly, professional applicants who feel comfortable interacting with people from all walks of life. There is a currently a short wait list to serve as an Event Assistant, but we welcome you to apply. Duties include greeting audience members at events, assisting with check-in and registration, handout programs and materials, and assist with room set-up and clean-up. Volunteers are primarily used for our larger-scale events held at the Minneapolis Central Library and the Hopkins Center for the Arts. But we do seek volunteers throughout the year for additional event support at other library locations. Shifts are typically 6 PM – 9 PM during the week or 10 – 12 AM on weekends.
Volunteering at the Hennepin County Library
More than 2,500 adult and teen volunteers contributed almost 92,000 hours of service in 2010. A great way to show your support of the Hennepin County Library is to volunteer at one of our 41 libraries. Volunteers support staff and help the library deliver world class public service by assisting students at Homework Hub, helping language learners at Conversation Circles, making sure books are in order on the shelves, checking in returned books and other materials, shelving books, assisting at library programs, and doing many more supportive tasks.
Visit the Library's website at hclib.org to find a current position that fits your needs.


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The Making of Modern Burma
(If any tax is payable it will be calculated and shown at checkout.)
Preview (read now) Add to my own site Give this ebook to a friend Add to my wishlist Author's page Publisher's page
moreBurma has often been portrayed as a timeless place, a country of egalitarian Buddhist villages, ruled successively by autocratic kings, British colonialists and, most recently, a military dictatorship. The Making of Modern Burma argues instead that many aspects of Burmese society today, from the borders of the state to the social structure of the countryside to the very notion of a Burmese identity, are largely the creations of the nineteenth century - a period of great change - away from the Ava-based polity of early modern times, and towards the 'British Burma' of the 1900s. The book provides a sophisticated and much-needed account of the period, and as such will be an important resource for policy makers and students as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state. It will also be read by historians interested in the British colonial expansion of the nineteenth century. less
Cambridge University Press; March 2001
294 pages; ISBN 9780511034794
Read online, or download in secure PDF format
Title: The Making of Modern Burma
Author: Thant Myint-U
294 pages; ISBN 9780511034794
Read online, or download in secure PDF format
Title: The Making of Modern Burma
Author: Thant Myint-U
Buy, download and read The Making of Modern Burma (eBook) by Thant Myint-U today!
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Polk Audio AM5109-A In-ear Headphones
Polk Nue Voe In-Ear Headphones Authentic sound, personal style. Nue Voe headphones, part of the Polk Heritage Series, combine serious audiophile performance with stand-out style, for headphones that make a statement about what's personally important to you. Because audio performance is our benchmark, Polk has re-engineered what a headphone can do. We've expanded the limits of the...
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Sensaphonics 2MAX™ earphones are a custom-fit, dual-driver design optimized for use with wireless in-ear monitoring (IEM) systems. Designed to match the exceptional sound quality of our acclaimed 2X-S model, the 2MAX features higher sensitivity to get louder, faster, producing more output at lower volume settings. In other respects, the two models are the same: They are visually...
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The 2X-S are the original soft-gel silicone earphones, combining exceptional sound quality with the most comfortable fit available. The 2X-S is the standard of excellence in touring sound, used religiously as a reference standard by hundreds of high profile artists. Dual micro-transducers deliver neutral, full-range response with powerful bass complementing crystal-clear mid and high...
Sensaphonics 3MAX
" Synopsis: The Sensaphonics 3MAX is a top-tier, custom-fit, in-ear monitor with a sound designed by an audiologist and tested by pro musicians. With a professional clientele in mind, the 3MAX has been superbly engineered for a natural-sounding tuning. Vocal music comes to the fore with a smooth midrange and a non-fatiguing, yet well-extended treble. While its sister, the two-driver 2MAX..." --Kunlun


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Winston-Salem, NC -- People from 12 area churches came together to support the congregation at Green Street United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, Sunday. The church has come under fire for its stance on same sex marriage.
In March, Green Street members asked church elders to stop performing all marriages in the sanctuary until they could perform same-sex marriages as well as heterosexual marriages.
The church is still standing by its request, but they are not standing alone. An estimated 100 plus people gathered on the steps at Green Street Sunday to show their support.
Larry Boles, the president of the Adam Foundation, was there and had this to say:
"They have made a very bold step in their belief: that love is for everyone, and I felt it was very important that I be here to support them in their stance."
Sunday's show of support was in direct contrast to weeks of what the church said has been progressively more hostile protests.
The church's pastor has asked members not to engage the protestors, though, but to be disciplined about their commitment to live in love.


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ANALYSIS: How did Archibald squeeze out a narrow victory?
So close was the race for mayor in Abilene Saturday night that Mayor Norm Archibald's latest win came down to a single box, the Hillcrest Church of Christ polling place, located near Abilene Christian University.
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Muscle pain
Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically demanding work. Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle at the same time. Muscle pain can also involve the soft tissues that surround muscles. These structures, which are often referred to as connective tissues, include ligaments, tendons, and fascia (thick bands of tendons).
Last reviewed 5/1/2011 by Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Uinversity of Washington, School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
- The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition.
- A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
- Call 911 for all medical emergencies.
- Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites.
©1997 - A.D.A.M., Inc.Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.


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On the eve of the Global Talent Search registration closing (Thursday is the last day to register), we wanted to share an insight into the upcoming Global Talent Search from a judge's perspective. Art Director Margo Tantau of Midwest-CBK is one of the founding judges of the competition and was responsible for turning last year's winner's art into an incredible home decor line.
Lilla's producer Beth Kempton caught up with Margo to find out what she looks for when judging, and reveals some of the actual products that are now available as a result of the 2013 winner's prize. If you are registered for GTS, be sure to watch for some top tips and insight. And if you haven't yet registered, we hope this video will help bring the competition to life, so you can see this is a very real competition with very real prizes that could seriously change your career.
Tomorrow is the last day to register. Go on, take the leap and register now. Someone has to win and it might just be you.
Want to know more about what happened to last year's Finalists? Click below to see what they have been up to (HINT: They have been very busy!)
ZOE INGRAM (Grand Prize Winner)
DANIEL ROODE (Special Studio Winner)


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Report: Inmate health care remains poor in Calif.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Medical care remains below acceptable levels in more than two-thirds of California state prisons despite the billions of dollars spent by taxpayers, the prison system's independent inspector said in a report Wednesday.
Just nine of the 33 adult prisons met minimum health care standards, according to the review, which is the first to survey all the facilities. Still, that finding is an improvement from an initial review of half the prisons last August, which gave passing grades to just two of 17.
A court-appointed receiver took control of inmate medical care in 2006 after a federal judge found that poor care was causing the death of an average of one inmate each week. The receiver has since increased salaries, hired more staff and improved medical facilities.
Spending has since more than doubled, from $707 million to $1.5 billion last year, according to the state Department of Finance. The cost per inmate has increased from $7,721 to $14,728, including other expenses like transporting and guarding sick inmates and providing them with dental and mental health services.
The report comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule by June whether California must sharply reduce its prison population as the only way to improve the care of physically and mentally ill inmates.
The receiver's office did not immediately respond to telephone and emailed messages. In a one-paragraph letter accompanying the report, however, receiver J. Clark Kelso agreed with its findings.
"We are committed to reform the California prison medical care system utilizing best practices in the most cost effective manner," Kelso wrote. He cited the receivership's "tremendous efforts and ongoing improvements."
Of the 24 prisons that fell below the minimum 75 percent score, 12 came close with scores above 70 percent, according to the inspector general's report.
Folsom State Prison east of Sacramento scored highest, at 83 percent. High Desert State Prison near Susanville was worst, at 62 percent.
Nearly every prison - 30 of the 33 - failed to make sure inmates received their medications, inspectors found. Only six prisons did an adequate job of getting inmates swift medical care even in an emergency.
The prisons did better when it came to nursing and providing ill inmates with continuing care.
Prisons had "alarmingly" low scores when it comes to treating tuberculosis, and did "quite poorly" in monitoring inmates on hunger strikes that lasted longer than three days.
The report evaluated five general medical categories and 20 other specific areas, using criteria developed by the receivership itself for providing acceptable levels of care.
Despite the poor grades, Acting Inspector General Bruce Monfross wrote that improvements from the August report show that "system-wide improvement can be achieved."
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Fathead Makes A Great Gift: Hey you! If you're looking for the right Indiana Pacers sports gift, Fathead has the perfect NBA phone accessory present. Our Indiana Pacers Fat Dots are perfect for a birthday, graduation, holidays or just because. This Indiana Pacers gift is one that a sports fan will always remember.
Team: Indiana Pacers
Year Founded: 1967
Conference / Division: Central Division
Remarks: The Pacers were founded in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Assocation, they won 3 ABA Championships in four years with 5 ABA Finals appearances in nine years. They were considered the most successful team in ABA history. The team joined the NBA in 1976.
What'd You Say?:
Did you seriously just call those Indiana Pacers Fat Dots, lame STICKERS?! Those are For Real Fathead Fat Dots! Way better than any old iPhone home button sticker or decal, an officially licensed NBA Indiana Pacers Fat Dot is one of a kind! A Fat Dot features a rounded, clear epoxy dome that gives it a For Real button feel, with a safe adhesive that makes this dot removable, but not reusable.
Don't worry though, there are six Fat Dots in the pack, so you can mix it up whenever you want! Stick our Fathead Fat Dots on your iPhone, iPad, iPod or anything else that has a space of 0.39 inch (1 cm) in diameter!! So forget Indiana Pacers iPhone home button stickers or iPod button decals and get it For Real with a pack of Indiana Pacers Fat Dots.
What Are Fat Dots?: Whether you call them dots, home button stickers, iPhone button decals, or phone accessories, Fat Dots from Fathead provide a stylish, personalized way to customize your phone. With a space of 0.39 inch (1 cm) in diameter, Fathead Fat Dots are the perfect size for your iPad, iPod, iPhone or any other device with the same size button! When you purchase a pack of Fathead Fat Dots, you get six different licensed designs, so mix and match whenever you want. Fat Dots from Fathead are the only For Real way to customize your phone!
What It's Made Of: A Fathead Fat Dot is is composed of a licensed image printed on vinyl under a clear, epoxy dome, giving the Fat Dot its "rubbery" feel. Each dot is is 0.39 inch (1 cm) in diameter.
Suggested Uses: Fathead Fat Dots are designed for you to stick on the home button of your iPad, iPhone, iPod or any other space that fits. Fat Dots are the way to customize you phone with officially licensed images, FOR REAL. Fat Dots are removable, but not reusable. Don't worry though, each pack of Fat Dots comes with six different dot designs for you to mix and match.
Where Not To Stick It: If you decide not to stick your Fat Dot on an iPhone, iPad or iPod, we do NOT recommend that you stick it on rough surfaces (e.g. cement), surfaces that are used and abused (e.g. kitchen countertop), or on people (e.g. your child's mouth). Otherwise, have a blast with Fathead's For Real Fat Dots!
Applying Fathead decals that require the rub on transfer application requires patience and a strict observance of the installation steps. Unlike our standard peel and stick wall decals, they are not movable or reusable so it's very important to follow the instructions and do it right the first time. Instructions are included with the product, but if you'd like a preview of how to install one, or if you need to print a copy, please click on one of the buttons below:
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*Valid only at www.fathead.com. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or applied to previous purchases. Does not apply to gift cards or already discounted items. A minimum purchase of $99 is required to apply promotion code 2599OCT15. Discount will be applied evenly across all qualifying items upon checkout.


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Video: Adam Ondra Explains Why He Screams So Much And More
3 comments
Previous Comments
If he was a girl... you'd like all that screaming... like listening to a women's pro tennis match... but he's a dude!!! Sasha screaming?.. don't get me started ;)Karl - 05/28/2014 9:14:09
The last comment irritates me. Nigel, how did the sport of climbing develop so many arm chair critics? I thought we were above that. Don't be that guy. The truth is, Adam climbs better than any one reading these articles ever will. If it works, do it. If screaming allowed me to climb 5.14d -5.15 I would do it. Attention seeking? The screaming is not what gets attention as much as his awesome climbing ability. Just be happy for him and realize that he can climb how ever he wants. That is the beauty of the whole sport.Ryan Moore - 05/23/2014 7:58:48
Ondra's screaming is immature and attention seeking at best and quite idiotic and tiresome at worst.Nigel Ackroyd - 05/22/2014 10:31:02


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It's Your Business: Passenger traffic up slightly in August at SWFIA
Passenger traffic up in August at SWFIA
Passenger traffic increased slightly in August at Southwest Florida International Airport compared to the previous year.
A total 421,211 passengers last month traveled through the airport, an increase of 0.3 percent compared to August 2011.
However, passenger traffic remains down 4.9 percent year to date, from the same period last year.
The August traffic leader was Delta with 103,179 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were AirTran (63,025), Southwest (59,454), JetBlue (54,661) and US Airways (44,641).
The airport served more than 7.5 million passengers in 2011 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic. Information: www.flylcpa.com.
PRSA hosts annual media panel discussion
The Public Relations Society of America, Gulf Coast chapter, will host its annual Southwest Florida media panel discussion starting at 11:30 a.m. today at AVOW Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, North Naples.
The event begins with networking; the luncheon presentation follows immediately at noon.
The media panel will include a broad representation of both print and broadcast media members from throughout Collier and Lee counties. The cost is $24 per person for PRSA members, $29 for non-members, $27 for nonprofits and $15 for students. For more information or to register, visit the PRSA, Gulf Coast chapter, at www.gulfcoastprsa.org.
Companies honored at Industry Appreciation event
Six companies — including Arthrex in North Naples — and one individual were recognized recently during the 2012 Industry Appreciation Luncheon at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers.
The 2012 winners: General Business Award, Ensite Corp.; Tourism Award, Boston Red Sox; Information Technology Award, dESCO, LLC; Manufacturing Award, Shaw Development; Newcomer Award, Arthrex; Business Expansion Award, Gartner, Inc.; and Lifetime Achievement Award, Ron Inge.
The awards program honors businesses and industries that help to improve the business environment in Lee County. The annual event drew nearly 1,000 government, business and community leaders.
__ Connect with Dave Osborn on Facebook and Pinterest at Ndn-Dave Osborn and on Twitter at NDN_dosborn


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Friday, December 21, 2007
© Copyright 2015 Gwinnett Daily Post
Had your fill of prancing rodents, second-class angels and cranky Christmas Scrooges?You're in luck. The glut of yuletide productions is nearly at an end, and a pair of regular ol' song-and-dance spectacles are fast approaching on that post-holiday horizon. If your still on the lookout for some last minute Christmas gifts (and really, shame on you, Captain Procrastinator), maybe you could drop a few tickets in your loved ones' stockings. The 'Cats' came back Andrew Lloyd Webber's immortal production "Cats" details the epic saga of a wayward band of magical alley-dwelling felines. It premiered in London's West End a quarter century ago and has been perpetually performed ever since. Boasting even more staying power than the nine-lived litter box lovers it's based upon, the musical opus has been now staged more than 23 trillion times, according to The National Institute of Statistics I Just Made Up. But despite its enduring popularity, there are still those who've never seen it. So introduce a new generation to the tale of Mr. Mistoffelees, Skimbleshanks, Rum Tum Tugger and all the rest with the Theater of the Stars production of "Cats" at the Fabulous Fox from Jan. 15-20. Tickets range from $20 to $59 and can be purchased by calling 404-817-8700 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. A hot flash of brilliance An Atlanta-originated production centered around a subject I could not possibly know less about, "Menopause: The Musical," is a comical look at "the change." Spawned from the writings of Jeanie Linders, the 90-minute female empowerment masterpiece reworks the lyrics of popular tunes from the '60s and '70s to tell its story of four very different women dealing with common menopausal problems like hot flashes, night sweats and empty nest syndrome. The musical is returning to Atlanta for a limited engagement at the 14th Street Playhouse beginning Feb. 22. Tickets are $42.50 and can be purchased by calling 404-733-4750 or visiting www.menopausethemusical.com. 'Twas three days before Christmas But wait, you say you've still got room for one more holiday play? Come on, surely your children do. If so, head to Aurora Theatre for "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," starring the Picadilly Puppets, which will be performed at 11 a.m. Saturday at Aurora Theatre, 128 Pike St., Lawrenceville. Tickets are $7. Tickets for the 10 a.m. showing are sold-out, but seats for the newly-added encore are still available. Call 678-226-6222 or visit www.auroratheatre.com.
More like this story
- One man show
Aurora Theatre presents solo performance of ââ¬ËA Christmas Carol' ( December 19, 2008 )
- Aurora offers comedy for Valentine's Day weekend ( February 15, 2008 )
- Aurora Theatre actor takes on Scrooge in one-man show ( December 7, 2007 )
- Out in the Crowd: Local theaters present holiday shows ( December 12, 2008 )
- Actor to perform solo show of classic 'Christmas Carol' ( December 2, 2010 )


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Helping local indigenous communities in Guatemala, especially Pena Blanca, to install carbon efficient stoves which use less firewood and allow the community health, educational and financial benefits
What is the issue, problem, or challenge?
The stoves, used in place of the three stone fire, have multiple benefits. They reduce carbon emissions, local de-forestation and lung desease, improve air quality in the home and health for local families and allow increased time and energies for local families to be spent on education, employment and micro-enterprises
How will this project solve this problem?
The stoves take 2 to 3 days to build depending upon skill, experience and location. The stoves have an estimated life of 15 to 25 years. The benefits of each stove can be applied for that duration, and the decrease on deforestation for longer.
Potential Long Term Impact
With less trees cut down for firewood, less time spent by children searching for firewood, the necessity that to receive a stove, the family must send their children to school and obvious health benefits, the long-term impact is quantifiable.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $3,398
Funding Information
This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding. Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the "Project Report" tab as they become available.
Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $3,398 . The original project funding goal was $3,414.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).


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There's a bit of an initial jarring in the physicality of this duo paired with the variations in vocal styles, but it doesn't last long as one is quickly caught up in the exquisite voices, song choices and high quality performances.
After touring the country with this show for several years, it seemed an appropriate time to bring Two for the Road to New York audiences at Mr. Feinstein's namesake supper club. It's an interesting blend of his classic Great American Songbook genre, his dreamy crooner tones always a joy to hear, and Ms. Eder's more contemporary-country sound. However, she and he have discovered a way to blend their shared duets, especially noteworthy on Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman's "mature love song," the lilting standard "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" where they each trade off harmony-melody lines, consummated with fine counterpoint. With instructions to the audience not to sing along (I guess it's a natural instinct for most), they're similarly engaging with Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now."
Ms. Eder seems to have happily reunited musically with ex-husband Frank Wildhorn as her latest album "Now" features several of his songs including the wild "Mad Hatter," an up-tempo swing song, from the short-lived recent Broadway show "Wonderland," in a sleek rendition featuring Charles Pillow on jazz flute. She still has those high in the stratosphere notes with bell-tone quality in the tender, soulful ballad "Now," her voice filled with expressive inflections.
You can always count on Michael Feinstein for his wry humor and some Jewish shtick to give New Yorkers that sense of feeling at home. He cleverly found the flip side of the 1960's Dickie Thompson hit for Bill Hayley and the Comets' original "Rock Around the Clock" entitled "Thirteen Women" – it's about being the only guy left on earth (what fun) – and Feinstein delivers it with a sly twinkle in his eye. "There's You," for which he penned the music, with lyrics by the Bergmans, is a soulful, loving ballad of passion.
Then it was audience participation time! Just shout out tunes you'd like to hear and Mr. Feinstein accommodates, sitting down at the piano and creating a medley with "The Way You Look Tonight/Neverland/Isn't It Romantic/I Won't Send Roses." He's one fabulous crowd pleaser! And he's releasing his 27th CD come October.
Encore "Two For The Road" reinforced the warm camaraderie, mutual admiration and well blended harmonies of these two awesome performers.
The on-going smile of Music Director/Pianist Billy Jay Stein is joyful as he directs the band comprised of Zev Katz (bass), Clint DeGanon (drums), Allison Cornell (synthesizer/violin/back up vocals), Charles Pillow (saxophone/flute), Jon Owen (trumpet/flugelhorn), John Fedcock and Larry Farrel (trombones).
The duo continue at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency 212 339-4095 Tues. – Sat. thru October 1st


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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.comments2014-01-08T16:51:09.160-06:00Millenarian IconoclasmDark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-19276506689472303082014-01-08T16:51:09.160-06:002014-01-08T16:51:09.160-06:00triaminopyrimidine and cyanuric acid act as cataly...triaminopyrimidine and cyanuric acid act as catalyst for RNA polymerization in 'drying pond' simulationDark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-21835515990013454642013-05-10T15:11:31.736-05:002013-05-10T15:11:31.736-05:00Abiotic Self-ReplicationAbiotic Self-ReplicationDark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-39830114962599823042013-05-05T12:53:51.083-05:002013-05-05T12:53:51.083-05:00ideologyofdeath.tumblr.com/ HOW WE WON THE JAMES...ideologyofdeath.tumblr.com/

HOW WE WON THE JAMES RANDI MILLION DOLLAR PARANORMAL CHALLENGEDelt Machinehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-49608468407460629492013-05-03T16:36:43.820-05:002013-05-03T16:36:43.820-05:00Cool entry, tho' a bit brief...I've never ...Cool entry, tho' a bit brief...I've never seen either version of this film...do U recommend it?
Thanks for the mail.
I can't really utilize twitter right now, but thanks again etc..Steve Arooniehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-47590782313878472013-04-19T09:42:27.859-05:002013-04-19T09:42:27.859-05:00The Bible also says: Leviticus 25:46 foreign slav...The Bible also says:

Leviticus 25:46 foreign slaves are yours forever
Exodus 21:20-21 slaves are property & can be beaten

In Exodus 21:12 we see that if you 'Murder' someone it says you are to be put to death (Hebrew: מוּת (muth), put to death). However, in Exodus 21:20-21, when a slave, who is your property, is beaten to death there is to be נָקַם (naqam) Avenged for כָּ֫סֶפ (keseph) Silver (a fine is to be paid).

So I'll pass on that brand of 'equality'. Sure, it says 'in Heaven' there is no bondsman or free, laudable if perhaps an empty promise -- but it also says there will be no marriage and it says there will be no tears or sadness EVEN AS it promises to put your child into a lake of eternal torment. What kind of Stepford 'Heaven' is it going to be when a mother cannot feel emotions for their own child?

I'm certain that if you Cherry Pick the Bible you can find some beautiful ideas, I know this because I am a former Christian, apostate now. My point is that those ideas are ideas of men and they are beautiful without 'religion' or some fuzzy 'spirituality'.

And I'm just as certain that you can make people feel better by lying to them and making false promises. But I was taught that lying was wrong and once I broke out of the cycle I found no need to be lied to.

And we already know we can go well beyond them... why should only 'men' be said to be equal? Why not at least some of the other highly intelligent species we share the planet with? (primates, Dolphins, Octopus, etc)?

And why draw an arbitrary line there? Why not all animals? Why not all living things, including plants? Some people eat only that which is provided as food (fruits, etc).

I personally would like to see us get to the point where our food is manufactured out of raw materials so we don't have to eat living things.Dark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-73600919940526555932013-04-17T22:02:46.793-05:002013-04-17T22:02:46.793-05:00Really appreciate the feedback & look forward ...Really appreciate the feedback & look forward to hearing from you.

I'm not sure my writing style is as clear as it could be, but I do the best I can :)Dark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-79220404542222877572013-04-17T20:59:29.222-05:002013-04-17T20:59:29.222-05:00Thank you once again. This is excellent, clearly s...Thank you once again. This is excellent, clearly stated writing.
From a recent stint on the Google+ Atheist community (a bit uninteresting) I might state I don't think 60% of the "members of that community" could even comprehend your writing...
Thanks again for your address...I've been trying to mail you from a yahoo account but for some reason it's messed up. When I do get to mailing you - and it's no big deal, anyway...I suppose it'll have to be from the google address.
I see that when I comment here it's with the google account anyway...
I just created some yahoo addresses for alternatives, which probably wasn't that great of an idea...at least now I can be sure I get my daily weekly recommended dosage of TABLOID CRAP.Steve Arooniehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-63229703081907043602013-04-16T07:04:42.345-05:002013-04-16T07:04:42.345-05:00They created the imaginary 'transcendent' ...They created the imaginary 'transcendent' immaterial out of nothing

I have an argument against that as well:

http://iconoclasm2000.blogspot.com/2013/02/if-god-is-perfect-being.htmlDark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-51813779917158350932013-04-16T03:26:21.095-05:002013-04-16T03:26:21.095-05:00I've wondered why more debaters don't brin...I've wondered why more debaters don't bring up the tactic used by creationists, that secularists/non-goddists think that everything came from nothing, all the while proclaiming quite loudly that their god did in fact come from nothing, and created everything from that same empty bag of tricks-sans bag, of course!

On a slight tangent, I admit that I am very ignorant of logic and its use in debates. While I understand the urgency that drives the theists into the arms of logic for "proof" of the existence of their chosen deity, I will wait in the bar until they present actual, tangible, proof before I'll entertain the idea that they may be on to something. Long ago I was a member of the BB "Atheists vs Christianity", and, to me, the least persuasive, and most tiresome member of that small community was one who based all of his premises in mathematics-based logic arguments. Flailing about in metaphysics grew tiresome very quickly, and I admit to descending into blatant name-calling and abuse. I do not regret that for a moment. What a waste of time, and of an otherwise quite elastic mind. trog69http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-82624482153811519882013-04-14T20:47:38.962-05:002013-04-14T20:47:38.962-05:00I almost forgot to check back on this...the outcom...I almost forgot to check back on this...the outcome?
Hardly a surprise eh?Steve Arooniehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-29930856388790887082013-04-12T12:32:07.644-05:002013-04-12T12:32:07.644-05:00Possible evidence of a protein-first development, ...Possible evidence of a protein-first development, using just 10 amino acids believed to exist on Earth around 4 billion years ago:

Origins of life? Discovery could help explain how first organisms emerged on EarthDark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-58853434698714287142013-04-11T20:38:10.076-05:002013-04-11T20:38:10.076-05:00I honestly try very hard not to generalize to all ...I honestly try very hard not to generalize to all believers. I even go further and I have a piece entitled "It's Not Religion" http://iconoclasm2000.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-not-religion.html

And I even discussed this on twitter just today, in conversation with an atheist who had commented on how smart atheists were and to fill-in-the-blank on theists, I replied:

>>> I would say 'misled', I didn't get smarter when I dropped my beliefs
>>> https://twitter.com/ColdDimSum/status/322468656518930432

And we had a nice conversation about it, my points being:

>>> my first push away from 'faith' was simple moral revulsion of Biblical content, my epistemic concerns followed later 'then what?'
>>> I think the correlation of IQ to agnosticism/atheism is an artifact of current (localized) cultural & familial pressures

My whole family are Christians, I don't hate them, but they have put a lot of pressure on me over the years (30+ now) to believe as they do.

I feel for them because I was trapped in the same thought processes myself and I give myself ZERO credit for having escaped them. I just did. I'm not better or smarter or more clever (nor worse or immoral). I often say "I didn't stop giving presents when I stopped believing in Santa". I'm the same person.

And I agree with you, I do have compassion and sympathy for the author of the post as a Human Being. I name them a liar, either of malice or ignorance (a correctable condition we're all in great possession of), but I don't mean to call for any action against them as a person.

I do confess a certain level of aggression and passion in what I write, but I never want to take away someones Humanity or cross the line into Harassment.

Thanks for the comment!Dark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-12647173622401566042013-04-10T00:12:57.555-05:002013-04-10T00:12:57.555-05:00Awesome, thank you. I don't promote my blog m...Awesome, thank you. I don't promote my blog much so I have a very small readership. I mostly just post things here based on twitter discussions so I don't have to keep repeating myself in future discussions.

If you ever have any questions on anything don't hesitate to ask, I'm always happy to add clarifications.

My email is sirdarkstar (at) gmail.com and @ColdDimSum on twitter. I like twitter unless it is something you want to keep private. I'm not always good about checking my email.Dark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-87893079167582484742013-04-09T11:34:39.233-05:002013-04-09T11:34:39.233-05:00"Atheism is not one big happy family of like-..."Atheism is not one big happy family of like-minded individuals."
Well, that's for sure.
But remain atheists nonetheless!Steve Arooniehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-80594261262099543322013-04-07T17:53:01.999-05:002013-04-07T17:53:01.999-05:00I think your blog is excellent. The more I read th...I think your blog is excellent. The more I read the more I like...or really it's more like it blows me away.
I found your blog from a link in gspellchecker (SIC?) 's blog. I recently "subscribed" to an RSS feed from yours (and e-mail from his, still gathering stuff).
Also I just did a search on your blog and came across the blog that was cancelled. Which was quite a story, and your abilities and literacy became immediately even more impressive.
That post mentions an e-mail account on gmail. I guarantee you that I totally support you and the things you're blogging.
I had wanted to ask you if I could contact you by e-mail. I know this is a bit awkward, but I'm asking. I don't want to put the e-mail in this comment; perhaps we could communicate by comments on this blog.
Sorry about the long comment.
I've noticed many of your posts don't have that many comments, as far as I've seen. If I could compliment your work one last time, I think this is because you're over a lot of peoples' heads. (almost mine, too, but I can barely keep up).
At any rate, Thanks.
Steve Arooniehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-43962129176533205132013-04-03T11:32:50.789-05:002013-04-03T11:32:50.789-05:00Homosexuals / 'men who lie with men as with wo...Homosexuals / 'men who lie with men as with women' (aka people who might be different in gender-identity, biology, or expression from you)...

[ ] are deserving of death, as per Romans 1:25-32 and affirmed by Paul in the New Testament return of the runaway slave Onesimus to Philemon
[ ] are icky but I can't think of good reasons to deny them marriage
[ ] everything I don't like in the Old Testament is metaphor and I haven't read the New Testament very well
[ ] should have every secular individual right (including the right to enter into marriage with an adult partner of their choice) as other adult individuals in the United States as expressed in the 14th amendment to the US Constitution
[ ] Other, please explainDark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-16096385430697820152013-04-02T10:35:03.412-05:002013-04-02T10:35:03.412-05:00Thanks for sharing. My issue with Jehovah's Witnes...Thanks for sharing.
My issue with Jehovah's Witnesses is that their entire doctrinal superstructure rest squarely on the 'invisible' second coming of Jesus October 1914.There is no way they can evade this patently false dogma.
 Jesus specifically forewarned about false prophets who would say,"look he is here in the wilderness,or see he is here in the Temple".Jesus further warned to "not go after them".
 (Matthew 7:15)
–
Danny Haszard Bangor Maine FMI dannyhaszard(dot)com Danny Haszardhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-13114271624596172052013-03-18T11:15:15.261-05:002013-03-18T11:15:15.261-05:00We share in our criticism of capitalism, greed, an...We share in our criticism of capitalism, greed, and environmental destruction as well as US role in atrocities (INCLUDING those of the Natives of the Americas).

Reflecting on how we got here:

Dr. Michael McDonnel wrote in
The 'Conquest' of the Americas:
conquistadors regarded plunder, slaves, and tribute as the just desserts for their efforts in forcing pagans to accept Christianity and Spanish rule. After all, the conquistadors did scrupulously adhere to the Spanish law of conquest by reading the requerimiento, which ordered defiant Indians to immediately accept Spanish rule and Christian conversion, or face punishment in a "just war". The requerimiento announced that "The resultant deaths and damages shall be your fault, and not the monarch's or mine or the soldiers". Attending witnesses and a notary usually certified in writing that the requerimiento had been read and ignored by the usually uncomprehending Indians, thus justifying the death and destruction that so often followed.

The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requerimiento was "used to justify the assertion that God, through historical Saint Peter and appointed Papal successors, held authority as ruler over the entire Earth; and that the Inter Caetera Papal Bull, of 4 May 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, conferred title over all the Americas to the Spanish monarchs"

Between Africa and the Americas some 50-100 million native people destroyed. Because Christian God said it was ok.

Oops, we 'interpreted' the Bible incorrectly just doesn't cut it. It's an Evil institution through and through.

I question your numbers but exact numbers aren't really what is important, that any people are starving and living in poverty, or are still slaves or effectively slaves is a problem indeed.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church goes around and teaches people how wonderful it is that they live in poverty, gives them comfortable places to die instead of actually healthcare and happily takes their money in exchange for access to indoctrinate their children.

Sociopaths seems to fair very well in capitalism and religion. Both of which I would like to see sharply curbed.Dark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-12911143523792430582013-03-18T11:14:59.591-05:002013-03-18T11:14:59.591-05:00>> When I look at the lives and the words of...>> When I look at the lives and the words of Buddha, of Jesus, of Guru Nanak, etc, I don't find any fault with them as people

I do. Jesus = 'Give no thought for the morrow'. That's evil advice given that he has taken almost 2000 and is still a no-show for the return.

And then there is the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11). Which SEEMS nice on the surface, a woman isn't stoned to death for adultry. Yay Jesus! Oh except for two things:

(1) the evidence strongly suggests this heartwarming story (and I use the term sarcastically) wasn't actually part of the originals, it was inserted later, probably completely made up, and
(2) This story shows just how Evil the Bible is - Jesus is unable to condemn the commandment from the OT that the woman be stoned to death, so he has to hem and haw about it to get AROUND the law.

The Bible is full of ignorant and false claims and evil advice.

>> The 20th century has suffered more massacres than at any time in the past. Why should this be so,

greater tools for people who would do harm combined with a profoundly ignorant population of sheep

>> We have Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, Josef Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Ceaucescu

Sorry but Hitler, Mussolini, Leopold, Petain, Franco, Seyss-Inquart, Hans Frank, Tiso, Pavelitch, Degrelle were all Catholic-inspired fascist mass-murdering rulers.

For that matter, Pol Pot and Stalin were raised Catholic and inspired by their teaching. Stalin took over a Catholic population who revered him as God's voice. The history of Stalin with the Catholics is far more complex and nuanced than "Stalin was an atheist".

There is no precept in atheism that says to murder anyone - there is in Catholicism. And when Catholicism is used to that end and announces it on Biblical grounds THEN we can blame Catholicism.

No atheist can say atheism commanded them to do anything. It is not a dogma, it is a position on a single proposition.

>> How many thinkers raise their voices against this?

A LOT.

>> There is hardly any outcry about it in the west.

Open your eyes then, it is there. I see it every single day.

And what I see are the religious nutjobs pushing back.

"we don't have to care for no Environment, God will, derp derp".

"there ain't no global warmin', stupid lying scientists, derp derp".
Dark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-64739167932471136862013-03-16T06:09:46.205-05:002013-03-16T06:09:46.205-05:00A society built purely on profit and commerce will...A society built purely on profit and commerce will attract, and even generate, sociopaths. It seems to me that spiritual values provide a bulwark against this. The very first email I received from my science and religion site was from a chemist, in Chicago, who was expecting their first child. He wrote to thank me for raising the idea of spiritual values as part of evolution, and confessed that the clamour of atheism and the deriding of values which he felt important, had put him in a profound depression from which he now saw a way out.

I write about matters which are of interest to me. Many people feel religion is a help to them, a side of life not expressable by language or satisfied by material wealth or media amusements. It is something private, something expansive inside; I have felt these things for myself.

I think research of the future will show that despite the sociopaths who have sometimes usurped the power of religion - as they have in every other field conferring power - the scriptures and the traditions which preserve them, are things of beauty to hundreds of millions of people for a very good reason: they nourish the soul in times of hardship, and remind that there are beautiful emotions which cannot be generated by knowledge or power, and in that respect, all men might indeed be said to be equal.
iaincarstairshttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-68792786039227631992013-03-16T06:09:10.896-05:002013-03-16T06:09:10.896-05:00I think, the best way I can put it, is that humani...I think, the best way I can put it, is that humanity has always had sociopaths. Why this is, only genetic research of the future might uncover. But sociopaths - and I have met quite a few in business - are attracted to power, because it gives them a kind of untouchability.

Religion has always been associated with humanity. and this vast power has been very attractive to sociopaths. When I look at the lives and the words of Buddha, of Jesus, of Guru Nanak, etc, I don't find any fault with them as people. Their words are soothing to the spirit, and their selfless example inspiring to the seeker. In my life I have known many religious friends, of various faiths, and they have been peaceful and cheerful individuals. But if we look at history, we see that sociopaths have wreaked havoc where they have attained positions of power, of commanding armies or ruling kingdoms, and religion has not been exempt from this trend.

In modern times, sociopaths are attracted to the power of the arms business, of the banking industry, and of politics. It was recently reported that one giant investment firm actually looked for sociopathic traits in new employees, because this absence of fellow feeling would make them highly profitable. They had no sympathy for others, they cheerfully manipulated situations so that the firm made vast profits even at the expense of thousands of individuals who lost everything or were made homeless. The same kind of minds are at work in the CIA, in the Pentagon, and in politics. In fact many people sense that the political parties are often something of a charade, and that America, as an example, is a military dictatorship behind the scenes. The current Democrat leader has instituted more violence abroad even than the Republican before him. The arms business is charge.

The 20th century has suffered more massacres than at any time in the past. Why should this be so, at a time of intellectual enlightenment? We have Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, Josef Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Ceaucescu, and so on. We see that it was Churchill who first bombed cities, and America which resorted to nuclear weapons, burning 200,000 people alive from a safe distance, and hid the photos of victims for 15 years to avoid the public backlash. Our own warmongers - Johnson, Nixon, Kissinger, Bush, Cheney, Obama, Blair we see the West have either manipulated the situation or directly caused the deaths of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of peaceful individuals. My uncle was a captain in the US Navy, both during WW2 and in Iran when the US installed the Shah. It was a reign of terror, supported by the West. Saddam was also installed by the CIA: he began as psychotic, bumbling assassin. He was removed not because of his atrocities – Rumsfeld even shook hands with him after his gas attacks, and Bush Sr allowed him to massacre 250,000 Kurds. He was removed when they needed a more pliable thug.

What does science have to say about this? What examination has been done of the genetic causes of such individuals, compared to the geniuses which have tended to improve man's lot, instead of decimating society? Why is it, that at a time of great intellectual progress, one billion people starve at this very moment, 300 million are without clean water, and another 300 million live in slavery, often to provide huge profits to western firms? How many thinkers raise their voices against this?

And if we look around the planet, we find there is a sea of plastic twice the size of North America, in the Pacific, that the water and land is polluted in places, such as the Niger Delta, to such an extent that it is no longer habitable. Extinctions. The razing of the Amazon, the very lungs of the planet. All this is done in the name of money. There is hardly any outcry about it in the west.
iaincarstairshttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-88076923216045752002013-03-15T16:09:05.251-05:002013-03-15T16:09:05.251-05:00"here was the ultimate Darwinist experiment c..."here was the ultimate Darwinist experiment carried out"

This is a false characterization. Evolution simply has absolutely nothing to say about religious tolerance or intolerance. Even if someone THOUGHT they were 'applying Darwinian ideas' they were just acting out of ignorance and it had nothing to do with Evolution. People do stupid things for bad reasons all the time, that doesn't make their reasoning correct.

I don't blame religious precepts for stupid things their adherents do unless they are commanded by those religious precepts.

Christianity doesn't command priests to abuse children, I don't blame Christianity for that. I DO however blame the religious institutions that have gone to great lengths to cover up these abuses (and secular institutions are guilty also). Any institution caught doing this needs to be gutted & shut down and their leaders imprisoned. But oh no, we can't do that to a religious institution (gag). And I do blame Christianity to the extent that they believe that gods law is higher than mans law and that this gives them the RIGHT to hide such abuses in the name of their confessional seal. I say Fuck That in the strongest possible terms. So those are a few concrete things I think must be changed. I'm NOT saying outlaw Christianity, but there are limits to what we must tolerate (we wouldn't tolerate human sacrifices by a religion either, but what we do is excuse real abuses by the 'favored' religion of the day and that's wrong).

If you actually look at evolution you see a profound interconnectedness of all things. A human being could NOT live without a vast network of supporting organisms and also things like water, sunlight, and so forth. And those things wouldn't exist without the physics that produces some kind of chemistry in which 'computation' can be expressed, computation isn't magic either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ECfgmwaRg

Not to mention our common ancestry with all living things, bacteria and bees and flies and humans all share this history and sometimes the scars. Our eukaryotic cells show evidence of a symbiosis formed between at least three, originally independent, organisms - without which human beings couldn't exist (energy demands, etc). Everywhere we look in nature we see cooperation, symbiosis, interdependence, altruism - why? because they work to the benefit of the organisms.

A profoundly beautiful dance. Yes, nature is also brutal in some sense, but think, we are the ONLY known organisms that have sufficiently powerful organ where we can compute possible futures and select among them in a way that just might eventually allow us to extricate our future-selves from that cycle.Dark Starhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-64058655735167660382013-03-15T16:08:37.393-05:002013-03-15T16:08:37.393-05:00"It's a beauty I don't find anywhere ..."It's a beauty I don't find anywhere else,"

Then I feel kind of sorry for you. I think this is one aspect of the damage that religious inculcation does to a mind. I see beauty everywhere without requiring epistemically unsound reasoning to 'trick' my brain into it.

"devotion to any lofty ideal, seems beautiful"

The beauty lies in the ideal, not in the devotion. Nazi's were devoted to their ideal. If you define 'lofty' as "ideals that are actually good" then ok, maybe (but we still have to figure out which ones are 'lofty'). But that's not religion either, I can have 'lofty' goals without religion. As you get further away from dogmatic religions I have fewer and fewer objections to them, but they all seem to rely on tricking people with poor thinking skills into buying into some unevidenced superstition about the universe. And I detailed here what I believe are some of the underlying failure modes we have that are COMMON to religion AND SECULAR life. So we all must guard against these.

I also find the struggle to prove ones self wrong to be beautiful. This is the challenge to find those 'lofty' ideals, and hopefully be able to support them with reasoned arguments and not merely appeals to 'revealed' wisdom that also says the Earth is immobile or a human sacrifice of a 'god' to himself (PS. who can't really die) is our only path to vicarious redemption. It's just insulting.

Art, great stuff... Love, absolutely, love it. None of these things are religion -- but they are often hijacked by religions.

Just because 'religion' is a very powerful meme doesn't mean it is necessary or of net benefit to us. They ran rampant for about 1400 years, spreading their meme by the sword through torture, murder and intimidation. You couldn't BE an important person in society and avoid cow-towing to the religion of course in that place and time, so OF COURSE tons of great thinkers and inventors were of some form of religion or another.

Islam also had an extremely positive, tolerant and flourishing period which profoundly advanced the human race. Sadly that was a very long time ago, but this period of success certainly doesn't 'prove the truth of Islam' (I think it proves the value of scientifically-minded inquiry). And today, something like 93% of the National Academy of Sciences are non-religious and they are the leaders in creating our current wave of advancement.Dark Starhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-72342590072331487312013-03-15T15:03:25.880-05:002013-03-15T15:03:25.880-05:00You make some valid points - my father was a hemat...You make some valid points - my father was a hematologist and despaired at Jehovah's Witnesses willing to let a child die rather than submit to a transfusion.

They would say, "you can use plasma," but dad would tell them, "plasma on its own is no good when you need several liters of it!"

Archaic beliefs carry a lot of superstitious baggage, and I don't think anyone argues in favour of superstition. But the tendency of the mind is very often to accept something a respected figure believes, because it saves having to think about something afresh all the time. It saves a lot of energy, and saves it every day!

You certainly show the dark side of religion. But there is a bright side too, which is why people are drawn to it. I used to travel to Eastern Europe, making perhaps 30 trips, and here was the ultimate Darwinist experiment carried out.

A country, isolated largely from the West, with all people forbidden from practicing religion under pain of expulsion from society, or even death, for four generations. Enough time for all living memory to be of communism only.

And yet when communism was lifted, religion sprang instantly back into their lives, not because of people in power, but from ordinary people. You never saw such beautiful, lovingly restored churches! We would often visit them, because nearly everyone considered it part of life, to pray for the dead, and the living, with little candles. It was very moving to see.

One day there was an icon brought in from Greece or somewhere, and we went to see it. To once side I noticed a peasant farmer, in an old shabby black suit, long black beard, haunted eyes, a tattered hat in his hand, approach it and watched his expression. He stood, completely transfixed, in awe! His face was a picture of absorption.

Outside he may well have been nothing, but here, his soul was as colossal as everyone else's. It was wonderful to see. I can see his face to this day, gazing up at this silver and wood iconl; this must have been the idea behind the artist who created it. All art tries to inspire in the viewer the feelings the artist is putting into it.

So yes, I understand religion's dark side, but I don't think this is what has kept it in the mind. Even me, a skeptic, is drawn to it. It's a beauty I don't find anywhere else, but I find it equally in Buddhism, Islam, Christianity. To me, this devotion to any lofty ideal, seems beautiful.iaincarstairshttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143444398686195516.post-39964822321408707112013-03-06T19:02:57.207-06:002013-03-06T19:02:57.207-06:00Good afternoon, Dark Star. I'm a recovering ...Good afternoon, Dark Star.

I'm a recovering "militant" atheist. Oh, I still do not believe, and as I've explained in cutting off those who like to inject the Cosmological Argument or other navel-gazing, even if I accept their entire premise, they still have a massive job tying this "creator" with the various interventionist god they worship. But I no longer generalize all believers as "the enemy", after finding out about groups like Talk2Action and AU, both run or at least managed by the faithful. I had to sit myself down and admit that if not for those valiant and tireless Christians, we atheists would have a much worse outcomes in our struggle to keep the wall of separation intact.

So, my dilemma is that I waver constantly between despising the abject liars, like the author of that bilge you describe, and sadness for those who believe what this person and others tell them, because it's got to be more comfortable for them to not have to think about their faith and its supporting architecture. And sometimes I wish I were not so "understanding", and just let them all have it with both barrels. Instead, I'll just read your posts in appreciation. trog69http://email@example.com