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Hope you like it, Alison runs SAPS and she works for James Randi.

Every week I am going to share ideas and thoughts on a campaign to spread kindness. I do this as a validation that you don't have to believe in a god to be 'nice' and 'friendly' not to mention make a positive impact in peoples lives. Beyond sharing ideas, I will be following each weeks focus through journal entries and sharing a recap of my experience at the weeks end.

Here is the focus for the week of 5-19-2008:

Do a secret Act of service for someone.

This will be a secret only to the person I do service for so of course I will be able to report what I do and the outcome.

Until next week!

-Renee

Why Did I Change my Name

The atheist community seems overrun by people who have no desire to reproduce. Not just that, but some even despise the concept and those who continue to do so. This is likely due to the fact that people with high levels of intelligence and education tend to have smaller families, and I am by no means trying to criticize anybodys personal choices, but the oft-quoted and equally misconstrued studies about that correlation lead to division between the "breeders" and the childless.

In the spirit of informed choice, I feel that it is necessary for both groups to understand that repercussions of their chosen lifestyle. The following piece is a tidbit that represents only a small fraction of the data on women's health and childbearing. Contrary to popular opinion, having children makes you healthier. Maybe also insane, but it significantly lowers the risk of certain diseases, including things like breast cancer if you breastfeed (which you should, but that's another topic).

And don't worry--I haven't forgotten about Vox Day. I'm just giving my readers a break.

From http://geniusbeauty.com/news/women-having-children-are-healthier/

I've been too busy lately to post on topics when they might actually be fresh (novel concept, I know), but I really wanted to touch on the Pope Benedict soliloquy on sex. Having read Humanae Vitae myself, I am quite familiar with the subject at hand. The Catholic Church, while progressive in some areas, most notably science, still clings to these archaic beliefs about sex and birth control. I guess that's not surprising considering that sins "of the flesh" are considered to be more grave than others, but even within the bounds of marriage, birth control of any sort other than Natural Family Planning (which differs from the commonly known Rhythm Method and is more effective, but not by much).  The HV also addresses euthanasia and abortion, rules for fair and justified war, and other issues that pertain to the creation or destruction of life.

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On this episode of my podcast I interview Kelly and Brian, please check it out.

Secular/Skeptical/Science Organizations : My Judgement

Yesterday I was very lucky to be able to interview my friends, the Rational Response Squad leaders Brian Sapient and his sweetheart Kelly.

I love the Rational Response Squad and think they provide a very important service that was needed, is needed, and will continue to be needed until the day finally arrives that the United States is a secular country. Even then, the Rational Response Squad has been lovingly embraced in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, so if anything I am underestimating the service that they provide.

The thing about the Rational Response Squad is that they are unique. Another word for unique, which is used in business, is niche.

I have heard a story about Malcom X and Martin Luther King. I don't know if the story is true, but it makes my point nicely.

I am told that Martin Luther King had a regular practice of telling the establishment of a city (which would not have even met with Malcom X) that they could deal with him now or have to deal with Malcom X later.

This is a wonderful strategy, and has been the reality of countless political movements since time immemorial.

In this example I am likening the Rational Response Squad to Malcom X.

 PZ Myers writes, arguably, the most popular atheist and/or science blog in the world. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for my podcast.

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 You better get an adult diaper, you are going to crap yourself when you see this!

            Where did language come from?  Why do we talk?  Why does there exist such a mosaic of languages around the world?  These questions may be the most central and awe-inspiring in all of linguistics.  They are also the most important, because without some general understanding of these fundamental questions all other endeavors to understand the complexity of language will ultimately fail.  Thus, we should courageously ask the tough questions, regardless of where the answers may take us.  In other words, we must look at language scientifically, shedding ourselves of all prejudice, bias and desire for a specific outcome.  With this view, it shall be noted that the origin of language is as yet still a mystery which beckons to be answered, however, a strong theory, known in biology, called Evolution, by means of Natural Selection,  seems to answer and explain the aforementioned questions with, in the words of Carl Sagan,  “systematic grace”.

Where Language Came From