Mmm ! Tastes Like. . .Tradition!

My family has always eaten a dish called Hoppin’ John—a mixture of rice, pork sausage, and black-eyed peas topped with a little sauerkraut—on New Year’s Day. My grandmother said the black-eyed peas brought health and the sauerkraut brought money (like most southern farm women of her day, she was very superstitious—she also said a dropped dish towel meant unexpected company was coming).

Although I don’t believe in the magical powers of peas or cabbage, I always make Hoppin’ John on January 1^st.

What traditions do you observe on New Year’s Day?

Tags: hoppin’ john, new year’s day, superstition, tradition

Saturday “Wish” List

I Wish I Was Your Mother Mott the Hoople

Sweet Baby James James Taylor

Hey Hey What Can I Do Led Zeppelin

Wish List Pearl Jam

Party Girl Elvis Costello

Talk of the Town The Pretenders

I Wish It Would Rain The Temptations

Everybody Wants to Feel Like You John Prine

Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd

I Wish I Was In New Orleans Tom Waits

I’m going to switch over to the new Blogger within the next few days—wish me luck!

The Problem is Apples, Not Oranges!

I'm no rhetorician, so I don't quite know what to make of this:

"The problem is atheists, not scientists," said Barr. "There are far more scientists who are religious than scientists who consider themselves opponents of religion.”

Religious belief among scientists has been on the decline since 1914, right? Right. So is it just me, or is this quotation somewhat…ambiguous? Has any survey ever attempted to track whether or not non-religious scientists identify as “opponents of religion”? And, for that matter, have religious scientists ever been asked if they oppose any religion that differs from their own?

Technorati tags: religion, science, atheism

Who Says Atheists Aren’t Joiners?

I’ve just been added to the Atheist Blogroll—thanks, Mojoey! All interested infidels can join here. I’ve also re-upped with the new and improved Atheism Online. As of yesterday there were only 17 or so atheist blogs listed, and there used to be around 200, so go forth, ye godless, and register!


I Am NOT the Messiah!

For your holiday viewing pleasure, here’s a clip from an old favorite, Monty Python’s The Life of Brian:

Technorati tags: monty python, life of brian, religion, youtube, humor

Believe It or Not, He’s The Reason for the Season

Here are the facts, as written and as attested to by countless followers the world over: God was born of a virgin on December 25th, and his birth was attended by no one save lowly shepherds.

He lived a simple and celibate life on earth, but to those who believe, he “giveth increase, he giveth abundance, he giveth cattle, he giveth progeny and life.” Further, he “protects the soul of the just against the demons that seek to drag it down to Hell.”

And yet, despite these concrete, historical proofs, and despite the fact that multitudes have worshipped him for centuries, today some poor souls have never even heard his name—and many who have deny his truth as mere legend!

That must make god very sad. Why won’t people accept him? It’s odd, especially since the incentive to do so is great: Through him, we will be “born again” and “enjoy forever a blessed immortality.”

Just think about that for a minute: Immortality. According to ancient, sacred wisdom, that means that after we die, we’ll live forever !

That’s just an incredible offer, isn’t it?

So let’s all take a moment, during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, to reflect on the miraculous birth and instructive life of Mithra, the real reason for the season.

Merry Mithramas, everyone!


Technorati tags: religion, mithra, atheism, cotg

George Washington!

Technorati tags: YouTube, george washington, humor

Goodbye, Pepsi

Pepsi, the sweetest little Basenji in the world, died tonight.


We’re really going to miss you, Pep.


Technorati tags: pepsi, basenji, pet obituary

Dude: Do You Even Hear Yourself?

George W. Bush:

Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die.

.

y-o-u-i-g-n-o-r-a-n-t-f-u-c-k-w-i-t-y-o-u

Technorati tags: george bush, dumbass, wtf?

Like Peas* in a Pod

It looks like Catholicism isn’t the only religious cult that features institutionalized child molestation:

Rule 19 says that mujahedeen may not take young boys without facial hair onto the battlefield - or into their private quarters, an attempt to stamp out the sexual abuse of young boys, a problem that is widely known in southern Afghanistan but seldom discussed.




* Ignorant, bloodthirsty, boy-fucking peas

Technorati tags: religion, child abuse

Sunday Night Laundry List

It’s Sunday night, which means I’m doing laundry. I hate doing laundry, because it's tedious and because it signals the official end of the weekend. Music makes all chores easier to bear, though, so here’s my laundry list:

Barkin' Dogs—Reggae Cowboys

Une Femme!—Bell Oeil

So What'cha Want—The Beastie Boys

Genius of Love—Tom Tom Club

Who Got My Natural Comb? —Ted Hawkins

No No No—Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Do What You Want—Bad Religion

Up for the Downstroke—Parliament

King of Kings—Prince Buster and the Skatalites

Bonito—Jarabe de Paolo

Christian Persecution Alert!

A man of God has been imprisoned for living the Word:

A pastor accused of killing an elderly friend to get at his multimillion-dollar trust fund appeared briefly in court Friday on charges of murder and embezzlement, and was ordered held without bail.

I can understand why you might think this sounds pretty bad…I mean, as Our Godly Leader Himself said recently, “I think any time you murder somebody, you're a criminal.” But don’t rush to judgment just yet, because there’s more to the story:

Frank Craig, a farmer relatives say rarely set foot in church, had given Porter control of a trust reportedly worth $4 million. The 85-year-old was trying to save enough to build a museum to house his antique farm equipment.

Did you get that? The victim rarely set foot in church! And if there’s anything we bible-believers know, it’s that God says it’s okay to kill non-believers and to keep their stuff:

And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

So the only real transgression I can see here is that Pastor Porter drowned Mr. Craig instead of smiting his infidel ass with a sword.

Technorati tags: religion, holy bible, deuteronomy , christian persecution, fundie follies

Disco Jebus!

I found this gem at J-Walk:

Technorati tags: humor