Slate today asks a provocative question — Which is worse for evangelicals like Rick Perry — being an atheist or a Muslim? Writer Brian Palmer answers “atheism.” And while I agree with his answer, I disagree with his reasoning. Writes Palmer: “The ancient and medieval Christians wouldn’t have had much to say about pure atheism,Continue reading “On Why Slate Gets Atheism Wrong”
Monthly Archives: August 2011
On Heavy Rain and Transit Nightmares
Today I took a nap. That was not in the day’s plan. The day’s plan included going to work. Unfortunately, the weather and MTA Maryland had different ideas in mind. In the mornings, when I drive to work, I reach an intersection where I have a choice to make. Go left, and I get onContinue reading “On Heavy Rain and Transit Nightmares”
On Philosophies and Birthday Wishes
The son of a friend of mine had a birthday recently. This is the (slightly edited) text of the e-mail I sent him. As you are turning twelve, I wanted to give you two pieces of advice. First, cherish the coming year and live every day as if it will never end. You are twelve,Continue reading “On Philosophies and Birthday Wishes”
On Blog Redesign Ponderings
Over the past week and a half I’ve been working on coding a new WordPress theme. I mentioned, within the past month, that I’ve felt an “itch to code.” I last changed my blog’s theme the first week of August, 2010; I haven’t typically run with a consistent “look” for that length of time. That’sContinue reading “On Blog Redesign Ponderings”
On Reliving Moments from the Past
If you got to relive one day of your life, when would it be? It’s tempting to pick a day when something really bad happened. Maybe it’s a date of an unfortunate accident, like getting lost in fog and running a car headfirst into a stone wall. Maybe it’s a day when a drunk driverContinue reading “On Reliving Moments from the Past”
On Contemplating the Martian War Machine
On Saturday, I built the Tripod Invader, one of the sets from the new LEGO Alien Conquest theme which is based loosely on H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds and alien invasion B-movies of the 1950s. When I wrote about the set yesterday, I mentioned that I was thinking of modifying the Tripod InvaderContinue reading “On Contemplating the Martian War Machine”
On the LEGO Alien Conquest Tripod
This summer, LEGO introduced a new theme, Alien Conquest, based loosely on classic tales of alien invasion, from H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds to 1950s B-movies and Mars Attacks!. Flying saucers, alien motherships, and tripod walkers bring the alien armada to the doorstep of LEGO City. Yesterday, I bought the Tripod Invader set.Continue reading “On the LEGO Alien Conquest Tripod”
On What I’ve Been Up To
I haven’t felt much like blogging the last few weeks, the last two weeks especially. I haven’t lacked for things to say, life hasn’t been uninteresting. I haven’t cared to share any of it. Work has been keeping me busy. I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve been working on a WordPress project. I’ve been writing. I’veContinue reading “On What I’ve Been Up To”
On David Nicholls’ One Day
I’ve read a book I wish I’d written. The book is David Nicholls’ One Day, and it’s soon to be a movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. (Please Note: My thoughts on the movie are here.) I saw the poster for the film a few weeks ago when I went to see Winnie-the-Pooh, andContinue reading “On David Nicholls’ One Day”