Couldn't help myself

I had to keep a record of this, I amused myself c.c

whisperelmwood (2 days ago) Show Hide
aaannd again with Dinesh's idiocy >>

JoshRatliff (3 hours ago) Show Hide
Wow! What an intelligent comment! Seeing how it's the second time you've said basically the same thing, you must consider it very clever. But then again, what do I know? I'm one of Dinesh's fellow idiots.

whisperelmwood (3 minutes ago) Show Hide
JoshRatliff - I'm so SO sorry I couldn't express myself in a more original way. After watching Dinesh repeatedly deliberately missunderstand what he was being told, my brain imploded and I had to resort to repeating that he's an idiot.

I was watching a debate between Daniel Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza - and this comment was left on a video 11 videos into a 13 or so long collection of videos, each about 10 mins long.

After forty mins of Dinesh being a complete idiot, evangelising instead of debating (in that really terribly annoying voice of his, yelling and lip-smacking down the mic) I simply couldn't face it anymore and skipped all of the Dinesh bits and simply listened to the Daniel bits.

It's a much easier thing to listen to when you skip the raving idiot and simply listen to the calm, no-nosense, intelligent statements from Dennett.

And then of course, there's the unintelligent, uninspired comments from Dinesh's fellow theists. The above being one of them.

(Admittedly, this particular comment of mine wasn't particularly inspiring, but seriously, Dinesh had been more than pissing me off by that point. How much can he simply ignore? Seriously.)

Anyway. Back to my work c.c

The offending video, beware Dinesh:

Blasphemy Challenge

Finally got 'round to it c.c

Huge pile of Apologist Wank.

Somebody please tell me this is a piss-take?

If it's not a piss-take, then it's not only a huge pile of wank - it's also indicative of the idiocy that goes on in the minds of the apologists at American Vision.

Seriously.

'Homeopathy works!!!111!!' - I caved

I have had the personal experience of using homeopathy for a major part of my life.

Anecdotal evidence is not evidence.

I have been cured of many major ailments through homeopathy. I have seen it work...both in my case and in the cases of many of my friends and family.

Again, anecdotal evidence. Also - it would be nice to know if you/family/friends were first diagnosed by a REAL doctor, or if the homeopathist told you/family/friends you/they were ill and then went on to cure you/them.

I have seen it work in cases where there was absolutely no hope and the traditional doctors had given up.

Again, anecdotal evidence. Also, it would be nice to know if the doctors had really given up, or if your friends simply felt, or believed they had. Also, it would be nice to know if they stopped the real medication and continued using only homeopathic remedies, or if they used both.

I will not want to join issue with you and debate this on your forum..

Then what is this long comment, if not engaging in debate with me? Do you honestly believe you can say all this... non-science, non-evidence, and expect me to leave it?

~ We don't understand the world and its workings completely.

This does not give us leave to accept non-science as reality. Especially when we have most of the information and are discovering more every day.

About a century ago.. we had one kind of idea about the world and we thought we understood it .... Now, a century later we have a slightly different understanding....

Yes. This is called science. Old ideas are scrutinized, from every angle, if they pass muster, they are allowed into the annals of accepted reality/scientific knowledge. If they do not, they are dropped. Homeopathy has not passed muster and is only accepted by the credulous, the pseudo-scientists and the money grubbers. No real scientist, no real scientific study has shown Homeopathy to be anything more than placebo effect.

This will continue into the forseeable future...

Yes, of course. As I said, all scientific theories must pass scrutiny. Even our currently upheld theories are put through the tests. The difference is, that these theories have never been proven wrong, we only add understanding to them.

The bottom line is ...neither science..medical or otherwise can explain..."how life came about"

Abiogenesis. Look it up. This also has nothing to do with Homeopathy or whether or not it works.

...or broadly .."what is the cause of our existence"... Until we can do that our knowledge of the world and its workings are not accurate...

What are you, a Creationist? Abiogenesis. Look it up. And it still has nothing to do with Homeopathy or whether or not it works.

~ Simply because we do not understand ..how something works... doesn't mean that we refuse its existence....

Nobody has ever said otherwise. The problem is that Homeopaths and Homepathic collaborators, fans and well-wishers have all tried to explain how it works - and not a single explanation has been proven correct. It is a very simple thing to prove scientifically, yet all studies have proven negative when conducted in a proper fashion.

I remember the time when my mind was in a cloud regarding 'homeopathy' and I shared the same beliefs that you have put down in this article...

I doubt very much that you have ever shared my beliefs, you strike me as a credulous person - someone who needs to believe in things like this, because it makes you feel better, or special. If you truly ever thought the way I do, you would not have been taken in by the pseudo-scientific nonsense espoused by Homeopaths.

I have since then, paid a heavy price for my obdurance..

I'm sure you did. But again with the anecdotal (and not actually explained) evidence.

Humility, is a wonderful thing ... Not everyone is endowed with it...

This argument is never far from credulous peoples tongues. Apparently anyone who dissagrees with the tenets of alternative medecine, including real doctors and real scientis are all arrogant, self serving, egotistical people, with no ability to feel compassion, humility or empathy. Strangely, I find it is the exact opposite. Ah well.

~ If you want to to really test homeopathy...then check it for its efficacy...

Tests have been carried out, as I said, and every single truly scientific study has proven Homeopathy to be nothing more than placebo and statistically predictable occurances.

with an open attitude...Not with an obdurate one...

In any real scientific study, the feelings of the people conducting the study are not, and should not be, taken into account. The studies are conducted double-blind, unbiased and untainted. They still prove Homeopathy to be false.

Homeopathy may not be able to explain itself...Not yet anyway... But that does mean it doesnt work...or the law governing homeopathy doesnt exist....

If something works, in a real way, then scientifically, it should be able to be explained. There have been many explanations for Homeopathy put forward, all of them proven demonstrably false. The so called 'Law governing Homeopathy' is no law at all. It is silver-tongued Homeopathy advocates missunderstanding true laws, cherry-picking from physics (and misusing what they have cherry-picked, due to once again missunderstanding the laws of physics) and talking an awful lot of babble to hide the fact that they do infact, not understand their own hypothesis.

This is similar to denying the existence of "Electricity" in pre-historic times...By citing that since it was not yet discovered ...It doesnt exist ..or the laws governing electricity don't exist..

Bad analogy, electricity is a natural phenomena - heard of electrical storms? It wasn't suddenly discovered a hundred odd years ago. However, the ability to utilize electricity was. Homeopathy is not the same in any way, shape or form.

Homeopathy sure does work....I am a living witness...

Anecdotal again, I'm afraid. You have not shown Homeopathy to work, niether have numerous scientific studies. Homeopaths themsevles cannot explain in a sufficiently scientific manner how it is supposed to work - and every explanation given has been proven entirely false. So being a 'living witness' means nothing.

I suggest you go and watch these videos on youtube:
This first is James Randi explaining Homeopathy in a way that is easily understandable: James Randi Explains Homeopathy
The following are the videos that make up the most recent scientific study of Homeopathy - which took place last year and was filmed by the BBC for Horizon: Vid 01 Vid 02 Vid 03 Vid 04 Vid 05

'Homeopathy works!!!111!!'

I have had the personal experience of using homeopathy for a major part of my life.

I have been cured of many major ailments through homeopathy. I have seen it work...both in my case and in the cases of many of my friends and family.
I have seen it work in cases where there was absolutely no hope and the traditional doctors had given up.

I will not want to join issue with you and debate this on your forum..

However..Let me make a few observations...

~ We don't understand the world and its workings completely. About a century ago.. we had one kind of idea about the world and we thought we understood it .... Now, a century later we have a slightly different understanding.... This will continue into the forseeable future... The bottom line is ...neither science..medical or otherwise can explain..."how life came about"...or broadly .."what is the cause of our existence"... Until we can do that our knowledge of the world and its workings are not accurate...

~ Simply because we do not understand ..how something works... doesn't mean that we refuse its existence.... I remember the time when my mind was in a cloud regarding 'homeopathy' and I shared the same beliefs that you have put down in this article... I have since then, paid a heavy price for my obdurance.. Humility, is a wonderful thing ... Not everyone is endowed with it...

~ If you want to to really test homeopathy...then check it for its efficacy...with an open attitude...Not with an obdurate one... Homeopathy may not be able to explain itself...Not yet anyway... But that does mean it doesnt work...or the law governing homeopathy doesnt exist.... This is similar to denying the existence of "Electricity" in pre-historic times...By citing that since it was not yet discovered ...It doesnt exist ..or the laws governing electricity don't exist..
Homeopathy sure does work....I am a living witness...

asuprash

These people make me laugh and get on my nerves in near equal amounts.

There is no point in my responding, because they won't listen - but I seriously want to smack them upside the head with Horizon's program, the one where they got together with James Randi and some real scientists and proved Homeopathy DOESN'T FUCKING WORK.

Maybe I'll just link them to the youtube copy.

Obama

I just watched his inaugauration speech.

After 8 years of listening to Bush stumble, spit, mis-pronounce and make up words entirely through his speeches...?

Barack Obama is spine-tinglingly good. He is a superb orator. His speech-writer deserves a raise.

The thing that (I know, stupid) struck me the most, was not his jibes at Bush and the Bush dynasty - but his mention of the sciences, education and most strikingly, his inclusion of unbelievers.

Both the Bush Presidents adhered to the belief that unbelievers were not true Americans. They both adhered to beliefs that are out-dated, mysoginistic, ill-suited to modern life and inheneretly racist, bigoted and close-minded.

Barack Obama is a breath of fresh air. He is intelligent, open-minded, moral and mindful of histories lessons for the future.

Even though I am an English woman, living in England, I feel happy, content, ecstatic even, that this man is now the 44th President. I look forward to the next four years. Hopefully, eight.

Good luck President Obama.

H

Are You A Hardcore Atheist?

Stole this meme off've Psychodiva, who stole it off've Friendly Atheist.

Bold the ones you've done - leave little notes if you feel like it. Count the bolds and check the chart at the end!


1. Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge. Does it count if I'm in the middle of filming it?
2. Met at least one of the “Four Horsemen” (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) in person.
3. Created an atheist blog. You're lookin' at it XD
4. Used the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a religious debate with someone.
5. Gotten offended when someone called you an agnostic. "'Anti-Thesit Atheist' mean anything to you people!?"
6. Been unable to watch Growing Pains reruns because of Kirk Cameron. I've actually been turned off things because of various actors/actresses stupid beliefs >>
7. Own more Bibles than most Christians you know.
8. Have at least one Bible with your personal annotations regarding contradictions, disturbing parts, etc. My Mormon Bible is completely full of annotations c.c
9. Have come out as an atheist to your family.
10. Attended a campus or off-campus atheist gathering.
11. Are a member of an organized atheist/Humanist/etc. organization.
12. Had a Humanist wedding ceremony. Does the fact that I'm planning one count?
13. Donated money to an atheist organization.
14. Have a bookshelf dedicated solely to Richard Dawkins. Well, him and Dan Dennett, Chris Hitchens, Sam Harris and a bunch of 'actually use your brain' books c.c
15. Lost the friendship of someone you know because of your non-theism. /// Had a few minor arguments with one though c.c
16. Tried to argue or have a discussion with someone who stopped you on the street to proselytize.
17. Had to hide your atheist beliefs on a first date because you didn’t want to scare him/her away.
18. Own a stockpile of atheist paraphernalia (bumper stickers, buttons, shirts, etc).
19. Attended a protest that involved religion.
20. Attended an atheist conference.
21. Subscribe to Pat Condell’s YouTube channel.
22. Started an atheist group in your area or school.
23. Successfully “de-converted” someone to atheism.
24. Have already made plans to donate your body to science after you die.
25. Told someone you’re an atheist only because you wanted to see the person’s reaction.
26. Had to think twice before screaming “Oh God!” during sex. Or you said something else in its place.
27. Lost a job because of your atheism.
28. Formed a bond with someone specifically because of your mutual atheism (meeting this person at a local gathering or conference doesn’t count).
29. Have crossed “In God We Trust” off of — or put a pro-church-state-separation stamp on — dollar bills.
30. Refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Or in my case, the UK version, sing the stupid 'God Save The Queen' thing c.c
31. Said “Gesundheit!” (or nothing at all) after someone sneezed because you didn’t want to say “Bless you!”
32. Have ever chosen not to clasp your hands together out of fear someone might think you’re praying.
33. Have turned on Christian TV because you needed something entertaining to watch.
34. Are a 2nd or 3rd (or more) generation atheist.
35. Have “atheism” listed on your Facebook or dating profile — and not a euphemistic variant. I'm listed as 'Anti-Theist Atheist' on my Facebook, which should tell anyone looking at my profile what they need to know c.c
36. Attended an atheist’s funeral (i.e. a non-religious service).
37. Subscribe to an freethought magazine (e.g. Free Inquiry, Skeptic)
38. Have been interviewed by a reporter because of your atheism.
39. Written a letter-to-the-editor about an issue related to your non-belief in God.
40. Gave a friend or acquaintance a New Atheist book as a gift.
41. Wear pro-atheist clothing in public.
42. Have invited Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses into your house specifically because you wanted to argue with them. Oh yes, back in Wolverhampton they stopped coming to our door after a while c.c
43. Have been physically threatened (or beaten up) because you didn’t believe in God.
44. Receive Google Alerts on “atheism” (or variants).
45. Received fewer Christmas presents than expected because people assumed you didn’t celebrate it.
46. Visited The Creation Museum or saw Ben Stein’s Expelled just so you could keep tabs on the “enemy.” Seriously, 'Expelled' is a big pile of steaming turds >> I didn't pay to see it.
47. Refuse to tell anyone what your “sign” is… because it doesn’t matter at all.
48. Are on a mailing list for a Christian organization just so you can see what they’re up to…
49. Have kept your eyes open while you watched others around you pray. My best friend and I used to hold sign-language conversations during prayer at school c.c
50. Avoid even Unitarian churches because they’re too close to religion for you.


Ranking?
0-10: Impressive, but not too far from agnosticism. There's quite a bit of room for improvement, so I'll keep updating it.
11-20: You are, literally, a “New Atheist.” But you now have something to strive for! Go for the full 50!
21-30: You are an atheist, but babies aren’t running away from you. Yet.
31-40: You are the 5th Horseman! Congratulations! NOT BAD EH!?
41-50: PZ Myers will now be taking lessons from you.

And a minor distraction...

I received my first bit of Yamabushi merchandise in the post this morning! Thought I'd share it with y'all! XD

The above photograph shows all four badges together (yes, they are all badges!) for size comparisons - and because it looks cool XD




This is the Chibi Tenma badge, in 3.5" format! I wasn't expecting it to be that huge! Really! It looks rather like a coaster - but it really is a badge!





This is the Chibi Toshiko - sans background - 2.25" badge. This is what I consider to be the 'normal' size for a badge.




The two are the Chibi Kiyoshi - with background - (left) and Chibi Okita - sans background - (right) 'mini' badges. Aren't they cute? XD




And another group shot, of them all on my back-pack (just for shits and giggles, I tried out the 'fashion' shot XD)

These badges are great! The images are clear, crisp - perfect! The pin-backs are strong enough that there's little risk of them popping off at random and they're all sealed incredibly well!

I'm so proud of these things XD

Find the badges and other products here: Yamabushi Corner Store

ASA need proof...

Seriously, I'm dying of the worst cold in the world at the moment *cue melodrama* but I STILL managed to laugh at this when Mom pulled her laptop over and showed me:

An atheist campaign claiming "There's probably no God" has been reported to the advertising regulator.

But organisation Christian Voice has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority saying they break rules on substantiation and truthfulness.

Seriously, this Stephen Green person should have t-shirts made, he's so funny.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: "There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

"But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it."

Seriously, it's like he's handed us everything we ever wanted, on a platinum platter. And he doesn't even get it XD

Blasphemy Challenge?

It's official - I've lost my voice >>

My throat feels like it's got pins-and-needles >>

So - nobody will hear me above a whisper today, I've already croakily asked dad to get me some benylin.

I feel like shit >>

----

When I feel better, and I've got my voice back, I'm planning on finally adding my own voice to the Blasphemy Challenge XD

Now that I've got a webcam, this simply has to be done ^^

Not sure if I give a crap about getting any of the free-ish stuff. I simply want to add my vid to the collection.

When I've done it, I'll post it here, with a copy of the transcript (I've written it out already, because I just know I'll fumble my way through it if I try to talk off the top of my head c.c )

I think I may make a series of ranty-atheist vids c.c

Ya'never know...

YAMABUSHI IS ONLINE!

It's official - Yamabushi is now available online!

Official Website

Official Store

Official Forum


Please view and enjoy! ^^


Now I can get back to my regular schedule of atheistic ranting XD

YAMABUSHI website buttons

Yamabushi is officially released on January Sunday 4th!

Here's some buttons for the website ^^





Find Yamabushi here:

Yamabushi: Journey Beyond The Skies

Enjoy!

Happy New Year 2009!

Went to Bayly's yesterday for the New Years Party thing.

It was more of a get together, Lan-Party thing really XD

The evening started out with a game of Scene It! Lots of shouting and one-up-man-ship ensued XD Which was lots of fun!

Then Sandra went to bed and everyone broke out their 360s and connected them all up and Lindz and I sat and watched the five boys play a huge game of Halo3 together - lots of Grav-Hammer battles XD So much fun to watch - and I swear, the conversations going round the room should have been recorded XD Lots of swearing and yelling at each other and cheating by sneaking peeks (via reflections in windows) at other peoples TV screens XD

We stopped halfway through to watch the fireworks going off (and we all swear, someone was walking around chippenham with a Flare Gun, because flares were being let off, steadily comming closer to us c.c )

Lindz and AJ went home at about 01:30 and Matt, Bayly, Mathew and I broke out Rock Band - Bayly and I took turns as singer and the two Matts took turns on the guitar. Matt and I did best XD Even if I can't sing, I still managed to hit most of the right notes!

There was even a VERY scary french song, which was sung too fast and in French, and I STILL managed to hit most of the notes by singing gobbledygook at it!

Bayly took Matt and I home at about 02:40 ish, apparently mom and dad heard us come in c.c I was loud - I'd had not enough coke with my whisky XD I sent a New Years email to Gilles and then we flopped into bed XD

And we didn't get up until about 15:00 this afternoon c.c

And today, my stomach hates me o.o

All in all - it was a good end to 2008 ^^


Happy New Year!

H