http://www.gavinorland.com Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:52:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The age of Enlightenment occurred during the late 18th Century in the Western world. It should never have ended. Ironically, it is the most irrational and superstituous people in the world, as I have previously discussed, who have ushered in this, a new age of enlightenment. Rational people are feeling ... http://www.gavinorland.com/religion/the-neo-enlightenment/ No, they're not having an affair (though it might be nice to spread such a rumour, so they get a taste of their own medicine), but here is a good article on this latest mistake by the BBC. This is all part of the embrace of decadence. The particular incident can be ... http://www.gavinorland.com/society/brandross-affair/ I have now activated my campaign regarding Radio 4's "Thought for the Day" on the website PledgeBank: This is nearly reaching its target within its first day. However this makes no difference - please continue to sign up, even as it exceeds its target. The more who do this the ... http://www.gavinorland.com/religion/thought-for-the-day-campaign-opens-on-pledgebank/ I see the current economic situation, in the UK at least, as the logical conclusion of the "Because I'm worth it" culture, with both sides to blame. Those sides being the consumers who yield to peer pressure and decide that things like televisions and Xboxes are vital accessories which they ... http://www.gavinorland.com/human-relations/the-economic-situation/ The latest "Beyond Belief" conference has just been filmed, with contributions from many participants who deal in facts and who actually know what they're talking about . Don't expect to see many "crystal healers", astrologers, etc. These are crazy times and it's always hard to believe that the more we learn ... http://www.gavinorland.com/religion/beyond-belief-candles-in-the-dark/ The Atheist Bus Campaign has far exceeded its target amount to put ads on London buses using the same slogan I have placed on my own more stark offering, above. We can expect, then, to soon see these adverts countering the offensive religious advertising we have to put up with ... http://www.gavinorland.com/religion/atheist-bus-campaign/ The best way not to get caught is not to do anything wrong. http://www.gavinorland.com/human-relations/observation/ The beginning of the film Contact, from the novel by Carl Sagan: http://www.gavinorland.com/human-relations/awe-inspiring/ Many people seem to have no idea what is vulgar and what isn't. It occurred to me that I could help out regarding this issue by providing a list: Smoking (especially while walking and near others) Swearing (ditto) Snorting or coughing loudly exactly as you walk past another person's ear Listening to your personal ... http://www.gavinorland.com/human-relations/things-that-are-vulgar/ This post seems to attracting some attention, so I've enhanced it with a few outbound links and will update here and there as I see fit. This evening I managed to get to a Skeptics in the Pub presentation bravely given by a Young Earth Creationist. The man was not ... http://www.gavinorland.com/religion/skeptics-in-the-pub-2/