And if you want to hear New Year’s greetings from a collection of godless geeks and weirdos, listen to the Two Smokin’ Hot Freethinkers Podcast.
Here at the Pharyngula Phortress, we’ll be ringing in the New Year with delicious root beer floats before toddling off to a good night’s sleep.
Get ready for the War on New Year.
Apparently the forces of darkness are mounting an attack, this time on the Christian holiday of New Year’s Day, which commemorates and worshipfully celebrates the anniversary of the day on which a Romanian monk miscalculated the year in which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born. In addition to the anticalendricals, it seems that the Chinese, Jews, and Muslims are all opting out and deciding to celebrate other days as their new year. More recently the ranks of these heathen have apparently been joined by the ancient Babylonians. Worse still, countless American companies are yielding to the pressure from these groups, and instructing them to wish people “Happy New Years Day” rather than “Happy New Year’s Day”.
This is just a warm-up. Next we make an assault on that pagan festival of lust, Valentine’s Day, and then comes the big push to reconquer Easter in the name of the ancient fertility goddess. That one will be tricky — they keep moving the date around to confuse us.
When last I mentioned Terry Pratchett, it was unfortunate news: he’s been afflicted with embuggerance. Now, though, there is cause for some jubilation, since a certain godless humorist and fantasy author has been awarded a knighthood for his services to literature. Three cheers for an honor well deserved!
He also has a new book, which I’ll have to pick up. He must not be too deeply embuggered.
Also, Jolly Squidmas! Calculating Newtonmas! Even Happy Holidays!
Now get off the computer and go spend some time with the loved ones. That’s what this day is all about, you know.
The New Humanist Advent Podcasts continue, with entries from Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Steel, Ann Druyan, Josie Long, Tim Minchin, Philip Jeays, Dara O’Briain, and in a grand finale, Richard Dawkins. I know, it’s a little early — you purists can wait to open the last little door.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the New Humanist Advent Podcasts, there are many new ones since I last mentioned them: Ben Goldacre, Martin Rowson, Chris Addison, Ben Miller, Andrew Collins, , Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Laurie Taylor. I do have to mention that Eddie Izzard totally stole my suggestion of celebrating Isaac Newton, and turned it into a weird ramble about how intelligent people have bad parties where there is no bathing and no shagging going on. I think I am horribly offended, even if it is true that very few parties that I’ve attended have involved bathing or shagging. Perhaps I’m not really offended, but just moderately worried that I’ve missed out on a lot of very fun parties.
She had a good run, although part of her life was marred by mental illness and religion. Now an icon of the sexual revolution is gone.
I’m rather curious to know how many readers here have never heard of her before — this could make me feel very old.
Mike Huckabee is a smug little hypocrite who tries to defend his opposition to gay marriage by arguing that a) it’s traditional (never mind that marriage has changed greatly since biblical times), b) it’s natural and necessary for procreation (ignoring the fact that a childless marriage is still regarded as a marriage), and c) that you can’t redefine the magic word “marriage” (yeah, like language never evolves). Jon Stewart makes him squirm over his position.
This wretched ignoramus will be running for president again in 2012, you know it. I know I’ll be struggling to suppress nausea when he does.
A few people are trying to put together some events for CONvergence, the SF convention that will be taking place 2-5 July in Minneapolis (I’ll be going, too). They need volunteers to help with organizing — it’s a bit tentative right now, so I can’t give out all the details, but if you write to me I can connect you with the bigwigs and tell you a little more.
