362 - All Request

1. Creation I'm sure you already know about the big creationism-masked-as-science museum that opened recently in Kentucky. Did you know they were charging a $20 admission fee? To save you money, two atheists disguised themselves as believers to enter the museum and document a lot of the exhibits for the world to see. For free.

2. Mistress of the Dark And if that makes you think superstitious beliefs are out of control here in America, that's nothing. They are still killing vampires in Dubai.

3. Aloha Judging by the number of record albums I've seen at thrift stores and garage sales, there was once a very real interest in Hawaiian guitar in the United States. We don't hear it much anymore, so it might be a nice change of pace to sit back and listen to the dulcid sounds of the Steel Strings.

4. Blur Spray Before clicking this link, I want you to be aware that this technology does not exist. Someone wrote an article about inventions that they think would be cool and then a lot of other blogs and media outlets reported on it as if they were reality. Neither blurring sprays, nor electronic camera jamming id badges, are real. And, based on my admittedly limited knowledge of how cameras (both film and "electronic") work, I'm pretty sure neither one could ever actually be real.

5. Instant Ice On the other hand, here's some awesome technology that is real.

327 - Nightline Face-Off

1. Ray and Kirk So the Nightline debate between Ray Comfort/Kirk Cameron and the Rational Response Squad took place earlier this week and no one seemed to really care. Both sides have claimed victory. In fact, they both might be correct.

2. Brian and Kelly The Rational Responders clearly won the actual debate. It should be noted that this whole event was suggested by Ray Comfort. On a previous episode of Nightline, Mr. Comfort stated that he could prove the existence of god without the need for faith or reference to the bible.

3. Face-Off Almost immediately, Ray Comfort loses the debate by references the bible. His only real non-biblical argument is the painting-must-have-a-painter-proof. Of course this argument falls apart when you ask, "If everything must have a creator, then who created god?"

4. Concession When asked if they would like to respond to this counter argument, Ray and Kirk shrug their shoulders, sigh, and say no. In my mind, this is a concession. If they had not lost the debate before now, then this is certainly the end. When Kirk finally does respond, he begins by using the words "we believe," again defying his side's own edict to avoid using personal belief during the debate.

5. Part One and Part Two But in the end, Ray and Kirk probably did win. Nightline aired their sermon to millions of people that had previously probably never heard of The Way of the Master. This in itself is a major victory for them. On top of that, the segment which aired on the actual television broadcast seemed to be heavily biased in favor of the theists. They were given considerably more screentime, and Martin Bashir's introduction is, perhaps subconsciously, quite condescending to the rational responders.

320 - Sunday

1. This Oughta be Good Don't forget to watch Kirk Cameron (famous for his role on Growing Pains) and Ray Comfort (famous for suggesting a genetically modified banana proves the existence of god) when they debate the scientific evidence of god with The Rational Response Squad (famous for instigating you-tubers to renounce the holy spirit.) Since none of the participants are actually scientists, I'm sure there will be a lot of incredibly well researched, scientifically valid information presented. Can sarcasm be accurately discerned from the written word without the aid of punctuation based emoticons?

2. Take My Pope...Please The George Bush anti-terrorism scare tactic has been so successful that even the Pope has started using it. After an Italian stand-up comedian, Andrea Rivera, made a few jokes pointing out what he believes to be hypocrisy in the Roman Catholic Church, the vatican issued a newspaper article in which they called Rivera "dangerous" and claim his routine is "terrorism." The thing that surprises me the most about this story is that Italy has its own stand-up comedians.

3. Toasted and Shredded The Creation Museum in Kentucky makes a lot of claims that are one hundred percent contrary to everything modern science knows about paleontology. For instance: Dinosaurs and humans frolicked together happily less than six thousand years ago; Noah's flood was real and his arc was filled with baby dinosaurs to maximize its storage space; When Adam and Eve ate an apple, dinosaurs turned carnivorous; Before that T-Rex used his razor sharp, serrated teeth for breaking open the tough husks of delicious coconuts.

4. Republican Repression Did anyone watch the republican presidential debates last week? It was more boring than the democrats the week before. All the online polls (which we know are not accurate) are claiming Ron Paul came out on top. All the mainstream news shows (which we know are not "fair and balanced") are claiming that victory for either McCain, Giuliani, or Romney. Thankfully, none of the "winners" were among the candidates that raised their hands when asked "Who here doesn't believe in evolution?" that dubious honor goes to Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo.

5. Holy Water, Holy #@&!!! It might be serious, and I hope Cardinal Francis George didn't hurt himself too badly, but even he might have to admit the comedic potential of a priest slipping and falling in a puddle of his own holy water. At least it wasn't a banana peel. Perhaps the first rule of public swimming pools should apply to church services as well: No Splashing.

300 - Sunday

1. Honk Twice for Satan A real battle of good vs. evil in happened Connecticut when a tattoo shop owner decided to combat his neighbor's "Beep for Christ" sign with a sign of his own. The Christian shop owner had this to say, "His sign is not bothering me, but I know it's bothering Jesus."

2. Saint Pope Churchgoers are proving once again that they don't really care about the rules imposed by their own faith. Promoters for the saintification of the late Pope John Paul 2 are pressuring the current pope to put a rush on the sainting process despite the fact that church ruled dictate a five year waiting period before the process can even begin.

3. Where's the Proof Again? In order for a dead person to become officially sainted, it must be proved that he or she interceded on the behalf of a living person. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre claims that the symptoms of her Parkinson's disease disappeared after she prayed to the previous pope for help. Of course, this is an old logical fallacy; correlation does not necessarily imply causation.

4. Science vs. Faith Unfortunately, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre will never be able to prove that the dead pope healed her. Even more unfortunate: no amount of medical science will likely ever change her opinion. If she was in fact cured of her disease, real scientists might be able to determine the reason, and thereby help countless others. Submitted to the required examinations might be a test of her faith though.

5. Matter Plus Energy In other news, researchers have finally disproved the scientifically accepted theory of how life on earth may have started.. Look like Jiff to me.

228 - Sunday

1. Church, Meet State Instead of rewarding a high school junior who used tape recordings to prove that his history teacher was using class time to prostheletize about Fundamental Christianity, the Kearny High School Board decided to ban recording devices in its schools.

2. The Bible Says Religious satire or extreme homophobia? Survey says: possibly both!

3. Jesus Still surviving over 2000 years later.

4. 'Satanic' Ritual I like how the author of this article about mutilated sheep, puts the words "Satan" and "Satanic" in quotes so only the diligent reader will be able to tell that there is absolutely no evidence of Satan worship involved in the case.

5. Victimless Crime The state constitution of Massachusetts protects only Christian residents. It also expressly forbids speaking out against religion, specifically Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Thanks to Brent Rasmussen for bringing this to our attention.

158 - Pseudoscience

1. Chi Power! National Geographic gives George Dillman the chance to explain about his Chi Energy and then shows how it only works on those gullible enough to believe it is real. A tiny little woman does the same thing.

2. Fighting Pseudoscience The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is doing everything it can to get people thinking rationally about unreasonable and faith-based beliefs.

3. Recycling Is Garbage A ten year old article explaining why popular ideas about recycling aren't necessarily true. I think some of the ideas in it have been refuted successfully over the years, but there is a lot to think about.

4. Psychic Drawing I don't know if this is a comedy sketch, or a "real" psychic.

5. Dr. Dino Going Down Creation "Scientist," Kent Hovind, a renowned dumbass finally sentenced for his unlawful business practices and labeled a "danger to the community."