In Defense of CFI
I have a long running history with CFI. When I was living in Victoria, BC, Justin Trottier approached me and asked if I wanted to attend a conference in Amerst, NY, at the Center for Inquiry. A little new to the atheist scene, I was skeptical but went along for …
Weddings: I have to do what?!
One of the …neatest/oddest/most annoying (choose your own adventure) things about getting married is attempting to navigate all the traditions. Which ones do I do? Which ones are stupid? Which ones have valid origins? It all started with the wedding shower kerfuffle (to have one or not to have one… …
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Ever gotten annoyed or down right pissed off when Harry Potter just doesn’t make sense? For instance, why would Death Eaters put a giant tattoo on their own arms when they’re supposed to be super spies? Or, why didn’t Voldie just mail the entire Order of the Phoenix hand grenades …
Suspension of Disbelief: The Great Gatsby
I attempted to read The Great Gatsby a few years ago and couldn’t get into. For whatever reason I picked it back up a few months ago and loved it. The writing style of Fitzgerald is something I could read all day every day. I’ve been reading a lot of …
Suspension of Disbelief: Fringe
Fringe is a television series that started in 2008 and concluded in January of this year. I’ve just started watching the first season and I’m completely in love with it. An FBI agent, with the help of her three sidekicks (two pretty, one crazy…literally), investigate odd happenings that occur on …
Even MOAR Awesome Sauce Music: From Space!
Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut that is currently up in the space station. If you watch Canadian news he has been doing a lot of interviews from the space station. Most recently he has recorded a song with Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies (if you watch Big Bang Theory …
Suspension of Disbelief: WWW Trilogy
What would happen if an alternate universe was discovered where the Neanderthals replaced Humans? What if extremely technologically advanced alien visitors told us that there is incontrovertible proof that something like a god existed in the universe? What if everyone suddenly blacked out for 90 seconds and saw their futures …
What should we value more – experience or knowledge?
My stepfather is a 60 year old retired minister of the United Church. His shtick is helping old people find meaning in life and discovering ways to “age well”. He is pretty well-read, was university educated, which, coupled with his personality and the fact that he has been in …