A New Year

I could write any one of many tacky sayings here to welcome in the new year, such as 'out with the old, in with the new,' or 'another year gone.' I could even say 'Auld Lang Sane,' which doesn't really seem all that tacky to me. But I won't. Paradoxically, I already have.

It comes to mind that certain people (some less generous writers might call them stupid people) tend to make a resolution that they generally fail to commit to to mark the beginning of a new year on the Gregorian calendar. Or that's what the media portrays it as, at least.

As such, I have decided to throw my own coin down the well with the knowledge that I may very well never see it again. This year, I resolve to blog every weekend, usually every Friday or Saturday, and set aside a time on one of those days to facilitate the writing of an entry.

Bah, Humbug

~The Muse

P.S. If you're wondering what happened to the 'Button a Week Challenge,' I decided that it would be easier for me to put all of the buttons I wore in a single post after the challenge is completed. Seeing as a year has past, the challenge should theoretically be done, but I ran out of suitable buttons. I am always on the lookout for suitable buttons, and suggestions are, of course, welcome.

Christians, Baha'i's and Buttons, Oh My!

I know a lot of people are going to ask "Why have you been criticizing Christianity so much lately?" or "Why don't you criticize a different Abrahamic religion? Why not even a non-Abrahamic religion?" Well let me try to explain things to you.

I do not necessarily believe that faith is a bad thing; it is when faith is not tempered by reason that it concerns me. I am more than willing to allow someone to hold and express their beliefs as long as they do not interfere with my rights to the same. I don't think that I would particularly mind if someone called me a "Satan worshiper" and that I would "burn in Hell" as long as they let me say how ridiculous I think that their beliefs are. Of course, if they repeatedly harassed me, I would have no compunction against taking them to civil court. If our roles were reversed, I would expect them to do the same.

Yesterday, I had a Christian evangelist tell me "I'm not tolerant and I'm proud of it." He also said "One way to God, right?" Frankly, a find this level of zealotry disturbing. I wouldn't even classify it as an extreme level of zealotry, considering what you see on the Internet and in the Middle East.

I don't buy that there is one way to God either, if there is one (which I doubt). I can see four possibilities if God does exist: God is malevolent, God is indifferent, God is omni-benevolent and our perception of God is completely inaccurate, or God is insane. If I say that God may exist, I shouldn't discount that a multitude of gods could exist either.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to address something. I want to point out that the Baha'i faith is probably one of the most tolerant I've seen. I'm not going to pick at any of their theological or metaphysical beliefs, but rather a few things that I think will create issues for the faith in the future.

1) The Baha'i faith views scientific inquiry as essential to expanding Human knowledge and deepening the faith of Baha'i adherents. Considering that I believe that God or some other divine aspect cannot be proven or disproven I find it interesting that the Baha'i faith supports scientific inquiry when historically most religions have been opposed to it. Historically, most religions are opposed to scientific inquiry because of contradictions with various beliefs within those religions. Just take a look at Galileo or Darwin. But consider this: What if the existence of a divine entity could be empirically disproven? I am sure that it would very much shake the Baha'i religion to its very core. I doubt that this could happen however, and I find it more of an interesting question to pose than something I could see becoming an issue. The one place where the Baha'i faith and science knock heads is #2.

2) The Baha'i faith rejects homosexuality. This is the one place I know of where science and the Baha'i faith have a contradiction. While the Baha'i faith teaches equality between people and the elimination of prejudices, sexual orientation is absent from their list of groups of Humans where prejudice should be eliminated. Others have said it before me, and I predict that this will cause tensions within the Baha'i faith in the future.

3) Women are excluded from serving on the Universal House of Justice. This is mostly for the same reasons as #2, with the Baha'i faith's teachings of equality and elimination of prejudice.

4) Followers believe that there will eventually be a single world government. I'm not going to deny that it could happen, but I doubt it. The closest we have come to this is the United Nations, and I doubt that we will go much farther. Groups of people with similar ideals would break off from a united world government and form their own nations. Self-determination has happened many times in the past and I don't see why this would change in the future.

5) It had been my understanding that the Baha'i faith also believed in a single unifying language for humankind. However the official website of the Baha'i International Community cites "the need for a universal auxiliary language."

And just a couple minor notes to finish off with:

The link to Nick Gisburne's website is no longer in the sidebar. He has taken down his website because he is no longer interested in discussing Atheism. This means some of the links in my older posts may not work correctly.

Also, if you're wondering what's been happening with the buttons, you have no need to fret. I decided that it would be easier to post all the buttons once the challenge is over than to post them every week.

ReligiousTolerance.org Article

Baha'i International Community Website

April Button Update

Here are the buttons from the last six weeks, more or less in order:

Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam [It isn't, really]
We're making enemies faster than we can kill them [We really need to do something about that aggro, eh?]
Stewart-Colbert 2008 [I don't really have a comment for this one]
Just plain evil without my coffee [I wore this as a joke for a coworker]
If you're so pro-life, try getting one! [I might have gone a bit overboard, but honestly, do these people have nothing better to do in their spare time?]
Against gay marriage? Don't marry one! [I wore this for the Day of Silence this week]

If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a rant tomorrow.

Fate or Coincidence?

I left school early last Wednesday to go to the walk-in clinic. I bruised a tendon in my foot Tuesday afternoon at Judo. When I sat down on the bus, I looked behind me and found a brochure for this place.

I knew that you could get a degree in philosophy, and that metaphysics was a subschool of philosophy, but I never thought of a school devoted entirely to the subject. Given how unsure I am with what I want in a career, and my recent interest in spirituality, I thought that it was an interesting find.

So, fate or coincidence?

Button for Mar. 3 - Mar. 9: The Patriot Act: Turning Citizens into Suspects Since 2001

Over The Hills...

...And far away.

I fear that I'm losing my faith in Humanity. I blame it on reading FSTDT.com every day since Tuesday.

The House of Commons is also driving me nuts. The partisanship is insane.

This Week's Button: Happiness is a journey, not a place.

A Long Overdue Rant and Buttons Update

I've decided to post the buttons that I bought but never really wore. AfterVerner and Kai were right. I originally came up with the whole idea of wearing a button every week as a way to express myself without ever saying anything. I've always been a bit shy about expressing my beliefs on social issues. I think it's because I fear being ostracized. Anyway, here they are:

Jan. 6 - Jan. 12: God Loves You! Some restrictions may apply...

Jan. 13 - Jan. 19: Please Jesus, protect me from your followers!

Jan. 20 - Jan. 26: How long until evolution eliminates the Christian Right?

Jan. 27 - Feb. 2: Just another soulless atheist in search of world peace and harmony.

Feb. 3 - Feb. 9: Truth is the first casualty of war.

(Friggernaffy! I missed a week!)

This week: No really, I live for these creepy, awkward moments.

Now let me explain a few things. One, I realize the irony in AfterVerner being the first one to encourage me to post them. Second, I have nothing against Christians.

I remember when I was younger, probably about six or seven, recieving a couple of Bibles as a gift. I'm sure that they were from someone that didn't know my family very well. They were the kind of Bibles with the colourful illustrations of Noah's ark or Jesus, and proclamied that the pages within contained 'the greatest story ever told.' They were the kind of Bibles with all of the 'fire and brimstone' type passages removed, probably to avoid scaring any little kids.

I read them in their entirety, as I did with any other book. After completing them, I couldn't help but feel confused. I simply couldn't believe it. This was the greatest story ever told? Other people actually believed this and accepted it as fact?

I should probably mention at this time that I was raised an atheist, as far as I can tell. We never prayed, we never talked about spiritual belief. I had only been in a church once, as far as I could remember. Our neighbours (who weren't very devout) invited us because their kids were getting baptized. I remember feeling out of place, and I didn't understand the purpose of getting baptized. I don't think I fully understand it today.

I realize that the majority of Christians are good people. It's people like this and people who use parts of the Bible like this and this to justify their prejudices. Also people who make websites like this and this and this and this.

Also, hypocrisy. This is not the love that Jesus was talking about. Memo to the religious right: Get your heads out of the sand. (I mean 'right' in terms of the political spectrum.)

I do my best to treat these people based on who they are, not what they are. I only wish they had the wisdom and respect to do the same.

And that is why I'm not a Christian. (Or any other Abrahamic religion, for that matter, but I don't have anything against them either other than for the same reasons I outlined here.)

End of Winter Break

So it's the end of winter break and school starts tomorrow. Hoo-rah. (That was sarcasm.) The holiday season was eventful, full of family and friends, games, and discussion. As I remarked to one friend while gift shopping (mostly for others but I did get a few things for myself), "I've spent more than I should have but less than I would have liked."

My mother had a hysterectomy after Christmas (for health reasons), but is out of the hospital now and is recovering nicely.

Marcie has behaved moderately well, and she begins puppy classes on Thursday. You know how they say that pets resemble their owners? Since I started growing my hair out, I've developed tufts of hair on the sides of my neck below my ears. They look awfully similar to the ones that Marcie has grown in the past few weeks.

I've never grown my hair out before, and I've become a bit fond of my pelage. I'm sure that the novelty will wear out in time though.

I don't have much that I would like to say (or would care to say) so I'm going to end with the buttons for this week and the past four weeks.

Dec. 9 - Dec. 15: There never was a good war or a bad peace. -Benjamin Franklin

Dec. 16 - Dec. 22: Oh well, I wan't using my civil liberties anyway.

Dec. 23 - Dec. 29: I think, therefore I'm liberal.

Dec. 30 - Jan. 5: Everything I need to know about live I've learned by reading banned books.

This week: America: The best democracy corporate lobbyists can buy.

P.S. I tried the blossoming tea at Serious Coffee. It's pretty good, unless you steep it too long. I think that about half of what you pay for is for the show though, but I would still recommend it.

STD and B.

No, not sexually transmitted diseases and bears. Starbucks, Tanner's, December, and Buttons. Although "Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Bears" sounds like it would make an interesting research topic. [Just out of curiosity, I googled it and found nothing relevant. But I did find this:
The STD Bear

Our weekly meeting at Starbucks was once again [insert appropriate adjective here.] We had a fairy brief discussion on the Liberal Leadership Race in Montreal, before moving on to other, more mundane and humours matters. I think I may have even scarred Jon for life. On another note, I made myself a pair of environmentally friendly, 60% post-consumer fibre bracelets from some coffee cup sleeves.

After Starbucks, some of us went to Tanner's to browse. The clerk commented that it was my third time visiting that day. I had browsed on the first and third visits, I bought an issue of Dragon Magazine and a copy of Moon Called by Patricia Biggs on my second visit. Starting to sound like last week, isn't it?

December. Where the heck did that come from!? October only seems like it was yesterday. [I know October isn't a day of the week, thank you.] This month of the year seems so very far away around February or March, but when you get to around October or November, it almost feels like time accelerates. It's not possible of course, but hey, time flies when you're having fun.

Before I forget, I went to the Serious Coffee that opened next to the Red Brick Cafe. The coffee was about as good as what they have at the Red Brick Cafe [Which isn't saying much] and the price and quantity was comparable to Ralph's Coffee and Tea House. The food they had when I visited looked comparable to what one might find at Alexander's or Cafe Med on Beacon Avenue. [The Red Brick Cafe beats them there.] The only things that I liked: The modern atmosphere, the original art on the walls [for sale!] and the fact that they had a flat-panel television. They also had "Flowering White Tea" which I think I will have to go back and try. It definately seems like a 'once in a while' coffee shop to me.

I also went into town with Mike. The Mayfair Shopping Centre, specifically. He was kind enough to buy me an early Christmas present, despite all my protests. Now I have to get him something...

This Week's Button: Get real, like Jesus would ever own a gun and vote Republican.

Starbucks and the Button a Week Challenge Continues...

I spent way too much money today. I don't have the reciepts with me, but I figure I spent somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50~70 dollars. I guess it's hard to resist the temptation the day after you get your paycheck. The problem is, I need to save so I can pay for my trip to England and France this June.

Here's a rundown of what I bought, if memory serves:

Issue of PC Gamer [with CD]
Teach Yourself Visually Guide to Knitting
A day-by-day calendar for 2007 [with discount]
Benighted by Kit Whitfield [with discount]
Coffee at Ralph's
Latte at Starbucks

Not paying for any of it with a Mastercard: Priceless.


After my shopping spree, I went over to a Kyle E 's house and to Starbucks in the evening to meet with Werner and Matthew P. I had intended to discuss Stephen Harper's recognition of Quebec as "a nation within Canada." However, we quickly moved on to other topics, notably Werner's vintage Soviet longcoat.

After, we went to Tanner's Books and had a fun time browsing. One notable find was "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide to History." It included such gems as how to win a bayonet fight, defend a medieval castle, and how to defect from the USSR.

Until next time,

-JarJar_Head

This Week's Button: Never apologize for your art.

The Button a Week Challenge

First, a little background. For quite some time, I've imagined myself as an activist or philantropist. Seems I imagine things a lot. Between the time I spend at school, work, and my social life, I'm left with little time to be a fairly active activist and I have little unused funds to be a decent philanthropist. Additionally, I'm very quiet about my beliefs for fear of critisizm. I suppose you could say that I have a weak self-esteem. But enough on this.

While browsing the products at http://www.evolvefish.com, it occurred to me that many of the buttons that they sell (mostly activist oriented) are also available at a local music store. Convienent for me, seeing as I don't have a credit card and I want to avoid international shipping fees. The one downside to this is that the music store's selection is somewhat limited.

This foray into Internet window shopping (Did I just make a pun?) gave me an idea: wear a button every day, every week, for a year; with a different button each week.

52 buttons. 117.54 dollars. (Tax incl.)

What have I gotten myself into?


This Week's Button: "Coffee is God."