Central Scrutinizer

It occurred to me that the current tour, starting with the residency shows and, plausibly, concluding with residency shows 2, and presumably before the new album's release, the touring with Total Pros, especially on the new music, it certainly provides an opportunity to the band, as well as the fans, to bring "closure" (maybe not the best word) or at least a way to close out a chapter of the band. A place to change directions.

... actually I think I saw that couple on Jerry Springer yesterday ...

Nels Cline = Mother Theresa.

Let's see, what else do they have drilling into their heads. They're starving? Their mortality rate is so high because of disease, no suitable drinking water, no library so they can check their e-mail. their children are their laborers (so we should string them up for child labor laws, have them fined for littering all in the sake of empowerment and modern community). Saying women's empowerment is going to solve poverty is about as valid as saying flapping your arms is going to reduce global warming. Quoting the bible probably isn't the best thing to bring up here, but it's a great analogy:

Comedy Central

Yes, thanks for the critics. Those that go to great lengths to do nothing but provide static and minutae. Without them, nothing would happen at a more respectable pace. I guess Hitchens actually doing concrete to address the plight of the poor was not as quality a gig as being able to throw rocks at MT (who apparently hasn't been canonized but acronymized). Delmar: Oh son, for that you sold your everlasting soul? Tommy: Well, I wasn't usin' it.

Wow thanks for that treasure trove. Have read many of them, but that's a great resource.

Has anyone heard of this book? Not as part of the suggested book club, but posted here because it seemed as good a place as any. The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel J. Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music (2006). In "Brain," he explained the evolutionary necessity of songs in shaping human identity. The new book takes six categories of song -- friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love -- and describes how each has used its unique properties transformed the human brain. The guy is a research scientist and musician -- including wr

Can an atheist play devil's advocate?

"Pocahontas."

Most awesome! Don't step in it.

I think that is the perfect comment to close this thread. A lot of people talking -- on all sides of the discussion -- to people who are hearing what they want to hear, or picking things to make the source of an argument -- not vindictively but protecting what each believes to be true. This all falls down to the fallacy of labels. What does atheism mean? What are your beliefs in 10 words or less (or pick from among three options). I can understand trying to create a lexicon to base further discussions, but labels end up strictly becoming the basis for divisive politics. Quoting scripture

That would be a good pairing. Or Walk On and Walken. Given the large venues what about Spiders sequeing into Rockin' in the Free World.

I think he was speaking metaphorically -- he can correct me if I am wrong. That there are some who "evangelize" (that was a metaphor") about atheism, who actively profess their atheism and "proselytize" (another metaphor) to non-non-believers. Then there was that atheist handing out tracts at the airport (That was a joke). "Not that I condone any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in The Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the wal

Do you believe in god? Check this box ...

I think you nailed it. But what I think you mean, is completely different than what you meant. Judas!

Frankly your efforts in the Wilco and Atheism thread have limited success because you have been "without reception" of what anyone else is saying. You bristle over what others believe, bristle over what you believe you believe others believe about atheism. If atheism = "without god" that is your belief, or a core value within your beliefs. To be without something, you have to acknowledge that from which it is set apart from. To make your point, that is probably not the best choice of definition then, because you imply that you got to who you are in absence of god vs. no god. You got where

I'm saying whatever view you have of life is learned behavior. How you read and react to the world around you. You are, it seems, echoing my points that we have behavioral responses. To some that includes faith. No one is saying you start with a belief or faith in God. I reread his post. He spoke about his case and a few examples that he knows of. We are all different. It is simply not true that "believers" start with a belief or faith in God. Most religions, in fact have a profession of faith, which is the result of study and exploration of the discipline to see if you agree, if you ascri

You deal with the same problems whether you were ingrained from the womb to believe in god or whether the question is never raised. You have to deal with life. Some people reach the conclusion to lean on a creator, some lean on drugs, some build a comfort system -- avoidance, rationalizations, compromise, etc. -- to deal with life. Your believe system is based on something even if it's only behavioral. You don't have to have faith to "lose it." As an atheist, met with crises, you behaviorally go through depression, despair, etc. How you react is wired the way you're wired. Despair = losing f

Dunno about comfort but when I hear him sing, I think his shorts are too tight.