I have an awesome new shirt

My speaking event with the University of Minnesota Morris Freethinkers was part of their Pride Week programming. It was great to be a part of that, and being part of the schedule brought in a good amount of new people to the meeting – and over half of the audience were women. If you want to increase the diversity of your atheist group, always consider partnering with other minority organizations.

There’s some overlap between the officers of the Freethinkers and their GLBT group, so they gave me their awesome shirt as a gift:Definitely fine by me! Thanks, UMM Freethinkers – and good luck with your godless homosexual takeover of the student government.

This makes me happy

As anyone who’s gone on a road trip with me knows, I have a penchant for Disney music. Which is why this video makes me all sorts of happy, and I command you to watch it:

That guy has talent.

I’m Richard Dawkin’s #1 female fan

Because I’m his only female fan, at least according to our favorite Jen-hater, Jill at I Blame the Patriarchy:

Liberal dudes (and that boobquake chick) just love celebrity biologist Richard Dawkins. Even some Internet feminists may be said not to vomit blood at the mention of his name.

This premise is based on the fact that Dawkins happened to leave a single positive comment about a video promoting some potentially anti-feminists ideas.

Meanwhile, upon reading the Sommers speech, Dawkins was moved to comment: “Thank you for this. I have now read the lecture you recommend, and it is indeed excellent.”

The anointed one has spoken.

One passing comment is enough to damn The Anointed One – er, I mean, Dawkins – even though she spends the rest of her post addressing the video in question. And by addressing, I mean calling “funfeminists” who don’t necessarily agree with her particular view of feminists brainwashed.

Lovely.

I certainly don’t agree with many of the things in the speech in question – and I even think Jill makes some halfway decent counter arguments. But calling Dawkins a “intellectual Western motherfucker who is enamored of the glorious myth that he and his ilk, in their educated and progressive magnanimity, have liberated their women” for that single comment? Or worse, thinking people who enjoy and respect Dawkins must slavishly agree with him lest they be kicked out of the atheist hivemind?

You know, enjoying Dawkins doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything he says. Despite claims of my brainwashing, I can think for myself and have my own opinions – Jill is the one who seems to think the opposite. While I highly respect Dawkins in regards to atheism and biology, I wouldn’t be shocked to disagree with a 70 year old white British academic on the details of feminist theory.

But you know what’s really demeaning to women? Starting off a post reducing me to my boobs, and disregarding other women of the atheist movement. Abbie Smith at ERV has already torn this to pieces:

Um, ‘that boobquake chick’ is Jen McCreight. Shes a graduate student in biology. ‘Boobquake‘ was a really cool counter-attack to Muslims attack on womens personal rights and freedoms.

Jen, who brought attention to that very serious topic in a lighthearted, non-intimidating way, is just ‘that boobquake chick’.

A ‘feminist’ thinks its appropriate to dismiss (thus discourage) the positive actions of a young, intelligent activist female, with decades of activism ahead of her.

Of course, at least Jen gets to exist, even if she is unworthy of a name (or a link, very bad blog manners, ‘feminist’).

This ‘feminist’ is also a supporter of the sexist notion that religion is gender appropriate for females, while atheism is gender appropriate for males. Dawkins millions of female fans don’t exist– his fans are a bunch of ‘liberal dudes (and that boobquake chick)’. This ‘feminist’ might have marginalized Jens actions, but they marginalized the very existence of other women (or if they do exist, they must be indistinguishable from ‘dudes’, degrading their ‘femaleness’ by taking it away. When they’re religious like good girls they can have their gender back?).

The irony doesn’t escape me that I just spent the last week speaking to student groups about the convergence of atheism and feminism, why women should leave religion, and diversity within the atheist movement. Or that these talks went overwhelmingly well. Or that I was invited to speak about women in atheism at many national conferences over the next couple months. Or that the Executive Director, Trustee, and Store manager of the Richard Dawkins Foundation are strong, outspoken women. None of that matters, because Overlord Dawkins hath spoken (though not really), and thus the atheist movement is sexist.

Yep. Sound logic.

Off my ASS for …myself – Week 12

Starting weight: 186.4 lbs
Last week’s weight: 170.8 lbs
Current weight: 170.6
Weight loss this week: 0.2 lbs
Total weight loss: 15.8 lbs

How in the world did my weight basically stay the same while traveling? I eat horrible food when I’m on an adventure! Fast food in the airports, bar food after the talks, free meals, free alcohol… I think the only healthy choice I made all week was getting brown rice instead of white when PZ and I got Chinese food. I guess all the running around and stressing about my talk balanced it out.

The new quarter starts Monday, and oddly that will make me get back on track. Only being able to eat what you bring to work and eating it on a strict schedule is oddly helpful for weight loss.

Two weeks until AHA in Boston… and I will be in the 160s!

I survived Minnesota! …barely

Man, do those Campus Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists know how to party. My talk went really well and had around 80-90 people show up – and about 30 of those joined us for the pub. Then, proving that CASH knows their guest speaker very well, we headed to The Gay 90s in downtown Minneapolis for a drag show and dancing.

The upside of being the guest speaker is that alcohol continuously appears in front of you out of nowhere. Unfortunately, that’s also the downside. Sweet Jesus, I haven’t had that much to drink since my 21st birthday. I also haven’t been that sick since my 21st birthday. Augh, my liver. Why did someone bring me tequila shots? Why?!?

Even though the night didn’t end well for me, it still was a good time. I got to meet a bunch of my “internet friends” (Hi, Biodork, Ruby Leigh, and Jafsica!) and hang out with student leaders I hadn’t seen since the last SSA conference. Oh, and throw dollar bills at CASH officers as they pole danced.

…Again, they know how to party.

Oh, and JT? I am so not getting drunk with you at AHA in a couple of weeks. …At least that’s what I’m saying right now, while I’m still in “I’m never drinking again” mode. Give me a couple of days. Though after you speak there next week, you may be feeling the same way.

Alright, time to go be comatose for a while.

The perfect opening act for my talk

This was the room schedule from my talk in St. Cloud. Anyone who accidentally stuck around likely would have been very, very confused.


Of course, prior to my talk I received the most convincing argument for the existence of God, so many I would have been a little more gentle than usual.


I mean, what are the odds of getting a tract about the banana being an atheist’s worst nightmare while I was eating a banana?!? I’m convinced. Cancel the rest of my visit.

…I’m just kidding, of course. I hear CASH and UM is looking forward to destroying my liver. Will convert after that.

For the skeptical animal lovers

My friend Julie, who’s been very active in the atheist and skeptical movements, just started vet school this fall. She’s documenting her journey in the best way possible – blogging. I highly suggest you guys go check it out, as she talks about skepticism applied to animal health behavior a lot. I particular like her post on diets, and how vets benefit from skepticism:

I admit, raw was something that sucked me in hard and fast and I was teetering on the edge of true believer status for awhile. I had to reel it in, evaluate the evidence objectively and admit that if I held alternative medicine, faith- and prayer-based medicine, etc. to one standard but not raw diets, I was guilty of biased reasoning and cherry-picking. It’s not something that I tolerate in my colleagues and it’s not something I’ll allow myself to get away with, either.

Check the rest of the post out here.

And if my recommendation isn’t enough for you, Julie is fostering a cat that’s about to give birth. Dozens of kitten photos are imminent. Go, go follow her now!

Is religion heading toward extinction?

Some researchers think so – at least in some countries. And they even have a mathematical model that explains their data.

The title of this blog post is in the form of a question, however, because I haven’t read their paper yet and I’m a bit skeptical – even if I’d really like their result to be true. If there’s anyone who’s knowledgeable about statistics and isn’t on a bus to an airport, please enlighten us in the comments.

Everyone else can continue to speculate wildly and come up with flashy headlines like the rest of the media.

Apologetics pick up lines

Is that a banana in your pocket, or have you also been designed especially for me?

You must be God, because I want you to fill my gaps.

My eyes are too complex to have evolved, but they still naturally selected you.

…That’s all I got. Feel free to be wittier than me in the comments.