Sunday, July 26, 2009
Bad Day
I woke up this morning and went to lunch in beautiful Tortilla Flat with my family. When we got back home, my mom went in for a nap, I went into my room and started finishing work on my last blog entry, and my step-father Bill watched TV on the front porch. After about an hour, I heard the dogs barking in the living room. They were barking a little more intensely than they usually do when they play, but I didn't think much of it. Thankfully, I decided to check on them anyway. When I got to the living room, I saw both dogs staring intently out the living room window with their ears up, looking alert. I glanced out the window to see Bill's chair tipped completely over, and Bill lying on his side in front of the table, convulsing. Then the adrenaline started rushing. I rushed outside yelling his name, but he was not responding. He was just shaking, and he had turned bluish-purple. I ran back into the house yelling for my mom as loud as I could and searching for the phone. I grabbed it, and my mom came out wondering what was wrong. I told her Bill was in a seizure, and she rushed outside yelling his name. I followed her, dialing 911 at the same time. She kept yelling his name, and the terror and helplessness in her voice, and the look on her face while she was doing it was probably one of the most heart-wrenching experiences I've had so far. I wasn't sure if he was breathing, but I knew the blue tint of his face wasn't a good sign. I rolled him on his back to start CPR, hoping that I would remember it correctly, all the while talking to 911. Fortunately, when he was on his back he started breathing. But he had no awareness. He was staring straight again and was not responding. His breathing was exaggerated, and he had a weird rustic colored saliva on his lips. (Had he bit his tongue? I still don't know.) The 911 operator instructed me to monitor his breathing while emergency personnel made their way to our house. Shortly after, two police arrived. We cleared the patio for the EMTs and firemen who were also on their way. They arrived very shortly afterward. Between the time I put Bill on his back and help arrived, he had gotten a little more responsive. Enough to fight with the EMTs as they tried to help him. Eventually, they had to strap him down to the gurney, heavily sedate him, and take him to the hospital where he is now with my mom. At this point, they have scanned his brain to look for signs of a stroke, but have found nothing. Now they are performing a CT scan on his lungs. And we are hoping for the best, but trying to prepare for the worst. I'm so glad we have smart dogs.
Books, Books, Books...
So over the last year or so, I have been reading some good stuff that I've been wanting to comment on. All non-fiction, all based in atheism. The synopses:
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Pretty well-known and controversial book. Well written, strongly argued, and even amusing. One of the strongest arguments is against the belief that the world, because of its complexity, had to be created by a being like God. Dawkins's position is that, based on the same logic, any being capable of creating all of this would also have to be at least as complex as his creation, and therefore would also require a creator. That creator would also have to be at least as complex as its creation, and would thus also would have had to have been created by a creator, ad infinitum. On that basis, theism fails. Pretty sound reasoning in my opinion. I also appreciated his objection to many theists' (those who believe in God) false belief that atheists have no appreciation for life, morality, emotions, or the whole human experience overall. He also rejects the common practice, rooted in political correctness, of excusing religious beliefs from the same scrutiny and criticism applied to all other claims and beliefs in society. The fact of the matter is, they all make strong, historical 'truth' claims. They are at least as susceptible, if not more, to critical inquiry. Finally in touching detail, he describes the funeral of the teenaged son of a very good friend of his, both atheists (the father and deceased son), and how instead of speculating on the unlikely afterlife the now-deceased son was probably not experiencing, they celebrated his life and the time they all had to share with him. It sounded like the type of funeral I would like for myself. Excellent book.
The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom. This one also caused quite a splash when it was published. Highly controversial, but also highly praised, it endeavors to explore the role that 'evil' plays in human survival and evolution. It's pretty heavy on scientific documentation. In fact, after the first printing when several opponents criticized it for making unsubstantiated scientific claims, the author went back and added a load of references to back them up. It's been ridiculously long since I read it, so it's pretty stale in my mind. But I remember being appalled at the historically documented attrocities committed by mankind since it's been on the scene. Disgusting and distrubing, but fascinating, thought-provoking, and convincing.
The Quotable Atheist compiled by Jack Huberman. Just a book of quotes by atheists (and some theists), listed alphabetically by person. Some goodies: "Christian Fundamentalism: The doctrine that there is an absolutely pwerful, infinitely knowledgeable, universe-spanning entity that is deeply and personally concerned about my sex life." (Anonymous, pg. 11) "Truth does not demand belief. Scientists donot join hands every Sunday, singing, 'yes, gravity is real! I will have faith! I will be strong! I believe in my heart that what goes up, up, up must come down....Amen!' If they did, we would think they were pretty insecure about it." (Dan Barker, pg. 30) "Nearly every human group has created something in the way of a religion, no two of which are the same. When something is based on reality, like mathematics or scientific medicine, groups of people independently arrive at the same answers....This is one good way to tell the difference between shit and shinola." (Greg Erwin, pg. 108) "Life in Lubbock, Texas taught me two things. One is that God love you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, dirty thing on the face of the earth and you should save it for someone you love." (Butch Hancock, pg 138) "Tell a devout Christian this his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever." (Sam Harris, pg 140) "You're a group of Christian-based, conservative organizations with several million dollars to spend. Do you: feed the hungry? Clothe the poor? Don't be so naive! You blow the millions on a series of slickly-worded, logic-bending ads espousing a widely-discredited theory that onc can be 'cured' of homosexuality through counseling and prayer." (MAD magazine, pg. 196) "In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners." (Sir Jonahtan Miller, pg 212) "I like to browse in occult bookshops if for no other reason than to refresh my commitment to science." (Heinz Pagels, pg. 232) "It is not God that is worshipped by the group or authority that claims to speak in His name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority, not violation of integrity." (Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, pg. 247)
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Pretty well-known and controversial book. Well written, strongly argued, and even amusing. One of the strongest arguments is against the belief that the world, because of its complexity, had to be created by a being like God. Dawkins's position is that, based on the same logic, any being capable of creating all of this would also have to be at least as complex as his creation, and therefore would also require a creator. That creator would also have to be at least as complex as its creation, and would thus also would have had to have been created by a creator, ad infinitum. On that basis, theism fails. Pretty sound reasoning in my opinion. I also appreciated his objection to many theists' (those who believe in God) false belief that atheists have no appreciation for life, morality, emotions, or the whole human experience overall. He also rejects the common practice, rooted in political correctness, of excusing religious beliefs from the same scrutiny and criticism applied to all other claims and beliefs in society. The fact of the matter is, they all make strong, historical 'truth' claims. They are at least as susceptible, if not more, to critical inquiry. Finally in touching detail, he describes the funeral of the teenaged son of a very good friend of his, both atheists (the father and deceased son), and how instead of speculating on the unlikely afterlife the now-deceased son was probably not experiencing, they celebrated his life and the time they all had to share with him. It sounded like the type of funeral I would like for myself. Excellent book.
The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom. This one also caused quite a splash when it was published. Highly controversial, but also highly praised, it endeavors to explore the role that 'evil' plays in human survival and evolution. It's pretty heavy on scientific documentation. In fact, after the first printing when several opponents criticized it for making unsubstantiated scientific claims, the author went back and added a load of references to back them up. It's been ridiculously long since I read it, so it's pretty stale in my mind. But I remember being appalled at the historically documented attrocities committed by mankind since it's been on the scene. Disgusting and distrubing, but fascinating, thought-provoking, and convincing.
The Quotable Atheist compiled by Jack Huberman. Just a book of quotes by atheists (and some theists), listed alphabetically by person. Some goodies: "Christian Fundamentalism: The doctrine that there is an absolutely pwerful, infinitely knowledgeable, universe-spanning entity that is deeply and personally concerned about my sex life." (Anonymous, pg. 11) "Truth does not demand belief. Scientists donot join hands every Sunday, singing, 'yes, gravity is real! I will have faith! I will be strong! I believe in my heart that what goes up, up, up must come down....Amen!' If they did, we would think they were pretty insecure about it." (Dan Barker, pg. 30) "Nearly every human group has created something in the way of a religion, no two of which are the same. When something is based on reality, like mathematics or scientific medicine, groups of people independently arrive at the same answers....This is one good way to tell the difference between shit and shinola." (Greg Erwin, pg. 108) "Life in Lubbock, Texas taught me two things. One is that God love you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, dirty thing on the face of the earth and you should save it for someone you love." (Butch Hancock, pg 138) "Tell a devout Christian this his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever." (Sam Harris, pg 140) "You're a group of Christian-based, conservative organizations with several million dollars to spend. Do you: feed the hungry? Clothe the poor? Don't be so naive! You blow the millions on a series of slickly-worded, logic-bending ads espousing a widely-discredited theory that onc can be 'cured' of homosexuality through counseling and prayer." (MAD magazine, pg. 196) "In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners." (Sir Jonahtan Miller, pg 212) "I like to browse in occult bookshops if for no other reason than to refresh my commitment to science." (Heinz Pagels, pg. 232) "It is not God that is worshipped by the group or authority that claims to speak in His name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority, not violation of integrity." (Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, pg. 247)
The New Blog
With the fall of Myspace, I needed a new place for my thoughts so here it is. I transferred all of my myspace blogs to this one as well. What can I say? I'm kind of an ideas pack rat.
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