If you love these remixes as much as I do, go to their website, The Symphony of Science, and check them all out. They’re absolutely fantastic.

Ode to the Brain

A Wave of Reason

THE DVD IS OUT! Please support us and help to support Bruce who was kind enough to give his time and energy to professionally recording and editing our conference! Plus get a copy of the most awesome event ever, hosted by yours truly, The Humanist Association of San Diego!

The “SoCal Secular Humanist Conference, 2011″ DVD set is edited and ready to be enjoyed by the Humanist/Atheist/Agnostic/Freethinker/Skeptic community. Listen to entertaining speakers, engaging insights and thought-provoking lectures.

Enjoy over 8 hours of insightful lectures on a 2-DVD set with:

• Dan Barker – Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President
• August Berkshire – Long time Atheist Activist workhorse and tireless Humanist Activist
• Tom Flynn – CSH Director
• David G. McAfee – Author of “Disproving Christianity”
• “Mr. Deity” Brian Keith Dalton
• Bobbie Kirkhart, – Atheist United President
• Sean Faircloth – Secular Coalition for America Director
• Roy Speckhardt – American Humanist Association Executive Director
• Maggie Ardiente – American Humanist Association Development Director
• Jason Frye – LGBT Humanist Council Coordinator and President of the Humanist Association of San Diego
• Michael Newdow – Lawyer, spearheading the removal of the In God We Trust motto

and many more!
Only $45 plus $5 shipping at http://freethoughtalliance.org/DVDs/sdhc2011.html

Someone sent this to me via email . I thought it was worthy of sharing…

Here is an added Chinese version with subtitles:

A couple of nights ago, after an evening of  unsuccessful sleep attempts, I decided to take a drive to my local 7 Eleven to pick up some milk and hot cocoa mix. As I grabbed my items, I noticed an older black man behind the counter waiting to ring me up. He struck up a conversation with me as I approached the register:

“Hi there! You find everything OK?”
“Yep, thank you.”
“Kinda late. What brings you here at this hour?”
“Just having some trouble sleeping. Thought some hot chocolate would help.”
“Ohhhh, I know how that goes. Just trust in the Lord and everything will come into perspective.”

Wait… What? What did the lord have to do with my inability to sleep? But I wasn’t in the mood to get into a debate with the 7 Eleven guy at 2:30 AM so I politely thanked him and pursed my lips.

While I was at the counter, another girl came in and also mentioned she was having trouble sleeping. The clerk pointed her to some “sleepy time” drink in the back and swore by it. I decided to try it myself so I went to the back of the store to grab it and overheard the clerk reiterating the same lord spiel he gave me. By the time I returned to the counter, he was telling the girl that he was going to send Jesus her way. He pointed at me and said, “And you too!” to which I replied, “I appreciate it but I think I’ll pass.”

He looked SHOCKED – like I had just murdered his first born. “Wha.. what does that mean?”, he stuttered.
“I’m an Atheist. I don’t believe in god.”
The girl next to me – “I’m Agnostic”
The clerk was flabbergasted. “When you’re sick and dying, who will you pray to?”
“I won’t. When it’s my turn to go, I’ll just go.”
The girl next to me – “Yeah, pretty much.”

He politely thanked me and the other girl for our patronage and said goodnight but he had the look of a child who had just been told that Santa wasn’t real.

Should I be offended that there are those that insist on sharing god with me without caring to know whether I’m a believer or not? – or do I view it as someone simply saying “hello” in a language I don’t understand? I’m torn between the two. What do YOU think?

The U.S. House of Representatives has just voted to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from all federal funding for birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other lifesaving care.

Please sign this letter to congress to help stop this insanity.

I’ve never been a big fan of Criss Angel but I have a whole new respect for him after this…

Dan Barker entertains us at the Southern California Secular Humanist Conference with songs like “Nothing Fails Like a Prayer” & “Beware of Dogma”. Video courtesy of Diego Lecca. Thanks Diego!

I had the pleasure of seeing a free screening of this at the SoCal Humanist Conference kick-off party. This movie was FANTASTIC! – intelligent, enlightening, and humorous. Please support Roger and pick this movie up from his website.

All the mysteries of human existence explained in one movie! Sort of… For anyone who’s ever wondered about the big questions comes the awarding-winning feature film, The Nature of Existence. The most important journey we take may be the journey to find meaning in our own existence.

Why are we here, and what are we supposed to do about it? What started the Universe, and was it a mistake? Does God exist, and why is he so interested in our sex lives? Combining an investigative approach with a spiritual quest, filmmaker Roger Nygard (Trekkies) roams the globe, going to the source of each of the world’s philosophies, religions, and belief systems, meeting spiritual leaders, scientists, artists, wrestlers, and other experts who have influenced, inspired, or challenged humanity.

Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars looks like an interesting read.

Religion Dispatches Interview with Sikivu Hutchinson

Q. What inspired you to write Moral Combat?

A. As an African American feminist atheist I found that there were virtually no books that explicitly addressed the intersection of gender, race, sexual orientation, and humanist ideology from the lens of progressive politics. The most visible, widely-touted representatives of the atheist movement are white and generally male. This disparity is reflected in the leadership of most prominent secular institutions and organizations. The book deconstructs these issues and situates black humanism within a culturally relevant tradition of critically conscious scholarship and political analysis...

Sadly, there is still a fair amount of ignorance and bigotry toward black non-believers in African American communities due to the stereotype that atheists are immoral, rudderless, and not authentically black. This belief is especially insidious for black women. Mainstream African American culture places a high premium on black female caregiving, piety, and sacrifice. The patriarchal traditions of the Black Church, with their emphasis on charismatic black male leadership and biblical literalism, play a key role in socializing black women to be subservient and self-sacrificing.

Support Sikivu so that she can continue to help educate.
Buy her book HERE &
Check out her blogs blackfemlens & Black Skeptics Group

Our new friend, Peter Damilola Adegoke of Nigeria, asked me to post this book for him and I was inclined to oblige after reading the description of it. He is also one of the contributing voices.

50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists presents a collection of original essays drawn from an international group of prominent voices in the fields of academia, science, literature, media and politics who offer carefully considered statements of why they are atheists.

• Features a truly international cast of contributors, ranging from public intellectuals such as Peter Singer, Susan Blackmore, and A.C. Grayling, novelists, such as Joe Haldeman, and heavyweight philosophers of religion, including Graham Oppy and Michael Tooley
• Contributions range from rigorous philosophical arguments to highly personal, even whimsical, accounts of how each of these notable thinkers have come to reject religion in their lives
• Likely to have broad appeal given the current public fascination with religious issues and the reception of such books as The God Delusion and The End of Faith

Check it out on Amazon!