In email: "Inspirational" book ad

Among yesterday's emails came Borders' weekly ad promoting a sale on "Inspirational Books You'll Enjoy!"

Don't think so, since I tend to find books that try to inspire me by gushing about the glory, power, and all-around-awesomeness of an invisible, supernatural being who lives in the sky (unless he lives in our hearts or someplace else we can't ever see him if we're not delusional), anything but.

OK. The Dalai Lama's book might be slightly different, since it tries to convince readers to value and respect widely varying, and often wildly incompatible, religious beliefs. But I am not inclined to value or respect any adult's belief in one or more invisible, super-powerful, magical beings who control our lives, read our minds, and even though he/she/they have a mind-boggingly huge and complex universe to run, usually have special concerns about what we earthlings eat and wear, as well as a rather creepy interest in our sex lives and what human is putting which body part where.

I'll admit there's value in knowing what the opposition is saying and thinking, but I can only read so much mind-numbing inanity and insanity in "inspirational" or "spiritual" books. And, if I did decide to read one, I wouldn't buy it new, and contribute towards the profits of the authors and publishers. I'd borrow it from my library, or, if I wanted my own copy to use as a reference on the subject of "silly things people actually believe," buy a used one.

Borders, if you want to "inspire me," offer me a deal on books about critical thinking or the wonders of science and the real, natural world. How about it?

At the library: Falun Dafa brochure

The local library has an area where various non-profit groups leave information about their programs, which I check on just about every visit to see if I find anything of interest, and the last time I did, I found a brochure on Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) among the other materials.

The brochure promotes the Falun Dafa web site, describes the practice as being centered on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and improving wellness through exercise, mediation, and character development. Sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, the brochure fails to mention that Falun Dafa is also anti-rationality, anti-science, and anti-medicine, and is based on a belief in magical cosmic energies into which practitioners can tap to develop or enhance supernatural powers and, apparently, achieve immortality.

The Falun is a rotating, intelligent mini-universe which is installed in a practioners' abdomen by an instructor, where it rotates--forever--and depending on whether it's turning clockwise or counter-clockwise, either absorb or emit energy.

The brochure shows four basic exercises that involve that magical energy in various ways: opening it in the body, enhancing it, purifying the body with it, and circulating it in the body.

Number 5 in the brochure, which I've included with this post, shows practitioners "Reinforcing Supernatural Powers." Oooh, I want to be able to walk through walls just like David Copperfield did through the Great Wall of China.

Facebook Follies: Sioux Prayer Request for Gulf Oil Spill

One of my Facebook friends posted that she'll be "attending" the "Sioux Prayer Request for Gulf Oil Spill" on Monday, June 21, 2010. That can't be any less effective than BP's oil leak containment box, and undoubtedly will be much less expensive. But if there's expectation that praying's actually going to help, why wait a month?

Eight atheists walked into a bar...

OK. So eight atheists walked into a bar on National Prayer Day, and...with deliberation and great conviction, pointedly did not pray. 

Instead members of The Baltimore Pharyngula Fans Group spent the evening drinking and discussing, often with tremendous snark, and more than a touch of blasphemy, subjects as varied as end of life decisions, the restrictive and repugnant recently enacted Oklahoma abortion law, inane questions people ask us because of our profession, and crimes of moral tuniptude and whether turnips can consent to sex. As usual, there were plenty of good stories exchanged, accompanied by much laughter and the occasional groan.

If you are a Pharyngula fan who lives in the Baltimore area, and haven't made it to one of the group's get-togethers yet, you're missing wonderful evenings of fellowship and fun. 

Facebook Follies: National Day of World Prayer

In my post "Facebook Follies: Praying for a Cancer Cure," I wrote, "One of the downsides to Facebook, in my opinion, is that through some of my friends' Facebook posts, I've started to learn more about their religious and political views, and beliefs in woo, than I knew before."

But recently I've begun to reconsider that position, even if my friends' Facebook updates and comments too often make me truly wonder about my ability to pick friends.

More and more, I've begun to see Facebook as a rather fascinating sociological and psychological resource, giving me hitherto unprecedented access to my Facebook friends' often irrational beliefs, thoughts, and actions, which currently tend to intrigue, bemuse, and frequently amuse me more often than frighten or irritate me.

Today's example: Through Facebook, I've learned that my very religious Catholic friend Jeannie is "attending" the National Day of World Prayer on-line event. (Which, by the way, according to its Facebook page is scheduled to begin on "Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 12:00am" and end on "Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 11:30pm". Is that some kind of special God-day that lasts more than 24-hours? Just askin'.)
(And, am I the only one who is both confounded and concerned by the fact that this "national" prayer day is now being touted as a "world" event?)

I don't get the whole concept of prayer to begin with, why God is supposed to care, what effect it's supposed to have, and how and why it's supposed to work, and the idea of many people praying on a special prayer day only adds to the inanity of the pursuit.

The god Jeannie prays to is the Abrahamic God, Yahweh, the same god probably on the receiving end of most of the prayers being sent today.

Yahweh receives, I'm guessing, on a normal day, millions of individual and small-group prayers. He's routinely inundated with prayers, some praising Him, and others making requests from urgent pleas to spare the life of a dying child, to divine assistance on a math quiz, or holy help picking the winning numbers in the Mega Millions lottery--most of which He chooses to ignore, seemingly at whim, but really, He's just sticking with His incredibly mysterious, frequently incomprehensible-to-humans, eternal Plan.

So: Is God going to actually receive more prayers on National Prayer Day than His daily average? And if so, how does He feel about getting prayers today from infrequent prayers, who, much like thoughtless or indifferent children who only call their father on Fathers Day, only pray one special day a year--or when they need money or bailed out of a jam? Is He glad to finally hear from them, or irritated that it takes a specially designated day to get them to call? And how does His reaction to the prayers of those who pray infrequently compare to those who pray all the time? Are there frequent-prayer benefits? Or does God, like a TV-cable company, give special deals only to new or returning customers?

Does God pay more attention to prayers when lots of people are praising Him or sending Him requests at the same time? Are group prayers more effective because they're louder? Or because God is impressed when He receives a large number of prayers on the same day, much like a Congressman who, on a designated day, receives thousands of constituent calls and emails on pending health care legislation (but then, votes whatever way he had previously decided to anyway)? Or is it just that God prefers to get one big prayer, rather than lots of smaller, individual ones?

Is God more impressed by prayers if they're sent on a day when prayer is declared to be a "national" and/or "world," activity or, most awesomely, is a Facebook event with its own Facebook page and as of today, has over 4,000 Facebook users who "like" it?

And if God has a Plan, can God decide to change it in response to prayers? And if He can and does, wouldn't that have been His Plan all along?

The rational mind reels.

Boobquake: Shaking those who oppress women by trying to shake the earth

In support of science, skepticism, silliness, and sassiness--as well as (the non-alliterative) rationality--and to strike a blow against superstition, misogyny, and the oppression of women, I am, as previously announced, participating in the bold Boobquake experiment today. 

It took a while for me to decide what to wear, trying to find the line between immodesty that will "lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society" leading to an increase in earthquakes and not being completely inappropriate when I do my grocery shopping.

I contemplated which top or dress would balance the necessary sexiness without being too slutty. I hope I made a good choice.

As to concerns I've heard expressed, "What if there is a major earthquake on Boobquake day? Isn't there a risk that you might end up confirming the claim that women dressing in ways that make men go wild leads to earthquakes?" my son's girlfriend, who is also participating in Boobquake today, has a wonderful answer: "Then men ought to really fear us. We women are truly powerful."

Boobquake: A call to cleavage

On her Blag Hag blog, Jen McCreight describes herself as a "liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted atheist feminist," so I can't help but like her. And I'm joining her and thousands of other women for Boobquake on Monday, April 26.

Jen's call to cleavage came after a leading Iranian Muslim cleric, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, was quoted as saying, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes." 

In response to this yet another misogynistic claim, added to the others made by religious leaders and their followers for eons, that temptresses (which poor, poor, weak and utterly helpless men are powerless to resist) are the cause of the world's ills, from natural disasters such as earthquakes to the exile from Eden, Jen wrote:

On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake.

As a skeptic, feminist, and all-around ornery woman, I say to Sedighi and others of his women-fearing and women-blaming ilk: Pfffffftttt!

So, I intend to participate in Boobquake with great glee and my sass set in extreme mode.

1. Because I enjoy being silly and sassy and having the pearl clutchers wonder, "What's she up to now?!" And then worry, "And what will she do next?!"

2. Because I love mocking the eminently mockable, and ridiculing the ridiculous.

3. Because when someone tells me that I shouldn't do something (such as dress in a way they consider "immodestly"), I rather enjoy doing it.

4. Because all women should be able to wear what they want, not what others think they should wear, whether what they "ought" to wear is a burka, prairie dress, or thong.

Yeah, I've got the power of my boobs, and I'm going to wield that awesome power fiercely on Monday. I want to make the earth rock on Boobquake Day.