Today, July 21, 2011, an age of exploration and discovery came to an end.
Rarely does a simple youtube video re-invigorate my imagination and stir my emotions like this great compilation of the NASA Space Transportation System (STS) program by nature video.
From the summary:
The Space Shuttle fleet delivered the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and dozens of satellites, space probes, crew and supplies. Two Shuttles were lost: Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003. The touchdown of Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center marked the end of an era, after 135 missions. This video shows all of them in chronological order. http://www.nature.com/spaceshuttle
As the great astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson put it on July 8, the day of the final shuttle launch:
Many lament the shuttle era's end. But that's misplaced sentiment. Lament instead the absence of an era to replace it.
-@neiltyson (Neil deGrasse Tyson), 8-7-2011 13:30:35
Where do we go from here as Americans? Where do our dreams lie, if not in the great universe around us? Russia and China continue while we stop. What’s next? What will the next generation dream about as children? Will space be a thing of science fiction or a reachable, accessible experience to them? Will space travel be a product of business? I am completely ignorant of all that lies ahead.
Thank you, NASA, for the Shuttle program. It was grand.
Happy news! New York state passed a bill making gay marriage legal! And in the middle of all the twitter hubub and joyous shouts of happiness, I read this:
Best twitter status of my night! Congratulations to a twitter friend and one of my favorite youtubers, Mitch (ProfMTH)! This should never have been illegal. I am so glad for all the New Yorkers who can now enjoy the proper freedom they so rightly deserve.After 15 & 1/2 years, I asked my partner to marry me & he said yes. Thank you all for your support! Victory for equality is victory for all.
-@ProfMTH (Mitch), 25-6-2011 02:35:56
graphic by James Ellis
I follow the hashtag #atheism on twitter in order to keep abreast on what people are saying about religion and other controversial subjects. Often the content contains thoughtful discussion or bits of news that interests me, but much of it resembles typical “zinger” one-liner material: pithy 140-character messages that resemble confrontational bumper stickers instead of well-balanced arguments against religion. Yeah, I’ve done it too. I admit it! Twitter is the safe-haven of the verbal jab.
I spotted one such “zinger” today:
Without faith there could be no genocide, no racism, no bigotry; faith breeds evil. #christian #jesus #bible #god #atheism #islam #muslim
-@FlyingFree333 (Flying Free), 29-4-2011 13:30:22
I’ve certainly heard this hyperbolic argument before, and as an atheist I do not agree. I realize you cannot easily present a reasoned argument for an enormous claim like this on twitter, but even if there were paragraphs of explanation behind it I’m not sure I would ever be convinced that the sole reason for racism, bigotry, and genocide is faith. To avoid an argument about vocabulary; “faith,” could easily be replaced by “religion.”
I am far from being an expert, but I think there are sociological, psychological, and economic causes unrelated to religion that cause these problems in the world. Religion is certainly used to justify many horrible actions such as genocide (e.g. Deuteronomy 20:16-18) and slavery (e.g. the Curse of Ham). However, I do not think all religions or faiths bring about these results, nor do I think ruling out other causes for the evil in the world is wise.
I’d really like to have a discussion about this claim. Is faith the cause of genocide, racism, and bigotry?
And as a side question: What do you think about these kinds of pithy statements on twitter? Do you think they help anything or perhaps give atheists a bad name?
On my “wouldn’t that be rad sometime” wishlist: I’d really like a professionally designed logo for GodlessGirl.com; some help brainstorming other features for this site and fiddling with the template; and a matching re-do of my twitter background and avatar internet-wide.
Speaking of my avatar: I have a soft spot for my faceless cartoon girl. She’s anonymous like me, rather cute, and easily recognizable. I’m just not sure if I should stick with her. I threw her together last-minute when I needed an image for twitter back in ’09. Is she really a part of the Godlessgirl image? I’ve used the same avatar everywhere since I started this persona? I’m not sure how important she is to recognition and all that whatnot. Anyway, why am I harping on a stupid image?
The logo actually means something to me. I’d like to build a cohesive “look” to my site, but since I love changing the template once in a while, I’d like something that will grow with me and fit a few different looks.
If you’re interested in helping me, I’d like the text in Comic Sans with a Papyrus font change on mouseover. Also, if it could glitter like this and maybe make a sort of “glass crashing” noise when you click on it, that’d be soooooo cool. My goal is to gain exposure on this site.
Toodles!
Olin Thang on 
Cortez Frisch on 
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