Online classes

At work today, just an ordinary day. Every day we get about 5 to 15 calls per day, from companies and people promoting their products and services. And of course, today was not different in number of calls. However, there is one call which stood out.

I answer the phone, and there is a woman's voice on the other end of the line, saying "Hello". So, I say Hello as well. The woman continues in atrocious English, or rather in a language that tried to sound and resemble English. Anyway, she said that she was calling from Spain or Pakistan... (yes, her language skills were that atrocious.) And what does she sell?

Online Qu'ran classes!

I am not joking. Anyway, I answered her thus: "No, thank you. I do not believe in god, allah or any of that other shit. Good bye." The woman managed to say "bye" before I hang up the phone.

And seriously, I do not know whether to laugh or cry at the above...

Pharyngulated!

It's official.
The greek atheists' english version of the blog is online and you can read it here: http://english.atheia.gr
The very good news is that we got pharyngulated: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/greece_has_got_atheists.php
Thank you PZ, for reading my e-mail and promoting our efforts.

Thoughts on christian non-answers...

In a greek forum I have many times argued with a fundamentalist greek orthodox. Whatever I ask, he avoids to answer, and he always brings forth the following arguments, to which I am presenting my own thoughts:

• You do not know anything about the orthodox christian faith:  I have been born and raised in Greece, and I was baptized in the orthodox christian faith as a baby. My grandmother and my godmother were very faithful and used to force me and took me to church with them. They tried to make me believe in orthodox christianity, I even was sent to Sunday school, to catechism. It did not work. There was too much irrationality. From the story of Adam and Eve to the stories about the lives of the various saints, a lot of things do not make sense, and I could not make sense of those, could not see their logic. Because there is no logic in faith. As Carl Sagan put it: Faith is belief without evidence. As I grew up, I started to understand more and more, that really Sagan is right, that there is no logic in belief, in faith. One has to blindly believe, never question your faith and your beliefs, never question the reality of all these... Because the day you start asking questions, is the day that you start seeing faith for what it really is: a big fat lie. 
• You do not understand the christian orthodox faith: On the contrary, I understand it very well. I have seen blind faith and what it can do. Unfortunately, blind faith only brings out evil. Because when you do not ask questions,  but you blindly follow what you are given, then you just become a pawn to an idea, an organization. And, in this case, you become a slave to that idea, a pawn, a foot-soldier lying for Jesus. This faith makes people feel guilty for simple human things, from swearing and cursing to having sex, and many other things. This faith keeps people ignorant and illiterate, fills their heads with misogyny and racism, I unfortunately understand it very well, and have witnessed many of its forms and expressions. 
• Find a confessor/spiritual father from the church: this is a total non-answer! I do not want to go to a priest, confessor whatever from the church. I do not trust them. They know nothing about psychology, I do not think that they can help anyone. The only thing that those "spiritual fathers" will do is try to fill me with guilt for everything I do, make me feel inferior, try to imprison my spirit, and make me another foot-soldier for Jesus. I have explained many times that I do not trust confessors. With a 6 month seminary they go through, they cannot know and understand psychology. How can they diagnose a serious psychological illness such as monopolar/bipolar syndroms, schizophrenia, and more?
• Read a book about the orthodox christian faith: This another evasive tactic. I do not want to read another book about the orthodox christian faith, What more can this book tell me from the Bible or from what the various priests and bishops say? And what is my stimulus to get one of these books and read it? Is there anyone giving me a good reason to do so? None at all. However, I have taken a look at various such books in bookstores. I have opened them and tried to read a few paragraphs, to see if they had something interesting to say, if there was something that would make me buy and read that book. So far, I have not found anything positive in those books. All they say is just the same old stuff that the christian faith says: repent sinners, you will burn in hell, do not do this, do not do that... In short, they are forbidding people from living their lives...

And of course, the last non-argument, and the one that is never going to convince me to become a believer:

• You have to believe first in order to find god: if I have nothing to believe in, if I don't have evidence for what I believe in, how can I even start believing? How many faithful have really found god? There are a lot of faithful who have never found this entity. And there are a lot of atheists who were faithful, and never found god. When those people looked for god, looked for answers, they saw that there is nothing there. No god. There is absolutely no evidence at this moment for god, for the existence of such an entity. And I am not only talking about the christian orthodox faith, but about all religions. I have met a lot of people online, a lot of people who once were fundamentalists, creationists and the like. Some of them were even priests, or were trying to be, and have studied the scriptures, have studied apologetics, they had gone the whole way. But when they looked deeper, and tried to find god, they did not find what they were looking for. To their credit, these people did not close their eyes and go back to their blankets of faith. They went deeper, they followed their logic, their critical thinking, the evidence. A lot of faithful would say that those people did not believe enough, that their faith was lacking and other similar arguments. But those people did believe, they felt that faith, those beliefs with all their hearts, with all their being.

The above do not constitute answers, nor arguments for god and for a religion. They are evasions, apologetics, a tactic for those who do not want to have a rational and intelligent discussion, who do not want to engage in dialogue or debate. I am ready and willing to have such a discussion, but when I ask questions, and the answers are always the above, then how do these people expect me to start believing? How can they expect me to throw my logic, my critical thought, my freedom out of the window? Where are the arguments for the existence of god? Where is the evidence? And what evidence is there that the orthodox faith is the one true faith, and not another, like islam or catholicism, or even one of the cargo cults?

Doctor Who - Season 5 - Matt Smith

And here we are with the 11th Doctor: Matt Smith! I finished watching Season 5 on Monday, and I must say that Matt Smith has managed to win me over. Of course, David Tennant is still my favorite doctor, but Matt Smith convinced me that he is the Doctor, almost since the beginning of the 5th season.

New Doctor, new companion, and her name is Amy Pond. A redhead, sometimes naive but full of life, Amy Pond is a bit of a mystery since the beginning. A mystery that does and does not unravel at the end of the series. The cracks are following Amy, but why? Or are they following the Doctor? But why is it that they appear whenever Amy is around?

Along with Amy, we have her fiancee, Rory Williams. I must admit that I was skeptical at first about Rory. I thought he was another Mickey Smith, and did not want him along. But Rory managed to surprise me, and show that he is nothing like Mickey, not in the least. Initially, he does not want to get into trouble, does not want the hassle; but soon he starts to like it, and shows both courage and a huge heart. Especially when it comes to Amy, for whom he sacrifices a lot. I think that Rory provided the glue to the whole relationship between Amy, the Doctor and himself. And I definitely want him there with Amy, as the Doctor's companions.

And then, we have the return of River Song, and her mysterious relationship with the Doctor. Who is River Song? How does she know so much about the Tardis? What is her relationship with the Doctor? River is a mystery even for the Doctor at the moment, as shown from this exchange at the end of the season:

The Doctor: River... who are you?
River: You're going to find out very soon now. And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes.

And of course, along with the Doctor, we want to know the mystery that is River Song.

As for this season, it definitely was a good season. The first episode, the Eleventh Hour prepares the ground for the rest of the season, and for the main plot, which is the cracks in spacetime. What are those? What caused them? And why do they have the same shape everywhere they appear?

The return of the Angels from the 3rd season episode Blink, is one of the best moments of the season, and it comes with River Song. She seems to be everywhere in this season. This double episode managed to scare me. It was a bit claustrophobic, a bit terrifying...

And here we are talking about the end of the season. About the season finale, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang. What exactly is the Pandorica? Why does Van Gogh see the destruction of the Tardis? Why and how did all the enemies of the Doctor, from the Daleks to the Sontarans and beyond, manage to ally with each other?

Of course, we could not have the end of the season without River Song. She did say to the Doctor, in the Angels episodes, that she was present when the Pandorica opened.

But what did happen at the end? We already had our suspicions about the cracks in spacetime, and what caused them. However, the end of the season leaves us with more questions than it answered.

This was one of the best season endings I have ever watched. Although it gives some closure, it creates lots more questions. And I want River Song back in the next season.

Doctor Who is at the moment the best science fiction TV show, if not the best TV show. And really I have been won by Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor.

Waiting now, for the Christmas Special. Looks like Rory and Amy are going to spend their honeymoon on the Orient Express.

Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

I have stopped counting which book of the Discworld I am reading. There are over 30 books, if I am not mistaken, and I do have most of them. And those I do not have I will buy. Reading Discworld novels is a totally new experience. You never read it in trains, planes and automobiles of any kind, because people will think you are crazy since you will end up laughing and doing all sorts of weird gestures.

Lords and Ladies is no exception to the rule. This novel features our little coven, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Margrat. The three witches have come back to Lancre, and Margrat Garlick is going to marry King Verence II and become Queen. Of course, things are not so simple, as the Elves are coming back. And no, these are not the elves of fantasy novels, these are the elves of Discworld! They want everything for themselves, and do not care who they hurt. But they have not counted on our three witches...As the back of the book says, there is also an assortment of wizards, monkeys apes, dwarfs and other creatures.

This is Pratchett's take on A Midsummer Night's Dream. But there is more in this book; it is not just a humorous take on a classic. They are beautiful and graceful, or so they appear; but they are also egotistical, cruel and sadistic. They are the two sides of the same coin. On one side what we want and on the other side what we should avoid being. For what is beauty and grace without a soul? They also show that people will fall for money, power or for their inner desires; especially when those desires are not being released in some way, if there are things that are stopping us from pursuing our true dreams.

We make choices, and sometimes hard choices. Even if we regret those choices, even if we look back and see that we made mistakes, we should not linger in the past. We should move forward and continue living. This is what Granny Weatherwax has done; whatever her choice was in the past, she has stuck with it, and has continued to live. And Nanny Ogg? Nanny Ogg is the one who is living her life as best as she can. Never misses an opportunity, and neither should we. Margrat shows us that there is strength in everyone, and that everyone can find the strength to stand up and fight for what we believe.

Pratchett's books look innocent enough, but there is much more to discover reading them. The Discworld is not just a humorous take on our world, it is also a way for Pratchett to show us his own view of our world, and most of the times, it is a view that I agree with.

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

A few people had recommended to me to start reading the Dresden Files. I had seen the one-season TV series, and I was intrigued by it. Now, I can see that the books are probably a lot better than the series ever was.

The story is not an original one. A bad wizard is killing people, and Harry Dresden, our protagonist, lands in the middle of this case. A lot of people think that Harry may be the killer, because of his past. So, Harry must risk his life in order to find and stop the killer. And he must do it, before the killer manages to murder him in the same gory way as his other victims.

As I said, it is not so much the story or the world Jim Butcher builds in his novel, that are original. We have seen a lot of similar worlds and similar stories. What is original though is Harry himself. Because we go through the whole book from the perspective of Harry. It is written in the first person, by Harry. And Harry is not some larger than life character, nor is he someone who would go in a situation without knowing the consequences. He does know, and he is afraid. And a lot of other emotions go through him, and through the pages of the book through us.

The writing style of Jim Butcher is what makes this novel work. It is as if Butcher has been writing for a long time, he is confident with his characters, with Harry himself. He knows Harry Dresden, but he is also discovering him through the pages of the book. And with Jim Butcher we discover Harry and the world he lives in.

Well, I would like to see how the story of Harry continues, in due time. There are other books to sink my eyes in, before the next Dresden one.

Spiral of a dying star

Wonderful photo isn't it? Again the Hubble Space Telescope shows us an incredible photo. And no, we are not interested in the star that is visible here, but in the faint spiral at the left of the star.

The spiral is made from material ejected by a red giant star, a star that is at the end of its life cycle. It has already burnt all its hydrogen, transformed it through nuclear fusion into helium , and it is now transforming helium into carbon, again through a process of nuclear fusion.

The spiral is due to the fact that the red giant star has a companion, another star, and the gravitational influence of the companion star "pushes" the material into a spiral.

Another very interesting fact is that the spiral is being lit, not by the binary star, but by galactic starlight!

More on the Hubble photograph here: An Extraordinary Celestial Spiral
The short scientific article is here, free for download: A Binary-Induced Pinwheel Outflow from the Extreme Carbon Star, AFGL 3068

Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton

This is Laurell K. Hamilton's first book in the Anita Blake series. Anita Blake's actual work is to be an animator. She animates dead people for a few hours so that their loved ones can say goodbye or get information or both. But, in the world of vampires, Anita Blake is also known as The Executioner. And that is because Anita has killed her fair share of vampires. Now, someone is killing vampires. And the master vampire of the city wants her to find out who and why.

As I said, this is Hamilton's first book in the Anita Blake series. I would say that this one might qualify as horror, as there are a few scary moments. And it has vampires. Okay, today's view of vampires is a romantic one, and Hamilton does not change that on one side. But, Anita knows the truth about vampires. And she has the scars to prove it. We see the vampires from Anita's side, and in her view, vampires are inhuman beasts.

Add in this book a contingent of zombies and ghouls, a vampire which is attracted to Anita, and tries to protect her, and you have a good mixture of horror, fantasy and crime fiction. And in this book it works.

Hamilton's writing style is quite enjoyable, and I loved seeing the world she builds through Anita's eyes. How she views the world, how she interacts with vampires, what she wants and what she can actually do. And there is the difference between most vampire books today. While a lot of writers still cling to the "romantic side", Hamilton does not. Although, in her world, vampires are seen by some people in that light, we see them in another light: we see them as they feed, as they kill, as they do a lot of ugly things. In Anita's words: "A good vampire is a dead one."

Hamilton gives a good background to her characters, the human ones at least, and that makes them more real, more believable. Her characters though are not perfect; and certainly Anita is not. And this one more point for the book as a whole. Because Anita is not a "larger than life" character; she is human, with her flaws, and her strengths, her advantages, and her disadvantages. This is also true of all the characters in the book. Even the vampires are not just beasts; they have their characters, with their strengths and their flaws.

I have been told that the later books degenerate from what has been a good start. I do not know, as this is the first book I have read. I will continue to read more of her books, and write about them.

Death Du Jour - Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan is called to a fire, where several people died. Not all of them though died in the fire, and the fire was definitely not an accident. On the other hand, Tempe has to find out the truth about a nun who lived at the time of the smallpox epidemic in Montreal.

This is Kathy Reichs: second novel featuring Temperance Brennan, and I liked this one much more than the first one. Having read this second novel, I think of the first one more of someone trying to find their pace, their style, their character in writing. And with the second one, Kathy Reichs becomes more confident in her writing. She seems to have found her pace, and her writing character.

Reichs sets a different pace with this book.And we are also interrupted by Tempe's search for the truth about Elisabeth Nicolet. Are the interruptions just for the sake of pacing the action or do they work in context? I think they work in context. We do find out more about Tempe's work, that it is not just murders, and crimes, but that it can be also for historical purposes. I did find myself in some pages of the book wanting to learn about Nicolet and who she was. The story of Elisabeth Nicolet is interesting on her own, we are shown glimpses of the past, of the society, of how people perceived certain things in that time period.

I liked the theme of the first novel, but really loved the theme of this second novel. The main theme is cults and how these can affect someone's life, how some charismatic people who think they are the new messiahs, lure desperate people into their delusion or scam. Sometimes these cult leaders are scammers, sometimes they are just delusional.

Kathy Reichs manages to show how dangerous cults are, how tehir leaders try and manipulate other people to do their bidding, even to the point of telling them who they can and cannot love. She has done her homework, extensive research into cults, before writing this novel. And this is one of the things that I love abouther books: no junk science, as far as I can tell.


And of course, I will read the next novel in the series. It already sits on my next to read book pile, ready to be opened and enjoyed.

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction - Drew Karpyshyn

I am a Star Wars fangirl. I admit that. I have almost all Star Wars novels and other assorted books. I love the Star Wars world, and especially the fight between Sith and Jedi.

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is set about 1000 years before the events of the classic trilogy, about 3000 years after Revan saved the Republic in the KOTOR game.

Dessel is a miner on Apatros. Due to a killing of a Republic soldier, Dessel must run. He joins the Sith army and his potential in the Force is seen by one of the Dark Lords, Kopecz. He is taken in the Academy at Korriban, and there he takes the name of Bane and learns the ways of the Dark Side. Bane will be the destroyer of the Sith, but also the builder of a new Sith era. But for the rest, it's better to read the book.

As a whole, the book is one of the best in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, with good characters. You believe Bane, and you want him to succeed despite him being a Sith Lord. You want him to have his revenge, you want him to end the war and start his new rule. Except for Bane, there was also another Sith Lord I very much liked in this book: Kas'im, Bane's main instructor. And I would love to have even a short story about this Dark Lord, and how he became part of the Brotherhood of Darkness.

As for the writing, Drew Karpyshyn does well for a newbie writer. He has his problems, but I think that they are mostly associated with his writing for games rather than anything else. His action scenes were well described, well done, and were some of the best written parts of the book. Also, the chapters when Bane is on Ambria are also well written.

Some parts though needed to be a bit refined. Some of the dialogue seemed like it was written for games, it is too short, and at times, I was left with the impression that there were more things that should have been said. There were some chapters, especially when Bane is at the Academy on Korriban which needed something more. Too short? Too little detail? There was a bit of the "game" writing in that, which is not always bad, but needed a bit more colour, and more detail.

All in all, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I was one of those people who played KOTOR at least 5-6 times in a row, and I love the Old Republic, and the whole Jedi vs.Sith adventure. I wish I had the time to play the online Star Wars The Old Republic game, but with my very limited time and my unreliable net connection at times, it's not very possible for the present.