It’s this guy to the right. David Silverman, Vice President and Communications Director of the American Atheists.
Now, he’s not a jackass for being Atheist. I support atheism. I mean it’s really a silly thing to argue about here on earth. One day we’ll either die and find out atheists are wrong, or we’ll die and won’t be doing anything at all, so what’s the purpose of arguing about it. To me, it’s the same as if Muslims want to fast during Ramadan. It doesn’t bother me, so why would we argue about it.
But this where Silverman steps into new territory.
You see, there’s a stretch of highway in Utah. And the good people who live in Utah decided they should remember state patrol officers who died in the line of duty by placing white crosses on the highway. This seems like a nice thing to do, no?
Well apparently folks like Silverman are so insulted by this affront to atheists, that since 2005 — YES 2005 — he’s been going to court to stop this.
Here’s a guy with apparently so little to do, that he’s going to go out of his way to stop a tribute to honorable people who lost their lives doing an honorable job, just because the memorials are in the shape of a cross.
Now, if the Utah wanted to call the stretch of road, “Highway to Heaven” or “Ascension Blvd” I might follow the Separation of Church and State argument. Same if before every Jazz game fans had to recite a pledge to God and remember the 14 dead. Along those lines if all fast food restaurants in Seattle were closed during daylight hours during Ramadan, or if no one could serve meat of Fridays during Lent, I’d throw a fit.
But really, do we need to protest crosses memorializing fallen officers, especially in a state based on religion? I say no. And I think it warrants Silverman and his cronies for some sort of jacka$$ award. So if that gets me kicked out of atheist heaven, so be it.
I mean, do you have something better?
You may have seen parts of this saga, but just in case you didn’t follow it all the way through.
So FIRST, watch the new Huntsville Alabama clip that got the whole thing started…
Chilling, no?.
THEN watch what a few clever kids did to it..
It doesn’t end there..
The Huntsville TV crew goes to work, and does a follow up story..
And you know what’s coming, right. .
Antoine Dodson is basically now the new Old Spice Man…With an Ed Hardy T-Shirt no less…Go see http://www.antoine-dodson.com/. A lesson to Snookie and anyone else negotiating for reality TV duckets – characters are everywhere.
“Honey, you’ll protect me if there’s a fly ball, right?”
“Absolutely dear.”
“OW!” You said you’d protect me!!!”
“Well not if it’s hit THAT hard…”
Not many people under the age of 55 would disagree with the idea that local news needs to be reworked. In previous times, the local anchor was one of a few links between the scary, confusing news story and the viewer who needed it explained.
But over time, that bond has eroded. Some would argue the anchor did not evolve with the rest of the news gathering process. Most of us are more than comfortable being our own editor. We navigate from website to website, focusing on topics we self-select in filters and rss readers.
So what role does the news anchor play now? Down in Houston, KIAH is going to see if that answer is, “They don’t have a role.”
Word is that KIAH will try an anchorless newscast. The concept is still a work in progress, so no other insight is available. But an anchorless newscast enables a wide range of sweeping changes in the local news. At the very least, the 4 talking heads could be consolidated into a single one, news magazine and national newscast style. And managing editors could be guided by popular opinion or some form of viewer input.
Will people watch a TV screen that has no differentiation from a YouTube channel or web site? Either way, it will be an interesting to story to follow.
Check out these images from the Huffington Post. I have no idea if developing a bus to drive OVER cars is technologically possible, but it’s an interesting notion to think about.
Xav and I are looking forward to teaching the workshop on Social Media Monday at the School of Visual Concepts. If you are attending and want to cheat, here’s a list of some of the pages we’ll be talking about.
See everyone tomorrow.
What? That’s a stupid headline. How could the U.S.A. possibly not qualify for a sport in which we have the premier talent in the world and won a gold medal in 2008? Ludicrous.
Or is it?
1) The 1st way for the U.S. to qualify for the 2012 Olympics is by winning the FIBA World Championship in August/September, aka the World Cup of Basketball. Seems doable, right? Well, they haven’t won this event since 1994, though they have earned 2 bronze medals since then. But the Redeem Team is live and well right? It’s a new era of commitment, yes? Well according to reports, that commitment does not extend all the way to Turkey, host country of this year’s tournament. Be it distance or safety concerns, the top USA players look to be choosing to sit this one out.
Ok, so we don’t win in Turkey. What’s next?
2) Well the next event is the FIBA America’s Tournament in 2011. This is a decidedly easier tourney, as the only real relevant power is Argentina, who the U.S. beat by 37 in the 2007 Finals. In fact, take away LeBron’s game high 31 points, and the U.S. still wins. HOWEVER, here comes the NBA lockout in 2011. USA Basketball is run by the NBA now. Lockout the players from club teams, they become ineligible for USA basketball as well. So, now the U.S. goes to the tourney with the best college team they can field.
Uh, oh. What’s next?
3) Well, there’s a last resort, as 3 teams can qualify in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifier, designed as a last chance for the best of the worst to sneak in. This is how Greece, Croatia and Germany got into the 2008 Games. It runs July 2 – July 8, 2012, just before the Olympics. So, we would have to hope that the 2011-2012 lockout gets done before June 2012. Or that common sense prevails and USA Basketball lets the guys play either way.
Now, there’s another doomsday scenario. Say the USA does win next month and qualifies, but the lockout extends from fall 2011 all the way through summer 2012. Who plays then?
Think you are being efficient with your home? Check out this 344′ apartment in Hong Kong. (content sourced from the social3i.com blog.