The following article appears in the September 2015 issue of American Atheist Magazine.American Atheist is sold at Barnes & Noble, and a digital version is available via iTunes. Of course you can also SUBSCRIBE to it (hint, hint)._____________________ Toward a New Definition of Atheism by Hank FoxSooner rather than later, every fledgling Atheist gets swept up in the definitional debate. Atheism is this, Atheism is that, agnosticism is the other thing, and one disturbingly … [Read more...]
Red Neck Tales: Green Bean Jean (repost)
July 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Her name was Jean Mullen, but she called herself Green Bean Jean. She played bars in the small California mountain town where I lived at the time, and I first saw her on a night out with some of my mule-packer cowboy friends.She was either skinny and gawky or model-thin and infinitely elegant — it was a time in my earlier life when I was between opinions on women — they might be little girls or alluring goddesses, either one. Eventually, I came down on the side of the goddess.She sat on a … [Read more...]
A Young Artist’s Heartbreak
June 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
You ever have the experience of finding something in your head you didn’t know was there?I just had one of those moments. I’m not totally surprised to find it there — it’s based on a memory, after all. But it’s a leftover from, oh, about the age of 6 or so, and at my current age of 60, it’s just curious to find it still in there somewhere.It has to do with how I felt about Crayola crayons. And the memory bubbled up at this bit on the ColourLovers site: All 120 Crayon Names, Color Codes an … [Read more...]
Beta Culture: Earthman’s Journey – Part 2 of 8
April 24, 2013 by 96 Comments
[ Part 1 — 2 — 3— 4 — 5 — 6 – 7 — 8 ] Cowboyin' The early end of the beef industry involves a lot of labor at identifying and altering young bovines from their original, mint-condition wholeness to something more in line with human designs, as they make their first transition from free beasties to hamburger-on-the-hoof. The work can be done in sheer industrial efficiency, with metal chutes and shock prods and unconcerned hourly workers, or it can be done by working cowboys, in tune with a roman … [Read more...]
Tito the Mighty Hunter: Good Dead Things
November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Thinking about dogs tonight, so I'm reposting this bit from 2008:In most dog-related things, I was a fairly indulgent dad. But having my four-leggers roll in dead stuff, or go off into the brush and bring back something rotten, I had a hard time with that.Tito was especially bad about it.One summer day we were out along Varmint Creek hiking. I have this thing I sometimes do – I think of it as my super power – I hike and read at the same time. The subconscious Guardian Idiot that resides in … [Read more...]
The Brassican Heresy (repost)
July 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Warning: The following post is long, and may contain insults to French people. And Christians. And probably frogs.[Repost from Jan 18, 2012]______________________________I’d like to propose to you a daring hypothesis.You may be surprised by it. You may be stunned. You might even be shocked. Because this is such a daring idea, some of you reading this right now may actually be horrified. There’s even the possibility – distant, but real, so I have to warn you – that one or more people about … [Read more...]
