I wonder though, what’s their deal with Jews? Do crazy conspiracy nuts tend toward antisemitism as a default? If so, what does that mean for Jewish conspiracy nuts?

The Truth: Makeup enhances the contrast of the human face, allowing for faster recognition of gender.

Read more at You Are Not So Smart, one of my new favorite blogs.

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin Of Species: A Graphic Adaptation
by Michael Keller

The Tangled Bank
by Carl Zimmer

Evolution, Second Edition
By Douglas J. Futuyma

Evidence of Evolution
by Susan Middleton and Mary Ellen Hannibal

Evolution: The story of life
by Douglas Palmer

Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
by Daniel Loxton

Rapture Ready!
by Daniel Radosh

Evolution vs. Creationism, 2nd edition
by Eugenie C. Scott

Scientists have revealed that there is not one but two types of killer whale living in UK waters. Each differs in its appearance and diet, with males of one type being almost two metres longer than the other.

The killer whales could be at an early stage of becoming two separate species, the researchers say. The international group of scientists has published its results in the journal Molecular Ecology.

“It’s exciting to think about two very different types of killer whale in the waters around Britain,” says Dr Andy Foote from the University of Aberdeen, UK, who undertook the study.

J.D. Salinger

Kids who don’t fit in (duh).

Stephenie Meyer

People who type like this: OMG. Mah fAvvv <3 <3.

Lauren Weisberger

Girls who can’t read. Or think.

Christopher Hitchens

People I would love to hang out with.

Leo Tolstoy

Guys I want to date.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Guys I want to sleep with. (The difference between the two Russian authors lies in the fact that I think the Underground Man is sexier than Pierre Buzukhov).

Ayn Rand

Workaholics seeking validation.

Jane Austen (or Bronte Sisters)

Girls who made out with other girls in college when they were going through a “phase”.

Charles Dickens

Ninth graders who think they’re going to be authors someday but end up in marketing.

William Shakespeare

People who like bondage.

Mark Twain

Liars.

Thomas Aquinas

Premature ejaculators.

H.P. Lovecraft

People who can quote the Comic Book Guy from Simpsons.

C.S. Lewis

Youth group leaders who picked their nose in the 4th grade.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Men who can’t lie but will instead be silent if they know you don’t want to hear the truth.

Richard Dawkins

People who have their significant other grab them under the table in order to shut them up whenever someone else at a dinner says something absolutely ridiculous and wrong.

She missed an obvious one, though — people who say their favorite author is God…

My question is: how do people know if NDE’s actually occurred at the time the brain was shut down? Couldn’t it have happened right before or after? In those few seconds the entire NDE could have happened.

• Beyond Belief: Science, Reason, Religion & Survival (2006)
• Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0 (2007)
• Beyond Belief: Candles in the Dark (2008)

Lots of good stuff in there, be sure to check it out.

In the ongoing battle between science and religion, the forces of rationalism have been hampered by an 800-lb gorilla firmly planted in its corner. The question of why the universe exists at all has variously been called “the first of all questions” and the “Primordial Existential Question.” It has been phrased by both Leibniz and Heidegger as “Why is there something rather than nothing?” while Steven Hawking wonders, “Why does the Universe bother to exist?” Religion triumphantly proclaims the answer: because God the Prime Creator made it all. Unable to come up with a counter argument, Rationalists have just shrugged and meekly suggested that the answer may be outside the realm of science.

As long as theism provides the only solution, it will continue to dominate debate and sway the public mind on the question of “creation.” However, I believe we may now be able to provide an entirely scientific and rational answer to this most profound of questions. The article below exposes how the “God answer” falls short and provides a 5-step analysis of how an eternal universe – with no beginning or end – can be understood through application of contemporary science. This revelation describes a universe that “bothers to exist” on its own terms, effectively eliminating the need for God as Prime Creator.

A 24-year-old ski lift operator who fatally shot the general manager of the Eldora ski area was determined to kill co-workers who weren’t Christian, according to court records obtained Thursday.

The documents, filed Wednesday in Boulder District Court, said witnesses told authorities that Derik Bonestroo walked into a building at work, fired a gun into the ceiling and said: “If you’re not Christian, you’re going to die.”

General manager Brian Mahon was shot and killed Dec. 30 at the ski area west of Nederland, Colo., in Boulder County.

Witnesses said when Bonestroo asked Mahon’s religion, Mahon said “Catholic” and Bonestroo shot him twice: in the chest and head.

If I were there, I would have said I was a Christian. I have no problem lying to a madman to save my life. If he didn’t believe me, I’d have asked Jesus into my heart right there to prove it. And then if I had a chance, I would have tried to get his gun and shoot him before he hurt anyone else. Psychopath.

Of course, he’s not a real Christian. Just a poser. He didn’t really believe. Thought I’d anticipate that comment in advance.

It’s not like God would ever want someone to do that. I mean, he didn’t ask Abraham to wrap up and kill his only son, did he? He never told his chosen people to massacre another nation and slaughter all their women, children and animals, right? God is love and would never ask a human being to hurt another!

(via)