Shit that Pissed me off This Week – 4/5
New York’s Cardinal Dolan wants to Improve the Catholic Church’s Message about Gay Marriage
Oh that’s great Cardinal! I’m glad to see that a high-ranking member of the Catholic Church finally realizes that the Church has no right to make moral judgements for those individuals who aren’t Catholic and you’d stay out of the political arena and…wait a minute.
No. That’s not what he thinks at all. He wants gay people to know that sex is only OK if you are trying to produce offspring so while it is totally OK to be gay, you can’t actually have sex or be married or anything like that. Gay people are totally entitled to friendship, though.
He also wants gay people to know that the Catholic Church is not anti “anybody.” They don’t hate gay people. They just want to make sure that gay people know they aren’t permitted to sexual fulfillment the way straight people are.
I came up with a new message! What do you guys think?
So basically, the difference between gay guys having male friends who are gay and me having male friends who are gay is a lifetime of unresolved sexual tension? I bring this up an awful lot but you know what? If that is really what god wants for gay people, god is a dick.
How about you work on improving that message, Cardinal?
Geeks Without God Talks About Conventions!
This week, we brought our friend Matt Savelkoul back to the podcast so we could talk about conventions and atheism. We are appearing at the Skep-Tech conference this weekend so the episode works as sort of a set-up for that appearance. Actually, we spend most of the podcast talking about CONvergence because that is the convention all of us know the best. Given the breadth of the topic, it’s pretty amazing that we managed to keep the podcast under one hour.
Matt also gets to ask us five questions because he’s been on the podcast before. I gotta say that I love having return guests because as much as I enjoy our five questions, I enjoy the change up when someone gets to ask their own questions because it’s different every time. I also like spending time talking about what I like. That’s why I’m co-hosting a podcast, I expect.
One final bonus, if you listen to the podcast, you can find out how to win a free copy of Atheist Voices of Minnesota! That’s cool, right?
Die Hard – The Swede
If I were ever a super hero, or so I’ve imagined, I would be known as Offensive Racial Stereotype lad. I bring that up because at CONvergence this year, I played a small role in a Swede of Die Hard and my super hero alter ego came out to play.
I have a small role but it is one that will ensure I shall never be welcome in Japan. The punishment, without a doubt, fits the crime.
Nearly six months later, the Swede is done and it was worth the wait. Enjoy!
Alphabetical Movie – John Carter
When it comes to evaluating a movie in terms of how well it meshes with the source material, I’m not a great judge. I read all the time but almost everything I read is non fiction. I like reading about history, religion, nature and a host of other topics.
I also love reading fiction but here’s why I don’t: I can’t stop.
I don’t want to know what is going to happen in the middle of the story. I want to know how the story ends. In order to know that, I need to slog through the middle and I want to do that as quickly as possible.
Another Podcast? What is it with me?
I’m a bit behind on this one but last week’s Renaissance Music Podcast was recorded live at CONvergence 2012. The Dregs performed two live songs for the podcast and I also told a story about a time I tore up my knee for comedy. The good folks at the podcast regularly feature Dregs music so if you are a fan of the Dregs or you want to hear some funny stories about working at the Renaissance Festival, please check them out.
Yes, yes, I KNOW we need a Bigger Boat
Note: These are my thoughts about some of the issues facing CONvergence. They should not be construed as policy decisions, policy recommendations or as a dismissal of the point of view of anyone making suggestions for the convention. I’m just thinking out loud.
Once CONvergence is over, the inevitable parade of commentary begins on what would help make the convention better. I don’t hate this commentary. I welcome it. One comment we hear almost constantly is ”x panel needs a bigger room” and while the comment is absolutely fair, the response is not so easy.
Geeks Without God Episode 2!
Hey everyone! Episode 2 of Geeks Without God went live this morning! Recorded in front of a live audience at CONvergence, we talked to Kammy Lyon of Skepchick.org about SkepchickCon and coming out as an atheist.
It’s only 30 minutes long! Go listen!
I don’t want you to feel comfortable about being a bigot
I wrote a radio play for Vaudevilification Tennis and because the show took place during Pride, I decided to include a “public service announcement” against the gay marriage ban. My opinion on the issue should be clear but I saw a good opportunity for some comedy that also made a statement that is important to me.
When it came time to put that script in the CONvergence show, I initially balked at the idea of including the public service announcement because I felt that CONvergence is not a political convention and the announcement might be out of place.
Two things changed my mind.
CONvergence 2012 Highlights
There were a few low points at CONvergence 2012 but they aren’t even worth mentioning. Most of them had to do with last minute planning failures and my complete inability to sleep past 7:30, even when I went to sleep at 5:00 A.M.
So forget that stuff, here’s some of my best moments from CONvergence 2012 (more or less in chronological order):
Alphabetical Movie – Inglourious Basterds
I was at a panel about Tarantino films at CONvergence this weekend. Because the convention theme was Wonder Women, the panel was about Tarantino as a “feminist” filmmaker.
I’m not going to rehash the entire panel but the question of Tarantino as a feminist filmmaker is a complex one. Some of his films pass the Bechdel test but by no means all of them. Inglourious Basterds, for instance, does not.
