Broun and White

Thursday, 04 October 2012

This evening, I hosted yet another episode of Atheists Talk. For this episode, I interviewed three people about the Secular Parenting Group; the two founders and one other member.

Here’s a link to their Meet-up page.

We discussed why they formed their group, what they do, when they meet, and what they plan to do. For the last half of the 30-minute episode, I asked them to offer some of their suggested materials for non-religious parents and their children. Here are some of the resources they cited:

The Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children. A useful website.

Ruanaway Bunny. I’d never heard of this book before. It’s by the same author who wrote Goodnight Moon, but I’m not sure if this one is drug-inspired or not.

Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be, by Daniel Lexton.

The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau, by John Agee. I know this doesn’t sound like a book that addresses religion/science/doubt or anything like that…but if you read the book, you’ll see the connection.

Love Your Neighbor: Stories of Values and Virtues, by Arthur Dobrin.

Nurture Shock, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. This one’s for the adults, obviously. I’ve never read this one. I’ll have to add it to my never-ending list of books to read.

 Friday, 05 October 2012

Recently, Representative Paul Broun said that evolution and the Big Bang theory were lies straight from the pit of hell. He said it while standing in front of a bunch of mounted deer heads, which completely affirms my preconceived notions of people who decorate with decapitated caracasses.

Anyway, this was posted on YouTube today:

Are you ready for more shocking news? This guy is a Republican and (brace yourself)… he’s from Georgia – a state that once tried to leave the United States but that Abraham Lincoln (for some bizarre reason) decided to force back into the Union. Thanks, Abe, I’m so glad we still have Georgia.

Oh – and Representative Broun serves on Congress’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. So don’t worry, our policies and educational systems are in good hands.

Representative Paul Broun: Saving Americans from the pits of hell since 2010.

This being an election year, he’s running for office again. It appears he’s running unopposed, too.

Saturday, 06 October 2012

This evening, Owen and I finished reading The Trumpet of the Swan together. You won’t find it listed over on my List of Books I’ve Read This Year because I already read this book once before, and that list is only for books I’ve read for the first time this year.

I read The Trumpet about five years ago. It had always been a gap in my reading, I feel. When I was in second grade, my teacher read Charlotte’s Web to the class, and I loved it so much, I made my parents buy me a copy. Then, a couple of years later, my aunt bought me Stuart Little, which I quickly realized was written by the same author – E. B. White. On the back of both books, it listed the children’s books by Mr. White. Two of them, I had read. The other one – The Trumpet of the Swan – I had not read. I determined to read it one day…but over 20 years elapsed before I made good on that commitment to myself.

When Owen and I finished the book this evening, I said: “So, what did you think?”

He said: “I liked it. I will read it to Isla one day.”

Me: “What did you think when you found out Louis had a problem and was different from his brothers and sisters. Were you worried about him?”

Owen: “No, I don’t think about those things. I just think ‘I wonder what’s gonna happen to them next.'”

So, there you have it. A stellar review from White’s target audience. Read the book and find out what’s gonna happen next.