Rational Crank

It just so happens that the Space Shuttle’s return trajectory takes it directly over my home, here in Orlando.   Each time, it passes overhead, early in the morning, I am suddenly jolted awake by two loud bangs.   The sonic booms rattle the windows of my old house and scare the cat.   On every one of those occasions I smile briefly, roll over in bed and fall back to sleep, content.   I am content not only in knowing that a group of fellow human beings is now once again safe   on mother earth but also content in the knowledge that there is another group of brave people still in space.   Like most Americans, I find immense inspiration in manned space flight.   I believe that the trip to the moon was, hands down, humanities greatest achievement.   I am sorry to see the Shuttle program come to an end, which is why it is hard for me to admit that I also believe that the decision to end the shuttle program was the right thing to do.   Because of th...

I just saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part deuce . Loved it. It was much better than the last movie, Harry Potter and the Wandering Aimlessly for Two Hours . I’m going to talk specifics about the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet put your fingers in your ears and sing “La, la la,” for a few minutes. I just want to make a quick statement about a minor controversy going around concerning Potter and religion. No, I’m not going to address the fear some Christians express that J.K. Rollins books are bad because they contain magic. I’m going to brush that aside as quickly as if I had a flying broom. CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is full of magic and Christians don’t have a problem with that. So I’m calling poppycock on that controversy. I’m talking about the other popular opinion going around: that Harry Potter himself is a Christ figure because he is willing to sacrifice himself for humanity (or at least for all of Wizard-dum.) On that observation, I’m going to have to sa...

Check out the the magazine The Humanist for July/August.  They were kind enough to publish two, count them TWO , of my articles.  I wrote Real to Reel , which is a list of my favorite Humanist films.  I also interviewed Andrea Steele, Founder and Executive Director of the Freethought Film Festival , held last month in Tampa.  I hope you enjoy the read.