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"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider to be God-fearing and pious."
-Aristotle (343 B.C.)
We each go through life gathering meaning from experience, observed through the filter of our unique perspectives. Defined by genetics, shaped by environment, driven by our innate curiosity, we are compelled to move forward in our endeavors.
I believe it's our duty as beings of rational thought, the only known consciousness in the Universe, to do everything in our power to survive, to learn, and to teach. We must grant the gift of scholarship to those who follow us. Knowledge is power, and our only hope.
Losing the great Library of Alexandria is a heavy price for precious insight. The modern world that surrounds us is a testament to the wonders of Science. No longer can it sit in an ivory tower of abstract theories and mathematical proofs. Popularizing Science is the best way to heed Carl Sagan's warning that we 'never let it happen again'.
Books:
Affirmations: Joyful and Creative Exuberance
by Paul Kurtz
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
by Carl Sagan
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
by Christopher Hitchens
Storm of Steel
by Ernst Junger
Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena
by Brian Dunning
Odd Thomas
by Dean Koontz
The Colors of Magic Anthology
Edited by Jess Lebow
Thinner
by Stephen King
Hand of Fire - Shandril's Saga Book 3
by Ed Greenwood
Elminster in Hell
by Ed Greenwood
The Magician's Guild - Black Magician Trilogy Book One
by Trudi Canavan
The Novice - Black Magician Trilogy Book Two
by Trudi Canavan
On A Pale Horse
by Piers Anthony
The Hobbit
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
TV:
Science Channel
History Channel
Carl Sagan's Cosmos
House
Firefly
MST3K
Rurouni Kenshin
Cowboy Bebop
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Escaflowne
Movies:
LotR
Serenity
Back to the Future
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Godfather I and II
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The Great Mouse Detective
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers - To The Rescue
Saw and Hostel
Music:
Classical
40s and 50s Swing
Bob Crosby
Folk and Acoustic
Food:
Polish, Irish, and Italian dishes. Sushi would be my most exotic culinary experiment.
Video games:
(NES)
Double Dragon
Legend of Zelda I, II
Mega Man 2-6
Kirby's Adventure
Super Mario 1-3
Crystalis
Dragon Quest
Tiny Toons 1, 2
Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers 1, 2
Duck Tales 1, 2
Darkwing Duck
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(Playstation 3)
Castlevania: SotN
GTA
Legacy of Kain
Soul Reaver
Final Fantasy Chronicles
Metal Gear Solid
Uncharted
Assassin's Creed
(PC)
Half Life 2
Portal
Mass Effect 1, 2
Dragon Age Origins
Sherlock Holmes
Fallout 3
Bioshock
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Star Wars: KotoR
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
-Sherlock Holmes
A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.
-Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)
Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense. Differing from the latter only as a veteran may differ from a raw recruit. And its methods differ from those of common sense only as far as the guardsman's cut and thrust differ from the manner in which a savage wields his club.
-Thomas Huxley, Biologist (1825-1895)
Every intelligent American is satisfied that the religions of India, of Egypt, of Greece and Rome, of the Aztecs, were and are false, and that all the miracles on which they rest are mistakes. Our religion alone is excepted. Every intelligent Hindoo discards all religions and all miracles except his own. The question is: When will people see the defects in their own theology as clearly as they perceive the same defects in every other?
-Col. Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), 'Why Am I Agnostic'
The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
-Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it?
-Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.
-Richard Dawkins, Ethologist (1941)
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