The idea is that I list five old posts that I think are reflective of the evolution of this blog (which happens to be named Evolution, so this could get confusing). In addition, I am to “tag” (”meme?”) five other blogs and they must do the same thing else suffer the usual dire consequences.
1. This is my 498th post. My first post was my shortest post. As you could see, I had no direction or goals:
January 16, 2005
Now I have a blog
And my life hasn't changed one iota. I know I should give it some time, but I'm impatient when it comes to life changing experiences.
This might be my last post on this board. I'm getting bored already.
My blog was similar to the first life form on earth, a one celled creature, who if it could talk would have said: "What the hell am I doing here and what am I supposed to do now?"
I remember I was inspired to do the blog because I really liked what Elder of Ziyon was doing with his specialty blog.
2. I was getting something like 10 hits a day for quite a few months. I posted whenever I felt the urge, maybe 4 times a month for the first 8 months. Most of my posts were very in depth and pretty much a combination of trivial things along with the odd religious/atheist themed posts as well as a few Israeli conflict posts while I tried to maintain my phenomenal sense of humour. I think a post that pretty much stood out and foreshadowed my current style was one that didn't even receive one comment: EVERY RELIGION CAN'T BE RIGHT
Although I was way more respectful of religion than I appear to be now.
3. September of 05 I started doing NFL predictions. It committed me to do at least one post a week. I started getting more blog hits and this caused me to feel more obligated to post more. By November I was posting more than I do now. I started openly mocking religious belief more with ironic and very valid posts. I also created a Bacon and God comic strip as well. I like this particular post though as it reflected my blog back then: PRAYERS PAY THE SAME INSURANCE PREMIUMS
4. I was starting to attract regular visitors who commented on many of my posts, and I started becoming cognizant of playing to them (writing for them, in a good way). I noticed that I was being placed on many blogrolls, and I of course, reciprocated. But my big breakout post that put me on the map was when I simply linked a Penn and Teller video (it seems like ages a day as Youtube was either in its infancy or not even around). I had just learned how to embed videos, and I've embedded quite a few since. The post: PENN AND TELLER: THE BIBLE IS CRAPOLA wound up getting me a load of comments. I still get the odd one today even though it was posted April of last year. The post was linked by many, but Pharyngula's link wound up getting me an absolute ton. I remember getting around 8000 hits for 3 days.
5. I knew I had more readers, most of whom it seems were interested in (and still are) in atheism and layman's science (evolution and morality related) and religion satire and bashing. I did write a lot about Israel still, dropped the NFL picks, discussed the threat of Islam, usually in back to back to back posts. I found my readers weren't that interested in anti-semitism angle (which is why I think it is valid that Israel exists), so I decided to do a new blog called Judeophobe Watch where I could highlight discussions I've had online with anti-semites (Jew haters for the dictionary impaired).
Today, I like to post 2 to 3 times a week. I focus on layman's science, atheism, religious nonsense (including real history and absence of evidence), and I've started getting more into issues of separation of church and state.
Back in the spring I did a video that answers pretty much why I blog and I put it in this post: God Mysteriously Appears In My Latest Youtube Video
OK, now I must tag 5 bloggers. I'll warn you in advance. This post was harder than it looks.
Developing Your Web Presence
Simply Jews
Random Thoughts
Shlemazl
Gripes Of Wrath
I'll get to it.
ReplyDeleteHey, BEAJ, do you know of any place on the net where one can find articles on philosophical atheism. What is the state of the art in philosophy of atheism? Which atheistic arguments were disproved by professional philosophers? Which new ones were posited? Who refutes Plantinga the best? Thnks
ReplyDeleteAri, I've yet to see an atheist argument successfully disproved. But for philosophical atheism About Atheism is pretty good that way.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Plantinga.
You are best just to do Google searches. The only way to disprove atheism is by proving God. And there is no evidence for God, none whatsoever.
The "EVERY RELIGION CAN'T BE RIGHT" one amused me, because in a way, that's kind of what I believe-- that every religion has truth in it. Well, and a lot of horse shit.
ReplyDeleteThere are atheist arguments that have been disproved, but they are usually made by the uniformed (internet atheists with no science background) or before modern science. Those are the arguments Creationists still like to pretend atheists use. They are usually simply replaced with better, more informed arguments. Abiogenesis is a good example of this. Atheists once believed in this, but now they know better because modern science can explain the origin of life much better.
Bjay:
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll try and play along. I don't have many bloggers on my blogroll, so tagging 5 others may be problematic.
Also, I'm a little busy to play tag ("he said arrogantly...")
beaj, your first post is amusing. :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you didn't throw in the towel and stuck it out.
also, thanks for playing along. This meme definitely took some thought.
ReplyDeleteHello Athiest Jew,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sticking up for me once I was "disappeared" from dawkins.net. I mistook it for the "oasis of clear-thinking" it claims to be; there's a lot more faith and worship going on at the Dawkins fan club than his acolytes are capable of recognising.
Nice blog, by the way!
Basiorana, when you say atheist arguments have been "disproved" don't forget the quotation marks.
ReplyDeleteI do think many atheist still think abiogenesis is a valid theory as to how life started on earth. But atheists don't need to believe in evolution or abiogenesis in order to be atheists, we just don't consider the existence of God and/or see no evidence God exists. That is all we have in common.
Tim, thanks regarding my blog. And yes, I do see the mods at least being overly protective of Dawkins in a worshippy sort of way.
He proved by his Jewish Lobby comment that he is only human.
Even if the dubious argument were true that he's simply being afforded the same protection as ordinary members from slander you'd think they'd have figured that seeing that it's RichardDawkins.net, and that that particular subforum was on the subject of... Richard Dawkins, and that a "slur" can mean their inference of one in the absence of an actual slur, that any serious criticism of Dawkins is impossible there.
ReplyDeleteDawkins actually replied to me when I forwarded him my complaint about being banned. He denied making the remark, and told me what he had actually said, which was not antisemitic. However, I'm not convinced he was completely forthcoming, because his alternative version looked a bit odd, and because he accepts that the quoted précis was fair, yet it transforms his words into an antisemitic stereotype.
It's been picked up by a number of blogs so I'll be interested to see if it goes anywhere. It doesn't do his cause much good when it tinged with irrational bigotry.
The more I think about it, the less I understand the purpose of his campaign. What is the purpose of an atheist lobby. We shouldn't be fighting against religion, but for secularism. The removal of religion from public life would be good enough for me.
Anyway, I'll stop vandalising your blog with my OT rants.
Tim (another atheist Jew)
Tim, by all means vandalize my blog whenever you want.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they will lift your ban since you were commenting on something Dawkins doesn't even admit to saying:)
And yes, I think secularists have been very successful in the US and Canada when it comes to separating church and state. And that is all I want too.
Secularists have the strongest lobby in Canada and the USA and it is called the law.
BEAJ, your blog moving in the direction of less tolerant of religion is news to me. I'm not sure where you are getting this.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly imagine you mocking someone you disagree with.
But, sarcasm aside, I must say, your posts still amuse me. Keep it up.
It is done.
ReplyDelete