Thinking Unenslaved

I don’t yet know which of our great co-hosts we’ll have around for the show, but the show will be dedicated to discussing the various ways that sciolism defeats discourse.

Two things:

One: that last phrase is willfully plagiarized from my (Synthaetica) old post by the same title, which is basically the inspiration for tonight’s show.

Two: Sciolism: 1. A pretentious attitude of scholarship; superficial knowledgeability. 2. Rare The practice of opinionating on subjects of which one has only superficial knowledge. 3. A superficial knowledge, especially when pretentiously revealed.

You can probably imagine where I’m going with this. I recently was doing some maintenance on my website and came across some old posts on this topic which I did for the Blogswarms Against Theocracy back in 2007 an 2008. The subject matter still rings true today, and in fact, as I have more and more “discussions” with theists hell-bent on saving our godless “souls”, I see it as more and more of a problem: and one that is actually rather multifaceted.

Show Title: The Stupid. It Burns

Who (tentative): Dawnne Gee (@Synthaetica), Paul Fidalgo (@PaulFidalgo), Kile Jones, Zach Garland (@Zachsmind)

When: 10pm EST, Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Where: BlogTalkRadio.com/Synthaetica

What: The Stupid. It Burns.

My previous posts on this subject:

How Sciolism Defeats Discourse
The Roots of Sciolism
Because Theocracy Leads to Permissive Extremism

I hope to gather some additional insight from other authors/bloggers prior to the show. If you’ve got something to say about the subject, please don’t be bashful! Use the comments below!

It’s the last Wednesday of the month, which means we’re holding a small contest for blog submissions on the topics noted below. Our panel will read (excerpts of) the entries aloud and discuss (no, not necessarily eviscerate if we don’t agree) them on the air in our Round Table format. We’ll choose up to three recent blog post from each of the following categories:

Submission Categories:

1. Atheism (note: this category is not open to Agnosticism)
2. (Secular) Humanism
3. Religion
4. Sociology
5. Philosophy

Minimum Requirements for Consideration:

1. Article is “recent” (within the past three months ~ exception might be made in deference to kick-ass authorship)
2. Article is comprised of at least 600 words
3. Article contents contain at least 75% unquoted content

Pretty simple, huh?

Authors of the selected articles will be asked to come on the show for a brief interview and to read and discuss their articles. Show participation is not mandatory. There is no monetary award for being chosen.

Submission Guidelines and Deadline:

1. Submit link(s) to blog post(s) in the comments below
2. Maximum of 5 links per contestant
3. Deadline is 10pm EST on the day before the show airs.
4. Selections will be announced by 10am EST on the show date via unenslaved.com and @Synthaetica (twitter).

Join us Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 10pm EST for some unique and dynamic show content from great authors around the Internet!

um….wow.

Aside from getting kicked off Skype at random times and not being able to use a condenser mic where I live, I guess I’m doing at least some things right with the radio show. It probably has more to do with our co-hosts, guests, and Zach’s growing facility for taking over when Skype takes a poop on me, but the numbers pretty much speak for themselves.

Some of the numbers are a little “off”, in that, for example, a listener whose connection gets cut and they have to reload the page, that’s a count each time. And the “live” listener numbers are going to bloated in the same way every time Skype kicks me off and I have to dial back in. In fact, last night’s show has a count of 5 just for me alone!

On the other hand, the February numbers don’t include last night’s show or archive downloads after last weekend, no less.

I greatly appreciate your listening, and I hope that you enjoy the show and the subject matter we discuss. I refuse to get all gimmicky and shit, but I do have great plans for the show. Please share it with your friends! Use the iTunes link on the Thinking Unenslaved show page to add it to your iTunes and take us on the road with you! Play it on portable speakers in your churches! Scribble “Unenslaved” on your nephew’s forehead!

Wait…sorry…I was getting carried away there for a minute….

Truly, thank you. March will be interesting listening. At the risk of speaking for the other guys, we look forward to spending two hours with you every Wednesday night at 10pm Eastern. Join us for interesting topics, fun discussion, and the occasionally humorous lull.

On next Wednesday’s segment of Thinking Unenslaved, I’m holding a small contest for blog submissions on the topics noted below. Our panel will read the entries aloud and discuss (no, not necessarily eviscerate if we don’t agree) them on the air in our Round Table format. We’ll choose one (possibly two if it’s too close to decide) recent blog post from the following categories:

Submission Categories:

• Atheism (note: this category is not open to Agnosticism)
• (Secular) Humanism
• Religion
• Sociology
• Philosophy

Minimum Requirements for Consideration:

• Article is “recent” (December 1, 2010 or later ~ exception might be made in deference to kick-ass authorship)
• Article is comprised of at least 600 words
• Article contents contain at least 75% unquoted content

Pretty simple, huh? Authors of the blogs chosen will be asked to come on the show. Show participation is not mandatory. There is no monetary award for being chosen. Submission Guidelines and Deadline:

• Submit link(s) to blog post(s) in the comments on the Segment Website
• Maximum of 5 links per contestant
• Deadline Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 10pm EST.
• Selections will be announced Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by 10am EST.

Join us Wednesday night for some unique and dynamic show content

Greetings, twitterholics, blogheads, twittervillains, and blogophiles!

O, was that redundant? O well….

On next Wednesday’s segment of Thinking Unenslaved, I’m holding a small contest for blog submissions on the topics noted below. Our panel will read the entries aloud and discuss (no, not necessarily eviscerate if we don’t agree) them on the air in our Round Table format. We’ll choose one (possibly two if it’s too close to decide) recent blog post from the following categories:

Submission Categories:

1. Atheism (note: this category is not open to Agnosticism)
2. (Secular) Humanism
3. Religion
4. Sociology
5. Philosophy

Minimum Requirements for Consideration:

1. Article is “recent” (December 1, 2010 or later ~ exception might be made in deference to kick-ass authorship)
2. Article is comprised of at least 600 words
3. Article contents contain at least 75% unquoted content

Pretty simple, huh?

Authors of the blogs chosen will be asked to come on the show. Show participation is not mandatory. There is no monetary award for being chosen.

Submission Guidelines and Deadline:

1. Submit link(s) to blog post(s) in the comments below
2. Maximum of 5 links per contestant
3. Deadline Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 10pm EST.
4. Selections will be announced Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by 10am EST.

Good morning, gentle peoples!

We had a great show last night. Many thanks to co-hosts Kile, Paul and Zach, and to Ryan and Marty for dialing in. The show’s available for download from BlogTalkRadio or you can listen to it right here on this page.

Thank you all for not being too unkind to MissRaissa, despite her unwillingness to do much more than preach.

Here’s the chat log!

Last week, we concluded our discussion of Secular Humanism in Western Society. Unfortunately (and as is often the case), the discussion really got going just as the show was ending. Ryan (@NewYorkCreator) joined in with Zach, Paul and myself in a conversation that actually extended well past the end of the show.

So, at Ryan and Zach’s request, we’re going to have another Round Table this week, but a slightly different format. As many of us co-hosts as are available are going to dial in Wednesday night, along with Ryan (and hopefully @AntitheistAngie). We’re going to cover a lot of hot-button topics for between us, and may or may not take callers as time permits. I’m hoping that Zach, Ryan and I can somewhat replicate our post-show discussion from last week. It got pretty interesting.

Some things we’re planning on discussing include, but are in no way limited to:

• Anti-abortion politics
• Intelligent Design education
• Free speech versus verbal masturbation
• Draw Muhammad Day
• Atheist Morality

The last topic there is a segue to next week’s show. I’m setting up an interview with Martin Pribble in regards to a recent poll on about.com which he was leading until it got pharyngulated. The poll results are now meaningless, as they do not inherently reflect the about.com readership, nor do they necessarily accurately reflect the beliefs of those who take the poll as much as they reflect the ability of poll-takers to submit the voting form several times just to make PZ Myers look more popular than he really is. Don’t get me wrong, I have much respect for the man and even consider myself a fan of his. And while online polls are inherently flawed in concept, there’s no benefit for us to prey upon each other even in the most innocuous of forms.

It’s funny how it goes sometimes. During the week, between broadcasts, if you asked me how the last show went, at any given time, you might get a positive or a negative response. That’s partly because I’m my own worst critic, and partly because given whatever else is going on in my head at the time, I may or may not immediately be able to recall how good the show felt.

Last week’s show, however, was a definite “good.” Even despite Kile’s absence (and Kile, I sincerely hope your girlfriend is feeling better, and kudos to you for placing her well-being first), we had an engaging, informative show which included a lot of great discussion. I was a little tapped for resources by the end of it, which I attributed at the time to the showing lacking Kile’s input and the time such would have naturally consumed, but really, I think it was because Paul, Zach and I gave the general, overall topic of “Secularism and Humanism in Western Society a fairly decent spin.” Having Kile’s scholarly input would have been great, sure, but the rest of us are by no means slackers when it comes to being able to think and being able to discuss our thoughts.

It was truly an enjoyable time.

Towards the end of the show, Ryan (@NewYorkCreator) joined us on the air, and we started discussing several things that had to be cut off short as our allotted time ended. In fact, Ryan, Zach and I talked for almost another half-hour until Skype kicked me off again. I may take up my cable provider on the offer to “bundle” my services, including a VOIP line, for even less than what I’m currently paying. It’s funny how they work their prices, but that’s another story.

Anyway, after our post-show conversation, I’m looking to have an “enhanced” round table discussion on some very interesting topics—controversial topics, even. I’m hopeful that @AntitheistAngie can also join us next week, if she’s feeling better, because we’re going to start with Abortion Politics, and move through several other hot-button topics until we conclude with a recap on last year’s “Draw Mohammed Day”. Wouldn’t it be nice if it could be a large Round Table?

I think so.

Because, yeah, it’s getting kinda fun, and I really wouldn’t mind a little issue-advocating/vocal activism going on via the show. Nope, I wouldn’t mind that at all.

By the way, the song excerpt with which I started the show, and woefully neglected to inform my listeners about was from Civil Twilight‘s “You Will Leave a Mark.” Buy their album. They’re good kids.

Please join us again next week, 10pm Eastern, over at my site on BlogTalkRadio. Next week will be a very good time.

By the way, I’ve submitted the show to iTunes, but it has still not been approved. If you search iTunes under the name “Synthaetica”, you’ll find the old TalkShoe versions of the old ThinkAtheist Radio Show, but Thinking Unenslaved still doesn’t come up there or under its own name yet. Apple doesn’t give a clear way to make inquiries about the approval status, so I guess I have to wait a while. Sigh.

The most recent show streams are below.

Last week, our Round Table discussion was largely devoted to this same subject, but there were several questions/scenarios I’d left on another computer and sadly didn’t bring to the discussion. As well, this is a fairly broad subject with far-reaching implications, and the 47 minutes or so we spent on it last week really didn’t do the topic justice. So, this week, Kile and I will talk about this some more.

Some of the sub-topics we’ll discuss tonight include a) Moving beyond the impact of religion on the Arts, b) Social services without religion (or, uncompelled social services), c) Is it possible to teach strict humanism in education when historical examples mostly involve religious motivation d) Is not Secular Humanism just as likely to fall victim to the vagaries of human character as religion.

The list above is by no means everything we intend to discuss. Zach and Paul will join us if they can, and may well have their own questions for Kile, too.

Please join us for another interesting and dynamic segment of our ongoing discussion on secularism, humanism and atheism in society at 10pm Eastern Standard Time this Wednesday, February 9th here on BlogTalkRadio.

yeah, okay, so using the show to get me posting more frequently was kind of a lame idea when all I do is post about the show, huh. okay, so i suck and i admit it. carry on.

it’s not that i don’t enjoy writing, it’s just that i always have an excuse to do something else, not the least of which is spending time with my lady. but her school has started back up, so maybe…just maybe…i’ll make some additional time to sit down and write.

anyway, i have a show coming up this wednesday. here’s the run-down.

Secularism & Humanism in Western Society Revisited

Who: Dawnne Gee (@Synthaetica), Paul Fidalgo (@PaulFidalgo), Kile Jones, Zach Garland (@Zachsmind)

When: 10pm EST, Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Where: BlogTalkRadio.com/Synthaetica

What: Secularism & Humanism in Western Society Revisited

See you there!

(the most recent episode will play below. so for the week after the show, this link will be relevant!)

Well, I screwed up in setting up tonight’s show, managing to actually set it up for March 2. I luckily got that straightened out in time to kick off the show when I actually wanted it, but changing the time screwed up the show link. I’m a dork, I guess. Shoot me.

Kile, Zach, Paul and I had a lively discussion tonight that ranged from Secularism in Western Society through to the Atheist Agenda’s “Smut for Smut” program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. We had a great time, as usual, and I think the subject matter involving secularism was pretty enlightening. A big thanks to Kile, Paul, and Zach for participating in another great show.

I note, however, that I sound a little like Kermit the Freakin Frog through my headset. Unfortunately, I’ve had massive problems getting a “Real Microphone” (condenser mic) to work in this place. I’m apparently bombarded by AM frequency bleed-over. Meh.

The revised show link is Round Table: Secularism in Western Society

The most recent show streams are below.

Tonight’s show is another round table with Kile, Paul, Zach and myself. The general theme is Secularism in Western Society: I’m hopeful that we can … er … “faithfully” represent the European perspective and not make the mistake of equating “western society” with “the silly stuff we Americans do.” Perhaps we’ll get lucky and have one of our European friends dial into the live show.

I’ll be twitter-begging for participants throughout the next couple of days. Other topics we may also address include: the problem with religious-based public education, and relationships between theists and non-theists. Please listen in for a lively discussion of pertinent topics this Wednesday night at 10pm EST. We’d love to take questions and comments from persons of alternative points of view, so don’t be bashful! Give as a call and join in the discussion!