Internet Phamous?

[The Ivy]

Whee! My atheist comic got featured on Pharyngula, one of the biggest atheist blogs out there.

The author, P.Z. Myers, is an evolutionary biologist who recently made the New York Times for his attempt to sneak Richard Dawkins into the screening of the creationist movie "Expelled."

So either I'm standing on the shoulders of giants or stepping on their toes...but I don't really mind either way.

[Ghost]

There's no such thing as bad press, they say 

(And nice cartoon by the way!)

[ThreeOhFour]

Heh, well done indeed, and I have to say that reading through the comments posted about it have brought joy to my day. 

(Not that your comic didn't, but I'd seen it before, so it brought joy to a different day.)

[MrColossal]

You jerk that's awesome!

Congratulations!

[Pesty]

You jerk that's awesome!

Congratulations!

Oh shush eric, you and Jess have internet fame coming out of your ears, like some sort of infection!


Congratulations, Erin, you kick some athei-ass! Ho ho!!

[Nikolas]

Big big congratulations Erin! Great news!

[jetxl]

Haha, that trailer is so wrong it's hilarious.
And Bill O'Reily is even more hilarious.... in a very sad, baby raping way.

[Akatosh]

that trailer

"This video is not available in your country."

[deadsuperhero]

"Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?"

I thought the trailer brought up some interesting points about free speech, but he made so many generalizations about Darwinism that it just messes up any credibility he had.

He shows the "Origin of Species", which was Darwin's theories of how animals adapted to the environment over thousands of years. That's not quite Evolution, and it's not his more controversial work, "Descent of Man", which was severely misunderstood. He claimed that humans and apes could have originated from a similar species, or perhaps they were just related.

Anyway, back on topic, great comic!

[The Ivy]

Thankyou, gents! (and Pesty...hehe, Athei-ass)

I like how the comments on the Pharyngula blog sort of devolved into a discussion about soul patches and comfortable footwear. Apparently I hit a nerve with some people. The best part of all of this is that I wrote this comic when I was 18, but the editors rejected it because they didn't get the humour. I re-submitted it two years later when there were new editors and it's been one of the more popular things I've done. Ah, validation.

I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to hear more about this "Expelled" movie. I feel like there will be a cammed version available sometime soon. I'm quite fond of the idea of Richard Dawkins in a 10-gallon hat with a camcorder in it, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part.

[Pesty]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to hear more about this "Expelled" movie. I feel like there will be a cammed version available sometime soon. I'm quite fond of the idea of Richard Dawkins in a 10-gallon hat with a camcorder in it, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part.

DRAW THIS.

[Huw Dawson]

Richard Dawkins irritates me. I don't know why. I probably should go read one of his books before making a judgement, though.

- Huw

[The Ivy]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to hear more about this "Expelled" movie. I feel like there will be a cammed version available sometime soon. I'm quite fond of the idea of Richard Dawkins in a 10-gallon hat with a camcorder in it, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part.

DRAW THIS.

Oh man I guess I don't have a choice now eh? Okay, gimme a day or so.

[Emerald]

Richard Dawkins is a cock. He so epitomises the second half of one of my favourite sayings:

Who is the better man? One who sees light where there is none, or the other, who rushes to extinguish it?

I remember watching his show entitled 'Enemies of Reason', where he takes on the likes of terrorists such as a little old lady who practises homeopathy, and a poor woman who reads tourist's sweaty palms for five bucks. Finally, a crusader has risen to cleanse society of these monsters

That's not to say I don't agree with him, but I'd never try to make shedloads of money dashing other people's beliefs, because that crosses a line. The line of cockitude. Although he's so far past the cock-threshold, he's more of a pair of bollocks...


P.S. Funny comic, Ivy. This actually looks so much like one of my friends...

[space boy]

Homeopathy and palm reading is bullshit and it's fraud to use either to take money from people. It's perfectly justified to be against it.

[Emerald]

Homeopathy and palm reading is bullshit and it's fraud to use either to take money from people. It's perfectly justified to be against it.

Not exactly. Placebo or not, homoepathy is a service that geniunely helps people. It's just like psychological counseling, only cheaper. You're paying them to convince you that what they're doing is going to help, and in doing so, it does. As far as I'm concerned, it's a psychological crutch that's not actually there, which makes it a much much much safer crutch than anti-depressants and painkillers.

Hell, I reckon half of modern medicine is based around the patient's belief that treatment will actually work. They've studied this to death, and it always comes up that confident doctors heal better than unsure ones.

So, tell me this: If someone pays five bucks to have their palms read, and the palm-reader tells them they're going to have a great day, and they believe it, and consequently have a great day, wasn't that worth the five bucks?

Or are you one of those people who would rather see everyone miserable, than blissfully ignorant...? Because, really, what is ignorance? Wasn't the world a much more magical place when Santa flew through the night skies, bringing you whatever you wanted?


If someone wants a lecture on how their life's work is bullshit, then that's fine, but being an absolute prick about it on daylight television is definitely breaking the cock-barrier.

[jetxl]

Emerald: Your weekend is off to a great start.  Unnecessary demands on your time will irritate you though, but letting your hair down and letting off some steam will revive you more than anything!

You owe me 5 bucks. And smile like you mean it.

[space boy]

Like you said yourself, homeopathy works just like a placebo. That is, only on a psychological level. But that's not what homeopaths claim. Homeopathy claims actual physical effects. And homeopathic remedies are not exactly cheap.

You're right about the patients confidence in the effectiveness of medical treatment. But mere belief won't help you if the "medicine" you use is just expensive water. Real doctors use placebos along with scientifically proven and working medicine.

About the palm reading thing: i wouldn't pay anyone just to tell me I'm going to have a good day. And people who pay for such services are apparently naive and vulnerable for more dangerous delusions(let's say faith healing). It's not like you can achieve happines only by deluding yourself and living in "blissful ignorance". We don't have to make up stories to enjoy life. The universe is fascinating, mysterious and "magical" enough on it's own.

[Emerald]

Like you said yourself, homeopathy works just like a placebo. That is, only on a psychological level. But that's not what homeopaths claim. Homeopathy claims actual physical effects. And homeopathic remedies are not exactly cheap.

You're right about the patients confidence in the effectiveness of medical treatment.

Duhhh, a placebo is hardly going to work unless you claim that it will. Kind of like how magicians never say "actually, the bunny was in the hat the whole time... you just paid to see me man-handle a rabbit." Are magicians fraudulent because they aren't actually sawing your grandma in half?

And if the homeopathist... person believes in the cure themselves, it's naturally going to make the patient believe in it too. Which will cure them even better.

Emerald: Your weekend is off to a great start.  Unnecessary demands on your time will irritate you though, but letting your hair down and letting off some steam will revive you more than anything!

You owe me 5 bucks. And smile like you mean it.

Ah, but I don't believe you. You see, people who pay palm-readers do so because they believe in the palm-reader, and therefore they benefit from what they say.

People pay psychiatrists $150 an hour to say the same thing palm-readers are saying for $5 a minute (relax, don't sweat the small stuff, happiness is around the corner). Yet people would rather go to a psychiatrist because they believe in the psychiatrist and their little piece of paper on the wall that says they should be listened to. And so people pay them their $150 just to listen to them.
I'm not saying psychiatrists are fraudulent quacks, I'm just saying that there isn't much difference between doctors and herbalists and psychotherapists and psychics...

I know plenty of people who have had chronic headaches/pain which was cured by alternative medicine, yet all the drugs and treatments in the world couldn't help. The placebo effect is debatable, but the fact that they're better now isn't.




Anyway, none of that changes the fact the Dawkins is going to these people in good faith, just to spark an argument with them and film it for his show to make money. Ergo, he is a cock.

[jetxl]

Emerald, it's not working because you don't want to believe. You still owe me 5 buck. No refunds.