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Hello Everybody! We are expecting a major snowstorm tomorrow, so I will get my greetings to you a couple days early. =========================== <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Comic Sans MS"; panose-1:3 15 7 2 3 3 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in .5in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> WINTER SOLSTICE 2009 People reveal their interests, their hopes, their frustrations in a variety of ways. Some blog, some twitter, some express themselves vocally. We do Tee-shirts. One of my favorite Tee-shirts proclaims my addiction with one simple word emblazoned on the front, viz, “Chesswoman”. Another shirt pays homage to my ever advancing years with the words “Gray is the new blond.” Along with those years comes another change clearly indicated with this quote, “Forgetfulness is a sign of genius.” Bill has acquired a collection of wise and witty Tee-shirts of his own. One shows his relaxed approach to life thusly: “These are the days I want to accomplish great things...tomorrow.” More than a little truth can be found in the shirt that says, “Wine improves with age. I improve with wine.” But the Tee-shirt Bill wears with the most pride bears the words “Traveling 33 RPM in an iPod world”. Ah, yes. What has all that to do with the holiday season of 2009? Nothing, really. We just wanted to let you know that you can find us happily playing chess, listening to our wonderful LP’s and enjoying our cats and old age while sipping that occasional wine. Now, if we could get Mother to wear a Tee-shirt, it would surely say, “Aged to Perfection.” Happy Winter Solstice to all of you, and may spring be not late to arrive! Bill and Anda

I came across the following web-site and thought the multitude of videos might provide some entertaining discussion: http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/does-god-exist-scientifically-aapi-aecc.htm Actually, the following link might make things easier to find a video topic: http://www.allaboutgod.net/video/video/listForContributor?screenName=2d2clizoij94l

The track of my school has a lot of advertisements. Companies pay about 1000 dollars to put a poster up on the fence along the outside of the track for the year.Just yesterday, I noticed a poster memorial for a dead marine that (roughly) says:"Only two forces have ever died for you: Jesus and [Marine name].""One for your soul, the other for your freedom."My first reaction was that that the comparison seems a bit stretched, but then I figured that most memorial engravings are magnifications of the truth.My second reaction was that this is a fuzzy area for separation of church and state.What are your thoughts on this matter? Is it constitutional (references to court cases would be nice)? If not, is it worth fighting (contacting the ACLU, FFRF) for?

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/23/italy.crucifix.debate/index.html?eref=edition_world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29 Interesting article on the debate about religious symbols in public places.

What is your funniest scene from Monty Python?

Two new team matches started, on with the People of Islam and another with Global Women. We usually have no lack of members looking for team games now, but I thought I would point these two out because they are against two top ten groups as far as team matches are concerned. I challenged another top ten group as well, but I can't remember their name at the moment

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=126AFB53A6F002CC Found this video series. Discuss. I think theyre excellent.

Hi guys.I'm rather pissed off at myself at the moment. Tonight was the second chess club night in a row in which I played an excellent game for a while, only to give the game completely out of my hands with one hasty move.

Didn't we already have a thread like this? I thought we had, never the less, I couldn't find it so here goes a new one. We recently won our first vote chess game, lots of fun even though I wasn't as active in it as I plan to be in the future, granted I'm no great player, but the opportunity to learn is to much to pass over. I where however though, wondering if 2 days per move wouldn't be a little bit more helpfull than 1, seeing as how the discussion could go on longer, and, atleast for the ones of us having questions and wonders about various lines, and why they wouldn't work etc. Granted though, that could result in people dropping interest in the game due to it being to slow, so I guess that's up for the rest to discuss and decide upon.Another, how many vote games are we going to have up roughly?I figured we could use an official vote chess game, so use this thread for whatever discussions, thoughts, or just about anything you want to share about our vote (and vote games in generall) games. Cheers and let's hope we manage to squeeze more victories out of our comming games.

As Dahan reminded us in the comment section, it's the international blasphemy day today (http://www.blasphemyday.com/ ), the purpose of which is to support the freedom of speech, to fight blasmphemy laws, to remind ourselves and everyone that in a society that values the freedom of speech, we do not have the right to protect ourselves from being offended by silencing those who say things offensive to us. And this includes any religious sensibilities we might, or might not, have - in a free society, we've got to grow skin thick enough to be able to support the rights of speech for people who we dislike, who say things we find offensive. So in the spirit of the day, I thought to open a blasphemy thread! Feel free to post deliciously, shockingly blasphemous content here. As this is a forum that's open not only to us heathens, but can be seen by non-members too, let me start off with an OFFENSIVE CONTENT WARNING! You don't HAVE to keep reading/watching! You'll most probably get an extra pitch-fork up your... um... in the afterlife for reading further or clicking on any links! DEFINITELY do not click on any links! So, here's my contribution. Starting off gentle... with a slightly different kind of a sermon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTzXJMU1sLc Cranking it up a notch... or two... a song so blasphemous, it makes me gringe... by possibly the most politically incorrect band I know, The Tiger Lillies. Here's "Banging In The Nails": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inIuYren8jg

Hello Godless crew! I have just recently finished a short film project titled "The Music of Erich Zann", based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. In this film I star as a young student of metaphysics who befirends the strange old man who lives above him. It is very low budget, but it is also very well made, and has already received a warm reception at screenings and festivals. http://vimeo.com/6806455. I'm sharing this link with all my chess groups and online friends. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you find the time to watch. It's about 30 minutes long, so it's more like watching a TV episode than a feature film. Thanks for putting up with my shameless plug, I hope you enjoy the film!

Just recently found a podcast that was recommended by someone on another forum, and I have to say that I'm REALLY impressed. This is the kind of podcats that I can see appealing to pretty much everyone. It is both artistically interesting audio-experience, and substantial in mind-intriguing stories and concepts and science. AND it manages to instill exitement and fascination to any subject without dumbing it down too much - they've got it down to an artform. They usually take a topic, like "Memory and forgetting", "Sleep", "Emergence", etc, and ask, and investigate what it's all about, and present it in a... unique and fascinating way. So do yourself a favor and give RadioLab a try. Here's a direct download link for their episode on: "Memory and forgetting". (If you want to listen to the episode online instead, the click here, and click on the "listen to the whole show" link.) It makes a good example of what they do - enjoy!

Long story short since my last post was long and it now disappeared. A woman on the street was telling my family how much Jesus loves all the little children. I had a wonderful idea for shirt, but it was supposed to have reference to the bible quote saying that Jesus loves children and apparently Jesus liked to talk more about disciplining children than loving them. Anyways, this is my t-shirt response.

Learning and reason are low on society's list of values. How do we change that?

This is awesome. I wish I had thought of it. http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/Home_Page.html

Is there any interest in having a group only tournament? If so, is there a Platinum or higher member in our midst who would be willing to take the time to start an invite only tourney and inviting everyone in the group?

Hiya all. I know some of you will be aware of most of what I talk about here already, but I'm going to say so anyway. I'm frequently bugged by the misapprehension that Einstein was religious. It's partly his own fault, saying things like "God does not play dice with the universe" (at the same time, meaning Spinoza's god i.e. nature, and anthropomorphising "him"). Einstein believed in no personal god. He didn't describe himself as an atheist, prefering to say agnostic, but it's quite clear from some of his quotes that he did not believe in any supernatural creator - it just seems like he preferred not to say atheist because he was strictly agnostic and because he liked "naturalistic pantheism" (Spinoza's God), so his own description of God was one that he considered to be true. Some gorgeous, eloquent quotes about non-belief from Einstein that I like: "My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment." "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth." "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views." "It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal god and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." "A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man."

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I participate in a big creation vs evolution, theist vs atheist discussion on a dutch forum, and it forces me to think and sometimes I think I get some interesting insights.So I had just figured out that the concept of "sin" and that man is "imperfect" is totally not an argument against atheists, because "imperfection" implies a purpose. It is impossible for a human being to be "perfect".It also follows that getting rid of sin is impossible, because if you don't have sin anymore you aren't human anymore.Any thoughts?