Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday
I hate waiting until Tuesday for Apple product releases. Not only is there the wait all weekend, but then you have Monday to sit through.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Camp Quest
It's been a little over a week since I got back from counseling at Camp Quest. I can honestly say it has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I honestly don't think I can express what I brought back from camp in a simple blog, but I can try.
I can start with my fellow counselors. They were in short amazing, and I think I made some lasting friendships. Then there were the kids. The kids ranged in age from 8-17. I was in charge of the younger girls cabin. I had some amazing conversations with the younger kids. They were so smart I forgot I was talking to children. One example that stuck with me was a talk with one of my favorite campers. We had this ongoing contest throughout the week to have the kids disprove the existence of Percy, the invisible dragon. Of course it was impossible to prove something doesn't exist, but there were little girls in my cabin who really wanted to believe he was real. So I was walking down to the lodge with this girl I will call Abbie (I won't use real names of campers), and she says to me "Percy represents God doesn't he". And I tell her she got the point. And she says "well do you think it hurts the younger girls to let them believe in something that doesn't obviously exist"? I asked her what she thought. She thought for a moment and said that her grandma sometimes says to her that in the past she has had doubts about God, but she wants to believe that God exists because it is comforting. Abbie than said that as long as someone is happy about their beliefs, but not mean about them she was fine with it. I found it pretty profound for an 11 year old.
There were also some pretty sad stories of intolerance. I had a couple of kids of different ages beat up because of their beliefs. They told me about their families being broken up. I found this all incredibly sad but I saw this camp as a ray of hope. My mother asked me why atheist and free thinking children need a special camp. I told her it was the same reason Christian children needed a camp. Our children learned about humanist principles as well as being with children like them. I see atheism as a minority. Here was a place that kids didn't have to skirt around the issue, but could feel free to talk about what they wanted. We even had some Unitarians, and their belief in the supernatural was openly and respectively discussed.
I was raised religious so I found it interesting to meet parents who raised their kids how I will ultimately raise mine. A mine gripe of atheists is that Christians indoctrinate their children, but atheists can do the same thing. The goal of this camp, and for parents in general is to help kids think freely and let them come to a conclusion on their own, and to respect that conclusion as long as its well though out
I can start with my fellow counselors. They were in short amazing, and I think I made some lasting friendships. Then there were the kids. The kids ranged in age from 8-17. I was in charge of the younger girls cabin. I had some amazing conversations with the younger kids. They were so smart I forgot I was talking to children. One example that stuck with me was a talk with one of my favorite campers. We had this ongoing contest throughout the week to have the kids disprove the existence of Percy, the invisible dragon. Of course it was impossible to prove something doesn't exist, but there were little girls in my cabin who really wanted to believe he was real. So I was walking down to the lodge with this girl I will call Abbie (I won't use real names of campers), and she says to me "Percy represents God doesn't he". And I tell her she got the point. And she says "well do you think it hurts the younger girls to let them believe in something that doesn't obviously exist"? I asked her what she thought. She thought for a moment and said that her grandma sometimes says to her that in the past she has had doubts about God, but she wants to believe that God exists because it is comforting. Abbie than said that as long as someone is happy about their beliefs, but not mean about them she was fine with it. I found it pretty profound for an 11 year old.
There were also some pretty sad stories of intolerance. I had a couple of kids of different ages beat up because of their beliefs. They told me about their families being broken up. I found this all incredibly sad but I saw this camp as a ray of hope. My mother asked me why atheist and free thinking children need a special camp. I told her it was the same reason Christian children needed a camp. Our children learned about humanist principles as well as being with children like them. I see atheism as a minority. Here was a place that kids didn't have to skirt around the issue, but could feel free to talk about what they wanted. We even had some Unitarians, and their belief in the supernatural was openly and respectively discussed.
I was raised religious so I found it interesting to meet parents who raised their kids how I will ultimately raise mine. A mine gripe of atheists is that Christians indoctrinate their children, but atheists can do the same thing. The goal of this camp, and for parents in general is to help kids think freely and let them come to a conclusion on their own, and to respect that conclusion as long as its well though out
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
What is wrong with South Carolina?
I'll let that soak in.
In the mean time, Weird Al was great. He covered so many songs, over so many years, and flowed them together very well. The place was packed, Weird Al is more popular then ever. There were young kids, old geeks, and everyone in between. Yes, there were girls there, lots of them. Jeannette bought me a "White & Nerdy" t-shirt. I was going to skip going to the show, but glad I didn't, it was really cool to wallow in the geekiness. We didn't spend too much time at the fair, but did buy cookies.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Podcast and Cable TV Show Committee
I'll be heading up the podcast/cable TV show committee for Minnesota Atheists. I have a few ideas, like having weekly short audio podcasts, in addition to the video podcast which are created from monthly meetings, or cable TV show programs. If you have any ideas for upcoming shows, let me know, or if you think my idea stinks, let me know, but come prepared with your own idea.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Louisville, KY
I may have to go to Louisville for a few days for work. If anyone can think of anything fun to do there, besides visit the bat factory, let me know.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
President of Camp Quest on NPR
From Friendly Atheist:
This is the camp Jeannette is at this week. Amanda does a good job of explaining the reason for the camps, and helps to dispel some myths. The camps aren't an Anti-Jesus Camp, where militant atheists are created. There is a strong focus on materialism, not buying lots of stuff, but the theory that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter, and that all phenomena are the result of material interaction. The children are encouraged to be skeptical of claims made without evidence. However, religion isn't removed from Camp Quest. Because many of these children come from families where there is no religion practiced, they may know very little about spiritual beliefs, like why people pray, or why certain groups practice certain rituals. To help with this, guests speak about various faiths.
One of the games which is played at camp, is called "Two invisible unicorns." The goal for the children is to prove these two invisible unicorns, which are at Camp Quest, do not exist. You can't sense them in any way, but the leader is sure they are there, he or she has faith that they are there. The kids present their proofs trying to dispel the invisible unicorn theory, with a chance to win a $100 bill.
Amanda Metskas, the president of Camp Quest (the summer camp for children of atheist parents), was on NPR today.
The interview came across really well, and Amanda was able to respond to a lot of the misconceptions people may have of the camp.
Check it out here!
This is the camp Jeannette is at this week. Amanda does a good job of explaining the reason for the camps, and helps to dispel some myths. The camps aren't an Anti-Jesus Camp, where militant atheists are created. There is a strong focus on materialism, not buying lots of stuff, but the theory that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter, and that all phenomena are the result of material interaction. The children are encouraged to be skeptical of claims made without evidence. However, religion isn't removed from Camp Quest. Because many of these children come from families where there is no religion practiced, they may know very little about spiritual beliefs, like why people pray, or why certain groups practice certain rituals. To help with this, guests speak about various faiths.
One of the games which is played at camp, is called "Two invisible unicorns." The goal for the children is to prove these two invisible unicorns, which are at Camp Quest, do not exist. You can't sense them in any way, but the leader is sure they are there, he or she has faith that they are there. The kids present their proofs trying to dispel the invisible unicorn theory, with a chance to win a $100 bill.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)