This may be an old video, but it’s new to me, and it bears sharing… The brilliant Stephen Fry (@StephenFry) gives an honest, respectful, and well-reasoned response to the idea that the idea that the Catholic Church is a force for good in the world. It’s a 20-minute speech that is well worth your time.
Personal note: For all the sarcasm, snark, and protests I dish out online against organized religion(most especially against Protestant Christianity in general since I grew up going to those churches), I feel the above video is worth sharing mostly due to how eloquent Stephen Fry is at making a rational argument that is still respectful of other individuals’ beliefs. While I’m not always(or perhaps even usually) as eloquent or rational, I do feel strongly that just as many of us would like organized religions to better respect our views and lifestyles, we often do not extend that same favor – something I’d like to better address in my own actions and statements in the future.
Nevertheless, not only do I agree with Mr. Fry, I think that exposure of this side of the debate should be seen by more people, to better change the public perception, illuminating the evils that this organized religion can perpetuate. While their beliefs may be harmless at their core, the ongoing actions of the Catholic Church have shown its true nature: one which is at its core immoral, and which deserves immediate correction. Such correction can and should be demanded and enforced by the good and honest people who worship within its walls, and failing that(God forbid) by the governments in which their churches operate.
As Mr. Fry illustrates in his speech, it is for the poor, the outcast, the women and children worldwide that Catholicism exploits and casts aside that these changes should come. Not for any political gain of any individual or special interest group, but for those who both previously and presently suffer as a result of the Church’s policies.
as of this week, you can now order prints of any images in my flickr account/online gallery in the kiosk, right here on my site! simply find the image title you’d like to order, then visit prints.stephenh.net, select the print size you’d like, and enter the image title during checkout!
have love will travel
in addition, i still have framed prints available from the my first suicide gallery, at their lowest prices ever: just $30 plus shipping! check out the remaining selection and get these one-of-a-kind framed B&W prints of downtown portland while you still can!
yesterday i found a link to the website tiltshiftmaker.com, which allows you to upload photos and create cool tilt shift effects, much like in the old mister rogers tv show. it’s definitely a fun web app, and it makes the effect easy to create without having to spend tons of money on a tilt shift lens or learning how to duplicate the effect in photoshop.
anyhow, here’s my experiment with the site, using an aerial photo i took of downtown portland from on board the OHSU aerial tram almost two years ago. click on the image thumbnail to view a larger version on flickr! -h
starting tonight, my old comic series white shirt, philosopher is back online!
if you remember it from when it first launched almost two years ago, WSP is a comic about what might happen if the events of the biblical old testament were to happen in modern-day times, and what an average guy’s reaction to those things might be. unfortunately, over the time that’s passed since it launched, i was distracted away from the project, and the original site ended up going into disrepair and had to be taken offline. since then, new comics have been written and produced, but never released, so it’s become long overdue that a new site was developed and put online so they could see the light of day.
so, to re-introduce the series, as of tonight 18 of the original 32 strips are published and online at the new digs. at noon PST from monday through friday this week, one more of the next 5 comics is scheduled to go back online! next week, 3 more(the documentary trilogy!) will be re-released on monday, wednesday, and friday, also at noon PST. after that, i’ll be releasing strips twice a week, every monday and thursday, and i already have enough new material to last all the way through mid-september on that schedule!
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starting tonight, my old comic series white shirt, philosopher is back online!
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