So, I’m going to be winding things down here over the next couple of months, give or take a week or so. Kinda like retiring from retirement. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the main one is my health. The number of hours in any given day where I’ve got the energy to do shit has been dwindling for quite some time. Most of you who have been reading my writing, listening to my podcasts or watching my videos are aware of this, so I will not reiterate. Suffice to say, I’ve got about six or eight hours a day that can be categorized as ‘productive,’ and those are not ‘in a row.’ There are several naps involved.

With That Stated…

You know that old axiom about never saying on your death-bed that you’d wished you spent more time at the office? Well, no, I am not at death’s door, but my health is poor and declining. Thus, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time re-examining my priorities. Right now, between writing letters to legislators on church-state issues, the promotion of atheism-relevant news and information across several social networks, participating in a few forums, hosting or co-hosting three radio shows, writing news for a Google news service, keeping up with a blog, producing videos and trying to finish two books, not only are most of those six to eight hours per day are being used up, but the quality of what I’ve been putting out has suffered due to spreading myself way, way too thin.

Two things…

One, there comes a time when one should understand when it’s time to ‘pass the baton‘ (so to speak) to those who are younger, more in-touch with a post-modern world, better at the use of technology, more energetic, motivated and driven in their endeavors. There are plenty of them out there, and they are doing a remarkable job. Truth be told, I am tired most of the time and I find that my lack of the motivation and enthusiasm I once had are cues for me to stand down and let the next generation take the lead.

Two, there also comes a time when one needs to re-examine their priorities. I’ve got a short list of priorities, and at the top is spending time with my family. Particularly my wife of over two decades. While some of you might find this unusual, we immensely enjoy hanging out with each other and are best friends. While be both love being parents and grandparents, we are coming into a time that we’ve been looking forward to for a while. The empty nest. Three of my children are grown and gone. Two of my daughters married with families of their own, another daughter left the nest last year and is getting married in June, and my son is off to college this fall.

Between now and my 50th birthday at the beginning of May, I am going to be significantly winding things down on several fronts.

Writing:

• This blog is going to be archived. I’ve said pretty much all I have to say, and I’ve already posted more re-writes than I’m comfortable with. It’s not ‘writers block,’ but you can only say the same things so many times before you become redundant to a fault. I’ll keep the blog up and add content here and there over the next couple months, but my final entry will be on May 2nd. I have not decided if I will archive it privately or just leave it up but close it to further commenting.
• Writing other than this blog will continue but on a very, very limited basis. I am going to continue writing news stories for The God Discussion, but only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. All other freelance writing will cease, effective immediately.
• Books. Well, I’ve got two books in the works. One is similar to the last one, is almost finished and should be out by the spring. The other is a novel. I am having difficulty with the novel, as fiction is not my genre and character development, plot lines and other aspects of this venue are driving me freaking insane. I have no idea when this work will be finished, but given where I am now in the process, it looks like it might be the end of the year.

Social Networking:

• I’ve got four Facebook accounts. Two are commercial accounts, one in my personal name and one under the name of ‘United Atheist Front.’ Across these two alone are almost sixteen thousand ‘likes,’ and while I appreciate all of them, I am going to shut them both down on May 2nd, as well. Of the remaining two, I will keep one open as a public account and keep a limited number of friends, less than three hundred – and that might be pared down as well. The other one is a private account consisting of primarily family members and very close friends.
• Twitter. I’ll be keeping my Twitter account. It’s convenient, and while there isn’t a mobile Facebook account that’s worth a shit, Twitter was designed for this medium and thus, always convenient. I haven’t decided what to do with my account, yet, though. There are over 43,000 followers on my account. I can tell you that, at the very least, I won’t be very active there after the beginning of May. I might consider taking it private. I’ll make that choice over the next couple months, as well.
• Google+. I’ll probably drop this venue entirely or take my account private in order to maintain the video conferencing capabilities. Nothing personal, Google.
• I am deactivating my Tumblr accounts, my Pinterest account, my LinkedIn account and the couple of other social networks I am on, effective this week.

Speaking engagements:

• Traveling has become arduous and my ability to speak fluently and comprehensively is getting more and more difficult as my aphasia and cognitive impairment worsens. Plus, I have to travel with someone because of my disabilities, thus all the costs associated with travel are doubled, and traveling with a shitload of drugs, even legal ones, is a pain in the ass. Don’t even get me started about getting through airport security with mobility aids. I won’t be doing this any more.

Videos:

• I’ve put up about two dozen videos over the last few months, and while they’ve gotten some pretty good attention for someone who is not known for making videos, they take a lot of time and given the deterioration of my physical appearance, this is not a venue in which I wish to continue. I’ll likely put up a few more videos as I continue to get email requests for chapter readings from my books, but the channel will archived as of May 2nd. I have not decided whether or not I will keep the channel up, so if you really like my videos, download or mirror them before May 2nd.

Internet Radio:

Internet radio is a wonderful invention, and I truly love doing it. It takes virtually no energy for me to sit behind my microphone and talk, ask questions and participate in the banter back and forth between me and the others on the two shows I co-host. Internet radio reminds me of a time in my life when I was much younger and there was no Internet, no Mp3 players and before the Walkman when you’d flip on the radio and listen to the DJ’s spinning records of your favorite songs and adding in their commentary and run-ups. Get off my lawn…

Seriously, though, don’t get me wrong, I love my MP3 player and the convenience of listening to what I want, when I want to listen to it, without commercials. But those were great memories from back in the 60′s and 70′s, and since my short-term memory is like Swiss Cheese, those from days gone by seem to stick out more.

The only problem with these shows is the time of day they air. So, here’s how these will play out:

• ReapSowRadio. I’ve been co-hosting this show with Reap Paden on Tuesday nights going on four years now, and will continue to do so because I love spontaneous talk-radio. I might not be on every show, though. My wife works four days a week and three nights a week. Given the amount of hours in a week I am awake and have enough energy to participate in life, and her work schedule, there is not enough time for us to hang out, as it is. Thus, the Tuesday nights she is off work, I’ll be with her.
• The God Discussion Show. Given one of the fields my wife works in, she is gone almost every Friday night, so I don’t see me leaving The God Discussion any time soon. It’s on very late, but I make up for it my taking more naps during the daytime hours. The God Discussion Show is not an atheist show, by the way. You should check it out.
• VOR: Insights. This is a new project for me, and its continuation is going to depend primarily on how many people listen to it. It doesn’t take all that long to put together a thirty minute show. A few hours or so a week, and I enjoy doing it. However, it does take an investment in effort that includes not just the editing, but because it is current-event related and broadcast on a live, 24/7/365 Internet radio station, there are schedules and relevancy issues to contend with. I don’t do schedules well. I am notoriously unreliable where schedules are concerned, and getting this show out takes a considerable amount of effort, so if nobody is going to listen, there’s no point. I’ve spoken with the station owners, who are dear friends of mine, and we will give it some time to see if it catches on.

Forums and Drama:

Internet forums can be fun, lively and engaging places. I’ll still post on the couple that I already do, but sporadically. I’ve shut down and archived the forums I administrated years ago, as moderating them became something just below sliding down a bed of razor blades into a pool of alcohol on the list of things I want to spend my time on.

I have all but lost interest in Internet drama, as well. I just don’t give a fuck about it, anymore, nor do I give a fuck about the people who pretend to be skeptics. I’ve little more than total disgust toward them and nothing better to say at this point other than simply, ‘go fuck yourselves.‘ You know who and what you are.

Offline Activism:

Most of my activism, roughly 90% or better, has been offline and out of the digital spectacles of the Interwebz. I’ve written hundreds of letters over the past several years to everyone from local town halls all the way up to the Oval Office, and have some personally gratifying accomplishments and victories under my belt.

However, this is extremely time consuming, draining and emotionally taxing. I’ve decided to cease and desist from all forms of local activism, including letter-writing campaigns, attempting to organize protests, addressing church-state violations in local municipalities, effective immediately.

There You Go…

So, my friends, fans, followers and supporters, this is how it is going to be. It’s been a fun and wild ride, but I am weary of it. As I wind things down over the next couple of months and gracefully fade into history, take note of those who I point out as people and organizations I emphatically support. Turn the time and attention you’ve given to me, positively toward them, if you are so inclined. They deserve of it.

//

The one coming up on January 25th is going to involve moving all of my computer equipment, video equipment, audio equipment and related furniture and furnishings into another space, and there logistical hurdles I need to overcome. The debut episode of ‘VOR: Insights‘ will also take some time produce, and in between this will be the relocation of my equipment for the January 25th project.

Given that my disabilities limit the amount of time and energy I am able to exert in any given day, I have to prioritize things over the next couple of weeks. What you will see between now and then are a couple more YouTube videos, my regular news stories I write for The God Discussion, my co-hosting of The God Discussion Show on BlogTalk Radio, my co-hosting of ReapSowRadio and I will update the “Slow Suicide” post regarding my efforts to quit smoking.

Once the January 25th project is over and done with, and I get settled into knowing how long it is going to take me to produce a weekly radio show, I can better schedule the consistency of my blogging. Be assured, this blog will remain here, and active.

As always, I’ll be around on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and, of course, The Slymepit.

I am committing suicide, very slowly, very painfully. I tell myself it isn’t really a suicide, because that entails a deliberate act for the purpose of ending one’s life. I have no desire to die at the moment, but there is no doubt that I am deliberately acting in a way that will kill me.

There are two forces working against each other, and one is winning. First, I am a heavy smoker. I smoke a lot. I am not sure how much I smoke, because I don’t smoke conventional, store bought cigarettes. I roll my own via a machine, bagged bulk tobacco and empty, filtered tubes. I roll a shitload of cigarettes and put them all in a large, plastic ziplock-style bag, and just grab one whenever I want. Thus, I don’t have the point of reference that those who smoke by the pack or the carton. If I had to guess, I smoke about forty or so cigarettes a day. I’ve been smoking since I was eleven-years-old. I’ll be fifty this coming May. Do the math…

The second force? Well, I’ve got

COPD…

COPD stands for ‘Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.’ I’ve was diagnosed with this last year, and yes, the doctor told me to quit, blah blah blah. Yeah, whatever, right. They all say that. Besides, their diagnosis was based on some wheezing and a slight rattle in my chest. Other people die of COPD, and besides, I had argued with myself that my other disabilities would kill me before the cigarettes get me. Yes, these are generalizations of the things I apparently told myself because, as an addict, I refused to take responsibility for my addiction, and chose to blame everything but the substance I am addicted to – or myself for using it.

Thing is, I no longer enjoy smoking. I did, up until recently, but things have changed for me recently. I would be both remiss and lying if I didn’t tell you all that I am more than a little concerned. The last couple of attacks, in fact, have been fearful for me. If you ask me, it was about a year ago I began noticing a slight wheeze in my breathing. If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I’ve been wheezing for many years. She’s probably right. It didn’t seem to have any effect on me, though, other than amusing my dog due to the high pitch. But it steadily got worse, and I steadily ignored it.

I started rolling my own cigarettes because I was convinced that the problem was not actually my intentional smoke inhalation, but some conspiracy by the tobacco industry via the inclusion of some four thousand carcinogenic chemicals in their products. I know, that’s a pretty stupid thing for a skeptic, but addiction is a fucking powerful thing. So, I figured if I rolled my own, I would not be inhaling these carcinogens. Of course, tobacco contains it’s own natural chemicals that cause cancer, so I really didn’t do myself any favors. I ended up smoking more, and a harsher blend of tobacco.

Coughing up a lung…

About three months ago I went into what is best described as an ‘extreme coughing event.‘ Basically, it started with a deep rattle in my chest that quickly took on a life of it’s own. Pretty soon, I was coughing up interesting pieces of my insides. That isn’t a joke. Literally, pieces of things came up, along with what looked like blood. Then, I lost my eyesight. I can only describe what I ‘saw‘ as a visual representation of electrical synapses. I have no other point of reference, so I apologize if you can’t visualize that. Then, I passed out. I was home, alone, and fortunately it was only a matter of a few minutes before I ‘came to,‘ such as it is.

For the next few hours, my breathing became extremely labored. I was capable of very short, very shallow breaths only and it took a bit of time for the pains in my chest to subside and for me to breathe sorta regular. Of course, I resumed my smoking as soon as I was able to hold down the minimal amount of smoke to feed my addiction without waking the monster that had just kicked my ass an hour earlier. I had another one of these about a month later. Then another one a couple weeks after that. Over the next couple of months, I had a few more. I’ve had three of these since last Friday. Had another one this morning. I have since already smoked two cigarettes.

As an unbeliever, I am not afraid of death. Paraphrasing the great Samuel Longhorn Clemens as I did at the top of this piece about not existing before I was born, etc. about sums it up for me. However, as a living human being, the manner of my death is, indeed, of great concern to me. I’ve witnessed people dying of COPD, and this is not limited to their actual demise, but the final months or years of their life being an extremely painful existence. My brother-in-law was one of them. Three months before he died, he and his wife were riding their motorcycles, enjoying their family, children, friends and making plans for the future. He was in his early forties.

At A Loss…

Right now, there are many of you out there who are thinking about a smoking cessation program that you know of and wish to share with me. Thank you for your concern, but I would bet the farm that whatever you’re thinking of, I’ve tried it. I’ve even tried hypnosis, which is something I told myself I would never do. Pills, patches, electric smokes, filters, you name it. I just figured having failed at quitting so thoroughly and spectacularly that I just didn’t want to quit.

Given that the damage to my lungs that I’ve done already is irreversible, and the high probability of my immediate future involving a portable oxygen tank, followed by a painful death, I should stop smoking right now. I don’t want to smoke anymore. Perhaps it’s too late. Maybe I’ve already passed the point of no return and the next extreme coughing event will end up in an aneurysm, or stroke or whatthefuckever else my body will do to take me out.

But perhaps not. Maybe there is hope. Either way, I am going to see a doctor next week, because even after writing all this out for you, and all that I have learned about my COPD since I was diagnosed with it last year, I seem to have a death wish and my slow suicide continues as I stare at the bag of cigarettes sitting next to my desk.

Now, where’s my lighter…?

————————————————–

Updated 14 January 2013 - Three days into Wellbutrin. I am slowly finding smoking to be nauseating, and I am definitely not getting out of it what I am used to, which is to be expected. Yesterday, I smoked 18 cigarettes, less than half of what I normally smoke. Today, so far, 5 smokes, two of which I left in the ashtray only halfway smoked. I went to see ‘Cloud Atlas’ yesterday, and sat through three hours without nary an urge. I am hopeful.

Updated 11 January 2013 – OK, so I started back on the Wellbutrin. Chantix is unafforadble on Medicare. I’ve got a week’s supply of cigarettes and a really good electronic cigarette. I’ll post regular updates as this progresses. We’ll see what happens.

Jerry will be giving a lecture, followed by a robust Q&A and then a book signing. If you’ve not already picked up a copy of ‘Why Evolution is True,’ then you’ve got plenty of time to grab you up a copy and dig into it before the lecture. Jerry Coyne is not only an internationally renowned evolutionary biologist, but he is also a strong voice for science and reason.

You can find his blog, right here on the WordPress network, right here.

Here’s the Facebook page for the event.

Here’s a video of one of Jerry’s lectures. This one is at the 2009 American Atheist Convention, in Atlanta:

Here are the details:

An Evening With Dr. Jerry Coyne
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Hilton Garden Hotel
2010 Commerce Dr.
Peachtree City, GA 30269

RSVP to Ptcjcoynelecture@gmail.com

Tickets Available: At the door, $15.00

Map:

I’ll be attending this event, as well. I hope to see some of you there!

Hey, friends. A bit busy today, but I didn’t want a Monday to go by without offering an opinion on a story that is being run by CNN and other outlets about a Christian group who has decided to address the problem of slavery, on an international basis.

More than 60,000 Christian youth gathered here in Atlanta for the Passion 2013 conference last week. They came from more than fifty countries and represented about 2300 universities to, according to organizers, “to shine a light on modern-day slavery.”

Credit Where It’s Due…

Just because the slaves where ‘freed‘ here in the United States doesn’t mean that slavery is not still a significant problem for some of the rest of the planet. So, good for them to want to use their numbers and obvious influence to address the issue. Any time anyone fights for the civil rights of others should be lauded. The UN states that almost 30 million people are slaves throughout the globe.

It is my opinion that there should be some sort of a concerted effort by the organizers, perhaps in the form of a formal declaration, that first denounces what the bible has to say about slavery prior to starting a movement to combat it. It’s kind of like driving a Chevy Suburban around with signs on it saying, ‘Protect the Environment.’

Mind you, this will likely not happen thanks to all those ‘Theologians’ out there and the Clergy who take their cues from them. Instead of stating that the content of the bible as it addresses slavery is wrong and that they condemn the advocating of slavery that is found in the bible as bigoted and written by ignorant men, they choose to jump through mental hoops to somehow reconcile their cognitive dissonance by offering the most outlandish excuses.

Oh, it’s OK because it’s God’s word and His ways are higher. Oh, it’s OK because slavery meant something else back then. Oh, it’s OK because the slaves weren’t black. Oh, it’s OK because… Well, you get the idea.

Thus Sayeth The Lord…

Courtesy of our friends at the Skeptics Annotated Bible, here’s a few entries that can be found in the bible as they relate to slavery:

“If thou buy an Hebrew servant…” - Exodus 21:2

“If a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant…” – Exodus 21:7

“And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.” - Exodus 21:20-21

“If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.” - Exodus 22:3

“If the priest buy any soul with his money…” – Leviticus 22:11

“And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee…” – Leviticus 25:39

“Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever.” - Leviticus 25:44-46

“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.” - Ephesians

6:5“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.” - Colossians

3:22“Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” - 1 Timothy 6:1

“Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” - Titus 2:9-10

“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” – 1 Peter 2:18

See No Evil…

Last year I designed a billboard for my friend, Ernest Perce, that pointed out what the bible said about slavery. It was put up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Less than twenty-four hours it was torn down. If Christians are that offended by what is in their own book, they should be able to imagine just how offended non-Christians are. But that’s not likely to happen.

Here’s a picture of the billboard:

Again, I applaud their motivation and their efforts to eradicate a horrible reality from our planet. But given what their bible says about slavery, homosexuality and a plethora of other Scripture that is highly insulting to their fellow human beings, they should look inward and pull a Jefferson by taking a pair of scissors to the bible and not stop cutting until all the bigotry, hatred and discrimination is gone.

Just think how easy it will be to carry a pamphlet around instead of a big, bulky old bible…

I was traveling through the land of YouTube the other day, watching some music videos and such. As many of you know, YouTube provides targeted advertising, so I logged out of my account and logged into my wife’s account to see how the advertising changed. As expected, while logged into my account, I got ads for gaming sites, automobiles, etc. Guy stuff, right? Well, no, not really ‘right,’ but it is what it is. Under my wife’s account, I got ads for chocolate, jewelry, vacation spots, personal hygiene products, etc.

This got me thinking about how gender is represented in commercial advertising, which got me thinking about the commercials I remember seeing when I used to watch a lot of television. I recalled bitching heavily about how men are made out to look like complete dolts in a lot of TV ads that don’t involve beer, trucks or power tools. So, I started searching YouTube for these ads, and came upon a channel by a user named ‘ignoredgender.’

Misandry In The Media…

Before we move on, I would be remiss if I did not comment on ignoredgender’s use of the term ‘Misandry,‘ I have the same issue about that word as I do the word ‘misogynist.’ The word ‘misogynist‘ would accurately describe someone who hates all women, and is often used incorrectly. It is not the same thing as ‘sexist,’ a word which has already been thrown into Robert Englund’s ‘Mangler.’ In my half century on this planet, I’ve only met one misogynist, a person who just plain hates women. As well, I’ve only met one or two women who are misandrist, and truly just hate all men.

There is little doubt that there is discrimination and bigotry being perpetrated against women. To deny that just passing laws that state women are equal is but a foundation to build on would be naive, at best. But definitions matter, and misogyny and misandry have clear and defined meanings, and those meanings do not line up with what many people believe they do. In the United States, as is with most Westernized nations, the existence of misogyny and misandry is extremely limited to a few of the most radical organizations – mostly fundamental religious cults. There are, however, others. But that’s a topic for a whole other Internet meltdown.

With That Said…

Here’s what the dictionary defines as misandry:

There has long been a bent toward depicting men as bumbling, incompetent fools in television advertising. The YouTube channel I referred to has put together a series of videos that outlines this pretty accurately.  More on that in a bit.

What About Sexism..?

Ignoredgender uses the term ‘sexism‘ to describe what is being done to men in much of television advertising. He is correct in using this word, according to one of the two definitions given for the word, as such:

Definition number one does not aptly describe his tirade against Madison Avenue, but definition number two does. I am not going to address the first definition here, for two reasons. One, it is a complicated issue that involves attitudes and behavior that, while being sexist, are not always pejorative and usually subjective. Two, because in this definition, the word ‘sexist’ has been bastardized by radical gender feminists who would call you a sexist pig for the simple crime of admiring a physical attribute, or for uttering a word that they have deemed worthy of capital punishment. That’s a topic for a whole other Internet meltdown.

The second definition, the one that refers to discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex, is pertinent here. This is not subjective. Discrimination is never OK, and there are battles that still need fighting on this front. The example given with regard to restricted job opportunities for women is only one example, but discrimination based on gender is not limited to places of employment, and it is definitely not inclusive of women, only.

Discrimination and objectification, by the way, are not the same thing. Nor are devaluation and objectification. I only state this because many people confuse objectification with discrimination and devaluation. Objectification is not necessarily a negative or pejorative, but that’s another one of those topics that I’ll save for a future Internet meltdown.

Suffice to say…

There has been a lot of attention paid to how women are portrayed in advertising that is geared toward men. In many of these ads, women are negatively objectified and devalued. It isn’t difficult to find commentary about this, and it is an issue that does deserve attention. Some of the commercials I’ve seen are pretty bad, and the advertisers as well as the advertising venues should be chock-full of people who should be ashamed of themselves.

I’ve written previously about this, particularly an article I wrote titled, ‘Faggots, Losers and Wimps: A Treatise on Gender, Society and “Real Men”.’ In this article I addressed the gender issue and the problems associated with the religious community as well as advertising.

Regarding the religious aspect, I wrote in that article:

Gendering a child starts even before the child is born. Expectant parents often prepare a nursery for their child in anticipation of bringing home their bundle of joy. If the baby is going to be born with a penis, they paint the room blue and fill it with pictures, borders and mobiles depicting male-centric things. If the baby is going to be born with a vagina, they paint the room pink and fill it with pictures, borders and mobiles depicting female-centric things. If they’re not sure, they paint the room yellow or green and don’t add anything until the child is born.

The problems begin when the male toddler starts exhibiting an attraction for things that do not “fit” his “gender.” When this happens, and it does happen, many parents, particularly religious ones, worry that their male child may be homosexual. I’ve spoken to many parents while I was in the ministry who became very concerned when their child showed an interest in Barbie dolls, mommy’s makeup and sister’s clothing. These parents seek spiritual guidance, i.e., “What does God say to do.” The advice that is often given ranges from forcing the child to participate in an all-male activity (sports, etc.) or giving the “confused” child some positive reinforcement when their play involves “gender correct” toys, and negative reinforcement when they do not. If that fails, then a “manly” role model may be introduced. Perhaps a youth Pastor,  ”big brother” or some other replacement for the “obvious failure of the boy’s father to provide sufficient masculinity.“

I am not pulling this out of thin air. As a Pastor, I have given this advice to “concerned” parents, and that advice came from my training as a Christian Nouthetic counselor. Of course, this has detrimental consequences on the male child as they mature. The church, as most of you are aware, has very definite ideas about the roles of males, their place in the order of all things (which includes being masters of women), their privilege as God’s favorite creations, what they should and should not be doing with their penises and what will happen to them if they should stray from the sexual straight and narrow.

In religious societies there are certain expectations and misnomers surrounding the roles of men and women. This is not news. It is largely due to the impact that religions (particularly the Abrahamic religions) have had and continues to have on our society’s perception of what “should be.” Boys are viewed a certain way, and girls are viewed a certain way. The differences go way beyond biology, and these perceptions are drilled into us from a very young age.

With regard to the advertising, I wrote:

The commercials geared toward women usually depict an emasculated, clueless male in drab clothing and a beige personality. Commercials geared toward men depict a certain type of guy, with a certain look, swagger and air of superiority. These ads focus on status and masculinity, which is generally important to men, especially those who have an inferiority complex or who are in denial of their own sexuality. Yeah, you know that sex sells. It’s no secret that much of the advertising aimed at men is geared toward the conquest of women.

Here’s a few of them:

Typical depiction of “real men” that are projected via advertising:

If you look like this, that’s great. You’re incredibly sexy and more power to you. I have nothing against men who work out, nothing against wanting a healthy body or to develop this type of physique. I know how difficult it is to maintain this, and the work that goes into it. Kudos, props and Kewpie dolls all around. However, my problem lies with the insistence from advertisers and a lot of buff guys who look down on those who do not look like this, and infer that they are not “real men.”

Thus, how is this any different from this:

We are told by these advertisements that we must be “manly men.”  The advertisers attempt to compel us to believe that we are somehow less than a “real man” if we do not behave in a certain way or consume certain products or look a certain way. Consequently, if we don’t behave in a certain way, consume these products or build our bodies, then more woes shall be heaped upon us because not only are we “losers,” but we’ll never get laid.

Ergo:

• If you are going bald, you are a loser and will never get laid.
• If you drive a practical car, you are a loser and will never get laid.
• If you don’t have a six-pack, you’re a loser and will never get laid.
• If you don’t get a smooth shave, you are a loser and will never get laid.
• If you don’t drink the right beer, you are a loser and will never get laid.
• If you aren’t wearing the right fashion, you are a loser and will never get laid.

You see the pattern here? Real men get laid, and judging from the television screen, women are throwing themselves at these guys. You see the problem here? I mean the aside from the one that is horrifically insulting to women? Do you understand that the average guy is put under enormous amount of pressure to be what our patriarchal society has deemed a “real man?” And the men that fall for this crap are exacerbating the situation by teasing, taunting and insulting the rest of us, behaving badly and generally douchey.

Back on Point…

Thus, today’s article and reference to Ignoredgender’s videos that point out how men are often regarded in television advertising. As I stated last July in the above-referenced article, “the commercials geared toward women usually depict an emasculated, clueless male in drab clothing and a beige personality. While I do not reason that the men in these television commercials are being discriminated against (per se), they are being devalued simply because they are male, and that is sexist. When you have a few hours to spare, watch this series of videos and then make up your own mind.

My take on these videos is that Ignoredgender is spot on with regard to the sexism shown toward men due to how they are often portrayed in many television commercials, and attention should be paid to this, and addressed with your commentary and where you spend your money.

Here are the videos, if you don’t want to navigate to his YouTube channel.

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Disclaimer:

The inclusion of the videos by ignoredgender on this blog constitutes only a reference to the videos posted. Other videos, commentary and blog posts by ignoredgender are either not germaine to this article or irrelevant to the point, in general. If you find something that ignoredgender said or wrote that you do not agree with, please address him directly.

So, today I converted my personal page to a business page. Now, I am not sure if I have lost my pictures permanently, but so far they’ve migrated my 1700 or so subscribers, and are in the process of converting my friends to ‘likes.’

Good news, now there is plenty of room for everyone. You can find me here.

Don’t forget, you can see all the links I’ve posted on the United Atheist Front Facebook page, too.

Well, here we are in a brand new year, and there is a lot to look forward to in the coming months ahead. I’ve got a new project, too. As many of you know, I was a co-host on American Heathen Radio, which was broadcast on ShockNet Radio.

ShockNet Radio is a 24-hr classic rock/classic talk Internet radio station that is owned and run by two good friends of mine, RJ and Sherry Evans. After seven seasons, AHR has gone into an indefinite hiatus. However, SNR rocks on, and there are many great shows as well as ass-kickin’ tunes.

My show is being added…

On Sunday, 3 February 2012, my radio show ‘VOR: Insights‘ will be debuting. The program will air every Sunday evening at 8:00 eastern, 7:00 central. We’re starting off with a 30 minute show, likely to increase to an hour of programming. VOR stands for ‘Voice of Reason,’ which was the title of a segment I did on American Heathen Radio, as well as the ‘official’ name of this blog and a couple other things. Incidentally, you can hear these segments if you click on the ‘Podcast‘ tab at the top of the page.

I don’t want to let too much of the cat out of the bag as far as the exactly what the show will be. I’d like that to be a surprise to those of you who can tune in. The show will be pre-recorded, but while the show is being aired, there will be a chat room for listeners to converstate about the show. If I am home, I’ll be in the chat room, as well.

Here’s the official advertisement for the show:

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I will still be co-hosting ‘ReapSowRadio‘ on Tuesday nights, as well as ‘The God Discussion Show‘ on Friday nights. The entire show will be pre-recorded in my posh, plush, spacious and otherwise lavishly appointed studios in the Atlanta Metro area, as pictured here:

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OK, so it’s not lavishly appointed, posh, plush or even spacious. However, this is where I pretty much do all my writing, recording and vlogging. Hey, it’s got a coffee pot, so we’re set for anything.

Anyhow, as the date draws near, I’ll do a good amount of promoting the show here and on my social networks. My friend and co-owner of ShockNet Radio, RJ Evans, is a master production engineer.

He crafted a couple neat intros and promos for me:

VOR: Insights ‘Main Intro’  

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Promo by RJ Evans  

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Promo by Ron Meyer  

With That Said…

Thirty days until launch, and I look forward to seeing you guys there, and hope you enjoy the show!

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