Update on Expelled and Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot

Okay, I’m done with my anti-Intelligent Design and Expelled rants for the time being. The good news is that Expelled as a movie phenomenon has fallen on deaf ears with the American public. As of today the take was less than $3,000,000 for two weeks. Now, keep in mind the religious fundamentalists have always proclaimed that if they were given the opportunity they could create the type of entertainment Americans really wanted and not that liberal, sexually perverse humanist crap that is awash in Hollywood.

Sorry, the religious wackos were wrong on several counts. First, most Americans could give a rat’s ass about science even Intelligent Design science unless it can be used to create compelling science fiction or a new iPod. That’s just the way it is, we just want to know we have the best technology available and we don’t care how we get there. After all, we can always hire Indian engineers for that!

Secondly, I think as of the moment Americans are once again focusing on bread and butter, or should I say bread & gas issues as they begin to question the wisdom of having elected an oil and gas man for president for two consecutive terms. As gas exceeds four dollars a gallon and we hear of hedge funds managers getting a $3.5 billion dollar bonus for the year even the most optimistic among us have to feel that something stinks in Denmark or should I say in the U.S.

Americans are just beginning to realize that the past two presidents and a plethora of CEOs have sold this country for some pocket change, just think about their gold parachutes and how they have transfered an entire generation’s future jobs, pensions and pollution to the likes of India and China. In this backdrop it is hard for a debate regarding evolution and Intelligent Design, regardless of the merits of either argument, to catch fire, so expect more escapist crap entertainment in the near future.

Now speaking of escapist crap, I continue my work on the sequel to Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot. The second novel is almost 550 pages but needs a good cleanup before its release. Now that the podcast is complete I am getting significantly more downloads by listeners which is always a good sign. Since the trilogy will be basically my life’s work I am determined to get it right and continue to obsessively revisit my previous writings and the podcasts. I have already re-recorded the first two podcast chapters and I am working on third chapter as I write this. It was a necessary evil since upon my re-listening of the original podcast I have found that I recorded the narrative at the pace of a chipmunk on crack. Also, as you may have noticed the Flores Girl graphics and web site will be getting a significant face lift from me as well.

Now I should point out that this rewriting behavior is not the norm for most writers. Generally, you write your first book and you get away from the wreckage as quickly as possible in much the same fashion you would flee from a toxic waste dump. Writers, and artists in general, have a lot of self-loathing going on. In fact, most agents and publishers encourage this behavior figuring you will start getting right by your third and fourth book.

Fortunately, I can’t do this because I find that the two main characters of the novel, Sarah and Richard, to be so compelling and such great foils for making my worldly observations come to life, I feel I would be doing a disservice to my readers and missing a great opportunity if I didn’t give the trilogy my all. And frankly, I don’t have that many novels in me since I am not one to rehash the same themes over and over again (I actually have one other novel in the works and a series of short stories including an interesting take on Sarah’s life taking a different path other than the one traveled in Flores Girl).

That’s it for now and I will share with you my future marketing plans for Flores Girl in which I may undertake some real hack marketing tactics. You can almost smell the sleaze!  And speaking of sleaze the entire first Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot novel is available as a free download at WWW.A-FREE-EBOOK.COM

Expelled: Creationist’s Wacky Web Site for ID

If you want some real fun check this post out and link from my fundamentalist friend Tom. This Creationist site is off the wall and really, I get my best material from the fundamentalists in the audience:

I just prayed for you.

Check this out if you want to win $10,000.00

http://www.intelligentdesignversusevolution.com/

Some excerpts from this site:

• God Doesn’t Believe in Atheists
• Contrary to popular opinion, the existence of God can be proven
• Scientific Facts from the Bible: Shows the scientific facts that existed in the Bible long before “science” became aware of them. (Nothing like going to a two thousand year old book to get the latest scientific information, huh?)
• And the classic “Win $10,000 for the proof of evolution”. Thank god the entry is free. Read such classic arguments as “Just as a building is absolute proof there was a builder (no building ever built itself), creation is absolute proof there is a Creator.” Ouch, you got me there! I surrender.
• And the ever popular, “The more scientists have searched for the transitional forms that lie between species, the more they have been frustrated.” Newsweek, November 3, 1980. I guess the two legged snake doesn’t cut the mustard for the creationists anymore. Incredible Fossil Two-Legged Snake Link

Come on Tom, tell me this as a joke, right? This Creationist site has so much going on it reminds of Homer’s web site on an old Simpson’s episode where all he did was to steal other site’s clip art and place them on his own site. $10 grand to prove evolution; what is this the Price is Right? A truly craptacular site and like they say you can’t make this stuff up! Not to be missed by any aficionado of camp.

Erik John Bertel

Sorry about spamming my own blog but the entire first Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot novel is available as a free download at WWW.FREE-EBOOK.MOBI

Retarded Creationists Fire Back on Expelled the Movie Criticism

I tell you I get all kinds. The following rambling diatribe and its collective pearls of wisdom is kind of a norm for some of these Creationist folks. Let’s have a look at what we are dealing with in this classic comment from the retarded form of religion as Dr. Dawkins likes to call it (his words, not mine but more on those unfortunate words a little later in this piece) :

You forget this nation was founded on fundamental Christian principles reaped from the Word of God, the Bible, and the one and only God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. America was not founded to worship other gods and, in fact, God commands us not to worship any other gods nor even let their names come out of our mouths. It sounds all well and good to allow everyone in America to worship anyone they please no matter how pagan and wicked, but that is man’s idea and not God’s.

Cool, he’s anti-American as well! You know he reports to a higher authority like the voices in his head. Wait, there’s more:

God nearly destroyed Israel because of their turning to heathen gods and He’s going to do the same thing to America. He likens running to another god to a bride becoming a prostitute.

Okay, so if you don’t believe in his god you are some sort of a theological slut! No way, I’m a marketing slut and damn proud of it, so please visit my Flores Girl Podcast as Podiobooks, just click on the chick in the jungle on your right! But I digress…

So it is not so weird that the majority of Americans believe they were created by and in the image of God. Yet the Christians are called the idiotic and stupid ones. No, it is the minority of atheists and heathens who have tried to take over a Christian nation who are the ignorant ones and America is finally getting fed up with it. The Christians have been told to sit down and shut up but that time is over. We will no longer be oppressed and run over by a minority group of people trying to convince us we evolved from an ape when in fact we were created just a little lower than the angels.

Folks there you have it, on the spiritual evolutionary scale we are just a notch below the angels. And that small minority groups sounds suspiciously like those pesky Jews. Watch out Ben Stein, you’re next with this crowd! And now for the grand finale:

Maybe all the evolutists (sic) should go find their own little island somewhere where they can jump through the trees and eat bananas and be like their descendants and leave the normal, sane people here.

Actually, I think most evolutionists will acknowledge that our ancestors were partial to meat-eating. As to his or her sanity I will leave that assessment to the reader but I think this writer just escaped from the polygamist compound in Texas.

And there you have it, another well reasoned and erudite Creationist writing. To be fair I have also reasoned some intelligent, good natured responses from the Intelligent Design crowd. And the pro-evolutionary force is not beyond a little god-baiting and name calling as well. Take for example the evolutionist Dr. Richard Dawkins straight from his acting debut in Expelled and his acerbic comment about where the resistance to evolution is coming from:

“It comes, I’m sorry to say, from religion. And from bad religion. You won’t find any opposition to the idea of evolution among sophisticated, educated theologians. It comes from an exceedingly retarded, primitive version of religion, which unfortunately is at present undergoing an epidemic in the United States. Not in Europe, not in Britain, but in the United States.”

Or how about this bon mot from the good doctor when asked about why we believe in God?

“One suggestion is that the child mind is, for very good Darwinian reasons, susceptible to infection the same way a computer is…”

So how did this virus start in the first place Dr. Dawkins? From God or do all humans have innate longing to follow an alpha male? And you have to admit god is the biggest alpha male you are ever going to find! The point is a scientist can find a hypothesis for every observable human behavior even the ones they believe to be retarded. You don’t have to denigrate the argument about a belief in god into a round of name calling and that borders on the juvenile even for an esteemed scientist. So everybody has their own agenda, including me, so please click on my podcast. Now if you want to make fun of Intelligent Design, well, I am all for it but as for the retarded comment I think that is a bit much. What do you think?

Expelled the Movie And the Smell of Death in Wisconsin

Creationists are fond to equate Darwinism with eugenics and fascism as they dangle the fear of Nazi state led eugenics programs in front of the faces of the unsophisticated. Of course, much of the eugenics under the Nazi regime was little more than your old-fashioned garden variety Antisemitism and a variety of other racist beliefs couched in an official pogrom and jargon. It had little to Darwinism but the creationists figure if you throw enough crap about something is bound to stick to someone. The fact that the holocaust was the result of hundreds of years of religious intolerance in Europe just obscures the Expelled crowd’s true agenda. Of course, to blame religion and god for the holocaust is just as absurd as to blame Darwin. Blame the rightful source for this continued desecration of humanity: man’s baser behavior.

Well, now is the time for evolutionists and Darwinists to stick some crap to their Intelligent Design dogma. So to all of my creationists friends by all means reject science, embrace the world of gods and angels preferably a Christian world and by all means revel in your ignorance. You know more than the eggheads will ever know because, after all you, are a true believer. To hell with nuance and shades of gray, you are black and white man and god is on your side.

And let’s face it, verifiable and testable results are not your norm but are rather the tools of subjugation utilized by the atheist scientists. Your norm is the rejection of science and medicine wherever it conflicts with your god-view. So if a home schooled eleven year-old girl dies of a diabetic shock because her fundamentalist parents believe more in prayer than insulin, so be it. Such is your influence that in Wisconsin there is a statue protecting such child abusive behavior. Wisconsin state statute 948.03(6) provides an exemption from the law against failing to act to protect children from bodily harm for what is referred to as “Treatment through prayer.” The statute says: “A person is not guilty of an offense under this section solely because he or she provides a child with treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in accordance with the religious method of healing … in lieu of medical or surgical treatment.”

Now if you are a normal, all American, family loving kind of guy or gal this sort of law should raise some type of proverbial red flag for you. While you have been sleeping the religious wackos have been working with our sycophant, pandering politicians and have been quietly subverting our laws and making the world save for family child abusers. Then again, you are probably more concerned about the latest puppy mill scandal on Oprah than you are about that eleven-year old girl who recently died. Such is our world where the pious get absolved of sin and yet they get to cast aspersions about everybody else who differs with their strange world view. Such is the world of the Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed followers, where they want to extend this type wacky rationale and thinking into our public schools and all in the name of fair play!

Remember, Intelligent Design as depicted in Expelled is not a science and if this continues to spread and infect our future generations expect to read more headlines like the one in Wassau, Wisconsin. You may be okay with that daunting prospect but I am not going to ignore that young girl’s smell of death.

Creationist School Books and What passes for Education in Intelligent Design!

Below is an comment I received in response to one of my blogs that was basically an advertisement for a Creationist school book series. I don’t get mad at this sort of thing since I do the same type of viral marketing with Flores Girl. On the other hand, I guess I don’t have a life so I actually looked the site up. Wow, talk about strange. I have never seen someone tie themselves up in mental knots like this before. I mean I once knew a girl who was good with knots but that’s an entirely different story and for a entirely new blog. Anyway, take a gander at this and see if any of this makes sense to you. I get this stuff all the time because of the name of my adventure podcast, Flores Girl: The Children Got Forgot. The creationist flog to the site like birds to freshly washed car. Did I mention Flores Girl was a free podcast at Podiobooks? Okay, I’m a marketing slut, I admit it.

Erik John Bertel

THERE IS A NEW DISCIPLINE:

The Quest for !@#$, a series of 7 textbooks created for the public schools, represents the ultimate marriage between an in-depth knowledge of biblical phenomena and natural and physical sciences. (You got this is for the home schooled crowd -EjB) The several volumes have accomplished that which, heretofore, was deemed impossible: to level the playing field between those who desire a return to physical science in the classroom and those who embrace the theory of evolution. The Quest for Right turns the tide by providing an authoritative and enlightening scientific explanation of natural phenomena which will ultimately dethrone the unprofitable Darwinian view.

(How about a little dethroning via some scientific research and experimentation rather than saying god did it? -EjB)

The backbone of Darwinism is not biological evolution per se, but electronic interpretation, the tenet that all physical, chemical, and biological processes result from a change in the electron structure of the atom which, in turn, may be deciphered through the orderly application of mathematics, as outlined in quantum mechanics. A few of the supporting theories are: degrading stars, neutron stars, black holes, extraterrestrial water, antimatter, the absolute dating systems, and the big bang, the explosion of a singularity infinitely smaller than the dot of an “i” from which space, time, and the massive stellar bodies supposedly sprang into being.

(Huh, I guess this is how creationists try to explain randomness in the gene pool – EjB)

The philosophy rejects any divine intervention. Therefore, let the philosophy of Darwinism be judged on these specifics: electron interpretation and quantum mechanics. Conversely, the view that God is both responsible for and rules all the phenomena of the universe will stand or fall when the facts are applied. The view will not hinge on faith alone, but will be tested by the weightier principle of verifiable truths – the new discipline.

(Actually that is the province of physicists but what the heck if we muddy the water enough maybe nobody will notice all we are saying is god did it! – EjB)
The Quest for !@$# is not only better at explaining natural phenomena, but also may be verified through testing. As a consequence, the material in the several volumes will not violate the so-called constitutional separation of church and state. Physical science, the old science of cause and effect, will have a long-term sustainability, replacing irresponsible doctrines based on whim. Teachers and students will rejoice in the simplicity of earthly phenomena when entertained by the new discipline.

(Ouch, new discipline – that sounds scary, almost Catholic school-like. Still it could be fun with the right girl! Yikes, I’m starting to sound like a fetish freak!-EjB)

The Quest for !@#$ is not only an academic resource designed for the public schools, but also contains a wealth of information on pertinent subjects that seminarians need to know to be effective: geology, biology, geography, astronomy, chemistry, paleontology, and in-depth Biblical studies. The nuggets from the pages of Biblical history alone will give seminarians literally hundreds of fresh ideas for sermons and teachings. The ministry resources contained in The Quest for Right serve as invaluable aids that will enrich graduates beyond their highest expectations.

(Stephen Hawkins watch out, those wacky creationists scientists will be after you next! – EjB)

Here’s a passage from the book:

The investigation tackles the perplexing problem of how to reduce the earth’s heavy saturation of atmospheric water vapors on the first and second days of creation to their present level. Interestingly, light but not the sun was created on the first day; the sun was created on the fourth day. The cleric scholarship, unaccustomed to the laws of classical physics, has been rendered impotent in the submission of any viable mechanism. The league of scientists are similarly neutralized even though they have the answer within their grasp. The quandary leaves the investigation poised to solve the seemingly inexplicable riddle by incorporating the best of both worlds: the premises set down in the scientific record of creation and the fundamental rules of classical physics, which hold the universe in its grasp. The mystery is solved by entertaining a certain aspect of the marvelous water molecule.

(What the heck? Is it me or does any of this make sense? I know I am not home schooled but huh?- EJB)

You will not want to miss the adventure of a lifetime which awaits you in Volume 1 of The Quest for !@#$. (Wow, there are seven volumes of them)

“A book that will change the world.” – Wayne’s World, Editor, Vanity Publishing

(I thought the Bible did that? Hey, this is fun, it’s good to be the king- EjB)

A Mighty Wind Named Rush Backs Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Okay, I just can’t let go of this one. The other problem with this silly pseudo-science is that Intelligent Design purports to have some great interfaith universality when in fact teaching Intelligent Design would be contrarian to many other religious beliefs as well. Many Buddhists have little need or no need for a creator/personal god guiding the direction of the universe and for a fundamentalist the god of Intelligent design would weaken the power of their personal god or their fundamental belief in a 6,000 year old earth. Intelligent design, as advocated by Expelled, is not only bad science but bad religious dogma for many people as well and is specifically a tired, rehashed Judaic/Christian fundamentalist dogma.

 

Furthermore, Intelligent Design is a belief structure that is reduced to disingenuous nitpicking at the edges of scientific theory called evolution, looking for a foothold where none is forthcoming or where the ground is forever shifting. And does anyone care the least bit that Intelligent Design actually destroys any illusion of free will? I mean when does god’s hand comes down and beginning squeezing the jaws of the chosen people so that the next generation can have one less molar? I am of course referring to the observation that our wisdom teeth have become superfluous in modern man as our jaws continued to be downsized. And if god is removing teeth as part of his great evolutionary plan what else is god mucking with? If all of this sounds rather silly as an argument well that’s because it is. Rather than being liberating like religion, Intelligent Design is a bastard child of Creationist’s convenience and is not terribly convincing even as a pseudo-science.

 

The loss of ‘free will’ is of no concern to Rush Limbaugh, after all he believes life should be scripted as per his own neo-conservative credo and no dissenter need  apply. Rush skewers the scientific community with such dismissive comments as “the condescension and the arrogance these people have, they will readily admit that Darwinism and evolution do not explain how life began.”  Hey, lard ass, it’s the theory of evolution and not the theory of creation! Jeez, can’t you follow any discriminating, structured argument? 

 

So now the great vicodin-fueled gas bag himself has added his own personal endorsement to the movie Expelled. And why not? Minimal critical thinking is required to embrace Intelligent Design and with Intelligent Design god’s chosen species is once again returned to the top of the proverbial spiritual food chain. I should point out since man made god in his own image it comes as no surprise that most fundamentalist religions make it a point to exclude women from their own theocracy. When does the madness and stupidity stop?

 

Alright, I know I said that insults have to stop but really isn’t Rush Limbaugh just an escaped caricature from some perverse adult theme park?  Al I can say is just be careful Rush or scientists will stop inventing new pain killers for you to buy from your housekeeper. And that cheesy photo of him with a cigar!  Doesn’t he know cigars go best with a tacky Hawaiian shirt!

 

 

Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed at the Movies: Where Bad Religion Doctrine Meets Bad Science

Wow! “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” the movie has made evolution chic once again. If you haven’t heard yet those wacky creationists got the bright idea to make a pro-Intelligent design movie. Unlike others that feel it is their right to comment on a movie they haven’t seen I haven’t seen this original piece of work so I will limit my comments to the central premise of the movie: Intelligent Design. You may also be wondering why the hell a blog about writing cares about Intelligent design. One of the basic themes of my novel and free speculative fiction podcast, Flores Girl:The Children God Forgot, is the individual struggle between a path of science and one’s spiritual choices. Many of the more devout podcast listeners are offended by the main character’s irreverent take on religion, after all they are biologists, and I have exchanged some interested discourses with some religious fundamentalist types.

What is interesting about the Expelled phenomenon is that the bitterness and acrimony expressed during the reviews of the movie can only be the province of true believers on both sides of the argument. Categorically, each side has rejected the other’s arguments and the personal animosity shows. Science is about the pursuit of truth but not necessarily the seeking of a final truth whereas religion is all about a final truth as accepted by the true believers. And yes, science does have its own dogma and priesthood but that doesn’t mean the pursuits of the church and science are the same. That contradiction just reflects the ture nature of man. The problem is there is no halfway solution; the two should remain irrevocably separate. To teach one as a complement to the other in some sort of bizarre ying and yang relationship does a disservice to the lucid thinking of our younger generations and confuses the choices of an individual.

Moreover, while the knowledge of god is liberating to a pious person, to a scientist the heavy hand of god is extremely confining. There is not much a scientist can do with the theory that “god did it” or that “god will do it” and that in essence is the guiding insight of Intelligent design. Okay, they say Intelligent guidance rather than the almighty but wink, wink we all know they are talking about god, and in fact a Christian god. And if you believe in the doctrine of Intelligent design at what exact point in the science do you throw up your hands and acknowledge the handiwork of that god? That’s not as easy a decision as you might think if you think rationally and scientifically.

Today, physicists struggle to throw off the self-imposed shackles of their own Big Bang theory by embracing string and brane theory so unwilling are they to acknowledge the imposition of a god at a given starting point or singularity in the universe. And I say good for them, stretching the imagination is prerequisite for science and being timid has no place in science. Scientific theory has an entire thought and review process that is alien to religious practice and rather than fostering blind leaps of faith, science is forever skeptically questioning what we know. Rather than seeing the scientific process of question and debate as strength the very scientific process emboldens the ignorant. Asking why five fingers, two eyes and a single anus is de rigeur for a scientist rather than the blind belief that we are made in god’s image. I don’t know why we are what we are but saying god did it is not going to get us any closer to the truth; it just makes it easier for the vast majority of us to excuse ourselves for being intellectually lazy.

Getting back to my comment that there can be no middle solution with teaching evolution and creationism, excuse me Intelligent design, that would be analogous to a person asking to become a priest without believing in God on the pretense that he wants to serve mankind. No sane Church would have him as a member of t he clergy no matter how good his intentions. He would be kindly reminded that there are other, more appropriate venues for him to demonstrate his innate humanitarianism.

Now to the flip side of the coin as they say. The true believer on the side of science has a considerable personal investment in their own personal struggle to free themselves from the yoke of religious instruction and oppression. Men railing against one another about the existence of God and his/her manifestations in the world, each claiming to have greater insights as to the truth is a common artifact of this individual’s spiritual struggle. For the atheist and agnostic alike religion smells of man and not god and consequently they are reduced to ineffectual displays of rebellion à la Sinead o Connor as she ripped up photos of the Pope on stage. And yet they forget that straining against the religious ties that bind often constricts you more. I know that because I have been in that bitter mode before. So for my evolutionary friends I say use a little less venom, fewer insults and add a little more understanding as to why men (word used deliberately) clutch to their seemingly irrational beliefs. They are not all morons and face it, it is a basic biologically urge to seek the ultimate alpha male in god!

More to follow!