Man must protect himself. He cannot depend upon the supernatural — upon an imaginary father in the skies. He must protect himself by finding the facts in Nature, by developing his brain, to the end that he may overcome the obstructions and take advantage of the forces of Nature.

Is there a God? I do not know.

Is man immortal? I do not know.

When I became convinced that the Universe is natural — that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world — not even in infinite space. I was free — free to think, to express my thoughts — free to live to my own ideal — free to live for myself and those I loved — free to use all my faculties, all my senses — free to spread imagination’s wings — free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope — free to judge and determine for myself — free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the “inspired” books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past — free from popes and priests — free from all the “called” and “set apart” — free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies — free from the fear of eternal pain — free from the winged monsters of the night — free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought — no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings — no chains for my limbs — no lashes for my back — no fires for my flesh — no master’s frown or threat — no following another’s steps — no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds.

…Let us be true to ourselves — true to the facts we know, and let us, above all things, preserve the veracity of our souls.

Source: Why I Am Agnostic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajourneyroundmyskull/sets/72157623325108870/

i lied. i skimmed thru it and only read a few paragraphs here and there, looked at the pictures mostly. my acquired a.d.d. won’t let me pay attention.

http://www.atariarchives.org/artist/index.php

it’s funny: a lot of the times you get hella embarrassed being around your own people and of course you spend the first 30 years of your life trying to get away from them but at the same time, when they’re not around…you kinda miss them. you miss the embarrassing shit, the fobbiness of your culture, a relative who chews with their mouth open, or the aunt who is quick to tell you you’re fat. i’m sure you know what i mean.

you’re looking for one thing in particular and end up finding something else. oh how i love you, interweb. i’m also curious as to what this book has to say.

that show on spike tv is hilarious by the way.

i’ve always wanted to live in the bay area; i did for a bit when i was a kid but it’s not the same, you don’t really appreciate or cherish anything until you get older. anyway this book is pretty good so far; the photos are excellent. spot a COI character by my bff VYAL, lulz.