With the recent changes in the organization, the task has fallen to me to take a leadership role in the Atheist Viewpoint TV show. We usually tape 4 shows at once, and the topics range widely.The “on-line system” is now being upgraded (thanks to Tim) so we will be able to show you more episodes on-line, and we already do the video Podcasting.I’d like to know if anyone has any suggestions as to what subjects they’d like to see discussed on the show. Debates? Special guests? Likes/dislikes? Did you know the show existed?Also, as a reminder, it would be great if you as individuals could sponsor the show. It’s good activism and doesn’t cost anything — just a bit of effort. Here is the link to the (temporary) web site for sponsorship information http://viewpoint.illdill.net/sponsorship.asp
R4d
I was going to warn people that the latest bait was even more obvious than usual. It lays bare his intentions and to respond (I do understand the impulse)is to encourage him.
Sorry, I’m a newbie here. Can you tell me where and when your show appears?
Shayne
http://viewpoint.illdill.net/ViewShows.asp
It’s a “Sponsored show”. We film it At AA HQ. Volunteers call their local cable company and try to get it aired. Many cable stations will do this, but many will not. For those that do, we send tapes out to the volunteers, who then bring them to the cable company once a month.
The schedule is up on the site as well. If it’s not in your area, please consider sponsorship.
Karen, I’m sorry you’re having trouble. Send an email to tdicks@atheists.org with tech questions.
Dave
I tried the illdill link and was able to listen to (but not watch your cuteness) the “transitions” show. That’s all I’ve spent time on though. Will check on the other tech problem for the shows not available on illdill. Thanks.
Karen, my cuteness is all I got!
Comment from: rainbows4dinosaurs
Simple. Don’t take each verse out of context. The entire first half of the song describes the views of an atheist…
I don’t believe in Kennedy?
I don’t believe in Elvis?
He didn’t believe in anything but himself. Would you not agree that’s your world view? You set your own moral standards? You decide what’s right and wrong?
Then he realizes it was all a dream. And now he’s reborn…
In light of the interview posted where Lennon claims to be a christian, this sure seems like a logical explanation to his lyrics…
Do you have a more rational explaination that can be described without name calling and personal attacks?
You’re starting to sound like “What do I know”…
I hadn’t seen any Atheist Viewpoint episodes before, so I can’t compare the recent ones with past shows, but I thought the two I watched today were quite well done and certainly informative (transitions and atheist parenting). I was particularly pleased to get a better idea of future plans for AA, including restructuring of the board(s) and playing more nicely with other organizations.
If you can get enough participation, I think it might be interesting to occasionally have a small panel of guests (3-4 people) along with a moderator to discuss various issues.
And yes, Dave is very cute
r4d
Good question. I recommend simply mocking the fools and never addressing them directly. Otherwise they just keep you busy with their juvenile and transparent attempts to keep you chasing their moving goal posts. It’s about control. Trolls are weak minded people operating on the margins of the society whose only joy in life is disrupting the plans of others.
Allow me to demonstrate how one can address a troll if one so desires.
Phreeky will move the goal post up his butt if he thinks you will go there.
The key here is to simply mock the troll without giving it anything of substance to respond to. In other words you take control thereby showing the troll just how powerless they really are. This infuriates the troll and if they don’t leave, because others may be feeding their neurosis, it is at least loads of fun to watch them twist.
For awhile there, I was really interested in Arthur’s posts – he seemed to have some insider knowlege about American Atheists and a point of view that wasn’t evident from other sources. However, the more he posts, the more I suspect he’s just a disgruntled former low-level employee with an inflated sense of his own importance an an axe to grind because he’s apparently not working for American Atheists anymore. After his pointless attack on Dave in this thread when Dave was clearly talking about the TV show and not American Atheists in general, I am becoming more and more skeptical about the stuff this Arthur guy says. This guy may have worked with Ellen Johnson in some minor capacity but he seems to think that qualifies him to mind-read members of the board then and make some broad statements about what they think and do.
I’m starting to think he doesn’t know squat about the real situation other than what he’s been spoon-fed by Ellen Johnson.
Chet
Chet, Arthur is not “a disgruntled low level employee.” Arthur was 50% of Ellen’s staff. He, above all, knew what was going on day to day in the AA headquarters in Cranford, NJ. Dave did not. Conrad Goeringer did not. Frank Zindler did not. That freaky Texas board member whom I never met DID NOT. Arthur was THERE. Every day. And he is still loyal to Ellen. What does that tell you?
So Chet, don’t fall in with the Judases. They are opportunists.
And believe me, the AA cable TV show was much better with Elllen on it.
And you still sound like a lunatic.
From the end of the Lennon “God” song:
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that’s reality
The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the dreamweaver
But now I’m reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I’m John
And so dear friends
You just have to carry on
The dream is over.
The Walrus, is of course the character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice series, and John Lennon’s favorite fictional character. Many people have long thought that the poem, “The Walrus and the Carpenter” was a stab at religion and/or capitalism. Here’s how it’s explained in the movie Dogma:
In his song, John is obviously saying he’s reborn as a realist, and leaving behind the days of being the Walrus. (Whether or not you believe the interpretation of the Carroll poem), that is what I see from reading the lyrics of Lennon’s song in total.
What
thanks for the correction. I must have been daydreaming about phreedm when I typed that.
Phreedm, don’t be mad, come on out and play. I was kidding about the crunchy peanut butter and the spilling of seed on the sheets and a coathanger and you living in a mental institution. Jeez, can’t you take a joke or a few. I really would like to hear your theory of economic theory, honest. I’m under the impression we are going to see 1929 soon and maybe you could clarify how this evolved. I also still would like to hear your version of where the land of Nod was after Cain raised a ruckus. Just imagine.
Sorry, Smartgal, but I just don’t buy what he’s saying anymore. Arthur may have worked at American Atheists but he just doesn’t come across like he really knows anything about anything. It seems like I even recall a post of his where he said something about working for AA part time and from home. If that’s the case, that hardly makes him the big-deal insider he claims to be.
I don’t think you have any particular insight or insider information either (do you even personally know any of the people who call by name and disparage?) I think you’re just buying what he’s saying because it fits with what you want to believe. I for one am glad Johnson is no longer president – maybe AA will finally get a president capable of bringing the organization out of the 1950s/1960s and give it some relevance.
Chet
Ahem… back to the point… I would like to see some sort of discussion of what the future of atheism is. what do we hope to accomplish and how do we hope to accomplish it? How can we organize more effectively? How can we motivate the apathetic masses? How do we attract people to the cause? What organizations could we emulate? What practical strategies should we use to stop the virus?
I’m starting to tire of the people accusing each other of being idiots (as if making such an accusation during a disagreement is not an indictment of oneself) and the weird obsession with Ellen.
To those who are emotionally wrapped up in their little anonymous website rivalries: Don’t you realize that we are only a few years away from complete religious domination of the government, media, military, and economy??? Is there anything more important than your flame wars?
But they’re part of the evil Allied Atheist Alliance!! Only an idiot would denounce the truly logical path presented by the United Atheist Alliance!
Mark Farris said:
“We really don’t have to be terribly concerned about teaching old dogs new tricks, we have to do our best to insure new dogs don’t learn the old tricks.”
i agree 100%. the only problem is that we have no societally ingrained mechanism to accomplish that without becoming “preachers” and “proselytizers” like them. science is our best ally and they are doing their best to dumb it down in the schools to maintain their trickery.
Mark Farris
You are a skilled troll handler. My hat’s off to you.
karen,
nice job on the Lennon god issue, but phreedm and his buddies will always see want they want to see, evidence ignored.
anyone who thinks that our founders intended this nation to be a bastion of christianity doesn’t get it and never will.
OK, Dave. I’ve listened to two of your newer episodes of AV, and two of the older episodes with Ellen. I still wish I could view them, but c’est le vie. All in all, I preferred the newer ones. The old ones wasted over two minutes with I dunno, sound test and musak (maybe over screen credits) at the beginning and the sound was choppy in places. Ellen covered her mike a couple of times with things she was showing to the camera, and lost her mike at one time. You seemed to be more aware of the timing of the show and moved from one thing to another pretty well, while Ellen wasn’t as organized. She even had to send someone off to get some things she forgot.
One thing that happened with both of you was the talking to the camera man. At least you identified him and explained who you and Dennis were talking to. But I would suggest that you ask Tim not to talk to you during the show, because only you can hear what he’s saying. Unless you caption it on the video part and I just missed that because I only had the audio.
Another difference, and this may not hold up since I only listened to a total of 4 episodes, was that Ellen and Dennis were more ridiculing of people of faith than you and Dennis were. So your approach seems more tolerant and less rabid, yet still very proactive. (Ironic, since one of your episodes was “Nuts and News” -I expected an evisceration of the faithful.)
Dennis rambles on a bit, much like Ellen had a tendency to do, repeating the same point over and over. Alternately, he gets stuck trying to process an idea from thought to speech. While I can certainly empathize with him on that, it’s not the best quality to have as a co-host on a half-hour talk show.
The show’s probably not long enough to have call-in questions, but devoting a show to answering emails or general questions is a good idea, I think. Maybe one out of every four shows.
Keep up the good work. Looks-er, sounds like you’re on the right track.
r4d
BLASPHEMER!!!!
UNITED ATHEIST LEAGUE OTTERS! A-T-T-A-C-K-!!!
matador – I was the Atheist Viewpoint producer and sponsor coordinator for several years, and I can tell you that sending out the wrong episode to at least one sponsor is definitely an honest mistake. I did that a lot, and sometimes we needed to, for various reasons. It’s a big job coordinating all that, mostly because there are still more than one format for videos that stations require. Plus not all stations play episodes at the same rate. There’s so much more…It’s complicated.
Joe Zamecki
Austin
is AV a good use of funds.now is as good a time as any for a review of all projects.i am not saying this because i’m against AV but think AA should use this time for a top to bottom review of everything.in light of the sinking economy AA must become more effective regarding the budget.
Wonderful feedback. 10-q all!
We have a big job ahead of us, but I am excited to take it on.
One last question: How many of you might actually come to Cranford NJ for a live taping, if we were to have one (with cheese and wine)?
Reason, yes and yes.
We are restructuring the organization(s) and considering everything we do. But A/V is cheap (everything is volunteer) and productive so it will continue.
r4d & karen,
Y’all rock! There’s more truth in that episode than many of us are willing to accept!
At least the religious folks have it worse. They get themselves killed by the millions over big issues such as whether religious statues are idols or whether the host actually turns into Jesus’s flesh or not. Unfortunately, they’re still in control, so we could still be collateral damage!
Comment from: sayonara
Exactly who stands in the way of education? NEA? AA? What’s happened to education since Carter created the Federal Department of Education in the late 1970′s?
Here’s a simple question…are you for “choice” in education or do you prefer the status quo?
Interesting how no one wants to address the recently discovered Lennon interview…but would rather ignore it and show their superior debating skills by resorting to “What do I know”s tactics…
So far Karen is the only one who gave a coherent answer…but even she has ignored the interview…
David
you speaking gibberish as you handle snakes would draw a bigger crowd at the very least you will get in the local news.