An Infidel's Introduction

[curiosityandthecat]

Hello all,

We always hear about how atheists/agnostics/etc are an "unorganized" and (comparatively) quiet minority. So, I felt the need to join some organized collection of like-minded folk, and here I am!

Quick facts:
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Melungeon (I usually check the "Other" box, though I'm technically considered Caucasian/White)
Education: BS Ed., finishing M.Ed. I'm licensed to teach 7-12th grade English, yearbook, journalism, etc
Occupation: Librarian to pay the bills, editor to pay for the girl's shopping habit, writer to stroke my ego and photographer to feel connected.
Worldview: Weak atheistic agnostic at rest, strong atheist when confronted. (I'm sure you understand what I mean.  
Miscellany: I'm a video game nut, focusing mainly on survival horror and RPGs. I still occasionally go back to the old Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games for fun.

I'm hoping to be accepted into a crowd that can have intelligent, funny and irreverent discussions without taking itself too seriously. I can only imagine the Happy Atheist Forum is that group!  

Pleased to meet you all!

[Will]

Welcome, CatC.

Quick facts:
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Whitey
Education: BS Psych, undergrad Poli Sci
Occupation: Vice President, Non-Profit Organization
Worldview: Rationalist
Languages: native English, horrible French, German, Italian, Tagalog
Music: In my iPod? Chopin, Maurice Ravel, Röyksopp (what a coincidence), the soundtrack from Star Trek Generations, Kate Havnevik and more.
Movies: I just picked up Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and it was hilarious
Television: Battlestar Galactica
Books: Just read The Sun Also Rises for the 20th time. I'll be rereading the Foundation Series on my day off tomorrow.
Miscellany: I love to exercise; running, weights, yoga, hiking and such. I'm also a fan of composing music and debating, as you may discover as you venture out into the website.

Glad to have another happy atheist!

[Evolved]

Welcome, fellow infidel!  Enjoy your time here.

[joeactor]

Hello CatC - welcome!

Great way to intro... here's a bit about me...

Quick facts:
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Lebanese (also lumped into the Caucasian/White box)
Education: Graduate of SOHK (computer programming, acting, science, etc).
Worldview: Agnostic Theist (I believe I don't think I know)
Occupation: Voice Actor (was a computer coder for many moons)
Languages: English (native), Spanish (2yr hs), Japanese (beginner w/Pimsleur), and a metric tonne of accents.
Music: Anything except Rap or Country.  Lots of new "big band" sound like BBVD or Cherry Poppin' Daddies, plus some pop and techno.  Oh, wait... I just bought a Brad Paisley cd (dang!).
Movies: "Silent Running" - 'nuff said.
Television: Ninja Warrior and Banzuke are good, also a Battlestar and Dr. Who fan, plus lots of cartoons (it's my job).
Books: Sci-Fi (hard), "thinking" books, some psych.  "The Dip" is a good short read.  Currently starting "The God Delusion".  
Miscellany: I am a video game!  (well, voices in several)  Got a Wii -old fave was Metroid series.  Now working on Resident Evil IV and Raving Rabbids (Bunnies and Plungers!!!!).  Also have a telescope that I've used twice and a guitar that I mean to learn.

Too much to do in one life - hoping for plastic replacement parts ;-)

Nice to meet you - hope to chat more,
JoeActor

[Whitney]

Hi curio, welcome to the forum.

[Neoncamouflage]

Welcome to the forum.
Hmmm, it appears everyone is posting fun facts about themselves. I think I will too, wouldn't want to be the odd one out(again).

Age: 15
Gender: White/Caucasian
Education: High School.
Worldview: Atheist, "Strong" Atheist if you want to be specific.
 Languages: English
Music: Linkin Park, Nickelback, Brad Paisly, Kid Rock, P.O.D., and Daughtry are the main ones I listen to.
Miscellany: I enjoy biking, swimming, and playing my 360. I also love debating theists.

[Squid]

Welcome aboard catc!

Age: 32
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White boy
Education: Cert.- Photolithography; BS in Psychology; Finishing M.A. in research health psychology
Occupation: For the next three days - youth advisor in a local school district.  After those three days graduate research assistant in my psych department.
Worldview: Dioist - may the metal be with you... \m/ \m/
Languages: English (native) and that's about it...although I'm going to attempt to learn Norwegian (Bokmål)
Music: A man of metal myself (see my avatar) but with a fairly diverse playlist including: Melodic death metal, hair metal, power metal, classic rock, and blues.  Some examples of those being: Mercenary, Winger, Edguy, Journey, and SRV, respectively.
Movies: Last movie I watched was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  Last one I saw in the theater...hmm I really don't remember.  I'm a fan of action, of course, but I also love really crappy sci-fi and horror movies.
Television: I am a compulsive channel flipper.
Books: I have way too many.  99% are text books - psychology, biology, medicine, geology, et cetera.  And the other 1% are classic works.
Miscellany: I play the guitar - consider myself to be an intermediate player, love German wheat beer, ardent defender of evolutionary theory, and am slowly (very slowly it seems) getting back into working out and martial arts.

[myleviathan]

Welcome, Curios! Glad to have you.

Quick facts:
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White male of NW European descent
Education: BA in Communication
Occupation: Tech Support
Worldview: Atheistic Atheist
Languages: English, Spanish (spent a year in South America as a foreign exchange student when I was 16)
Music: The Shins, Wilco, Ryan Adams, My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, Sublime
Movies: Anything from Wes Anderson(Rushmore, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited)
Television: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocolypse, Space Ghost, South Park, Arrested Development, Strangers with Candy, Bear Grylls
Books: LOTR, Into the Wild, I and Thou, Dispatches, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Miscellany: Married to a Christian, love the outdoors, work across the street from my house, play the guitar (learning 'Well Respected Man' from the Kinks right now)

Here's a pic of me and the wife

[Asmodean]

Welcome, CatC. I'm also new here. hope you likes it.  

Quick facts:
Age: Mid 20-s
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White to the point of transparency
Education: ...Working on it.
Occupation: Slacker/student/poet/writer/slacker (did I mention that?)
Worldview: A(pa)theist
Languages: English, Norwegian, Russian, smutterings of German.
Music: Symphonic Metal, Gothic Rock, a bit of Synth Pop, Metalcore and Punk Rock too. (BTW Røyksopp?
Books: Best ever: Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (R.I.P.) Currently on the night table: Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton.
Miscellany: ... ... Nope. Nothing here :-P

[McQ]

Welcome to the forum, CatC!

Good idea with the quick facts. I have a couple that are freakishly similar to JoeActor.

Quick facts:
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Sort of a pinkish/tannish white guy. Dad from Scotland, mom from Italy.
Education: Still trying to catch up to Jethro and get through the sixth grade.
Worldview: Apatheist. Don't really believe and don't really care.
Occupation: Hematology/Oncology Consultant (full time). Part-time photographer and actor. Yes I have been paid for both, but I suck anyway.
Languages: English, Italian (I can curse at you the same way my mom cursed at me), German (passable in high German), and Russian (I suck at it, but took three years of it in college). I really need to have Joe teach me an Australian Accent, as someone just hired me to do a reading that calls for it.
Music: This is one of those weird ones that looks like Joe's.  Anything except Rap or Country. Big Band sound like BBVD or Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Classical. Jazz.
Movies: This is another one....spooky! "Silent Running". I love this movie. I think it could actually be remade, but with Jodie Foster in the Bruce Dern role of Freeman Lowell.
2001: A Space Odyssey; MP and the HG; Airplane!; Too many others to name.
Television: Deadliest Catch; Dirty Jobs; Seinfeld reruns; Nova; Sports
Books: Biographies, lots of them;
Miscellany: Amateur Astronomer; former Army Aviator; photographer; dad.

[joeactor]

Pretty freaky, McQ!

Wish I could help you with the Ozzie, but I'm still picking that one up.

Have you tried the "Speech Accent Archive"?
They have speakers from around the globe say the same paragraph to demonstrate liquistic differences.

Here's the site:
http://accent.gmu.edu/

And the paragraph:

Please call Stella.  Ask her to bring these things with her from the store:  Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob.  We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids.  She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station.

They use the IPA standard (International Phonetics Association).

Mind if I call you "Bruce"?
JoeActor

[McQ]

Pretty freaky, McQ!

Wish I could help you with the Ozzie, but I'm still picking that one up.

Have you tried the "Speech Accent Archive"?
They have speakers from around the globe say the same paragraph to demonstrate liquistic differences.

Here's the site:
http://accent.gmu.edu/

And the paragraph:

Please call Stella.  Ask her to bring these things with her from the store:  Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob.  We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids.  She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station.

They use the IPA standard (International Phonetics Association).

Mind if I call you "Bruce"?
JoeActor

Joe, thank you! I haven't seen this site yet. I will be all over it! I have owned and used Robert Blumenfeld's "Accents, A Manual for Actors" for years. The CD's are extremely helpful, although they don't really have native speakers, just Blumenfeld himself. And unfortunately, the Aussie part is only about two minutes long.  

[MariaEvri]

I like its
its like filling in a questionaire
Worldview: like I said, apatheist. Eat or be eaten
Languages: Greek and english
Music: metal
Movies: I like animated movies, but I watch everything except horrors
Television: I ahrdly watch tvexcept from some shows, like CSI, a satirical show and lots of documentaries
Miscellany: thats all about me. Im actually a botring person once u meet me. Oh I love huge cars but my love towaqrds the environment forbits me from getting one. So I stick to watching them drive by heh

[Marke]

Melungeon ?! had to Google that one, interesting, I had heard of "red-bone", most people around here (SE Alabama) that self identify as red-bone look mostly black but it being oveuse(sp) that other genes are floating around in there. If you don't mind me asking and I am guessing you don't since you broached the subject, can you describe your skin tone and general look? I saw the photo at wikipedia but got the impression that Melungeon is getting "whiter" over the generations.

Me? well everyone else is doing it so:

white, white, white, as far as I know, all my recent ancestors came from western Europe, Germany on my moms side, on my dads side, who knows, the name is Welsh. All that said, I think "race" is a social construct, oh sure, if your ancestors spent the last ice age in a particular region you may have a particular look.

At 49 it looks like I am one of the oldest here.
Male
Education: never got a bachelors in anything but have made up for it in large degree through reading anything and everything.
Occupation: helicopter electronics tech.
worldview: optimistic soft atheist.
Languages: English, barely
Music: quite eclectic, just no gangsta rap or opera.
Movies: SF, thing persons drama, action adventure when I am in the mood
TV: house
Miss: wife and two kids that don't share my genes but I feed them long enough that they look like me.

[Tom62]

Welcome to the forum curiosityandthecat.

My quick facts

Age: 46
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: caucasian
Education: Studied ecomomics, but rolled into computer sciences
Worldview: Apatheist
Occupation: senior Java software programmer in the tourist industry
Languages: Dutch,  English, German, survival French (lived 3,5 years in Paris and 7 years in the french speaking part of Switzerland)
Music: Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, New Wave. Some favourite bands: Alice Cooper, AC/DC, The Nits and Sparks.
Movies: Life of Brian, The Empire Strikes Back, Demolitian man
Television: Red Dwarf, Bottom, Startrek NG, 24, the X-Files, Koot en Bie
Books: SciFi (Neil Asher, Ian M. Banks, Isaac Asimov, Fredric Brown, Larry Niven, etc.) and "ordinary" literature (like Gabriel García Márquez "Love in Time of Cholera or Jan Wolkers "Turkish Delight)
Miscellany: mediocre chessplayer and painter