Schism time

In what lazy journalists will refer to as another schism in the atheist community, Richard Dawkins has been on the receiving end of criticism for his botched handling of a forum "migration" which has left a membership some 85000 strong homeless and upset. (An excellent summary of the situation is posted at: http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/locked-entry-will-open-soon/)

Basically, his system admin team lied repeatedly to the moderatorship of the largest atheist community on the Internet regarding a transition to a new format, and when the mods took issue, the admins maliciously deleted accounts, prevented communication between the members, and generally destroyed said forum. Some tens of thousands of posts have now been lost to the Internet ether, posts which contained sound scientific knowledge, point by point deconstructions of religitarded bile, and a general love and appreciation of the very ideals which Dawkins has become famous for. It was, in short, a travesty.

There's far more to it than that, of course, but my concern is not with the forum but with Mr. Dawkins' reaction TO the situation. In a quote-mine filled "screed," the professor bemoaned the behavior of the upset denizens of his forum, utterly ignoring the source *of* the grievances - the malicious acts of his system admins - through ignorance that seemingly bordered on willful.

Yes, argument from tone. From Richard Dawkins. Wow.

It's frustrating and disheartening, yes, for a personal hero to commit such an egregious faux pas, but at the same time it's comforting to realize that he is above all else, human, and prone to the same errors of judgment as the rest of us. Our "leaders" are not above reproach, and it's to the strength of the skeptical community that no punches were pulled in his condemnation.

I hope that Richard Dawkins makes amends with the very community which he helped to foster, and I look forward to the next few days to see where he goes from here. Perhaps I'm naive, but I'm not quite willing to write off the man and his accomplishments quite yet.

What is it about beauty queens and their tendency to go full retard? And seriously, on what planet do they think that their opinions on *anything* actually matter? The bar is not set all that high; when your title is bestowed based on your ability to walk straight and not fuck up your own name, you are not destined to be the star member of a think tank.

First Prejean, now Ms. Beverly Hills quoting the biblical verse about gays bein' all god-fucked. You know what? Fuck you, you illiterate bitch. Read the rest of Leviticus and see how important that is to modern society.

Why, oh why, has the level of discourse fallen to the level that beauty queens get national press over their astounding ignorance?

Not vintage, still amazing

One of the best brands going these days is Barton Perreira. Basic story is that the lead designer and former president of Oliver Peoples left over something to do with the Luxottica merger (I might be mistaken) and launched the new luxury brand, named for Bill Barton and Patty Perreira. In a little less than 3 years' time they've come to rival *any* brand out there in terms of quality and desireability. I'm a huge fan of the company, and possibly my favorite release thus far is the Gonzales.

Basically a smaller, squared off aviator, the frame features some interesting detailing on the upper brow bar and temples, and features the only polarized lenses I've ever been able to wear without discomfort. I really like the edginess of the frame; its lines almost make it look like a prototype that hasn't been smoothed out for production.

I like these for some reason

I'll say flat out that these are some ugly ass shades. They couldn't be more 80s with a perm and a cocaine addiction, but dammit, they're fuckin' awesome.

I've already proclaimed my love of vintage Diors, but while most of them are classy and classic, these are straight out of a Devo music video, or an incredibly shitty sci-fi movie. Yeah, don't care. Ultra-reflective blue lenses with side blinders are awesome, and I don't care how ridiculous they make me look.

I think these are fairly rare, too, as this is one of only two pairs I've ever seen.

Untitled!

I don't consider myself a hateful person. It's a wasteful emotion and one for which I lack the energy. However, there are topics which serve to bring out the worst in me - religion being the big one - and I'm not sure how to feel about it.

I wonder if the frustration I feel about aspects of my life colors how I react to others who hold beliefs I consider absurd and damaging; perhaps I'm just looking for an outlet for my personal demons. A scapegoat, ironically enough.

I don't know.

Vintage Caviar

No, not the eggs, the brand.

Can't say I know too much about these, beyond that they're rather understated for the brand. The typical Caviar frames are loud, bordering on obnoxious, with crystals and split stems.

These, though, are single matte black square frames with gradient lenses. Couldn't be more unobtrusive if they were invisible.

I really like flat, barely-curved shape of 'em; they've really got a presence that you just don't see with the wrapped frames of today. Sure, they're not as practical or comfortable, but sometimes you've just gotta stand out. I love 'em.

Love Dior

One of the best eyewear blogs on the 'net is written by the undisputed king of vintage shades, Corey Shapiro. It's found at www.vintageframescompany.com (although it's currently offline for server maintenance; should be back up later this week). I came across it a few months back during a particularly long and boring shift, and I've read it pretty much every day since. If you're at all a fan of vintage frames you owe it to yourself to check it out.

I contacted him back in late November regarding a birthday/early Christmas present for myself, and after a few e-mails back and forth I'd settled on these Diors.

Anyway, this is a long-winded way of introducing you to one of my favorite frames of all time, the Christian Dior 2563. It dates back from the 80s when Dior frames were made by Optyl in Germany, and the quality is unsurpassed. Beautiful, thick tortoiseshell stems coupled with the golden metal browbar make these aviators stand out; I've honestly never seen anything quite like them.

Thanks again, Corey.