What kind of people are atheists? Behind the scenes at an atheist conference

I got up early the second day of the conference, took a coffee and a pastry from the hotel lobby, and headed to the convention hall in Springfield Missouri. There was a large crowd outside today. I smiled, eager to meet new friends - until I realized they were Christian protesters. Skepticon describes itself as the "Largest Free Conference on Skepticism" in the nation, and it has been a well-known atheist convention for several years. I'd flown ...

Stairway to heaven: cosmetologist becomes Taoist master after climbing sword ladder

Taoism is one of the religions I appreciate. From the Lao Tzu's tao-te-ching we get pearls of wisdom like "Those who know do not speak, those who speak, do not know" and "Even a 1,000 mile journey starts with a single step" - what's not to like? So I was a bit disappointed when I saw this ridiculous headline on the front of the Taipei Times: Sword ladder makes cosmetologist a Taoist master (登一百零八層劍梯 美容師順利考取法師) Apparently the Beitian Temple in Hualien County’s ...