Brian Flemming's
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W H A T ' S G O I N G O N
My most recent film, The God Who Wasn't There, is available on DVD at the official site and elsewhere.
Bat Boy: The Musical is currently being staged in productions of various sizes around the world. A movie adaptation directed by John Landis is in development, with no casting announced or shooting date set.
Bill Gates is still dead.
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The God Who Wasn't There
HOME
Misc.
I did not make "Zeitgeist"
Apparently there's a rumor going around that I made the movie Zeitgeist. I've been getting a lot of emails about it. For the record, I did not make Zeitgeist or have anything to do with it. I am also still...
May 27, 2008
Your theater plans for the weekend
No matter where you are in the world, you are no more than a few thousand miles from one of these productions: Los Angeles. The long-awaited revival of Mitch Watson's Klub opens Saturday at the Actors' Gang: This LAist interview...
April 10, 2008
Josh Olson
Speaking of Josh Olson...While totally neglecting my blog, I totally neglected to link his recent awesome cover story in the L.A. Weekly. (After you read the story, see this video for a look at the culprit.)...
October 22, 2007
To cleanse your palate
From that Van Halen video: Les Paul....
October 22, 2007
Email
Trying to catch up now. If you've emailed me recently, I'm getting to it......
August 27, 2007
Hey, stupid people
Good news: And when it comes to financial distress, smarts are no help at all. People with 140 IQ scores (a score of 100 is average) missed payments and maxed-out their credit cards more often than their lower IQ counterparts....
August 13, 2007
Misc
Guess how many Catholic priests have been accused of molestation just in Los Angeles? Yet another serious national-security blunder that President Gore would not have made. President Bush might as well have given North Korea nuclear weapons directly. When will...
July 16, 2007
Bad advice
The advice column is a literary form that is quite difficult to write even competently, and very few have mastered it. You need to have readers with interesting problems, select well from their letters and give them good, fearless, non-obvious...
July 12, 2007
More misc. links
Cheat sheet Web 2.0 Man bites Wolf Man bites Fox The Bible can justify almost anything. Chasers: The Secret tested. Americans tested. Evangelicals explored. (Thanks, David.)...
July 10, 2007
Videos
Brave New Films wants to impeach Cheney. If Rudy Giuliani really tried to appeal to conservatives. Blue Man Group rocks. More rocks. Bass. More bass. Basshunter. (Via Atrios, MeFi)...
July 08, 2007
Links
The valiant fight against the Arkansas skateboard menace. Complaint. We should remember that the gay-rights movement achieved this progress by being nice and polite and never bothering anyone. A conservative says: "Cheney has dulled political accountability and concocted theories for...
June 28, 2007
Videos
Richard Dawkins wears shorts "Good Copy, Bad Copy" The humiliation of Chris Matthews King of the jungle, my ass...
June 21, 2007
Reason
Reason is not just the opposite of faith. It's also the name of a great music-production application. DJ Madson, my alter-ego, used it to create this. Reason is the kind of software, like Final Cut or Mac OS X, that...
June 20, 2007
So that's where they went
I was wondering....
June 19, 2007
Links
Pay attention. Perhaps a bit premature, but whatever. Ex-gay ministry leader now says there's no such thing as ex-gay. Why does this senator want to be armed at his office? The first movies. Iraq forever. Our troops will be dealing...
June 19, 2007
Misc.
She's got a crush on Obama. They're here, they're queer, and we're getting used to it. In fact, it seems to be rubbing off. It's apparently possible to make e-cards even worse. Everything is going to be just fine....
June 15, 2007
Misc.
Dang, that's a lot of Wang. (Thanks, Cindy) The real America. "Bush's foreign policy has descended into a fugue state." If Fox News had existed throughout history. (Thanks, Josh) What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)Midland("Midland" is...
June 14, 2007
Misc.
Some of these people are lying. Often is the question asked, what did Rome look like on June 21, A.D. 320? (Warning: Horrible horrible Flash site with horrible horrible navigation.) Does Republicanism cause stupidity or does stupidity cause Republicanism? Bedfellows:...
June 12, 2007
Links I should have blogged this week
What is it about copyright that causes otherwise sane people to lose all perspective in defense of it? Of course, it's not the only thing that turns people into idiots. Somerby and Krugman remind us how we got Bush. It...
June 08, 2007
Videos
Sicko opens June 29. Nashville local news limps into last place in the race to cover the Blasphemy Challenge. You'd think after half a year they could come up with something better than the usual "Atheists make a statement --...
June 04, 2007
While I was gone...
The Arizona Republic printed its article on Bat Boy. I respect an actor who shaves his head for the role, as Jimmy Hays Nelson did: Sam Harris and Chris Hedges battled at Royce Hall. Apparently Hedges' approach to the debate...
May 30, 2007
Richard Carrier and Penn & Teller
Richard just got back from Vegas, where he had some fun with firearms....
May 18, 2007
The introverts' secret
We're happier....
May 16, 2007
Misc.
What it's like to be a young atheist in Oklahoma. (Thanks, Danny) Another Christian pastor admits that Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort lost miserably: "They got completely shellacked in this one." Breaking news: Men like to look at pictures of...
May 14, 2007
More misc. links
Anyone can be an atheist. I am not involved. The U.S. political press refuses to understand the major criticisms leveled at it. (Possibly because: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his...
May 05, 2007
Links you sent recently
National Day of Failure. (Thanks, Jeff) Hitchens on Lou Dobbs. (Thanks, David) Further proof that my union is more an extension of the studios than an independent representative of its members' interests. (Thanks, Dennis)...
May 04, 2007
Email
I have 190 messages in my inbox at the moment. And that's relatively low. My email inbox is a giant mountain of small-to-large tasks that just grows every day. The best I can to is chip away at it, never...
May 03, 2007
News flash
Pot makes you paranoid. Now that they know, I'm sure those doctors will be doing all sorts of things to mess with me. They've always been after me. I think they're watching me right now....
May 01, 2007
Richard Carrier on history before 1950
I have heard Richard make this point before, and now he spells it out in detail in his latest (all too rare) blog entry: The first day I arrived in the office of my graduate advisor at Columbia University, Professor...
May 01, 2007
Woman in progress
Mike Penner has been writing for the Los Angeles Times for as long as I've been reading it. If I cared about sports at all, I'd probably know who he is. But now he's writing about something that is actually...
April 27, 2007
Misc
The Obashira Festival. More fun than The Lottery. (Thanks, Brian) More cats. (From Dana, who says, "Since you clearly have a thing about cats." Actually, I'm not much of a cat person. I'm just pandering to my readership.) Tolerance not...
April 27, 2007
Warning to the pregnant
Nora Murphy says you shouldn't read this....
April 19, 2007
Five minutes of work, get yourself a headline
Just threaten the life of a bear via fax. "Death threat, police protection for Knut!" [major German daily newspaper] Bild wrote in bold letters on page one above a picture of the sad-looking polar bear cub peering out from behind...
April 19, 2007
I'm not gonna get
too sentimental....
April 10, 2007
Links I found my own damn self, mostly
Parrot sketch mashup. Make sure you don't have food or drink in your mouth when you start this one. "The Foley Room." Interesting approach to manufacturing artificial instruments. And good music, as usual from Amon Tobin. This would probably be...
April 08, 2007
Engadget review of Apple TV
Interesting facts: 1. Apple TV requires an HDTV. 2. Due to inherent limitations in iTunes content, you will be watching virtually no video in HD resolution using Apple TV. I think I'll be waiting on this one....
April 06, 2007
Some links
Monster. (Thanks, Javier.) PZ Myers seems to agree that the proper response to Epstein's tactic is contempt, in his case bored contempt: Ho-hum. Whenever I see someone jabbering about "fundamentalist atheists," a combination of terms that makes no sense at...
April 05, 2007
Apple TV
The hacking has begun. Mike Curtis of HD for Indies is tracking developments at his new blog. Some internet-video entrepreneurs believe that Apple TV could open up opportunities for independent videomakers. I wish Apple TV easily facilitated the playing of...
March 23, 2007
The horror, the horror
Part 2. (Well, Bat Boy: The Musical's Kerry Butler is starring, so it'll be worth seeing just for her.)...
March 14, 2007
The horror
The horror....
March 13, 2007
Misc.
Hope for the future. An Italian blog about fake documentaries includes an entry with clips from Nothing So Strange. Why a comparative religions course should be a requirement for high-school graduation. (It won't happen here -- Christian theocrats want prayer...
March 05, 2007
More inappropriate content
Peter Popoff is a scam artist. The James Randi folks can't figure out why a video exposing him was deleted by YouTube. YouTube's only clue: "Inappropriate content." (Not copyright vio.) (Thanks, David)...
March 02, 2007
Digg's integrity problems vs. YouTube's
Wired News has two interesting stories today on problems at Digg that are somewhat similar to the problems that YouTube has with its red-flag system (although I'll point out a significant difference below): I Bought Votes on Digg A sneaky...
March 01, 2007
Never order fish on Sunday
Why do I never order fish on a Sunday? Because it was likely delivered Friday morning. Roman Catholics worship Venus and Aphrodite by eating fish on Friday (shh! don't tell them), so restaurants receive a large delivery of fish on...
February 25, 2007
Emailing me
I try to respond to every email I get that requests a response, but I am not always successful in this endeavor. My folder of non-urgent emails that I want to reply to is presently at 150, with dates going...
February 23, 2007
Life without television
I stopped watching television soon after 9-11-01. I don't even own a TV anymore. I watch DVDs on a monitor, and if I really want to see a TV show or clip I'll track it down on YouTube or buy...
February 08, 2007
The Los Angeles River
I'm a Friend of the L.A. River, and I voted for L.A. City Councilman Ed Reyes partly because he actually noticed we had a river and wanted to improve it. Still, as much as I want to, I don't have...
February 02, 2007
Misc.
The Blasphemy Challenge is now the #2 most-responded YouTube video of all time. Mark my words: The future of music is atheist hip-hop. Some atheists just happen to be really good at it. UPDATE: A reader reminds me of Greydon...
February 01, 2007
Odds and ends
Christians play right into our hands fight back! Cartoonist Carol Lay on the Challenge. Audition for Bat Boy in San Diego. Sam Harris is always doing something: Read his latest Newsweek article and a debate with Andrew Sullivan. Read Richard...
January 20, 2007
Randi's challenge
Good Wired News article on some changes to James Randi's longstanding $1M challenge. Looks like a smart move on JREF's part to make the initiative more effective....
January 12, 2007
"The customer comes first"
This phrase is considered a bedrock principle of American capitalism, but it really isn't. If the customer came first, you would hear a human answer the phone instead of ending up in phone tree hell when you call a major...
December 11, 2006
What I learned on the Web recently
How to get ahead in the Bush Administration: Fail. Science educators' choice for global warming facts: Oil companies. Kramer remixed: Funny. Where orangutans hang out: MySpace. Desire of some to ignore the clear and present dangers of religion: Boundless....
November 29, 2006
Your plans this weekend
TGWWT in Monterey: "The God Who Wasn't There," written by ex-evangelical Christian Brian Flemming. 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13 at the Monterey Senior Center, 280 Dickman at Lighthouse avenues, Monterey. Sponsored by the Humanist Association of the Monterey Peninsula Area....
November 10, 2006
Links
Godless: See Richard Dawkins on TV this weekend: A recording of Richard Dawkins' book tour event on October 23rd in Lynchburg, Virginia will be played on C-SPAN2 twice this week: On Saturday, November 11 at 10:00 pm and Sunday, November...
November 08, 2006
Two things
In my mailbag, two questions have been popping up lately: 1. Why didn't I write a six-word short story, too? (Best version of this question from Javier: "Posted Papa's. Didn't write one himself.") 2. Why haven't I commented on Death...
November 02, 2006
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
That's Ernest Hemingway's famous six-word short story. Some new ones....
October 27, 2006
100-mile diet
Eating local. In July, I tried eating a little too local. Not too smart. 100 miles sounds about right....
October 18, 2006
Pet Art 8
See Nora Murphy's art and more....
October 16, 2006
Email overload
If you emailed me in the past couple days, your message may have bounced back. Fixing the problem now......
October 10, 2006
Misc. links
Good news. (Thanks, David.) Bad news. (Thanks, President Thumpy Chest.) New forum....
October 09, 2006
Links
Richard Dawkins has a new site. (Thanks, everyone who emailed to let me know.) Jesus appears in the strangest places. (Thanks, Lexi) Why do atheists care about religion? (Thanks, Michelle) Every day for 6 years. I missed this article on...
September 26, 2006
Sweet
It's great when things work out. I've got my eye on Oscar. See if you can get it before I do....
September 11, 2006
Nora Murphy
See her art in L.A. at Barsac. (And, if you're lucky, go to the reception and talk her into painting a portrait of your dog.)...
August 07, 2006
Taboo
Social pressure in action....
July 23, 2006
Failure
Independence Week is over. My body firmly demanded that I stop. After spending yesterday in a state of nausea and near-fainting, last night I got violently ill. Throughout the day I had eaten a fairly large volume of food --...
July 08, 2006
Day 4: the day it stopped being fun
Hanging in there. It's been a shock to my system to switch to a diet of vegetables only. Since mid-day yesterday, I've been light-headed all the time, even after I eat. I've lost a little over four pounds since Tuesday...
July 07, 2006
Day 3
Thanks to all who have emailed me about Independence Week. To those who have inquired about the sexy pair of feet with pink nail polish in the picture from the first meal, yes, I harvested them. They stepped into the...
July 06, 2006
Searches that bring you here
A proud moment for Brian Flemming's Weblog...
July 05, 2006
Day 2: Breakfast
A Denver omelet of sorts. A corn patty fried up with yesterday's bell pepper and eggplant. Salt and pepper for seasoning. The corn patty is one ear of corn smushed up and shaped. To drink, mint tea, chilled. (The weather...
July 05, 2006
First meal
Just finished my first Independence Week meal: broiled sweet corn, eggplant and bell pepper. So far, so good. See a few pictures....
July 04, 2006
Independence Week
At the end of April, a little over two months ago, I planted my first garden in about 100 square feet of soil in a yard behind my building. After ten weeks of sun, water and a small amount of...
July 04, 2006
The RU Sirius show
Congrats to the RU Sirius show on hitting the one-year mark....
July 03, 2006
Links in my email
"Left Behind: Eternal Torment" (Thanks, Lexi) What a betch (Thanks, Laurie) This has a familiar scene. I cannot explain the coincidence. (Thanks, Bruce) Yikes (Thanks a lot, Susan) Bat Boy attacks the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Thanks, Chris)...
June 25, 2006
Misc. links
Obviously, the best way to combat these noxious folks is to persuade them that certain parts of the Bible should be discarded, other parts viewed only as symbolism, and the few remaining parts taken literally as the inspired word of...
June 23, 2006
Some misc. links
PZ Myers comments on that unique The God Who Wasn't There "screening" Sam Harris on NPR Anti-war short film using Sims 2 as animation engine I sympathize with her...
June 19, 2006
Like
True, it makes smart people sound dumb....
June 16, 2006
Keythe Farley in The Black Rider
Here in L.A., you may be able to catch Keythe Farley in The Black Rider at the Ahmanson before it closes. If you don't make it, here's what he looked like in the show:...
June 08, 2006
555-1984
The greeting and goodbye lines that are apparently in the script for AT&T customer service reps: "Thank you for being a loyal AT&T customer." Um, I have no choice for local service. But thanks for telling me that the reason...
June 02, 2006
Zero sum game
I have never encountered an environment more competitive than backstage. While it's exciting to be back there, the tension underlying even minor social exchanges ("No, you don't look fat in that at all") can make it quite unpleasant. Performers are...
June 02, 2006
I blame John Waters
Years ago, at the talk he gave regularly at film festivals, John Waters revealed that gay bars were the best place to pick up straight women. The women at gay bars are generally smart and attractive, Waters said, and there's...
May 29, 2006
The $1 commute
Over at the Honda Insight discussion forums, some people compete with each other for the best miles-per-gallon achievements. One Insight driver set a Women's Division record yesterday for a round-trip commute. Here is her description of the trip: This represents...
May 27, 2006
Happy Victoria Day
Happy Victoria Day to all Canadian readers of this weblog. While you celebrate the quaint notion of a monarch, secure in the knowledge that your country is actually a peace-loving and liberal democracy, please remember your less fortunate neighbors...
May 22, 2006
Nora Murphy
New dog!...
May 15, 2006
Links from my email
Today Show stings psychic. Advice from a woman who was bilked out of $18K by a psychic: "If you have problems, and you're vulnerable -- go to your priest, go to your shrink. But do not give anybody any money."...
May 07, 2006
Can't decide
Should I be more worried about peak oil or global warming or pandemic flu?...
April 18, 2006
Smart Cars in U.S.
If every driver in the U.S. switched to one of these, I wonder how many people would actually run into problems doing the things they want to do in a given day? 10%? 20%? In Holland, seeing all the bikes...
March 22, 2006
Greedy
Not that there's anything wrong with it. (Hat tip: The General)...
March 13, 2006
One of us, one of us
Josh Marshall joins the cult....
March 07, 2006
To do in L.A.
See 1984. See Julia's show. Get adjusted....
March 06, 2006
How to defeat SmartFilter
Pass around: BOING BOING'S GUIDE TO DEFEATING CENSORWARE...
February 28, 2006
Amsterdam wrap-up
KLM is a great airline except for their policy of allowing children on their airplanes. On my flight back yesterday there were two children behind me, a little boy and a little girl, both around two or five or ten...
February 28, 2006
Weather update
Oh, and that temperature? That's also pretty much the temperature inside my hotel room, as it currently has no working heat....
February 22, 2006
Weather phenomenon
The high today is 39 degrees. The low is 26 degrees. The current temperature is 16 degrees....
February 22, 2006
The Actors' Gang does Orwell's "1984"
Actor and Bat Boy co-author Keythe Farley writes to let me know about the Actors' Gang's stage production of George Orwell's 1984 here in L.A. Keythe is in it, and Tim Robbins is directing: Imagine a world where people fear...
February 15, 2006
The Beastles
Anyone know where I can get this? The Boing Boing links are already dead. New album of Beatles/Beasties mashups - drop-dead awesome! dj BC has released a second album of "Beastles" (Beatles/Beastie Boys) mashups called Let It Beast. dj BC...
February 13, 2006
Washington Post invites criticism, then censors it
In a column last Sunday, the Washington Post's ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff donated money to both political parties. That is false, as Abramoff only gave campaign donations to Republicans. Not only was Howell's assertion objectively...
January 20, 2006
Ann Closs-Farley
Ann Closs-Farley, costume designer extraordinaire, is the subject of an L.A. Times article today. If you are in L.A., the Evidence Room's annual 99 Cents Only Store pageant is a must-see....
November 29, 2005
Confessions of a Wal-Mart Hit Man
Jim Gilliam writes: Robert Greenwald's (Outfoxed) new documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" will premiere in NYC & LA theaters on Nov. 4th and will expand wide on November 13th to over 3,000 screenings nationwide in churches, colleges,...
October 16, 2005
Book review
If you want to maintain any hope for the future of civilization, do not read The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler. Trust me....
October 16, 2005
Ambassador Hotel
Michael Schneider is blogging the end of the Ambassador. It will be strange to go to the Bounty and look across the street and not see the Ambassador Hotel. The pantry at the hotel was the site of the Robert...
October 13, 2005
Email blogging
In my inbox this morning... Sam Harris helpfully skewers liberals who manage to find a way to sympathize with Islamic suicide bombers: We are now in the 21st century: all books, including the Koran, should be fair game for flushing...
October 11, 2005
A History of Violence
Saw it last weekend. It's great. It opens wide today. See it....
September 30, 2005
Email blogging
My usual blogging technique when I'm busy. Shovel some of my email into a blog entry: --Sam Harris has an article in Free Inquiry. When someone as level-headed as Sam writes this way about meditation, it makes me want to...
September 28, 2005
If you've emailed me recently...
Very behind on email. I try to answer all of it, but just too busy the past several days. Working on it......
September 26, 2005
Katrina timeline
Think Progress has a detailed Katrina timeline. (via Atrios)...
September 07, 2005
CFI and SHARE step up, too
The Center for Inquiry also offers a way to give: URGENT MESSAGE FROM PAUL KURTZ We are deeply distressed by the terrible tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina. As secularists, we believe deeply in our obligations to our fellow human beings;...
September 01, 2005
Hands On Humanity
The Universists' new charity: Since our last email encouraging you to give to the Red Cross (still needed), Hands On Humanity has been presented with an opportunity to help directly. Hundreds of victims from Hurricane Katrina are moving to the...
September 01, 2005
Left behind
The Old Broad writes with something I didn't know: The Red Cross does not allow people to bring their pets with them due to the fact that food is served in the Red Cross shelters. As a result, many people...
August 29, 2005
1-800-HELP NOW
DailyKos on helping out New Orleans: The best way to help the folks destined to lose everything is to give to the Red Cross, and to give cash. Unlike the tsunami, there's no question as to what organization is best...
August 28, 2005
Lance Armstrong, atheist
Congrats on his final Tour victory to Lance Armstrong, a fellow atheist. I asked myself what I believed. I had never prayed a lot. I hoped hard, I wished hard, but I didn't pray. I had developed a certain distrust...
July 24, 2005
Kentucky Fried Cruelty
Looks like KFC has refused PETA's simple demand (and the advice of KFC's own appointed experts) to have their suppliers kill their birds without torturing them. After two years of campaigning against KFC, PETA announced on February 28, 2005,...
April 11, 2005
Alt death
When Nancy Rommelmann writes something, it's always worth reading....
February 07, 2005
Coverville podcast
I'm getting into this podcast thing. My favorite music show is Coverville. Great concept and execution....
November 13, 2004
Free iPods.com warning
It worked for me, so it's not an out-and-out Free iPods scam or ripoff. But a friend is having some trouble trying to get her free iPod with FreeiPods.com after completing all of the requirements.
November 11, 2004
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