What I’ve Been Reading May 2 (Oh man, can’t believe it’s May!)

Boxer wearing shoes = hilarious.

“People Don’t Read” (and why it matters to skepticism – but it generally just plain matters in life).

“Tick Tock” – on delaying motherhood.

A friend of mine told me she was encouraged to attend church on Sundays during her air force training because it was the only time she would get a break – nonreligious individuals had no similar break time at any point in the week. This seems to be an unfortunately common issue, with “First Friday Prayer” at Fort Bragg being the most common well-known occurrence.

Heina at Skepchick on honor killings and domestic violence.

A Missouri Republican has come out as gay, denounced anti-gay sentiments, and decided to leave politics. Best of luck to him on becoming a marine biologist, and I hope his personal appeal against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has a positive effect.

If abstinence-only education actually raises the age that teens start having sex, does that make it a good choice? Wouldn’t it be better to vigorously teach students about safe sexual practices, ways to prevent pregnancy, and also tell them abstinence is the only 100% method (unless you’re the mother of Jesus or a few other gods…).

I wear make-up because I want to. So there. Thanks to Greta for posting about this!

$120 million for a pastel version of “The Scream”. As a side note, I don’t think my art history textbook or professor ever mentioned that there are 4 versions of this painting.

Target will no longer sell Kindles. That kind of sucks, but the Kindle is available elsewhere in stores.

50 best bike trails in the U.S.

Grieving and How to Comfort Nonbelievers

This is fantastic. Great Christina asked her readers what was helpful when they were grieving, then compiled a blog post of the best/most common answers.

Too often, as she says, religious individuals don’t know how to comfort nonbelievers. Even nonbelievers have a hard time comforting other nonbelievers when they are grieving, especially, as Christina mentions, in the United States where death and religion seem so intertwined.

I can speak from experience that expressions like, “It’s all part of God’s plan,” or “They’re in heaven now,” usually make me feel like punching the speaker in the face.* Everything in Christina’s post is pretty solid.

When my dog died last month** “I’m so sorry” was pretty much the most comforting thing I could hear. This one phrase seems to acknowledge that Ellie was a big part of my life and that I’m allowed to be as sad as I am.

*Even when the first phrase is uttered in relation to something else. It’s fine if that comforts you, but don’t bother saying it to me. Sucky things in life are not made better just because you happen to believe the ultimate puppet master has written an interesting script.

** Say what you will, but know that my dog, Ellie, was an extremely important part of my life. I’ve had more trouble with losing her than with losing my grandmothers.