Sunday, July 27, 2008

Me & P.Z!!!



I met P. Z. Myers this morning when he and I were both guests on Atheists Talk!!! I had a total blast!!! I could write all about it here, but why not just listen for yourself? The podcast is (or will be) available here.



So if you were wondering what I sound like, here's your chance to find out! And as a bonus, you can find out what C. V. Rick sounds like (since he called in with a question), not to mention Tangled Up in Blue Guy (the host of the show) and Bjorn (who interviewed me). The other person in the above picture is Lynn Fellman, who interviewed P. Z.

Note to my LDS readers: my interview was pretty Mormon-friendly -- download it and see for yourself. My mom even said I did a good job!!!

(How'd my mom find out I was going to be on Atheists Talk Radio? Not sure, but it probably has something to do with the fact that I publicly announced it on my blog...)

23 comments:

Matt said...

Well, let's start calling you the first Horsewoman of the Anti-Apocalypse right now. Typical that the Bible failed to mention a woman. Congrats!

Anonymous said...

That must have been a blast. Where did PZ get that wonderful shirt?

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Matt!!!

I don't think I've quite made it to that level, but why not dream big? ;^)

Hey Kristi!!!

Yeah, that shirt is hilarious!!! For those who can't read it from the picture, it says the following:

Knowledge is Power
Power Corrupts
Study Hard
Be Evil

lol, I should have asked him where he got it.

Ray Agostini said...

Great interview, Chanson, and nice to hear your cheerful voice. Liked the part about meat eating. Apparently some Mormons haven't digested (no pun intended) that part of the WoW yet. Could be because the word "meat" also takes such a long time to digest? I've always thought this one of the great ironies of Mormonism, considering D&C 89. Bjorn picked it up immediately at the picnic he and his wife attended.

I think the interview goes a long way to dispelling the notion of the angry anti-ex-Mormon. Really, what is there to be angry about when you discover true freedom to make your own life choices, including whether to continue being angry, or not? I choose the positive (yet don't shirk from what I think is worthwhile criticism), and I think that far more people will listen to ex-Mormons, including Mormons, when they can present themselves as actually enjoying their choice to leave the fold, not worried about going to a mythical Hades, and even speaking positively but realistically of their former faith. All I can say after that interview is that I feel proud of you. Encore! We need a lot more of it. Where is your next appearance?

Bjorn Watland said...

I've listen to the interview over again, and you gave a lot of really good information in such a short time. I hope you can find a hour long format for your next radio show.

Joe said...

There is an difference between the Word of Wisdom as outlined in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Word of Wisdom as a religious dietary law. Among other things, the former clearly endorses beer and home made wine, while just as clearly condemning distilled spirits.

CL, One thing I found interesting was your adopted accent. Accents have long interested me, especially how people can adopt them without even trying or being aware of it. At one point in college, I had several Canadian roommates and inadvertently adopted many of their speech mannerisms. However, while Americans would assume I was Canadian, the latter made no such error.

Anonymous said...

Hey, it was a thrill to meet you, C.L. and to have you with us for the brunch afterwards. It really was a good interview, like Bjorn said. Thanks for calling in Rick!

C. L. Hanson said...

Thanks Ray!!!

Re: Really, what is there to be angry about when you discover true freedom to make your own life choices, including whether to continue being angry, or not?

I completely agree, and I'm glad if I succeed in illustrating this just by being myself. Though it's normal for people to go through an anger stage, overall I think that being part of a religious community and then moving on can be a very positive thing, yielding rich life experiences. Yet, weirdly, people seem to just assume that anyone who identifies as exmo (or atheist) must be angry or sad or something (see the fourth comment from the other day). Positive visibility is the key to dispelling the myths. :D

I don't know when I'll do another radio show or podcast, but anything is possible (even from far away) with the Internet.

Thanks Bjorn!!! That would be great!!!

Hey Joe!!!

Yeah, that point about the WoW in scripture vs. in practice is kind of amusing. It's one of the many fun facts about Mormonism that I joked about in my novel, in this scene for example.

Regarding my accent -- What accent have I adopted? I can't even identify my own accent. Logically it should be a cross between Minnesota and New Jersey, with perhaps some European influence. Plus when I hang out with other exmos who visit, I may start to pick up a western accent...

Thanks Mike!!!

It was great fun, and a thrill to see such a large and lively turn out at the brunch!!! :D

Joe said...

You've picked up have what can best be described as a bilingual French accent with Minnesotan overtones. (I've worked with both French and Swiss natives who've lived in the US for a long time and they had similar accents.)

Ranting Student said...

C.L. Hanson,
I've just discovered this blog while listening to Minnesota Atheist Talk. I'm glad I did. And, your shirt looks cooler than PZ's.
Oh wait...

Joe said...
You've picked up have what can best be described as a bilingual French accent with Minnesotan overtones. (I've worked with both French and Swiss natives who've lived in the US for a long time and they had similar accents.)


That's quite interesting. I've never been good at recognizing accents.

xJane said...

CL, I'm so jealous! Congrats!!!

King Aardvark said...

Hey CL, congrats on the gig with PZ. That's approaching the big time there. Must have been fun.

Were you guys snacking on communion wafers?

Anonymous said...

Love PZ's T-shirt. Also... apologies... Off subject... But, what camera did you use? The photos look amazingly sharp next to the ones I'm taking with my digital. Appreciate any info.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, the photo's Exif data says Samsung L7, which seems to be a pocket digital (35 mm equiv.).

Greg said...

Joe,
We can tell because you probably still use "zee" instead of "zed". If not that, it's the toque, the chesterfield or the serviettes.

Eventually you slip up.

Anonymous said...

For the curious, the shirt is from Instant Attitudes (http://www.instantattitudes.com), where you can also find other snarky and science-oriented T-shirts and bumper stickers. Feel free to drop by and browse!

C. L. Hanson said...

Thanks ranting, XJane, and King Aardvark!!!

It's true, it's pretty amazingly cool to get to be interviewed in the same program with PZ!!!

We didn't snack on communion wafers, but -- at the request of some of the people at the brunch -- PZ did an encore performance in which he crushed a handful of saltines.

Hey anonymous and Branko Collin!!!

That's exactly right -- it's a Samsung L7.

Hey Greg!!!

I still say "zee" myself, unless I'm speaking French...

Hey Lee!!!

Thanks for the link -- those are great!!! The main reason I didn't ask PZ about his T-shirt was that I assumed it was a given that PZ would have a snarky science T-shirt. ;^)

Bjorn Watland said...

Oh, and Lee, hint hint, Minnesota Atheists needs advertisers on our radio show and podcast, hint hint. Send me an email if you're interested in being on a show which gets really a really targeted audience of geeky atheists.

C. L. Hanson said...

p.s. to all:

For more about this fun event, see TUIB Guy's version! :D

John Hamer said...

Great interview, C.L., and it was wonderful getting to hang out with you all last week.

C. L. Hanson said...

Thanks John!!!

It was great seeing you, too!!! :D

galen dara said...

so cool! great to hear your voice and see the pics.
good job, well done!

C. L. Hanson said...

Thanks G!!!