Pharyngula

Posted by: Michelle | December 3, 2008 4:51 PM

It's not the hannukah song I can't stand, it's that guy's singing. It's TERRIBLE! I can't get more than 10 seconds in!

Posted by: Magnus | December 3, 2008 4:55 PM

Was Ben Franklin really an atheist? I know he wasn't exactly a Christian, but my impression is that he was still a believer of sorts.

Posted by: JJR | December 3, 2008 4:58 PM

NO atheist songs...? Uh, Dan Barker...?

Posted by: HumanisticJones | December 3, 2008 5:04 PM

If he had only not tried to parody Adam Sandler's weird voice modulations, fit the names better to the rhythm of the song, etc... you know... I tried to like this, I did, but Dan Barker he ain't.

Posted by: Dan DeLeon | December 3, 2008 5:07 PM

I made it through the first line before stopping. Where's a mallet-wielding Jaye P. Morgan when you really need her? I think she's still alive.

Posted by: Claudia | December 3, 2008 5:24 PM

Yeah, I agree that the mimicry wasn't necessary. It wasn't great, but would have been more tolerable if he hadn't pulled out his crappy Adam Sandler impression. I did manage to watch the whole thing, though. And I appreciate the sentiment.

Posted by: dvizard | December 3, 2008 5:27 PM

"Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?" is the only thing I can think about when hearing this song :D

Posted by: Antonio Silva | December 3, 2008 5:45 PM

Everyone's a critic. Don't buy his cd then.

Posted by: Reginald Selkirk | December 3, 2008 5:45 PM

Metro fields hundreds of complaints about bus ads

Hundreds of people have fired off complaints to Metro for running an ad campaign on its buses that questions the belief in God.

The transit system said the controversial ads have solicited just one compliment, while receiving 251 complaints.
...
It's not clear how many of those who complained actually ride the Metro system, as all but five complaints arrived via e-mail.
...

Posted by: Brownian, OM | December 3, 2008 5:48 PM

To a Christian, a Jew is an atheist.

Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | December 3, 2008 5:57 PM

Was Ben Franklin really an atheist? I know he wasn't exactly a Christian, but my impression is that he was still a believer of sorts.

I can authoritatively say that Ben Franklin was not an atheist, although some of his contemporaries considered him to be one because of his non-acceptance of dogmatic Christianity.

Posted by: Glen Davidson | December 3, 2008 6:02 PM

OT, but this is interesting and should concern us:

Romania removes theory of evolution from school curriculum

Romania's withdrawal of the theory of evolution from the school curriculum could be evidence of a growing conservative tendency in teaching. Evolution has been removed from the school curriculum in a move which, pressure groups argue, distorts children's understanding of how the world came into being.

Meanwhile, religious studies classes continue to tell Romanian children that God made the world in seven days.

The theory of the Origin of Species and the evolution of humans is no longer present in the compulsory curriculum, through a nationwide decision made under the previous Government in 2006. Before the change, Darwin's theory was taught to pupils aged 18 or 19 years old. This was also in the curriculum during the Communist period of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Information on natural selection, how fish turned into lizards and, more or less, a summary of the first 4.5 billion years of the world until man walked the earth is now optional.

"We don't teach the theory of evolution anymore," said one 38 year-old Bucharest-based biology teacher.

But the Minister of Education, Cristian Adomnitei, argues that biology is taught within the context of evolution. "This subject can be found implicitly from middle school to high-school," the Minister tells The Diplomat. "Do you think that the studies about the world where we live, its evolution or genetics can ignore the evolution theory? This is impossible."

macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/4652/46/

Contextually it may be there, all right, as it should be. But it is ridiculous to teach evolution without explicitly teaching its primary theory, just as it would be to try to teach college physics with no chapter on relativity.

And I think it's fair to say that biology can be taught without evolutionary theory, or at least while denying "macroevolution" (whatever that slippery term means to them). Homeschoolers and parochial schools in the USA do so regularly.

And it's hard to understand any reason for taking evolution out of the curriculum other than to placate anti-science religious zealots.

Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7

Posted by: CaptainKendrick | December 3, 2008 6:17 PM

I dunno. Might have given him a 'A' for effort, but he should have refrained from trying to emote like Adam Sandler. Didn't work. Adam Sandler annoyed me back then, but his song was kind of funny the way he presented it. I missed alot of this guy's lyrics, because I couldn't understand what he was singing when he tried to do the Sandler thing. Came off more like the Free Credit Report dot com guy, who makes me want to do Hari Kari whenever I hear those commercials.

Posted by: Glen Davidson | December 3, 2008 6:21 PM

Correction of my post #23:

But it is ridiculous to teach evolution biology without explicitly teaching its primary theory, just as it would be to try to teach college physics with no chapter on relativity.

Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7

Posted by: chuko | December 3, 2008 6:28 PM

Joining the critics, I'll call it 'cute' and give an A for effort.

Posted by: skyotter | December 3, 2008 6:44 PM

"If you can't stand Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song, don't listen to this"

okay. wow, quick thread.

Posted by: Rey Fox | December 3, 2008 6:49 PM

"That sucked. But speaking of Adam Sandler, he did a song about his piece of shit car. Does anyone know where that can be found? TPFD"

I'd try a file-sharing program like Limewire for that. Or you could locate a copy of his album "What The Hell Happened To Me?".

Posted by: Newfie | December 3, 2008 7:00 PM

Glen D wrote:

And it's hard to understand any reason for taking evolution out of the curriculum other than to placate anti-science religious zealots.

It's not hard to understand at all. Religion has always been about power and control, and as such, one of the favourite tools of governments. Think of where biology would be without microscopes.

Posted by: Arren | December 3, 2008 7:05 PM

Only Adam Sandler can pull off an Adam Sandler.

Some might say that even that is debatable.....

Posted by: Ashley | December 3, 2008 7:35 PM

I thought it was funny!

Posted by: RickrOll | December 3, 2008 8:20 PM

"That sucked. But speaking of Adam Sandler, he did a song about his piece of shit car. Does anyone know where that can be found? TPFD"

I don't have the Sandler version, but i do have this one; hilarious: http://clunker.ytmnd.com/

Sorry guys, i agree with Browniam OM on this. I must have a very high threshold of artistic mutilation, or think alot of stuff is generally funny. B-

Posted by: Gabriel Ratchet | December 3, 2008 8:34 PM

Eh. The kid's heart is in the right place, so I don't really feel there's any point on piling on him the way a lot of earlier posters have. I'd still have to give him points for enthusiasm, and besides, I'd hate to be judged by the kind of stuff I turned out when I was his age, no matter how well-intentioned it might have been at the time.

Posted by: RickrOll | December 3, 2008 9:01 PM

yeah, ya gotta figure that he isn't an expert or a professional comedian or anything, so there isn't any real point in insisting that he was terrible. He is just a regular youtuber; we ought to welcome him to the fold of creative athiests. He may even be a larval form of Cuttlefish.

And for the record, Jew=deist, where J value

Posted by: Josh West | December 3, 2008 9:24 PM

Ugh, that was bad. I'm sure the lyrics are clever, but that Sandler voice just kills it.

Posted by: RickrOll | December 3, 2008 10:17 PM

"---umm, but you commented?
And your point is?"

If You don't like Adam Sandler, and didn't watch the video, why look at the post? It isn't gonna bring you any enjoyment, ha ha. Maybe you're a masochist?

Posted by: NewEnglandBob | December 3, 2008 10:43 PM

My ears are bleeding!

Posted by: David | December 3, 2008 11:20 PM

It's not what he's saying, but his voice. It's obnoxious.

Posted by: RickrOll | December 4, 2008 12:03 AM

Lisa, may i shake your hand? THANK you for admitting the Good points of the piece; i think most of these people weren't even fans of the original song!

Give the kid some slack! If you don't like it, You do better!

Posted by: Mark A. Siefert | December 4, 2008 12:43 AM

JJR, No. 5

With all due respect to Mr. Barker, I sadly find his music to be as banal and kitschy as the tripe that Christian's produce. While he may be able to carry a tune in a bucket, I can't say I'm a fan.

Now George Hrab on the other hand.... he kicks ass.

Posted by: RickrOll | December 4, 2008 1:04 AM

yes gypsytag, if atheists inherit the world, don't expect it to be That much better.

Posted by: Doo Shabag | December 4, 2008 2:22 AM

Loved it! Watched it twice, but then I like Sandler too.

Still, I don't pray OJ goes to hell, though I do agree with his dickipedia entry:

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson (born July 9, 1947) is a retired American football player, actor, broadcaster, murder suspect, and a dick.

Posted by: Feynmaniac | December 4, 2008 2:47 AM

Robert Byers,

Please take your anti-Semitic Schizophrenic-like rants elsewhere. You'll fit right in here.

P.S. For someone in Canada you sure talk a lot about American "values".

Posted by: Hailtana | December 4, 2008 6:43 AM

Robert Byers, in addition to the above comments, I must wonder how you sleep at night.

First off, you're Canadian and you're speaking about the "American man and his family". Secondly, way to go with the anti-semistim. Yeah, you're the smart Christian who supposedly loves everyone right? Thirdly, Christmas isn't even originally a Christian holiday, it began as a PAGAN celebration.

To add, why is it ok for Christmas and Christians to have everything tailored to THEM and THEIR needs, yet someone brings out one song, ruffles your feathers? Jeez, I really hope you don't know who Tom Lehrer is.

Fourthly: "If jews like Adam don't like it then move back to whereever you come from. Israel." How ignorant is that statment? American history is KNOWN for England's "discovery" and then slaughter and oppression of the natives. America isn't even technically OWNED by "Americans". So telling someone to "move back home" is quite a redundant statement considering the native people of this land probably said the same thing to Columbus and every other British person who killed and maimed their people.

Fifthly, There's Christmas carols, why can't Jewish people have their song for Chanukah. (It's not spelt hannakka) So he wants to make fellow Jewish people feel ok about not being sheep like the rest of the country, so he wants to have a song in English for Jewish-American children to enjoy and laugh along to because they don't feel like they're missing out. Chanukah is it's OWN festival and has it's OWN history.

In conclusion. If you don't like people expressing their views on their religion, stop jamming yours down others throats. Practice what your preach instead of being a hypocritical Christian. The commendments SAY Love Thy neighbor, you don't seem to be doing much of that.

And for the record, Jews believe in God too, we just believe in a different way and level with Jesus. Also, it's been discovered that Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th, but in October. The reason it was moved is because in the Eurpoean times when Christmas was taken (yeah, I said it) from Paganism is because October was seen to have too many holidays at the time.

Learn your history, and practice your scriptures before you start spouting off insults and sounding like a holocaustal 8th grader.

Posted by: LisaJ | December 4, 2008 9:28 AM

You're damn right RickrOLL! (#55).

Byers, you're a jackass. Give your post at #60 a read over... did you notice the frothing hypocrisy at all? Your post itself had 'wicked' sentiment and was seemingly from 'a hateful heart'. Nothing I've heard in either of the two songs we're discussing has made me want to slap anyone in the face to knock some sense into them like your post makes me want to do to you. Practice that 'love for others' that you preach.

Posted by: Nova | December 4, 2008 5:26 PM

Nasty sound, also, how is Carl Sagan really agnostic? He was very much an atheist.

Posted by: Roberto | December 4, 2008 8:06 PM

I believe that Canadians ARE Americans...

Posted by: Jake Blues | December 4, 2008 8:56 PM

:50 seconds here.

Posted by: David Cowan | December 5, 2008 12:18 AM

C'mon, atheists above all should have a sense of humor. That is really funny shit.

Great parody, great lyrics. Keep 'em coming!

Posted by: Kel | December 5, 2008 4:55 AM

I think we need a translator in here, Robert Byers again posted a garbled string of words with no apparent meaning.

Posted by: Doo Shabag | December 5, 2008 12:28 PM

Robert Byers - please see comment #62.

Have you listened to the song? Which part of "when you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree, here is a list of people who are Jewish, just like you and me" sounds hateful and traitorous to you?

A rant against American identity? Do you even have a clue what American identity is? Your comment about "ethnic American identity kids" leads me to believe you don't, although it is hard to tell because (see comment #62).

It is not anti-religious or anti-Christian. It's not even solely about religion or ethnicity, but "Jewish" as an identity, as shown by the line "Harrison Ford is a quarter Jewish". You can't be "a quarter" some religion, it isn't passed genetically, otherwise most atheists in this country would also be 100% Christian. And if it could be passed that way, take it to it's logical conclusion that everyone is 100% atheist because if you go back enough generations there was likely no belief in a god.

In fact for Jews all year its Christmass time. Another problem.

Now how about making the top jobs, including agents, in hollywood look like America. Is Adam helping or legitamizing lack of diversity.

In conclusion:
Comment #62.
Comment #78.

Posted by: Doo Shabag | December 5, 2008 12:42 PM

Rev: Understood, thanks.

Byers: You're an idiot.

Posted by: Karen | December 5, 2008 3:17 PM

I thought the song was funny. Wish he'd used his own voice. One Adam Sandler is more than enough!

Posted by: jkkkk | December 5, 2008 3:57 PM

Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil."According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

An Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, has stood on the site of the Temple since the late 7th Century AD, and the al-Aqsa Mosque, from roughly the same period, also stands on the Temple courtyard.

Maccabees had the the reason to celebrate Hannukka but how do the present day Jews celebrate Hannukka when the same temple is controlled by a Waqf (an Islamic trust).
Is not their job to sanctify the temple like Maccabees did and then celebrate Hannukka instead of competing with christians and christmas.

Posted by: Robert Byers | December 10, 2008 4:41 AM

From Canada
I 'm working on a song. Snoppy verses Adam Sandler.
Snoop defends American identity, culture, Christianity, good nature and good fun and good memories and good grief WHATs wrong with these Jews hating Christmas. No they really hate, some of them, Americans and Christmas just makes more pregnant their poverty of numbers and poverty of self esteem in the U.S.A.
If they don't like Americans and their children then why did they come and why do they stay. Israel gets a 3 billion gift every year. Why not instead keep the money and the jews immigrate en mass to Israel.
Now thats a exchange of presents.