02-11-2012, 04:54 PM
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#31
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: 3rd notch in the bible belt
Posts: 1,342
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This is very saddening news. I haven't been as active here as I once was, so I was not aware that Stern was sick. His command of reason and his ability to turn a phrase made his posts a great read. He will be missed.
Christian: One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. - Ambrose Bierce
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02-11-2012, 04:58 PM
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#32
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Super Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Puerto Rico
Posts: 9,775
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One of the most irrational of all the conventions of modern society is the one to the effect that religious opinions should be respected....That they should have this immunity is an outrage. There is nothing in religious ideas, as a class, to lift them above other ideas. On the contrary, they are always dubious and often quite silly.
H. L. Mencken
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02-11-2012, 06:29 PM
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#33
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I Live Here
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 9,613
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Quote:
Eva wrote
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wish i could have been there
“'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what." Fry
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02-11-2012, 08:51 PM
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#34
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I Live Here
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 20,925
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Sonnet For An Atheist
By Daniel F Mitchell
O, how free was I when I went my way,
Each dogma cast as grit beneath my tread!
And how the simple facts in order lay,
When rid of every falsehood in my head!
Atheist I am called for my worldview,
Denying lies which render theists blind,
Seeking the path toward all that is true,
With a stalwart heart and resolute mind.
But I have more than rejection of lies
And cowardly comfort of endless breath,
Which religious fools and liars devise
To dull away the sting of certain death.
Rich in the lavish lap of truth I live,
Possessing gifts that gods can never give.
I think this poem sums up my feelings for Sternwallow. He was truly a standard to which we can all measure ourselves by. He was wise, intelligent, intellectually honest, articulate, incisive, bold, and brave! Though I never met him in person, I loved him and considered him to be my friend. He is free now, cosmic dust once more, relegated to an eternity of oblivion. All that he was and all that he might ever have been is gone, but he left a mark on our hearts and minds that will linger for the rest of our days.
It assuages my hurt and loss a measure to reflect on how privileged I was to have known such a remarkable man, but I will surely miss him. He was a better man than I. He faced the inevitable conclusion of his life with dauntless fortitude and fearlessness. It mitigates somewhat my fear of my own mortal demise, to know that when I face the bottomless black hole, he has blazed the trail.
I am certain that Sternwallow would counsel that our mourning is misdirected, that we should instead employ this energy in self-reflection, and endeavor to live our lives to the fullest - that our time is a precious resource, and our mortality is what makes existence so precious.
The Leprechauns do not forbid the drawing of Their images, as long as we color within the lines. ~ Ghoulslime H Christ, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Masturbator
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02-11-2012, 09:46 PM
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#35
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,727
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Quote:
ghoulslime wrote
Sonnet For An Atheist
By Daniel F Mitchell
O, how free was I when I went my way,
Each dogma cast as grit beneath my tread!
And how the simple facts in order lay,
When rid of every falsehood in my head!
Atheist I am called for my worldview,
Denying lies which render theists blind,
Seeking the path toward all that is true,
With a stalwart heart and resolute mind.
But I have more than rejection of lies
And cowardly comfort of endless breath,
Which religious fools and liars devise
To dull away the sting of certain death.
Rich in the lavish lap of truth I live,
Possessing gifts that gods can never give.
I think this poem sums up my feelings for Sternwallow. He was truly a standard to which we can all measure ourselves by. He was wise, intelligent, intellectually honest, articulate, incisive, bold, and brave! Though I never met him in person, I loved him and considered him to be my friend. He is free now, cosmic dust once more, relegated to an eternity of oblivion. All that he was and all that he might ever have been is gone, but he left a mark on our hearts and minds that will linger for the rest of our days.
It assuages my hurt and loss a measure to reflect on how privileged I was to have known such a remarkable man, but I will surely miss him. He was a better man than I. He faced the inevitable conclusion of his life with dauntless fortitude and fearlessness. It mitigates somewhat my fear of my own mortal demise, to know that when I face the bottomless black hole, he has blazed the trail.
I am certain that Sternwallow would counsel that our mourning is misdirected, that we should instead employ this energy in self-reflection, and endeavor to live our lives to the fullest - that our time is a precious resource, and our mortality is what makes existence so precious.
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Beautiful, GS.
I thought you said you didn't care what any of us thought? So, you do care? I do wish you would make up your mind already. - NKB
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02-12-2012, 07:01 AM
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#36
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Thank God I’m an atheist
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Little Britain
Posts: 1,076
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Quote:
Stargazer wrote
Beautiful, GS.
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Seconded
"Belief means not wanting to know what is true"
Friedrich Nietzsche
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02-12-2012, 10:23 AM
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#37
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I Live Here
Join Date: May 2007
Location: So Cal
Posts: 5,193
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Thank you Kate.
Never give a zombie girl a piggy back ride.
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02-14-2012, 09:06 AM
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#38
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Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 28
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Only just seen this. I am actually crying. He was head and shoulders above me.
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02-14-2012, 10:07 AM
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#39
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 860
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I haven't been around much lately, but Psychodiva let me know what happened - so damn sad. I'll miss his thoughts, his humour, the way he ate the chew-toy's for breakfast. I only knew him through his posts here, but I'm glad I got to know that much.
Quote:
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.
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Charles Darwin.
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02-14-2012, 10:17 AM
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#40
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 644
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Terribly sad news, will miss him very much. I can't count how many times I wanted to respond to some post only to find that Sternwallow had already done so, and a thousand times better than I ever could. Such incredible patience he had, too.
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02-14-2012, 11:48 AM
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#41
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,328
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Quote:
Erik wrote
I can't count how many times I wanted to respond to some post only to find that Sternwallow had already done so, and a thousand times better than I ever could.
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Ditto.
Sometimes I'd get ninja'd and get stuck with my response below his -quite a hard act to follow.
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02-16-2012, 04:21 AM
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#42
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 173
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I have been gone for a few days and have just seen this.
I am devastated with the news. Like everyone here I had the greatest respect for the man. I never felt that a thread had been properly and thoroughly hashed out until we found out what Sternwallow had to say about it. And he usually provided the coda, leaving nothing left to say but "well said Sternwallow."
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." -- Bertrand Russell
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02-18-2012, 08:51 PM
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#43
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,902
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I am so, so sorry to hear this news. I am sorry for him, his friends here and elsewhere, and for the fact that I will never get to hear and learn from his unique and intelligent mind again.
"If God inspired the Bible, why is it such a piece of shit?" (Kaziglu Bey)
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02-18-2012, 08:54 PM
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#44
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,902
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Quote:
Stargazer wrote
Beautiful, GS.
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Quote:
ubs wrote
Thank you Kate.
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Yes and yes.
"If God inspired the Bible, why is it such a piece of shit?" (Kaziglu Bey)
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02-23-2012, 04:17 AM
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#45
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Obsessed Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Norway
Posts: 1,347
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No!! :'(
Sternwallow was my favourite RA poster; a brilliant man with words. His presence will be greatly missed.
I wish his memory and his close ones all the best.
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~Epicurus
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