Run To The Far Side XXI

What better way to spend a Sunday morning than a foot race? Not just any foot race, but the 21st annual Run to the Far Side. (The photo on the left is a self-shot of yours truly, shortly after finishing the 10K race in 54:24.)

The three photos below are yours truly again, captured by the event photographer.


On a crisp, clear and cold morning, thousands of runners converged in Golden Gate Park to run in this offbeat race honoring Gary Larson's "The Far Side." Many runners dress as the warped characters from Larson's now-defunct series of humorous (and nature-oriented) single-panel drawings. Imagine giving it all you've got in the final kilometer when you are passed by some guy in a cow suit wearing cat-eye glasses! Proceeds benefit the California Academy of Sciences, which is currently undergoing extensive renovation. This is all the more appropriate because the scientific community has always been among the biggest supporters and fans of The Far Side. Walk into just about any biology department, and odds are several The Far Side comics are still hanging on the walls.

This was the first time I brought my camera to an organized run. Tucked inside a fanny pack, with the fanny pack tucked in my running shorts, it did not get in the way at all. Before and after the race, I captured some of the costumes and share them with you now. You may recall some of these characters from the original newspaper comic pages of the 1980s, reprints, compilations, or the walls in the biology department. Enjoy!

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

In this "seen and heard it all" era, could a Lenny Bruce still fill comedy clubs? Could Andrew Dice Clay perform his raunchy shtick without condemnations and protesters? Could Howard Stern let it all loose on the radio? Well, no; Lenny Bruce is long gone, Andrew Dice Clay has been censored into oblivion, and Howard Stern is moving his act to FCC-restriction-free satellite radio.

Enter Sarah Silverman. This lovely and poised "nice Jewish girl" has burst on the scene with her ultra-politically incorrect brand of bawdy humor that knows no limits. Her new movie, Jesus Is Magic, is so provocative, it is beyond even getting a rating.

I met up with some friends Sunday evening to catch this "concert" film, a recording of one of her recent live shows intercut with provocative skits and musical numbers. My only prior glimpse of Silverman was of her small role in Jack Black's School Of Rock. (I don't watch much TV, and I missed The Aristocrats.) The mild sassiness she had in that role doesn't really indicate what she's been holding back: throughout Jesus Is Magic she riffs on many taboo subjects, but always with a cool, coquettish, matter-of-fact style. (The title is a dig at her Catholic boyfriend's belief in the powers of a St. Christopher Medal.) No one else could get away with this kind of twisted-but-somehow-funny scatology.

So if you miss Lenny Bruce and the Diceman, and lament Howard Stern's imminent departure from terrestrial radio, check out Sarah Silverman. You get all the raunch, and a much prettier performer.

Veterans Day

"I will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
--U.S. Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment and Office

Today is the day Americans pause to honor our veterans, past, present, and future.

Instead of the pointless and mindless slogan "Support The Troops" (Duh, who doesn't support the troops? Is there such thing as an "Oppose The Troops" movement?), FreeThinker proposes that we recognize that veterans are caring Americans serving their country. What they may be directed to do is another issue entirely, but today isn't "Blindly Support Presidential/Congressional/Judicial Military Decrees Day." Laws are opinions. Veterans are people.

Another absurd slogan is "There are no Atheists in Foxholes." Supposedly, in the heat of battle, with death imminent, a soldier will cry out to a god even if he or she was not previously a believer. This is simply untrue, and frankly, insulting to our non-believing soldiers. In contrast to believers, atheists put their country before any god. Moreover, the notion that when one is near death -- vulnerable, helpless, scared, and weak -- one will desperately cry out to a supernatural being underscores that strong and empowered people don't need divine intervention. So isn't the crux of this slogan that belief in a god is based on fear and helpless desperation?

There are Atheist in Foxholes, just as there are atheists in the office, in school, in the neighborhood, in the family -- everywhere. According to the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, there are 4,332 Active Duty Atheists and 112,166 with no religious affiliation reported in the U.S. military.

There is a modest memorial specifically for Atheist Veterans, adorned with emblems of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The "Atheists in Foxholes" monument is adjacent to the Willa Mae Whatley Auditorium in Fearn Park, overlooking Lake Hypatia, Alabama. Inscribed on the front of the monument is:

IN MEMORY OF

ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES

AND COUNTLESS

FREETHINKERS

WHO HAVE SERVED THIS COUNTRY

WITH HONOR AND DISTINCTION


The United States was founded on principles that protect freedom of -- and freedom from -- religion. This is part of the Constitutional values our veterans support and defend.

Let's remember all our veterans, and the diversity of their religious beliefs -- or lack thereof.