Atheists and Egg Rolls

For all those curious, yes, Atheists and Egg Rolls will be holding its 2nd annual event this coming christmas eve. Christmas eve?! Why start promoting so darn early, you may ask. Well . . ..

Last night I wandered around and finally found the corner of 3rd Avenue and 11th street. Once there, I popped into a bar called the Village Pourhouse. I was meeting a friend/colleague there (we'll call him Mr. B, but he'll remain anonymous for now). We decided to meet up with a group of atheists over beers. Mr. B and I finally found our group nestled in a back room of the bar and affixed name tags.

A reporter named David from New York Magazine knew something I didn't that night - that we were part of the chic atheist movement. He was there gathering info for a coming story on this very topic. Apparently the wave of atheism is in vogue. The reporter likened the acceptance of atheism in today's society to homosexuals - now it's cool. While I agree that being an atheist is cool, I do not feel as if the movement I belong to, is in vogue. Maybe this is becuase I unintentionally wear short pants, but more likely, it is because it is just so not true. Brent, formerly Mr. B, doesn't think so either. Rather than atheism being in vogue, Brent feels it just seems that way, "There have been quite a few books lately, but that's a response to current events. I don't think atheism is spreading; more a response to 9/11 and Iraq and that the world is fucked up."

But this begs the question - can the blow back from our fucked up world in the form of popular press justly be afforded vogue status? I guess it would depend on how wide, sustainable, and far this blow back is and remains. But even then, it will likely be an atheist argument that is in vogue rather than atheists themselves.

In this country, the presumption of theism is a heckuva safe bet. I find it hard to understand what atheism would be and look like if it were in vogue or chic or what have you. If the reporter last night was insinuating that a strong rallying cry for atheism in the form of books like The God Delusion is what is in vogue, he is not talking about atheism. Rather he is speaking of a response to theism as being in vogue.

I find this perception common among both theists and atheists alike - that atheism is a response, rather than merely a state of being. For me, atheism is not an argument for or against anything - rather it is the natural state. It is theism that mandates an unnatural distinction. Without theism, atheism would not exist. There would be no label; there would be nothing to distinguish. I believe any struggle atheists may experience is this forced distinction. How can one characterize something so banal as one's natural state? It just is.

And back to Atheists and Egg Rolls. Why promote so early? Well, heck, why not?

Where: China Town, NYC
When: christmas eve
Who: atheists
Why: I like egg rolls and people who like to eat them on christmas eve.
What: Dinner
RSVP by 12/24/07

Piper's Kilt

Well, I received such overwhelming feedback from my last post and therefore decided that I must, once and for all, decide which of the two rathskellers had my heart when burgers are concerned. I went back to Piper's Kilt tonight and fell in love all over again. The bun was toasted to such perfection - it didn't subsume the A1, allowing its full tang to penetrate the sirloin with such sex, such instinct, I could not help but order another beer to calm my nerve.So there you have it. Inwood's very own Piper's Kilt - two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Burgers and Beers

I've been living in NYC since mid July and have been during this period consistently carnivorous. That said, I love meat and seek out the best burgers the City has to offer. So far I've found two places which are wrestling for my top notch.

The first one is around west 4th and Christopher street - the Corner Bistro - burgers were quite good, and served quickly. The wait, 45 minutes on a snowy February evening, was well worth it. The beers, albethem smallish, were cheap and served in a hefty mug. The burger - no frills, toasted ground beef served on a paper plate the size of a coffee filter. The fries . . . eh. I could go on about the atmosphere, which was essentially cozy with nooks for relatively quiet conversation, but I wont. I'll just leave it at a great burger joint.

The second, Piper's Kilt, is all the way up around my neck of the woods in Inwood. For those of you who do not venture above Union square, Inwood is nestled in the handle of the island of Manhattan - 200th (Dyckman st.) through 218th. It's an awkward bar space, but the burgers are among the finest I've ever sunk my teeth into. The meat was so tender and held together - holding fast even through my having slathered it with A1 sauce. The atmosphere hovers the line between comfortable and comfortable-ish.

So, there you have it, two great burger joints, 196 blocks apart, wrestling along the A-train for my love.