Gurdur

um, thanks !

But, um, would you mind if we had a short description of your father (apart from the religion bit, which is fine, me being a strong atheist) so we can start razoring bits off ourselves that might be reminiscent of him ?

Besides which, if you keep up these *cough* wide-open invitations, you'll most probably get a whole queue of infidels lining up wanting to know how to quickly alter themselves.

________________

and (these questions have nothing to do with the above):

Did you ever read The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia, by Theodore Levin ?
It was really neat to see a good book on ethnomusicology coming out (together with CD, even) on the mass hardcover market.

If I may ask, what's your favourite cultural bloc or area regarding ethnomusicology ? How do you feel about people who can rabbit on about the evolution of music vis-�-vis the evolution of language and the evolution of humanity, but while being able to sing, can't really play any musical instrument at all (unless you want to take that one metaphorically, in which case the question doesn't apply) ?

Strawberry

Now, now, Gurdur. Self-mutilation is a bit extreme, don't you think? Razoring off your facial hair will be quite enough for me. Although if you wanted to learn to play guitar... (Give a low-lying, cool-weather vine fruit an inch and she'll take a mile.) I'd hate to think about what you do when girls flirt with you in real life.

Seriously, I haven't seen the Levin book before, but I'll keep an eye out for it, as it looks interesting. My favorite area of study (right now...I've still got a few years of undergrad left to explore) is North American roots music. I love the music, and also I'm geographically fairly close to the people who are still performing it, making future research and field work a feasible option. But I also like a lot of Eastern European/Balkan music. Truthfully, I haven't been able to decide on anything at all.

Gurdur

You'ld be pleasantly surprised. And pleasantly entertained.

That's actually a good sign; too much concentration on only one area too soon is very boring, don't you think ?
And so much progress comes from intergrating differing areas and approaches.

AspenMama

In the spirit of putting this thread back onto its original subject...

Since my divorce a year or so ago, I've also been out there in the dating scene. I'm in my late 30s now and it is a whole other ball park now than it was 13 years ago when I was in college. My priorities are completely different now than they were a decade ago. And now I must find someone who not only wants me but wants to be a dad to my two darling children.

When I first began dating, I absolutely would refuse to consider anyone who was not an atheist-- and a strong atheist at that. My choices were limited greatly indeed-- finding someone who shares my philosophies and who wants someone like me with two kids already and who is not unable to have more kids-- has been difficult. Recently though, I've found someone who is a few years older, well established in life and who wants to be a dad. He is not an atheist. Yet he knows who I am-- and not only accepts me for that but actually seems to adore me.

I am glad to have the peace of mind now to be open to someone with a different philosophy when everything else is seemingly in place. My advice to all: keep your heart open to possibilities.

Sagarmatha

Very interesting to read how many atheists are also searching for atheistic partners, as some friends of mine laugh at me when I turn a guy down if he's religious. They say I'm crazy to turn down some great guys 'just' because they're deeply religious
But I believe that, for me at least, extreme opposites in beliefs (a strong atheist and religous) will never work in a long-term relationship.

I just ended a long-term relationship with an atheist. But before and after, I seem to often have the bad luck of attracting many religious guys I don't know why, maybe their god/s want/s to piss me off!
At my 28th I'm now fully enjoying my life and discovering a lot of fun of being a single again!

irishajo

Have not had much trouble finding agnostics in the Indianapolis area myself...atheist might be a bit more difficult. I tend to classify myself as more agnostic than anything though, so it's all good. Finding agnostics that I actually want to date more than once (and vice versa, of course) is the challenge. I started dating again last summer after a four year stint of total abstinence, so it's been interesting if nothing else.

Oh and I am 28 and female.

Loren Pechtel

Well, with a name like Strawberry I strongly suspect female. Also, the message said "cute"--something rarely applied to males.

Loren Pechtel

While a fellow athiest would certainly be the most desirable, they are in short supply.

While I would never even date a fundie there are plenty of people with mild religious beliefs.

I'm married to a Buddhist (sp?). While there are some religious icons around the house it's never been a problem. She's never tried to convert me. Since we have no kids we don't have a dispute over how to raise them.

The closest thing to being an issue is she doesn't approve of nudity or sexual behavior where Buddha (her Buddha statues) can see.

Megusic

Well I'm not much help on this topic, but figured I'd join in anyway

As I seem to have a problem finding ANYONE to date, I don't pay much attention to religion while I'm "hunting". While an extremely religious person just wouldn't work out, I think you can mix theists w/ non as long as both are willing to do a little give and take, and if things get serious you can come to an agreement on what your future will hold. Then again, the more confident I become w/ my atheism the harder it is to picture myself w/ a theist in the long run. For example, I have this guy friend whom (who? i could never figure that out) I absolutely ADORE. He is amazingly sweet and funny, our personalities mesh well, he is one of my best friends ever and he would do ANYTHING for me. However, he doesn't understand my atheism (accepts, just doesn't understand) and is very secure in his theism. While he is one of the few friends who I can sit down and seriously talk about religion w/, I can't see myself marrying someone like him. Wow, the more I think about it, the more "screwed" I feel in this whole deal! I rarely meet guys, or gals for that matter, who are "infidels". Are we all DOOMED?

viscousmemories

My last girlfriend and I were together for about five years. She was a non-believer, but because she was Jewish she had certain mental/emotional ties to the Jewish tradition, which she said she would probably pass on to her children should she decide to have any. I haven't dated since that relationship ended, which (disturbing as it may sound) has now been nearly 4 years.

On the topic, I have no interest in dating a believer. Why would I want to share my life with someone who believes in Santa Clause? I have a hard enough time finding common ground with people who are working from the same foundation as I am.

Anyway... since this seems to be the infidel hotline thread, I'm 34, single, a non-believer, and living in Pacific Beach, California. I'm not sure if there's anyone from around here that knows how to use a book, much less put together enough intellectual power to navigate II, but if so I'd love to meet you.

(btw, that was an obligatory slam. I don't really harbor any ill-will toward SoCalians in general. I don't even like to generalize, generally. I understand and respect the fact that weak-minded people can be found en masse just about everywhere.)