An Ad Campaign Big Bro Can Really Get Behind

So I have been seeing these ads on buses around town lately, and every time I see one, I think- Did I just see what I thought I saw?

Well, I did... these are created and sponsored by the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign. These positive Atheism messages started in South Bend May 11th, and have since spread the heathen word to Chicago. Next, THE WORLD!!!!

Actually, I guess the world came first, and the god-fearing US is the last to hop on the...well, the bus.

From the website:

This campaign was created to continue the momentum started by similar successful campaigns in Canada and the United Kingdom. Around Indiana and the rest of the United States, religious advertisements on buses and billboards are very common. Some are as simple as ‘Jesus is Coming,’ while others feature long bible quotes. The discussion fostered in Canada and the UK should be something that is brought to the United States as well, and Indiana is as good of a place as any to start. We want to let everyone know that it’s all right not to believe in a deity, that you do not need to be ’saved,’ and that you can be a good person without religion. We hope that everyone will look at the facts and evidence before making life decisions, including religion.

Considering I have been bombarded by "Jesus is King" and "You're going to hell if you kill your baby" billboards (and barnsides) on the way to BFF's house, I think Indiana is a prime location to start this grass-roots campaign.

I am FASCINATED by this project, particularly with the peaceful, intelligent way it intends to spread the message. Go Team Logic!

Visit the website here.

Thou Rump-Fed Ronyon!

A joyous Talk Like Shakespeare Day to thee, thou paunchy, onion-eyed maggot-pies!

Methinks the fairest part of Shakespearean speak art the insults. Beg assistance in creating thine own here... and here!

Prithee, good sirrah, will'st thou speak like Shakespeare or no??

Say what you will about Mayor Daley, but the guy likes to have fun. From making Superbowl bets with Indianapolis to midnight digging raids on airport runways to reclaim public land, I appreciate his sense of old style city government.

His newest cause, according to CNN? Talk Like Shakespeare Day, this Thursday, April 23. In conjunction with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater's celebration of the day most historians agree is Shakespeare's birthday, Mayor Daley issued a proclamation encouraging students, teachers and the general public to toss out words like "thou" "fie!" and "knave" into the day.

I'm totally into it, and not above throwing out some Henry V with BFF. I'm DEFINITELY going to call someone a rough-hewn hedge pig.

Below are some tips from Talklikeshakespeare.org, the official website created by the Chicago Shakespeare Theater if you feel like being a joiner:

1. Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y’all, say thee.

2. Rhymed couplets are all the rage.

3. Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.

4. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back’d toads.

5. Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, t’will, I’ll do’t).

6. Verse for lovers, prose for ruffians, songs for clowns.

7. When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).

8. To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.

9. When wooing ladies: try comparing her to a summer’s day. If that fails, say "Get thee to a nunnery!"

10. When wooing lads: try dressing up like a man. If that fails, throw him in the Tower, banish his friends and claim the throne.