Kelly and I are going to Borders to see our story in Radar Magazine.

I'm in a rush, but I just wanted to tell you that the November issue of Radar Magazine has a three page story about us. The November issue should be available today at Borders Book Stores all over the US. You may want to call in advance to be sure that they have it. Barnes and Noble stocks it, but both stores we visited did not have the latest issue, and according to the store's computer, B&N didn't think they'd get it for another month. We think that was an error because Radar was previously published bi-monthly. Another user reports that a local Barnes and Noble stocks it. So... go to Borders today if you want the November issue in which our 3 page spread is shown. I hope that Kelly and I will be able to scan the article and show it to you (after it's no longer a current issue). Here's what they say on their site: Fame The No-God Squad How a scrappy band of heathens became a media sensation—and gave godlessness a fresh new face. By Richard Rys Radars online story simply links to the Blasphemy Challenge video... GREAT EXPOSURE FOR THE VIDEO! Make sure to comment at the Radar Online story page (currently comments seem to be broken, we have a phone call in to them)!! That's another way that Radar will measure the success of the story and show that we can generate some buzz for them. I know, I know, everybody hates to register for anything, but it's free and you're supporting a good cause. You wont have to wait for email confirmation either. If you forget... there is a split second of the writer who got the story in Radar in our opening video to the WOTM slaughter. Link to video on Revver where you can download free: http://one.revver.com/watch/261770/flv/affiliate/78047 NEW CONTEST! WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF OUR ARTICLE IN RADAR: direct link: You can give your copy of Radar to a friend later. We'll even personalize it. The first 15 people to upload a video attached to ours (coming soon) will be eligible to receive one of the three copies we autographed. We'll award 1 each time we get 5 video responses. Videos can consist of you checking out the magazine at a Borders, maybe include a visit to the atheist section there on film (let's give Borders some credit for making an atheism section at most stores). You could also make a video of you at home reading the mag, or talking about our story in the mag on your video. Try to give some props to Radar for being on the cutting edge, if you can. They've given a fair shake and have talked about Hitchens quite a bit.

Win an autographed copy

Win an autographed copy from us (personalized) of Radar Magazine 11-07 with out cool 3 page story...

Direct link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWGaZ5Ydyrs 

The Radar story

I was wondering what you thought of the article.  Do you feel that the writer treated the story fairly?  I only ask because the article seemed pretty derogatory/unflattering and not in that usual way of just being a little lippy for the sake of hipness.  Your take on the attitude?

mary f wrote: I was

mary f wrote:
I was wondering what you thought of the article. Do you feel that the writer treated the story fairly? I only ask because the article seemed pretty derogatory/unflattering and not in that usual way of just being a little lippy for the sake of hipness. Your take on the attitude?

 Their magazine focuses on scandal, the article presented some scandal in a fun way, I got a kick out of it.  I didn't see anything wrong with it.  Give me a specific, and I'll let you know.

 

Oh, just little things...

in the article, the descriptions of yourselves- "Brian and Kelly, both unpublished dropouts" begins one paragraph. While this information may be factual, is this statement really necessary or even the best way to describe their subject? Later, in a paragraph about Kelly- "Kelly left Fort Lee, New Jersey, quitting her lap-dancing gig...to move in with Brian. She's now closer to her three sons, who live with her ex-husband..." I understand a need to describe the people they are writing about but some of the information seems to be added with the purpose of being a little nasty and a little off topic. What do Kelly's stripping gigs and 3 sons have to do with your group's current actions for atheism? Toward the end of the article, "Brian is planning to make the Squad a nonprofit, but so far he's been too lazy to file the paperwork." The very last paragraph states "a friend is working on a documentary about the Rational Responders. The project will be the first for the director, a film school dropout and former member of Best Buy's Geek Squad." There's little snide comments like this throughout the article and it doesn't smack of irreverance but of nastiness. My point is that these snarky sidenotes do nothing to help explain your cause they only detract/distract from it. Am I just being a negative nelly, or do you get my point?

Pathofreason's picture

I agree

mary f wrote:
in the article, the descriptions of yourselves- "Brian and Kelly, both unpublished dropouts" begins one paragraph. While this information may be factual, is this statement really necessary or even the best way to describe their subject? Later, in a paragraph about Kelly- "Kelly left Fort Lee, New Jersey, quitting her lap-dancing gig...to move in with Brian. She's now closer to her three sons, who live with her ex-husband..." I understand a need to describe the people they are writing about but some of the information seems to be added with the purpose of being a little nasty and a little off topic. What do Kelly's stripping gigs and 3 sons have to do with your group's current actions for atheism? Toward the end of the article, "Brian is planning to make the Squad a nonprofit, but so far he's been too lazy to file the paperwork." The very last paragraph states "a friend is working on a documentary about the Rational Responders. The project will be the first for the director, a film school dropout and former member of Best Buy's Geek Squad." There's little snide comments like this throughout the article and it doesn't smack of irreverance but of nastiness. My point is that these snarky sidenotes do nothing to help explain your cause they only detract/distract from it. Am I just being a negative nelly, or do you get my point?

 

I mean was the article written to insult?

Co-Founder of the Atheist/Freethought website Pathofreason.com

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mary f wrote:

mary f wrote:
in the article, the descriptions of yourselves- "Brian and Kelly, both unpublished dropouts" begins one paragraph.

The language there isn't necessary. I guess we think most of this stuff is funny because we know better. I'll address briefly some more accurate ways to reflect our history in as short a time frame as I have.

- Kelly left college upon being pregnant in school with her third child (she was a full time mom/student). She held a 4.0 gpa (which they printed) and will likely be fully scholarshipped at an Ivy League school.

- I left school after a year due to the desire to support my son, rather than rely on my parents to help (they had offered). Once in the corporate world making it good money, and continously focusing on my son, it made college less desireable. I already had great earning capacity.

- They forgot to mention Rook hasn't even gone to college! What a loser! Sticking out tongue Rook is currently writing a book based on his extensive years of historical research. I have heard from 1 doctorate, and two men with Masters that Rooks work is on par with a Doctoral thesis. One academic joked that Kent Hovind claims to have a doctorate, and his thesis reads like a 7th grader while Rook claims nothing about college and writes better than most doctorates.

 - KELLY HAS BEEN PUBLISHED!  Due to the fact that her real name is used in the places she has been published, we don't refer to them.  However Kelly took 3rd place nationwide in a college essay contest, and the top 3 in each category are put in a book each year.  She was also published in Christianity Today.   

- Our lack of college degrees does not all of the sudden invalidate our arguments, or validate our irrational counterparts.

Both Kelly and Rook have intense and focused desire to attain doctorates. Against my judgement... I think it's a waste of time, and that they only need a 4th grade education to expose the frauds we see in the religious world.

 

Quote:
While this information may be factual, is this statement really necessary or even the best way to describe their subject?

Obviously not the best way to describe their subject. Where they chose the word "dropped out" for scandalous purposes would have been "withdrew" in your world. I think the point is... they wouln't print that story. Inevitably the question would become... would you rather have the press with a little embellishment, or would you "drop out" of the media coverage?

 

Quote:
Later, in a paragraph about Kelly- "Kelly left Fort Lee, New Jersey, quitting her lap-dancing gig...to move in with Brian.

She also quit her mom too! lol That sentence was stupid. Kelly took another job as a dancer part time in Philly. A job none of us want her to work, but she remains persistent in trying to help supplement our small income here.

 

Quote:
What do Kelly's stripping gigs and 3 sons have to do with your group's current actions for atheism?

Nothing. But they don't exactly cover stories in that manner. They try to get behind the scenes, find the juicy stuff, the scandal. They never agreed to write a piece specifically about our activism, we knew it would be racy when it came out. We purposefully took pictures with overt sexual overtones and blasphemy when they came out, hoping to rattle feathers.

 

Quote:
Toward the end of the article, "Brian is planning to make the Squad a nonprofit, but so far he's been too lazy to file the paperwork."

Clarification: I work 80-145 hours a week. I'm not really planning to make the Squad a non profit... I'm considering it. And frankly there are hundreds of factors to consider, and I feel no need to rush. Sometimes I think things over for a while, and plan for something better thats coming down the road... that's basically what phase I'm in now.

Yes this wording was poor... I laughed out loud though when I heard it.

 

Quote:
The very last paragraph states "a friend is working on a documentary about the Rational Responders.

They only have become "friends" since filming us. Even then, the relationship has been nothing but professional. You can learn more about them and the movie, here.

I think the confusion came in that the film makers are friends of each other, and one of them introduced the other to the idea of making a movie about us. Hence a friend of a friend... however neither were our friends until then... and I use friend loosely. I like them a lot as people, but honestly the film crew and RRS barely know each other outside of a professional level.

 

Quote:
The project will be the first for the director

Nope. He actually has done a project or two, small things. It is however his first project with his new company "Haxormod studios" which has virtually nothing online at the moment.

 

Quote:
a film school dropout

He actually left school because he felt he was smarter than the teacher. (long story, I didn't even ask)

 

Quote:
former member of Best Buy's Geek Squad."

I think he actually still works at the Geek Squad.

 

They forgot to mention that he and his 2 friend crew have invested thousands of dollars themselves into this project. Some would say they are seeking the American dream, obviously there is a more amazing story to tell here, I just don't think you can expect Radar to tell it.

 

Quote:
There's little snide comments like this throughout the article and it doesn't smack of irreverance but of nastiness. My point is that these snarky sidenotes do nothing to help explain your cause they only detract/distract from it.

Agreed, however if someone is gonna judge any logical arguments we'd have based on the snide comments of one source, don't we just have more irrationalities to fix? I'm not just attacking theism. I see the notion that our arguments would hold less validity due to any negative characteristic that can be ascribed to us as absurdly irrational, and you and I should fight against it when it comes up. However you should keep in mind that your opportunity to expose such silliness right here on this site, may ocurr as a direct result of Radar magazine sending the person here.

 

Quote:
Am I just being a negative nelly, or do you get my point?

I get your point, I almost agree. Maybe I'm just trying to be too optimistic. Eye-wink

Feel free to quote any other points, I'll add clarifications for anyone who would like to hear them.

Look at the story like a Rolling Stones article behind the scenes capturing Marilyn Manson's ride to stardom. The article is about us becoming well known fast, not as much about us helping to end the most destructive mind disease on our planet.

Wonderist's picture

They sound like

They sound like tongue-in-cheek over-embellishments to me. Am I wrong? I've never read RADAR. Do their other articles contain similar quips about the interviewees, etc.?

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Little Roller Up First's picture

The 'negative' comments about Brian and Kelly

My guess about the purpose of these unflattering comments about Sapient and Kelly is to make them...

...well, "human," as opposed to "just two guys from teh Interwebs."[sic]

It makes Brian and Kelly look like people who have jobs and families, just like most Americans. Except they aren't Christian in any sense of the word. If nothing else, it makes them NOT look like the stereotype that some people have about atheists - it makes them look NOT EVIL.

After all, what can be evil about 'ordinary' people with 'ordinary' (side) jobs, 'ordinary' families and an 'ordinary' education level of "some college?"

Good night, funny man, and thanks for the laughter.

pariahjane's picture

Radar is a kind of snarky,

Radar is a kind of snarky, hipster magazine.  It has good music articles.  It's sort of like gawker.com.

If god takes life he's an indian giver

ballistadrummer's picture

post

The mag wont let me post a comment

ballistadrummer wrote:

ballistadrummer wrote:
The mag wont let me post a comment

 

I've asked them to fix this. They also addressed some thoughts I had about the online article, and comments about the giveway I posted. They were quick to volunteer 12 extra copies of the magazine, but they've waited 36 hours to address the page concerns (which include a teaser, a clickable link to RRS, a link to our Radar mag contest, and a spot on the homepage). These items were offered by an assistant editor yesterday, but today I heard nothing back from the internet team nor did I say them make any changes.

They did say they were very busy, and I can understand that for sure. 

I'm holding off on the hard core promotion until they fix these flaws, which I hope happens soon. I'd imagine, They missed out on a few hundred new users yesterday.

 

Just thought I should make

Just thought I should make note of some positive reaction to the radar article...

   2 people have come in to our chatroom in the last week saying they're glad the found us.  Another just wrote us this email on myspace....

Quote:
 

Hello,

I just read the article in Radar and I'm very joyful to learn of your existence and activities. I've been a hardcore atheist since age 14 (I'm 52 now). It's really good to see some activism on this - I support you 100%.

I teach art at the college level and try to challenge this nightmare of ridiculous belief in "God" that is so rampant in this country at every possible opportunity.

Thanks for your work.

Terry  

Radar magazine ads us to

Radar magazine ads us to homepage.

 

Radar has also contacted us today to ask to use Matthew Chapman's letter to us, he plans to revise it slightly and submit it to them.

Here it is...

A letter from the author of

A letter from the author of the Radar Magazine piece. We've exchanged several cordial emails, this is one he wrote as he thought it might help shed some light...

Quote:

Brian,


Just wanted to drop you a line to clarify something about the Radar story that seems to have generated some controversy (and a strong reaction from a Darwin). There's a line in the piece that describes you and Kelly as unpublished college dropouts, and I can sort of understand why some people might interpret that as academic elitism on my part. That wasn't my intention. It was important to me to point out that none of you are academics written, you're still mixing it up with theologians, professors, authors, etc. That detail also underscores the link between what you're doing today and the trail blazed by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who became a national celebrity not with a degree in theology, but by speaking her mind and usually doing so in the most outrageous way possible.

I've never judged anyone's intelligence by where they went to school or the number of degrees they hold. There's a little snark in the story, sure, but it's aimed at the sort of ludicrously fast way people can go from anonymity to multiple national TV appearances in an eyeblink these days. I have no problem taking criticism about something I wrote, but to be clear, I wasn't passing judgment or adopting an intellectually superior tone regarding you, Kelly, Rook, Mr. Gawn and the rest of the crew.

Feel free to put this up on your site if it¹s worth getting out there. Hope all's well, and keep me posted on who you're pissing off these days.


Rich Rys