Cool Blog Alert: 'The Day I Became An Atheist'

Over the last year, there have been a number of blogs that have looked at the world from a different perspective. One told the stories of gay and lesbian individuals that knew as children of their sexual orientation.  Another proved that your parents were pretty cool before you came along.

A new website has debuted this week in the same vein, but with a decidedly more serious tone.  From author Kyria Abrahams comes 'The Day I Became an Atheist'.  I must admit, it's a compelling read.

The blog is comprised primarily of reader submissions.  So far, the majority of them are rather heartbreaking.  I encourage you to read the riveting, powerful, and often times, emotional stories from people all over the world.  Kyria's post for example:

“My ex-boyfriend assaulted me by slamming a balled fist into either side of my head. He could have killed me, but thankfully, all I got was a lousy concussion. I lost two jobs and was left with thousands of dollars in legal and hospital bills. I was also unable to say goodbye to my dying father. The people around me said everything happens for a reason and I just didn’t see God’s plan. Apparently God’s plan was for my ex to get away with it. One year later, and I challenge anyone to find a single Godly thing that came out of that incident.”

If you would like to contribute your own story for the blog, you can submit it through the blog directly, or email Kyria at kyriaabrahams@gmail.com.  We would all like to hear it.  Kyria's latest book is called I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing.  You can purchase it on Amazon by clicking on the link above.

Most Adorable Movie Remakes EVER.

Arthur Recreates, a new blog by literary blogger Emily Cleaver, oozes cuteness.  Emily puts her son Arthur into photo recreations of famous movies, often using his Bumbo, his crib or his favorite stuffed giraffe.  Very creative way to document your baby.  I can't decide if my favorite is 'The Godfather', or the 'Shawshank Redemption' recreation, so I'll post both.  Awww.

Something tells me he going to have a hard time getting to Zihuatanejo.

I Received My First View From Egypt

My first blog post was on September 11, 2009.  Since then, I have written 452 articles for this site.  I have had thousands of page views from dozens of countries.  Of course, the majority of my readers come from the United States and the United Kingdom.  I also have quite a few coming from Canada and Australia.  Last week, I had a viewer from Ghana.  Two weeks before that, Kenya.  I have always found it interesting to see who is reading what I have to say.

As you know, Friday was a momentous day for the people of Egypt.  They finally had a taste of freedom after 18 arduous days of protesting in the streets.  I spent much of the afternoon watching the celebrations unfold on CNN, or on my computer on Al Jazeera, with one of the most genuine, heartfelt smiles I've ever had in my life.

At about 4pm my time, or 1am Egypt time, I checked the viewer stats on my blog.  Someone from Egypt had just been reading one of my posts.  I can't tell which one for sure, but I was able to see that they reached my page via Google Egypt.  Based on the traffic sources, it looks as if they were looking for pictures or tweets regarding the protests from earlier in the week, since they now had internet service back up in the country.

I know in actuality it's nothing. But for me, it's a big deal.  I don't get a lot of readers.  Some days, I'm lucky if I get 100 in 24 hours.  So, I'm humbled when one of the 92 that read my blog yesterday is possibly someone that was in Tahrir Square just hours before.  I'm glad that I was available for that man or woman, and I hope they got the information they needed.  Congratulations on your liberation.

If by chance you read this, I would love to speak with you.  Write me.  Leave a comment.  It comes to my personal email inbox before it gets posted.

Thanks for stopping by.

Two Really Cool Blogs To Check Out

...but still read mine...please.

First up, a blog about the inner workings of all things Disney. The way that Disney kept secrets, they had a history of being locked down tighter than most government agencies. It is amazing how much inside information this blog has about Disney parks and studios, and it's a really interesting read. For example: do you know the story behind all of the tombstones outside the Haunted Mansion? Or, did you know that the cars at the Autopia at Disneyland originally weren't attached to the track?

This blog has a listing of every ride ever created for the Disney parks, every change of design and, in some cases, every change in paint. It even has a list of those rides and exhibits that were designed and planned that, for one reason or another, never came to fruition. You can find the blog, 2719 Hyperion, here.

Secondly, is a blog that I came across as a result of the release of a book of the same name. 1001 Rules For My Unborn Son is one of those ideas that come along that you wish you would have come up with. It is absolutely brilliant. The blog itself is currently up to #401 as of the time of this posting, and it is some of the best advice I have seen. It should have been called, "How Not To Be A Douchebag". There have been a couple of rules that I don't necessarily agree with, such as "Always accept a drinking challenge", but, overall, it is amazing. Along with the rules are quotes from famous authors and celebrities that follow along with the rule of the day, as well as streaming MP3s that are "required listening". The book came out yesterday, and from what I've read so far, it would make the perfect present for the expecting dad. It's the blog I wish I would have been clever enough to come up with.

This Could All Become A Positive Experience

I was trying to fall asleep last night, and I started thinking about everything that has gone on in the last 9 months. I started thinking to myself, "What if this ends up making me a better person. What if I find a purpose in life; figure out what I'm supposed to do."

My lifestyle has changed drastically since I started short term disability in February. My first few weeks, all I did was watch TV and play video games. I had no interests. I had no hobbies. I had no concern for anyone or anything outside of the four walls of my own home. Very quickly, television became boring, and so did checking TMZ.com every 15 minutes. I was starting to realize there was more to life, and I was missing out.

I was restless. Everything and nothing sounded interesting at the same time. One thing was too expensive to try, the other was too boring. One was too time intensive, the other not consuming enough. I was bored, but not enough to be motivated to get off my ass and really try something new.

This whole experience has made me a better father. I have been able to spend so much time with my little girl that I would have never been able to spend otherwise. I am getting to watch my little girl grow up. I wouldn't be able to do that on a 40 hour a week schedule with her in daycare.

With my wife being the knitting and crocheting goddess that she is, I thought it would be a fun idea to learn how to spin my own wool and yarn. I even scheduled myself in to take a class at a local yarn store. By the time the classes came around, I was so on edge with my PTSD, that I had my wife take the class in my place. She was a natural at it(of course).

I started to think of the two things I know most about in life, food and music, and how I could work with them as mediums. I took two years of culinary school back in high school but dropped out due to a lack of hand/eye coordination at the time. I learned a lot in those two years though, especially how different flavors, and scents, go together. I decided to do a little bit of research about how to make soap. Within a week of my first attempt, I made six different food inspired scents. I realized, for the first time in a long time, I was doing something that I enjoyed that didn't involve a computer or TV.

I tried to find things to make out of my old, useless vinyl collection. I made decorative bowls out of the recycled records. I'm starting to make jewelry with them now and learning how to build clocks to put into them. This is fun to me now. I hardly have my TV on anymore.

We used to have a DVR that was so full that we were constantly erasing shows to make room for new ones. The only two shows I watch now are 'Glee' and 'Flash Forward', and I haven't seen 'Flash Forward' in three weeks. I can't watch TV anymore. I cry too much now. This is the first season of 'Grey's Anatomy' that I'm missing. I used to cry for about 15 minutes or so after each sad episode. Now, it would take me three days to recover.

As I said before, I discovered Twitter back in June, and blogging last month. This is either my 59th or 60th blog in 5 weeks. I'm addicted to it. Sure, some of my blogs are a little childish, but hey, it's how I calm down. I love blogging. So much in fact, that I am considering writing a book based upon all the crap that I've dealt with in my life. I haven't even hit 1% of what I've experienced.

I'm discovering myself. For the first time in my life, I have hobbies. I have interests. I care about other people now. I read the news, and see a story about a lesbian girl in Mississippi that isn't allowed to have her yearbook picture printed, and I want to share it with people. I want other people to know about it. When I start feeling better, I want to start volunteering. I've never felt this way before. I've only cared about myself. I have been so selfish in my life and now my outlook on the world is so different. Maybe all this shit that has ruined other parts of my life has completely enriched other parts of my life. It's so hard to explain, but I am so thankful for that aspect of my life right now. I feel so much richer for it.