Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.”

Jimmy Carter

Our Writers

Erich Vieth

Erich is an attorney and writer living in St. Louis, Missouri. My email: erichvieth1956@yahoo.com [Note: I also maintain a Myspace presence at http://www.myspace.com/metaphor2]

I’m a freethinker, asker of dangerous questions, lover of the scientific method and guitarist. I’m also an attorney and writer living in St. Louis, Missouri. For eleven years, I’ve been married to a wonderful woman named Anne. We adore our two little girls, now aged 6 and 8.

I majored in philosophy and psychology in undergrad and I never lost the passion for the topics associated with those fields. For the past ten years I’ve audited various cognitive science graduate level classes as a hobby (at Washington University in St. Louis). I’m fascinated by many recent findings of cognitive science and you’ll find this cultural criticism site drawing on many of these findings.

In March 2006 I started this blog to ask unrestrained questions about human animals, especially from the perspectives of culture, science, religion and media. This blog is a labor of love for each of its authors. We are a non-profit collaboration.  Each of us considers ourselves to be lifelong students. Each of us loves comments, especially comments that challenge or disagree with our writings. Join us, then, and let us know what’s on your mind. Each author speaks on his or her own behalf, we are each strong believers in this collaborative nature of learning.

Notice: The authors of this site reserve the right to publish and comment upon all or part of any email you send to them. If you do not want your email to be used in such a manner, mark it “Confidential.”

For our policies regarding Comments and Email as well as other Notices,

Click Here: comments policy.doc

Grumpypilgrim

Grumpypilgrim is a writer and management consultant living in Madison, WI. He has several scientific degrees, including a recent master’s degree from MIT. He has also held several professional career positions, none of which has been in a field in which he ever took a university course. Grumps is an avid cyclist and, for many years now, has traveled more annual miles by bicycle than by car…and he wishes more people (for the health of both themselves and our planet) would do the same. Grumps is an enthusiastic advocate of life-long learning, healthy living and political awareness. He is single, and provides a loving home for abused and abandoned bicycles. Grumpy’s email: grumpypilgrim(AT)@charter(DOT).net [Erich's note: Grumpy asked that his email be encrypted this way to deter spam. If you want to write to him, drop out the parentheticals in the above address].

Mark Tiedeman    [A/K/A Jason Rayl]

Markis a writer and musician living in the St. Louis area.  He hit puberty at the peak of the Sixties and came of age just as it was all coming to a close with the end of the Vietnam War. He was annoyed when bellbottoms went out of style, but he got over it.

Mindy Carney

Mindy is “a writer and graduate student in St. Louis, Missouri, a crafter of jewelry, a disorganized optimist and most importantly, the adoptive mom of two China-born daughters.” Monkeyhead@aol.com

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Erika Price

I attend college in Columbus, Ohio, studying psychology and communications. I’ve spent time championing LGBT rights, public education reform, civil liberties, and of course, rational thought. I actively oppose lazy thinking, the unnecessary intrusion of government, and the United States’ two-party system, among other things. I welcome discussion and discourse, even if it means someone proves me wrong. You can add me on myspace here: http://www.myspace.com/englishprime. You can write to me at eprimeprice@gmail.com

Dan Klarmann

This vintage 1961 fellow grew up in and lives in the Midwest, where he collected his proverbial couple of fancy college degrees, and has been studying independently ever since. A regular traveler, he’s seen the midnight sun in Norway, a nuclear reactor core and fjords in Argentina, whales and stars in Hawaii, the museums of Vienna, and much more in between. When someone calls him a “son-of-a-(suggestion that his mother belongs to the genus Canis)”, he retorts that he is actually a son of an astrophysicist. Words and symbols are tools he employs to discover the universe at a variety of scales, from quarks and virtual particles to the monobloc as a whole. See his website (www.danklarmann.com) more about his life, progenitors, travels, arts and education.

Ebonmuse

Species: Homo sapiens
Gender: Male
Location: New York, USA
Astrological Sign: Astrology is an absurd pseudoscience which I will not promote.
About Me: Part-time computer hacker, part-time freethought activist; optimist and skeptic rolled into one; a poet at heart but a scientist at mind; a thorough-going atheist who admires religious music and architecture. I contain multitudes, as Walt Whitman put it. And anyone who suggests that I’m only an atheist because of a dysfunctional family or a bad experience with church gets fifty lashes with a wet noodle blessed by the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

For much more, see http://www.daylightatheism.org/, a site run by Ebonmuse.  Here’s an excerpt from the DA “About” page:

Atheists stand for many positive and praiseworthy values, including the willingness to listen to reason and evidence, a morality based on conscience and the common good, the fearless application of critical thinking and skepticism, and the courage to defend one’s principles and speak out even in the face of the majority’s disapproval. These are values that our society badly needs, and we are just the ones to provide them. It is time for atheists to step out of the closets, into the daylight, and take our rightful place at the table of society’s discourse.

Mike Pulcinella

In my 46 years I have been a curious child, a rebellious teen, a reluctant artist, an aspiring architect, a giddy newlywed, a nervous father, a meticulous printer, a professional musician, a divorced dad, and most recently, a documentary videographer. I think that the last incarnation wouldn’t have been possible without all the others that came before.

Projektleiterin

I studied Horticulture, so officially I’m an agricultural engineer, but I’m doing something completely different at the moment. I want to get back into this field though.

“Projektleiterin” is German and means project leader. My mom sometimes calls me like this for fun, because as a kid I used to start many many knitting projects very enthusiastically and then had trouble finishing them. On my knitting blog you can see proof that I’m now a much better person than I used to be. It may sound funny to those who don’t knit, but while knitting is certainly a creative and pleasurable activity, it also teaches you perseverance and discipline.

I’m never really sure what to tell people when they ask me where I’m from. Usually I say, “I grew up in Germany, but originally I’m from Asia.”

I think I’m quite conservative at heart, but liberal by choice.

Oh, and be a bit forgiving if you read my posts - English is not my native language.

Vicki Baker

Vicki lives on the left coast of the USA in the real Surf City (not TM). She enjoys taking a break from being a hard-headed skeptic in hippy-dippy Santa Cruz to moonlight as a dewy-eyed mystic at DI.

Hank

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Hank was born of amateur boat-building scientist parents from whom he gained his love of nature & the universe. Today he’s a musician, non-profit aid worker, beagle keeper and fair & balanced internet commentator - but that just means he has a chip on each shoulder.

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lisarokusek

Lisa lives and works in the city of St. Louis, and is striving to develop the right mix of both while asking herself what it means to live a good life.  She has worked as a recruiter for well over a decade, and has amassed some wisdom as well as the mandatory bumps and bruises.  She is willing to share, so if you, or anyone you know, has employment search questions give her a ping - she is a voracious social networker, (and a bit of a geek) and will help anyone she can.

Tim Hogan

Timothy E. Hogan, aged 52, is a husband, father of two, trial attorney and practicing Roman Catholic in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Hogan has done legal and political work in Jefferson City, Missouri for partisan and non-partisan social change, environmental and consumer protection groups, and had worked for consumer advocate Ralph Nader in Washington, DC and the members of the trial bar in the State of New York.   Mr. Hogan’s current interests involve his children’s education and development, assisting in coaching his children’s sports teams and remaining a full time pioneer on the frontiers of justice in America.

Email Tim at kbandwidth@hotmail.com

Hank

Hank was born of amateur boat-building scientist parents from whom he gained his love of nature & the universe. Today he’s a musician, non-profit aid worker, beagle keeper and fair & balanced internet commentator - but that just means he has a chip on each shoulder.

Sujay Prabhu

I am Sujay Prabhu, 22, living in Mumbai(Bombay), India. Among other things, I enjoy reading non-fiction, listening to podcasts, watching world cinema, watching plays, and trekking. I believe skepticism is a most vital trait, needed not only to dodge schemes of charlatans, but also to lead a fulfilling life. I live in a country where superstitions and useless rituals reign supreme, and ‘miracle-men’ make a fast buck spouting irrational philosophy, backing it up with laughable magic tricks to fool the masses about their ‘powers’. The few people who study their surroundings, try to look beyond the obvious, and subject their own beliefs to scrutiny, are those that earn my admiration. sujayprabhu@yahoo.com

Devi

I live, work and love wherever I hang my hat, which at present is in the U.S. I am a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and Choctaw. I have lived on three continents (North America, Europe, and Asia) and love to travel and meet interesting people.

No matter how much success I have achieved, I still feel the need to help those stuck in the mire of poverty and ignorance. I am an advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, whether from ignorance, from lack of eloquence or simple lack of opportunity.

My ‘logo’ picture is Bear Butte (It is Sioux holy land. Some of my fondest memories are climbing that mountain and seeing all the prayer material tied to the trees).

You can write to me directly at chimeechukmas@hotmail.com

Artemis

Artemis likes wilderness, wild animals and whooping it up with the girrrls and boyz.  She also thinks writing and yoga are pretty cool.  And watch out for the full moon.

Phil

Phil has been writing and editing professionally–by which he means “for money,” rather than any claim to quality–for more than 16 years, but he has written on his own in countless notebooks, letters and diaries since about the age of 12. Now 41, he finds himself approaching middle age with both great apprehensions, greater expectations and still a sliver of hope–a sliver nourished by his two lovely daughters, ages 8 and 4.

Phil has always felt that he had a book inside of him waiting to come out, and his hope is that participating in Dangerous Intersections will help to stimulate the germs of ideas that can turn into a book. Technically, he is already a published author, but he has yet to write the book he wants to write–a collection of non-fiction stories, tales and essays about growing up in St. Joseph, Mo., birthplace of the Pony Express and deathplace of Jesse James–written for his daughters and lovely wife of 16 years.

Meanwhile, there is Dangerous Intersection and Phil’s full time job as a loyal PR “flack” for a local Fortune 500 company (he is comforted by the knowledge that poet and novelist James Dickey–author of “Deliverance,” made famous by Ned Beatty and Burt Reynolds–spent years in Atlanta, Ga., writing ad copy for Coca-Cola as he also churned out poetry). Will this fabled book ever materialize? Will blogging lead to revelation or frustration? Is there a “there” there? Only time will tell.

Mr. TMOL

Mr. TMOL loves the mountains and he loves getting to the point.

Yana Kanarski

Yana is a rising freshman at Tulane University pursuing a major in neuroscience. In addition to neuroscience, she is also interested in philosophy, mathematics, religion, and quantum physics. Click here http://www.myspace.com/hoyvin_mayvin to visit Yana’s MySpace profile.

Sarah Boslaugh

Sarah is a research analyst and statistician in St. Louis. In her spare time, she is a musician, works on several kdhx-tv shows and writes on various topics.  The above photo is of the main reading room of the New York Public Library.

Chris Van Mierlo

Chris Van Mierlo is a South African of British descent who left the country with her family in 1960 when her father was in danger of being arrested by the white government because of his anti-apartheid activities.

She has lived in the St. Louis, Missouri, area since 1969, and previously lived on Cape Cod, in Boston, and in Syracuse, New York.

Chris teaches and tutors English at St. Charles Community College. In addition to her English degree, she has degrees in music, which she has also taught. Her home away from home is Montana where she and her husband hope to retire in the not too distant future.

Chris in the mother of two sons, one of whom lives in St. Louis and the other in Missoula, Montana. She is the grandmother of two girls, 10 and 16.

Her email is christinevanmierlo@yahoo.com .

Jake

Jake, 25, is a Resident of central London. On his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/thoughtsonthewire) Jake describes himself as a “jewish, lawyer-wanabe…. finished a degree in psychology, philosophy and french way back in 03 and am now really looking forward to finally finishing my long career as a student (currently doing the lpc and the bpp)….” You can contact Jake directly at jake_dangerousintersection@hotmail.com

© Dangerous Intersection 2006. All rights reserved.