Interview with an Atheist (Ghs), Part 1


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If you ever get around to finishing your hedonist’s memoir, you ought to name the chapter about your teenage guilt after Augustine’s and Rousseau’s Confessions. Sounds like you went through the same stuff, but came out in a different place. Eww, look at that potential double entendre!

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I'm hoping for an update on Love in Bloomington. How's the cauldron of unholy loves stirring these days, O far-voyaging Aeneas?

There is a close friendship, but no unholy cauldron. I have sinned in my heart, but that's it. I don't need to make my life any more complicated than it already is.

Ghs

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I'm hoping for an update on Love in Bloomington. How's the cauldron of unholy loves stirring these days, O far-voyaging Aeneas?

There is a close friendship, but no unholy cauldron. I have sinned in my heart, but that's it. I don't need to make my life any more complicated than it already is.

Ghs

Try SOLO PASSION.

(Lindsay would welcome you back.)

--Brant

or is that just a Catholic thing?

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There was a strong wind while I was filming Marilyn yesterday outside the McLean County History Museum. (That's what caused variations in the volume level, which I didn't discover until it was too late to reshoot.) As I attempted to shield the camcorder with one hand, near the end, I inadvertently let it drop a little. I suppose the "panning down" could be given a lascivious interpretation, however, by those with impure hearts 8-)

Ghs

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Why, a strong wind while filming Marilyn M.,fear not -- no lascivious interpretations could ever be put upon such a circumstance by OLers, whose strength is as the strength of ten, because their hearts are..well, you know.

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My heart is pure--purely impure.

--Brant

waiting for stainhood

Short wait!

Brother Brant, you are stained, stainted indeed. Go thou and sin no more.

Some more. Some more.

--Brant

working hard

Ah, you call upon the very St Augustine who is patron of this thread, and implore the Lord to make you good, but not yet.

Soon you shall join the Blessed William of Vancouver in the Etholimbic Antechamber, to be delivered in November before All Souls Eve.

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(That's what caused variations in the volume level, which I didn't discover until it was too late to reshoot.)

Assuming you use Windows Movie Maker, there's a way to fix that. Just break out the part that needs a volume boost separately, and then up its volume. I actually screwed that up in my first video, I left one segment's volume too low. Only about five seconds worth, so it wasn't the end of the world.

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(That's what caused variations in the volume level, which I didn't discover until it was too late to reshoot.)

Assuming you use Windows Movie Maker, there's a way to fix that. Just break out the part that needs a volume boost separately, and then up its volume. I actually screwed that up in my first video, I left one segment's volume too low. Only about five seconds worth, so it wasn't the end of the world.

I've used Movie Maker a lot over the past several years, but it will not accommodate formats like AVI and MP4. I therefore switched to the AVS editor, which is considerably more sophisticated and complicated than MM. This is only the second video I have made with the AVS editor. A lot of audio adjustments can be made with it, but they will take a while to learn, and I didn't have the time with two writing projects to finish (my next Cato Essay and an introduction to a forthcoming reprint of Spencer's Social Statics).

I fooled around with the AVS audio editor for a while, but I only made things worse. I could boost Marilyn's voice, but that also boosted the sound of the wind hitting the camera. I tried filtering out background noise, but there are around 10 adjustments for that, and no attempt helped much, and some made it sound more weird.

There may be a way to take care of the problem via AVS audio editing; but as you undoubtedly know about editing software, it can take many hours to get the hang of things, so I finally decided to stay with the original. Marilyn (we used her camcorder) will be purchasing an external mic in the near future, and that will help.

I'm happy with the AVS Editor (which cost around $60 to download). It can do many things that the MM cannot. I recommend it highly, and I look forward to learning more about its features.

Ghs

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This is Part 3 of my interview. Ayn Rand is discussed, among other things. At least two more segments will follow in the next two weeks.

Jeez, you pulled out in mid-thrust! Is this going to be a clever homage to St. Augustine's views on time? How we experience the future in the present, in this case by speculating on what you're about to say about him next?

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What about Part 3? You were in the middle of a sentence about Augustine's City of God, and then it just faded out. Is there going to be an expanded Director's Cut?

Terrific miracle story in Part 4.

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What about Part 3? You were in the middle of a sentence about Augustine's City of God, and then it just faded out. Is there going to be an expanded Director's Cut?

Terrific miracle story in Part 4.

I was a little relucant to tell that "miracle" story, but in retrospect I'm glad I did. It certainly is not a run-of-the-mill account. 8-)

Ghs

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Here is the fifth and final part of my YouTube interview. I discuss the difference between atheism and agnosticism, the ethics of Jesus, and some other matters. The introduction for this part was filmed in Peoria, with a statue of Robert G. Ingersoll in the background.

Ghs

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