MurrayByMoonlight
murraybymoonlight.bsky.social
MurrayByMoonlight
@murraybymoonlight.bsky.social
An avid (but slow) reader. I like things that go bump in the night. I’m fascinated by folklore. I linger over language. I am learning to live with #Lupus. I dabble with data. I rumble with the robots. I am humbled by #Humanism. He | him | his
Pinned
An occasionally curated list of favourite books (I’d love suggestions!):

Catch-22, Heller
A Confederacy of Dunces, Toole
East of Eden, Steinbeck
Lonesome Dove, McMurtry
The Wasp Factory, Banks
The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan
To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee
(1/3)
I’ve discovered that asking “Do you know how to robot dance?” is an effective way of finding out if someone will do a robot dance.

Use this knowledge wisely.

Meep boop pting!
January 11, 2026 at 12:12 PM
If you haven’t read this, all I can ask is why not? 👇
It's the 17th anniversary of the Atheist Bus Campaign today, and a kid who was born on its launch date of 6th January 2009 would be nearly an adult now. The campaign is all but forgotten, but it really pissed a lot of people off at the time, and here's why. arianesherine.substack.com/p/6-its-the-...
It's the 17th anniversary of the Atheist Bus Campaign
It was the first ever visible expression of non-belief in public life
arianesherine.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Happy birthday Rowan Atkinson 🎉

His 1992 “Amazing Jesus” sketch (where Jesus moonlights as a stage magician!) might seem mild today, yet when it was rebroadcast in 2009 it sparked 540 complaints. Ofcom cleared it, proving again that poking fun at religion is within our rights.
January 6, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Atheists, humanists, skeptics: exciting news! You know how non-religious speakers aren't allowed on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day? Well, my Substack's changing from tomorrow and I'm going to do a daily Atheist Thought for the Day on there! Sign up here: arianesherine.substack.com/p/why-im-doi...
Why I'm doing an atheist Thought for the Day
Because atheists can be profound and philosophical too - all the more so, in fact
arianesherine.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The milk proves itself, which all the Gods refuse to do.

A very entertaining read! 👇
My second entertaining free-to-read Atheist Thought for the Day is about the thorny problem of God's existence and atheists' inability to prove a negative - and also about how you won't want to come round to my house. arianesherine.substack.com/p/the-proble...
The problem of God and the milk
Is it ever possible to prove a negative?
arianesherine.substack.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Freethought Friday

Independent thinking isn’t rebellion — it’s a civic duty.

Question power, weigh evidence, and stand with human dignity.

How did you practice freethought this week?

#FreethoughtFriday #CriticalThinking #HumanistValues #ThinkForYourself
January 2, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Sandy Hook proved Republicans are fine with children being slaughtered
Epstein Files prove Republicans are fine with children being raped.
Bobby Kennedy proves Republicans are fine with children dying of diseases that could be prevented
December 28, 2025 at 5:54 AM
The Green Hornet - I like the idea of a superhero who doesn’t drive himself to crime scenes.
September 18, 2025 at 12:46 PM
That thing where you meet a really nice person and you want to introduce them to all the other really nice people you know because maybe together they can defeat fascism.
September 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM
One of my favourite business names from fiction is 'Weyland-Yutani' from the Alien franchise.

Am I odd that I develop opinions about fictional businesses?
September 14, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Introducing Bases, a new core plugin that lets you turn any set of notes into a powerful database.

Now available to everyone with Obsidian 1.9!
August 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I'm re-reading one of my favourite books ("The Library at Mount Char" by Scott Hawkins) and one silver lining to having a poor memory is that I don't remember large sections of the story at all. #Reading #booksky
August 23, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
If only
August 2, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
Just putting it out there. Calling someone an Abomination for having a different outlook is a bit OTT. Radical, I know. I await my inevitable cancellation.

#meaning #meaningfullives #humanism #secularminister #celebrant #deathnerd #educator #doula #reflection #Adelaide #neurodivergent #respect
July 18, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Interesting how at a loss I feel while #thestorygraph is down for maintenance, which underscores how much #reading I do ABOUT reading
July 5, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
July 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I’m thinking of narrating all of my conversations in the third person, he typed.
July 5, 2025 at 10:12 AM
What are the ‘steelman’ arguments for religion in general, and Christianity in particular? It was suggested to me that I was strawmanning religion in a conversation recently, and in retrospect I agree - but I don’t know what the steelman arguments would be? #humanism
July 5, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Here we go again - do I continue writing my journal in Obsidian, my favourite tool for just about everything, or do I buy that lovely Leuchtturm1917 notebook, which is beckoning to me, and which I will fill a quarter of, with my fountain pen, before I go through this cycle again? Argh! #journaling
July 5, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Reposted by MurrayByMoonlight
We are funding a senior KC to offer an independent legal opinion on the Scottish government's new religious observance bill, which does not offer opt out rights to children, and which we believe falls foul of UN regulations. Make a contribution to help us cover the legal fees at the link in replies
June 28, 2025 at 8:46 AM
I don’t trust people who buy small coffees. They’re up to something.

#coffee
June 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM
It will count for naught, but I’m boycotting ANY link with a title which reads like: “TV viewers ‘hooked’ after 5 minutes of ‘gripping’ new 8-part thriller”. If you won’t tell me the name of the show / product / technique / whatever in the title, I’m not wading through your content to find it.
June 21, 2025 at 3:44 AM
How do vampires always wear nice clothes when they can’t see themselves in a mirror?
June 16, 2025 at 5:11 AM
How do you make Unethical Soup? First, steal some pumpkins…
June 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM