Posted by Nolan Dalla on Jan 2, 2015 in Blog, Personal |

“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”
― Christopher Hitchens (The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever)
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Jan 1, 2015 in Blog, General Poker, Personal |

The first season of “Poker Night in America” has now concluded, with another year of new programs soon shifting to Monday nights. What follows is my look back on the first season of broadcasts, including some of my fondest memories and biggest disappointments of 2014.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 31, 2014 in Blog, Personal |

This New Year’s Eve is an occasion to look back on what we’ve done these previous 364 days. Right now, I shall do precisely that. Forgive the self-indulgence.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 30, 2014 in Blog, Rants and Raves, Travel |

What compels otherwise rational people to dive head-first into a cesspool filled with shit, piss, garbage, and bacteria?
Why — religion, of course!
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 30, 2014 in Blog, Movie Reviews, Politics |

When necessary, Hollywood must be permitted to apply dramatic license in order to tell a good story. That usually makes for a better movie. However, no filmmaker should blatantly lie about the historical record and get away with it, without scrutiny. That’s precisely what movie director Ava DuVernay has done with her grotesque portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the film, “Selma,” which has rightfully ignited lots of controversy among both historians and movie critics.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 28, 2014 in Blog, Politics |

Even if the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea did orchestrate the attacks, the American intelligence community and defense contractors will most certainly exaggerate the dangers, which have already happened since the mushrooming of the bloated military-industrial complex since 9/11, authorized by the Patriot Act.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 27, 2014 in Blog |

The NFL’s toughest player isn’t who you might think. This weekend, as he starts his final game of what’s been a nightmare season, my vote goes to the bruised, battered, and too-often beaten quarterback of the hapless New York Jets — Geno Smith.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 26, 2014 in Blog, Movie Reviews, Politics |

There’s no such thing as “normal.” We all look and act differently. Each of us perceives things separately. All of us think in unique ways. Each one of us must contend with the influences which shape our lives and mold us into becoming individuals. No one’s single experience, nor a reaction to it, is quite the same. Hence, being “normal” becomes an apparition.
Normality does not exist.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 25, 2014 in Blog, Personal |

By the looks of me and the things that I do, one would assume I’m a Christian believer. Every year, I put up a Christmas tree and hang up pretty lights and decorations. I’ve committed most of the verses of popular Christmas songs to memory. I attend Christmas shows, even those held inside churches. I send out Christmas cards to friends and family. I buy presents. My heart is filled with joy. I even get sentimental.
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Posted by Nolan Dalla on Dec 25, 2014 in Blog, Personal |

When it comes to celebrating Christmas, the secular humanist community is divided. That premise and its impacts will the basis of this two-part article.
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