Never say die. I'm thinking a little Christmas miracle is in order, the kind of miracle powered by humans front to back. You never know. Clicking is quick.

I want to thank all you, each one of you, who've said yes to the Songs for Nonbelievers and kicked in. It's been very heartening. I'm going to continue to try to make this project a reality. It might not happen as soon as we'd hoped, but somehow it will. And you will have a great time listening to these tunes. May your 2012 be bright and full of wonderful company. Thank you again.

Cynthia

ps This painting made me laugh so hard I was nearly thrown out of the Met when I first saw it. Hope it does the same for you. It's the work of Hans Suess von Kulmbach, around 1500. Dr. Suess, they called him. Let it serve as a reminder of the  importance of having nice shoes for the rapture. And clean underwear.

Howdy, partners. As you already figured out, I don’t believe in God, Jesus, magic stars, or singing donkeys. I do believe in rich food and drink, friends, fireplaces and music. I detest everything about gift-giving-getting-gagging but I am not immune to the tribal guilt that finally drives me into some bookstore on December 24th, cursing all the way.

If this happens to you too, you might consider a donation to the Songs for Nonbelievers campaign as a gift, for the atheist who has everything (there's a joke lurking in there but I'll let you work on it). Or give it ironically, in the name of Pat Robertson or somebody.

And here's a gift for you. This is an mp3 of a song I wrote called Severed Swedish Heads. It's a demo from the musical Christmas Smackdown, which I created with Mark Nutter (of Re-Animator the Musical). The singers: Amy Engelhardt (of the Bobs), Brian Gillespie (of RTM), Graham Skipper (of RTM), and me. We managed to get through it without giggling, mostly. I hope you won't.

Cynthia

Greetings to each and every fine one of you. I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with wonderful saturated fats and enough red wine to render them harmless. There's no going-around-the-table-to-hear-what-each-person-is-thankful-for at my friends' Thanksgiving dinner (if there had been, I would have had to either duck out to the bathroom or explain that thanking someone you don't believe in is what you might call crazy talk). But I am grateful. I'm grateful to my friends for being my friends, to my family who have no choice, to all of you who've kicked into the fund to make this album happen, and to Peggity for the ONION SHORTCAKE recipe which follows. As soon as you can face real food again (I'm thinking Sunday), eat this stuff. And pass the recipe on! There is nothing better, and you will score points even with people who are on the fence about you. 

Yours in appropriate seasonal but also serious gratitude,

Cynthia

INGREDIENTS

1 large yellow onion, sliced thin and sauteed in...

¼ lb. butter (½ stick)

1 ½ c. corn muffin mix

1 egg, well beaten

1/2 c. milk

1 can creamed corn (really)

1 c. sour cream

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. dill (dried)

1 tsp. salt

few shakes Tabasco

Preheat oven to 425. Saute sliced onions in butter until wilted. Stir into onions:  sour cream, dill, salt and ½ of the cheese. DO NOT BOIL. Combine muffin mix, egg, milk, creamed corn and Tabasco. Pour into 9X9 inch baking pan (buttered). Carefully spread onion mix over cornmeal mix in baking pan. Top with remaining ½ of cheese.Bake at 425 for approx 30-45 min. (until it sets in center)

NEW VIDEO on YouTube!  NEW VIDEO on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxR-aMefI-4

Greetings, o worthy and generous contributors!

I just posted a new video on youtube:  SUNDAY IN REALITY. It's a demo version of one of the Songs for Nonbelievers. I hope you like it. I hope you laugh. I hope you pass it on to every living freethinker, or semi-freethinker, in the known world.

Wagons ho! Onward and upward!

Cynthia Carle

Hey! Thank you, each and every generous one of you, so much for your Kickstarter donations! I'm grateful and excited. And so is Glenn, as you can see by the lustrous smile. Songs for Nonbelievers is about 10% of the way there. Yippee ti yi yo!  Cynthia