About Me & Preliator

My Holy Trinity

Reason · Liberty · Fairness

Here are a few details about me, myself & I, as well as some basic info regarding this blog.

About Me

Me at 18 (07/13/10)

Obligatory disclaimer: Any and all views, opinions and writings on this blog are my own and are not in any way affiliated with any of my employer(s), associate(s), and so on, unless otherwise noted.

My name is Joé McKen (Jo-eh Meh-ken), and as noted to the left, I’m a liberal skeptic and third-wave atheist living in suburban Montréal in the heart of Québec, Canada. I was born here in December of 1991, moved to Texas in ’96, returned to Québec in ’01, and have been stuck in a rut here ever since. I’m undereducated (by academic standards) and underemployed (by societal standards), all of my 3½ friends are online, and I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time alternating between getting into pointless arguments, browsing porn, and weeping at night because I still don’t own a dog.

My interests and hobbies include:

• Reading (anything from blogs to cheesy romances, with some sci-fi in between);
• Writing (novels, short stories, lots of blogging – though no poetry, which I suck at);
• Drawing (technical and artistic);
• Composing music (notably orchestral and rock);
• Watching TV (House, Frasier and MythBusters are my drugs);
• Videogames (notably Perfect Dark (N64), SimCity 4 and Minecraft); and
• Generally browsing the Net for anything remotely interesting.

Me the atheist: I can’t say I ever really “deconverted” from religion, as I was never really religious to begin with. My family is largely made up of lapsed Catholics (as are most Québecois), and though my mother occasionally read me bits of the New Testament and dragged me to church now and then during my younger years, none of it was ever more than a dreadful bore to me. Even as a young child, it all sounded too absurd to take seriously. I did nominally believe in some sort of “God” for years, but at about 16, I realized it no longer made any sense to me. And so, I turned godless, and I’ve never felt the slightest inclination towards faith in any sort of supernaturality since.

About Preliator

The name “Preliator pro Causa” is simple (if presumably botched) Latin, meaning “Fighter for a Cause”, or some variation thereof. I just thought it sounded nice. (Technically, it should read “Proeliator” with an ‘o’, but I don’t like that ‘o’, so there.)

Preliator saw the day on July 25, 2009, and is my second blog (my first being the now-defunct and archived Respectful Defiance). Its purpose, as with most blogs, is to serve as my outlet on the world. Anything I wish to share, from commentary on current events to reviews on books I’ve read or movies I’ve seen, I plaster on this blog for anyone interested or bored enough to enjoy. This blog is more of a journal of sorts than an actual attempt at socializing (which I’ve never been any good at), a repository of my various thoughts and views over the years for posterity.

Everyone is welcome to leave feedback here, though readers are advised to familiarize themselves with the few (but important) blog rules & policies before commenting on this blog. Rule-breakers and assorted nuisances may end up the The Dungeon.

This blog uses the Disqus commenting platform for greater convenience and administrative control. Comments are open to any and all (so long as they haven’t already been banned). Registered Disqus users may edit their comments if they wish.

Custom background image created by Michael Valenti. List of header banners (random title images at the top of the page) available here.

I also have a dedicated art blog! Go check out Creativitas for all my musical, literary and artistic works.

Last updated: 05/04/13 5:14 PM ET