Merry Christmas to all

And to all a good night. Also, Happy Festivus. May all your grievances be aired!
I'll be off airing my grievances with my family for a few days.
Have a good one!

The closeted religious

As a pagan, I usually spend a lot of my time in the religious closet. It's like the gay closet, but not as fabulous. And one thing that has always bothered me is people claiming to be in that closet when they aren't. Think the crazed right wing evangelicals who scream about how they can't be Christian anymore. Please, talk to me about not being able to practice your religion. I mean it. Then tell me about how you can't even keep your religious tools/books out in the open in your own house in case you have company because if this kid's mom knows what religion you are your kids won't be able to play together anymore.
However, there is a very small sect of Christians who actually are residing in the closet. Ada Calhoun wrote a wonderful piece for Salon about it. The secretly religious when your friends are atheist. I can honestly say I never thought about what that might be like. But it sounds amazingly like the experience all the rest of us have. And in a way those right wing crazies make it bad for them too. They reinforce the concept of Christianity or any other faith being evil making it harder to just say, "Dude, I go to church every Sunday, can you lay off the snide comments about how stupid people who go to church are?"*
I find it sad whenever people can't practice their faith in the open, or feel so uncomfortable about doing so they chose not to. Faith can be a comfort, it can provide answers, and it can create a sense of peace for people. Not all people, but some of us. I also find it sad that one group of marginalized people, like atheists, can in fact create a space where they hold a whole other group of people in the same disregard they are held in.*
I dearly hope that one day this might stop. People point their fingers at religion being the source of so many ills, and man terrible things are done in it's name. But at the same time we also find that the real source of this is the people within the religion. We need to address the people, not the religion. I think sometimes we all lose sight of that in the mass of anger and accusations.

*Obviously, not all atheists are like this. There is a small sect of Dawkins like atheists who to tend toward this, which is why I avoid like the plague anyone who is really really into Dawkins. I get tired of being called stupid. I am hoping that as people become more accepting of atheism that rage will cool. I wonder sometimes if there isn't a source of constant anger that causes a lot of the bitter name-calling over on his end of the spectrum. I know it tends to be the reason why a lot of name calling goes on over here in the pagan community.

Here comes the sun

I'm a day late and a dollar short on this one, but Happy Solstice/Yule to all you guys out there. Hurray for the days getting longer! We could all use a little more light.

People geeks love

It's not a secret I'm a geek. I was thinking of my favorite movies of this decade thus far and found a large number of them are really stereotypical "geek" movies. I mean, Star Trek? Iron Man? 28 Days Later? I tend toward geek. It's smart and funny in a biting kind of way. Kind of bitter, which makes sense since it's humor for people who were picked on.
But, while thinking of some of these movies and shows (and books, can't forget books) and of my post a few days ago I realized that geek stuff has a fair share of really hot people. We have Quinto as Spock and Sylar (does he get extra credit for being two iconic geek characters?) We have Doctors 9 and 10, Eccleston and Tennant. We have Elizabeth Michell from Lost. We have Robert Downey Jr. I'm claiming him for geek women now that he's not only done two Iron Man's but has played Sherlock Holmes. I could go on and on. I did at home, I wrote most of it down and have quite a list.
But I started to wonder, could we sell this massive amount of hotness to other people? Do people realize how many talented people could be counted as "geek". Do that many talented people count themselves as geek? I would love to try to get all this info together into one place, a blog or a book or something. A list of people geeks love and why. I am kind of flighty, but I really love this idea. So maybe in the New Year I'll be starting a place for this, and asking of help. After all, I can't get a list of people geeks love (or people who love to be geeks) without the help of other people. Then it would be a list of people I love and not as interesting.

New Rule for Tea Baggers

So, apparently at your little "Die-In" rally in DC some of you lovely people boo-ed FDR.
New Rule:
If you or someone in your family collects social security you can not boo FDR. You just can't. You ignorant fools.
Man, these people really piss me off.

Oh hai!!

I believe that no one can read the LOLcat Bible too often, as it does spread the word of Ceiling Cat.
It looks like the whole Bible is done now, so go have a read. If nothing else it will make you giggle. And remember, this translation may be more accurate that Conservapedia's translation, since this one does just chop out large chunks that don't suit it.

:edit:
The funniest read? Would be the Song of Solomon. Biblical porn in LOLcat.

God I'm a geek

I am utterly charmed at the fact that Zachary Quinto posts Facebook updates. The fact that I am charmed by this is because I have a massive crush on him and his aggressive eyebrows (seriously, even in Star Trek while rocking the Vulcan manscaping they were aggressive. How does he do that?)
I am a geek.
That is all.

#19

The Duggars had baby 19 last night, born via emergency c-section almost 4 months early. The baby girl is on 1 lb 6 ounces and obviously is in the NICU.
Having had a child in the NICU, I am sending as much good energy and good prayers to her and her child, NICU's are terrible places. They work miracles, but damn, they are awful.
May all the gods keep this child, since her parents are insane and really shouldn't have had 19 kids in the first place.
And may the gods damn the Quiverfull movement that means this will happen more and more often as more and more women have more children then their bodies can handle.
This whole story makes me very sad and very angry.
More info about the birth here.

The stupid, it burns

LGF was evil enough last night to post a link to Conservapedia's article on Black Holes.
Now, just ponder that for a moment folks. Conservapedia, the people slowly rewriting history to match their crazy fundamentalist views and are revising the Bible itself because it is too liberal, talking about a concept that scientists don't completely understand. Really, what could go wrong?
The article itself is a mass of revisions and corrections and arguments. Like a regular scientific discussion except these guys are trying to disprove black holes by explaining that since the Bible doesn't mention them they can't be real.
I am not joking.
If you have a few moments and care to wallow in stupid, have yourself a read. It certainly is interesting.

Sarah covers herself in glory. Or stupid. Same difference

Oh Sarah. Honestly, sweety, you need to go away. And please stop talking about "Climategate". Aside from the fact that is such a stupid name for a non-gate, the idea of someone with the IQ of my kitten talking about it is absurd.
Honey, I'm not a scientist, but I am a thinking human. My brain works a whole 90% of the time (the other 10% of the time it is dazzled by shiny things and David Tennet). I'm not sure you're hits the 50% mark on a regular basis. I have come to this conclusion because I have read what you have said about "Climategate" and then read the emails. Then read about scientific testing because, you know, if I'm going to judge I should know what I'm talking about. And came to the conclusion that this really is a non-deal. You know, not like you. I can't decide if you really believe the insane things you state, or if you're just parroting things, but either way you do need to go home and leave the heavy lifting to people who actually can lift. Or in this case think.
This is hardly the biggest thing that has bugged me about Palin recently, but it is a symptom of the big picture. She feels that she is somehow not only qualified to make comments on things way above her pay grade, but she also seems to feel that she should. That people expect her to. Now don't get me wrong, I expect her to, because she is an idiot and she's really funny when she talks. But I also don't want her convincing people to believe the insane things she believes in.
The best thing that could happen for us would be if the Tea Party Party forms and runs her in 2012 (or 2010, whatever). People would get a long term view of how stump dumb she is and split the GOP, and Bob's your Uncle, Dems win it. Yay!!
I know, it won't be quite that easy, but you get where I'm going. She will be polarizing, and we could make out on top if that happens.

While I was gone...

One of the things I did while I was away from blogging was read other people's blogs. And one of the blogs that I was impressed enough with that I bothered to get a user name for was Little Green Footballs.
Yeah, I know, Charles was Teh Crazy for a while there, but he has recently fled the Right, and is now more moderate than right-leaning. Which cool with me.
But the thing I'm most impressed with is his outrage over the conservative's anti-science agenda. Climate-gate (Christ, what a retarded name), fruit fly research, Palin, he really does spend a lot of time addressing what the Right is saying about science. And for those of us here on the left that is invaluable. So stop by and give him a read if you haven't already.

Merry...:sigh: oh what's the use?

In about a week I'll probably start wishing people a Merry Christmas. I do this because to me Christmas means nothing but getting and giving gifts. It's a nice secular holiday like 4th of July that happens to be celebrated withing the vicinity of a holiday I celebrate. I take the kiddo to see Santa (this year we are doing a Polar Express train ride with kiddies in their jammies and Santa and hot chocolate. Yay!!), set up a tree and decorate the house within an inch of it's life, buy lots of things for lots of people, and mail out roughly a metric ton of cards.
Last year the kiddo, who was 4, was asked by someone if she knew who Jesus was. She gave the person a blank stare, and the person started to explain the whole deal to her, which is when I whisked her away. In a store someone tried to teach my child about Jesus. :sigh:
I'll wish you a Merry Christmas, but for the next month Christians are unbearably pushy and rude. If you say Happy Holidays, which is my prefer ed greeting if I know you aren't Christian, you get yelled at. If you say Merry Christmas then random people try to teach your kid about Jesus. A year later the kiddo knows of Jesus. I told her he was like Buddha, so that ought to piss of anyone who tries to talk to her about him. Heh.
So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays dear readers!! Hope we all make it through it without killing a Christian!! Heh.

I slept with Tiger Woods

Dear media:
You can not underestimate how much I do not care about who Tiger Woods slept with. My interest level with Tiger Woods has always been pretty low, and at the moment you are now treading deep into irritation territory. I am sure there are people out there who care if his wife was taken to the hospital last night, I am not one of them. This should not be your lead story (hint: the huge storm could be your lead story. Just an idea).
Dear media, leave the guy alone. Yeah, he probably cheated with everyone with the proper parts and a pulse. Whatever, I really don't care. I feel kind of sorry for his family who now have this being splashed all over the world.
Dear media, knock it off and get on to real news, hmm?
Love,
Me.

Alice, or watch the purists heads pop off

When you come into my house one of the first things you notice (after you notice the shitloads of books. I collect books, so there are, quite literally, shitloads of them) is the Alice in Wonderland stuff.
I am a very big fan of the Alice books. I wrote papers on the books in college (how the stories themselves changed children's literature from the "good kids all die" model of the Victorain era to a more liberal and fun model, and how the poetry was part of a cutting and funny social commentary that runs through the books. Yeah, I'm a geek, stop staring). I collect editions of the book itself. I have collectables, playing cards, tarot cards, pictures, and all manner of other items Alice related scattered through the house.
So, you might imagine I was excited when I found out they were "re-imaging" the stories on SyFy.
I was.
So far it's a little dark, has many of the same characters, it's set 150 years in the future, and is pretty fun. But somewhere off in the distance I can hear Alice purists (the Alice in Wonderland version of the people who freak right the hell out over the Harry Potter movies being different from the books) screaming. Why? Because Alice should be left alone, it was perfect the way it was, etc.
Honestly, if it gets people interested in the story then awesome! We can always use more people reading. And Alice is a book that carries well into adulthood. It's wonderfully disturbing, which is one of the reasons why I won't read it to the kiddo yet.
Now all this may change by tomorrow after I've seen the second part (after all, Tim Man kind of fell apart at the end, so this one might too), but if it does at least generate some interest in a story I love very much, the more power to SyFy.
And expect a post like this one when Tim Burton's movie comes out next year. But with more fangirl screaming. Because Depp as the Hatter is just too perfect.

Where have I been?

Goodness it's been a while. Sadly I was needed in real life for a while. But I did not forget about my blog.
More posting to come, I promise.

Meeting in the middle

Recently I started talking to my cousins on Facebook. We haven't talked in years, and so it's been really cool catching up and rediscovering each other as adults and parents.
One of my cousins and I have found quite a bit in common, we're both mothers of children with medical problems and food allergies, we're both into organics, we're both into Christmas music in the fall (shut up, there's nothing wrong with that).
She's also a member of the Fox Nation, believes that the healthcare reform will pay for abortions and start death panels, that vaccines cause autism, etc.
I am not.
If she knew that I was a liberal pagan there is a good chance she may not talk to me again. The fact that I'm a single mom gets a pass only because I was married once. We found a middle ground, and get along pretty well,yet there it is. That strain of always trying to not say the wrong thing because that could be it. No more friendship or sharing or mom talk.
It makes me sad that our being friends on Facebook depends on me never mentioning anything I actually think about anything important. Never disagreeing, never providing an opposing view. If I did I would be teh evil and that would be it.
If this sounds familiar, it should. It happens every day, where conservative talking heads vilify people for not agreeing with them, where friendships are broken over ideologies, where families stop talking because of how someone voted. There is no middle ground anymore. And the middle ground we get to is one person refusing to talk to the other simply to save the friendship/family/news show.
If we can't find an actual middle ground where views can be presented without immediate reactionary screaming and finger pointing :cough:beck:cough: then we may find a terrible split in the country of the wingnuts from the rest of us. Who knows, it may be for the best if that all wander up to Alaska or something and form their own country, but I would rather see us actually try to work things out first.
I'd really hate to lose a family member to Alaska because of this.

Neato!!

So, while I was away celebrating the kiddo's birthday, some really neat stuff happened...

Nasa decided to bomb the moon. I freely admit I'm a geek, and I watched this live on TV. It was disappointing to watch, but Nasa declared it a success, which is enough for me. I like it when Nasa does cool stuff like this. Hopefully they will get more funding out of it.

Hawaii got a Saint. Saint Damien is the first saint from Hawaii, and they are quite proud of him. Good for them, he sounds like he did a lot of good work.

And the wingnuts, already freaking out about the Olympics, proceeded to lose their shit over the fact that our president won the bloody Nobel Peace Prize. Dear GOP far right talking heads, peace is a good thing. It's a good thing to be awarded the prize, and he was nominated for his plans to bring diplomacy to the world. Also a good thing. How on earth can anyone listen to them now and not realize these people would see our country burn to the ground rather than see Obama succeed. It's disgusting.

Liberal Bias strikes again

Apparently there is a movement out there to re-translate the Bible called the "Conservative Bible Project". Brought to us by the lovely and batshit crazy Phyllis Schlafly, this project is supposed to eliminate Liberal Bias out of the Bible.
Yeah.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, my Uncle works for a very big publisher in NYC. His job, for many years, was to supervise the "updating" of the Bible. This was careful editing of the Bible to make the language more mainstream. It was a painstaking process, and he did this well before you could walk into a Christian bookstore and find roughly ten million different kinds of Bibles.
For most mainstream versions, the editing process is still pretty much the same as it was when my Uncle did it. However there are now smaller publishers who translate and update Bibles pretty much on a whim (see: LOLCat Bible. Thanks to the intertubes we can now get all kinds of translations for the Bible).
If you click on the link and read the guidelines for this new translation I'm sure you'll be just as tickled as I am. These goofs are proposing translating the KJV into modern English, and during the translation process they will edit out quite a bit of what is actually in the Bible to match their own Conservative agenda. My favorite bullet-point, after the one about not dumbing down the Bible (ha! Why don't you just read the KJV then?) is the one where they say they will:

"preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

Yeah, OK there kids. They also want to include the "logic of hell" which is really going to be interesting once they realize how rarely hell is mentioned in the KJV.
All of this makes me wonder if they have ever really read the version of the Bible they are planning on re-translating.
Now, I have spent a good bit of time translating old works, I read Latin and spent years an various classes translating quite a few texts. Translating is tricky business. It's why my Uncle would spend an entire year just updating language in a book. I would spend months translating a text, and can spend a week doing a poem or song.
What these people are proposing is insane, both because they have no idea of what they are translating apparently, and because they have no idea how to do it properly.
I can not wait to read this train wreck.

There are days I'm scared and ashamed to be American

So, this is what it making me ashamed at the moment. The link goes to the much-discussed article written by Perry for Newsmax where he talks about a military coup to overthrow Obama. Of course Newsmax keeps screaming that Perry never actually said it should happen, and that they took it down, and yet, here I am linking to it off Media Matters, so copies still exist. It's the internet.
Perhaps Mr. Perry isn't familar with what happens in military coups. They are far from peaceful, and are not noted for ushering in fair governments. After all, someone just seized control of the government from the person that the majority of the people wanted to lead. That? Will not end well.
What scares me is the idea that somewhere out there a young man is reading that and saying to himself, "Yes, he's right." He's scared, and angry, and has been lied to by the people he trusts the most, and he believes the people who want to help him are out to destroy him. That young man is going to make a very bad decision based on articles like these.
And at that point, god help us.

Technical difficulties

Sorry about the silence folks, I was experiencing technical difficulties. All is well now, though.

On the up side, she didn't start a war

However Sarah Palin didn't inspire people either in her big hush-hush speech in Hong Kong. Still, it doesn't look like any of the people there were offended, but apathetic. Things could have been worse.

Glen Beck is a crazy person, Part II

I knew that Glen Beck was a crazy person, but he is apparently also a heartless asshole. Back when he was on radio, station hopping around the country, he got in a war of words with another DJ. The DJ said his rip off of War of the Worlds was a rip off. Beck got so pissed off that when the DJ's wife miscarried, he called her up and made fun of her on air.
That may be one of the crappiest things ever.
Stay classy Beck. Stay classy.

She doesn't even know what that means

I read yesterday that Ms. Palin will be going to Hong Kong to speak to a group of 1000 investment bankers and fund managers.
Wait, what?
Are they going to just not translate her? Or are they hoping things will get lost in translation? Is it a joke?
The woman can not seriously understand anything about banking. And they mentioned that Palin is of interest to the internation community. Yeah, as a bloody joke. No one but us idiots here in the good old US of A took her seriously, and that's because we apparently started to prize insanity over education at some point.

Hey, yeah, what about that?

An eagle-eyed commenter over on SadlyNo pointed out...
Aren't we supposed to be getting up to speed for the War on Christmas? Honestly, I had almost forgotten, what with BillO not freaking out about it every day. And Glen Beck hasn't mentioned it in his breakdowns. I feel really ripped off, I love the War on Christmas!

Well, that isn't what he said at all

So, Carter has been busy recently. He's been saying all kinds of things that are getting all kinds of people all upset. Like, the people who are freaking out comparing Obama to Hitler and calling him a fascist and in general going way over the top in the protests of him might be a tad bit racist.
However I was informed by a co-worker this morning that Carter said that anyone who says anything against Obama is racist. Which sadly didn't surprise me.
There is a fringe of the fringe, the people who aren't wingnuts, but aren't moderates, who really believe that. That if you say anything against him you will be racist and he can say anything he wants because of the NAACP. They don't think that he is unqualified to hold the office, but they really don't like that he is there.
Now, Democrats alone have been saying crap about out President (I don't know a single democrat who has said anything nice about him since he has been elected. I mean it, I've been astounded by the fact that people are freaking pissed off this badly by the fact that he hasn't fixed the world in 9 months. I just wanted him to fix the economy, and he is doing that, so cool beans). So I doubt very much that Carter is calling his party a bunch of racists. He's calling the crazy people racists, but the fringe of the fringe can't see that. They know that those people are crazy but won't raise a hand to stop them. They will never say boo. And in a way they are just as dangerous, a bunch of enablers, but at the moment they are enabling a bunch of wingnuts who are going to start taking pot shots at our president soon.
So, as awesome as Carter's comments are, it has shown off a whole new part of our country we need to watch, which is sad.

Dear TeaBaggers

I know you won't read this, but please, keep this in mind when you are losing your shit on TV...

-Obama cut your taxes. He cut my taxes. He cut the taxes of all us poor people. The rich guys are pissed because he didn't cut theirs. Stop being puppets for rich people.

-You know this sounds racist, right? Obama is trying to help you and you keep freaking right the hell out over the crap he is doing to help you. You don't want more money and better health care? Really? You'd rather be poor and sick? Don't National Debt me, I'm not an idiot, the debt doubled under Bush. All of this crazy screaming boils down to "scary brown guy in the White House" and the freaky part is that some of you don't even realize that is what you are screaming.

-While I am greatly amused by some of your signs, you may want to learn to spell. Just saying. Usually I'm not one to talk, but crap people, I spell better that you do.

KTHXBIE

P.S. Thanks for giving me a reason to use my TeaBagging tag again, I get so many more hits when I do!

Your friendly neighborhood witch

I talk a lot about pagans here, and I realized I have never taken a moment to explain who I am talking about.
Pagans, like most other religions, have subdivisons. By parthenon, by practice, and sometimes by experience of the person practicing. As a rule, when dealing with pagans, if you encounter:
1) the person who knows everything about "the burning times" or whatnot, ignore them.
2) the fluffy, sweetie, teenage girl who thinks magic is all love and cupcakes (and spells is magick, which personally pisses me right the hell off), ignore her.
3) the gothy type who believes that magic (or magick) is all dark and terrible, back away slowly and then ignore them (note, these are the people who get confused with "satanists".)
If you weed out the crazies then you usually get the base of the community. Assuming you can find them, since they tend to hide. Pagans form large communities* and then smaller covens based on religions within that community. Divisons happen from time to time, and groups are not allowed to attend community events, really just normal church politics.
These pagans are your neighbors, or your co-workers. You may think they are Catholic, we blend best with Catholics if we aren't "out". They are the co-worker who works Christmas, or Easter, but wants off on the oddest days in the middle of the week. We are the neighbor who throws parties that involves people burning strange stuff in the fire pit. Nothing bad or out of hand, but just strange. We are normal people with kids and jobs, and too often others kind of lose sight of that. We get confused with those dark gothy types, or those fluffy bunny types and then people assume we are all like that.
So, when I talk about pagans, I'm talking about your average person who just happens to have a small table in there house that you can NOT touch. And a locked chest that you aren't allowed to open. Your regular old person, with regular old problems.

*Interesting thing with that, when the communities form online, which they sometimes do, they can become multi-faith communities who include Christian, Jewish, atheist, and any other point of view out there. I've talked about this before, but it never ceases to amaze me that this happens and that everyone gets along. It gives me hope for people.

There are some advantages to being pagan

Pagans have gods for all kinds of things. It's great, you know who to ask for what, and it's their specialty, so it's all good. For instance, a friend of mine is about 15 months pregnant right now (no, not really, but at the end of your term you might as well be) and keeps having contractions. So you ask the goddess who handles labor to keep an eye on her (Artemis, in this instance. Though she is a virgin goddess she handles labor because it is a fight, and a transition for a woman). Say I'm going to see a customer at work, and I need to be quite quick witted and silver tongued? Ah, ask Loki for some help (not Odin, because he gets pissed when you lie.) And so on.
Christians believe that one god handles all this stuff, and that has got to be a lot of work. OK, their guy is omnipotent and whatnot, but still. Personally I feel a bit more comfortable knowing who to ask with a problem, rather than ask one really busy guy who handles everything.
But then, I have the pagan idea of what a god is, not the Christian one. Occasionally that is really obvious.
So right now I'll be asking my goddess to watch out for my friend. And I'll trust that if she gets a chance, the goddess will.

Did you think you were in England?

Is it treason to scream "You liar" at the President in the middle of a joint session of Congress?
Would anyone have dared to that to Bush?

Updated because I saw this on Instaputz and loved it...

Umm, what the hell people?

I have been watching with a mix of amusement and alarm as a rather vocal segment of our country has completely lost their shit over Pres. Obama giving a ra-ra speech to the nations kids. The conservatives I know have all said that they really don't see a problem with Obama giving ra-ra stay in school speeches, after all other presidents have done it too.
I can't see how people can look at these people who are just foaming at the mouth, and not admit that these people are racists. They can say what they want, but they would not be this upset if the president wasn't a black man. It's just pissing them off more than the fact that he is a Democrat, and how dare he talk to their kids?
It's a sad state of affairs.

The light! It burns!

Sorry for the long delay, I am finally recovered from a bout of bronchitis. Stupid change in weather!
Expect a return to our regular schedualed blogging soon.

#19 and counting

Th Duggars are expecting their 19th child.
As most people know, they are a member of the fringe Christian movement, Quiverfull, which involves the woman to give up all right to her own reproductive system and get pregnant as many times as "God allows". These women also believe that dying in childbirth is a great service to Christ. The greatest.
The Quiverfull movement freaks me out to no end. It is one of the handful of fringe movements out there that was specifically designed to keep dominate men in the church by allowing them the ability to dominate their own families. The other biggie is the Promise Keepers.
The whole idea is disturbing. The fact that women buy into this is worse.
Here's hoping poor Michelle Duggar goes through menopause soon.

The enemy of my enemy

Pagans and atheists tend to have a pretty good, if not a bit weird, working relationship. After all, we have a lot in common, since we are both enemies of the Right. The Right will change tactics sometimes and after years of going after one will switch to the other. Sometimes they bring in a third party (Islam!) and surprise everyone, but as a rule pagans and atheists are always on the chopping block.
So, we tend to get along. And as long as the extreme elements of each side don't get involved everything works out great. Each side has it's nutters. We have the really vocal element which is made up of newbies, the martyr complex people, and the older people who have been doing this so long they don't care. The latter people are actually pretty cool, and frankly I wish they would speak up more but they tend to get drowned out by the first two. As a rule pagans are passive people, and the more aggressive elements tend toward the martyr complex side.
Atheists have a group that do want to try to phase out religion, not as bad as the Right seem to want us to think, you know no thugs or anything, seems like a long term, wouldn't it be nice, kind of thing. And good for them, who knows what will happen in the future? They also have the "religious people are stupid" group (their answer to martyr complex people). They are hard to deal with, just like our guys are, so we just avoid them. Honestly, most pagans do just ignore what those people say because they want to fight.
So both sides, like any group of people, have crazies, and yet as a rule we get along. I have yet to be part of a large pagan group online that doesn't have at least 1 atheist in a place of moderation. So how can we get along, other than the fact that one side of this relationship is really passive? Because we have to. When you get routinely attacked for any period of time you take all the help you can get. You do what you have to.
You may have noticed that the Right isn't too keep on taking support for other, more liberal, elements within the faith. This is their own faith and they don't help. When you can go it alone you probably aren't under any kind of serious attack. If you guys were honestly afraid that us pagans and atheists are going to come after you and take away Christmas or Jesus or Easter or whatever you probably would be joining forces with someone. Anyone. Safety in numbers.
One more reason why I don't buy the whole idea that Christians (Religious Right Christians, that is) are being oppressed in any way.
Spare me, people.

Coming out stories

CNN has an interesting piece on bloggers "coming out".
I don't reveal my real name on this blog. I don't post pictures of myself, or my daughter. I have a few reasons why, my employer freaked out when I mentioned work on my Facebook account (specifically when after a hard had I mentioned I had been humiliated. I had been.) I am not "out" as a pagan in most aspects of my life. I don't hide it, I just also don't flaunt it.
While I wouldn't care all that much if someone came on here and said who I was, I would be pissed that I would get fired over it. On the internet you can not express an honest opinion if you expect to keep a job. It's a shame, since you can go anywhere else and bash the hell out of people, but you can't say it on the internet.
This is an evolving new culture, and I really hope we get the kinks out of this. I'm sure we can work it all out, but in teh mean time it's useful to read things like the stories above and remember what happens when you get outed.

I'm back, and I bring books!

This vacation was a book vacation. I finished a couple of books, but I really wanted to mention two.
The first is Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain. This was a birthday gift, and it was a brilliant one. O'Faolain was a BBC producer and a columnist for The Irish Times. This book is her autobiography. If you're Irish, a working woman, or a feminist, I would recommend this book. It's an excellent look at a how we don't view ourselves as others view us, and how when we are muddling through our lives looking at one thing we may be doing something extraordinary somewhere else.
The second is Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart. This one is a gardeners dream regarding poisonous plants and how to recognise them. The stories in the book about each plant are awesome, short and wildly entertaining. It's more of a reference that a straight through read, but if you do read through like I did it is certainly fun.
So go read people! Don't tell me you don't have time. You're looking at a single mother who works full time, if I can find the time anyone can!

Vacation time!!

I'll be taking a break from blogging while I go on vacation. Don't worry, I will be thinking deep thoughts to share with you when I return. In the mean time, enjoy drunk Monorail kitty.

See you all next Wends!!

This has nothing to do with anything

Aside from the fact that I LOVE the "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials...

I watch cartoons after my kid goes to bed...

Yeah, I admit it, I do. Mainly I watch Phineas and Ferb on Disney, because it is funny as hell. It is one of the few kids cartoons that really is made for adults too (The Fairly Oddparents is another. It is the only current cartoon that referenced the death of Archduke Ferdinand. If you don't know why that is important go back to school). Phineas and Ferb has referenced the trend of LOL Cats, mentioned Bastille Day, makes fun of the whole super villain/secret spy genre, and is also goofy enough to keep the attention of a little kid.
Essentially I keep looking for a replacement for the Bugs Bunny cartoons, which were sharp and intelligent while also being slapstick and goofy. They were good viewing for kids and adults. Lots of the really great cartoons out there that are knows for being intelligent aren't so hot for 4 year olds to watch (i.e. The Simpsons, which remains #2 on my list of favorite cartoons, right after Bugs).
I wish they made more cartoons like Phineas and Ferb and the Fairly Oddparents. If anyone knows any other kid appropriate cartoons like them, please let me know. I'm always on the look out for something other than Spongebob, even if it does have Clancy Brown in it.

Bueller?

Rest in peace John Hughes. I will forever love you for giving me Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

The lunatics are in the yard

We all knew it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt by the anti-healthcare loonies. And now it looks like they might have assaulted a freshman Congressman. And that isn't counting the death threats others are getting.
Honestly, death threats.
Over health care.
Over being Democrat. How insane is that? How off the wall? How crazy do you have to be where that makes sense?
Welcome to the new GOP base, people who threaten to kill others over healthcare. Over attending town hall meetings. Over policy changes that help people.
Does anyone have the odds up on how long it will take for these nutjobs to take a shot at the President?

Wow

I am now averaging over 300 hits a week to this blog, with readers from all over the place. If you're new here, let me just say hi! Feel free to comment.

Edited because I'm retarted and can't tell a week from a day. Sheesh!

Lost!

I have finally gotten around to visiting Dark UFO for some Lost info and I am very very happy about the news regarding Richard and Juliet. And Boone. Boone!
:mass swoon:

My new hero

Lots of peole go unsung in this country. A man who is doing a very brave thing is Dr. LeRoy Carhart. Dr. Carhart is going to open a late term abortion clinic to fill in the gap left by Dr. Tiller's murder. This is outstandingly brave, especially since now he knows that these nutjobs are more than willing to kill him for providing a sensitive and important service for women in need.
I know for a fact I would never have the balls to do anything like that. No matter where you stand on this topic you have to admire the fact that he is doing this.
Of course on the flip side, Operation Rescue, the anti-aborition, fetus fetishist group that spawned Dr. Tiller's murderer is just tickled that Dr. Carhart is reopening the clinic. They have another focus for the rage that is cultivated in their group. How long before someone tries to kill Dr. Carhart?

Orly?

I got to see Orly Taitz on The Colbert Report last night. A few things to mention...

1) Orly, in LOL Cat your name means "Oh Really?", and since I find myself saying that over and over again when I hear you speak I'll go with it, but it is distracting.
2) I'm sorry, what part of the country is that accent from? Yeah, that's what I though. Hows about not lecturing people on US law.
3) Speaking of which, you are a lawyer, dentist, real estate agent. How the hell is that working out for you?
Why are people taking this woman seriously?

Oh, this will not end well

Thank you to Instaputz for letting us all know that World Net Daily has lost their ever loving minds and published a copy of the Kenyan "Birth Certificate" of Barak Obama. When Little Green Foorballs says it's a fake, it probably is. When Karl "Turd blossom" Rove says it is a fake, it probably is.
And when one of your nutball "Birthers" shoots our president because of your fear mongering I hope someone brings you down.

Edit: Oops, that was Crooks and Liars, not Instaputz.

Monday randomness

First off, welcome to Rhiggs. Thank you for your input, I do feel better knowing Gaelic is that hard to learn! But I'm working my way through it.
Second, I watched A Haunting in Conneticut this weekend. For a movie based on a hoax, it was pretty good. They cut out the Warrens altogether (thank GOD), and spiced up the story quite a bit. They also went with making Matt likeable, as opposed to the raving psycho he actually was.
Third, I watched another movie this weekend (can you tell the kiddo was at her dad's?), The Hamiltons. Low budget horror flick. Took it about half an hour to get it's legs, and for the director to get the courage to just do it already, and once it did, it was really quite good. I expected a campy movie, all "serious" but really filled with Bruce Campbell acting even if the actors don't realize that's the note they are hitting. All in all, I was impressed.
Finally, Mother Nature. I live on a ridge, it's decently higher than the surrounding area. When my yard floods? That means there is too much freaking rain. So please stop it already. Please.

Gee, maybe this is why they hate us...

Just because our troops damaged Babylon. Picky picky Middle Easterners and historians. Oh and the UN. We needed to drive stakes into the walls, and dig trenches and ruin the processional way and Gate of Istar. After all, we're Americans, we can do what we want to your country. And your history apparently.
Jesus H. Christ.

Honestly, you are NOT middle of the road

Sometimes, as I wander around the internet, I come across people screaming and yelling that Obama is a far right conservative, just like McCain. I love it when people do this, because they think they are middle of the road, or possibly left-leaning. They are a whole lot closer to the left's version of those wingnuts who thought Bush was too liberal. I just hope they don't turn into our TeaBaggers.

Personal Failure has, once again, introduced me to a wonderful blog. Click on English Fail Blog (also on the blog roll) and be happy.

Malkin

I had the joy of seeing Michelle Malkin on the Today Show this morning. How can anyone take that woman seriously anymore? She has the same manic paranoia in her eyes that you see in Palin's eyes. You can look at her face and say, "This woman is unbalanced."
Malkin has a new book out, that her rabid followers have dutifully snapped up. According to Red State it is some kind of attack in President Obama. I have not read the book but I think I can safely say, "Okay..." (follow with blank stare). Malkin tends to fill in her gaps of knowledge with a massive amount of screaming. Her column is vastly entertaining because of this.
She is yet another example of how nutty the wingnuts are becoming. Pandering to a base of paranoid, gun toting, sociopaths is NOT good. I repeat, NOT GOOD.
We really need to stop putting that woman in the air, it's only encouraging them.

If you have Allstate insurance and they offer you the Motor Club, go for it. I just had to get my car towed. I called and got someone who spoke English as a first language. If they outsource their call center they at least make an effort to make callers more comfortable. The woman I spoke to was polite.
The time from the beginning of the call to when the tow truck came and took the car? Just over 30 minutes. I never had a response like that from AAA.
I am pretty damn happy I signed up for that program.

I want to know

Why someone who came here was searching for Tom Felton David Carradine.
I can see why they got here, but aside from being actors they don't have a whole lot in common.
Or do they?
Dum dum dummmmmm.

Please please check this out

I hate the Body Mass Index. I really do. It is astoundingly unrealistic and declares that everyone is overweight. In fact according to the BMI, I am obese.
So all you ladies out there, click on this. It is a lovely slideshow illustrating just how insanely out of wack the BMI is.
Make with the clicky girls.

Why are you doing that? or, The joy of an anxiety disorder

I have Social Anxiety Disorder. It doesn't come across while I'm blogging, because I'm blogging. I don't actually see any of you, so it's easier to be social.
I've had this disorder for years, though it has only recently become bad enough to warrant a diagnosis. My doctor finally gave it a name when I was diagnosed with Fibro, people with Fibro often have an anxiety disorder also. They seem to be connected, though no one really knows why.
Disorders like OCD and easting disorders are all anxiety disorders. And these disorders can be completely overwhelming. Sometimes going to the grocery store can be too much. I have been known to refuse to go into my own back yard because my neighbors were out. The idea of meeting people can be so frightening to me that I will avoid all social situations. And that doesn't even take into consideration eating at social events. I have had panic attacks before casual get togethers because I might be expected to eat in front of people, which I can not always do.
I am medicated, without medication this disorder severely interferes with my life. I will probably have to take this pill every day for the rest of my life just to function like a normal person. And that is unbelievably frustrating.
People don't realize that people who have anxiety disorders know that something is wrong and can't fix it. We aren't like other disorders where the person has no idea something is wrong, we know. We can't do anything about it, you become locked into your own mind. We know that you are impatient with us, and we know why, but again, we can't change it.
The funny thing is, you probably know someone with an anxiety disorder (other than me. I mean in real life). Or you know someone else with another disorder. And chances are that person is untreated. They have listened to people tell them that taking a pill to feel better is being weak and they should just suck it up. They have no insurance, their doctor won't listen to them. The state of healthcare is awful, and the state of mental health care is even worse. People go untreated because no one can help them, or no one will help them. And a depressed and anxious country is a country that will be good for nothing at all.
At some point we have to agree to end the stigma attached to mental illness of all kinds, and then agree that we need to treat people who have these disorders. In a way I was terribly lucky, I had a doctor who knew that if I had disorder a I would also have disorder b. I have insurance and a wonderful primary care doc who will listen. Not everyone is that lucky, and at some point after the healthcare system is revamped we need to make sure that everyone else is that lucky. And we need to make sure that they know that if something is wrong it's OK to ask for help.
It's a shame though, but I don't think it will happen in my lifetime.

Dear BBC America

Umm, well, let's get the bad new out of the way first. First Primeval, now Torchwood. I want to see a new mini series, season, or special out of RTD for Torchwood ASAP. And I don't want to hear about Barrowman's other obligations. Drag his ass into the studio.
Good news is, Planet of the Dead kicked ass. That was brilliant. And was the perfect end to a weekend completely spoiled by Torchwood's finale. I would love to see Christina again, I am in love with her.
Love,
Me

In other news, I finally saw Watchmen. It was... OK. I liked the comic better, but it was beautiful. Of course it was the same director as 300, which would be why. He can make a mean movie.

What are you reading?

It's been a while, but I have finally gotten around to updated the books list to the right.
As I have said before, I am reading "The Devil in the White City", and I have also started "Ring" which is the book the Ring movies were based on. The books also come in a trilogy, "Ring" "Spiral" and "Loop". So far the book is good, but I am pretty sure I am losing something in translation. At least it is a decent translation, it makes sense, which is a step up from some translated books I have read.
Nothing like the movie though.

Dear RTD,

FUCK. YOU.
So help me god, fuck you.
Bring Ianto back right now.

Love,
Me.

Yeah, Torchwood Day Four made me cry. Bastards.

News people love a panic, a.k.a. Swine Flu Woes

In Fort Dix NJ, Feb 1976, there was a Swine Flu outbreak. Pres. Ford issued a statement that every American needed to be vaccinated before the fall flu season because of the chance that the already deadly strain would mutate. A few elderly patients died, possibly from complications arising from the rushed vaccine, and there were reported cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (a rare side effect of modern flu vaccines). The public outcry against the vaccination program grew so great that the government halted the program altogether.
The vaccine killed 25 people, total. The flu killed one.
People completely lost their shit over a flu that killed one person. Because it was similar to the Spanish Flu of 1918, they automatically assumed it would go pandemic and kill everything in it's path. In this case the cure was worse than the disease.
I bring this up because of our own Swine Flu pandemic. Yup, it is a pandemic. That just means a certain amount of people around the world have been proved to have it. Total deaths at the moment are at 1,039. That's it. In a pandemic. The season flu can kill more people than that in the US alone.
But, the media tells me, the flu will mutate! In the fall! And kill us all! So we will rush through a vaccine! And everyone will have to get vaccinated!
And I say to the media, Hey! 1976! That worked well then didn't it?
We don't know that the flu will mutate. If it does, we don't know if it will get worse. We don't know if it will stay where it is now.
We also don't know how many people have had this strain, and thus if it mutates those people will have some immunity to the new strain. This flu is really astoundingly mild compared to other strains. It killed so many people in third world countries because they were third world countries.
I refuse to panic over this, no matter how much the media wants me to. And apparently they really want me to. I know a lot of people who have bought into the panic, and that is kind of sad to me. There are too many unknowns, and I refuse to panic over the unknown.
So I say to media, Shut up, and give us actual facts on this. Please?

Torchwood Day Three Spoilers

*Spoilers**

**And yet again, spoilers**

Not bad. I am in love with Jack's daughter, she seems very capable. And it looks like she got her father's instinct for survival.
If Gwen climbs up on her moral high horse about Jack, I will probably throw up. She is so intolerable, I hate her sometimes. Heart of Torchwood my ass.
And boy, these aren't the Doctor's aliens are they? I can't imagine how he would react to something like the 456. Though, it would probably be kind of funny to watch.
I'm really glad these are being played every night, because I can not wait to see what happens next.

Dear BBC America

You really don't need to blur out Jack's butt on Torchwood. For one thing, there are some people who are watching just for that. And also, his butt is hardly the most racy thing on that show.
I would imagine anyone here in the US who might have been offended by his ass wouldn't have still been watching after his and Ianto's kiss.
KTNXBIE!
Me

Percy Jackson and Torchwood

So they are making the first Percy Jackson book into a movie. The casting looks spectacular, though a little odd at points. The funny little thing I am running into is that if they make the second book into a movie they will have to cast someone as one of the goddesses I worship. I haven't run into the problem before. All in all though, I'm pretty excited about the movie. I got all goose pimples when I saw the preview.
And speaking of goose pimples, Torchwood started last night. Brilliant and ended on a major cliff hanger. I was so upset, until I remembered it continues tonight. Whew! But it is quite good, better than I thought. Can't wait to see how it ends.

Harry Potter and the realization Tom Felton can act

I don't usually watch movies for the story. Honestly, if I want a good story I will read one. I watch good movies for special effects, a really good director, or a really good actor.
I love the Harry Potter movies, except for the first two, which fell victim to someone trying to do the impossible (direct a word for word version of a book, that is insane,and it showed. Especially with books in need of a good editing, which the HP books were), and some really piss poor acting on the part of some kids (Rupert Gint. Oy).
Round about the fifth movie Daniel Radcliff had started doing Broadway, and he learned that he could, in fact act. Emma Watson also learned that she could act. They got to work with Gary Oldman, who doesn't so much act, as ACT. I heard someone say that Gary Oldman tries to save movies through the power of ACTING, which is pretty damn accurate.
However, the one person I was always interested in was Tom Felton. He was a pretty decent child actor before he got cast as Draco and then promptly shoved in the corner. He was always solid when he showed up on screen. As a movie watcher you knew what you would get from him.
So I really did wonder what they would do with him in the 6th movie, which was the story of Draco and Snape.
David Yates decided that they should just let him act. And frankly, I mean to write him a letter thanking him for that.
Tom Felton knocked it out of the ballpark.
They gave him more time on screen, writing in scenes that needed to be written in, and subtracting a LOT of stuff that needed to go (thank god they cut that whole damn Lupin/Tonks angst, there is more than enough angst with the kids, thank you). About half way through the movie you can see him changing, see him really having second thoughts, and then finally see him nearing the mini breakdown Draco has at the end. It was brilliant, and the guy next to me in the theater thought so too (mentioning at one point that "Draco is really good this time").
Thank god for Tom Felton, who really did save the movie from Rupert Gint. Oy.

Friday Randomness

It's time for the return of Friday Randomness!!

A co-worker walked in on a really strange conversation I was having with a salesman the other day. We're both avid gardeners, and both dealing with the similar PA soil situation. In short, we have clay. So we were discussing effective and inexpensive ways to make the soil workable without simply carting in top soil. Apparently most people don't know about the term loam, because we did get a look. Gardening rookies.

BBC America had a sneak peak of the new Torchwood mini series. Wow, looking good guys. I love that Jack and Ianto are such a cute couple. Yeah, couple.

Michael Jackson is still in the damn news. I'm going to say it now, and hopefully never again: I. Do. Not. Care. Not at all. Not one wit. Stop talking about it. Christ.

The Daily Show's recent bit on Obama's healthcare plan and the panic surrounding it was fantastic. It was on the July 15th show, and if you get a chance go ahead and watch it.

Feeling good (not god)

I have Fibromyalgia, and for the last few months I have been in a flare, which is when your body decides that every touch will be felt as pain. It is, well, imagine that wearing clothes hurt. That being touched by your child hurt. That sitting or laying down hurt. Any touches, all touch, hurt.
Then today it stopped. No more pain, just general achiness.
You have no idea how wonderful that is.

Unrelated

The best search that has brough people to my site so far?
"What the fuck is wrong with the folks at Rapture Ready"
I wish I knew.

Feeling God

Back when I was pregnant I asked people, "How do you know if you're in labor?" Every first timer asks that question. And I was told, "You'll just know." Then they looked me in the face and lied to me when they said, "But don't worry, you won't remember what it was like after it's done."
Bull. Shit.
I can tell you now, almost 5 years later exactly what my labor was like. It was like someone decided to rip my internal organs out of my body through my vagina with a very very hot pair of pliers. It was, by far, the worst and most intense pain I have ever been in. *
Right, now that I have freaked out all the women who haven't had kids yet, what does that have to do with God?
Well, ask someone who is religious how they know God is out there and they tell you, "You'll just know." Stock response from 95% of the people out there. The ones who try to answer the question are probably madmen.
I'm an Irish poet, which in English means "madman" so off we go...
So what does God feel like? Well, like labor, God is different for everyone. It can be the peace of a dream, the calm of a parent holding you close. It can be cold, the knowledge that someone is standing up to a battle with you, though they do not care for you, you are there to fight, same as them. It can be the feeling of strength, knowing that whatever happens you can make it through.
It is, in short, everything that people feel anyway. Religious people hate to admit this. Everyone has something they draw strength from, and it is exactly the same. Religious experiences, the true, seeing angels kind, are so rare, and usually the result of a medical condition or insanity.
So, how do you know God is there? And how does that shape your life?
That's where that thing called faith comes in. You can say on faith, "This is probably something bigger than me. I don't know what, but I don't think it is just me" or you can say, "This is something that is coming from me, it isn't something outside of me." If you're afraid that you're not special you may go onto, "This is something special, this is something only for me, from something bigger than me." Faith can distort so many things. It can take a Simple Partial Seizure and make it into a visit from an angel (or alien, they are usually the same visions with a different central character depending on the person's experiences). There is a point where you have to say, "I don't think this is God" or "I think this is God" and go from there. The decisions you make from there can change your life. You can base your entire life on the idea that you are special and chosen by God (Hi Fundies!), you can question everything, study your ass off, and try to figure out if there is something bigger out there. You can let it all go and see where it falls and go on with your life.
God is personal, every god is. But the experiences that religious people talk about are the same, no matter what the religion. We are all the same, and sometimes, no matter who you are, you feel something special. When you are down, when you are lost, when you get found, that is something special. Call it God, call it anything it doesn't matter. What matters is it is there, always there. That's where our faith comes from, no matter what our religion. People distort it, mask it with other things, but it is still there waiting. Always waiting.

*Every labor is different, and I had a difficult one. Your labor may not be the same, hell it may not ever be hard. First timers? Don't think yours will be like mine.

Bwahahaha!

The lovely, mad teabaggers are going Galt. Yes, on July 30th they are calling in Conservative, so if no one shows up on your office you know why. They are batshit insane.
These people honestly don't seem to even know what they are protesting now. What is the point of calling out, or going Galt? To shut down the economy? Yes, that's a grand plan. To prove we can't do it without them? Trust me, we can. And probably better, because no offense, you guys aren't rocket scientists. You think that Ann Freaking Rand is da bomb.
This is yet another pointless protest on the part of these wingnuts. It wastes time and energy, and seems to have no point other than creating the mindless mantra (in this case, "Going Galt") that keeps these people from thinking and makes them very susceptable to outside direction.
In short, this goofs are being played and they don't see it. How very sad.
Teabagging. Hee!

The Devil in the White City

I'm a late comer to this book, I have only just hit a non-fiction kick and this was a book I was lucky enough to pick up at a thrift store.
It is two captivating tales, the story of the Columbia World Exposition in Chicago, and the story of the serial killer H.H. Holmes. Now, being a particular fan of crazy people, I had heard of H.H. Holmes before, the man who killed women in most creative ways. He created the "Murder Castle" in Chicago and is generally refered to as America's first serial killer.
Telling the gory tale of Holmes along with the tale of planning and building the Fair was brilliant. As story telling goes, this is by far one of the best non-ficton books I have ever ready. It is paced beautifully and written in such a way that you can connect with the story.
So let me recommend it to anyone looking for a good true crime story, or just anyone looking for a good read.

TV Time!

It's been a while since I've been excited about TV, but BBC America is running a Doctor Who month. They ran the Christmas special, which was wonderful.
Next up is the Tirchwood mini series. I imagine that my brother and I will end up doing for that what we did for the Doctor, he'll call the day after to find out what happened. I swear he should just stop his hike to watch the series, it's only going to be 5 nights.
Then comes the next Doctor Who special. Yay!!
Of course Primeval is playing throughout.
I am in geek heaven, people. Seriously.
And that doesn't even take into account that Harry Potter comes out next week.

One upon a time, when we all lived in the forest....

Possibly the only good part about me watching the craptacular movie Knowing last night was that the end got me thinking about trees.
Trees play a big part in old religions. The Norse and Celts both had the World Tree which was the backbone of the world they knew, Judaism and Christianity have the Trees of Knowledge and Life, many Native American beliefs featured trees similar to the World Tree, etc.
But why?
Well, in pre-Christian societies people were living in the last great ancient forests. And those forests featured massive trees. The biggest things some of these people would ever see were the trees around them. And something that big would eventually be revered. The Greeks put their gods on the top of their mountain, and other cultures put the world on the back of a tree.
However, only Christianity retained a literal view of that tree. In Norse religion their Tree is a symbol, and apparently stopped being a representation of a real tree long ago. It is the symbol of the world, and the cycles that the Norse saw in it. The modern druids use their Tree as a symbol of nature. It has gone from being the world to being the symbol of the world.
The tree is so enduring that it still shows up as a symbol of life, even in terrible movies. You see it and we know what it means. Living tree means continuation of life. Dying tree means the end of life.
The fact that everyone seems to understand this speaks to how much in common we all have.

Profile pieces can be great...

If you have not had the pleasure of reading the Vanity Fair piece on Palin, you can find it here. It is a tad outdated, but well worth the read.
One of the reasons why I keep writing about her is that I find her fascinating and terrible all at once, and I think this piece shows that off. She really is a captivating figure, even if she may be completely evil and sociopathic.

Oh, right, they go with the flow

The full text of Palin's resignation speech can be found here at Talking Points Memo.

Dead fish do what?

When I heard my beloved Evita Palin quit I almost came back online to blog about it, despite my promise to myself to stay offline. So instead I called my brother, told him, and we both had a good laugh about it.
We mainly laughed about how wildly incoherent that speech was. Did you listen to it? Any of it? It was like a stream of consciousness essay written by a high school freshman. Not only did she do something completely stupid, but she did it in the worst possible way. I keep wondering if she has had some kind of breakdown up there in Alaska. That is why she keeps believing that the media is attacking her family, not that she keeps dragging her family into the spotlight. Maybe she does need a rest, because she is starting to lose what little grip on reality she had.
And why quit? From a political perspective it was suicide. The only people who will follow her now are the devoted 21% wing nut crowd, everyone else is now convinced she actually is the nutcase we all thought she might be. There is a small chance that she realized that she isn't just bad at being a governor and politician, but she is absolutely terrible at it and quit because of that. But I doubt it.
What ever the reason the fact remains that it was a stupid move on her part. And I applaud her because it means that we get to keep seeing her being weird an incoherent and not have to worry about the people of Alaska being screwed over.

Long weekends mean

No blogging because I'll be doing fun and exciting things. Or at least fun. OK, moderately enjoyable and more than likely entertaining in some way.
And I'll be doing it for three days.
Let the madness begin!

Sexist much?

I usually don't get bugged by the retarted emails that go around compairing women and men, but this one just bugged me...

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED: Men Are Just Happier People --
Your last name stays put.
I know a number of women who kept their own last name. I only gave mine up when I married because I was tired of people mispelling it.

The garage is all yours.
My whole house is mine. As in, mine is the only name on the deed.

Wedding plans take care of themselves.
I'm betting you've never been married.

Chocolate is just another snack.
That depends on the person, if you don't like chocolate then it isn't.

You can never be pregnant.
Two words, Fuck you. Since you can never get pregnant, you don't get to tell me what to do when I get pregnant.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.
My mechanic tells me the truth, that's why I go to him. I'm not stupid about cars, I know when a mechanic is lying to me.

The world is your urinal.
Well, that's disgusting. Thanks!

You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Neither do I. Just because I'm a girl doesn't make me stupid.

Same work, more pay.
Ah, how sexist.

Wrinkles add character.
They add character on women too. So does grey hair. Are you saying you don't like older women?

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
That really does bother me, I am 5 foot and have big boobs, and I'm willing to bet most men don't know I wear glasses.

New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
Neither do mine. If they mangle my feet I take them back.

One mood all the time.
Really? What mood?

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
I don't even pick up the damn phone most of the time.

You know stuff about tanks and engines.
I know stuff about Roman and Greek war tactics, and can fight with a sword, what's your point?

A five-day holiday requires only one suitcase.
I'm sure it does when you travel by yourself.

You can open all your own jars.
I can too, big freaking deal.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If you're such a terrible person this applies to you, you probably shouldn't brag about it.

Your underwear is £9.50 for a three-pack.
Ok, I tried to convert this and my caculator states this is equal to about $15 USD. I have no idea if that is how much men's undies cost in teh UK, but I assure you I would never pay anything close to that for a three pack.

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
I know a few men who would consider that to be one pair too many. Watch what you say, my friend.

You never have strap problems in public.
Neither do I, because I buy underwear that fits.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
I can't either, it's called wash and wear.

Everything on your face stays its original colour.
What? Oh, and I know guys who wear makeup. Straight guys.

The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
The reason why you are probably single is becoming clear.

You only have to shave your face and neck.
Yeah, I could shave a lot less than that, I chose to shave my legs and pits.

You can play with toys all your life.
Buddy, I still play with toys, they are just bigger now.

One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one colour for all seasons.
You said a few items ago three pairs of shoes. Which is it?

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
I have a case of contact dermititis on my leg, I still wear shorts.

You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
Yeah, OK.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.
On a personal note, I hate a mustache on a guy. Also, I know women who could grow one if they so chose.

You can do Christmas shopping for 24 relatives on 24th December in 24 minutes.
And I'm sure you would if the rest of this list applied to you.

This is less about why men get depressed, which is a very real problem, and more about a list of why men are "better" than women. I have known men that fit most of the items on this list and I assure you they are not "better". And if you act like this around this woman your chance of getting laid has gone to zero, which may depress you, depending on how much you want to see the aforementioned boobs.
This kind of thing not only promotes the idea that women are shallow and stupid, but it also promotes the idea that men are heartless jackasses, and I would hope that men out there would be against that.

Women doctors

My family doctor's practice is all female. It's weird, because I actually just noticed this. They have no male doctors, no male nurses, not even any male office staff. I don't know if they planned it, but it lends to a very comfortable environment.
I have learned over the years that there is a fundamental difference in women and men doctors. Male doctors will always assume that they know exactly what is wrong with you, regardless of what you say. Women doctors believe that you know what's wrong with you, they just need to get you to tell them what it is. They tend to work more one on one and have more patence. Take my lovely family doctor and the year from hell that led up to my diagnosis with Fibro. I was willing to give up, every test came back negative, I broke down into tears in her office, and she kept with me, and we did eventually find out what was wrong. I am forever grateful for her for that.
I have heard a number of stories like that from other people, that woman doctor has a better bedside manner, is more likely to listen, and more likely to not just dismiss something you say. I don't know if it's the nurturing instinct or what, but I know that people were insane for not letting women be doctors before. I think we do just fine, thank you.

Filibuster proof?

The Minnesota Supreme Court has offically declared Frankin the Senate race winner. Which means that if everyone votes on party lines the Dems are now filibuster proof. Right? I think. The whole idea of filibuster proof is kind of weird to me, mainly because I don't really understand it.
Anyway, I suppose this means that the healthcare bill could pass the Senate now. So that is a ray of sunshine.

The expanding dead pool

So Billy Mays joined the ranks of the dead this weekend. That actually suprised me. Though my second, not quite nice, thought was, "Gee, what the hell is Discovery going to do with Pitchmen?"
I'm probably going to hell.

The dead zone

I had the pleasure of telling my brother out in Tahoe that Michael Jackson died. And Farrah Faucett. Though she was before our time, he was more broken up about Farrah. Honestly so was I, she fought long and hard against her cancer, and I was rooting for her.
When I told him about Jacko he laughed, and then told his buddy who also laughed. How sad is that? To drop so far that people laugh when you die?
But he was almost a joke at the end. Everything good that he was had been overshadowed by the running freakshow his life had become. God only knows what we will end up learning.
Rest in peace y'all.

Rapture Ready

Sometimes I go onto the Rapture Ready boards to see what rumors and interesting new "facts" are going around the Fundie world. For instance, today I learned...

-Quantum physics is a new age lie

- Soon people in the US will be forced to have abortions because of new laws banning more than two children per couple (this is my personal favorite)

- Obama has evil eyes

- Yeah, pagans are the weird ones guys

- Some of these people have really amazingly patient friends

Of course these is the usual terrible, delusional, and depressing crap that tends to show up there. Rapture Ready isn't for the faint of heart.

News of the World

A few new items of interest this week...

- So South Carolina gov. Mark Sanford was in Argentina that whole time. There are so many questions about this that I can't wait to get answered, why did he leave without telling anyone? Why did his office lie? The Democratic party has slammed him for an irresponsible decision, which... well yeah.

- Here is an article about the death of Neda Agha Soltani, the young Iranian woman whose death has garnered international attention. The article talks about how white Americans need to see people die to understand the tragedy occurring outside their sheltered little lives. It's off putting, and like many people arguing about the fetishing of other people's deaths this person seems to fall into the same trap. Not seeing that part of the reason why the US government isn't getting involved is because we know that will make things 1000 times worse. Not because us white folk don't give a shit. Please, give us some credit here.

- The Obama health care reform bill is being outlined and sold to the public. Dear god public accept it. Tell your Senators and Congressmen to vote for it. We need it, no matter what the obscenely rich tell us. I'd rather trust a government official than a HMO employee paid to deny me.

All hot and bothered

A long time ago I stopped reading Ann Coulter because she caused my blood pressure to rise so much I was afraid I'd have a stroke. I'm coming to the same place when it comes to the abortion debate, all because of comments like this one on PBS's web site. PBS!

""The term "rightwing", as used to define a specific type of extremism...."You guys are great. We are extremists because we don't like to see babies dismembered.No one condones Tiller's murder. He was a horror of a man, but surely deserved a chance like the rest of us. I don't, though, think that he deserved extra protection any more than pedophiles, who are soon to be a special protected group under this regime. Back in Clinton's day, tax payers gave Tiller the same type of protection as the president himself, thanks to Janet Reno. Is this really who we are? Do we REALLY stand by abortion to this degree in this country? Tiller called these children he killed "babies." He knew this was infanticide. There is no confusion here. He didn't deserve special protection any more than anyone else. He chose his career just like high rise window cleaners chose theirs. It is a bad occupation which made him a target to another nutjob who was willing to kill."

Yes, that's right, this person actually says dismember's babies, and manages to drag the truely insane idea that pedophiles will be protected in some way by the "regime". This is the person tat is out there protesting abortions by showing pictures of dead babies. This person who says that Dr. Tiller was a horror of a man because he saved babies and mothers untold pain and suffering.
This is the face of anti-abortion people. Not pro-life because these people don't give a shit about life, they just don't want abortions to happen.
This is why my blood pressure skyrockets.

Ooo, did you see it last night?!?

Jon and Kate are getting a divorce!
God, it's like watching a train wreck.
No, not the divorce, who cares about that? The media coverage of it. Christ.

News of the World

So there is so much going on in the news that little things are getting lost. Such as...

- Today is Juneteenth, or Freedom Day. And it celebrates the end of slavery in the US. I had no idea until someone wrote it on the whiteboard here at work.

- On Monday Jon and Kate will make a "major announcement" on their show. This is news to me in the fact that they are local (they live a county over), and they are really bugging the crap out of me. I used to watch their show, the octuplets are the same age as the kiddo so I liked seeing another family going through what I was going through, times 8. Now I can't sit through a show. I read someone who said that they watch the show to make sure the kids come out alive in the end, and I think that sums it up.

- Glenn Beck is doing some kind of comedy thing. There is a fantastic review of it here.

- I have found a new blog, and I am in love. The Unrepentant Old Hippie. It's snarky goodness. And it is joining the blog roll.

I know I'm forgetting stuff, though, this has been a strange week.

Dear PETA

OK, here's the thing. It was a fucking fly. The president killed a fucking fly. Not a kitten, or a condor, or a bloody dodo. A fly.
Are you not aware of how many flies there are in the world? Of the disease that they spread. How how damn annoying they are?
Are you not aware that people think you are a joke for sending the president a "humane bug catcher"?
Are you just fucking with us these days?
I mean, I am a soft touch. I can't watch SPCA commercials without wanting to adopt all the animals. I save all manner of critters when I can. Flies? Not so much. I let the cats hunt them ruthlessly, and if my huntresses can't get it, I will. Same with ants. Generally if it spreads disease? It isn't staying in my house. Or alive.
Get over yourselves.
Love,
Me.

How about that

The top search that brings people here?
David Carradine's daughter

followed closely by
Did Odin have daughters

I love that David Carradine beat out Odin in searches for daughters.

Shut up Evita

I'm mystified that people are still upset over the Letterman thing. Can they move on? Jesus Evita, just your damn supporters up. You know, all 15 of them.
And now they want Letterman fired. Over a few tasteless jokes. But they are OK with the Gorilla/Michelle Obama joke.
Asshats.

Religion and Child Abuse

So, way back in 2006 a guy named Richard Dawkins equated religion to child abuse. The point of his article is that teaching a child about the finer points of a religion (the punishment points) equates mental abuse.
Yeah.
Two things here, I never even heard of Richard Dawkins until recently, and I didn't know he was some big atheist guy until even more recently. So when I first read it a while ago my thought was that he was kind of an ass and probably didn't have kids (my apologies about the ass part, honestly). The kids thing probably doesn't make much sense, but if you have kids you know that sometimes you say things and cringe because part of you wonders if you have just scared the kid for life.
See, from what I gather, he is arguing that the teaching of punishment of hell, if sincerely believed by a child, is equal to any other mental abuse of the child, and that even more subtle religious teachings are abusive. Now, that is a mighty fine line he is walking. I see what he is saying, but again, fine line. Because what he is saying is the religious version of what is creating all those spoiled animals you see running around.
Can religion be used as a form of mental abuse? Yes, of course. Anything can, especially to a child. You could probably use chipmunks as a form of abuse. Is all religion abusive? No. And I mean that all across the board, the same way he did. He says all religions are abusive, I say that they aren't. In the wrong hands yes, they can be. So can athiesm. Sorry Mr. Dawkins.
Dawkins reminds me of the people in the pagan movement I hate the most. The people who scream about how narrowminded and awful other religions are while being the exact same way. It's a bad habit to get into. And it leads to blanket statements like the one above.
I know that children believe all manner of things. My kiddo currently believes that the moon had an entire family of moons and that a giant space tornado came and scared them all away (don't ask me, I don't know). Obviously with some children religion will be dealt with differently than with others. The kiddo won't learn about religion of any kind for another few years, until she can process things. Some kids can handle it earlier, or almost crave it, and in that case, why not teach them? As long as it doesn't disturb them, it also probably won't hurt them. Dawkins is insinuating that religion of any kind is slavery, and again, that's an interesting thing to say. Some people need religion, some people want religion, and some people use it to reach enlightenment. Would you take that from us? I'm not saying there is a right religion, and I'm not saying everyone should be religious, but I am saying that the same way I get disturbed by people who tell me I need to worship Sky-Daddy, I am also disturbed by people who tell me I'm a slave to my belief. Sorry to disappoint, but Sky-Daddy isn't my speed, and I'm not a slave to my religion. My religion helps me process things, but it certainly doesn't hold my back from things. And if one day I grow out of it? So be it. But right now? I'm cool with it.
Frankly, I wish that everyone would stay out of my religion. It's personal. I get why everyone is fighting, I really do, because I fight that too, equality for all, etc. But Dawkins went somewhere personal on this one. I want to see what else he has written, so I can see if that ass thing is right or not, but I'm not looking forward to it if he's always this antagonistic.

PA Library funding in danger

For everyone in beautiful PA, the state budget is being unveiled and they are once again slashing library budgets. However this year the cuts they propose are so deep that they will elminiate all children's programs, they will cut outreach programs to schools, they will cut hours and staff and shut down branches. Your local library? There is a good chance it will close. Considering that membership in libraries has more than doubled since the economic downturn, and that enrollment in children's programs has shot up since children are no longer going to day care, it is safe to say that the state is going to be closing an inportant resourse.
Go to the PA library page, and write your represenative and Gov. Rendell and express your feelings about this measure. Or we may lose over 1/2 of the libraries in this state. It may not mean much in rural areas, but in the cities they will be closing one of the few safe places for kids to go.

Iran... Iran so far away...

Yeah, I know, but it keeps running through my head.
So, apparently now Iran has decided it should count the votes in their election? Good job guys! That was only the most blatantly fixed election ever. Maybe you could try to unfix it a bit, huh?\
Next time make it a bit more realistic.

Rediscovering

This weekend I rediscovered a few things...

I rediscovered that Splenda makes me ill. Serves me right for buying something for me without looking at the label.

I rediscovered that I cannot drink any water or tea that is apple flavored because it tastes vaguely off (my brother has the same problem, so at least I'm not alone in this one)

I rediscovered Christopher Eccleston, and why I have such a love affair with him as an actor.

I rediscovered in the same movie why Cate Blanchet bothers me some much as an actress (she hits the same note over and over. She's wonderfully expressive, but is always coming back to home base.)

I rediscovered that taking a kid strawberry picking is an adventure.

I rediscovered Japanese horror movies, and why they are made of win.

Hey Evita

Ms Palin, have you had a bit of a nip/tuck? Because I saw you this morning and honey, no one's eyebrows are that high up naturally.
Also, let the freaking Letterman thing go. Were his jokes in bad taste? Yes, of course. Was he talking about Willow? No. Don't be daft. No one thought he was but you. Everyone knew he meant Bristol. Now he'll pay for saying some tasteless things, but he's a comedian and they are paid to do that kind of thing. No one is keeping it in the news but you Miss Freaky Eyebrows.
Oh, and freaking good luck with that pipeline. I mean it, you're going to need it. I've read about the logistics of the thing, and it sounds like a nightmare.