Thursday, January 29, 2009
robot roll call....
If you look over at the blog roll you'll find a few new blogs listed. Special thanks to Forever in Hell for tipping me off to Homosecular Gaytheist, which is a wonderful wonderful blog. Yay!!
Swooning fangirl alert...
Richard and Des in the same episode of Lost? Awesome! Lot's of them? Fantastic!!
More questions being answered, which is wonderful, and Locke's little "Pleased to meet you" was really wonderful. So was finally understanding why Richard so wanted young Locke to pick that damn compass and why he was so pissed when he didn't.
How old is Richard? Old. Hee! Juliet remains the queen of understatements, and I like the chemistry between her and Sawyer. And I like the hint that we may have finally met Ben's long lost love (the one that Juliet looks like).
I'm also finding myself really liking Faraday, he is becoming more and more likeable and it becomes more and more apparent that he really is nothing more than a physics geek who happens to be both a genius and waaaaaay over his head.
I love this new season, I really do. I love it lots.
More questions being answered, which is wonderful, and Locke's little "Pleased to meet you" was really wonderful. So was finally understanding why Richard so wanted young Locke to pick that damn compass and why he was so pissed when he didn't.
How old is Richard? Old. Hee! Juliet remains the queen of understatements, and I like the chemistry between her and Sawyer. And I like the hint that we may have finally met Ben's long lost love (the one that Juliet looks like).
I'm also finding myself really liking Faraday, he is becoming more and more likeable and it becomes more and more apparent that he really is nothing more than a physics geek who happens to be both a genius and waaaaaay over his head.
I love this new season, I really do. I love it lots.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Religious respect, it's as important as tolerance
While I was reading a link off Forever in Hell's blog (Lady Liberty's really wonderful How to Talk to Athiests, she definately did win the intrawebs today), it reminded me of an incident a while ago that had a lot to do with respect.
I'm a pagan. Have been for almost 20 years (dear God, 20 years? Wow). I'm not one of those nutso pagans with pentacles all over their desk at work and who make up really bizarre names for themselves or anything (in the pagan community we call those people "nuts". It's cool, you can call them that too). Paganism isn't as exciting as people seem to think it is. And by people I, of course, mean fundies.
My ex is also pagan. He's... well he's a lot more out there with it than I am. And because he's out there with it he demands the same respect for his religion that fundies get for theirs. A few years ago he mentioned that he was going to make up Solstice cards instead of Christmas cards and give them out to fundies. Now, this smacked of bad taste to me, and no better than a fundie shoving their belief down your throat. I told him that and he asked me if it was ok that they did that to us.
Of course not, but I happen to be realistic. Pagan is a huge umbrella term for a very large collection of religions. He and I don't even practice the same kind of paganism, not even close. Would I like someone to acknowledge my holidays? Sure, that would be neat. Would I expect most people to go out of their way to learn them? No, not unless they really wanted to. At the same time, would I go around yelling at them for not learning my religion? No, why would I? That's stupid. I would rather they let me be and I'll let them be and at Christmas I'll wish everyone season's greetings and be done with it.
This is respect to me. I respect other people and would not go around asking them if they had met my particular group of gods. I would not try to convince them that they need to believe what I believe or a huge wolf will eat them (ok, maybe now would be a good time to mention I'm Norse and by far we have one of the more rocking end of the world stories. Our Gods die. Seriously, all of them. How cool is that? What does that say about the emotional advancement of a culture that they will kill off their gods in a cultural mythos? It implies a state of mind that acknowledges that people don't always need someone up in the sky watching out for them. Right, done being a religion geek...)
People who are fundie in any religion will never understant that level of respect. The level of respect that Lady Liberty was talking about, the works not words level of faith, is simply impossible for people who do not believe. There, I said it. They really don't believe. And not in a "gee 'm not sure about this" kind of way, but in a "wow, this is really kind of wrong, but if I just talk louder it will be OK" kind of way. So they will never be able to respect another person's belief in anything. It's the respect that leads to tolerance. These people, like my ex, are incapable of even starting that journey. It's sad, but I still hope for them (I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to people, I always believe they will get better).
So these are the things I think when it's slow at work (thank you ice storm for shutting down the country!) Aren't you all glad I got a blog? Heh.
I'm a pagan. Have been for almost 20 years (dear God, 20 years? Wow). I'm not one of those nutso pagans with pentacles all over their desk at work and who make up really bizarre names for themselves or anything (in the pagan community we call those people "nuts". It's cool, you can call them that too). Paganism isn't as exciting as people seem to think it is. And by people I, of course, mean fundies.
My ex is also pagan. He's... well he's a lot more out there with it than I am. And because he's out there with it he demands the same respect for his religion that fundies get for theirs. A few years ago he mentioned that he was going to make up Solstice cards instead of Christmas cards and give them out to fundies. Now, this smacked of bad taste to me, and no better than a fundie shoving their belief down your throat. I told him that and he asked me if it was ok that they did that to us.
Of course not, but I happen to be realistic. Pagan is a huge umbrella term for a very large collection of religions. He and I don't even practice the same kind of paganism, not even close. Would I like someone to acknowledge my holidays? Sure, that would be neat. Would I expect most people to go out of their way to learn them? No, not unless they really wanted to. At the same time, would I go around yelling at them for not learning my religion? No, why would I? That's stupid. I would rather they let me be and I'll let them be and at Christmas I'll wish everyone season's greetings and be done with it.
This is respect to me. I respect other people and would not go around asking them if they had met my particular group of gods. I would not try to convince them that they need to believe what I believe or a huge wolf will eat them (ok, maybe now would be a good time to mention I'm Norse and by far we have one of the more rocking end of the world stories. Our Gods die. Seriously, all of them. How cool is that? What does that say about the emotional advancement of a culture that they will kill off their gods in a cultural mythos? It implies a state of mind that acknowledges that people don't always need someone up in the sky watching out for them. Right, done being a religion geek...)
People who are fundie in any religion will never understant that level of respect. The level of respect that Lady Liberty was talking about, the works not words level of faith, is simply impossible for people who do not believe. There, I said it. They really don't believe. And not in a "gee 'm not sure about this" kind of way, but in a "wow, this is really kind of wrong, but if I just talk louder it will be OK" kind of way. So they will never be able to respect another person's belief in anything. It's the respect that leads to tolerance. These people, like my ex, are incapable of even starting that journey. It's sad, but I still hope for them (I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to people, I always believe they will get better).
So these are the things I think when it's slow at work (thank you ice storm for shutting down the country!) Aren't you all glad I got a blog? Heh.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
RIP John Updike
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/01/27/obit.updike/index.html
John Updike wrote one of my favorite books, The Witches of Eastwick. He was one hell of an author, and I'm sad to see him go.
John Updike wrote one of my favorite books, The Witches of Eastwick. He was one hell of an author, and I'm sad to see him go.
What I've learned...
I've never dealt extensively with lawyers, I handled my divorce myself, so no lawyer needed there. So I wasn't sure what to expect when I hired my lawyer last week.
However I have been really pleasantly suprised by the experience so far. I wasn't sure how in the loop I would be kept after the inital consultation, but he's really been listening to what I have to say, and for the most part he's been including my concerns on the whole deal into the response. Some things have been left out, etc, but for the most part I feel like an active participant and I wasn't sure I would be. Like maybe the guy was just going to take over and just tell me when to show up.
I also learned that four year old girls are almost absurdly dramatic. The kiddo is really starting to learn her own mind, and she is one heck of an actress. In a B-movie kind of way. God love her!
Something on CNN caught my eye this morning, and it was Obama's stance on Muslims, that he will try to actually, you know, be nice to them instead of declaring every living Muslim is our enemy and trying to kill them all. I imagine that Fundies who hear that are going to have a collective stroke, they already "know" that Obama is a Muslim sleeper agent here to take over the US, here is proof!! Of course I think it's a pretty good move, after all we really can't afford to alienate one of the fastest growing religious populations in the world, now can we?
I also hope that this is going to start to ease the US into a more tolerant mindset. For the past 8 years we have been in that "if you aren't us you're our enemy and we will destroy you" mindset, which has been unspeakably destructive to our psyche, not to mention our global standing. Here's hoping that it ends.
However I have been really pleasantly suprised by the experience so far. I wasn't sure how in the loop I would be kept after the inital consultation, but he's really been listening to what I have to say, and for the most part he's been including my concerns on the whole deal into the response. Some things have been left out, etc, but for the most part I feel like an active participant and I wasn't sure I would be. Like maybe the guy was just going to take over and just tell me when to show up.
I also learned that four year old girls are almost absurdly dramatic. The kiddo is really starting to learn her own mind, and she is one heck of an actress. In a B-movie kind of way. God love her!
Something on CNN caught my eye this morning, and it was Obama's stance on Muslims, that he will try to actually, you know, be nice to them instead of declaring every living Muslim is our enemy and trying to kill them all. I imagine that Fundies who hear that are going to have a collective stroke, they already "know" that Obama is a Muslim sleeper agent here to take over the US, here is proof!! Of course I think it's a pretty good move, after all we really can't afford to alienate one of the fastest growing religious populations in the world, now can we?
I also hope that this is going to start to ease the US into a more tolerant mindset. For the past 8 years we have been in that "if you aren't us you're our enemy and we will destroy you" mindset, which has been unspeakably destructive to our psyche, not to mention our global standing. Here's hoping that it ends.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
On Lawyers, Sealing Wax, and Lost.
Guess which one has nothing to do with this post!!
I did something today that I never had to do in my adult life. I borrowed money from my mother. I didn't borrow money when I bought my house, had my kid, got a divorce, nope. I lived with her, but took no money from her.
Of course, this sudden change is because I found myself suddenly in need of a lawyer, and Mom being Mom ponied up the downpayment on said lawyer. He seems to be an all around lawyer and his web site mentions him winning a big old case in Philly, which is good. So a basic custody/visitation case will be simple for him. Hopefully this whole thing will be done as easily as he says it will be.
It had better be for the money I'm paying him.
Anyway...
Lost last night was fabulous, of course. So, so good to see it back, and nice to see it answering questions. And nice to see Richard. I do so have a crush on him. Heh!
I did something today that I never had to do in my adult life. I borrowed money from my mother. I didn't borrow money when I bought my house, had my kid, got a divorce, nope. I lived with her, but took no money from her.
Of course, this sudden change is because I found myself suddenly in need of a lawyer, and Mom being Mom ponied up the downpayment on said lawyer. He seems to be an all around lawyer and his web site mentions him winning a big old case in Philly, which is good. So a basic custody/visitation case will be simple for him. Hopefully this whole thing will be done as easily as he says it will be.
It had better be for the money I'm paying him.
Anyway...
Lost last night was fabulous, of course. So, so good to see it back, and nice to see it answering questions. And nice to see Richard. I do so have a crush on him. Heh!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Right wing craziness
I haveto admit I don't always see where the Right is coming from, but man I saw this coming. The absurd and catty behaviour towards our new First Lady.
Personally, I really like Michelle Obama, she is a strong woman, she is well educated, is a mother of two wonderful little girls, had a very successful career, and is one hell of a good looking lady married to one hot man. In short, she is pretty much everything I would like to be.
Which would make this remarkable woman everything that the Right hates in a woman. And then add the fact that she is black. You betcha that is going to make them mad.
These woman who are picking apart what she wears, her gloves, her hair, and so on, are those petty little queen bee's from high school. But they don't know they are in high school anymore and they don't get that the nerdy girl who knew all the answers in fact did get the guy, the job, the family, and the house. You know, the White House.
Looking at the Obama's in contrast to the Bush's I have to say, the Obama's look presidental. Bush kind of looked like a schmuck there at the end. Granted, the man didn't have a worry in the world, what with him passing this whole mess on to the new guy, but damn, he could have combed his hair or something.
I'm hoping that this bodes well for us as a country, that this calm confidence is in fact what Obama is made of and that he can see us through this mess. Man, I'm hoping.
In the mean time I'm wondering where I can see what Michelle is wearing today, because she sure is made of win.
Personally, I really like Michelle Obama, she is a strong woman, she is well educated, is a mother of two wonderful little girls, had a very successful career, and is one hell of a good looking lady married to one hot man. In short, she is pretty much everything I would like to be.
Which would make this remarkable woman everything that the Right hates in a woman. And then add the fact that she is black. You betcha that is going to make them mad.
These woman who are picking apart what she wears, her gloves, her hair, and so on, are those petty little queen bee's from high school. But they don't know they are in high school anymore and they don't get that the nerdy girl who knew all the answers in fact did get the guy, the job, the family, and the house. You know, the White House.
Looking at the Obama's in contrast to the Bush's I have to say, the Obama's look presidental. Bush kind of looked like a schmuck there at the end. Granted, the man didn't have a worry in the world, what with him passing this whole mess on to the new guy, but damn, he could have combed his hair or something.
I'm hoping that this bodes well for us as a country, that this calm confidence is in fact what Obama is made of and that he can see us through this mess. Man, I'm hoping.
In the mean time I'm wondering where I can see what Michelle is wearing today, because she sure is made of win.
Monday, January 19, 2009
I'm getting kind of irritated by snow
I'm just saying.
The day after Thanksgiving my brother moved in with me. He got laid off in San Diego, walked to Santa Barbara, took a bus to San Francisco, and then gave up on CA and came back to the East Coast.
My brother is Christian, but not one of those wacko ones, he's one of the quiet ones. I'm not. My kid is not going to be introduced to a religion until she is much older (which was a decision that led to a very funny moment at a fair when some fundie asked her if she had ever heard of Jesus and she gave the fundie a very blank look). She asked me one day after my brother came back if she could go to church. I explained to both the kid and my brother that when she got older I would happily take her to any old church she wanted to go to, but not when she was four. Because at four it might be kind of scary. My brother took the hint and has not mentioned anything overtly religious to her again.
Which shows you what kind of person he is. A fundie would have freaked out and probably dragged her to a church. My brother backed off, and respected my wishes. There are good reasonable Christians out there. I kind of wish they would speak up more. All we ever heard about is the Religious Right, and it gives Christians a very bad name.
The day after Thanksgiving my brother moved in with me. He got laid off in San Diego, walked to Santa Barbara, took a bus to San Francisco, and then gave up on CA and came back to the East Coast.
My brother is Christian, but not one of those wacko ones, he's one of the quiet ones. I'm not. My kid is not going to be introduced to a religion until she is much older (which was a decision that led to a very funny moment at a fair when some fundie asked her if she had ever heard of Jesus and she gave the fundie a very blank look). She asked me one day after my brother came back if she could go to church. I explained to both the kid and my brother that when she got older I would happily take her to any old church she wanted to go to, but not when she was four. Because at four it might be kind of scary. My brother took the hint and has not mentioned anything overtly religious to her again.
Which shows you what kind of person he is. A fundie would have freaked out and probably dragged her to a church. My brother backed off, and respected my wishes. There are good reasonable Christians out there. I kind of wish they would speak up more. All we ever heard about is the Religious Right, and it gives Christians a very bad name.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Why?!?
Also, why do people keep letting Ann Coulter on TV? Is it so people can make fun of her? Because at this point she is bringing nothing to the table.
Friday Randomness
It's Friday and it was 11 degrees outside when I dropped the kid and brother off at Mom's. 11. Which made me remember the rather vocal people who believe that global warming is a hoax. Their evidence usually consists of it being cold in the winter. A real winning thought process there. However, I'm sure they are thrilled that it is 11, because that means no global warming this year! Yay!
I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series, since I finished the last Repairman Jack book I wanted something a smidge lighter. While re-reading PoA I remembered, Harry really is a jackass. I mean he is totally insensitive and completely self centered. Now, since he is the principle narrator this presents an interesting question, is our narrator to be trusted? Is Harry just a teenage boy? (I don't know how a teenage boy thinks, so maybe they are all like Harry? I really kind of hope not.)
My mortgage is held by my bank, and they managed to lose a payment. I had to call them today to stop payment on the check and transfer funds to pay the mortgage. I am interested in the fact that no one bothered to call me and ask me why I haven't paid, I had to contact them after a reasonable amount of time passed (maybe the mail was held up in the mail or something). This particular bank seems proud of the fact that it doesn't have the high forclosure rates as other banks. One would think they would want to keep it that way.
And while we are talking about the whole housing situation, my little community still has no forclosures! Yay! Our lenders all viewed us as a "risk" because we are Habitat "low income" families. Of course the joke there is I make more money than my mother ever made and it is still under the standard of living for Bucks County. Makes you wonder how people are supposed to live.
Stay warm all!!
I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series, since I finished the last Repairman Jack book I wanted something a smidge lighter. While re-reading PoA I remembered, Harry really is a jackass. I mean he is totally insensitive and completely self centered. Now, since he is the principle narrator this presents an interesting question, is our narrator to be trusted? Is Harry just a teenage boy? (I don't know how a teenage boy thinks, so maybe they are all like Harry? I really kind of hope not.)
My mortgage is held by my bank, and they managed to lose a payment. I had to call them today to stop payment on the check and transfer funds to pay the mortgage. I am interested in the fact that no one bothered to call me and ask me why I haven't paid, I had to contact them after a reasonable amount of time passed (maybe the mail was held up in the mail or something). This particular bank seems proud of the fact that it doesn't have the high forclosure rates as other banks. One would think they would want to keep it that way.
And while we are talking about the whole housing situation, my little community still has no forclosures! Yay! Our lenders all viewed us as a "risk" because we are Habitat "low income" families. Of course the joke there is I make more money than my mother ever made and it is still under the standard of living for Bucks County. Makes you wonder how people are supposed to live.
Stay warm all!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Brand new day
Hello all you friends out there in cyberspace. So, I have left Livejournal for the more public world of internet blogging. Hey, wish me luck!
Unlike my Livejournal, which was more about the mundain issues of my life, I do hope to be a bit more profound here. I'm planning on talking about the things that interest me right now, politics, religion, health issues, and Lost. Yeah, you heard me, Lost.
So let's get this party started with my favorite little lady, Sarah Palin. Those who know me know that I have a deep dislike of Palin, she just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She preaches intolerance and hatred, and I had hoped after she lost the election that she would retreat to Alaska and quietly serve out her (hopefully) last term as governer. Wow was I wrong.
Every day I wander online and see that she was somewhere else giving an interview.
What amazes me is that even after losing the election her story has not changed. It's still everyone else's fault that she isn't president... ops I mean vice president. The media, the RNC, the media, the evil lefty blogs, the media, etc. Really, the fact that she clings to these myths is almost awe-inspiring. After all, you don't get to see too many truely self-deluded people giving daily interviews (and once Obama takes office and we won't have to see Bush we will be left with Palin. Shame that).
I can't help but wonder what the RNC is thinking every time they see her. Do they cringe, knowing that this is what people think Republicans are? Are they happy, knowing that this is what people think Republicans are?
If I were them I would worry about the damage this woman is causing. Letting her out in public to belittle and fearmonger is doing the Republican party no good at all. If anything it is keeping fresh in our minds the reason why they lost in the first place. Is this Rove's new big idea? If so, wow, thanks Karl.
Unlike my Livejournal, which was more about the mundain issues of my life, I do hope to be a bit more profound here. I'm planning on talking about the things that interest me right now, politics, religion, health issues, and Lost. Yeah, you heard me, Lost.
So let's get this party started with my favorite little lady, Sarah Palin. Those who know me know that I have a deep dislike of Palin, she just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She preaches intolerance and hatred, and I had hoped after she lost the election that she would retreat to Alaska and quietly serve out her (hopefully) last term as governer. Wow was I wrong.
Every day I wander online and see that she was somewhere else giving an interview.
What amazes me is that even after losing the election her story has not changed. It's still everyone else's fault that she isn't president... ops I mean vice president. The media, the RNC, the media, the evil lefty blogs, the media, etc. Really, the fact that she clings to these myths is almost awe-inspiring. After all, you don't get to see too many truely self-deluded people giving daily interviews (and once Obama takes office and we won't have to see Bush we will be left with Palin. Shame that).
I can't help but wonder what the RNC is thinking every time they see her. Do they cringe, knowing that this is what people think Republicans are? Are they happy, knowing that this is what people think Republicans are?
If I were them I would worry about the damage this woman is causing. Letting her out in public to belittle and fearmonger is doing the Republican party no good at all. If anything it is keeping fresh in our minds the reason why they lost in the first place. Is this Rove's new big idea? If so, wow, thanks Karl.
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