5/29/2005
Politics at the Pulpit
Rev. Heretic gave a Memorial Day sermon to remember this morning.
He once again decried those who use the pulpit for partisan politics, but he noted that religion has had a positive impact on politics before (most notably the Civil Rights movement), and he felt it was appropriate to talk about our foreign policy on Memorial Day weekend, when we have so many men and women who are in harm's way in part because of what he termed our misguided and unbalanced foreign policy in the Holy Land.
I'm going to miss Rev. Heretic when they appoint a permanent minister. He always gives me something to think about.
He once again decried those who use the pulpit for partisan politics, but he noted that religion has had a positive impact on politics before (most notably the Civil Rights movement), and he felt it was appropriate to talk about our foreign policy on Memorial Day weekend, when we have so many men and women who are in harm's way in part because of what he termed our misguided and unbalanced foreign policy in the Holy Land.
I'm going to miss Rev. Heretic when they appoint a permanent minister. He always gives me something to think about.
5/28/2005
5/27/2005
I'm It
The lovely Shakespeare's Sister has tagged me with this questionnaire, which is making me feel all Sally Field, because I'm a big dork. Anyway, here we go:
Three names you go by (that won't give away your identity): Moe, Mom....I'm woefully bereft of nicknames. My father used to call me Monikey-monikey, though.
Three screen names you've had: sijoma, jomasima, lokison
Three physical things you like about yourself: My feet are very nicely shaped with toes that are the appropriate proportion to their peers; I have great hair - a lovely shade of coppery red with natural curls (but not too curly); and great tits. I can't waffle on that, they are terrific, and tend to be the only thing that most men look at when they talk to me.
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: I wish I had a longer neck, that I was taller (I'm the only shorty in my family), and that I hadn't been born with hip dysplaysia.
Three parts of your heritage: potatoes, Guinness, lamb...i.e., Irish, Irish and Irish.
Three things you are wearing right now: jeans, socks, and my favorite bra.
Three favorite bands / musical artists: Ben Folds, Nellie McKay, Talking Heads.
Three favorite songs: Army by Ben Folds Five, Caterpillar Girl by The Cure, and Take Me To The River by the Talking Heads
Three things you want in a relationship: humor, honesty, consideration.
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals to you: I find both genders physically appealing, but I'm more hetero than not, so here goes: big hands, slightly taller than average, slim but not slight.
Three of your favorite hobbies: watching movies/tv shows, reading, theater.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: Take a vacation, eat a cheeseburger, quit my job
Three things that scare you: jumping into the water feet-first, my 16 year old driving, losing my job.
Three of your everyday essentials: water, sunglasses, sunscreen
Three careers you have considered / are considering: Midwife, Music Teacher, Actress
Three places you want to go on vacation: Paris, Barcelona, New Zealand
Three kids' names you like: I love my children's names, plus Declan.
Three things you want to do before you die: learn another language, publish a novel, meet my great-grandchildren
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I *never* hear that noise in the middle of the night; I can wake up, take a shower, and be out of the house within 20 minutes, I don't decorate.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I moisturize every day, I like getting dressed up and feeling pretty, I crave chocolate and salt 4 or 5 days a month.
Three celeb crushes: Daniel Day-Lewis, Jason Bateman, Eddie Izzard
I'll have to pass this on to 3 people who actually read this blog, so I'll go with: The Chemist, JRH at Upon Further Review, and Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast.
Three names you go by (that won't give away your identity): Moe, Mom....I'm woefully bereft of nicknames. My father used to call me Monikey-monikey, though.
Three screen names you've had: sijoma, jomasima, lokison
Three physical things you like about yourself: My feet are very nicely shaped with toes that are the appropriate proportion to their peers; I have great hair - a lovely shade of coppery red with natural curls (but not too curly); and great tits. I can't waffle on that, they are terrific, and tend to be the only thing that most men look at when they talk to me.
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: I wish I had a longer neck, that I was taller (I'm the only shorty in my family), and that I hadn't been born with hip dysplaysia.
Three parts of your heritage: potatoes, Guinness, lamb...i.e., Irish, Irish and Irish.
Three things you are wearing right now: jeans, socks, and my favorite bra.
Three favorite bands / musical artists: Ben Folds, Nellie McKay, Talking Heads.
Three favorite songs: Army by Ben Folds Five, Caterpillar Girl by The Cure, and Take Me To The River by the Talking Heads
Three things you want in a relationship: humor, honesty, consideration.
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals to you: I find both genders physically appealing, but I'm more hetero than not, so here goes: big hands, slightly taller than average, slim but not slight.
Three of your favorite hobbies: watching movies/tv shows, reading, theater.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: Take a vacation, eat a cheeseburger, quit my job
Three things that scare you: jumping into the water feet-first, my 16 year old driving, losing my job.
Three of your everyday essentials: water, sunglasses, sunscreen
Three careers you have considered / are considering: Midwife, Music Teacher, Actress
Three places you want to go on vacation: Paris, Barcelona, New Zealand
Three kids' names you like: I love my children's names, plus Declan.
Three things you want to do before you die: learn another language, publish a novel, meet my great-grandchildren
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I *never* hear that noise in the middle of the night; I can wake up, take a shower, and be out of the house within 20 minutes, I don't decorate.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I moisturize every day, I like getting dressed up and feeling pretty, I crave chocolate and salt 4 or 5 days a month.
Three celeb crushes: Daniel Day-Lewis, Jason Bateman, Eddie Izzard
I'll have to pass this on to 3 people who actually read this blog, so I'll go with: The Chemist, JRH at Upon Further Review, and Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast.
5/26/2005
I don't like tangy apples
Over at Rittenhouse Review, there is a bit of whining going on because a recent study indicated the Red Delicious, a type not favored by Jim Cappozzola, is the most healthful apple.
I'm quite pleased, though, since the Red Delicious is my favorite type of apple. I pass by the MacIntosh, I have disdain for Granny Smith, don't care for Macouns or Romes or Galas or Pink Ladies. I like the perfect sweetness of a Red Delicious.
Although I could write an ode to melons, my favorite of all fruits.
I'm quite pleased, though, since the Red Delicious is my favorite type of apple. I pass by the MacIntosh, I have disdain for Granny Smith, don't care for Macouns or Romes or Galas or Pink Ladies. I like the perfect sweetness of a Red Delicious.
Although I could write an ode to melons, my favorite of all fruits.
I'm not a scientist, but....
I was just reading this article from the Telegraph which is reporting on a study that ostensibly proves that having an abortion can have a negative impact on any pregnancies that follow the abortion.
I'm just a secretary, but the following paragraph that explains the methodology used sort of raised a flag for me:
I would think that if you wanted to determine whether abortion impacts future pregnancies, the sample you would want would be women who had abortions and then went on to have another pregnancy - then you could determine how many women who had abortions experienced problems with a subsequent pregnancy. And then you would have to have a control group, I guess, of women who did not have abortions but had more than one pregnancy, to determine the differences between the two, and whether any of the problems experienced can be linked to abortion.
This sample seems to be heavily weighed to include women who have not delivered a full-term baby, so it seems natural that a large percentage of them would have problems with subsequent pregnancies, whether or not they've had an abortion. And what percentage of the women who had premature births had them because of high blood pressure, which was not linked to abortion? That statistic is not included.
So help me out, scientifically inclined readers - am I off base in my concerns about this study?
I'm just a secretary, but the following paragraph that explains the methodology used sort of raised a flag for me:
Her study compared the medical histories of 2,219 women with babies born at less than 34 weeks with another 618 who had given birth at full term. Overall, women who had had an abortion were 40 per cent more likely to have a very pre-term delivery (less than 33 weeks) than those without such a history. The risk of an extremely premature baby - one born at less than 28 weeks - was raised even more sharply, by 70 per cent. Abortion appeared to increase the risk of most major causes of premature birth, including premature rupture of membranes, incorrect position of the foetus on the placenta and spontaneous early labour. The only common cause of premature birth not linked to abortion was high blood pressure.
I would think that if you wanted to determine whether abortion impacts future pregnancies, the sample you would want would be women who had abortions and then went on to have another pregnancy - then you could determine how many women who had abortions experienced problems with a subsequent pregnancy. And then you would have to have a control group, I guess, of women who did not have abortions but had more than one pregnancy, to determine the differences between the two, and whether any of the problems experienced can be linked to abortion.
This sample seems to be heavily weighed to include women who have not delivered a full-term baby, so it seems natural that a large percentage of them would have problems with subsequent pregnancies, whether or not they've had an abortion. And what percentage of the women who had premature births had them because of high blood pressure, which was not linked to abortion? That statistic is not included.
So help me out, scientifically inclined readers - am I off base in my concerns about this study?
Idle questions
I've just been reading a bunch of abortion and dentists with Freudian syringes related posts around and about the internet, and my mind started wandering (as it often does when I'm bored at work), and I started wondering: Who do my eggs belong to? Does a man own his sperm? If I consent to sex, and I'm using birth control that fails, have I actually consented to allow my sex partners sperm to engage with my egg? If a man uses a condom and there is a hole in it unbeknownst to him, has he really consented to putting his sperm into someone else's body?
Added to blogroll
I've added firedoglake, The Green Knight, and Pam's House Blend. Three fine blogs that I should have added a while ago.
I'll probably be making some more changes to the blogroll soon. I'm still trying to figure out how to break down the list - I may have a short list of favorites at the top, and then the big ones I visit daily (but who hardly need my link) just to stay on top of things. I use my blogroll as a starting point, so I definitely plan on keeping it.
I'll probably be making some more changes to the blogroll soon. I'm still trying to figure out how to break down the list - I may have a short list of favorites at the top, and then the big ones I visit daily (but who hardly need my link) just to stay on top of things. I use my blogroll as a starting point, so I definitely plan on keeping it.
I5BOTD 5/26/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Brilliant at Breakfast
which opens with a great Oscar Wilde quote.
Brilliant at Breakfast
which opens with a great Oscar Wilde quote.
5/25/2005
How do I love thee, Shakespeare's Sister?
Here's one way. I've found some great blogs thanks to Shakes Sis' daily blogwhoring post.
Cool
Some Watery Tart (which, btw, great nom de net) has a post up about Music Nazis she encountered at Borders.
I wouldn't say I'm a Music Nazi (I did marry a man who *loves* Styx), but I do think people's musical tastes can be revealing. There was a girl in my madrigal class who was putting CD's in a portable case once, and I asked her what CDs she owned: "Celine Dion, of course - I have all Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Cher, and Phantom of the Opera" - I don't want this person carted off to music re-education camp or anything, but I can safely say that I might not want to invest too much time in getting to know her, either.
As I'm getting older, I find that I am turning into my mother when it comes to music. I love all my old favorites, but I am still intrigued by new stuff that sounds interesting. My mother is a sucker for a melody, and in my middle school years she was obsessed with Ozzy Osborne, who, bat-eater or not, put out some very melodic metal. Behind the guitars was a catchy tune, and that's what my mom likes. My metalhead friends thought my mom was so cool.
When I was in high school, though, my taste in music did not make me cool. I would say the split of what kind of music people listened to broke down this way:
30% Monsters of Classic Rock/Music To Get High To - Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Stones, Pink Floyd, The Doors
40% Whatever was on America's Top 40 - Bruce Springsteen? Okay! Cyndi Lauper? Why not! Michael Jackson? His videos are so awesome!
15% Prog Rock - Rush Rules!
10% New Wave - The Police, The Cars, Berlin, Talking Heads
5% - other - country, punk, "I only listen to classical", funk, R&B, hip-hop (my town was 99.9% white, but there are always people who are listening to the next big thing)
Although I like Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper, I fell pretty firmly into freak territory. I was a little too hard-edged (what with the mohawk and the surly attitude) to fit in with the New Wavers, but not quite hard-edged enough to fit in with the punks.
Now I'm not as regimented in my musical tastes. I love Ben Folds, who is most often compared to Elton John (who I loved when I was 8 and Crocodile Rock was kind of funny to me, but lost interest in after that); I love Rufus Wainwright with his mush-mouth singing and sincere and personal lyrics; I love Nellie McKay with her smooth jazz voice, her perky Doris Day looks, and her brutal and funny lyrics; I love the spare punk sound on The White Stripes first CD; I like Missy Elliott, OutKast, Queens of the Stone Age (and even though he looks like Craig Kilborn, who is like the anti-sexy to me, Josh Homme is, IMO, unbelieveably sexy), the Foo Fighters, The Shins....
Now Sio hears from her friends "your mom is so cool!"
I wouldn't say I'm a Music Nazi (I did marry a man who *loves* Styx), but I do think people's musical tastes can be revealing. There was a girl in my madrigal class who was putting CD's in a portable case once, and I asked her what CDs she owned: "Celine Dion, of course - I have all Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Cher, and Phantom of the Opera" - I don't want this person carted off to music re-education camp or anything, but I can safely say that I might not want to invest too much time in getting to know her, either.
As I'm getting older, I find that I am turning into my mother when it comes to music. I love all my old favorites, but I am still intrigued by new stuff that sounds interesting. My mother is a sucker for a melody, and in my middle school years she was obsessed with Ozzy Osborne, who, bat-eater or not, put out some very melodic metal. Behind the guitars was a catchy tune, and that's what my mom likes. My metalhead friends thought my mom was so cool.
When I was in high school, though, my taste in music did not make me cool. I would say the split of what kind of music people listened to broke down this way:
30% Monsters of Classic Rock/Music To Get High To - Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Stones, Pink Floyd, The Doors
40% Whatever was on America's Top 40 - Bruce Springsteen? Okay! Cyndi Lauper? Why not! Michael Jackson? His videos are so awesome!
15% Prog Rock - Rush Rules!
10% New Wave - The Police, The Cars, Berlin, Talking Heads
5% - other - country, punk, "I only listen to classical", funk, R&B, hip-hop (my town was 99.9% white, but there are always people who are listening to the next big thing)
Although I like Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper, I fell pretty firmly into freak territory. I was a little too hard-edged (what with the mohawk and the surly attitude) to fit in with the New Wavers, but not quite hard-edged enough to fit in with the punks.
Now I'm not as regimented in my musical tastes. I love Ben Folds, who is most often compared to Elton John (who I loved when I was 8 and Crocodile Rock was kind of funny to me, but lost interest in after that); I love Rufus Wainwright with his mush-mouth singing and sincere and personal lyrics; I love Nellie McKay with her smooth jazz voice, her perky Doris Day looks, and her brutal and funny lyrics; I love the spare punk sound on The White Stripes first CD; I like Missy Elliott, OutKast, Queens of the Stone Age (and even though he looks like Craig Kilborn, who is like the anti-sexy to me, Josh Homme is, IMO, unbelieveably sexy), the Foo Fighters, The Shins....
Now Sio hears from her friends "your mom is so cool!"
Political Burnout
Between the nuclear option, the filibuster, the evil bitch Priscilla Owens' manslaughter of a quadriplegic ("he didn't die while in front of my court") the vitriol towards pro-choice voters at Kos, the Newsweek retraction, neocons at PBS, Okrent's fact free criticism of Krugman, and James Dobson all over the fucking TV, I'm feeling very burnt out on any subject related to politics. I'm sure the next outrage is right around the corner, but right now I feel all raged-out.
I5BOTD 5/25/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Mad Professah Lectures
and if that pic is the Mad Professah, damn, he's hot.
Mad Professah Lectures
and if that pic is the Mad Professah, damn, he's hot.
5/24/2005
catching up
Over the weekend, Amanda at Pandagon wrote about a Salon article on friendship break-ups.
One of the incidents that is detailed in the article is Kate Roiphe's story about sleeping with the man her overweight best friend was hot for - even though she didn't really like him.
This happened to me in high school.
I spent my first two years of high school at a private Catholic school. When my older sister was asked to not return for her senior year, my parents pulled me, too. So when my junior year started, it was almost like starting a brand new school - I hadn't kept in touch with any of my friends (something that continues to this day, I'm sorry to say).
At the start of the school year, we had standardized testing, and I was passing the test sheets to the boy behind me when I suddenly felt struck by Cupid's arrow - who was this beautiful boy with the soulful brown eyes?
I started observing him. Some would call it stalking. But I didn't have the nerve to interact with him. I knew we liked the same music. He was a frequent call-in guest to a radio show at UCONN that I listened to. I got my first job working at the same store where he worked, and I worked up the courage to start a few conversations with him. He was polite but distant.
I denied that I was in love to everyone, but finally I told my best friend. She gave me some tips (this was my best friend who slept with many, many people) on how to get his attention. But it just didn't seem to be working.
At the end of my junior year, I got accepted at the Center for Creative Youth for their Creative Writing program. So I left school with nothing but a picture of my love object.
Best Friend came to visit me at CCY one Saturday, and she told me that she and my love object had met at a club a couple of weeks before. And she said they slept together. And that now they were dating.
DATING!!!! Best Friend didn't date, she fucked and moved on. I left the room and locked myself in the bathroom stall. Best Friend came in and sat on the floor and wouldn't leave. She cried and told me how messed up her life was and how great it was to finally have something normal like a boyfriend, and that she didn't think she could bear it if she had to give him up. So I just forgave her. I decided it was more important to me to have her in my life than to have him in my life.
Of course, it was so much more complicated than that. It was a betrayal. I held myself in such low-esteem that I didn't really think I could have a better friend than Best Friend. And her own problems put mine into a perspective that, in a way, helped me cope with my own shitty life.
One of the incidents that is detailed in the article is Kate Roiphe's story about sleeping with the man her overweight best friend was hot for - even though she didn't really like him.
This happened to me in high school.
I spent my first two years of high school at a private Catholic school. When my older sister was asked to not return for her senior year, my parents pulled me, too. So when my junior year started, it was almost like starting a brand new school - I hadn't kept in touch with any of my friends (something that continues to this day, I'm sorry to say).
At the start of the school year, we had standardized testing, and I was passing the test sheets to the boy behind me when I suddenly felt struck by Cupid's arrow - who was this beautiful boy with the soulful brown eyes?
I started observing him. Some would call it stalking. But I didn't have the nerve to interact with him. I knew we liked the same music. He was a frequent call-in guest to a radio show at UCONN that I listened to. I got my first job working at the same store where he worked, and I worked up the courage to start a few conversations with him. He was polite but distant.
I denied that I was in love to everyone, but finally I told my best friend. She gave me some tips (this was my best friend who slept with many, many people) on how to get his attention. But it just didn't seem to be working.
At the end of my junior year, I got accepted at the Center for Creative Youth for their Creative Writing program. So I left school with nothing but a picture of my love object.
Best Friend came to visit me at CCY one Saturday, and she told me that she and my love object had met at a club a couple of weeks before. And she said they slept together. And that now they were dating.
DATING!!!! Best Friend didn't date, she fucked and moved on. I left the room and locked myself in the bathroom stall. Best Friend came in and sat on the floor and wouldn't leave. She cried and told me how messed up her life was and how great it was to finally have something normal like a boyfriend, and that she didn't think she could bear it if she had to give him up. So I just forgave her. I decided it was more important to me to have her in my life than to have him in my life.
Of course, it was so much more complicated than that. It was a betrayal. I held myself in such low-esteem that I didn't really think I could have a better friend than Best Friend. And her own problems put mine into a perspective that, in a way, helped me cope with my own shitty life.
I5BOTD 5/24/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Tom's Irrelevant Musings
which don't seem terribly irrelevant to me.
Tom's Irrelevant Musings
which don't seem terribly irrelevant to me.
5/20/2005
Woohoo!
For the third time in less than a year, I'm going to see Ben Folds! and for the second time in less than a year, I'm going to see Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright together!
Got my tickets this morning - I'll be going to Boston for the show. And now I have to get Want Two, which I've been putting off.
All this was made possible through my singing gig - we have a pops concert coming up so that means extra rehearsals and extra cash. As much as I loathe Gilbert & Sullivan musically, I have to thank them for writing their crappy music so I can sing it and make some money.
Got my tickets this morning - I'll be going to Boston for the show. And now I have to get Want Two, which I've been putting off.
All this was made possible through my singing gig - we have a pops concert coming up so that means extra rehearsals and extra cash. As much as I loathe Gilbert & Sullivan musically, I have to thank them for writing their crappy music so I can sing it and make some money.
Friday Random Next Blogging
Because I didn't get an iPod for Mother's Day!
ZippiKnits - ooh, a knitting blog! I learned how to knit shortly after I gave birth to Sio (which is nearly 16 years ago). I was home with this charming happy baby, and kind of bored (Sio was a much easier baby than I had any right to expect - it's not much work when your baby only smiles and laughs), so we spent a lot of time at the library, which was a long walk from our apartment. One of the books I took out was called "The Learn To Knit Afghan", which gave directions for making 30 or so squares of knitted fabric to piece together into an afghan.
I learned how to knit and purl, but I never had the patience to make the whole afghan. My completed projects are primarily scarves (no counting required after the first row). I've also made one sweater that I never put together, for Monkey (still in a plastic bag in my attic, waiting to be put together for a grandchild), one sweater that I put together with one sleeve inside out*, for my friend Melissa's first child, and a few baby hats.
Sio, OTOH, is a very good knitter, and has made several sweaters without using a pattern at all.
The author of this blog seems like an absolutely lovely woman, she knits beautiful things and takes care of tortoises. What a nice first stop for our random tour!
Up next, we visit Coisas de Laurinha, authored by Laura from the United States, and written in Portuguese.
Atras da cortina is also in Portuguese, but the author, Susie, is in Portugal.
Next we have ARmageddon is written in English, but it's written by IT Analyst Relations professionals, so even though I recognize the individual words, I don't quite follow the meaning.
sabor a sal contains some beautiful pix, and I think this is also in Portuguese.
I think we'll stop there for today. With all this Portuguese, I'm suddenly craving some of the goodies at one of the Portuguese bakeries in Provincetown. There is one that sells these pastries that have shrimp inside....sooo good.
*It was an accident, and I was too tired of looking at the damn sweater to correct it.
ZippiKnits - ooh, a knitting blog! I learned how to knit shortly after I gave birth to Sio (which is nearly 16 years ago). I was home with this charming happy baby, and kind of bored (Sio was a much easier baby than I had any right to expect - it's not much work when your baby only smiles and laughs), so we spent a lot of time at the library, which was a long walk from our apartment. One of the books I took out was called "The Learn To Knit Afghan", which gave directions for making 30 or so squares of knitted fabric to piece together into an afghan.
I learned how to knit and purl, but I never had the patience to make the whole afghan. My completed projects are primarily scarves (no counting required after the first row). I've also made one sweater that I never put together, for Monkey (still in a plastic bag in my attic, waiting to be put together for a grandchild), one sweater that I put together with one sleeve inside out*, for my friend Melissa's first child, and a few baby hats.
Sio, OTOH, is a very good knitter, and has made several sweaters without using a pattern at all.
The author of this blog seems like an absolutely lovely woman, she knits beautiful things and takes care of tortoises. What a nice first stop for our random tour!
Up next, we visit Coisas de Laurinha, authored by Laura from the United States, and written in Portuguese.
Atras da cortina is also in Portuguese, but the author, Susie, is in Portugal.
Next we have ARmageddon is written in English, but it's written by IT Analyst Relations professionals, so even though I recognize the individual words, I don't quite follow the meaning.
sabor a sal contains some beautiful pix, and I think this is also in Portuguese.
I think we'll stop there for today. With all this Portuguese, I'm suddenly craving some of the goodies at one of the Portuguese bakeries in Provincetown. There is one that sells these pastries that have shrimp inside....sooo good.
*It was an accident, and I was too tired of looking at the damn sweater to correct it.
5/19/2005
Preserved for all eter....hey, how long does newsprint last?
It's amazing the things you can learn from reading blogs.
For instance, I was visiting Opinions You Should Have, and I was reading a very funny post, "Bush To Retract War". I opened the comments, and lo and behold, I see some very familiar words in there. And then I see a very familiar name.
And then I realize that I'm reading the letter I sent to the New York Times.
My office gets the Times every day, so I went to the recycling bin and found it, in the Letters to the Editor for May 17th. And I never would have known if it weren't for blogs.
For instance, I was visiting Opinions You Should Have, and I was reading a very funny post, "Bush To Retract War". I opened the comments, and lo and behold, I see some very familiar words in there. And then I see a very familiar name.
And then I realize that I'm reading the letter I sent to the New York Times.
My office gets the Times every day, so I went to the recycling bin and found it, in the Letters to the Editor for May 17th. And I never would have known if it weren't for blogs.
I5BOTD 5/19/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
American Dash
nice pix, good posts on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation.
American Dash
nice pix, good posts on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation.
5/18/2005
45% Abnormal
I was over at The Chemist's and he had a quiz result showing what kind of blogger you are (he's a pundit blogger). I went to go take the test, but I got distracted by the "How Normal Are You?" test.
I have no quarrel with the results, but I am curious about which answers made me less normal. I suspect it might be because I don't care if other people are in the bathroom with me, but dude, that's just because I'm a mother, and you get used to not being in the bathroom by yourself. In fact, every morning, Monkey and I have a little conversation while I'm in the shower and she's using the toilet. That's quality time, my friends.
You Are 55% Normal (Somewhat Normal) |
 While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself |
I have no quarrel with the results, but I am curious about which answers made me less normal. I suspect it might be because I don't care if other people are in the bathroom with me, but dude, that's just because I'm a mother, and you get used to not being in the bathroom by yourself. In fact, every morning, Monkey and I have a little conversation while I'm in the shower and she's using the toilet. That's quality time, my friends.
I5BOTD 5/18/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
True Blue
I particularly like her post about the health-care priorities of this administration, linking it to an embryo-adoption program. Read and enjoy!
True Blue
I particularly like her post about the health-care priorities of this administration, linking it to an embryo-adoption program. Read and enjoy!
5/17/2005
Damnit
One of my pettier qualities (and I have a lot of them) is my obstinance at participating in popular cultural activities* (unless I discover them before they become popular, like Harry Potter**, Stephen King*** pre-accident, Buffy the Vampire Slayer**** etc.)
I confess to carrying some pride over having never watched an episode of "Everyone Loves Raymond", I've never read a single Michael Chrichton (sp?) book, and I've never seen a single Star Wars movie.
That's about to change.
Damn those idiot right-wingers, but I have no other choice.
*Because I'm a liberal elite, of course. I'm the most elitist administrative assistant ever.
**I read the first book before it became huge in England, let alone here in the U.S. I feel partly responsible for the success of the series, because a local radio host has a monthly book show where people phone in recommendations, and I was the first person who recommended HP on her show.
***I started reading Stephen King before he published Carrie. It all started because I was on an Edgar Allen Poe kick, and the Horror section of the library also contained Stephen King. That was circa 1978-79, so I was 9 or 10. And yet I can't watch a scary movie, even today.
****I actually paid money to see the movie, and even though the movie kind of sucked, I kind of loved it anyway. Plus, Joss Whedon zinged the Young Republicans in the movie, and that was the start of my Whedon love.
I confess to carrying some pride over having never watched an episode of "Everyone Loves Raymond", I've never read a single Michael Chrichton (sp?) book, and I've never seen a single Star Wars movie.
That's about to change.
Damn those idiot right-wingers, but I have no other choice.
*Because I'm a liberal elite, of course. I'm the most elitist administrative assistant ever.
**I read the first book before it became huge in England, let alone here in the U.S. I feel partly responsible for the success of the series, because a local radio host has a monthly book show where people phone in recommendations, and I was the first person who recommended HP on her show.
***I started reading Stephen King before he published Carrie. It all started because I was on an Edgar Allen Poe kick, and the Horror section of the library also contained Stephen King. That was circa 1978-79, so I was 9 or 10. And yet I can't watch a scary movie, even today.
****I actually paid money to see the movie, and even though the movie kind of sucked, I kind of loved it anyway. Plus, Joss Whedon zinged the Young Republicans in the movie, and that was the start of my Whedon love.
5/16/2005
I remember when I first started getting interested in politics
Sio is at that age where she is just beginning to get really interested in politics. Tonight, as we were driving to a music rehearsal (we're both singing in a Gilbert & Sullivan concert, blech), she and I were talking about gay marriage. I always think of gay rights as civil rights - if you're a citizen in good standing, you get to have all the same rights as all the other citizens in good standing.
Sio thinks that in addition to framing the discussion in terms of civil rights, we should also be addressing it as a freedom of religion issue. I know that the right doesn't care about freedom of religion, they only care about their freedom to make everyone observe their religion, but I love that my sweet girl is thinking about this stuff. She's honing her arguments by talking to her former boyfriend who is very religious and conservative. And the best thing is that she's adaptable - he sticks to his talking points, she keeps coming at it from different directions. She's much less knee-jerky than I was at her age, when I was dressed in black from head to toe, too angsty and faux-revolutionary to enjoy my teenage years.
Sio thinks that in addition to framing the discussion in terms of civil rights, we should also be addressing it as a freedom of religion issue. I know that the right doesn't care about freedom of religion, they only care about their freedom to make everyone observe their religion, but I love that my sweet girl is thinking about this stuff. She's honing her arguments by talking to her former boyfriend who is very religious and conservative. And the best thing is that she's adaptable - he sticks to his talking points, she keeps coming at it from different directions. She's much less knee-jerky than I was at her age, when I was dressed in black from head to toe, too angsty and faux-revolutionary to enjoy my teenage years.
If there were a God, would He *Really* be on the side of the assclowns?
And if so, why on earth should rational people believe in Him?
My mind is just reeling over the fact that the assclowns on the right are more upset about a magazine reporting on atrocities (real or fictional) than they will ever be over our government engaging in war and other assorted atrocities (real) because of the existence of Saddam Hussein's WMD's (fictional).
I just read on a certain celebrity blog that the White House is asking Newsweek to apologize.
Pardon me while my fucking brain explodes
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?
It seems simple to me. If you mislead, distort, LIE to go to war, if you change the rules of war so you can torture people, if you create a Gitmo, if you refuse to allow fair trials for suspects, if you are responsible for getting us into a situation that results in pictures like these YOU DON'T GET TO BE OUTRAGED WHEN REPORTERS REPORT ON THE FUCKING ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL SHIT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!
My mind is just reeling over the fact that the assclowns on the right are more upset about a magazine reporting on atrocities (real or fictional) than they will ever be over our government engaging in war and other assorted atrocities (real) because of the existence of Saddam Hussein's WMD's (fictional).
I just read on a certain celebrity blog that the White House is asking Newsweek to apologize.
Pardon me while my fucking brain explodes
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?
It seems simple to me. If you mislead, distort, LIE to go to war, if you change the rules of war so you can torture people, if you create a Gitmo, if you refuse to allow fair trials for suspects, if you are responsible for getting us into a situation that results in pictures like these YOU DON'T GET TO BE OUTRAGED WHEN REPORTERS REPORT ON THE FUCKING ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL SHIT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!
5/15/2005
5/13/2005
There will be no Friday Random Next Blogging today
Yes, my featured bitter roaming of Blogspot blogs because I don't have an iPod like the cool kids will not be seen here today, primarily because I am going to be busy this afternoon.
But also because I have a concert tonight that I'm slightly worried about. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was preparing the song "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" by J.S. Bach, and tonight I will be singing that. But I will also be singing with the worst choir I've ever sung with - and it's not because they aren't good singers. There are plenty of good voices in the choir. They just have the crappiest attitudes of any singers I've ever met. Mostly due to the bitchiest soprano section evah! But in a few hours, it will all be over, and next semester I will be complaining about Remedial Algebra.
But also because I have a concert tonight that I'm slightly worried about. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was preparing the song "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" by J.S. Bach, and tonight I will be singing that. But I will also be singing with the worst choir I've ever sung with - and it's not because they aren't good singers. There are plenty of good voices in the choir. They just have the crappiest attitudes of any singers I've ever met. Mostly due to the bitchiest soprano section evah! But in a few hours, it will all be over, and next semester I will be complaining about Remedial Algebra.
I5BOTD 5/13/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
(Southern Cross) Words
authored by Gregory in Australia, yet another place I would like to visit.
(Southern Cross) Words
authored by Gregory in Australia, yet another place I would like to visit.
Death Penalty
In slightly less than an hour, convicted serial killer Michael Ross will receive a lethal injection, and become the first person executed in New England in 45 years.
As I was flipping through channels tonight (avoiding cleaning my house for the party on Saturday), I witnessed a local news anchor promoting his program - "I'm going to witness Michael Ross's death - nbc30 brings you the top news, first!" - which is just gruesome, regardless of how one feels about the death penalty.
I have avoided reading about this story, because I'm conflicted. I really am. Because I can see that the families of the victim really want this, they feel it will bring them closure. And I can read that Michael Ross wants to die.
At the same time, I don't think the state should be killing people. Even reprehensible people. I can't imagine witnessing someone's death as bringing me any kind of satisfaction. If Dick Cheney was strapped down to a table and filled with chemicals that would kill him, I don't think I could watch. I don't think it would make me feel whole again.
Death begets death. Capital punishment just doesn't seem like a real solution, it seems like a way to avoid a solution.
As I was flipping through channels tonight (avoiding cleaning my house for the party on Saturday), I witnessed a local news anchor promoting his program - "I'm going to witness Michael Ross's death - nbc30 brings you the top news, first!" - which is just gruesome, regardless of how one feels about the death penalty.
I have avoided reading about this story, because I'm conflicted. I really am. Because I can see that the families of the victim really want this, they feel it will bring them closure. And I can read that Michael Ross wants to die.
At the same time, I don't think the state should be killing people. Even reprehensible people. I can't imagine witnessing someone's death as bringing me any kind of satisfaction. If Dick Cheney was strapped down to a table and filled with chemicals that would kill him, I don't think I could watch. I don't think it would make me feel whole again.
Death begets death. Capital punishment just doesn't seem like a real solution, it seems like a way to avoid a solution.
5/12/2005
I5BOTD 5/12/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
WIL WHEATON.NET
Because I'm kind of lazy today, and I know I don't have to read this one to recommend it.
WIL WHEATON.NET
Because I'm kind of lazy today, and I know I don't have to read this one to recommend it.
5/11/2005
5/09/2005
I5BOTD 5/9/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Liberal, Anti-War Avenger
He's got an interesting post up about blogger ethics. Read and enjoy.
Liberal, Anti-War Avenger
He's got an interesting post up about blogger ethics. Read and enjoy.
5/08/2005
Freedom of Speech
Recently, the Gay-Straight Alliance at South Windsor High School participated in the National Day of Silence. In response, four young bigots came to school wearing anti-gay t-shirts (on one conservative message board, one schmuck indicated that there was left-wing media bias because in the article, they didn't label the shirts as "pro-marriage").
I tend towards absolutism on Freedom of Speech. I don't agree with the sentiments on the t-shirts these boys wore, but if a school is going to allow children to express their pro-gay opinions, students who disagree should be allowed to express their bigoted opinions, as well. From my perspective, it's always good to know who the bigots are. This might just be my rationalizing that is saying this, though - several months ago I posted about the outrage I felt when driving behind a car with a pro-Bush sticker on it, but then I realized it was helpful to be able to identify the idiots and radicals amongst us.
But still...still, there is something about this whole thing that really bugs me. It's not just that the boys expressed an opinion that I happen to disagree with, either. I guess its that on one side, you have people who are gay standing up to claim their equal rights, and people who aren't gay but who believe that all people should have equal rights standing up to support them. And on the other, you have a few rabble-rousers who are never going to experience a shortage of more than equal rights, because they're white males*. (And for the record - when someone else is equal, that doesn't take away any amount of equality from anyone else - there is not a finite amount of equality, that once we've divvied it up between the white men and the white women and the black men and black women, that we will run out, and we'll have to take some equality away from the white males to make it up to the Hispanics or the gays or the Asians. I'm not a math whiz or anything, but that's correct, isn't it?)
And I guess that's what bugs me about this. People on the right are not only proudly expressing their bigotry, they are defensive about it, pretending at victimization. It's pathetic. It's unnecessary, because no one is trying to stop people from being heterosexual. No one is trying to stop anyone from being (or claiming to be) Christian.
Let the bigots speak, but I don't think there is any need for people to listen to them.
*This is completely an assumption on my part.
eta: The response to this incident has been almost entirely supportive of the 4 bigots (which I feel free to call then since they have identified themselves as such). I tried to add my opinion to the story, but it hasn't shown up yet. However, I encourage anyone who reads the article to share their opinion on the subject.
I tend towards absolutism on Freedom of Speech. I don't agree with the sentiments on the t-shirts these boys wore, but if a school is going to allow children to express their pro-gay opinions, students who disagree should be allowed to express their bigoted opinions, as well. From my perspective, it's always good to know who the bigots are. This might just be my rationalizing that is saying this, though - several months ago I posted about the outrage I felt when driving behind a car with a pro-Bush sticker on it, but then I realized it was helpful to be able to identify the idiots and radicals amongst us.
But still...still, there is something about this whole thing that really bugs me. It's not just that the boys expressed an opinion that I happen to disagree with, either. I guess its that on one side, you have people who are gay standing up to claim their equal rights, and people who aren't gay but who believe that all people should have equal rights standing up to support them. And on the other, you have a few rabble-rousers who are never going to experience a shortage of more than equal rights, because they're white males*. (And for the record - when someone else is equal, that doesn't take away any amount of equality from anyone else - there is not a finite amount of equality, that once we've divvied it up between the white men and the white women and the black men and black women, that we will run out, and we'll have to take some equality away from the white males to make it up to the Hispanics or the gays or the Asians. I'm not a math whiz or anything, but that's correct, isn't it?)
And I guess that's what bugs me about this. People on the right are not only proudly expressing their bigotry, they are defensive about it, pretending at victimization. It's pathetic. It's unnecessary, because no one is trying to stop people from being heterosexual. No one is trying to stop anyone from being (or claiming to be) Christian.
Let the bigots speak, but I don't think there is any need for people to listen to them.
*This is completely an assumption on my part.
eta: The response to this incident has been almost entirely supportive of the 4 bigots (which I feel free to call then since they have identified themselves as such). I tried to add my opinion to the story, but it hasn't shown up yet. However, I encourage anyone who reads the article to share their opinion on the subject.
Mother's Day part deux
Mother's Day forces me to contemplate motherhood, and my own complicated feelings about that particular state of being.
My own mother, who I love dearly, is kind of a nut, and I learned more how *not* to do things from her than I can ever fully articulate. When my older sister and I were little, we constantly worked to gain attention from mommy, who was generally neglectful - she would send us outside on summer mornings at 7am, remind us that we couldn't knock on anyone else's door until 9am, and we wouldn't see her again until it was time to come in at 6pm, to eat dinner, take a bath, and go to bed (our bedtime was a firm 8pm, no matter the time of year - I have sorrowful memories of listening to all the kids in the neighborhood playing our invented game "kisserbug" (freeze tag, with the twist that in order to move again, you had to get kissed by someone who wasn't It - what can I say, we were a curious bunch).
In addition to generally ignoring us, letting us beg off of neighbor's for lunches and drinks and use of their bathroom, she was also the person who taught us the meaning of the word "betrayal". She would wait until my father was in a bad mood (always a short wait), and then start letting him know the many ways we misbehaved, pressing harder and harder on him, asking him what he was going to do about it, and then we would find ourselves on the wrong side of his fists. Those were nights (and it wasn't every day, but it was frequent enough), where I went to bed sobbing so hard it took me hours to catch my breath, but I stifled the noise lest I rile him up again.
She also taught us how to lie, and oh, she was a masterful liar. She taught us to make sure our story had elements of truth, to not overelaborate, to change the subject if questions about our story arose. We particularly had to lie to protect her from my father - she would go out and buy something we couldn't afford, and then make up a story about how someone in her family sent her the new chair or lamp, and we kids had to back her up. My older sister mentioned to me recently how she still feels like embellishing things that actually happened with fantastic lies, because its the way we were raised - if we could come up with a lie that entertained, that was enough to get us out of the hotseat sometimes.
Then again, my mother would sometimes pack all the kids in the neighborhood into her van and take us all to the drive-in. She taught us how to jump double-dutch, how to use a pogo stick, how to make a whistle out of a blade of grass. She taught us all kinds of "Miss Suzy" hand-slapping games. She was famous amongst my friends for giving out socks at birthday parties - everyone called her the "Sock Lady". She taught us a million songs. She never blinked an eye no matter what kind of animal we brought home - although she was a city slicker, she didn't balk from snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles - even a bat. Somehow, those good things she gave us seem to outweigh the bad. When I look at my mother now, I look at her with empathy, understanding how she really didn't know what the hell she was doing most of the time. When you have bad parents yourself (and she did have lousy parents - an abusive drunk (she married a man just like dear old dad) and a mother who treated her like a black sheep), you never get to see how to be a good parent.
There are times when I think I'm the greatest mom in the world, and there are times when I'm sure I'm ruining my children's lives. I often feel like the motherhood manual that other moms seem to have read (the one that says when they're supposed to have their physicals and dentist appointments and how to discipline and how to get your kids to make their beds and set the table and whether or not 7 is too young to have a sleepover party) somehow missed getting sent to me, that I'm the only mother stumbling through, not really knowing what the hell I'm doing.
To combat my many weaknesses as a mother, I tell them, every day, that I love them. They know that they can talk to me about anything. They know if they tell me that it's a secret, that I won't tell anyone, not even daddy*. I admit when I'm wrong. I apologise when I overreact. I build them up, because to me, these two young woman are the coolest, most amazing, beautiful, hilarious, intelligent people I know. Without them, I wouldn't be a mother, and so on Mother's Day, I have to thank my Sio and my Monkey for being my kids. They make me look like I know what I'm doing.
*unless of course it's something very very serious, which thank all the forces of the universe, has never happened.
My own mother, who I love dearly, is kind of a nut, and I learned more how *not* to do things from her than I can ever fully articulate. When my older sister and I were little, we constantly worked to gain attention from mommy, who was generally neglectful - she would send us outside on summer mornings at 7am, remind us that we couldn't knock on anyone else's door until 9am, and we wouldn't see her again until it was time to come in at 6pm, to eat dinner, take a bath, and go to bed (our bedtime was a firm 8pm, no matter the time of year - I have sorrowful memories of listening to all the kids in the neighborhood playing our invented game "kisserbug" (freeze tag, with the twist that in order to move again, you had to get kissed by someone who wasn't It - what can I say, we were a curious bunch).
In addition to generally ignoring us, letting us beg off of neighbor's for lunches and drinks and use of their bathroom, she was also the person who taught us the meaning of the word "betrayal". She would wait until my father was in a bad mood (always a short wait), and then start letting him know the many ways we misbehaved, pressing harder and harder on him, asking him what he was going to do about it, and then we would find ourselves on the wrong side of his fists. Those were nights (and it wasn't every day, but it was frequent enough), where I went to bed sobbing so hard it took me hours to catch my breath, but I stifled the noise lest I rile him up again.
She also taught us how to lie, and oh, she was a masterful liar. She taught us to make sure our story had elements of truth, to not overelaborate, to change the subject if questions about our story arose. We particularly had to lie to protect her from my father - she would go out and buy something we couldn't afford, and then make up a story about how someone in her family sent her the new chair or lamp, and we kids had to back her up. My older sister mentioned to me recently how she still feels like embellishing things that actually happened with fantastic lies, because its the way we were raised - if we could come up with a lie that entertained, that was enough to get us out of the hotseat sometimes.
Then again, my mother would sometimes pack all the kids in the neighborhood into her van and take us all to the drive-in. She taught us how to jump double-dutch, how to use a pogo stick, how to make a whistle out of a blade of grass. She taught us all kinds of "Miss Suzy" hand-slapping games. She was famous amongst my friends for giving out socks at birthday parties - everyone called her the "Sock Lady". She taught us a million songs. She never blinked an eye no matter what kind of animal we brought home - although she was a city slicker, she didn't balk from snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles - even a bat. Somehow, those good things she gave us seem to outweigh the bad. When I look at my mother now, I look at her with empathy, understanding how she really didn't know what the hell she was doing most of the time. When you have bad parents yourself (and she did have lousy parents - an abusive drunk (she married a man just like dear old dad) and a mother who treated her like a black sheep), you never get to see how to be a good parent.
There are times when I think I'm the greatest mom in the world, and there are times when I'm sure I'm ruining my children's lives. I often feel like the motherhood manual that other moms seem to have read (the one that says when they're supposed to have their physicals and dentist appointments and how to discipline and how to get your kids to make their beds and set the table and whether or not 7 is too young to have a sleepover party) somehow missed getting sent to me, that I'm the only mother stumbling through, not really knowing what the hell I'm doing.
To combat my many weaknesses as a mother, I tell them, every day, that I love them. They know that they can talk to me about anything. They know if they tell me that it's a secret, that I won't tell anyone, not even daddy*. I admit when I'm wrong. I apologise when I overreact. I build them up, because to me, these two young woman are the coolest, most amazing, beautiful, hilarious, intelligent people I know. Without them, I wouldn't be a mother, and so on Mother's Day, I have to thank my Sio and my Monkey for being my kids. They make me look like I know what I'm doing.
*unless of course it's something very very serious, which thank all the forces of the universe, has never happened.
5/06/2005
Mother's Day
Bitch, PhD has a great post up about Mother's Day.
I honestly did not know about the political history of Mother's Day. I always thought it was just another Hallmark holiday.
I honestly did not know about the political history of Mother's Day. I always thought it was just another Hallmark holiday.
confession
Over at Shakespeare's Sister, inspired by a post from one of her regular commenters, Paul, is looking for a theme song for her blog.
This challenge has forced me to face something about myself. I'm not really a music lover. Well, that's too harsh - I do love music. But I mostly love music that I can sing along with. I don't always listen carefully to lyrics, and I'm totally out of the loop on what is cool. I don't care how great a songwriter, say, Kate Bush is, I can't listen to her because I can't sing along with her (or I don't enjoy singing along with her, anyway). I like the odd Tom Waits songs I have in my collection, but I rarely put those CDs on because I can't sing along with old Tom without hurting myself. On the other hand (bless me father for I have sinned), if a Journey song comes on the radio, I cannot help but sing along with it. I know all the words to a great many Eagles songs, because Don Henley and I have a similar range. How many Hail Marys does that earn me?
Anyway, I've decided that this blogs theme song is going to be The Cure's Caterpillar Girl, only because it makes me feel kind of happy inside.
This challenge has forced me to face something about myself. I'm not really a music lover. Well, that's too harsh - I do love music. But I mostly love music that I can sing along with. I don't always listen carefully to lyrics, and I'm totally out of the loop on what is cool. I don't care how great a songwriter, say, Kate Bush is, I can't listen to her because I can't sing along with her (or I don't enjoy singing along with her, anyway). I like the odd Tom Waits songs I have in my collection, but I rarely put those CDs on because I can't sing along with old Tom without hurting myself. On the other hand (bless me father for I have sinned), if a Journey song comes on the radio, I cannot help but sing along with it. I know all the words to a great many Eagles songs, because Don Henley and I have a similar range. How many Hail Marys does that earn me?
Anyway, I've decided that this blogs theme song is going to be The Cure's Caterpillar Girl, only because it makes me feel kind of happy inside.
Friday Random Next Blogging
In honor of Monkey's 8th birthday, which is tomorrow, I'm randomly visiting 8 blogs today, because I can never get on the computer at home.
Erin's Fitness and Diet Log
Erin has a goal to goal to lose weight and fat, and she seems to be doing pretty well. But her goal weight seems too low to me - I'm only 5'2", and 135 is my goal weight. Erin is 5'8".
Myblog,
written by Guiseppe in Milan, Italy - in English! You can tell it's not his first language, but he gets the point across, and I like what he has to say about the evolution/creation "debate" in Kentucky (can you have a debate when only one side comes to the table?)
mykos,
authored by a different kos, en espanol (or possibly Portuguese?)
Etcetera, Whatever
I recommend reading his post called "Soldiers of Christ", it's a very interesting read.
Whatever
Nice pics, and I like her URL name.
Political Asylum
"a Refuge for Progressives, Liberals, and other Thought Criminals"
Newsbreakers
a non-partisan, non-violent media watchdog group. It's a pretty good read.
Fine Whine
This one is written by a woman in her 60's who is raising at least one of her grandkids (maybe more than one). It's kind of heartbreaking. I want to give this woman a hug (and I'm not a huggy person). But she's wrong about Michael Crichton and global warming.
Well, there you have it - no adverblogs this week, which is good.
Erin's Fitness and Diet Log
Erin has a goal to goal to lose weight and fat, and she seems to be doing pretty well. But her goal weight seems too low to me - I'm only 5'2", and 135 is my goal weight. Erin is 5'8".
Myblog,
written by Guiseppe in Milan, Italy - in English! You can tell it's not his first language, but he gets the point across, and I like what he has to say about the evolution/creation "debate" in Kentucky (can you have a debate when only one side comes to the table?)
mykos,
authored by a different kos, en espanol (or possibly Portuguese?)
Etcetera, Whatever
I recommend reading his post called "Soldiers of Christ", it's a very interesting read.
Whatever
Nice pics, and I like her URL name.
Political Asylum
"a Refuge for Progressives, Liberals, and other Thought Criminals"
Newsbreakers
a non-partisan, non-violent media watchdog group. It's a pretty good read.
Fine Whine
This one is written by a woman in her 60's who is raising at least one of her grandkids (maybe more than one). It's kind of heartbreaking. I want to give this woman a hug (and I'm not a huggy person). But she's wrong about Michael Crichton and global warming.
Well, there you have it - no adverblogs this week, which is good.
I5BOTD 5/6/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Stone Court
a two person blog that I can offer belated wishes to (yesterday was their 1 year blogiversary).
Stone Court
a two person blog that I can offer belated wishes to (yesterday was their 1 year blogiversary).
5/05/2005
Well, everyone has a certain amount of shit
2% Republican. | "You're a complete liberal, utterly without a trace of Republicanism. Your strength is as the strength of ten because your heart is pure. (You hope.)" |
I5BOTD 5/5/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
RaptorMagic
chosen because we're currently dinosaur obsessed at our house. Monkey and I are building a dinosaur out of recycled materials (oj cartons, wire hangers, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, empty tissue boxes, etc.). I tend to get a little carried away with these kinds of projects.
In 1st grade, Monkey had to make an imaginary animal, and she was really struggling, so I just sat down and made my own, figuring she would find some inspiration in my haphazard attempt. Except that my imaginary animal turned out to be really cool - I used a lunch size brown paper bag as the body, stuffed with newspaper, and I cut scales out of bits of wrapping paper. I made the tail fins from construction paper, made eyes out of buttons, and in the top of the fish, I put a pipe cleaner that was shaped into a loop, which I could use to blow bubbles.
This imaginary animal project was great, btw - the kids had to not only make an imaginary animal, but explain why the animal had the features it had - a little evolutionary biology in action! Monkey's project was a gazelle that had a snake like body, and she said it developed that way because not only did it run in open plains, but it also spent a lot of time in crowded forests, so it could use its flexibility to maneuver through the dense undergrowth.
Anyhoo, back to the I5BOTD - this blogger is in Concord, California, which happens to be the birthplace of both Tom Hanks and Loki, both of whom share 2001: A Space Odyssey, as their favorite movie.
RaptorMagic
chosen because we're currently dinosaur obsessed at our house. Monkey and I are building a dinosaur out of recycled materials (oj cartons, wire hangers, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, empty tissue boxes, etc.). I tend to get a little carried away with these kinds of projects.
In 1st grade, Monkey had to make an imaginary animal, and she was really struggling, so I just sat down and made my own, figuring she would find some inspiration in my haphazard attempt. Except that my imaginary animal turned out to be really cool - I used a lunch size brown paper bag as the body, stuffed with newspaper, and I cut scales out of bits of wrapping paper. I made the tail fins from construction paper, made eyes out of buttons, and in the top of the fish, I put a pipe cleaner that was shaped into a loop, which I could use to blow bubbles.
This imaginary animal project was great, btw - the kids had to not only make an imaginary animal, but explain why the animal had the features it had - a little evolutionary biology in action! Monkey's project was a gazelle that had a snake like body, and she said it developed that way because not only did it run in open plains, but it also spent a lot of time in crowded forests, so it could use its flexibility to maneuver through the dense undergrowth.
Anyhoo, back to the I5BOTD - this blogger is in Concord, California, which happens to be the birthplace of both Tom Hanks and Loki, both of whom share 2001: A Space Odyssey, as their favorite movie.
5/04/2005
5/03/2005
Overwhelmed
I've been feeling so overwhelmed for the past few days. These are the things that I'm currently working on:
Massive clean-up project at work, scanning all purchasing and meeting documents and getting them up on the website
Cleaning my house - an ongoing nightmare
Painting the kitchen - I think it's time to finally decide on a paint color, since I've had color swatches up on the walls & cabinets for nearly 2 years
Sight-reading medieval hymns for a friend who needed a last minute substitute
Preparing for my big solo at a concert next week
Preparing my string quintet to accompany my solo - I still haven't heard the violin soloist yet!
Preparing for the concert generally - difficult to do when the teacher has no idea what time we're supposed to be there.
Helping Sio study for her AP test
Helping Sio learn her lines for the one-acts she doing at school
Dropping subtle hints for what I want for Mother's Day (You know what would be nice, Loki? Not handwashing the dishes anymore would sure be nice. I wish there was some sort of automated machine that would wash dishes, because then none of us would have to handwash dishes again!)
Balancing the checkbook, examining the savings account and realizing we can't afford to give Sio the 16th birthday she deserves
Those are just a few things, off the top of my head. Plus, reading the news everyday has my Outrageometer constantly set at: WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!, which I don't think is necessarily a healthy level to keep.
Okay, I feel better now that it's in black and white. It's not as overwhelming as it feels. The family will help clean and paint, the concert will be brief and I know I'll get an A in the class, the kids are good musicians and they'll show up and be prepared, Sio will do great on her AP World History test, and I know she doesn't want my help studying for the AP Chemistry test. I might not get a dishwasher, but at least I'm not the only one who does dishes. Sio isn't getting a big 16th birthday, but she does get to go to London and Greece this summer, so I know she won't take it to heart.
Now, all we need is to get the Fundies and the Bush administration out of the picture, and everything will be better.
Massive clean-up project at work, scanning all purchasing and meeting documents and getting them up on the website
Cleaning my house - an ongoing nightmare
Painting the kitchen - I think it's time to finally decide on a paint color, since I've had color swatches up on the walls & cabinets for nearly 2 years
Sight-reading medieval hymns for a friend who needed a last minute substitute
Preparing for my big solo at a concert next week
Preparing my string quintet to accompany my solo - I still haven't heard the violin soloist yet!
Preparing for the concert generally - difficult to do when the teacher has no idea what time we're supposed to be there.
Helping Sio study for her AP test
Helping Sio learn her lines for the one-acts she doing at school
Dropping subtle hints for what I want for Mother's Day (You know what would be nice, Loki? Not handwashing the dishes anymore would sure be nice. I wish there was some sort of automated machine that would wash dishes, because then none of us would have to handwash dishes again!)
Balancing the checkbook, examining the savings account and realizing we can't afford to give Sio the 16th birthday she deserves
Those are just a few things, off the top of my head. Plus, reading the news everyday has my Outrageometer constantly set at: WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!, which I don't think is necessarily a healthy level to keep.
Okay, I feel better now that it's in black and white. It's not as overwhelming as it feels. The family will help clean and paint, the concert will be brief and I know I'll get an A in the class, the kids are good musicians and they'll show up and be prepared, Sio will do great on her AP World History test, and I know she doesn't want my help studying for the AP Chemistry test. I might not get a dishwasher, but at least I'm not the only one who does dishes. Sio isn't getting a big 16th birthday, but she does get to go to London and Greece this summer, so I know she won't take it to heart.
Now, all we need is to get the Fundies and the Bush administration out of the picture, and everything will be better.
Gimme a 5
Today, Sio is taking her World History AP exam. So if anyone is reading this, and would like to send some good thoughts her way, please do so. (Her top college choice is University College London, and if she has 5 AP classes with a 4 or a 5 on the test, she can be admitted as a freshman - if not, she has to finish a year of college here, and then enter as a freshman. Of course, all this is moot if we don't get the proper financial aid, because without it, she'll be attending community college with me.)
I5BOTD 5/3/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
CoolAqua
He/she (sorry, I didn't check) has an interesting post up about the latest in the court battle over the Washington State governor's office.
CoolAqua
He/she (sorry, I didn't check) has an interesting post up about the latest in the court battle over the Washington State governor's office.
5/02/2005
I5BOTD 5/2/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
American Bodhisattva
Forgoing nirvana to save others.
Good blog, but now I'm going to have that Steely Dan song stuck in my head all day.
American Bodhisattva
Forgoing nirvana to save others.
Good blog, but now I'm going to have that Steely Dan song stuck in my head all day.
4/29/2005
Friday Random Next Blogging
Comment devenir taree en 1000 lecons Which, as I learned from Babelfish, is authored by a teenager in Mozambique, writing about teenage life in Mozambique. I believe she also writes "Angel" fan-fiction.
Surfstream, also authored by a teenager, this one a 13 year old in Swansea, Wales. He seems to like the wrestling.
TBOGG! - I think this is the first time I've every randomly landed on a blog that I already read every day.
Possible Elitists High On Coffee and Cloves - a satirical blog, featuring a review of Ann Coulter's latest book.
Theoretical V - occasional fiction and odd ramblings. I like that he wants to read the latest in globollocks from Thomas Friedman only because he heard how bad it is.
Well, that's all you're getting for today, because I had too many carbs this morning and therefore I'm feeling stuffed and sluggish.
Surfstream, also authored by a teenager, this one a 13 year old in Swansea, Wales. He seems to like the wrestling.
TBOGG! - I think this is the first time I've every randomly landed on a blog that I already read every day.
Possible Elitists High On Coffee and Cloves - a satirical blog, featuring a review of Ann Coulter's latest book.
Theoretical V - occasional fiction and odd ramblings. I like that he wants to read the latest in globollocks from Thomas Friedman only because he heard how bad it is.
Well, that's all you're getting for today, because I had too many carbs this morning and therefore I'm feeling stuffed and sluggish.
I5BOTD 4/29/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
firedoglake
authored by Jane Hamsher, and the amusingly named Funky PhD. There is a great post up about the Bible as literature.
firedoglake
authored by Jane Hamsher, and the amusingly named Funky PhD. There is a great post up about the Bible as literature.
4/27/2005
I am such a hottie!
I was feeling good yesterday. I lost a few pounds, was wearing my favorite outfit, had my hair and make-up done - I was just generally feeling confident, and strutting down the sidewalk in Hartford towards my bus-stop (as much as someone who walks with a cane can strut, anyway). And I got wolf-whistled! (As someone who has spent much of her life either as a tomboy or a chubby invisible person, I don't have the luxury to be offended by someone whistling at me to let me know they find me attractive.)*
"I'm so hot!" I thought to myself, and then I turned to see who noticed my hotness. It was not, as I imagined, a buff construction worker. No, it was a toothless man who apparently just came from the methadone clinic, and he proceeded to make some comments that I will not repeat here.
That's me, though - with the exception of Loki, I tend to only get attention from elderly horndogs**, illegal immigrants***, and now I find that I am appealing to the toothless heroin addict population as well.
That's how my life works - when I'm feeling good, my reminder that humility is a virtue is never far behind.
*Does this mean I have to turn my feminist membership card in?
**I was shopping in the produce section once, and a guy who had to be around 90 came really close to me, put his arm around me, and said "nice melons"****
***I once worked for a Pakistani who had a brother who was trying to immigrate, and the brother would not take no for an answer...even though I was already married at that point. He asked me to go to the movies, and I told him "I'm married", and he said "that's okay, we don't have to tell your husband." What an ass he was.
****They're real, and they are kind of spectacular
"I'm so hot!" I thought to myself, and then I turned to see who noticed my hotness. It was not, as I imagined, a buff construction worker. No, it was a toothless man who apparently just came from the methadone clinic, and he proceeded to make some comments that I will not repeat here.
That's me, though - with the exception of Loki, I tend to only get attention from elderly horndogs**, illegal immigrants***, and now I find that I am appealing to the toothless heroin addict population as well.
That's how my life works - when I'm feeling good, my reminder that humility is a virtue is never far behind.
*Does this mean I have to turn my feminist membership card in?
**I was shopping in the produce section once, and a guy who had to be around 90 came really close to me, put his arm around me, and said "nice melons"****
***I once worked for a Pakistani who had a brother who was trying to immigrate, and the brother would not take no for an answer...even though I was already married at that point. He asked me to go to the movies, and I told him "I'm married", and he said "that's okay, we don't have to tell your husband." What an ass he was.
****They're real, and they are kind of spectacular
I5BOTD 4/27/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
The Shameless Antagonist
They have an interesting (in an unpleasant way) post up about a Federal Reserve bank sponsoring a contest to promote economic inequality. Really.
The Shameless Antagonist
They have an interesting (in an unpleasant way) post up about a Federal Reserve bank sponsoring a contest to promote economic inequality. Really.
4/26/2005
Monkey's Big News
Monkey just called from her best friend's house (where she goes after school) - she has been picked to sing the National Anthem at the 2nd grade talent show. She delivered the news in a pitch that was barely audible to my non-canine ears, so I assume she is very excited about this.
I5BOTD 4/26/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
She Flies With Her Own Wings
lots of good stuff on ID vs. Evolution, which is a really irritating subject for me. One is mythology masquerading as science, one is science. I have no problem with the Creation myth of Christianity being taught in, say, a comparative religion course. Does it belong in a science classroom? No way.
She Flies With Her Own Wings
lots of good stuff on ID vs. Evolution, which is a really irritating subject for me. One is mythology masquerading as science, one is science. I have no problem with the Creation myth of Christianity being taught in, say, a comparative religion course. Does it belong in a science classroom? No way.
4/25/2005
I'm curious
Loki is a big fan of conspiracy theories - for example, he won't apply for a store discount card because he doesn't want "them" to know what he's buying at the grocery store.
So tonight, I was out shopping for birthday prezzies (oh help me, I have 3 birthdays in April and 3 in May, and about $165 of discretionary income....and one of those birthdays is my beloved Sio's 16th. I would like to shower her with gifts - a car, a cell phone, a laptop. So far, I got her a cheapo DVD of a movie starring Ewan MacGregor -Sio loves him- and some Velveeta macaroni & cheese -it's her favorite, and normally I won't buy it on principle. That principle being orange cheese cannot be good for you, so you can't eat it), and I ended up at Borders, where I had a gift card. I used it to buy the sequel to Jack Vance's Port of Call (I think it's called Lurulu) for Loki, The Best Erotic Fiction of 2004 edited by Susie Bright, Cooking Light Magazine, and #9 of the Astonishing X-Men (the latter three were all for me).
Based just on those purchases, I am a nerdy perv who likes to eat healthy.
More accurate than I would have predicted, actually.
So tonight, I was out shopping for birthday prezzies (oh help me, I have 3 birthdays in April and 3 in May, and about $165 of discretionary income....and one of those birthdays is my beloved Sio's 16th. I would like to shower her with gifts - a car, a cell phone, a laptop. So far, I got her a cheapo DVD of a movie starring Ewan MacGregor -Sio loves him- and some Velveeta macaroni & cheese -it's her favorite, and normally I won't buy it on principle. That principle being orange cheese cannot be good for you, so you can't eat it), and I ended up at Borders, where I had a gift card. I used it to buy the sequel to Jack Vance's Port of Call (I think it's called Lurulu) for Loki, The Best Erotic Fiction of 2004 edited by Susie Bright, Cooking Light Magazine, and #9 of the Astonishing X-Men (the latter three were all for me).
Based just on those purchases, I am a nerdy perv who likes to eat healthy.
More accurate than I would have predicted, actually.
Jeanne for Pope
As someone who was raised Catholic, I must confess to the sin of Envy when I read anything that Jeanne writes. She offers an eloquent response to those who defend the new Pope's past over at Body and Soul
Reverend Heretic
As my regular reader(s) know(s), although I don't believe in God or the Bible (I believe in the Bible in that I know it exists, I don't believe that it is literally true), I do go to church every Sunday. That is because I am a singer, and I get paid to lead the alto section of a church choir.
The church is one of those urban churches that is in danger of becoming obsolete - at one time, the neighborhood was upscale, and the wealthy white Protestants who lived nearby attended either this Congregational church or the older Congregational church down the block. But as the city changed, the white protestants moved out to the suburbs, and the number of people sitting in the pews on Sunday began to decrease.
Most of the big churches in Hartford have paid section leaders, and church members make up the rest of the choir. My church is different, primarily because of the choir conducter. She is a great conducter, and she picks great music, but her challenging and perfectionist personality has driven all but the musically trained members from the choir. So our entire soprano section (except for 1) is paid. I'm the only paid alto, our entire tenor section is paid, and we only have 1 paid bass. We are a choir of mostly non-believers, just there to earn a buck.
On Sunday mornings, we get there early, warm up, practice the hymns, and any anthems/offertorys we have for the day. When the service starts, some of the ringers pull out books or knitting (we sit in the back of the church in the loft, so we're not visible to anyone when we're sitting down). I occasionally write - Sio (who sings with us in the alto section) often does her homework. Until it's time to sing, we keep ourselves occupied.
But yesterday, I found myself listening to the words of the sermon. The current minister is officially retired, but he is acting as the Interim Minister until a permanent one can be found. (There were controversies surrounding the previous 3 ministers, but I keep my nose out of church business, so I can't fill you in on what the controversies were). He's a lovely man, very funny with the children (Monkey adores him), with a truly inspiring past (he worked with Martin Luther King, Jr., and was very involved with the Civil Rights movement).
I don't know if the Rev. knew about Huckster Sunday or not, but his sermon suggested he was well aware. He talked about how, since he retired, he's attended services at hundreds of churches, temples, and mosques. And he talked about the mega-churches - he said he was so impressed by the numbers of people in the seats, the multi-media presentations, the powerfully delivered sermons. But he started to notice the empty messages that were presented therein. He met preachers who bragged about preaching the Whole Bible as the literal word of God, but most of the sermons pulled one or two specific verses out and talked about nothing else, while ignoring the verses that the people in the pews (and indeed, the preachers themselves) were violating (including one about how women should not wear gold or pearls). He bemoaned the way these churches served fear as a main dish, while ignoring the message of love that Christ delivered.
After the service, I had to tell him how much I enjoyed his sermon. I told him how I felt Christianity has been hijacked by people who are using it for political gains. He told me that he writes a column in addition to his sermons, and he often dances around this issue, but he is wary of pressing it too hard, of using bold language, because he thinks it would make his flock a little defensive. And then he leaned close, and made a confession: "I'm a heretic, and I'm glad to know, after talking to you, that I'm not the only one."
The church is one of those urban churches that is in danger of becoming obsolete - at one time, the neighborhood was upscale, and the wealthy white Protestants who lived nearby attended either this Congregational church or the older Congregational church down the block. But as the city changed, the white protestants moved out to the suburbs, and the number of people sitting in the pews on Sunday began to decrease.
Most of the big churches in Hartford have paid section leaders, and church members make up the rest of the choir. My church is different, primarily because of the choir conducter. She is a great conducter, and she picks great music, but her challenging and perfectionist personality has driven all but the musically trained members from the choir. So our entire soprano section (except for 1) is paid. I'm the only paid alto, our entire tenor section is paid, and we only have 1 paid bass. We are a choir of mostly non-believers, just there to earn a buck.
On Sunday mornings, we get there early, warm up, practice the hymns, and any anthems/offertorys we have for the day. When the service starts, some of the ringers pull out books or knitting (we sit in the back of the church in the loft, so we're not visible to anyone when we're sitting down). I occasionally write - Sio (who sings with us in the alto section) often does her homework. Until it's time to sing, we keep ourselves occupied.
But yesterday, I found myself listening to the words of the sermon. The current minister is officially retired, but he is acting as the Interim Minister until a permanent one can be found. (There were controversies surrounding the previous 3 ministers, but I keep my nose out of church business, so I can't fill you in on what the controversies were). He's a lovely man, very funny with the children (Monkey adores him), with a truly inspiring past (he worked with Martin Luther King, Jr., and was very involved with the Civil Rights movement).
I don't know if the Rev. knew about Huckster Sunday or not, but his sermon suggested he was well aware. He talked about how, since he retired, he's attended services at hundreds of churches, temples, and mosques. And he talked about the mega-churches - he said he was so impressed by the numbers of people in the seats, the multi-media presentations, the powerfully delivered sermons. But he started to notice the empty messages that were presented therein. He met preachers who bragged about preaching the Whole Bible as the literal word of God, but most of the sermons pulled one or two specific verses out and talked about nothing else, while ignoring the verses that the people in the pews (and indeed, the preachers themselves) were violating (including one about how women should not wear gold or pearls). He bemoaned the way these churches served fear as a main dish, while ignoring the message of love that Christ delivered.
After the service, I had to tell him how much I enjoyed his sermon. I told him how I felt Christianity has been hijacked by people who are using it for political gains. He told me that he writes a column in addition to his sermons, and he often dances around this issue, but he is wary of pressing it too hard, of using bold language, because he thinks it would make his flock a little defensive. And then he leaned close, and made a confession: "I'm a heretic, and I'm glad to know, after talking to you, that I'm not the only one."
I5BOTD 4/25/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Politick
I have to admit I was being totally lazy, and I just randomly clicked on this blog, but it's pretty good. I particularly like his post updating us on how Bill O'Reilly's accuser is spending her settlement.
Politick
I have to admit I was being totally lazy, and I just randomly clicked on this blog, but it's pretty good. I particularly like his post updating us on how Bill O'Reilly's accuser is spending her settlement.
4/23/2005
You can't take the sky from me
My heart started beating a little faster when I had a message in my inbox addressed to "Browncoats"
The Big Damn Movie isn't coming out until September, and I just can't wait. Although the long wait does mean my summer will last longer.
Check out exciting news from Joss Whedon now on the Browncoats message boards!
http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=forum.viewtopic&t=10230
Hey guys.
I'm here on the official site, so that can only mean one thing: somebody finally told me my password! (Again.) It probably also means that I have some big-ass announcement or other. Well tops on the announcement list is this: after months of intensive yoga, i can finally touch my toes! (They feel round and bunion-y.)
But there's more! I'm talkin' movie news, peeps, so no more drumroll: Trailer. Serenity. Tuesday.
Yeah, kids, the haps is hap'nin', and it runs thus: EXCLUSIVELY on Apple movie trailers (and linked through this site as well of course) will be a small, medium, large or FULLSCREEN trailer for Serenity the major motion movie. Yeah, THE trailer. And the following Friday said trailer hits theaters. Which theaters? Until I get confirmation you'll have to guess, but I'm betting you can.
Now, here's a word of warning: this trailer ain't shy. If you're looking to live totally spoiler-free, know that there's plenty of key dialogue and images running through this bad boy. It's pretty tasty, though, and it doesn't give everything away. But close scrutiny will definitely learn you much of what's to come. (Anakin TOTALLY goes evil.) It's a nice piece to while away the time till September, and hopefully should intrigue th' peeps that don't have coats of brown.
The only thing more exciting than y'all finally seeing this was showing it to Nathan. Like a schoolboy giggled he.
Bye-ee!
Joss "You can't take my toes from me" Whedon.
The Big Damn Movie isn't coming out until September, and I just can't wait. Although the long wait does mean my summer will last longer.
4/22/2005
Friday Random Next Blogging
Today's edition goes around the normal world and gives us a brief glimpse of crazy world, too.
KBadviceworld, a blog written by two Texas third-graders. Be nice, because their dads check the site every day!
This untitled blog exists to keep the group informed. It looks like a social calendar for a bunch of guys who are young enough to call a person celebrating his 28th birthday "old guy". They seem like a fun bunch.
Next we have Orangejack's Blog, written by someone who appears to be both born again in Christ and in NFL football. He's got cute kids, both of whom are redheads, which makes me automatically like them and find them adorable.
Gunter Likes French Fries is an audioblog written in French, which makes me doubly sad, because 1. I have no speakers and B. I took Spanish.
Oooh, I think Nu Skal Bloggad Ott Og Titt is the first Icelandic blog I've ever visited randomly...or deliberately, for that matter. And suddenly I am reminded of the opening credits of Monty Python's Holy Grail (although that was, of course, Sweden and not Iceland...okay, then this blog makes me think of Bjork, who is, in fact, Icelandic, and in my circles, people are divided about her musical ability. I come down on the "genius" side).
D'oh, another annoying, adverblog Communists Snapper. I'm guessing that he sucks in people searching for terms like "veteran" or "academic", only to shill info about poker. Or maybe he's just deranged and every conversation turns to poker.
Not the Country Club, our next randomly generated blog, is a liberal blog, and I'm surprised he isn't on the Indie 500. Maybe he is and I've missed the name.
The Twilight of My Youth is written by Luke, who protests a bit too much about his roommate who used to be his best friend until he started wearing cologne and having sex with people who are not Luke. As a joke, this blog is funny. If it not a joke, then Luke might need to get some counseling.
Remember earlier in this post, when I was sad that I couldn't read the French blog because I took Spanish? It's kind of sad, but after 5 years of Spanish, I can't really read La venganza de las guayaberas atomicas, either. Well, I was able to make out that his) little Enterprise that adorned his monitor is dead, and he's kind of sad about it. And I think he really likes The Gorillaz.
Serena Says is written by Serena, who goes to Ponderosa Junior High and loves the book Gossip Girl, and she apparently likes to gossip, too.
The World According to Bob. Wow. Bob really has a problem with women. I don't think he sees them as human beings.
Well, after that, I can't go on. I hope you enjoyed the enjoyable ones, translated the non-English ones, and gave thanks that the World According to Bob is not the world we live in.
KBadviceworld, a blog written by two Texas third-graders. Be nice, because their dads check the site every day!
This untitled blog exists to keep the group informed. It looks like a social calendar for a bunch of guys who are young enough to call a person celebrating his 28th birthday "old guy". They seem like a fun bunch.
Next we have Orangejack's Blog, written by someone who appears to be both born again in Christ and in NFL football. He's got cute kids, both of whom are redheads, which makes me automatically like them and find them adorable.
Gunter Likes French Fries is an audioblog written in French, which makes me doubly sad, because 1. I have no speakers and B. I took Spanish.
Oooh, I think Nu Skal Bloggad Ott Og Titt is the first Icelandic blog I've ever visited randomly...or deliberately, for that matter. And suddenly I am reminded of the opening credits of Monty Python's Holy Grail (although that was, of course, Sweden and not Iceland...okay, then this blog makes me think of Bjork, who is, in fact, Icelandic, and in my circles, people are divided about her musical ability. I come down on the "genius" side).
D'oh, another annoying, adverblog Communists Snapper. I'm guessing that he sucks in people searching for terms like "veteran" or "academic", only to shill info about poker. Or maybe he's just deranged and every conversation turns to poker.
Not the Country Club, our next randomly generated blog, is a liberal blog, and I'm surprised he isn't on the Indie 500. Maybe he is and I've missed the name.
The Twilight of My Youth is written by Luke, who protests a bit too much about his roommate who used to be his best friend until he started wearing cologne and having sex with people who are not Luke. As a joke, this blog is funny. If it not a joke, then Luke might need to get some counseling.
Remember earlier in this post, when I was sad that I couldn't read the French blog because I took Spanish? It's kind of sad, but after 5 years of Spanish, I can't really read La venganza de las guayaberas atomicas, either. Well, I was able to make out that his) little Enterprise that adorned his monitor is dead, and he's kind of sad about it. And I think he really likes The Gorillaz.
Serena Says is written by Serena, who goes to Ponderosa Junior High and loves the book Gossip Girl, and she apparently likes to gossip, too.
The World According to Bob. Wow. Bob really has a problem with women. I don't think he sees them as human beings.
Well, after that, I can't go on. I hope you enjoyed the enjoyable ones, translated the non-English ones, and gave thanks that the World According to Bob is not the world we live in.
I5BOTD 4/22/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Rubber Hose
which makes me think of Welcome Back, Kotter, a show I really enjoyed when I was a kid. I had a little crush on Epstein, but I related to Horshack, who I shared some qualities with. Mainly that when I was in school, when the teacher asked a question and I knew the answer, I would work so hard to get the teacher's attention that on one occasion, I actually knocked myself off my seat.
Rubber Hose
which makes me think of Welcome Back, Kotter, a show I really enjoyed when I was a kid. I had a little crush on Epstein, but I related to Horshack, who I shared some qualities with. Mainly that when I was in school, when the teacher asked a question and I knew the answer, I would work so hard to get the teacher's attention that on one occasion, I actually knocked myself off my seat.
4/21/2005
Trackback question
When I want to track back to a post I've read, and comment on it here, I go to the "Trackback" option, which is usually right next to the comments, and find the Track back URL. I thought that this would link me to the post - a permalink, I guess. But all it does is give me the page that lists the trackbacks. Is that what is supposed to happen?
If anyone can explain to me the proper way to do this, I would be most appreciative.
If anyone can explain to me the proper way to do this, I would be most appreciative.
I5BOTD 4/21/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Hot Flash Report
Opinionated liberal news and views from Ann Rose and Susan Hill. It's a linkapalooza.
Hot Flash Report
Opinionated liberal news and views from Ann Rose and Susan Hill. It's a linkapalooza.
4/20/2005
I5BOTD 4/20/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
book of days
and the author, Chris Lombardi, is not happy with the choice of Ratzinger for Pope.
book of days
and the author, Chris Lombardi, is not happy with the choice of Ratzinger for Pope.
4/19/2005
New Pope
So there's a new pope
Not to be disrespectful or anything, and I know that the higher-ups in the Catholic church are highly educated, but the pope selection process doesn't seem any more thoughtful and reasoned than, say, selecting your leader via a farcical aquatic ceremony.
And the reverence with which the Catholic church is treated really bugs me. This is the church that paid hush money to victims of sexual abuse, and instead of punishing the abusers, gave them a new flock to fleece. This is the church that lies about the effectiveness of condoms, preferring their sensitive moral beliefs over the truth of how human beings live and relate to each other, thereby leading to the deaths of thousands of people.
I know that a lot of Catholics do a lot of good in the world. Where is the accountability for those who aren't?
Not to be disrespectful or anything, and I know that the higher-ups in the Catholic church are highly educated, but the pope selection process doesn't seem any more thoughtful and reasoned than, say, selecting your leader via a farcical aquatic ceremony.
And the reverence with which the Catholic church is treated really bugs me. This is the church that paid hush money to victims of sexual abuse, and instead of punishing the abusers, gave them a new flock to fleece. This is the church that lies about the effectiveness of condoms, preferring their sensitive moral beliefs over the truth of how human beings live and relate to each other, thereby leading to the deaths of thousands of people.
I know that a lot of Catholics do a lot of good in the world. Where is the accountability for those who aren't?
Ten Years Ago Today
The Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was attacked by homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh.
My thoughts are with the people of Oklahoma City, the victims, the survivors, and the family members of those who perished in the bombing.
My thoughts are with the people of Oklahoma City, the victims, the survivors, and the family members of those who perished in the bombing.
I5BOTD 4/19/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
WindyCityLefty
On the subject of the Windy City, I really would love to visit Chicago.
WindyCityLefty
On the subject of the Windy City, I really would love to visit Chicago.
4/18/2005
Family Fare
Over at Atrios, they are discussing family fare on TV (an offshoot of a discussion of the new Dr. Who).
We don't really watch much TV as a family - the bulk of our TV watching is actually *my* TV watching that occurs after Monkey is in bed. TV has a soporific effect on Loki, so I end up watching by myself.
But we do have some shows that we watch together. We all like my beloved Firefly, Invader Zim, Futurama (on DVD), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although we vet those for content - Monkey basically can't watch anything past the season 6 episode "Tabula Rasa" - not just because there is some rather graphic sexual content in "Smashed", and not just because there is some horrifying violence - flaying - in "Two to Go", but because after that Buffy went way downhill, quality-wise), and Kim Possible.
And Monkey and I have a tradition of watching TLC's "What Not To Wear" together on Friday nights. I prefer the BBC version, but Monkey likes Clinton & Stacy.
We don't really watch much TV as a family - the bulk of our TV watching is actually *my* TV watching that occurs after Monkey is in bed. TV has a soporific effect on Loki, so I end up watching by myself.
But we do have some shows that we watch together. We all like my beloved Firefly, Invader Zim, Futurama (on DVD), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although we vet those for content - Monkey basically can't watch anything past the season 6 episode "Tabula Rasa" - not just because there is some rather graphic sexual content in "Smashed", and not just because there is some horrifying violence - flaying - in "Two to Go", but because after that Buffy went way downhill, quality-wise), and Kim Possible.
And Monkey and I have a tradition of watching TLC's "What Not To Wear" together on Friday nights. I prefer the BBC version, but Monkey likes Clinton & Stacy.
4/15/2005
Poetry Month
I was trying out some new blogs today and I came across Pre-emptive Karma, which is participating in National Poetry Month by listing song lyrics.
I love reading poems, but I can't remember any (with a few exceptions - I can recite a couple of Shel Silverstein poems by heart, and certain lines stay with me for a while*) unless they are in the form of lyrics.
So I'd like to share the lyrics of a song by Nellie McKay, Manhattan Avenue
Here's another taste of Ms. McKay
*the lines that stay with me tend to be famous ones: What rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born, for example. I did once have the whole "yes" speech from Ulysses memorized (for an acting class). My brain doesn't hold onto info the way it used to, though.
I love reading poems, but I can't remember any (with a few exceptions - I can recite a couple of Shel Silverstein poems by heart, and certain lines stay with me for a while*) unless they are in the form of lyrics.
So I'd like to share the lyrics of a song by Nellie McKay, Manhattan Avenue
Send a breeze
a pitbull's yelp
A tender squeeze
a cry for help.
Make it now
and make it fast
Such memories can never last
I long for the day
music is playing
mama's a smiling friend
in the scuzzy hue of the sunlight
Manhattan Avenue
Lionel please
watch o'er our door
The children tease
I beg for more
Chipping paint
the ceiling's spent
aww, ain't it great
can't make the rent
I long for the day
kittens are meowling
junkies are prowling
deep in the jazzy hue of the streetlamps
Manhattan Avenue
How wild it is
what strange advice
that a mugger and a child should share the same paradise
Oh, but dreams come true on Manhattan Avenue
Here's another taste of Ms. McKay
If you would sit oh so close to me
that would be nice, like it's supposed to be
If you don't I'll slit your throat
so won't U please B nice!
If you would hug your arms right round me
that would be snug, like it's supposed to be
If we part, I'll eat your heart
so won't U please B nice!
Ohhhh, don't you love this romancing?
Know that it's your life you're chancing, la de da
Isn't it nice, now you've married me
Sugar and spice, like it's supposed to be
If you go, I'll get your dough
So won't U please B nice!
Stop with your jazz oratory
I only listen to Top 40 - N'Sync rules!
Isn't it nice, together we'll always live
no sin or vice, we'll vote conservative
If you run I'll pull a gun
Give me head or you'll be dead
Salute the flag or I'll call you a fag
so won't U please B nice!
*the lines that stay with me tend to be famous ones: What rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born, for example. I did once have the whole "yes" speech from Ulysses memorized (for an acting class). My brain doesn't hold onto info the way it used to, though.
If Dobson has a Christian bone in his body, I'm St. Agnes
Someone's got a serious persecution complex.
It's very simple, you people of so-called faith*: We (reality-based people) have no problem with people of faith, we have a problem when people use their faith to subvert our laws. We have a problem when people are trying to make their religious beliefs the law of the land in a country that was founded on the principle of religous freedom. We have a fucking problem with people who use faith to advance political agendas that are diametrically opposed to the faith they supposedly espouse.
What can we do about this? Can we get in on the conference call? Can we remind these Pharisees that this is America, and the law that governs this land is the Constitution?
*************************************************************************
St. Agnes was known for her virginal innocence.
It's very simple, you people of so-called faith*: We (reality-based people) have no problem with people of faith, we have a problem when people use their faith to subvert our laws. We have a problem when people are trying to make their religious beliefs the law of the land in a country that was founded on the principle of religous freedom. We have a fucking problem with people who use faith to advance political agendas that are diametrically opposed to the faith they supposedly espouse.
What can we do about this? Can we get in on the conference call? Can we remind these Pharisees that this is America, and the law that governs this land is the Constitution?
*************************************************************************
St. Agnes was known for her virginal innocence.
I always thought of myself as more of a splashy MGM musical
Wow, that picture looks great on the blog, doesn't it? Damn, if my home computer weren't so crappy, I'd be inundating you people with pictures of my kids and pets. I could join TBOGG in Basset blogging on Thursdays.
Oh well. In our 10 year financial plan, we will buy another computer...somewhere around year 7 or so.
In the meantime, I am simply grateful that I am not Eraserhead.
I don't have an IPOD, so this is the best I can do
All the cool, technologically hip people do a Random Friday IPOD list, but as an IPODLESS outcast, the best I can offer you, my dear reader(s?) is a list of Random Blogs, generated by the "Next Blog" button on Blogger.
Please make sure all tray tables are secured and seats are in the upright position before we take off:
Oh, drat! Mortgage Information, one of those strange blogs that just seems to contain randomly generated words associated with a boring topic, like, for example, mortgages.
Try, Try, Try, again! (Headfirst this time, dive right in!)*
Huge improvement! This time we're landing at Herd of Cats, authored by Diane, who is a law student in New Orleans. Not only are there cool pics on her blog, she is also on the side of angels (politically speaking). I will make it a point to stop in again.
Next stop: A Minha 5a Ciber-Dimensao authored by Velvetsatine in Lisbon, Portugal. Nice pictures, and a very short story about sex with strangers written in English.
We leave Portugal to visit Three Knockdown Rule, a conservative blog authored by a 23 year old male who really likes boxing. There is a little knee-jerky anti-liberal talk, but other than that he seems more thoughtful and less angry than the average conservative blogger.
Our next Next Blog is A Life Like Dust, written by one Sgt. Bukkake, and now that I know what that is, I'm not sure I want to learn more about him. The top post on the page is about his gay brother who, after years of gayness has decided that maybe he was just having a long gay phase.
Golf, anyone? InstaMarv seems to enjoy golf, but specifically, he seems a tad obsessed with Tiger Woods. Golf is a game that I will never play, and not just because my hip won't swing that way.
I'm not sure how many that is, but I'm done for now. I hope you enjoyed your brief and random tour of Next Blogs
*Titannica RULES!
Please make sure all tray tables are secured and seats are in the upright position before we take off:
Oh, drat! Mortgage Information, one of those strange blogs that just seems to contain randomly generated words associated with a boring topic, like, for example, mortgages.
Try, Try, Try, again! (Headfirst this time, dive right in!)*
Huge improvement! This time we're landing at Herd of Cats, authored by Diane, who is a law student in New Orleans. Not only are there cool pics on her blog, she is also on the side of angels (politically speaking). I will make it a point to stop in again.
Next stop: A Minha 5a Ciber-Dimensao authored by Velvetsatine in Lisbon, Portugal. Nice pictures, and a very short story about sex with strangers written in English.
We leave Portugal to visit Three Knockdown Rule, a conservative blog authored by a 23 year old male who really likes boxing. There is a little knee-jerky anti-liberal talk, but other than that he seems more thoughtful and less angry than the average conservative blogger.
Our next Next Blog is A Life Like Dust, written by one Sgt. Bukkake, and now that I know what that is, I'm not sure I want to learn more about him. The top post on the page is about his gay brother who, after years of gayness has decided that maybe he was just having a long gay phase.
Golf, anyone? InstaMarv seems to enjoy golf, but specifically, he seems a tad obsessed with Tiger Woods. Golf is a game that I will never play, and not just because my hip won't swing that way.
I'm not sure how many that is, but I'm done for now. I hope you enjoyed your brief and random tour of Next Blogs
*Titannica RULES!
4/14/2005
BTW
I'm still enraged and infuriated, as well as fucking pissed off, about the post and comments over at DailyKos.
Getting the hot color of the year is hard!
MSN has an article chock full of info to help you get the best red haircoloring out of your colorist. Pictures are important, so everyone is understanding the same copper or strawberry blonde. And of course it is crucial to change your lipstick to reflect your newly red tresses.
It all sounds like a lot of work. I got my red hair by winning the genetic toss of the dice. I did game the game, as it were, by being born to two Irish people, who are way more likely to carry the recessive gene necessary for natural red hair than the general population (3% of the general population has red hair, except for Irish people, where 30% of the population has red hair).
But I paid in other ways. I never had strawberry blonde hair, a color that sounded so tasty I couldn't help but use it to describe my hair color when I was little (despite the fact that my hair was closer in hue toYosemite Sam's). And one unfortunate year, my mother went nuts on St. Patrick's Day and sent me to school dressed entirely in green, including a small green bow in my hair. I was called "Tomato Head" until June.
My color has changed a bit, it's much more coppery now, and I'm starting to lose the color alltogether up at the front (which makes it look like a got blonde highlights). I don't have any gray hair, but I do have hair that is becoming almost translucent. I'm crossing my fingers that it will just turn white.
It all sounds like a lot of work. I got my red hair by winning the genetic toss of the dice. I did game the game, as it were, by being born to two Irish people, who are way more likely to carry the recessive gene necessary for natural red hair than the general population (3% of the general population has red hair, except for Irish people, where 30% of the population has red hair).
But I paid in other ways. I never had strawberry blonde hair, a color that sounded so tasty I couldn't help but use it to describe my hair color when I was little (despite the fact that my hair was closer in hue toYosemite Sam's). And one unfortunate year, my mother went nuts on St. Patrick's Day and sent me to school dressed entirely in green, including a small green bow in my hair. I was called "Tomato Head" until June.
My color has changed a bit, it's much more coppery now, and I'm starting to lose the color alltogether up at the front (which makes it look like a got blonde highlights). I don't have any gray hair, but I do have hair that is becoming almost translucent. I'm crossing my fingers that it will just turn white.
Nothing like a little rage to get you going in the morning
This post over at Kos got my day off to an infuriating start. I have to thank those Democrats over at Kos who are so cavalier about a woman's right to choose for getting my blood moving, because I was feeling a little groggy, and now I've got enough anger to keep me alert and high through the rest of the morning.
Kos may be pissed at the pro-choice movement for giving his guy a hard time, forcing him to drop out of the race, but just IMAGINE the righteous fury of millions of women who suddenly find they no longer have autonomy over their own body because bit by bit, the Democratic party has bargained away their rights in favor of "winning elections" (at which, let's face it, the party has been sucking like a chest wound - maybe because they seem so willing to play games with the issues that matter to the people who fucking vote for them in election after election!!!!!!)
Yes, I'm fucking pissed off.
Kos may be pissed at the pro-choice movement for giving his guy a hard time, forcing him to drop out of the race, but just IMAGINE the righteous fury of millions of women who suddenly find they no longer have autonomy over their own body because bit by bit, the Democratic party has bargained away their rights in favor of "winning elections" (at which, let's face it, the party has been sucking like a chest wound - maybe because they seem so willing to play games with the issues that matter to the people who fucking vote for them in election after election!!!!!!)
Yes, I'm fucking pissed off.
4/13/2005
"Hey! A fucking jihad on you!"
That's right. Bump into me, and it's a jihad on you, because
I think that name means that after I gut you like a trout, I will call 911 and hold your hand until they get there.
(Title quote from the brilliant Eddie Izzard performance Dressed to Kill)
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Sister Boot Knife of Enlightened Compassion.
I think that name means that after I gut you like a trout, I will call 911 and hold your hand until they get there.
(Title quote from the brilliant Eddie Izzard performance Dressed to Kill)
Movin' on up!
I updated the blogroll to include one of my favorite blogs, The Disgruntled Chemist. I started reading this blog regularly after I made them the I5BOTD, and you should start reading it regularly, too.
I5BOTD 4/13/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Craig's Booknotes
Craig likes books, but he doesn't really like the Bush administration. We have much in common.
Craig's Booknotes
Craig likes books, but he doesn't really like the Bush administration. We have much in common.
4/12/2005
Monkey the Cat
Monkey has decided she is becoming a cat.
No need to wonder why - our two kitties are spoiled rotten. They always have fresh food and water, several members of our household won't move if the cats decide to perch on them, they can just layabout all day long and don't have to go to school. They can basically do whatever they want. *I* wouldn't mind the life of a cat (minus the whole litter box experience, anyway.)
But Monkey is quite serious. Listen to the discussion we had this weekend:
"Mom, now that I'm turning into a cat, can I eat cat food?"
I thought before I answered. Before we got our dog, I did a lot of research into animal foods, because Basset Hounds can have allergic reactions to corn, and can bloat easily. I remember reading that animal food is usually comprised of meat products that have been identified as "unfit for human consumption".
"Well, Monkey, I think that until we start seeing outer manifestations of your inner cat-ness, you should probably stick to human food."
"What?"
Loki interjected.
"Monkey, what mommy is saying is that until all your body parts are actually feline, it's probably not safe to only eat cat food, since cats need different nutrition than humans do."
"Okay," Monkey grumbled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She also came home from school yesterday with a flip book of drawings showing herself turning into a cat.
She makes a better monkey, though, truth be told. She can't sit still long enough to be a cat.
No need to wonder why - our two kitties are spoiled rotten. They always have fresh food and water, several members of our household won't move if the cats decide to perch on them, they can just layabout all day long and don't have to go to school. They can basically do whatever they want. *I* wouldn't mind the life of a cat (minus the whole litter box experience, anyway.)
But Monkey is quite serious. Listen to the discussion we had this weekend:
"Mom, now that I'm turning into a cat, can I eat cat food?"
I thought before I answered. Before we got our dog, I did a lot of research into animal foods, because Basset Hounds can have allergic reactions to corn, and can bloat easily. I remember reading that animal food is usually comprised of meat products that have been identified as "unfit for human consumption".
"Well, Monkey, I think that until we start seeing outer manifestations of your inner cat-ness, you should probably stick to human food."
"What?"
Loki interjected.
"Monkey, what mommy is saying is that until all your body parts are actually feline, it's probably not safe to only eat cat food, since cats need different nutrition than humans do."
"Okay," Monkey grumbled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She also came home from school yesterday with a flip book of drawings showing herself turning into a cat.
She makes a better monkey, though, truth be told. She can't sit still long enough to be a cat.
I5BOTD 4/12/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Pam's House Blend
which is a great blog that I should already have as part of my daily swing around the blogworld. Lots of discussion of GLBT issues, which are of great interest to me as a fellow human being.
Pam's House Blend
which is a great blog that I should already have as part of my daily swing around the blogworld. Lots of discussion of GLBT issues, which are of great interest to me as a fellow human being.
4/11/2005
I5BOTD 4/11/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Liberals Against Terrorism
authored (at least in part) by frequent commenter on many of the blogs I visit daily, praktike.
Liberals Against Terrorism
authored (at least in part) by frequent commenter on many of the blogs I visit daily, praktike.
4/08/2005
They's tricksey, those double agents
Magorn at Daily Kos has a diary about Richard Perle that contains a quote so scrotum-tighteningly stupid that I don't even *have* a scrotum and it's tightening up:
"There is reason to believe that we were sucked into an ill-conceived initial attack aimed at Saddam himself by double agents planted by the regime. And as we now know the estimate of Saddam's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction was substantially wrong."
What a fucking asshole! I'm just...I can't form words this is so infuriating! I've changed my mind about the death penalty because of this. I'm going to insist that the architects of the fucking Iraq Attack be lined up and shot. There is no other level of accountability that will justify what they've done to our military, the Iraqi civilians, and the reputation of the United States.
"There is reason to believe that we were sucked into an ill-conceived initial attack aimed at Saddam himself by double agents planted by the regime. And as we now know the estimate of Saddam's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction was substantially wrong."
What a fucking asshole! I'm just...I can't form words this is so infuriating! I've changed my mind about the death penalty because of this. I'm going to insist that the architects of the fucking Iraq Attack be lined up and shot. There is no other level of accountability that will justify what they've done to our military, the Iraqi civilians, and the reputation of the United States.
Randomania
Since I have nothing to do at work this afternoon (everyone's either got spring fever or actual fever, so the office is empty), I decided to hit the "next blog" button on the top right corner of my blog. Here are first ten random blogs:
Inner Workings of Jenn
She's a cheerleader! She was on the Homecoming Court in 2003! She and I have nothing in common*, but random chance has linked us together.
Up next, we have:
Patrick Li's blog
Patrick is an engineer, and he's adorable and has a good sense of humor. I like him.
Our next random blog is:
Pettitt Cattle & Coffee
They promise: "No other source can offer the same intelligent, opinionated, constructive criticism on just about anything." I must humbly disagree. I gathered from reading through several of the blogposts that at least one of the authors at this blog is a Bush supporter, but he is most certainly not opinionated, because I had to dig to find that out. However, I like the space links, and I appreciate a Bush supporter who isn't rabid - they are so few. I don't agree with them, but at least they aren't foaming at the mouth idiots.
No whammies, no whammies:
The M.I.L.F. Diaries
Written by a "self-proclaimed MILF" (which...how would that work? wouldn't "MILM" be more appropriate? Maybe she just masturbates with extreme enthusiasm and calls it fucking?) Anywhoo, she has a very cute baby, and she seems like a fun-loving gal.
I am next randomly drawn to:
Painter Lady
Quite a bit of poetry, some sex talk, she strikes me as one of those very New Age-y types, very much under the thrall of her feelings and seeing miracles in coincidences, that kind of thing.
Round and round she goes:
RideSB.com
which is a forum for cycling enthusiasts in Santa Barbara. I can't really ride a bike anymore because of my hip, but I am pro-cycling, so thumbs up!
The cosmos next direct me to:
The Sketch Book Diaries
Doug is a freelance artist, which strikes me as a really difficult way to make a living. I don't know many people who buy art...although I suppose newspapers and magazines and publishers must need lots of illustrators, so maybe I'm entirely wrong and I should have continued drawing and painting watercolors (which I did quite well in high school, especially the watercolors - I was not a wishy-washy watercolorist, my paintings were bold and dramatic and defied watercolor conventions...I even won 3rd prize and an honorable mention in an art show). He has a very realistic style, lots of detail, some of his illustrations almost look like photographs. I wish him luck, both with his new blog (first post dated today!) and his career.
Next we go to:
Rundown to 3.59 - Midpackers Train for the Chicag05 Marathon
Which is a diary of Kurt & Steve Vogel's training for the Chicago Marathon. Pretty straightforward. I am completely unable to run, but I admire people who have the tenacity to compete in marathons. My friend Bill ran the NY Marathon once (his stated goal: Beat Oprah's time). He was an unregistered participant, so he had to climb a wall and sneak up to the starting line. My friend Mean Jeanne and I were watching the racers get ready for the start on the Verrazano Bridge, and I found myself touched by the line of racers standing along the edge with their heads down. "Look, Jeanne, they're praying!" I said. I looked for a moment longer as the cement side of the bridge darkened, and I amended my statment: "Oh, never mind, they're peeing."
I don't know if the universe is trying to tell me something, but our next random link is to:
Rpaper
The author, Sarah1742, is writing a research paper about whether antidepressants are addictive. I feel like I'm incapable of getting addicted to any drug - when I finally took a drug that I loved (oh, beautiful Vicodin), I became like Gollum holding his preciousssss. If I took another Vicodin, yes, I would feel better, but then I would have *less* Vicodin, and that wouldn't do. I still have a half tab of Vicodin sitting in my medicine closet from the last time I got a prescription, and I will probably never take it, because then I will have lost my precious forever.
Our final random blog is:
Vajra Team
which is one of my favorite kinds of blogs to randomly come upon, because it's in another language. I estimate that over 60% of the time when I hit the "go to the next blog" button, the first blog that comes up is in a foreign language. Judging by the few words of English on this blog, I'm guessing the author is sort of a technology geek. I see IPOD, Firefox, MAC OS and Linux.
Well, there you have it, you silent people out there who may or may not ever read my blog (that might be a veiled hint to encourage you to leave comments ; ; ; ). A random trip through the World O'Blogger blogs.
*Confession time: I was a cheerleader for three years of my life. I liked doing backflips and yelling, what can I say? I still don't understand football, though.
Inner Workings of Jenn
She's a cheerleader! She was on the Homecoming Court in 2003! She and I have nothing in common*, but random chance has linked us together.
Up next, we have:
Patrick Li's blog
Patrick is an engineer, and he's adorable and has a good sense of humor. I like him.
Our next random blog is:
Pettitt Cattle & Coffee
They promise: "No other source can offer the same intelligent, opinionated, constructive criticism on just about anything." I must humbly disagree. I gathered from reading through several of the blogposts that at least one of the authors at this blog is a Bush supporter, but he is most certainly not opinionated, because I had to dig to find that out. However, I like the space links, and I appreciate a Bush supporter who isn't rabid - they are so few. I don't agree with them, but at least they aren't foaming at the mouth idiots.
No whammies, no whammies:
The M.I.L.F. Diaries
Written by a "self-proclaimed MILF" (which...how would that work? wouldn't "MILM" be more appropriate? Maybe she just masturbates with extreme enthusiasm and calls it fucking?) Anywhoo, she has a very cute baby, and she seems like a fun-loving gal.
I am next randomly drawn to:
Painter Lady
Quite a bit of poetry, some sex talk, she strikes me as one of those very New Age-y types, very much under the thrall of her feelings and seeing miracles in coincidences, that kind of thing.
Round and round she goes:
RideSB.com
which is a forum for cycling enthusiasts in Santa Barbara. I can't really ride a bike anymore because of my hip, but I am pro-cycling, so thumbs up!
The cosmos next direct me to:
The Sketch Book Diaries
Doug is a freelance artist, which strikes me as a really difficult way to make a living. I don't know many people who buy art...although I suppose newspapers and magazines and publishers must need lots of illustrators, so maybe I'm entirely wrong and I should have continued drawing and painting watercolors (which I did quite well in high school, especially the watercolors - I was not a wishy-washy watercolorist, my paintings were bold and dramatic and defied watercolor conventions...I even won 3rd prize and an honorable mention in an art show). He has a very realistic style, lots of detail, some of his illustrations almost look like photographs. I wish him luck, both with his new blog (first post dated today!) and his career.
Next we go to:
Rundown to 3.59 - Midpackers Train for the Chicag05 Marathon
Which is a diary of Kurt & Steve Vogel's training for the Chicago Marathon. Pretty straightforward. I am completely unable to run, but I admire people who have the tenacity to compete in marathons. My friend Bill ran the NY Marathon once (his stated goal: Beat Oprah's time). He was an unregistered participant, so he had to climb a wall and sneak up to the starting line. My friend Mean Jeanne and I were watching the racers get ready for the start on the Verrazano Bridge, and I found myself touched by the line of racers standing along the edge with their heads down. "Look, Jeanne, they're praying!" I said. I looked for a moment longer as the cement side of the bridge darkened, and I amended my statment: "Oh, never mind, they're peeing."
I don't know if the universe is trying to tell me something, but our next random link is to:
Rpaper
The author, Sarah1742, is writing a research paper about whether antidepressants are addictive. I feel like I'm incapable of getting addicted to any drug - when I finally took a drug that I loved (oh, beautiful Vicodin), I became like Gollum holding his preciousssss. If I took another Vicodin, yes, I would feel better, but then I would have *less* Vicodin, and that wouldn't do. I still have a half tab of Vicodin sitting in my medicine closet from the last time I got a prescription, and I will probably never take it, because then I will have lost my precious forever.
Our final random blog is:
Vajra Team
which is one of my favorite kinds of blogs to randomly come upon, because it's in another language. I estimate that over 60% of the time when I hit the "go to the next blog" button, the first blog that comes up is in a foreign language. Judging by the few words of English on this blog, I'm guessing the author is sort of a technology geek. I see IPOD, Firefox, MAC OS and Linux.
Well, there you have it, you silent people out there who may or may not ever read my blog (that might be a veiled hint to encourage you to leave comments ; ; ; ). A random trip through the World O'Blogger blogs.
*Confession time: I was a cheerleader for three years of my life. I liked doing backflips and yelling, what can I say? I still don't understand football, though.
I5BOTD 4/8/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Not Worth Archiving...Really
I'm not sure I agree - I haven't read through his archives, but I like what I've read so far. And pix, too!
Not Worth Archiving...Really
I'm not sure I agree - I haven't read through his archives, but I like what I've read so far. And pix, too!
4/07/2005
Connecticut: it doesn't quite rock, but it's got a good beat
Hey, my state did something good today!
Senate passes Civil Unions bill.
Quite frankly, I would prefer if we went whole hog and gave gay people the right to marry and therefore reap the benefits of marriage (although after 16 years, it feels tongue and cheek to say marriage has benefits. Kidding, Loki - I love you, sweets). Connecticut has lost way too much of its talented and educated people to other states. Why not create a gay mecca in the East? Why not make Hartford as attractive to homosexuals as cities like San Francisco? Lord knows Hartford could use an infusion of well-educated, high-earning middle- and upper-middle class taxpayers to move in. Let's make Connecticut a great place for all families to live!
Senate passes Civil Unions bill.
Quite frankly, I would prefer if we went whole hog and gave gay people the right to marry and therefore reap the benefits of marriage (although after 16 years, it feels tongue and cheek to say marriage has benefits. Kidding, Loki - I love you, sweets). Connecticut has lost way too much of its talented and educated people to other states. Why not create a gay mecca in the East? Why not make Hartford as attractive to homosexuals as cities like San Francisco? Lord knows Hartford could use an infusion of well-educated, high-earning middle- and upper-middle class taxpayers to move in. Let's make Connecticut a great place for all families to live!
Scott Ritter: Iraq - how we got there, and how to get out
Last night, Loki and I went to Manchester Community College to see Scott Ritter, author of Endgame: Solving the Iraq Crisis, War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You To Know, and Frontier Justice: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Bushwhacking of America, as well as numerous op-eds and essays.
Mr. Ritter started by telling us about himself. A former Marine who served in the Persian Gulf, a registered Republican, and a self-confessed conservative, he proudly served in Operation Desert Storm, a mission he believed in. Mr. Ritter's profound respect for the military of this country and the men and women who serve therein permeated the entire speech. In addition, he talked about the importance of citizenship, and how we are all responsible for the actions of our nation.
He went on to talk about how we got into the situation we are in today. Back in the late 70's (when yours truly was still in the single digits), Iraq was a strategic ally of the U.S. during the Iran-Iraq War. But in 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the U.S. moved to liberate Kuwait. In order to sell the war to the American people, Saddam Hussein (who only a few months before was hailed as a friend of the American people by a Senatorial delegation led by Bob Dole) was painted as the Hitler of the Middle East.
After Operation Desert Storm, Hussein retained his position in Iraq, and we implemented sanctions. In addition, Hussein was asked to declare all his weapons and weapons programs (which we knew we had - we helped him acquire them, after all). The first declaration was false - the weapons inspectors knew it was false. Mr. Ritter recounted an episode where a satellite picture determined there were trucks carrying materials for a nuclear program, and the inspectors went to inspect the site and were denied entry. When they returned, UN resolution in hand, they found that the trucks were gone, although there was ample evidence that trucks had been there. They did determine the new site, and the inspectors went to the new site, this time armed with cameras. They took lots of photos that proved the first declaration, which declared no nuclear weapons program, was false. The UN came back with a second resolution for Iraq to declare its weapons stores.
After this, Mr. Ritter believes that the Iraqis did destroy most if not all of their biological, chemical, nuclear weapons & long-range missles. He compared it to a drug dealer, who has 10 bags of drugs and the police knocking at his door. The dealer flushes the drugs and lets the police in, and says he doesn't have any drugs when asked. But the police go to the water purification plant, find plastic bags with drug residue. They track it back through the water system to the drug dealers residence. But they can only track down 8 of the 10 bags...can they assume the dealer flushed everything, or is he still holding some?
In the case of Iraq's weapons programs, time was on our side. Buried nuclear components will not work - transporting lenses used for implosion will render them useless. Chemical weapons have a lifespan of less than 7 years. Biological weapons have a lifespan of 3 years. Even if there *were* these sorts of weapons in Iraq, by the late '90's they were useless.
Mr. Ritter believes that September 11 lit a spark under the neo-conservatives, who were firm proponents of regime change in Iraq (they urged us to continue the war after Operation Desert Storm successfully liberated Kuwait). They saw it as an opportunity to gain power. Further, Mr. Ritter expressed that after Operation Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein (who was put forth as the Hitler of the Middle East by the first Bush administration) was a domestic policy problem for Bush. The neo-cons took the opportunity and their influence in the second Bush administration, and pushed for the Iraqi invasion.
Mr. Ritter expressed his shock that at no point in the run-up to the war was the case for the war questioned by the people who should have been questioning - the media (he declared that he did not consider anyone who didn't question the Bush administration does not deserve to be called a journalist), the Congress, the UN. He said he heard Colin Powell's case, which he personally knew to be untrue, and not a single person questioned it. He said he could not believe it when one night, as he was watching Tom Brokaw deliver a report about the possible war in Iraq, he heard Tom Brokaw not say a single word about the evidence against the existence of WMD's, and Mr. Ritter was especialy shocked because he was the one who told Tom Brokaw about it.
Mr. Ritter has a solution to the current situation in Iraq: he wants our soldiers home now. He said the mission in Iraq does not fulfill the requirements of the oath that our military takes, and that the mission was not worth the deaths of our young men and women. He feels that the whole misadventure is detrimental to our national security, and was more of a response to a domestic political problem than to a national security problem.
After the talk, there was a question and answer session, where several people questioned why Mr. Ritter did not mention the issue of oil. Ritter said it was far too simplistic to say the war was all about oil - he said the oil businessmen he's talked to prefer a dictatorship (predictable) to a democracy (messy & unpredictable). Several speakers were veterans, including a former history teacher who talked about Vietnam - he said when that war was in progress, the school he taught at arranged for a debate between 3 doves and 3 hawks (he was one of the doves). He said it seemed like that kind of discussion was not possible now, a point that Mr. Ritter made at the start of the speech. The gentleman also wanted to point out that there is no such thing as "the Iraqi people" - there are Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. One young woman asked if Ritter would think the war was worthwhile if the Iraqis developed a democracy. Ritter said it doesn't matter what the outcome is - Iraq was not a threat to our constitution or to the safety of the United States, and if we are to remain a nation of laws, we cannot undertake actions that are against our own laws.
A couple of people asked questions about the media, and Ritter was highly critical. He said he appreciates what people like Amy Goodman do, but that he feels alternative media needs to find a way to talk about issues without being activist. A young man who is a combat veteran of the current Iraq invasion said he may be at odds with the rest of the audience, but he supported the mission, and he felt that Mr. Ritter did not give proper due to the Iraqi people who recently participated in the elections. Mr. Ritter thanked him for his service, but he said a lot of the people who voted didn't know what they were voting for. The different groups of Iraqis also voted for different things - for example, the Kurds votes on a resolution for their Independence, but that wasn't part of the Shiite ballot.
At least one person asked "what can we do?" Mr. Ritter offered some criticism of the peace movement, which he felt failed in the runup to the war, but he also cautioned that due to the Patriot Act, there is a need to be careful in protest - it is possible that those who protest against this administration could be labeled terrorists. However, he said that he is also not concerned that jack-booted thugs are waiting to arrest him and his family, because we still have free speech in this country, and he's going to continue to speak out.
Loki and I waited around afterwards to speak to Mr. Ritter, but we didn't do more than shake his hand, and I thanked him for speaking out against the war before anyone else. Afterwards, I was thinking that I should have asked him how I, as a progressive liberal, can talk about the war to a conservative Republican. I'm short on ideas, as most of the Republicans I talk to are already on my side, or are firm and devout Bush worshippers, and believe that criticism of Bush is tantamount to treason.
I didn't agree with everything Mr. Ritter said, but he was an excellent speaker and I encourage anyone who gets the chance to see him to do so.
Mr. Ritter started by telling us about himself. A former Marine who served in the Persian Gulf, a registered Republican, and a self-confessed conservative, he proudly served in Operation Desert Storm, a mission he believed in. Mr. Ritter's profound respect for the military of this country and the men and women who serve therein permeated the entire speech. In addition, he talked about the importance of citizenship, and how we are all responsible for the actions of our nation.
He went on to talk about how we got into the situation we are in today. Back in the late 70's (when yours truly was still in the single digits), Iraq was a strategic ally of the U.S. during the Iran-Iraq War. But in 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the U.S. moved to liberate Kuwait. In order to sell the war to the American people, Saddam Hussein (who only a few months before was hailed as a friend of the American people by a Senatorial delegation led by Bob Dole) was painted as the Hitler of the Middle East.
After Operation Desert Storm, Hussein retained his position in Iraq, and we implemented sanctions. In addition, Hussein was asked to declare all his weapons and weapons programs (which we knew we had - we helped him acquire them, after all). The first declaration was false - the weapons inspectors knew it was false. Mr. Ritter recounted an episode where a satellite picture determined there were trucks carrying materials for a nuclear program, and the inspectors went to inspect the site and were denied entry. When they returned, UN resolution in hand, they found that the trucks were gone, although there was ample evidence that trucks had been there. They did determine the new site, and the inspectors went to the new site, this time armed with cameras. They took lots of photos that proved the first declaration, which declared no nuclear weapons program, was false. The UN came back with a second resolution for Iraq to declare its weapons stores.
After this, Mr. Ritter believes that the Iraqis did destroy most if not all of their biological, chemical, nuclear weapons & long-range missles. He compared it to a drug dealer, who has 10 bags of drugs and the police knocking at his door. The dealer flushes the drugs and lets the police in, and says he doesn't have any drugs when asked. But the police go to the water purification plant, find plastic bags with drug residue. They track it back through the water system to the drug dealers residence. But they can only track down 8 of the 10 bags...can they assume the dealer flushed everything, or is he still holding some?
In the case of Iraq's weapons programs, time was on our side. Buried nuclear components will not work - transporting lenses used for implosion will render them useless. Chemical weapons have a lifespan of less than 7 years. Biological weapons have a lifespan of 3 years. Even if there *were* these sorts of weapons in Iraq, by the late '90's they were useless.
Mr. Ritter believes that September 11 lit a spark under the neo-conservatives, who were firm proponents of regime change in Iraq (they urged us to continue the war after Operation Desert Storm successfully liberated Kuwait). They saw it as an opportunity to gain power. Further, Mr. Ritter expressed that after Operation Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein (who was put forth as the Hitler of the Middle East by the first Bush administration) was a domestic policy problem for Bush. The neo-cons took the opportunity and their influence in the second Bush administration, and pushed for the Iraqi invasion.
Mr. Ritter expressed his shock that at no point in the run-up to the war was the case for the war questioned by the people who should have been questioning - the media (he declared that he did not consider anyone who didn't question the Bush administration does not deserve to be called a journalist), the Congress, the UN. He said he heard Colin Powell's case, which he personally knew to be untrue, and not a single person questioned it. He said he could not believe it when one night, as he was watching Tom Brokaw deliver a report about the possible war in Iraq, he heard Tom Brokaw not say a single word about the evidence against the existence of WMD's, and Mr. Ritter was especialy shocked because he was the one who told Tom Brokaw about it.
Mr. Ritter has a solution to the current situation in Iraq: he wants our soldiers home now. He said the mission in Iraq does not fulfill the requirements of the oath that our military takes, and that the mission was not worth the deaths of our young men and women. He feels that the whole misadventure is detrimental to our national security, and was more of a response to a domestic political problem than to a national security problem.
After the talk, there was a question and answer session, where several people questioned why Mr. Ritter did not mention the issue of oil. Ritter said it was far too simplistic to say the war was all about oil - he said the oil businessmen he's talked to prefer a dictatorship (predictable) to a democracy (messy & unpredictable). Several speakers were veterans, including a former history teacher who talked about Vietnam - he said when that war was in progress, the school he taught at arranged for a debate between 3 doves and 3 hawks (he was one of the doves). He said it seemed like that kind of discussion was not possible now, a point that Mr. Ritter made at the start of the speech. The gentleman also wanted to point out that there is no such thing as "the Iraqi people" - there are Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. One young woman asked if Ritter would think the war was worthwhile if the Iraqis developed a democracy. Ritter said it doesn't matter what the outcome is - Iraq was not a threat to our constitution or to the safety of the United States, and if we are to remain a nation of laws, we cannot undertake actions that are against our own laws.
A couple of people asked questions about the media, and Ritter was highly critical. He said he appreciates what people like Amy Goodman do, but that he feels alternative media needs to find a way to talk about issues without being activist. A young man who is a combat veteran of the current Iraq invasion said he may be at odds with the rest of the audience, but he supported the mission, and he felt that Mr. Ritter did not give proper due to the Iraqi people who recently participated in the elections. Mr. Ritter thanked him for his service, but he said a lot of the people who voted didn't know what they were voting for. The different groups of Iraqis also voted for different things - for example, the Kurds votes on a resolution for their Independence, but that wasn't part of the Shiite ballot.
At least one person asked "what can we do?" Mr. Ritter offered some criticism of the peace movement, which he felt failed in the runup to the war, but he also cautioned that due to the Patriot Act, there is a need to be careful in protest - it is possible that those who protest against this administration could be labeled terrorists. However, he said that he is also not concerned that jack-booted thugs are waiting to arrest him and his family, because we still have free speech in this country, and he's going to continue to speak out.
Loki and I waited around afterwards to speak to Mr. Ritter, but we didn't do more than shake his hand, and I thanked him for speaking out against the war before anyone else. Afterwards, I was thinking that I should have asked him how I, as a progressive liberal, can talk about the war to a conservative Republican. I'm short on ideas, as most of the Republicans I talk to are already on my side, or are firm and devout Bush worshippers, and believe that criticism of Bush is tantamount to treason.
I didn't agree with everything Mr. Ritter said, but he was an excellent speaker and I encourage anyone who gets the chance to see him to do so.
I5BOTD 4/7/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Damn the Man
which is housed in one of my favorite cities in the world, Boston.
Plus, it gives me the opportunity to confess that I've seen Empire Records at least 5 times. I don't love the movie, or anything, but if it comes on TV and the weather is crappy and I've got nothing to do but fold some laundry, I will very likely watch it.
Damn the Man
which is housed in one of my favorite cities in the world, Boston.
Plus, it gives me the opportunity to confess that I've seen Empire Records at least 5 times. I don't love the movie, or anything, but if it comes on TV and the weather is crappy and I've got nothing to do but fold some laundry, I will very likely watch it.
4/06/2005
I5BOTD 4/6/06
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Geeks Against Bush
because they combine 2 of my favorite qualities in other humans: geekiness and being against Bush.
Geeks Against Bush
because they combine 2 of my favorite qualities in other humans: geekiness and being against Bush.
4/05/2005
4/04/2005
I5BOTD 4/4/05
Today's Indie 500 Blog of the Day is:
Green Dog Democrat
interesting snippets from the author's friend, who travels for work, on what's happening in China.
Green Dog Democrat
interesting snippets from the author's friend, who travels for work, on what's happening in China.
4/03/2005
It's a good thing I don't believe in hell
because if there were such a place, I'd probably be headed there.
I was raised in a very Catholic family. I have three aunts who are nuns and an uncle who is a priest. My parents forced me dress up and go to Mass every Sunday morning from the day of my birth until the day I moved out of the house. I am a Catholic School survivor.
But I find I can't mourn the death of a man who spent more time fretting over gay people than he did over the widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of his regional representatives. I don't feel sad about the death of a man who spread lies about the effectiveness of condoms at protecting oneself from HIV, when talking to a continent that is devastated by AIDS.
I'm not saying he was all bad. He was flawed like the rest of us, but I don't believe he was evil. I'm sure he was well intentioned. I believe that he sincerely wished for peace for this world.
Pope John Paul II had a good run on this earth. He survived WWII and getting shot, and I remember how moved I felt when he forgave the man who shot him. I was pleased that he spoke out against the Iraq invasion. But he also used his power to hurt some of the least of us, even if he didn't mean to.
A lot of people believe that JP is now in heaven with God, and that's fine. I suppose there are people who believe he's in hell, too (Bob Jones University comes to mind). But as a non-believer, I think he's just gone, and that's that. I feel sympathy for the people who feel they've lost their spiritual leader (people like my mother and sister and aunts and uncles). I hope the Catholic church can find a leader who will focus on the evil within as well as the evil without.
I was raised in a very Catholic family. I have three aunts who are nuns and an uncle who is a priest. My parents forced me dress up and go to Mass every Sunday morning from the day of my birth until the day I moved out of the house. I am a Catholic School survivor.
But I find I can't mourn the death of a man who spent more time fretting over gay people than he did over the widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of his regional representatives. I don't feel sad about the death of a man who spread lies about the effectiveness of condoms at protecting oneself from HIV, when talking to a continent that is devastated by AIDS.
I'm not saying he was all bad. He was flawed like the rest of us, but I don't believe he was evil. I'm sure he was well intentioned. I believe that he sincerely wished for peace for this world.
Pope John Paul II had a good run on this earth. He survived WWII and getting shot, and I remember how moved I felt when he forgave the man who shot him. I was pleased that he spoke out against the Iraq invasion. But he also used his power to hurt some of the least of us, even if he didn't mean to.
A lot of people believe that JP is now in heaven with God, and that's fine. I suppose there are people who believe he's in hell, too (Bob Jones University comes to mind). But as a non-believer, I think he's just gone, and that's that. I feel sympathy for the people who feel they've lost their spiritual leader (people like my mother and sister and aunts and uncles). I hope the Catholic church can find a leader who will focus on the evil within as well as the evil without.
4/01/2005
Exciting New Blog
I am thrilled to introduce this new blogger to the blogroll. I truly believe the future of blogging lies in the kind of insightful, well considered and thoughtful analysis provided by Instapanda.
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