Yet Another Blog

Give Komen the Pink Slip: Five Ways to Support Women's Health for All - News - GOOD

2012-02-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

Give Komen the Pink Slip: Five Ways to Support Women's Health for All - News - GOOD

Some alternative choices for support the fight against breast cancer

We Need Your Support - Alison Leigh Lilly

2012-01-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

We Need Your Support - Alison Leigh Lilly

My husband has been in negotiations with his ex-wife informally since October, and formally (read: with lawyers) for two months trying to work out a child custody arrangement that will let him see the kids after we’ve moved. We originally hoped for a three-month period of time with them during the summers, but after their mother objected that this would interfere with their homeschooling schedule, we compromised with a proposal to have them two months during the summer, and one week each in March, October and in December over the winter solstice. It’s still not very much time, and it’s going to be really expensive for us to have to pay to fly four kids back and forth across the country several times a year instead of us just making one trip out and back… but it’s worth it to see the kids. [remainder at link, above.]

Anglo-Celtic Connections: Vote now for your favourite rock star genealogists

2012-01-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Anglo-Celtic Connections: Vote now for your favourite rock star genealogists

Signal boosting for the genealogy readers.

Man Who Catalogued Cemetery Given Highest Geneology Award - Middletown, CT Patch

2012-01-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Man Who Catalogued Cemetery Given Highest Geneology Award - Middletown, CT Patch

As a genealogist, records such as these are invaluable in documenting any number of facts about the people you are researching. I know that over the years I have been researching my family, records such as these have often been the sole means of documenting birth or death dates (even if sometimes only the year), and on occasion, family relationships where couple share a meorial or they are in a family plot/cemetery.

Witchcraft and Disability - Witch School International

2012-01-03T00:53:00.000-08:00

Witchcraft and Disability - Witch School International

Linking to boost this along.

National Cultural Appropriation Day, November edition

2011-11-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hey, here’s a suggestion: you want to celebrate Thanksgiving? Go for it. Find things to be thankful for and celebrate those things. Don’t let anyone harsh your mellow over it.

I really want to find a painting of First Americans meeting European Invaders and caption it “when father’s family met mother’s family.”

I suppose I could settle for a description of any of the Texas massacres that involved folks in the Albright/Albrecht families (one son went fishing and was never seen again, another branch of the family was all killed), one of the Parker cousinswas kidnapped as a child, “rescued” years later from the “red devils” - or my Creek 3x-great grandmother, who died on the Trail of Tears.

My wife’s family has a similar mixed history, as do many other people.

As for us? We got our turkey breast (there's not enough of us to warrant a full bird), dressing, our ham, some pies, salads and a few other things on the menu.

Thanksgiving Prayer William S Burroughs

2011-11-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

Uploaded by arribaradio on May 7, 2009

Thanksgiving Day, Nov 28,1986 first appeared in the chapbook Tornado Alley, with illustrations by S. Clay Wilson. Gus Van Sant then made a short film of Burroughs reading the text.
This poem resonates today as exposing what has gone horribly wrong in the USA, or maybe what has always been wrong.
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 1986

William S. Burroughs
For John Dillinger
In hope he is still alive
Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts
thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison
thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger
thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot
thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes
thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through
thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches, for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces
thanks for Kill a Queer for Christ stickers
thanks for laboratory AIDS
thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs
thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business
thanks for a nation of finks — yes,
thanks for all the memories all right, lets see your arms you always were a headache and you always were a bore
thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.

License:

Standard YouTube License

53! 99! 1! Hype! er, Hike!

2011-10-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

Conservatives launch “We are the 53 percent” to criticize 99 percenters - The Washington Post

So, as some of you have noticed, there is a new Tumblr called “We are the 53 percent” (I’ve reblogged a couple of their posts over on my Tumblr - warning, posts there are OFTEN NOT SAFE FOR WORK.)

I’d been wondering where this magical number came from, and now I know. It’s pretty much pulled out of their asses, much like the sense of smugness that accompanies the majority of their posts.

As the article linked above indicates, “the 53%” is supposed to represent the 53 percent of Americans who pay federal income taxes, and its assumption is that the Wall Street protesters are part of the 46 percent of the country who don’t.

Thing is, a lot of the people who are protesting (not just on Wall Street) do pay taxes. Many of them have jobs; the job may not pay well, they may even have more than one. Even if they don't have a job, they may still be paying income taxes; I pay it on my Social Security disability, and my spouse pays it on their Unemployment Compensation. That doesn’t alter the fact that The System is fundamentally broken, and that’s what the protests are about.

It’s not about a free ride. It’s about fixing what’s wrong with the country before the armed mobs start forming to take it back from the politicians and corporations who have sold it to the highest bidder.

Say what?

2011-09-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Noted Elsewhere as a response to someone's rebuttal argument about something that I'm quite certain was positively earth-shattering in its importance, was this gem:

"Wait, what’s that? None of these claims can be supported by actual facts and evidence, or even make sense? WELL FUQ YOU, THIS IS MY OPINION, AND OPINIONS DON’T NEED FACTS TO VALIDATE THEM. IT IS IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT THAT I GET TO SAY WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT AND NO ONE CAN EVER DISAGREE WITH ME OR ELSE THEY’RE UNAMERICAN, SLUTTY TERRORISTS."

Sad to say that this opinion is held by more than a few people, and only the part about opinions not needing facts to validate them is accurate.

The first amendment doesn't have a damned thing to do with opinions - yours, mine or otherwise - and if our educational system wasn't so fucked by a lack of funding, the factual amendment might actually still be taught in school.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

That's what it actually says.

There have been many discussions over the centuries (we are working on the third one for this country) about exactly what 'freedom of speech' means, and while more than a few restrictions have been placed on aspects of speech, but you know, the ability to disagree with someone, even on the internet, still exists.

White (Country) Gravy

2011-09-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

I'm sometimes surprised when I hear of someone who doesn't know how to make this, one of the most basic white sauces out there.

· 2-4 TBLspoon fat (butter, bacon fat, sausagefat, Crisco)

· 2-4 TBLspoon flour (1:1 ratio)

· 4-8 cups Milk

· Salt

· Pepper

· Rubbed Sage

For two people use the smaller amounts of ingredients. This recipe is a trial and errorexperience. Once you’ve done it a fewtimes you’ll figure out what the ratios are for your family.

Melt fat in a skillet.

Add in flour and make a roué.

Addin seasonings and brown slightly.

Once the roué is bubbling, SLOWLY add in the milk and stir tomix. (Using a whisk works best for this entire process.)

Bring to a slow boil, stirringfrequently to keep mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Allow to boil for 5-10 minutes. If gravy does not thicken in the boiling process mix 2 TBLspoon ofcornstarch or flour with ½ cup COLD water or milk and mix well. Stir constantly, preventing lumps fromforming and bring back up to a boil. Letboil for a few minutes then turn off heat.

Serve with biscuits and your choice of other breakfastfoods.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

2011-09-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is a simple dish to make, and is one of our family favorites. Due to the sodium content of most prepared/canned soups, we are still experimenting with coming up with our own soup recipes, which aren't reflected in this.

· 1 pint sour cream

· 1 can Nacho or Cheddar Cheese soup

· 1 can cream of chicken soup

· 1 small (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies (use more if you like it hotter)

· 1 dozen Corn tortillas

· 2 cups chopped cooked chicken

· 1 bunch green onions, chopped

· Shredded Mexi-cheese blend

Heat oven to 375.
Cut tortillas into strips (about a finger’s width and then in thirds (or halves) lengthwise).
In a bowl mix soups and sour cream.
Spray a 9x12 baking dish with a little non-stick spray. Place a layer of tortilla strips, then a layer of the soup mixture, sprinkle chicken, chilies and onions then cheese on top. Repeat until the top of the pan. Top layer should be nothing but tortilla strips, soup mixture and cheese.
Cover pan and place in over to bake for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, take of cover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until tops is bubbling and slightly browned.
Pull from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

About testing welfare recipients for drugs...

2011-08-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Noted at : cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com and authored by Meg Lanker-Simons; I'm just quoting the whole thing because she says it better than I can at the moment.

Uh-oh. Looks like Florida’s mandatory drug testing for taxpayers is costing the taxpayers more than they’re actually saving.
Governor Rick Scott had praised the program when he signed it June 1st of this year, proclaiming, “It’s the right thing for citizens of this state that need public assistance. We don’t want to waste tax dollars.”
However, the numbers are not adding up. From WFTV:
Just six weeks after Florida began drug testing welfare applicants, WFTV uncovered numbers which show that the program is already costing Central Florida taxpayers more than it saves. 9 Investigates’ reporter George Spencer found very few applicants are testing positive for drugs. The Department of Central Florida’s (DCF) region tested 40 applicants and only two tested positive for drugs, officials said. One of the tests is being appealed.
Governor Rick Scott said the program would save money. Critics said it already looks like a boondoggle. “We have a diminishing amount of returns for our tax dollars. Do we want out governor throwing our precious tax dollars into a program that has already been proven not to work?” Derek Brett of the ACLU said.
DCF said it has been referring applicants to clinics where drug screenings cost between $30 and $35. The applicant pays for the test and the state reimburses [the applicant] if they test negative. Therefore, the 38 applicants in the Central Florida area, who tested negative, were reimbursed at least $30 each and cost taxpayers $1,140. Meanwhile, the state is saving less than $240 a month by refusing benefits to those two applicants who tested positive.
I’m not at all shocked by this, and the ACLU is planning to file suit. Oh, and they’re also saying to Rick Scott: “We told you so.” Literally.
The sad part? These measures scare people off from applying for benefits. If people test positive for drugs, it means two things: Either they ingested that substance at least once, and maybe only once, within the testing window - or it’s a false positive. Here’s a short list of things that can cause a false positive:
Poppy seeds: (Opioids)

Cold medications: (amphetamines)

Wellbutrin: (amphetamines)

Tricyclic antidepressants: (amphetamines)

Zoloft: (benzodiazepine)

Daypro
: (benzodiazepine)
Quinolone antibiotic drugs: (Opioids)

Sustiva (prescribed for HIV): (cannabinoids)

Ibuprofen: (cannabinoids, barbiturates, phencyclidine [PCP])

Foods made with hemp and hemp oil: (cannabinoids)

Effexor: (phencyclidine)

Vicks Inhalers: (methamphetamines)

Zantac: (amphetamines)

Ultram: (phencyclidine)

Over-the-counter cough medicine containing dextromethorphan: (Opioids)

Huh. So drug tests aren’t infallible and they’re not saving Florida any money? As the ACLU points out, Florida should have learned this 10 years ago, when they tried this program and had to dump it for cost reasons.
I’ll indulge the governor for a moment, though. Let’s say there’s parents who have used some kind of drugs in the period before the test. Why deprive children of quite possibly the only support they’ll receive because their parent(s) may or may not have used drugs voluntarily or involuntarily in the testing period? I’m not comfortable with that thought, and any other person with an iota of compassion should not be thrilled with that proposition either.

My tuppence - Maybe instead of drug testing welfare recipients, we should test politicians, not only for drugs, but for brains and a heart.

Faran Flad - The shaking of the sheets

2011-07-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm more familiar with Steeleye Span's version of this song, but this is a veryt nice rendition.

Enough

2011-07-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

I received the following via email from my sister; although I‘ve seen it several times over the years, it’s a poignant reminder.

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

* Only if you wish, send this to the people you will never forget and remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you. If you don't send it to anyone it may simply mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE....

To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

A Few Words About Katrina

2011-05-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

A Few Words About Katrina

My wife returned to college a few months ago, and needs some assistance. Please take a look at the above link and if you can help, please consider it. After all, you wouldn't want an untrained mortician working on you in the future, would you?

The Giraffe Test

2011-04-25T09:54:00.001-07:00

Ok all of you brainiacs

Take the test, don't cheat

Take one at a Time

You don't need to tell me how you did

There are 4 questions. Don’t miss one.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Stop and think about it and decide on your answer before you scroll down.

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?
Wrong Answer.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals
attend ... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer : The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer:? You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to ~~Anderson Consulting Worldwide~~ the email I received this in, around 90% of the Professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively proves the theory that most professionals do not have the brains of a four-year-old.

Now you can send this out to frustrate all of your smart friends...

Live like an eighty-year old

2011-04-03T12:08:00.001-07:00

One day I had lunch with some friends. Jim, a short, balding golfer type about 80 years old, came along with them---all in all, a pleasant bunch.

When the menus were presented, we ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Jim who said, "Ice Cream, please. Two scoops,
chocolate.

I wasn't sure my ears heard right, and the others were aghast. "Along with heated apple pie," Jim added, completely unabashed.

We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time. But when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy mine.

I couldn't take my eyes off Jim as his pie a-la-mode went down. The other guys couldn’t believe it. They ate their lunches silently and grinned.

The next time I went out to eat, I called and invited Jim. I lunched on white meat tuna. He ordered a parfait.

I smiled. He asked if he amused me, I answered, "Yes, you do, but also you confuse me. How come you order rich desserts, while I feel I must be sensible?

He laughed and said "I'm tasting all that is Possible. I try to eat the food I need, and do the things I should. But life's so short, my friend, I hate missing out on something good.
This year I realized how old I was. (He grinned) I haven't been this old before."

"So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I had ignored. I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many trout streams I haven’t fished. There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead. There are too many golf courses I haven’t played. I've not laughed at all the jokes. I've missed a lot of sporting events and potato chips and cokes. I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face. I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace. I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast. I want
un-timed long distance calls to the folks I love the most. I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain. I need to feel wind on my face. I want to be in love again. So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire. I had that final chocolate mousse before my life expired."

With that, I called the waitress over.. "I've changed my mind, " I said. "I want what he is having, only add some more whipped cream!"

This is my gift to you - We need an annual Friends Day! If you get this twice, then you have more than one friend.

Live well, love much & laugh often - Be happy.

SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS including me if I'm lucky enough to be counted among them. Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people we like and respect.

Remember that while money talks, CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SINGS!

As II was pulling my email this morning, some filtered into the folder for family emails. As I was scanning subject lines, I happened to look back at some of the older emails in that folder, of which this was one. Thanks for the memories, Elsie.

Knowledge, Power, Time, Work and Money Equations

2011-03-03T00:51:00.000-08:00

(from an old email)

Knowledge is Power
Time is Money
and as every engineer knows, Power is Work over Time.

So, substituting algebraic equations for these time worn bits of wisdom, we get:

K = P (1)
T = M (2)
P = W/T (3)

Now, do a few simple substitutions:

Put W/T in for P in equation (1), which yields:

K = W/T (4)

Put M in for T into equation (4), which yields:

K = W/M (5)

Now we've got something. Expanding back into English, we get:

Knowledge equals Work over Money.

What this MEANS is that:

1.The More You Know, the More Work You Do, and
2.The More You Know, the Less Money You Make.

Solving for Money, we get:

M = W/K (6)

Money equals Work Over Knowledge.

From equation (6) we see that Money approaches infinity as Knowledge approaches 0, regardless of the Work done.

What THIS MEANS is:

The More you Make, the Less you Know.

Solving for Work, we get

W = M K (7)

Work equals Money times Knowledge.

From equation (7) we see that Work approaches 0 as Knowledge approaches 0.

What THIS MEANS is:

The stupid rich do little or no work.

Working out the socioeconomic implications of this breakthrough is left as an exercise for the reader.

10 things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

2011-02-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

10 things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

By Adam Voiland Mon Oct 20, 5:31 pm ET

With America's obesity problem among kids reaching crisis proportions, even junk food makers have started to claim they want to steer children toward more healthful choices. In a study released earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 32 percent of children were overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese, and 11 percent were extremely obese. Food giant PepsiCo, for example,points out on its website that "we can play an important role in helping kids lead healthier lives by offering healthy product choices in schools." The company highlights what it considers its healthier products within various food categories through a"Smart Spot" marketing campaign that features green symbols on packaging. PepsiCo's inclusive criteria—explained here—award spots to foods of dubious nutritional value such as Diet Pepsi, Cap'n Crunch cereal, reduced-fat Doritos, and Cheetos, as well as to more nutritious products such as Quaker Oatmeal and Tropicana Orange Juice.

But are wellness initiatives like Smart Spot just marketing ploys? Such moves by the food industry may seem to be a step in the right direction, but ultimately makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to encourage kids to eat more—not less—of the foods that fuel their profits, says David Ludwig, a pediatrician and the co-author of a commentary published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association that raises questions about whether big food companies can be trusted to help combat obesity. Ludwig and article co-author Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, both of whom have long histories of tracking the food industry, spoke with U.S. News and highlighted 10 things that junk food makers don't want you to know about their products and how they promote them.

Remainder of article at link, above.

"Health claims" made by the food industry - low fat, low sugar, etc. - are generally bunk; if they lower the fat, the sugar or salt content is increased to make up the difference in taste. Likewise, the low-sodium/"no added sugar" is often higher in fat... But the food companies are in the business of selling you food to make a profit, and do not have your interests at their heart.

2% (or lower) milk is often suggested (and sometimes mandated by rule), but whole (cow's) milk is already 96.75% fat-free to begin with. I was speaking with a dietician a few weeks ago in relation to my diabetes, and she asked if I ate low fat foods. I told her no, that I prefer my foods to be the way nature intended them, and that rather than spending time trying to find "low whatever" versions, the real key was to actually eat less - be moderate.

The one item I do try to watch out for is the omnipresent high fructose corn syrup, which has made its way into just about every processed food there is, from biscuits to yoghurt; even Sara Lee, my favorite frozen dessert company is now using it, and so they are off my grocery list.

Do you want to be healthier?

Here are some steps that can help in many instances:

1. Eat less, but more often. Have 6-7 SMALL meals instead of 3 large ones. Breakfast, elevenses (sometimes known as 'second breakfast'¹), luncheon, tea, dinner and, supper....sound familiar?
2. Snacks of celery, carrots and fresh fruit when you can. It's often been said that celery is a zero calorie food, as it takes more calories to eat than it provides...
3. Turn off the computer and TV and go outside. Walk, jog, or just stand around and look at the trees, flowers and clouds. But get up off your butt and get some physical movement into your life. Any amount will help, but half an hour, three or four times a week, of some sort of physical activity is a really good thing for most people.
4. Cook your own meals from fresh ingredients, not ready-to-eat. Want a real treat? Find a real cook book that tells you how to make things like tomato sauce and quit buying the processed stuff. don't know where to find one? We've managed to find several copies of early editions of the Betty Crocker Cookbook at thrift stores and online booksellers. Or, subscribe to the Vintage Recipes feed and get suggestions from a variety of older collections on a regular basis.
5. Smile and laugh - a lot! That old saw about "laughter is the best medicine" has some truth behind it.
6. Get an adequate amount of sleep. The amount you need varies by your age, sex and overall health, but if you aren't sleeping well, that is going to manifest in other areas of your life as well. If your bed is uncomfortable, maybe it's time to replace your mattress...
7. Eliminate or minimize fear in your life. If this means you quit watching the nightly news, then by all means do so. When the politics of fear are in abundance, switch them off. Put on music that makes you feel good or happy. This doesn't mean you need to become an ostrich and hide your head, but do not let fear rule your life. Remember, "the only thing we have to fear is fear, itself".

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift” (that's why it's called the present.) Or, if you prefer, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Use it wisely.
---
¹ - Yes, I am aware that second breakfast and elevenses are not the same, however the source I used for the ordering had them listed as above.

This was originally posted to one of my other blogs in October 2008; I'm reposting it because it's still good advice, and I needed the reminder!

All Our Relations

2011-02-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

thinking of you all -- always.

All My Relations

2011-02-20T21:26:00.001-08:00

Several years ago, I received telephone call that, in many ways, changed my life. I didn’t recognize the number in the caller ID, but took the call anyway, instead of letting it go to voice mail as I will often do under that circumstance.

I said “Hello”, and the voice on the other end announced “Herbert, this is your cousin, Elsie Allbright Pearson.” She had received my number from a mutual cousin, Annie Mae “Cookie” Tucker, with whom I shared an interest in genealogy and family history.

Over the next several years, Elsie and I would talk several times, sometimes several times a month, catching up on family gossip and new leads on our reclusive ancestors – many of whom fit the descriptor in my bio here on the blog of ‘social brown recluse’ – hard to find, but you know they are there! Her great-grandfather was brother to my great-great-grandmother on one side of our family and her grandfather was a brother to my great-grandmother, making us both second cousins once removed as well as third cousins once removed.

Our joint quest was to find the parents of William Larkin Jones and his sister, Francis Louella Jones Moore Rogers Allbright, a task that we failed to complete, although I have some ideas in that direction.

Sadly for me, I won’t get to share the fruits of my research with her, as Elsie passed away in January 2011, following a lengthy illness and recuperation. I suppose, given that I believe in an afterlife, that she has already found out for sure, but the long-distance service between here and there is cost-prohibitive, so we haven’t talked in a while.

Elsie, thank you for your friendship. I’m missing you greatly right now because I just came across a file on my computer titled “Things to discuss with Elsie.”

This post is dedicated to the memory of Elsie Allbright Pearson, 1939-2011

Genealogical Codicil to My Last Will and Testament

2011-02-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

New Page: http://hrmitchell.blogspot.com/p/genealogy-codicil-to-last-will-and.html

A couple of thoughts on the Wiccan Rede

2011-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Following is a recent post I made to an email list where the topic of the Wiccan Rede came up, as it is wont to do periodically.

"The Wiccan Rede" as it is commonly used in American paganism, has become a reductio ad absurdum - reduced to the impracticable "harm none", which in no manner is close to what Gardner originally wrote:

' Witches are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pasol, "Do what you like so long as you harm no one." But they believe a certain law to be important, "You must not use magic for anything which will cause harm to anyone, and if, to prevent a greater wrong being done, you must discommode someone, you must do it only in a way which will abate the harm."

This involves every magical action being discussed first, to see that it can do no damage, and this induces a habit of mind to consider well the results of one's actions, especially upon others. This you may say, is elementary Christianity. Of course it is; it is also elementary Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Judaism, to name only a few.' [Gardner, Gerald. The Meaning of Witchcraft. Lakemont, GA US: Copple House Books, 1959; 1988 edition, page 127, as noted in the now-defunct website "What Gardner Said".]

This is a far cry from the "Harm None!" 'commandment' as espoused by some who proclaim it in the name of Wicca. Even in Valiente's speech in 1964, at the Witchcraft Research Association dinner, there was no question that the Rede was anything of the sort: "I think we have earned the right to proclaim the old teaching of tolerance and freedom, and mutual respect, which is contained in the saying The Wiccan Rede. '' Wiccan '' is the Anglo-Saxon plural of '' wicce ''; and '' Rede '' means counsel or teaching: Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfil: An' it harm none, do what ye will. This is a simple positive moral code and it could make the world a much happier place.''
[Pentagram, issue #2 , November 1964, page 7]

(Side note - if this is the 'fulfilment' (sic) of the Rede, what is its entirety? Food for thought.)

The 'legendary Good King Pasol' (sic), as most should know, was a literary creation, and not an historical figure - King Pausole, a character in Pierre Louÿs' Les aventures du roi Pausole (The
Adventures of King Pausole, published in 1901), had a similar motto of 'Do what you like as long as you harm no one.' Many believe that Gardner's version is derived from Crowley's Book of the Law (1904), ''Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law'', (though as used by Crowley it is half of a statement and response, the response being "Love is the law, love under will"). Crowley might have adapted this from François Rabelais, who in 1534 wrote, "DO AS THOU WILT because men that are free, of gentle birth, well bred and at home in civilized company possess a natural instinct that inclines them to virtue and saves them from vice. This instinct they name their honor" [Rabelais quoted from Wikipedia]; however, Louÿs' version is much closer than Rabelais' - or Crowley's - to the Wiccan Rede as historically expressed.

I personally have little doubt that Gardner's intent was to white-wash the Craft into something as non-threatening as possible; however, a careful reading of his two books on the subject will reveal evidence that this was not always the reality of 'the Cult' as he knew it.

Psalmi 109 - from the Latin Vulgate edition

2011-02-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

1pro victoria David canticum
2Deus laudabilis mihi ne taceas quia os impii et os dolosi contra me apertum est
3locuti sunt de me lingua mendacii verbis odii circumdederunt me et expugnaverunt me frustra
4pro eo quod eos diligebam adversabantur mihi ego autem orabam
5et posuerunt contra me malum pro bono et odium pro dilectione mea
6constitue super eum impium et Satan astet a dextris eius
7cum fuerit iudicatus exeat condemnatus et oratio eius sit in peccatum
8fiant dies eius parvi episcopatum eius accipiat alter
9sint filii eius pupilli et uxor eius vidua
10instabiles vagentur liberi eius et mendicent et quaerantur in parietinis suis
11scrutetur exactor universa quae habet et diripiant alieni laborem eius
12non sit qui eius misereatur nec qui clemens sit in pupillos eius
13fiat novissimum eius interitus in generatione altera deleatur nomen eius
14redeat in memoria iniquitas patrum eius apud Deum et iniquitas matris eius ne deleatur
15sit contra Dominum semper et intereat de terra memoria eorum
16eo quod non est recordatus facere misericordiam
17et persecutus est virum inopem et pauperem et conpunctum corde ut interficeret
18et dilexit maledictionem quae veniet ei et noluit benedictionem quae elongabitur ab eo et indutus est maledictione quasi vestimento suo et ingredietur quasi aqua in viscera eius et quasi oleum in ossa eius
19sit ei quasi pallium quo circumdatur et quasi cingulum quo semper accingitur
20haec est retributio his qui adversantur mihi a Domino et qui loquuntur malum contra animam meam
21tu autem Deus Domine fac mecum propter nomen tuum quoniam bona est misericordia tua libera me
22quoniam egenus et pauper sum et cor meum vulneratum est intrinsecus
23quasi umbra cum inclinatur abductus sum et excussus quasi lucusta
24genua mea vacillaverunt a ieiunio et caro mea mutata est absque oleo
25et ego factus sum obprobrium eis videntes me moverunt caput suum
26adiuva me Domine Deus meus salva me secundum misericordiam tuam
27et sciant quoniam manus tua haec tu Domine fecisti eam
28maledicent illi et tu benedices restiterunt et confundentur servus autem tuus laetabitur
29induantur adversarii mei confusione et operiantur quasi indumento confusione sua
30confitebor Domino vehementer in ore meo et in medio populorum laudabo eum
31quoniam stabit a dextris pauperis ut salvet a iudicibus animam eius

Oh, you want the English version? Okay - Psalm 109 in English

For some commentary on the above, check Wikipedia - Psalm_109

Powerful poetry and imprecatory would you not agree? I would not want to be on the receiving end of such a curse. It's not the only such example, there are some others listed at http://www.theopedia.com/Imprecatory_Psalms

And then there was One

2011-01-18T01:58:00.000-08:00

As some of you may be aware, most of Western Washington is flooding. For those of you who were unaware of that, Hi, most of Western Washington is flooding.

What this means for us - we live in a valley that has a fairly good sized river running through it - hence the term "valley". The river meanders all over the valley and loops back at points. Think of a really large, sloppy, repetitive "S" and you get the idea.

Our town is, for the most part all on one side of the river - there are a few farmsteads and houses on the other, but the majority is all on one side. This is mostly a good thing. The main road through town is Hwy 203 - or "Main Street" as it's known around here. It runs north and south. there are two other roads that lead to and from out town: 124th Ave and the Woodinville-Duvall Road (yeah, road names around here are real original, but it's better thanm say, East Lake Sammamish Parkway South, which is a real road.)

124th has been closed the past few days due to water over the roadway. Tonight Hwy 203 was closed heading north out of town. Oh, 124th Ave? It's south of town, out Hwy 203 and south of that is closed for the next two towns.

King County Roads Alerts

The line of red that you see as the map opens? That's Hwy 203. Click in about 3 times and scroll up to where you can see Duvall. That's our town. Notice Kelly Road to the right of town? Follow that up until it curves back toward the left, near the top. That upside-down T just past the curve is about where we live.

Now you know why I'm glad we live on a hill. There is still one road open out of the valley, but if closed, the John Donne notwithstanding, we are an Island. As the bridge over the river was raised some years ago, it's unlikely, but not impossible that we will be completely cut off - however, that did happen a couple of years ago when the road beyond the bridge washed out.

In the good news department, my new glasses are in and I can pick them up tomorrow (aka later today), provided the road remains open.

On being unapologetic

2011-01-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

Quote:

"I am an UN-APOLOGETIC AMERICAN!! I pledge allegiance to the flag of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible, with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for all!! I grew up reciting this every morning in school. We no longer do that for...fear... of OFFENDING SOMEONE!! Let's see how many AMERICANS will re-post this & not care about offending someone."

I did not grow up reciting the Pledge of Alleigiance every morning in school.

I, like many of my classmates, for religious or other personal reasons, remained silent in the classroom or were forced to exit the classroom to remain in the hallway until the Pledge and "Morning Prayer" were completed, and were thus targeted for ridicule and bullying.

Many are claiming they are "unapologetic Americans" and do not care about offending someone, because they recited a version of the Pledge of Allegiance in school. Many of them are unaware (or, as they indicate, don't care) that the Pledge they are reposting is not the original version of the Pledge and that the Pledge has changed many times in its history, most recently in the 1950sl nor do they seem to be aware that the recitation of the Pledge continues in most schools to this day. To hear them, it was banned under color of "political correctness", but of course, facts of the matter rarely change their minds.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, who was a Baptist minister and a Christian socialist. Bellamy's original Pledge read as follows: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The pledge was supposed to be quick and to the point. Bellamy designed it to be recited in 15 seconds. As a socialist, he had initially also considered using the words equality and fraternity but decided against it - knowing that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans.

An early version of the salute, adopted in 1892, was known as the Bellamy salute. It started with the hand outstretched toward the flag, palm down, and ended with the palm up. Because of the similarity between the Bellamy salute and the Nazi salute, developed later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the hand-over-the-heart gesture as the salute to be rendered by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem in the United States, instead of the Bellamy salute.

The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge, and at the same time also removed the Bellamy salute in facor of Roosevelt's method, on June 22, 1942: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The phrase "under God" was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance June 14, 1954, by a Joint Resolution of Congress amending §7 of the Flag Code enacted in 1942.

Many objections have been raised since the addition of the phrase "under God" to the Pledge in 1954 by both religious and non-religious groups. Some contend that a government requiring or promoting this phrase violates protections against the establishment of religion guaranteed in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

A bill, H.R. 2389, was introduced in Congress in 2005 which, if enacted into law, would have stripped the Supreme Court and most federal courts of the power to consider any legal challenges to government requiring or promoting of the Pledge of Allegiance. H.R. 2389 was passed by the House of Representatives in July 2006, but failed due to the Senate's not taking it up.

Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, objected to court stripping in regards to the Pledge of Allegiance, "Today’s House adoption of the so-called “Pledge Protection Act” is a shameful effort to strip our federal courts of their ability to uphold the rights of all Americans. By removing the jurisdiction of federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from cases involving the Pledge, this legislation sets a dangerous precedent: threatening religious liberty, compromising the vital system of checks and balances upon which our government was founded, and granting Congress the authority to strip the courts’ jurisdiction on any issue it wishes. Today, the issue was the Pledge of Allegiance, but tomorrow it could be reproductive rights, civil rights, or any other fundamental concern.

In 2006, in the Florida case Frazier v. Alexandre, No. 05-81142 (S.D. Fla. May 31, 2006), a federal district court in Florida ruled that a 1942 state law requiring students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. As a result of that decision, a Florida school district was ordered to pay $32,500 to a student who chose not to say the pledge and was ridiculed and called "unpatriotic" by a teacher.

In 2009, a Montgomery County, Maryland, teacher berated and had school police remove a 13-year-old girl who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom. The student's mother, assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, sought and received an apology from the teacher, as state law and the school's student handbook both prohibit students from being forced to recite the Pledge.

And yet, the bullying of people over the Pledge continues.

Being unapologetic and uncaring does not make you a better American. It makes you no better than any other bully, and frankly, moves you towards the same class of people who blow up buildings and crash airplanes to make political statements or kill people because they disagree with or otherwise offend you.

Frankly, I would much rather be known for supporting The American's Creed. The American's Creed is the national creed of the United States of America, written in 1917 by William Tyler Page as an entry into a patriotic contest. It was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives April 3, 1918.

“I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.”

— William Tyler Page, The American's Creed

(This piece quotes text from Wikipedia.org in several places.)

Another one rolls on past

2010-12-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'm not much in the habit of doing the "year-in-retrospective" thing. For one, I can rarely remember most of the week, let alone the entire year, unless I go back looking for the odd entry, as I've really gotten out of the habit of posting regularly. Things that happened 10, 20 or more years ago*? I can usually recall pretty well. Short-term? Not so much.

Most days, I'm hard-pressed to come up with 140 characters, let alone 100 words.

While 2010 was not the sucktacluar suck-fest it well could have been (the current holder of that title is 2009), there wasn't a whole lot to tip it into the positive column for me.

So, instead of being long-winded, I'll repeat my Twitter message for you all:

Insert profound observation on the closing of 2010 followed by expressions of benign hope for 2011.

*Dad, it's 22 years today, I still miss you.

JOSE CUERVO CHRISTMAS COOKIES

2010-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one peastoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still ok, try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who geeves a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the wishdasher.

Cherry Mistmas !

===
Note: this recipe is neither tested nor endorsed by Jose Cuervo, or anyone else. I got it from my sister with cute pictures. *You* don't get the pictures, they're all mine. MINE! I tell you!!

Butt Prints In The Sand

2010-12-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

[This piece was posted many, many years ago to the old PODSNet BBS systems. I ran across it tonight while looking for something related to PODSNet. It's a slightly different version of the more famous "I had a Dream" aka "Footprints in the Sand". If anyone knows who actually wrote it, please let me know, so that I can correct the "author unknown'.]

BUTT PRINTS IN THE SAND

One night I had a wonderous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
"The footprints of the Goddess," I swore,
But mine were not along the shore,
Then some stranger prints did appear,
and I humbly asked Her, "What have we Here?
These prints are large and round and neat,
Much too big to be from feet."

"My child," She said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.

You would not learn, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up.
And there I dropped you on you butt.

Because in life, there comes a time
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

~Author Unknown~

Genealogy software

2010-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Over at Open Thread Thursday at Geneablogger, they are asking about running multiple genealogy software programs.

There are a lot of them choose from (Cyndi's List of Genealogy Software and Computers is a comprehensive sampling of what's available); for many years, I preferred using Personal Ancestral File (PAF) as my primary desktop (laptop) program and then would export a cleaned GEDCOM file from that for use on my genealogy website, LookingBackwards.net, with occasional supplementation from an older version of Family Tree Maker (FTM) (link is to the most recent version, I was using version 7 way back when).

A couple of years ago, I switched from using PAF in favour of FTM 2010. While there are still things about FTM that make me want to scream, I do like the built-in search capability for ancestry.com (as well as other sites, and you can add additional ones to your search menu); PAF was limited to only searching on FamilySearch.org.

I'm still having to export a GEDCOM file to upload to my website, plus make some additional clean-up/corrections to it; my eventual goal is to exclusively use my website for both data collection and display, as each version of Darrin Lythgoe's becomes more robust with each new version.

This can’t continue | Parenting in Progress

2010-10-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, I've been attempting to compose a post on the subject of bullying, mostly in response to the recent spate of suicides and assaults on gay teens; the words have not been willing to come out the way I want them to.

The world our children and grandchildren are growing up in is very different from the world we grew up in. The type of bullying we endured is nothing compared to what takes place now, thanks to modern technology where it can be distributed instantly world-wide and replayed indefinitely.

There have been several other pieces written on the subject, but I think this may be one of the best I've seen.

This can’t continue | Parenting in Progress

For those of you who may be thinking that being gay is somehow sinful because of your religious upbringing - being gay isn't the issue. Bullying is the problem, and here is a Christian response to that.

Don't Ask-Don't Tell and other lies we tell our children

2010-09-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Since Congress cannot muster the huevos y cajones to actually repeal this crappy piece of law, I think they should amend it.

Below is the pertinent section; now, in your mind (or prefered text manipulation system, change all of the references to homosexuals and their homosexual acts to non-specific people and their sexual acts. (There is some additional text both before and after this section that would need tidying up to bring into compliance as well, but this is the important part.)

(b) Policy.— A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations:
(1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts unless there are further findings, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations, that the member has demonstrated that—
(A) such conduct is a departure from the member’s usual and customary behavior;
(B) such conduct, under all the circumstances, is unlikely to recur;
(C) such conduct was not accomplished by use of force, coercion, or intimidation;
(D) under the particular circumstances of the case, the member’s continued presence in the armed forces is consistent with the interests of the armed forces in proper discipline, good order, and morale; and
(E) the member does not have a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts.
(2) That the member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect, unless there is a further finding, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in the regulations, that the member has demonstrated that he or she is not a person who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts.
(3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex.

Let's see....

(b) Policy.— A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations:
(1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a ~~homo~~sexual act or acts unless there are further findings, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations, that the member has demonstrated that—
(A) such conduct is a departure from the member’s usual and customary behavior;
(B) such conduct, under all the circumstances, is unlikely to recur;
(C) such conduct was not accomplished by use of force, coercion, or intimidation;
(D) under the particular circumstances of the case, the member’s continued presence in the armed forces is consistent with the interests of the armed forces in proper discipline, good order, and morale; and
(E) the member does not have a propensity or intent to engage in ~~homo~~sexual acts.
(2) That the member has stated that he or she is a ~~homosexual or bi~~sexual being, or words to that effect, unless there is a further finding, made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in the regulations, that the member has demonstrated that he or she is not a person who engages in, attempts to engage in, has a propensity to engage in, or intends to engage in ~~homo~~sexual acts.
(3) That the member has married or attempted to marry a person ~~known to be of the same biological sex~~.

Yeah, that would fly real well, don't ya think?

Some days it doesn't pay to chew through the restraints.

2010-09-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

(received in an email, but I wanted to share.)

There I was is sitting by myself at the bar staring at my untouched drink. Suddenly, a 6’ 8” tattooed biker steps up next to me and grabs my drink. He then grinned at me and gulped down my drink in one swig. "Well, whatcha gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.

"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I just need to kick someone’s ass, not watch a grown man crying."

"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don't have any insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my old lady in bed with the gardener, and then my dog bit me."

"So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all, I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve.

Then you, you overgrown horse’s ass, show up and drink the whole thing! But enough about me, how's your day going?"

Pagan Charities (2010 edition)

2010-09-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

In February 2009, I posted a listing of Pagan Charities.

As we approach the end of the mundane year (as well as the fiscal year for some), I thought I should attempt to update this list.

If you know of other Pagan Charities that are not listed, or know of any listed that are no longer in existence, please drop me a note as a comment with the appropriate information, and I'll add it into an updated listing.

Thanks!!

As summer comes to its end

2010-09-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Fall is upon us and the trees are beginning to turn to their autumn colours. Not in vast quantities that I've noticed, just yet, but looking carefully, you can see the edges just beginning their passage from summer's glorious green to the riot of autumn's reds and oranges.

This is also reflected in the merchandise carried at local stores - Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations have arrived, and I have heard of, but not yet witnessed, Christmas items in some places. This last saddens me.

As children, our years are bounded and marked by holidays and that greatest of joys, Summer Vacation. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, Winter Break (by whatever names you personally prefer to call them).

As adults, the markers become fewer - whatever paid holidays off we have from our employment, perhaps a week or so of "annual leave" which may be taken a day here & there, or perhaps saved up for an entire week (or more!) off, and as a result, time seems to just fly by, one year passing into the next scarcely leaving its mark in doing so. And then we wonder "where did the time go?"

This weekend, I shall be marking time by attending the Esoteric Bok conference. Last year, I was only able to attend one day, this year, thanks to the graciousness of a friend, I will be attending the entire conference. I am very much looking forward to it. If you are interested in how last year's conference went, my writeup can be found here.

More on that in a few dats, perhaps.

Late August in Snoqualmie Valley. I love living here.

2010-08-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently a small plane had crashed here shortly before I took this photo. As we were coming across the bridge, we noted that traffic was stopped, but it started moving quickly and we did not see the plane, which would have been in one of the fields to the side. (I apologise for the color quality - the photo was taken through the windshield and the tint bar at the top of that.)

It's been a strange summer here in Western Washington - we typically have about 6 weeks of hot weather (hot for us, and please realize that we are at latitude 47.7345°, which means much over 80 is hot, plus we have no air conditioning in most buildings), but we really have not had that happen this year. In fact, this is the mildest summer I can remember in the 25 years we've lived in Washington, which makes me worry for the winter. Last winter was very mild, I don't think we had more than a day or two of snow, and I'm fearing a repeat of the blizzards of 2006 when we were without power for over a week. We did, however, have a lot of rain last winter. I don't really want a repeat of that, either.

But we live in a beautiful area, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. If you would like to see more of the area, I recently came across a blog called The Northwest Riders which has several pieces devoted to the area - Cherry Valley, Stossel Creek,and the Snoqualmie Valley would be keywords to search on.

Here's hoping that your summer has been all you hoped it would be!

Historians locate King Arthur's Round Table - Telegraph

2010-07-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

Historians locate King Arthur's Round Table - Telegraph

And we have yet another contender.

Noted Elsewhere: Call for Papers

2010-04-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

from the Society for the Academic Study of Magic listserv:

Call for Papers
Preternature

Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural, is currently accepting manuscripts and book review requests/suggestions. Preternature is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal housed at The Pennsylvania State University, and published in Oxford, England.

Formerly known as the Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, Preternature publishes original scholarship and texts in edition/translation on magics, the occult, spiritualism, demonology, monstrophy, and the “preternatural” in all its cultural, historical, anthropological, artistic, literary, and folkloric iterations. Submissions pertaining to any time period and to any geographic area are welcome, though the language of publication is English.

Contributions should be roughly 8,000 words, including all documentation and critical apparatus. If accepted for publication, manuscripts will be required to adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (style 1, employing footnotes).

For more information, consult www.preternature.org.

Queries and submissions may be made to the Editors:

Peter Dendle
Department of English, The Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto
pjd11@psu.edu

Kirsten C. Uszkalo
English and Digital Humanities, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
circe@ufies.org

Richard Raiswell
Department of History, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada
rraiswell@upei.ca

Queries concerning books to be reviewed, or requests to review individual titles, should be addressed to Richard Raiswell.

Preternature is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and the Department of Anthropology, College of the Liberal Arts, at The Pennsylvania State University.

List-Subscribe: ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC-subscribe-request@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

Minor changes and housekeeping

2010-02-21T01:08:00.000-08:00

As I am hoping to actually do more blogging here (instead of InsaneJournal or LiveJournal, which are both friends' locked), I've added the Intense Debate comment API.

This will allow folks to log in from a number of social media sites without having to create yet another account someplace.

Here's hoping it works out; if it doesn't, I'll revert back to Blogger's default comment system.

Fed judges: Wash. felony inmates should get vote - Seattle- msnbc.com

2010-01-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Fed judges: Wash. felony inmates should get vote - Seattle- msnbc.com

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Incarcerated felons should be allowed to vote in Washington to ensure that racial minorities are protected under the Voting Rights Act, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 2000 ruling of a district judge in Spokane. That judge had ruled that state law did not violate the act, and dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former prison inmate from Bellevue.

While I do believe that voter rights should be restored upon completion of sentence, I also believe this ruling to be wrong. I do not believe that inmates should be allowed to vote, regardless of race, religion, ethnic origin, marital status or any other exception.

This state law was applied in all cases, but because there is a higher number of persons of color who are incarcerated, the 9th Circuit Court believes it is "diluting" the voter pool.

Sorry, but that there are a higher number of persons of color in prison is reflective of many factors - unequal application of criminal laws, access to better attorneys and the like, which need to be addressed separately from voting issues by reform within the legal and judicial systems.

Blashpemy, free speech and the law, part 2

2010-01-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

Continuing on this line of thought:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=22454

Kansas woman charged in flag-desecration case files suit

By The Associated Press
01.02.10
OMAHA, Neb. — A Kansas woman accused of violating Nebraska's flag-desecration law two years ago filed a lawsuit Dec. 30 against more than a dozen officials, including the state's governor and attorney general, whom she alleges are trampling on her rights.

The lawsuit filed on Shirley Phelps-Roper's behalf in U.S. District Court in Lincoln argues that Nebraska's flag law and another state law that restricts protests at funerals should be declared unconstitutional and barred from being enforced.

(Remainder of story at link, above.)

To be continued...

Blashpemy, free speech and the law, part 1

2010-01-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

This story is getting passed around various blogs; I'm adding it here as part of a larger question, which I'll continue in subsequent posts this week.

---

http://blasphemy.ie/2010/01/01/atheist-ireland-publishes-25-blasphemous-quotes/

blasphemy.ie

January 1, 2010

Atheist Ireland Publishes 25 Blasphemous Quotes

Filed under: Atheist Ireland, Campaign, Freedom of Speech, Is this Blasphemy?, Quotes — Michael Nugent @ 12:33 am

From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

This new law is both silly and dangerous. It is silly because medieval religious laws have no place in a modern secular republic, where the criminal law should protect people and not ideas. And it is dangerous because it incentives religious outrage, and because Islamic States led by Pakistan are already using the wording of this Irish law to promote new blasphemy laws at UN level.

We believe in the golden rule: that we have a right to be treated justly, and that we have a responsibility to treat other people justly. Blasphemy laws are unjust: they silence people in order to protect ideas. In a civilised society, people have a right to to express and to hear ideas about religion even if other people find those ideas to be outrageous.

Publication of 25 blasphemous quotes

In this context we now publish a list of 25 blasphemous quotes, which have previously been published by or uttered by or attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Randy Newman, James Kirkup, Monty Python, Rev Ian Paisley, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Frank Zappa, Salman Rushdie, Bjork, Amanda Donohoe, George Carlin, Paul Woodfull, Jerry Springer the Opera, Tim Minchin, Richard Dawkins, Pope Benedict XVI, Christopher Hitchens, PZ Myers, Ian O’Doherty, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Dermot Ahern.

Despite these quotes being abusive and insulting in relation to matters held sacred by various religions, we unreservedly support the right of these people to have published or uttered them, and we unreservedly support the right of any Irish citizen to make comparable statements about matters held sacred by any religion without fear of being criminalised, and without having to prove to a court that a reasonable person would find any particular value in the statement.

Campaign begins to repeal the Irish blasphemy law

We ask Fianna Fail and the Green Party to repeal their anachronistic blasphemy law, as part of the revision of the Defamation Act that is included within the Act. We ask them to hold a referendum to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Irish Constitution.

We also ask all TDs and Senators to support a referendum to remove references to God from the Irish Constitution, including the clauses that prevent atheists from being appointed as President of Ireland or as a Judge without swearing a religious oath asking God to direct them in their work.

If you run a website, blog or other media publication, please feel free to republish this statement and the list of quotes yourself, in order to show your support for the campaign to repeal the Irish blasphemy law and to promote a rational, ethical, secular Ireland.

List of 25 Blasphemous Quotes Published by Atheist Ireland

1. Jesus Christ, when asked if he was the son of God, in Matthew 26:64: “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” According to the Christian Bible, the Jewish chief priests and elders and council deemed this statement by Jesus to be blasphemous, and they sentenced Jesus to death for saying it.

2. Jesus Christ, talking to Jews about their God, in John 8:44: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” This is one of several chapters in the Christian Bible that can give a scriptural foundation to Christian anti-Semitism. The first part of John 8, the story of “whoever is without sin cast the first stone”, was not in the original version, but was added centuries later. The original John 8 is a debate between Jesus and some Jews. In brief, Jesus calls the Jews who disbelieve him sons of the Devil, the Jews try to stone him, and Jesus runs away and hides.

3. Muhammad, quoted in Hadith of Bukhari, Vol 1 Book 8 Hadith 427: “May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their prophets.” This quote is attributed to Muhammad on his death-bed as a warning to Muslims not to copy this practice of the Jews and Christians. It is one of several passages in the Koran and in Hadith that can give a scriptural foundation to Islamic anti-Semitism, including the assertion in Sura 5:60 that Allah cursed Jews and turned some of them into apes and swine.

4. Mark Twain, describing the Christian Bible in Letters from the Earth, 1909: “Also it has another name - The Word of God. For the Christian thinks every word of it was dictated by God. It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies… But you notice that when the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, adored Father of Man, goes to war, there is no limit. He is totally without mercy - he, who is called the Fountain of Mercy. He slays, slays, slays! All the men, all the beasts, all the boys, all the babies; also all the women and all the girls, except those that have not been deflowered. He makes no distinction between innocent and guilty… What the insane Father required was blood and misery; he was indifferent as to who furnished it.” Twain’s book was published posthumously in 1939. His daughter, Clara Clemens, at first objected to it being published, but later changed her mind in 1960 when she believed that public opinion had grown more tolerant of the expression of such ideas. That was half a century before Fianna Fail and the Green Party imposed a new blasphemy law on the people of Ireland.

5. Tom Lehrer, The Vatican Rag, 1963: “Get in line in that processional, step into that small confessional. There, the guy who’s got religion’ll tell you if your sin’s original. If it is, try playing it safer, drink the wine and chew the wafer. Two, four, six, eight, time to transubstantiate!”

6. Randy Newman, God’s Song, 1972: “And the Lord said: I burn down your cities - how blind you must be. I take from you your children, and you say how blessed are we. You all must be crazy to put your faith in me. That’s why I love mankind.”

7. James Kirkup, The Love That Dares to Speak its Name, 1976: “While they prepared the tomb I kept guard over him. His mother and the Magdalen had gone to fetch clean linen to shroud his nakedness. I was alone with him… I laid my lips around the tip of that great cock, the instrument of our salvation, our eternal joy. The shaft, still throbbed, anointed with death’s final ejaculation.” This extract is from a poem that led to the last successful blasphemy prosecution in Britain, when Denis Lemon was given a suspended prison sentence after he published it in the now-defunct magazine Gay News. In 2002, a public reading of the poem, on the steps of St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square, failed to lead to any prosecution. In 2008, the British Parliament abolished the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel.

8. Matthias, son of Deuteronomy of Gath, in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, 1979: “Look, I had a lovely supper, and all I said to my wife was that piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah.”

9. Rev Ian Paisley MEP to the Pope in the European Parliament, 1988: “I denounce you as the Antichrist.” Paisley’s website describes the Antichrist as being “a liar, the true son of the father of lies, the original liar from the beginning… he will imitate Christ, a diabolical imitation, Satan transformed into an angel of light, which will deceive the world.”

10. Conor Cruise O’Brien, 1989: “In the last century the Arab thinker Jamal al-Afghani wrote: ‘Every Muslim is sick and his only remedy is in the Koran.’ Unfortunately the sickness gets worse the more the remedy is taken.”

11. Frank Zappa, 1989: “If you want to get together in any exclusive situation and have people love you, fine - but to hang all this desperate sociology on the idea of The Cloud-Guy who has The Big Book, who knows if you’ve been bad or good - and cares about any of it - to hang it all on that, folks, is the chimpanzee part of the brain working.”

12. Salman Rushdie, 1990: “The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas - uncertainty, progress, change - into crimes.” In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie because of blasphemous passages in Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses.

13. Bjork, 1995: “I do not believe in religion, but if I had to choose one it would be Buddhism. It seems more livable, closer to men… I’ve been reading about reincarnation, and the Buddhists say we come back as animals and they refer to them as lesser beings. Well, animals aren’t lesser beings, they’re just like us. So I say fuck the Buddhists.”

14. Amanda Donohoe on her role in the Ken Russell movie Lair of the White Worm, 1995: “Spitting on Christ was a great deal of fun. I can’t embrace a male god who has persecuted female sexuality throughout the ages, and that persecution still goes on today all over the world.”

15. George Carlin, 1999: “Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!”

16. Paul Woodfull as Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly, The Ballad of Jaysus Christ, 2000: “He said me ma’s a virgin and sure no one disagreed, Cause they knew a lad who walks on water’s handy with his feet… Jaysus oh Jaysus, as cool as bleedin’ ice, With all the scrubbers in Israel he could not be enticed, Jaysus oh Jaysus, it’s funny you never rode, Cause it’s you I do be shoutin’ for each time I shoot me load.”

17. Jesus Christ, in Jerry Springer The Opera, 2003: “Actually, I’m a bit gay.” In 2005, the Christian Institute tried to bring a prosecution against the BBC for screening Jerry Springer the Opera, but the UK courts refused to issue a summons.

18. Tim Minchin, Ten-foot Cock and a Few Hundred Virgins, 2005: “So you’re gonna live in paradise, With a ten-foot cock and a few hundred virgins, So you’re gonna sacrifice your life, For a shot at the greener grass, And when the Lord comes down with his shiny rod of judgment, He’s gonna kick my heathen ass.”

19. Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion, 2006: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” In 2007 Turkish publisher Erol Karaaslan was charged with the crime of insulting believers for publishing a Turkish translation of The God Delusion. He was acquitted in 2008, but another charge was brought in 2009. Karaaslan told the court that “it is a right to criticise religions and beliefs as part of the freedom of thought and expression.”

20. Pope Benedict XVI quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor, 2006: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” This statement has already led to both outrage and condemnation of the outrage. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the world’s largest Muslim body, said it was a “character assassination of the prophet Muhammad”. The Malaysian Prime Minister said that “the Pope must not take lightly the spread of outrage that has been created.” Pakistan’s foreign Ministry spokesperson said that “anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence”. The European Commission said that “reactions which are disproportionate and which are tantamount to rejecting freedom of speech are unacceptable.”

21. Christopher Hitchens in God is not Great, 2007: “There is some question as to whether Islam is a separate religion at all… Islam when examined is not much more than a rather obvious and ill-arranged set of plagiarisms, helping itself from earlier books and traditions as occasion appeared to require… It makes immense claims for itself, invokes prostrate submission or ‘surrender’ as a maxim to its adherents, and demands deference and respect from nonbelievers into the bargain. There is nothing-absolutely nothing-in its teachings that can even begin to justify such arrogance and presumption.”

22. PZ Myers, on the Roman Catholic communion host, 2008: “You would not believe how many people are writing to me, insisting that these horrible little crackers (they look like flattened bits of styrofoam) are literally pieces of their god, and that this omnipotent being who created the universe can actually be seriously harmed by some third-rate liberal intellectual at a third-rate university… However, inspired by an old woodcut of Jews stabbing the host, I thought of a simple, quick thing to do: I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel.”

23. Ian O’Doherty, 2009: “(If defamation of religion was illegal) it would be a crime for me to say that the notion of transubstantiation is so ridiculous that even a small child should be able to see the insanity and utter physical impossibility of a piece of bread and some wine somehow taking on corporeal form. It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward desert superstition that has no place in modern, enlightened Europe and it would be a crime to point out that Jewish settlers in Israel who believe they have a God given right to take the land are, frankly, mad. All the above assertions will, no doubt, offend someone or other.”

24. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, 2009: “Whether a person is atheist or any other, there is in fact in my view something not totally human if they leave out the transcendent… we call it God… I think that if you leave that out you are not fully human.” Because atheism is not a religion, the Irish blasphemy law does not protect atheists from abusive and insulting statements about their fundamental beliefs. While atheists are not seeking such protection, we include the statement here to point out that it is discriminatory that this law does not hold all citizens equal.

25. Dermot Ahern, Irish Minister for Justice, introducing his blasphemy law at an Oireachtas Justice Committee meeting, 2009, and referring to comments made about him personally: “They are blasphemous.” Deputy Pat Rabbitte replied: “Given the Minister’s self-image, it could very well be that we are blaspheming,” and Minister Ahern replied: “Deputy Rabbitte says that I am close to the baby Jesus, I am so pure.” So here we have an Irish Justice Minister joking about himself being blasphemed, at a parliamentary Justice Committee discussing his own blasphemy law, that could make his own jokes illegal.

Finally, as a bonus, Micheal Martin, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, opposing attempts by Islamic States to make defamation of religion a crime at UN level, 2009: “We believe that the concept of defamation of religion is not consistent with the promotion and protection of human rights. It can be used to justify arbitrary limitations on, or the denial of, freedom of expression. Indeed, Ireland considers that freedom of expression is a key and inherent element in the manifestation of freedom of thought and conscience and as such is complementary to freedom of religion or belief.” Just months after Minister Martin made this comment, his colleague Dermot Ahern introduced Ireland’s new blasphemy law.

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Hope this helps you as much as it did me

2009-12-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

I'm passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me today,
and we could all probably use more calm in our lives.

Some doctor on television this morning said that the way to achieve
inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.

So I looked around my house to see things I'd started and hadn't
finished and, before leaving the house this morning I finished off a
bottle of Merlot, a bottle of shhhardonay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle
of vocka, a pockage of Prunglies, tha marinder of a botl of Prozic and
Valum pscriptins, the res of the Chesescke and a box a chocolets.

Yu haf no idr who fkin gud I fel.

Preas sen dis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov inr pece.

Sad News - Tim Hart has died

2009-12-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

I just learned this morning of the death of musician Tim Hart, one of the founders of Steeleye Span.

Tim was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 2008, and died at his home in La Gomera Dec 24.

I first encountered his music in 1976 while stationed at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. I fell in love with it, and have remained a fan of both his, Steeleye Span's and the individual musicians who have made up the band over the past 35 years. While he had retired from music several years earlier, he was coaxed into performing as part of a five-hour marathon performance in 1995, in aid of the charity War Child, and featured almost every member of Steeleye Span. He also performed with Maddy Prior as part of the BBC Electric Proms in October 2008.

Park Records has re-releasing his albums to aid in his treatment expenses, I don't know how long they will be available.

'Tis the Reason for the Season...

2009-12-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

fa la la la la la la la la

Happy 23° 26'.

in other news, Beloved Spouse and I braved the massed idiots and attempted to do some late shopping. As my hips were bothering me gratly, I opted for the use of the motorized scooter that many fine establisments provide for their patrons.

I sincerely wish that every store would have the department managers get in these things and attempt to navigate their department. Aisles blocked by endcaps (or just simply blocked by support columns), aisles too narrow to get the cart in to actually look at what is on that aisle - or if you can get *in* to the aisle, you cannot step off the scooter to look at anything that isn't at head height - higher or lower. I finally called for a manager and ranted at him for a few moments about just how non-ADA-complaint his store was. He, of course, mumbled a generic apology and had no real clue what I was complaining about.

Then there are the other shoppers. By the time we left the first store, I had nearly hit a dozen who were not watching where they were walking - and came close to deliberatly hitting a couple who sort-of were as they were constantly taking a few steps and stopping again to look at something else, and not moving over to either side so that anyone could walk around them.

Getting off the elevator was a fun experience as well: you know how people like to line up and block the door in hopes of getting on before anyone can get off? They can't do that when you have a scooter blocking the entrance to the elevator AND they all have to back up and mover out of the way so you can get off. That was about the only up side to the day.

Not having a scooter available at the next store meant walking with my cane, and people were no more observant there, either. I was run in too, nearly knocked over and literally shoved out of one person's way. The only one who apologized with the preteen who was backing up while attempting to not get stepped on by someone several times their size. The rest have no clue just how close they came to getting smacked by a grumpy old man with his cane.

So, folks, when you are out and about, please do maintain awareness of your personal space and just where you are in relation to others - otheriwse, I might give in to these long-standing urges and haul off and smack you p the side of the head!

Happy holidays!

Blogging

2009-12-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

As some know, I have several journals that I occasionally update. These include sites at LiveJournal, InsaneJournal, Dreamwidth and here at Blogger.

Of all of them, this is the one that gets the least use; something I am hoping to remedy during the coming year.

I tend to ramble about a lot of things, ranging from spirituality/religion to gender issues to freedom of speech to whatever happens to have crawled up my butt at any given point in time. I also post jokes and humor bits (see previous) that various relatives and friends have sent.

I can't guarantee that I will be any more focused in the future than I have in the past, but I do hope to be posting here more often; posts from here will also be cross-posted to my Facebook account.

Memo from Santa

2009-12-15T18:14:00.001-08:00

----- MEMO -----

To: Southern USA Residents
From: Santa

I regret to inform you that effective immediately, I will no longer be able to serve the Southern United States on Christmas Eve. Due to overwhelming current population of the earth, my contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209. I now serve only certain areas of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. As part of the new and better contract I also get longer breaks for milk and cookies so keep that in mind. However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement who happens to be my third cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family in from the South pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls; however, there are a few differences between us. Differences such as:

1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "These toys insured by Smith & Wesson."

2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave a RC Cola and pork rinds (or a moon pie) on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy.

3. Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace.

4. You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen..." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Martin and La Bonte. On Rudd, on Jarrett, on Elliot and Petty."

5. "Ho, ho, ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you also are likely to hear Bubba's elves reply, "I her'd dat!"

6. As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus' sleigh does have a Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words, "Back Off!" The last I heard it also had other decorations on the sleigh back as well. One is Ford or Chevy logo with lights that race through the letters and the other is caricature of me (Santa Claus) peeing on the Tooth Fairy.

7. The usual Christmas movie classics such as "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" will not be shown in your negotiated viewing area. Instead, you will see "Boss Hogg Saves Christmas" and "Smokey and the Bandit IV" featuring Burt Reynolds as Bubba Claus and dozens of State Patrol cars crashing into each other.

8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree.

9. And finally, lovely Christmas songs have been sung about me like "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and Bing Crosby's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". This year, songs about Bubba Claus will be played on all the AM radio stations in the South. These song titles will be Mark Chesnutt's "Bubba Claus shot the jukebox"; Cledus T. Judd's, "All I want for Christmas is my Woman and a Six-pack", and Hank Williams Jr's "If You Don't Like Bubba Claus, You Shove It."

Sincerely Yours, Santa Claus (Member of North American Fairies and Elves Local 209)

Source: Unknown

Blast from the Past

2009-10-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

From Leo Martello's Weird Ways of Witchcraft (c) 1969; I'm rather fond of #6 on his list:

The Witch Manifesto

1. The International Tribunal to try Inquisitional Crimes (posthumously) is for the purpose of a) To morally condemn the Catholic Church for the torture and murder of witches and those accused of such, something never done publicly by any religious or secular government, and b) Descendants of witches and non-witches burned at the stake to sue the Catholic Church for $500 million in damages and reparations.

2. Descendants of Salem witches, or those accused of such, to sue both the city of Salem and the churches responsible for $100 million in damages, economic loss, injustice and reparations, and to clear the names of their ancestors and demand a public apology.

3. The persecution of witchcraft and witches in America is in violation of Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. The laws on the books against witchcraft are to be abolished as well as those discriminatory laws which are religious in origin and in violation of the Constitutional Separation of Church and State.

4. All laws against healing, fortune telling, psychic phenomena covered by "pretending to foretell the future" or covered by "fraud", as long as they are on the books must be enforced against all those priests, ministers and rabbis who offer prayer, masses, healing, holy relics and "blessings" ... who collect tangible benefits by offering intangible rewards. Since none of them can offer tangible proof of an afterlife. the salvation of souls, or a place in Heaven, all priests, ministers and rabbis who collect money for the same are, according to current laws, "accepting money under false pretenses."

5. Enforcement of the Civil Rights Act. Witches are America's (and the world's) most persecuted religious minority. Witches must have the right to work, and to housing, without having to hide the fact that they're witches. Discrimination against them because of their religious and personal convictions violates their right to Fair Housing, their Civil Rights and their right to Religious Freedom. The same unconscious prejudice against witches for being "black" magicians is the same unconscious bigotry against the black man ... projections of the Christian's own theology and "black thoughts." Because of this both the witch and the black man have been unable to secure justice since the courts are primarily composed of White Christians: Anything "black" is bad; anything "white" is good.

6. The Catholic Church to be sued by all those "believers" who bought statues, paintings, pictures, scapulas and medals of those saints which the Church on May 9, 1969 dropped from their Liturgical Calendar. By its own admission the Church has committed fraud, has accepted money under false pretenses, or has given its moral and official sanction for the manufacture and sale of these items, especially those depicting St. Christopher. They have committed fraud and should be legally prosecuted just as any other individual or firm who does the same.

7. The basis for Reparations against the Catholic Church and those in Salem are the same as those applicable to any citizen who is falsely arrested. The fact that it happened hundreds of years ago doesn't negate the wrong. If a man can prove he was falsely arrested and sue, what about those who were falsely tortured and murdered? Since the dead man (witch) can't sue or collect damages his descendants both genealogically and religiously (witchcraft) can and will. The Church claimed human lives. The Witch Manifesto is only claiming compensatory damages ... asking for Justice ... and a return of those moneys and properties confiscated by the Church from its victims.

8. Witches Protest Demonstrations, Marches, Rallies to be given a legal permit by the city in which they occur. Failure or refusal to do so by any city indicates religious discrimination and will be fought in the courts. Just as most cities permit St. Patrick's Day parades, a saint whose authenticity is now in dispute, a religious march secularly sanctioned, witches have the same right to a Witches Day and a Witches' Parade.

Hello, it's me

2009-09-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I wrote anything for this blog. Honestly, I've not had much of substance to say at any of my blogs for a while, other than a cooperative effort for Invisable Illness Awareness, which wound up posting at a few of my other blogs and Facebook, but not here.

This weekend past, I attended the Sunday session of the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle. I had planned to attend both Saturday and Sunday, but awoke with a severe enough migraine on Saturday to keep me hiding in bed a fair part of the day.

As a result, I missed Richard Kaczynski's presentation Saturday on the history and interconnections of 19th century occult orders and secret societies, a topic that I have a somewhat passing interest in. Such is life.

Sunday, however, I braved the roads and headed in to a city that I used to love; these days, it is an effort of Will to enter into it. Sad, on many levels, but there are far too many people, too much traffic and too much confusion for me to deal with most days there.

Several people that I knew personally were in attendance, and several more that I know from their on-line presence; some of both were presenting, others were there as vendors, or both.

First up was Dr. Amy Hale, speaking about Ithell Colquhuon, an occultist and artist in the Surrealist movement. Amply illustrated with slides of her work, this was an informative and entertaining look at a woman who is possibly the most prolific occultists of the 20th century - a member of several magical Orders including the OTO, the Golden Dawn, the Martinist Order, Co-Masonry; the list could and does go on. One quote I delighted in from the talk on the overt phallicism of her art was that "Ithell never shied away from the penis" (another comment, describing a particular piece of art was that it was a "very exciting and tumescent piece of asparagus..."). One appreciates bits of humor in what could otherwise be long dry lectures...

I skipped out on Michael Staley's second presentation of the weekend discussing Kenneth Grant, opting to go for food and drink with a few friends instead, and we arrived back shortly before Brandy Williams' presentation on The Chaldean Oracles.

Brandy eloquently covered the basics one would want on history, translation, etc., of the Oracle fragments, and then proceeded into how they may have been used in ritual that is easily adaptable for modern, personal use, including a fascinating comparison to the stages of practice suggested within them and some practices from Shinto as currently practiced. I found it extremely insightful and useful.

Next up was Christina Oakley Harrington, of Treadwell's Bookstore in London, with the topic of "Flesh of My Flesh on the Ecstasy of the Page". Beginning with a brief history of the Grimoire Tradition in Western Europe, she turned her focus to the apparent contradiction contained within them - that the Operator must be made pure and holy and sanctified, for the purposes of granting very venial desires (such as having a woman transported to your rooms, her clothes removed, etc... Deeply spiritual motives, I'm certain.) She continued with a more personal look at the lineage that can be contained within such Books, and the experiences one can have while hand copying them; she cited a personal example of being aware of copying a text from her teacher, with an overlay of her teaching sitting 30 years earlier and copying it from her teacher, and so back. Having experienced something similar myself, I could distinctly relate to it.

This was an excellent lead-up to Robert Ansell (of Fulgar Publishing) and his topic of "Bound by the Devil: The Arte of Talismanic Books". this was another well illustraded presentation that, in many ways, detailed his personal journey as a publisher, blending his personal experiences with anecdotal and philosophical observations on the magical nature of publishing and the creation of such texts, summing up with the idea of tyranny taking many forms, and that all of them have in common a "homogenizing advance"; to illustrate this, he showed a photo of the Kindle, and talked about how the publishing industry and its reliance upon things like ISBN numbers literally ends up undermining the uniqueness of what this conference itself was about, and reinforced my understanding of Ansell’s deep and abiding love of books, noted in a earlier discussion at the Fulgar table where he was discussing different papers, bindings and such. Many others expressed similar love throughout the day, and if anything, provided a common ground for all who were in attendance.

The entire afternoon could have been scripted as preparation for Daniel Schulke's talk on "Trajectories of Magical Text in Charming Traditions" (and may well have been planned exactly for that.) This session dealt with traditional oral charms and magical lineages, and how these things become textual and make use of texts, such as the Meresburg Charm and variants of it found in diverse locations from Europe to the Appalachia. Topics covered ranged from Old High German Himmelsbrief — or "Letter from Heaven" and Johann Georg Hohman's Long Lost Friend to the use of books as physical talismans for charms to expel demonic spirits (wherein mere possession of the book is enough to do this, with a lengthy exposition of the charming and grimoire traditions of the Cultus Sabbati and others. Delightfully illustrated, he further discussed the concept of Hidden Books - usually in the form of inclusions within a limited edition book that are unique, and which form a book-within-a-book when they are all assembled together, again citing the books of Andrew Chumbley and his own work. I do wish he had been available for discussion following, but he appeared to have left the site shortly following his lecture.

However, I was still in the after-effects of the previous day's migraine, and in a fair amount of pain from walking about the Seattle Center during breaks and decided I should leave while I was still able to function well enough to drive home and chose to forego the final presentation, a musical composition by Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney, which I'm told was well-worth attending, and I have regrets that I did miss it. However, as they are "local" musicians, it is possible that I will encounter another such opportunity in the future.

I'll only briefly mention that the brain-fog was sufficient to force me into a lengthy search for my vehicle, as I could no longer remember where I had parked. It turned out to be in the opposite direction of where I had gone, which required close to an hour to find.

One of the non-scheduled events was a highlight of my day -- running in to an old friend from my days at DSHS, and reconnecting with him. We exchanged phone numbers and I hope we will be able to remain in closer contact now.

Still, all in all a very worthwhile experience, and I plan on attending should there be another next year, as is currently anticipated.

A very disturbing article

2009-06-06T14:25:00.001-07:00

Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military

The military has changed a lot since my time, much of it not for the better. This article reflects a far different military than the one that once told friends of mine "I don't care if you worship bedbugs, so long as you do your job."

Do you have fanfic or other sites on GeoCities?

2009-04-23T17:44:00.001-07:00

Yahoo! abandoning GeoCities

Friday 24th April, 07:46 AM JST

SAN FRANCISCO —

Yahoo! said Thursday it will close its GeoCities service that provides people a free online locale for home pages.

The announcement comes two days after the struggling Internet pioneer posted lackluster earnings and its newly enthroned chief executive assured investors that the company is focusing its resources on core strengths.

“We will be closing GeoCities later this year,” Yahoo! said. “As part of Yahoo!’s ongoing effort to build products and services that deliver the best possible experiences for consumers and results for advertisers, we are increasing investment in some areas while scaling back in others.”

GeoCities is a web hosting service founded in 1994 as Beverly Hills Internet and bought by Yahoo! for more than three billion dollars during the height of the infamous dot-com boom in Silicon Valley.

GeoCities provided people with tools to build interactive websites and eventually added chat forums and other community-oriented features. A notice at GeoCities on Thursday said it is no longer accepting new accounts.

Worth reading

2009-04-14T07:36:00.001-07:00

Amazonfail: A straight white male publisher on glitches and ham-fisted errors

More on the Amazon FUBAR

2009-04-12T19:42:00.001-07:00

Okay--this is an explanation I might buy. Summary: Amazon has a dumbass system that simply records number of complaints and some third party of dumbasses has been targeting LBGT titles to take advantage of the dumbass system. That means that Amazon isn't evil... just STUPID. LINK TO THE ARGUMENT

http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11369.html
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html
http://www.edrants.com/amazonfail-a-call-to-boycott-amazon/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/in-protest-at-amazons-new-adult-policy

And to contact Amazon: Amazon.com contact form

Censorship on Amazon.com

2009-04-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

On LiveJournal, noted:

IMPORTANT

If you write books with homosexual characters, read books with homosexual characters, please look at this:

http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html

Mark, Erastes, and Alex (among others) had their Amazon sales rankings removed over the last few days for The Filly, Transgressions and False Colours respectively. On enquiring about this, Mark was told the following:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage

For additional background and other info, please read:
http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11369.html and
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html

Vermont APPROVES Marriage Equality!

2009-04-07T08:58:00.001-07:00

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2009/04/vermont-approves-marriage-equality.html
Vermont APPROVES Marriage Equality!

By a vote of 100-49 the Vermont House of Representatives has overridden Gov. Jim Douglas' veto! Marriage equality comes to Vermont! The fourth state to approve same-sex marriage, Vermont is the first to do so legislatively, rather than by judicial fiat. California's legislature approved same-sex marriage twice, but was vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.

From Daily KOS: Big Ag Writes Michelle Opposing WH Organic Garden

2009-04-03T15:22:00.001-07:00

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/29/714315/-Big-Ag-Writes-Michelle-Opposing-WH-Organic-Garden

Big Ag Writes Michelle Opposing WH Organic Garden

by Jill Richardson

Sun Mar 29, 2009 at 09:08:55 AM PDT

OMG, funny stuff. A chemical ag organization (Mid America CropLife Association) got its panties in a twist over Michelle Obama's organic garden. So they wrote her a letter. And forwarded it to some friends, who forwarded it to some more friends... until it made its way to me. Full letter at the link, highlights below.

Here's the message they sent with the forwarded letter to their other chemical ag friends:

Did you hear the news? The White House is planning to have an "organic" garden on the grounds to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the Obama's and their guests. While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made Janet Braun, CropLife Ambassador Coordinator and I shudder. As a result, we sent a letter encouraging them to consider using crop protection products and to recognize the importance of agriculture to the entire U.S. economy. [emphasis mine]

LOL! Dear Michelle, Great idea on the garden but we recommend pesticides!

Will the New HR875 Bill in Congress Outlaw Organic Farming?

2009-03-19T15:27:00.001-07:00

In last week's issue of Organic Bytes, the OCA had a story entitled "Internet Myth of the Week: Congress To Pass Bill That Will Outlaw Organic Farming?" The article focused on our stance on a new controversial bill in congress: HR875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. There's been a lot of hype circulating the internet about the possible ramifications of the bill, and the OCA felt it was necessary to weigh in on the issue. Linn Cohen-Cole, the most vocal opponent of HR 875, and the person who initially shared her concerns about the bill with the OCA, responded to our article in Organic Bytes last week with deep concerns. We've posted her main points in our web forum for our readers to discuss.

OCA has taken a middle-ground position on HR875. We think food safety legislation is needed. We'd like to see factory farming stopped along with the practices of confining animals, feeding them slaughterhouse waste and manure, and not letting cows eat grass. These practices would virtually eliminate mad cow, salmonella and E. coli. HR 875 doesn't do this, but it does make food recalls mandatory and allows for civil penalties, two important tools the government could use against the factory farms that are making us sick.

The Very Model of a Modern Esotericist

2009-03-03T23:55:00.001-08:00

The Kevin Kline/Angela Lansbury version of Pirates of Penzance was on TV the other night, and it reminded me of this...

From the Green Egg vol XXIV no.95.

The Very Model of a Modern Esotericist
by Bill Beattie, from Shadowplay

     I am the very model of a modern esotericist,
     A seasoned astral traveler and an edifying exorcist,
     A sparkling star astrologer, a dead adroit necromancer.
     A dab hand as a palmist and a card as a Tarotmancer.
     I've folk tradition lineage-both Celtic and Germanical;
     I've channelled Robert Heinlein and I've busted cults Satanical;
     Elusively mysterious in Eleusinian Mysteries,
     I've proven eighty-three per cent of Velikovsky's histories.
     My patent aphrodisiacs would make a satyr hornier;
     I've manufactured unicorns in northern California.
     In short, in matters magical I'm manic as a terrorist;
     I am the very model of a modern esotericist!

     I am the very model of a modern esotericist.
     My mystic methodology's inherently empiricist;
     I've tread the Cretan labyrinth on pathways that I travel on;
     I won't deny the rumors that I ghostwrote Mists of Avalon.
     A truly great Great Riter and a master of tantrickery,
     I'm up the Shining Pathways til the Guardians are sick of me.
     I dazzle Neo-Pagans as I breakdance round the Wicca ring
     And, miracle of miracles, I even stop them bickering!
     I've raised the ghost of Crowley in a Gnostic Mass invoking in
     Sumerian, Bavarian, Etruscan and Enochian.
     I'd sing another chorus, but I have to see my therapist;
     I am the very model of a modern esotericist!

QOTD

2009-03-01T22:36:00.001-08:00

I’ve stayed by the sidelines with one eyebrow arched as social networks have begun proliferating like algae first among my tweens and teens and then spilling over into full blown adults who almost sheepishly tell me they now have a Facebook and I should too. Yeah, and I’ll be sure to post a picture of my latest nipple piercing as well as the time I got completely blotto and stuck a cigarette in each nostril.

On a related note, also check out Twitter Jumped the Shark This Week by Mark McKinnon:

It's not a business—and now that Rep. Joe Barton is doing it, it's not even hip anymore.

Spreading the word...

2009-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Send someone a HUG this Valentine's Day. HUGS make an excellent gift, and for only $14.95 (with free shipping)! Hugs are available in red, shimmering white (hugged by an angel!), blue (hug your blues away!), camouflage (hug a soldier!) and don't forget Pink, especially thoughtful if your recipient is a breast cancer survivor. We give 10% of the profits on the pink Hugs to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Each Hug arrives in a box covered in cheerful yellow tape that proclaims "You've Been Hugged!", and you can add a personal message, that will be printed on our custom Hug Card and included in the package. Order soon - priority mail takes 2-3 days and Valentine's Day is only 11 days away. All orders ship out within 24 hours. Need it there faster? Email via the link on the website, and it'll be sent UPS and you can pay the shipping difference via PayPal (to sales at hugsdirect dot com).

You can order the Hug at www.HugsDirect.com

Pagan Charities

2009-02-04T00:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/pagancharitywork.html

Some of those are probably duplicated here:
http://www.witchvox.com/lx/lx_charity.html

More here: http://pagantheologies.pbwiki.com/Pagan-friendly+charities

Pagan Scholarships:
http://www.angelfire.com/ia/Geoff/pagan.html (about 1/3 of the page down, some may have been discontinued)

http://www.flybynightbookstore.com/scholarships.html

http://www.witchvox.com/vn/vn_detail/dt_gno.html?id=13434

http://nyc-ppp.org/html/mjms.html

My personal favorite pagan charity: Act of Kindness

There are others, this is just a few off google...but it seems that a lot of folk do not know about them.

To Make Corn Starch

2009-02-04T00:22:00.000-08:00

To Make Corn Starch

Instructions

Gather the corn when it is a proper age for table use; have a large tin grater, and grate the corn into a clean vessel, into which drop the cobs as you grate them until the vessel is about half full, rub the cobs and squeeze them dry as possible, and put them into another vessel of clean water, rub and squeeze them again the third rinsing will take all the starch out, let it settle, and then pour all the starch together and strain it through a coarse cloth, and then through a flannel, and let it settle until the next morning, when you will find a thick yellow substance under the water, covering the pure white article in the bottom of the vessel, remove the yellow substance and pour clean water on the starch and stir it up, as soon as it settles thoroughly again, pour off the water and put the starch on dishes, and set it in the sun to dry. When you want to use it, moisten it with cold water and pour boiling water on, till it is the right consistency for use. It requires no boiling.

Source

Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers .

Why I love old cookbooks

2009-02-02T11:05:00.001-08:00

To Mix White-wash

Ingredients

1 peck of unslaked lime
2 pounds of whiting
1/2 pint of salt
1/2 ounce of Prussian blue, finely powdered

Instructions

Pour a kettle of boiling water on the lime, put in the whiting and salt, when all are mixed together, put in the Prussian blue, add water to make it a proper thickness to put on a wall.

Source

Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers .

Project Decrease Worldsuck

2009-02-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Over at LiveJournal, ebonypearl linked to one of pegkerr's "Decrease Worldsuck" posts, so I clicked the tag for it, an pulled up the rest.

You can find them here; this is an interesting personal project that I'm thinking seriously of mimicking/participating in.

---
As I'm x-posting this, it should be noted that user names refer to LiveJournal users.

Gus diZerega at beliefnet on

2009-01-31T12:11:00.001-08:00

Abusive Parties, Abusive Spouses, Abusive Gods

The Hundredth Monkey

2009-01-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Hundredth Monkey Effect

by Ken Keyes, jr.

The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years.

In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.

An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too.

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists.

Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable.

Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes -- the exact number is not known.

Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes.

Let's further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

THEN IT HAPPENED!

By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them.

The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice.

A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea --

Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes.

Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.

Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of these people.

But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

(from the book "The Hundredth Monkey" by Ken Keyes, jr. The book is not copyrighted and the material may be reproduced in whole or in part. You can look at the whole book also.)

Noted elsewhere

2009-01-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Man Of Steel, Woman Of Bondage? [NSFW]
Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster

Continuing linkage

2009-01-10T14:34:00.001-08:00

Florida Conservatives Fight for Repeal of Transgender Restroom Rule

Advocates focus narrowly in new legislative session

Hate crimes to get more attention

Connecticut To Consider Transgender Anti-Discrimination Proposal

Upholding basic human rights

Transgender Jews Now Out of Closet, Seeking Communal Recognition

Noted Elsewhere

2009-01-10T14:29:00.001-08:00

What Do We Want To Call PAGANISM? How About A FANDOM?

Spirituality, identity and community

Life on the Little Screen

2009-01-10T13:23:00.001-08:00

YouTube - 1-8-09 Flooding Woodinville Duvall

Flood 2009 - The quality of the film isn't great but it will give you an idea of what the Snoqualmie Valley looked liked on the first day of the 2009 flood. Filmed in Duvall, WA on January 8, 2009. It's also about five minutes, so set it to load and wait a while before starting it.

YouTube - Duvall Flood November 2008

Sno Valley Winter 2009 - a photo slide show of the season's highlights...

Service Animal law changing?

2009-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Newsflash! DOJ ADA Changes Leaked -- All Animals Set to Be Banned Except Dogs

Posted on: January 6, 2009 1:44 PM, by Rebecca Skloot

NEWSFLASH: In this weekend's New York Times Magazine, I reported that the Department of Justice had proposed a ban on guide miniature horses, service monkeys, and other non-canine assistance animals (brief overview of the story and legal issues here, several follow up posts here). In my story, I mentioned that no one knew whether the DOJ had removed the species ban from their proposal after the public hearings this summer.

---

Contact your congress-critters about this...PLEASE!

Four more inches

2009-01-04T23:53:00.001-08:00

of that white crap fell from the sky over the past few hours.

It can be spring already?

Here's wishing you all

2009-01-01T00:14:00.001-08:00

a very blessed, healthful, financially stable, uplifting year of good life, comfort and joy.

Some peace for Adam Walsh

2008-12-16T15:42:00.001-08:00

Police: 1981 killing of Adam Walsh solved

I DO Believe in Elves...I DO Believe in Elves...

2008-12-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

VIDEO: Belief in Elves Strong in Iceland

Links to National Geographic video.

PSA: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

2008-12-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

The following is reposted from (LiveJournal), who found it at (also LiveJournal); if this is something that you can support (and I certainly hope you can), please visit the Handmade Toy Alliance website (link below) and contact your Congress-critters, or their equivalent in other jurisdictions.

In a nutshell, because of all the crap coming out of China and Hong Kong the Feds are putting in place the CPSIA¹. What this means is every toy sold in the US whether its from a manufacturer in another country or handmade in Europe, Canada or the US has to be put through $4000 testing to show its safe or not allowed to be sold. The Handmade Toy Alliance is mostly woodworkers, but this affects all of us! Whether you make dolls, soft toys, games, anything that could be considered a toy. This also affects our economy and the right of people to purchase unique quality toys just because they came out of someones home studio/workshop instead of a factory paying crappy wages to overworked people in other countries. In effect, the hope is to get something passed that saves the cottage industry artisans like my Mom, me, and many of our friends from having to get the items tested before selling them, i.e. an addendum stating you have to show materials used, and you aren't selling more than so many of one item per year. I've signed the petition, and written my letters. I encourage all of my friends to take 10 minutes, if that, to please do the same. Whether you're a rennie, scadian, or just a lover of beautiful unique gifts for kids, young or old, please know this affects us all and affects our economy. For some people like my mom her personal income comes from her cottage industry, and we sell the game boards and other small gift items this way. We've actually been working on a line of baby toys and this could seriously hurt us.

The above link will take you to their page and give you an overview of their organization. You don't have to donate if you sign the petition just close the screen. They have a template letter you can fill in to send to your representative also. It's only two stamps (one to congress, one to senate), hey while addressing your holiday cards you could always add these to the list of stamps needed.

cheekyandswank also has information posted about this; that link is to their tagged posts on the subject.

1. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, passed in Congress 14 Aug 2008

Green Egg Omelette

2008-11-30T23:31:00.000-08:00

I note with interest the forthcoming publication of "Green Egg Omelette", a collection of articles and items from the pages of The Green Egg. Chas Clifton posted notice of it in his blog Letter from Hardscrabble Creek.

In previewing the contents, I noted with pleasure that at least two of Lady Gwen Thompson's articles will be included: "Wiccan-Pagan Potpourri" and "Halloween and Old Jack". I'm less pleased that they have once again perpetrated the by-line of "Welsh Tradition Wicca" to her name in at least one instance.

In 1975, when this was done the first time, it sparked a series of letters of complaint by Gwen; when "The Rede of the Wiccae" was reprinted a few years back by GE, her Craft descendants took up the cause, and I'm reasonably certain that more than myself will do so again. (I've already commented at Chas' blog on the subject.)

To clear the record, here are Gwen's own words, and then-Tim, now Oberon's, replies:

[Letter to “Green Egg” #71:]

Dear Tim and M.G., 4/25/75
May I inquire what enterprising Individual added Welsh Tradition Wicca to my name in an article I wrote many months ago entitled “Wiccan-Pagan Potpourri” and which appeared in Ostara GE 69? For the record: we are not Welsh I do be-lieve we ran this route a few years ago, and it seems that once more clarification is needed. We re and always have been simply Traditionalists. We use the term Celtic Traditionalist to differentiate us from the ones
who claim to be Welsh, and know of only one tradition that has the right to use that name. If there are others, I do not know of them. My apologies, but we are not Welsh. We prefer to be simply known as Traditionalists.
And an aside to the Individuals who constantly lain that there are no active Covens in Rhode land, I have only to say. “Hah!” Do your re-search. There are more active non-public Covens over this entire country than anyone is aware of.
I believe We would all like to see the record of the AADL in terms of accomplishments as to date were are many complaints coming in from all over the country that reports of grave persecutions and injustices go ignored. Aside from the fact that any Witch or Pagan worth her/his weight in Acorns would be able to handle the opposition, it seems at Pat Pothier is right.. we are not In the Age of Aquarius yet. We are In a transitional process of emerging from a barrel of rotten fish.
Blessed Be.
Gwen Thompson (% Grimes)
215-A Fairmount Ave.
Saugus, MA 01906

[Letter to “Green Egg” #72:]

Dear Tim & MG, 6/3/75
Dislike to continue to nitpick, but in reply to your comment in GE 71, at no time in our past correspondence have I ever referred to my branch of the Craft as being Welsh. Research the record if you have the time (which you probably do not any more than I do, but I DO KNOW what we are).
We told you a few years ago that we are CELTIC Trads. And this is in a previous issue of GE. We made a point of informing you that we are NOT and have never been associated with any Welsh Trads. Your recollection is incorrect. Check the records. When we FIRST began corresponding it was quite a very long time ago, and I definitely did not identify our tradition with Welsh. You, you should check your files, simply if for no other reason than that a former first degree member of my Coven broke off and formed a Welsh group of his own, which may be a part of what you are thinking of. Due to the fact that this person was quite publicity prone, I can understand where impressions could have been misconstrued. This is not intended to be a hostile missive, but only to clear the air and the misconceptions of what we are and always have been. If need be, I will publish our Traditionalist manifesto so that things can be set straight for once and all, but we have never done this due to e fact that we do not seek applicants. This does not mean that we are “closed,” but simply at we do not recruit members. They eventually find us if they are our “own.” Since we dislike hassles of any kind, and this tends to be a silly-one...but important to us...we hope it ends where it began...right here. As I stated before; I really do not care what any group calls themselves or what they do...just so long as they do NOT interfere with us. We have many friends of other traditions, but they are what they are, and we are what we are. So mote it be.
For Life always. and Blessed Be to you and yours,
Gwen Thompson
% Grimes
215-A Fairmount Ave.
Saugus, MA 01906

And, finally, Tim's assurance that it would "never happen again"...

Gwen, really, I apologize! It was the thing of one of your Initiates claiming to be Welsh Trad. that got me confused, as I would have assumed that one’s Trad is the one te is initiated into.. But I went through your file. and find nothing but adamant claims that YOU are NOT Welsh, and I’m sorry to have gotten it all mixed up. Never again, I assure you! Blessed Be! -TZ)

How soon they forget...

And for the curious, I left those two addresses in Gwen's letters as they were included with the original publication; as she has been gone from this world for 20 years, I do hope no one attempts to contact her via that address, somehow I don't think it will reach her.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

2008-11-20T06:59:00.001-08:00

I remember.

The Names of the Hare

2008-11-15T01:02:00.001-08:00

The Names of the Hare

Translated from middle English by Seamus Heaney

The hare, call him scotart,
big-fellow, bouchart,
the O'Hare, the jumper,
the rascal, the racer.

The wimount, the messer,
the skidaddler, the nibbler,
the ill-met, the slabber.

The quick-scut, the dew-flirt,
the grass-biter, the goibert,
the home-late, the do-the-dirt.

The starer, the wood-cat,
the purblind, the furze cat,
the skulker, the bleary-eyed,
the wall-eyed, the glance-aside
and also the hedge-springer.

The stubble-stag, the long lugs,
the stook-deer, the frisky legs,
the wild one, the skipper,
the hug-the-ground, the lurker,
the race-the-wind, the skiver,
the shadow-shifter, the hedge-squatter,
the dew-hammer, the dew-hoppper,
the sit-tight, the grass-bounder,
the jig-foot, the earth-sitter,
the light-foot, the fern-sitter,
the kail-stag, the herb-cropper.

The creep-along, the sitter-still,
the pintail, the ring-the-hill,
the sudden start, the shake-the-heart,
the belly-white, the lambs-in-flight.

The snuff-the-ground, the baldy skull,
(his chief name is scoundrel!)

You tell 'em Arnie...

2008-11-09T19:43:00.001-08:00

"It is unfortunate," Schwarzenegger said. "But it is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. ... It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category."

The Pursuit of Happiness

2008-11-05T23:59:00.001-08:00

I have often referred to this phrase from the Declaration of Independence in my discussions on marriage equality. In response to comments I made in another journal, someone recently questioned whether or not the Declaration could be used in legal arguments.

From Wikipedia (that world-renowned source of reliability :D):

The phrase "pursuit of happiness" appeared in the 1967 Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), which focused on an anti-miscegenation statute. Chief Justice Warren wrote:

The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.

The phrase is used in the depression-era case Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), which is seen as the seminal case interpreting the "liberty" interest of the Due Process clause of the 14th amendment as guaranteeing, among other things, a right to the pursuit of happiness, and, consequently, a right to privacy.

If Loving v Virginia cannot be considered relevant in any question of marriage equality, then I do not know what can be. As a member of the pagan clergy, I fully support the right of any committed, adult persons to engage in the rites of marriage (regardless of gender sexual orientation or, for that matter, number.)

Blessings of the Samhain Season to you

2008-10-31T00:08:00.001-07:00

Whether your observance is Halloween, All Hallows, All Saints, or simply Samhain.

The Best of the Hollow Earth Hassle

2008-10-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

A UFO DIGEST BOOK REVIEW

The Best of the Hollow Earth Hassle
Giving Evil A Name
by Mary Jane Martin, Tim Swartz, and Timothy G Beckley

Reviewed by Sean Casteel

Posted: 14:36 October 22, 2008

Long before there was the Internet with which to propound alternate theories of reality, there was the small circulation newsletter. A labor of love for devotees of fringe and "out there" topics, some of these tiny "zines" developed a devoted following of readers eager to learn more about such topics as UFOs and occult subjects usually given short shrift by the mainstream print media.

One such publication was "The Hollow Hassle," a subscription newsletter that focused on the famous "Shaver Mysteries" and other subterranean subject matters. For those unfamiliar with Richard Shaver, his story was to say the least an interesting one. He was working on an automobile assembly line one day in the late 1940s when he began to hear the disembodied voices of beings he would come to call the "dero," underworld creatures he believed were responsible for all the wickedness man endures on the surface of the Earth. His "dero" were a demonic race, the kind of thing nightmares are made of, but were also physically real and not mere ethereal evil spirits.

When publisher Ray Palmer decided to publish some of Shaver's writings in his fledgling magazine "Amazing Stories," a new era in paranormal writing began. Shaver's mysterious underground voices struck a nerve in readers and more than doubled the circulation for Palmer's magazine. But by the 1960s, interest in Shaver had begun to fade, and it was left to believers like Mary J. Martin to take up the task of keeping the subject alive and relevant.

Martin started a newsletter called "The Hollow Hassle," which ran for several years off and on, finally petering out completely in the mid-1980s. Martin's newsletter featured the writings of well-known Hollow Earth believers like Charles A. Marcoux and his wife Lorene, "TAL" LeVesque, and Bruce Walton, who now goes by the name Branton. In the new book's introduction, Martin said it would inevitably be a "hassle" to prove the group's beliefs, thus the newsletter's title.

Along with journalist Tim R. Swartz, Martin has recently compiled a "Best Of" collection of articles and essays from the newsletter that provides an excellent history of this grassroots newsletter approach to the mysteries Richard Shaver helped introduce to the world. Many of the writers here differ with Shaver in some respects. For example, George Wight and Charles Marcoux argue that the Hollow Earth is the real location of the Garden of Eden and that Adam and Eve were cast out of a paradise that still exists below our feet. The two men claim to have met creatures nine feet tall with gray skin who live in a Utopian world untouched by the dangerous rays of the sun.

The original pioneer, Richard Shaver himself, contributes a fascinating chapter in which he argues that UFOs really come from the Hollow Earth and not from outer space. Shaver puts forth the disconcerting notion that the scariest thing about UFOs is how the mainstream simply doesn't believe in their existence. He argues that that disbelief is pre-intended by the aliens and compares it to the soporific a mosquito injects before it bites. The aliens, according to Shaver, use a device called a "TELAUG," short for telepathic augmentive device, which permits the aliens to read and direct human thoughts. He blames the TELAUG for the Kennedy and King assassinations, and claims the device also prevents the UFOs from being exposed to human scrutiny and will lead eventually to a total mental enslavement of mankind at the hands of the subterranean fiends. The ships were originally built with human labor eons ago, but were forced to go underground after the Great Deluge. Again, Shaver despairs of ever being believed, and thus we are powerless to prevent whatever dark plans have been drawn against us.

"The Best of the Hollow Earth Hassle" also contains some of the original cover art published by Mary Martin, and the images of demons and bewitching she-devils and mythic monsters are eye-catching, as is a section of photographs of some of the main players in the newsletter's history. A concluding section of letters to and from the editor helps to add a comforting personal angle to the extreme strangeness of the preceding material, though the stories the readers share demonstrate a good deal of bizarre contact with the unknown in their own right.

Interest in the Shaver Mysteries cuts across many demographic lines and draws a vast assortment of seekers into its weird vortex. Perhaps its appeal lies in the notion that our suffering must have a name, an enemy we can identify and struggle against. In those terms, Shaver's dero is as reasonable a paradigm as any other for the evil we are forced to do battle with.

Whether there are monsters or angels down there (Shaver would later claim that there were both good and evil creatures pitched in eternal combat in the underworld, with the two races doing their utmost to influence life on the surface), the fact remains that a community of believers can band together to create a meaningful testimony to a moment in time and to a shared vision of a fleeting but still primal truth about ourselves and our place in the scheme of things, whether paranormal or utterly prosaic.

The struggle of mankind to overcome the lower demons of our nature and to celebrate what is good in us is what "The Hollow Hassle" is really ultimately about.

THE END

For more information or to purchase this book, click on the title: Best of the Hollow Earth Hassle

Hot Apple Cider with Rum

2008-10-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hot Apple Cider with Rum

Ingredients

Makes 2 quarts, about 8 servings

1 apple
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 orange, thinly sliced
2 quarts apple cider
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
Pinch grated nutmeg
1 cup dark rum
Cinnamon sticks, garnish

Preparation

Stud the apple with the cloves.
Combine the apple and remaining ingredients (except for the rum and cinnamon sticks) in a large saucepan. Slowly bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the rum. Discard the apple.
Ladle into mugs and garnish each with a cinnamon stick. Serve immediately.

-------------
Source: Not noted

A Hot Mulled Cider

2008-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

A Hot Mulled Cider

PERIOD: Modern
SOURCE: Contemporary Recipe
CLASS: Not Authentic
DESCRIPTION: Cider & grape juices blended with spices & brandy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 quarts apple cider
2 quarts red grape juice
2 cups orange juice
3 lemons, sliced
3 oranges, sliced
2 pieces candied ginger
1 stick cinnamon
4 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 cup brandy

Mix the cider, juices, lemons, and oranges in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Tie ginger and spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to saucepan. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 15 min. Remove spice bag. Stir in brandy. Serve warm in chafing dish or heat-proof punch bowl.
Serves 36 (1/2 cup each).
----------

Irish Bannock

2008-10-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

Irish Bannock
    A tasty loaf similar to a scone. Perfect for breakfast or as a snack with tea or coffee.
Prep Time: approx. 15 Minutes.
Cook Time: approx. 40 Minutes.
Makes 1 round loaf ( 8 servings).

         2 cups all-purpose flour
         2 tablespoons white sugar
         1/2 teaspoon baking powder
         1/2 teaspoon baking soda
         1/2 teaspoon salt
         2 tablespoons butter
         1 cup buttermilk
         1/2 cup currants, raisins or dried cranberries

    Directions
    1 Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with pastry cutter. Add buttermilk until dough is soft. Stir in currants.
    2 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Form dough into a 7 inch round. Place on a lightly oiled cake pan or cookie sheet. Cut 1/2 inch deep cross side to side. Score with cross 1/2 inch deep on the top.
    3 Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 40 minutes.
-------------
Source not noted

Old Fashioned Bannock Cakes

2008-10-22T13:25:00.001-07:00

Old Fashioned Bannock Cakes

5 cups flour (all purpose)
5 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs salt
1/2-3/4 cup lard (do not substitute)
water

Mix all dry ingredients together. Cut in lard. Add enough water that the dough holds together well, but not so much that the dough becomes sticky (if this happens add more flour). Once the dough is thoroughly mixed place on a greased baking sheet and pat down to about 1 inch in thickness and cut to rounds. Bake at about 400-450F until the Bannock appears to be slightly brown.
This recipe is also suitable for deep frying, frying, and pan cooking over a campfire.

-----
Source not noted

Pitcaithly Bannock

2008-10-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

Pitcaithly Bannock

8 oz flour
      4 oz butter
      2 oz caster sugar
      1 oz chopped almonds
      1 oz mixed candied peel

Set oven to 325F/Gas 3. Grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the sugar and butter and rub in to form a dough. Add the almonds and mix in the peel, making sure they are evenly distributed.
Form into a thick round on a lightly floured surface and prick all over with a fork. Place on the sheet and bake for about 45-60 minutes. Allow to cool and serve sliced thinly and buttered.

------
Source not noted.

American Bannocks

2008-10-22T13:21:00.001-07:00

Old American Bannock Recipes:

From: The American Frugal Housewife, 1833 edition:

Indian cake, or bannock, is sweet and cheap food. One quart of sifted meal, two great spoonfuls of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of salt, a bit of shortening half as big as hen's egg, stirred together; make it pretty moist with scalding water, put it in a well-greased pan, smooth over the surface with a spoon, and bake it brown on both sides, before a quick fire. A little stewed pumpkin, scalded with the meal, improves the cake. Bannock split and dipped in butter makes a very nice toast.*(1)
-----------------------------------------------------

From: The Kentucky Housewife, 1839 edition

Sift a quart of fine Indian meal, mix it with a salt-spoonful of salt, two large spoonfuls of butter and a gill of molasses; make it into a common dough with scalding water, or hot sweet milk, mixing it well with a spoon; put it in a well-buttered skillet, make it smooth, and bake it rather briskly. When it is done, cut it in thin smooth slices, toast them lightly, butter them, stack them, and eat them warm.*(2)

To make this recipe, you need to know that a salt-spoon was about the size of a modern half-teaspoon, and that a gill is four fluid ounces.*(3)

The "skillet" refers was a deep lidded skillet, made from cast iron and similar to modern-day dutch ovens.*(4)

------------------------------------------------------
*1) Mrs. Child, The American Frugal Housewife (Boston: Carter, Hendee & Co., 1833), p. 75.
*2) Kentucky Housewife, (1839) p. 313.
*3) Mary Randolph, The Virginia House-wife (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1984; originally published 1824) p. 298.

How Things Work

2008-10-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went into the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 for each.

This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each, and the supply of monkeys became so small that it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35, and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each." The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys.

They never saw the man nor his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!

Now you have a better understanding on how Wall Street Works.

Having completed my ballot

2008-10-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

I will be posting no further entries regarding the 2008 US election, until 4 November.

More politics and veterans' issues

2008-10-14T18:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=3483&sort=state

According to data compiled by the million-member organization, Disabled American Veterans, Democrats are beating the cookies out of Republicans when it comes to voting to support veterans issues such as:
* Budget
* Appropriations
* Amendments to increase funding
* Emergency supplemental funding for VA

Spreading the love...

2008-10-14T17:59:00.001-07:00

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/383254_ltrs15.html

CHIEF PETTY OFFICERS
Retired CPO takes exception to McCain

As a retired chief petty officer, I take great exception to John McCain's statement that everything he learned about leadership came from a chief petty officer. On behalf of my fellow brothers and sisters in the CPO community, I want to set the record straight. Chief petty officers do not malign others, instill fear and lie.

John Hebert
Bothell

What a great idea!

2008-10-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

Lose for Good

Weight Watchers donate lost pounds to food banks...

Religious intolerance in India

2008-10-13T00:31:00.001-07:00

Hindu Threat to Christians: Convert or Flee
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Christians in eastern Orissa State in India say they are being forced to abandon their faith in exchange for safety.

A brief excerpt:

India is no stranger to religious violence between Christians, who make up about 2 percent of the population, and India’s Hindu-majority of 1.1 billion people. But this most recent spasm is the most intense in years.

It was set off, people here say, by the killing on Aug. 23 of a charismatic Hindu preacher known as Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who for 40 years had rallied the area’s people to choose Hinduism over Christianity.

The police have blamed Maoist guerrillas for the swami’s killing. But Hindu radicals continue to hold Christians responsible. In recent weeks, they have plastered these villages with gruesome posters of the swami’s hacked corpse. “Who killed him?” the posters ask. “What is the solution?”

"What is the solution?" Damned good question, it needs a damned good answer. I wish I had one.

[Full article at the linked headline.]

Washington State Presidential campaigns

2008-10-12T00:00:00.001-07:00

From the Washington Secretary of State website (and listed in the same order as there, which does not reflect any preference on *my* part):

Barack Obama / Joe Biden - Democratic Party Nominees
John McCain / Sarah Palin - Republican Party Nominees
Ralph Nader / Matt Gonzalez - Independent Candidates
Gloria La Riva / Eugene Puryear - Socialism & Liberation Party Nominees
James E. Harris / Alyson Kennedy - Socialist Workers Party Nominees
Bob Barr / Wayne A. Root - Libertarian Party Nominees
Chuck Baldwin / Darrell L. Castle - Constitution Party Nominees
Cynthia McKinney / Rosa Clemente - Green Party Nominees

Voter Participation in Presidential Election Campaigns
Those who wish to participate in the presidential election campaign process may contact the candidate or party of his or her choice for more information. Listed below are the political parties with candidates for president on the general election ballot.

Washington State Democratic Central Committee
615 Second Avenue, Ste 580
Seattle, WA 98194
(206) 583-0664
info@wa-democrats.org
www.wa-democrats.org

Washington State Republican Party
2840 Northup Way, Ste 140
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 460-0570
comments@wsrp.org
www.wsrp.org

Party for Socialism & Liberation
1122 E Pike #1289
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 367-3820
seattle@votepsl.org
pslweb.org

Socialist Workers Party
5418 Rainier Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98118
(206) 323-1755
seattleswp@speakeasy.net
themilitant.com

Libertarian Party of Washington State
10522 Lake City Way NE, Ste C103
Seattle, WA 98125
(206) 571-1946
officemanager@lpwa.org
www.lpwa.org/voter

Constitution Party of Washington
10605 SE 240th Street, PMB 135
Kent, WA 98031
(253) 854-6524
contactus@constitutionpartyofwa.com
www.constitutionpartyofwa.com

Green Party of Washington State
GPoWS State Office
PO Box 70515
Seattle, WA 98127
(360) 875-0205 or (206) 781-3848
wagreens@gmail.com
www.wagreens.us

Two bits on the Market

2008-10-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4993TS20081010
Ex-President Carter Slams Bush on Market Crisis
BRUSSELS - Former President Jimmy Carter said on Friday the "atrocious economic policies" of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Deregulation and what he called a withdrawal of supervision of Wall Street had encouraged irresponsible elements in the U.S. financial system, enabling banks to borrow 30 times their value.
Eight years ago, the United States had a budget surplus, low inflation and a stable, strong economy, he said.
Carter said he was astonished that the United States now owed China...

*****************************************

Black Friday? By Mike Whitney http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20986.htm

Panic has spread to stock markets around the world. A massive sell-off, which began when Henry Paulson announced a $700 billion bailout for the banking system, has turned into a global stampede.
Nearly one third of all deposits ($2.5 trillion) are not insured under present FDIC guidelines. If these deposits are not insured, as Isaac says, there will continue to be a slow run on the banks which is why the credit markets are paralyzed.
Investors have already pulled a record $72 billion from stock and mutual funds, and put the money in US Treasury's and government-insured bank deposits.
If the trend continues, the financial system will collapse.
If the government overreacts and limits bank withdrawals or closes the stock market; the sense of desperation and panic will only grow. That increases the likelihood of rioting and violence.....
The government has lost the moral authority to rule. People have lost faith in everything. Bush has created a tinder box which could explode in flames at any time. It is a dangerous situation.
At this point the risk of an imminent stock market crash – like the one-day collapse of 20% plus in US stock prices in 1987 – cannot be ruled out as the financial system is breaking down, panic and lack of confidence in any counter party is sharply rising and the investors have totally lost faith in the ability of policy authorities to control this meltdown....

Dowsing - NY Times article

2008-10-09T00:48:00.001-07:00

On Parched Farms, Using Intuition to Find Water

By JESSE McKINLEY
Scientists pooh-pooh “water witches,” who claim to know where to drill for water, but the dowsers are in demand.

WATERFORD, Calif. — Phil Stine is not crazy, or possessed, or even that special, he says. He has no idea how he does what he does. From most accounts, he does it very well.

“Phil finds the water,” said Frank Assali, an almond farmer and convert. “No doubt about it.”

Mr. Stine, you see, is a “water witch,” one of a small band of believers for whom the ancient art of dowsing is alive and well.

[Remainder of article at link in title.]

NYC National Debt Clock runs out of digits

2008-10-08T22:34:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK - In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure.

As a short-term fix, the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock near Times Square has been switched to a figure - the "1" in $10 trillion. It's marking the federal government's current debt at about $10.2 trillion.

[Remainder of newsbrief item at link, above.]

Short-term fix; that seems to be the word of the day, um, week...month? As I recently posted over at LiveJournal:

A Fable for Our Time:

A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese team won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat.

A team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese team had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. So American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

The consulting firm advised that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

To prevent another loss to the Japanese, the American's rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to consist of 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the "Rowing Team Quality First Program", with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management:

laid off the rower for poor performance,
halted development of a new canoe,
sold the paddles, and
cancelled all capital investments for new equipment.

The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year's racing team was outsourced to India.

Pass the Southern Comfort!

2008-10-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

Georgia transgender politician wins legal battle

By MEGAN MATTEUCCI

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, October 06, 2008

The Georgia Supreme Court found a transgender Riverdale city council candidate did not mislead voters when she ran as a woman last November.

The court unanimously ruled in favor of Michelle Bruce Monday.

Two unsuccessful city council candidates, Georgia Fuller and Stan Harris, filed suit against Bruce and the city of Riverdale last year. Fuller and Harris accused Bruce of lying to voters when she ran as a woman and Riverdale City Clerk Stephanie Thomas of tampering with voting machines.

Today, Supreme Court Justice Hugh Thompson wrote that the candidates did not produce any evidence of “fraud, misconduct, irregularity or illegality.”

In their suit, Fuller and Harris allege Bruce’s name is Michael Bruce. Their attorney, new Clayton school board member Michael King, argued that Bruce’s birth certificate lists her as Mickey Dwayne Bruce and a man.

Bruce, who identifies herself as transgender and a woman, said she changed her name in Clayton County Superior Court in 1980 to Mickey Michelle Bruce and goes by Michelle Mickey Bruce.

Fuller and Harris had asked the court to overturn the November election and halt a December runoff. The two went to the Supreme Court after a Spalding County Superior Court judge threw out the suit, allowing the runoff to be held.

Bruce, who was elected to the Riverdale City Council in 2004, lost her bid for a second term to Atlanta firefighter Wayne Hall.

Bruce could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.