This journal is largely Friends Only

although I do post public entries quite often and anyone's welcome to read them.

I take not too seriously that which is most serious.
It is a form of respect.
People who take too much serious
are being fragile - and might view me as a troublemaker.
I do not mind.

There is not half enough laughter in the world
and not half enough self empowerment
and strength.

Do what you will and help each other be strong!

... but this journal is still mostly friends-only :)

This is a public apology to

surrey_sucks

I did something a while ago that was enormously stupid - something I should never have done. It is something I need to address.
As a result I apologize.

There are no amends I can make, there is nothing more I can do. I have lost a friend through my own stupidity, and have lost a good person.

I'm out of patience with people who keep making me part of their vendettas.
If you have a bone to pick with someone I consider a friend, take it elsewhere. Deal with it. But don't make me part of it - because cycles of revenge are a failure. They are specifically evil : they disrupt society, disrupt interactions and make the world in general a less friendlier and uglier place.
There is no justice in revenge, there is no righteousness in involving others in a person's grudges.

I'm working on trying to make my life succeed right now, and I want to see all the people I care about move forward.

If I ever hear about anyone I know doing this, ever again, they will be blocked from my life.

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I'm not ... I kind of actually want to have a child someday. Life being what it is though - it's not something I really have a say in, unless I end up with a partner who does too. I may run out of time for this to matter.
*shrug*

This is not something I believe men should have much say in. Some - yes - but that's largely up to the kind of life the people involved are living. I don't think a man has any rights whatsoever in anything to do with potential children involving a former partner - for instance. (past children is far more complex and not something I can really talk about)

seeing as this comes up occasionally all I have to add is this:
- my little brother is gay. I have bias.
- There is significant evidence that it's biological. Specific causes vary - there seems to be a genetic key and a key in initial brain (and hormonal system) growth. There's also some other stuff that's still being studied... so expect more.
- I've known gay rabbits and seen it (or signs anyway) in a bunch of critters. It's "natural" whatever some yokel wants to say otherwise about it.

In many ways I don't consider this any different than the choice to be heterosexual. I wait patiently for countries to come to grips with this and stop making into second class (or even criminals) people who aren't heterosexual.

It's come up a lot - and will probably continue to do so. Our societies allow for far more individual freedom than many even fairly recently in the past. We don't have social restrictions, doctrinal restrictions nor government restrictions artificially restricting what people can do - for the most part - anymore. At least as long as it doesn't harm others. It may be yet a while - there is still a long ways to go before individual people have recovered our agency.

I could easily be wrong in some of this. But I feel better for writing it.

am on a bit of a hiatus from livejournal. My house is already much cleaner and better organized....

I do monitor this a little but I'm already weeks behind and not in any position to catch up. At this point outside of sporadic updates, I'm going to estimate I'll be back in August or so.

Cheers all!

savannahdreamer posted this from another person who found this great thing on FARK.com....
in honour of the season...*MWAHAHAHAHA*

The War on Saturnalia!

What's this empire coming to? Now they want us to stop greeting people with "Io Saturnalia!" "We have all these different cultures in Rome," they tell us. "We shouldn't offend anyone," they tell us, "We've got to be inclusive."

We've got the barbarians from the north with their tree decorations and their fire rituals. And the weirdos from Gaul, cutting mistletoe with a golden sickle. And the Mithraists, the Zoroastrians, the Isis cults, and, of course, those characters who hang out in the catacombs. "Hail, Winter!" we're supposed to say. I ask you, what next: we lose the feast? We stop the Solstice parties? No more honoring Ops, goddess of abundance?

I was buying some greenery down by the Forum the other day, and there's old Macrobius with some Visigoth chick, and she goes, "Gut Jule." And I go, "Hey! In this country, we say, "Io, Saturnalia! Maybe you should go back to where you came from." Then Macrobius goes, "She can't, she's a slave."

Whatever.

At this time of year, the Visigoths sacrifice a pig and burn a special log that they dance around, instead of acting like normal people and going to the temple of Saturn.

I swear, I was at this party over at Septima Commodia's house the other day. She always has a Saturnalia party. Anyway, she decorated the place with prickly green leaves. "It's holly," she said, "The latest fashion from Brittania. They all do it in Londinium."

It gets worse.

She had this statue of some goddess from Ultima Thule or somewhere, name of Frigga, sitting right there on the dining room mensa. I mean, this is darned near blasphemous. I'd be scared about what the lares and penates would do if I put that thing in my house. But Septima Commodia just said, "Oh get over it! We're cosmopolitan around here." Cosmopolitan. That's what they call it. Well by Jupiter, I live in Latium. I'm a Roman. And this empire was founded on the principle that the gods, our gods, must be honored at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way. None of this foreign heretical nonsense or these strange customs from Germania or Hibernia or Palestine. I say, "Io, Saturnalia!" and if you don't like it, you can leave.

From

iisz and

slavewench:

Wow - on Tuesday we aimed to get 25,000 Canadians to join the emergency call to Prime Minister Harper to stop blocking the crucial UN climate change talks in Bali - and we hit that target in just 18 hours!! In two days, 71,187 of us have signed the petition, and rising fast - one of the largest online petitions in Canadian history!

The petition ads are running in papers tomorrow, including the Ottawa Citizen and the Calgary Sun. At the Bali summit, it is touch and go - with almost the entire world vs. Canada and the US over whether to accept targets on harmful carbon emissions. The draft agreement changes every hour, with carbon targets dropping in and out. We now have just over 24 hours left for an all-out push to get Harper to do the right thing. Let's ramp it up and hit 100,000 voices by Friday! If you haven't yet, please click below to sign up, see our ad, and then forward this email to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/9.php

Let's make sure that experts never again give Canada the "fossil" award for worst country in the world on climate change! If you've already told your friends and family about the petition, try calling Prime Minister Harper's office directly at 613 992 4211, or calling the House of Commons toll free on 1 (866) 599-4999 to talk to your MP about getting Parliament to act on this issue. Harper leads a minority government, he shouldn't be able to get away with ignoring the large majority of us who want real action on climate change.

Our incredible momentum is a wonderful and powerful statement about the Canada we all love and want to see - one that does the right thing in the world, whose flag stands for people and principles -- not the short term profits of big oil corporations. Let's forward this email round, blog this issue, talk about it at the dinner table and at work, and get an emergency people-powered movement going that reaches 100,000 by tomorrow!

With hope, Ricken and the Avaaz team

PS - here's some links to more info on this issue:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071212.BALIMAIN12/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/285171

PSS - here's some info on Avaaz.org's work and campaigning:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/report_back_1/

Today is World AIDS Day

For those who are dealing with it
for those who have been touched by it
for those who live in fear
and for those who have fallen.

we have too much to do
and so far to go
before we can conquer this.

We must conquer this.

I wish much strength to those who face this.

(from

patgund. Agree 100% therefore I quote it all including his postscripts)

PayDay Loans - The Predatory Lending Association

"The Predatory Lending Association (PLA) is dedicated to extracting maximum profit from the working poor by increasing payday loan fees and debt traps. The working poor is an exciting, fast growing demographic that includes: military personnel, most minorities, and a growing percentage of the middle class."

Ouch indeed. Like most good parodies, it works because it's got more than the slight ring of truth.

Congratulations Australia!

for finally being free of Howard

Meme from

patgund and I'm keeping his modifications because he's right!

Actually, I'd say this is how EVERYONE should treat those they love and care for, and gender be dammed.

To every guy that's said, "Sex CAN wait"
To every guy that's said, "You're beautiful."
To every guy that was never too busy to drive across town to see her.
To every guy that gives her flowers and a card when she is sick or down.
To every guy who has given her flowers just because thats how he rolls.
To every guy that said he would die for her.
To every guy that really would.
To every guy that did what she wanted to do.
To every guy that cried in front of her. ....
To every guy that she cried in front of...
To every guy that holds hands with her.
To every guy that kisses her with meaning.
To every guy that hugs her when she's sad.
To every guy that hugs her for no reason at all.
To every guy who would give their jacket up for her.
To every guy that calls to make sure she got home safe.
To every guy that would sit and wait for her for hours just to see her for ten minutes.....
To every guy that would give his seat up...
To every guy that just wants to cuddle.
To every guy that reassured her that she was beautiful no matter what.
To every guy who told his secrets to her.
To every guy that tried to show how much he cared through every word and every breath.
To every guy that thought maybe this could be the one.
To every guy that believed in her dreams.
To every guy that would have done anything so she could achieve them.
To every guy that never laughed at her when she told him her dreams.
To every guy that walked her to her car and opened the door.
To every guy that gave his heart.
To every guy who prays that she is happy even if you are not with her.

Not many girls appreciate nice guys anymore...
And because of this, there are not many left out there...

My friend guarantees 90% of the men on my page will not repost this cuz they care more about their image

If you are a nice guy repost this with:
this is how every girl should be treated

If you are a girl that thinks every guy should treat a girl this way
repost this with: "To Every Guy"
---
*sigh*
I'd like to be the nice guy. I like to think I am at least. Ta!

I have a special dislike for working Remembrance Day. I worked yesterday all day + I'm working today. No overtime or anything either ...
but it's a day sacred to the fallen. It's a day sacred to those who went to Odhinn and Freija.
I don't pay half the attention to holidays that I want to - but this hurts.

So rather than continue being upset (for perfectly good reasons I'll state) - I'll instead link to some interesting posts:
Clue to cosmic rays discovered (BBC)
Black holes are the most likely source of the mysterious ultra high-energy cosmic rays that bombard the planet, scientists have discovered.
Aha! Consensus (one suspects)

What makes a good password?

Placenta 'fools body's defences'
Cool medicine...

Gene 'links breastfeeding to IQ'
Ha! My mom's been one of the ones supporting this. She wins!

Drugs for ADHD 'not the answer'
ABSOLUTELY! No shock at all. Again, Mom suspected as such - and so when my little brother was diagnosed - he was kept off of the drugs.

Vitamin D 'may help slow ageing'
This one's got some interesting hints.

Thinking Makes It So: Science Extends Reach Of Prosthetic Arms (Science Daily)
ABOUT TIME!

A random one: Mafia's 'Ten Commandments' found
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.

A wonderful reality: Rare orchid found on spoil heap

More on Stonehenge's huge support settlement...

I love Sufism but I had NO idea Idries Shah was involved in the origin of Wicca. Somehow this explains much.

Beautiful lunacy from

johnny9fingers: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071105/tuk-nepal-britain-mountaineering-record-a7ad41d_1.html

And more lunacy in Archaeology Today: Zombie Attack at Hierakonpolis

Cool archaeology: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/11/11/peru-temple-moche.html
(4000 year old temple)

I think this means that moves to impeach Cheney are finally progressing. One can hope anyway... There's something very unclean about what I've seen about him. (Generally - for comparison - I'd describe Bush as "poorly informed" sometimes)

... and just for those skeptics: Climate scepticism: The top 10 (BBC)

This amusing picture is very both Cthulhu-esque as well as PRETTY: http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/d/20071111.html
I must get back into Mad Science: Agatha is SO right!

brought to you by the song Sweet Home Alabama as done by the Finish group the "Leningrad Cowboys", backed by the Red Army Choir.... (alternate version)
- from

patgund

actually this beautiful Remembrance Day video (warning: disturbing scenes) (from

carlanime) is probably more apropos.

Never forget.

For the most part I have a great deal of respect for religion of all types - when one has faith. This does include atheism - which under some conditions could be considered a religion (when it's a formalized set of beliefs with a specific structure).
There's so many shades of atheism though and ... since I'm not - it's not really up to me to know the differences ;)

Every group (pretty much) has it's wackos. these nasties (*yay* for penalty!) for instance are the kind who shriek "help help - I'm being oppressed" when they're not allowed to server their homegrown hatred and bile. My own people has their own nasties (such as parodied on "The Wall")... we don't talk about them much.

Even though the wackos exist - there's no call for attacking someone else's religion.

People are fine targets though - as are individual groups of wackos. I'm sorry - but being rude makes one fair game.
Corollary: do not assume something that targets an individual or small subgroup is an attack on everyone. There's been too much sadness already by people being too sensitive.
Second corollary: I'll happily make silly posts about my own beliefs. My beliefs are solid and can handle it - and besides, what is said in good play can in its own way help make a people stronger.

Please to remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
We know no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Happy Guy Fawkes day to all who celebrate!
(trying to import the celebrations here... it's coming slow but it's coming)

Also - happy V day - the inspiration for this memory :)

Happy Halloween

also:

Happy Samhain

May They who visit on this day be good and welcome guests.
May those who are dear to us that have passed on have peace
May we who hold feasts be good hosts!

I've heard that Myrr (of the Island) - who I only met briefly but smiled at the meeting - passed away
Peace and joy to all that knew her - for that she had with her everywhere I saw.

... I know no more and knew her not half well enough. Her life touches a lot of people in the SCA around the Island and the Valley and probably many more worlds as well.

Organic produce 'better for you' (BBC)
Organic produce is better for you than ordinary food, a major European Union-funded study says.

were I to offer a suspicion, passed down to my father who - when he was a farmer - went organic in the beginning of the '70s:
Organic food is superior because the pesticides and treatments are damaging the plants (and animals).
My modern research suggests that exposure to SOME challenge helps strengthen "the breed" as it were too.

and in more health news:
Smoking 'raises psoriasis risk' (BBC)
Blood findings bring malaria hope
- Type O blood means less likely to have severe malaria. There's some wonderful details in this story.

Biofuels 'crime against humanity' (BBC)
A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.

and jumping a bit:
Schwarzenegger vows to 'hunt down' California arsonists
Schwarzenegger also warned residents to be on the lookout for scammers and price-gouging, saying crooks are trying to take advantage of people at a vulnerable time.

Minister detained at US airport
Britain's first Muslim minister, Shahid Malik, says he is "deeply disappointed" that he was detained by airport security officials in America.
Prejudice is alive and well in the USA. Who knew? (and probably a lot of other places)

Some redemption (as it were) for the US though:
Million back comic for president: Stephen Colbert
Colbert says he will run for both major parties so he can "lose twice"
More than a million people have backed comic Stephen Colbert's fake candidacy in the 2008 US presidential election on social-networking website Facebook.
Oh I do hope he does the official thing. He's very much supporting Rhino party style politics and it's badly needed.

also - Putin compares US shield to Cuba - more of a reminder than a scare. The discussions between Russia and the US have been very friendly on this issue.

last:
Frog killer fungus 'breakthrough'
an interesting example of how a human medicine can cross species.
The scientists involve want this story spread far and wide - hence announcing it to BBC. If you're dealing with amphibians and may have trouble with this invasive fungus - this shows what they've found that works.

I hope all you around or near the fires in California are OK - and that the effects on y'all are minimal.

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Teunis Peters

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Winterlion's Pride

randomness

Recent Entries

Friends Only!

This journal is largely Friends Only

A public apology

(no subject)

Writer's Block: Kids or child-free?

Teh Gay....

public post

headache, so humour....

The War on Saturnalia!

from the email they sent me. My voice is where it is.

Today is Worlds AIDS day

Today is World AIDS Day

Predatory Lending Association

Congratulations Australia!

Congratulations Australia!

(MEME) this is how every (person) should be treated

at work...

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Happy Halloween

Happy Samhain

A passing

Tidbits and oddities (and a wee bit of politics)

Californian friends!

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