Atheists who'll take in your pets after the Rapture - Boing Boing

Atheists who'll take in your pets after the Rapture - Boing Boing

*smirks* LOL

An update of sorts...

There's lots to mention...but I wanted to post this because I really enjoyed this past weekend with Erin....not the weather mind you...the weekend.



We ended up watching a couple of movies. One of them 'Unforgiven' starring and directed by Clint Eastwood - was one that I had never seen and always wanted too. It has now become one of my favorite movies. Aside from the fact that Mr. Eastwood has a firm grasp on irony/parody/satire - it's simply very well done and some of the quotes were hysterical (like this one from Gen Hackman who played Little Bill Daggett the unconventional sherrif of the town - not to mention the fact that Eastwood managed to get Richard Harris to take a role in this Western):


Little Bill Daggett: It's been a long time, Bob. You run out of Chinamen?
English Bob: Little Bill, well I thought you was, well I thought that you were dead. I see you've shaved your chin whiskers off.
Little Bill Daggett: I was tasting the soup two hours after I ate it.
English Bob: Well, actually, what I heard was that you fell off your horse, drunk of course, and that you broke your bloody neck.
Little Bill Daggett: I heard that one myself, Bob. Hell, I even thought I was dead 'til I found out it was just that I was in Nebraska.

So if you haven't seen this one it's well worth renting

********

In other news, I've taken up that elusive of all sports, golfing. It is simultaneously a blast while being one of the most frustrating things ever...but I love it - and what's even better is I get to share with my husband. What a blast it's been - he is a wonderful coach.

Well more to blog about later - for now I wish you all Peace.

Motivational Posters: Ernest Hemingway Edition | The Art of Manliness

Motivational Posters: Ernest Hemingway Edition | The Art of Manliness

Excellent!

Shared with my by my amazing husband.

Dutch delay 13-year-old sailor's worldwide trip

Dutch delay 13-year-old sailor's worldwide trip - Yahoo! News

I hope she wins her bid to do this....she reminds me of a certain friend of mine (C2)

My Love

It's been a while since I've written about how much I am (STILL) enamored with My Love - SirErin.

We still connect in ways that at times takes my breath away.

I am still just as smitten with him.

I am still amazed that he chose me to be his wife - HIS WIFE.

And perhaps, that is the most important thing of all...I am HIS wife and he is MY husband. To me, and this is sad, as never before, this relationship transcends all the mundane bullshit the world chooses to throw my way and makes me realise just how lucky I really am.

I love you Erin - with all my heart.

Always,
C~

Showcase: Forgotten Elephants - Lens Blog - NYTimes.com

Showcase: Forgotten Elephants - Lens Blog - NYTimes.com

This makes me very sad.

I feel sometimes the advancements we achieve end up being our undoing...

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies - NYTimes.com

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies - NYTimes.com

Rest in peace, Senator.

What Should Colleges Teach? - Stanley Fish Blog - NYTimes.com

What Should Colleges Teach? - Stanley Fish Blog - NYTimes.com

...for my own reference as I am thinking about going to college. Well worth reading.

Quote of the Day

(Mainly because this reminds me of my husband)

"You are remembered for the rules you break."

--Douglas MacArthur

The Women’s Crusade - NYTimes.com -

The Women’s Crusade - NYTimes.com -

Read this! Now! Because you need to - because I SAID SO. I don't particularly care that it's long or it's painful to read. This could be YOUR daughter, YOUR mother, YOUR sister at risk.

The New York Times Wine Club

The New York Times Wine Club; Recipes

for future reference...

On the path to 'becoming'

For Erin...

"You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves."

++St Francis de Sales++

(Per my love - herein follows the full quote):

" There are many besides you who want me to tell
them of methods, and systems, and secret ways of
becoming perfect, and I can only tell them that the
sole secret is a hearty love of God, and the only way
of attaining that love is by loving. You learn to
speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by
running, to work by working ; and just so you learn
to love God and man by loving. All those who
think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.
If you want to love God, go on loving Him more
and more ; never look back, press forward continu
ally. Begin as a mere apprentice, and the very
power of love will lead you on to become a master
in the art. Those who have made most progress
will continually press on, never believing themselves
to have reached their end ; for charity should go on
increasing till we draw our last breath. Those who
are farthest on may say with David, Lord, what
love have I unto Thy law ; all the day long is my
study in it ;

Phys Ed: Can Running Actually Help Your Knees? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

Phys Ed: Can Running Actually Help Your Knees? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

For future reference...just for me..not that it matters or that anyone reads this stuff...

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Rock guitar pioneer Les Paul dies

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Rock guitar pioneer Les Paul dies

RIP Mr. Paul

Keeping the wolves at bay...

There are a lot of reasons I am posting this one...


********

Native Wisdom

A Grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."

"One wolf is evil and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, self-pity, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, selfishness and arrogance."

"The other wolf is beautiful and good: He is friendly, joyful, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, justice, fairness, empathy, generosity, true, compassion, gratitude, and deep VISION."

"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other human as well."

The grandson paused in deep reflection because of what his grandfather had just said. Then he finally cried out; "Oyee! Grandfather, which wolf will win?"

The elder Cherokee replied, "The wolf that you feed."

Cancer, my parents and my doubts about God - CNN.com

Cancer, my parents and my doubts about God - CNN.com

More on this later...it's about having a 'faith journey'...and how I can identify with this woman on a lot of levels...at any rate, it's a great article - very well written.

********
It's later...

Yeah. I posted this because on a lot of levels I identify with what is written here. There is doubt. There is doubt within the doubt.

I have faced many things in my life. I have been at the brink, at the edge and known that if I fall there is no safety net. I have stared death in the face - death won....taking away my mom. I hope she rests 'in a better place'.

There has been hopelessness and fear, love lost and not regained. There has been wonderment at 'why did I do that' and then afterwards the resignation of knowing I blew it, yet again, ruined something precious and wondering if I will ever get 'it' back...especially lately...

Yet..it's not that I don't pray, it's not that I consider myself without faith - I feel in my heart I am a very spiritual person...but, is that enough?

Lately, the people I love the most are suffering - I won't go into details but it takes my breath away, shakes me to to core and has me constantly torn between fervent prayer and railing at God ('Oh yeah big guy you wanna f*$%# with ME?!?!?!?)
It's so frightening...and it's so hard because I love these people so much...

I have been meeting with a group of women from my church getting ready for a renewal weekend and, as I listen to them tell their own faith stories about their own faith journeys, I am at once humbled and filled with admiration at their strength and resilience and most of all their love...their constant unconditional love for family and others. I am doing my best to learn the lessons I need to learn with some of these older, wiser, sisters of mine acting as my touchstone to God/dess...

********

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Bitter pills

I am slowly dying here. My level of apathy grows daily – drowning out everything else. I feel surrounded by likewise individuals who don’t seem to care either….the passion has been snuffed out and replaced by tepid/feigned interest at best. Constantly people behave this way - I mean is this how we are suppose to live our lives?

Why do people seemingly ‘fake it’ – why do they lie? Isn’t it better to just be honest? Even if the honesty is going to hurt someone – what type of betrayal is better? What makes people feel better in the long run – a little sugar with the medicine?

*******

I keep getting hit on at work and elsewhere. It's not always the same people...but it makes me wonder.

Why do we cheat on each other? Is it because we finally get fed up and tired of the SO in our life? Is it because we are bored? Is it because we are seeking attention? Is it because we are simply schmucks and don't give a fuck and have no self-control? Is it that we are missing something vital in our moral fiber?

A lot of guys when cheating have been known to say (about their SOs) - she just doesn't understand me anymore, she doesn't care, she ignores me...

Is it the same with women? Are women wired differently when it comes to this stuff - are we just constantly looking for affirmation and closeness/intimacy and when it's not forthcoming we finally break?

I just don't get things anymore....and it's scaring the hell out of me.

Clinton and Gore, Together Again - NYTimes.com

Clinton and Gore, Together Again - NYTimes.com

It's (*drum roll*) Super-Duper-Private-Citizen Bill Clinton (and his trusty sidekick Al)...

(*rolls eyes*)

Yes Mr. Clinton - thank you so much for 'rescuing' these women. For them for their families, I am happy...

Now could you just go back to your private life.

Thanks

Woman getting married to fairground ride - Telegraph

Woman getting married to fairground ride - Telegraph

(*sighs*)

Alerted to this by 'Sir' Neil Gaiman (via Twitter) - I believe it's time to start a 'from the sublime to the ridiculous' 'column' on my blog....

Only in America....

95 Theses - Luther

95 Theses - Luther

You know...

I don't mean to be so 'deep and profound' - sometimes I truly want to find my inner-blonde and embrace her, let her reign within my life, stop being so serious, so studious and just be blissfully ignorant...

I am posting this link because of the conversation I began with my beloved husband.

On NPR this morning, there was a discussion in regard to Neda Soltan who is being hailed as a martyr in Iran. Martyrdom is an important concept in Shi'ism. The speaker intimated that Shi'ism is a martyr-driven type of religion.

I then asked my husband if he felt that Catholicism, with its regaled stories of saints' lives of self-denial and martyrdom, was not the same way.

In his answer to me, he included the link I've posted. I find this stuff simply fascinating. I am so glad to be married to Erin - who feeds my hunger for knowledge, discussion and intelligence...he keeps that inner blonde at bay. Thank you my love!

Modern Love - Those Aren’t Fighting Words, Dear - NYTimes.com

Modern Love - Those Aren’t Fighting Words, Dear - NYTimes.com

I had to post this because I found the author's story compelling and her attitude, not just refreshing but a bit radical. She stood her ground and refused to accept that her husband's mid-life crisis should automatically ring a death knell for her marriage and family stability....

In this day and age of '5 years is the new forever' - where we quickly tire of our spouses, our situations, jobs, kids - you name it - like we are suppose to be entertained by the choice WE make for ourselves...this woman's approach was courageous and I was a bit outraged that people were counseling her to 'dump him'.

What ever did happen to 'standing by your man'? Are we all just going to give up the ghost when our loved one is having a bad time?

As I myself struggle with my now raging hormones and the death knell of my own youth, which ends up making me afraid, upset, illogical and a bitch - stories like these give me hope - I only hope as well that my loving and gracious husband will put up with my moodiness, my life-changes and know that deep in my heart I love him with a fiercness I can almost never articulate through the clumsy medium of the spoken word.