Bravo! Well said sir!

Read the Original at HellBlazer.net

I’ve had enough. I have had it up to here. I tried to play it the right way, I did. I would rationally and carefully try to explain the issue. I would refuse to sink and play by the terms of the opposition. I was a good guy, for the most part. Now? Mmm. Fuck that.
You want a fight? Fine, let’s lay out some damned ground rules here. Come on! It’ll be fun!
You want to tell me who I can and can’t marry? You want to have say over whom my friends and loved ones can fall in love with and share their lives with?
You sure about that? Let’s take a look.
First a bit of rational thought for you: If marriage is a religious thing and not a state sanctioned and defined object then why do you care? Oh wait, that’s because it isn’t. At all. See, when I can go before a judge and get legally married, not “civil unioned” note but married - with a certificate and everything - it means your precious little deity ain’t in the room.
So if you don’t like it then ban it in your churches. But that is the only place you get to say no to things. See, it’s a secular country. Sorry but it is. “One Nation under God” - not until the 50’s it wasn’t. This place wasn’t founded on that. Oh sure God got some lip service in the Constitution, but so did a separation of church and state. So pick it. In or out, motherfuckers. In or out.
But regardless, you want to push forward with this! You want to demand your so-called right to use your religion as a battering ram into my home. Into my family affairs. Then I call fair play!
You have to play by every other religions rules as well. So we all go Kosher. All of us. Yup. We all also give up medical care. It goes against what Christian Scientists believe in after all, right? It’s only fair and right.
You want to deny rights based on religion then so will I. I will pick whatever religion I feel like at the time, though. Because they each have as much bearing on you as yours does on mine. See, isn’t that equality?
So you get to ban gay marriage and I get to deny you penicillin! Now we’re getting somewhere! I can feel the fairness spreading out and touching each of us in our very hearts!
Look, you want to deny me your Heaven? Go for it! You want to tell me I’m a sinner, a heathen and a bad, bad man? Hallelujah and pass the ammo! But I am going to fight just as hard against your rights.
Come on. Social chicken. Wanna see if I flinch? Bitch, I’ve played chicken with busses going 40 m.p.h. on NY City streets and won. Bring it. Bring your lies, your hate, your unconscionable intolerance and moral sickness and I will wipe my ass with each one and thank you and ask for more.
Because you’ll get worse.
You want a war? Fine! Let’s play it your way! You want to protest and hold signs and tell us how we’re going to hell? Let’s see how you like it when we protest your churches and ceremonies. Let’s find out. I’m game.
Because I’m sick of this. I am sick and truly fucking tired of each and every one of you who can’t see your way to respecting your fellow humans enough to grant them the same rights you do simply because they don’t think your invisible man’s paperback is all that smooth.
Get over your self-importance and do the right thing. Or else. No more chances, no more Mr. Nice Guy, no more understanding. You started this bullshit fight. Don’t be surprised when you get punched in the face.
Are we clear?

We need to believe...

We are the ones for whom we have been waiting.

~Hopi Elders

Samhain Blessings & Hallowe'en Treats!

THE THIRTEEN DAYS OF HALLOWEEN *
*sung as best you can to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas...

On the first day of Halloween
My postman brought to me,
A Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the second day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the third day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the fourth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the fifth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the sixth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the seventh day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the eighth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the ninth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the tenth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Ten skulls a-smoking,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the eleventh day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Eleven coffins creaking,
Ten skulls a-smoking,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the twelfth day of Halloween,
My postman brought to me,
Twelve skeletons a-dancing,
Eleven coffins creaking,
Ten skulls a-smoking,
Nine reapers reaping,
Eight freaky franks,
Seven scary pumpkins,
Six hooting owls,
Five witches riding brooms,
Four spooky ghosts,
Three black cats,
Two walking mummies,
And a Gho-o-o-ul in a dead tree.

On the thirteenth day of Halloween,

Before this could happen ...

... I Moved!

This was Posted by: FaerieDragon on The Enchanted Society Yahoo Group .



However you celebrate today, whatever your plans - may it be a safe and happy day !!

I almost forgot!

We need to celebrate the little things in life too ... especially these days.

Gas is Good!... apparently.

Flatulence's stink may be linked to lower blood pressure

The gas responsible for the foul odour of flatulence and rotten eggs may play an important role in regulating blood pressure, Canadian researchers say in a study released Friday.

24/10/2008 12:44:47 PM

CBC News

Hydrogen sulphide - a toxic gas that, among other things, is made by bacteria living in the human intestinal tract - relaxes blood vessels and allows for easier blood flow, according to the study in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

It is hard "not to overestimate the biological importance of hydrogen sulphide or its implications in hypertension," writes Rui Wang, a physiologist at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont. Wang co-authored the study with Lingyun Wu, a pharmacologist of the University of Saskatchewan and other researchers from the Johns Hopkins medical school in Baltimore.
The five-year mouse study found that an enzyme called CSE produced the gas in cells lining the walls of blood vessels throughout the body.

That finding confirmed earlier research that suggested a link between the enzyme and the gas.
In the study, researchers bred mice with lower-than-average levels of CSE and found that the engineered animals had significantly depleted levels of hydrogen sulphide compared to a group with normal levels of the enzyme.

The researchers also found that the mice with CSE deficiencies had blood pressure levels that were 20 per cent higher than the normal mice.

However, when the mice bred for lower CSE levels were given methacholine, a drug given to relax blood vessels, their blood pressure levels were not significantly different than those with normal levels of the enzyme. The researchers said this suggests the gas is responsible for the change in blood pressure.

The findings could lead to new treatments for high blood pressure in humans, said the study authors.

"Now that we know hydrogen sulphide's role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension," study co-author Dr. Solomon H. Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University, said in a Johns Hopkins news release.


............. Oy Vey.

THE YEAR 1908

The year is 1908.
One hundred years ago.

Here are some statistics for the Year 1908:

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called Medical Schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were:
Pneumonia and influenza
Tuberculosis
Diarrhea
Heart disease
Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, ‘Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.' (Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE! U.S.A. !

Now get this…I received this from someone else without paper…
I’m passing it on to you with out typing it myself, and it is being seen by you, and others, all over Canada, the U.S.A, and the world, in a matter of seconds!

We’ve come a long way baby…now try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

THE YEAR 1908

The year is 1908.
One hundred years ago.

Here are some statistics for the Year 1908:
· The average life expectancy was 47 years.
· Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
· Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
· There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
· The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
· The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
· The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.
· The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
· A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
· More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
· Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called Medical Schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '
· Sugar cost four cents a pound.
· Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
· Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
· Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
· Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
· Five leading causes of death were:
o Pneumonia and influenza
o Tuberculosis
o Diarrhea
o Heart disease
o Stroke
· The American flag had 45 stars.
· The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
· Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
· There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
· Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
· Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
· Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, ‘Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.' (Shocking? DUH! )
· Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
· There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE! U.S.A. !

Now get this…I received this from someone else without paper…
I’m passing it on to you with out typing it myself, and it is being seen by you, and others, all over Canada, the U.S.A, and the world, in a matter of seconds!

We’ve come a long way baby…

now try to imagine where we are going....

again the internet quiz speaks true

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

26 Impressionist, 22 Islamic, 15 Ukiyo-e, -25 Cubist, -26 Abstract and 4 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

LOL - not always be deemed socially acceptable?? I can live with that

Food for Thought series

I thought this was a lovely, thought-provoking quote...

It may be that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Wendell Berry, Collected Poems

apologies to those who read me elsewhere, ima gonna cross-post leik whoa
LOL

I have often wondered...

Oh would some power the gift give us, to see ourselves as others see us!

Robert Burns






I'm vain enough to have wondered... are you?

Go Vote!

WHO you vote for is none of my damn business,

THAT you vote is my great concern.

I want to point out to both Americans and Canadians, that whether or not you support the war effort, it is claiming the lives of sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. They are fighting and dying for freedom and democracy in foreign lands. Our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers (and beyond) fought and died for our freedom and democracy here at home – exercise that right of democracy they bought for you by voting.

Dear Americans,

If you want Obama in as the first African-American President (or for any other reasons) – go vote!! …….He won’t necessarily win if you don’t.

Don’t want Palin? Want to make sure she doesn’t get close to that Red Button? Go Vote

You want McCain in? You think the Republicans are the way of the future? Go vote.

Dear Canadians

You want Harper and Harper-nomics out? You want to get rid of Dion? Want the Green Party to finally get official party status?? Mad about the loss of jobs, programs, the continuing war, taxes, and health care?? Go vote TOMORROW!

For PITY SAKE - VOTE

Don’t let THEM speak for you.

Many people you vehemently disagree with WILL be voting. Why let them dictate what kind of world you will have to live in? Get informed and get your ass out there.

“Why should I vote? My vote won’t count anyways”

QUIT WHINING YOU BIG PUTZ! Sure “we” may not win. But “we” definitely won’t win if “we” don’t vote. Even if “we” lose – quit sniveling like a sulky spoiled git – “we” tried! And “we” will keep trying.

No Vote. No Complaints.

None. Not one word. Just shut up.

If you haven’t voted, you have no right to bitch about the price of gas, the taxes, crappy health care, the lack of student loans, public transport, policing, the conditions of the roads, crime, schools, guns laws, drugs, unemployment, immigration, the closure of parks, pools, libraries, the repeal of the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, abortion laws, or anything else the government does or doesn’t do.

If you haven’t voted – then STFU.

If you did take the time to vote – feel free to be as critical as you can be; bitch to your heart’s content.

Thank you for your attention – this was an unpaid politically inclined rant brought to you by PMS and the Association of Those Tired of Apathetical Whiners.

…….. and now back to your regularly scheduled internet usage.

P.S. HAPPY TURKEY DAY to all my Canadian friends.

Your result for The Classic Dames Test...

Katharine Hepburn

You scored 14% grit, 29% wit, 43% flair, and 17% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Take The Classic Dames Test at HelloQuizzy

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

Atlantis

48% Intrigue, 73% Civilization, 59% Humanity, 55% Urbanization.

Score! The civilization of Atlantis!You must have done something right. You've been assigned to a civilization so idyllic, it's been relegated to legend. The grass is green, the weather is serene, the neighbors are clean. Your culture is technologically advanced at a time when the world is still young and fresh. There are lots of interesting things to do, and good people to enjoy life with. The only downside is that it's not very complicated, none of that messy trouble arising from chaos, intrigue and unnecessary adventure. You know... it's a lot like Switzerland, only... more awesome.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

We recommend you invest in a life vest. You know, just in case.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

to dream of things not yet imagined...

Amen!

Dust If You Must
Rose Milligan of Lancaster England

"A house becomes a home when you can write, 'I love you' on the furniture."

I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect -"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must,

but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,

bake a cake or plant a seed,

ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must,

but there's not much time,

with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,

music to hear and books to read,

friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must,

but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes,

the wind in your hair,

a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.

This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must,

but bear in mind,

old age will come and it's not kind.

And when you go - and go you must –

you, yourself will make more dust!

It's not what you gather,
but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

Wisdom! Let us attend!

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.

Gore Vidal - US author & dramatist

WWJD ?

"NASTY BAD PAGANS?" Protesting hate speech on NBC

On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, during a live broadcast of a wedding reception on the TODAY Show, Kathy Lee Gifford gratuitously referred to Pagans as "nasty, bad Pagans." Ms. Gifford's hate speech has done harm to American Pagans' ability to live in peace with our neighbors of other faiths. By allowing her hate speech to be broadcast, her direct employer the TODAY Show, and their network, NBC, participate in that hate speech.



This is a petition calling for, at the very least, an on-air apology. A TODAY Show program devoted to dispelling misconceptions about Pagans and Paganism would go a long ways toward undoing the damage..

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/quotnasty-bad-pagansquot-protesting-hate-speech-on-nbc

Clicking the link below will take you to the site to view the video:

http://today. msnbc. msn. com/id/21134540/vp/2536821625368216Pass this on...

Believe it!

more cat pictures

Don't rock the boat

After an orange cloud — formed as a result of a dust storm over the Sahara and caught up by air currents — reached the Philippines and settled there with rain, I understood that we are all sailing in the same boat.

~ Vladimir Kovalyonok (Astronaut)

A belated Blessed Mid-Summer Solstice to all...

Opportunity knocks.

Let's assume that each person has an equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different.

~John Fischer

I believe it was Mahatma Gandhi who said “Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress”.

Personally, I think some people try too hard, don’t you?

Don't be late...

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.

~Rumi

an explanation...

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.
- Emily Dickinson

... and currently I am very startled.

an answer...

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across
the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
~ Crowfoot

Wisdom of the Ages

''Dance, as though no one is watching,
Love, as though you've never been hurt before,
Sing, as though no one can hear you,
Work, as though you don't need the money,
Live, as though heaven is on earth. ''

~ Rumi

Happy Mother's Day

for all the Moms, Mothers-to-be, and Mothers who live on in our hearts...

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

a blessed Beltane

Food for Thought

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.

~Arthur C. Clarke

Impossible!

Things are only impossible until they're not.
Jean-Luc Picard, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

may it be...

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries,

May the breeze blow new strength into your being.

~Apache Blessing

I'm not a fan...

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.

~Author Unknown

I don’t believe you can plan romance… romance is spontaneous.
Honestly, when I look back on all the romantic moments I’ve experienced NONE was planned, orchestrated, or involved roses, chocolate, or heinous poetry in a sappy card.

Food for thought

When the pearl is cast down in the mud it does not become dishonoured the more, nor if it is anointed with balsam oil will it become more precious. But it has its worth in the eyes of its owner at all times.

Philip the Gnostic, translated by R. Wilson
The Gospel of Philip

May you...

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

~ Kurt Vonnegut

A little green IOU...

Microlending.
Give it some thought

Wisdom of the Ages

You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape.

• If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40.
• If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

work it baaaaaaby

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

~Duke Ellington

Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown

Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own.
~Sidney J. Harris

Where would we be without such amusing diversions? While sanity may be soothing, this madness makes the day more delightful.

;)

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung

Dammit.

Ring out the old; Ring in the New

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.
~Hamilton Wright Mabie

If we're fools whether we dance or not, then we might as well dance... so get out there and dance my lovelies!

Blessings of Light...

May all the joys of the season be yours...
and may there be peace and light in the coming year.

Whatever you're celebrating, may it be happy, healthy, and safe.

See you next year.

Food for Thought

We can't control our destiny, but we can control who we become.

Anne Frank

'Tis the season

art credit: Jackie Ocean

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Food for Thought series

For all that has been, thanks; to all that will be, yes.

Dag Hammarskjold

How old are you?

Girls leave their schedule wide-open and wait for a guy to call and make plans.
Grown women make their own plans and nicely tell the guy to get in where he fits.

Girls want to control the man in their life.
Grown women know that if he's truly hers, he doesn't need controlling.

Girls get upset with you for not calling them.
Grown women are too busy to realize you hadn't.

Girls are afraid to be alone.
Grown women revel in it-using it as a time for personal growth.

Girls ignore the good guys.
Grown women ignore the bad guys.

Girls make you come home.
Grown women make you want to come home.

Girls worry about not being pretty and/or good enough for their man.
Grown women know that they are pretty and/or good enough for any man.

Girls try to monopolize all their man's time (i.e., don't want him hanging with his friends).
Grown women realize that a lil' bit of space makes the 'together time' even more special-and goes to kick it with her own friends.

Girls think a guy crying is weak.
Grown women offer their shoulder and a tissue.

Girls want to be spoiled and 'tell' their man so.
Grown women 'show' him and make him comfortable enough to reciprocate without fear of losing his 'manhood'.

Girls get hurt by one man and make all men pay for it.
Grown women know that was just one man.

Girls fall in love and chase aimlessly after the object of their affection, ignoring all 'signs'.
Grown women know that sometimes the one you love, don't always love you back-and move on, without bitterness.

....It's too bad for all the grown women out there that there are so many Boys dressed up as Men

use it...

When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Audre Lorde

Affirmations

I love my strange beauty and amazing pain
I love my hungry soul and entertaining games
I love my flaws, my gaps, my fears
I love my mysterious, dazzling frontiers

I will never forsake, betray or deceive myself
I will always adore, forgive and believe in myself
I will never refuse, abandon or scorn myself
I will always amuse, delight and redeem myself

Beauty and truth and love will always find me
Chaos and wilderness will always sustain me
I'm the fire and water and earth and air that are forever fresh from eternity
I'm a perfect creation and everything alive is naturally in love with me

from Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia, by Rob Brezsny
(found on mysticmirth's LJ)

You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.

Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Sometimes it does pay to open your email...

Food for Thought series

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
and things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art; to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Food for Thought series

Honor the tradition but expand the understanding. That's what religions must do right now if they hope to be helpful to humans in the years ahead.

Neale Donald Walsch
Tomorrow's God

Food for Thought series

You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can decide how you're going to live now.

Joan Baez

Choose well!
Namaste

Happy Father's Day

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
~Clarence Budington Kelland


HAPPY FATHER"S DAY
to all the Dads out there!

ashes to ashes...

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France

They say that nothing endures but change; that change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix…

But just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed, does it?

Vote thoughtfully.
Act responsibly.

Who knows what will rise from the ashes

...and there it is

I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry.

Maxine Waters, in Brian Lanker, I Dream a World, 1989

Food for thought...

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

~Anaïs Nin

green streaks in my hair...

For you, even if you haven't got a drop of Irish blood in you...

Bless your little Irish heart-
and every other Irish part.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

May your heart be warm and happy
With the lilt of Irish laughter
Every day in every way
And forever and ever after.

Here's to good friends
Never above you
Never below you
Always beside you…

Always beside you.

We Can Make a Difference...

Dear friends,

I am one of over 50,000 people from 131 countries around the world demanding G8 leaders to take action to stop the climate crisis. This is urgent, and I thought you might be interested - please see the email below.
-----------------------------------------

Dear friend,

This Thursday, the environment ministers from the G8, the world's biggest contributors to climate change, will be meeting in Germany. The outcome of this meeting is crucial to world's response to global warming.

Avaaz.org has been invited to attend this meeting to present our climate change petition. A strong voice for action could help set the agenda for the G8. To help seize this opportunity, click below:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_action_germany/tf.php

The G8 is a summit of world leaders from the "Group of 8" largest economies. Together, these countries account for 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions--the gasses that cause climate change. The full G8 summit is coming in June, but the agenda and outcome of this type of high-profile event is usually set far in advance--at meetings like the one this Thursday.

This year, the president of the G8 is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, is in charge of the ministers meeting Thursday. And at 4 pm on March 15th, we have a personal meeting with Mr. Gabriel to present our petition for binding emissions targets to stop catastrophic climate change.

Merkel has indicated an interest in making climate change a top priority. With a significant global petition, we can make the case that the world is ready for aggressive leadership on climate change--and pave the way for truly historic commitments at the G8 summit this June.

It's a rare opportunity to have a global impact. Add your voice to the petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_action_germany/tf.php

50,000 people from 131 countries have already demanded action. Our goal is to reach 100,000. Please sign the petition, forward this email to friends and family, and post the link on your blog--we only have a few days to make this statement count.

If we add our voices together, now, 2007 can become the year we took the first step to save the world.

With hope,

Ricken, David, Iain, Lee-Sean, Galit, Graziela, and the rest of the Avaaz.org team

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Create your own visitor map!

May it be.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.
Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

~Mary Jean Iron

The speed of thought...

Now is the winter of our discontent.
William Shakespeare

We are, perhaps, uniquely among the earth's creatures, the worrying animal. We worry away our lives, fearing the future, discontent with the present, unable to take in the idea of dying, unable to sit still.
Lewis Thomas

Where does discontent start? You are warm enough, but you shiver. You are fed, yet hunger gnaws you. You have been loved, but your yearning wanders in new fields. And to prod all these there's time, the Bastard Time.
John Steinbeck

Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.
Kenneth Grahame

...and the theme for today?

Happy Day of Love

The grimoire has been opened to a fresh page.
What story do we tell today?

Daily Affirmation...

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today, well lived, makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Namaste

- Attributed to Kalidasa

May it be.

Grant me the strength from day to day
To bear what burdens come my way.
Grant me throughout this bright New Year
More to endure and less to fear.
Help me live that I may be
From spite and petty malice free.

Let me not bitterly complain
When cherished hopes of mine prove vain,
Or spoil with deeds of hate and rage
Some fair tomorrow's spotless page.
Creator, as the days shall come and go
In courage let me stronger grow.

Creator, as the New Year dawns today
Help me to put my faults away.
Let me be big in little things;
Grant me the joy which friendship brings.
Keep me from selfishness and spite;
Let me be wise in what is right.

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye.
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.

Namaste

2007

He who breaks a resolution is a weakling;
He who makes one is a fool.
~F.M. Knowles

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence amidst all of creation that acknowledges the passage of another year, and yet we humans look on this nights’ coming darkness as a marker, a new start, another chance…

We will open a new book, and find that its pages are blank. We will put our words onto those pages. That book is called Our Life and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

To the family who have become friends,
and to the friends who have become family:

Beannachd Dia dhuit et Bonne Année

Translation: blessings of God be with you (Scots Gaelic) and Happy New Year (Quebecoise)
With inspirational nods to Hamilton Wright Mabi & Edith Lovejoy Pierce

T'was The Diet After Christmas...

T'was the day after Christmas, and all through the house
Not a damn thing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber),
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies, and sauces, and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum-balls, the bread and the cheese,
And the way that I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself up, in my husband's old shirt,
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt -

I said to myself, (as only I can),
"You can't spend the winter disguised as a man!"
So, away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, each cracker, and chip,

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
'til all the unwanted ounces have vanished!
I won't have a cookie, not even a lick...
I'll just have to chew on a celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie;
I'll munch on a carrot, and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore -
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot...
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Live, Love, Laugh,

Smell the Sweet Spirits,

Dance with the Skies,

Hearken unto me my friend and

Hear my Prayer for your Happiness,

Your Safety, and Your Love this Holiday Season..

Blessed Be.

Happy Solstice!

Rejoice! The Light Returns!

Namaste

(photo credit: tenetsi, deviantart)

Food for Thought

How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true?


~Logan Pearsall Smith

and a peace fell over the land...

I don't support the war, but a wholeheartedly support the men and women who serve in the military from all our countries...Let's bring them all home safely.

Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!

"For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light

Then he sighed and he said, "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand in the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers.

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of Nam,

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son.

"Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles,

SC, USN

30th Naval Construction Regiment

OIC, Logistics Cell One

Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Amen
Let there be Peace
Blessed Be.

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. A sunset, a mountain bathed in moonlight, the ocean in calm and in storm. We see these, love their beauty, hold the vision in our hearts. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
~ Helen Keller

Photo Credit: Suzanne Gabriel (photo.net)

Speak Friend and Enter...

I felt it shelter to speak to you. ~Emily Dickinson

Trouble is part of all our lives, and if you don't share your troubles, you don't give those people who love you enough chance to show you that love.
Some people come and go quickly in our lives.
Some come to stay, forever marking our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.

???

Did you ever stop to think whether we stop and think about the really important things?

We all get pensive at times. Most of us have considered the the future, the past, and the points in between.

but have we ever stopped to consider whether our ponderings ponder that which needs to be pondered?

are our minds so cluttered with the mundane that we fail to see?
and how would we know?

well?

Food For Thought Series

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

~Mahatma Gandhi

A wish for my American Friends....

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

~W.T. Purkiser

may your Thanksgiving be a blessed one...

Food For Thought series

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.

~José Narosky

The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month







Lest We Forget...

those that served and died in the War to End All Wars, and all our wars since then,
and lest we forget those who continue to serve and die in all our current conflicts.

War does not determine who is right, it only determines who is left...

Blessed Be

Have I lost?

I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.
I would live in your love
Sarah Teasdale

A beautiful sentiment perhaps...Can one love this much without losing one's own being? and better yet, should we?

The dreamer in me says yes, to love this passionately is to feel the divine
The cynic in me says no, that to give up one's own dreams is to give over to an emptiness which can never be filled by another.

Perhaps, we should ask whether someone who loves us as much as we love them would ever ask us to give up our own dreams or sacrifice our soul to live in their love...