Whence the beef?

Read the Slate article of the same name. I am glad to be a bunny-hugging vegetarian -- though I will not pontificate on why anyone else should be. I really miss meat sometimes. And leather.

Blog Collective meets Google.

I checked out how Google finds their sites a week or two ago. Apparently, they have some kind of "spiders" (digital ones, I hope) that crawl the web and report back once a month. Sometimes, a site will get listed within its first month and sometimes not, since the spiders don't get to the whole net in a month.

Well, if you search on Google for Blog Collective, we are there now. Check out the link. Too bad we are fourth down. Maybe we can get the domain one day:)

Whassup

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Having some internet troubles. I will try to post this weekend, though. Hope you're all well. And WELCOME, JOE!!!!

More thoughts

I will never forget reading Marx and his theory that religion is the opiate of the masses. Chilling thought at this day in age, isn't it?

One area of religion that I have a very difficult time with is this idea that even though Priests, Fathers, Mothers, whatever the designated leader, they teach their followers several different and conflicting lessons. One, they teach us to treat others the way we would be treated, yet in the same breath we condemn those who would and do hold different beliefs than those we believe in. And if they do not hold the same beliefs that we do, then they are evil and we must save them.

Two, the bible is not a direct translation, rather an interpretation of those who were "disciples" of Jesus, yet they treat it as the divine truth etc, yada, yada. As we all know interpretation is sujective, as is most observation in this world. We all have different world views, we all bring a different perspective to the table depending on how, who, where and what happened to us while we were growing up and forming these world views.

Three, do people, sorry but specifically Catholics and evangelists, really think that with the total population on earth being 6,375,882,069 that he/she/it (I personally like to remember Alanis Morrisette in Dogma as god) really has time to keep track of every single one of our alleged transgressions?! What kind of hubristic, self-centeredness are they catering too? Talk about feeding your ego!! I don't care how prescient he/she/it is.

Religion

Frankie, I definitely agree with you about religions zeal being more tolerated in public. However, I think the public is tolerant of mostly western religions. Since most of the Bush, Ashcroft, Cheney rhetoric is focusing on the evil that is out there (read this as religious evil from those who do not belong to westernized faiths) this is a huge problem that only perpetuates stereotypes and hate.

In addition, I think that the Catholic church is most welcoming of this controversy becuase they are hoping that A) it is going to take the attention away from the fact that they are housing child molesters and B) that they are housing child molesters. There is a huge case going on in Albany right now that involves the Bishop as well as a dead priest, who made accusations before he died (very questionable).

Finally, I think that this movie is emphasizing the wrong part of Jesus' life. It is a depiction of the last 12 hours of his life, in addition to having a very bloody, 30 minute crucifixtion scene. So graphic that a woman in Ohio went to a screening of the film and, during the aforementioned scene, had a heart attack and subsequently died. I think, especially recently, there has been enough violence everywhere, not only in our country but around the world and there is no way that I am going to knowingly subject myself to more violence.

Tapping into the divine on your own: A response to Frankie.

Regardless of whether or not you believe that Nietzsche's charge of ressentiment against Christianity is true or not (he says that the values of life were reversed by weak people who couldn't be strong and good and that they turned it into a religion), you should be wary of what some Christians try to say to non-Christians, since the feeling one gets at times wherein one wants to be a part of a group can be very strong, and since evangelists play on this all the time.

I think that religion is an inherently personal phenomena. Is the goal of religion to feel like you are a part of a community of faith, or a part of the divine? Does a church make you a Christian; and does being a Christian make you religious; and does being religious make you good; and is being good the goal of human life?

My mother had a wise point last week. She said that she walked out of the hospital in Baltimore from a diabetes check-up, and the sun was shining over a warm afternoon in the middle of winter. She said that if you can't feel "g[G]od then, when can you?" I think that connection with the divine is personal in this way. If the sun on your face or birds singing outside of your window don't connect you with something bigger than yourself (and I personally prefer not to say "God," since that has ramifications that I am not comfortable with, given the disparity between my own beliefs about the world and human life and the beliefs of those who "believe in God"), then what will?

I believe that some people cannot get this feeling on their own. Either they are not very smart, not very reflective, not very observant or just plain weak (I don't know, though I suspect it is the middle two). But some people need church and organized religion in order to feel connected with the divine, if they desire such a connection.

But there are others who are able to connect directly with the divine, without a priest, church or faith to come between them and interpret it for them and tell them all kinds of cognitive things about what their God wants them to do. There are people who can connect with the divine (or cosmos, or whole universe, or whatever you want to call it) on their own.

Problems such as the churches here in the Heartland buying tickets to Mr. Gibson's film for non-believers (to save them) arise when narrow-minded believers (which is not to say all believers) assume that we all need churches to interpret the divine for us. They assume that there is a language of the divine that only people in robes can understand and translate for the masses. And they assume that we are all part of the masses.

I would try to accept the fact that not everyone needs a church to be "religious" and that there are those of us who lead meaningful, fulfilling and ethical lives without the help of a church. I agree with Max Scheler, that western thought places far too much weight on our cognitive abilities. Perhaps if you find "doors of perception" which are not rational, you might find your god or spirit or One or whatever you want to call she/he/it. Take a notebook (to record your experiences) and sit outside with some tea or coffee; smell the air; look into the sky; run your hands in the cool water of a stream and over the rough skin of a maple tree; watch how the squirrel knows how to climb and find food and survive the winter; let bugs crawl over your feet as it you were a part of it all. You'll feel what church is meant to connect you with, I am certain of it.

On religion

I'm wondering if anyone else is as disturbed as I am over the hoopla surrounding the new Mel Gibson movie. Around here, churches are buying blocks of tickets and are hoping to use the film as a teaching tool. I'll admit that I haven't seen the movie--only read reviews and articles about the charges of anti-Semitism; one of my professors wants our class to see it because it coincides with something on our syllabus, but I must say I really don't want to. I think what repulses me is the way in which this film has been taken up by Christians as some demonstration of the rightness of their faith, of their own superiority (look, "Braveheart" agrees with us!). Ever since I became a "recovering Catholic," I have become increasingly uncomfortable with outward expressions of religious faith by other people. Maybe I think they're trying to convert me; maybe I'm paranoid about what they'd say if they knew I was currently between churches; maybe I'm jealous because I don't have a church or faith to belong to. I do know that I'm suspicious of the ways in which Christian zeal can become intolerance for other people's beliefs. Do other people feel this way? Ever since 9/11, it seems, religious rhetoric has been increasingly tolerated in public discourse, even by the prez. himself. It's probably not surprising, then, that nobody has noticed what Joe pointed out in an earlier post here, that the gay marriage debate is really a religious issue, that if we observed the church-state separation, we'd realize that all the state has the power to do is authorize civil unions because that's all straight couples ever get.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

Intersting factoids?

I don't necessarily think that the Kerry site is the best place to get information about the truth behind what the man stands for (maybe better for a general idea or something like that). From what it reads like, he is only saying what the people want to hear about national policies. It's not going to be hard to tell the people what to do as the next prez...pretty much the opposite of what dubbya is doing recently. I'm going to vote for him though, it's not that I'm saying anything along those lines...but it just seems a little general the things that he said about "What needs to be done to fix our Great Nation". I think that anyone who payed a little attention to the way things have been going in the past few years can make up a list of what needs to be done to repair the damage of "W".

Kerry's on the move.

I thought I would be more...constructive than my usual Bush-bashing (since he shames himself enough, as seen with his ssslllooowww talking when he announced his [anti-]constitutional amendment yesterday) today.

Here is John Kerry's blog (also under Links). Interesting. Also, on his site (also under Links), you can download the form that is, according to Kerry's site, "the one document that allows you to register to vote from anywhere in the United States" here. I am still registered in Maryland, so I won't get to vote in the Illinois primary. It's my own fault for not thinking about it sooner. This will not be so in November, however.

Holy fucking shit!

We are linked to on Crablogs, a page that maintains a list of Baltimore-based weblogs. The column on the right lists the included logs and how long it has been since they have last been updated. Ours is on there!

I think this is really cool. People actually read our blog. :)

Q

first of all, i like starting my inputs here as a letter. there's a reason for that and i think that pragmatik would love to hear it but not right now.
my father consistently asks me to pray for good things because it worked for him. i think it's not too much to ask, but he once got me a "wwjd" bible bookmark for christmas. i think that i have it too now but only out of respect for the old fucker.
i really need to pay more attention to what's going on in the country. i didn't know that dubbya was dumb enough to actually make a public statement of such ignorism (sp?) saying that gays are bad.
i know that i'm not the only person that will go down saying and thinking that he's the worst thing to happen to our country (leader wise) for a long time. i'd like to know the number of republicans and dead presidents that are rolling over everytime he steps up to a microphone.
didn't really make a point today but wtf...i'm just following in the steps of my leaders and talking without making reason.

How about pictures?

I have been waiting for Blogger to get their advanced (i.e., not free) stuff back up and running. If they take too long, what do you think about this other provider, Typepad? Lots of people whose blogs I like use it, but we would need the Pro version. I think I could pay for it.

On the other hand, I really like Blogger, and I kinda want to wait and see what they can do to let us put pictures on the site (and so we can keep things on the server they are on). What do ya'll think? Please write to the blog email address (under CONTACT US) to register your thoughts.

Danke.

What did Dubbya do?

He lied:
This morning, there was a report about a recent press release from the White House in which the President reported that Americans are becoming healthier overall. However, he did not provide statistics on any "minority" groups. I put the quotations in because for the most part at the rate these groups are growing in the United States they will soon be majority groups rather than continue to be subordinate due to the continued domination of the White "majority". ARRRGGGG...this is so frustrating. How can he just fucking ignore entire populations like this? I will find the link for you guys later. Right now I am late for a meeting.

Ciao

Doctors, Diabetes, Dying (when you're good and ready)

Sorry to hear about your recent experience at the doc, Chris. Sometimes bedside manner makes more of a difference than a doctor is aware of. A lot of times, the doctor will try to scare you into doing something they think is good for you (blood tests, etc.), instead of talking to you about it. Anyway, sounds like you had a difficult experience, and I'm sorry.

However, you should absolutely not equate even a positive diagnosis of diabetes (which it doesn't sound like you've had yet) with death, dying, or the end of an active, healthy lifestyle. It might be the end of an unhealthy lifestyle, and you might have to start taking care of yourself, but that's part of getting older anyway. We're all (I think) getting towards the age where we can't ignore our bodies and maintain full health.

Diabetes runs in my family on my mother's side. Although my mother has not been diagnosed, diabetes was common in her mother's family. In terms of Type II, so called "Adult-onset Diabetes," it is serious, but hardly life-threatening in the short term. Although it can result in long-term health problems, especially when you get older, it's not likely to kill you, especially if properly treated. Family history is a major risk factor, as you know, but so are obesity and physical inactivity, which are more controllable. Basically, you can beat it by being healthy, eating healthy, and getting exercise. Worst case, you work out a lot and pick up attractive women in bars.

In terms of thoughts about your own mortality, that's a different thing. No matter what brings them on, it's always a serious time. I can't say much about that, as it's something we all have to wrestle with ourselves.

But looking moody can work with the ladies... :)

Fuck Bush in his stupid ass.

Our fearful fucking leader just appeared on the news, calling for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage outright nationwide. Why, oh, why are people so fucking stupid that they will support this idiot and his stupid agendas? Remember how hundreds of our boys are dying in the desert? Why is everyone so concerned about some 80-year old lesbians in San Francisco who are finally allowed to get married after being together for over 50 years? "Oh, God! Dem fags is gettin' hee-itched. That jusss ain't rot. What would Jesus do?"

Jesus would officiate the ceremony and get fucked up afterward with all the nice gay people and then lay in the grass for a nap.

Or he's a pussy, too, and a terrible leader, and Christianity is a waste of everyone's time and a festering sore on civilization.

Maybe we should adopt the motto "What would Dubya do?" Ask yourself that, and then do the fucking opposite.

A beautiful site.

This is a very nice site by a certain woman, with particular attention to body-image and body-issues. I really like the site, and I wish I were a woman so that I could appreciate and understand more of it than I do.

Just thought I'd post that before I sit in my office waiting for my seminar on Max Scheler.

Coyote nooky and loud-assed frogs.

The coyotes in Southern Illinois are courting, starting yesterday. Nice. Today, the chorus frogs start their noise, but I haven't heard them yet -- even though they started in January (because of the unusually warm winter), and we live across Route 51 from the Carbondale Reservoir. Lazy frogs.