Yay! Christmas is over!

Christmas was good, good in the way it was supposed to be, with lots of food, friends and good times. I got lots of toys to play with. I got a really really really nice microscope so I can look at cells and the things that live on my toothbrush. I got a talking Ann Coulter doll (which satisfies my inner child's wish for the Barbie I never got when I was a kid), books I wanted, and the first four seasons of South Park on DVD, which I will always cherish. And my housemate hunted down a children's book that I had when I was a kid that I always remembered and wanted to have again! Butterball the Little Chick! It was truly a child-like Christmas! On December 25th in the evening, I then went down my wish list and bought the things I didn't get, to complement the things I did.

One of the things I'm kind of proud of is that I didn't overdo everything like I always do...I plan big complicated meals and desserts and bake lots of bread and cookies, and have lots and lots of dirty dishes afterwards and a fair amount of resentment that someone who lives here is not pitching in to help. This time I cooked 2.5 meals, but they were fairly simple and easy to serve and clean up after. I announced after Christmas morning breakfast that I had pretty much had it with the kitchen and everyone else could pitch in to get the dinner meal together--I had already prepped the potatoes au gratin, the bean casserole, the artichoke dip, etc. and that needed to be done was cook/serve. I still ended up finishing the dishes that were left two days later, but at least I had one relaxing holiday evening.

I felt the urge this year to roll out the old Slovak traditional food that we always had for Christmas eve. My grandmother always cooked Christmas Eve dinner: pierogies of many stuffings, halupki (cabbage rolls) and I had intentions of making the vile sour mushroom soup I used to loathe as a kid, but decided to let it go at pierogies and halupki. I will make it sometime before the season ends though. We also made artery corks (aka roski) whose dough consists of equal parts cream cheese and butter, and a bit of flour to hold it together. I was trying to go easy on myself, so I looked all over for lekvar (plum/prune filling) but no store in town carried it. I made my own, which was much better in the end; used canned apricot filling for the rest of them. There was also shortbread and fudge, holiday sugar cookies and gingerbread. Found a great gingerbread recipe...different from any I'd seen before and delicious to die for!

I seriously suffered from post-holiday depression on the 26th. There was no way I could do anything to keep my eyes open. I napped a lot the whole day, and counted the minutes until I could pop an Ambien and sleep through the rest of the night. I did much the same thing the next day too. I would be doing it today but I am having plumbing work done, and we're going to the movies later today to see the Narnia movie, which I hear is pretty good. I really want to see the Potter movie too, but don't know when that will happen.

I'm so glad my friends Clay and Christopher drove down from Pennsylvania to spend Christmas here...I miss them a lot. But absence makes the heart grow fonder and thus their presence was really really special. Christopher LOVES his new job, and I'm so happy for him; I hope Clay finds work soon, and I'm sure that soon he will. The two pups of theirs are staying here with us and that makes 6 dogs total. You'd think it would be chaos, but it's really not. The only thing that bothered me was that the weather did not cooperate this week.

I got a nod, weather-wise, for a white Christmas--it snowed big fat flakes all day and covered everything. Then the temp shot up and everything melted by evening. But the only problem I'm having is that it's not cold. I wanted things to stay frozen so that there would be a minimum of muddy paws. Alas, that was not to be. But it all works out, and I'm sure I'll get my cold weather soon. It's almost 60 degrees today, which is unbelievable.

So the only traumatic holiday left is New Year's Eve and New Year's day. I plan on drinking a bottle of Pinot Grigio and going to bed when the urge hits me (which is getting earlier and earlier every year...to hell with midnight and auld acquaintances and confetti. I want my sleep! And then it's back to school and work. But it is a great break and a great holiday and I'm very pleased with it all, which is unusual. I'm normally the scrooge in the house!

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Yay! It's Christmas!

One of these days, I'll actually go to midnight mass instead of watching the Pope do it on TV. That's how I brought in my Christmas Day. Then I went upstairs and watched a Christmas South Park, which made me feel better than the former. Merry CHRISTMAS, everyone!

I know I'm going to inspire lots of hatred and chants of racial profiling, but this bothered me this morning (regarding a nuke-sniffing program the US government is engaging in): "

Some experts question the legality of a program that involves entering private property to take air samples.

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the FBI-NEST sniffing was based on race and religion instead of common sense. "Fear seems to trump constitutional rights for Muslims," Hooper said. "We're very concerned that Muslims would be targeted simply because they're Muslims.""

OK. Let's take a moment to enumerate the details of the situation:

1. Years ago, a jihad (holy war) was declared on the infidels (Westerners, or the US and sympathizers of the US who are not Muslim).
2. Those who declared this jihad claim to be Muslim mujahadin(holy warriors).
3. Since the fatwa (holy official declaration), many heinous attacks have been carried out by Muslim mujahadin.
   • USS Cole
   • Somalia
   • World Trade Center I
   • World Trade Center 9/11
   • London and Madrid train bombings
   • Many others that are slipping my mind right now
5. So called 'sleeper cells' exist in many Western countries, people fitting into society, working, having families, but waiting for the activation orders from Allah's messages to commit more acts against the infidels. These people in these sleeper cells are Muslims.
7. Muslims generally worship in Mosques.
8. Not always, but generally, Muslims tend to come from or are descended from ancestors who are from or who are married to people from the middle eastern Arab countries, Malaysia, India, Thailand, all over.
9. [imagine a 2 X 4 hovering above the head] Do I even have to say it?

Of course I do.

You've had a preponderance of evidence saying that Muslims (who may or may not be of middle-eastern descent, but who probably worship in Mosques) are committing attacks against the west and supporters of the west. So logic tells you (or should) that you should watch the segment of the population from which these perpetrators come. Would it be prudent and wise to watch the Southern Baptists in the white clapboard church down the street? Would it be an appropriate move to hang out and test the air at the local synagogue or Catholic church? According to some, it would be fair to do so, because that way, you're not targeting a specific race or creed in your surveillance. If you believe that that is a good idea, I fear that many of your brain cells have died.

And this, my friends, is why I hate religion so deeply...it always comes down to this sort of thing, one way or another. A bunch of well-intentioned but totally fucked up people get together, and factions emerge. Someone always has to be right, someone always has to be wrong. Some people interpret the writings one way, some another. The schisms grow larger and larger. Splinter groups (denominations) form. There is vague dislike that grows between them, based on who believes who is right. Outright animosity is practiced toward those whose religion deviates radically from the belief system of the group. There are disagreements, wars, crusades, jihads. And to me, it's a total mess, an embarrassment and a fraud.

Let me quote Mr. Ibrahim Hooper above: "...Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the FBI-NEST sniffing was based on race and religion instead of common sense. "Fear seems to trump constitutional rights for Muslims," Hooper said. "We're very concerned that Muslims would be targeted simply because they're Muslims."

I will stop here with the following statements, the first being:

1. "Well, DUH." and
2. Westerners are being attacked and blown up simply because they are NOT Muslims. By Muslims.

. I don't think I need to say another word.

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Happy F***ing Holidays.

Oh, the terrible importance of it all. Oh, the brow-furrowing and the hand-wringing. It's so terribly important that we name things so that they don't mean ANYTHING.

Then why the hell name them at all? Holiday tree. It's a goddamn CHRISTMAS tree, period. If Jewish people put up a tree for Hanukkah, then it's a Hanakkuh tree. If people who celebrate Kwanzaa put up a tree....well you get the idea. Why don't we just call it 'the tree'? No meaning at all. You tell your significant other "Why don't you put up 'the tree' (wink, wink)" or, why not say "On Monday, the president will light 'the tree' at the White House".

Non-christians put up trees at Christmas. If you don't, where do you put all the gifts? Where does Santa place them? On the sofa? Then we'd call it a freakin' holiday sofa.

And as I have been bombarded with this horribly important news in every possible media form, I have been thinking. The next wave will come, surely as night follows day, surely as liberals will always find something to complain about... the next wave will be: "How dare you disenfranchise me by not calling my most important holiday what it IS...CHRISTMAS. How dare you minimize the sanctity of the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ?"

Since when have names of special days, which are, by the way, mostly associated with religious themes, become dirty words? Since when do people recoil in horror when the "C" word is mentioned? And I don't mean THAT "C" word, I mean the multi-syllabic one.

December 25th, has been, and always will be, CHRISTMAS. Call it what it is. Or do away with it altogether. It's a celebration of whatever meaning you make of it. If Hanukkuh falls at nearly the same time, great. We'll call the days of that celebration what it is, HANUKKAH. When Muslims fast for a month during daylight hours, we call it RAMADAN, not the dieting holiday.

What's in a name? What's in a symbol? Whatever you want it to be, whatever you happen to be, whereever you happen to be. In my culture, placing the tips of my thumb and forefinger together to form a circle means "OK!", but somewhere else, I might be calling you a flaming asshole. In my house, it's a Christmas tree. The conical green trees decorated with lights and ornaments ANYWHERE in town, in offices, where ever, will always be Christmas trees to me. Don't think you can force me to think about them or refer to them any differently. For all of you hand-wringing, brow-furrowing *concerned* individuals who never want to offend anyone by saying the name of something that other people are not--go read this. It's history. It sheds light on the tradition. It will occupy your minds for a time and perhaps prevent you from thinking up more crap to whine about.

History of the Christmas Tree from the History Channel

Lesbians have reclaimed 'dyke' for themselves. African-Americans, among themselves, have successfully reclaimed the 'n' word (sorry...I can't use it). I'm reclaiming Christmas.

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Losing your head.

Not as much of a bummer as you might think. Mike also has his own website: http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org

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I will never understand...

But it sure makes me feel better writing about it. Yesterday I was thankful for a lot of things--peace and quiet, not having to cook anything, naptime, my mutts. What I was not thankful for is the news, that once again, someone has blown themselves up, this time taking not only soldiers but children and other civilians with them. In front of a freakin' hospital.

Usually when I stop to think about this sort of thing, I get so angry and baffled that I'm nearly speechless and all I can do is shake my head and open my mouth and find no words to express what I'm feeling. I simply do not understand.

I am not a religious person; I ended that a long time ago when it became clear that if I had to socialize ('fellowship') with people who claimed godliness but didn't live it (most of them)I would commit some kind of horrendous crime (sarcasm, for the sarcasm-impaired). I'd heard some of the most atrocious things--men quoting bible verses in order to talk someone into having sex with them (Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free!), stealing church/fellowship funds and saying it was for god's work... all kinds of things in my own personal experience, and scores more incidents on the news. I'd been let down and hurt. God's people were simply a thorn in my side, and I walked away to live my life as I saw fit. Without them.

OK, so I look back at some of the things I've encountered among the religious and compare that to what the so-called religious are doing today, and I'm just floored. WTF?? And I'm talking religious folks of every and any flavor. My precociousness regarding religion when I was young was quickly quashed in light of dogma as I progressed through parochial schools. I had devoured with a burning fervor a catholic catechism left lying around in my house when I was 8. I then demanded to be baptized catholic and my mother agreed. It took a couple of years, but disenchantment with the lack of logic therein caused me to drift in other directions in search of truth and sense. So I wandered around awhile, came to light in several different organizations, but moved on again. In every organization, I found actions and attitudes antithetical to so-called biblical word-of-god teaching. I was disillusioned, and remain so even today.

That is not to say, however, that I do not admire, and sometimes even envy, those people who are actually able to live good lives and still be richly involved in churches, mosques and synagogues. I am happy for them and I'm certain that the world is better for them being there and being faithful, and living peaceful,loving lives.

But that's one thing...to be involved in something you believe in, something you live daily, and are passionate about to some degree. No god I have ever read about, learned about, heard of, in the sense of god in this world today--Christian, Jewish or Muslim--encourages the kinds of atrocities I'm hearing about. There is no way I can reconcile murder with god. Period.

Keep in mind that among Jews, Christians and Muslims, there is a common god. Allah is just another name for the god westerners worship in their churches. Muhammed was a prophet, and Islam acknowledges Jesus as one of the prophets of god. It all stems from the same thing. While I am not cognizant of the particulars of Islam (I'm working on that) and I'm not a comparative religions student, I do see threads of principles woven tightly through each of these religions, each of their teachings. How can a fearsome, vengeful god (OT) become a god of peace and love (NT) and in another faction, turn into a god of, simultaneously,jihad and mayhem and peace and love?

I know how and I know why. I've always known, since the first realization that the proclamations coming out of the mouths of church leadership had some contradictory flaws in them... it's not god, it's people. The things that pissed me off most about church and religion were people. The reason god takes on so many different faces and so many different aspects is because of people. People are, to god, what the National Enquirer is to celebrities. The pictures get doctored, the headlines skewed, just to sell more papers. People proclaim what is useful to them at the time, and then go searching through sacred texts for verse they can use to illustrate/prove it. People want to be powerful, they want to be insiders, part of the elite...they want to be better than others, holier than others, more righteous than others. There is a certain pride associated with that-- everyone, without exception, is prone to this and it's part of being human.

I do believe that there is something. I'm not sure what and I am not going to be vain enough to say that I do know, or even have an idea of what that something is. But I do know that while we are capable of great thought and immense creativity, it took a lot more than the likes of us to bring this game into self-sustaining reality. But whatever that something is, I do suspect that blowing yourself up and taking other people with you is not part of the plan, really, if there is a plan. Nor are religious theme parks, television beg-a-thon ministries, and snake handling.

Left to its own devices, the world sustains itself. My yard is a prime example...without me out there whacking off branches and trimming and pruning and imposing my structure on it, it takes care of itself and things grow and blossom and reseed and grow and spread out; the milkweed sustains the monarchs, and I didn't plant milkweed--it just showed up one year, to my delight. The seeds sustain the birds and chipmunks. The decaying old growth sustains new growth. And I don't have to do a darn thing. The plants sustain insects, who also sustain the birds. Not a lot we have to do. But I'm not really comfortable with that and I have to go out there and 'make sense of it'. I guess it's the same with some people... they have to impose order, a story, a reason, on everything or they aren't comfortable. And that's what religion is to me... someone imposing a structure on something that really doesn't need it. Someone using structure to govern and control what other people think and do. And to me, that's not right. But I guess they can do what they want. I'm not going to impose my beliefs and ideas on anyone...just write about them.

© 2005 ala-murphala.com

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Bobo's World: Church signs from hell

Bobo's World: Church signs from hell This whole blog is great!! I especially liked the visuals. Here is a link to a Church Sign Generator which is kind of a hoot. I made a sign myself...slightly too irreverant to show you. Church signs, when they're not pissing me off, can be amusing and funny.

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Bitch, bitch bitch....

It seems like all I do on this thing is bitch and moan about stuff. I have to stop that. Someday. But first, what the HELL? I spent a goodly amount of time rearranging and playing with my site, ala-murphala.com. Not to mention this blogspot template. I enjoyed every last minute of it. I was surrounded by CSS guru's books, playing with CSS layout and (figuratively) dancing and singing at the thought of not having to nest tables to control the layout of my web page. So, I'm testing with my index page in Firefox (yeah, I know, half of the people out there are still using IE, but hey) and I finally get it to look exactly the way I want it. Great. Spacing is pretty, it shows up great in Netscape and Firefox... IE, not so much.

The strangest part of it all is that, well, my CSS (cascading style sheets which are supposed to cascade to all the pages in the site--consistency across all pages) doesn't seem to cascade all the way across my site. Go to any other page, it looks like complete crap. All the padding and spacing goes away. This is in firefox, and these pages look suspiciously similar to how IE renders the index page...

It's got to be something stupid. Evenutally when I switch to the mysql/php method of creating the pages, I'm sure I'll get a much better rendering and much more consistent than editing individual html pages. However, I still can't figure out how the hell that happens. A line-by-line between the 'standard' portions of the pages reveal no difference at all in tagging. I don't know. I'll spend more time staring at it tonight.

Tonight, I will continue to see how I f***ed up the code to make my blog entries less...long. That is, abbreviated. It looked idiot-proof--just plug in code and you're there. Yeah. Right. :-)

Almost time for Turkey Day! I'm thankful for the time away from work and the peace and quiet. I am NOT thankful for the fact that my adopted (and only) family, Clay and Christopher, live several hundred miles away, Christopher having left for the lure of filthy lucre and tenure. I'm glad that he's finally getting recognized at least in part, for his abilities and knowledge...something that never seemed to happen here. It will be the first Thanksgiving celebration in years without them. It will be lonely. And sad. And Christopher won't get his mushroom soup and green bean casserole, which Clay refuses to make. But there's always Christmas. Hopefully we can work out alternate visits to each others' homes for the holidays... other families do it, so why not us?

All I have to say in closing is that Medium in 3D will be worth all the hype as I just spent 40 minutes figuring out a pair of home-made 3D glasses out of my telescope filters, velcro, and cardboard, since TV Guide was so incredibly cheap as to only include one pair free in their magazine. Did they really expect each member of the family to buy a damn TV Guide just for a pair of glasses? Hmmmph.

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