Is It Okay?

Is it okay to lose a little of my faith in Humanity whenever I read news articles like these?

Living Paycheck to Paycheck Gets Even Harder

This woman's baby will be taken from her as soon as it is born.

The Latvian Connection

Idiot Judge Number 1.

Idiot Judge Number 2.

Collected from Lupa's Blog.

Of Insults, Apologies, and Haters.

I use the term "haters" in the least offensive way possible.

It's time for a long overdue blog post.

A few weeks ago, I lost my temper and I said something I'm not very proud of. I apologized at the soonest opportunity possible, but I ended up getting some interesting comments in my Honesty Box on my Facebook profile. (For those of you who don't know, Honesty Box is an application that allows other Facebook users to post anonymous comments to you. The question asked is "What do you honestly think of me?") Let's take a look, shall we?

"Hello *****, this is **** from English. I just wanted to let you know that what you did in class today was quite amazing. I will not inquire into the depths of what happened, but I just wished to let you know this. I always find your input into our class very interesting."

I liked this comment. I received it the day I made my apology, and I really needed it.

"wow... way to blow up at a teacher... you're a jack*** you know? i mean if you dont feel "challenged enough" then why the hell are you in school still anyways! WTF!"

This was posted four days after I made my apology. I'm still not quite sure what to think about it.

"then again you did apologise so its not to bad...."

This was posted the same day as the previous comment. I think it's from the same person.

"your not always right,you think you are. [snip]"

This is another one that I liked. I do know that I am not always right, no one ever is. I do like to think that I'm right (I'm biased, being me and all) but I know that I can't always be right and I know that I can't know everything. I'd be a fool if I thought otherwise. As an aside, I consider "right" and "wrong" to be subjective, abstract concepts.

Now I'm not going to say that the other party involved overreacted, even if that's what I honestly think. I was the person that let go of their self-control. What I will say is that some of the people that made the comments above can't know all the details either. Call me preachy, but I don't think you should pass judgements without considering all the information available. That rings true for me as well.

*Some of the quoted items have been altered for relevancy and to protect the identity of those involved.

Justice is Served, Sort of

Remember that U.S. Air Force air(wo)man?

By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 14, 6:06 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. - Charged with committing indecent acts after refusing to testify against a man she had accused of rape, only to see those charges later dropped, a female airman said Friday that she is no longer sure about a career in the Air Force.

"I do respect the fact that they've tried to correct the things they've done wrong," Airman 1st Class Cassandra Hernandez said in a statement released by her attorneys. "As a result of what happened this week, it does give me more hope in the system. I don't completely trust the system now."

The commander of the 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base decided this week to drop the charge of committing an indecent act against Hernandez, 20, who instead pleaded guilty to underage drinking and received a nonjudicial punishment, said one of her attorneys, Capt. Chris Eason.

Hernandez had been scheduled for a Sept. 24 court-martial, where she faced up to a year in prison and dismissal from the Air Force.

"I'm not angry. I'm just glad to have my life back," Hernandez said. "Overall, I'm still disappointed in how this was handled, but if they recognize the things they did wrong and can fix them for future victims, then it was all worth it."

In May 2006, about six months after she arrived at Pope, Hernandez reported she had been raped by three fellow airmen during an alcohol-fueled barracks gathering. One of the airmen was charged with rape. But after initially cooperating with prosecutors, Hernandez started to feel they no longer believed her and declined to cooperate further.

"Towards the end, I felt like I was alone," Hernandez said in an earlier interview with The Associated Press. "One reason I chose not to testify was I didn't want to put myself out there if I was not protected. I felt like I was being hung out to dry."

The Associated Press normally does not identify people alleging sexual assault, but Hernandez agreed to tell her story to reporters.

Her attorneys believe the Air Force was retaliating against her for her decision not to testify when it charged her criminally with underage drinking and committing an indecent act by having sex in the presence of others.

Three male airmen she accused of rape received nonjudicial punishment for indecent acts and were granted immunity to testify at Hernandez's trial, according to Air Force legal documents.

Capt. Beverly Mock, a wing spokeswoman, said Friday that she couldn't discuss details of the case because of privacy laws. Messages left for the prosecutors who handled the case and Col. Timothy Zadalis, commander of the 43rd Airlift Wing, were not returned Friday.

Hernandez was initially offered the same nonjudicial punishment, which Eason said she rejected because her squadron commander "had told her I am going to find you guilty."

Eason said the agreement to drop the criminal charges was reached after negotiations with prosecutors and approved by Zadalis. In a statement, he and co-counsel Capt. Omar Ashmawy said they "hope that those who are at fault are held accountable."

Hernandez enlisted in the Air Force in 2005 and was assigned as a clerk to the 43rd Airlift Wing, a unit whose missions include flying the paratroopers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division into combat.

Ashmawy said his client is receiving support from the Air Force "as a result of the real psychological and physical trauma suffered from this sexual assault."

"We fervently hope that the lessons learned in this case will be used in the future to prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again," Ashmawy said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_on_re_us/air_force_rape

Gisburne Redux

Apparently, Nick Gisburne has put his website back up. Here's his explanation:

As you know I closed my web site recently, apparently a permanent thing. So once again I'm back and... I'm messing with you, right? I give that impression, I'm aware, but please understand that I find it difficult to keep on talking about atheism, purely because I feel so strongly about the things on this site and in my book. Sometimes it becomes too hard for me to look at what religion does to the world, and I have to shut myself off from it, completely. I'm complicated, that's all I can say. But here, by popular demand, is the return of my web site, with my sincere apologies to those people who felt let down when I took it offline. I can almost guarantee this will not be the last time I do it, but please stick with me through the bad times!

Read this blog entry to see why I decided not to leave after all.

Yay!

Christians, Baha'i's and Buttons, Oh My!

I know a lot of people are going to ask "Why have you been criticizing Christianity so much lately?" or "Why don't you criticize a different Abrahamic religion? Why not even a non-Abrahamic religion?" Well let me try to explain things to you.

I do not necessarily believe that faith is a bad thing; it is when faith is not tempered by reason that it concerns me. I am more than willing to allow someone to hold and express their beliefs as long as they do not interfere with my rights to the same. I don't think that I would particularly mind if someone called me a "Satan worshiper" and that I would "burn in Hell" as long as they let me say how ridiculous I think that their beliefs are. Of course, if they repeatedly harassed me, I would have no compunction against taking them to civil court. If our roles were reversed, I would expect them to do the same.

Yesterday, I had a Christian evangelist tell me "I'm not tolerant and I'm proud of it." He also said "One way to God, right?" Frankly, a find this level of zealotry disturbing. I wouldn't even classify it as an extreme level of zealotry, considering what you see on the Internet and in the Middle East.

I don't buy that there is one way to God either, if there is one (which I doubt). I can see four possibilities if God does exist: God is malevolent, God is indifferent, God is omni-benevolent and our perception of God is completely inaccurate, or God is insane. If I say that God may exist, I shouldn't discount that a multitude of gods could exist either.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to address something. I want to point out that the Baha'i faith is probably one of the most tolerant I've seen. I'm not going to pick at any of their theological or metaphysical beliefs, but rather a few things that I think will create issues for the faith in the future.

1) The Baha'i faith views scientific inquiry as essential to expanding Human knowledge and deepening the faith of Baha'i adherents. Considering that I believe that God or some other divine aspect cannot be proven or disproven I find it interesting that the Baha'i faith supports scientific inquiry when historically most religions have been opposed to it. Historically, most religions are opposed to scientific inquiry because of contradictions with various beliefs within those religions. Just take a look at Galileo or Darwin. But consider this: What if the existence of a divine entity could be empirically disproven? I am sure that it would very much shake the Baha'i religion to its very core. I doubt that this could happen however, and I find it more of an interesting question to pose than something I could see becoming an issue. The one place where the Baha'i faith and science knock heads is #2.

2) The Baha'i faith rejects homosexuality. This is the one place I know of where science and the Baha'i faith have a contradiction. While the Baha'i faith teaches equality between people and the elimination of prejudices, sexual orientation is absent from their list of groups of Humans where prejudice should be eliminated. Others have said it before me, and I predict that this will cause tensions within the Baha'i faith in the future.

3) Women are excluded from serving on the Universal House of Justice. This is mostly for the same reasons as #2, with the Baha'i faith's teachings of equality and elimination of prejudice.

4) Followers believe that there will eventually be a single world government. I'm not going to deny that it could happen, but I doubt it. The closest we have come to this is the United Nations, and I doubt that we will go much farther. Groups of people with similar ideals would break off from a united world government and form their own nations. Self-determination has happened many times in the past and I don't see why this would change in the future.

5) It had been my understanding that the Baha'i faith also believed in a single unifying language for humankind. However the official website of the Baha'i International Community cites "the need for a universal auxiliary language."

And just a couple minor notes to finish off with:

The link to Nick Gisburne's website is no longer in the sidebar. He has taken down his website because he is no longer interested in discussing Atheism. This means some of the links in my older posts may not work correctly.

Also, if you're wondering what's been happening with the buttons, you have no need to fret. I decided that it would be easier to post all the buttons once the challenge is over than to post them every week.

ReligiousTolerance.org Article

Baha'i International Community Website

Cultural Appropriation and Irony

Some of you that read my blog, in fact most of you, will probably know that I attended a Christian youth group for a while. Personally, I considered this mostly an excuse to hang out with my friends that were Christian.

This group held their meetings on Friday evenings, and it would involve a sermon of some sort. Usually, I would critically examine these sermons, as a sort of mental exercise. I think that it also made the time pass a bit faster. The sermons that the first pastor would give were pretty good, and I felt that even non-Christians, people of a secular nature, could gain something from listening to them.

After the first pastor left and was replaced, the sermons became noticeably different. They were delivered with more of an authoritative voice, a voice with more fervor. It also seemed that the message in these sermons was uniquely Christian, and that someone of a secular nature would have little if anything to gain from listening to them. One of my friends described him as more of a "fire and brimstone" preacher than the first pastor had been.

One Friday night, this pastor used a Native American folk story to illustrate a point. At the time, I was a bit annoyed that he had gotten some of the wording wrong. (If this seems a bit anal to you, you should know that I suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.) Afterwords, I told him that he had gotten some of the wording wrong. He chuckled and waved it off with "It's just a legend. The wording doesn't matter." I walked off, a bit more annoyed than I had been because of his comment. The irony of the entire situation didn't occur to me until a week or so ago.

First, the Native American oral tradition is a very important one. For centuries, the oral tradition was the only way that the Native Americans had to pass their creation myths, legends, and fables on to the next generation. I have no doubt that they took it very seriously, including the exact wording of these stories. I am not saying that these stories did not change; they undoubtedly did over the centuries, even if only a little bit.

Second, is it really appropriate for a member of the Christian faith to use a Native American story to illustrate a point? I'm talking about a religion that actively tried to convert the indigenous peoples of North America, tried to destroy their culture, and herded them on to reservations so more land would be available for European settlement. Not to mention residential schooling, an issue that is still being dealt with by the government today. I do not think that it is appropriate for an evangelical Christian to use a Native American parable to perpetuate their faith's goals.

Third, the irony! It's only a story and the wording doesn't matter? I wish you would apply that reasoning to your own faith! There are hundreds of contradictions in the Bible and the Bible has been translated countless times, after being passed down orally for generations! I would say something to the effect of "It's the message, not the details that matter" but the Bible has so many contradictions and some of Christianity's central beliefs are so cruel that they are tantamount to abuse!

Now you might expect me to warn people about thinking about what they say before they say it, lest it reflect badly upon them. I'm not going to say that. It serves as a warning to the rest of us.

"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived."

-Isaac Asimov

Air Force Charges Victim in Her Own Rape

Sorry to do this to you guys again, but I had to share this.

This news item made my stomach turn: Cassandra Hernandez, a female Air Force airman was raped, reported her attack and then subsequently became a court-martial defendant, herself.
The story goes down like this: Hernandez was at a party, where she was drinking. She says that three male airman raped her. She went to the hospital and filed a report accusing her attackers. Due to stress and harsh interrogation tactics by the Air Force, she eventually refused to testify against the airmen.

The Air Force then charged her with underage drinking (of which she admits to being guilty, but that's hardly the point, now is it?) and, along with her three attackers,"indecent acts." I had a hell of a lot of trouble finding an official definition for "indecent acts," and the best one I came up with is a "form of immorality relating to sexual impurity which is not only grossly vulgar, obscene, and repugnant to common propriety, but tends to excite lust and deprave the morals with respect to sexual relations." Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the basic translation seems to be "a sexual act, particularly one that is not generally accepted in society, such as sex with multiple partners."

So. The woman was raped. By three men. She reported her rape. She was harassed by her superiors, to the point where she became too afraid to testify. The Air Force took this as meaning that the sex was therefore consensual (which isn't what it means at all), and charged her in the case of her own rape. If she loses her case, she could be publicly registered as a sex offender.

Sounds like it couldn't get any worse, right? But it does. How? The three alleged attackers were offered sexual assault immunity to testify against Hernandez on the indecent acts charge. Having at least half a brain cell among them, they accepted.

Hernandez is writing to her congresspeople and her Governor, Rick Perry, in a desperate plea to end this madness. Once you finish throwing up, crying, breaking things, etc., I strongly suggest that you write, too.

IMPORTANT CORRECTION: Apparently, the correct action to take is to write directly to YOUR congresspersons. You can find the information to write to your Representative here, and the information to write to your Senators here. It is a good idea to include one of the links to articles about thecase, so that they know specifically what you are referring to.

Shamelessly taken from here. I know that as Canadians it's pointless to write to U.S. politicians, but I think this is ridiculous. Muse out.

Chuck Norris Has Lost All My Respect and Adoration.

I did intend to make this post about my trip to Europe, but through the glory that is Nick Gisburne's website, I found my way to Objective: Ministries. I will now, for your pleasure, create a list of humourous things (or at least things that I find humourous) that I have found on the website.

1. They claim that the Internet was created by the United States of America, that the United States of America is a Christian nation, and that it is their Internet.

2. They have a section on "Evolutionist Propaganda," a section entitled "Those Wacky Evolutionists," and use a racial slur: "Chinamen."

3. Their "Mall Missions" section is too large for me to give a full account. At one point, they draw conclusion about the names of various retail stores. Here's my favorite bit, describing teenagers: "Called "Mall Rats" in their nihilistic Secular culture, they can often be found hanging around malls after public school doing nothing constructive."

4. Their "Anti-Occult" section. Again, this is too large for a full account. It has an image of druids performing a ceremony in front of a tree. The caption reads: "Typical Druid coven sacrificing a human to a tree." I recommend that you listen to their recording of a druid ceremony for additional hilarity.

5. Their "4 Kidz" [sic] section. My favorites are "Habu's Corner" which is nothing but a testimony to ignorance (Hindus are henotheistic, not polytheistic) and "Spiritual Safety Tip" which provides information on what a child should do if they encounter an atheist. Go ahead, click on Mr. Gruff's head! He's right about one thing: "Coffee's the only thing that gives me solace!"

6. Their online store features clothing with images of a laughing Jesus with the caption LOL (Love Our Lord.) Unfortunately, this includes a thong with a laughing Jesus conveniently missing the "LOL: Love Our Lord." NOW I know why Jesus is laughing.

7. The banner ads. Here are some highlights:

-One of those banner Flash games where you need to hit something. You need to hit a "beatnik atheist" carrying a sign reading "I hate God" with a Bible. The prize? A free Bible, how unimaginative.

-A National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools ad featuring Chuck Norris as a spokesman. Chuck Norris, you have just lost all my respect. ...Please don't kill me.

-"Armor of God" Pajamas. This doesn't need explaining.

-I'm just going to quote this one: "The Presidential Prayer Team For Kids. Hey kids! President Bush needs your prayers!" The Hell he does.

-"Bible Bar: Contains the eight foods of Deuteronomy 8:8"

-"His Essence: Candles that smell like our Lord."

-"Useabeliever.com: Because I don't want my money supporting non-Christians." I didn't know that Christians had their own Yellow Pages.

-Biblical Action Figures. Enough said.

-An ad for the Christian Hackers Association reading: "JESUS IS L33T3R THAN NEO" or "GOD HAS UNIVERSAL ROOT."

-"Have you seen pornography on the Internet? It is illegal to distribute obscene material over the Internet. make a report!" Bullsh*t. The Internet is an unregulated medium for the transfer of information.

-"Did you know that Pat Robertson can leg press 2000 pounds? How does he do it?" [insane laughter] Apparently he uses protein shakes.

-An ad that in part reads "Fact: Being gay takes 30 years off your life! That's not cool..." That's also not true, fundie.

-I can't read the banner ad for this one, so here's the website.

-An ad for 1-in-3 Trinity Christian Energy Drink. "Refuel your Faith!"

-"Straight Pride [Trade Mark]. Show your pride, get a bride! Got a womb? Get a groom!" I can't wait to hear the feminists rage about this one.

-"Works Through Faith: W.T.F. Ministries." I don't need to explain this, do I?

-"Larry Dye, The Creation Guy!" How bad is it when you need to parody a name that's lame to begin with? (All apologies to Bill Nye, The Science Guy. We know you're awesome.)

-An ad for Fight the Good Fight Ministries. It has the caption "Satan wants your children!" with a pair of blond lesbians kissing. I'm sold.

-This ad features a gun pointed at the reader with the caption "Evolutionists want to murder you. You are just an animal to them."

-"Book 22: Intimacy products for married couples." It's a reference to the Song of Solomon. I admit, I don't think I've ever heard of a sex store catering specifically to Christians before. After taking a look at their merchandise, I don't think that (their) God would approve.

Peace out, readers. The Muse is stopping here.

English 101

I took this picture outside the local Dairy Queen a few days ago. I think whoever put the sign up needs to take English 101 again.


"Me fail English? That unpossible!" -Ralph Wiggum

P.S. I'm sorry that you, my loyal readers, never got your rant. You probably aren't.

The Alaskan Wolf Hunt

I think I'm going to be sick.


Click Here to Learn More
© Defenders of Wildlife

Will someone stop the Alaska wolf hunt, please?

April Button Update

Here are the buttons from the last six weeks, more or less in order:

Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam [It isn't, really]
We're making enemies faster than we can kill them [We really need to do something about that aggro, eh?]
Stewart-Colbert 2008 [I don't really have a comment for this one]
Just plain evil without my coffee [I wore this as a joke for a coworker]
If you're so pro-life, try getting one! [I might have gone a bit overboard, but honestly, do these people have nothing better to do in their spare time?]
Against gay marriage? Don't marry one! [I wore this for the Day of Silence this week]

If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a rant tomorrow.

Day of Silence

Speak up for those who can't.

[/irony]

Fate or Coincidence?

I left school early last Wednesday to go to the walk-in clinic. I bruised a tendon in my foot Tuesday afternoon at Judo. When I sat down on the bus, I looked behind me and found a brochure for this place.

I knew that you could get a degree in philosophy, and that metaphysics was a subschool of philosophy, but I never thought of a school devoted entirely to the subject. Given how unsure I am with what I want in a career, and my recent interest in spirituality, I thought that it was an interesting find.

So, fate or coincidence?

Button for Mar. 3 - Mar. 9: The Patriot Act: Turning Citizens into Suspects Since 2001

Over The Hills...

...And far away.

I fear that I'm losing my faith in Humanity. I blame it on reading FSTDT.com every day since Tuesday.

The House of Commons is also driving me nuts. The partisanship is insane.

This Week's Button: Happiness is a journey, not a place.

A Long Overdue Rant and Buttons Update

I've decided to post the buttons that I bought but never really wore. AfterVerner and Kai were right. I originally came up with the whole idea of wearing a button every week as a way to express myself without ever saying anything. I've always been a bit shy about expressing my beliefs on social issues. I think it's because I fear being ostracized. Anyway, here they are:

Jan. 6 - Jan. 12: God Loves You! Some restrictions may apply...

Jan. 13 - Jan. 19: Please Jesus, protect me from your followers!

Jan. 20 - Jan. 26: How long until evolution eliminates the Christian Right?

Jan. 27 - Feb. 2: Just another soulless atheist in search of world peace and harmony.

Feb. 3 - Feb. 9: Truth is the first casualty of war.

(Friggernaffy! I missed a week!)

This week: No really, I live for these creepy, awkward moments.

Now let me explain a few things. One, I realize the irony in AfterVerner being the first one to encourage me to post them. Second, I have nothing against Christians.

I remember when I was younger, probably about six or seven, recieving a couple of Bibles as a gift. I'm sure that they were from someone that didn't know my family very well. They were the kind of Bibles with the colourful illustrations of Noah's ark or Jesus, and proclamied that the pages within contained 'the greatest story ever told.' They were the kind of Bibles with all of the 'fire and brimstone' type passages removed, probably to avoid scaring any little kids.

I read them in their entirety, as I did with any other book. After completing them, I couldn't help but feel confused. I simply couldn't believe it. This was the greatest story ever told? Other people actually believed this and accepted it as fact?

I should probably mention at this time that I was raised an atheist, as far as I can tell. We never prayed, we never talked about spiritual belief. I had only been in a church once, as far as I could remember. Our neighbours (who weren't very devout) invited us because their kids were getting baptized. I remember feeling out of place, and I didn't understand the purpose of getting baptized. I don't think I fully understand it today.

I realize that the majority of Christians are good people. It's people like this and people who use parts of the Bible like this and this to justify their prejudices. Also people who make websites like this and this and this and this.

Also, hypocrisy. This is not the love that Jesus was talking about. Memo to the religious right: Get your heads out of the sand. (I mean 'right' in terms of the political spectrum.)

I do my best to treat these people based on who they are, not what they are. I only wish they had the wisdom and respect to do the same.

And that is why I'm not a Christian. (Or any other Abrahamic religion, for that matter, but I don't have anything against them either other than for the same reasons I outlined here.)

Short Update

I decided to take a cue from Laura Matthews and make a list, but with a twist.

Things I Want to Do Between Death and Reincarnation:

1. Float around in the ether.

2. Scare people having an astral shift.

3. Say hello to Guenhwyvar. (This one won't make sense unless you've read R.A. Salvatore.)

Ozy & Millie

Hello readers. While browsing the internet, as I am wont to do, I came across a link that I'd like to share with you. It's a webcomic, one that (to me, anyway) bears a resemblance to Calvin & Hobbes. It's philosophical, has social commentary, and has the simple humour and wisdom of a pair of young children. Things that I think we are lacking today. It also has an eccentric ex-hippie dragon.

Notable quotes range from the insightful, to the simply absurd:

"To mindlessly do the opposite of what everyone else is doing is merely another way of making oneself a slave to popular opinion."

"Always proactively untwist octagonal hippopotamus pants."

Meet Ozy & Millie: http://www.ozyandmillie.org/index.html


...I want a top-hat and John Lennon sunglasses.

It's gone...for now.

You may have noticed that I didn't post the button I bought on Saturday, or last Saturday. I thought that some people may have found them offensive, so I haven't posted them or worn them much. If you browse EVOLVE Fish long enough, you'll probably come across them.

I've decided to shave off my beard. I don't think it will look as good with my hair grown out, so I'm going to see what it's like without it for awhile. I also thought about getting rid of my sideburns, but I'll leave them for now. I don't think that they will clash with the rest of my appearance.

And now, I'm stealing this from Kai (sorta):

ABC of Me
The Letter A
Are you available?:	Yes.
What is your age?:	Seventeen, nearly eighteen.
What annoys you?:	Conservatives.
The Letter B
Do you live in a big house?:	No.
When is your birthday?:	March fifth.
Who is your best friend?:	Please don't make me choose.
The Letter C
What's your favorite candy?:	Those pink and blue coke bottles. I think.
Who's your crush?:	None currently.
When was the last time you cried?:	I can't remember.
The Letter D
Do you daydream?:	Yes.
What's your favorite kind of dog?:	Alaskan Malamute/German Shepard?
What day of the week is it?:	Monday.
The Letter E
How do you like your eggs?:	Scrambled, if I must.
Have you ever been in the emergency room?:	Yes.
What's the easiest thing ever to do?:	Nothing.
The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane?:	Yes.
Do you use fly swatters?:	Yes.
Have you ever used a foghorn?:	No.
The Letter G
Do you chew gum?:	Occasionally.
Are you a giver or a taker?:	Both? Karma can be confusing sometimes.
Do you like gummy candies?:	Yes.
The Letter H
How are you?:	Tired.
What color is your hair?:	Brown.
The Letter I
What's your favorite ice cream?:	Cotton Candy, maybe?
Have you ever ice skated?:	Yes.
Do you play an instrument?:	No, but I used to.
The Letter J
What's your favorite jelly bean brand?:	Jelly Belly, I guess.
Do you wear jewelry?:	Sometimes.
The Letter K
Who do you want to kill?:	No one. Preferably.
Do you want kids?:	I don't know yet.
Where did you go for kindergarten?:	Sidney Elementary.
The Letter L
Are you laid back?:	Yes.
Do you lie?:	Yes. Or would that be no?
The Letter M
Whats your favorite movie?:	Lord of the Rings/Star Wars/Dragon Heart
Do you still watch Disney movies?:	Sure, why not?
Do you like mangos?:	No.
The Letter N
Do you have a nickname?:	Yes.
What is your real name?:	Jared.
Whats your favorite number?:	Six?
Do you prefer night over day?:	Yes.
The Letter O
What's your one wish?:	I'd tell you, but then it might come true.
Are you an only child?:	Yes.
The Letter P
What one fear are you most paranoid about?:	What people think of me.
What are your pet peeves?:	Bad spelling and grammar.
What's a personality trait you look for in people?:	Intelligence.
The Letter Q
What's your favorite quote?:	"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Are you quick to judge people?:	No.
The Letter R
Do you think you're always right?:	No. Or would that be yes?
Are you one to cry?:	Yes.
The Letter S
Do you prefer sun or rain?:	Sun.
Do you like snow?:	Yes.
What's your favorite season?:	Winter.
The Letter T
What time is it?:	6:49
What time did you wake up?:	6:15
When was the last time you slept in a tent?:	August.
The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear?:	Yes.
Underwear or boxers?:	Underwear....
The Letter V
What's the worst veggie?:	Zucchini.
Where do you want to go on vacation?:	Nearly everywhere.
The Letter W
What's your worst habit?:	Procrastination.
Where do you live?:	British Columbia, Canada.
What's your worst fear?:	Being forgotten in history.
The Letter X
Have you ever had an x-ray?:	Yes.
Have you seen the x-games?:	No.
Do you own a xylophone?:	No.
The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow?:	Not particularly.
What's one thing you yearn for?:	Understanding.
The Letter Z
Whats your zodiac sign?:	Pisces.
Do you believe in the zodiac?:	Sure, why not?
Favorite zoo animal?:	Tigers, maybe?
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End of Winter Break

So it's the end of winter break and school starts tomorrow. Hoo-rah. (That was sarcasm.) The holiday season was eventful, full of family and friends, games, and discussion. As I remarked to one friend while gift shopping (mostly for others but I did get a few things for myself), "I've spent more than I should have but less than I would have liked."

My mother had a hysterectomy after Christmas (for health reasons), but is out of the hospital now and is recovering nicely.

Marcie has behaved moderately well, and she begins puppy classes on Thursday. You know how they say that pets resemble their owners? Since I started growing my hair out, I've developed tufts of hair on the sides of my neck below my ears. They look awfully similar to the ones that Marcie has grown in the past few weeks.

I've never grown my hair out before, and I've become a bit fond of my pelage. I'm sure that the novelty will wear out in time though.

I don't have much that I would like to say (or would care to say) so I'm going to end with the buttons for this week and the past four weeks.

Dec. 9 - Dec. 15: There never was a good war or a bad peace. -Benjamin Franklin

Dec. 16 - Dec. 22: Oh well, I wan't using my civil liberties anyway.

Dec. 23 - Dec. 29: I think, therefore I'm liberal.

Dec. 30 - Jan. 5: Everything I need to know about live I've learned by reading banned books.

This week: America: The best democracy corporate lobbyists can buy.

P.S. I tried the blossoming tea at Serious Coffee. It's pretty good, unless you steep it too long. I think that about half of what you pay for is for the show though, but I would still recommend it.