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I once owned a T-shirt that said in big, bold letters, DISORGANIZED, and said T-shirt proceeded to give a long definition (now long since absent from my brain) about what being a disorganized person was...
And, while it may still hold true (a look inside of my closets [not the proverbial one, however] will prove this is the case), there are just some things I am completely obsessive about...
One of those things is my CD rack.
Now I realize this is a new age: People don't actually buy CD's anymore, they "download" songs onto iPods and cell phones and such. And, while I do dabble occasionally in the MP3 world and other nefariously digitized musical tunes, my CDs are still my main staple of music--a domain in which I rule what gets placed where, how, and in what condition, all physically.
Mainly, alphabetically!
If there's one thing that gets my knickers in a twist, it's when a certain someone places Mariah Carey after The Carpenters (my CD, and then nameless someone's CD, respectively), not realizing WHY it is important that they remain in ALPHABETICAL order. Nameless One, apparently, doesn't realize how important music is...
Granted, my books don't enjoy this same treatment: fiction is butted up against fantasy butted up against philosophy, butted up against biography, fiction, history, yadda yadda... No order, no rhyme, no reason. That's just how they are.
But music is different--when I'm in the mood to hear, say, Smashing Pumpkins, I do not want to hunt through over 300+ CDs in the hopes that I find it before my whim passes, especially when I'm on my way out the door for work!
But it does, indeed, happen, that I must try to hunt down something that should be in a certain place on my rack:
Me: Where is my Smashing Pumpkins CD?
Rich: Your what?!
Me: Smashing Pumpkins? Have you seen it?
Rich: Isn't it there?
Me: I wouldn't know since someone decided that, when they had off, they would willy-nilly listen to shit and not put them back where they were taken from...
Rich: Trust me, I have never listened to anything called "Smashing Pumpkins."
(And yes, there were air quotes utilized...)
Me: Then why are they not between the Sleepwalkers soundtrack and the Smoke That Thunders Native American Sounds CD?
Rich: The what and the what?
Me: In fact, where is the Sleepwalkers soundtrack? It should be right here after Skillet.
Rich: Are you making this up?
Me: Fine, I'll listen to--
(grabbing a random CD from the Tower-of-Pisa-like structure...)
Me: --Roxette. Sigh. Not really in the mood, though...
Rich: Why haven't I even heard of these groups?
Me: Because you still listen to the Carpenters and Bette Midler, you cliche-ridden slob.
Rich: Someone needs coffee.
Me: I'm going to be late--I'll see you when I get home.
And I did see him. When he came through the door, I had every single one of those 300+ CDs on the coffee table, placing them back in alphabetical order...
I could have spent this time finishing up my Christmas shopping. Instead, I spent the evening playing with my rack.
I suppose there are worse things in life. And at least I know the next time I need to listen to Enya or The Lightning Seeds, I will be able to grab it and leave... Well, at least until Nameless One decides to disco it up again...
The price we pay for cohabitation...
I hate it when you're in the middle of a great dream--a dream you know will make you feel like a young woman sitting on her own somewhere in Rickmansworth, who suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no-one would have to get nailed to anything.
Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone about it the Earth was unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, and so the idea was lost forever...
From what I can remember, it had something to do with ninjas on a college campus, a rocket ship with my brother-in-law waving good-bye as it took off to the great beyond, and knowing if I could just reach the right silo on top of one of those sky scrapers, things would work out a-okay...
Sadly, while the world didn't get demolished before I found it, my stupid stupid alarm clock did what amounted to the same thing...
I had forgotten about it shortly after waking, and for some reason, that stupid stupid "Duh!" car commercial triggered my subconscious, and these tiny details are all that remain...
This must be how the guy who invented thew light bulb right after he found out Thomas Edison had done it five minutes ago...
Somehow, I know if I could just remember the finer details, of what it was I expected to find in one of those silos, of what the ninjas didn't want me to find, and of why my brother-in-law felt he needed to escape in a rocket ship...
Sigh.
It's almost worse than Vogon poetry, this feeling of having been to the edge and being ripped back by a stupid alarm clock...
Yes, as Mom and Anon the Lesser pointed out, it rained in Georgia last night after Perdue, the Chicken-Governor of Georgia, held a prayer meeting on the capital stairs. Regardless of the fact that it could have just dewed heavily and people would have claimed an answer to prayer (for god is a god of answering only part time, and speaks nothing of quantity...), perhaps the Prayer-Chain Gang of Georgia could have been a bit more specific, as it seems god may have been distracted as to the amounts Georgia needs! Despite the fact that these people have been praying since June of 2007 for rain, when god finally did reach deep into his in-box and finally became aware in his infinite knowledge and wisdom of the drought in our dearly beloved Christian nation, he answered thus, according to this article:
"This is hopefully the beginning of more," Perdue said from Canada, where he is on a trade mission. "One rain won't refill the reservoirs. It is great affirmation of what we asked for."
Most of metro Atlanta got a little rain overnight ahead of a strong cold front that blew through North Georgia, and a wind advisory was in effect for gusty conditions behind the front on Thursday.
"As we do all we can from a conservation standpoint, virtually all of us know we are dependent on rain. I am just a person who believes it comes from God," Perdue said.
While almost all of metro Atlanta got rain, most rainfall totals were only around a quarter-inch or less.
Overnight rainfall totals included .14 inch at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, .21 inch at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and .28 inch at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
The rain was a little heavier north of town, with Cartersville reporting .82 inch and Gainesville .75 inch.
Aww, wasn't that sweet! Barely an inch of rain--in fact, barely a quarter inch in some areas!
Better than the fact that god couldn't even send enough rain to parch the land, let alone even effect lake levels, the same storm that brought the (tiny amount of) rain to Georgia brought destruction to Tennessee, as this article points out:
The rain late Wednesday and early Thursday brought some precipitation to the parched hills of northern Georgia. The showers began a day after Gov. Sonny Perdue led a prayer service on the steps of the state Capitol to beg the heavens to end the drought.
[...]
The rainfall was likely not enough the ease the drought, forecasters said.
"The ground probably sucked it all up," said Vaughn Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City. "The ground is so dry, I seriously doubt if any of the lakes rose any."
Storms hit elsewhere in the Southeast, injuring at least nine in Tennessee.
In Tennessee's Marion County, the roof of a Baptist church was heavily damaged in the storms, said Jeremy Heidt of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Three children were hurt by flying glass and were taken to hospitals, said Heidt.
City Hall across the street from the church suffered minor damage, Heidt said, and an ambulance business next to it had heavy damage. A house also collapsed, but the residents went to the hospital themselves.
"I couldn't get the door open because the outside pressure and wind was so strong," said Justin Lawhorne, manager of Wendy's restaurant in Kimball.
County schools were closed Thursday due to the storm.
More than a quarter of the Southeast is covered by an "exceptional" drought — the National Weather Service's worst drought category.
What have we learned?
a.) It will rain, regardless of how many people pray/don't pray.
b.) If you ask god for rain, be specific: ask for "3 inches" as opposed to just a general request.
c.) Give god parameters: instead of just asking for rain, which could come in the form of a drizzle or a category 5 hurricane, say things like "we'd prefer it in a nice, slow, steady way, with no damaging winds or flooding."
d.) Give god directions: be sure when asking for rain to also ask that god move the storm around your houses of worship and where small children may be located; after all, if we shouldn't suffer the children to come to him, they shouldn't suffer when he comes to them either.
e.) Realize that, even though you think a minuscule amount of rain falling is an answer to prayer, it was going to rain eventually, and with your "sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes maybe" reading of your scripture (which is not a biblically based teaching/worship in any way, shape or form), you will feel justified that whatever the outcome, god has somehow "answered it."
Beyond all that, though, those of you who think that the teensy-tiny amounts of rain are somehow an "answer," what say you about your god's ripping down a church roof and injuring small children in the process? (Hey! At least it rained, right?)
As the governor of Georgia gathers together the faithful to pray for life-giving water from the heavens (although it must be said, I think these women have a better chance...), I have to think, didn't they try this at the beginning of summer?
Why, yes! Yes they did! From the article in June:
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is asking for a week of prayer starting Saturday. Throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of difficulty, he said. This drought is without question a time of great difficulty for our farmers and for communities across the state.
Fellow Republican governor, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, proclaimed June 11 as the state’s Day of Prayer for Agriculture. Since then, spotty rains have helped parts of the state, but climatologists have warned that it’s going to take a lot more than scattered storms to ease the drought — it might take a tropical storm or even a hurricane.
The forecast calls for thunderstorms in Montgomery, Ala., this weekend, prompting some to marvel at Riley’s powers of persuasion.
And they marveled at the tiny, teensy amount of rain their benevolent god bestowed on them...
So, if god, in his infinitesimal wisdom, decided a few months ago NOT to give you rain... Oh, that's right, how did that go? "Sometimes he says yes, sometimes he says no, and sometimes he says not now..."
In an effort to get their god to "see the light" as it were, the governor of Georgia has said:
"The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.
Perdue’s office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.
Perdue has several times mentioned the need for prayer — along with water conservation — as the state’s drought crisis has worsened. Over the summer, he participated in day of prayer for agriculture at a gathering of the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon, Ga.
Perdue, a Baptist, has enjoyed strong support from Georgia’s Christian conservatives.
Ah, the comforts of having such a dependable god! It almost makes up for not having water, doesn't it?
You mean, it doesn't? Man cannot live without water, whether or not he lives by bread alone...
Luke 19:27: But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay [them] before me.
I wonder why the fundies think only the radical followers of Islam are the dangerous ones?
As the silver maples turn an ironic, soft shade of gold and the gentle, persistent humming of the coal stove keeps my home at an affable 70 degrees with little or no effort, I contemplate the pendulum of humanity--those that are on the extreme right, those that are on the extreme left (of which I know most times I am perceived to belong), and wonder, is there truly a middle? After all, if one man's trash is another man's treasure, isn't one man's middle another's extreme? And can one be extremely in the middle?
I hate winter, and by default, am not a fan of autumn, as it is winter's harbinger, it's trumpet heralder, if you will. The Japanese cherry tree is rusty, squeaky, and certainly not bearing fruit. The great old apple (minus only one of it's stately columns) is more mottled, and sickly looking than the rest--age plays a huge role in that, I think. But the conifers, the giant juniper, and the rhodies all persist, dropping only what is necessary, staying a rich vibrant green in the face of death.
I can think of a legend which tells of a fig tree that, even though figs weren't in season, was smitten where it stood for actually following the physical seasons the god had set forth--withered up and died right before this god's followers before the sun had even set. Of course, another account of this legend let the fig tree live another day or so before drying up and giving up the ghost. One has to wonder at a god which smites its creation for simply doing what it was told, following its programming, and only bearing fruit in season...
Everything swinging back and forth, from one extreme to another--it is the extremes which provide the middle that people clamor for, the dark which allows us to see light, the red and the blue which provide the royal purple.
It is said too much of anything can be bad--but only hindsight can provide a conclusion as to what is too much, or too little...
I dream of when my daffodils will sprout, the wooded hyacinths, the tulips, the crocuses... It is only mid-November and I yearn for the spring. I truly feel at peace and harmony working the dirt, pruning the dead things, helping the young to grow to fruition. I want to turn the soil, feel the muddy clay thickness on the soles of my sneakers, and plan for more, and yet still more bulbs and roots to beautify my surroundings--but I must first live through the cold, darker months, the months during which I celebrate not only the New Year, Christmas, and the overly-hyped Valentine's Day, but also the day of my birth, in which my mother shoved me out, following the programming of her nature, to bring life in the dead of winter, during the season I hate more than religious fundamentalism...
I threaten in my mind, Hawaii, here I come! And although I could celebrate endless months of life, growth, and gorgeous weather, even Hawaii pays a price for paradise--volcanoes, high price of living, typhoons, hurricanes... Not to mention the more personal price of not being surrounded by those whom I choose to love: family, friends, and the miscellaneous others that make my life a wonderful and rich tapestry...
I am increasingly of the mind that there is no middle, per se... The middle is an elusive dream, a Holy Grail, toward which all man is aspiring to in one way or another, yet never quite reaching. It is the extremes which keep us going, which give us life, and which make us appreciate it all the more when the middle is attained, albeit quite briefly... and usually only glimpsed, not attained at all...
The middle can be viewed as "perfection," I suppose, that happy place in which all is right with the world--as far as we can tell, at least--and contentment spreads like warm apple cider through your body...
But it couldn't last, could it? One can only appreciate contentment for so long before it is taken for granted, and thus, a new middle must be found, a new grail, a new goal...
I realize we need to see the extremes, to live the extremes, to experience the extremes--this, of course, is what makes Utopia, heaven, hell, or any other myriad of "goal" places so wrong. It's these places that would bring about a nuclear winter of the soul, of Holy Holocaust of Humanity. For in these places in which so many desire to go, where life's challenges are gone, where the extremes have no presence, where spring supposedly never ends? These are the places where an eternal life equals an eternal death...
Legend has it of an angel, a beautiful being favored by his creator, who once desired to have more, to be more, and his creator cast him forever into hell... All for wanting to live...
Life needs the extremes to be life...
Anything else... well, anything else couldn't really be called life, could it?
Yeah, I like the second title better as well.... It almost hints at homoeroticism...
It seems that, in an effort to appeal "main stream" and "in touch," the so-called "moral majority" is crawling up the ass of Republicans to never-before-seen darkness. Wasn't it just a few months ago that the right-wing nuts were "threatening" to back a third-party candidate if no "true conservative" stepped out from the shadows? It seems that realization has seeped into their brains... Pat Robertson, founder of the "Christian Coalition" has decided to place his bet on Guiliani.
So let's see what we have here: a pro-gay-rights, pro-choice, gun-control-backing candidate being "backed" by an anti-gay-rights, anti-abortion, pro-assasination-of-Chavez pastor... Let me ask you, why is it so much more important to "defeat Hillary" than it is to stand by values you claim to hold so very dear? What does Hillary Clinton support, or stand for, that is so much more "anti-Christian" than Guiliani?
Do they lack that much faith in their voting-block status, that they're willing to compromise on the "abominations" just to keep Hillary from winning? Or is it just that they realized the rest of the country was laughing at them when they threatened to back a third-party candidate?
Can someone explain to me what the wing-nuts are really thinking here?
From the article:
"It is my pleasure to announce my support for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said during a news conference with Giuliani in Washington.
[...]
Giuliani is best known for leading New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Robertson released a statement in which he said the attacks occurred because Americans had insulted God and lost the protection of heaven by allowing abortion and "rampant Internet pornography."
Robertson made no mention of his differences with Giuliani on social issues in Wednesday's statement.
"Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today," Robertson said.[...]
Of course, all this really does is expose the "moral majority" for what it really is: a political movement, not a religious one. Otherwise, Robertson wouldn't be so quick to back a backer of the abominations of his lord and savior...
Yet another car commercial touting how it's so "eco-friendly" boasting of it's 35 mpg fuel efficiency floats across my television, bringing to an end the suspension of my disbelief in the sound-effectless Bionic Woman's less-than-bionic-centric show...
What's that feeling? Unimpressed, maybe? Perhaps a dash of let down seeping in?
You want to impress me? You want me to choose my next car as your brand of car over the many many others who are touting their next eco-wonder car?
Aim for 60--hell, make it 75 mpg! Then I'd be impressed.... But seriously, 35? are you kidding me? That's supposed to make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth?
Hey! GM, Ford, Chrysler: you want a way to start making money again? Produce vehicles that are above AND beyond what we want... As Red Forman from That 70s Show once said,
They promised us hovercrafts. Just another damn broken promise!
The car companies are showing us butter knives and expecting praise and brand loyalty...
Ugh...
Having been in two separate churches in two separate states in the last four days has left me feeling a bit... Well, I would say jaded, but I'm always a bit jaded in religious arenas of discussion, so we'll just say worried...
The first was for my beloved nephews "christening." Having grown up in protestant and independent churches, this "christening" thing has always been a bit vague in my own personal experience, but for those who have no idea whatsoever what this "ceremony" entails, it's basically taking your clueless child and baptizing him with three drops of water (for the father, son, and Holy Casper respectively) and making him promise (well, making his parents promise...), among other things, to believe in Jesus as god, to gain an understanding of both OT and NT law, and other such religious doctrines and by-laws... Poor dude's still an atheist, but his parent's have already promised to indoctrinate him...
Actually, all my nieces and neph's are receiving some form of religious training in one form or another (but all basically of the Christian variety), and I can't help but wonder what the future holds for them all... Will the most religious of the siblings' progeny "rebel" much as I am viewed as having done? Will they all embrace their parents theology? Will some transition from one form of Christianity to another without much thought into the big picture, instead focusing on "doctrinal" differences with which to continue living their only begotten life?
My second church-attending was for a much less religious reason: I went to vote. I'm not quite sure what the protocol is for voting in rural areas in which the secular township building which has much more space is less than a mile away, but apparently that separation of church and state need not apply when one is actually casting a vote. As I stood in line for an hour and fifteen minutes waiting for my "key card" so that I could cast an electronic vote, I am assaulted by murals of Noah's ark, the cross (both occupied and vacant varieties), verses, books, pamphlets, and bulletin boards all proclaiming the love of Jesus, his all-encompassing power, and the cute little signs proclaiming "Eve's Room" and "Adam's Room" (the restrooms...) Is this legal? I wonder as I shuffle a step and a half closer to the room in which three machines which will ensure that my voice (albeit digitally) is heard. I hear a voice about ten persons in front of me shout "Well, praise Jesus, brother!"
Okay, I know that's probably not legal, but I keep avoiding eye contact with people to avoid pointless conversation and continue to shuffle a foot and a half every five minutes or so.
Then the voice booms again: "Well, that's just beautiful, brother, praise God!"
I consider leaving. After all, it's not a presidential election, but I feel pretty strongly about who I want on the township supervisory board, and decide to grin and bear it. After all, the dude's probably just in line to vote as well, which means we'll never actually meet, right? As I shuffle, so he shuffles, and the Dance of the Rural Voters continues in harmony...
I realize that even though we are supposedly a secular nation, and even though the next generation of my family is following in the footsteps of our ancestors (although not yet by their own choice), there isn't any way yet to avoid religion in this society, let alone ignore it's stranglehold on the country's politics.
As I continue to watch how my sibling's raise their children, I can only hope they allow them the leeway to question, to explore, to ask why and how... I hope they afford them the tools and resources necessary to gain in knowledge, to learn the facts, to uncover the truth...
I just hope they learn to ask why, and then never stop doing so...
I know you will all be devastated to find out I'll be in Maryland for the duration of the weekend...
It will be eventful as it requires me going into a church, so I'm sure we'll have plenty to kibitz about upon my return to blogland...
If, indeed, you find nothing to discuss or talk about in the next three days, I suggest going for a little lie-down somewhere...
