This year instead of rushing around madly finding presents for the adult members of my family, I ordered Harry and David stuff for them. Harry and David is a company that does expensive fruit and other goodies in baskets. I spent more money than I would have liked but saved time, energy, gas, and frustration associated with crowded malls. Although some Harry and David stores do exist in malls, they do not usually ship from the mall stores. For that, one needs the catalog and access to the internet or a telephone.
Last Friday I roused myself out of my indifference and attempted to get to the online version of Harry and David but was unable to for awhile. When I finally did get there, I found that correlating the catalog I'd gotten in the mail with the online products was exceedingly difficult-- probably due to my traumatic brain injury related processing difficulties. At any rate, I couldn't manage so I shelved the internet in favor of ordering by phone via a real live person.
The woman I got to on the phone was efficient and pleasant. My ordering was done within eight minutes. And everything got to the relatives on Christmas eve.
Ordering from Harry and David on the internet: recommended only for those who are neurologically intact.
Ordering from Harry and David via telephone: highly recommended for the rest of us.
sapphoq reviews books and more
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Jetting with the Swifter
The other day, I went to visit a friend who recently acquired a brain injury and like me is not eligible for any services because we have the misfortune not to qualify for medicaid or consequently for the brain injury medicaid waiver program or house-cleaning help. Anyone who has ever struggled with damage to their frontal lobe knows that organization, multi-tasking, and motivation all are various shades of difficult to impossible. It is no surprise really that the ability to do housework in any meaningful way resides within executive functions.
Friend is overwhelmed by housework and so I volunteered to mop a bit. She handed me a purple plastic thing called a Swifter Wet Jet (tm). This contraption is a step up in complexity from the Swifter mop (tm) which is a green plastic thing that I have used for several years now and loved. The Swifter mop (tm) is admittedly not designed for rugged cleaning. This Swifter Wet Jet (tm) thingy is.
The overall purpleness pleases me as a purplephiliac. And the stick itself was study. The place where one attaches a sticky pad is wider than the plain green mop. There is also a strip attached to the side which I found to be rather useless. I prefer the strips to be part of the sticky pad myself. At any rate, with button pushing the Swifter Wet Jet (tm) emits a stream of special Swifter Wet Jet (tm) liquid dirt-busting cleaner. I was quickly done with friend's floors. And there was none of the "omgz I have to drag this heavy pail of sudsy water around" feeling. So I went out and bought one.
I got my shiny purple package home. After a difficult assembly, I discovered to my horror that (1). the Swifter Wet Jet (tm) requires four AA batteries and (2). according to the owner's manual one is not supposed to use it on unfinished hardwood floors. From the owner's manual I also gleamed that there is a model that charges; that horrible things will happen if one were to use strips, cleaning solutions, and sticky pads other than those manufactured by Swifter (tm); that there are several versions of the approved cleaning solution; and that one should never attempt to disassemble the purpluscious thing I was holding.
With batteries grudgingly installed and visions of purple plastic pieces scattered about, I set out to conquer my beat-up linoleum floor and my unfinished beat up wood floors. The stream of liquid set off by pushing the white button is adequate and the sticky pad showed evidence that the mop was indeed working to pick up dirt, dustbunnies, and dog hair. Clean-up afterwards involved simply tossing the recyclable sticky pad into the trash. Nothing horrible happened to my unfinished beat-up wood flooring.
On the minus side of things, the pad could be sturdier. It tended to fall apart with the vigor of my application. The mop does not manuever easily in anything other than straight lines. The white strip on the side can only be ordered via the website to the best of my knowledge and it is useless where it has been placed. And of course the demands that one uses only the strips, cleaning solution (and the purple plastic bottles are not supposed to be refilled), and the sticky pads put out by the company put me off. What put me off most was having to install batteries into a mop. Surely there must exist a valve connection thingy that would open to emit fluid without the need for batteries or electric recharging.
sapphoq reviews says: The Swifter Wet Jet (tm) is probably satisfactory to those who are more typical customers. It also has its uses for those of us who are not able to slug around buckets of soapy water. However, it will not replace same. Overall a C+ is awarded.
Swifter Wet Jet (tm) http://www.swiffer.com/swiffer/en_US/wetjet.do
Friend is overwhelmed by housework and so I volunteered to mop a bit. She handed me a purple plastic thing called a Swifter Wet Jet (tm). This contraption is a step up in complexity from the Swifter mop (tm) which is a green plastic thing that I have used for several years now and loved. The Swifter mop (tm) is admittedly not designed for rugged cleaning. This Swifter Wet Jet (tm) thingy is.
The overall purpleness pleases me as a purplephiliac. And the stick itself was study. The place where one attaches a sticky pad is wider than the plain green mop. There is also a strip attached to the side which I found to be rather useless. I prefer the strips to be part of the sticky pad myself. At any rate, with button pushing the Swifter Wet Jet (tm) emits a stream of special Swifter Wet Jet (tm) liquid dirt-busting cleaner. I was quickly done with friend's floors. And there was none of the "omgz I have to drag this heavy pail of sudsy water around" feeling. So I went out and bought one.
I got my shiny purple package home. After a difficult assembly, I discovered to my horror that (1). the Swifter Wet Jet (tm) requires four AA batteries and (2). according to the owner's manual one is not supposed to use it on unfinished hardwood floors. From the owner's manual I also gleamed that there is a model that charges; that horrible things will happen if one were to use strips, cleaning solutions, and sticky pads other than those manufactured by Swifter (tm); that there are several versions of the approved cleaning solution; and that one should never attempt to disassemble the purpluscious thing I was holding.
With batteries grudgingly installed and visions of purple plastic pieces scattered about, I set out to conquer my beat-up linoleum floor and my unfinished beat up wood floors. The stream of liquid set off by pushing the white button is adequate and the sticky pad showed evidence that the mop was indeed working to pick up dirt, dustbunnies, and dog hair. Clean-up afterwards involved simply tossing the recyclable sticky pad into the trash. Nothing horrible happened to my unfinished beat-up wood flooring.
On the minus side of things, the pad could be sturdier. It tended to fall apart with the vigor of my application. The mop does not manuever easily in anything other than straight lines. The white strip on the side can only be ordered via the website to the best of my knowledge and it is useless where it has been placed. And of course the demands that one uses only the strips, cleaning solution (and the purple plastic bottles are not supposed to be refilled), and the sticky pads put out by the company put me off. What put me off most was having to install batteries into a mop. Surely there must exist a valve connection thingy that would open to emit fluid without the need for batteries or electric recharging.
sapphoq reviews says: The Swifter Wet Jet (tm) is probably satisfactory to those who are more typical customers. It also has its uses for those of us who are not able to slug around buckets of soapy water. However, it will not replace same. Overall a C+ is awarded.
Swifter Wet Jet (tm) http://www.swiffer.com/swiffer/en_US/wetjet.do
Monday, October 27, 2008
Peter Kahrmann
Peter Kahrmann is an ex-cabbie from New York City with a traumatic brain injury. He was shot in the head and part of the bullet is still lodged in his brain. I have heard Peter speak several times at Best Practices and in a few other places. Most recently, a friend and I went to the Albany Public Library on Saturday to Peter's weekly and free workshop/support group.
Peter was running late. Friend and I went to a room up on the third floor. We were the first ones there. Shortly after, we were joined by another survivor and his helper. The helper went off to get someone to unlock the door. More folks drifted in-- survivors, professionals, helpers, and family members. Small talk and introductions were slow.
When Peter came into the room, the atmosphere instantly changed. People became animated and eager to talk. People hugged. Peter recited a creed which reminded us that we were in a place where all of us are equal (including the helpers and professionals) and free from judgment. We all went around and introduced ourselves.
Peter talked some about various areas of the brain and their functioning. I have read and heard similar material. The difference is that Peter furnished his information with easy-to-remember examples culled from the group itself. It was there that I learned that the reason why my "ability to multi-task has shit the bed and ain't coming back" (as the neuropsych from Sunnyview so eloquently expressed it a few years ago) is because of frontal lobe damage.
If any of you ever have a chance to venture into Albany New York on a Saturday, do go to the Public Library on Washington Avenue at 1 p.m. ish and mosey up to the third floor conference room. Do go visit his blogspot blog over at http://www.thekahrmannblog.blogspot.com.
spike
Peter was running late. Friend and I went to a room up on the third floor. We were the first ones there. Shortly after, we were joined by another survivor and his helper. The helper went off to get someone to unlock the door. More folks drifted in-- survivors, professionals, helpers, and family members. Small talk and introductions were slow.
When Peter came into the room, the atmosphere instantly changed. People became animated and eager to talk. People hugged. Peter recited a creed which reminded us that we were in a place where all of us are equal (including the helpers and professionals) and free from judgment. We all went around and introduced ourselves.
Peter talked some about various areas of the brain and their functioning. I have read and heard similar material. The difference is that Peter furnished his information with easy-to-remember examples culled from the group itself. It was there that I learned that the reason why my "ability to multi-task has shit the bed and ain't coming back" (as the neuropsych from Sunnyview so eloquently expressed it a few years ago) is because of frontal lobe damage.
If any of you ever have a chance to venture into Albany New York on a Saturday, do go to the Public Library on Washington Avenue at 1 p.m. ish and mosey up to the third floor conference room. Do go visit his blogspot blog over at http://www.thekahrmannblog.blogspot.com.
spike
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Dear Asswipe 7/5/08
A big fuck you going out to V.E.S.I.D. for operational failure.
Taking the side of the stoopid job developer in demanding I get a "return to work" note for a vertigo attack-- bovine fecal matter.
Furthermore, as far as "return to work," what work?
Screw off.
If you aren't going to help me, then get the fuck out of my way.
No love,
the traumatic brain-injury malcontent on your overflowing caseload.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Roomba (tm) two years later
Yeah a couple of years ago I got a Roomba randomly automated vacuum cleaner and I fell in love. The little whirly brush (shabbily made) snapped off about a year ago. I left the thin plastic arms in place and found that dog hair will twirl around them and twist into little balls. I could replace the whirly brush but so far have not felt any inclination too.
The rest of the Roomba is still working fine. It excels on sweeping floors as well as carpets. In fact, the Roomba can negotiate floor surface changes from linoleum to wood to carpet or throw rug without difficulty. The only catch is any rug with fringes-- better off picking those up. The Roomba doesn't do fringe.
A visit to the iRobot store on-line at http://store.irobot.com/home/index.jsp reveals that now in addition to a two-Roomba-vac sale, there is also now a pool cleaning model as well as the floor-washing and shop-sweeping robots. I can also upgrade my old vac model for a new and improved for 200 bisexual bucks. (The newest vac model goes for approximately 300 dollars). Thanks but no thanks. I shall keep my old Roomba until it dies.
sapphoq reviews
The rest of the Roomba is still working fine. It excels on sweeping floors as well as carpets. In fact, the Roomba can negotiate floor surface changes from linoleum to wood to carpet or throw rug without difficulty. The only catch is any rug with fringes-- better off picking those up. The Roomba doesn't do fringe.
A visit to the iRobot store on-line at http://store.irobot.com/home/index.jsp reveals that now in addition to a two-Roomba-vac sale, there is also now a pool cleaning model as well as the floor-washing and shop-sweeping robots. I can also upgrade my old vac model for a new and improved for 200 bisexual bucks. (The newest vac model goes for approximately 300 dollars). Thanks but no thanks. I shall keep my old Roomba until it dies.
sapphoq reviews
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wafergate LOLCatified by the illustrious Owlmirror
Below is an excellent rendition of Wafergate which has been LOLCatified by the Illustrious Owlmirror.
(sapphoq reviews says: full of win!)
The following was copied and pasted from Owlmirror's comment over at P.Z. Meyer's science blog:
(sapphoq reviews says: full of win!)
The following was copied and pasted from Owlmirror's comment over at P.Z. Meyer's science blog:
Being aware of All Internet Traditions™, I think we all know that no Internet Phenomenon is complete until it has been properly LOLCATIFIED.
Thus, we present for ur lolz:
WAFERGATE
OR
CEILING CATLOLIC IS WATCHING YOU MASTICATE
Act I, Scene I
University of Central Florida, Catholic Chapel
PRIEST: JEBUS HAS A FLAVR!
PARISHIONER 1: I CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER?
PRIEST: YES, YOU CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER.
PARISHIONER 1: NOM NOM NOM
PARISHIONER 2: I CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER?
PRIEST: YES, YOU CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER.
PARISHIONER 2: NOM NOM NOM
PARISHIONER 3: I CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER?
PRIEST: YES, YOU CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER.
PARISHIONER 3: NOM NOM NOM
WEBSTER COOK: I CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER?
PRIEST: YES, YOU CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER.
WEBSTER COOK: YAY, JEBUS CRACKER SOOVENEER!
PRIEST: WAIT, WHUT?
WEBSTER COOK: KTHXBYE
PARISHIONERS: NO! YOU NO CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER! NOT YOURS!
WEBSTER COOK: FEETS DON'T FAIL ME NOW
PARISHIONERS: OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!
PARISHIONERS: NOOOOOOO! HE BE STEALIN OUR JEBUS CRACKER!!!
Act II, Scene I
Diocese of Orlando
GONZALEZ: HALP! JEBUS CRACKER IS KIDNAPPED!
SUSAN FANI: STEALIN JEBUS CRACKER IS HAET CRIEM!
Act II, Scene II
Catholic League
DONAHUE: STEALIN JEBUS CRACKER IS TERRIBLE HAET CRIEM!
DONAHUE: EXPUL-SION-ATE! EXPUL-SION-ATE! EXPUL-SION-ATE!
Act III, Scene I
University of Central Florida
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE SAD
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE WANT JEBUS CRACKER
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE MAD
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE WANT JEBUS CRACKER
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE FIND YOU
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE RESCUE JEBUS CRACKER
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE BRAEK IN
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE RESCUE JEBUS CRACKER
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE KEEELL YOU
EMAIL TO WEBSTER COOK: WE RESCUE JEBUS CRACKER
WEBSTER COOK: DO! NOT!! WANT!!!
Act III, Scene II
University of Central Florida
WEBSTER COOK: DO NOT WANT JEBUS CRACKER. TAEK IT.
PARISHIONERS: YAY! WE CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKER!
PARISHIONERS: WE GET COPS TO GAURD JEBUS CRACKERS NOW.
WEBSTER COOK: WTF?
Act IV, Scene I
Pharyngula Headquarters
PZ MYERS: WTFBBQ!!!
PZ MYERS: CATLOLICS GO APESHIT OVER JEBUS CRACKER!
PZ MYERS: IT'S A GODDAMN FRACKIN' CRACKER!
PZ MYERS: TEH STUPID, IT BURNZ!
PZ MYERS: WANT CAN HAS JEBUS CRACKERS!
PZ MYERS: DE-SE-CRATE! DE-SE-CRATE! DE-SE-CRATE!
PHARYNGULA: LOL
PHARYNGULA: SAD CATHOLICS ARE SAD
PHARYNGULA: CONCERN TROLLS ARE CONCERNED
PHARYNGULA: ANGER TROLLS ARE ANGRY
PHARYNGULA: HATE TROLLS ARE HATIN
PHARYNGULA: SOCKPUPPETS ARE SAD+CONCERNED+ANGRY+HATIN
PHARYNGULA: WTF! SOMEONE IS WRONG ON TEH INTERNETS!
PHARYNGULA: THEY SEE US SCOFFIN, THEY HATIN
PHARYNGULA: (Repeat above 1000 tiems)
SCIENCE BLOGS PHARYNGULA DATABASE: AAAAOOOOOGAAAAH! OVERLOAD!
SCIENCE BLOGS PHARYNGULA DATABASE: ERROR 500 SERVER ERROR!
PZ MYERS: WTF! NEW THREAD.
Act IV, Scene II
Catholic League
DONAHUE: DESECRATIN JEBUS CRACKER IS WORSE THAN HAYT CRIEM!
DONAHUE: EXPUL-SION-ATE! EXPUL-SION-ATE! EXPUL-SION-ATE!
Act IV, Scene III
Pharyngula Headquarters
PZ MYERS: WILLAIM DONAHUE IS DEMENTED
PZ MYERS: PHARYNGULA! HALP!
PHARYNGULA: PZ MYERS IS TEH AWE SUM!
PHARYNGULA: SAD CATHOLICS ARE SAD
PHARYNGULA: CONCERN TROLLS ARE CONCERNED
PHARYNGULA: ANGER TROLLS ARE ANGRY
PHARYNGULA: HATE TROLLS ARE HATIN
PHARYNGULA: SOCKPUPPETS ARE SAD+CONCERNED+ANGRY+HATIN
PHARYNGULA: WTF! SOMEONE IS WRONG ON TEH INTERNETS!
PHARYNGULA: THEY SEE US SCOFFIN, THEY HATIN
PHARYNGULA: (Repeat above 1000 tiems)
SCIENCE BLOGS PHARYNGULA DATABASE: AAAAOOOOOGAAAAH! OVERLOAD!
SCIENCE BLOGS PHARYNGULA DATABASE: ERROR 500 SERVER ERROR!
PZ MYERS: WTF! NEW THREAD.
Act IV, Scene IV
Pharyngula Headquarters
PHARYNGULA: SECOND THIRD FOURTH FIFTH VERSE, SAME AS TEH FIRST
PZ MYERS: HEY! SOCKPUPPETS! GET OFF OF MY LAWN!
PHARYNGULA: (REPEAT SUM MOAR)
TEH END.......?
Monday, July 07, 2008
Pow-Wow in Yosts, New Yak
Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the pow-wow in Yosts, New Yak. Admission was six dollars, with an option to get a mark on one's hand for leaving and re-entering. Tents and small camper trucks were scattered in the sparse woods and fields surrounding the site. The site itself was rather compact although pleasant with a mixture of sun and shade. The pow-wows I had attended in previous years were held at the Auriesville Shrine in a larger but too sunny.
I wandered around the vendor sites. I found one site with donated ice cream and popcorn from Stewart's. My first food purchase was a chocolate cone for a buck. Other sites had the usual assortment of homemade crafts and ribbon shirts. One enterprising local man was selling leather seconds for cheap. Piles of colored one-sided suedes tempted the eye. The proprietor told me that some folks had purchased swatches on Friday and had some other folks make regalia out of them. "Make your own fun," he told me. Although I was tempted, I held on to my bisexual bucks.
Much to my delight, I met a couple of old neighbors who also had made the trek. We sat together at a picnic table by the circle along with several other folks who for various reasons could not sit comfortably on the ground and had not brought chairs. We were a cheerful lot and conversation flowed amicably. During the afternoon, we became six acquaintances sharing a good time rather than random strangers.
Joe Firecrow performed starting at just before 12 noon with some fluting and his amazing singing voice. Following, the east gate was opened to the honor guard. Several inter-tribal dances followed. A repeat (from other years) performance by the Aztec Salinas Family of Mexico City was fast-paced. Volunteers enjoyed participating in a dance contest between the "beautiful ladies" and the "ugly macho men." After the contest, we volunteers danced in a friendship circle with the Salinas. A red blanket went around for donations. Not enough people were giving though as Miguel remarked that they would have to sell the two family chihuahuas!
It was shortly after three p.m. and some fry bread and homemade limeade that I left. There was going to be a trading blanket that evening but I was tired and the distance was too far for me to consider a round trip.
Although the grounds this year were smaller and thus compacted a bit, the trees made for a very pleasant surrounding. I enjoyed myself immensely and came away relaxed and happy. The indigenous and native-americans present were open and welcoming of those of us whose ancestors had migrated to the States later on. Public attendance at this pow-wow in particular is encouraged and is considered to be a teaching event as well as a gathering of tribes.
sapphoq reviews
I wandered around the vendor sites. I found one site with donated ice cream and popcorn from Stewart's. My first food purchase was a chocolate cone for a buck. Other sites had the usual assortment of homemade crafts and ribbon shirts. One enterprising local man was selling leather seconds for cheap. Piles of colored one-sided suedes tempted the eye. The proprietor told me that some folks had purchased swatches on Friday and had some other folks make regalia out of them. "Make your own fun," he told me. Although I was tempted, I held on to my bisexual bucks.
Much to my delight, I met a couple of old neighbors who also had made the trek. We sat together at a picnic table by the circle along with several other folks who for various reasons could not sit comfortably on the ground and had not brought chairs. We were a cheerful lot and conversation flowed amicably. During the afternoon, we became six acquaintances sharing a good time rather than random strangers.
Joe Firecrow performed starting at just before 12 noon with some fluting and his amazing singing voice. Following, the east gate was opened to the honor guard. Several inter-tribal dances followed. A repeat (from other years) performance by the Aztec Salinas Family of Mexico City was fast-paced. Volunteers enjoyed participating in a dance contest between the "beautiful ladies" and the "ugly macho men." After the contest, we volunteers danced in a friendship circle with the Salinas. A red blanket went around for donations. Not enough people were giving though as Miguel remarked that they would have to sell the two family chihuahuas!
It was shortly after three p.m. and some fry bread and homemade limeade that I left. There was going to be a trading blanket that evening but I was tired and the distance was too far for me to consider a round trip.
Although the grounds this year were smaller and thus compacted a bit, the trees made for a very pleasant surrounding. I enjoyed myself immensely and came away relaxed and happy. The indigenous and native-americans present were open and welcoming of those of us whose ancestors had migrated to the States later on. Public attendance at this pow-wow in particular is encouraged and is considered to be a teaching event as well as a gathering of tribes.
sapphoq reviews
Friday, June 13, 2008
Only a Theory by Kenneth R. Miller
Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul, by Kenneth R. Miller. 2008: New York, Penguin/Viking. hardcover. 244 pp. inc. index.
Kenneth R. Miller, a biology prof at Brown U., testified on behalf of evolution in a DeKalb County, Georgia courtroom. He also met with a certain Kansas school board regarding intelligent design and had some doings in Dover, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more controversial Richard Dawson, Miller is a monotheist.
The book is written in understandable English and includes a few scattered black and white illustrations. Miller covers the plagiarism inherent in Intelligent Design (I.D.), recounts the history behind the phrase "intelligent design," the distancing of most proponents of I.D. from the young earthers, and attacks the fallacious 'logic' behind the famous mousetrap argument. He also explains where the artifacts are for a particular enzyme whose lack forces humans (and closest primate relatives) to consume vitamin C rather than produce it naturally in the liver, where the artifacts are for the two clotting factors missing from those humans who have hemophilia A or B, and the evolutionary descent of horses.
Miller does not hesitate to plunge into the factors which have contributed to the in-fighting between Americans and I.D. vs. evolution in public school science classes. As an expert witness, his job was to build a case for evolution in the courtroom. Miller has penned a comprehensible book which answers many questions from a scientific standpoint. Particularly refreshing is his willingness to take on Intelligent Design as a serious theorem for the origins of life. Those who are proponents of I.D. probably will not come away converted. The average layperson who views evolution as the basis for all modern scientific understanding will come away better able to refute the claims of the most ardent in the I.D. camp.
sapphoq reviews
Kenneth R. Miller, a biology prof at Brown U., testified on behalf of evolution in a DeKalb County, Georgia courtroom. He also met with a certain Kansas school board regarding intelligent design and had some doings in Dover, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more controversial Richard Dawson, Miller is a monotheist.
The book is written in understandable English and includes a few scattered black and white illustrations. Miller covers the plagiarism inherent in Intelligent Design (I.D.), recounts the history behind the phrase "intelligent design," the distancing of most proponents of I.D. from the young earthers, and attacks the fallacious 'logic' behind the famous mousetrap argument. He also explains where the artifacts are for a particular enzyme whose lack forces humans (and closest primate relatives) to consume vitamin C rather than produce it naturally in the liver, where the artifacts are for the two clotting factors missing from those humans who have hemophilia A or B, and the evolutionary descent of horses.
Miller does not hesitate to plunge into the factors which have contributed to the in-fighting between Americans and I.D. vs. evolution in public school science classes. As an expert witness, his job was to build a case for evolution in the courtroom. Miller has penned a comprehensible book which answers many questions from a scientific standpoint. Particularly refreshing is his willingness to take on Intelligent Design as a serious theorem for the origins of life. Those who are proponents of I.D. probably will not come away converted. The average layperson who views evolution as the basis for all modern scientific understanding will come away better able to refute the claims of the most ardent in the I.D. camp.
sapphoq reviews
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Voted Out of Kindergarten-- Alex Barton
The blond-haired little boy stared back at me from a photo distributed on the w.w.w. [w.w.w. = world wide wasteoftime]. In a parody of democracy in action, Alex Barton was voted out of kindergarten for the remainder of the school day last Wednesday. His crime? Having a neurological condition called Asperger's and some associated behavioral problems. The teacher-- a Wendy Portillo-- cajoled her class into voting. And reportedly had children describe what they didn't like about young Alex. One reported adjective was "disgusting." Two kids voted to keep Alex in the classroom that day. The majority voted that he be excluded. Alex who was just returned to the class from the principal's office for his behavior spent the rest of the school day in the nurse's office. Needless to say, Alex has not been thrilled about his experience.
Although folks on both sides of the issue have resorted to name-calling, what I find even more repugnant are the public comments which support Wendy Portillo in her actions. Her excuse ran something like teaching the children about tallying. I wasn't there but I have an opinion anyways-- bovine fecal matter to that. Was the teacher lying about the whys and wherefores of her ill-advised election activity a la Survivor fashion? Nah, she was just being reckless with the truth.
Yes, I know how difficult it can be to maintain reasonable discipline and order in any rowdy bunch of human beings. Been there, done that. Yes I am intimately acquainted with the cluster of symptoms which comprise Asperger's. Of course I know how aggravating it is to herd cats.
I also know the frustration of living with atypical neurology.
I do not belong to the Autism Squeaks camp. [Autism Speaks but not for me, a curebie organization of unhappy parents]. I don't understand why forcing eye contact is such a big deal to neurotypicals, don't wish to blend in, will not give up my passions, and certainly will continue to celebrate diversity. I hate all clothing that is not cotton. I detest polyester and nylon in particular. I don't use makeup or wear high heels. I used to stare at the dust specks illuminated by the sunlight pouring through a window. I was clumsy rather than graceful and the last to be picked for any gym class team. I have been accused of staring too long, daydreaming, having obsessions with the things that are of intense interest to me, being intense or too intense or thinking too much about weird things or the wrong things, eating food in a specific order rather than varying what is on the fork from bite to bite, eating the same thing for breakfast daily, not making small talk, not caring about small talk or the lives of celebrities, being a geek or a space cadet or pedantic, not fitting in. And worse, daring to be content with my own company and my own internal focus and my own way of being.
No Child Left Behind. One Child Voted Out.
radical sapphoq says: A huge phooey to Wendy Portillo. As an adult and as a teacher, I cannot believe that she didn't have other options for dealing with a misbehaving five year old.
While I support reasonable discipline and consequences for one's actions, I abhor what happened to Alex Barton. I sincerely hope that he will find a new classroom where he is valued for who he is, a teacher who knows about the issues that people on the broad autistic spectrum face and who has a better arsenal of tools for keeping order in a classroom.
Bev over at Autism Square 8 has an excellent list of who to write to should anyone feel so inclined:
http://aspergersquare8.blogspot.com/2008/05/not-special-support-alex-barton.html
Educate yourselves if you wish to. Here is a partial incomplete list which includes two news articles from the same newspaper in Florida and some other bloggers who are blogging about this crapola:
excellent thoughts about this whole mess
http://lastcrazyhorn.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/the-golden-rule/
Laura Hershey
http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/
the politics of exclusion
http://qw88nb88.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/mend-the-link/
Amanda
http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=538
an interview with Alex Barton and his mother
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/27/earlyshow/main4130288.shtml
two Palm Beach Post articles-- links working as of 5/28/08
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasurecoast/content/tcoast/epaper/
2008/05/27/0527slteacher.html#comments
and
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasurecoast/content/tcoast/epaper/
2008/05/23/0523slclassvote.html?cxntlid=inform_artr
Labels: Alex Barton, Asperger's, broad autistic spectrum, No Child Left Behind, One Child Voted Out, Wendy Portillo
Saturday, May 10, 2008
SecondLife, a Virtual World
SecondLife is my reason for not blogging for the past almost two months. Thus, this review.
SecondLife (tm owned by Linden Labs) is a virtual world where folks get to look hotter than they do in first life. There are almost no fat people in SecondLife and that includes me. In SecondLife, my hair actually does something, I am tall and thin and blonde and hawt enough to be working as a stripper earning mucho Lindens.
Lindens are the monetary exchange units there. People can buy lindens with their real money or can earn lindens by camping (doing a catwalk, dancing, cleaning, or sitting around), getting a virtual job, or going into business for themselves or with partners.
Some folks buy virtual land in SecondLife-- like me-- and others don't. Some folks go on luscious virtual shopping sprees and others-- me again-- rely on freebies to outfit our avatars. There is plenty to do on SecondLife. Within the past month and a half or so I've taken some classes, joined some groups, hung out with other avatars, gone camping, did some discussions, went to some A.A. meetings, built some houses (that look like someone with brain damage built them, accurate on all accounts), and gone exploring. I've danced and rollerskated, flown and crashed numerous times.
The minuses are easy to delineate: some folks can spend too much real money having a virtual good time; there are avatars there who spam, try to convert you to their religion, or pick you up for a freebie session of virtual sex; sexual organs (vaginas and penises) are available as freebies but to get the really good ones (that respond to virtual probing) one has to pluck down some Lindens, and all of the orientation islands are totally whacked out and confusing. Oh yeah, and there is the same superficiality that plagues the rest of the worldwide waste-- we don't really know just who we may be communicating with most of the time.
So is SecondLife worth the annoying grid lock-ups and crashes? Maybe. Each individual will have to answer that one individually. It depends. Guardedly neutral on this one folks.
SecondLife (tm owned by Linden Labs) is a virtual world where folks get to look hotter than they do in first life. There are almost no fat people in SecondLife and that includes me. In SecondLife, my hair actually does something, I am tall and thin and blonde and hawt enough to be working as a stripper earning mucho Lindens.
Lindens are the monetary exchange units there. People can buy lindens with their real money or can earn lindens by camping (doing a catwalk, dancing, cleaning, or sitting around), getting a virtual job, or going into business for themselves or with partners.
Some folks buy virtual land in SecondLife-- like me-- and others don't. Some folks go on luscious virtual shopping sprees and others-- me again-- rely on freebies to outfit our avatars. There is plenty to do on SecondLife. Within the past month and a half or so I've taken some classes, joined some groups, hung out with other avatars, gone camping, did some discussions, went to some A.A. meetings, built some houses (that look like someone with brain damage built them, accurate on all accounts), and gone exploring. I've danced and rollerskated, flown and crashed numerous times.
The minuses are easy to delineate: some folks can spend too much real money having a virtual good time; there are avatars there who spam, try to convert you to their religion, or pick you up for a freebie session of virtual sex; sexual organs (vaginas and penises) are available as freebies but to get the really good ones (that respond to virtual probing) one has to pluck down some Lindens, and all of the orientation islands are totally whacked out and confusing. Oh yeah, and there is the same superficiality that plagues the rest of the worldwide waste-- we don't really know just who we may be communicating with most of the time.
So is SecondLife worth the annoying grid lock-ups and crashes? Maybe. Each individual will have to answer that one individually. It depends. Guardedly neutral on this one folks.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Whatever Happened to SpamBob
I don't know what happened to SpamBob, the site that allowed you to create an email addy with the "@SpamBob.com" (or .net if you wished it to be forwarded).
The great folks at BugMeNot have partially filled in the gap. Goto http://email.bugmenot.com/
to created a non-password protected email addy "@bugmenot.com."
I will miss SpamBob although I applaud BugMeNot for branching out in their services.
spike
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Second Life
I went off to Second Life to check it out. I'd been reading somewhere how a few companies are using it to promo their product and how it is a game but not a game. I opted for a freebie account because I am not sure if I will make it there and besides, 75 bucks or so for the year is a lot to shell out. Even 9 bucks a month is a lot. Especially if being there is no escape from consumerism.
Paid folks get an allowance weekly-- 300 Linden Bucks, abbreviated L$ and the opportunity to own a small parcel of land. Freebie folks can sometimes get jobs or engage in exotic dancing or whatever to get some moola. Well, anyways at first there is orientation and I learned how to fly rather quickly. After flying, I learned how to search, communicate, and work with my inventory.
I joined some groups-- some Discordians are there on Second Life. Besides the Discordians, I joined a couple of pagan groups, a witch group, and a few bi groups. There is a limit of how many one can join but I didn't hit that limit.
To play on Second Life, one has to download about 70mgs in a bundle. That installed quickly. What I really disliked was having to install Quick Time Player. I did have some fun though. I chatted with a couple of folks, got some chainmail for free, and watched a few people crash-land.
I also drove a steamroller and squished some cyber-rats as was my civic duty. Next visit I shall venture off the Orientation into Second Life itself.
sapphoq reviews
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wikileaking Wikileaks
Any of you who have been following the drama over at Wikileaks will be glad to know that following this here linkage: http://88.80.13.160/wiki/Wikileaks will get you there (a mirror site from Sweden) for the time being anyways. Alternate linkage outside of the United States was part of the original plan-- to have sites set up in various countries should the courts of one country succeed in getting a shutdown order. Here's another one, this one is based in England: http://www.wikileaks.org.uk/wiki/Wikileaks .
Wikileaks protects whistle-blowers from corporations (or governments) who would much rather not have folks tattling on any suspicious practices. Recently, a Swiss bank challenged Wikileaks and now the site is facing a court battle with the United States versus responsible exercise of the First Amendment. Bloggers across the internet have protested the February 15 court decision and this blogger too joins in the fray. Buzz-flash has quite a few things to say about this whole mess over at: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1545 .
Quite amazing to me is that the court case took place in the United States. While the order to erase the D.N.S. from U.S. servers will certainly not hold up on appeal,http://commons.globalintegrity.org/2008/02/us-court-order-shuts-down-activist-site.html<--- here it is disconcerting that this case involving documents regarding a Swiss bank doing business in the Cayman Islands made it court on United States soil. Still, we are far better off living here than in places like Egypt where one can be severely physically beaten for dissident web-surfing and document leaking or in Red China or even Vietnam where folks have been imprisoned for similar activities.
radical sapphoqcross-posted all over
Wikileaks
first amendment
censorship
sapphoq
Wikileaks protects whistle-blowers from corporations (or governments) who would much rather not have folks tattling on any suspicious practices. Recently, a Swiss bank challenged Wikileaks and now the site is facing a court battle with the United States versus responsible exercise of the First Amendment. Bloggers across the internet have protested the February 15 court decision and this blogger too joins in the fray. Buzz-flash has quite a few things to say about this whole mess over at: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1545 .
Quite amazing to me is that the court case took place in the United States. While the order to erase the D.N.S. from U.S. servers will certainly not hold up on appeal,http://commons.globalintegrity.org/2008/02/us-court-order-shuts-down-activist-site.html<--- here it is disconcerting that this case involving documents regarding a Swiss bank doing business in the Cayman Islands made it court on United States soil. Still, we are far better off living here than in places like Egypt where one can be severely physically beaten for dissident web-surfing and document leaking or in Red China or even Vietnam where folks have been imprisoned for similar activities.
radical sapphoqcross-posted all over
Wikileaksfirst amendmentcensorshipsapphoq
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Three Little Words: A Memoir
Three Little Words: A Memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
On our weekly jaunt to the bookstore yesterday I picked up this book and read the whole thing in the cafe. I was immediately captivated by the author's vivid descriptions of her life and the people in it. Ashley and a younger half-brother were removed from her mother and step-father's care and moved around in the Florida foster-care system for years. Foster homes ranged from okay to really really bad. Most were overcrowded. [One couple was prosecuted for the things they did to the children in their care but received very little punishment for their crimes.] Finally landing in a children's orphanage, Phil and Gay Courter came forward to adopt Ashley. Tragically, the younger half-brother's adoption didn't work out and he was returned to the orphanage.
The conversations ring true, the feelings are very poignant, the healing shows in this book. This book will not rip you raw in the way that Dave Peltzer's writing does. It may leave you with a gut feeling that the foster care system is broken and a desire to be part of the change necessary.
Especially compelling is the list toward the end of the book of the sheer numbers of people who were supposed to protect Ashley while she was in the system.
Recommended for those readers who like this sort of thing and wish something beyond the oh-poor-me syndrome.
sapphoq reviews books and more
On our weekly jaunt to the bookstore yesterday I picked up this book and read the whole thing in the cafe. I was immediately captivated by the author's vivid descriptions of her life and the people in it. Ashley and a younger half-brother were removed from her mother and step-father's care and moved around in the Florida foster-care system for years. Foster homes ranged from okay to really really bad. Most were overcrowded. [One couple was prosecuted for the things they did to the children in their care but received very little punishment for their crimes.] Finally landing in a children's orphanage, Phil and Gay Courter came forward to adopt Ashley. Tragically, the younger half-brother's adoption didn't work out and he was returned to the orphanage.
The conversations ring true, the feelings are very poignant, the healing shows in this book. This book will not rip you raw in the way that Dave Peltzer's writing does. It may leave you with a gut feeling that the foster care system is broken and a desire to be part of the change necessary.
Especially compelling is the list toward the end of the book of the sheer numbers of people who were supposed to protect Ashley while she was in the system.
Recommended for those readers who like this sort of thing and wish something beyond the oh-poor-me syndrome.
sapphoq reviews books and more
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Es Traicionero
Al pan, pan y al desprecio, al desprecio.
Y el diablo ha vendiendo iconos religiosos para los lameculoses.
¿Puede usted decir muchachos y a muchachas de las "alimentaciones agregadas"?
Ha Ha. Opt OUT!
Parado el incomodar de mÃ. No más de mi dinero para LJ.
¿Y dónde es la nueva TOS? Ahogado en mierda.
Ponte mosca, ponte mosca.
spike
Friday, January 18, 2008
A Brief Blog Review plus a bit of Vocabulary 1/18/08
I recommend both Commie Journal and Insane Journal to anyone looking for an alternative to Live Journal or Multiply.com.
Live Journal continues its' public relations fiascos with a brand new 2008 news announcement which is epic fail. The announcement claims (falsely) that the 500 journals suspended in May 2007 were immediately restored and is generally full of teh stoopid. Any announcement which hails a flagging system so the trolls can rat out the rest of us just goes to show how the corporate brain works.
Commie Journal is an adults only site with free, annual, and permaccounts (currently selling for the cheap until the end of January). Because Commie Journal is adults only, there is a certain relaxation there associated with not having to police other peoples' rugrats on the web. Communities are not really functional yet due to lack of users. Definitely worth a look however and hopefully the site will grow.
Insane Journal is not adults only however is similar to Commie Journal in other ways. Communities are a bit more functional but still lacking the flair of personalities which developed on El Gay.
And now as promised is a brief vocabulary review. Readers may add their own vocab words for blogging in the screened comments.
ban_set: blocking an annoyance from posting comments on your journal.
Barak: a past boss of El Jay who was caught mocking users in a community devoted to same.
Blog: short for web blog, usually focused on one topic or subject and may include pictures, artwork, opinions, references.
Blogspot: this here site, duh.
Brad: legendary dude who started El Jay but who has since defected in order to have a real life.
Cat Macros: what happens invariably whenever Live Journal staff make yet another profane announcement of what is happening or what is going to happen to the users.
Censorship: something Live Journal engages in to protect hundreds of children who are too stoopid to lie about their ages in order to read the good stuff.
something Yahell 369 has engaged in to protect its' trolls from everyone else.
Comments: what readers may post in response to user posts on a blog.
Commie Journal or C.J.: Commie Journal-- run by my friends Nebris and Shamangirl-- a fantastic site for adults only which doesn't give two shits about social acceptability.
Communities (or Asylums on Insane Journal): places where folks with a common interest can get together and kick it. The following example is from the Insane Journal Asylum![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif)
thefridayfive over at http://asylums.insanejournal.com/thefridayfive/1627.html?view=9051#t9051
Covenspace: designed with pagans and heathens in mind.
Dashboard: on blogspot the place which shows your blog information and from which you can update your profile or your blog(s).
El Jay or El Gay: Live Journal, site where censorship is becoming the norm.
emo: never capitalized; possessing a Beatles haircut and a dramatic flair for description of ordinary events.
epic fail: cruddy and opposite of full of win.
F'Locked: Live Journal users who haven't left are friends-locking their posts in order to protect themselves somewhat from the Censoring Trolls.
full of win: awesome and opposite of epic fail.
G.J.: Greatest Journal, a dying journaling site which had a fair share of fanfic lovers and spambots.
hijacking the thread: same as in e-groups; a troll making irrelevant comments in a thread which causes the subject under discussion to change.
Icons or avatars: small user pictures usually 100x100 or less inserted into a journal by the user.
I.J.: Insane Journal, another fantastic journaling site run by Squeaky who swears not to censor unless forced to by a properly filled-out legal takedown order.
Journal: something like an on-line diary which may include anything that a blog can include, with the added feature of a friends-list. Live Journal, Dead Journal, Commie Journal, Journal Fen, and the now almost defunct Greatest Journal are all based on the same open-source code with individual embellishments.
Journal Fen: another fantastic site where fanfic folk tend together.
Llama Drama: chaotic mayhem created by El Jay users.
Live Urinal: El Jay on a regular business day.
mockity mock mock: making fun of a user or posts to a blog or community which is full of teh stoopid.
Multiply: where many of my Yahell 369 friends and blogging buddies fled to. potential for future censorship is great.
My Space: a blogging site primarily overrun with teenagers and their stalkers.
Pagan Nation: a board associated with A. J. Drew and the Drewbies vs. the Dancing Wiccans-- the Frosts. has free wordpress blogs associated with it, however the words "So Mote It Be" appear after every frigging post.
Paganspace: a take-off of Covenspace, designed with pagans in mind.
Posting: typing an article, essay, or thoughts onto a blog.
Posts: the user's contribution to the blog.
SUX: variation of S.U.P. which stands for Single User Portal i.e. the Russian Company which bought out Live Journal from Sux Apart (or Six Apart or 6A).
teh stoopid: self-explanatory. In common usage: Teh stoopid has taken over teh corporate brain at Live Urinal.
Troll: someone who skates around the internet with the intention of causing mayhem and division.
Users: bloggers or folks who use a particular blogging or journaling site.
wank: reaction of fans to anything wanky; mental masturbation on paper.
WhacKKKoes 4 Installation-of-spyware: Warriors for Innocence who claim they are doing it all for teh children.
Word Press: for the serious intellectual blogger.
Xanga: a blogging site much like My Space without the emo.
Yahell 369: yahoo's blogging site which is now going to be terminated at the end of January.
sapphoq reviews
Live Journal continues its' public relations fiascos with a brand new 2008 news announcement which is epic fail. The announcement claims (falsely) that the 500 journals suspended in May 2007 were immediately restored and is generally full of teh stoopid. Any announcement which hails a flagging system so the trolls can rat out the rest of us just goes to show how the corporate brain works.
Commie Journal is an adults only site with free, annual, and permaccounts (currently selling for the cheap until the end of January). Because Commie Journal is adults only, there is a certain relaxation there associated with not having to police other peoples' rugrats on the web. Communities are not really functional yet due to lack of users. Definitely worth a look however and hopefully the site will grow.
Insane Journal is not adults only however is similar to Commie Journal in other ways. Communities are a bit more functional but still lacking the flair of personalities which developed on El Gay.
And now as promised is a brief vocabulary review. Readers may add their own vocab words for blogging in the screened comments.
ban_set: blocking an annoyance from posting comments on your journal.
Barak: a past boss of El Jay who was caught mocking users in a community devoted to same.
Blog: short for web blog, usually focused on one topic or subject and may include pictures, artwork, opinions, references.
Blogspot: this here site, duh.
Brad: legendary dude who started El Jay but who has since defected in order to have a real life.
Cat Macros: what happens invariably whenever Live Journal staff make yet another profane announcement of what is happening or what is going to happen to the users.
Censorship: something Live Journal engages in to protect hundreds of children who are too stoopid to lie about their ages in order to read the good stuff.
something Yahell 369 has engaged in to protect its' trolls from everyone else.
Comments: what readers may post in response to user posts on a blog.
Commie Journal or C.J.: Commie Journal-- run by my friends Nebris and Shamangirl-- a fantastic site for adults only which doesn't give two shits about social acceptability.
Communities (or Asylums on Insane Journal): places where folks with a common interest can get together and kick it. The following example is from the Insane Journal Asylum
thefridayfive over at http://asylums.insanejournal.com/thefridayfive/1627.html?view=9051#t90511. Would you rather be alone OR surrounded by enemies for the rest of your life?
I like my own company; so, alone. I am indeed solitary by nature in many ways.
2. Are you an early bird OR a night owl?
Night owl. I used to be an early bird. As part of my sleeping disorder manifested itself (the part that puts me into REM sleep very late in the sleep cycle, not the part that is the sleep apnea and treatable), my sleeping pattern changed to what it is now.
3. When sick, do you prefer to be pampered OR left alone?
Leave the food right over there please and now go away. The worse thing: having company when throwing up. The best thing: I rarely throw up.
4. Do you believe in the relative OR the absolute truth?
I don't know. And I remain unconvinced that anyone, including all the philosophers, really do know. Perhaps there is a bit of both without any one statement belonging to both at the same time.
5. Which is worse, the Burning Question OR the Painful Truth?
Neither. Both must be faced up to and wrangled with. It is better to question than not to question for out of a question comes possibilities (and sometimes an answer or two). And it is better to know something unpleasant (like the state of one's health or one's relationship) than to live a lie or a fiction. Knowing implies ability to take some sort of action that is meaningful and direct. Deceit leads to plastic living and missed opportunities.Covenspace: designed with pagans and heathens in mind.
Dashboard: on blogspot the place which shows your blog information and from which you can update your profile or your blog(s).
El Jay or El Gay: Live Journal, site where censorship is becoming the norm.
emo: never capitalized; possessing a Beatles haircut and a dramatic flair for description of ordinary events.
epic fail: cruddy and opposite of full of win.
F'Locked: Live Journal users who haven't left are friends-locking their posts in order to protect themselves somewhat from the Censoring Trolls.
full of win: awesome and opposite of epic fail.
G.J.: Greatest Journal, a dying journaling site which had a fair share of fanfic lovers and spambots.
hijacking the thread: same as in e-groups; a troll making irrelevant comments in a thread which causes the subject under discussion to change.
Icons or avatars: small user pictures usually 100x100 or less inserted into a journal by the user.
I.J.: Insane Journal, another fantastic journaling site run by Squeaky who swears not to censor unless forced to by a properly filled-out legal takedown order.
Journal: something like an on-line diary which may include anything that a blog can include, with the added feature of a friends-list. Live Journal, Dead Journal, Commie Journal, Journal Fen, and the now almost defunct Greatest Journal are all based on the same open-source code with individual embellishments.
Journal Fen: another fantastic site where fanfic folk tend together.
Llama Drama: chaotic mayhem created by El Jay users.
Live Urinal: El Jay on a regular business day.
mockity mock mock: making fun of a user or posts to a blog or community which is full of teh stoopid.
Multiply: where many of my Yahell 369 friends and blogging buddies fled to. potential for future censorship is great.
My Space: a blogging site primarily overrun with teenagers and their stalkers.
Pagan Nation: a board associated with A. J. Drew and the Drewbies vs. the Dancing Wiccans-- the Frosts. has free wordpress blogs associated with it, however the words "So Mote It Be" appear after every frigging post.
Paganspace: a take-off of Covenspace, designed with pagans in mind.
Posting: typing an article, essay, or thoughts onto a blog.
Posts: the user's contribution to the blog.
SUX: variation of S.U.P. which stands for Single User Portal i.e. the Russian Company which bought out Live Journal from Sux Apart (or Six Apart or 6A).
teh stoopid: self-explanatory. In common usage: Teh stoopid has taken over teh corporate brain at Live Urinal.
Troll: someone who skates around the internet with the intention of causing mayhem and division.
Users: bloggers or folks who use a particular blogging or journaling site.
wank: reaction of fans to anything wanky; mental masturbation on paper.
WhacKKKoes 4 Installation-of-spyware: Warriors for Innocence who claim they are doing it all for teh children.
Word Press: for the serious intellectual blogger.
Xanga: a blogging site much like My Space without the emo.
Yahell 369: yahoo's blogging site which is now going to be terminated at the end of January.
sapphoq reviews
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Aureantes' Realm
http://aureantesrealm.blogspot.com/
is the latest addition to the blogroll and definitely worth a look-see. I met Aureantes via his Live Journal. He is well-spoken and knowledgeable about what he writes. His observations are pithy.
Singular word to describe him as I perceive him via his postings: wise. Best thing about his stuff: the evident research behind it using primary sources whenever possible.
Aureantes' Link List on his blogspot also does not disappoint. His interests are varied. And I like that.
sapphoq reviews
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Jesus Camp
Several nights ago i watched "Jesus Camp" on A&E teevee. I found it to be both enlightening and scary. The enlightening part-- President Bush's visit. The scary-- the idea that folks actually believe the things that the folks at Jesus Camp believe and that some of those folks are willing to act on those beliefs within the political structure of our society.
For those not easily offended by differing viewpoints, it is worth a look-see. I found the dancers with their military camo make-up to be interesting, the kid who got saved at the age of five to be memorable, the idea that any teacher would tell kids that if they "believe in creation" [rather than evolution] that they "are stupid" to be shameful and hopefully not accurate. I cannot agree with the news reporter who likened Jesus Camp to brainwashing. If that is brainwashing, then any religious instruction provided to children by their parents is brainwashing. [Actually I might give a nod to the last sentence, in spite of its' engagement in overgeneralization].
I'm glad the kids in the vid weren't shooting up heroin. I'm saddened that dominionism has come to be so accepted by so many who don't have a clear notion of all that it entails. I refer the reader to Wikipedia for the definition. There are several branches identified there-- hard Christian nationalism vs. soft Christian nationalism in particular as well as several influences.
Okay so I am somewhat of a nerd. Here I must confess to being interested in the idea that those within the Christian national movements do not refer to it as being dominionism. Since I am on the "wrong" [read: dechristianized bisexual pagan witch with atheistic leanings and a clear opposition to creationism/intelligent design being taught in science classrooms] side of these things, I may never know how the dominionists refer to themselves aside from the word "Christian." And I do wonder what ever happened to the notion that rock music is "of the devil." Times change I guess and so do ideas. European classical composers fought similar accusations way back when by composing music for kings and church services.
Yes, I am aware that not all Christians count themselves in with the Jesus Camp crowd and the Christian nationalists. For that I can only be extremely thankful.
sapphoq reviews
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5745767401002835964 <--- Google video of "Jesus Camp" as shown on teevee without the commercials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism
For those not easily offended by differing viewpoints, it is worth a look-see. I found the dancers with their military camo make-up to be interesting, the kid who got saved at the age of five to be memorable, the idea that any teacher would tell kids that if they "believe in creation" [rather than evolution] that they "are stupid" to be shameful and hopefully not accurate. I cannot agree with the news reporter who likened Jesus Camp to brainwashing. If that is brainwashing, then any religious instruction provided to children by their parents is brainwashing. [Actually I might give a nod to the last sentence, in spite of its' engagement in overgeneralization].
I'm glad the kids in the vid weren't shooting up heroin. I'm saddened that dominionism has come to be so accepted by so many who don't have a clear notion of all that it entails. I refer the reader to Wikipedia for the definition. There are several branches identified there-- hard Christian nationalism vs. soft Christian nationalism in particular as well as several influences.
Okay so I am somewhat of a nerd. Here I must confess to being interested in the idea that those within the Christian national movements do not refer to it as being dominionism. Since I am on the "wrong" [read: dechristianized bisexual pagan witch with atheistic leanings and a clear opposition to creationism/intelligent design being taught in science classrooms] side of these things, I may never know how the dominionists refer to themselves aside from the word "Christian." And I do wonder what ever happened to the notion that rock music is "of the devil." Times change I guess and so do ideas. European classical composers fought similar accusations way back when by composing music for kings and church services.
Yes, I am aware that not all Christians count themselves in with the Jesus Camp crowd and the Christian nationalists. For that I can only be extremely thankful.
sapphoq reviews
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5745767401002835964 <--- Google video of "Jesus Camp" as shown on teevee without the commercials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism
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