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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Just STOP it!

I'm just writing to complain about the use of the words "around" and "myriad."

We do NOT talk "around" issues; that would indicate avoidance of the issue. We do not make comments "around" a subject. We talk ABOUT things and make comments ON things.

JUST STOP IT. Using "around" in those ways indicates a blind buying-in to stupid corporate speak and also shows the speaker has given up speaking correctly in order to somehow belong to some pseudo-intellectual group.

Now. MYRIAD. It is used as a synonym for "MANY." As such, a thing has myriad (or many) uses, not "a myriad of." I realise that there is a school of thought that allows "a myriad of," but it is grammatically incorrect in the same way as Nu-cue-lar or Real-A-tor.

For the record - and PLEASE take note - these words are correctly said as New-Cleee-Are and Real-TOR.

Just 'cause someone 'important' says a word incorrectly, doesn't mean everyone else should act like lemmings and jump off the bad grammar cliff! And just because a bunch of corporate wanks have adopted some weird word usage doesn't mean the rest of us should abandon our education and integrity to jump on their bandwagon!

What really bugs me is when news organisations use these words. Talk about dumbing down. GEEZE. If Nancy Grace says it, YOU should NOT!

Ok. I'm done. For now....

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Can you become "Ex-Gay"

Two men talk about being gay and how they tried to be Ex-Gay. One was successful, the other thinks he's full of crap!



CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY AND VIDEO | DIGG HERE

The fatal flaw with this story, and with all stories that cover human sexuality from a religious point of view, is that religion and sex are entirely unrelated issues. The church, which is based on unprovable premises and, in many cases false and made up information, is terrified of sex, human sexuality and expressions of such. Sexuality of any type cannot be viewed through this lens. More on this at Richard Dawkins' site.

In my experience, in some cases, homosexuality looks to be nature and in others, choice. Two people, who I've known since birth, are both gay and there was never, much question that they would be otherwise. I know another person, also since birth, and was very surprised two years ago to know what path they'd chosen. Interestingly, this person was nearly killed in a car accident in November 2006. As a result of that, the person has taken an entirely different view of life and is now decidedly straight. In none of these cases was there a church anywhere in the vicinity.

Those who rail against expressions of sexuality first of all do not understand human sexuality and secondly are usually bound up in religious tenets which origins they know little or nothing about. The church is in no way a reliable expert on issues of sex and is the last place a logical person looks for support and information on the subject, regardless of their religious or spiritual bent.

Not surprisingly, there is myriad information on line, from every point of view, about homosexuality. This article, How America Went Gay, is an interesting example of the choice point of view. This link, Human Sexuality, is decidedly Catholic in its point of view.

What surprises me is the extent that people, experts, the religious, etc., will go to explain something I think to be rather simple: humans are biologically driven to certain behaviours, breathing, eating and having sex being a few examples.

Humans are also driven to express their sexuality in a manner unique to themselves. Often such expressions are seen as conventional. Occasionally, however, those expressions are unusual or strange or weird or 'bad' (and this is where personal and societal mores and norms come into play). Those are value judgements, however, and they change nothing fundamental about expressions of human sexuality; value judgements do nothing more than reveal the mindset of the judger and (here's my value judgement) those who are have the loudest opinions and who tend toward greatly restricting, legislating and religifying human sexuality are almost always those who struggle the most with their own.

Back in the 80s, I lived in Montreal. A very close friend of mine then worked in medical records at a Montreal hospital. I remember being shocked but not surprised by how often she said the hospital had area nuns in for abortions. Humans are sexual beings and repressing that biology is as impossible as telling someone god doesn't want them to breath ever again. It does NOT work and they will die.

More on that point:
Ted Haggard
Jimmy Swaggart

There are thousands of example of religious and other leaders who do not acknowledge their own sexuality - repress it - to the point that they are eventually outed.

And if you want to see the full-on, crazy as all git-out version of religion going off the rails, go to - and I"m serious, this is really a webstie - www.godhatesfags.com.