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....

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.

Yah, Right.... More on the BONES

This comment added March 10th:

So, last night I read a recent article in MacLean's Magazine about the discovery of these ossuaries. I am massively fascinated by this discovery now, not only because James Cameron is involved, but because of the time frame. It did not come out in previous articles how long these ossuaries have been known about - something like 20 years, it sounds like.

The other interesting thing I read is about the "James" ossuary, which was said to be a hoax. It sounds, from the MacLean's article, that the ossuary is not a hoax but that whoever discovered it attempted to make it really important by adding some text to it, which was overkill: there is a "fingerprinting" technique used in dating old objects where the patina on the item is compared to patinas on other items found with it. If the patinas compare in chemical make-up etc. then the items belong together.

MacLean's Magazine of March 12th 2007 has more.

As much as I wish the truth could come out, I doubt very much it ever will - and I think these ossuaries are genuine - because the church cannot allow the public, verified-by-DNA destruction of the myth upon which it is based.

The reality is, whether the church likes it or not, that Jesus of Nazareth was a man, born of a human woman and a human man. For whatever reason, he created a huge stir way back when and then some other people wrote myths about him.

Later, when Rome was grabbing up lands and peoples in Europe, it used this mythology to subdue, change, subvert and politicise the "pagan" populations.

I'm leaving the rest of this post alone for reference, but I am looking forward to reading the ongoing reporting on these ossuaries and to inevitable fallout from the church. If The DaVinci Code pissed the church off, having its pet myth debunked is really going to light them up.

_________________________________________________________________________
Ok, let me get this straight: FILM MAKER James Cameron is somehow involved in the discovery of ossuaries said to contain the remains of Jesus (no indication if this is Jesus of Nazareth, who may or may not have ever existed), his wife, son, mother and FATHER...

Father?

What?

The myth I grew up with was that Jesus was born of a virgin. Last time I checked, that's both impossible and an oxymoronic. That claim is about as valid and non-suspect as the biblical claim that Jesus was descended from the royal lineage of King David: lineages always -and still do - pass through the father, so that claim cannot be true unless Christians are willing to forego the whole 'virgin' thing. I bet they're not....

To quote the BBC, "According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, six of those coffins were marked with the names Mary; Matthew; Jesua son of Joseph; Mary; Jofa (Joseph, Jesus' brother); and Judah son of Jesua."

The BBC article goes on to report that the film makers say "...a tomb found near Jerusalem ...belonged to Jesus and his family.... The Oscar-winning director of Titanic (Cameron) says statistical analysis and DNA back the claim.

Well I'll be. Who's DNA are they testing, exactly and how is it that the DNA found in those ossuaries has survived who knows how long?

It should be noted that another ossuary discovered a few years ago, and said to hold the remains of James, brother of Jesus, was proved to be a hoax.

But of course, there's nothing at all strange in the participation of a film maker who counts among his successes the epic "Titanic."

Ahh Hollywood and the church; partners in crime, making up stories for 2000 years.

Things that get top billing as STUPID!

If you read this blog on any kind of regular basis, you'll know that generally, I think adults are idiots. Here's yet more proof....


This item is in newspapers across Canada today:
MUSLIM GIRL EJECTED FROM TOURNAMENT FOR WEARING HIJAB

First of all, that is INCORRECT! The girl's coach caused her team to walk from the tournament. The team was not forced to do anything. Their coach CHOSE to forgo the game. The ADULTS chose to leave the tournament.

The coach's last comment was something to the effect that muslim girls are not allowed to play soccer. I CANNOT STAND stupid adults.

I am entirely disgusted by the adults in this story, not because this child was asked to remove her hijab, but because the adults around her have hijacked a safety issue and turned it into yet another ridiculous opportunity to create discord.

Any item around the head or neck or finger or waist of a player can easily be caught during a soccer game will very probably cause injury to the wearer and likely other players as well. This is why there are rules that players must remove anything from their bodies that might cause them injury. Those rules are not related in any way to religion.

Secondly, sports in this country are secular pursuits. Go ahead and participate, but leave your religion at home, where it belongs.

It is frankly irresponsible for any parent or coach to put religious symbolism before the health and safety of a player and team mates and to then abscond responsibility by making an issue of discrimination and persecution. Children learn discrimination, hate and discord from adults and this is a prime example of how it happens.

How dare these adults inflict their narrow, personal interpretations of this religion on this girl and all the other players in this tournament – and all the others that will be affected by this incredible stupidity. It cannot be that the muslim god is so intolerant of a CHILD removing a scarf for the sake of her safely.

The other point that needs making here is that this girl is not a "Muslim" child. She is a child who follows her family's religion, Islam, because, at the age of 12, she doesn't have a lot of opportunity to dissent, nor does religion offer much to children in the way of rationality. To label a child assumes that the child has made some choice, which cannot be the case when it comes to religion.

Children are indoctrinated and there cannot be any dispute about that. I dare say that most religious families do NOT say to their children, "when you're old enough to make considered, logical, rational observations on issues of philosophy or religion, you can come to church/mosque/synagogue.

If you're unconvinced about indoctrination, go find the film called "Jesus Camp" and watch what they do to the kids - little kids - there. Suspend your own religions indoctrination long enough to consider what is going on there - and in any religious organisation - from the point of view of rationality.

You're a christian so it's ok? Well guess what; I PUT MONEY ON IT, that you do NOT think it OK when the same type of indoctrination is going on in madrassas overseas or in any organisation that teaches philosophies that differ from yours. Such is the great and profound insecurity of all religions and religious people: so unsure are they that they will kill other people to protect something that is not real.

Religion, which is based on all sorts of crazy interpretations and millions of falsehoods, is a personal pursuit. It belongs with the person in private. It is not something to be sold, bartered or forced on other people and it should be a criminal offence to brainwash children under the guise of 'religion.'

MORE? The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins.

STAY OUT OF MY PARKING SPOT!!!

Ok. So I live on a street where there are, in a row, two houses, two duplexes, a halfway house and a daycare.

I've lived here - and I OWN my house - for 20 years this April. The renters have been there 10 years (uses rear parking space) and 1 year (parks on street, despite rear parking spot).

Last weekend, the renter parked in front of my house - yes, it's a public street - and then it snowed 22 cms (that's 10 inches to the rest of you). I think it is RUDE to park in someone else's spot. I park there every day and have for, like I say, 20 years.

I was forced to park in front of my neighbour's house where the snow had built up a lot. Two days later, along comes a chinook and my car was high sided on a snowbank. I had to ask my man to tow me out.

I tried to dig it out and (girl moment) broke two nails in the process; that only matters because this is the first year in 45 that I've ever had long-ish nails past September.

What REALLY pisses me of is that, although it is a city street in front of our house, the neighbour is completely oblivious to the reality that he has a parking spot behind his OWN house and TWO spaces in front!

Is it really too much to ask that people be courtieous and aware? Really.

I'm going to put a sign up in front of my house, on the sidewalk, reading "RESIDENTS AND GUESTS OF 4007 ONLY. ALL OTHERS WILL BE TOWED."

It probably won't work, but I'll feel beter.

Stupid Women

Last month, footballer, Trevis Smith was convicted of crimes related to knowingly spreading the AIDS virus. What an ass.

Smith is married and has children - girl children, who are watching their shit of a dad spread is poison seed around.

From The Vancouver Province:
" Several women consented to a series of extensive interviews about their relationships with Smith. One became Smith’s girlfriend shortly after he arrived in Saskatchewan in 1999. Another is the Regina woman he lived with during football season for three years. A third is a Regina woman who discovered she is HIV-positive after breaking off her relationship with Smith. And there’s a Vancouver-area woman who dated him for four years until this May.

Smith currently lives with his wife and their two young daughters in Regina."

One of the women in this story - she who figures she's been 'with' Smith for three years, says she and he had plans.

I ask you: what plans does this woman have with a married father of two, who has two OTHER women in his life??

As much as I think this guy is an idiot and a very good example of the type of man we should all avoid, I am FLUMMOXED by how any woman could possibly be stupid and blind enough to figure she has ANY sort of future with a sick (litterally) philanderer who has no respect for his WIFE, his TWO daughters or any other woman whose path he might stumble across.

Women like all of those involved in smith's life (his daughters excluded due to their being involved with no choice) give woman generally a bad name.

HIs wife should leave him and take everything she can get, starting with the daughters, and she should be caused to take some sort of assertiveness training so that she can protect her daughters from allowing such men into their lives.

Same for the other three women. Men like this give loads of clues that they're spreading themselves really thin: those women need desperately to have some therapy so they know why they've allowed such a piece of shit to be in the room with them, let alone have access to their bodies!

it is just completely frightening how women can delude themselves - and the extent to which they'll delude themselves - for a man - or in this case, a gut sack with a dink.

GET A DILDO! They're big, they're cheap and they won't make you sick or cause you to be the other woman or to get AIDS.

I'm actually too pissed off to write anything else about this.

The Secret to Screwing up Your Kid

I've discovered the secret to screwing up kids.

It is stupidly simple.

1. If one or both parents are screamers, and never differentiate between big problems and little, unimportant incidents - meaning dropping a fork off the table gets a kid just as much yelling as crashing the car - then the kids will be screwed up, insecure and terrified of making decisions.

2. If one parent yells and the other is passive and never confronts the yeller, the kids will be screwed AND will have no support. Yelling means YOU are out of control. You being out of control does nothing to correct your child's behaviour; however, it will give them a very poor lesson about coping and they WILL use this lesson on YOUR GRANDKIDS!

3. If you let you kid get away with bad behavior and only address it in the third person, and after the fact, you will screw them up. "People shouldn't do those things," or "People shouldn't say those things," means nothing to a kid.

3a. "You will not do that, and if you do, this will be the consequence," (which you absolutely follow up on!)is the direct, first person, this-applies-to-you-my-child, way to handle bad behaviour.

3b. "No" is said ONCE! Do not respond to entreaties... you will give in, you will suck and your child will be screwed up because you will have taught them to manipulate.

4. If you will not let go, you will raise dependant, frightened children, who, in Will Smith's words, will go "looking for a master."

I am NOT a religious person; however, I will quote - correctly - scripture here: Spare your children the rod - meaning unwavering, consistent rules applied with love an HONOUR - and you spoil (meaning RUIN) them. Further, the sins of the fathers (crappy, self serving, selfish parenting, stupid, illogical rules, etc.) are visited (manifest themselves) in the sons (children in general, because your girl children are people too). Provoke NOT your children to anger. In other words, don't be a putz. Don't take out your insecurities, lack of forethought, fear, disappointment, sadness or frustration on your children.

5. Your children are individuals. They will not necessarily think as you do, dress, eat, sleep, read like you or even be interested in anything that interests you. That does not make them bad or wrong. It makes them thinking humans with opinions. If you can't tolerate your children having opinions - and if you don't ever learn from those opinions, perhaps, BEFORE you have children, you should choose to get a dog. Better yet, a cat.

As a parent, you are the Sensei, not the master in the western sense of the word. You are the guide. Guides to not push, shame, hurt, belittle or dishonour their charges.

As for honour, this is the greatest lesson you can give your children: a sense of honour; honour of self particularly. Those who are honourable towards themselves will honour those around them.

Parents who are not honourable to themselves are very likely to raise dishonourable children. Your children will learn what you teach them. If you guide them well, show them you honour yourself and thus you honour them, you will raise wonderful humans.

Bill Maher and all sorts of True Things

Three of my favourite subjects, fat kids, fat people and drugging children, among my other many favourite stupid human tricks, were covered by Bill Maher in a few recent rants.

He and Jon Stewart are the only two on-air personalities who tell the truth about pretty much anything.

About the photo at right , if you think these kids are cute, you're nuts! They're FAT and their parents should be charged with child endangerment. It is NOT funny to have your baby - and that little girl is a baby - weighing as much as a 12 year old. And no, "she won't settle unless I feed her." is NOT an excuse.

It is ABUSE to overfeed your children and make them prone to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and ridicule.

Here's the video:



If you want to read my opinion on some of this stuff, click here to link to archived blogs:
1. Stupid Adult Tricks
2. Women's libidos

About drugging your kids, don't. If you do, you've bought into Big Pharma's huge experiment and you've made your own babies the guinea pigs.

Most kids who have what the so-called experts call ADD or ADHD (read; teachers who want your kid to sit down and shut up), have what should be called "My parents haven't established any boundaries or rules for me and, at the age of six, I have no clue how to sit still, listen and absorb. Oh, and I'm exhausted too 'cause my mom and dad let me stay up until I fall asleep on the carpet."

One Dead Leader Down, One Nearly Dead State to Go

Congratulations Mr. Bush... as a result of your illegal war, following on your illegal election, you've managed to terminate the last remaining political support for Palistine. Your mates in the Israeli parliment must be bloody thrilled.

But at least you had the grace to have the corpse transferred by U.S. Military aircraft. Was that to make sure and sure the deed had been done?

Refresh my mind; how exactly was Hussain related to bin Ladin? Sorry, wasn't it bin Ladin you were after? Wasn't it bin Ladin who you were pinning the four, 1/2-mile-high-falling-down-straight-into-their-state-of-the-art-footprints, buildings and one disappearing 757 on?

All that is left now is Palistine's crazy leader. Is he next?

A thought for those of you in the US who think the illegal war and the illegal president and the attacks on your freedom are fine; and for Canadians, who think that it is no problem that we must now carry a passport into the US:

Those who would give up a little freedom to get a little security
shall soon have neither

Benjamin Franklin