"Nobody's perfect, but God thinks your(sic) to die for."
Really?! *sigh* cuz I think he's just dreeeeaaamy!
30.9.10
29.7.10
17.4.10
Have you hugged your band geek today?
Today, on my way to work, I noticed a high school marching band was having a car wash at the local Chick-fil-A. Besides the normal group of teenagers waving signs and whooping it up, the drum line was performing: two quads, two snares, a bass, and cymbals. I muted my sound system and listened to them play until the light turned green. My heart started thumping in time, and my feet instinctively started the heel-toe roll. Well, my left foot anyway; I didn't rear-end anyone! It took me back to my days as a high school band geek.
Admittedly, high school is not a favorite subject of mine, and I have some very bad memories of my years there. But marching band was a bright spot. I had fun with my geeky compatriots and I must admit I really did love marching in parades and halftime shows. Listening to them play today made me realize just how much I missed hearing the cadences and marching in time. So if you were a band geek, or if you know a band geek, or if your child is a band geek...give him/her a hug today. Chances are they are/were not the most popular kids in high school. But they were/are without a doubt some of the kids with the strongest characters and the tenderest hearts.
When the light turned green, I cranked up the volume again just in time for Coldplay's "Lovers in Japan" to start. It has an awesome, heart-thumping baseline and a cheery tack piano melody. I cruised with the top down, feeling the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair. And I said aloud, even though I was alone, "today is a beautiful day."
Admittedly, high school is not a favorite subject of mine, and I have some very bad memories of my years there. But marching band was a bright spot. I had fun with my geeky compatriots and I must admit I really did love marching in parades and halftime shows. Listening to them play today made me realize just how much I missed hearing the cadences and marching in time. So if you were a band geek, or if you know a band geek, or if your child is a band geek...give him/her a hug today. Chances are they are/were not the most popular kids in high school. But they were/are without a doubt some of the kids with the strongest characters and the tenderest hearts.
When the light turned green, I cranked up the volume again just in time for Coldplay's "Lovers in Japan" to start. It has an awesome, heart-thumping baseline and a cheery tack piano melody. I cruised with the top down, feeling the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair. And I said aloud, even though I was alone, "today is a beautiful day."
14.4.10
Where in the World is Dangerously Overeducated?
Hello everyone! Apart from the random musings and news links, I haven't done a status update on myself and where I am professionally or academically lately. So, here it is. The first semester in the SJSU Library Science program turned out to be my last. I found it to be mind-numbingly boring, and couldn't imagine another semester let alone another few years. So, no Marian the Librarian for me.
Which leaves me - um - unemployed and bored as Hell. Well, under-employed. I work weekends at a job that requires none of my hard-earned (and freakin' expensive!) education; but it was a nice, peaceful, sort-of-posh place to land for a while. And it gets me out of the house two days a week. As for a "real" job, what recruiters and HR people call a "career" I dunno. I really don't know where I want to go from here. There are a couple of PhD programs I'm looking into, but I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of being a student again. I just want to be a grown-up with a job and income, and responsibilities to someone other than myself for a change.
And here's where my dear, old seminary comes into play. I recently applied for a position as the Associate Director of Admissions. If I get this job, you all know what that means: fresh material for the blog!!! I'll keep you posted...
Which leaves me - um - unemployed and bored as Hell. Well, under-employed. I work weekends at a job that requires none of my hard-earned (and freakin' expensive!) education; but it was a nice, peaceful, sort-of-posh place to land for a while. And it gets me out of the house two days a week. As for a "real" job, what recruiters and HR people call a "career" I dunno. I really don't know where I want to go from here. There are a couple of PhD programs I'm looking into, but I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of being a student again. I just want to be a grown-up with a job and income, and responsibilities to someone other than myself for a change.
And here's where my dear, old seminary comes into play. I recently applied for a position as the Associate Director of Admissions. If I get this job, you all know what that means: fresh material for the blog!!! I'll keep you posted...
31.3.10
Silly Season in the Bible Belt
Ah, Spring...when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of Jesus. At least, that's what it's like down here. I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in the Bible Belt Holy Week means the doorbell rings practically non-stop. Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelicals...you name them, they darken my doorstep. I have lost count of the number of times I've had to say, "no we don't attend church. Yes, I am aware of the fact that you THINK my soul is in jeopardy. No, I don't want any literature. No, I don't want to pray or read the Bible with you. Yes, as a matter of fact, I have read the Bible. A lot. Over and over, cover to cover, several different versions. Have you..........? Yeah, that's what I thought. See, here's the difference between you and me. I'm a biblical scholar. You're a Bible thumper. I read it; you beat it up. I'm an atheist. You're a non-critical believer. O.K. I think we're all caught up now. Please get off my property." My husband asks why I don't just ignore them when they ring the doorbell. Huh?! This is the highlight of my day!!
As we approach the most important holiday for the Christian people (no, Virginia, Christmas is NOT the most important) I do have a few things to say regarding the historical Jesus. First, I believe he existed. There is a lot of evidence to suggest he did. But that doesn't make him special, and that certainly doesn't make him the Messiah. The truth is, the odds are in our favor that he actually existed, because at that time Israel and its vicinity were crawling with prophets and people claiming to be the Messiah. There was one on nearly every street corner. We know about Jesus because clearly he had the best PR machine. You could also say he was the unluckiest...because he had a great PR machine!
He was not the first to be stricken with Jerusalem Syndrome (Google it) and he certainly wasn't the last. The difference is, back then the Syndrome landed you on a wooden cross, beaten, broken, and waiting to die. Today it just lands you in the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre, which I'm quite certain is staffed to the hilt this week, as it is every year at this time. Nothing like a good dose of medical science to cure religious fervor. Torture rarely works, but red Jell-O and a Haldol is simply miraculous.
Happy Easter!!
As we approach the most important holiday for the Christian people (no, Virginia, Christmas is NOT the most important) I do have a few things to say regarding the historical Jesus. First, I believe he existed. There is a lot of evidence to suggest he did. But that doesn't make him special, and that certainly doesn't make him the Messiah. The truth is, the odds are in our favor that he actually existed, because at that time Israel and its vicinity were crawling with prophets and people claiming to be the Messiah. There was one on nearly every street corner. We know about Jesus because clearly he had the best PR machine. You could also say he was the unluckiest...because he had a great PR machine!
He was not the first to be stricken with Jerusalem Syndrome (Google it) and he certainly wasn't the last. The difference is, back then the Syndrome landed you on a wooden cross, beaten, broken, and waiting to die. Today it just lands you in the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre, which I'm quite certain is staffed to the hilt this week, as it is every year at this time. Nothing like a good dose of medical science to cure religious fervor. Torture rarely works, but red Jell-O and a Haldol is simply miraculous.
Happy Easter!!
15.3.10
Random Musing
Seen on Facebook: "Forget about your day job, become the Mayor of SocialCity, the fastest-growing game on Facebook!"
Yeah, great. Because we don't already have enough problems in this country with productivity and middle class prosperity. Let's all retreat to our laptops and live fake digital lives while the real world around us crumbles into dust. Good job, morons.
Yeah, great. Because we don't already have enough problems in this country with productivity and middle class prosperity. Let's all retreat to our laptops and live fake digital lives while the real world around us crumbles into dust. Good job, morons.
8.3.10
Coffee, please
Tired of the Tea Baggers and all their nonsense? Sick of the fear mongering and hatred?
Join the Coffee Party Movement: www.coffeepartyusa.com
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We the People demand: Reason and civility in public affairs; A government accountable to the People; Liberty & Justice for All.
19.2.10
Random Musing
I was browsing for a birthday card for my husband today, when one in particular caught my eye. On the front was an "old-timey" photo of a man and woman, think: "American Gothic." Above the woman's head was the caption: "Happy birthday to my husband, my lord and master." I smirked, and inhaled as I opened the card waiting for the punchline. And it was...blank. It wasn't a joke. Then I realized...I was in the "religious" section.
No. That is not the card I bought. Happy birthday to my husband, my friend and partner.
No. That is not the card I bought. Happy birthday to my husband, my friend and partner.
2.2.10
The Former Member of the Hitler Youth is at it Again
The Pope has recently condemned new legislation in the U.K. that strengthens the rights of all citizens...including gays. Which, of course, he objects to. Last January, the British Parliament passed a law preventing adoption agencies, including Catholic ones, from discriminating against gay couples.
The article, "Anger after pope condemns gay-friendly laws," is available at http://news.yahoo.com. The url was far too long to type in here, and blogspot does not allow copy and paste.
It seems to me that the Pope, in his infinite and infallible wisdom, would rather see these children age out of the foster care system than be adopted by a loving, supportive gay couple. No! Not the Gays! We can't let them anywhere near God's precious, innocent children! Everyone knows all gay people are child molesters and sexual deviants! If they get too close, we'll - we'll - well...we'll just transfer them to other parishes! Fucking hypocrite.
Oh, and his visit to the U.K. this coming September is estimated to cost the taxpayers 20 million pounds. Uh.....why? The Pope can pay his own way. Great Britain officially parted ways with the Catholic Church centuries ago, and its citizens should not be stuck footing the bill.
Footnote
Regarding this issue in the U.S., see the Feb/March 2010 issue of Free Inquiry for an Op-Ed piece by Tom Flynn: "Pull the Plug - On Catholic Charities". He predicts Catholic Charities will simply close up shop when the U.S. begins to pass in earnest laws allowing/protecting same-sex marriage and adoptions. Pretty please, let this come to pass! In the meantime secular organizations need to begin establishing their own charitable organizations to fill the void when these dinosaurs finally give up the ghost.
The article, "Anger after pope condemns gay-friendly laws," is available at http://news.yahoo.com. The url was far too long to type in here, and blogspot does not allow copy and paste.
It seems to me that the Pope, in his infinite and infallible wisdom, would rather see these children age out of the foster care system than be adopted by a loving, supportive gay couple. No! Not the Gays! We can't let them anywhere near God's precious, innocent children! Everyone knows all gay people are child molesters and sexual deviants! If they get too close, we'll - we'll - well...we'll just transfer them to other parishes! Fucking hypocrite.
Oh, and his visit to the U.K. this coming September is estimated to cost the taxpayers 20 million pounds. Uh.....why? The Pope can pay his own way. Great Britain officially parted ways with the Catholic Church centuries ago, and its citizens should not be stuck footing the bill.
Footnote
Regarding this issue in the U.S., see the Feb/March 2010 issue of Free Inquiry for an Op-Ed piece by Tom Flynn: "Pull the Plug - On Catholic Charities". He predicts Catholic Charities will simply close up shop when the U.S. begins to pass in earnest laws allowing/protecting same-sex marriage and adoptions. Pretty please, let this come to pass! In the meantime secular organizations need to begin establishing their own charitable organizations to fill the void when these dinosaurs finally give up the ghost.
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