Hmmm....

Here's a fun and informative guide to Narnia - a crash course on C.S. Lewis, the Tolkien connection, and the Christian allegory behind the story.

And on the flipside of that coin, if you're looking for something darker and more negative, here's a scathing take on the religious elements of the story and the new movie. (Not religion-friendly at all, so be warned if you think you might be offended. The title of the article is "Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion.")

I am ecstatically excited about King Kong and Brokeback Mountain, especially now that the glowing reviews are pouring in and confirming that they're two of the year's very best films. Hooray! Who's going with me to see them?

I'm reposting a LiveJournal entry from jereeza, because a lot of my friends don't know her and thus might miss this great entry. These are not my words, but I truly couldn't have said it better myself:

"I'm going to quote something ptyx said that I came across in a thread, and wanted to hug her so much. *hugs Ptyx*

[Emphasis mine:]

I have a different opinion regarding the gender issues - I don't identify myself with any label. It doesn't matter how many different labels you create, I will never identify myself with any of them completely. And yet, I am willing to identify myself as a female if this simplify things for the rest of the world, because I clearly don't have a cock, and have big tits *shrugs*. Maybe I don't want to be female at all, but I don't want to be male or FtM or queer gendered or any other label either. I just want to be me.

THANK YOU.

***

People, remember: you can never be my enemy (or my friend) simply by being male, female, straight, queer, transgender, religious, superstitious, without faith, intelligent, anti-intellectual, leftist, rightist, socialite, autistic, French, American, pink, brown, fuchsia, mermaid, angel, or whatever single thing you choose to identify as. These things do not make you - they limit you, if you allow them to take over.

I like you because you make me laugh, or because you write beautifully, because you argue well, because you change your mind every day, or because you are adamant, because you went to a concert I missed and told me how it was, because you can beat me at cards, because you made me learn something, because I really like what you did with your hair, because you cook like a demon, because our tastes in everything differ so much, because you ogle the same actors I do, because you are so deliciously wicked, because I covet your icon collection. I like you because of things you probably don't even notice about yourself, and I'll bet that that is also why others like you too, not because of any of those labels listed above, or any other single one.

I don't care what kind of life you lead, as long as it harms no-one else.* I know this is impossible to achieve perfectly, as one person's yay is another's boo and we only have this one planet and there is effing six billion of us and most just love to argue and take bizarre pleasure in being offended. Oh, and we love hurting each other. I sometimes think this is why the internet developed so well.

But seriously, there are still people, many of them, who just don't care about others' label obsession. Such people are not your enemies. Let's all just be excellent to each other, okay?

Thank you.

[* There is more to this than inflicting physical pain and forbidding people things: mollycoddling people regardless of their failings to make them "feel good" does not help them, nor will it result in genuine self-respect; being polite to those whose actions harm others, in order not to offend anyone because there may be labels involved, helps no-one either; likewise, to paraphrase a great man who passed away not long ago, a multifaceted society often means that certain groups will be forced to tolerate other groups' intolerance: do not let this happen, all you who wish to participate.]"

I have contracted...

Saturday Night Fever

...This gruesome disorder is marked by a tendency to shake it to disco.

Find out what you've contracted!

My favorite holiday has come and gone once again. But this year was, I think, the best ever! Thanks to darthvera, leluangel, and lyseeboo for making it such a great time. Saturday evening we dressed up and went out on the town for drinking, dancing, and other assorted fun. I felt completely uncreative in my store-bought Dracula costume, but I was told that it looked pretty good. The teeth seemed to be a big hit. The chain that holds up the cape broke early in the evening, so I had to keep adjusting it and holding it in place for the rest of the night. Next year I think I will try to make my own costume with an ingeniously original idea. I think that ringlass was typically brilliant with her Freudian Slip costume - need pics, please!

Halloween was a lot of fun as well. We has a small party at my place, complete with pizza, cupcakes, plenty of wine, cheese, and likely other types of junkfood that I can't remember right now. We were going to watch scary movies, but we never got beyond the point of just talking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company - ok, we did surf the Internet a lot, and watch some porn. Hooray! I bought lots of candy and had a total of 2 trick-or-treaters, so there were plenty of leftovers (and still are - someone please come and remove them from my sight). It was a really great time - at least, I thought so.

In other news, work is better now. It was bad for a couple of weeks and it was depressing me quite a lot. I do have to work nights the rest of this week, so I won't be able to do anything fun Friday night. The guy who took over my old night job apparently needs some retraining, or something - I wasn't really told what the problems are, but I was told to work with him and fix them. Go figure.

I still haven't told miss_creant why I needed her mailing address. She'll find out soon enough! Mwahahaha!

November should be a good month. I have three days off work - two holidays and one that I get to choose as an "Appreciation Day." Ok, but I'd rather have a raise, thanks! I like Thanksgiving, and I love the sights, sounds, and smells of the Christmas season. I feel like this might be the first time in several years that Christmas will be happy for me, because the past few certainly haven't been. I just wish the weather would stay warm, because I hate cold so very much.

I'm beginning to realize that an Independent Study course might not have been the greatest idea. I haven't really done anything in the way of research yet except watch a couple of movies. I know that I can wing it, but I'll probably end up doing the whole course paper in a single weekend. Ok, so that's not really unusual at all for me, but I do need to get busy watching and/or re-watching more of the movies. I don't think I'm going to take any classes next semester. Insted, I will continue working to pay bills and save money for a while, and then go off to a better school in a couple of years. That was my original plan and I probably should've stuck with it.

I have a great idea for a novel and I think that I'm going to start working on it soon. It's an idea that has been in my mind for about four years now, and ideas recently began forming into coherent shapes while I was on a long drive. My only concern is that I would probably need to do some hands-on research involving real live people, and I'm not sure where to begin with that, or if I have the time or motivation to go through with it. And no, I'm not telling you what it's about! No offense to anyone out there, but I'm not going to try to bang it out in the space of a month, either, because that just seems a bit silly to me.

I suppose that's enough for now. I just wanted to share recent developments with all of you out there. I don't get to talk to some of you as much as I used to do, and I miss you. Until we meet again...

alan_p's Halloween party:

blert_9 dressed as William McKinley.
canadianmayhem dressed as Gwyneth Paltrow.
corvar didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
darklikewater dressed as a help desk administrator.
darthvera dressed as a character from "Lost in Translation".
dsthenes gets drunk, strips naked, and somehow emerges dressed as a latex skeleton.
gamgeemiller dressed as the Earl of Van Rhatigan.
jereeza dressed as Chewbacca.
klytie didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
leluangel dressed as a Rufus Weiner Stores employee.
lyseeboo dressed as a devil.
maegwen dressed as a broker.
miss_creant dressed as a disturbing self-made character called "Stinky Picklebutt".
narvi didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
nicecrispybacon dressed as Marvin Monroe.
ringlass dressed as a new superhero: Azure Claw.
seaofsin didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
seeking_normal dressed as Rutherford B. Hayes.
shark_girl dressed as LeBron James.
titania_iii dressed as a hammer.

Throw your own party at the Hallomeme!
Created with phpNonsense

Rosa Parks, clearly one of the great people of the 20th Century, died today. That makes me sad, but I haven't heard or seen anyone else mention it. Why?

The past couple of days have been cold and dreary. One of the many reasons I hate winter weather is that it usually puts me in a dark mood, and I've definitely been feeling that this week. I am tired, grumpy, and slightly depressed. I am unhappy about several things in my life currently. Ah well, I suppose it will pass.

Is it sad that the things I'm most looking forward to right now are the new Harry Potter movie and A Feast for Crows? I think it is.

"The classic styling and authentic coyote hide make this hat a conversation starter at any gathering." You don't say!

Our current President, in addition to being one of history's greatest and most powerful imbeciles, is also a drunk. Need more than an Enquirer article for proof? Ok, read this. Or take a look at this 18-minute summary of today's mind-boggling press conference. Or better yet, just pick up a paper or watch the news any old day and try to absorb without screaming what's happening to the world - and, especially, the country - around us.

Oh, did I mention that he now "wants Congress to give him the power to use the nation's military in law enforcement roles" in our country, negating a law that has been in effect since 1878 to protect us from shifty-eyed leaders who want to get their greedy paws on a lot more power than they should hold in a democracy? Why such a drastic step, you ask? Because of the flu.

You're a spare house key under the mat. Few people
know you're there, but those who do recognize
your worth, especially when they get themselves
in trouble. You might want to be a little more
noticable, but not everyone should know you're
there.


What sort of key are you and what do you unlock?
brought to you by Quizilla

Having trouble deciding just what to get me for Christmas this year? I'll make it easy for you! And it ships for free!

Former Education Secretary William Bennett is under fire for stating his theory about reducing the crime rate in our country on his syndicated radio show. His proposition? Let's "abort every black baby in this country." He followed that statement with the qualification, "that would be an impossibly ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down," as well as stating, of course, "I'm not racist." Well, naturally! Oh, and -- hang on to your hats, as this will be a great shock -- he's a Republican.

As fair and considerate of the beliefs and viewpoints of others as I've tried to be in the past, even I am beginning to think that finding an island somewhere, starting a new country there, and putting up "Absolutely No Republicans" signs around the perimeter might be a fine idea. Read more, if you can stomach it.