Greetings...it's been a while for me. I've had some ideas that I've wanted to share, but for some reason, putting them down has been really difficult for me.
Well, I can wait no longer. I have lots to say on the topic of politics, and it won't necessarily be a coherent topic that follows smoothly. It's more a jumbled mess of my thoughts and opinions on what is going on in the world...hence the soup in the title.
First of all, let's start off with conspiracy theories...I have two, one my own theory and one scary video that represents it's own conspiracy theory. As for my own theory, I think I know the real reason why Obama didn't pick Clinton as his running mate. Remember the Whitewater scandal that was going on in Arkansas involving real estate deals and the Clintons? Remember the "suicide" of a key player? There was all this speculation that the Clinton's had him taken out. Well, there you go. Barack wasn't about to take the chance that this wasn't a rumor, and he didn't want to be next. She wanted that Presidency so bad...Now for the scary video. Sarah Palin is really scary...have a look-see:
(Sorry about the double post of the video) So, there you go. There are so many twisted rumors going around the internet about Barack...just thought I'd throw one out about the other guys...she's about as scary as Cheney, but in a whole different way.
So, can President Bush fuck up this country any worse? Is there anything left for him to completely blow? Can we officially call him the WORST president in history? Thanx to everyone who voted for him the second term...you have no one to blame but yourselves. I would have voted for a monkey over him.
By the way, did anyone check out Bill Clinton on the Daily Show? Man, that guy is smart. I could care less about his personal life...he does still impress me. You gotta check that out on Comedy Central. He explained the housing crisis a little better for me, so I understand it more, and the reasons why we're in the mess we're in. Then he gave what I thought was really solid advice on how to fix the problem, which made sense to me. Common sense governing is so lacking at this moment. I mean, I tend to think that the guy who had a surplus for the first time in eons would know what he's talking about with regard to this financial fiasco we are currently in. And Jon Stewart made a great point about Bush wanting to spend $700 billion of our money to bail out the greedy corporations, and he asked what's the difference between that and wanting to give every child in this country health coverage...well, then you're just a socialist if you want to do that. Go figure...
OK, so now I guess you know who I'm voting for in this election. I've sat back and let the candidates fall into place. I was tending to favor Obama, but McCain was still a consideration for me. Well, let me just say that I am so Pro-Obama right now. John McCain used to be such a good man. I had nothing but the utmost respect for him. He used to be one of those common sense politicians, standing up to his party when he didn't agree, and actually changing his affiliation to Independent at one time. Well, I should've known it was the beginning of a downward spiral for him, as when the time came for him to be reelected, he switched back to Republican. Then I learn that McCain lobbied very hard for the deregulation of the banks, which is one of the reasons why we're in this financial mess. But hey, folks, the economy is "fundamentally sound," according to McCain. He had to backpedal on that one, stating it was the American people who are fundamentally strong. Whatever...Then there's this whole selection of running mates...but hey, folks, she's got foreign policy experience because she can see Russia from an island in Alaska!!! Really...This is why she doesn't take any questions from the press or from her audience when she gives speeches. The Vietnamese couldn't break him, but apparently his own political party could. What a shame...
The first thing that really impressed me about Barack Obama was when he went around the world, meeting with leaders from different countries. That showed me that he has what it takes to meet with world leaders and get things accomplished. A bit more impressive than the photo op trip to New York that Palin took to meet with a few world leaders, for a meet and greet session so they can discuss the new baby of the Leader of Afghanistan. We need a little credibility back when it comes to how others in the world see us, and I think Barack can bring that for us. I also believe, wholeheartedly, that he is as close to the "Real Deal" as you can get. I think he will assemble a cabinet of the most qualified individuals, regardless of party affiliation. I think he is capable of this position, and I want him to have the chance.
For those of you who vote based on race or gender, you should be slapped repeatedly and have your voter card taken away. It's all about the issues, so please keep that in mind!
OK, so let me just end this with a little humor. This is when a picture says a thousand words...can you tell The News Journal is a bit liberal? I imagine they snapped 100 pictures of McCain when he came to town, but this is the one they picked:
Can McCain look any more feeble? Nothing like a little jab at the conservative party, huh?
I think this election is so important, so please vote, even if you don't agree with my choice of candidate, but ESPECIALLY if you're for my candidate!!
And don't forget to watch the debate on Friday. That is, if McCain shows up...
The Vice-Presiential debate should be fun...we've got one candidate who only answers questions that she knows about ahead of time, and we've got one hot-headed candidate.
I know I have more to say, but since this is already all over the place, I'll end it now. Feel free to comment, whether you agree with me or not.
Christmas should be a leap year event
Current mood: indescribable
Category: Life
OK, so I've made it through another Christmas. This is not my favorite time of year, as my blog title infers. I have such fond memories of Christmas...the lights, the tree, and my mom's cool castles that she used to build out of tissue boxes and the cardboard middles of the toilet paper and paper towel rolls, then using bright paper wrapping to finish them off. That was back in the day when everyone respected the Christmas rule: Christmas starts the day after Thanksgiving. When did all of this change? Somewhere Christmas got swallowed up by the giant conglomerate commercialism machine, and now I have it shoved down my throat before I can even properly appreciate Halloween! Christmas, for me, went from a greatly anticipated holiday to a bit of a stressful yearly event. This wouldn't be so bad, except that I have children. One is too young to even realize what Christmas is. The other one knows. He struggles with sharing my views and looking forward to presents. I'm only sorry that I have ruined a little piece of Christmas magic for him. Another reason why Christmas is such a non-event is that I do not celebrate any of the religious aspects of Christmas. And just what exactly does a fat, jolly man in a red suit who brings toys have anything to do with the birth of Jesus? My husband tells me that in Hungary, St. Nicholas comes on December 6th to bring presents to the children, and then on December 24th Baby Jesus brings the presents. That's kinda funny...instead of a fat man, it's a baby.
So anyway, being the procrastinator that I am, I wait until Saturday to get the bulk of my shopping done, which is almost everything. And what pisses me off is that everyone else has also waited until then to do their shopping. Crowds annoy me. Not so much being around a bunch of people, but more being around a bunch of stupid people...I have no tolerance for stupidity or lack of manners, and I know with large crowds, I will be forced to deal with both. So as we pull out onto the main road where all the stores are, the traffic is a mess! Great...so I have the great idea of parking in the first available parking lot, which is for Pep Boys, and get ot and walk to Target, which is only about 1/4 mile away. We park, get out, and start walking. We are actually beating the traffic. So far, so good. We get to Target, where I plan to buy some gift certificates and possibly some Guitar Hero merchandise (got that for the boys for Christmas this year). Nothing for Guitar Hero, but we pick up a 2-in-1 activity table for the baby, along with the gift certificates. This is a fairly good sized box, but it's in a bag and Balint is carrying it. We decide to walk across four lanes of traffic to the next cluster of stores, which includes a craft store and Circuit City, for a few more presents. In the craft store we hit the motherload for Balint's mom, picking up six picture frames and some scrapbook supplies for her to make a book for the baby. We also pick up two additional frames for Balint's boss, and a gingerbread house kit for Corey. We have everything in the craft store shopping cart, so we decide to walk the cart over to Circuit City, where we again get just what we were looking for, a Guitar Hero guitar pack, which includes a game. As we walk back to the craft store, we have no choice but to give up the cart. Bummer. We now have a lot of stuff to carry back to the car that is now a good 1/2 mile away and across four lanes of busy traffic. Who's idea was this??? But, it's not like one of us could walk back and get the car, because getting back to where the other one was would have taken forever. So off we went with our many packages in hand, stopping every now and then to adjust the awkwardness.
Christmas Eve we were invited to a party, but only because my husband was to play Santa Claus. He was asked to do this, as a favor for my ex-husband and his wife, and he was actually excited about it! So we go over and he is taken out to the garage to get dressed up. I help him get into the suit, and we have to make eyebrows for him out of cotton balls and double-sided tape. Then he starts asking me what he's supposed to say...apparently being from Hungary, he doesn't have a lot of experience with Santa Claus. Remember, baby Jesus delivers their presents on Christmas Eve. So I'm trying to tell him the basics: "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas. Have you all been good little boys and girls?" The last part was a little much for him, so he had to shorten it to, "have you all been good?" So I go in the house and wait, with video camera in hand. There are at least two kids in the house who really believe in Santa Claus, and they are both sitting next to my son, who knows who's playing Santa. In comes Santa Claus, stumbling over his words, awkwardly collapsing into the chair he is provided, where he starts to read the names on the packages, only he's not good at the pronunciation of the names, either. None of this is reason to doubt this is Santa Claus. No, the real reason is forthcoming. One of the girls, who believes in Santa, turns to my son and says, "That's not Santa Claus." My son tries to reassure her that it is, and I simply say that Santa has helpers. No, the real reason why she doesn't believe this is Santa Claus is because she has seen the real Santa. He resides at Volusia Mall. I call him Mall Santa, and there is just no competing with Mall Santa.
Even his wife looks like Mrs. Claus. So, now that you've seen the real thing, I'll show you the imposter.
**Sigh** There's just no comparison. But he gave it his all, and the kids got presents. What more could you ask for?
All in all, it was an alright Christmas. Glad it's only once a year, but still, leapyear would be fine by me.
Have you ever looked superficially at the lives of other people and wondered if they are as happy (or not) as you are? I think we all use other people as gauges to measure how we feel we are doing in our own lives. I know I've turned on the television and watched a Dr. Phil episode, only to think to myself that I have it pretty good compared to the people who were just on. When a coworker or acquaintance has just ended a relationship, even though I feel bad for them, I can't help but think that I have it good because my relationship is certainly not on a collision course for disaster. But just how comfortable should I be with this assumption? Instead of being assured about my little corner of the world, and smug in this assessment, shouldn't I instead question myself on what I feel makes a relationship so safe? What if I were to wake up tomorrow and have it all crumble around me? How much of a part would I have played in this surprise ending?
This is the comfort zone that I am referring to. Getting so comfortable in a relationship that you never notice the knicks, bruises, and scrapes caused along the way. Taking for granted what you have, and then complaining, ignoring, insulting, and antagonizing.
It's never a bad idea to be a little nicer, forgive a little more, compromise, say 'I'm sorry,' and truly mean all of it! I know I've had reason to rethink my views on this, and this is what I've been doing more of lately. It's not only good for my relationship, it's good for my soul.
Deconstructing the Nightly News
Current mood: calm
Category: News and Politics
OK, so I blogged yesterday about the crappy nightly news...here is an intellectual version of that same blog. But surprisingly, Jon Stewart is a major focal point. Read on...
Deconstructing the Nightly News
We watch the nightly news to keep us informed about the day's events and for updates on major stories.But how much of what we watch is fact and how much is injected opinion?And who exactly decides what should be included in the news?By deconstructing the nightly news, we understand that the news is as much about what is said as what is not, and in what light the newscaster wishes to present the facts.
The term deconstruction refers to "a strategy of analysis that has been applied to literature, linguistics, philosophy, law, and architecture" and is based on the work of Jacques Derrida, French Philosopher.According to Arthur Berger in Cultural Criticism, "what deconstruction argues…is that texts do not have determinate meanings, and that a close examination of any text shows this to be so." This could not be more correct of the nightly news.Depending on the way a story is to be viewed, the meaning of the text can differ from one telling to another.For example, a broadcast news channel that is notably conservative versus a more liberal channel will have a completely different view of the same issue, such as the legality of the recent government wire taps or the controversy over the Schiavo right-to-die issue.Berger goes on to state that "according to Derrida,…there is no 'center' or system of ideas outside of the text that enables us to understand them and interpret them in one way."When applied to the nightly news, there is no one way to present the issue outside of the issue itself.No two journalists can walk away from the same topic with the same story, even if they have identical views and have witnessed the same thing.
In the book entitled How to Watch TV News, Neil Postman and Steve Powers devote a whole chapter to "the bias of language." Postman and Powers state "there is a difference between the world of events and the world of words about events." The words used to describe the news vary from each individual news organization and newscaster, to create an infinite way an event can take shape.When former President Bill Clinton made the infamous statement, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," was he trying to cover up his relationship, or did he in fact believe that what occurred between Ms. Lewinski and him did not actually constitute "sexual relations?" This is one of the central ideas of deconstruction, that "writing…is always impure and, as such, challenges the notion of identity, and ultimately the notion of the origin as 'simple'" ("Jacques Derrida," European 2).With this idea in mind, we are better able to understand the nightly news as but one source of information, and not the only source of information.
In Cultural Criticism, Arthur Berger discusses the different types of mass media theories.There are two theories in particular that relate to the nightly news.In the "Agenda-setting theory, …the media tend to focus on certain issues and neglect others…The media, according to this theory, do not tell people what to think but, rather, what to think about.".This goes hand in hand with the "Gatekeeping theory,…the individuals in media organizations…who determine, in the case of news…which stories will be covered and which will be neglected.Editors…decide what stories are important and what audiences want to know…and thus filter out some stories and let other stories be…broadcast."Both the Agenda-setting and Gatekeeping theories are relevant in broadcast news today when one considers the ownership of most every source of broadcast news is a major corporation with numerous other entities.According to Jon Stewart in America:A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, there are five major corporations in control of the broadcast news.Viacom owns CBS; Time Warner owns CNN and Court TV; Disney owns ABC; GE owns NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC; and News Corporation owns Fox and Fox News. With profit and market share control a major concern for the corporation, the stories that air are going to be the ones that attract the most viewers, which does not necessarily coincide with the most important events of the day.
Jon Stewart brings a comic light to the determination of "newsworthiness" in his book by offering "Relative story values:Renegade moose in yard < septuplets! < renegade truck on fire < conjoined babies < new disease outbreak (Africa < rest of the world) < war! < disgruntled man with gun < baby briefly imperiled by celebrity.Therefore, in terms of the deconstruction theory, Jon Stewart deconstructs the nightly news to show in a humorous way that the news is nothing more than a construct.This deconstructed view allows the viewer to better sort through the distinction between opinion and bias and to read between the lines.Stewart is also the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, which is a mock news program.It is in this venue that Stewart is able to take the day's events as reported by broadcast news and restate them in a comedic, yet sometimes more honest view, than how they were reported originally.As long as Stewart provides an entertaining program for his audience, the issues he tackles are not the primary focus, and in that sense he is able to make light of serious topics that are either ignored for political reasons or over-exaggerated for ratings' sake.In an interview with Bill Moyers on Now, which airs on PBS, Moyers calls The Daily Show "A compendium of news, interviews and features, held up to a fractured mirror to reveal a greater truth." Stewart responds by telling him, "I think, honestly, we're practicing a new form of desperation.Where we just are so inundated with mixed messages from the media and from politicians that we're just trying to sort it out for ourselves." Moyers goes on to tell Stewart, "You certainly see journalists in a way we don't see ourselves." Even though The Daily Show is promoted as a comedy show, it can still be a useful tool in deconstructing the news to reveal, as Moyers puts it, "a greater truth," that there is no one real "truth," but rather a multiplicity of perspective.
Stewart even stepped out of the comedy genre to go on Crossfire, a program aired on CNN, touted as being a debate show between liberal and conservative issues, to plead for a more honest program with less "partisan hackery.We need what you do.This is such a great opportunity you have here to actually get politicians off of their marketing strategy." In another interview with Stewart, Thomas Goetz of Wired Magazine goes on to state that "(Stewart's) scorching critique of television on CNN's Crossfire last fall was so dead-on that the network's president cited Stewart's indictment when he canceled the show in January." Stewart went on to say in that interview, "News is so much a bifurcated system of people reporting and then these personality-driven universes where people create their own truth…."In terms of deconstruction, this statement could not be more correct.
If we apply the deconstruction theory to our source of information, be it news or otherwise, there will always be doubt about the information.With that in mind, the credibility of the information might increase if we have more sources available to interpret the information.There are so many different ways in which to communicate the news, including the internet, television broadcast news, news magazines, and newspapers.If we were to receive all of our news through one source, we would certainly have a very filtered and narrow view of the world. But sometimes a narrow view is all that is required in terms of why someone would watch a particular news program. If a person has a more conservative viewpoint, then a program that offered more conservative opinions and commentary would be a news source worth watching.However, a more liberal thinker would be more comfortable watching news that offered opinions and viewpoints that coincided with their beliefs.For those who have not formed an opinion either way, trying to sort through all the liberal or conservative rhetoric is more of a challenge and makes for a more savvy news connoisseur.This is certainly one reason why Jon Stewart's quick-witted deconstruction of the nightly news is so helpful, and humorous at the same time.
TV News - 10 minutes of retardedness...
Current mood: annoyed
Category: News and Politics
Yay! I'm going to blog! Since I'm so far behind in my reading, why not post some thoughts of my own...and with this, I'm going to tell you about my ten minutes of TV news that I watched the other day. It's only ten minutes, because that's all I could stomach.
Story number one is, of course, the California wildfires. This is very sad, and unbelievable that they have evacuated more than 1,000,000 people from their homes, and over 1,500 homes have already burned. Even sadder to hear that one of the fires was caused by arson. I'm not knocking this at all. What I am about to knock is the couple that they decided to interview. Picture this: man and woman standing in front of their house, obviously concerned about the fires. The woman then tells the reporter, (and this is not a direct quote, but close enough) "We have our buckets of water and our garden hoses, blah, blah, blah, something or other." Her buckets of water and garden hoses? Really? She's going to do battle with a garden hose and a bucket of water? Boy, won't the 2,000+ firefighters already battling these blazes be thankful to hear that she's on the job!
Story number two involves our clueless leader...Apparently there's some sort of skirmish going on between Turkey and Iraq, to which President Bush urges diplomacy. What? Did I miss something? Diplomacy? Where was this course of action in 2003, when 2/3 of the world advised Diplomacy? **SIGH**
It was at this point that I gave up watching the news. This is why I love the net...I can pick and choose the articles I want to read...I'm not just along for the ride. This is also why I get a lot of my news from the Daily Show. Sometimes their slant on the news is enough to actually take the spin off.
Taking a World Religions class, I had a chance to study a little bit (stressing the word little) about Hinduism...thought I would share what I found out. It's a long blog, so I hope you have time to sit and enjoy it.
Here is my attempt to delve into a religion that I have not had much experience with, but from what I have learned so far, am ready to continue to explore, as I have not had as much time to open up to this religion as I would have liked.However, here are some of the basic things I have learned so far from the very shallow depths I have entered into thus far:
First and foremost, I am very glad that I chose to explore this religion, as I believe it is the closest to mirroring how I feel about the world around me.What I have learned has allowed me to continue on my quest for open-mindedness, while developing new understandings of other cultures and religions.It is clear that the different religions are more similar than the worshippers of the different faiths would like to believe.However, it is on a more mystical and spiritual level where these religions are truly saying the same things:The interconnectedness of everything and the non-linear sequence of time, which means there is no past and no future, but only the here and now.Sufism, Kabbalism, and the Gnostic Christianity are all saying the same thing, but not all followers of Judaism, Islam, or Christianity follow these enlightened paths of worship.This is the beauty of Hinduism!All of the followers of Hinduism are taught these beliefs.Nature is also a big part of the Hindu religion, which is something I feel the other religions do not pay enough respect to; unless, of course, you go into the higher mystical forms as listed above.Hinduism has a clear respect for all living things, believing in the interconnectedness of all.When Christianity moved away from the Pagan rituals involving the celebration of the earth and its seasons, the more domineering the believers became, believing man to be the supreme being over all of earth and nature as something to be conquered and used at will.This is just the opposite of Hinduism, where all living things are to be respected.With the way our planet is being mismanaged by big business, this is definitely something we need more of.Also, the notion that "one God fits all" is thrown out, with the more than 33,000,000 (billion?) Hindu Gods, all representations of the Supreme God, Para Brahman.This is something that makes perfect sense to me, as we humans are not all the same, so how can we worship the same?With 33,000,000 (billion?) incarnations of the same God, there is bound to be a deity to worship to that fits in to everyone's worshipping needs. Hinduism is also the most tolerant of all religions, allowing anyone to find their path to God through any religion they choose.This is most clear in the greeting given to others: "Nameste," which means "I respect the divine in you."There is no reason to try and convert others to Hinduism, as they believe any spiritual path that leads you to God is an acceptable one. There is no special group of people who are set to inherit the Earth with Hinduism – we are all the same.Again, this makes perfect sense to me.Another thing I have always believed in was Karma, which is also a major part of the Hindu religion.The good deeds, and the bad, will eventually come back around to us, though maybe not in the same lifetime.This leads to another big part of Hinduism – reincarnation.This is a subject that has fascinated me as well, and one that I have questioned the validity of at one time or another, wondering whether or not it truly exists.However, if you believe in the interconnectedness of everything and the past is the future is the present, then this is something that definitely must exist.Again, this is something I want to spend more time looking into.This kind of takes the sting out of the whole death experience, believing our souls return.However, I hope my Karma is good enough to not have to come back as a cockroach!
I have to say that there are aspects of this religion, as with any religion, that I find hard to swallow and therefore cannot embrace wholly.This, of course, would mainly be the issue of "God."I have from a very young age discounted the existence of God, and found that once I did so, my life became more under my control, and I was ultimately responsible for my own path in life.This came about from growing up in an abusive household from my stepfather.I used to pray when I was younger, a lot, for God to make things better, for him to stop abusing us.Nothing happened.Finally one day, I stopped praying.I lost my belief in a God who would let these terrible things happen.I realized that I was the only person that was going to get me through these terrible times, which somehow made things better for me.Ever since then, I have taken personal responsibility for all of my actions, good or bad, which have gotten me to where I am today, where I have no regrets.My past has shaped me into the person I am today, and the mistakes I have made have led me to this point, and I would not have it any other way.I have also had a problem with mainstream religion and the hypocrisy that is so prevalent all around.If everyone were just a little more tolerant of others' beliefs, this world would be a much better place.Just look at the mess that has been made of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, with all sides warring against each other.And to think they all have the same roots.Again, here is where Hinduism steps up in a big way.As far as the whole "God created the universe" issue, I have my doubts about this.I cannot deny that there is something truly magnificent out there, but what, I am not sure.I am not much into science, but I watched a program, really late at night when I could not sleep, about how the Earth supposedly got its start, "We are the (stuff) that stars are made of."Sorry, but I really cannot go into more detail than that.I loved the program, but it was late and I am not versed enough in science to repeat back anything I learned, other than the quote above. But then I recently read a very old Hindu story, which really made me stop and think!It was about a boy who was born in the prior world (as Hindus believe that not only are our souls recyclable, but so is our universe!) and was set to die on his 16th birthday.He ran to the temple and prayed to Shiva not to let this happen.At that time, Death entered the temple to take the boy, which angered Shiva, for how dare Death try and take a devotee while he was worshipping.This stopped Death from taking the boy, apparently forever.After billions of years, "the sun eventually flickered out of existence, the Earth passed away, and Markandeya floated around in empty space for eons.Finally the Earth reshaped itself back into existence, and Markandeya was able to walk on terra firma once more.He reported what he'd experienced between worlds to anyone who asked.What happens when the solar system dies, he explained, is that the Sun slowly turns red and expands to many times its present size.The surface of the Earth eventually becomes so hot, no living thing can survive, and the planet becomes as bare as a turtle's back.Then the sun explodes, emitting a burning wind that blasts the planets to ashes…This extremely old Hindu myth describes the end of the world exactly as our own astrophysicists predict it will in fact occur (Linda Johnsen, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, 13)."With a story like that, I really can't wait to learn more!This really does not even contradict the idea that we are the stuff that stars are made of.The whole concept of the entire universe being renewed – wow.
To enhance my exploration of Hinduism further, I went to the Hindu Temple of Casselberry, which is part of the Hindu Society of Central Florida (HSCF).The architecture was absolutely stunning, with all the figures carved all around!There were also five peaks rising up from the roof, which we were told from our guide that day, Dr. B.V. Venkatakrishna Sastry, that this was designed for allowing the union of the celestial with the divine.We were about to walk into the temple, when I happened to look to the right and notice that there were lots of shoes on the walkway. We almost made a huge mistake walking into the temple with our shoes on!We went over to where all the shoes were, removed our own shoes, and walked into that entrance, where we found the office and met our guide.Dr. Sastry first took us back outside, where he pointed out a pillar that represented a mandala.Set into this pillar is a statue of a Great Bird that carried Balaji, the main deity of this temple.We were told this represents consciousness flying on air.We were also told that the reason for the removal of shoes is that you are not allowed to bring in any dirt off your shoes, or from your soul, into the temple.When Dr. Sastry led us into the sanctum sanctorum, we were fortunate enough to be able to witness a ritual being performed by one of the Priests.This involved the Priest going to the altar of all the Gods and then to each individual, waving a pan of fire over their heads, where they would in turn take their right hand and wave it over their heads where the smoke had been.This is called Aarti.The devotees are then offered holy water, which again is taken with the right hand, drinking some and placing the rest over their heads.This is called Charanamrit.Dr. Sastry explained that the Priests in Hinduism are not agents of God, but rather are keepers of the path and are there to show you which path is clear to reach God.Once the ritual was over, we began our introduction to the different Gods that the temple offered for worship.The first God was Sri Ganesha – the Elephant God.This God loves sweets and rides on a mouse.Ganesha is worshipped by many as the first deity, as this is the God that takes away obstacles to clear the path. It has the head of an elephant and the body of a human with four arms.There were also bronze representations of Ganesha in different forms, which we were told are there for the different cultures who see this God differently.Ganesha is the son of the first couple of the world.He is a young warrior, not married, who lives in the forest.We were next introduced to the main deity of the temple, Sri Venkateswara, or Balaji, who is a representation of Vishnu.This deity wants to be looked at.His eyes are covered, as he sees not through mortal eyes.There are also smaller bronze representations of Balaji, which are used to carry outside for worship.There are two statues to the left and right of the altar, who are the doorkeepers to the God.There was Sri Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of Wealth.Dr. Sastry told us that wearing the powdered red dot on the forehead represents a connection to the Gods.Sri Durga is the Taskmaster, who is affectionate yet firm and knows how to control children.We were next introduced to Sri Radha Krishna (Tulsi), representing marriage of nature and God, which is related to tantra sex. Hindus do not believe sex is a sin; however, you are not to violate the laws of nature.The next temple was devoted to Sri Rama Pariva (statues of Rama, his brother, and Rama's wife).This altar represents the royal family and is the ideal for all families to be like.They represent harmony in living together, monogamy, and being faithful.The next altar was devoted to Sri Navagrahas, the nine planets, for those who want to connect with nature, representing the forces of nature.Dr. Sastry stated this is the deity to worship if you are not comfortable worshipping "God."This struck a note with me, and this is the reason why I chose to use this deity in the presentation.The final deity was Sri Kasi Viswanathaji (Shiva), who was represented as a snake.Throughout all the altars of the Gods, there are motifs carved all around, representing the Gods in different forms.There are also Yoga motifs carved into the altars throughout the temple.The devotees are free to worship at the altars, and they leave food and flowers as offerings to the Gods.
Once Dr. Sastry finished the tour, he left us with the following:(1) Do you believe in yourself?(2) Do you believe in your surroundings?(3) Do you believe that you influence your surroundings and your surroundings influence you?If you answered "yes" to these questions, then you are a Hindu.He then asked three further questions:(1) What is my identity?(2) What is the identity of my surroundings?(3) How am I connected?He told us that we should begin the journey with these simple questions.As I answered "yes" to the first three questions, I am definitely interested in learning the answers of the next three questions.
So, what would you answer to the first three questions? And what about the last three? I know this was a long blog, but I hope it was interesting enough to read through and leave a comment.
So I got to hang out with Jenny on Saturday, which is always a treat. We had plans to go out to a hole-in-the-wall bar to see one of my friends play, which by the way, he really is too good for the place, but enough about that. As we are ready to leave, Jenny's guy calls her and *surprise* he's in the neighborhood, so he'd like to hang with us. Cool. I ask my guy to come hang with us, too. This is where it gets ugly, and brings me to one of the points I want to make in this blog. My guy not so kindly refused the offer, telling me it was either going out tonight or helping me with my math on Sunday...extortion!!! I could be rational about this and realize that he is tired and he doesn't feel like going out, but no, this is not the case. I completely lose my rational mind, so herein lies the point: I have a fairly large vocabulary, with lots of words to choose from at my disposal. Never one to be superfluous, but also never lacking for the right words. So why is it that when I get really angry, I lose all ability to speak rationally and every other word that comes out of my mouth is f*ck?!!!! I can go from eloquent to trashmouth in 3.5 seconds or less! It's sad really, and I lay blame squarely on the shoulders of my 60-something year-old coworker. But seriously, does this happen to you as well? Can you put more than three words together without dropping the F-bomb?
OK, so anger has simmered down and we are headed to the bar. We go in, and it is surprisingly dead, which makes me emphasize even more that this guy is way too good for this place! So we sit and have a beer and watch the show. It's getting a little too loud (I know, I know, too loud, too old, whatever), so we head to the back bar. Let me set this up properly here: There are two couples that have come in to the bar at this point...two attractive girls and two guys, which I do not pay much attention to. The girls are out on the dance floor when we decide to switch seats. The guys that they are with are up against a wall, and three feet from one of them is a bar stool. As Jenny and I walk by, said guy does not move, and we are forced to sidle past between him and the bar stool.. So this has put him on my creepy meter. The song ends and the two girls go back to the two guys. So here's the kicker! One of these girls is a hottie! She goes up to creepy guy and starts kissing all over him, which of course makes me want to get a real good look at him...he's UGLY! It can't be the money thing, as I've already establihed the fact that we are in a hole-in-the-wall bar! WTF??!!! I believe at one point they went off to the bathrooms together...I have only one explanation for what occurred here...the guy must have read Shane's blog...
Although it sounds like a crappy evening, au contraire...going out with Jenny makes any night a fun night!
I'm not kidding!! This is serious folks! I could quite possibly save your life, just because you read this blog! I got this very serious e-mail, with life-saving information!
Please read this very carefully!
WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT PARASITES ARE IN OUR CLOTHING WHEN WE BUY THEM. This is disgusting. Wash your bra's before you wear them!!! Please make it a habit from this point forward to wash your just-purchased undergarments before wearing them. This is sensitive. After anthropologist Susan McKinley came back home from an expedition in South America, she noticed a very strange rash on her left breast. Nobody knew what it was and she quickly dismissed it believing that the holes would leave in time. Upon her return, she decided to see a doctor after she started developing intense pains. The doctor, not knowing the exact severity of the disease, gave her antibiotics and special creams. As time lapsed the pain did not subside and her left breast became more inflamed and started to bleed. She decided to bandage her sores, however as Susan's pain grew more intense she decided to seek help from a more certified doctor. Dr. Lynch could not diagnose the infection and told Susan to seek the aid of one of his colleagues who specializes in dermatology. Unfortunately, the doctor was on vacation. She waited for two weeks and finally was able to reach the dermatologist. Sadly, a life changing event was about to unfold during her appointment. To Miss McKinley's surprise, after she removed the bandages, they found larvae growing and squirming within the pores and sores of her breast. Sometimes these wicked creatures would all together simultaneously move around into different crevices. What she didn't know was that the holes were in fact, deeper than she had originally thought, for these larvae were feeding off the fat, tissue, and even milk canals of her breast. Please share with as many women and men that you know. Our undergarments are made in different countries all over the world. They sit in boxes and go through many hands and exchanges before we purchase them for ourselves.
Now, this sounds pretty serious...so check out the picture, which is PROOF POSITIVE this is real!!!!
Need I say any more???? Have you stopped laughing yet, or are you still staring in bewilderment?
Seriously people, can you say "Photoshop?" The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms are living in boob townhouses!
So, here I sit, attempting to blog. It's been a while. Why, one might ask? Well, I'll tell anyone who might drop in to read, it's because I'm too busy reading YOUR blogs! Yes, it's all (insert name here)'s fault! Not only do I blame you bloggers, but I also blame all the random commenters!!! This is worse than a soap opera, I tell you! I'm completely addicted to you all! As most of my bloggers run in the same circles, I find I must keep up with all comments to know fully what is going on. Even when I try, I'm still lost a lot of the time. *SIGH*
I had great ideas for blogs, which I will attempt to convey, albeit compressed, here.
Subject 1: Alberto Gonzalez - whom our beloved President referred to as an "honest and honorable man." SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! This guy, with the help of the current administration, wiped his ass with the Constitution! This "honorable man" went to the former Attorney General's hospital bed, while in the ICU recovering from surgery, and tried to get him to agree to illegal wiretapping. Fortunately the former AG was coherent enough to tell him where the door was, and not to let it hit him in the ass when he left! And what's with the shady firings of all those judges? hmmmm, "honest and honorable" indeed.
Subject 2: Murder charges - yes, you read right. Louisiana's Attorney General Charles Foti, Jr. wanted to charge Dr. Anna Pou, Lori Budo, and Cheri Landry, a physician and two nurses, with second degree murder for the deaths of six (?) patients at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. This is the biggest bunch of BS I've come across in a while. I read the story of Dr. Anna Pou, in her own words, about what occurred during the week of Hell she endured following the hurricane. Once the flood waters hit on Tuesday, there were helicopters coming in on the first, maybe second day for evacuating patients. And then they were told...you're on your own...nobody's coming for you. So, no power, very sick patients, dying patients, intense heat, in conditions mirroring that of third world countries, for SIX DAYS!!!! Dr. Pou stated they went into reverse triage - stage 1 patients would live - stage 2 patients had a good chance of survival - stage 3 patients had very little to no hope of survival. For six days, Dr. Pou and these two nurses cared for patients in the crudest of circumstances, cut off from the world, doing the best they had with the worst of conditions! Close to the end, they made a decision to make the stage 3 patients as comfortable as possible, giving them injections of Versed and Morphine. These patients were not even her patients, and were not patients of Memorial Hospital, either. They were patients of another facility that operated out of the hospital, and not one of their physicians showed up. These patients, had Dr. Pou not gone in to see, would have suffered considerably before dying days earlier. They were the most acute and critically ill of all the patients at the hospital. Should Dr. Pou and these two nurses be charged with murder? HELL NO!!! As I see it, the city, state, and federal government failed the residents of New Orleans with their lack of action at a time when it was desperately needed! How fast we mobilize to treat those in foreign countries when a major disaster strikes...where was this action? So who do I think should be brought up on murder charges? Let's see...the city, state, and federal government failed to act, the Louisiana Attorney General is under the judicial branch of the government...If anyone is charged with murder, I say let it be the man who brought these ridiculous charges!
Well, maybe not so compressed after all. Anyhow, these are my views on these two subjects. Feel free to share your feelings on the subject(s).
And yes, I'm still trying to catch up on all my reading!!!
I think Jenny did a nice job of describing the vermin we know as cockroaches...spillax...palmetto bugs...aka complete shudder down your spine, give you the heebie-jeebies, nightmare in 2 inch form! This is one of the most harmless insects on the planet, yet it strikes fear in millions. I can understand arachnaphobia, because there are spiders out there that can kill you! But roaches...they're just really ugly. They have no death skills whatsoever. Why do we loathe them so? Why are we so damned afraid of them?
I am petrified of roaches...irrationally so. If a roach is standing between me and the front door, I can't go to work. If a roach were ever to be in the car with me, I could quite possibly kill someone by losing my mind in the car!
In my "Switching up the Tag" blog, I described eight things about me. The one that wasn't true was the cockroach one...although it wasn't me it happened to, it is a completely true story! It happened to my mother-in-law, who is from Hungary. You see, they don't grow these ugly things in Hungary, at least not the jumbo size we have here! Her first experience was the night before the injury - she saw me having to take one out with half a can of bug spray (I can't stop spraying until they stop moving) in the garage. When she saw one the next day, she didn't want to take her eyes off the target for very long, and she thought that standing on a bucket (right-side up) to get closer proximity was the best way to take out the enemy! Well, being the ugly, scary, repulsive, and not to mention very fast cretins they are, this took her by surprise, she lost her balance, fell into the bucket, and then knocked the buket over, fracturing her patella. It took us a while to learn the whole story...she didn't want to admit that part about the bucket being right-side up, trying to balance on the edges and all. Live and learn...
Just a couple weekends ago I had to defend my home yet again from being infiltrated! I was minding my own business in the living room, when out of nowhere I hear a sickening *thud* against the sliding glass door. I look up to see this horrible creature hanging out on the door!!! What to do???!!!! I run to the kitchen and get the spray and I very strategically place a barrier of poison at the top of the door to keep this six-legged beast from entering my house! It gives me shivers just thinking about it...So a little time goes by, and I think I've thwarted disaster. But just to be on the safe side, I check out the position of the enemy. Oh, the horror!!! He is now positioned halfway in and halfway out, at the top of the sliding glass door, ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!! I forgot to spray both sides!!! I now have an ugly intruder that is going to come and attack me as I lay sleeping at night unless I do something NOW!!! I have no choice, I must now battle...I run to get the spray, I have goosebumps, I'm just plain scared...I take aim, making sure I have plenty of room to jump back three feet if necessary. I spray, he flies, I jump, I recover, he runs behind a chair, I move the chair, and spray until all movement ceases. I have triumphed!! Best possible outcome! However, on the down side, my house smelled like fruity bug spray for three days! I don't know why I thought scented bug spray was a good idea.
So these are the stories I have of courage against these two-inch terrors! What about you? Are you afraid of cockroaches? Do you have your own battle stories to tell?
angsty
indescribable
contemplative
calm
annoyed
tired
angry
recumbent