An attack on my religion (and yes, I *do* have one)
Current mood: determined
Category: Religion and Philosophy
Last Sunday, a coward with a strong case of hatred for liberals attacked the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, killing two members of the congregation and wounded six others. His reason for doing it was apparently political more than religious -- he'd made statements highly critical of Christians as well -- but it speaks to a dangerous undercurrent in our culture, a feeling it's OK to kill or harm certain people over politics, over race, over sexuality.
This sort of thinking should have been buried in the 19th century at the absolute latest. And maybe part of the reason it hasn't been is because those of us who take a progressive -- a liberal -- stance have allowed ourselves to be bullied into silence.
I'm a Unitarian Universalist, as is Sara at Crooks and Liars, who puts the feelings of many in our religion to words. We're a small religion, but we've had a great amount of influence in American society over the years, with the first six presidents linked to either Unitarianism or Universalism. (The two liberal Christian churches merged in the early 1960s to create one new religion whose members may or may not identify as Christians -- depends on the individual.)
You don't have to agree with my religion. I don't have to agree with yours. But if we can't agree that killing each other is a bit extreme, then what hope is there for our society? If we tear ourselves apart from the inside -- if we stand back and let others be oppressed -- then what hope do we have of standing against outside enemies?
I'm participating this year in St. Baldrick's Day, a fundraiser for juvenile cancer research. My goal is a fairly modest $150 for right now, but could go higher.
Everything Must Go
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Life
Operation: Happily Ever After: My attempt to put together money for an eventual move closer to my girlfriend and her son. It's now under way.
How? Selling off books, comics, DVDs, CDs and toys I've amassed over the years. My comics collection is probably in the 8,000 to 10,000 range. A friend and her mother have posted 166 auctions at eBay today, the tip of the iceberg:
Please check them out. If there's nothing you see there that you want, but you see something a friend of yours might like, please tell him or her. It's vital I get rid of this stuff so I have less to lug around in the event of a move, and the money raised from this will help make that move more affordable if the auctions do well.
It's too damn hot to do much besides watch movies, listen to music and read comic books, anyway.
Episode four went up today, in fact, and includes an account of the single worst experience I've ever had on a date. It also features some kick-ass music by The Perfects, King God and Noam Weinstein -- names you should get to know if you don't already.
You can get quick synopses of all four episodes at the show's MySpace account and see the profiles for several of the artists I've played, many more I plan to play, and a few others I just like but might not be able to play because they're on bigger labels.
Note to the musicians out there...
Current mood: okay
I've set up a second MySpace account for my podcast:
http://www.myspace.com/mentalnomadshow
Anyone interested can subscribe to the podcast via my Liberated Syndication page:
http://mentalnomad.libsyn.com/
And the show notes and other neat stuff can be found at the show's Blogger account:
http://mentalnomadhow.blogspot.com/
Over the next few weeks, I'll be sending out invites to the musical acts on my friends list, inviting them to become friends of that account, and dropping most (but not all) of the musical accounts from the friends list here.
Those whom I've corresponded with a bit -- R-Three, Kurt Kreikenbom, Helen Sventitsky and a few others -- will remain friends of this account for as long as you put up with me. :)
And if you're an independent artist who's self-publishing, or have a label that's open to podcasting, drop me a note here or at that account. If I like your sound, you have a good chance of getting played.
The following is a link to an audio sermon that sums up the history and context of my religion -- Unitarian Univeralism -- as well as anything I've ever heard. Right-click it to save it to your desktop, if you wish, or left-click it to go straight to the file in your browser. (Or ignore the post if you like.)
"The Core of Our Faith" was delivered 18 Sept. 2005 at the Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, N.J., by the congregtion's minister, the Rev. Dr. Justin Osterman. It's about 28 minutes in length, a "Bring a Friend Sunday" sermon aimed at people who've maybe never heard of Unitarian Universalism or who think it's the same thing as the Unity Church or the Unification Church (founded by the self-proclaimed messiah Rev. Moon, and hence given the derogatory nickname "Moonies").
If you've ever wondered what I'm going on about when I mention UUs or UUism, here's a chance to learn. It's a religion that arose from Christianity but has grown to encompass a wider range of inspiration than one book and to include theists and nontheists alike who are united in a common pursuit of kinship and social change for the better (as we see it).
determined
hopeful
okay
cynical
amused
awake
full