Archive for January, 2009

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Lolcatz Pomes

Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Over at Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s blog Making light, in one of the open threads we started paraphrasing well-known verse and prose in lolcats style. I succumbed to the temptation and came up with these.
 

Apologies to A. E. Housman

O hai, iz stoopid stuf

Fud gone, k

Beer gone, k

But ur pome suxxorz

hertz kitteh tummeh

<pome> Cow be stabid

Cow head iz sleepin </pome>

O noes my turn nao

2 here ur t00nz killin ur cow

2 here ur rime killin ur dudes

Do not want!

U dangle cat toy on string nao kthx

A seventies TV theme duet (maybe you had to be there)

> I is teh hick!

I is teh roxxor!

> I can has memphis & nashvl

I can has motown flava

> is it gud? y/n?

/me luvs it

> I is teh hick!

I is teh roxxor!

The original was about felines so this should be obvious

Fat kitteh on mat dreemin

I can has cheezburger

AFK dreemin

*ROAR* 1337 beest in teh eest

in ur den feestin on ur men

Kitteh big bro wit iron clause

An big bludy teeths

Spotted kitteh on kwik feets

In ur loft jumpin on ur meat

In ur woods loomin in ur gloom

Big kitteh roxxorz littul kitteh sleepz

Fat kitteh on mat

Keeps u as staff

But kitteh knoes

And from a great SF novel

O hai, im Gully Foyle

Im from ur Erth

Livin in deep space

Goin to teh starz!!111eleventyone

Posted in Geekery, Verse | Comments Closed

Christmas Music

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

I’ve come to appreciate liturgical traditions that make a clear distinction between Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany music, so here are some of my favorites for each.

(more…)

Posted in Religion, Taste | Comments Closed

Health Insurance Misdirection

Sunday, January 25th, 2009
I wonder the same question that [another commenter] asks: When the decisions are made about how to allocate our resources, will society take the so-called lifestyle choices into account?

 

When I say this, I’m not hoping it will happen. I’m fearing that we will attempt to do it and make an awful mess of it.

 

(more…)

Posted in Politics | Comments Closed

Masculinity

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

The impression I got growing up was that males are supposed to be tough. We’re meant to endure a lot of wear and tear—scrapes and bruises on the athletic field, cuts and black eyes from schoolyard fights, doing the chores that involve heavy lifting and dangerous power tools, and eventually going off to war.

And what advantage did we get in return for this? Precious little, as far as I could tell. When I was a boy I was oblivious to the ways women are disadvantaged in society. The only benefit to being tough that I could see was that men’s clothing didn’t have all the frills and lace that was delicate and difficult to keep in repair.

Besides unrealistic and unattainable expectations for myself, this also led to mistaken ideas about others. If men are tough in ways that women aren’t, then this must mean that women are supposed to be fragile. What a lie that is!

I certainly didn’t learn all this from my parents. Must have been peers and television.

As I matured, I learned that it was okay for me not to be tough or not to fit someone else’s idea of what that meant. I still appreciate durable, easy to clean clothing, though.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Closed

Republicans in Trouble

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

No difference between Democrats and Republicans? It all depends on which Democrats and which Republicans you’re comparing. Kucinich and Brownback? Loads of difference. Clinton and Giuliani? Not so much.

There’s a difference. There’s just not enough difference. For once I’d like a presidential candidate I can wholeheartedly support, not just someone who is only half as evil as Huck McRomney.

[Originally published in May 2008.]

Posted in Politics | Comments Closed

What I Learned on Thanksgiving

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Men can cook.

That’s what I learned this Thanksgiving (1993). Men can prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, given enough time, a willingness to experiment and take risks, and a lack of women willing or able to do it for them. (more…)

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Posted in Religion | Comments Closed

Karaoke Mate & Yes Lyrics

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Someone said that the music of Yes was “pretty embarrassing lyrically these days.” I beg to differ. This is supposed to be some recent realization? I always knew that “dreamer easy in the chair that really fits you” made absolutely no sense. Yes regards the voice as just another instrument, so the lyrics aren’t usually all that important (unless you’re listening to the songs written by the non-Anderson faction on the Union album).

This point was underlined when D—- bought a Karaoke Mate from Radio Shack. This is a device that removes the lead vocals as you play recorded music so that you can sing along with the instruments and backups. It works for stereo recordings that are mixed conventionally, with the lead vocals in the center and the accompaniments to one side or the other. It compares the left and right channels and subtracts out anything that is the same on both sides.

(more…)

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Posted in Taste | Comments Closed

How Being Gay Has Been a Spiritual Blessing for Me

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

If I had not had to come to terms with being gay, my worldview would probably have been formed by my training in science. I might have gone overboard on rationality and disbelieved anything that couldn’t be objectively proven.

But I was forced to confront feelings welling up inside myself which my education did not tell me how to handle. I learned to accept, value, and live my orientation on my own. I did not conduct any scientific research to discover that homosexuality is normal; certainly no public opinion poll. I learned a basic truth about myself, and something about the world as well, by introspection and meditation.

The way I grew from this experience has kept me open to the idea that other truths might be learned in similar ways. If I could learn a little bit, maybe someone else could learn greater spiritual or philosophical truths by inspiration and revelation.

Another way I have been blessed by being gay is that it narrowed my range of choices for spiritual community. In order to find a church where I could be openly gay, I had to join a small congregation. Ames Mennonite Church has ranged from 8 to 20 members. When there are so few people, there are many tasks to share. This has challenged me to exercise skills and gifts I might never have known I had. These are some of the things I have done: treasurer, chair of business meetings, secretary, member of worship/nurture committee, member of pastor search committee, worship leader, giving sermons, hosting social events, and delegate to conferences. I don’t know how I escaped editing the newsletter.

Posted in Religion | Comments Closed

What Jesus Said About Divorce

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Okay, let’s look at just what Jesus meant when he spoke of divorce. After some study, I contend that to summarize Jesus’ words as simply “never divorce” overlooks an important part of the message.

(more…)

Posted in Religion | Comments Closed

Bible as Record

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Andynude wrote:

Those that understand their faith can talk about it in their own words and not resort to “cos it says so in the Bible”

Kathleen replied:

Actually, a Christian citing scripture –to us–is more like the supreme court judges citing from the constitution. We gain understanding from the Bible. God speaks to all of us personally but the Bible contains the only words from God that we can all look to as one.

I replied:

Kathleen,

That’s a very well-put, concise statement of a view that I don’t quite
share.

(more…)

Posted in Religion | Comments Closed

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