New Year Thingamabobber

As far as I know, he's not litter box trained like my cats are, so if you put him on your web page, please don't blame me if you find yourself changing his diapers now and then.

Dana Point 1

You can Play....

You can play "Name that blog!"

The Death of Ambrose: An Exorcism

I knew that putting him down was the right thing under the circumstances. That decision was clear. I needed the break mostly for myself. Not to sooth my feelings, but to throw something in the face of God.

Someone Said It....

To quote Ezra Pound: "What thou lovest best still remains/the rest is dross". I'm confident that's not a fact (Ambrose wasn't dross), but perhaps there's an attitude worth adopting.

Some personal rules for criticism

As much as I hesitate to state anything in a postive, I enjoy the writing group. Tonight I was one of the two people with work on the table. I've been learning how to sort through criticism as a result of these meetings.

The Sins of Our Spouses....

Everyone who disagrees, please raise your hand. OK. How many times have you been married or shacked up?

Facing the Invisible Mark

Nobody is saying "This is going to be your year, Joel. I can feel it" as they did last year.

Karen's 12 Days of Christmas - A Haiku Cycle Not for the Young

The "poetry" which is hidden on the second page of this entry was written in (dis?)honor of Karen Zipdrive....

The Spectre Leaves A Note

I see the spectre and yet I also see the man.

Justifiable Spectracide

I think that I must kill the anthropologist.

Thoughts after watching "Pollock" again

It's the madness of a saint wanting a desert all to himself

St. Antony's Sister

It makes a sweet story if you don't think it through.

The Real Mr. Litter King

I call upon all my readers to salute Canada Litter King as the genuine article and a true patriot

The Holy Innocents

It is a celebration of the life of any innocent who has died at the hands of tyrants, pursuing or merely suspected of pursuing, the cause of liberty and personal conscience

Commies, Kooks, or Savants?

Intelligence on this organization (New Tradition) from skeptics, pacifists, or others would be appreciated.

Neo-Confederate Doubletalk

All the classic symptoms of Southern Fried Political Correctness are there as a response to both my article and to some additional comments by another person who prefers accuracy to myth.

Ambrose Comes Home

"Hmmm," I thought as I balanced it in my hand. "You haven't lost much weight after all they did to you."

Dream
Everyone in the family is out of work. My mother is making me and everyone else (including at least one...

The Other Sorrow

I want her back at a job so that I can resume my life as it was. I love her, but I need my routine again.

Aaaaaaaaaargh!

I do not believe that I live in a universe run by Descartes' demon. Nor do I feel that God is punishing me.

Overeducation?

Certainly, no journalist that I know should be allowed to throw her or his paper at us and say that we're useless because we don't have it.

Which SF Author are you?

Samuel R. Delany

Coming in the Door

Coming in the door, I caught myself. "Hi Handsome!" I almost called out.

Which are You?

A pair of quotes for you to consider and write about.

Journalist Spits on Blogs -- How Surprising

Another journalist buried in laurels from her peers who dismissed what is probably the most vibrant medium out there.

A Christmas Grief Observed

Had Ambrose died at a more advanced age or if I had seen this sickness coming some months ago, I would not be as devastated.

Day of Two Feasts

Today is sacred, both for Christians and Zoroastrians: it marks the birth of Christ and the death of Zoroaster.

When the Sadness Hits Me

I think that will put in an appearance at the family Christmas gathering tomorrow, if not for my own cheer, then for the cheer of others.

And You Thought the Starrish Inquisition Was Out of Hand....

Could you imagine this rumor in the United States, with the possible tweak of the rumor that Bill Clinton was trading blood for oil?

Christmas Eve Diversion for Eggheads

No, you don't get any picture to post when you finish it or learn deep secrets about yourself, except maybe how well read you are.

Wreath-O-Rama

Please, have a jolly Christmas. Drink the cider, laugh with your family, remember the loved ones who have gone on, enjoy the presents you receive and the ones you give to others. If there is no God, remember that there are people who love you.

Wrought and Wrecked by Grief

I'd weep: "I don't deserve this!" And he'd say "Daddies, its nots abouts deservingses. It's abouts lovingses."

Ambrose B. Ambrogo 1993 to 2002

My poor boy. My poor little boy.

Blogging Mysteries

A few questions about other blogs that I have no answers for.

Two Bloggers Who Would Hate Zoroastrianism

In the Parsee view, insects, spiders, and scorpions are creatures of the Lie. A good Parsee stomps them flat whenever he sees one.

Zoroastrian Hell

If you've been following my blog for the last few days, you've probably been reading my commentary on what I have characterized as the Zoroastrian contamination of Christianity. This is not accurate.

The Living Blaming the Dead

It's not the dead who give you the most problems from unresolved questions. It's the living who try to pin things on the dead and who won't take responsibility for their actions who bug the hell out of me.

The Dilemma

There are two opposing schools of journaling on the issue of moods.

A Good Precedent

One Ethel Darlinger tried unsuccessfully to get her insuror, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, to pay for her expensive chemotherapy treatments. It dallied, delayed, and ultimately refused. The day following her funeral, her husband received the negative reply to their last appeal.

A Blank Pillar

Charity isn't another form of glory or advertising.

Who Has the Mint Jelly?

When I was a child and suffering from my first moods, my mother used to tell me to "offer my pain up to God".

Santa Claus is Coming to Jail

You know, I'm glad that I never got this wild in real life. Nice thing about being only unipolar!

Does this prove I'm Psychic?

OK, the official pre-viewing spoilers on the second part of The Lord of the Rings is out here at Pax Nortona.

A Visit from Mother

To save our sanity, we kept mentions of the season to a minimum....

Next: Survivor, Silicon Valley

People may actually be getting bored with all these wilderness experiences.

Near CATastrophe

For less than a second, her full weight hung from a bit of tender skin.

Resolved to not Unresolve

Some year's ago, I decided that there was only one New Year's Resolution I could possibly keep and I've remade it every year since then.

The Gura and Others, Revisited

I know I sound extremely selfish right now. So does a starving woman when the subject of food comes up.

Gratitude

Thanks to those who left messages of support these past few weeks, especially blu, rainbow, and Teresa who've been there in these bad times, who've not been afraid to come around when there is someone hurting here, who've stood with me when I've raged against the cruel idea that my life is one string of punishments for existing.

A New Goddess Found

Ann Salisbury is now, along with chari the goddess of good karma, a member of a very select web pantheon. I deem her the goddess of patience and helpfulness.

The Gura

I never caught on until later that I was being sized up for two things: the size of my discretionary income and my sexual attractiveness.

Wishlists and Other Christmas Letdowns

I feel terrible about not being able to get gifts for my nieces and nephews. That was the best part of Christmas. Lynn and I had just started looking around when the layoff hit. Our suddenly strained finances meant that this joy was denied us.

Mithras Revisited

I've got a couple of books on Mithras, one of which is popular and old, the other of which says that based on new evidence and understandings, the older book is entirely wrong

Another Sex Change?
If they'd asked if I was on anti-depressants, would they have given me this? Will Tanya be jealous of my...

Technical Leadership

The idea of technical leadership that some hold in their minds can prove fatal to corporate health.

Peace On Earth Needs No Memorial

The next time there is a war...let's build a monument that honors all the casualties. Not just our dead, not just soldiers, but their dead, too, and any neutrals who happened to get in harm's way.

The Chopping Block

The idiots who don't know how to give criticism weren't there.

Handling a Jerk

Once he paged me to let me know that he was moving to San Jose. "I know where you live," he said.

An Apology, Paranoia, and An Attitude

I was wrong, Ann. I am sorry.

Me as the Battlefield Between Ahriman and Ahura Mazda

So what's been happening to me, according to Zoroastrian teaching is that the forces of Evil (led by the Arch-Demon Ahriman) are flinging everything they can at me: mental illness, gout, asthma, nasty people, blog roaches, joblessness, etc. because they want me to lie. They want me to say that Ahura Mazda is no darn good.

My Sesame Street Neurosis Is Off

I suspect that Bert and Ernie come up for a lot of the questions. Do you think the quiz designer has an agenda, maybe like having a bigger pool of gay men to draw from

Things that Fall Apart and Shit that Sticks

To be truthful, I've enjoyed writing my rants about Job and about the Orange County Justice system. They're things that I can write about safely. What I am having trouble writing about might be called mysteries: I have no idea of the full measure of what is happening.

Anger

We're not free here in Republican heaven. Not by a long shot.

Lott vs. the Wimpocrats

I've not liked Lott for years. I've been dismayed to watch his rise to the Senate leadership. Bet we won't ever see him run for president, though. He knows he could never stand the test of an actual majority of voters, much less a Senate elected by a true majority of voters.

More on Job

Note when Job loses it. He does pretty well, to tell the truth, when he loses everything in God's attempt to prove a point. It's when his friends come and try to tell him that he has no business being angry with God or feeling so bad that he explodes.

Authors and Guinea Pigs Needed

You'll get a lot of glory and my utter gratitude for doing this. Plus some web space if you're in need of some for your blog. Also an email account with Spam Assassin activated.

Kissinger has Character, Not Lott

I'm sorry that I got caught saying what I thought, but I am not going to resign.

God and Satan

My rant at God was based on Biblical understandings derived from the Book of Job, Jonah, and a particular incident in the life of Christ.

Lots More on Lott

Just the thought of the apologize-oh-matic "a Republican can do no wrong" crowd babbling on about the "meanness" of the Congressional Black Caucus in not accepting Lott's pathetic apology causes the contents of my dinner to back up in the vicinity of my appendix and consider turning back for where it first came in.

Aortal - Pulp Friction

"Pulp Friction"....I think of a vagina worn raw by a vibrator.

Mmmmm. Spam!

Can't you smell it? That lovely, greasy, ashy scent of Spam off hot the mail filter?

The Bright Side of a Dark Holiday Season

Lucky us.

Gotta Love Orange County Bureaucracy

I can just see some office gleep seeing the flashing button on the phone and punching it off, repeatedly.

Informal Poll

The question is what should I name the new site?

Bats in Her Basement

Fliedermaus fans will be in heaven as people talk about the good things bats can do, how to properly handle them, and how to build a bat house.

Lynn's Job

We're willing to move almost anywhere in the United States or Canada if the company will cover moving expenses and a downpayment on a house.

Civics Lesson

The South County Court House is....laid out, as befits Orange County's ultra-militaristic outlook, like a pentagon, complete with an open ground zero in the middle.

Dream
This is actually from yesterday. I've gone back to Durham, North Carolina with Lynn. We are at The Book Exchange...

Things I Have Survived -- But for What?

God, if you're out there, you've done a damn fine job of making me feel like the whole of existence is all my fault....Pay up or strike me dead. I'm not going to do it for you.

A Totally 21st Century Frustration

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Let Me Eat Xanax?

That's the silent message I pick up from the lack of comments about our tense life situation.

Not So Humane Society - Revisited

Some people seem to believe that whites only talk to whites and blacks to blacks.

Lynn's Resume....

Lynn's resume is here.

Why they booed Lott

The Republicans at that gathering should have done the same and the toastmaster should have thrown him off the platform.

Should I be Insulted....?

I'm a white person who doesn't have a job. (And neither does my wife these days.) Of course I can't see things "as they are".

Tarnish on a Golden Legend
Today over at City of the Silent, I re-examine the legend of St. Barbara, a popular saint who was removed...

Homage to Liz

I know you love your child. I can see you pulling hairs out of your head.
And I know full well the stupidity of people.

If it had not been for JFK, you'd be dead

Andrew Greeley: Think back to those 13 days in October before you make your decision to choose virtue over competence.

Goo-Google Eyes

Won't hurt them to read something nonpornographic now, will it?

The Week in Review

If it weren't for the sincere, struggling authors who know how to tell you that a sentence needs to be reworked without insisting that you give up part of your mind because "people are dumb" and "you won't sell your book writing like that", I'd forget about showing up.

Oh Lovely....
Yes, that's a pretty good picture of my mood rendered as a landscape. Where Did Your Soul Originate? brought to...

Question....

Why do they let go of competent employees and keep the incompetent managers who screwed up the financial end of things?

She Knows

"OK, I've been good and let you write uninterrupted," Tracy signifies through mews and by jumping into my lap.

God as an Exercise of the Imagination

There's a crazy theme running through our society, one which says that when you lose a job, get sick, gain weight, etc., that you're being rebuked by a divine force.

How Evil Am I?

And I thought the cat and Halloween would put me over the top.

Overdue But Arrived at Last

The Bad News

It was a xanax moment.

Recovery

Casualties? A few comments by rainbow and some others which were posted between the 3rd and today. My apologies. You weren't censored.

The Starrish Inquisition in Malaysia

Two thoughts: first, sodomy shouldn't be a crime when it occurs between consenting adults; and second, I doubt that Anwar Ibrahim is guilty.

Another Server Move
To provide greater stability, Glowhost is moving me to a new box. If this message disappears, it means that I...

For the Record....

Anorexia plus a senility which denies her memory of where her food bowl is afflict her now.

Delays

A combination of technical fubar and personal lackadaisicalness plus procrastination has intercalated to a hiatus in my photography postings.

Leonardo By the Numbers and Other Computer Memories

We looked back at Leonardo's model (I like the theory that it is Leonardo in drag) through the panel and looked towards the future through the same image.