Happy New Year to Vampires and Witches

Happy New Year?
Well, we sure hope so.
What are you resolving to do or not do in 2006?
I resolve to promote my novel, "The Dancing Valkyrie," come out with a book on hiking in the Adirondacks of Hamilton County by spring, this year, and publish a sequal to "The Dancing Valkyrie" by October.
I hope to pay off some bills.
I will do my best to be the best me possible, if only I can figure out who me is.
Of course, I will make more of an effort to follow my Boy Scout Oath, be kind, be courteous, do my best to do my duty to God/Goddess and country, so unto others as I would have others do unto me, and harm none.
What can I tell you but to keep on keeping on as we used to say back in the 60's.

Cigarettes cause Global Warming

I have my doubts about global warming. Maybe yes. Maybe no. I have seen too many incorrect weather statistics for where I live, know that even accurate statistics can be missleading because of the change in the environment of the location (fewer trees and more pavement) where statistics are recorded and the simple fact that even semi-accurate statistics have not been around for all that long - all adding up to give doubt to what the doomsayers are saying.
There is also the problem of the doomsayers being as changeable as the weather.
In the early 50's, I remember a guy on the Today Show saying that if the weather continued to warm the way it was warming then, palm trees would be growing in Central Park within ten years.
In the mid 70's, another doomsayer was saying the current weather trend would soon land us in an ice age.
Now we are back to palm trees in Central Park.
The so called "crazy weather" of the 50's was usually blamed on the testing of atomic bombs. Now the blame is on "green house gases."
It should not be long before cigarettes are added to the list of what is causing global warming. Why not when cigarettes are blamed for just about every evil in the world today.
But really, what do we know? Some even go along with global warming and then suggest global warming will be the cause of the next ice age.
If you think about it, maybe the best way to lower green house gases - whether or not they are causing global warming - is to go with the idea of the current warming being the cause of the next ice age.
The way I figure it, more people would demand the reduction of greenhouse gases under the fear of the next ice age, than there are those who are worried about palm trees growing in Central Park.

Capital Punishment

With the recent execution of the founder of the Crips gang, capital punishment is once again in the news.
Those for and those against take their positions and dig in the heels.
The arguments are always the same. The issue, like abortion, just won't go away. Possibly because the focus is always the same, focusing on the person being executed?
So a little food for thought here by looking at what isn't looked at. What about those who actually do the executing?
How much are they paid and who are they? How do they feel about their job? Does it give them satisfaction? Are they heroes or sadists? Do they suffer mental problems as a result of their job? Has there ever been a study to determine what being an executioner might have upon their family and friends?
It seems to me that if this is a noble job, their names and their pay should be made known so we can thank them and decide if they are being underpaid for their sevice to the community.
If it is not a noble job, then perhaps we should demand that those who call for a person to be executed are the ones to carry it out. Perhaps the judge? Perhaps the jury? Perhaps the governor?
I don't know the answer but it sure looks like we have an awful amount of buck passing and hand washing going on when it comes to executions.

Merry Christmas

For some odd reason, Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays has been a big topic in the news recently.
Why all the fuss when both terms have their value during the time between Thanksgiving and New Years.
Let's all study this together, children.
On Thanksgiving day, you say, "Happy Thanksgiving."
On Christmas day, you say, "Merry Christmas."
On New Years day, you say, "Happy New Year."
At all other times between Thanksgiving and New Years, you say, "Happy Holidays."
Or, if you a tired of all this nonsense, grunt, groan and say, "Bah humbug!"

Home of the Brave??

The ultimate tragedy of 911 is how we seem to have lost "home of the of the brave" and are rapidly losing "land of the free."
Examples abound every day. The latest is fear of the bird flu.
This is not to say caution should be throw to the wind. Caution can often be the better part of valor.
But new reports, elected official and an army of "experts" have joined forces to frighten Americans on just about everything from soup to nuts.
Just the other day, young girls were warned not to kiss their boy friends if they had recently eaten peanut butter.
Must we worry about everything? What ever happened to the good old American spirit of offending those who are in dire need of being offended?
I am reminded of an old joke from my Navy days. It concerns the cheerleaders from the University of Norfolk. This was back in the days when all cheerleaders were good looking girls.
"We don't drink! We don't smoke. Norfolk! Norfolk!!"

Vampire Lady gets religion

The Vampire Lady Gets Religion

I was recently at a blog where the issue being discussed was Anne Rice switching from vampires to Jesus. There was some debate about her motives. Was she truly "finding Jesus" or was she just jumping on the "Christian Right" bandwagon? Who cares!? I probably won't read her new book because if I want to read about Jesus, I'll read the Gospels or I will read theologians. I guess, in a way, Anne is digging in the same dirt as did Mel Gibson with his "Passion of Christ." And since Mel was looking to attract the Christian Right, Mel ended up fudging the sex and laying the violence on with heavy doses of blood. Fudging the sex? But of course! Or didn't you know that crucifixion was meant not only to kill but also to humiliate. Most who were crucified were crucified in the nude. And oh dear! But how that would have offended the good people of the Christian Right if Mel had showed the actor playing Jesus on a cross without a stitch of clothing on. But it wasn't always so. Michelangelo crafted a crucifix with the naked Jesus because he knew the truth and so did the Church in his time.

Organized religion vs. Paganism

I really hate to put in (vs.) because it should not be so. If the world's major religions and all those that could be listed under paganism would be honest, I think the truth is all steal and or borrow from each other.
That said, I would like to stand up for paganism for the simple reason it is the bedrock and cornerstone of all belief systems.
The mistake, I believe, organized religions have made is their tendency to distance themselves from the flesh and blood they are. It's as though there is something shameful about being human.
For myself, I try to blend paganism (Witcraft) with Christianity in this way.
Witchcraft connects me with all of creation. Death is not supreme, but is rather the element life uses to contantly evolve and reinvent itself.
Christianity offers more guidance than simply saying do what you will as long as you don't harm anyone. Christianity takes that very worthy and basic law, and goes beyond by asking you to help your neighbor - feed the hungry, cloth the naked, etc.
It is a shame that the two don't get along. Though I must say (and regret to add) the fault seems to be more on the side of the Christians than it is on the side of the Witches.

The End of Religion?

The rise of the "Religious Right" might actually be a sign of the end of religion as we now know it, rather than a sign of the "End Times."
And when I say "Religious Right," I am including all of the world's major religions.
Why would I say this?
Because strident voices are frightened voices. As Shakespear would say, "Me thinks they protest too much."
But the more serious problem and why I suspect the major religions are set for a big fat fall, is because none of them are doing a damn thing for their people here and now.
Their focus is on some sort of after-life where the good get their reward and the bad get their just punishment.
This may or may not be true. Who knows? We are talking belief, not knowledge.
But even if it is true - or maybe more importantly if it is true - doesn't it make sense to care about the treatment of people right here and now?
What about the Golden Rule, Love, Forgiveness, Feeding the Hungry, Judge not lest You be Judge?
And yet, what do we have?
Let's go out and condemn someone! Let's punish someone! Let's prove we are the good guys and we have every right to torture and execute the bad guys!
It will not work. It never has and never will.
Sorry! But if you believe in a divinity, any divinity, I think you need to start with a little humility and admit you just don't know.
Would Heaven turn out to be Hell for those who thought they were the good guys and ended up having to share eternity with those they condemned here on Earth? I mean, what happens if everyone gets to go to Heaven? Then what?