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Entries from November 2008

Better than a Thesis

July 30th, 2008 · by John · 5 Comments

Emerson said that sometimes “a scream is better than a thesis,” and tonight I want to scream, but how do you convey a cry across a keyboard and into the ether? How can you type a suppressed sob, or a yell that lies dormant in the pit of your stomach?

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Overheard in the UCI Medical Center Cafeteria

July 29th, 2008 · by John · 5 Comments

This morning, between me and my daughter, aka CatGirl.  This is pretty typical of our exchanges:
CatGirl: What’s that?
Me: This? Cream of Wheat.
CatGirl: More like Cream of Weird.
Me: You mean Cream of Awesome.
(I italicize my words when I talk.  It’s a rare talent.)
CatGirl: You know, I don’t think I’ve ever tried Cream of Wheat.
Me: Here’s a […]

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the Myth of “Third Party” Votes

July 28th, 2008 · by xJane · 7 Comments

As a voting member of a “third” party, I am often annoyed by the assumptions of non-third party voters. First, I’d like to take issue with “third”. In general, yes, this is a two-party system. But “Green” is not synonymous with “Third”. Especially since there are some really whacked-out “thirds” that deserve to be called […]

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Tags: Activism · Belief · Current Events · Dialog · Education · Musings · News · Politics · Reason

Caption Contest

July 27th, 2008 · by John · 10 Comments

Mary, I know it’s hard to let go, originally uploaded by mind on fire.
But little Jesus died in that accident with the silver smelter.
I took these pictures on the grounds of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange. They are just screaming for caption. You can see the fear in Joseph’s face:

I challenge you–go forth […]

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Obama’s (Secret) Prayer

July 27th, 2008 · by xJane · 3 Comments

During Obama’s recent visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, according to tradition, he wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and left it there. However, since he is under media scrutiny right now, it was stolen by a young seminary student (who should have known better!). While I disagree completely with its theft, […]

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Tags: Belief · Christianity · Church and State · Current Events · Dialog · Ethics · Gods · Judaism · Meditation & Prayer · News · Politics · Religion · Ritual · Spiritual Progressives

Idealism v. Pragmatism, Take Two.

July 25th, 2008 · by John · 7 Comments

I was hoping to hear a bit from the rest of y’all on the question of idealism v. pragmatism, so let me cut through the obscure pretentiousness of my last post and ask a question:
Have you had to decide between doing what’s obviously right to you (at the risk of being marginalized and limiting your […]

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Pragmatism v. Idealism

July 24th, 2008 · by John · 1 Comment

We make sense of the world and our relation to it through the stories we tell.  Back in my young and wild Mormon days (riding bikes with the gang down the street of Japan, doing drive by conversions), I told the story of Joseph Smith to anyone who would listen.  The cool thing was that […]

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Tags: Activism · Humanism · Musings · Pacifism · Personal · Politics

Spark: Training

July 22nd, 2008 · by xJane · No Comments

I’m sorry for all the sparks recently, but I couldn’t resist this one. Enjoy!

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Tags: Art · Atheism · Belief · Bible · Christianity · Comics · Creativity. · Fiction · Getting over Religion · Gods · Humor · Pop Culture · Religion · Satire · Skeptic · Spiritual Progressives · Spirituality · Undead

Spark: Kilts!

July 21st, 2008 · by xJane · No Comments

At the post office.

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Tags: Activism · Current Events · Gender · News · Society · Spark

Spark: Women in the Box Office

July 20th, 2008 · by xJane · 2 Comments

“Could It Be? Did Hollywood Execs Get The Memo?” speculates on the reason for the number of movies-about-women (which seems to correspond with movies-by-women). I would take issue with her assertion that Mama Mia! or Kit are any great leaps forward for womankind, but I’ve not seen either, so I won’t get into that here.

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Tags: Art · Current Events · Fantasy · Feminism · Fiction · Gender · Movies/Hollywood · Pop Culture · Women · Writing