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 […]
Entries Tagged as 'Personal'
Pragmatism v. Idealism
July 24th, 2008 · by John · No Comments
Tags: Activism · Humanism · Musings · Pacifism · Personal · Politics
This is What a Feminist Acts Like
July 19th, 2008 · by xJane · 10 Comments
I have to give props to my husband for recently committing unanticipated acts of feminism. At a recent party, a (male) acquaintance was drunkenly holding forth about how women fundamentally change when they have sex (presumably each time, given his justification) but men do not. Therefore, it is astronomically worse for a woman to cheat […]
Tags: Activism · Belief · Dialog · Feminism · Gender · Humanity · Personal · Reason · Religion · Sexuality · Women
I don’t want to F the Ineffable.
July 6th, 2008 · by John · 12 Comments
I did some bad things during my stint as a Mormon missionary in Japan. I’d like to repent of one of them right now.
Some of my Japanese friends confided deep, personal spiritual experiences with me. In several cases I coopted their experiences for my own ends, and using my words, contorted them so that they […]
Tags: Atheism · Belief · Getting over Religion · Gods · Humanism · Mormonism · Musings · Mysticism · Personal · Reason · Spirituality
On Anteaters and National Pride
July 4th, 2008 · by John · 6 Comments
When I was seventeen, I had this conviction that my high school was better than yours. I held this cherished belief even though Vacaville kicked our asses in wrestling every year (metaphorically, because even though you drag your opponent’s elbow against his testicles, no kicking is allowed) and cross-town rival Armijo sent their best […]
Tags: Japan · Personal · Politics
“Dying Wish”
June 21st, 2008 · by xJane · 6 Comments
on Fox. I don’t know how long that link will work…there’s a YouTube of it somewhere, too, I may imbed it below a fold later when I find it.
This is my father, busy exploiting his illness for his life-long pet project: “the right to life”. Which I’ve learned translates into “the denial of rights”, “inadequate […]
Tags: Death · Ethics · Feminism · Getting over Religion · Humanity · Justice · Law · Links · Personal
Random Notes on a Friday Night.
June 20th, 2008 · by John · 8 Comments
CatGirl and I are training up to LA tomorrow to see the Amy Sol exhibit at the ThinkSpace Gallery. She’s one of our favorite contemporary artists–she inspires CatGirl’s art and my stories. We’ve been waiting for this for months. We’re also planning to hit the Farmer’s Market and Little Tokyo (including a possible lunch with […]
Tags: Activism · Atheism · Charities · Church and State · Creativity. · Getting over Religion · Mormonism · Personal
“Don’t you see? I need you, Rock.”
June 13th, 2008 · by xJane · 11 Comments
So…my father is dying (stop me if you’ve heard this one). And some days this cripples me to the point where I can’t get out of bed. But most days, I go to the movies, I surf the ‘net, I hang out with friends, and just generally live my life. Like normal. And it is […]
Tags: Death · Depression · Personal · Video
This is the Love of My Life.
June 4th, 2008 · by John · 6 Comments
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stydying, in my hotel room, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.
That is all.
Melancholia’s 31 Flavors
May 20th, 2008 · by John · 13 Comments
Here’s a few:
Bipolar Disorder
Postnatal Depression
Depression with Psychotic Features
Dysthymia
I suspect that my favorite flavor is dysthymia, a sort of bland vanilla version of the depressive mood disorders. I like mine served up with a bit of insomnia, inability to concentrate, ongoing irritability, and a dull but persistent pessimism.
Why bring this up now? And in this venue? […]
Tags: Depression · Personal
I actually kinda think this is a good idea…
May 5th, 2008 · by xJane · 3 Comments
I think that a 12 hour day (or at least a day that requires daylight savings time), a 7 day week, a 3-4 week month, and a year that’s dependent on leap years & seconds are hopelessly outdated and rely on cultural history rather than science or necessity (there’s a great idea about 3 day […]
Tags: Church and State · Islam · Personal · Reason
