From Babylon to Zion with Love

Thomas Merton as a Recovering Monk (?)

2007-04-08T18:17:00.001-07:00

I doubt it, but like everyone, he suffered from spiritual diseases -- not like everyone, though, he spent many thousands of hours in prayer plumbing the depths of them. The result of that is sometimes striking passages in his work that seemingly could have only been written by someone recovering from an addiction. In many senses, he was.

"Everything hangs on the final issue, in the battle of life and death.Nothing is assured before hand, nothing is definitely certain. The issue is left to our own choice. But that is what constitutes the dark terror of the agonia: we cannot be sure of our own choice. Are we strong enough to go on choosing life when to live means going and on on with this absurd battle of entity and nonentity within our inmost selves?"

"For a man to be alive, he must ... think intelligently ... (H)e must direct his actions by free decisions made in the light of his own thinking."

"In a word, for a man to live, he has to become wholly and entirely alive. He has to be all life, in his body, his senses, his mind and his will."

"We often see people who are said to be "bursting with life" and who, in fact, are simply wrestling with their own incoherence... Those who are bursting with life are often merely plunging into death with an enormous splash. They donot transcend death, they surrender to it with so much animal vitality that they are able to drag many others with them into the abyss."

"In those who are most alive and therefore most themselves, the life of the body is subordinated to a higher life that is within them."

"Man, then, can only fully be said to be alive when he becomes plainly conscious of the real meaning of his own existence, that is to say when he experiences something of the fulness of intelligence, freedom and spirituality that are actualized within himself."

I wondered for a few hours on it. Could he have been an alcoholic? It;s possible, though not likely. It seems more likely to me that he was a contemplative that knew to his innermost being that true life cannot come from any sort of artificial validation, that it must come from a spiritual source originating from within ones self. To this end he wrote that one must become fully alive. First a mans action must be directed from within himself, caused by the subject of his own thinking. Next he points out that it cannot be enough to live by impulse but one must use the light of intellect, and third, the decision must be made freely, not as a result of obsesion, compulsion or in many cases, addiction.

Cribbed from MSN Movies... Interesting

2007-02-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

From Corkers to Porkers: Absolutely Flabulous

So I'm at the press screening for Denzel Washington's new action adventure flick Déjà Vu, which also stars Val Kilmer, and it suddenly occurs to me that numerous men in this movie are carrying extra pounds. Seriously, it's like being at a Weight Watchers meeting. Some of the supporting actors filling out (geddit?) policemen and FBI roles are just plain fat; the star of the film is noticeably fleshier and encases his rounder body in a series of tent-like baggy shirts in a futile attempt to hide it. And as for Val Kilmer? He's either the world's first pregnant man (eating for two hundred, rather than two) or he's past caring.

Now I'm not having a pop at chubby actors (or overweight people, come to that) per se; I don't mind if Denzel Washington puts on even more weight (although he probably should) and I'm not bothered if Val Kilmer's wearing parachutes in ten years time. What annoys me is the age-old Hollywood double standard regarding the appearance of men versus the appearance of women.
While the two biggest (as in stature) stars in Déjà Vu have definitely seen leaner days over the years (Val Kilmer especially going from a corker to a right porker), actress Paula Patton who plays Denzel's love interest, has the typical build of a Tinseltown actress: slim.

She's not carrying an ounce of extra fat anywhere. Would she be cast as a leading man's bit of fluff if she looked as if she'd had been gorging on fried chicken? Of course not. It's one rule for men, another for women.

For example, one of the more high profile actresses to gain weight in Hollywood is two-time Oscar-winner Dame Elizabeth Taylor. In addition to being the butt of so many jokes, her heavier build cost her certain film roles; casting agents and producers were of the opinion that overweight women were not attractive in leading roles. They were fine when it came to playing the 'best friend', of course. It was ever thus. More than twenty years on, what's changed? Not much.

Unlike our Liz, Renée Zellweger's weight gain was for a film role: Bridget Jones. Thanks to a diet of milkshakes, pizzas, burgers and loads of calorific desserts, she filled out (acquiring bigger boobs, which she admitted to missing) and became Helen Fielding's hapless heroine. It was all in the pursuit of verisimilitude - but it paid off (it's hard to imagine anyone else in the part now). And she gamely put her body through it twice too.
However, incredibly, her voluptuousness cost her the cover of Harper's Bazaar. In addition, irrespective of what anyone might say to the contrary, the reality is that there's no way she would've been considered for Hollywood leading roles (especially romances, which are bread and butter to actresses) with her Bridget Jones build. So each time, within a matter of weeks, she rapidly went back to skinny Renée. Apparently, visiting a gym daily for two-hour workouts, watching her food intake (mainly fish, salads and raw vegetables) and checking into a spa helped her get her slight frame back.

Actresses are continually assessed by their body type - even if they've just had babies (I've lost count of the number of articles purporting the post-pregnancy diet of actress A, B or C). We know their bust measurements, their waist in inches, their dress sizes - but what do we know about the Hollywood men who've let their bodies go (apart from their names)? Do we know what size jacket they wear? Or their collar size? No.

And by the way, when was the last time you saw an A-list movie featuring an overweight actress playing the love interest? And don't say Bridget Jones - it doesn't count because Renée put on weight specifically for the role. And yet, I can reel off films with men carrying an extra pound or two who still get to do the romancing. More than that, they still get to work. The likes of Vince Vaughn, John Travolta and Alec Baldwin are as busy as ever - their extra weight is only a dent to their own ego, but not their bank balance. And that's just not bloomin' well fair.

I look forward to the day...

2007-01-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

It may well be two years away yet, but I am looking forward to a day when someone else occupies the White House. I still don't account to the man malfeasance, at least not initially, but I do believe that these last few years, since the Iraq ball began to roll, and there was no way to stop it without losing face, this man has answered to no higher power than his ego. He certainly has stopped responding to the American public.

I look forward to a day, where we are led by a man who handles the job of President with a simple incompetence that we laugh off, excusing it because he isn't committing crimes against our nation or anyone else's. I look forward to the day where we have a President that doesn't libel and slander the liberty that we hold dear with every flick of a pen and every speech he makes.

I look forward to the day where citizenship isn't inferred by a person's behavior, but is an objective legal fact once again. I look forward to the day where free speech is the universal law of the land once more, and protesters are not jailed for their signs.

The reason that I look forward to this day, is because our highest office is filled by a man, who is not a public servant, but a man seeking to exercise what he believes to be American might and power. What he doesn't know is that his power isn't unlimited, and so he acts as if it is. Unfortunately, he also doesn't know that the greatness of the American President exists because of the limits of the office. The greatness of the American government is in it's limits of jurisdiction. We have forgotten --or maybe we have never really believed-- that the government that governs best, governs least.

Our Government was created, intended to be, marginalized by its citizens. It was set up to be pushed into a corner and to exist by the good graces of the American people. It was never meant to have one hand picking your pocket and the other stealing your watch. It was never meant to monitor the chemical content of your body, or worry how you altered it. Our government was meant to safeguard our life, liberty and property -- not to tax, restrict and create no-fly lists.

We have fallen very far, and it is because we have chosen poor leaders. It is a gift to the rest of the world that is that we have given ourselves a congress that will act as an antagonist to the president. I hope that it will at least distract him from the rest of the world, draw his attention home so that we don't open up another front in this war on terror(TM).

I look forward to a day where my taxes don't kill people in far away lands, where I am not buying bullets or bombs to be spent on innocent populations. I look forward to a day where the world is made safe again, by a president who is willing to be a public servant, not a tyrant

Sorrows

2007-01-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the weight of who I fail to be is just too much to take.

Incidental Findings

2006-12-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

This would fall under the heading of incidental findings, were I to place it under any sort of heading.

It seems that the 300 millionth American was born in my zone. That place is a baby factory. I would bet that their chances of the honor were about 1:4.

Also, it seems that I have been reincarnated. Who knew?

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Gentle Sailor.
Where You Lived: Spain.
How You Died: In Childbirth.

Who'>http://www.blogthings.com/pastlifegenerator/">Who Were You In a Past Life?

Though I can't entirely explain why I died in Child birth, I did hear a story about this guy once who asked his wife if the screaming was really necissary... Maybe it was me.

OK, is there peace on Earth now?

2006-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

Saddam Hussein is dead. It happened a few minutes ago in a far away city before the dawn had broken. Now that he is dead, has anything changed? The answer is no. Not a single thing has changed. Innocents are still dying, civillians are still displaced and bombs continue to explode.

The one thing that has changed is that one man, guilty, is now dead. And another opportunity is lost. We talked about the death penalty long ago in this blog, and one of the most interesting posts on the subject was by Marcus. Harkening back to that post, I believe that we missed the opportunity to do something truly great that would stand out in the annals of history. We missed the chance to show mercy. We missed the chance to return life when it was to be taken. Now we have Saddam Hussein. He moves closer to his eternal reward, whatever that may be as his body moves closer to room temprature.

Part of the problem is that we equate law and justice, a mistake we should never make. Another piece of this is that we are fighting a war based off of the ego, of one man. Does killing this murderer bring us closer to achieving the goal? I doubt it. In fact I believe it puts us back even further. So why do it? Is it so that someone can feel closure? I certainly don't, and I doubt that anyone else does either.

Will there be equity in "Justice"? Will our leaders have to account for their role in this war? I doubt that they will. We lack both equity and justice. We are trying to protect a freedom that we have already given away and now we are taking lives to fill the void.

The government, rightly or wrongly, has the power to take life. That doesn't mean that it has the right. The more lives that are taken, the more people that are imprisoned and the more laws that are passed, the more I believe that government is just another word for terrorism.

So, Saddam Hussein is dead. Is there peace on Earth now?

testing the moblogger phone

2006-12-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

one deux tres

Not Quite Scripture, Enter Pseudo-Paul

2006-12-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

An Epistle to the American Church

Paul, a prisoner and bondservant in Christ by the hand of Timothy. A letter, by the grace of GOD, to the Church at Philiadelphia and all the faithful of the provences therein.

Grace to you and peace in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom we are bound through the celebration fo His life death and ressurection.

Remember that we were once dead and have been raised again to new life to live yet again, not only as in the flesh, but now to live in the spirit. Living in the spirit, we participate in the Body of Christ, let us then be minndful that we should forsake all contentiousness and vainglories that find their home among us. Let us come together, recognizing the fullness of the word of GOD revealed to us, and eat together at the table of the Lord. For if there abides in us division and unquiet hearts, then we have forgotten the grace that has made us new creations. We should then not forget, but recognize truth and renew our unity.

Brothers, like so many others, I too have heard of your faith, and you have been reccomended to me in prayer for the hope of your continued conversion. Turn your hearts only to the things of GOD. Allow no sins to dwell in your heart. Let also not your spirit be divided, for this healing is the begining of reconcilliation. It is a true saying that it is better to live one complete life than many that are incomplete. So seek then the unity of your spirit to one purpose and your Church to one faith. Remember the one baptism that has brought us into one life in Christ, the one Lord of all.

Remember also the debt, that which we owe to GOD, that of eternal life. Remember the freedom that has been bought us through the sacrifice of Christ. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, but then no more. For what can GOD have in common with sin, and what can the people of GOD have in common those that serve Mammon? Caesar will ask of you your life, but this has already been purchased by Christ at so great a price. Our lives are not our own.

Is it not Obvious, the love of Christ? As you know it was not man, who constantly sought the Kingdom of GOD, but GOD who came to redeem man and to save him from iniquity and death. The love of Christ is without condition, asking nothing and enduring the cross. What then can we do, brothers? Can we earn that which has given us freely? What have we to offer GOD but the acceptance of the life of Christ? Having been baptized into Him, let us also then be crucified with Him. For this is true adoration of the spirit of GOD. Since we are at all times surrounded by the spirit of GOD, we should then be at every moment concious of His movement, offering up a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. As we adore His spirit, let us also offer up adoration of His Body and Blood that is ever before us. We must approach Him in His tabernaccle and expose ourselves fully to His grace as He is exposed to us in broken bread.

This brothers, this is the meaning of faith. To see that which is unseen, to believe the incredible, to love those who are rejected and despised and to do the work of GOD with your very hands. This is no simple task, it is the work of salvation, from the very Word of GOD, first brought to the jew and now the gentile that not one would be lost. Christ came for all, to save all.

We must concern ourselves daily with the seeking of the Kingdom of GOD. He is the creator of all, the one source. Christ has said that he is the vine and we are the branches. From Him we grow forth to a new life, being cultivated by the maker of all that by the grace of GOD, we might bear good fruit. And so I tell you this; submit, surrender! What has GOD planned for you that will bring you harm? if you submit, wil you not bear fruit that is the salvation of souls? It is in the hardness of our hearts that we wither and die. Because we choose not GOD, we are cut off and thrown into the fire.

Christ is the light of the world. What can light have in common with darkness? Seek to fill your heart with his light. For Christ has come and he will come again. Prepare, I tell you, make ready so that when he arrives, you will not be found in the outer darkness without even oil to light your lamps. Prepare your heart to participate in the mystery of Christ. Seek at every moment to make sacrifice even of your life. Sanctify the world and expose it to the light of Christ. Let there be not even a shadow under the rocks.

Concerning how we should live, I have this to say; there are prebyters and deacons, men and women given to marriage and eunichs for the Kingdome. There are orphans and widows, and there are poor among us. Let each live according to their state in life. Let each give praise to GOD for his grace that we may be sanctified and seek eternal reward.

You have asked if we should follow the Law of Moses or the Law of Caesar. I tell you this, the law of GOD is written in the hearts od man. Where a conscience is well formed no law is needed, for the light of Christ, the love of GOD, is enthroned and rules already. It is better to be a prisoner of Rome, bound hand and foot, with a sinless heart than an exalted citizen, fit to be cast into perdition. We who have recieved the love of Christ into our lives, how can we help but to love?

Seek to live in communion together in observance of all that has been passed onto you. Each of us is to continue to serve GOD even from within our state. I tell you this, I still do not permit women to speak in the temple or hold ministry over her husband. Can a man in his body bear a child and be called mother? Also neglect not the table of the Lord for it is the bread basket from which we recieve the manna from heaven, that is, Jesus Christ given up in sacrifice and broken to bear our sins. In communion, let us be one people, holy, bearing the name of the Lord as it is written on our hearts and our foreheads in the sign of the cross. Give alms to the poor and support the widow. Remember the hermit who has set himself apart from the community for a time to dedicate himeself to prayer. Let us never forget our confessors of Christ who even today are in chains so that we might live in freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Brethren, Pray for us as we pray for you. Remember in all moments, the Lord and greet eachother with a holy kiss. And may the grace of the Lord be ever with you. Amen

Let My People Go

2006-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

My hands tremble a little. Maybe it's the cold of the October morning, or maybe it's the anticipation, or maybe it's the lack of sleep, but something offers its resistance.

This is a dangerous moment. I'm hesitant to take it.

But I have to start somewhere, so I start in the Begining.

In the begining was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

As I read it, I know that the Joseph Smith Translation renders it differently, cleaning up all the ambiguity, taking all the mystical out of it, removing all hints of trinitarian heresy. But I ignore it. This is to be a reading without the need for clarification, without the undue influence of Authority or Tradition.

And the Catholicism of my youth and Mormonism of my adolescence make me feel dirty. I feel blasphemous, like I'm switching sides in an eternal game of capture the flag.

The Reformers are vilified in Catholicism. Depending on who you ask, Martin Luther just may have been the Devil. Mormonism lauds the Reformers as trailblazers who made way for the Restoration. Just a means to an end. Now that the last days have been ushered in, there is no need for so-called reformers; who needs reform when you've got a prophet who speaks to Jesus face to face?

And yet I feel a certain kinship to those who stood apart from the powerful institutions who insisted that they and only they had the ear if God. I feel closer to strangers than I do to my spiritual kin.

When my father surrendered his parental rights, besides visiting rights, he made one request--that we be raised Catholic. Sure, we would be raised by strangers, but we would have the faith of our fathers. Our God would be recognizable to him and we would share that spiritual heritage.

Spiritual heritage is no less important in Mormonism. "Hey, baby, what's your tribe?" maybe be a joke bandied about with sneering affection, but it belies a solid truth. Who you are tied to--sealed to--is important.

It is not enough that we are grafted onto the line of Israel. We're also Judahites, Danites, Benjaminites, Manassahites, Ephraimites, or any of the other -ites. When the literal Gathering occurs, you go where your people go.

But when I read that one verse and contemplatee the expanse of what came into being through him, I look around and there's a gulf between me and my people.

2006-09-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Did the rapture happen, or did everyone suddenly become lazy and decide that blogging expended too much energy in the movement of fingers?

By the way, I have recently been inducted into the Universal Church Triumphant of the Apathetic Agnostic, who's slogan appropriately is, "We don't know and we don't care." Yippee!

Apathetic Agnostic Church

Concerning The Reality of God's Love in the World

2006-09-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

I make it no secret that my faith in the Christian religion was shattered almost fully while I was away at war in Iraq. The experiences I was subjected to as a soldier, both physically and spiritually, caused me to turn and face myself in the most naked state possible - total honesty. I had to come to terms with the reality that the God whom the Christians champion as their Lord had not been manifested to me.

The Chief of Chaplains of the US Army Chaplain Corps held a prayer breakfast on my Forward Operating Base while I was in Iraq. At that time I was already almost spiritually destitute, but I had been asked by some of the senior chaplains to give the official prayer for the service’s opening. I agreed, more on duty than on belief. At this same time, I had become alienated from my own unit Chaplain and supervisor, due to several situations in which he had falsely (in my opinion) painted me as a blackguard before the leadership. I fully distrusted him, and knew that he continually sought ill will against me.

The morning of the prayer breakfast, I headed toward the dining facility about eight o’clock in the morning. I had been told to be there by 0830 from the other chaplain leadership. Well, as I walked in the door, my Chaplain rushed up to me, foaming at the mouth, and purple with rage. He is Chinese, and his native tongue is Mandarin, so he doesn’t speak very clear or coherent English even when he is concentrating, but in such a fury he was impossible to understand. I was able to infer enough from his furious incantation that I was somehow late and that he had told all the leadership yet again that I had failed, as well as recommending to the other chaplains that if I showed up to not let me pray.

I walked over to the other chaplains, and calmly explained that I had been told to be there at 0830. They informed me that 0830 was actually the start time of the breakfast, but they had been running late due to other factors, so I had made it just in time. They unanimously accepted my apology and insisted I lead the opening prayer. And so, when my time was due, I stepped to the podium, asked the mess hall to bow with me in prayer, and I prayed. I did so with open eyes, and I could see my Chaplain sitting about midway up the tables, writhing in anger and plotting my downfall. After that prayer breakfast he would spend the rest of the day slandering my name to the platoon sergeants, squad leaders, and fellow brass. Knowing that all this was to come, I decided vindictively to attack him in the only way I knew how - succeeding despite his foolish attempts. So, a veteran of many church services and prayer gatherings, I prayed a sensational and moving prayer. I brought down blessing on the place, and even the neighboring halls the regular diners, not formally participating in the spiritual breakfast, had fallen silent. I spoke of God’s promises, of His love, and I spoke of how we should treat each other with such unconditional love. When I finished, there was a resounding Amen throughout the mess hall. Afterwards, the Chief liked my prayer so much he gave me an award for excellence. People came up to me and spoke of how they could see the strength of my faith, the movement of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit on my life. They said that they could see God working through me, and that the Holy Spirit had given me the words of my prayer. I smiled at them and said nothing.

Because the irony was that nothing of the sort had happened. Unbeknownst to those people, I was much an apostate. There was hidden contempt in my prayer, for there is no one on this earth I have ever despised more than that Chaplain. While certainly I won’t say I hated him, for I am not even sure my small being is truly capable of actual hate, nor am I sure there is anyone of this world that deserves to be hated, I certainly detested this man and his false air of piousness. When I prayed that prayer, there was only one goal in it that fueled its fervor - spite. I was praying that I might challenge the falsehoods of my enemy. He had told the leadership at that breakfast that I was a faithless, worthless soldier (this is after 6 months of unwavering devotion to him), and so I took it upon myself to triumph over him by in one single prayer reversing all the deception he had sown. And it worked, so much to the point that suddenly, as a heretic I was convicting people of the Holy Spirit. The truth is I am just an eloquent speaker. I am quite certain that God had nothing to do with that prayer. But even if he did, that is not where the revelation lies.

These people saw the Holy Spirit, God’s love, in me, because of this prayer. They heard its words and said, "Only a true man of faith could have prayed such a prayer." When in truth I am anything but! They associated God with me and my words, when they were wrong to do so. And I realized then how casually we give God credit for things. We blithely say, "Well, it is God’s will in my life that I..." But is it? Or, like all those chaplains and spiritual leaders who congratulated me on my faith, are we giving God credit for things that he is not doing? David Koresh gave God credit for telling him to lead the Branch Davidians at Mt. Carmel in what would become one of the most devastating religious tragedies ever. Fred Phelps gives God credit for leading him to condemn the families of fallen soldiers and picket their funerals. Pope Urban II gave God credit for endorsing and desiring the Crusades which led to the persecution and deaths of thousands of people. Peter Binsfeld gave God credit for giving him the means with which to discern witches and have them put to death. And these chaplains gave God credit for leading me in a most unholy and heartless prayer. "Michael, your heart was evident in that prayer." Oh ye that are blind!

I admit my actions, of giving a false prayer for mostly selfish reasons, were wrong. I am not proud of what I did, but I looked out into that crowd, and saw the same hypocrisy I was committing. And so if God is not really behind the many things we give him credit for, are we right to say we must love God in those ways? I think that is foolish. I know God’s love not through complex religion but through the assurances of the world that have not betrayed me - the beauty of the sunset, the song of a bird, the flit of a butterfly that has landed upon my shoulder. These beautiful things speak of creation, and her Creator. And so I love these things as the real breathe of God. The psalmist writes that the Lord says, "Be still and know that I am God." God doesn’t speak in the chaos of a Thursday night revival with people whooping and babbling in incoherent languages. He speaks in the small whispers of a gurgling brook as it traces its way through a forest to some distant river. So why must I love God through religious acts and symbolism? Jesus, quoting Moses, said that I should do it with all my heart, soul and mind. So wouldn’t that be all of me, my whole life? That I should love God in how I live my life? I believe in love, as much as I believe in evil in the world. I believe there is a God of love, but my experience has shown me that he speaks to our souls in simplicity, and that the rest that has been credited to him has been the misguided association of the "spiritualists" and "fundamentalists" that are so certain that God has chosen them for special revelation. If God truly loves us all, wouldn’t it make more sense for him to speak in a way that everyone can understand?

I Thought Mormons Had Horns?

2006-08-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Intoducing

2006-08-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Librarian Girl

She has so many books, there's no room for a mirror...

Museum bring creationism to life

2006-08-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Like most natural history museums, this one has exhibits showing dinosaurs roaming the earth. Except here, the giant reptiles share the forest with Adam and Eve. That, of course, is contradicted by science, but that’s the point of the $25 million Creation Museum rising fast in rural Kentucky. Its inspiration is the Bible — the literal interpretation that contends God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them just a few thousand years ago.

“If the Bible is the word of God, and its history really is true, that’s our presupposition or axiom, and we are starting there,” museum founder Ken Ham said during recent tour of the sleek and modern facility, which is due to open next year. Ham, an Australian native who started the Christian publishing company Answers in Genesis in the late 1970s, said the goal of his privately funded museum is to change minds and rebut the scientific point of view. “We’re going to show you that we can make sense of the different people groups, we can make sense of fossils, we can make sense of what you see in the world,” he said. Visitors to the museum, a few miles from Cincinnati, will be able to watch the story of creation unfold in a 180-seat special-effects theater, see a 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) re-creation of a section of Noah’s Ark and stare into the jaws of robotic dinosaurs.

“It’s education, but it’s also doing it in an entertaining way,” Ham said. Scientists say fossils and sophisticated nuclear dating technology show that Earth is more than 4 billion years old, the first dinosaurs appeared around 200 million years ago, and they died out well before the first human ancestors arose a few million years ago. “Genesis is not science,” said Mary Dawson, curator emeritus of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. “Genesis is a tale that was handed down for generations by people who really knew nothing about science, who knew nothing about natural history, and certainly knew nothing about what fossils were.” Ham said he believes most fossils are the result of the Great Flood described in Genesis.

Mark Looy, a vice president at Answers in Genesis, said the museum has received at least $21 million in private donations. He said two anonymous donors have given $1 million, and he expects the museum to be debt-free when it opens next May. John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research in San Diego, an organization that promotes creationism, said the museum will affirm the doubts many people have about science, namely the notion that man evolved from lower forms of life. “Americans just aren’t gullible enough to believe that they came from a fish,” he said.

So damn true

2006-07-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

Crystal, in the library, with a hardcover copy of the Aeneid.

2006-07-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Who killed B2z?

Pimping a blog that's NOT my own...

2006-07-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

One of our new blogs at my place of work is the town's Catholic priest.

And to be honest, I was really impressed with his first post.

The Chattahoochee Revisited

2006-07-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well, kiddies, I've got a wedding in West Virginia to attend tomorrow, then it's back to Maryland for 24 hours, then I'm leaving on Monday to spend the next ten months or so of my life in Georgia.

It should be an interesting experience, seeing as how I melt when the weather hits over eighty-five degrees and I have a deep-seated aversion to peaches.

But here goes nothing.

HOLY BLOGPOST

2006-07-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Although i consider myself not of the god people...

I find myself surrounded by those who are...
(I don't discriminate)

I find that Mormons are ones to keep around because if i am wrong and the holy women is up there at least i know Crystal will be there to baptise me against my will after i am dead...

Im not quite sure if ill accept the request or not...

BUT SERIOUSLY...

Overcompensation

2006-07-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

I found this on post secret. It wasn't me, seeing how I don't actually pay tithing. (But I try to be extra nice.)

So, how do you overcompensate? And for what do you overcompensate?

Marriage is a wonderful institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet

2006-07-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

I was going to drive to Atlanta tomorrow to audition for The Miracle Worker, but I'm too damn tired from the bacholerette party I just left. Whatever. There are more auditions on Monday if I change my mind.

It seems that everyone and their dog is getting married these days. With the sole exception of myself and one other girl friend, every single other one of my female friends are now either seriously dating, engaged, or married.

My oldest Christendom friend got married last summer and is now seven months preggers. One of my other best friends from school got married four weeks ago. My college roommmate, Trish, and one of my closest friends from high school, Joy, are both getting married next Saturday (at noon and 4 p.m. in West Virginia and Maryland, respectively). And at the former wedding, my dateless self is going to have to socially interact at a wedding with my ex-fiance and his CF for the first time. I would seriously rather snort barbed wire or clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue than to show up at this thing without a date.

Uuuuuuuuurgh. In the words of Hamlet, "I say, there shall be no more marriages!" I seriously am having issues coping with all of this change and mayhem. It's maddening. How does one learn to go through life not wanting what other people have, and being content with one's own lot? I'm having a hard time not being irritable. Other girls get married; all I ever get to do is move to friggin' Georgia. Hardly equitable accomplishments.

So not fair.

Plus, I have now been single for three months -- a personal record -- and I'm really starting to feel the Friday nights at home eating ice cream from the pint and watching Gilmore Girls while all my friends are off gallivanting with their significant others.

The joys of singlehood are highly overrated.

ahem

2006-07-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

I have not died, and I have published new poetry. I will try to update with a formal blog this weekend. To all those who were hoping RIP, better luck next time.

Michael

More shamless blog plugging.

2006-07-08T00:31:00.000-07:00

Introducing the Platypus Saturday Rant.

OK, so maybe I am sick

2006-07-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

At first I was in denial, it had to be allergies. I made up excuses, the plants are just blooming really freakin' late this year. Now, I have come out of denial, and am willing to accept the fact that I might be, definitely not a certainty, but I might be sick... a little sick.

Unfortunately I don't have any time in my schedule for it, so I will take my normal tact against disease, and I will ignore it.

So there!

Actually, I took tylenol.

I expect that whatever it is that has invaded my body and is causing me to hurt will eventually get bored and, ou know, go away. If it could just start getting bored soon, I would appreciate it.

Greatest Quote Ever

2006-07-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

"It is not easy to become beautiful. It requires hard work, patience, and attention to detail. It also takes a certain firmness of purpose. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." -Miss Piggy