A Heathen's Journal

Short and sweet...

2007-04-25T23:06:18Z

Moved to http://360.yahoo.com/memine_nonya

More of my claptrap there...

Here we are again...

2007-03-22T02:29:36Z

It's been a while...

Truthfully, life has been interesting to say the least. Some ties have been cut. Men proved themselves to be less than honest. While I am not overly concerned with treatment of the uttangearde, beyond simple reputation, the innangearde is another matter. To steal is to betray...

But enough.

Other notes, picked up a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, and highly recommend them, taken to reading the Havamal again, along with some Welsh Triads, and found it highly edifying, been accepted for graduate work and will soon finish my bachelors and be on to my masters(First in Education, then in English while teaching so as to lay the ground work for a PhD). Eldest daughter is doing well, and will be in high school soon, tailoring her education to go into marine biology, and the other two little ones are growing like weeds, and it won't be long before they are in school themselves.

My bride thrives, as is her way, and all is well there. We recently returned to the sea for a week or two, and I must say, it has been recently as the first nights we spent together. Not that it isn't always a joy to be complimented so well, but it seems more obvious in recent days.

In all our house does well, and recently having fained Eostre, and also with other positive portents, it would seem that the gods are good allies.

Such is as it is, off to finish a bit of writing before bed...

Stupid Philosophy Test

2006-12-04T19:06:02Z

R-S-R

You scored 33% Non-Reductionism, 33% Epistemological Absolutism, and 44% Moral Objectivism!

You are an R-S-R: a metaphysical Reductionist, an epistemological Skeptic, and a moral Relativist. What does this all mean? Well, keep reading to find out.

Metaphysics: Reductionism (Monism or Positivism)
In metaphysics, my test measures your tendency towards Reductionism or Non-Reductionism. As a Reductionist, you like to cut away the metaphysical fat as opposed to multiplying concepts and entities like so many baby rabbits. The two broad categories of Reductionists that my test recognizes are Monists and Positivists.

1. Monists do not cut away the metaphysical fat so much as they just put the meat into a grinder and synthesize the fat into the meat. They tend to condense particular things and ideas into a Unity or Absolute, in other words. If you believe that reality is ultimately a unity and that mind and matter both exist but are simply two different ways of looking at the same substance, then you are a neutral monist in the sense of Spinoza. If you believe that reality is ultimately an Absolute because a whole is more than just the sum of its parts, proven by the fact that we can never have knowledge of a particular thing unless we also grasp its relations to the ultimate Absolute or whole of reality with which it is bound up, and if you feel that this Absolute is characterized by Spirit or Mind, and not matter, then you share the same views as Hegel and even Plato to a degree. A monist--because he or she believes that reality is a Unity or Absolute--tends to synthesize all particulars into universals, deny the reality of matter (Hegel) or mind (Spinoza, sort of), and so on. These concepts are all cast into the meat grinder and come out as a unified whole. Famous monists include philosophers such as Hegel, Spinoza, and Parmenides.

If none of the above sounded like you, then you are most definitely the other type of Reductionist.
2. Positivists, unlike monists, do not synthesize two apparently competing views into one--instead, they do away with one of the views, that being the one that cannot be empirically verified. A positivist, then, cuts away the metaphysical fat as meaningless conjecture about nothing in particular. He relies primarily on a tool called Ockham's Razor to shave away these ideas. Ockham's Razor states that we should do away with any hypotheses that needlessly multiply explanatory entities. For instance, in regards to the dispute about the existence of universals, a positivist tends to adopt the position of nominalism--which is the belief that only particulars are real. A universal is only a linguistic construction we use to put particulars into groups--meaning we can reduce all universals to the sum of their parts, that being particulars. After all, we can never have empirical experience of "whiteness", only particular things that are white--nor have we ever observed the universal "mankind", though we can observe individual men. On the mind-body problem, a positivist will be likely to do away with the concept of "mind", reducing it to a material product of our brain functioning. This position is often referred to as the Identity-Theory, because it equates mental states to states of the brain. Clearly, a positivist tends towards a materialistic outlook. Positivism will also revile any idealist conception of reality, which maintains that the world of experience and perception is merely a phenomenal world, whereas the "real" world lies underneath experience and is fundamentally unknowable. A positivist will tend to do away with the idealist hypothesis as needless and unverifiable. Well-known positivists include Carnap, Ayer, and Wittgenstein.

*****

Epistemology: Skepticism (Idealism or Subjectivism)
In regards to epistemology, my test measures your tendency towards Absolutism or Skepticism. As an epistemological Skeptic, you believe that ultimate reality cannot be known in any objective way. The two categories of Skeptics that my test recognizes are Idealists and Subjectivists.

1. Epistemological Idealists believe that knowledge of ultimate reality is impossible. All we can ever have knowledge about is the world of phenomenal human experience, but there is no reason to suspect that reality mirrors our perceptions and thoughts, according to Idealists. Idealists, then, tend to see truth not as a correspondence between propositions and reality--reality is, after all, fundamentally unknowable--but as a coherence between a whole system of propositions taken to be true. We cannot escape from language or our conceptualized world of phenomena, so we are unable to reference propositions to facts and must instead determine their truth by comparing them to other propositions we hold to be true. As a result of such an idealism, knowledge of any ultimate reality is taken to be impossible, hence the Skeptical tendency of idealism. All our pursuits of knowledge, science included, can only reflect a phenomenal reality that is of our own making. Famous idealists include Kant and Fichte.

If the above did not sound skeptical or idealistic enough to reflect your own views, then you are most likely a Subjectivist.
2. Epistemological Subjectivists, like idealists, believe that all our knowledge is ultimately of our own making because it is filtered through our subjective perceptions. Unlike an idealist, though, a subjectivist doesn't believe in any universal categories of "truth" that apply to the phenomenal world, because each individual can create his own truth. Either that, or he will hold that society or custom creates its own forms of truth. A subjectivist will tend to regard scientific inquiry as a game of sorts--science does not reveal truths about reality, but only gives scientists pseudo-solutions to pseudo-problems of the scientific community's own devising. It is a type of puzzle-solving, but the puzzle isn't of reality. The definition of truth to a subjectivist may be one that recognizes a proposition's usefulness to an individual. William James is one such subjectivist, who believes that we can "will to believe" certain propositions so long as we would find them useful. The example he gives is being found in a situation where you must leap over a chasm in order to survive. The true belief, in such a situation, is that the leap will be successful--this truth is certainly more useful to us, and in believing the truth we become more willing to commit to the jump and make it successful. So, in essence, knowledge of reality is possible for a subjectivist because they never make reference to any objective reality existing outside of our own perceptions and beliefs--we can have knowledge of reality through having knowledge of ourselves, and that is all that we should ask for. Famous subjectivists include Kuhn, Feyarabend, and James. Another famed critic of Absolutism is Hume.

*****

Ethics: Relativism (Subjectivism or Emotivism)
My test measures one's tendency towards moral Objectivism or moral Relativism in regards to ethics. As a moral Relativist, you tend to see moral choices as describing a subject's reaction to a moral object or situation, and not as a property of the moral object itself. You may also feel that moral words are meaningless because they do not address any empirical fact about the world. My test recognizes two types of moral relativists--Subjectivists and Emotivists.

1. Subjectivists see individual or collective desires as defining a situation's or object's moral worth. Thus, the subject, not the object itself, determines the value. Subjectivists recognize that social rules, customs, and morality have been wide-ranging and quite varied throughout history among various cultures. As a result, Subjectivism doesn't attempt to issue hard and fast rules for judging the moral worth of things. Instead, it recognizes that what we consider "good" and "right" is not bound by any discernable rule. There is no one trait that makes an act good or right, because so many different kinds of things have been called good and right. In regards to the definition of "good" or "right", a Subjectivist will tend to define it as whatever a particular person or group of people desire. They do not define it merely as "happiness" or "pleasure", for instance, because sometimes we desire to do things that do not produce pleasure, and because we don't consider all pleasurable things good. Furthermore, Subjectivists recognize the validity of consequentialism in that sometimes we refer to consequences as good and bad--but they also recognize that our intentions behind an action, or the means to the end, can also determine an act's moral worth. Again, there is no one rule to determine these things. Hence the relativism of moral Subjectivism. The most well-known of the subjectivists is Nietzsche.

If that didn't sound like your position, then you are probably the other variety of moral Relativist--the Emotivist.
Emotivists are moral Relativists only in a very slanted sense, because they actually deny that words about morality have any meaning at all. An Emotivist would probably accept Hume's argument that it is impossible to derive an "ought" from an "is"--no factual state of affairs can logically entail any sort of moral action. Furthermore, a emotivist's emphasis on scientific (and hence empirical) verification and testing quickly leads to the conclusion that concepts such as "good" and "right" don't really describe any real qualities or relations. Science is never concerned with whether a particular state of affairs is moral or right or good--and an emotivist feels much the same way. Morality is thus neither objective or subjective for the emotivist--it is without any meaning at all, a sort of vague ontological fiction that is merely a symbol for our emotional responses to certain events. Famous emotivists include Ayer and other positivists associated with the Vienna Circle.

*****

As you can see, when your philosophical position is narrowed down there are so many potential categories that an OKCupid test cannot account for them all. But, taken as very broad categories or philosophical styles, you are best characterized as an R-S-R. Your exact philosophical opposite would be an N-A-O.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Metaphysics
You scored higher than 99% on Epistemology
You scored higher than 99% on Ethics

Link: The Sublime Philosophical Crap Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

......

2006-11-29T04:46:34Z

I have found out more in the past 24 hours than I wanted to ever know.

I know why omens came across again and again concerning how to lead my small clan here.

I know why we were told again and again, get away from Asatru (it isn't yours, you aren't theirs, etc.)

I know why we were told again and again to avoid following our own roots into Theodism.

I mean absolutely no disrespect to the few theods I hold in high esteem. However, as time has gone on, I've seen more and more dishonorable conduct, breaking of oaths, abuses of oaths, destruction of anything that might possibly serve the tribes of gods I know as the Ese and the Wena.

In the past 24 hours, I have found more and more disturbing information, more completion of the pattern, than I wanted to know.

Where I was merely saddened before at the failure of one man, I am now saddened at the failure of a whole theod, whose past actions are apparently reprehensible.

I have always maintained that tribes, theods, tuaths, whatever language you wish to speak about them, and whichever manner in which you choose to look at them (having ancestry and experience in both, I see a definite similarity), must be done either organically, or very, very slowly, over decades. You cannot speed up the process of merging life-paths, and while you can provide more ample ground through oath, following the form of the commitas, the commitas is not enough in and of itself to form a theod, especially if it is not done very, very carefully.

What I have come to learn of in the past 24 hours, has done nothing but confirm that.

Me and mine will have to remain friends of the theods we find to still be honorable for the time being, and watch this new "old rite" reform.

GFS I've seen, and found it unsatisfactory for some very basic reasons not worth discussing. In short, it isn't the tribal model that is flawed, it is the manner in which it was, and still is in many places, carried out.

Those theods we hold in high regard know of it, and so I see no need to mention. Since leaving where I found no value not so long ago, and then checking in again now and then.

This said, I've found two places I am willing to stick my toes in, one old, one new, and will have to wait and see what comes of it.

In any case, I am somewhat bitter, but in the end, gladdened to see the warding of the Gods in this way...

Another silly meme

2006-10-25T04:08:05Z

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5). The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesnâ��t matter, because no matter what you have your friends and youâ��ll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone.

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

94%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

88%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)

81%

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

75%

SG-1 (Stargate)

69%

Serenity (Firefly)

69%

Moya (Farscape)

63%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

56%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

56%

FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)

50%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

44%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

44%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

If I'm going to use this thing again...

2006-10-25T04:02:21Z

...I might as well go ahead with the most interesting meme I've seen as of late.

Ten Things
Viked from Ermund:

"List 10 true facts about yourself that you don't think people know about you."

• My favorite artists are Manet and Van Gogh.

• When I had two of my wisdom teeth removed, they had to break my jaw, and there is still a piece missing.

• Dragon's Blood is my incense of choice.

• I plan to retire to either far in the Northeast of North America or the Northwest of Great Britain.

• I cannot digest anything apple-based properly (Okay, so my wife is very well aware of this fact, but that is neither here nor there).

• My favorite Shakespeare work is MacBeth. My second favorite is A Mid-summer's Night's Dream.

• I've never used any name other than my given name, which has been in my family for atleast 7 generations.

• I am a descendant of both Anglo-Saxon and Welsh nobles.

• I cannot stand the smell and taste of Bailey's Irish Creme due to an unfortunate night in my early 20's.

• The antler that is bound to the head of my staff was a gift from the lands I lived on at the time.

It has been a very long time...

2006-10-24T21:47:01Z

I have corresponded with men I considered giants, holy men.

I have learned, relearned, forgotten, changed, accepted, rejected, and finally, disposed of, many things, at the encouragement of men I considered my betters.

I have used their example as my own, even if only in logic and reasoning.

Now, I have seen why I had very good reason for taking my family and myself into the woods, leaving, learning from other portions of what resulted in me, and forming a new, living theodisc geleafa for us, that is ours, not revived from the dead, not reconstructed, but reborn through ourselves, through what could easily be termed a blend of research, lore, learning to think in other languages other than Christianized Modern English, and what admittedly amounts to UPG, a necessity due to human subjectivity.

Recent events on many fronts are saddening. May the Gods watch over all.

Mayhap, other encouraging developments denote a different breeze flowing through Eormensul?

Welga!
Robert Seeker-After-Patterns

Finally, a actual fair review...

2006-05-25T14:26:50Z

http://www.free-times.com/Movies/currentmovie.html

At the moment there is a movie review of The DaVinci Code that is actually fair to the movie, instead of going in with preconceived notions.

I haven't had the chance to see the film yet, but the book was very well written.

More later...

Welga!
Seeker-After-Patterns

It is about time...

2006-05-19T21:18:57Z

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/19/senate.english.ap/index.html

You know, in Mexico, there is no question as to the language "officially" spoken there. In Brazil, in China, in most nations of the world, there is absolutely no question as to the language of the nation.

But here in the United States, we had to take forever to finally get around to telling folks who immigrate here that they need to assimilate, and not attempt to change the national language of the United States, or demand that everything be in both languages, so as to not have not knowing the language be to their detriment.

Now, don't get me wrong. I fully support multi-lingualism. I personally know at least enough to ask for basic directions and the like, in 3 languages besides English.

I am working on learning a few dying languages, Gaelic and Cymric, on sheer principle, and for the effort of reading certain documents in the original.

But when I go to Germany, I don't expect that the Germans all speak English, or make everything bilingual for me. I learn German.

And the same goes for Italy, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Brazil. I take the time to learn the language, and the basic cultural mores, before I even go, as a matter of course.

Why should the United States have to fight to remain the bastard child of England, and continue to speak primarily English?

Bravo to the Senate on this one. It is about time.

For those of you offended by profanity, do not look behind the cut

2006-05-11T00:23:58Z

$200 Digital Camera Screen Cracked...

The Damn thing survived the camping trip, the damn thing survived being dropped and lord knows what else. The god-damned thing took a licking and kept on ticking.

Until now.

The wife goes to use it today, and the screen is cracked all to hell. Destroyed.

I know I didn't break it.

I am fairly certain she didn't break it. If she had, she would have said so.

The 11 year old in the house denies all knowledge.

And yet the god damned, mother-fucking, pos camera, which cost $200 fucking dollars, is broken. It is useless without that damn screen. Every control, every indicator, every fucking thing with that damn camera is gone.

I can hook it up to the fucking tv, and use that as a giant screen, but that is about it. Gods damn it all to hell!

Of course, no one knows a fucking thing about how it got broken. Of course, "nobody" did it! Nobody *always* does whatever the fuck happens in this house!

I am disgusted by this, not only for the loss of property, but because whoever did it, was not honest about it.

God-damned camera...

More the later than the former....

2006-04-23T17:26:24Z

I'm 10% LiveJournal!

You haven't been around here long.
Or, you just don't care.

The LiveJournal Quiz

Take Other Caffeine Nebula Quizzes

Lemming.... I could see this one....

2006-04-21T12:08:15Z

the Prankster
(47% dark, 26% spontaneous, 36% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | COMPLEX | LIGHT

Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but you're not into what some would call 'low humor' either. You'll laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist.

You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it's highly likely you've tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor because it's smart without being mean-spirited.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Conan O'Brian - Ashton Kutcher

The 3-Variable Funny Test!

- it rules -

If you're interested, try my best friend's best test:
The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Masterpiece

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 34% on darkness
You scored higher than 6% on spontaneity
You scored higher than 48% on vulgarity

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

This is good news?????

2006-04-20T12:15:01Z

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060419_ap_deathrate.html

So the death rate is dropping; how is this good news? American Culture, like most of Western Culture exists as a parasite; there is no stopping, no moderation in population growth, and it is a fight every time industry is told to only use natural resources in moderation, and be mindful of the environmental cost of their actions.

When Population levels are exploding across the rest of the world, where our borders are being violated due to the disparity between resources, when massive die-offs are happening in Sub-Saharan Africa just to put a lid on the human population there, this is good news?

We can not live forever, we can not expand forever, we can not continue to rape, pillage, and burn, and expect the planet to continue with us. Either environmental conditions will throw us off, or the planet ecology dies.

Good news... my ass!

Interesting...

2006-04-19T12:34:49Z

You scored as Old School Democrat. Old school Democrats emphasize economic justice and opportunity. The Democratic ideal is best summarized by the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Old School Democrat

90%

Green

60%

New Democrat

60%

Libertarian

50%

Foreign Policy Hawk

20%

Pro Business Republican

10%

Socially Conservative Republican

What's Your Political Philosophy?
created with QuizFarm.com

I would point out one thing.

They are absolutely right, I do fully support and think that we should ensure, through legal means preferably, but through force if necessary, the Four Freedoms.

However, I also think that possessing those freedoms is contingent upon seeing to what I would term the Four Responsibilities.

Freedom of Speech demands that the Responsibility of Respect is met. This means that Freedom of Speech must be tempered with the realization that it only extends to certain places and areas, respecting the Right of Association that every citizen has.

Freedom of Worship demands that the Responsibility of Community is met. This means that Freedom of Worship only extends so far as to that line between that which is benign to the whole of society and that which presents a clear and present danger to the whole. Put simply, no killing people, no stealing, no assault, nothing that would clearly endanger society as a whole.

Freedom from Want demands that the Responsibility of Self-worthing is met. This means that Freedom from Want is only available so long as one is willing to work to pay one's own way.

Freedom from Fear demands that the Responsibility of Defense is met. If one expects to live in a free lands, free of fear, then one must be willing to defend that land and its freedoms from any threat, internal and external.

And that is about it.

Thoughts...

2006-04-10T12:35:52Z

Let it never be said that I have broken troth with the Gods of the Anglo-Saxons.

That put forward first, I have to admit, I find that while I've learned much from them, and have had a productive relationship with them, and likely will for the rest of my days, I am finding that there is much good in exploring other parts of my heritage.

And so I have begun my research into Celtic Reconstructionism in earnest. Heavens knows, the Druidic revival of the 18th and 19th centuries was loaded with nonsense, and the "Eclectic Wiccans" have wrecked havoc, but there is still good information out there.

Where I could never really find home among the Germanic Gods, even if there was always an affinity and productive relationship, there is something that simply speaks to me, in the lore surrounding the Irish and Welsh Gods, culture and custom.

Perhaps it is the odd blend of the two I can remember from my youth, with my one Grandmother being Pennsylvania Dutch, my Grandfather being a Welsh Bevan, and my Father's family being a strange blend of Swede, Scot-Irish, Lenape and Nanticoke.

In any case, that is as it is. In my journeys, I've found that much of Paganism is Fluffy, with ignorant Eclectics, that much of Germanic Heathenry is just as ignorant, and if not ignorant then arrogant, often filled with either snake-oil salesman willing to sell knowledge for the low, low price of $59.95, or men who would seek to expand their cult of personality to others. This is not to say that there are not good men and women in both. I've found honorable men in Paganism who can be depended upon, and stay within the circles of such for the simple reason of lack of alternative, and I've known Heathen men who are honorable and honest in all their dealings, accepting their borders and offering what help possible.

But the whole is what has spurred me on to re-invent the wheel. And as I've done so, I am coming closer and closer to home.

Isolinear Chips anyone...

2006-03-24T03:51:21Z

http://www.livescience.com/technology/060323_thin_plastic.html

Well, we've come up with automatic doors, palmtop computers, communicators, the physics at least for transporter and warp field technology, and now we are about to get ahold of isolinear chips, or something very like them.

And they say Star Trek doesn't inspire the geeks...

Do this most mornings, and so decided to post them here...

2006-03-23T13:05:00Z

I go through the news rss feeds every morning, kind of like the 21st century answer to a newspaper, and decided to put a few of the links I found interesting here, for anyone who would like to read them.

Sick-out Closes over 50 Detroit schools

This one makes me think a bit, and wonder at the state of the Detroit school system. Seriously, which matters more, keeping your educators happy, or keeping your administrators happy? Seems to me they are putting the cart before the horse, and so the teachers did what little they could to protest the actions. That said, it is a result of the contract that was negotiated for them, so I suppose, the union has some things to answer for as well.

Bush presses Afghanistan on jailed Christian

But when a woman in the middle of South Carolina is experiencing terroristic attacks, with slaughtered animals, home breakins, and assault, because she is *not* Christian and expects that her government will still be accessable to her, and he doesn't give a rat's hindquarters! Hypocrit! "It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because he chose a different religion over another." Where was he in Great Falls? Where has he been while Christians run roughshod over Pagan and Heathen practices???

Grammar Revealed in the Love Songs of Whales

It isn't quite complex enough to actually be considered a true language, but it is a beginning. I wonder what the Fundi's think of this? It certainly lends support to us Animists and Panentheists, who say the Divine is in all things, and Humans are not unique in their intelligence...

MIT makes move toward vehicles that morph

This should certainly make for interesting developments in vehicle design over the next couple of decades...

Chinese scholar earns fellowship to explore race

I haven't decided what I think of this yet. I will have to wait and attempt to get ahold of the study to read. It does say some interesting things concerning European descended folks who have been talking about identity issues for their own children.

Irish Names not so Irish

We linguists could have told them this...

A few Blogthings to pass the time...

2006-03-21T19:52:42Z

You Are An Invisible Ex

You're so over your ex, you hardly even remember you have an ex
You prefer leave all of the baggage behind you - far, far behind
As they say, indifference is the opposite of love!

What Type of Ex Are You?

I could have told them that... the breakup of my first marriage was not my fault, I got screwed in the end, and in the end of it, just wanted out, to move on with life. And I have, and have a beautiful wife, and three fantastic daughters to show for it.

Your Career Type: Artistic

You are expressive, original, and independent.
Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art.

You would make an excellent:

Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor
Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer
Dancer - DJ - Graphic Designer
Illustrator - Musician - Sculptor

The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.

What's Your Ideal Career?

Well, of course! Why else am I studying to become an English Teacher?

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

I would hope so, and they typoed a great deal in there...

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher.
You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Actually, I intend, in English after my Masters in Education, after I've begun teaching.

seeker_of_paths @ 2006-03-21T09:37:00

2006-03-21T14:37:52Z

Biodiversity

You know, I've said before, and I will say again, population growth is *not* a good thing. And what is worse, and this may sound very racially motivated, but the worst offenders I see are those of "minorities."

Personally, I intend to replace myself in the gene pool, my wife replace herself, and let it go at that. I have no intention of being a part of the over-populating of the planet.

"But there is still plenty of room..."

Room for who? Without the complete ecosystem, we all die.

What really disgusts me, is many will read this article above, and not change a blasted thing they do. Corporations will still seek profit, even at the expense of the continued viability of the planet, and not a single person, from the CEO to the consumer, will care. Until the ecosystem collapses... Until population growth begins to remove individual freedoms... Until they are starving or breathing through filters, or have to filter all the water they drink...

I could say, hopefully I will be long dead before it becomes an issue... but what of my children? Their children?

One day, we will control population, restrict folks to having no more than two children total, and still be eligable for government services or something, something to restrict population growth, and then we can actually control what business does to natural resources...

At least, if the human race can be cured of its insanity anyway...

Welga!
Seeker-After-Patterns
http://www.geocities.com/memine_nonya

From the Troth list, appropriate to now...

2006-03-17T14:47:51Z

A curse on "Saint" Padraig - may the lowest regions of the Underworld hold naught but misery for he and his ilk. May he be denied rebirth into the clans of his fathers, and may he be tormented forever by the sure knowledge that he tried to forever divorce an ancient folk from the gods and goddesses of their land, and enslave them as mere sniveling scions of a foreign desert deity.

I got some news for ya, Paddy boy: ya failed. We're back.

The mighty peoples of the North have persisted, retaining for centuries the memories of our ancient and hallowed troth, even if in reduced form as faeries, banshees, elves and "wee folk". But we remembered. And now we're joining with other folk or the North, South, East and West to reclaim our heritage and our birthright - no more slave gods for us!

I'll be wearin' the red today, Paddy, in memory of my ancestors who died resisting the siren call of your false and wicked god. And I shan't rest until he's driven from the North, and sacrifice and feast, boast and toast, is once more offered openly to to the gods and goddesses that made our lands proud and free, as they were before you sailed from foreign shores to corrupt them.

Rot in Nifelhel, Paddy. I'll be toasting your tormentors!

Daithi MacRae Haxton

(who, lest you be unfamiliar with the name, certainly has the ancestral credentials to lay a curse such as this ...and who gets some real Irish up every March 17th)

Hey I thought "Dirty Jokes and Beer" was a pretty funny book...

2006-03-09T13:17:16Z

You are 53% geek

You are a geek. Good for you! Considering the endless complexity of the universe, as well as whatever discipline you happen to be most interested in, you'll never be bored as long as you have a good book store, a net connection, and thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment. Assuming you're a technical geek, you'll be able to afford it, too. If you're not a technical geek, you're geek enough to mate with a technical geek and thereby get the needed dough. Dating tip: Don't date a geek of the same persuasion as you. You'll constantly try to out-geek the other.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Because I can...

2006-03-04T00:45:18Z

Only because I can in these United States... that is until George the Second decides to erode that civil right...

God bless my underwear, pair that I love.
Stand inside them, and guide them,
To the hips that are waiting above.
From the washer, to the dryer,
To my camp pack, onto my rear.
God bless my underwear, my only pair.
God bless my underwear, or I'll be bare!

You know it's been too long since you've been camping with a bunch of 8-12 year olds when you hear the tune, and those are the words that come to mind...

In all seriousness, a column that Michael Graham, who I agree with only on occasion, put out matched my thoughts on the current situation the US finds itself in perfectly.

http://www.free-times.com/Usual_Suspects/suspects.html

I wonder, would that nice little song, the parody of that beloved song of the Southern Redneck Patriot, be as offensive to the White House, as in need of smoothing over, as this nonsense over the very much called for political cartoons?

It makes one wonder, and so I've had that song running through my head all day... if for no other reason than in this revamped mix of Nixon ethics mixed with McCarthy paranoia and trampling of civil rights, it is likely the only place I will hear it for a while.

Another quiz to fill the time....

2006-03-02T20:26:37Z

You scored as Darius. You are Darius. And you rock my socks off. Following in Cyrus' wonderful footsteps, you continued to follow policies of complete religious and cultural tolerance. This way, the diverse peoples you ruled were able to live together under your Achaemenid empire. You did this with good organization, which further increased your success. Your empire was by far the greatest the world had ever seen during the 5th century BC.

To learn more about Darius, click here: Darius

Darius

100%

Wang Mang

100%

Hammurabi

92%

Cyrus

92%

Alexander the Great

83%

Ashoka Maurya

83%

Maodun

75%

Yu of China

67%

Liu Bang

67%

Chandragupta Maurya

67%

Han Wudi

67%

Sargon of Akkad

58%

Qin Shihuangdi

42%

Xerxes

42%

What leader of ancient/classical history are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Viked from Friggawomen

2006-02-23T00:06:55Z

Things You'll Never Hear a Pagan Say
Dianic:

"Shall we have an open ritual for all the men?"
"Face it - menstruation is just a bloody nuisance."
"The earliest cultures were patriarchal and peaceful."
"Sorry, I can't come to the ritual tonight. My husband's ill."

Discordian:

"Hang on, that doesn't make any sense!"
"Nope, too weird for me."

Druidry:

"No cider for me, thanks."
"Oh I couldn't possibly sing that! I'm too embarrassed!"

Gerald Gardner:

"Actually, we'll skip the scourging for this ritual..."
"For Gods' sakes, put your clothes back on!"
"Nah, I made it all up."

New Agers:

"Hello, I'm a New Ager."

Tarot:

"That card means you're going to die!"

Applies to all Pagans (or almost all, or at least those who consent to have it apply to them...):

"Nah, let's not go down to the pub tonight. Is there anywhere else we can have a moot?"
"Everybody here on time? Yes? Good."
"You know all those recent cattle and horse mutilation crimes? That was us."

I support Denmark...

2006-02-09T17:13:05Z

I support Denmark in their fight for free speech. And in all honesty, having seen the cartoons, I think they are pretty valid indictments of their terroristic campaigns in the name of religion. I honestly don't see how any Pagan, Heathen, or any other religion for that matter, can support the Middle Eastern Muslim Theocracies in this.