It's not that I'm not paying attention to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, or the lunacy of the US administration - I just need a break from it all. I keep reading about the horrors human beings are inflicting on each other, at home and abroad, but I don't feel much like discussing it.

Maybe next week.

In the meantime I'll share some of my favorite things (cue Julie Andrews):

Astronomy

Cassini finds evidence of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan

How cool!

Researchers counted about a dozen lakes six to 62 miles wide. Some, which appeared as dark patches in radar images, were connected by channels, while others had tributaries flowing into them. Several were dried up, but the ones that contained liquid were most likely a mix of methane and ethane.

See Titan at The Nine Planets as well as Universe Today.

~ ~ ~

Art



The image above is of Claude Monet's oil painting Springtime, another of my favorites. According to the Fitzwilliam Museum website:

It shows Suzanne Hoschedé, the eighteen-year old daughter of Monet’s then mistress, and later wife, Alice, and his own son, Jean Monet, in the orchard of his garden at Giverny in 1886. The tonality perfectly examplifies the ‘violettomania’ or ‘seeing blue’ for which the Impressionists were repeatedly criticised: one commentator described the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877 as having the overall effect of a worm-eaten Roquefort cheese!

It might seem strange, but, another favorite artist of mine is Piet Mondrian.




I love the clean geometric lines and bold colors of his work.


~ ~ ~

Glass




I love beach glass and blown glass, cut glass and stained glass. Glass has fascinated me... forever. And, being 41 years old, that a long freakin' time. The chandelier above is from FunctionArt.com. As much as I love glass, I probably wouldn't hang that in my home, but it's an amazing piece of art containing 101 individual hand-blown glass pieces.

See also:

It's all about perspective ~ Hm. Next glass art piece for my collection? I think I'll email the artist and find out what it costs. It would look really nice on the dining room table.

Blue Bamboo

Rattled

And my favorite of all cut crystal, Waterford:



This is the 8 inch Cecily Rose Bowl.

sigh

I need to marry a billionaire or hit the lottery.

~ ~ ~

Gemstones



My birthstone, (as is this, but I don't like it) courtesy of Gemstone.org, the website of the International Colored Gemstone Association.

July 21 ~ Friday Night Poker

I'm finally getting around to the story.

Not that there is much to tell.

Some background might help.

Deep Throat comes to mind.

Best not go there.

Anywho...

I think I've mentioned here before my sister started a "Ya Ya Sisterhood" group a few years ago which I was reluctant to join. Because I'm anti-social. In her opinion. But I eventually joined up and I enjoy the monthly night out with the girls more than I had ever anticipated.

Several months ago my sister started playing Texas Hold'em poker online with our brother Matt in Maine. They play other online games together as well, but she came up with the idea of Ladies Poker Night one evening while playing with Matt. Again, I was reluctant to join up. I'm not a huge fan of gambling and I prefer word games or intellectual puzzle-like games as opposed to card games. I'm boring as hell. But after several ladies said, "Come play with us!" I did.

We play at a different home each month and it's more about the alcohol and food than the card playing. It's a ten dollar buy-in for 400 chips.

"$400?" my sister-in-law asked.

"No, just 400. Ten bucks buys you 400 chips. When you loose all that, you can buy in one more time, for 400 more chips for ten bucks." I said.

"Um, ok." she said.

It doesn't compute really, but what the hell, it works. We cover a wide range of rungs up and down the socio-economic ladder and $20 for a night out is cheap. Everyone cooks or bakes or buys something to eat and one of our happy little group works for a major international liquor distributor and gets deeply discounted alcohol, so even getting hammered is cheap.

Which can be a problem.

We gathered at my sister's house on Friday night around 7pm. Nearly everyone was there except my sister-in-law, who was bringing pizza, our major source of food that night. None of us had eaten yet but we started drinking anyway. Appletini's and margarita's. Three pitchers of each. It was hot, humid and we're drinking schnapps, vodka and tequila like they're water.

Not a good thing.

Our sister-in-law finally shows up around 8:30, with pizza, and we're all buzzin'. Not being a piker, she catches up with us on the booze while we down pizza and start playing poker.

I didn't notice how hammered I was until midnight. One of the ladies with kids had to head for home so she wouldn't owe her babysitter next month's mortgage payment (man, do babysitter's get paid big bucks! I'm in the wrong business!). Because my sister and her friends are affectionate people, they do the kissy-kissy huggy-huggy thing when the arrive and leave. My sister-in-law and I, being Irish, just don't get this whole ritual however, reluctantly, we participate.

I stand up to give Dani a hug and a kiss on the cheek and... nearly land face-first on the table.

I'm not much of a drinker. A couple glasses of wine and my lips go numb and I stop drinking. I had every intention of getting good and snokkered Friday night, but knew I'd probably quit after my lips went numb - it's what I always do.

Only, it was a hot and humid night, vodka and tequila on an empty stomach, just sitting around on the porch laughing and playing cards. I lost track of what I was doing and just got wasted.

In any event, I recovered myself and don't remember much after that except that I stopped drinking. Everyone, myself included, believed that I was okay to drive when I left around 2 am. But then, except for Mishka, our supplier of alcohol, everyone believed they could drive as well. My sister and one of our friends drove Mishka home... which was a bit like asking the blind to lead, but no one got hurt. My sister-in-law made it back to Westport and I made it back to Trumbull...

sans shoes.

Which I still haven't located.

Unlike most woman, I'm not a shoe fiend. I have (had) three pieces of foot apparel: sneakers (or every day wear), one-inch black heels (now MIA evening wear) for when I'm feeling girly, and winter boots. That's it. For poker night I changed out of my daily wear tee-shirt, jeans and sneakers into a lightweight knit top and batik skirt, with matching jewels (I'm a gem collector and jewelry freak; my only condesention towards being girly), stockings (not pantyhose) and my one-inch black heels. At some point I took off the stockings and stuck them into my shoes - it was a hot and sticky night... but after that things get hazy.

I don't remember getting home. I woke up around 8 am with the hangover from hell, three cats sitting on me, screaming for food, and bright light streaming in through the windows. I stumbled out of bed and walked into a wall trying to get to the bathroom to hurl my guts out. Barely made it. Limped my way back to bed after hissing at the cats to shut up.

They refused.

"Mrowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir would have made less noise than my Lads.

"Shhhhhh. Lads! Stop! Mommy's hung." I hissed at them.

See why I don't have kids? I can barely care for cats.

They ignored me. If I hadn't been so sick I would have thrown those three screaming demons outside. Without bothering to open the window.

They got louder.

MROWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

So loud, in fact, they set off the dog upstairs. So now I've screaming cats and whiney ass dog to bounce around in my pain-filled brain.

MROWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWHIMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPERRRRRRRRRR

I'm not happy.

Doing my best imitation of my Irish sister-in-law to date, I fling blankets and pillows and scream FOR FUCKS SAKE! and get out of bed.

I immediately regreted my temper-tantrum because:

a) my head exploded
b) I tripped on the blankets and landed on the floor, smacking my pain-racked head on the (blessedly) carpeted floor
c) may have given myself a slight concussion

I may have passed out. Or, it just got really, really quiet. The Lads aren't used to Mommy's temper. Mommy has a really, really, bad temper, which she inherited from her Father, that she keeps a very tight rein on and hasn't "lost it" in at least two decades. Mommy often threatens her Lads with being turned into violin strings if they puke on the rug again or shred one more chair, but it's said quietly. And with love.

Mommy screaming like a banshee is something they're not used to.

Again... see why I don't have kids? Or, is that obvious?

The littlest one eventually came back and sat on my back and started doing the picky-picky kneady-kneady thing cats do. I just lay there, on the floor, praying for death.

Do not believe the lie. God does not answer prayers.

Slowly the other two came back and gave half-hearted "mrrowws", which were half purrs-half questions about Mommy's sanity. The biggest boy licked Mommy's hand and then did his ritual morning greeting of head-butting me.

"Now's not the time for that Raven." I whispered.

He replied by rubbing his face all over mine.

No, I did not bite his face off. Thought about it, but it would have required too much effort.

I sighed and dislodged the littlest boy, Pewter, and slowly, painfully, hauled my sorry ass upright.

No mean feat 'twas that. I deserve a medal. Platinum. Encrusted with Ceylon pink sapphires and indicolites.

The Lads are now kitten-happy skipping about my feet because Mommy is moving towards Nirvana - the KITCHEN! Fidgit, my middle Lad, was so happy he even forgot to scream and attack Pewter (they have issues).

I got the Lads fed and stood staring at the coffee pot. I was so miserable I couldn't even make my morning fix. Me, sans coffee, is a bad thing, so I went back to bed.

The Lads joined me.

Fidgit gets seriously pissed if Pewter is on my bed so I had to endure Pewter bouncing on the bed, then Fidgit screaming, and Pewter scrambling off the bed;

silence for two minutes;

Pewter bouncing on the bed, then Fidgit screaming, and Pewter scrambling off the bed; repeat for 15 minutes until Raven has had enough of this shit and smacks Fidgit in the head.

Peace descends.

Until 10:30. My sister calls. She had just awakened and was checking to see if I was okay. I muttered somethingsomethingsomethingdyingsomething and we hung up.

Oblivion.

Until 11:42 am. Psychotically neat upstairs neighbor, he of the whiney ass dog, starts vacuuming. This fuckwit vacuums every goddamn day, usually at 10 POST MERIDIAN! But not that day... no, of course not. He finally stops 20 minutes later and I go back to sleep.

Until 1 pm.

Phone, instrument of the Devil, goes off.

I try to ignore it but Fidgit loves the telephone and jumps on it and talks to it whenever it rings.

Why would I have normal Lads?

So, it's a bit hard to ignore the phone when it goes off.

I pick up it and go mrrmmrrw?

"Hi sweetie, it's Mom!"

Oh shit. Mom, always happy and chipper, was not someone I wanted to talk to in my current condition. Love her to bits... when I'm not hung over and dying.

"Hi." I said.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Mrwfo.. yeah... umimfineandyou?" I kinda said.

"I'm fine happyhappychippertalkensues..." and then somewhere in there she says "tag sale".

SHIT!

SHIT!

Forgot about the tag sale I had promised to help with. Mom never complains, she was just concerned because "it's not like you not to call."

Guilt, thy name is Italian StepMom.

No, not really. She really was worried because it isn't like me to promise to do something and not show or call. I'm the Responsible One. I'm the Reliable One.

I told her about the poker game and getting way too drunk and now being punished with the hangover from hell. She asked if she could bring my anything and I said no and she reminded me to drink lots of water and eat white rice and something else and I just okay.

Thanks Mom. For being cool and not giving me shit for skipping out on the tag sale and being irresponsible. See, this is why we love you more way than Dad. We just suck up to him for his Waterford collection.

Which is mine, by the way. MINE! But that's a story for another day.

I went back to bed and sleep, blessed sleep! Morpheus and I cuddled in peace, without interruption, for several hours. When I finally woke up, around 6 pm, covered in cats, I was feeling semi-human again. I stumbled into the kitchen for water and then onto the living room, with cats en-tow and Fidgit screaming at Pewter, and flicked on the television. CNN. Oh, no... screw that. No news, no war, no dumber-than-dirt politicians today.

TV, off.

Sit in silence.

Watch cats take turns attacking imaginary monsters on the other side of the sliding glass door.

Think about the night before and the missing pieces and realize, again, I don't remember coming home and I am still wearing most of what I had on the night before. I had spent the day in bed wearing knit top, bra and panties and nothing else.

Spied the skirt under the table. Hm. Well, that's good, I thought.

Shoes?

Shoes.

No where to be found.

I threw on some jeans and put on my sneakers and went out to the car.

No shoes.

Thought about getting some food but that was just too much work when I have ice cream (yeah, I know, rice... I never listen) in the freezer.

Call my sister.

"Hey. Howyoudoin'?" I ask.

chuckles... "Oy! Did Mom call you?" she asks.

"Yeah. We're both evil and going to hell." I said.

laughter... "Oh god, don't make me laugh. Hey, did I call you this morning?"

laughter... "Yeah. Bitch." I said.

I told her about my day from hell, she said "At least you don't have to walk a 150 pound Rottie!" after I complained about the Lads.

Good point.

She said she had checked in with everyone and all got home safe and sound. She and AnnMarie don't remember getting Mishka home and then getting back to her house. We both agreed that we were all really, really lucky and really, really stupid.

We decided it was Dani's fault we behaved so stoopidly. Dani owned a bar and restaurant until her first child was born. She's also married to a cop who delights in sharing crime scene photo's (camera phone's are not a good thing) of accidents and shootings with her and anyone else dumb enough to look. So she is really good at cutting people off the booze and making sure they can drive. As she decamped early... we got stoopid. However, even without Dani watching over us, we're not usually that stupid. Ah well, we learned a lesson without hurting ourselves or anyone else.

Next poker night will be tea and crumpets, I'm sure.

I asked my sister if she had seen my shoes and stockings.

"Huh?"

"Um, yeah... both seem to be missing." I said.

laughter... "I'll look, but I haven't seen them. Did you check your car?" she asked.

"Yup. Not there." I said.

She never found them. Neither have I. If anyone in Fairfield County, Connecticut, comes across a pair of one-inch black shoes with stockings stuck in them, let me know, mkay?

Hm. Turns out I had more to tell than I thought.

Donations please

Read Informed Comment and try not to put your fist through something.

The American University of Beruit is looking for donations. Please give what you can to them or to:

American Red Cross

Heifer

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Medecins sans Frontieres

Oxfam Canada

I know that, since the tsunami of 2004, we're all tapped out, both financially and psychologically, but please give what you can.

~ ~ ~

I'll get back later today on Friday night's doins. Let's just say I slept through most of Saturday...

Friday is art appreciation day

As it's Friday, and hot, I thought I'd leave some beautiful and serene and soothing art work for anyone lurking to enjoy.

Claude Monet is one of my all-time favorite artists. The picture above, entitled Waterlilies, Green Reflection, courtesy of the WebMuseum.




Pierre-Auguste Renoir is another one of my favorite artists. La Parisienne above isn't one of his very best, but my Mother's parents had a copy of this in their home, along with Lady at the Piano, both of which I really loved as a child. I think I started my love affair with the Impressionist painters because of those copies. If you can find it, get your hands on a copy of Jean Renoir's book, Renoir, My Father. It's a lovely read.



Last is Alfred Sisley's Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne, also courtesy of the WebMuseum.

Well I'll be damned

Gotta love Mercury retrogrades.

For no discernable reason, I can now see my blog in all browsers again.

I see that there have been comments made during the week which I received no email notification of.

Who knows why.

Certainly not the Blogger Support Staff.

I called the Manhattan DA's office and NYS Attorney General Spitzer's office yesterday and complained about Coulter and asked if there was an impending investigation. "We do not generally discuss any investigations" was the (and I'm paraphrasing) answer both offices gave me.

Harry Reid is finally stating Iraq is in a civil war. Surprise!

I'm taking a vacation from all war and stupid politicians today. It's Friday and I'm tired. I just want to kick back with some cold drinks, good friends and laughter today. I will have to wait until this evening for the drinks and friends though. It's poker night at my sister's and I can't wait. I might even beg for a designated driver and just get wasted. Carpe diem!

Twisted Sister

Hat tip to AMERICAblog for pointing this out:

Coulter Jokes to Reporter About Mailing White Powder to 'NY Times'

If true, Ms. Coulter has committed an act of terrorism and should be prosecuted for it.

Contact, fax, email, phone, snail mail, the New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, and demand the State of New York arrest Ms. Coulter.

Contact the Attorney General.

You can also contact the Manhattan DA's office at 212-335-8900.

I'll let you know if I get any response.

Don't hold your breath.

I still haven't heard back from the State and Feds about my questions regarding the evacuation of US citizens from Lebanon and what the US policy regarding the Israeli over-the-top response to Hezbollah would be.

Day Three, still can't see my own blog.

Thanks to a lead from Elsa I got to read Mecury In Retrograde at the Huffington Post. I don't read Huffington every day, so I might have missed that article. It's a brilliant essay ~ go read!

~ ~ ~

Civil war in Iraq?

I cannot believe people are still questioning whether or not Iraq is in the midst of a civil war. They are. We sparked it. Got it?

Informed Comment

Israel Drops 23 Tons of Bombs in Dawn Air Strikes

Lebanese short of food, water under Israeli bombs

Americans escape battered Beirut

One week after Israel launched its onslaught in Lebanon, the first mass evacuation of U.S. citizens finally got under way. It was later than many would have liked but in time for Alaina Hamade, 8, who finally broke into a smile after six harrowing days spent running to and from her family's basement in the mountain town of Gharifa.

I was listening to Rush while having lunch yesterday. Why, you ask? I like torturing myself I suppose. I also like hearing what the edjit has to say. Yesterday, he was bitching about the Americans not being grateful for their rescue and not expressing their thanks to the US government.

The overwhelming majority of US citizens in Lebanon work there, mainly in the oil and gas industries, and many for US companies as well as Middle Eastern and European companies. These people are not in support of terrorists - they just work and live there.

The minority of US citizens in Lebanon right now are tourists or visiting families. Tourism helped to rebuild Lebanon after its devastation by Israel during the 18 year occupation. Without tourists, Lebanon would be in an even worse debt crisis than it was in before the attack by Israel 9 days ago.

The US government left these people to fend for themselves for approximately seven days. They should be grateful someone's finally gotten their collective shit together and are rescuing them?

Gee, thanks. Better late than never, I suppose.

Israel hints at a full-scale invasion

Key facts on Somali Islamists

Tensions worsened on Thursday between newly powerful Somali Islamists and Ethiopia, which supports Somalia's interim administration.

The Islamists threatened to wage holy war on Ethiopian troops they said had crossed into the Horn of Africa country as Addis Ababa said it would crush any attack on the government.

Witnesses: Ethiopian troops in Somalia

How to meet the Somalia challenge

The first veto

Idiot.

Numbers games

Israeli ground troops in Lebanon:

The Bush administration also has refused to yield to international calls to press Israel for a prompt end to it campaign against the Hezbollah militia.

As of today, the completely useless and totally inept United States of America under the Bush Administration has managed to evacuate 1,300 of the over 25,000 United States citizens currently trapped in Lebanon. It took them a week just to figure out how to go about getting people out.

During May and June, 6,000 Iraqi's died.

6,000 in two months.

The report charts a month-by-month increase in the number of civilians killed, from 710 in January to 1,129 in April. In the first six months of the year, it said 14,338 people had been killed.

But it's not a civil war. And we're not responsible.

Turkey signals it's prepared to enter Iraq

In my opinion, it's diplomatic speak for: Clean up the fucking mess you made and get the fuck out of Dodge!

US has no idea of 'war on terror' cost: watchdog

According to the GAO, US military and diplomatic commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan "will continue for the foreseeable future and are likely to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars."

~ ~ ~

Informed Comment

World Comment: how does it end?

Hezbollah critics may bring progress, if not unity

Afghan troops fight to retake southern towns

The showdown

Israel's maximal option

Analysis: Hezbollah's big gamble

~ ~ ~

Note to the ever-so-helpful Blogger Support Staff:

Your idea didn't work.

Next?

This is a test

I cannot view my own blog. Don't know if anyone else can. Blogger, ever helpful (yeah, that's sarcasm), has suggested posting as a way to make the blog appear.

I'm thinking their next suggestion might be a scarifice to Cthulhu. Any volunteers?

Monday Morning Question

How long will it be before the Administration rescues American citizens currently trapped in the Middle East? Or, like the residents of Louisianna, will they be left on their own to fend for themselves?

PS:

I've emailed my State and Federal represenatives the question above. What, if any, response I receive I'll post.

Don't hold your breath.

Friday Reading List

Q&A: Middle East crisis

Sign That Crisis Is Regional, Not Just Israel vs. Palestinians

Middle East II: Israel's invasion, Syria's war

American Policy in Middle East Caught in "a Perfect Storm"

Rarely can United States policy in the Middle East have been in such disarray as now.

Widening Crisis Tests Olmert

Israel and the Doctrine of Proportionality


"This Is Going to Be a Big War"

"It is civil war now in Iraq, no doubt," he continues, "But no matter who you ask, no one will admit it. Because people are too afraid to admit this. People prefer to deny it."

The Occupation of Iraqi Hearts and Minds

Last Clinic Standing

Between July 15 and 20, OSA/OR will be staging an extended protest in Jackson, Miss., aimed at closing the state’s last abortion clinic—a move the group hopes will “send a message” to abortion providers and lawmakers throughout the country.

Rape and Murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza: Bloody Reality of the U.S. Occupation

LAST STAND: The military’s problem with the President’s Iran policy

Inside the Pentagon, senior commanders have increasingly challenged the President’s plans, according to active-duty and retired officers and officials. The generals and admirals have told the Administration that the bombing campaign will probably not succeed in destroying Iran’s nuclear program. They have also warned that an attack could lead to serious economic, political, and military consequences for the United States.

A crucial issue in the military’s dissent, the officers said, is the fact that American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities; the war planners are not sure what to hit. “The target array in Iran is huge, but it’s amorphous,” a high-ranking general told me. “The question we face is, When does innocent infrastructure evolve into something nefarious?” The high-ranking general added that the military’s experience in Iraq, where intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was deeply flawed, has affected its approach to Iran. “We built this big monster with Iraq, and there was nothing there. This is son of Iraq,” he said.

With the U.S. bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, there wasn't much the Bush administration could do to convince Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions. Bombing Iran's nuclear facilities or North Korea's missile testing pads would only trigger wider wars. Iran has transferred several thousand missiles that can reach towns and cities in northern Israel. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also bragged about wiping Israel off the map. The ingredients for a larger regional conflict are present.

UPI-Arnaud de Borchgrave

"Why is Hizbullah doing this? Why do we have to suffer for the sake of the Palestinians?" asks Mr. Haddad.

CSM - A second front opens for Israel

Lebanon: Red Cross braces for further attacks

Arab leaders scramble to contain Mideast crisis

India names suspects in train attacks

"Today a unit of al-Qaida has been established in Jammu and Kashmir which shall henceforth be called al-Qaida Jammu and Kashmir," the man said. "We shall be giving out statements regularly and will soon announce our aims and objectives."

And so, the insanity continues...

Warning: Do not feed the hamster.

A review of Frank Rich's new book is available at Editor and Publisher.

A new book by New York Times columnist Frank Rich, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina" will be published by Penguin on Sept. 26. In the book, Rich delivers a savaging sermon on the US government's "rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of 'compassionate conservativism,' the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts"—and so much more.

Pre-order available at Amazon.

I've finished Ms. Thomas' book, Watchdogs of Democracy: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public - long title, excellent book. Go forth and buy and read!

Other reading matter has included Elaine Pagels' books on the Gnostic Gospels ~ The Gnostic Gospels, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, which is a good book, but not really about the Gospel of Thomas. I'll be looking elsewhere for more information on that. Don't misunderstand, I liked Beyond Belief very much, it's just not what I was expecting. I think I'll order The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained for more information. I'll also order Pagels' The Gnostic Paul.

"What? You? The Angry Agnostic??"

Yeah, me.

No, I'm not wandering off to join some church or cult or anything; I still think religion (God) is an invention of humanity in an attempt to try to comprehend itself.

I've spent quite some time pondering several of the Gnostic writings over the past few years, so I'm finally digging into them some more. Things like:

"When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."

attributed to Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of Thomas, fascinates me. As does:

70 Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."

See also: The Gospel of Thomas at Sacred Texts.

I suppose these Gnostic Gospels appeal to me because they stress reliance on the self instead authority imposed from the outside. The idea that we already know all we need to know, we just haven't figured it out yet. It's all there, locked within, just waiting for us to release it.

Fascinating stuff that just sets the hamster in my head to spinning ever faster on the wheel.

Reading Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels I was struck the parallels to today. The holy martyrs of early Christianity are the same people who are now strapping explosives on themselves and walking into theatres and hotels and airports. It's not a new revelation to me, it's just that... I don't know how to explain this except to say that it's so painfully sad to be constantly reminded that the human race never learns. 1,900, 1,800 years ago those now known as the holy martyrs in Christianity died for proclaiming, confessing, themselves as Christians. Now Islam is doing this. Are we embarking on a new religious cycle, replacing Christianity with Islam, I wonder? Or will we see a renewal of Christians turning themselves into martyrs, getting themselves killed for Christ?

I'm not saying we are, though it wouldn't shock me, it's just some of the many things the hamster makes me ponder.

Damn hamster.

Brutalize acclaim the leach

Frontier Editor has a link on his blog this morning for Anagram Genius. The anagram of my name is:

'Brutalize acclaim the leach.'

Hm.

I'll be pondering that one for a while.

~ ~ ~

Is it war yet?

Hezbollah has captured two Israeli soldiers and the Israeli's have increased their "response". Prime Minister Olmert has declared this kidnapping an "act of war".

From Joseph Panossian, AP:

The clashes came after Israel sharply escalated its military campaign in Gaza in an effort to press Palestinian militants to release another Israeli soldier who was captured during a raid across the Israel-Gaza border last month. Israel dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a Gaza home Wednesday in a failed attempt to assassinate top Hamas fugitives, killing seven children and two adults.

I think the response by the Israeli's has been excessive. However, Hamas knew it would be. They know well that the Israeli's have always been fiercely protective of their soliders. It is mandetory for all citizens, male and female, over 18 to serve. In one sense, the soliders in the Israeli army are everyone's children and the capture and/or death of one is deeply felt by all.

They knew what would happen. Everyone knows what would happen. That's why the did it. The jury is still out on whether or not Hezbollah captured two soliders on purpose or if it was an accident. Regardless, they've opened the second front of the Islamic-Israeli war.

And that's what this is folks. War.

See also:

Christian Science Monitor

Middle East Report

The Times


~ ~ ~


170 to 190 people died in India yesterday. While Pakistan has condemned the attack, some are looking in their direction - or at their radical Islamic rebels, at any rate. Others are looking towards Kashmir and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

See also: MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base


~ ~ ~


Over 200 people have died in Iraq in just the last three days. People are still reluctant to state the obvious: Iraq is in the midst of a civil war and there is "ethnic cleansing" going on.

See: Professor Juan Cole for more details on Iraq and the Middle East.

Never forget we caused this nightmare into being. When we will be made to pay the piper for what we've done is anyone's guess. It appears that those directly responsible for this, George Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, Condoleezza Rice, et al, will never be held accountable. It seems the people of the United States and the rest of the world will let them walk away, unscathed. We, the people, however, will one day pay a heavy price for what they've done. Retribution is coming folks. Plan accordingly.


~ ~ ~


Now that I'm depressed, I'm going back to work.

So, Italy won

It was a unexpected weekend of barbeques. My upstairs neighbor, he of the nightly 9pm vacuuming and all-day whiny dog, invited me to his barbeque Saturday morning. Except to do the semi-polite New England headnod greeting at each other Monday through Friday, I've never communicated with this guy in the 15 months I've lived in the apartment below him. Cussing his ass out every night for vacuuming at 9pm (sometimes much later) from the safty of my own apartment doesn't count as communication. Unless he's a telepath. Which he must not be because:

1) He's still vacuuming at 9pm (or later) every night and

2) he would be well aware of what I really think of him and his annoying whiny dog and so

3) he'd have moved by now - or gotten a restraining order.

Instead, he invites me to his barbeque. Now his party was to be right outside my back door, so it may be he felt he had to invite me. I don't know. I also don't know why I went, but I did. Nice people, good food, it wasn't a horrible time and I left (walked a whole ten feet back into my apartment) around 8pm. At which point my sister calls:

"Come over to my house tomorrow, I'm having a barbeque."

Oy. I just left one!

(No, I'm not a huge fan of barbeque's)

Our brother Matt and his wife spent the weekend in Mahattan, leaving their two kids with our parents. They were driving back to Maine (yeah, they drove from Maine to Connecticut then to NYC) on Sunday, leaving one child behind with Grandma and Grandpa for the week and taking the other one home. My sister reasoned that it would cause less "separation anxiety" on the three year old who was staying behind if she went home with Grandma and Grandpa before her parents left for home with her baby brother.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

But any excuse my sister can grab to feed people she takes. So... more barbeque on Sunday. I was late getting there because the upstairs neighbors party, which mostly finished by 8:30 Saturday night, revived itself at 10pm and went on until 2:30am.

Thankfully we cannot yet, even in Bush's America, be prosecuted for our thoughts.

Normally, I'm not a wuss about confronting rude people. But... I steamed instead of dealing with the problem. I think it's because it sounded like it was all men and they were pretty drunk I didn't want to go out there and tell them to buzz off. I was also praying that one of our other neighbors would do something about it.

So much for the power of prayer.

In any event, I didn't get to sleep until 3am or so and didn't get up until 10am. I had laundry and catbox cleaning to do before I could leave, which I had intended on doing Saturday until I went to the barbeque.

I know, I know, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. That's only one reason why I know I'm going to Hell. Provided it exsists. Which I doubt.

But I digress: I had promised my sister I would head over to her house early to help her out but I didn't arrive until 1pm - the start time to her party. Thankfully she wasn't pissed and when I finally explained why I was late she understood.

The 'rents left my sister's house around 3 and Matt and Kelly about 45 minutes later. My sister and I hung out on her backporch chatting for a while when all hell broke loose. You see, my sister lives slighty south of what used to be the Bridgeport version of "Little Italy". In our lifetimes it's become home to people from Southeast Asia and the southern Americas, not so much Italian any more. But you'd never know it from yesterday's insanity.

First there was the 35 minute (yes, I timed it) fireworks barrage just two blocks from my sister's house. Then we watched the Parade of Morons. Everyone with a mechanized vehicle drapped an Italian flag on it (covering windshields in many cases), or sat on top of cars, holding onto gigantic Italian flags, while some edjit drove them around at top speed. This impromptu parade went up and down the two major thoroughfares of that section of Bridgeport, covering several dozen blocks and snarling traffic to no end. What a disaster. There were a great many accidents but I don't think there were any fatalities. I suppose that's a good thing, but the morons have been left behind to further pollute the gene pool.

I'm a huge, life-long, diehard Yankee fan. Even if I lived in the Bronx I wouldn't carry on like most people do when their team win. Gloat, sure. Parade around honking my horn, driving over peoples lawns, getting into fights, causing accidents and generally behaving like an asshole? No.

I don't get it.

I don't understand people. The building explosion and collapse in Manhattan today? Apparently a suicide attempt. Suicide is one of the most selfish things any person can do, in my opinion. More often than not it leaves behind people who spend the rest of their lives beating themselves up for not stopping the suicide from happening. But this guy, in Manhattan, goes all out on the selfish meter: sets off a gas leak which blows up his house and injures 15 or more people in the process of trying to kill himself, yet doesn't die. He's reported to be burned over 70% of his body, which is a hellish injury to suffer from and I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

sigh

I guess my grumpy mood can be blamed on the heat and lack of sleep and being fed up with rude people in general. I tried trolling the 'net for some cheeriness, but it didn't work. Probably shouldn't have read Robert Scheer interview at Democracy Now.

We have lots of good documentaries now out on this. Greenwald’s Uncovered, I think, is an excellent one. The other one I saw the other night, Hijacking 9/11. There are many of these things. They're right. People have a right to question how this happened. But clearly, these people hijacked the government with a very narrow ideological view. They excluded the old establishment, the Brent Scowcrofts and that group. And they went in a very dangerous direction. He went along with them, because there is no there there. There is no George W. Bush. Here is a person who is totally disinterested in the world, uneducated. I’m not saying he's stupid. I don’t think he’s stupid. He’s crafty as hell, but he projects well on television. And that's the real big problem. He is the perfect "what, me worry?" president.

Even Molly couldn't cheer me up.

I need a vacation. Badly.