Yeah, I'm blogging this in part because I'd love to win this giveaway, but I think I've got some friends who would like this, too. If you've ever had my drunken chocolate cake, you'd probably like this book. Cake + alcohol= Yum! It's a recipe book titled "Booze Cakes: Confections Spiked with Spirits, Wine and Beer."
This is just one blog entry in a pretty awesome blog called "Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom." Great site for any of my pagan or pagan-curious friends, whether or not you are a parent. Check it out!
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom: Booze Cakes... : "Booze and cake. What could be better? (Okay, maybe you could throw some bacon in there....) Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone have j..."
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The BP Boycott IS working!
The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico isn't the first major oil spill in the world, but maybe if we try hard enough, it can be one of the last. We need to stop thinking that just because we haven't stood up for what is right, before, we don't have the right to now. Just because this has happened before, doesn't mean we shouldn't finally wise up and man up now. Sure, we could have and should have taken a stand long ago. We didn't. What matters now is, are we going to keep sitting back, letting this kind of thing go on, or are we FINALLY going to do something?
Take away all the media hype for either side, and just look at the bare bones. A company took the risk of drilling for oil in the deep ocean. They chose not to have adequate disaster plans in place. How much they make in profits is fact, and the cost of those backup measures and contingencies is a drop in the bucket, comparably. If they couldn't afford it, then responsibility dictates that they shouldn't have done it at all, until they could afford it.
The business owner chose to invest their time and money in a BP franchise. A smart business owner keeps their personal and business finances separate, and have money saved away in case the business fails. If their business goes south, they can declare bankruptcy. BP franchise owners can sue BP for the lost revenue, just the same as those who lost their businesses that depended on the Gulf.
Blue collar workers at BP gas stations will lose their jobs, but that can't dictate how we react to this crisis. It's harsh, but it's part of business. Should they have kept the slaving industry alive, because of all of the people who lost their jobs when slavery was abolished? The plantation owners were the BP franchises of the day, the slave ships were the oil rigs. The slaves themselves were the gas station workers. Most of the slaves were freed from intolerable circumstances, but not every slave was treated like an animal, and all of them found themselves jobless afterwards.
The boycott is one of many outward expressions of disapproval that we have to show BP and other oil companies that America has opened their eyes, and we aren't happy about what we've seen. Irregardless of where any oil company stands in comparison to each other, the fact is they're all dirty, and it has to stop. BP isn't a scapegoat. They're just the first ones to get caught. Now all oil companies are under the microscope, and they should be. If they're afraid of the scrutiny, it's because they have something to hide.
BP itself IS suffering, in part because of the boycott. Sure, if you only look at incoming dollars, a boycott isn't going to make that big a dent in BP's profits. There is so much more to it, though. BP's stocks are plummeting because of their tarnished reputation. People are going to be reluctant to open new BP franchises. Business owners who can will end their contracts with BP. BP is feeling the pinch, and it's only going to fail if we stop boycotting.
Take away all the media hype for either side, and just look at the bare bones. A company took the risk of drilling for oil in the deep ocean. They chose not to have adequate disaster plans in place. How much they make in profits is fact, and the cost of those backup measures and contingencies is a drop in the bucket, comparably. If they couldn't afford it, then responsibility dictates that they shouldn't have done it at all, until they could afford it.
The business owner chose to invest their time and money in a BP franchise. A smart business owner keeps their personal and business finances separate, and have money saved away in case the business fails. If their business goes south, they can declare bankruptcy. BP franchise owners can sue BP for the lost revenue, just the same as those who lost their businesses that depended on the Gulf.
Blue collar workers at BP gas stations will lose their jobs, but that can't dictate how we react to this crisis. It's harsh, but it's part of business. Should they have kept the slaving industry alive, because of all of the people who lost their jobs when slavery was abolished? The plantation owners were the BP franchises of the day, the slave ships were the oil rigs. The slaves themselves were the gas station workers. Most of the slaves were freed from intolerable circumstances, but not every slave was treated like an animal, and all of them found themselves jobless afterwards.
The boycott is one of many outward expressions of disapproval that we have to show BP and other oil companies that America has opened their eyes, and we aren't happy about what we've seen. Irregardless of where any oil company stands in comparison to each other, the fact is they're all dirty, and it has to stop. BP isn't a scapegoat. They're just the first ones to get caught. Now all oil companies are under the microscope, and they should be. If they're afraid of the scrutiny, it's because they have something to hide.
BP itself IS suffering, in part because of the boycott. Sure, if you only look at incoming dollars, a boycott isn't going to make that big a dent in BP's profits. There is so much more to it, though. BP's stocks are plummeting because of their tarnished reputation. People are going to be reluctant to open new BP franchises. Business owners who can will end their contracts with BP. BP is feeling the pinch, and it's only going to fail if we stop boycotting.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Can I get cash for that corpse?
I've told my family, repeatedly, that I want them to do whatever is cheapest when it comes to disposing of my body when I die. If they can do it for free, or earn some money, even better.
It's bad enough how much land is taken up by housing and businesses. The fact that we have swaths of land being used purely for laying out dead bodies is just disturbing. The space that would be used for my grave would be better used to plant food for the hungry, or combined with other grave-sized plots to build homes for the homeless.
Plus, the astronomical price of a funeral, a fancy box no one is going to see after a couple of hours and my dead corpse is not going to feel, and a hole in the ground to put it in, is disgusting. I don't want my family sinking thousands of dollars on my dead corpse. The money spent on an elaborate burial could go towards thousands of better uses. Spend it on someones college education, or the down payment on a home for a grandchild or great grandchild. If we have the money to spare, donate it to charity.
The thing is, I'm not there anymore. At that point, it's just compost. The "me" they'll remember will only live in memories and pictures. Future generations can learn about me from those. Visiting a grave site, where my body had probably turned to soup in that fancy box, is not how I want friends and family to think about me.
It's bad enough how much land is taken up by housing and businesses. The fact that we have swaths of land being used purely for laying out dead bodies is just disturbing. The space that would be used for my grave would be better used to plant food for the hungry, or combined with other grave-sized plots to build homes for the homeless.
Plus, the astronomical price of a funeral, a fancy box no one is going to see after a couple of hours and my dead corpse is not going to feel, and a hole in the ground to put it in, is disgusting. I don't want my family sinking thousands of dollars on my dead corpse. The money spent on an elaborate burial could go towards thousands of better uses. Spend it on someones college education, or the down payment on a home for a grandchild or great grandchild. If we have the money to spare, donate it to charity.
The thing is, I'm not there anymore. At that point, it's just compost. The "me" they'll remember will only live in memories and pictures. Future generations can learn about me from those. Visiting a grave site, where my body had probably turned to soup in that fancy box, is not how I want friends and family to think about me.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Is a witch really a witch?
I think in part there is massive confusion on both sides, pagan and non-pagan, about the whole issue of "witches." I won't claim this as fact, since I can't remember the source, but I believe originally pagans weren't called witches. The term was adopted after Christianity started it's crusade of conversion. Then, with the dawn of the New Age, it kinda just slipped into use as a label when fledgling pagans started self-teaching through the early books.
Yet, for us to call ourselves witches is somewhat akin to a black person to describe themselves casually as, well, a derogatory term I won't use. Or when women play around and call each other bitches. We can use a negative term and say we don't see it as derogatory, but in the end it doesn't matter what we think. What matters is what other people think when they hear it.
So, while we're getting frustrated with having crimes and stupidity being labeled as "witchcraft," most people aren't really looking at it and correlating it with real paganism and Wicca. The problem is not so much in the truth about what we practice, as it is image called forth by the label. When my mom explains her religion to new friends, co-workers, etc., she calls herself a witch. Of course, this causes reactions of shock, panic and/or fear. Then she has to try to explain what that really means while these people are looking at her like a veil has lifted from their eyes and all they see are warts and green skin. She can talk and explain all she wants, but the part of their brains that might be receptive to understanding what she really is has shut down. It's not just a problem of those people refusing to believe anything other than what they've been taught. It's the mental/chemical reaction to shock and fear. My mom's battle is an uphill one, because she is starting the conversation off on the defensive.
That's one of the reasons why I don't describe myself as a witch. I'm very open about my religion, though no longer as "in-your-face" as I was in high school. When people ask, I usually just tell them I'm pagan. Unless they are hard-core Christians, the general reaction is one of confusion and curiosity. This makes my battle the downhill one. I go on to explain, depending on how close my relationship is to the questioner. A random person at the grocery store asking about my pentacle will get something along the lines of "It's basically an earth based religion. Think tree-hugging hippy. We respect nature and life, and are polytheistic." The tree-hugging hippy part is just to give the mildly curious an easy reference they can be comfortable with.
Closer people, like my children's friends parents, will probably have more questions and I go into greater detail. I explain how magic is pretty much a prayer with tools. It's similar to lighting candles in the Catholic religion. It's just a more complicated way of asking my gods for help for myself or others. Minor deities are like the Patron Saints.
Usually from there I have to explain how I am NOT a witch, at least in the sense that they know it. I tell them it's very little like the movie "The Craft." I'm not evil. I don't slaughter goats or chickens. I don't do spells to force people to fall in love with me, or make someone's hair fall out. I wish I could just do a spell and make the huge scar on my back from surgery disappear, or win the lottery, but it doesn't work that way. Stuff like that is actually completely against my religion. Then I explain briefly about the Wiccan Rede, and how it's basically our Ten Commandments.
I may tell them that some people call themselves witches, it just depends on personal preference. I can let them know that the stories about people doing bad things and calling themselves witches are either confused kids or seriously deluded individuals who don't know what true paganism is. Just as there are groups of people who call themselves Christians, yet act in a totally un-Christian-like manner (Westboro Baptist Church for example, ) there are people who claim to be witches who definitely don't behave like one.
If someone is more curious than that, I'll explain any specific questions I can, and point them in the direction of some good books.
So, while my mother's battle is uphill, mine is downhill. Whoever I'm talking to can direct the conversation, and absorb the info at their own pace. Their brain is not shielding themselves in fear, but opening them in curiosity. I'm not fighting against their negative opinion of what a witch is, but informing them about what a pagan is.
I'm not saying pagans shouldn't call themselves witches if that's the term they want to use. I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't be surprised by how people react to it.
Yet, for us to call ourselves witches is somewhat akin to a black person to describe themselves casually as, well, a derogatory term I won't use. Or when women play around and call each other bitches. We can use a negative term and say we don't see it as derogatory, but in the end it doesn't matter what we think. What matters is what other people think when they hear it.
So, while we're getting frustrated with having crimes and stupidity being labeled as "witchcraft," most people aren't really looking at it and correlating it with real paganism and Wicca. The problem is not so much in the truth about what we practice, as it is image called forth by the label. When my mom explains her religion to new friends, co-workers, etc., she calls herself a witch. Of course, this causes reactions of shock, panic and/or fear. Then she has to try to explain what that really means while these people are looking at her like a veil has lifted from their eyes and all they see are warts and green skin. She can talk and explain all she wants, but the part of their brains that might be receptive to understanding what she really is has shut down. It's not just a problem of those people refusing to believe anything other than what they've been taught. It's the mental/chemical reaction to shock and fear. My mom's battle is an uphill one, because she is starting the conversation off on the defensive.
That's one of the reasons why I don't describe myself as a witch. I'm very open about my religion, though no longer as "in-your-face" as I was in high school. When people ask, I usually just tell them I'm pagan. Unless they are hard-core Christians, the general reaction is one of confusion and curiosity. This makes my battle the downhill one. I go on to explain, depending on how close my relationship is to the questioner. A random person at the grocery store asking about my pentacle will get something along the lines of "It's basically an earth based religion. Think tree-hugging hippy. We respect nature and life, and are polytheistic." The tree-hugging hippy part is just to give the mildly curious an easy reference they can be comfortable with.
Closer people, like my children's friends parents, will probably have more questions and I go into greater detail. I explain how magic is pretty much a prayer with tools. It's similar to lighting candles in the Catholic religion. It's just a more complicated way of asking my gods for help for myself or others. Minor deities are like the Patron Saints.
Usually from there I have to explain how I am NOT a witch, at least in the sense that they know it. I tell them it's very little like the movie "The Craft." I'm not evil. I don't slaughter goats or chickens. I don't do spells to force people to fall in love with me, or make someone's hair fall out. I wish I could just do a spell and make the huge scar on my back from surgery disappear, or win the lottery, but it doesn't work that way. Stuff like that is actually completely against my religion. Then I explain briefly about the Wiccan Rede, and how it's basically our Ten Commandments.
I may tell them that some people call themselves witches, it just depends on personal preference. I can let them know that the stories about people doing bad things and calling themselves witches are either confused kids or seriously deluded individuals who don't know what true paganism is. Just as there are groups of people who call themselves Christians, yet act in a totally un-Christian-like manner (Westboro Baptist Church for example, ) there are people who claim to be witches who definitely don't behave like one.
If someone is more curious than that, I'll explain any specific questions I can, and point them in the direction of some good books.
So, while my mother's battle is uphill, mine is downhill. Whoever I'm talking to can direct the conversation, and absorb the info at their own pace. Their brain is not shielding themselves in fear, but opening them in curiosity. I'm not fighting against their negative opinion of what a witch is, but informing them about what a pagan is.
I'm not saying pagans shouldn't call themselves witches if that's the term they want to use. I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't be surprised by how people react to it.
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