Friday, November 21, 2008

I Like Kittens

Dr. Toni over at http://healthwise-everythinghealth.blogspot.com had this posted on her blog and it was too good not to steal. The church my family was part of when I was growing up still had a mindset like this - in the 80's. Not everyone, but some, thought my parents wasted their money sending me to University. Why bother? My goal should have been just to get married - that was my purpose. Don't get me wrong - I am happily married for 18 years to a wonderful man & I have two great kids. They're teenagers and I still like them. And, I consider my solid marriage and two normal (as normal as teens ever are) daughters the best and most important things I have accomplished. Wow. This started out as a funny post - sorry for bringing down the room.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

So I don't have to buy you a gift now, right?


From CNN.com, comes news about the newest attack on Christmas. Good Lord people. Oops. I said Lord. Sorry to impose my faith on you. But on the other hand, if you're this put off by Christmas, I don't need to buy you a gift, right?
Thanks for planting that "seed of rational thought". Wow, you're right, it's already working!
Group's new Christmas message: Be good, not godly


WASHINGTON (AP) -- You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.

Ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," will appear on Washington buses starting next week and running through December.

The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday.

In lifting lyrics from "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," the Washington-based group is wading into what has become a perennial debate over commercialism, religion in the public square and the meaning of Christmas.

"We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you," said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group.

"Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of nontheists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."

To that end, the ads and posters will include a link to a Web site that will seek to connect and organize like-minded thinkers in the D.C. area, Edwords said.

Edwords said the purpose isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds."

The group defines humanism as "a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity."

Last month, the British Humanist Association caused a ruckus announcing a similar campaign on London buses with the message: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

In Washington, the humanists' campaign comes as conservative Christian groups gear up their efforts to keep Christ in Christmas. In the past five years, groups such as the American Family Association and the Catholic League have criticized or threatened boycotts of retailers who use generic "holiday" greetings.

In mid-October, the American Family Association started selling buttons that say "It's OK to say Merry Christmas." The humanists' entry into the marketplace of ideas did not impress AFA president Tim Wildmon.

"It's a stupid ad," he said. "How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world."

Also on Tuesday, the Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group based in Orlando, Florida, launched its sixth annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign." Liberty Counsel has intervened in disputes over nativity scenes and government bans on Christmas decorations, among other things.

"It's the ultimate grinch to say there is no God at a time when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Christ," said Mathew Staver, the group's chairman and dean of the Liberty University School of Law. "Certainly, they have the right to believe what they want, but this is insulting."

Best-selling books by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have fueled interest in "the new atheism" -- a more in-your-face argument against God's existence.

Yet few Americans describe themselves as atheist or agnostic; a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll from earlier this year found 92 percent of Americans believe in God.

There was no debate at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over whether to take the ad. Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency accepts ads that aren't obscene or pornographic.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Interesting Find

Miss Cellaneous posted this on her blog, (http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/18626) and I thought it was interesting. Makes me feel kinda boring. The sphere ring is pretty cool, so is the Remember ring, but personally, I think the DNA ring is nasty. Somehow, wearing my hubby's DNA on my hand is a little Silence of the Lambs. "It wears the ring on it's hand or else it gets the hose!"

Anyway, enjoy.

Once upon a time, wedding bands were plain gold, or more likely gold plated. Their value was in the symbolism. “Look, I’m married!” or “Forget him; he’s married.” Today many who tie the know want something that also symbolizes their individual styles, or rings to set this pair apart from other couples. These individualistic rings not only tell you that someone is married, they can often tell you who they are married to, if you can find the other unique ring in the crowd.


Binary Rings
With a binary ring, you can engrave a coded message of your choice, up to 20 characters. They will be rendered in up to five lines of binary code, perfect for the romantically-inclined computer geek!


Decoder Rings
Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing is getting a decoder ring to use as a wedding ring. This one has three rotating bands that can be lined up to decode secret messages. He’s now looking for a proper code.



Intertwined Rings
Rings that intertwine with each other are quite symbolic. They look great together, but I don’t know how comfortable they would be to wear apart.
Nuts and Bolt Rings
Kiley Granberg designed a wedding ring set as a nut and bolt. Perfect for the mechanically-minded couple. This is symbolic on more than one level, if you know what I mean.


Ethernet Rings
Taking the connectivity idea a little further, Jana Brevick designed Cat-5 Rings that connect with each other by ethernet connectors. They are available at her Etsy store.


USB Rings
Jennifer Flume developed the USB Flash Drive Swarovski Crystal Engagement Ring. The two wearers can connect the rings and share data! This is a concept project only.


Sphere Rings
It would be cool to have a ring that you could play with. This sphere ring made by acanthusleaf is modeled on a historical pattern that has four rings hinged at different points. Update: Laurie Cavanaugh, who made this ring, has them available at the Mad Jeweler’s Workshop.


Remember Rings
There are even rings with embedded technology. The Remember Ring will remind you of your anniversary by getting hotter! Too bad it’s only a concept and not available for sale… yet.


Coin Rings
Make your own wedding rings is an individual statement, and will save money, too! You can make rings out of coins, but keep in mind that it is illegal to deface US currency. Still, not all coins are US currency. Watch a video of a similar process here.


Bone Rings
What could be more individual than your own DNA? Scientists and artists have collaborated to make rings out of the wearer’s bone tissue. The tissue is taken from a wisdom tooth and grown on a scaffold in the laboratory. However, the original company website is no longer active.


Fingerprint Rings
Just yesterday, I saw a fingerprint ring (which inspired this post). This guarantees that you’ll never see anyone else with exactly the same ring! Fingerprint rings are available in many styles. Rings by Gerd Rothmann feature a fingerprint that resembles a charm on top. Jeweler Andrew English does commissioned wedding rings with the fingerprint inside or outside.