I just had a spiritual moment reading about science. This is not unusual for me. Anyway, I was reading the caption for this picture of carbon nanotubes being made, and it said that sometimes when they heat the graphite to make them, they grow out like bulbs sprouting in the spring, and it occurred to me that carbon is what makes those bulbs. It's what makes all of life what it is. And what if this is another example of conservation of idea, of fractal patterning in nature? Atoms, planets, solarsystems, galaxies all sort of mirror eachother, so what if carbon naturally mirrors life? What if life is inherent in carbon? We happened because the idea that would be magnified to out own structure is already there in how the thing grows anyway?
I know, poor science, but it's the idea that blew my mind.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pomagranates
I had my first pom of the season this morning for breakfast. I look forward to the times when they're available, and I wait all year for them-- this year it came a little early because the farmer's market had a little pile of perfect early poms, but all the associations are always there, regardless.
I eat them despite the fact that they're a pain in the butt because I like them-- but part of why I love them is because they're so full of history. Each of those little 888 ruby kernels is like a piece of history. The fruit was one of the first domesticated, and was common in the earliest civilizations man participated in. They're sacred to the feminine forces, and a vital part of myths. When I had my circle, we'd take them with us to the Esbats and Sabbats, and we'd crack them open and share them with each other through the fall and winter celebrations along side fire-brewed tea, honey-drenched apples and gypsy stew. They're part of my personal mythology, too, because of those nights, three beautiful falls and winters that seeped into my little pagan soul, and now I don't have a circle, but I can still have Poms and I can eat them and remember those shiny, innocent days before we all had to deal with the crap of an adult life in a mundane world, when we were all together and felt like we belonged.
So I have my yearly ritual of slowly eating and enjoying my first pom of the year, and this year it's early, but no less powerful. And I thank the Dieties for the chance. I'm planting the seeds to preserve this chance, just in case they're unavailable or far too expenseive next year.
I eat them despite the fact that they're a pain in the butt because I like them-- but part of why I love them is because they're so full of history. Each of those little 888 ruby kernels is like a piece of history. The fruit was one of the first domesticated, and was common in the earliest civilizations man participated in. They're sacred to the feminine forces, and a vital part of myths. When I had my circle, we'd take them with us to the Esbats and Sabbats, and we'd crack them open and share them with each other through the fall and winter celebrations along side fire-brewed tea, honey-drenched apples and gypsy stew. They're part of my personal mythology, too, because of those nights, three beautiful falls and winters that seeped into my little pagan soul, and now I don't have a circle, but I can still have Poms and I can eat them and remember those shiny, innocent days before we all had to deal with the crap of an adult life in a mundane world, when we were all together and felt like we belonged.
So I have my yearly ritual of slowly eating and enjoying my first pom of the year, and this year it's early, but no less powerful. And I thank the Dieties for the chance. I'm planting the seeds to preserve this chance, just in case they're unavailable or far too expenseive next year.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Politics and Religion
Okay, okay, I'm a little behind the wagon, but I only just heard of this Palin protection-from-witches BS and so I've done a little research about how the various candidates feel about neopaganism.
First this whole Palin thing. Even if we assume that she's just going along with this and not the one whose idea it was to get protected from such things-- still, she's going along with it. Which either means she doesn't disagree enough to make an issue of it / agrees she needs the protection, or she doesn't have the willpower to stop such craziness. If she agrees with it or doesn't argue with it, that's an inquisition waiting to happen, and if she doesn't have the will power to take control of her own spirituality, how the hell can she take control of anything else? And this is not even taking into account that the rest of this guy's crazy involves a vision of a radical fascist Christian world-- with Christianity used as a bad word, a totalitarian soul-crusher, not a religion of peace and tolerance.
And you know, the more I find out about her, the more I hear her speaking, the more I want to kick her in the face and tell her she's a horrible insult to everything I believe in-- feminism, womanhood, leadership, environmentalism, rationality, literacy, common sense... She's more and more a joke, and that's really the only way I can deal with her, because if I take her seriously, the thought that she might become president by default is terrifying. I hope the Republicans realize what they've done and how they've damaged their own cause with this loony.
And you know what? The rest of the candidates are being really quiet about religion.
McCain managed to come off as a little too Christian and intolerant of Islam, but that's not that unusual, or unexpected, considering the cloud of other associations around him-- And he honestly believes that the people who founded America were Christians just like him, and not at all like Christianity was three hundred odd years ago, and especially not like Freemasons or social humanists or anything else. At least, that's how he sounds to me.
I can't find anything on how McCain OR Obama feel about paganism directly, but I can tell you that Obama supports more of the things that would gather pagan attention, like peace, tolerance, greening the country, alternative energy, honesty...
links:
Palin: the About.com page here.
About McCain pissing off Muslims, here. The best response: "When the Founders wrote the nation’s Constitution, they specified that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” (Article 6, section 3) This provision was radical in its day– giving equal citizenship to believers and non-believers alike. They wanted to ensure that no single religion could make the claim of being the official, national religion, such as England had. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention religion, except in exclusionary terms. The words “Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God” are never mentioned in the Constitution– not once."
First this whole Palin thing. Even if we assume that she's just going along with this and not the one whose idea it was to get protected from such things-- still, she's going along with it. Which either means she doesn't disagree enough to make an issue of it / agrees she needs the protection, or she doesn't have the willpower to stop such craziness. If she agrees with it or doesn't argue with it, that's an inquisition waiting to happen, and if she doesn't have the will power to take control of her own spirituality, how the hell can she take control of anything else? And this is not even taking into account that the rest of this guy's crazy involves a vision of a radical fascist Christian world-- with Christianity used as a bad word, a totalitarian soul-crusher, not a religion of peace and tolerance.
And you know, the more I find out about her, the more I hear her speaking, the more I want to kick her in the face and tell her she's a horrible insult to everything I believe in-- feminism, womanhood, leadership, environmentalism, rationality, literacy, common sense... She's more and more a joke, and that's really the only way I can deal with her, because if I take her seriously, the thought that she might become president by default is terrifying. I hope the Republicans realize what they've done and how they've damaged their own cause with this loony.
And you know what? The rest of the candidates are being really quiet about religion.
McCain managed to come off as a little too Christian and intolerant of Islam, but that's not that unusual, or unexpected, considering the cloud of other associations around him-- And he honestly believes that the people who founded America were Christians just like him, and not at all like Christianity was three hundred odd years ago, and especially not like Freemasons or social humanists or anything else. At least, that's how he sounds to me.
I can't find anything on how McCain OR Obama feel about paganism directly, but I can tell you that Obama supports more of the things that would gather pagan attention, like peace, tolerance, greening the country, alternative energy, honesty...
links:
Palin: the About.com page here.
About McCain pissing off Muslims, here. The best response: "When the Founders wrote the nation’s Constitution, they specified that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” (Article 6, section 3) This provision was radical in its day– giving equal citizenship to believers and non-believers alike. They wanted to ensure that no single religion could make the claim of being the official, national religion, such as England had. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention religion, except in exclusionary terms. The words “Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God” are never mentioned in the Constitution– not once."
Sunday, October 5, 2008
movies: iron man
I know, I know, I'm the last person on the planet to see Iron Man, buy you know what? It doesn't matter, because even on the TV, it's a pretty sweet flick. Glowing heart-sustainers! Explosions! Emergency Engineering! Socio-political Commentary! More Explosions! It's bright, shiny, snarky to the point where I almost actually forget that I never much liked Iron Man in the comics, and it's got layers that were unexpected from this genre: he manages to change without sacrificing who he is, he decides to do right in his own way, war = bad is proved without being too blunt or indelicate, big business = bad (when you aren't in control of your own interests) is proved, too... And the computer's voice is Paul Bettany, who I love, and who manages to be snarktastic even in a flat synthesized way. Additionally, there's Pepper Pots, who entirely understands her boss, her job and herself, who cares enough about him to get in the middle of a massive-robot battle, and cares enough about herself to keep the love-interest angle where it should be-- at least until he becomes capable of not wandering from model to model. Although, a loving, open, polyamorous super hero might be really nice...
And there's plenty of squee. Hints of War Machine, that whole section at the end of the credits, the classic Iron Man things like hand-weapons and crazy flying... Over all, a pretty solid and really fun sort of movie, with way more joy in it's existence than the last X-Men movie, which seemed to entirely forget that all this super hero stuff is just really really cool.
And there's plenty of squee. Hints of War Machine, that whole section at the end of the credits, the classic Iron Man things like hand-weapons and crazy flying... Over all, a pretty solid and really fun sort of movie, with way more joy in it's existence than the last X-Men movie, which seemed to entirely forget that all this super hero stuff is just really really cool.
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