Stepping Out For A While...

I'm going away for a few weeks, boys & girls. I'll be back in time to start a new season of teaching drunken freshmen. I'm not moderating comments during this time, so anything goes, but at least give me the courtesy of not pooping in the house. I'll likely not be checking email or having any other access to the Internet. And I like it that way.

Animals, please don't fight. Mommy doesn't want to come home to a torn up house.

-- Virgil

Where We Smoke Crack and Read Revelation

Maybe I should've titled this also for the Baker's Baker's dozen post, but it gets particularly good right about now for JW doctrine. A little Brooklyn Brain Trust goes a long way. I'm pretty convinced that there's something better than Kool-Aid floating around in the branch headquarters, though.

Early on in the cult's life, we developed a fascination with Revelation and the end times. Our founder, Magic Bean Russell, nearly became a Seventh Day Adventist, after all. Here's one of the hardest selling points for a JW to make: The Scarlet Colored Wild Beast of Revelation = The United Nations!!! If you can convince somebody to buy that one, you're either realllly good at the slick talk, or they have a low I.Q. But that's what happens when you turn your organization over to lawyers and judges--slick talk. Fortunately, JW's have built an international organization out of promoting smart people to sell snake oil to the stupid people (see an upcoming post on college & education). Here's an early sampling of the wonky interpretation of Revelation; remember, now, that the first scripture in Revelation says that these are things that are presented as SIGNS, and therefore must be interpreted--except, of course, for the one about 144,000 people. From a 1999 Watchtower magazine:

Since World War I, we have seen the larger fulfillment of Jesus' sign recorded in Matthew chapter 24. Yet, recall his words: "When you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation . . . standing in a holy place, . . . then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains." (Matthew 24:15, 16) This aspect of the prophecy must have a fulfillment in our time too.
Demonstrating the confidence of Jehovah's servants that this prophecy would be fulfilled, The Watchtower of January 1, 1921, focused on it in connection with developments in the Middle East. Subsequently, in its December 15, 1929, issue, on page 374, The Watchtower definitively said: "The whole tendency of the League of Nations is to turn the people away from God and from Christ, and it is therefore a desolating thing, the product of Satan, and an abomination in the sight of God." So in 1919 "the disgusting thing" appeared. In time, the League gave way to the United Nations. Jehovah's Witnesses have long exposed these human peace organizations as disgusting in God's sight.[…]
15 Revelation depicts "a scarlet-colored wild beast" that exists for a time, disappears, and then returns. (Revelation 17:3, 8) This beast is supported by world rulers. Details supplied in the prophecy help us to identify this symbolic beast as a peace organization that came into existence in 1919 as the League of Nations (a "disgusting thing") and that is now the United Nations. Revelation 17:16, 17 shows that God will yet put it into the hearts of certain human rulers who are prominent in this "beast" to desolate the world empire of false religion. That attack marks the outbreak of the great tribulation.

You read right. They take this interpretation from the scripture in Revelation that calls the beast the one who "was, but is not, and yet will be." So the League of Nations to the disbanding of the LoN to the creation of the UN. Now, there isn't one, but two nuggets of prophecy in the above passage. Not only is the United Nations the Wild Beast, but the UN is going to have to outlaw religion in order for Armageddon to come. While I've often thought outlawing religion would probably propel the human species foward, I really hope the JW's in authority at the Brooklyn Institute of Idiocy hold their breath until it happens. After all, it's right around the corner, right?? And from a 1991 Watchtower magazine that pretty much sums up what they believe will happen to those who ally themselves with this "beast" (note: Christendom for the uninitiated equals all religions except JW):

Some may take offense at the frankness of Jehovah's Witnesses in proclaiming this. However, when they say that Christendom's religious rulers have taken refuge in a lying arrangement, they merely relate what the Bible says. When they say that Christendom deserves punishment because she has become a part of the world, they merely report what God himself says in the Bible. (Philippians 3:18, 19) Moreover, because Christendom puts her confidence in the schemes proposed by this world, she actually supports the god of this world, Satan the Devil, who Jesus said is the father of the lie.—John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4.

That's right. All those who line up with the UN deserve punishment for supporting Satan. But, lo! What new doctrine is this I spy? See, unfortunately for the JW hierarchy, there's a little thing known as the public domain. In this public domain you can find things like, oh, memos, court cases, little damning pieces of paper like that. From a 2001 memo (which you can find here with other links for Adobe Acrobat reader)from, oh, the U-fucking-N:

Recently the NGO Section had been receiving numerous inquiries regarding the Association of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York with the Department of Public Information (DPI). This organization applied for association with DPI in 1991 and was granted association in 1992. By accepting association with DPI, the organization agreed to meet criteria for association, including support and respect of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and commitment and means to conduct effective information programmes with its constituents and to a broader audience about UN activities.

In October 2001 the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York requested termination of its association with DPI. Following this request, the DPI has made decision to disassociate the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York as of 9 October 2001.

We appreciate your interest in the work of the United Nations.

Former JWs will be particularly amused that the UN "disassociated" the entire organization of JWs, as the organization enjoys doing things like that to its own membership. Apparently, they chose to apply for break-off when rumor got out that they had JOINED the UN. That's right, part of the scarlet debbil. They claimed they were told they had to register in order to get a library card. I'll let that sink in for a minute, as I'm sure you haven't had as much Kool-Aid as others have. But the requirements for joining the UN as an NGO were clearly spelled out to them in a document when they requested application. Again, from the UN:

In addition, the criteria for NGOs to become associated with DPI include the following:

• that the NGO share the principles of the UN Charter;
• operate solely on a not-for-profit basis;
• have a demonstrated interest in United Nations issues and a proven ability to reach large or specialized audiences, such as educators, media representatives, policy makers and the business community;
• have the commitment and means to conduct effective information programmes about UN activities by publishing newsletters, bulletins and pamphlets, organizing conferences, seminars and round tables; and enlisting the cooperation of the media.

It explains why the Watchtower suddenly started printing such butt kissing articles about the UN and the work they were doing, all with the caveat of saying "of course, it's the work of man, so they're bound to be frustrated until God swoops in and fixes everything." Here's some particularly vile butt crack from 1995:

In Bible prophecy, human governments are often symbolized by wild beasts. (Daniel 7:6, 12, 23; 8:20-22) Hence, for many decades the Watchtower magazine has identified the wild beasts of Revelation chapters 13 and 17 with today's worldly governments. This includes the United Nations, which is depicted in Revelation chapter 17 as a scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns.

However, this Scriptural position does not condone any form of disrespect toward governments or their officials. The Bible clearly states: "Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God. Therefore he who opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will receive judgment to themselves."—Romans 13:1, 2. [...]

Jehovah's Witnesses view the United Nations organization as they do other governmental bodies of the world. They acknowledge that the United Nations continues to exist by God's permission. In harmony with the Bible, Jehovah's Witnesses render due respect to all governments and obey them as long as such obedience does not require that they sin against God.—Acts 5:29.

Or, I guess, if your human rights courts tell you you'll lose your tax exempt status otherwise. Looks like they were working up to making a bid for NGO status with the UN. Oh, hey, is the job of harlot who rides the scarlet colored wild beast taken yet? I may go apply for reinstatement...

-- Virgil

Where We Both Play The Victim And Blame Him

Nice little factoid to bring up around JW's if you don't want them bothering you again: JW's were anti-semitic. Yes, at one time, we hated Jews. Now, this may not seem very surprising, as most fundies hate Jews, because "they killed Christ" (no mention of those pesky Romans who were just "fulfilling prophecy"). But we do one better. Because we like to publish things, we publicize our anti-semitism. Just so Hitler knows where we stand. From our 1934 yearbook (yes, we have a year in review book):

It is falsely charged by our enemies that we have received financial support for our work from the Jews. Nothing is farther from the truth. Up to this hour there never has been the slightest bit of money contributed to our work by Jews. We are the faithful followers of Christ Jesus and believe upon Him as the Savior of the world, whereas the Jews entirely reject Jesus Christ and emphatically deny that he is the Savior of the world sent of God for man's good. This of itself should be sufficient proof to show that we receive no support from Jews and that therefore the charges against us are maliciously false and could proceed only from Satan, our great enemy.

The greatest and the most oppressive empire on earth is the Anglo-American empire. By that is meant the British Empire, of which the United States of America forms a part. It has been the commercial Jews of the British-American empire that have built up and carried on Big Business as a means of exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations. This fact particularly applies to the cities of London and New York, the stronghold of Big Business. This fact is so manifest in America that there is a proverb concerning the city of New York which says: The Jews own it, the Irish Catholics rule it, and the Americans pay the bills.

So, to paraphrase: We never took no money from no stinkin' Joos!! Anyone who sez that has Satan speaking through them!!

How they would know whether a Jewish person gave them money is beyond me. But just in case it was a little unclear, they went on to be more precise (from the same yearbook):

The present government of Germany has declared emphatically against Big Business oppressors and in opposition to the wrongful religious influence in the political affairs of the nations. Such is exactly our position...Instead of being against the principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely for such principles, and point out that Jehovah God through Christ Jesus will bring about the full realization of these principles and will give to the people peace and prosperity and the greatest desire of every honest heart.

So again, to paraphrase: We Heart Hitler.

But he didn't Heart us. By the end of the war, around 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were in concetration camps. Linky-poo. Between a quarter and half of them died. They had the chance to renounce their beliefs and be free of the concentration camps. But they believed that they had the right to worship as they wanted to, regardless of government interference. They just didn't believe, apparently, that the Jews had the same right. They are quite proud today that they are in the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. for standing up for their faith. They're not at all ashamed that they contributed to Nazi sentiments.

The cover up in the latter part of the 20th century by the Brooklyn Lawyers was quite funny, in a sick, sad sort of way. The 1974 Yearbook blamed one man:

Brother Mütze from Dresden, who had worked closely with Brother Balzereit up until that time, accused him later of having weakened the original text. It was not the first time that Brother Balzereit had watered down the clear and unmistakable language of the Society's publications so as to avoid difficulties with governmental agencies.

Damn you, Brother Balzereit. How could you manage to print that nonsense in thousands and thousands of copies all by yourself? Satan must've helped you. In 1998, however, we had to walk back on ourselves again:

Had the branch office manager, Paul Balzereit, weakened the text of the document? No, for a comparison of the German and the English texts shows that this is not the case. Evidently, an impression to the contrary was based on the subjective observations of some who were not directly involved in the preparation of the "Declaration."

Apparently some bone-headed JW's were going around saying that one man was responsible for this malicious printing based on some misconception they had from some book. Oh, it was one of our books? Eeps. Oh, hell, wait a minute. Does that mean we actually meant to say that? From that same 1998 renunciation:

[regarding the 1934 statement about no "money contributed to our work by Jews" and "commercial Jews of the British-American empire…exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations"]

This statement clearly did not refer to the Jewish people in general, and it is regrettable if it had been misunderstood and has given cause for any offense.

So did we just say we were sorry you got mad, not sorry for what we had done? I guess it's only "clear" if you have special Kool-Aid glasses on...

-- Virgil

We Fall On The Thorns Of Reality: We Bleed!!

Some of you may know one of the best known doctrines JW's cling to--taking no blood transfusions. They carry around little cards that explain they are NOT under any circumstances to receive blood products of any kind. When I was around 10 years old, my mother's close friend died because she refused a blood transfusion after complications from giving birth. We weren't allowed to go to her funeral with my parents because it was deemed "too traumatic." My crazy uncle (who will get his own posts soon enough) recently was admitted to the hospital for fluid on the brain. My mother rushed there from two counties away--to make sure the doctors had his blood card. It's v-e-r-y important to JWs.

The doctrine is based on a couple of scriptures in both the Old & New Testament that declare blood as being sacred to God and that his people are not supposed to "eat" it. They defend it thusly: If you were told by the doctor not to drink alcohol, and then you insert it by IV in your veins, is that not the same thing? And I suppose it is the same thing.

But what most JW's don't know, is that doctrine has changed significantly within the past 10 years. In fact, if you really, really need a blood transfusion, you better go to Europe and have it--you won't get kicked out that way. Confused? Good. Here's what happened.

The most popular scripture comes from Leviticus 3:17, which says:

It is a statute to time indefinite for YOUR generations, in all YOUR dwelling places: YOU must not eat any fat or any blood at all.

Witnesses take this to mean no ingesting of blood. However, I have seen them scarf Big Macs after a day in the "field" bothering people at their homes. I confess that even I have scarfed a Big Mac. It was go-ood. The problem with the blood issue for JW's is that it's repeated in the New Testament, and thus cannot, for them, be tossed away like most of the Abrahamic law tends to be for modern day Xians. Parents were guilt tripped into denying their children life saving medical care by passages such as these:

They know that if they violate God's law on blood and the child dies in the process, they have endangered that child's opportunity for everlasting life in God's new world.

Even worse, the Brooklyn Lawyer Research Institute chose to propagate faulty scholarship by declaring in the early 1960s that it wasn't wrong to take blood because the Bible said so, but because:

It will probably shock you to learn that the blood of dead people is being transfused into the bodies of hospital patients, but reports from Russia and Spain show that it is exactly what is done there; and even in the United States of America experiments have been conducted with transfusion of cadaver blood!

EWWWW!! Of course, there is no source cited for that. We don't need it. It's the work of the Debbil, clearly. What's worse, you may be mainlining SIN:

Some of it may come from healthy persons; some from alcoholics and degenerates. Criminals in jail are given the opportunity to donate their blood. For example, the New York Times of April 6, 1961, reported: "Inmates of Sing Sing Prison at Ossining will give blood to the Red Cross today." A commendable act? Perhaps not as beneficial to their fellow men as the community is led to believe.

Because as it has been scientifically proven over and over again, the blood of a prisoner gives you a 30% higher chance of turning criminal yourself. And you know what else? Just in case you get any funny ideas about helping animals without souls, here's a 1964 sobering thought:

Would it be a violation of the Scriptures for a Christian to permit a veterinarian to give blood transfusions to a pet? By all means, to do so would be a violation of the Scriptures. To use blood for transfusion purposes, even in the case of an animal, would be improper.

Although the Bible makes no mention of pets surviving Armageddon in the New System with their owners, we'd best not take chances. Jesus may, in fact, command Fido to "come on out!!" You transfuse him, even against his puppy will, and you've screwed that up for him. How do you feel now, big man??

In 1982 it was determined that even having blood removed by leeches would be a violation against God, mainly because you've forcefed blood to the leech. You've damned it's soul, how dare you!!? Although who was still using leech treatment in 1982 is beyond me--I thought that went out with George Washington:

However, though leeches parasitically feed on blood in their natural state at present, it would not be proper for a Christian to permit leeches to draw his blood. (Proverbs 30:15) Even where this was urged for medical reasons and the leeches would later be disposed of, the use of leeches would involve deliberately feeding blood to these creatures. That would conflict with the Bible's indication that blood, being sacred and representing life, should be disposed of if it is removed from a body.

These policies devastated families, and directly resulted in hundreds upon hundreds of deaths. Nearly every JW knows somebody who died because they didn't have a blood transfusion. They may not know them well, but they know them. After decades of dying in hospitals, even where the hospital has taken the family to court to forcibly administer blood (the JW's love to brag about their stand in the face of the judicial system), the Society decided that there was a problem with its policy. Not that it had made a mistake, mind you. SCIENCE had changed. In 2000 (the year that Armageddon was supposed to hit, remember), the Society came out with a different stance on blood treatments that didn't involve "whole" blood products, but only a "fraction" of the products:

Such therapies are not transfusions of those primary components; they usually involve parts or fractions thereof. Should Christians accept these fractions in medical treatment? We cannot say. The Bible does not give details, so a Christian must make his own conscientious decision before God.

Basically, it's your call, Joe. I had an interesting conversation with my mother regarding this new policy. "It's just a fraction: an intsy-weentsy itty-bitty-part of the blood." She said this, no fooling. I said: "Mom, fractions can be any size. If I give you 9/10ths of the bag of blood, does that still cut the mustard?" We never talked about it again. "Fraction" apparently mentally equates with "smallness", and that's probably where most JW's stop thinking about this new and dramatically different doctrine.

Maybe there was "new light", and the Brooklyn Light Bulb Keepers relented. Har. Funny you should ask. We actually have Bulgaria, of all countries, to thank for the reversal in doctrine. Bulgaria banned JW's as an official religion because they disfellowship (excommunicate) followers who do not adhere to their blood policy. The JW's cried persecution and took their case to the European Court of Human Rights in 1994. It bit them in the ass. As a compromise to being recognized as an official religion, and by extension getting to keep their tax exempt status, the JW's had to draft a statement regarding blood that reads as follows:

In respect of the refusal of blood transfusion, the applicant association submits that while this is part of the religious doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, its acceptance depends on the personal choice of the individual concerned. There are no religious sanctions for a Jehovah's Witness who chooses to accept blood transfusion. Therefore, the fact that the religious doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses is against blood transfusion cannot amount to a threat to "public health", every individual being free in his or her choice.

YES, motherfuckin' free will!! This is the European Commission of Human Rights Application No. 288626/95. Most JW's do not know about it. They probably think Bulgaria is some mystical Satanic land, anyway.

-- Virgil

Keep the Math, Scrap the Pyramid!

So, JW's still to this day believe that 1914 marked Jesus' time to set things in motion for Armagedon. You'd think with having their own danged literature contradicting them left and right, they'd have abandoned that notion. Not so, Peggy Sue. The typical response you'll get from a Witness explains why.

Normal Person: So, what's with all the differing beliefs? I mean, at one time you people celebrated Christmas, and now you say it's wrong. And didn't you say the world was going to come to an end in 1975? What's up with that?

Indoctrinated Witness: Well, firstly, you're a "worldly" person, so you wouldn't get it. But see, as the time of the end gets closer and closer, the "light gets brighter and brighter", as the Bible says. So that means God just revealed newer and better information to the lawyers in Brooklyn.

Normal Person: Oh. You're crazy, you know that?

You'd think they'd be blind with as much bright light as they've gotten over the years. Maybe that's why my mother looks at me like she does. Hmmm... Anyhoo.

For some reason they keep to themselves, JW's are intent on maintaining the 1914 date as a founding doctrine. Maybe it would just cause too much panic if they abandoned it all together. There was a major push to make the question fit the answer, since we have to abandon the Satanic Pyramid Scheme. Henceforth, the fuzzy math was based on a prophecy in the book of Daniel, which was supposed to predict the overthrow of Babylon and serve as a metaphor for the overthrow of Satan. Still with me? I'm sorry to hear that. What's even sadder? You can find this shit in Wikipedia!

1. Daniel 4:17 says that the dream that God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar deals with the Kingdom of God and God's promise to give it to " the one whom he wants " or " the lowliest one of mankind." The Bible says that Jesus Christ was indeed "the lowliest one of mankind." (Phil. 2:7, 8; Matt. 11:28-30) Then Jehovah's Witnesses believe this dream also fulfilled to Jesus Christ.
2. Rulership over mankind, as represented by the tree and its rootstock, would have "the heart of a beast." (Dan. 4:16) As Jesus showed in his prophecy pointing to the conclusion of the system of things (end of the world), Jerusalem would be "trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations (gentile times)" were fulfilled. (Matt.24:3; Luke 21:24) According to Jehovah's Witnesses, "Jerusalem" represented the Kingdom of God because its kings were said to sit on "the throne of the kingship of Jehovah." (1 Chron. 28:4, 5; Matt. 5:34-35) So, the Gentile governments, represented by wild beasts, would 'trample' on the right of God's Kingdom to direct human affairs and would themselves hold sway under Satan's control. (Dan. 7:2-8, 17, 23; 8:20-22; Rev. 13:1, 2; Luke 4:5, 6)
3. Revelation 11:2, 3 and 12:6, 14 clearly states that 42 months (3 1/2 years) in that prophecy are counted as 1,260 days. "Seven times" or Seven years would be twice that, or 2,520 days. Bible shows that a day is counted as a year in calculating prophetic time in two of its many prophecies (Ezek. 4:6; Num. 14:34), then prophetic "seven times" means 2,520 years.
4. According to Jehovah's Witnesses, the counting of the "seven times" begin after Zedekiah, the last king in the typical Kingdom of God, was removed from the throne in Jerusalem by the Babylonians. (Ezek. 21:25-27) Jehovah's witnesses believe that this took place 70 years before 537 B.C., the year in which they believe the Jews returned from captivity; that is, it took place by early October of 607 B.C. (Jer. 29:10; Dan. 9:2) Counting 2,520 years from early October of 607 B.C. brings us to early October of 1914.

What's sadder than that? Wikipedia got it right!! Unfortunately, Brooklyn Lawyer Scholarship, which cherry picks actual historical records and pairs them with biblical interpretation, suggests that their start date (607 BC) is about 20 years off. So 1914 should be 1894.

Whoopsy.

Coming up...blood!! There's so much blood!!

-- Virgil

A Baker's Baker's Dozen--Approximately

One of the other major beliefs of JWs is that only a select few are going to heaven, and everyone else stays here on Earth which will then be transformed into a Paradise. Not as cool as having your own planet. But it appealed to people like my mother, who thinks it's going to be cool to walk the earth forever and learn the names of every plant and animal. La-di-da. Whatever.

The other people going up to heaven number exactly 144,000. They take that literally from a scripture in Revelation. They read everything else as symbollic but that. Contradiction, thy name is Jehovah. If someone screws up and "falls away," someone else takes their place. People like the Apostles in the Bible are in this number. "Magic Bean" I-got-my-pyramid-doctrine-from-Satan Russell is in this number. But the count doesn't start until after Jesus died. So Abraham & Moses and those folks are out. Stuck here on Earth. My mother can't wait to meet them.

These people are set to go to heaven right after or during Armageddon. So the timing of this event is naturally pretty important to those who are privileged like this. What hinges it all for them is the portion of the scripture in Matthew 24:34 that says, "This generation shall not pass away until all these things have happened." In other words, they'll be around to see it. How they get to heaven if they live through Armageddon is undetermined, because JW's do not believe in the rapture--although I can't think of another logical (snort) way the living would rise to heaven.

So first, these folks are going up during the year 1914, according to the 1908 book Thy Kingdom Come, volume 1:

That the deliverance of the saints must take place some time before 1914 is manifest, since the deliverance of fleshly Israel, as we shall see, is appointed to take place at that time, and the angry nations will then be authoritatively commanded to be still, and will be made to recognize the power of Jehovah's Anointed.

So now, the old codgers who lived past World War I have to wait a bit. But they don't give up! From a 1922 WatchTower:

The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914.

But in Volume 3 of Thy Kingdom Come (which hasn't yet), coming out inconveniently in 1937, it says this:

That the deliverance of the saints will take place some time after 1914 is manifest, since the deliverance of fleshly Israel, as we shall see, is appointed to take place thereafter, and the angry nations will then be authoritatively commanded to be still, and will be made to recognize the power of Jehovah's Anointed.

Two words have been changed. I dare you to find them. I'll even give you a hint: it's the same word twice! Some thought that maybe Jesus was being figurative with the use of the word "generation." But the Society put a swift end to that thought in a 1962 Awake magazine:

The "generation" of Matthew 24:34 includes persons alive at the time that the war in heaven began in 1914. All who were living or who came on the scene around that time are part of that generation. Members of that generation will see the end of this world.

My grandmother was born in 1914. She would've been around 48 years old when that magazine came out. But that doesn't count. At least not yet. The caveat established by the JW's in 1968 was as follows:

Jesus had just referred to persons who would "see all these things." "These things" are the events that have taken place since 1914 and those yet to occur down to the end of this wicked system. (Matthew 24:33) Persons born even as much as fifty years ago could not see "all these things." They came on the scene after the foretold events were already under way. But there are people still living who were alive in 1914 and saw what was happening then and who were old enough that they still remember those events. This generation is getting up in years now.

Sorry, grammy, that ain't you.

We-ell, around 1995, when my Grandma would've been around 81 years old, and logically (perish the word!) the "generation" is even older than her and have probably all kicked the bucket by now, the JW's have to replace some of the bulbs in their philosophy. You've got it: brighter light.

Eager to see the end of this evil system, Jehovah's people have at times speculated about the time when the "great tribulation" would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, we "bring a heart of wisdom in," not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we "count our days" in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term "generation" as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.

A complete 180 degree turn. How interesting. So you should probably convert now. Who knows--you may still be able to get in on that "generation" stuff! What? You're not convinced yet? Well, stay tuned...more to come.

--Virgil

The Great Pyramid Says Jesus Is Coming Back!

For my buddy Justin and others who may (I hope) not be familiar with basic tennents of JW religious philosophy, the "time of the end" or the "last days" is one of their cornerstone doctrines. They believe, in essence, that the time of the end started in 1914, and that Armageddon is literally right around the corner. They also believe they'll see it in their lifetimes. Here's why.

Another one of Charles Taze "Magic Bean" Russell's contributions to the JW's theology is the insistence on pinpointing the exact beginning of the time of the end. I realize how oxymoronic that sounds. In his day, the academic vogue of the time was Egyptology, or the fetishizing of all things Egypt. Scholars and other people enjoyed straining to figure out what the Pyramids may be "telling us." Your typical colonization and hyper-romanticising of another culture. Russell was not above this.

The end of the world focuses on the scriptures in Revelation (and elsewhere) talking about the fight in heaven where Satan was cast down to Earth, how he would roam about for a while (like a man-eating lion--I've always dug men like that), and then Jebus would come back to chain him up for a while longer. Armageddon is the "next" battle between Jebus the White Horse Rider and Satan and His Dirty Demons. I know who I'm betting on.

But for JW's, here's where the end of the world gets really interesting...

From an 1891 book called Thy Kingdom Come:

So, then, if we measure backward down the "First Ascending Passage" to its junction with the "Entrance Passage," we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year B.C. 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the "Entrance Passage" from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the "Pit," representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, B.C. 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years B.C. plus 1874 years AD. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation -- no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this "Witness" fully corroborates the Bible testimony on this subject...

You'll be excused if at this point your going "Huuhhr??" There was even a fold out chart of this shit. That's what you get when you're taken over by lawyers and judges (more on that in another post). And nuts. JW's love symbolism. That's why I became an English major: research plus symbolism divided by bizarre upbringing equals an interesting viewpoint.

But wait! We start to think after 25 years of this pyramid crap that maybe that's not the right answer. So the Watchtower magazine in the November 15, 1928 issue prints this:

If the pyramid is not mentioned in the Bible, then following its teachings is being led by vain philosophy and false science and not following after Christ.

and this:

It is more reasonable to conclude that the great pyramid of Gizeh, as well as the other pyramids thereabout, also the sphinx, were built by the rulers of Egypt and under the directions of Satan the Devil... Then Satan put his knowledge in dead stone, which may be called Satans' Bible, and not God's stone witness...

But...but...!!! Doesn't that mean that Russell was led by Satan in establishing this crap?? Not a word of that was ever mentioned...In fact, by the 50's, they were having to instruct their people on how to debunk that particular belief to other people who were told about it by a generation of previous JW's. Blech. What a mess.

So, how do we get to 1914? A bunch of different ways. Choose which path you like best. But, here's how it originally happened. Jumping off of the 1874 Pyramid crap, they did some more fuzzy math in their Watchtower magazines:

The Millennium of peace and blessing would be introduced by forty years of trouble, beginning slightly in 1874 and increasing until social chaos should prevail in 1914 A.D.

and

We see no reason for changing the figures--nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble.

and for those idiots who dare to doubt, from a 1904 Watchtowerwer question/answer segment:

Question -- If the "Times of the Gentiles" can be changed as suggested in the July Tower, so that the anarchy will follow 1914 A.D., instead of preceding it, might not similar changes be made in respect to all the various lines of prophetic time proof set forth in Millennial Dawn, Vols. II and III?

Answer. --- You are entirely in error. Not a figure, not a date, not a prophecy is in any sense or degree affected by the article to which you refer. Indeed the harmony and unity of the whole is the more fully demonstrated...The harmony of the prophetic periods of the correctness of out Bible chronology. They fit together like the cog-wheels of a perfect machine. To change the chronology even one year would destroy all this harmony, -- so accurately are the various proofs drawn together in the parallels between the Jewish and Gospel ages.

Just as you may suspect, they had already been backpedalling in some "article to which you refer", and someone with half a brain cell had caught it.

That spells some trouble for those who were supposed to head toward heaven at that time.....(next episode)

--Virgil

Jehovah's Witnesses and the Magic Beans

OK, the boys are gone to the arboretum to walk off excess energy (thank goodness!), and I've decided to sit down and do the first of the JW posts. I've also realized that in describing the nuttiness of this religion, I'm also going to have to give the history of the religion as well. It's not going to be as interesting as Justin's Mormon history, though. We'll see, I guess.

So, first up. JW's were founded by a nut. Plain and simple. Here's a brief summary, which you can find pretty easily in some form or other by googling "history of Jehovah's Witnesses", so I'm not going to be bothered to link it:

Jehovah’s Witnesses were started by a man named Charles Taze Russell, who was born in 1852 and worked in Pittsburgh as a haberdasher. He actually spent a lot of time as an agnostic after trying to convert an atheist and getting disallusioned with religion. Imagine that!

He went to an Adventist meeting, was told that Jesus would be back at any time, and got interested in the Bible. The Adventists at the time were led by a guy who enjoyed predicting the end of the world, although obviously it's still been turning since 1844. When people finally got irritated enough with him, they splintered off to form the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. There's a lot of doctrinal similarity (and weirdness) between them and the JW's for this reason.

Russell started calling himself "Pastor" and he never finished high school. In 1879, he began the Watch Tower—what would later be known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and moved it to Brooklyn in 1908. I went there when I was 16 and toured the place. Pretty impressive. All that donation money really did build something.

Before his cult really took off, Russell sold "miracle wheat" for $60/bushel. He claimed it grew five times as well as regular wheat, however it in fact underperformed regular wheat, as was established in court when Russell was sued. Later he came up with a fake cancer cure and what he termed a "millennial bean" (maybe it took a thousand years to sprout).

JW's have been selling fake medicine ever since...

--Virgil

Argh! I've Been Tagged!

Kari has tagged me! I think I've actually done this one before, but I'll do it again. By the way, Kari, your BetaBlogger thingy looks really good! I've been resisting a switch because I'm a techno-idiot, and I'm afraid I'll lose everything. Was it painful to switch?

4 Jobs I have Had

1. Composition Instructor for freshmen at the university I'm currently attending. A thankless job. Definitely its own reward.
2. Grand Exalted Poobah of Literacy. OK, I'm the assistant to the director, but I can pretty much call myself anything but "director," so I choose this. :p
3. Answering calls for U.S. Immigration. The worst job I have ever had in my entire life.
4. 3rd shift waitress at the local truckstop. Didn't last long. I quit when they found the dead prostitute.

4 Movies I would Watch Over and Over

1. The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart

2. Murder on the Nile

3. Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee

4. Casino Royale. The new Bond did not disappoint me. He's perfect! Hot, hot, hot!


4 TV Shows.

I'm addicted to Reality TV. Here's what I've loved and am currently loving...

1. Flavor of Love (so sad, it's over now...)

2. Beauty and the Geek

3. The Unit. I absolutely love this show

4. Survivor...I watch it because of the gorgeous Asian guy, Yul.



4 Places I Have Visited

1. Mexico City, DF, Mexico. A great time. In spite of everything.

2. New York, New York. Bright Lights, Big City. Happy Contemplator.

3. Florida. Dante's paternal family lives there. Very warm. Too warm.

4. Houston, Texas on the Greyhound bus ride from hell. Think no air conditioning, people so packed in I was sitting on my travel partner's lap, 110 degrees of heat outside for over 2 hours. Talk about a bonding moment.

4 Favourite Foods.

1. Tiramisu, the Italian dessert I'd kill someone over. Fortunately, I can make it myself.

2. Pork Lo Mein. With a Dr. Pepper.

3. Katzu. A Japanese dish with pork, egg, & rice

4. Basalmic chicken. At least this one I can fix myself without too much fuss.

4 Websites I visit daily.

1. Fundies Say The Darndest Things Because they do. And when they do, it's really funny.

2. The Undesirable Element

3. Doc's Sunrise Rants

4. Does your e-mail main page count??


4 Bloggers I would Like to Respond if they can...

1. Justin

2. Airwolf

3. Jo, if she's feeling well

4. Kixque

Good luck! Please let me know if you’ve decided to do this as well. I look forward to reading your posts

Them Wacky Millenialists...

My drinking buddy an Undesirable Element is doing a review of Mormonism. While drinking one night, we thought it would also be a hoot to compare the craziness of Jehovah's Witnesses as well. Although his posts are going to be far more entertaining (fundy undies, God is an alien, you get your own planet, etc.), I'm still going to post about them. JW's are just creepy, though. No fun in that cult. It's a sin.

Topics to cover:
The Great Pyramids Say Jesus is Coming Back!
It's the End of the World As We Know It (again, again, and again)
Jay-Dubs support Hitler from the USA while going into his concentration camps in Europe
TAKE NO BLOOD!! (Except if it hinders you from being recognized in the European Union)
Babylon the Great, that whore, is actually the Catholic Church!
Speaking of the Catholic Church, they're such hypocrites for letting their priests molest kids and doing nothing to stop it. But don't tell anyone--JW's do it too! It'll be our little secret.
The Wild Beast of Revelation is really the United Nations! (Although we'll tone that rhetoric down in our publications when we find out the UN won't recognize us as an official religion otherwise)
Sadly, We Have No Fundie Undies (but we do have a secret sex book!)

The first installation will be shortly forthcoming...

--Virgil

I Heart Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is one of my favorite writers. He and D.H. Lawrence duke it out for the top spot in my affections often. Besides Hemingway's swift and boxing-style prose, I love him for his wit:

Neo-Thomist Poem
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want him for long.

by Ernest Hemingway

This from the man who said "Every thinking man is an atheist." :D

Sorry, Buddy {but I'm laughing anyway}

I'm sorry I made you drink what was obviously swill water to you last night. Although, I have to say, it was very Airwolf that you drank it anyway. You may be more stubborn than I am! And that's saying something.

It was totally my fault for encouraging it. I have to remember that being six foot five has nothing to do with taste. Maybe I was just overly amped because of how you put down that entire glass of beer with nary a blink. As if it were water. Well, it was Bud Lite, so I guess it was pretty much water, eh? In my defense, I didn't realize that Harp was made by Guinness. I could've warned you first.

We'll try something else next time. Some Canadian beer or something. Maybe a Newcastle. I'm not torn up about it, so don't take this the wrong way. It was just...surprising. All in all, I had a good time. Will drink again (to paraphrase Vivek, who seemed to be having a Beowulf time with his woman...).

I'm sort of not that sorry, though, considering I blame my current hangover on the fact that I finished the beer you wouldn't and it was warm to boot. :D

In Retrospect

Will we somehow come to look back on the cultural and political events of the past years of our lives and wonder whether Ernest Hemingway's poem is as apt now as it was for his Lost Generation of World War 1? I wonder.

The Age Demand
The age demanded that we sing
And cut away our tongue.

The age demanded that we flow
And hammered in the bung.

The age demanded that we dance
And jammed us into iron pants.

And in the end the age was handed
The sort of shit that it demanded.

by Ernest Hemingway

Updating My Library

Now, no one snicker, since I've already explained how much reading I have to do. But I'm wanting to update my library a bit. I try to keep only those books that I know I'll read again and again. Otherwise it's just a waste of money, & I'd have been better off going to the library. So, I have lots of classic literature and very little pulp, except the murder mysteries that I'm addicted to. There's one author, Andrea Camilleri, who is translated from the Italian and writes about Inspector Montalbano, sort of like the Sam Spade of Italy. Unfortunately, I have to wait until they're translated from the Italian, as my Italian isn't yet good enough to read and get the full meaning of it. But my goal is to be able to read all of Montalbano's adventures in the Italian. I want all the 007 Ian Fleming novels. I have a nice & tidy little philosophy shelf and a history corner and all that jazz.

What I want are some evolutionary material.

I know that I want Richard Dawkin's The Blind Watchmaker. I have his book The Selfish Gene, and I love his style of writing.

Anyone else have any suggestions for a sciency-physics kind of shelf?

A Celebration of all Things Human

I always had such a terribly hard time as a child with trying not feeling happy and proud to be a human, which, of course, institutional religion wants to stamp out of our collective conciousness. I was never one to walk in a forest and feel humbled by the planet or some god who was supposed to have designed it. I felt strong and smart and glad to be taking a breath. I didn't feel that I owed that breath to anyone. Since I shrugged off religion some years back, I've spent many happy moments feeling strong and smart and being happy to take a breath. I was reminded recently of my early buried atheism by a poem, my favorite poem, actually, that I first encountered as a girl. I never got the whole "god" thing out of this poem. My first reaction was the same as when I walked through the forest, being glad I was a human being.

THE TYGER (from Songs Of Experience)
By William Blake
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
(1794)

One traditional interpretation of this poem is that Blake is describing the Fall of men from grace. But I always thought Blake was asking who would "create" something like us, knowing what we were capable of? What furnace, however "intelligently designed," would even dare to make such a brain? I find this to be a perfectly poetical expression of the pride I feel in myself without the need for some magical overlord to come down and pronounce me "good."

--Virgil

Step Back, People. No, Further Back.

I have had a multi-emotional and ridiculously involved past few days. Which makes finishing the work I have left to do rather difficult. A very sarcastic thank you to all those involved. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I would really rather not be disturbed just now. I feel like a wet cat. And I'm about as aggravated as one. My master plan is to shut myself away for a while and get my own business done for a change.

But not before I relate the conversation that happened between me and one Ms. Walker, of the gas company my mother so graciously tried to sell out to were it not for my stubborn grandmother. If you're new to the story, just follow the links. So she finally calls last night (one of several calls that should've probably never happened). Immediately she's running over top of me with her words. I hate to be talked over. I don't mind being interrupted. But I hate to be talked over. She proceded to tell me all about the death in the family, how cold it's been, what a sweet person my mother is (??!!?), how she knows what it's like to work two jobs, blah-blah-blabbity-blab. All in an attempt to establish a rapport with me so she can jerk the land out from under us.

She starts telling me all about the money and so on. I know that's what you told my mother. But she misunderstood a few things that you told her that isn't in the contract. No she didn't. This woman tells me. I think I would know if my mother got it wrong. So I rephrase it. OK, I have some problems with the contract. Maybe you could clear it up for me. OK, honey, you go right ahead. Well, Mom seems to think that all you're going to do is drill a small hole. But the contract says you can build a gas plant on here if you want to. No it doesn't. Yes it does. No it doesn't, I've seen the contract myself. Do you have a copy of it? Yes. OK. Get it out and I'll show you. Alright. Now where does it say that? Under the first provision: "the exclusive right of [...]electrical lines, tanks, power houses, stations, gasoline plants, gas treatment plants, ponds and roadways and fixtures..." Silence. All we want to do is drill an 8 inch hole in the ground and run some pipes. But you could do more if you wanted to. No we couldn't. The contract says you can. We don't go by the rest of what's on that contract. But you could if you wanted to. And it would stand up in court. Silence. Well, you can just mark that out. ??? I don't think that's legal. It is if I initial it. ???If you say so. First I've heard of it.

Skipping to the next lovely part of the conversation:

What concerns me the most is number 20. Maybe you could explain to me what it means when it says "the lessor and the lessor's heirs, successors and assigns hereby surrender and release all rights of dower and homestead in the Premises herein described." All we want to do is drill an 8 inch hole--But what does "dower & homestead" mean? Oh, in our office that just means the gas rights. But what does it legally mean? Silence. Well, let's get a dictionary and look it up. Yes, lets. She reads very poorly from the dictionary. One of the definitions of which says "land and inheritance." So, basically the land. Yes. Mom said you told her they couldn't touch the land. They can't. This says they can. But they won't. Who says so? I do. But that's not a legal and binding agreement. This contract is. Yes. And it says we sign over the rights to the land. Look. All we want to do is drill an 8 inch hole--Yes, you keep saying that. But you could do more than that, if you wanted to. But we don't want to. We'll never be interested in that. But the contract is for the life of the land. So what if you're bought out. And the company that buys you out decides they DO want to do something with the land? My heirs are basically screwed. Silence. Well, you can just mark all of that out. Would that make you happy??

I bit my tongue here.

It all ended with her claiming she'd check with "Rob", whatever power authority Rob is, and call me back. I told her I would be extremely busy until Wednesday, so if I didn't answer not to take it personally.

Meh. I hope at least it put a candle up her ass. Damned land rapists.

-- Virgil

The Koan of the Wind and the Flag

Two monks were arguing about a flag. One said: `The flag is moving.'

The other said: `The wind is moving.'

The sixth patriach happened to be passing by. He told them: `Not the wind, not the flag; mind is moving.'

Wind, flag, mind moves.
The same understanding.
When the mouth opens
All are wrong.

Many times, language fails. I think wisdom is learning to think deeply, seeing the wind, the flag, and your mind, and keeping your mouth shut.

--Virgil


The Last of the A-Z's of Me:
Y - Yummy food/s: Lebanese, Japanese, Mexican...aw hell, who am I kidding? I love it all!

Z - Zodiac sign: Leo. Raowr.

Hah!

Shakespeare does the Hokey-Pokey:

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heaven’s yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke — banish now thy doubt;
Verily, I say, ’tis what it’s all about.

Found this on Virushead's blog. It is the winning entry in a writing competition. The English major geek in me is very pleased!

-- Virgil



The A-Z's of Me:
V - Vegetable/fruit you hate: peas

W - Worst habit: speaking too quickly--jumping in without listening enough

X - X-rays you've had: jaw, chest

Praise Zeus

It's over. It's finally over. No more class, at least for a few weeks. No more ambigious requirements and no more crappy readings. It's done.


Praise the gods!

Willpower: A Resource. Who Knew?

I came across an article in the weekend edition of the London Financial Times, a newspaper I highly recommend, by the way. The full article can be found here.

An interesting new paper by three University of Michigan economists argues that willpower is a scarce resource like any other. You cannot exceed your allocation of willpower any more than you can buy a round of drinks with an empty purse.

It’s a plausible view: economic psychologists have found that people make more impulsive decisions if they have already had to resist earlier temptations than if they come fresh to the chocolate bar. Many of us have caved in and given ourselves a “reward” after a day of hard work.

I found this really interesting to think about. If I make 2 resolutions, my willpower gets allocated 50% to each, as it were. So there may only be half a chance I can follow through. It just gets worse the more resolutions I add to the mix. So what that means for all of us thinking about things like New Year's Resolutions is perhaps to pick only one thing at a time. Make a list, maybe, but go in some sort of order. The article goes on to suggest doing something like outsourcing for tough decisions. So, if your resolve is to save more money, get it automatically deducted from your paycheck into your bank account so you don't even have to think about doing it.

I personally stopped making New Year's Resolutions about 6 years ago. Why make a big list at the beginning of the year? What difference does it make? If you want to get out of debt, start now. There's nothing magical about the first of the year. Besides, I've found that most resolution-makers get pretty depressed when they fail to follow through with most if not all of their resolutions. Why not conserve your willpower and apply it to one thing at a time instead? It's working that way for me.


-- Virgil

The A-Z's of Me:
S- Song: Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix

T- Time you woke up: 10:30 a.m. After the 17 hour day I pulled yesterday of nothing but work, I don't feel guilty about this one.

U - Unknown fact about you: I was in a band for 10 years as a child.

Pity Your Poor Mistress

I have a ton of work to do, this being the end of the semester and all. Not only are the kids' portfolios coming in at the end of next week (monster grading!!), but over half of my own work is due in by 4:00 on Monday. So why am I wasting time blogging instead of slaving over my final papers? Because I want to whine for a while, and I'm the Mistress of this blog, that's why.

I want to whine about two things: my lack of free time and my propensity to make it even worse on myself. I was really looking forward to the break to catch up on reading the things I enjoy. I rarely get this treat as a graduate student. There are too many required readings, and I average at least 300-500 pages of required reading in a week. There just isn't headspace for more. So, I was a bit disappointed when I figured out that instead of getting to finish the massive biography I'm working on about the Mitford sisters and possibly sliding in a few 007 novels, I'm going to have to catch up on all the reading that I have for that other thing I do--adult literacy. Here's my reading list after about Wednesday of next week:

Promising Practices: Reducing Waiting Lists in Adult Education and Literacy Programs. A scant 72 pages. Chicken feed compared to the load I've been handling. And obviously very important.

Literacy Capacity Building and Volunteer Support Project. Another promising practices thing. Even better at 22 pages!

Fall's Litscape publication produced by ProLiteracy America (see sidebar). Only 16 pages! The problem is, it requires lots of digestion on application if it's going to be usable.

A Guide to 50/50 Management. A 150 page resource manual from Literacy Volunteers of America that's supposed to teach me how to get people to do whatever I want. Interestingly enough, that hasn't yet lured me into reading it.

Applying Research In Reading Instruction For Adults: First Steps for Teachers. From the National Institute for Literacy, an onerous 168 page manual with 4 appendices. I'm giving this out as a resource to my tutors--I should probably know what it says.

Italian Verb Drills. So I can sit in on level 4 Italian next semester in preparation for conversational Italian to pass the language requirement for my Master's degree. I'll also be having to create vocabulary lists to refresh my memory. Should be interesting this Christmas with Dante, who likes the sound of Italian, although all he remembers is Ho fame (I'm hungry) and Ho male, mama (I feel like crap, Mom).

I'm also supposed to be doing research on a capital campaign for us. I have a "starter package" of 30 pages in 9 point font that someone from another agency was kind enough to pass on to me. Blech.

Now, I also have two papers to finish up. One is a paper based around uncovering student intellectuality in composition classrooms, and I won't bore you with the details of that. Besides, praise Zeus, it's almost finished. The other one is a paper about women's beauty products and the medicalization of fear. In other words, how the beauty industry uses psuedo-science and scare language to sell face wash. :) I've been looking forward to it. I did a somewhat similar paper on female masochism and the beauty industry, which I'm still kicking myself for misplacing. This last paper sent me to the library for two books that I needed, both of which I highly recommend:

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf. Grab and read anything you can by Naomi Wolf. She's an engaging writer and she'll really open your eyes (if you hadn't figured it out already). This book needs to be in my personal library, so I'm going to start handing out Christmas hints about it.

The second book is Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi. Faludi is also an incredible writer, and her ability to get jaw dropping direct quotes from people in the fashion industry amazes me. Also needs to be on my Christmas wish list.

We-ell, book lovers will agree that you can't go into the library and pick out only that one book you needed. So-o, of course, I walked in needing two and walked out with five, only because there's a cap on my card, thankfully. Here's what I walked away with:

Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How It Will Change the 21st Century by Naomi Wolf. It's by Wolf, it'll be a good read. Plus, it sounds like something I'm probably supposed to get in on. So I want to see what I should be doing!

Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. No woman in good concience should be able to walk by that book and not check it out. Just for what it is. It's time to remember why we work so hard--or why we aren't working harder.

Women Volunteering: The Pleasure, Pain and Politics of Unpaid Work from 1830 to the Present. Well, you know I couldn't very well NOT check that book out. Besides, the research in this book is going to help me obtain a scholarship from the 3rd Wave Foundation, I think. :) I'm so excited about this one.

As if I have time for additional reading. Sigh. On top of that, I'm revamping my entire syllabus to more finely tune how I do things based on lessons learned this semester. All between December 15th and January 8th, likely.

I am so due for a vacation.

-- Virgil

Realization

Make an island of yourself,
Make yourself your refuge;
There is no other refuge.
Make truth your island,
Make truth your refuge;
There is no other refuge.

Digha Nikaya, 16

I stepped away from that and I lost my way. It isn't so much about being distrustful, as it is realizing that you can only control your reaction to something; you can't control anyone else's. And it's not that I'm "right", but I am the truth because I know the truth about myself. And when I pretend that the truth is something it isn't, well, we ended up where we are.

-- Virgil

The A-Z's of Me:
P - Phobias: Swallowing batteries (don't ask); fear of deep water

Q - Favorite Quote: Edward Everett Hale: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

R - Reason to smile: I have photographic proof of one of the biggest assholes I went to undergraduate school with finally getting his comeupance--from Courtney Love, no less. She beaned him in the head with a microphone and I have the magazine photo of him with his head all wrapped up and looking forlorn. Priceless!