Monthly Archives: November 2009

Beware of Peruvian Fat Smugglers

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Fat People the Target of Gang Murders in Peru; Fat Sold on Black Market | Cleveland Leader Source: clevelandleader.com If you are the slightest bit pudgy, you may want to reconsider that trip to Peru. Peruvian police have captured several members of a remote jungle gang that kills people for their fat. The fat is then reportedly sold on the black market for use in cosmetics. Does anyone else see the irony here? Bandits kill people for their fat–a symbol of ugliness–and use it for makeup–a product in the beauty industry… If they ever expand this organization (pun intended) to … Continue reading →

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops (NYTimes)

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More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops By LAURIE GOODSTEIN Published: April 26, 2009 CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two months after the local atheist organization here put up a billboard saying “Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone,” the group’s 13 board members met in Laura and Alex Kasman’s living room to grapple with the fallout. The problem was not that the group, the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, had attracted an outpouring of hostility. It was the opposite. An overflow audience of more than 100 had showed up for their most recent public symposium, and the board members discussed … Continue reading →

Train Wrecks & Other Human Tragedies

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In a previous post, I let my insecurities get the best of me, regarding meeting someone new, and being afraid i might have presented myself poorly….and the irony was, that the woman called and asked me out that night.  But the date turned into a major train wreck. What i discovered, was that I had a completely erroneous idea of who she was. Turns out she has some serious problems, and is an alcoholic. She drank to the point where she passed out, and I had to put her to bed and go home. It gave me some perspective i … Continue reading →

Footie Pajamas in the Street

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I just came back from my daily walk, and had one of those rare visceral experiences that remind me why I look at most parents these days with disgust. Across the street ahead, i saw a little yellow flash and then saw that it was a child. She was wearing yellow footie pajamas and had blond hair and a dirty face. Cute as could be. Not more than two years old.But then I noticed she was out on the sidewalk by herself. And then i noticed she was walking into the street. Alone. And then i turned and saw the … Continue reading →

Id, Ego, Super-Ego & the Social Security Number

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I slept fitfully all night. A pervasive anxiety crept through me until I began to fidget with restless legs. A couple of times I woke up feeling like I couldn’t breathe. Like I was underwater and there was no surface in either direction. I didn’t know if I was up or down….I only knew I was going to drown. (Song Lyric alert).Lest anyone think me too self-possessed, I will admit that what tossed me and turned me was not the plotting problems of my newest novel, but plain old insecurity. I went to sleep thinking about the phone conversation I … Continue reading →

Gay marriage in the US and why it has not been legalized

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There is, I believe, only one pertinent reason why gay marriage has not been legalized nationwide in America. It’s because there is an inherent repulsion about it on the part of some straight people-usually the religious ones-who believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. This “institution” (rightfully named) is sacred to them, even though the historicity of marriage was predicated on the oppression of women through ownership. Marriage began as a way of allowing men to “own” women. If straight people want to cling to this bit of archaic tripe, I say let them have it. Do … Continue reading →

Self-Educators, Unite!

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I have this underlying aggravation about the red-headed step-child of education. No, I’m not talking about a befreckled child, literally. I’m talking about self-education. In our modern Internet era, it is much easier to find information–some of it is crap, that’s a given. But if you’re smart enough to know where to look, and how to find the accurate data, you can learn almost anything. Thus, I feel the educational establishment should start recognizing self-educated people by offering a test-out option on all college and university websites. Take me, for example. I had 8 years of college, for a degree … Continue reading →

I Wish I Could Write

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When most people say “I wish I could write,” they are referring to the ability to compose–usually, prose. Since I am a writer by vocation and by perhaps genetic predisposition, when I say “I wish I could write” I mean longhand. I wish I could pick up a pen or pencil and scribble words on the pages of a journal as I used to. But I can’t. Not for much longer than a few sentences, anyway. I have horrible penmanship (or Penwomanship). Somehow, as the years have gone by, my longhand muscles have atrophied. I actually get hand cramps, and … Continue reading →

NEAT But Not Reassuring

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What were you doing on February 17, 2003? Did you know that date was almost the end of the world? We narrowly missed annihilation in 2003, and few knew about it. A comet called NEAT not so neatly came close to impacting the sun. This comet was over twice the size of jupiter. A well-timed solar flare blasted it out of its trajectory orbit and so disaster was avoided. NASA’s SOHO satellite camera caught it all on video. Go here to see the video. For perspective, the thick dark line at the left bottom is the arm of a mechanism … Continue reading →