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13th July 2009
the_wildhunt @ 11:30am: The Great Wild Hunt Vacation
http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/07/the-great-wild-hunt-vacation.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3105 There are times when you just can’t get to the computer for several hours per day to blog, one of those is when you’re trying to pack and engage in a cross-country move. This week I’ll be pulling up stakes and moving from the Midwest (Milwaukee) to the Pacific Northwest (specifically, Eugene, Oregon). But don’t despair! While I’ll be driving through Montana with my wife and two cats (two, upset, angry, cats), The Wild Hunt will be featuring a wide assortment of vibrant, challenging, and innovative voices from within (and occasionally from without) modern Paganism while I’m gone. Here’s the run-down of The Wild Hunt’s amazing guest bloggers!
July 14th – Brendan Myers
Dr. Brendan Myers, Ph.D. is the author of several critically acclaimed books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, environmentalism, Celtic and European mythology, folklore, society and politics, and spirituality. They have been used as inspirational and educational resources by college professors, social activist groups, interfaith groups, Celtic cultural associations, and even humanist societies, in many countries around the world. Brendan’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, podcasts, and radio shows (including America’s NPR). He is the 2008 recipient of OBOD’s prestigious Mt. Haemus Award for recent research in Druidry.
July 15th – Elysia Gallo
Elysia Gallo is an Acquisitions Editor at Llewellyn Worldwide, the oldest and largest independent New Age publisher in the United States. She acquires books for publication in such topics as Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, magic(k), herbalism, and the paranormal. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband and two cats.
July 16th – Cat Chapin-Bishop
Wiccan since the late ’80s, Cat Chapin-Bishop has also been Quaker since 2001. Cat’s essays have appeared in Laura Wildman’s “Celebrating the Pagan Soul”, “The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies”, the Covenant of the Goddess newsletter, and “Enchante: The Journal for the Urbane Pagan”. In addition to her work as a Wiccan HPs, Cat is the former Chair of Cherry Hill Seminary’s Pastoral Counseling Department, and she currently serves on the Ministry and Worship Committee of Mt. Toby Quaker meeting. Cat and her husband maintain Quaker Pagan Reflections, a blog dedicated to exploring the connections between Pagan spirituality and Quaker practice. They reside in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they attempt to live peacefully in the midst of chaos.
July 17th – Lupa
Lupa is the author of “Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic” and “A Field Guide to Otherkin”. She’s also the co-author of “Kink Magic: Sex Magic Beyond Vanilla” with Taylor Ellwood, and a contributor to the “Magick on the Edge” anthology and “Manifesting Prosperity: A Wealth Magic Anthology”. Additionally, Lupa works as an associate editor, layout tech, and nonfiction publicity/promotions manager for Immanion Press/Megalithica Books. Lupa uses the term pagan for simplicity’s sake, though more accurately she describes herself as a totemist, an animist and a pantheist. She has been studying pagan religions and magical topics for twelve years and practicing for ten years. Currently she is developing and training in therioshamanism.
July 18th – John Morehead
John Morehead is a researcher, writer, and speaker in intercultural studies, new religious movements, theology and popular culture. He has an M.A. degree in intercultural studies from Salt Lake Theological Seminary which included a thesis on Burning Man Festival. He also has an avid interest in aspects of pop culture, particularly myth and archetype as well as the social, cultural and religious dimensions of fantasy, sci fi,and horror. John lives in the greater Salt Lake City area with my wife and two children. Be sure to check out his excellent TheoFantastique blog!
July 19th - Caroline Kenner
A longtime Washington D.C. activist in in feminism and environmentalism, Caroline Kenner now uses her skills to advocate for modern Pagans. In 2006 and 2007 Kenner called pan-Pagan rallies in Washington D.C. to demand religious freedom and equality. The 2007 rally was particularly auspicious as it celebrated the recently-won right to place the Pentacle, equivalent to the Cross, Star, or Crescent, on military grave markers. The event united several large Pagan organizations working to establish Pagan military chaplains and the approval of other specific Pagan symbols worn by Pagan and Heathen veterans. In addition to her activism, Caroline is a graduate of The Foundation for Shamanic Studies‘ Three Year Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Healing. Caroline also holds an A.B. from Bryn Mawr College and a M.S. from Boston University. She has practiced shamanism since 1989.
July 20th - Chas Clifton
Chas S. Clifton has been blogging since 2003, when he converted his Pagan magazine column, “Letter from Hardscrabble Creek,” into a blog. A widely published Pagan writer, he is the author of “Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America”. He also edits “The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies”.
July 21st – James R. French
James R. French has been interested in Magick and Paganism since adolescence. He is an Adept of the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn and a Reiki Master. (Mr. French wants us to understand that “Adept” and “Master” are titles within these respective lineages. They do not necessarily indicate anything beyond that.)
July 22nd – Thorn Coyle
T. Thorn Coyle is a magic worker, mystic, musician, and author of “Evolutionary Witchcraft” and “Kissing the Limitless.” She teaches internationally. Her blog can be found at yezida.livejournal.com or http://www.thorncoyle.com/musings.html.
July 23rd – Sannion
H. Jeremiah Lewis, also known by his religious name Sannion, is a Greco-Egyptian polytheist who has been actively honoring the gods since around 1993. He has lived all over the country, including Alaska, Nevada, New York, Montana, Washington and Oregon (where he currently resides), and has worked the standard assortment of odd jobs that every aspiring author needs to get by with. Mr. Lewis divides his time between an insanely intense religious practice, writing, research, helping to organize the activities of Neos Alexandria, and directing the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. There isn’t much time for anything else.
July 24th – Peg Aloi
Peg Aloi is a Pagan and a scholar who works in both the academic and popular arenas. She is a writer on Paganism and the media for Witchvox, is the co-editor with Hanna E. Johnston of the new volume “The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture” (Ashgate, 2007), and is currently co-authoring a book with Hannah titled “The Celluloid Bough: Cinema in the Wake of the Occult Revival”.
Please give all of them a warm and hospitable welcome, I’m certain they will all contribute something special to The Wild Hunt. The gods and my new DSL service willing, I should be back to my regular posting schedule by July 25th. Make sure to keep things respectful and polite in the comments while I’m gone, the assorted hells hath no fury like a vacationing blogger who has to log in to a WiFi spot in Idaho to engage in some blog moderation.
gryphon77 @ 1:17am: introverts vs. extroverts
 I've discovered another fascinating point of view issue that I apparently have sometimes. First I seem to surround myself with introverts, agoraphobics, and people who don't like to be bothered which is extremely frustrating from the point of view of someone who likes to put effort into keeping up as many friendships as possible and actually planning time in advance and spending time with groups (at least as long as they are not so big that you can't actually talk to everyone reasonably). I also especially like to try and get friends to hang out with other friends if possible. . thus making it easier to see everyone at various times. The frustration comes in at a number of points when any or many of these friends are in the above list. They tend to need lots of alone time while I need only a little, so it's hard to empathiz with that need. I also need to connect in person with people while people in that list seem to be able to connect better over the internet (including mmorpgs) and even prefer that to in person connecting, especially if they haven't known said person for 10 years. I often like to meet new people, or do things that might involve inviting someone to do something in the presence or with people they may not already know. . which means they will find excuses and reasons not to. It's not just that they are nervous, shy, or afraid but that they genuinely don't need/want new friends or to "waste" time with people they don't want to allow into their "inner sanctum" of friendships. I find this incredibly frustrating. . I'm good with gray areas and middle ground for for friendships, but always want to try and nurture them into stronger relationships. This tendency on my part to try and put extra effort into hanging out with people I'm friends with apparently is annoying to some introverts who feel that it's only worth it if no effort is involved and it doesn't encroach on their alone time. And of course, repeated attempts to contact and make plans with some of these people also seems to annoy them. It seems like there is often a delicate balance between me annoying them and their lack of response frustrating me. Plus it probably drives away people who might fit in these categories anyway. I probably just need to figure out how to deal with having 5 friends and see who falls into place the most naturally the way the introverts do. Somehow it seems like all of the introverts I know are in relationships/married. I think I often like to feel that other people would miss me if I withdrew and didn't try so hard to be in contact, but ultimately I'm pretty sure most people would just feel that I wasn't annoying them and that their friend quota if not unaffected was only diminished slightly. or something. I don't mean to sound extreme or depressing. . but. . it's quickly seeming like I'm too busy for some people to feel they can spontaneously hang out with, too pushy for people who can't make plans or who might not feel like it when the time comes around, or too much wanting to do things with mixed groups of people for anyone who likes smaller numbers or prefers to only hang out with people they already know. . where are all of the extroverts anyway? why can't I find people like that to be romantic or hang out with?
12th July 2009
newperspectives @ 11:49pm:
 Nice weekend. Very, very nice. Ethyl was a quite small event, and very low-key. Not much to do for the non-fighter if you didn't bring your own entertainment, but we all know how I am about these things. I spent much of the event stitching and watching the fighting, and some time talking with some good people. Finally got to meet Master Avery, which was fabulous, and I'm hoping to work with him on various projects in the future. Today we went to the SC monthly gathering - fighter practice, dancing, A&S, court, and a potluck. Missed those last two for a variety of reasons, but got a lot of stitching done while the fighting was happening. It was a nice time, really. I finished hemming my new silk veil, and have sewn 19 eyelets. The eyelets are going better than I expected, much faster, and I'm happy with how they are looking, too. Yay for improving technique! Anyway. It's been good. I am tired, but I am not feeling noticably over-peopled or socially exhausted, which is great. I actually feel emotionally somewhat recharged after how the weekend went, which is great. Now some rest, and lots of stuff tomorrow. I get to start drafting the pattern for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) smili 's new garb. Woot!
12th July 2009
jbohall @ 8:40pm: drawings, more wildlife
I've been working on a storm water system design for a LEED office. I finished the drawings last week, and turned them in to the state for a permit, and to the architect who is responsible for the whole design. The architect was impressed with my drawings; don't know what to think about that. Maybe the architect is laughing at me. Maybe I failed to make them sufficiently engineering-drawings. Last week I saw lots of turkeys. I was able to get within 50 feet of some. Other than that, I tried to avoid critters, especially the 2 legged ones.
cbohall @ 5:22pm:
 Honeymoon, here we come!
whymc @ 3:26pm: Home sweet home
 I'm back in my FoS, and glad to be here. The whole trip was lovely. I've had a chance to chat and re-connect with a whole bunch of people who are important to me, but with whom I have not been in terribly regular contact. I do need to be better about remembering that, while I enjoy a certain amount of privacy and solitude, I am, fundamentally, a gregarious extrovert, and that I'm happier with the world, and feel more part of a web of life, when I keep investing time and energy in renewing the bonds of friendship and affection. On a practical level - the time at my parents house was actually quite productive. I did a variety of small tasks around the house, and finished building Eithni's livingroom set in time to deliver it at the start of ww, even though the humidity conspired to keep the last of the wood oil from fully drying. WW was great. The household seemed to hang together nicely this year, with new and old folks mixing well. I'm pleased to announce that Ragnarr and I are each the proud new fathers of adorable baby doumbeks, and that much drum-y happiness was had around the fire. I'm happier with my drumming these days - its getting to be more natural, and I love the new little drums - they have about the same sharp and tinny sound that the drum in some Abney Park songs does, and I think that I'd been subconsciously wanting something like that for a while. Camp worked well - my tent framing sneered at yet another giant thunderstorm. (I'm happy, in the middle of stromy camping nights, that I over-engineer). My three-legged stools remain one of my best ideas ever... although I have no idea how I'll manage to make the one that I promised during the event, since my apartment is not much of a woodshop... but I'll think of something. Danr makes iron hinges, and I'm thinking of making a new lid for my current sea chest, and making a new sea chest - perhaps out of oak, although the pine is both light and sturdy. I'm also thinking that I'll try to make a camp chair for next year that is both good for lounging and at least very close to authentic. For now, however, I'm badly in need of some quiet, some coffee, and some solitude.
Current Mood:  tired
cassiopia, posting in
chambana @ 11:58am: Free Stuff 2: Electric Boogaloo Redux
 Since we got rained on yesterday we're doing the free sale again today. More free stuff going out on the lawn!
We still have: computer desk (bonus if you will haul it off the porch, the sucker is HEAVY)
More books, tapes (audio cassette and VHS), assorted housewares including dishes, brick-a-brack and chotchkies galore!
Yes it's all REALLY free. Take it away and give our stuff a good home.
713 S State St in Champaign
Starting nowish until whenever. The stuff will likely stay out until dark or later.
ETA: Lots of craft supplies too! Paints and beads and radom stuff.
the_wildhunt @ 3:34pm: Does Jan Brewer Care About Religious Minorities?
http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/07/does-jan-brewer-care-about-religious-minorities.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3110 The Religion Clause blog reports that Arizona governor Jan Brewer (a Republican who assumed the governorship after it was vacated by Democrat Janet Napolitano) has signed into law the Students’ Religious Liberties Act. This law gives blanket protection to religious expression by students in school, including the right to pray at school, insert religious themes into coursework, and to wear religiously-themed jewelry and clothing. Similar legislation was passed in Texas and rejected in Oklahoma. While this new legislation may seem benign on the surface, who’s against more religious freedom after all, the Texas House’s own research organization warned that it could privilege the majority once passed.
“The bill could serve as a tool to proselytize the majority religious view, Christianity, in Texas schools. The United States is a nation made up of people of many faiths. Children are required to attend school and should be permitted to do so without someone else’s religion being imposed on them … A school should be a religion-free zone – leaving religion for homes, places of worship, and individual hearts.”
As if confirming this “tyranny of the majority” suspicion, the Arizona law was backed by the conservative Christian political group Center for Arizona Policy (an organization with links to Focus on the Family), and opposed by local Jewish groups. It was CAP who used the instance of a 7th grader being told to keep her evangelizing crucified Jesus notebook at home to inflame the passions of Rep. Rich Crandall into sponsoring the bill.
“Does Crandall want to protect any religious speech, no matter how offensive it may be to members of other groups? I doubt it — if it offends Christians, that is. What he and the folks at the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative group, want is to allow Christian expression to flourish, probably with the right kind of prayer thrown into the mix. As for members of other religions? Something tells me a notebook that says, “Christ died for nothing, the idiot!” with an offensive cartoon of Jesus wouldn’t go over so well with Crandall and his friends.”
Now we’ll just have to see if this new law will bring about a new golden age of religious freedom, or simply allow local Christians to throw their weight around with impunity. Somehow I don’t think a Wiccan student wearing a pentacle, sporting a Goddess-themed notebook, and meeting for circle chants during lunch, will get the same considerations and protections as Christian students. Any brave Arizona students and parents want to put this new law to the test? After all, this new law is supposed to be for all religions, right?
hopesicle, posting in
chambana @ 3:06am: Day to day storage?
 Hello all. I'm moving out of my current apt. on August 15th and am not able to move into my new one until the 18th. Does anyone know of any storage facilities where you can pay by the day?
vraiment @ 12:24am: I feel like my old bony self again
 Today....today was a very good day. I lie here in bed, reclined against a couple pillows; my hair still thrown up in a tight top-of-the-head bun to keep it out of the way of the shower. The water was relaxing, almost cathartic, and as I turned it off, I smiled to hear the heavy pattering of rain knocking against the bathroom windows and on the skylight. The world wanted to take an end-of-the-day shower, too, to wash off all its sunscreen, heat, and the smell of a sun-baked world. I just saw some lightning out the window, and now the thunder rumbles through the air. My morning started off relatively normal. Joe's brother came in to town last night, but Joe was insistent that I could treat him like family, not company. That meant not worrying much about his arrival besides washing the sheets for the pull-out bed. One of the girls I've met at tea, Cone, was just accepted at Midorikai, a school for international Urasenke students; as such, she'll get to spend a year in Kyoto studying tea intensively every day. She'll also get a kimono and a small weekly stipend. This will postpone her graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where she was going to go for a dual degree in Japanese and an MBA. So anyway, we're pretty proud of her. I said that there would be no better way to celebrate than for her to come over and have a bowl of tea. She asked if she could invite a couple others from our tea group, which she was more than welcome to do, of course. This meant cleaning the house after all, but anyone who knows me well knows that this was absolutely no problem. I even went so far as to clean my Dyson filters for the first time after vacuuming. Intense, right? As if to reward me for my efforts, as I brought the filters out onto our deck to sun-dry, I noticed that another of the plants we started from seeds, our Russell Lupine (yes, bought for Joe's namesake) had borne us flowers! Now it can join the purple, pink, and white petunias in flowering glory. The nasturtiums had done well at first, blossoming rich bold oranges and reds, but the stems were sadly accosted and demolished by aphids or some other sort of black swarming insect. The herbs never really picked it up one we put the jiffy pots into real pots. So it goes. Joe and Mike headed out to a triple-header soccer game, leaving me to my own devices from about 1 until, well, they're still not yet home and it's quarter to midnight. Cone and Rumiko showed up around 1 or 1:30, and we started off with a bowl of tasty and informally prepared tea. I got to show off a new purchase, a Celadon Chinese rice-pattern bowl that I picked up in Salem at the visitor center gift shop last weekend with my mom. We used amazingly good tea that Cone had been given by Glenn Sensei, left over from Bruce's Kanreki (60th birthday party). After that, I pulled out my glass teapot, blooming tea from Jessica from France, and the two China teacups and saucers I had gotten in at a curiosity shop in Providence. I had out some super-delicious cherries, and Rumiko had brought over tasty wafer cookies from Trader Joe's. A lovely tea party, and we really must do it again. In other good news, Cone has a drill which she's offered to let me borrow for drilling holes for my tea shelves. I really can't wait. I would love to get my teas on shelves so I can display my steadily increasing teapot collection on the top of the buffet. Cone needed to get to her office, Genzyme, to make some photocopies of official documents for Midorikai, and somehow it was suggested that Rumiko and I tag along for a field trip. We walked down to Kendall square. Her building, as it turns out, overlooks the little outdoor ice skating rink I went to with Cripple back when I first got here. The inside is absolutely breathtaking. It's got all sorts of crazy ergonomic-friendly and environmentally-friendly design features, like solar panels on the rooftop that auto-adjust to both capture sun and to redirect it for natural lighting in the building. All along the walls are artistic reflective metal decorations, and in the middle are huge mobiles with reflective bits that cast light and rainbows all over the floor. Cone showed us her desk -- I left a silly post-it hidden in her teabag stash and wrote a happy message on her whiteboard when she wasn't looking -- and toured us around the gorgeous building. Wow. I walked back from the T stop with Rumiko, who showed me that her building is, quite literally, less than two blocks away from my apartment. On my walk back down my street, a couple-buildings-down neighbor whom I've gotten to recognize called out to me and said that she and her friend would be barbecuing in a while, and that I was welcome to come, including with anyone else. Well, I said how Joe and Mike weren't here, but I decided I'd stop by. I watched some CSI and did some cross-stitching (I'm working on a secret project!) before heading over. Well it turns out that this wasn't some big outdoor backyard party like I thought it might be, it was the woman who lived there -- Shari -- and her friend "whom she hasn't seen in 22 years." They had already barbecued and were just about to sit down with it, and though I politely declined intruding on such a small party, she offered me heartily to come in. It seems this woman is in the real estate business, and she tells story after crazy story about all these places she rents and celebrities she knows because of it. One connection we had was Erik Demaine; I relayed the story about him singing along to my Nightmare Before Christmas music at Dagstuhl. Another connection we have is that she knows one of the CFO's at my company, and in fact this woman had left her scarf the other night, so I'll bring it to her on Monday. Crazy small world, or maybe it really it just is that this woman pretty much knows everybody. After a tasty dinner and two beers, I was about to suggest I leave when her friend first made the motions of departing. It was ten o'clock, and a perfectly reasonable time to head home. So there you have it. A wonderful, full, out-with-new-people day. And now, having finished writing about it and hearing that Joe and Mike have just returned safely from their soccer games, I think it's about time I put this computer away and fall asleep. 'Night.
Current Mood:  rejuvenated
Current Music: Nightwish - She Is My Sin
11th July 2009
kodoswasbetter, posting in
chambana @ 11:11am: Vet Recommendations...
 Does any one know a good Vet or even a Human Society type place where I could take my cat? His one eye is swollen and I think he may have an eye infection or something. I'm a grad student, so money is tight, but I do want to have him seen. Any help or suggestions would be great. Thanks
the_wildhunt @ 2:30pm: The Witch Should Leave
http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/07/the-witch-should-leave.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3099 I’m sure many of you have already read about this on Boing Boing yesterday, but in case you haven’t, West Marin Witch the Rev. Joey Talley (who can apparently help you with your alien and shark problems) made the news after being booted from a local farmers market.
“After spending the past six summers giving free tarot readings beneath the redwood trees of Bolinas Park, the Rev. Joey Talley, the “Good Witch of West Marin,” has come to think of herself as a part of the Fairfax Farmers Market. Managers at the Marin Farmers Market see things differently. The organization, which operates eight farmers markets throughout the Bay Area, says Talley has never applied to work as a vendor or entertainer at the Wednesday night market, and they’ve asked her to leave.”
Kicked out! Boo! Hiss! But before we switch our outrage meters into overdrive, we might want to read a bit further.
“Talley agrees that she’s never sought an application, and admits that she “snuck around behind her back” after Spilger asked her to leave the market last year. But Talley believes she’s providing a free public service and has been gathering signatures on a petition asking that she be allowed to stick around. “I’ve been here year after year,” Talley said. “There are teens who tell me things they could never take to their parents, and they could never afford to schedule a $100 session with me.” While Bolinas Park belongs to the town, the Marin Farmers Market has the right to use the park every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., and to decide which vendors can participate…While they appreciate Talley’s unique talents, Marin Farmers Market representatives insist she take part in the same application process as every other vendor at the Fairfax market. It’s that process, Spilger said, that lets customers know what they see at the market is what they’ll get.”
In other words, they kicked her out for flouting the application process and sneaking around after being asked to leave. Rev. Joey seems to think that her free services to local teens are so important that the rules should not apply to her.
“I’ve been here year after year,” Talley said. “There are teens who tell me things they could never take to their parents, and they could never afford to schedule a $100 session with me.”
Of course Talley could simply offer free services to teens at her office, or those tarot-desperate teens could attend one of her many sessions at local coffee houses, but that might not drum up new paying customers the way glomming onto the farmers market does. Sorry Joey, if you break the rules and get caught you pay the price. If you behave dishonorably in your business dealings (like lying and sneaking around), you can’t then imply that you were wronged and circulate a petition as though you were a cause worth fighting for. This isn’t religious discrimination, and it isn’t something to get outraged about.
dennier, posting in
geocaching @ 7:31am: Melting...
 I have missed local Geocacher monthly meeting several moons in a row. I'm going today, but I won't be doing any of the usual geocaching afterward in the 103° heat all the weather beetles have predicted this afternoon.... (bleh) If I get myself in gear, I might be able to get out before it gets too hot and find a few before the meeting. Currently 80°F at 7:30am (CST) here in Oklahoma City — not too bad a the moment.
10th July 2009
tskirvin @ 10:32pm: Brüno
 Brüno: ** 1/2 (out of 4) I enjoyed Borat back when I saw it, but when it comes down to it, I only remember two details about the movie: the interesting character (with its associated mimicry from Americans everywhere), and the glorious scene with the brown bear in the ice cream truck. The rest just ran together; I remember the embarrassment humor and a few specific jokes when I think about it for a while, and that's about it.
For this, the sequel to Borat, I'm just going to remember the opening song.
To be fair, I really like that opening song: Nessaja, by Scooter, a band that I love for its over-the-top ludicrousness. This song is one of my favorites anyway; and for those In The Know, it set the tone very, very well (especially if you've seen the video... but I digress). The audience didn't quite understand why I burst out laughing as soon as I recognized the tune (though they might have gotten the hint when "the painted cow" was mentioned... but I clearly digress again. If I'm not careful, this entire review is really going to be about Scooter). For me, I recognized that it would give us a bit more euro-trash behavior than even the trailers hinted at. And just for good measure, the poor sound system hurt the song badly, and the point that it was cut off at showed how the rest of the movie was going to be over-the-top but not follow through the way it should... (Okay, seriously, that's my last reference to the song, at least for now).
From that point on, yes, the movie was funny, but in an instantly forgettable way. Most of the humor was based on one of two paths: "I can't believe they got away with that", and "where the hell did that come from?". Both of these require some level of surprise, and so I'll refrain from discussing them in too much detail. But what I can say is that they were going for a third kind of humor: "look how we can make these people look like fools". And really, they didn't do a great job of that. Only in a few cases was the hypocrisy amusing.
...and you know, that is all I have to say. It was funny. There was a good song. I doubt I'll have any interest in seeing it again. And while I kinda hope that it's not as popular as Borat was, I would like to see Cohen do another movie before too long.
** 1/2
P.S. IT'S NOT A BIRD, IT'S NOT A PLANE; IT MUST BE DAVE, WHO'S ON THE TRAIN
URL: http://wiki.killfile.org/reviews/movies/b runo/
cassiopia, posting in
chambana @ 9:38pm: Free Stuff 2: Electric Boogaloo
My housemate and I are at it again. More free stuff going out on the lawn tomorrow! She moves Sunday and I move next week so it's do or die time at the Casa de J & A . Last time 99% of the stuff we put out was carted away by happy folks, don't miss out! This round includes: table and chairs, computer desk (bonus if you will haul it off the porch, the sucker is HEAVY) More books, tapes (audio cassette and VHS), assorted housewares including dishes, brick-a-brack and chotchkies galore! Come take a gander! Not too early though, we probably won't have stuff out until 9 or 10am and more stuff will likely come out as the day goes on and sorting and packing continue in ernest. A perfect after-Farmer's Market outing! 713 S State St in Champaign
sebethis @ 10:46pm: That Was A Waste Of 98 Minutes
 I just finished watching The Ramen Girl with Brittany Murphy. I figured it wouldn't be great, but I hoped that I might at least come away from it with something more than a little over an hour and a half of my life gone and a desire for tsukimi soba. Alas, this was not the case. Since I seemed to have downloaded the edited version and it looks like the running time listed on the movie for European markets is nearly a half hour longer, I wonder if those extra minutes would make it better or worse. I can say, however, that The Young Victoria was a very pretty movie to watch. I have no idea about its accuracy, but it was beautifully made regardless. I probably should have gotten more work done today, but I've been feeling under the weather all day. So I feel justified in taking a few hours out to watch movies. Monday Jackie, Warren and I are headed on a quick jaunt somewhere outside of the city proper to meet with some of the higher-ups at the Chernobyl Children's Lifeline, which is the charity to which all the proceeds from the show I'm producing are going. We're going to discuss a relationship between them and the show and to see about having someone with personal experience of the disaster and the aftermath come and speak to the cast. Next Friday and Saturday we are headed to the Isle of Wight to see about costume stuff. I'm hoping we'll also have a chance to take a look around from a tourist perspective. Well, not Warren so much since he's from there, but I'd like to at least. Perhaps I can grab a photo of Yarmouth Castle for my mom even though the famous ship wasn't named for this particular Yarmouth Castle (I don't think). Too bad we have work to do or I'd demand a trip to Blackgang Chine which is apparently the oldest amusement park in the UK and possibly the world, especially since they have Crossbones ("a pirate themed adventure playground") and a place called Rumpus Mansion (heehee, rumpus).
Current Mood:  okay
Current Music: Nothing cause I'm headed to bed soon.
the_wildhunt @ 4:01pm: Update: Those Dark Rituals We Don’t Understand
http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/07/update-those-dark-rituals-we-don%e2%80%99t-understand.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3096 Remember yesterday when I complained about some apparently secret evidence in a New Jersey case of a grave-robbing, and the subsequent racial profiling of people who “practice Satanic rituals” (ie Santeria and Palo)?
“Capt. Richard Conklin of the Stamford Detective Bureau said Wednesday that police are targeting people of African, Central American, Haitian, Cuban or Caribbean decent who practice satanic rituals as potential suspects in the grave robbing. “We’re starting to look at this as a ritualistic-type incident,” said Conklin … Conklin said evidence recovered at the grave site and in New Jersey indicate the body was taken for ritualistic reasons. For fear of compromising the investigation, he would not go into specifics …”
Well, the police have decided reveal some of the evidence that has them rounding up the usual African diasporic suspects, and it doesn’t exactly paint a convincing picture of Satanic Santeros.
New Jersey police investigators say sacrificed chicken remains were found a quarter-mile from the body of a two-year-old girl taken from her Stamford grave. Sgt. Robert Bracken, a juvenile detective with the Clifton Police Department, said there is still no direct link between a possible ritual and the discovery of 2-year-old Imani Joyner, who died in 2007. Two fishermen found her body Sunday in a sealed garbage bag in the Passaic River, and an investigation led Clifton police to Stamford. Up river in Elmwood Park, authorities also found a bag containing chicken parts and believe them to be part of a sacrificial ritual, Bracken said. “Other towns around us have found sacrificed animals,” Bracken said. “I wouldn’t say it happens every day, but it’s not uncommon either.”
Despite the police admitting there’s no direct link between this grave-robbing and Santeria/Palo, and despite the fact they admit finding sacrificed animals around that area isn’t “uncommon”, and even though Sgt. Bracken said that there was “no evidence of a ritual” found near her body, they are still proceeding with the theory that this is a ritualistic act.
“From all the signs and info we have gathered, that’s where it’s pointed right now,” Conklin said. “If we get other information that points somewhere else, we’ll go that way.” In Clifton, Bracken said police are not narrowly focused on the body theft as a being part of a ritual, but investigators are seeing whether there’s a connection between the obscure beliefs and a motive behind the theft.
At this point they had better hope it was some crazed rogue Santero or Palero digging up what they thought was a “magical” corpse. Because if it turns out to be some run-of-the-mill insane fellow, or disturbed teenagers, the police will have wasted countless man-hours on a racist, religiously discriminatory, and futile line of inquiry. Even if it was a Palero, or some superstitious adherent to Palo, they are handling this in such a way as to damage relations between law enforcement and these religious communities for a long time.
dannyman2 @ 3:14pm: WFA = “Working From Air”
http://dannyman.toldme.com/2009/07/10/wfa-work-from-air/ http://dannyman.toldme.com/?p=2567 I’m flying to New York. Fortunately, I needn’t lose a work day because for $15, Virgin America has got me on the Internet!
It is zippy enough, and the latency is perfectly fine, so I am guessing it is a terrestrial network. VPN works fine, too.
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
Last Result:
Download Speed: 964 kbps (120.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 337 kbps (42.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
It is a bit cramped, for sure. Fortunately, my Dell Mini 10 arrived yesterday, with Ubuntu pre-installed. (Vendor Linux!) I hope to write more about that later, but this is a zippy little thing that is probably about as usable as you’re ever going to get in a coach class airplane seat. Yay!
Virgin claim to have power plugs at each seat. I haven’t seen mine, but given the battery life this thing claims, I shouldn’t need to plug in for the duration of this continental crossing.
That looks like . . . Nevada. No . . . we’re above US Route 6 in Utah. 2112 miles to go. That’s another thing I dig about Virgin America: an interactive map at the seat terminal, and an adjustable headrest, which Southwest lacks . . .
Well, this is a work day, better get back to working.
newperspectives @ 8:54am:
Up and going early this morning due to the lovely sounds of Rachmaninov and the smell of bacon. I got fed nummy surprise breakfast, and then got busy busy-ing. Yellow kirtle finally has its sleeves, and the sewing mess has been removed from the diningroom. I will still need to sweep up stray threads, and the iron is still warm so it's not away yet, but progress. Now a break, then some errands, then finishing making the office ready for people to crash in it tonight. I got the worst of the chaos wrangled last night, but there are still a few things to be done. looking forward to Ethyl tomorrow. I'm sad that I'm missing WW for the first time since I started playing in the SCA, which I realize was only 3 years ago this weekend. A lot has changed in that time. But, I love the creative outlet(s) that the SCA has given me. Feels good to make stuff. Anyway. Things to do.
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