Somehow Melinda got sent an invite to the Tacoma Free Skool's first organizing meeting. Since unschooling does not give our girls much social life, we went. Melinda also needed to report back to other homeschoolers on whether it looked like it might be a good resource. So, after looking at their first informational pamphlet, I said to a redhaired young woman, whose name turned out to be SAM, “I bet it would be dumb to ask who's in charge here.” She replied, “Well, yeah, we're sort of all in cha … [Read more...]
How I Pray
November 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
All sensible people pray, no matter what term they use to name what they do.I know that the Gods exist independently of humanity and that prayer works. (That’s know, not believe.)If you are certain that nothing divine exists and that prayer cannot work, then of course it can’t. But if you are at least willing to be openminded about the possibilities that the Gods might be real and that prayer might work, then it will.I began crafting a morning prayer for myself during my first year of … [Read more...]
America, We Have Eaten Dolphin Flesh
September 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Life's a little too complicated at the moment to write a new long blog, but I'll post things I hadn;t gotten around to.Friday morning I had a long conversation with a pleasant young woman named Gerry, a customer service representative for Comcast. I did not make her day worse. I told her I was pretty good at customer service myself and therefore appreciated it when I got some. For example, when I did such work for AT&T, sometimes a guy would call in mad enough to spit nails, but by the … [Read more...]
In the Name of the Goddess, I Say to You . . .
August 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
All saints revile her, and all sober men Ruled by the God Apollo's golden mean - In scorn of which I sailed to find her In distant regions likeliest to hold her Whom I desired above all things to know, Sister of the mirage and echo.It was a virtue not to stay, To go my headstrong and heroic way Seeking her out at the volcano's head, Among pack ice, or where the track had faded Beyond the cavern of the seven sleepers: Whose broad high brow was white as any leper's, Whose eyes were … [Read more...]
Nostalgia as a Root of Reactionary Politics
August 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Now that life has calmed down a bit, I'll try posting some more of my profound thoughts on here. Or maybe some satire.Tea Party Libertarians look like total nutcases to us liberals, but there is a rational explanation for their irrationality, one that might offer a way to push them toward at least a little more sanity. The problem is the illusion that there was once a Golden Age, which plays out on both the individual and the social level.The individual form of the illusion is our … [Read more...]
Goody Jones’ Law, or, More on Unteachability
May 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Goody Jones is your archetypal Ozark grandmother. She’s observed a great deal about humanity in her lifetime, and, although life did not afford her the luxury of college, let alone a doctoral degree, she has always believed that “God gave us brains to use” and has never let hers be idle. Early in life she learned to skeptical about beliefs that seemed not to be backed up by facts, and the modern technology of interlibrary loans enabled her, by making careful choices, to become well-informed in s … [Read more...]
#Patheos5Yrs
May 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I've been writing blogs on here for about a year and a half. The discipline of writing 1000-1500 words on most days means I have accumulated about 200,000 words. These I will turn into books. Books make me money to feed my kids. Thay also mean my writing will survive. Print-on-demand technology has broken the corporate monopoly on publishing and freed me from having to argue with agents and publishers who are interested in nothing but money. And perhaps something I've written will help someone … [Read more...]
Disqus Sucks
April 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
This is not so much a blog as a complaint about this system. I did not like Disqus from the gitgo when Patheos decided to start using it to manage the comments. Disqus now seems to be frequently malfunctioning, at least for me. Half the time I can't see any new comments at all. Then they suddenly become available, then disappear again. I've also just had a case of Disqus decding to diapprove a comment, when I had done no such thing. So, sorry, Treeshrew. I don't enjoy being yelled at, but your … [Read more...]
Perhaps Another Way to Protect Teenagers from Suicide.
January 2, 2014 by 7 Comments
I just adore my 14-year-old, Chloe. I remember feeling the same way about Maeve when she was 14. At that age kids feel SO grown up—when they are actually the most fragile and vulnerable. So it is time to be worried about her.If you are a parent, I hope you know that suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers. If you don’t know that, you’re not doing your job right. Teenage suicide is almost always caused by clinical depression, even if triggered by some life event, such as being bu … [Read more...]
“Credit” Is a Word Used to Exploit You: Step One in Economic Resistance
December 25, 2013 by 5 Comments
Lately I’ve been thinking more about social justice than about theology or philosophy or poetry. I am just as concerned as anyone else about our economic situation, caused by the greed, stupidity, and selfishness of the wealthy. They bully and exploit the other 98 percent of us with impunity, because our government, which they largely control, has stopped using the means provided by our laws to keep them from doing so. You cannot strike back by illegal means, for exactly the same reason that a c … [Read more...]
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