Coffee Cake Jesus or Maybe Wilson

Today at work a lady decided that she did not want this piece of blueberry coffee cake. After I took it out of the bag I saw what appeared to be a face! Was it that of a heavenly being? Like Jesus or Mary in a grilled cheese? In the wood grain of a door? No, it looked more like "Wilson" from the Tom Hanks movie where he was alone on that deserted island. So, we named him Wilson and took a few pictures of him around the coffee shop. I wonder how long we can keep him? I wonder if I should try and sell him on E-Bay or should I wrap him up in plastic for all time and eternity. All hail Wilson!!

This is the second time this weekend that I have gotten caught up in watching, "American Beauty". I just can not ever get passed it on the dial. I love that movie. So, I have basically done nothing but work and nap and eat a bit and watch this movie. Although there is no reason to feel badly...... I have learned to love these days of doing nothing of real consequence!! They are rejuvenating. There are plenty enough days to get things done and do those things that make us feel as if we have been "productive".

Weighty Issues, Dead Scrolls ,Happiness and Mixter's on the Road

After working hard for the last few days I finally have a day off and those things that I have taken issue with have piled up! It can be hard to write about issues after your initial furor has boiled over, but hopefully I can still make a few valid points.

It is also hard when you finally have a day where you have to not only catch up on sleep, but also laundry, dog issues and groceries to deal with. I also want to blog,so.....I have planted myself on the livingroom floor, cup of hot coffee, Matt Lauer in the background and issues before me!

First we go back to the "Happiness Project". What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?

I look at my son, and what seems to make him happy, and the difference in what makes me happy these days. I don't look for the big things. I can be happy and smile with a small gesture. A nice Burts Bees chapstick can make me happy. A good walk with my dog. A yummy box of Girl Scout cookies can be a pleasant surprise. I now know that happiness in life, for me and maybe many people, is made up of all the small stuff. Sure the big things can be extra special nice, but they are not the stuff of everyday.

If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost? Or, like a “comfort food,” do you have a comfort activity?

Unfortunately I have MANY comfort foods! In the last few years I have also developed "comfort activities". Blogging and journaling have been a great comfort to me. It was initially difficult for me to begin my journaling on my laptop, but once I got over the need for pen and paper I began to love it. Just have to remember to hit "SAVE" every so often!

Now, we move on to religion. You had to know that neither Mixter, nor I, can let a post get by without a passing mention of our current fave topic!

'Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.' This comes to us courtesy of Time Magazine. Seems to me, after reading this article, that another of the stories connected to the Bible et al may be just another fabrication with which people used to control/manipulate the peoples. Are we surprised? Only reason that folks will get in to an uproar is because they hate it when their "faith" cage gets rattled.

Finally we get to the turmoil over Meghan Mcains weight. Can we get serious!! Are we actually still so controlled by our high school emotions that a radio chat host would act like a pissed off cheerleader and poke fun at another girls weight?

"Ingraham, using an empty-headed Valley Girl voice, also mocked McCain, saying, "Okay, I was really hoping that I was going to get that role in the Real World, but then I realized that, well, they don't like plus-sized models. They only like the women who look a certain way."

But on Monday, McCain fired back at Ingraham, whom she admitted "I had actually never heard of," before her comments, stating: "It's terrible. It infuriates me. I'm a political writer on a blog and all of a sudden I'm too fat to write? There's no place for weight criticism of women in 2009."

Seems that conservative radio talk person, Laura Ingraham, decided to blast Meghan Mcain not for her politics, but for being fat! Are you kidding me! No matter what Mcains politics I still believe that she can totally speak or write about what ever she likes without her looks or weight coming in to the mix. I think that people who stoop to those tactics are really the ones who are fearful and have inner strength and like to belittle others to make themselves feel better. I applaud Mcains comments and rebuttals! You go girl.

Our girl Mixter is on the road! Yahoo. She landed a cool, new job that is going to require her to be on the road for awhile and living out of a suit case. Blogging in a hotel lobby or library. Hope they won't escort you out of the city as some sort of subversive for your points of view!! Can't wait to hear about her exploits out there in "God Country". even though I did not know that He showed any personal preference. I live in a college town and figure that we are not counted among His favorite places. Too much drinking and debauchery!!

Finally!

Well, I finally got to see "Religulous". A few friends from work and I drove to a nearby city and had dinner as well. All I can say is...it was the smartest and funniest film that I have seen in some time! I enjoyed it much more than any of Michael Moore's films. There were so many laugh out loud moments. There really was some good interviews and much food for thought. We have talked about seeing it a second time, so that we might go with others who have expressed an interest in seeing it. Because there is so much material, and you are laughing often, that I think I would like to see it a second time so that I can digest more of the material. I know there were things that I missed.

If you were even toying with the idea of going, or just have questions about tenets of any religion, I would suggest that you go and see this film. It is also not very long and I thought that it was over way too quickly!! The go out and have dinner, some wine and a discussion.

Disappointed & Pissed Off

If many of you did not already know, I live in a college town, a VERY liberal college town. One that is rather famous for being so liberal. Much to my dismay and disbelief this town has a movie complex that has chosen not to begin showing "Religulous". It opened nationally the weekend of Oct.3, but has yet to be on a single screen in this town! I scanned all the theatres and the ONLY theatre where it is playing is miles away from here closer to a major city.

I can not believe this! With everything else that is going on in this country there may be theatres that are concerned about showing a movie that a few might consider controversial? Michael Moore causes more controversy than this film seems to be generating. I have not heard or seen any folks, religious or not, with signs marching around demanding that Bill Maher be strung up or burned at the stake.

It just amazes me that, in a town that thinks it is so diverse and liberal, that we can not even get a free thinking movie like this. That it is okay to show movies that lampoon the president or health care system, but the religious sacred cow, no pun intended, better not be touched. I can see no other reason for them to not be showing it while it is playing in the rest of the country. I know that I can drive anywhere and see it, but that is not the point. Why should I have to go to another town when mine has a perfectly fine 12+ screen facility and not one of them is showing this film.

But if anyone has a need to see some sex, gratuitous violence or teen angst I am sure there is much to choose from.

Follow Up

Mother Jones News has done an excellent interview with Bill Maher about his movie and the history of organized religion in his own life as well as his thoughts on 9/11 and other politics. It also made mention of another web site that he, and fellow writer and movie collaborator Larry Charles, of Seinfeld fame, have created. It is Disbeliefnet.com. I went there and had some really great laughs!! No ground is too sacred.

"Religulous"

I haven't seen Bill Maher's shows in quite some time, but I am SOOO excited to go see his new film "Religulous" that opens this weekend!! He appeared on The Daily Show this week and the interview was not only hilarious, but spot on about religion, the organized and fictionalized ones et al, and I laughed my head off.

"I'm not looking to form an anti-religion religion. That would defeat the purpose," Maher said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Religulous" played in advance of its theatrical release Friday. "It's the nature of the people who are not believers that they're individuals, they're individualistic. They don't join and all lock arms and say, ‘We all believe this and so it must be true because we have strength in numbers.'"

The numbers Maher and Charles really hope to grab are general audiences simply looking for a fun night at the movies.

Maher, 52, who started mocking religion back in his early standup comedy days, has no misconceptions that "Religulous" will shake people's lifelong convictions to the core. He's mainly looking for laughs such as those the film elicited from the enthusiastic crowd at its Toronto premiere.

"I was so gratified to finally go to a screening with people last night and hear how big the laughs are," Maher said. "Because we set out to make a comedy. I always said, my primary motivation was I'm a comedian, and this is comedy gold.

"When you're talking about a man living to 900 years old, and drinking the blood of a 2,000-year-old god, and that Creation Museum where they put a saddle on the dinosaur because people rode dinosaurs. It's just a pile of comedy that was waiting for someone to exploit."

Can't wait!!

Voting by Paradigm

I believe that I have come to the conclusion that people vote based mostly upon their own world view. No matter how much they might read/study, they will still go back to their views that are expressed in their church, party and neighborhood. Granted there will be some exceptions, but I doubt that they are many.

Slate Magazine had an excellent article about the fundamentals that actually divide the McCain/Obama world.

When Obama talked about the financial crisis, he said there was a demand for new social controls. McCain spoke about the need for individual responsibility.

Obama's described the financial situation as a failure of "we." The Wall Street debacle was the result of a "theory that basically says that we can shred regulations and consumer protections and give more and more to the most, and somehow prosperity will trickle down." The collapse was caused by "an economic philosophy that says that regulation is always bad."

McCain lamented a society that had abandoned personal accountability. He said he would have fired the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "We've got to start also holding people accountable, and we've got to reward people who succeed," said McCain. The Republican looked at the collapse of Wall Street and saw an "I" problem.

Just an interesting article that presented a set of views and points that I had never read before. Check it out, it is good.