Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery

It is on my list of things-to-do-before-I-die to try Absinthe. I find this drink fascinating for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it was banned, apparently more for political reasons than medical.

Chocolate began as beer-like brew 3,100 years ago

This is just because most everyone I know likes chocolate and beer... sometimes together.

I will add that most people do not realize what an incredibly advanced civilization existed in Central American before the Europeans came and decimated it.

Humdinger of a Project: Tracing Slang to Ireland

I have known for a long time that a lot of our slang comes from Gaelic ever since I took Scottish Gaelic classes back in the 90s. It never occurred to me to write a book about it, but, hey, when would I have had the time?

This is interesting, anyway.

Blogging for Money

I have had several people ask me about the whole idea of making a little money on their blog. I don't make very much because I don't post that often (but that is going to change). But click on the title to find an article about blogging for money.

Most of us have some sort of advertisement on their blogs, anyway. If you use a tool like LiveJournal, and you don't have a paid account, then the ads that show up on your blog are there to pay your way on the servers and for SixApart to pay the salaries for those people who maintain their software. If you are reading this, then a very small percentage of the advertising here goes to me. It's America. It's Capitalism. We all have a right to make a living.

Christianity's actual tenets don't resemble those of radical sects - Opinion

In keeping with my point about Christianity, here is an article published last April by the Protestant Chaplain at Syracuse University.

Christianity's actual tenets don't resemble those of radical sects - Opinion

Of Lesbians and Gay Men

You know, I hate to bring this up, but I think that men are still making more money than women. In fact, I believe the statistic is, the average woman is earning 79 cents to the average man's dollar. Now, that is better than it was, but it still is not equitable.

Now, where this is really evident, is in the LGBT community, where the average Lesbian couple is making $1.58 to the average Gay male couple's $2.00. The reason that I am bringing this up, is that I live in a neighborhood that has an unusually high percentage of LGBT people. And, in my neighborhood, most of the Gay men are doing swimmingly better than most of the Lesbian.

I don't have an answer for this. It is just something that I have been noticing.

Articles Of Faith: Media's portrayal of religion skews to the right

Here is one of my pet peeves. This article, which can be accessed by clicking the link above, is about how conservative right-wing Christians get TONS more media attention that the group that actually comprises MOST American Christians. That group is the moderate - progressive Christians.

One of the first things that I had to come to grips with when I came to work in the Chapel of this liberal Northeastern private university was that I had to throw out the prejudices that I had against Christians. The people that I now work for and with are nearly all Christians, and in this environment, it is not the "don't talk about religion" environment of a corporation. Religion is everywhere, and everyone here has to deal with it all the time.

When I first saw my job posted, I saw that it was one that I am immanently qualified for, except for the fact that it was for a Protestant ministry. Instead of just dismissing the experience out of hand, I went right to the Protestant minister and said, "Hi, I am extremely qualified for the job that you posted, but you have to know right off, I am a Lesbian Pagan."

"Fine", he responded, "we don't discriminate on the basis of religion." He didn't even mention the "Lesbian" part of my declaration, because, as I was eventually to discover, the Protestant ministry here has a very high percentage of LGBT people as active members.

Far from the being the judgmental, Bible-thumping lunatics that are normally portrayed in the media, the Christians that I am surrounded by are caring, supportive, and emotionally available. There is always food here to share, people are always willing to help, or to offer rides, or just listen when I am having a rough day. And, the best thing yet, is that everyone knows that I am a Pagan, everyone knows that I am a Lesbian, everyone knows my partner, and everyone treats us both with all the honor and respect that they would treat anyone else.

While the media has told me one thing, my own observations have told me something else entirely. It is easy to see why many LGBT people as well as many Pagans believe that there is only one kind of Christian, and that is the late Jerry Falwell. In reality, that is no more true than the belief that all Muslims are crazed suicide bombers waiting for the next opportunity to blow up a bunch of college students in a cafe.