Justice is the only worship.
Love is the only priest.
Ignorance is the only slavery.
Happiness is the only good.
The time to be happy is now,
The place to be happy is here,
The way to be happy is to make others so.
Wisdom is the science of happiness.
- Robert G. Ingersol

This is what I like:

Wednesday morning, empty house, my coffee, my fresh copy of Hellboy Weird Tales, a very comfortable leather recliner that FOR ONCE my father is not occupying.

This is what I don't like:

Being preoccupied by apartment-hunting worries, having a cat treating my lap like I treat the recliner (only with claws, too), and finding that there is no milk for cereal. Oh, and having missed the first gay marriage ceremonies in Massachusetts, my home state for the last 4 years, because I was on a plane at the time.

Posting will be slow for a while. I graduated with my bachelors degrees in Philosophy, Psychology, and Biology, and I'm taking a nice deep breath. For the summer, I will be living at my parents' house for a few months so I can be rest up and play with my little brother. I will try to update soon.

Many years before the lyrics to "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star" were written, children across France sang the words to "Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman" to a similar tune. The lyrics translate as:

Ah! Let me tell you, Mother,
What's the cause of my torment?
Papa wants me to reason
Like a grown-up.
Me, I say that candy has
Greater value than reason.

"Candy has a greater value than reason." Every now and again the French get one right on the money.

According to a recent study, not many people have parents as cool as mine.

A recent poll uncovered that parents often hold mistaken views about contraception, which they then pass on to their little cherubs. Less than half of parents feel that condoms are effective at protecting against STDs and pregnancy, and roughly the same percetage think that the Pill is effective at preventing pregnancy. In reality, condoms are up to 97 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and STDs, and the Pill is 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, conservative parents were found to be more likely to hold inaccurate views on contraception, despite the fact that conservative groups are responsible for every American organization currently campaigning to exclude comprehensive sex education from public schools. Which is understandable; if nobody else knows the facts then nobody can point out how wrong these ill-informed parents really are. And then nobody can point out that, according to a study by the APA, gay and lesbian parents are three times as likely to correctly inform their children about sex ed, and therefore are doing a better job of protecting their kids from STDs and pregnancies. Because we all know where discussions like those might lead.

Now let us all join in a collective eye roll, and bless that community of comic relief we know as conservative America.

Good news for all the masses of colored heathens: them savages might just be able to make themselves a good white-man's government!

At least, that's what President Bush seems to think, based on his comments in the Rose garden regarding peace in the Middle East. He explained that,

"There's a lot of people in the world who don't believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern," Bush said.

"I reject that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren't necessarily -- are a different color than white can self-govern."

Yeah, 'cause you know all Americans have white skin. It's like a Klan member trying to sound politically correct, ain't it? Really brings a tear to one's circa-1950s-racist-redneck eye.

I came across this really interesting article relating the Christian religion to an abusive household; it's got some interesting points and a lot of citations of scripture. Here's one particularly provocative statement from it:

"Perhaps this is why they crucified Jesus. God had been killing their innocent children for centuries, and now they saw their chance to get even."

See what you think.

UPDATE:
Okay, I think now it's official, given this article I found about the Tornado of '03. A survivor stated, "I knelt between the futon and the hide-a-bed in the basement and prayed. I knew that God loves me and that I love him. God has moved through this whole ordeal. I give God the credit that we came through this all."

Yes, he beats you because he loves you. It's not his fault that you make him lose his temper like that, after all.

If there's one thing I absolutely can't stand, it's when somebody ruins the ending. Don't drop hints about who the killer really is, don't let it slip that Vader is Luke's father, and don't you fucking dare tell me what my birthday present is going to be. If I can't figure it out on my own then I want it to be a surprise.

Once you know how it's all going to end you pretty much are just going through the motions. I don't know of anybody who's a fan of predestination, mainly because they'd like to think there are possibilities and surprises ahead, yet I know so many people who just love to suck the life out of life's little mysteries and ruin the experience for the rest of us. Thanks a lot, pal, now I'm going to see it all coming.

So if you haven't got a bunch of possibilities for me then you might as well not bother. I'm not interested in single-outcome living, and my attention won't be held for long if I already know where the trail is headed.