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August 8th, 2008
05:04 pm - Is your god on The List?
There is something odd about this List of Entities that I stumbled upon. Perhaps it is the inclusion of Harpo Marx, Discordian Saint Second Class, as an entity. Usually, this would be good, except that I can't really stand lists like this, nor can I abide the great Saint Harpo being listed with (and I quote):
Gurid - an angel of the summer equinox angel. I mean, really?
Look up your favourite god and/or goddess and see what they say about him or her!
Other gems?
- Amon - Egyptian ram-headed god of life and reproduction. Later fused with sun god Ra becoming known as Apollo - God of healing poetry and music.
- She - One of the Forgotten Ones. Invoked by the vultures atop the Pillars of the Abyss.
- Nike - Greek goddess of victory. Bewinged, she was also a messenger goddess. She also has an overprinced brand of running shoes named after her.
Okay, so I can agree to that last one. . .
Deity lists are crazy popular online, part of the general buffet-style religion that's always been popular (as many in ADF like to say, there's nothing more Indo-European than stealing someone else's gods and saying you found them first). You'll find a lot of repeats and some consistently bad stuff (a personal favourite, about Esus was just found. . . "Esus, God of war, who may have been a tree god Celtic.")
I first stumbled onto this phenomenon when I came across David Owens' dictionary of gods and goddesses, which he allowed to be electronically duplicated online, called The Gods of Man: A Small Dictionary of Pagan Gods and Goddesses. when I initially ran across it, I was pretty freaked out. I mean, it's just so. . . superficial. (I've had the pleasure of chatting with him briefly online, and he's a good guy, and the list is pretty astounding, actually.)
I suppose there's about as much wrong with a superficial interest in the deities you worship as there is in a superficial interest in cheese (which is to say, not much, especially if you're lactose intolerant), but every time I run across these lists (almost always accidentally), I wonder who actually uses them.
And then I remember: I did. My superficial list was just written by D.J. Conway. Plus, it was David Owens' book that turned me onto Esus (due to its woefully bad description, but still).
So they serve their purposes, I guess. They get people interested. They build those first steps and get 'em out the door and into the bright light of Paganism.
So, in that spirit, I think I'll go invoke Lu Dong Bin, Nexhagus, and Freddie Krueger. Hey, they're on the list, man!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) amused
Current Music: "Duke's on Sunday", -JB
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July 13th, 2007
08:42 am - Adventures in Currency Conversion
I have previously admitted to being low on cash. How low, one might ask? Well, on Monday morning, I was $24 short of having enough cash to pay my mortgage, which is due on Saturday.
Step one was to sell off all the books I knew I'd never look at or read again. This gathered me about $5 (or approximately a quarter per book). "Okay," I thought, "you're 20% of the way there."
The next thing I thought about was selling sets of rune dice. I've been making these with some industry for a while now, and I have a few sets made up.
( They look like this )
The central issue with that is that it doesn't solve my immediate need (as orders need filling and cash needs transferred and yada/yada/yada and I only have until Saturday to deposit this cash). So I started thinking about other things I could do.
After a lot of thought and a lot of false starts on things (such as selling Discordian Futhark runes on apples ( that look like this ) I decided that I would take the 30 Euros I had down to the currency exchange and get me some real American Dollars!
( In which hilarity ensues, things work out alright, my mortgage is paid, and I get back to work in a reasonable amount of time and even eat lunch )
And all it took was asking the airport to shove a Boeing 757 up my ass.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Carnival World", -JB
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June 18th, 2007
12:03 pm - Laziness is not an excuse.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) viedansante made a post that sparked a memory today. As I was replying to her post, I realized it was turning into a full-blown entry, rather than a comment:
After being told for years that I was a lazy sonofabitch in grade school, I informed my fifth grade teacher that, "I dunno, I guess I'm just lazy," when I was asked why I didn't do my math homework.
She looked down at me, the most honest and real look I've ever gotten from anyone, and she said, "You are not lazy, and I never want to hear you say that again."
She was so wonderfully, amazingly right about it all. That particular statement actually changed my life.
Huizinga would call her a "spoilsport". He defines the spoilsport as one who "shatters the play world itself. by withdrawing from the game he reveals the relativity and fragility of the play-world." It would have been so easy for her to play the game, to say, "That might be true, but it's not an excuse," or, "Yes, you are: I'm failing you." She could have been the referee and enforced those rules on me. Instead, she looked at the game I'd been taught, called the whole thing bogus, and showed me that I was worth more than someone else's definition of who I am.
It's true what they say, that one teacher can truly change the world. This one certainly changed mine.
That conversation is the reason I get so darn offended when I'm called "Lazy." I know that years of hearing that said to me, over and over and over again, had caused me to internalize it. It's also why I don't tolerate others being called lazy. I was involved in a conversation not long ago where it was insinuated that I had called people lazy (for something as silly as not completing an optional training program), and to describe how much that hurt is virtually impossible, even though I know, rationally, that no offense was meant.
I found a deep and abiding sense of self-worth in my teacher's statement that day. Now, I pounce on that game any time I see it and hope to the gods that I can spoil it for anyone else who might be tempted to play it.
We are not lazy. None of us.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap in the sun.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: "The Great Filling Station Holdup", -JB
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June 7th, 2007
09:45 am - A letter to my local TV station
After reading the story "Bears Make Themselves at Home", I wonder why NBC4 has chosen to run what amounts to an ad for someone seeking to put out a hit on a black bear. The last two paragraphs in particular are just what this article is:
===
While she can't shoot the bear legally, Wilkins said she wouldn't be opposed to someone else taking care of the situation.
"I would not shoot it because I don't want to go to jail," she said. "But if someone else wants to shoot it, I would not care."
===
From http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-06-07-0003.html
According to the Division of Wildlife, there are between 50 and 100 bears in Ohio year round. They are listed as an endangered species in this state, and your willingness to run the above statements indicates that your organization is perfectly at peace with the idea of advertising that there is a bear who is "fair game" to be shot.
Ms. Wilkins' ignorance and disrespect for nature is only surpassed by your willingness to advertise such a reprehensible act for her. I'm honestly shocked that any news organization would run a story like that. Integrity isn't just about reporting what goes on, what people say, and what events occur; there is a strong aspect of social integrity that this particular article shows is lacking in your organization.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/angry.gif) angry
Current Music: "Carnival World", -JB
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June 5th, 2007
01:25 pm - Hinduism isn't Vedism, sorry
Hmm. . . Do I send my post in response to "Vedic and Hindu is really the same thing" to the public list, or do I not?
Arg. I've spent an entire hour's lunch writing it, looking up source material, and putting it together. It's a good post, too, citing my translator when needed, and the book I got the information from. . . I dunno.
These are the issues with sitting down with the source material and seeing that the scholarship on it has more holes than the amateur work does.
I admit, I do worry about doing a "scholarship bomb" on the ADF lists. I figure asking for a source citation once is probably enough: I'm not trying to stomp out dissent, but I need a source citation in order to discuss this stuff intelligently. I know what a scholarship bomb will do, though, and that's shut people up or hurt them: I've seen it happen often.
(FYI, my favourite point in my response is that if we can call the Vedics "Hindu" because Hinduism evolved from Vedism, then we can call Jews "Muslims".)
I'm going to sit on this post a while longer.
One of these days, I expect that I'll meet Wendy Doniger and I'll have to play nice on this infernal topic. I'm not looking forward to that.
Edit: Thank you, Cei. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: "A Mile High in Denver", -JB
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May 23rd, 2007
02:31 pm - My body is like royalty to me, but it doesn't like what I'm feeding it
I miss the nutrition that fast food provided me. It sounds like a strange statement, but you don't realize how much you need some of the crap that's in it until you stop eating it.
I'm not one to actively try and "balance" my diet. I eat until I'm full (or until I'm being impolite) and then stop. I mean, hell, the stupid new food pyramid doesn't make any sense at all, and that was the last straw in me trying to eat right. Between the "intuitive" colours on that monstrosity and the 2002 report that bread causes cancer, I pretty much lost all faith in nutrition "experts".
For the most part, I've always known what my body needs to function. The problem is, for the past four weeks or so, I've changed my dietary choosings, rarely eating out and eating more regularly. My sunrise devotionals (which have me waking up just after 6 AM) have been key in me getting breakfast (something I never ate before, except very rarely), and actually having time to prepare my lunches (which is also a novelty). Dinners have almost all been "in" because I can get a solid meal for about $2 if I eat in, as opposed to the $7-10 dinners are if you eat out.
But now, with regular, longer-lasting (and, sometimes, larger) meals, I find myself actually hungrier on a more regular basis. My apetite is voracious, and my gods, if you thought I could put away food before, you haven't seen anything yet. Let me put it this way: an extra large pizza with breadsticks doesn't stand a chance against me, and when I was a Freshman here at OSU, I was content with just a large pizza for dinner.
And I'm actually slimmer than I was four weeks ago.
For some reason, my metabolism has hit the roof with the increase in food, I think, and I just don't know how to stop it: cutting back on food seems like a very, very bad idea (I'm already operating at the failure point some days), and increasing also seems ill-advised (given my metabolism rate, I might starve because my body processes food too fast at this rate). Wellspring should help, because my dietary needs are different when camping than in "normal" life.
( Anyway, here's a rundown of the changes in my diet in the past 4 weeks or so: )Flatly put, I don't like what this diet is doing to my body. I'm uncomfortable with the changes I feel, and I think it's time to go back to the horrific stuff people think I shouldn't eat.
However, I also know that often, a bit of discomfort and doing what you don't think you should is good for you.
In the end, it's interesting to see just how poorly my body sometimes operates on certain foods and under certain conditions, and to watch it rebound over time. I'm not at all sure that my body can handle a "healthy" lifestyle over time, unless this system shock is only temporary. I do, though, intend to continue to eat like this for a while longer: I'm not in any danger, just discomfort, and I'm entertained by the experimentation of the whole situation.
More to the point, though, is this: it's entirely possible that my body has entered "system shock" mode and said, "Hey, idiot! We're not used to this crap! We don't know what to do with a 'whole grain'! What's this green stuff? Is it moldy? Have we been picking through the trash or something? Vegetables? Are we on an 'end of the alphabet' diet here? Get us a cheeseburger!"
[apparently, my body speaks in the "royal we"]
This means that my body may, eventually, find itself quite happy with this new diet, so it's up to me to work it through for a bit more to see what happens.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Tampico Trauma", -JB
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May 17th, 2007
09:42 am - Lessons from the Universe, part 1
Universe: So, Michael. What did you do today?
Me: I got blackholed by MSN and can no longer send mail to any of their servers (including HotMail, MSN.com and anything else on Passport)!
Universe: How did that happen?
Me: I politely replied to an email to the ADF Office from an MSN user, and I got a bounce-back. It said, "Reasons for rejection may be related to content such as obscene language, graphics, or spam-like characteristics (or) other reputation problems." Maybe it was the fact that the person was using obscene language and I was dumb enough to leave their original message intact?
Universe: Well, that'll teach you to be polite! Indeed it will, Universe. Indeed it will.
Sometimes, there are hazards with working with the ADF Office. I mean, now I can't send mail from my email address to folks who have any MSN address, which could impact my dayjob, even though I didn't do it on university time. I can't wait to get our Networking folks involved in this issue.
On the whole, though, things are interesting in my life. Tonight is the Grove Liturgy Meeting (we're going over stuff for ComFest), and then the season finale of Smallville (_crow365__, you're welcome to stay for that, presuming I can get decent reception), and then it's off to the dollar theatre up at the Continent (not Carriage Place) for the 10 PM showing of Pathfinder! All are welcome to join me for that little shindig of Injuns v. Vikings!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "The Great Filling Station Holdup", -JB
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May 1st, 2007
10:45 am - Some tired ramblings
ADF elections finally ended last night. I've been spending the past several nights at my workbench, working on things in order to keep my mind off a lot of things, but those in particular. Last night, I spent my time working to finish the set of runes I've promised for so many years to make for the Grove, but have never managed to actually do.
I also have a set of Ogham sticks that I hope to make for the Grove. As I was working last night, trying my hardest to avoid fretting over other things (a common thread in my life recently), I began thinking about the other divination tools we might need on hand.
 I'm a fan of culturally-appropriate symbol sets, which has been a perennial issue with a Gaulish hearth culture. Ian, apparently, has a new symbol set of his own that looks intriguing (I just heard about it recently, though it's apparently been discussed on ADF-Seers a couple of times. . . which doesn't help much for me, who went NOMAIL there a long time ago because it wasn't worth reading), so we might need to get something like that. I made up a set of Discordian Futhark runes for my own personal use (I don't think the Grove needs them), and I've found that they're really fun to use. [note: I have a similar creative project underway, and others have also thought about Discordian divination.]
Of course, I have no idea what to do with this whole Vedic thing and seership. I suppose I'll just do what I'm doing now: read up on the famous Vedic seers and pretend I know what I'm doing. [mental note: get a fire extinguisher for the altar, idiot.]
I've been reading as much as possible about Usas over the past few days, and as a result, I've been encountering her in my thoughts quite often. I'm back in the habit of my dawn and sunset devotionals, which are really the one thing that I will always recommend to folks who are having a hard time spiritually: it's amazing how they affect your religious life.
Of course, because I'm staying up late and getting up before sunrise, I'm getting really, really freakin' tired. At this point, we're looking at about 14 hours of daylight at this latitude, and it's only going to get longer for the next six weeks (peaking at about 15 hours). I do not expect to sleep in until late September, after the daylight savings change.
The one thing that I really feel I need to do with these rites is to wake up and stay up, which means no more lazy mornings in bed. And, if I can swing it, I'd really like to wake up, shower, and be ready for my day by the time I stand before my altar at dawn. So far, because of how late I've been up, I've chosen practicality over piety, but at least dawn is waking me: that's the real goal.
And I've been rambling for a while now, so I'm going to shut up. This, apparently, is the effect of three hours of sleep on my writing.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/tired.gif) sleepy
Current Music: "Hello Texas", -JB
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April 23rd, 2007
02:23 pm - Some days, I'm more Jewish than others, it seems. . .
 So, apparently I'm now Jewish, and this is a bad thing?
(special thanks to sleepingwolf, who was astonished to stumble across this reference to me and my OL "editorship")
Somehow, someone on the "Vanguard News Network Forum" revealed me as part of the "Jewish problem". On one level it's disturbing to think that someone has my name and thinks I'm part of some imaginary problem or conspiracy, but this is balanced by a very heavy amusement at the fact that while I'm part of the problem, the guy is leaving it to everyone else to guess my "ethnic origin", because he obviously can't think of any other people in ADF who *might* be Jewish, but needs one more to prove his point.
I dropped the quote behind the cut, as well as the link, because I don't want to cause anyone's work to wonder why they're looking at white supremacy websites, but I quoted it in full, because damn: it's not every day that you get lumped in with a bunch of people who are actually pretty darn cool and even chosen by God. I mean, the guy practically blessed me (in a weird way) by insinuating that I'm Jewish.
For the record, I'm not the editor of Oak Leaves, either.
For the most part, this kind of stuff is weirdly frightening and amusing to me. It's frightening for all the obvious reasons, and the frightening aspects of it should not and cannot be understated. But the reason that I find it amusing is because, you know, people actually believe this stuff. That alone is just so improbable to me, so deeply and abysmally idiotic, that I cannot help but think, "Gee, it's like their whole life is one huge, insane joke that doesn't end!"
Either way, I'd rather be kinda Jewish than all stupid.
I think I'll have gefilte fish for dinner.
( Weird and stupid anti-semitic posturing, along with link to source, behind the cut. . . )
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/wink.gif) weird
Current Music: "Pre-You", -JB
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April 2nd, 2007
03:21 pm - Great. Just great.
Maybe I'll just stay in Greece.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: working
Current Music: "Pascagoula Run", -JB
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February 15th, 2007
10:09 am - Driving in winter and a happy, lonely valentine
I admit to being somewhat sore from the shoveling of ice off my driveway. . . but these things happen in winter.
You know the other thing that happens in winters in Ohio?
Yep, that's right: Snow gets on the roads.
See, it's this weird thing: when the temperature drops, precipitation that is normally liquid turns into beautiful little crystals of white death!
Oh, you have options: - panic and call in to work or school as "unable to leave your residence"
- thank God and Country and the Consumer Need For Shit You Can't Afford To Fill With Gas Anyway (in that order) and go out and own the roads by throwing caution to the wind and knowing that everyone else's car is half the size of yours (thus, you win)
- panic but go out on the roads anyway and drive 5 mph through roads that are well traveled, plowed, and salted
- drive, no matter what kind of car you're in, like you're the only car on the road
- drive as if conditions are normal
I'm positive there are more ways to deal with the situation, but here in Columbus, we seem to ignore those other ways.
Anyway, as I was driving home on Tuesday through the ice that was covering the downy snow, I realized that I was thankful that my first driving experiences came in snow and fog in Chicago traffic.
Indeed, the conditions didn't frighten me at all. As I moved my car from "drive" to "intermediate" and occasionally "low", I smiled to myself. "I'm thankful I know how to drive in this," I thought. I didn't experience a single slip or moment of low traction.
Now, I'm certainly not going to say I'm a perfect winter driver. I've had the occasional bumping of another car when I misjudged ice and speed. But I've avoided major accidents thus far (the worst that has come of those "bumps" is a bit of paint transfer), and the frozen white death from the sky doesn't inspire fear in me. I think that this mostly has to do with the fact that I'm not dumb enough to feel invincible on the roads, and I'm familiar enough with the nuances of driving in snow and on ice to respect but not fear it.
I'm still astounded that an inch of snow can cause major cities to roll over and die (Atlanta is a good example), and that even a foot of snow is somehow unmanageable.
But honestly, the best Valentine's Day ever? Yesterday, when OSU called off its classes and I didn't have to go to work. I slept until noon, got up, and shoveled the driveway. I pushed Tina's car out onto the street. I baked cookies (thanks to suicidekttn) and did homework. Then I wrote a number of prayers, and did several workings that I needed to do for others. In all, it was great. And I didn't see a soul aside from Tina and the occasional other neighbor out cleaning his driveway.
This cat could use more days like that.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Train to Dixieland", -JB
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February 13th, 2007
01:47 pm - High School Reunions
I've been given the option, recently, to go to my Ten Year High School Reunion this year. This is that chance to point and laugh at people who were popular and whose lives turned out to be shit. Or so that's what everyone is telling me.
Thing is, there are two particular issues at play with whether I'm willing to shell out $70 to go see some people that haven't bothered to talk to me in ten years.
- There are some people I'd really like to see again, maybe catch up with, and maybe say, "Hey, look: I don't mind that you stopped talking to me the day we graduated."
- There is someone in particular that I have no desire to ever see again.
Yes, in this case, I'm actually shallow enough and bitter enough to say, "I'm sorry, but seeing everyone again just isn't really worth running into this person."
For the most part, much of my high school life was left behind as soon as I went to a college that no one else in my (really freakin' huge) class of 787 other students went to. Sure, I visited, and I occasionally hung out with friends from high school still, but for the most part, I went a very separate way from most of them.
Every now and again, I'll hear back from them, or I'll get information via word-of-mouth. And for the most part, I'm fine with that: I don't ask after folks because I don't feel it's an important thing to do, socially.
But part of me wants to see a few of these people in person.
The other part of me, though, doesn't want to see this other, single individual again. Ever. I imagine that part of it is fear, part of it is general pain, and part of it is just bitterness. But I have thought about it, examined myself and my feelings, and come to the conclusion that this isn't something I'm ready to deal with.
I suppose there are options: I could ignore this person if they tried to speak to me, I could politely tell them to "fuck off", or I could just shout obscenities at them until they leave me alone. But as hurt and fearful as I am of this person, I also don't really want to hurt this person back in any way. I simply wish that this person and I never share the same general locative and temporal space again.
The odd thing is, this is the only person I would ever have this sort of problem with. Finding the root of it is hard, because it's an experience so unlike anything else I have ever known: it does not make sense to me that I should feel like this. Heck, there was a kid named Chad in my Latin class at DCHS who I couldn't stand, who poked fun at me, who knew how to push my buttons. . . And I wouldn't mind seeing him again. Heck, the kid who tried to beat me up in sixth grade, Jeremy, would be someone I could deal with on a personal level now. But this person is different. Very different.
And I suspect that this single individual will keep me away from those old high school friends for the rest of my life.
And in the end, I'm so not fine with that person that I'm fine with missing every reunion until I die.
Talk about weird.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/thinking.gif) contemplative
Current Music: "Creola", -JB
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February 12th, 2007
01:09 pm - Mel, your moralization is frightening. . .
tesinth and I went to see Apocalypto at the dollar theatre yesterday. While the moral of the movie appears to be "Thank God the White Catholics showed up in time to save the noble savages," we found ourselves wondering:
Poll #925849 Poll 20: Let the shushing begin!
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllAt what point may you speak during a movie in the theatre? At what point is the movie officially "over"?
( See, this is why I ask )
Also, this movie is apparently not about Mayans at all, but Aztecs. I ended up even more confused when I realized that.
And btw, I expect that the "moral of the story" listed above isn't a spoiler. It was, merely, the final conclusion I drew from this movie, much like "Christ wasn't a savior, he was a magician" was the conclusion I drew from Passion. If you see the movie and determine that I did, indeed, somehow spoil the ending with that comment, I grant you permission to post most venomously on my LJ in retaliation.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/confused.gif) curious
Current Music: "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw", -JB
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January 26th, 2007
04:26 pm - How not to get to Greece
- Search seven sites for hot airfare deals for three or four weeks.
- Finally find the one you like, that doesn't have you change airports in NYC, that costs significantly less than $1000, that is cheaper than three travel agents could find.
- Go through the entire process of registering on the site, filling in information, and agreeing to terms.
- Accept that there is no cheaper flight to be had at this time.
- Discover that they don't accept your credit card and have to put your ticket purchase on hold again.
One of these days, I'll manage it. Hopefully before my time is up.
Try again tomorrow!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season", -JB
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August 8th, 2006
02:32 pm - What am I doing?
My lunch break was spent at the library, grabbing books off the shelves in the Indo-European language section of the stacks. I came up with the following items:
Friedrich, Paul. Proto-Indo-European Trees: The Arboreal System of a Prehistoric People. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 1970
Nussbaum, Alan J. Head and Horn in Indo-European. New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter. 1986
Watkins, Calvert. How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995 And these articles:
Carruba, Onofrio. "Searching for Woman in Anatolian and Indo-European." Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honour of Edgar C. Polome (Vol. 1) McLean, VA: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1991
Lyle, Emily. "Markedness and Encompassment in Relation to Indo-European Cosmogony." Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honour of Edgar C. Polome (Vol. 1) McLean, VA: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1991
Weitenberg, Jos. "The Meaning of the Expression "To Become a Wolf" in Hittite." Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honour of Edgar C. Polome (Vol. 1) McLean, VA: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1991
Buchholz, Peter. "Ancient Lore: Oral Tradition in Medieval Scandanvia." Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honour of Edgar C. Polome (Vol. 2) McLean, VA: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1992
Zysk, Kenneth G. "Reflections on an Indo-European Healing Tradition." Perspectives on Indo-European Language, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honour of Edgar C. Polome (Vol. 2) McLean, VA: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1992
Barber, E. J. W. "On αιγ- as 'Protection'." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Fisher, Robert L. "The Lore of the Staff in Indo-European Tradition." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Huld, Martin E. "Magic, Metathesis, and Nudity in Indo-European Thought." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Jones-Bley, Karlene. "Red for the Dead." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Mallory, J. P. "Some Aspects of Indo-European Agriculture." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Streets, Cheryl. "Ajahad u dva mithuna: A Note on Rgveda 10.17.1-2." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part One: Ancient Languages and Philology. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Brennemann, Walter L. "The Drunken and the Sober: A Comparative Study of Lady Sovereignty in Irish and Indic Contexts." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Dexter, Miriam Robbins. "Born of the Foam: Goddesses of River and Sea in the 'Kingship of Heaven' Myth." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Epstein, Angelique Gulermovich. "The Morrigan and the Valkyries." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997 (I'm sort of "blah" about this article, personally. . . Talk about a dull topic!)
Miller, Dean A. "In Search of Indo-European Inter-Functional War." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Polome, Edgar C. "Some Reflections on the Vedic Religious Vocabulary." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Sayers, William. "Psychological Warfare in Vinland (Eriks saga Rauða)" Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997
Strutynski, Udo. "The Sins of Siegfried: Echoes of Indo-European War Crimes in the Nibelungenlied and its Analogues." Studies in Honour of Jaan Phuvel: Part Two: Mythology and Religion. Washington, DC: Journal of Indo-European Studies. 1997 I've been working pretty hard on the Liturgist Guild Study Program recently. It's a decent program, but it has a book required that is listed as "recommended" and the .pdf file could use an update to reflect some current membership statuses. I also reformatted my entire Study Program page to include the Second Circle CTP programs that I'm going to have to do, as well as a link to the LGSP work I'm doing/have done. Raven has promised to inform me by the end of the week whether I've passed the GSP or not (he says if I haven't heard by Friday, I can start "pushing").
Coinciding with that, I'll be updating my webpage, I think. I will also be starting a new journal regarding "domestic cult practice" for the Liturgist Guild's SP.
In other news, Fifth Third Bank has put a stupid, annoying javascript ad over my account balance. "Learn How to Protect Yourself Online" it says. The "close" button doesn't work because the javascript seems broken, meaning that I can't access my online banking unless I hit the "stop" button on the browser before the java ad opens but after the page has loaded.
Well, let me tell you: being completely unable to access your account when you log in legitimately to view your balance is a very good security measure. I just hope that if someone cracks my account, they can't figure out how to crack the javascript load.
( Because at least one person reading this would be interested in the failure code for the JS that Mozilla is returning. . . )
This make it very difficult for me to determine if I do, indeed, have the cash to make it to Chicago this weekend, which is rather annoying.
It's a good thing I know how to turn off JavaScript in this browser. Too bad I have to reactivate it to do anything else.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: "The Stories We Could Tell", -JB
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July 25th, 2006
03:18 pm - Ugh.
Today has suddenly become a really, really shitty day.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sad.gif) depressed
Current Music: "Train to Dixieland", -JB
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March 8th, 2006
02:10 pm - Do I have plans? Yeah, I have plans.
 "This book by a well-known Celtic American shaman"
Wow. I'm twitching. Hard. And I can't stop.
I've spent nearly every night in the past two weeks working past midnight on the Generalist Study Program for ADF, updating an average of 3 essays per day on my website, with an eye to Dedicant Priest Concecration. It's been interesting and, quite honestly, fun experience, even if it does have that sort of "hoop" feel to it.
It's not hard, just a *lot* of work. It has, when combined with the (not so) regular, day-to-day administrative work I've been tied up in recently with ADF, given me the occasion to look seriously at ADF and evaluate it and my own future with it. This has been invaluable.
I'm looking forward to being done with it, and hope I can pull off that March 14 deadline: between this and my paper for Jones' class, I'm really hurting for free time.
But my next project, I think, is going to be about a certain Nemeton in Arizona.
The questions and insights I've come across with this class have been amazing, and I'm anxious to find out what I can learn about a place that I can not only visit, but interview the people who built *and* utilize the space.
And I think that I can get a paper out of that circle that's worth submitting to an academic journal of some sort.
Here's hoping that Jones is willing to advise me on this particular project.
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Brown-Eyed Girl", -JB
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February 9th, 2006
12:34 pm - Esus=Jesus=Caesar=WTFOMGLOL!!!1111!
So, apparently Jesus was actually Julius Caesar, Esus is Jesus is Caesar, the Jesus myth has nothing to do with the Jews (or even the Middle East) and I'm the insane one.
(Yes, I am fully aware that this entry seems to be an amusing flip-flop from my previous entry. Maybe I meant it that way? I dunno. The implication that I think about anything is perhaps thinking too much on my thinking.)
Over the past three weeks or more, I've been engaged in a discussion (rather, a series of discussions) about how Esus is related to Jesus. It is, on the one hand, entertaining. And honestly, I'm willing to look at it objectively. But I admit that I think it's bunk right now. But I'm hoping that I'm at least looking at each piece carefully before holding up the big "REJECTED" sign.
The central argument comes from Francesco Carotta's new book, Jesus Was Caesar: On the Julian Origin of Christianity: An Investigative Report. I've had some very light dealings back and forth with Carotta himself (who runs a forum on his website), though they haven't been very in depth. He did, though, personally moderate me and reject a posting for suggesting that the theory that Jesus was of European origin, not of Semitic origin, worried me and made me afraid that the theory was potentially anti-Semitic. I feel special.
The book is, at present, too expensive for me to purchase, but I understand that it's being used by at least one history professor as an example of "bad" history, which amuses me a lot. If you ever feel like getting me an expensive gag gift, though, that's the thing to get.
Anyway, the point of the whole thing is that I have taken the time to re-think and re-work some of the information I have on Esus and Tarvos Trigaranus. It's also given me the kick to put up a page responding to some of the arguments I've received (over and over again, I might add) about Jesus being Esus and possibly Caesar. And now I've got the start of a page on the Nautes Pillar up, and I'll have more on that page in the near future.
Yeah, just what I needed: a new project in the middle of my current heavy workload. But this is one that is very valid to me. And it's definitely time that I started looking again at those Esus pages on my website. They hadn't been updated in nearly two years when I looked at them last, and one of the discussions I had showed me that I didn't really agree with everything. So things are expanded, and on their way toward becoming more expanded. It feels good to be back to this line of discussion and thought again. I missed it.
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Up On the Housetop", -JB
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November 7th, 2005
October 21st, 2005
03:47 pm - My one and only art class in college. . .
Ah, my art teacher.
A conversation with singingwren reminded me that I haven't really talked about her, crazy woman that she was. Some people will think that my views on art were shaped by this amazing bitch, but really, they were simply reaffirmed.
I took beginning drawing here at Ohio State because I thought it would be fun, and I might learn how to draw something more than hideous, gelatinous space aliens. It met five days per week, for two hours per class. That was a huge dent in my schedule, actually, especially since I knew I wouldn't be able to carry all the garbage someone attending an art class needs to carry, and so needed time to get back to my dorm before and after class.
This meant that the two hour class required approximately three hours, as I couldn't scehdule around it.
But, wanting to learn how to translate my thoughts into little lines on paper, I signed up anyway, and my life became a living hell.
( In which I discuss my one and only art class taken after the fourth grade )
My opinion of art didn't really change that summer, but damn if my opinoin of teaching didn't change. I was presented with a set of values I had never experienced before, where effort was ignored and skill was cherished above all else. I became totally disinterested in anything beyond "clarity" in my own work; while clarity is certainly not ideal in my work, it's better than some of the "skilled" work I've seen.
I still draw, doodle, and occasionally play with "artistic" things, but I don't care if anyone else likes them. . . They're for me, and they are what I always wanted: things I can just throw away.
I imagine I still have that 200-pound Italian lady lying around somewhere. I'll see if I can't dig her up.
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Bigger Than the Both of Us", -JB
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