Woodstock-Forty Years Later

I wanted to put up more Woodstock videos, but I guess enough is enough. It's actually starting to be something of a drain, having so many YouTube videos in a row. Those things have some pull to them it seems. If anyone wants to see more, there are plenty more posted on the site-Grateful Dead, The Band, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ten Years After, Janis Joplin, and many more. Although a great many other musical icons of the sixties did not attend, there were more than enough to amount to what was probably the greatest assembly of raw musical talent to ever occur at one time and one place up to that point.

This of course was a big factor as to why the festival was such a success, but by no means was it the only factor. By all rights, the thing should have been an unmitigated disaster. It was a logistical horror show, frankly. There was far too little available water, food, and bathroom facilities to accommodate the multitudes of people who showed up, which was more than twice the number expected.

Yet, for all the potential problems, there were only two deaths. One of these was the result of a heroin overdose. The other didn't even occur on the property, but was the result of some hapless soul sleeping in an adjoining field being run over by a tractor.

Otherwise, though there were several bad trips due to acid, there were no significant injuries, and the weekend was overall peaceful.

I don't think the festival was a success in spite of the many problems, but because of them. The rain was probably the decisive factor. Had it not rained and had it also been a few degrees hotter, that along with the lack of sanitation and scarcity of food, with the prevalence and availability of drugs, might well have contributed to a disastrous weekend.

It was an event which could never in a million years be replicated, nor should any ever under any circumstances make the attempt. Oh, of course there have been Woodstock commemorative type festivals, but that is hardly the same. Going to one of these highly commercialized events is all well and good, and I do not discourage it by any means, but by the same token, attending a "Woodstock 2019" fifty years after the first could no more give you a legitimate feel for the experience of the original than attending a Civil War battle re-enactment could give you anything close to the feel of what it must have been like to have participated in the actual Battle of Gettysburg.

Some things just can't be planned, and in fact, it was the free-wheeling nature of the festival and the hopeful mood of the participants, the bands as well as the audience, that made it what it was. No one knew what they were getting into here. If they had known what the conditions would have been like, most probably would not have attended and not given the decision a second thought.

But once they were there, they could but make the most out of what could have been a horrid situation, and they made history. There were many people taken into special teepee type structures in order to bring them down from the experience of a bad trip. Once they recovered, most of them hung around to assist with others who experienced the next bad trip.

Well meaning locals and others attended and supplied extra food and blankets. The state police attended the festival, but harassed no one. They managed to remain a calming, possibly stabilizing presence without being obtuse. They did not pursue drug arrests, but simply watched over the crowd and otherwise left them in peace.

The relative lack of planning along with the unexpected elements of food and water scarcity, lack of sanitation and bathroom facilities, and the bad weather-at one point during the festival it rained in what one participant described as coming down in buckets-that made the festival goers pull together and unite, but not just to make it through the ordeal, but to enjoy it as they had intended to do. Again, the drugs and the music helped immensely.

You just can't plan something like this. It just happens. Things just all come together in a natural kind of way, and when it does, you find yourself swept up and away into it. You become a part of history in the making. That was the true magic of Woodstock.

Hendrix Plays Off Key

The following video from Woodstock features what is almost unarguably the most iconic moment of the entire festival-Jimi Hendrix performing the Star Spangled Banner, complete with a multitude of sound distortions mixed in which was meant to represent the noise, carnage, and horrors of war, something that was deeply on the minds of the vast majority of festival goers during this, the height of the Vietnam War. Note also for roughly three seconds the inclusion of Taps, at about 2:53. Prior to this performance, Max Yasgur (who owned the 600 acre dairy farm at which the festival was held) had stepped briefly onto the stage in order to congratulate those still in attendance (the majority of festival goers had already left by the time) on the way they comported themselves. They had proven to the world, he said, that "500,000 kids" could get together for three days of fun and music and "have nothing but fun and music".

Vietnam was probably the greatest hot button issue of the day, with only civil rights coming close in importance. Jimi Hendrix encapsulated for all time the prevailing sentiments of the day towards the war for the majority of those young people (and a growing number of others) who stood to be the most affected by it.

It is not in keeping with the spirit of Woodstock to cast stones, perhaps, but I will anyway, by pointing out that Vietnam was a Democratic Party war-a boondoggle fought more for political than for patriotic reasons, and mismanaged to such a degree that it soured public opinion not only on the Vietnam War, but also did irreversible damage insofar as public attitudes regarding any war, regardless of how justified it might or might not be. Hendrix expresses those sentiments here to greater effect than any speech by any demagogue or politician possibly could.

Hendrix was a true impresario, managing to artistically blend in the horror of war, the overall anxiety over which was palpable, with what is perhaps the most beautiful instrumental recording of the National Anthem ever recorded, all in a three minute instrumental piece of music that ended not with the sounds of war but instead with the hopeful and beautiful sound of the anthem's conclusion, and lead into a rendition of Purple Haze.

Waiting In The Wings-Peace Through Strength

Woodstock featured a good man firsts. The following two videos relate two of them involving the British band the Who. This might have been the first public performance of Pete Townshends classic rock opera Tommy. It was an opera about a young boy stricken with hysterical blindness, deafness, and dumbness (mute). Because his affliction was "all in his mind", however, Tommy was able to perform amazing feats that no deaf, dumb, or blind person should be able to even comprehend. This in time lead to him gathering a messianic aura and attendant following, one that eventually led to disaster for he and his followers and, by the end of the opera, a new and authentic spiritual awakening.

The Who performed most of the songs of the opera, in addition to some of their other standard numbers, but the performance was interrupted by, ironically, an individual who sought his own type of messianic following.

Radical Yippie activist Abby Hoffman at one point in the concert jumped on stage and, somehow grabbing a microphone, tried to engage in a bit of rabble rousing for the benefit of John Sinclair, the poet-activist and sometime music manager who was the head of the White Panther Party, and who at this point was in prison, the victim of a set-up wherein he purchased a joint of marijuana from some undercover officers.

This was not the time and the place. Townshend was intent on performing the groups new album Tommy, billed as the first rock opera, which he composed (with the exception of a couple of songs by bassist John Entwhistle and the Sonny Boy Williamson classic "Eyesight To The Blind") and attended Woodstock chiefly to promote.

Hoffman was out of line. Unfortunately, neither he nor the incident in full was captured on film. Following is the song Pinball Wizard. It is at the conclusion of this number that Hoffman makes his move.



The following description is from a comment left on the YouTube page of the following video

The Who's guitarist, Pete Townshend, was adjusting his amp between songs and turned to look at Hoffman over his right shoulder. Townshend ran with his Gibson S.G. and rammed it into Hoffman's upper middle back. Hoffman turned with mouth gaping, back arched with one hand trying to reach the injury as Townshend , disgruntled, put a hand in Hoffman's face and shoved him backwards to stage right. Townshend then said "I can dig it."



Amazingly, Hoffman later denied the incident ever transpired, but fortunately, we have the audio which, while not exactly proving in in every specific detail, at least provides a preponderance of evidence to the effect that the incident did in fact occur, and that Hoffman got exactly what he had coming to him.

As for Townshend, say what you will about the man, but there is a possibility that his actions prevented the show from descending into at least some slight degree of chaos. This was Hoffman's modus operandi-agitation, propaganda and, most especially, the use of abusive and disruptive tactics. Hoffman was, it would seem, actually encouraging attendees of the concert to leave and go to conduct a protest on behalf of Sinclair. Had Townshend not stopped him, given the degree of intoxication prevalent at the event, some might have agreed to do so. Had Townshend or the others not responded as they did, it might have even been seen as an encouragement from them to follow Hoffman, which might have given it even greater impetus.

I just thought it was a sweet irony that an event billed as a festival of peace and love required an act of violence in order to prevent its possible disruption. Thanks to Townshend's act of "wanton violence", the event was saved from being marred by what could have turned into an ugly, potentially violent situation involving fights among the attendees, and/or many leaving and conducting what could have turned into a violent protest, all of which would have provided propaganda fodder for the many at this time who viewed the festival with a suspicious and skeptical eye.

Instead of that, at the music, peace and love festival known as Woodstock occurred a perfect illustration of the fact that, desirable though peace of course is, sometimes it takes acts of violence to make the peace, keep the peace, and secure the peace.

I am sure there are some who will assert that Townshend is deserving of criticism for not engaging in a more "proportional response". Of course I disagree. If anything, he didn't go far enough. He shoved have shoved his guitar up Hoffman's ass. After all, he ended up busting up the damn thing anyway.

Soul Sacrifice

This was from the second day of the festival. While briefly scanning the YouTube comments, I came across what seems to be something of an urban legend, to the effect that Carlos Santana was so high on mescaline while performing this instrumental piece, he briefly hallucinated that his guitar had turned into a huge snake of some sort. This supposedly accounts for some of his facial expressions. I don't doubt for one second that he was high, on something, along with the rest of the band, but the story seems apocryphal. It is worth noting that, while it would be highly inaccurate to refer to Carlos Santana as an underrated guitarist, he would probably not make a top ten list of the all time great guitarists if one was to just spout one off on the fly. But, he was undoubtedly great, and his band here exhibits the highest quality of craftsmanship, drive, and enthusiasm for their craft. Which goes a long way towards explaining why Woodstock did not disintegrate into total chaos. You had 300,000 people (some people put the number at closer to half a million) in what was the first of its kind mass concert featuring a legion of the most idolized and revered rockers of the day, and there was plenty of free drugs to go around to keep everything copacetic.

People were just too caught up in the the occasion, and of course the music, to think much of going to far off the reservation. The drugs helped, along with certain other factors.

Woodstock

This is Sweetwater, the band originally scheduled to be the opening act at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, held in Bethel New York, starting August 15, 1969, forty years ago today. Sweetwater was late, and so Richie Havens opened instead, starting with a song called Freedom. When Sweetwater finally made it there, they followed Havens and a slew of other performers, as well as an Indian guru who performed a benediction, and Ravi Shankar.

This is one of the last numbers they performed in their set, a song called "My Crystal Spider".

A Medical Reform Proposal

People need to take a deep breath and relax. I know its hard to do, but there's some things that are just beyond the pale, even for politicians, and I am especially ashamed of Fred Thompson, who was actually my second choice for President during the last election cycle, behind Giuliani (and he actually quickly became my favored choice).

Yet, the nonsense being promoted by him and others, such as Rush Limbaugh, claiming that a new government medical policy would pressure senior citizens to opt to end their lives by denying themselves nutrition and hydration is just nuts. Never mind the idea that Democrats might or might not support such an idea. The plain fact of the matter is, it would be politically insane to promote such a policy, even behind the scenes in a small item buried in thousands of pages.

For another thing, no doctor or hospital would put up with that. In fact, not only would it be against the Hippocratic Oath, it would be going against their own financial best interests. It just doesn't make any sense.

There is one potential problem with senior care if the bill were to pass as is, but it revolves more around a one-size fits all approach to elderly care, especially regarding plans to establish government financed homes that would be staffed mostly by nurses. Of course, it might well turn into a bureaucratic nightmare, and probably would at the least be inefficient and expensive. But that's a far cry from an insane plot to knock off old people to save money. So unless there's something specific that might lead to such a policy, or encourage it in any way, conservatives need to tread lightly. There is such thing as political backlash. I would think they would not need me to remind them of such lessons they have already been taught numerous times just over the course of the last decade.

Besides, how bad can government run health care be? I have my own two ways of looking at it. Either it ends up pretty good, or with mixed results, in which case it can always be improved upon over time. Or, it can be a failure to one degree or another, in which case it can be revisited with a better set of policies once it contributes to a return to power of Republicans. But at least the groundwork is being set down, whatever the case.

I would prefer to see a system where doctors are relieved of their debts and insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are not taxed, though still subjected to reasonable state regulations with federal oversight. Those things in itself would do more to reduce the cost of health care than anything currently on the table. As for reducing the level of bureaucracy that also adds to the expense, that would be a given. It would have to be reduced to make up the difference in lost tax revenue. Government would reform the medical system by getting out of it while expecting results. If the pharmaceutical and insurance companies, for example, don't keep prices low, or reasonable, there are always price-gouging and other such laws, and there can still be assistance for the disabled, elderly, and poor.

In fact, if businesses in general were not taxed, while all individuals were taxed at any equal rate-with no end of the year tax refunds for anyone-then over time the majority of our tax and economic problems would wither away, provided there was an understanding that minimum wage would have to be raised and certain regulations would have to remain in place, while certain others should be loosened or abandoned all together.

That is the kind of thing Republicans and conservatives need to promote. Leave the horror stories around the campfires and come back down to earth for a while.

The WHole Thing Just Makes Me Sick

I think both sides of the health care reform debate need to tone it down a notch or two, not that either side wants or cares for my opinion. Frankly, I almost don't care anymore. Whatever happens, happens. What I do know is, if the Republicans, however right they think they are, or actually might be, succeed in driving away in disgust a large portion of the independent voters that they cannot prevail without, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

Having said that, I have to ask, where were the fucking Democrats and others on the left when Anne Coulter was being hit in the face with pies, and when Congressman Tom Tancredo had to cancel a scheduled speaking appearance at a North Carolina University. In fact, he had to flee for his life from an onslaught of liberal student protesters who refused to allow him to speak to the students who had invited him to appear at the campus.

Where were Democrats and their objections and calls for calm and civility when leftist protesters all over college campuses were disrupting speaking appearances by other conservatives?

By the same token, where was all this love for conservative, small government principles when the Republican Party controlled the White House and both houses of Congress for four years, up until the 2006 mid-terms? It seems the only time their alleged devotion to those principles apply in reality is when there is a Democratic President in the White House. Strangely, once a Republican took over residence at Pennsylvania Avenue, they showed what some with not a little merit might proclaim to be their true colors.

I never considered myself a conservative. The term just doesn't always apply to me. I used to consider myself a liberal, but the term meant something far different than what it has come to mean over the years. I have come to the point now where I have a hard time recognizing a common humanity with most of those who now call themselves liberal, or "progressive".

I have taken now to calling myself a Federalist, and I think that term fits me in a bunch of different ways. An old party, that really wasn't a party at all, and has now ceased to exist save in the history books. Maybe that's where my views belong and should be viewed, as a political anachronism.

One thing I do know. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have the best interests of the American people in mind, and they sure as hell don't care anything about the constitution. They just care about holding on to power and are willing to bribe their constituents in whatever way possible to do that. Whether the Republicans take power in 2010, or whether they don't, I don't know. What is obvious is that, either way, not one god damned motherfucking thing is going to change, in any real way, certainly not in the long term.

The Manson Family-A Rock Opera

Hey, Happy Anniversary there, Tate-LaBianca murders!

We're right now at the anniversary of that storied time forty years ago when you caused the deaths of Steven Parent, Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Voytek Frikowski in a bloody display of brutal violence that can only be described as horrific. You shocked our sensibilities to the point that you changed life in America forever. Up until that point, most people went to bed with their doors unlocked-even in California. No more of that. You came along and pummeled our innocent naiveties until we were numb from the shock. But you were not content with that display of wanton savagery. You made our hearts shudder in fear and caused us to catch our collective breaths as we spun wildly and dizzily to the news of yet another set of murders, those of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Since those halcyon days in the immediate week preceding Woodstock, your legacy has endured in numerous books, movies, televisions specials, interviews, and conspiracy theories. You have become a cottage industry in your own right, and as such the recognition heaped upon you is certainly well-merited. After all, you are a signpost of the sixties. As much as Woodstock which followed you signified the capacity for peace, love, and communion with mankind's natural harmonious desires and aspirations centered around a love of life, music, and the abandonment of societal repressions and pretension, you were the other side of the coin. You signified the unmitigated, cold and calculating evil that lay in wait to corrupt the innocent and open the gates that released the demons of hatred, fear, and rage.

Now, devoted Manson disciple Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, imprisoned since her attempted though bungled assassination attempt on the life of then President Gerald Ford in 1975, will soon be paroled from the prison in which she is held, a prison which specializes in the treatment of those hard-core convicts with mental and emotional problems. There is no word as yet on what she plans to do-or where she plans to go-upon her release.

In the meantime, rumors are circulating to the effect that Charles Manson himself wishes to have a face-to-face meeting with fellow inmate Phil Spector, who incidentally famously recorded two songs-Across The Universe and The Long And Winding Road-for the Beatles final released album, Let It Be. Given Manson's reputed fascination with the Beatles and their songs-especially of course the allegedly hidden meanings of their lyrics-one can only wonder as to the potential of such a meeting of the minds.



Almost forgot-hiya Mary. And-just to make sure this post gets at least one hit a day from now until the end of time-heya, Ouisch.

Effervescent Adolescents by Arctic Monkeys (Lughnasadh Song Video)

The first time I saw this video, I thought, Ah hell no, evil clowns, but as I watched it, it sucked me right in. I don't know what the band had in mind when they made it, but I see it as symbolic. The clown and his main protagonist here are representative of man's dual natures. The clown is our true selves, the other the face we present to the world. During childhood we are closer to our true selves, but as we grow older, we drift further apart from our true natures.

Nevertheless, there will always be occasions during which we will find ourselves face-to-face once again with our true natures, in the course of an often times unexpected and unwelcome "reunion", one that often results in disastrous consequences. In the end, we can hide our true natures, whatever they might be-be they good or be they bad-but only up to a point. We can never get rid ourselves of them completely. Sooner or later, they will manifest, as often as not at the worse possible times.

It seems kind of a fitting video with which to celebrate what amounts to a trickster deity.

Also, it happens to be one kick-ass rocking song. Enjoy. And have a blessed and happy Lughnasadh.

Justice

I didn't know at first how this card fit in with this Sabbat of Lughnasadh, but on reflection, the chart for this day is all about oppositions, and thus the need for balance.

We have the Moon speeding it's way through Sagittarius at the beginning of the day, in varying degrees of sextile with Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius, and squared Uranus in Pisces, while heading toward a rendezvous with Pluto in the first degree of Capricorn, where it started out the year. Once it gets there (and by the time I write this it has gotten there and a little beyond) then it reaches what might well be an ominous, to some, opposition to Venus in the first degree of Cancer.

Meanwhile, Uranus in Pisces is also in opposition to Saturn in Virgo (which the Moon barely avoided aspect with on this day). This cries out for balance, seeing as how Uranus and Saturn are opposites. One counsels patience, while the other seems to stress the need for immediate action, a clear conflict. The balance is slightly tilted in favor of Uranus this day, as it is strengthened by an aspect with Mars in the fourteenth degree of Gemini. Mars gains slight strength by a slight trine to Jupiter (which the latter does not share with Neptune), but more importantly, there is a sextile between Mars and the Sun, now in the ninth degree of Leo, the only aspect the good Sun notes on this day.

Finally, Mercury is aspected by opposition to Jupiter and Neptune, but also enjoys an easily overlooked sextile to Venus.

All in all, a need for caution. One should not overindulge in food over the next few days, something that a celebrant will find difficult to avoid. There will likewise be a tendency towards daydreaming about future travel plans, with hopes of kindling old flames and seeing old friends. As Lughnasadh is typically a day for feasting and for enjoying family reunions and catching up with old friends and acquaintances, the message here will be to proceed, but to exercise some degree of restraint.

Certain aspects, such as the Moon to Venus, Venus to Mercury, and also Venus's very pronounced trine to Neptune and Jupiter, to say nothing of Pluto, and finally the input of Pluto, warns of the possibility that a romantic liaison could become unexpectedly intense. In the case where there is no outlet, I would take heart in the myth of the origins of masturbation.

Hermes taught it to Pan in order to ease the stress of his constant rejections by those beautiful nymphs who could simply not abide the idea of sex with such a horrid looking creature.

Again, some restraint is appropriate.

Perhaps because of this, reunions with old friends, as well as family, might prove uncomfortable. I know this was the case with me over the weekend, but take heart. That turned out fairly well.

Masturbation, by the way, can also be a powerful means of utilizing magical energy with the use of personal power and visualization.

And now that I have given you more information perhaps than you ever wanted to know, I will bid you adieu, and Happy Lughnasadh. Or, if you insist, Lammas.

Hermes

I'm feeling drawn to the God Hermes for some reason, and its pretty easy to see why. He's the messenger of the gods, the bringer of dreams, and a god of commerce, messengers, travelers, and thieves, just to name a few of his attributes. I should add I suppose that he is a patron of athletes, and especially of wrestlers and any sport that involves racing (thus the motorcycle video that appears in a later/earlier post).

More importantly, the natal chart I drew up for an individual "born" at the exact moment of the last Winter Solstice practically screams Hermes, particularly as the Ascendant seems to reside in the sign of Sagittarius, Hermes sign. This puts the God's "birth" sign in Capricorn in the 2nd House of money, wealth, and possessions, one of the God's strong suits. Of no small importance is the placement of Neptune in Aquarius in the 3rd House of Communications, which fits with Hermes tendency to speak in symbolic riddles. And there are other indications as well.

A series of dreams I had, one in particular of which involved an entity I have come to know as the Mother of Bones, speaks strongly of his influence. No, I will not relate the dream. Some things are better kept private.

Strangely, I generally perceive of Hermes as an old man, not as a young athletic man as generally pictured. I have had numerous dreams of him throughout the years and he most generally assumes this aspect when he appears. Who knows, perhaps it is a sign that I will lead a long and prosperous life. Well, no time like the present.

Hermes's importance in Graeco-Roman religion is somewhat underestimated, but not so in the frozen north, where he has been identified with Odin. As such, he would be of more than passing importance to the Asatru, even if they choose not to identify Odin and Hermes as one and the same. Frankly, I am sympathetic to such reluctance on their part, though for different reasons. As a trickster god, I tend to identify Hermes with Loki, while Odin I see as a Norse personification of Hades.

This is one of the areas in which me and Reconstructionists in general part company. Many and probably most of them do not view the gods as manifesting in other forms in other cultures, preferring to see the various deities of other religions as separate deities of importance only within the confines of their ancient cultures, assuming they exist at all. I however see the wisdom of these identifications in general, though I concede that in some cases they are overworked and forced to an extent in the case of those ancient Greeks and Romans who automatically looked for the presence of their deities amongst the gods and goddesses of foreign lands.

Hermes has also had a strong and long-standing identification with the Egyptian God Thoth, and in fact this is probably the better known of all of his, shall we say, aliases. And in fact, if any of the deities were to take on another identity, Hermes would be just the guy who would relish such an activity.

There are a number of sites where those interested in him can learn more about him. I would recommend first and foremost this site. There are a couple of others, blogs in fact, both of them LiveJournal sites. Sannion is a devotee of the ancient Egyptian and Greek religions, while Gavin is a devotee of Hermes in long-standing.

Zucchini Bread

Yo, I see the image of the Goddess in the light portion of this picture of zucchini bread. That's what happens when you're fighting with an isp that goes off on you fifty times in one day on two hour's sleep.

Just the same, if this happens to you should you make the recipe below, don't sell her on ebay. Eat her.





From AllRecipes

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3 eggs
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2 1/4 cups white sugar
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups grated zucchini
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

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DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Happy Lughnasadh, or Lammas if you prefer.

Our Power Animal Partakes Of The Harvest

Bast Goes To Baltimore

A dialogue of sorts between Christians and a group that might very likely include some Pagans might have gone unnoticed by most, when the Northside Baptist Church of Baltimore agreed to allow the feeding of feral cats on property that it owns.

The cat advocates are of course not identified as pagans, and most of them are probably not, but I have a suspicion that at least some members of what has been described as a "trap and neuter program" are, and most certainly the mediator group between the two opposing forces in the debate, a national cat advocacy group known as Alley Cat Allies, based out of Bethesda, probably have a few pagans in their ranks as well.

It would be difficult not to sympathize with the church's problems, as described here-

Volunteers, part of a citywide trap-neuter-return program, have been feeding a colony of cats on the church's lot for two years. But a couple weeks ago, the church ordered the cat tenders to dismantle the feeding station. Church officials said the cats not only bother parishioners, they leave droppings all over their otherwise manicured lawn.

Thanks to the intervention of Alley Cat Allies, Northside Baptist has agreed to allow the other group to feed the cats, while Alley Cat Allies has promised to donate decorative stones for the church's flower garden, in addition to devices that will emit a high-pitched noise that will serve to drive cats back and away from more sensitive public areas.

In the meantime, it is worth noting that Baltimore has an estimated 185,000 feral cats. And probably very few rats and pigeons, at least in comparison to what they would have. So even feral cats are useful, for even if being fed, their natural instincts to hunt will lead them to continue to do so, even if they don't eat the slain carcasses. Cats, though, love the taste of hot blood.

Their hunting skills at leveling off rodent populations led to their worship in ancient Egypt, with their own patron goddess, Bast, probably the second most important feminine divinity in Egypt. Her center was in Bubastos. Her importance can not be overstated. After all, her charges very likely prevented famine on more than a few occasions. They were also popular as pets, and many families had their favorite cats mummified and entombed with them.

It is good to know that some Christians have learned the harsh lessons from the Middle Ages, when a superstitious fear of cats led to the attempt to exterminate them in an act that resulted in a horrific increase in the rat population, which in turn led to the bubonic plaque.

In honor of your cat, and it's value as a friend and companion, and possibly as a guardian against rodents and other pests, do not forget it this Lughnasadh. They are not that hard to please. A can of tuna, or the juice extracted from the can, will probably be the equivalent of a gourmet meal.

Hail Bast-

Ducati Streetfighter

Asatru Metal

Varg, German, Pagan/Black Metal band, Live at the yearly European Metal fest "Wolfszeit" in 2007.

Valhalla Rising

This is an Asatru event, I guess something of a Norse version of a Renaissance Fair, apparently, that I stumbled upon while searching YouTube. Actually looks fun. Well, in parts. The music kind of sets it off. This is just one of a big series of videos posted in a similar vein.

Beer Fest

So there you have it. The beer summit-

Barak Obama-Bud Lite.
Professor Gates-White Stripe (import from Jamaica).
Officer Crowley-Blue Moon, with a twist of orange.
Joe Biden-Some kind of non-alcoholic crap.

Well, nothing was cleared up in the way of race relations, nor did any teachable moments emerge. Two people pretty much agreed to disagree over what everybody else already pretty much knew was a load of shit. It was all really a rather silly, petty distraction.

On the other hand, one memorable thing did occur.

Barak Obama did the impossible.

The President of The United States managed to make the choice of Budweiser Lite seem pretentious as hell.

Holy Shit

Thanks to Kate of Ephemeral Thoughts for the following-

Taoism: Shit happens.
* Confucianism: Confucius say, “Shit happens.”
* Buddhism: If shit happens, it isn’t really shit.
* Zen Buddhism: Shit is, and is not.
* Zen Buddhism #2: What is the sound of shit happening?
* Hinduism: This shit has happened before.
* Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah.
* Islam #2: If shit happens, kill the person responsible.
* Islam #3: If shit happens, blame Israel.
* Catholicism: If shit happens, you deserve it.
* Protestantism: Let shit happen to someone else.
* Presbyterian: This shit was bound to happen.
* Episcopalian: It’s not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve the right wine with it.
* Methodist: It’s not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve grape juice with it.
* Congregationalist: Shit that happens to one person is just as good as shit that happens to another.
* Unitarian: Shit that happens to one person is just as bad as shit that happens to another.
* Lutheran: If shit happens, don’t talk about it.

* Fundamentalism: If shit happens, you will go to hell, unless you are born again.
(Amen!)
* Fundamentalism #2: If shit happens to a televangelist, it’s okay.
* Fundamentalism #3: Shit must be born again.
* Judaism: Why does this shit always happen to us?
* Calvinism: Shit happens because you don’t work.
* Seventh Day Adventism: No shit shall happen on Saturday.
* Creationism: God made all shit.
* Secular Humanism: Shit evolves.
* Christian Science: When shit happens, don’t call a doctor – pray!
* Christian Science #2: Shit happening is all in your mind.
* Unitarianism: Come let us reason together about this shit.
* Quakers: Let us not fight over this shit.
* Utopianism: This shit does not stink.
* Darwinism: This shit was once food.
* Capitalism: That’s MY shit.
* Communism: It’s everybody’s shit.
* Feminism: Men are shit.
* Chauvinism: We may be shit, but you can’t live without us…
* Commercialism: Let’s package this shit.

* Impressionism: From a distance, shit looks like a garden.
* Idolism: Let’s bronze this shit.
* Existentialism: Shit doesn’t happen; shit IS.
* Existentialism #2: What is shit, anyway?
* Stoicism: This shit is good for me.
* Hedonism: There is nothing like a good shit happening!
* Mormonism: God sent us this shit.
* Mormonism #2: This shit is going to happen again.
* Wiccan: An it harm none, let shit happen.
* Scientology: If shit happens, see “Dianetics”, p.157.
* Jehovah’s Witnesses: >Knock< >Knock< Shit happens.
* Jehovah’s Witnesses #2: May we have a moment of your time to show you some of our shit?
* Jehovah’s Witnesses #3: Shit has been prophesied and is imminent; only the righteous shall survive its happening.
* Moonies: Only really happy shit happens.
* Hare Krishna: Shit happens, rama rama.
* Rastafarianism: Let’s smoke this shit!
* Zoroastrianism: Shit happens half on the time.

* Church of SubGenius: BoB shits.
* Practical: Deal with shit one day at a time.
* Agnostic: Shit might have happened; then again, maybe not.
* Agnostic #2: Did someone shit?
* Agnostic #3: What is this shit?
* Satanism: SNEPPAH TIHS.
* Atheism: What shit?
* Atheism #2: I can’t believe this shit!
* Nihilism: No shit.
* And of course we must add…Alcoholics Anonymous: Shit happens-one day at a time!

Bullshit Is Not Much Of A Policy And It's Damned Sure Not A Cure

People need to take a deep breath and relax. I know its hard to do, but there's some things that are just beyond the pale, even for politicians, and I am especially ashamed of Fred Thompson, who was actually my second choice for President during the last election cycle, behind Giuliani (and he actually quickly became my favored choice).

Yet, the nonsense being promoted by him and others, such as Rush Limbaugh, claiming that a new government medical policy would pressure senior citizens to opt to end their lives by denying themselves nutrition and hydration is just nuts. Never mind the idea that Democrats might or might not support such an idea. The plain fact of the matter is, it would be politically insane to promote such a policy, even behind the scenes in a small item buried in thousands of pages.

For another thing, no doctor or hospital would put up with that. In fact, not only would it be against the Hippocratic Oath, it would be going against their own financial best interests. It just doesn't make any sense.

There is one potential problem with senior care if the bill were to pass as is, but it revolves more around a one-size fits all approach to elderly care, especially regarding plans to establish government financed homes that would be staffed mostly by nurses. Of course, it might well turn into a bureaucratic nightmare, and probably would at the least be inefficient and expensive. But that's a far cry from an insane plot to knock off old people to save money. So unless there's something specific that might lead to such a policy, or encourage it in any way, conservatives need to tread lightly. There is such thing as political backlash. I would think they would not need me to remind them of such lessons they have already been taught numerous times just over the course of the last decade.

Besides, how bad can government run health care be? I have my own two ways of looking at it. Either it ends up pretty good, or with mixed results, in which case it can always be improved upon over time. Or, it can be a failure to one degree or another, in which case it can be revisited with a better set of policies once it contributes to a return to power of Republicans. But at least the groundwork is being set down, whatever the case.

I would prefer to see a system where doctors are relieved of their debts and insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are not taxed, though still subjected to reasonable state regulations with federal oversight. Those things in itself would do more to reduce the cost of health care than anything currently on the table. As for reducing the level of bureaucracy that also adds to the expense, that would be a given. It would have to be reduced to make up the difference in lost tax revenue. Government would reform the medical system by getting out of it while expecting results. If the pharmaceutical and insurance companies, for example, don't keep prices low, or reasonable, there are always price-gouging and other such laws, and there can still be assistance for the disabled, elderly, and poor.

In fact, if businesses in general were not taxed, while all individuals were taxed at any equal rate-with no end of the year tax refunds for anyone-then over time the majority of our tax and economic problems would wither away, provided there was an understanding that minimum wage would have to be raised and certain regulations would have to remain in place, while certain others should be loosened or abandoned all together.

That is the kind of thing Republicans and conservatives need to promote. Leave the horror stories around the campfires and come back down to earth for a while.