Free Shit Friday - Variety Pack, Part Whatever

I have six jars of jam left from the Great Purge, since four of them gave up their lives for yesterday's Thanksgiving meal.

The remaining choices are:

- Raspberry Jalapeño
- Blueberry Lemonade
- Strawberry

Say which two you want in the comments, and hope for the best. 

The winner of last week's give-away is NeuronDoc with a random number of 2. Enjoy!

A Month of Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States.

Today is a day that's traditionally given over to turkey, stuffing, pie and other overindulges. And it's a time to give thanks for the things in our life for which we're grateful. And traditionally, I've taken the first full week of December and used it to write blog entries expressing my gratitude for the things in my life that make me happy. I've called it the Week of Gratitude, and I've always loved this exercise, as it provides me with perspective, and a way to let the people who have touched me the most how they've influenced me. It reminds me how lucky I am, and how much I love my life.

But this year…the last twelve months have been the absolute worst time of my life. There are very few things I can imagine that would have made it worse. And that’s why this year I’ve decided to extend my Week of Gratitude to a Month of Gratitude. For the month of December, I’ll find something each day to be grateful for. I’ll think about that gratitude, and make sure that the people who have made a difference in my life understand and are aware of their influence.

The reason I’m doubling down on this is somewhat hard to explain. I think, as my friend Jeri notes, that it has to do with finding a balance between integrating the memory and loss of my daughter into the fabric of my life, while resisting the urge to identify myself by that loss.

I recognize that I'll never be the same person I was before. My grief will remain with me, and will help to shape my life and my identity. As my friend Rivi explained, I'll never get over it, but I can get on with it. I'm trying to get on with it, and be defined by my gratitude, and my love.

Link Me Up, Scotty - Poverty, Joy and Service Edition

You may recall that I have a platonic crush on Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret), the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because he was the bomb-diggity when it came to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Well, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, he wrote an opinion column for the Washington Post entitled, At Gettysburg and today, no one who dies in service dies in vain. Required reading, shippies.
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The Atlantic on why poor people seem to make bad decisions on everything from school to finances. There's real insight in this research, as demonstrated by this fascinating commentary by a actual poor person trying to make ends meet.

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Eric Garland proves once again why he's my semi-celebrity platonic boyfriend with this essay on why he doesn't want anyone to buy him Christmas presents - ever. Word.

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Video of the Week: I love Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and I love flash mobs. Here's both of those things in one grin-inducing package, retrieved from the archives because I needed a pick-me-up:

Six things you may not know about me

So there's a Facebook meme going around where you're supposed to tell everyone some number of things that they don't already know about you. I've been resisting, because I'm not really sure my entire life isn't already out there in the ether, and I'm entirely unsure what else could be said without going into territory that could only be described as unseemly.

However, I've been bereft of topics to blog about lately, so in a classic move used by victims of writer's block the world over, I'm totally going to be derivative and trite by co-opting this meme for my own purposes.

Six things you may not know about me

1. I used to be an expert with a bullwhip. While I haven't practiced in years, I still own one, and I suspect I could refresh my skills in pretty short order.

2. I was selected to Chief Petty Officer during my eighth year in the U.S. Navy.

3. I was well into my forties before I recognized that my aversion to math was some sort of self-and-society induced fear. Math is beautiful, and I'm good at it.

4. After going to college off and on since 1985, I have 185 credits and no degree. In that time, I've gotten one "B," in Microbiology from the University of Hawai'i Mānoa.

5. I was recently selected to serve as a trustee on the Douglas County Library Board. I suspect I'll be assigned to the technology committee with all due haste, since professional technologists seldom want to volunteer in the field where they work. I don't mind, though. I love the library, my entire family loves the library, and I want to help them succeed. 

6. When I was a youngster, I often played with toys that were marketed to boys, such as that classic favorite, Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots. This was barely socially acceptable, but my parents always supported my choices.

There's One in Every State

You know, there's one in every state. Oftentimes, there's more than one. And at this moment, Colorado's "one" is raving douchecanoe Gordon "Chaps" Klingenschmitt, who is running for Colorado's General Assembly in, where else, Colorado Springs.

He's currently some sort of religious leader here in my fine state. And by "leader" I mean "homophobic, delusional lunatic who has completely lost his grip on reality." Don't believe me? He thinks the Affordable Care Act causes cancer.. And believes Supreme Court Justice Kennedy thinks Jesus is evil. And that the President is ruled by demons. And that demonic spirits inhabit track meet officials, transgendered professors and Madonna. And that gay people should be discriminated against. And that he can exorcise the gay right out of people. And that transgendered girls are visually "raping" other girls by using the female locker room in schools.

From a historical perspective, he graduated from the Air Force Academy, and subsequently served in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps. YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW MUCH THIS EMBARRASSES ME. REALLY, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. However, he was court-martialed for protesting outside the White House in his uniform, so at least someone was on the ball, even though ole "Chaps" claimed to be persecuted because of his Christian beliefs.*

The trope of Christians in the United States being "persecuted" for their beliefs really chaps** my ass (pun intended). Their so-called persecution is usually a simple matter of them being forced to give up their unearned privilege, rather than actually having their liberty, safety or lives threatened. Not. The. Same. Thing. Plus there's the whole majority versus minority issue.

I can only hope that the fine voters of Colorado Springs look at this dude, hold their nose, and vote for the other guy.


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*This is some seriously stupid shit, y'all. When you take the oath, you accept that there will be certain limitations on your right to free speech for as long as you wear the uniform. These limitations apply to everyone, and failing to abide by them - as you swore to do - means you violated your oath. There may be occasions where a person might choose to disobey orders as a matter of conscience. But it's bad form to whine like a little bitch when you're held accountable for doing so.

**Am I the only one who's puerile enough to look at this guy's nickname ("Dr. Chaps") and immediately visualize him actually wearing leather chaps with nothing underneath like you see so often in gay pride parades? Try getting THAT picture out of your mind. Hee.

Free Shit Friday - The Purge Continues

Dudes! I still have a case of jam left, so we're going to continue the purge until I thin some of this out.

This giveaway is for TWO jars of jam, mostly because I have some boxes that will only take two jars and I want to get rid of them.

Flavor choices:

* Peach Ginger
* Triple Berry
* Blueberry Lemonade
* Raspberry Jalapeño
* Strawberry

Put your preferences in the comments. 

The winner of last week's variety pack is Vince, with a random number of 13. Enjoy!

Link Me Up, Scotty -

A history of nurses who serve during wartime, in handy chart form. Nurses rawk.
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The Atlantic has some early entries from the annual National Geographic Photo Contest. My personal favorite: Fight.
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Terry Gross over at Fresh Air interviewed Allie Brosh, author of Hyperbole and a Half about her on-line presence, her new book, her crippling depression and her consideration of suicide. This interview was extremely painful for me. Allie described her state of mind at the worst time of her life, and the conjunction of her descriptions and the communications Moe left for us hit me like a punch in the gut.
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Video of the Week: Thug Notes with summary and analysis of the Bard's Macbeth. Because the classics matter, yo.