I generally like to translate WWJD as Why Waste Jack Daniels - but this news clip got a belly laugh.
Oddly enough, with 80 people going at each other with brooms and stones, the article says that only 4 people were slightly wounded. - It must be a miracle! (or the priests are real wimps).
In 1998, I worked for TDS in Middleton Wisconsin. It was approaching Christmas time and many people on the floor were decorating their cubicles with some holiday touches. By this time in my life I had long given up being Christian, or Wiccan, or anything approaching a religion. I still did the presents thing for my family, but Xmas seemed to fall during the time of year that I had the least amount of free money. I still agreed to go along with the "secret Santa" that the support division was doing. I decorated my name plate with a Dr Seuss Grinch, and hung a Mr. Hankey in my cube.
Some of the women on my team wanted to do a cookie exchange - but I told them to count me out, since I lived alone and wouldn't have any use for 6 dozen assorted Christmas cookies. When Deb decided it was time to stroll around the cubicles singing Christian Christmas hymns they really had a hard time taking No for an answer. I told them I wasn't Christian, I didn't celebrate Xmas, and I really didn't think it was appropriate to be singing hymns at work. They eventually moved on, but after the first of the year I was called to a meeting with Kathy - my supervisor, Lori - the division head, and Chris from Human Resources about my making the Christians uncomfortable.
It's already xmas eve. I'm thinking of a ham tonight. I saw this video on one of the blogs I read, but I can't remember which one or I'd give kudos.
Enjoy.
3 c finely crushed graham crackers
2 c powdered sugar
1 c finely chopped pecans
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 c light Bicardi rum
1/4 c light corn syrup
granulated or powdered sugar to roll the balls in
Mix crushed crackers, powdered sugar, pecans and cocoa. Dissolved corn syrup in rum and stir into dry mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Cover tightly and refrigerate for several days. (the cookies are a lot smoother after resting for a few days - try to make about a week before serving.)
Variations
graham cracker - vanilla wafers, shortbread cookies
(or crushed oreo cookies instead of the crackers and cocoa)
pecans - walnuts
Almost every year around this time I make rum balls. They're not the type of cookie everyone makes, but they go over really well. There are a number of different ways to make them. The base for my recipe is pecans (but you can use walnuts, hazelnuts, etc) and graham crackers (but some use vanilla wafers, and I've used crushed Oreo cookies with excellent results).
I've only had a little trouble finding the right ingredients here in Australia (they call molasses "treacle", and they don't sell stuffing croutons). Powdered sugar is called caster sugar - you generally throw some in the mix with light corn syrup for the sweetness. You can roll them in powdered sugar, raw sugar, cinnamon sugar, etc. Since the recipe I'm trying this year only calls for only a little light corn syrup, I gave up looking for it after awhile and I'll just use some golden syrup (made with cane sugar). Pecans were somewhat hard to find; they had one brand off to the side of their nut selection. I know you can use other nuts, but for me, the pecans are they only type I'd ever use.
Biscuits are what Australians call cookies, and crackers. Crackers are savoury biscuits, cookies are sweet biscuits... I guess regular biscuits are called rolls. So I was in the biscuit isle looking for graham crackers and not having much luck. There were 2 women restocking so I enlisted their aid. Neither had heard of them, or rum balls. One eventually thought that she'd tried s'mores, but couldn't think what sort of cookie (er.. biscuit) she'd had. They thought Vanilla Wafers were the wafer cookie with vanilla cream. I eventually just went with a biscuit that is commonly dipped in coffee.
I also picked up what I'd need for gingersnaps and chunky choc jam bars. Tis the season!
Does this make me jaded? When I saw this article, I immediately thought that becoming an "ex-gay" would be the perfect new-years-resolution diet plan!
"Stabile said his earnings were barely enough to pay his $150 weekly rent at Pure Life, plus laundry, food and transportation expenses. As a result, he lost three pant sizes in the time he was there."
(btw - Dr. McSteamy, Eric Dane has nothing to do with the article, or ex-gays, or even diet plans. He just looked like he was eating healthy).
Most 'out' glbt-s already know what a scam the "ex-gay" movement is. It markets mainly to parents/family of the gay person - playing off the false hope that their child is just going thru a phase and if they prayer real hard to Jesus, they will become miraculously heterosexual. For those that are bullied enough by their "faith" to try, generally spend tens of thousands of dollars and, at best, become emotionally neutered celibates. (with the marked exception of those pulling in a comfortable salary).
A person can live in denial for a long time. I've known several gay men who have married, usually with subsequent children. Every one that I've met, knew that they were gay before they got married - at least they admit they were attracted to other men. But be it fear of HIV, or condemnation from their church, or just a rejection of what they were told about "the gay community" before coming out; they decided they would force themselves straight with their will. Over the years they end up living double lives. Often, they eventually come out. Sometimes, the friendship they've built over the years is strong enough to survive the change.
I have an "ex-gay" story. I had just started volunteering at a g/l support phone line. A fellow volunteer was in the office with me when a frail looking young man with an unfortunate hairline walked in. I asked if I could help him find anything (we had books and pamphlets laying out for people that dropped in). He said no, he was just curious. He wasn't gay - he used to be, but he overcame it through Jesus Christ our lord. ... I broke out laughing. I thought he must be joking. Even as a (then) Christian, I'd never heard anything so preposterous. The chatting died off pretty quickly once I realized he was serious. He took a few pamphlets, although I've always wondered if he were really Ex, why would he need them?
I ask myself... if they're really "ex-gay", why aren't they simply straight? How ridiculous would it be for someone to form an "ex-heterosexual" group?
With the sunny weather in Australia, it's hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit - which is good, because when I lived in the US, the constant barrage of carols, Jesus, decorations that lit up the neighbourhoods day and night, Jesus, shopping crunches in shoulder-to-shoulder crowded stores, Jesus, bell ringing; it all became rather unpleasant.
I was thinking of baking cookies this year, but John's work basically shuts down between winter solstice and New Year's so there wouldn't be anyone to help eat them. (although I may make these anyway). We have a small box of ornaments that we brought from the States, but we don't have anything to hang them on. I'll probably make a traditional holiday dinner, like I did for Thanksgiving day. The leftovers will save me from cooking for a couple days after.
I've had a few friends from the States ask for our mailing address - I'm assuming it's so they can send us holiday cards. Now that we don't celebrate xmas, I'm finding that I'm enjoying the season for the first time in years.
Over at Pam's House Blend they had a funny post satirizing the efforts of the religious nutjobs in the US to force everyone to have a Christian-only holiday (even you are Jewish, Muslim, atheist, etc). My favourites:
see a manger display? Get a bunch of "it's a girl" balloons and tie them to the hands of the wise men. You can also tie them to the crib and tie a pink bow to the baby's head;
bumper sticker your car: there are some great bumper stickers available form our shop: "Remember the Solstice!" and "12-21: not just a palindrome" are two of our best sellers. But be sure to not stick to just bumper stickering your own vehicles. Be sure to bumper other peoples' cars as well. Best to do this late at night so they drive around with our message of hope and peace for hours before they find out;
sabotage events supporting other holidays that exclude the Solstice: get a job as a mall Santa and eat lots of cabbage and beans before your shift. If anyone asks, blame it on the elves;
Anyone that voted for this after vowing to uphold the Constitution of the United States (including the 1st Amendment) should be booted out of Congress.
Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
When I was at the doc's the other day, the receptionist asked me if it was true that people couldn't even wish each other Merry Christmas in the US anymore. I told her those were just lies by those who make money convincing idiots that an 80% majority is facing constant persecution by (insert flavour of the week: atheist, homos, feminists, Jews, science, etc).
I sometimes wonder what separates us from the other animals on the planet. Growing up, I was told that only humans have souls and that a god gave us dominion over all the animals. I was told that only humans used tools, only humans felt emotions. As we've learned more about animals, we've seen them use tools, use language, laugh and cry.
(Thanks to Nate)
I took a few pictures from around the yard.
This flower grows on a plant that seems almost more a shrub than a vine, but it climbs up this tree. It's on the fence that runs between our house and the cult next door. It makes it easier to smile when looking in that direction. I think they've finally stopped coming over to talk to us about their god. We know where you are, if we have any questions we'll come to you.
This cluster of flowers is right out the front door. (I suppose I could have pulled the deadheads out before taking the picture). I really like the colour. While this is the time of year that it has the most blooms, it seems to have some colour for most of the year.
John tells me he never noticed cicadas back in Wisconsin and was disgusted when he first saw the husks that they leave as they grow.
When I was a kid we used to play with the husks, as they will stick to just about any non-smooth surface. These are on a eucalyptus tree in the backyard that has recently shed it's bark.
(from Wikipedia)
It's been a little while since I've posted a picture of the dogs.
Taz loves to sleep under the bed. I'm not sure if he thinks this is as close to us as he can get without being able to get on the bed, or if he feels he's safe from being stepped on when we stumble out of bed.
Oz will sleep against the bedside table of whoever is closest to the edge of the bed. He also enjoys taking naps under the TV stand. I think I'll be taking him to the vet in a few days to do the follow-up tests on his hormone levels.
The dog's diet seems to be working - I have them on a set amount of food a day and so far they aren't getting greedy with their food dishes. The vet won't be happy with how much weight Oz has gained.
I guess this video has been seen on YouTube close to 10 million times, but it was new to me. (this is a version with music, the original had over a million hits within the first 2 weeks of being posted). More on the otters with this new report.
One of the more trivial changes when moving 1/2 way around the world is the change in your TV lineups. There are some US shows that are shown here almost as quickly as in the US (one station even promotes how quickly they can fast track the shows). Sometimes they're brought over after they've proven themselves in the US. Some even try to pawn themselves off as new when one of their actors has a bump in popularity even though the show was cancelled a few years back in the States.
I really loved Dexter before we moved and was hoping we'd get to see it again. The movie channels here generally show movies. (In the US - HBO, Showtime, etc also have a lot of original series on their channels that are shown on regular TV in Australia - like Weeds, Queer as Folk, L-word, Oz). Thursday night we got to see the first couple episodes of Dexter (they're finishing season 2 in the US). Showtime has a new channel on Foxtel for their series ... and more movies that for some reason they don't show on their other movie channels.
Psych has just started on Channel 10 - the first 2 seasons were great when we saw them in the US. Now Sci Fi channel just needs to bring Eureka over.
A while back I had a Sunday Blasphemy about Kathy Griffin's "Suck it Jesus" comment at the Emmy's that got the Catholic "League" so upset. (Kathy Griffin and Erik Rhodes are the most popular Google searches that bring people to my blog). Here, Kathy responds to the "controversy".
I woke up the last few days feeling really hungover - which is really odd since I don't drink. After talking about it with a friend, we figured out it must be the ami. At first is dried out my contacts, now it's drying out my sinuses. I'm adjusting ok, this morning I woke up without a headache. Dry mouth is an extremely common side effect. I'm having more good hours, so it's helping.
When John got home from work today, he decided it was time to move the bimmer. The guy in the granny flat had mentioned to the property manager that it was difficult to mow with it there. (I figured where it was would make it easier for him and others to do a y-turn before pulling out of the lot). With a flat tire, it was hard to roll. I tried to help as much as I could - I'm glad I still had a couple oxycodone left (they're the faster acting, smaller dose). I'm sure I'll be sleeping a lot tomorrow.
John will be travelling some this month. Work will take him back to the States for a little while in California and then off to Hong Kong. I'll have to try to make real food instead of just eating Sultana (raisin) Bran and yogurt while he's gone.
I really hate it when the fundies say that the gay agenda is "shoved down your throat". Simply demanding that we're allowed the same rights is somehow an invasion of their personal space. They're weird...
