Month: June 2012

From PZ Myers’ address to the Australian Atheists in 2012

Science has the power to transform our sense of identity. Some of us are no longer people of the Word. We are no longer members of a special tribe bound together by the words in quaint old books. We are instead the people of reality. We are united by common knowledge, by our sense of universality, and by a commitment to evidence…. The words of my people, of our people, are written in the strands of DNA I find in every cell of my body and the story they tell is clear and inspiring. We are all products of the natural world. Stars died to create the elements we are made of and four billion years of churning life struggled and was born and died to shape us. We are close kin to every human being on this planet, without exception. There is no tribe outside our family and, even deeper, we are related to every living thing on earth. You simply cannot get any more universal than the scientific story of life.

I transcribed this from the video.  Wording is close but not guaranteed to be exactly as he spoke it.

Sunday sundae

Taught myself a dodge for the Em chord so I can now play Uplift, which blew Paul away when I played it for him.  Also taught myself (not that it was hard) the Sublime version of By the Rivers of Babylon.  In the morning, going to pick up Carol for church (her family no longer has access to a car), being publicly humiliated in church and shrugging it off, breaking down in tears lighting a candle for Voyager which is currently on the edge of the heliopause.  Then the new minister’s sermon, which totally included the kids in a useful and intelligent way (wow, for that!!) Then the father’s day picnic, which took place indoors and I’m just as happy about that because I brought no chairs.  Then I remembered to grab something so it isn’t left in the church over the summer.  Then Paul volunteered to drive Carol home and Kathleen volunteered to close (Sue opened) and THAT’S IT FOR THE SUMMER.  Woot.  Then made some food and allowed Paul to bbq some salmon, which was just about perfect, and then met Katie’s beau. I had seen a pic but in person he is strikingly handsome (also unstupid, manners, you know the little things – and brave like hell for facing down our collection of wackos all in one go).  Enough said about all that; let’s just say that he proved to be very food positive and has a large capacity to eat salmon. Then called D. to ask about commercial kitchens – I’ll be setting up a meet with somebody this week.

Now to boring matters like my to do list.  Vacation’s over…..

Casa Shadd

So yesterday around noon Cindy called and after a long phone call I thought screw this noise, I want to catch up in person.  So I drove to her place in the pissing pouring rain and then we sang and played and then we walked to Tops Restaurant where we consumed the specials and Cindy ordered blue Jello.  (MANGATORY SGA REFERENCE!!) I took pics, I was so charmed, but I’m not gonna post them.

Then we sang and played some more.  When I got home Jeff was five minutes into the Tintin movie WHICH WAS AWESOME. no srsly.

Today, looks like it may clear up enough for a pick-a-nick at church and then I’m doing supper for Father’s Day for Paul. The new minister preaches today for the first time so we’re trying to pack the hall, so I’m going to go pick up Carol around 10.  The ever awesome Sue heard that I was doing that and said, “Oh I have to be early for choir anyway I’ll open church!” and I coulda kissed her for that.

Dandy Warhols

They performed most, if not all of my fave songs from Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia and it was a great show.  Checking history, we last saw them almost exactly four years ago.  It’s weird going to a show and not drinking.

 

Brief update

I got a good night’s sleep, the proximate cause of Teh Sad is dealt with although the sequelae will continue to reverberate, and I’m going to the Dandy Warhols tonight at the Commodore.  …. after almost ten years of threats I am  writing the script for the first episode of Midnite Moving Co.  I am enjoying Celtx as a scriptwriting tool.  You type like a mofo and it does all the formatting.

Margot and Eddie are getting along better than they ever have.  Sometimes they just look at each other.  Sometimes they jump up for side-by-side scritches.

My FoodSafe cert arrived yesterday.  Board meeting went well.

Back in school

Man, school is so much easier to take when you’re only doing it one day at a time.

Anyway, today was a seminar on starting your own business.  The level of detail and the pace of delivery were such that I only fell into the grip of boredom (and it was fuelled by lunch of course) the once in the midafternoon.  The rest of the time I played class clown in that highly irritating and ludicrous manner which irks Jeff on the occasions I uncork it around him. My idea of a good time is heckling Brian Eno and Cory Doctorow, although I’ve never gotten to do both in one day.  Anyway it was a great seminar and my brain is boiling like Nyiragongo’s lava pit.

Today is the day I should have mowed the lawn.

My mobility has rather surprisingly gone back to being really bad.  My knees hurt. Walking around downtown hurt.

Two of the people attending the seminar were people I knew.  One of them I hadn’t seen in 10 years; she had not gained a pound despite having childer and had not visibly aged.  Seriously.  I was charmed for her but had to resort to the time honored escape of itemizing to myself the one aspect of my appearance which was marginally better than hers by the standards of this cruel nasty culture.  I like to think I’m superior to other people, but all I am is more skilled.

My to do list just expanded by an unknown number of items.  As soon as I hit the little teal Publish button, I’m off to add the items/projects on the list.  And then, into the arms of George Illes, the rattiest of ratbastards, the meanest kind man or the kindest mean man who ever lived, and who is not alive, and who is not a man.

More Katie

Spent a little time with Katie yesterday; we went out for pho and I brought her back here to get the last of her items out of the house.  At this point any of her debris field remaining is now good to go to the recycling.

Today, clean kitchen, run laundry, go to church.  Then maybe some practicing.

It was lovely to see Peggy and the Bean the other day. He is a busy boy.