Archive for the ‘Just Ranting’ Category

Rants don’t get you anywhere

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

My favorite rant generally involves either my adult daugther who lives with me or my gentle, soulmate, spouse. Of course neither really deserves a rant, but I just rant away anyway. Most of my rants are perfectly logical and shouldn’t be considered offensive. For example, the other day I was ranting at no one in particular about the book I am reading by Brian McLaren. Not even him, just one of his ideas. It had to do with this notion of his that this new emergent church would be solely focused on the teaching of Jesus. Hah, not entirely, I ranted. What about the Holy Spirit that Phyllis Tickle says is driving the emergent church movement? Did you forget alll about that McLaren? And what about the Internet aspect of all this emergent church stuff. You have this suicide machine, and Phyllis has some emerging church that can only be explained by what it isn’t. So what does that mean??? Splain yourself.

Well, my rant fell on deaf ears because my daughter doesn’t care and my soulmate cares but he went to sleep. I am ranting by myself, to myself, and actually making no sense. Who cares about this little blog by an edgy crone trying to get her point across. Okay, maybe it’s too much to swallow at one time, but when I look at all the things I rant about most of them really don’t get me anywhere. So, if no one is listening, is it really a rant? Sad as that sounds it it the honest truth. Rants don’t get you respect, or dignity, or trust, or even a hangnail. Rants are simply useless in the great scheme of human life.

I mean, have you ever heard any one say, I need a good dose of ranting today in order to be fulfilled? Hardly. No one says, Now be a good girl and go home and get your rants done. Oh, well, as depressing as it is I will hereafter avow to keep all of my rants simple, short, and somethng others can get a handle on and maybe even join me rant. I just hate to rant alone. Although I do think rants are somewhat purifying when you get a really good one going, it is much more fun when one has another at which to rant, or even simply rant with. I’ll go wake up my spouse. He’ll understand.

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I don’t understand

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

There are just some things in this world that I don’t understand. Probably never will, but upon occasion I do try. For example, why do we have computer hackers whose only motivation seems to mess up corporations and people’s lives? Are they somehow our 21st century version of a serial killer, bent on getting pleasure from taking away our cyber-life in huge numbers? I don’t understand the motivation.

Other things I don’t understand is why do I wake up alert and enegized one day and the next day can barely force myself out of bed? It is the same body day in and day out. Maybe it is what I eat. Guess I’ll have to take a look at that. Maybe it is what I drink, although I do know the difference between a hangover and just getting up to pee more times in any given night which robs me of sleep. And, maybe it isn’t any of those things. Maybe my particular body chemistry just gets up in the morning and says, “I’m going to be slow today.” I don’t understand all that biochemical stuff.

I also don’t understand why our congressional representation can’t put aside all of this “pork barrel” mentality and ask the question: Is this good for the entire country? And, what is all this lets make a deal mentality. It makes them sound like a bunch of idiots who are convinced they can get away with trading a vote for a bridge or an exemption from a law. What are they thinking? Or maybe they aren’t thinking at all. I don’t understand why we don’t go out and vote and stop this nonsense. Maybe because there is no one for whom to vote? Come on, there must be an honest, capable candidate somewhere. Maybe they are just smart enough not to run. Look at the moderates leaving congressional service. Sad.

It is patently obvious to me that there are people like Sarah Palin who obviously don’t think. I do love that she is getting more exposure however, as then we will understand how ill equipped she is to handle the Presidency. I don’t understand how she thinks she can! Sounds to me like a, Oh sure, I’ll jump off the bridge and maybe I won’t hurt myself mentality!

I guess I don’t understand a lot of things that seem obvious to me but, not to others. Probably never will. Guess I’ll just have to keep asking the question – Can someone please explain to me (fill in the blank). And then, I’ll probably not understand why they don’t understand that I don’t understand. Sigh.

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Passwords

Monday, January 11th, 2010

When I was growing up the word “Password” was something boys used to keep girls out of tree houses and it was always secret “What’s the secret password” they would ask. Of course, we never knew. Somehow girls that I knew were never into passwords.

Then somewhere after WWII a game called “Passwords” was invented and was not only a board game, but was on television and was hosted by Allen Lud something, Betty White’s husband. It was a word game and I watched it regularly since I am really into word games. I loved all of them, Scrabble ®, Upwards ®, crosswords, cryptograms, anything to do with words. 

But today, passwords are everywhere on the internet. You can’t do anything without a password.   I started out with one password and used it for everything. It was simple, a six letter word, and more importantly, I could remember it. Well, then some idiot decided that passwords should also have a number and letters associated with it. Okay, a little more complicated, but hey, I had a birthday number and I could use that or some part of it anyway. And, the really neat part was that I could use anyone’s birthday or even a made up birthday like 996654.

Well, that didn’t last very long since I couldn’t remember a made up birthday. Now they rate your password easy, medium, difficult, really difficult, hard to crack, impossible to crack. And, the more complicated the better. Suggestions ranged from using @ for “A” or $ for “S” or 0 for “O” and any number of other weird symbols like > or * or ~. This is all well and good, but again, how am I suppose to remember all of this gibberish.

Finally, I decided to use the name of the company or site I was visiting like Google or Facebook or Garmin or Amazon with some combination of numbers. At first I did that with only two numbers. That wasn’t difficult enough. So, I added two more numbers and had four numbers. Then I decided to make the first letter a capital letter. Well, the result is that now I have two pages of passwords written down that I have to keep glued to my right arm so I can refer to it every time I access any internet site. I am near ready to go back to my simple first password and say the hell with it, let them hack into my account. I don’t have any money for them to steal and my Facebook profile reveals most of my personal life. Who cares about an old crone’s life anyway?

Now they’ve also come up with a “User ID” to go along with your “Password.” Oh, God, please spare me. This may just drive me back to pen and paper and paper encyclopedias and dictionaries. I may even resurrect my old manual typewriter and never ever mention the word “Cyber” anything again! But then, I really do like to blog…..

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Christmas Has to End

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Christmas is my favorite holiday, bar none.  My grandmother always told me that giving gifts to others at Christmas was our way of giving gifts to Jesus to honor his birthday.  I loved that idea.  After Thanksgiving, I always sit down with the list of people I want to gift and then shop to get the best gifts for my loved ones that I can.  For those I don’t get actual gifts we give flocks of chickens, or complete bee hives, or save acres of tropical forest.  I want Jesus to be pleased with my gifts in his name.

 House and tree decorating occurs shortly before Christmas.  A little grog, a little tinsel on the tree, a little grog, an ornament or two carefully placed on the most beautiful tree we could find in the forest (or more recently in the storage unit).  And, if a little snow drifts down as we decorate, it only adds to the mystery and enchantment of the event.  The stocking gifts are put out the night before Christmas for we know that we are playing Saint Nicholas.

 And, on Christmas morning all is magical and the living room glows with the tiny lights on the tree as sleepy children (okay, grown up children now) wander in wide-eyed at the mystical sight of gifts, and lights, and tree, and fairy dust, anxiously waiting to find their own gifts and see what St. Nick has left for them.  Us grown-ups sip coffee and watch the birthday celebration.  Then off to church to give thanks and celebrate a holy feast day.  Later, food and wine and friends come for the feast and by the end of the day everyone knows that Jesus has been honored and feted on his birthday! 

 But today?  Christmas starts in September in stores and ads and circulars.  Some stores and homes put out the Christmas trees and lights before Hallow’een or Thanksgiving.  Stores have “Christmas Sales” in the beginning of October and favorite items are sold out in a few weeks.  Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is one horrendous mess of manic people camping out in front of stores at 4:00 a.m. to grab the best merchandise for the lowest price.  The commercialism is an abortion of a Christian holy day.  It makes my heart ache.

 And, so, I say, Christmas as it exists today has to end.  Jesus is not pleased.  People are not pleased.  Non-Christians are making a laughing stock of Christmas by making it something it isn’t.  Let them call it “Splurgemas,” or “Shopping Spree Months,” or “Spend more than I make,” or anything but “Christmas.”  Actually, in ancient times the non-Christians celebrated the winter solstice which occurred anytime between December 17th and the 23rd and it was called “Saturnalia” and “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.”  Good idea.

 I think we have mixed up and confused the two festivals.  We should separate them.  It wouldn’t be a new concept since we already recognize Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  It works for me.  Christmas is a Christian holy day and Christians should go back to the simplicity of yesteryear, to treat it with the holiness it deserves.

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JUST

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Just.  There is just something about that word that captures the imagination of my soul and I find it popping up time and time again in my musings.  I have a category called “Just Ranting.”  I have written two blogs with the word “just” in the title – well, now three.  And, I haven’t even attempted to count how many times I simply used the word within either my blog or my Facebook status or just about anything I write.  I could even tweet “just” on Twitter 35 times without spaces.

 Just.  This fascination with that word calls for some serious research.  Off to Merriam Webster or maybe Google or Bing or Roget’s Thesaurus.  Let’s just see what turns up.  (Pause).  OMG!  There are at least  four Bible print pages defining or discussing the word “just.”  I just learned that the word “just” is either an adjective or an adverb and I generally use it as the latter.  As an adverb it can mean any of the following:  precisely, exactly, at the particular moment, by a narrow margin, barely, at a little distance, merely, only, simply, absolutely, perhaps, and possibly.  An amazing number of definitions for such a short word.  No wonder I use it so much.

 Just.  I only thought that the French had idioms but, I find that there are some “just” idioms like “Just about,” “Just now,” “Just then,” and “Just the same.”  I even think “Just so you know” might also qualify.

 Just.  As an adjective however, we should not just be using that word more often but, behaving that way as well.  It is the one that has some real meaning and some real depth.  “Just” means to be honorable and fair in one’s dealings and actions.  “Just” means to be consistent with what is ethically and morally right – in other words to be righteous.  “Just” means that something is properly due to you or merited; earned.  “Just” means within the law or lawful – something we seem to lose sight of from time to time.  “Just” means to be suitable or proper in nature; fitting.  Emily Post has turned over in her grave many times about our manners and ability to be proper.  Finally, “just” means that something is reasonable or well-founded.  If our society were more able to be just, to find justice, and to live together as just people, respecting the dignity of every human being, we might just be a better community of people.  I learned too that there are not only the “just” in this world, but there are also the “unjust.”  But that’s just another Blog!  Enough for now.

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Just Around the Corner

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

It is mid-October.  Labor day is only six weeks behind us and Halloween is still two weeks away.  So why did the nightly news commentator just say, “Christmas is just around the corner.”  What corner?  We still have two major holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving, to celebrate before most people will even begin to shop for Christmas.  And let us not forget the Jewish and Muslim holidays either.  And there are also Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day that we almost totally ignore.  I even saw a completely decorated Christmas tree in a local variety store in September!  And to add insult to injury when I went looking in my cabinet for a nice dinner music CD to play for guests, the first eight titles I found were Christmas music.  I just can’t take it anymore.

 It used to be an aberration when Christmas decorations were put out before Thanksgiving.  Department stores reluctantly waited until the day after Thanksgiving to pull out the Christmas duds, decorate store windows and dress up a roly-poly bearded man in a red suit to wander the aisles and terrify young children with a well placed Ho Ho Ho.  That I could tolerate.  It was at least sequential along the timeline march to the birth of Christ and then entrance into the new year.

 In our house we didn’t even put up the Christmas tree until the night before Christmas.  The gifts were skillfully hidden throughout the house with the hopes that a curious child wouldn’t find them.  And then, ah, the wonder and awe when sleepy-eyed babes wandered into the living room to see the shining tree, the alluring array of delightful gifts, and the empty glass of milk and missing cookies – a sure sign that Santa had been there.  It was magical.  Jesus was mystical and the celebration of his birth was a holiday anticipated for 364 days a year.

But now, commercialism has won.  Year-round Christmas Shoppes are in almost every town.  Newspapers advertise Christmas items as early as August and, perhaps with the exception of Halloween, all other holidays simply fade into the woodwork.  Halloween has become the counter holiday to Christmas.  Celebrated by pagans around bonfires and under full-moons with chants and dances to a variety of gods and goddesses.  Christians celebrate Christmas at candle-lit Christmas Eve services and decorated evergreen trees bountiful with gifts under them and tables groaning with yummy food.  We seem, however, to forget the birthday cake.  And, I often wonder if we haven’t forgotten whose birthday it is anyway.  Or if it is even a birthday at all, but rather a free-for-all gift exchange.

Maybe it’s just that I am seventy and not caught up with the way we do things these days.  But then again, maybe I’m right.  And while the pagans have Halloween, the Jewish Hanukkah, the Muslims Ramadan, and the Christians Christmas, I still think we ought to celebrate them in sequence whatever our faith so that “just around the corner,” really is just around the corner.

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What is scary about blogs

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

 It has only been five days since I started this blog and already I have this scary feeling that I will never be able to keep up.  I have always considered myself a woman never at a loss for words and I am certain that my friends would agree.  But….all of a sudden I am sitting here staring at my computer screen and feeling helpless – no words, no topics, just blank!  In my mind writing a blog would be fun.  I have so many things rattling around in my head I thought it would be easy to drop them onto the page.  Well, I have found it isn’t that easy, it’s scary.

I read somewhere that if you start a blog you really should write something on it regularly.  Like, I guess, maybe every other day, twice a week?  Once a week?  It is scary thinking that at least once a week you have to write.  That is very different from just writing whenever you want to, or feel like it, or are super inspired.  It feels like a deadline.  Pressure.  Tension.  Stress.  I must pray harder that I’ll even remember to write something – once a week – maybe twice a week.

And then, there is this sense of failure.  I hate thinking I have failed at something.  That is scary.  We are raised to be successful.  I mean, your parents (well, at least mine) didn’t make a habit of telling you that they are so proud of you for being such a failure at ….you fill in the blanks.  So, if I don’t make a deadline, can’t think of something to write, I have failed.  Scary.  Sad.

Finally, there are those 500 words.  What if I don’t have 500 words?  What if I write more?  Well, God bless daughters – mine just told me I didn’t have to write all 500 words.  Amen, amen!  And, maybe you’ll forgive me if I go over 500 words – once it a while?  Thanks and Peace!

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