In a little under a week, the husband and I will be getting on an airplane and flying down to Florida. Normally, I would be worried about the flight itself. I don’t like to fly. I don’t like the idea that if, all the gods forbid, something were to happen, I would be aware I was on my way to a fiery death for an unacceptably long period of time. There is also all that turbulence; the bumping, jumping and terribly sudden drops that makes you wonder if humankind really was meant to fly. All of these “legitimate concerns” are…
-
-
Day eight and I’m still remembering to post. Will wonders never cease? Today’s NaBloPoMo prompt is: Has anything traumatic ever happened to you? Describe the scenes surrounding a particular event. I gave this a pretty good think when I saw the prompt this morning. A few things came to mind: giving birth, when my husband was laid off, a friend getting lost in the woods and dying when I was very young (read about Andy here). The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that I have had a very lucky and very safe life. Believe…
-
Day four of NaBloPoMo, and not all is well here at the Pond. And, conveniently enough, it has something in common with today’s prompt: When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer? This is a harder question than you would think. I love to write on paper with a good pen, but I’m also involved in the never ending search for said good pen. I usually end up frustrated with the smeary ink, or the large size of the tip, or even the colour. I’m desperate to find a fine tipped, ball-point, purple ink…
-
Recently Ipsos Reid conducted a survey that asked people around the world if they thought religion is a force for good. Admittedly, it is a bit of vague question. My idea of good can be substantially different than your idea of good, just as my idea of what constitutes a religion can be different than your’s. Nonetheless, the results are very interesting. There are a lot of comments I could make about this data. However, I’ll limit my comments to the obvious difference between the opinions of Canadians and Americans. Truthfully, it is very gratifying to see that. We have…
-
Along the same lines of yesterday’s post is this video featuring James Randi, magician and skeptic extraordinaire. He as made it his life’s work to expose fraudulent “magical” practises. In the video below, he looks at how Uri Geller’s (psychic and Michael Jackson confidante) demonstrations can easily be duplicated by trickery. He also shows how Peter Popoff was able to know so much about the parishioners in his mega-church. I suppose some of you might be wondering how I can still believe in the occult when there is evidence around, like I’ve shown the past couple of days, that points…
-
While I do consider myself a student of the occult (a very lacks, and possibly failing student…), I am not a fan of TV psychics. I suspect that most of them are just really good at asking leading questions and reading body language. It turns out that Barbara Walters may be a bit of a sceptic too. Apparently, after his appearance on The View, medium James Van Praagh took Ms. Walters aside and said that he felt she had a problem with her blood and lower back. Ms. Walters proceeded to have herself checked out by doctors, and was given…
-
I live in Toronto, Canada’s largest and most culturally diverse city. One would guess, since the population is so varied, that this would be a very tolerant city. I would say it is. However, in turns out that it isn’t as tolerant as I thought. Ms. Stephanie Conover, winner of the Miss Canada Plus Pageant, had been asked to be one of the judges for the Miss Toronto Tourism Pageant (not affiliated with Toronto’s tourism branch). When she submitted her bio, she mentioned her hobbies: knitting, dancing, reiki and Tarot reading. Well, hold the phone! Miss Toronto Tourism doesn’t want…
-
The other weekend I read The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. On the surface, it seems like this would be an odd choice for a Pagan, but I found it very interesting. Maybe that was because I am fascinated by all religious practises, or maybe because A.J. Jacobs is a very funny writer. The book deals with Mr. Jacobs attempt to live by all, as in 700 some odd, rules in the Bible for a year. Some of them he tackles only once, like living in a hut in his living room, and others he tries to follow…
-
Generally speaking, I am fascinated by people who choose to follow their religion in a very fundamentalist way. That’s not to say that I agree with them, but I am always curious as to why they choose to follow the rules, often ancient and unsuited to the modern world, so closely. A. J. Jacobs, an author from New York, decided to live by all 700 rules outlined in the Christian Bible for a year. The result is the book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. The book is due…
-
American Wiccans realized a rather large victory yesterday, over a very small symbol. Wiccan soldiers can now have the pentacle on their headstones, thanks to a settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Read more at CNN.) The “Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers” page on the Veterans Affairs website has already been updated with the addition. In all honesty, as a Canadian, I haven’t been following this whole situation too closely. I have always understood the gist of it, but I never really understood why it was an issue. By that I…