Did you know we're all bloodthirsty murderers?

Apparently that's a common belief among Canadians who don't believe normal, non-military folks should own firearms.

I shared this link with my Canadian friend over the weekend, suggesting that this might be part of the reason Chris and I would never consider hopping the border. He responded with a tirade, not only telling me it's a stupid reason not to leave the US, but telling me if I want guns so much, I should join the military, because that's the best way to murder people legally. We then moved into a debate of reality here vs reality there vs his perception of reality in either situation. I shared personal stories - a neighbor's house was repeatedly vandalized and robbed when I was a kid, and I was assaulted in my parents' backyard as an adult - which apparently shocked him, as he said nothing more to me.

Now, I know I struck a nerve, but dang...I never expected to be called a wannabe murderer by someone I consider a friend. I think it's sad he's so incapable (or unwilling) to see the gray area between relying solely on the police and wanting to kill every living human. I think it's equally sad many of the Brady bunch share his opinions.

Frankly, if I'm a murder and my guns horribly dangerous things, then both my firearms and I seem to be quite defective. No one has been hurt by my presence OR by being in the vicinity of one of my firearms.

New addition to the site!

I'd like to introduce a new writer here, Chris. He'll be writing about the various things that interest him, piss him off, or tickle his funnybone. Or, you know, whatever comes to mind.

Oh, and he's my sweetie. :)

Another reason why humans suck.

I have yet another reason why i'm terrified of having children.

Seriously, WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? How is it that one child was capable of ruling an entire classroom with terror AND managed to get away with this kind of behavior toward his classmates?

I didn't go to public school, so I honestly don't know...is this what it's like? is it really that bad?

Remember, folks...

When seconds count, the police are minutes away. It just so happens they were over a half hour away this time. Thankfully she didn't end up hurt, but seriously? Arm yourself against attackers. The police cannot and WILL NOT be there every time you need them.

The holidays...from a nonstandard point-of-view.

C and I talked a little last year about the holidays - I think he was trying to distract me from my grandfather passing away in early December - and we came to a conclusion about a few things.

Before I go into that, though, I should give a little background.
Both C and I were reared in the Catholic faith, and attended Catholic schools. We both began to question the teachings of the Church early - in my case, I was in middle school. I believe he began to question things earlier than that. I don't know anything further regarding his separation from the teachings of the Church, but I know my final separation came after 2000, the details of which I will discuss another time.

Anyway, long story short, neither C nor I attend church, follow any Christian rituals, or really believe in the whole "one god" approach to faith. We've been celebrating Christmas as a secular holiday, and focus on the family closeness, food, and giving of ourselves (in the form of gifts, time, etc). We try to avoid too much materialism, and attempt to keep the holiday somewhat understated in our home. He doesn’t really subscribe to any faith, as it were – he’s too logical for that. Me, on the other hand…I believe in the possibility of something greater, but not the idea of a monotheistic religion. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I've started to read more into the Druid faith - both current traditions, as well as what (limited) information is available of the ancient traditions. While I cannot say I'm a follower of this particular faith, I agree with some aspects of it. I continue to read about it as I get time, though I find time is a bit lacking of late. Chalk it up to working on getting more physical activity into my daily routine.

This year, I sortof celebrated the Solstice. I gave C a small gift and had a very small candle ceremony when I got up to see the eclipse (though I missed the eclipse itself). I expected it to feel silly, but it didn’t…it wasn’t anywhere near what I feel when I used to go through the motions at Mass.

Awhile back I asked what religions/faiths you follow, but I didn’t really get into it. I don’t know if it was merely a lack of desire to get into a discussion, or an outright aversion to it, but I’d like to talk about it now: what do you believe? Are you a member/follower of an organized religion? Are you a Buddhist? Pagan? Follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Just so everyone's aware...

Attempting to bathe a cat is about as easy as stuffing 4 ferrets in a box, one-by-one.




This attempt at levity brought to you by a very angry, damp feline who's doing his best to ignore the fact that he looks like a drowned rat.

I'm terrified of having children,

and this is why.

That letter makes me so ANGRY...not that Zeller never spoke up, but that his family allowed things to get that bad for him. He felt himself unworthy of help, unfixable, possibly because his family didn't care enough. He was such a hurt and broken soul, and while I cannot fault him for taking his own life, I wish he'd sought other options. It's possible he could have had help for it had he just opened up about the issue instead of burying it deep. Burying things like that just causes them to fester and prevents any possibility for healing.

I'm not afraid of losing someone I created as that possibility exists on a daily basis. I'm afraid of that someone being subjected to molestation, abuse, and the kind of pain that cannot be fixed with a band-aid and a cookie. There's no way I would be able to be there 24/7 - a child would have to go to school/friends' houses/the library/elsewhere on a regular basis, and I would have no control over what happens in those locations.

I know that C would like a child, and while I have never wanted children I would be willing to have a child with him...but I'm so very terrified of the risks. It seems like we can't trust ANYONE with our children.

Parents, how have you dealt with these fears? Have they simply never occurred to you or did you want children so badly you were willing to face those risks without fear?

I'm not going to discuss much about what happened in Arizona...

Aside from this:

What happened is disgusting, and should never have happened. The individual who is currently in custody regarding the shooting - assuming he is, in fact, the shooter - should be the one to blame, NOT his party affiliations. Using this as yet another platform for finger-pointing is unconscionable.

Holidays!

I realize I'm a week or three late, but: Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holy-Crap-I'm-Glad-It's-Over to my 4 readers.

I hope you were treated well in your preferred gifty holiday...I certainly was. C purchased a shotgun with the intention of the two of us using it for skeet/trap shooting. It's a Mossberg 500 Bantam Field and Deer package - two barrels, optics, wood furniture, and it's in 20ga since his 12ga hurts me something fierce. I'm still floored he picked it up, and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT to hit the range with it.

In other news, I'll be picking up my first 1911 after tax time.

In still OTHER news, I'm planning on going to the NRA meeting in 2011...since it's being held in a city that's a day trip away from here, I really should go. Are you going?


Other other news: I have a few people who want to hit the range with me as first time shooters. Most of them are WOMEN. I love being in the position to introduce them!

Something to give you cavities...

Last year, around Christmas, I made marshmallows. They were crazy-easy and so much tastier than those store-bought lumps of squish.

I followed the recipe linked here. Go, make some...then do something creative with them.