Quote of the Week

"Fish and visitors stink after three days."- Benjamin Franklin

Saturday Video

On The Occassion of This Iron Bowl

I figured I would break with tradition and violate one of my blog rules: thou shalt not post about sports. Being an Alabama native, today is the huge college football game between the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Huge is probably not sufficient enough an adjective to describe the enormity of the game within the state itself, but it will have to do for now. I am, of course, supporting Alabama. The reason it is known as the Iron Bowl is that for decades the rivalry was played in Birmingham, which until the 1970's was a steel and iron manufacturing center to rival Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The mills may have long since gone overseas, like those in every other region of the country, but the name remains.

In its Birmingham days, the game was played at a supposedly neutral field, Legion Field, wherein the tickets were split equally, 50/50, between fans of both schools. This provided an unique atmosphere, but since Legion Field was where Alabama played most of its major home games, there were always detractors who argued for a more traditional home versus home setting. Legion Field seated more than the on-campus stadiums of both universities for years, but with increased capacity at both Alabama and Auburn, the game moved and is no longer played in Birmingham.

If you've read this far, you now know something of the history. Posted below, for those curious, is probably the best way to explain the game visually. I grew up in the middle of all of this intensity and drama and for outsiders, as well as the curious, this may be the best introduction. I only wish I could have found an video illustration filmed at the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, which is where today's contest will be held. This filmed segment shows an Iron Bowl held in Auburn.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posting here will be sporadic until Monday. Have a wonderful day.

Oh, remember this? Mama Palin will do the same to America.

Travel Day

Over the river and through the woods.

A video is in order.

I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

This is a shorter version. I left off one verse deliberately.



You say yes, I say no
You say stop,
and I say go, go, go
Oh no

You say goodbye and
and I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye,

I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why
you say goodbye, I say hello

I say high, you say low
You say why and I say I don't know
Oh no

You say goodbye and
I say hello, hello, hello

I don't know why you say goodbye,
I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

Why, why, why, why, why, why, do you
Say goodbye, goodbye, bye, bye?
Oh no

You say goodbye and I say
hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye,
I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye,
I say hello

You say goodbye and
I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello, hello, hello

I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello, hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello, hello, hello

Heyla, heyla, Aloha
Heyla, heyla, Aloha
Heyla, heyla, Aloha

Reformers Should Expect the Unexpected

So many of our causes, passions, and movements could be characterized in terms of David versus Goliath, requiring superhuman strength to set right. At the outset, the odds are stacked against us. Business corruption must not be allowed to metastasize, lest the country be utterly eviscerated by it. Environmental pollutants must not destroy our fragile ecosystem. The military must have its spending curtailed in order to prevent massive waste and a swelling national debt, a belief held even by those who do not object to the very existence of a military. The prison-industrial complex must not be allowed to grow ever larger, while it incarcerates men of color at rapidly growing rates. It’s easy to get burned out, knowing the vast size and sweep of these problems, and easier still to believe that no amount of effort expended for any length of time will make one iota’s worth of difference either way.

One hundred fifty years ago, the Progressive cause célèbre was temperance. The knowledge of the destructive power of alcohol abuse led many to believe that nothing less than the manufacture, transport, and sale of intoxicating spirits in any form must be made illegal. Essentially a religious movement, there was present within it a desire to reform government by busting up liquor monopolies, saloons, and the political power present within them. This compulsion existed alongside a moral imperative to end the cycle of poverty as well as spousal and child abuse caused by alcoholism. Quakers as well as men and women of many other faiths played a major role in the temperance movement. The “drys”, as they were known, were pietistic Protestants who believed that it was the government’s job to regulate morality. In the United States, temperance’s ultimate goal was achieved with the passage of the 18th Amendment and the enactment of Prohibition.

Then, as now, there were people who relied on junk science and propaganda to advance the cause, and there were groups who advanced well-meaning, sensible views that pressed for legislation to cure a major societal problem. Some believed they were doing God’s will and others insisted that they were making life easier for their fellow person. The Anti-Saloon League used high pressure, coercive methods to force the hand of politicians, and was a formidable, well-run organization. Alcohol problems had been present for centuries, but the conceit of the first Progressives was that in destroying political power in crucial spaces, society could solve problems that had confounded others for centuries. These crusaders can hardly be faulted for their efforts. They were often acting on information we now know to be factually incorrect, aiming at the wrong method of solving a problem. Their focus was, in effect, far too narrow. Regardless of what they believed, there is often no “one best system” or “one best solution”, particularly for reforms as intensely complicated as this one.

Prohibition ultimately failed, of course, but it can still be seen as a noble experiment. The first commercially viable root beer was brewed by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires and the first widely distributed milk chocolate came by way of Cadbury’s in the UK and Hershey's in the USA. These were efforts by Friends to develop alternatives to alcohol consumption. They were not successes if one considers their original purpose alone, but those who love a particular soft drink or grew up enjoying a distinct and delicious confectionery treat on Easter morning could hardly say that these were useless efforts. And, though I hasten to use this example, based on my dislike of war, the bagpipe made its way to Scotland only after the Crusades. What could be more distinctly Scottish a musical instrument than that?

It’s easy to see our causes and their products as absolute--good versus evil, moral versus immoral, guilty versus not guilty, right versus wrong. But life often isn’t that simple. An attitude that restricts itself to one particular, desired outcome without entertaining the possibility of the unexpected and the ironic often lands far short of the mark. Serendipity is sometimes responsible for great innovation, rather than a well-designed plan. Uncertainty, unpredictability, and sometimes chaos ought to be taken stock of and not feared. Without the space program, a major success by any estimation, a number of spin-offs would not have been developed for commercial usage. The microwave oven is the first to come to mind, but there are others. The lines between triumph and disaster are frequently blurry. Human progress is a messy affair more often than we might wish to contemplate.

Quote of the Week

"A good friend will always stab you in the front."- Oscar Wilde (of course).

Saturday Video

Untogether

I was friendly with this girl
who insisted on touching my face.

She told outrageous stories, I believed them
‘till the endings were changing
from endings before

She's not touching me anymore.

Untogether, I couldn't help her,
I got hard.
You can try your life.
You can’t save the unsavory untogether.

I was shipwrecked with this frog
who was endlessly testing my faith.

He made outrageous demands
I ignored him,
till I strapped on my boat feet
and surfed into shore.

He's not touching me anymore.

Untogether, I couldn't help him,
I got hard.
You can try your life.
You can’t change the unchangeably untogether.

Now the bird nest on my back
keeps me turning and straining to see.
We threw outrageous parties, we were golden
Now the bird keeps its distance and I keep my speed.

Sometimes there's no poison like a dream.

Untogether, I couldn't help it,
I got hard.
You can dry your eyes.
You can't hold the impossibly untogether.

State of the Kevin

Today, at long last, is my MRI. I've been instructed to not eat or drink anything two hours before, to show up an hour early, and to be prepared to be injected with dye so that certain areas of my brain will be highlighted by the scan.

Good thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, and the like are appreciated.

If There is a Next Time, If There is a Next Time

I hadn't used the multi-track recorder in a while, so I decided to opt for it today rather than make a YouTube video as is ordinarily the case for me.

Posted below is the oldest song I still actively play. Most of my first songwriting efforts were long ago retired. This is due in large part to the pain of being reminded how I was in an earlier time. From the vantage point of seven or eight years, my early twenties could not be farther removed. The lyrical subject is simple enough. It's a retelling of an on-again, off-again, relationship I had with a woman I dated for several years. Though we had our disagreements we still stay in touch fairly regularly. Interestingly enough, she finds the songwriting inspiration flattering, no matter how sarcastic the lyrics might be, and has even referred to them affectionately during conversation.

I've kept playing the song even now because the melody is catchy and the lyrics are simple enough that I can subtly modify them if I am feeling bored. At its core, the song is a sort of country rock swing, which lends itself well to shifts in tempo. This version, in particular, is played a bit slower than originally written and has evolved considerably over time.

If Sarah Palin Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent Her

The celebrity gossip website TMZ has published an immature tirade/flame war of two of Sarah Palin's daughters, Willow and Bristol. In it, both Palin daughters use profanity and Willow, aged 14, uses a homophobic slur. This exchange, carried on over Facebook, was in response to a poster's criticism of their mother's new TLC show. The whole story would be little more than the softest of soft news, that is unless their mother had not set herself up to be the leader of the party which claims sole rights over morality. There is a certain gotcha, gutter quality to this story, but it also fits well within the canon of what we already know about their mother.

Before I go any further, let me say that criticizing a person's children to attack a parent is always a dicey proposition. There were times in my life, about that age, when I would not have been a particularly good reflection upon my mother and father. Still, I am fairly certain that even then I wasn't quite that crass or that willing to engage in such a profane, petty argument. Though I was raised in a house with two skeptical believers as parents, my mother in particular would have been horrified had she discovered that I had participated in such a thing. There was family honor to uphold and a good name to keep clean. Much shame was on those who besmirched them, regardless of the reason or the context. Had I transgressed, I can well imagine the kind of intense, high volume lecture I would have received as well as the punishment.

What is particularly revealing about this whole thing is that it further contradicts swaths of the Palin spin. Mama Palin has portrayed herself as a God-fearing Christian, but the behavior of her children has contradicted it once again. We all sin against God and other people, but there's something also present called contrition that goes along with repentance, which is the act of being truly sorry for making mistakes while seeking to correct them. I have not seen this within the Palin brood. In this specific circumstance, it may be possible to make an argument that takes into account the Palin children without resorting to unfair character attacks.

Children rebel, as I and my own sisters certainly did. Still, I do believe that parents ought to teach their children basic morality, and if they are church-going sorts, have the church of their choice reinforce this and hold them to it. Integrity and civil discourse may not be in vogue these days, but that doesn't mean we have to heave them upon the proverbial scrap heap or play a particularly self-serving part without so much as a shred of conviction.

Where I grew up in Alabama, Southern Baptist, Conservative Presbyterian, and non-denominational Evangelicals were in great supply. The very conservative religious kids I knew would have been too scared of divine punishment (if not an eternity spent in Hell) to utter even the mildest of profanity or to be this hateful. At times, I have to say, they resembled robots more than people, since they were trying to be completely perfect in every way. Salvation by works was, to them, often more influential a compass than salvation through grace. God provided a de facto list of do's and don'ts and in keeping with their particular belief, they followed it to the letter. None of this is a criticism so much as it is an explanation.

To show you how far we have shifted towards a Post-Christian society, Tea Party factions have tended to focus more on conservative ideas of governance and much less on traditional social conservatism. Recent articles in the media have focused on these two potentially massive ideological fissures within the movement. Religion, even among self-professed Republicans, is increasingly less and less important to the debate. Democrats, more secular in general, have long made awkward overtures towards religious voters and today's GOP has acted in kind. Sarah Palin's faith may then be a marriage of convenience, as it is for so many politicians. Charges of hypocrisy, however, tend to stick more to Republicans than Democrats. The politician discovered to have an affair is more heavily scrutinized if he or she leans to the Right. This is also true for the one with the potty mouthed middle schooler.

What I am convinced of, having read several in-depth profiles of the former Alaska governor, is that she has long been promoting her own star rather than focusing attention on her children. I am not about to make any kind of sweeping pronouncement here, or to make unfounded criticisms without knowledge of the facts, except to note that her children have often come across as just as mean-spirited and cruel as their mother. Not always, but often, our progeny reflect who we are. Many a behavior problem child is a reflection of an unstable home life, for example. Knowing as we do how crucial parental guidance and teaching is, I'm not very surprised that an Eighth grader has dropped homophobic smears and swears in a very public forums.

If anyone believes the Palin spin, they do so at their own peril. The tragedy in all of this is how desperate certain people are to have a champion, so much so that they are quite willing to overlook cognitive dissonance. A long standing persecution complex is out in force here, along with a fortress mentality. Some Christians believe that they are soon going to be as feared and hated just as Jesus himself was, so they live their lives preparing for the final assault. It is this attitude which leads people to lift up figures like Sarah Palin, excusing almost every untruth and blemish along the way. Irrational it may be, but when people feel genuinely under assault, they do not always make rational decisions.

One thing is for certain. She will be around for a while. A figure like Sarah Palin serves a need for both her followers and her detractors. Much as Voltaire famously said about God, if Sarah Palin did not exist, it would be necessary for someone to invent her. Her narcissism may not provide the ability for her to perceive the parasitic relationship she holds with many people, but she can certainly recognize that she is media catnip. Expect subsequent tawdry revelations about her family, but for God's sake, don't pity her. She wouldn't know what to do with it.

All Apologies

Ordinarily, there would be something posted here today. However, I am feeling far too weak to manage it.

Something will be up tomorrow.

There Is No Righteousness in Your Darkest Hour

A year or so ago I wrote a post that referenced the Sleater-Kinney song “Sympathy”. I return to it here for a slightly different reason. Its poignant, profound lyrics are written from the perspective of a mother whose newborn son’s survival hangs in the balance. In her desperation and fear, she calls out to God.

I know I come to you only when in need
I’m not the best believer, not the most deserving
but all I have, all I am, all I can…for him
I’d beg you on bended knees for him

As I contemplate the subject matter (and the band), I can't help but think about my Feminist comrade Jessica Valenti. Having recently married, she and her husband then decided to have a child. What would have ordinarily been a joyous occasion became an absolute nightmare when child and mother both nearly perished due to the effects of HELLP Syndrome and pre-eclampsia.

In this regard, the terrified Mother is no different than us. How many times have we acknowledged our weaknesses, desperately seeking solace for ourselves in related situations? How many prayers have we begun in guilt, knowing we are not the believer we know we should be? When all is going well with life, I myself do not always think to give praise to God. Too often I act like a self-centered friend, one only present and connected when dealing with a personal crisis or when I need something for myself. In good or routine days I regularly forget to acknowledge just how indebted I am to a higher power.

Recall the disciple Thomas. His skepticism led him to question whether Christ had really risen from the dead, until requesting to feel for himself the marks of the nails that held Jesus to the cross and the wound at the Lord's side, a place where a Roman soldier had pierced it with a spear. Thomas acknowledged the truth at long last, but only when granted irrefutable proof.

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

These words often pertain to each of us. God doesn’t judge us for doubting, but it should be noted that doubt ought to be a temporary state of being. If doubt leads to faithful belief, as was true with Thomas, then it has served its purpose well. It would be even better, Jesus notes, if our faith was so strong that we wouldn’t have to put it to the test in order to prove its strength and veracity. If doubt lingers and is never resolved, however, then it is detrimental to us. That is a different matter altogether.

I cite these passages, in part, because I have been suffering from ill health for the past six months. One illness has followed another, and I have not been able to stay healthy for very long. Three weeks ago, I visited my GP to have treated what I assumed was a severe sinus infection. Bloodwork performed during the appointment revealed that my testosterone level was very low, which is quite rare for someone as young as I am. Subsequent tests revealed that the pituitary gland, and possibly the hypothalamus was at fault for not signaling the testes to make an adequate amount of testosterone. So in addition to being placed on testosterone, an MRI has been scheduled on Friday to see if a pituitary tumor is the cause of the problem.

If the worst case scenario proves true, I am in no danger of losing my life. What is more likely is that I will need to undergo a lengthy period of treatment with lots of tests and frequent visits to a specialist, likely an endocrinologist. Months of discomfort may be ahead of me and I have to say that the prospect utterly terrifies me. I am frightened because I do not know. When I know for sure, my worries will decrease to a manageable level. I, too, have been the desperate mother myself recently, bargaining with God, praying frequently for a positive outcome. And as I have done so, I’ve acknowledged my limitations and my flaws. I suppose a dose of humility is a good thing now and again.

To return to the song with which I began this post,

when the moment strikes
it takes you by surprise and
leaves you naked in the face of death and life

there is no righteousness in your darkest moment
we’re all equal in the face of
what we’re most afraid of

When we are broken and tender, it is true that we can know God in ways not possible before. But as the lyrics insist, our behavior in the worst moment of anxiety and panic may not always be justified or beyond reproach, either. Ironically, the song implies that we often only reach equality in a profound state of overwhelming crisis. Right now, we are all equal in the face of what we're most afraid of, and most of the time, that is the unknown. Economic theories promise no concrete solutions. Politicians promise remedies no one knows for sure will work. Job growth is largely stagnant. The world is changing, but not in the way anyone would have ever guessed not all that long ago.

I would not deign to know a solution if I could, but I can provide what works for me. In my opinion, comfort and resolution depends then on how we listen for divine guidance even when feeling so raw and off-kilter. For example, it has been quite difficult for me to not let my emotions overtake my ability to manage my daily obligations, again, mainly because of that which I do not know. When I know more about the cause and the treatment of my condition, I will worry less, but in the meantime I have challenged myself to listen to God’s wisdom, even if it does not promise the specific answers I crave. The process of waiting is my greatest adversary right now. So I pray that I might be granted strength from now until however long this illness persists. Belief is good, after all, but I know I would be more blessed if I believed without seeing.

Quote of the Week, Redux

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

Quote of the Week

"Don't be humble. You aren't that great."- Golda Meir

Saturday Video

A Feminist Creation Story

Author's Note:

This is a loving parody, not to be taken too seriously. I myself identify as Feminist, but I wanted to try my hand at satire. It is Friday, after all. Apologies are due to God, Moses, or whomever compiled the original text of Genesis.

____________

In the beginning, God had a good idea. This idea was brought to life specifically so that all might be more equal and that basic prejudices might be illuminated by light. But at first the idea was formless and empty, full of darkness, though the spirit of good intentions hovered over the proceedings.

And God said, "Let there be Feminism," and there was Feminism. She saw that it was good and thus she divided the light from the dark. People called the light "progressive" and the dark "delusional". And then there was the first argument.

God said, "Let there be a means to separate progressive ideas from delusional ones." So she did that very thing. People called this this divide "Heaven", and in Heaven, terms like cisgender and Kierarchy were used with great abundance.

Feminists also called this divide "ideological conflict" and "generational differences." In response, they encouraged more growth and spread of ideas, hoping both would spout from the seeds that they had planted. And that is exactly what happened, eventually.

God made two great lights. One of them wisely governed the others, and one of them actively participated in panel discussions. Feminists put them into the sky so all could see them and take guidance from their existence. And God noted that it was good, because panel discussions are good and pleasing to her.

And then God said, "Let there be women's studies programs," and these were swiftly created. These, too, were encouraged to be fruitful and multiply. "Let us make gender studies classes in our own image," she added. And God saw that those, too, were good.

God said, "I grant to you the power to teach informed consent and speak openly against transphobic attitudes".

On the seventh day, she rested, though this didn't stop her from working on the manuscript of her latest book and/or column.

Years earlier, God had formed from the dust of the ground a living being, though it was neither male, nor female, because she had yet to create a gender binary. God created a garden for her creation to live, which she called Berkeley. And in Berkeley, she made all kinds of plants and food sources grow, by environmentally sustainable methods, including the tree of the knowledge of good and bad activism.

God said, "You are free to eat from the fruit of any tree, except for that of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad activism, for if you eat of it, you will surely die."

She continued, "You do not need to be alone, so I will create a helper for you." The living being tried to name precisely what it was he/she was looking for in particular, but could not.

So God made him/her fall into a deep sleep, at which point, a rib was removed. A new being was formed, one just as androgynous. This pleased him/her considerably. And being that both were naked and at Berkeley, they felt no shame.

But a serpent decided to tempt this new couple, telling one of them that there was no real harm in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad activism. Doubt thus being placed in the minds of one, he/she took the fruit of the tree and gave it to his/her partner.

The instant both of them ate from the forbidden tree, they quickly recognized that they were naked, and joined one of the fifty protest rallies currently being held to express outrage at police persecution of consensual nudism.

They hid from God, until she made herself plainly visible in front of them. In shame, they were forced to leave Berkeley, and live a life of hardship and great toil.

Amen.

In Response to Veterans Day

This traditional gospel song seemed a fitting response for the holiday. Until 1954, this day was known as Armistice Day, which commemorated the end of World War I. While I am a pacifist, I am also someone who would have us commemorate the cessation of hostilities that we might reflect upon the brutality of combat, rather than justify its continued existence. Bravery in the face of death shows the persistence of courage and unselfishness, but I long for a time where it will be needless.

War does not only negatively impact the soldier on the ground. One needs only examine a genocide to know that. The concept of Total War as realized in the 20th Century drew no distinction between combatant and civilian and we are still processing the consequences. Regarding today, specifically, it was ninety-two years ago that a cease-fire between two warring powers was signed at the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month. In four terrible years, 16 million people lost their lives and 21 million people were wounded. This figure includes soldiers and civilians.

Sing along, if you know it.



Gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.

Gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.

And I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.

Gonna put on that long white robe
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside

Gonna put on that long white robe
Down by the riverside
and study war no more

And I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.

Gonna put on that starry crown
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside

Gonna put on that starry crown
Down by the riverside
and study war no more

And I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.

Gonna walk with the Prince of Peace
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside

I'm gonna walk with the Prince of Peace
Down by the riverside
and study war no more

And I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more.