The nonsensical holiday

I don't recall ever looking forward to New Years Eve. (I'm finally going with the non-apostrophe spelling, after years of insisting on its inclusion. Sigh. I gave in.)

It seems to be a holiday for getting drunk, and that's it. There is no saving grace to this celebration; it's an empty thing. Even back in the day, when I was a drunk, the idea of a holiday dedicated to drinking was unappealing. After all, there was already St. Patrick's Day. We drunks called New Years Eve "Amateur Night", if we bothered to mention it at all. It was a night to stay in, maybe go to bed early, or watch a late movie if you were too antsy to sleep.

As for the infamous ball-drop in Times Square -- which looks tackier than ever this year, BTW -- no actual New Yorker would be caught dead in Times Square on New Years Eve. It's a sideshow for tourists (and the occasional group of young NYC teenagers who haven't developed personalities, as yet. They'll wise up.)

I think we continue to celebrate this silly holiday because...we've always done so, which is a lousy reason for doing anything. And because it's an established custom, it arrives with baggage. We all (well, most of us) grew up in families that celebrated New Years Eve. Those celebrations haunt us to this day, making us feel that we must also celebrate this emotional void that we call a holiday. It's ingrained to the point where it's common for people to ask, "What are you doing for New Years Eve?" You're expected to have an answer. It's an actual responsibility: doing something for New Years Eve. Meh.

When I was young, my parents hosted the New Years Eve bash for our extended family (i.e., our huge network of Italian relatives). A slew of aged, chain-smoking aunts and uncles would come over for a dull, drink-filled New Years Eve. They were thrilled to be able to eat many things, drink even more things, and fill the room with smoke. Ah, America! The land of opportunity. Immigrants all, they appreciated the evening greatly. And I suppose that's a plus. For the old people, these things were fun.

The highlight of the evening was watching the godawful Lawrence Welk Show on the teevee. Today, everyone who remembers the era understands that Welk's show was indeed the Most Boring Show Ever On Television. (And you have no idea how bad it looked to my newly acid-crazed teenage hippie eyes. "Oy" doesn't cut it.) And then all the old people would kiss. Sigh.

Aside: I have it on good authority that in hell, they only broadcast the Lawrence Welk Show. They show the same episode constantly (the one from 1957) -- including the commercials. This is absolute fact. You know it's true because you just read it on the internet -- the acid test for truth.)

Even after saying all this, I must admit I'm glad that a "new year" is beginning. (It's really not, you know; it's just a calendar event, which makes it a virtual event. The actual world is untouched by calendars. Just thought I'd point that out.) For me, New Years Day means the holiday detritus has been swept away and reality will soon return. Xmas is nice but it's just a mass delusion. We can't live in that fantasy all the time. New Years Eve wipes the slate clean. And for this, I'm thankful.

One final note: I don't do resolutions. See, I don't have to because I have what I like to call...a plan. This plan requires that I write as much as I can between now and the beginning of the baseball season. If things proceed as scheduled, at the conclusion of this period a new novel will literally pop into existence. It's like a real-life miracle! And so, at the tail end of this curmudgeonly post, I ask that you wish me luck.

I close with a wish  -- that my readers will remain healthy, happy and free of religious delusion in the coming year. (And if you're not healthy, that you get well this year. Don't give up. ) I wish everyone dogspeed on life's journey. Arf!

Good news from Scrivener

I just received a "Yuletide" email from Scrivener, and it contained very good news indeed. The IOS version of Scrivener is almost here! Here's the relevant portion from the email:

At the end of 2011, I [i.e., Keith Blount, the guy who invented Scrivener] said that the big news for 2012 was that an iOS version of Scrivener was going into development. This time last year, I said that the iOS version would be coming out in 2013. And here we are at the end of 2013 and the iOS version has still not been released. I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the delays to the project, as I know that many users are eagerly awaiting it, and I’m as disappointed as anyone that we weren’t able to release it this year. As many of you may have already read, the project hit a major roadblock when our original developer had to step away owing to family health problems, and we lost several months of development during the process of making that painful decision and replacing her.

Earlier this year, we employed a new, very experienced developer, who has been taking the project forward ever since. We’re still a few months away from a release, but 2014 will be the year we (finally!) go mobile, with releases of Scrivener for both the iPhone and iPad. As I write this, we are currently reviewing icons for the keyboard accessory row and testing out the rich text editor. The corkboard, binder, outliner and inspector are already present and correct. There’s still lots to do, so we’re not going to talk too much about it until we are closer to release. But look out for news in 2014.

I cannot wait for this release. The reason I've been ferreting around for iPad apps to bolster my writing process is that Scrivener has no IOS version of its software. Now, it seems I'll only have to wait a few more months to get my hands on the IOS version. That is such good news for writers.

Write a book in Scrivener's desktop software, carry your iPad around with you -- and have the ability to make changes that are saved to the original. Heaven!

Mandelbrot set of fractals in three dimensions

I found this image at NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site. Here's the explanation. (I'm afraid it's rather involved.)

What strange world is this? Pictured above is no real place but rather a purely mathematical visualization of a generalization of a fractal into three dimensions. Classical fractal diagrams are typically confined to the two dimensions inherent in the complex number plane, demarking regions where an iterative function diverges. Recently explored additions expand the Mandelbrot set of fractals to three dimensions with prescriptions dubbed Mandelbox and Mandelbulb sets. The results are often visually stunning creations of virtual worlds with limitless detail, some of which you can fly through. Pictured above is one such mathematical fantasy, possibly reminiscent of some sort of steam-punkian, quantum-mechanical landscape. 

Special points for using the term "steampunk". The NASA photo site I linked to above provides a new image every day. I suggest you bookmark it.

Crack appears in Pope Francis' gay-positive facade

Well, we kinda knew it was coming. As I said here many times, there were probably very good reasons why the gays in Buenos Aires hated Francis when he was a cardinal. The truth begins to emerge:

Pope Francis reportedly was "shocked" by a bill that would allow gay couples to adopt children in Malta.

Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna told the Times Of Malta that he spoke with Pope Francis about the bill and the pope encouraged him to speak out against it. 

Apparently the new direction is the same as the old direction, minus the red shoes. Here's a bit more from the story (which is short but has many links, in case you're interested in the topic):

Despite his July comments, the pope has a long history of being against gay rights. He has come out strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and called it "a destructive attack" on God's plan.

Francis, we hardly knew ye. I suppose it was inevitable but this is still dreary news. Ah, well. It's not like we invested heavily in the guy. We'll just toss him out with the garbage. Our lives will go on, just as before.

This reminds me of why I tell new acquaintances that I'm gay. I don't want to become friends with them, and then discover that they're cavemen when it comes to gay issues. So as I say, we didn't spend too much time on this fellow. It'll be easy to toss him aside. And that's a good thing.

Bye, Frankie!

NSA is a complete nightmare

I came across this in Spiegel today:

The NSA's TAO hacking unit is considered to be the intelligence agency's top secret weapon. It maintains its own covert network, infiltrates computers around the world and even intercepts shipping deliveries to plant back doors in electronics ordered by those it is targeting.

Do you feel safer now? I sure do.

Dated preacher sounds like idiot

Digby wrote about something that John Hagee, a major wingnut preacher, said in his Sunday sermon. I think it's both funny and revealing.

Telling atheists to get out of America is one of Hagee's favorite pieces of advice, so it was no surprise to hear him declare it again during his Sunday sermon when he told any atheists listening that "if you pass a manger scene and someone is singing 'Joy To The World,' you can take your Walkman and stuff it into your ears, or you can call your lawyer, or you can just exercise your right to leave the country; planes are leaving every hour on the hour, get on one"

I could go on and on about dusty old wingnut brains that are stuck in the past -- but there's something I'm dying to listen to on my Walkman. I hope I didn't mess up the tape the last time I played it. Tch. They really should invent something new. Anyway, I'm going to run to the living room and stuff my Walkman into my ears.

BSA to treat gay Scouts like lepers

Okay, maybe that wasn't their exact wording but I found this offensive. The link leads to an AP article that expands on the Boy Scouts of America's grand plan for dealing with gay Scouts -- who will enter the fold as of January 1st, in case you haven't been following this. Here are some depressing excerpts from the article:

A frequently-asked-questions document anticipates that some objections might surface from parents — or Scouts themselves — in cases where a unit includes an openly gay boy.

Regarding shower and toilet facilities, the BSA says it is encouraging units to provide greater individual privacy, including moving away from the tradition of group showers.

"The adult leaders have the discretion to arrange private showering times and locations," the BSA says. 

Oh, great. So their most excellent plan involves sequestering the gay boys to make them feel less than human. How giving -- and Christian, come to think of it! Always doing good, these BSA adults.

And they plan to open the doors wide to bigoted parents so they can insert their pinhead views into the scouting experience by kicking gay Scouts out of assigned tents -- should the mood strike them. In the excerpt below, BSA assures bigoted parents that they won't be forced into a situation where their lily-white innocent children might have to, you know, see the gay. Horrors! Not the gay! Here are BSA's own words, literally inviting bigoted parents to intrude into troop activities:

"If a Scout or parent of a Scout makes a request to not tent with another Scout, their wishes should be honored," says the BSA.

Lovely. Or rather, ugh!

Ah, but that's not all. Here's a final gem from the piece:

The biggest sponsor of Scout units — the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — commended the BSA for a "thoughtful, good-faith effort" to address a challenging issue, and said it would stay engaged in Scouting. 

That says it all. Hey BSA guys, let me make this real simple for you. If you're pleasing Mormons, you're doing it all wrong. Discriminating against gays is what Mormons do. When they say they like what you've done so far, that's the equivalent of receiving Satan's Seal of Approval.

It seems the Boy Scouts of America learned nothing during its recent tryst with teh gay. Their message as they begin to open their doors to gay scouts is: We're still gits and we'll always be gits. I hear you loud and clear, BSA. Thanks for this informative telegram from the abyss. 

Gotta write

I'm going to disappear for a while so I can work on the new book. I know this makes you sad but I'll be back soon. I promise.

Art and life commingle

I found this totally bizarre. The link leads to an article at Raw Story about various Syrian artists who turned to black humor this Christmas. Check out this excerpt:

One of the most poignant illustrations by graphic designer Sedki al-Imam shows Santa Claus riding his sleigh through a starry, deep blue sky but instead of reindeer it is being pulled by warplanes.

And rather than shower the earth with gifts, Imam’s Santa drops TNT-packed barrel bombs over Syria.

OMG! You saw the Santa video footage that was broadcast in the US this Christmas, right? For the first time, they added warplanes accompanying Santa's sleigh. Jeebus. That's a hair's-width away from this artist's vision.

How must he feel? How should we feel? We are weaponizing daily life in America. And drones will be moving into our public spaces, this year or next. It's inevitable. What a horrifying spectacle.

The American decline continues apace.

Still searching for the perfect writer's app

Just a note to say I'm looking at yet another note-taking and to-do app. It's called NoteSuite and I think this one may be the mother lode. (Link leads to a review of the app at MacWorld.)

It's not the simplest app to learn. In fact, there's a relatively steep learning curve. Mind you, it's not like learning a new desktop publishing program on your Mac -- but for an IOS app, it's fairly complicated.

I'm still not all-in with the app. I have more help files to read. When and if I master the thing, I'll write it up here. But seriously, this may be the big-time writer's app. I lets you record your notes, clip web pages, draw on the page and on photos and PDFs, and there's a very natural To-Do system that, with little effort on your part, serves up a daily list of stuff that Must Be Done. It kind of happens all on its own, from sticking due dates on your to-do's. I was amazed by the functionality of the system.

BTW, there's an iPad app (for a mere two bucks) and there's also a matching Mac app (for five bucks). The two talk to each other and keep in sync, using iCloud, which makes them wildly useful. And you don't have to rely on a developer's site (i.e., hope that it will continue to exist after you've input your precious data). This is all on the user's end. I like that a lot.

That's it for now. I'm really hopeful about this one.

What was missing this Christmas

I really miss Glass Wax Christmas stencils. Those of you who are, shall we say, oldish, will recall the joy of seeing these images on windows everywhere during the Christmas season.

They were fun to put up and looked rather magical, especially if you were a child. It's hard to believe they went out of fashion. Tell me, how long has it been since you saw one on an Xmas window? Twenty years? Thirty years?!

Far too long. Bring back Glass Wax stencils! That's an order.

With this post, I am done writing about Xmas. Time to move on. And not to New Year's, which is a completely meaningless holiday. Let's skip New Year's Day and jump directly into the January/February doldrums, where life is frozen and all sense of hope is abandoned. I love that time of year!

An odd op-ed, seemingly about religious cures

I'm not quite sure why Mert Erogul wrote this op-ed, which appears in this morning's NY Times. It's called "Eczema and Holy Water" and it's about a non-religious American father (the author) whose nine-month-old son experienced terrible eczema while on a family trip to Israel. So of course...they consulted a priest.

The author's family members are described as being "non-practicing" Muslims. You'd think they would avoid Christian mumbo-jumbo. However, the author -- who is also a medical doctor -- was somehow bulldozed into bringing his son to a Greek Orthodox priest known for his ability to cure pesky afflictions.

I know, I know. This sounds like it might lead somewhere interesting. Alas, no. The article doesn't seem to have a point -- or perhaps I missed it. If you suspect there is a point to this rather short essay, please hit the "comment" button and enlighten me.

Here's an excerpt:

So despite my skepticism, we found ourselves inside the Hagios Demetrios, an unremarkable old church on a hill overlooking the Bosporus. The gloomy little church smelled like incense and old people, of which there were many. They were lined up and hunched over in the foyer, patiently waiting for an audience with the priest. They all seemed to have rheumatism. We waited, too, the baby growing restless.

And then the article goes...nowhere. I don't know. Maybe it's supposed to have a folksy charm, or something. All it did for me was make me shake my head and ask, "Why did he write this? And why did the Times publish it?"

Want to get your dander up?

PZ directed his readers to this post today. I suggest everyone read it. It's the unvarnished truth -- and you don't see much of that anymore.

The real meaning of Xmas

Merry Christmas. May everyone prosper this year.

What are you doing on Christmas Eve?

I know most of you will be getting together with family and friends for Xmas -- if not tonight, then tomorrow. Not me, though. Since I'm not a social being, I skip all the holiday hoopla. Yesterday I brought my gifts over to my sister's house, and they can rip into them tomorrow morning without me. I'm done with Xmas.

However, tonight I have two treats on hand. I recorded not one, but two Christmas episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore show. I remember one of them -- when she gets stuck manning the station at WJM News (was that the name of the station?) on Xmas Eve. Of course, the gang shows up at the last moment to spend the evening with her. The other episode is a mystery to me, though I'm sure Xmas pathos will play a role. After all, it's the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

And if I'm still eager to do Xmassy things after that, I've got a recording of The Bishop's Wife. Yes, I'm an atheist who can enjoy such a movie. Sure, it's goddy but it's mostly Xmassy. And hey, it's Cary Grant. I always like to watch Xmas movies that have a gay man in the lead role.

So. Watcha doing tonight and/or tomorrow? I'll understand if no one comments. Xmas is a slow time for blogs. Y'all got lives -- and I'm happy that you do.

Snowden says he already won. I agree.

Raw Story (which is a great web site, BTW) has a story about Edward Snowden today. In it, Snowden says he's already won. And he is so right.

“For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission’s already accomplished,” Snowden told the Post. “I already won. As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated. Because, remember, I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.”

I find him consistently well-spoken and sensible. He is the perfect emissary for this mission, a man who can state clearly what he did, and why. The man always says the right thing.

And as for critics who question his loyalty to the US:

“There is no evidence at all for the claim that I have loyalties to Russia or China or any country other than the United States,” Snowden told the Post. “I have no relationship with the Russian government. I have not entered into any agreements with them. If I defected at all, I defected from the government to the public.”

He revealed the extent of the US surveillance apparatus because he's a good and brave American. It's that simple. One day he'll receive a major American award for this. He single-handedly turned the tide on U.S. surveillance. Now, that's something to be proud of. We will reap the benefits of Edward Snowden's bravery for many decades.

American Catholics heartily approve of Pope Francis

Raw Story (and every other publication, it seems) has a story up today about the pope's overwhelming approval rating by American Catholics.

Marxist? Check. Nice to gays? Check. American Catholics seem to have no problem with these aspects of Pope Francis' personality. They adore the guy.

A pair of recent polls found the new pontiff’s approval rating among his U.S. followers to be about as close to full approval as candy, ice cream and puppies.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday found that 88 percent of American Catholics approve of the pope nine months into his term.

Now, let's see...Pope Ratzinger was vicious to gays, hardly mentioned the poor, encouraged backward, conservative thinking and...everyone hated the guy. Go figure, Bill Donohue. (He's that lone Catholic wingnut who says crazy things while trying to get people to think that he's an organization. He adored Ratzi and evinces only half-hearted "approval" of the "new" pope. Fun!)

As to that Marxist thing (a charge leveled only by conservative, wingnut Catholics):

The pope drew criticism from American political conservatives for his recent remarks on capitalism and trickle-down economics, but more than 85 percent of American Catholics say he’s neither too liberal nor too conservative.

Nearly two-thirds of American Catholics agree with the pope about capitalism’s effects on the poor, the poll found.

It would seem that Catholics are, oh, I don't know -- in league with the new pope's thinking. This is a body blow to rightwing Catholics -- a group that includes the appalling US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the group that evil archbishop Timmy Dolan used to assault gay people for many years. The USCCB is a hate group, nothing more and nothing less.

The tide has turned. Let's see what it brings in the new year. I'm hoping Pope Francis will focus on women in 2014. He needs to see them as actual, full, valid people. If he does that, he's a saint (not that saints matter one whit, of course; it's all just a fantasy role-playing game).

Want to donate cash to a good cause?

Go read this story about the "Prancing Elites". That's them on the left. I watched a few of the videos at the linked page. They're talented.

The story starts out in a way that may make you think it's anti-gay. But it definitely isn't.
The Prancing Elites have been discriminated against, again and again. But they never give up. Here's the thing: all they want to do is dance safely. But no one will rent them a space to practice. And why? Because they're a black gay dance troupe and they live in the south. Yup, git country. So if you have some cash to help them out, head on over here. (That's a link to their Kickstarter page.)

Their honesty and non-adversarial attitude really lifted me up on this rainy, foggy afternoon, a mere two days before Xmas. Do click on the first link (here it is again) to learn more about their situation. As an enticement, here's a line from the story:

"It's OK for a woman to put on tights and play football, but when a man wants to put on leotard and tights, it's a problem."

You know you want to read that. Anyway, my thanks to the dancers of the Prancing Elites. You guys really gave me a boost today. May you live well and prosper!

Note: The photo is from their facebook page.

Pussy Riot comes out swinging

I love these women. Seconds after their release, they condemned Putin. I mean, they didn't even take a deep breath first. They were ready.

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, were released from jail Monday under an amnesty allowing their early release from two-year sentences for a protest in a church against President Vladimir Putin.

Tolokonnikova shouted "Russia without Putin" after she was freed from a facility in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Alyokhina was released from a different jail hours earlier and dismissed the amnesty move. "I do not think it is a humanitarian act," she said to Russian Internet and TV channel Dozhd. "I think it is a PR stunt."

Seriously, these two women are stellar human beings. May they live forever and bring positive change to the pig sty we refer to as "Russia".

Sure, the pope is a rock star, but...

Al Jazeera has a great article about Pope Francis' focus on the economic inequality built into modern societies. Short version of the article: that's great, but what about women and LGBT folks? Are they to remain unequal under this pope?

As always, the American nuns are on point:

Sister Joan Chittister — a Benedictine nun, an influential author and speaker and a former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) — said, “As a Catholic, it’s very refreshing to see the Gospel take more precedence in church statements than canon law.” (snip)

Still, the LCWR, the leadership organization of American nuns, is under investigation by the Vatican for heresy, a campaign begun under Benedict and that some dissident Catholic scholars have labeled a “new Inquisition.”

Chittister noted that for the past 50 years, the LCWR has taught and led on the same social principles the pope is teaching now.

“If you’re a man and you believe those things, you get elected pope, but if you’re a woman, you get investigated for heresy,” she said.

She described Francis as “humble and simple and pastoral and warm and caring, like Jesus, a man of the poor.” But, she added, according to United Nations statistics, two-thirds of the world’s poor are women.

“I don’t believe anything in this world is going to change, from its corruption to its charism, if you do nothing to equalize the role of women in this world,” Chittister said. “If you keep defining women to be the child bearers and domestic servants of the world, nothing’s going to change.”

Hear, hear, Sister. I love these nuns. They will not put up with injustice. Seriously, they're the closest things to saints I've ever seen on this earth. (And I told them this in an email and got a lovely response in return.)

The above comes late in the article, but I liked it the best so I put it up top. Earlier, they covered Francis' strange sort of inequality: the kind that doesn't include women and gays.

Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, or “The Joy of the Gospel,” published on Nov. 24, sparked worldwide attention largely because of its critique of trickle-down theories of economics. Francis contended that these ideologies amount to “a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”

[William] Lindsey [a former theology professor at a Catholic college] has experienced another kind of exclusion, having been “shoved to the margins,” he said, when his committed relationship with another man became known. While he and his partner are still waiting for his church to “afford us space and respect as a Catholic gay couple,” Lindsey is nonetheless hailing Francis’ re-emphasis on economic inequality in Evangelii Gaudium.

Lindsey sees the great promise in Francis' words, despite being relegated to the back of the bus. Certainly, economic inequality is important -- all good-hearted Catholics recognize this -- and it's great that the pope has taken up this mission. But many Catholics want the pope to go further and make everyone equal, regardless of sex, sexual orientation or (gay) married status.

[Father Frank Case, vice president for mission at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.] said he and other Jesuits “like this guy very much,” referring to Francis.

“I pray every day,” Case said, “that he lives long enough for the inspiration he has established to filter down deeply into the church.”

Yup, me too. But Francis also needs to wake up. We're here, we're queer and/or women, and we're not going away. Wake up, Francis! See us!

Fun language test

Digby pointed her readers to a quiz at the NYT today. You answer a bunch of questions about words and pronunciation, and it tells you where your style of speaking is most common in the United States. In other words, it sources you.

Lo and behold, it said I'm from NYC. Which means it worked. Go take the quiz and see what it says about your style of speaking. It's kinda fun.

Xmas brings atheists together

The NYT has a story today with the headline, "During religious season, non-believers assert right to celebrate". It's about all the different things atheists are doing to reclaim the holiday season for us. It boils down to "we love Xmas, too", with a side order of "we want community, too".

The story focuses on the new, atheist gatherings that are so much like church, for those who seek to bond with people like themselves. It also speaks about the different billboard tactics of atheist organizations, and the problem of gathering us all under one banner. We ain't all the same. Anyway, you might enjoy reading the article.

As for me, I don't want to "gather" with anyone (though atheist conferences might grab me one day; they sound like fun). For me, the atheists on the internet are my people. I get a rewarding sense of community by reading what others write, and by knowing that some number of people, however small, read my novel and my blog and enjoy the things I say. It's also fun that religious nitwits read my work product and then their heads explode. That provides all the community I need.

So where do you stand in all this? Do you wish you could attend an atheist "church" or go to atheist events at Xmas? Why not click on "comments" and tell us about it? Heck, you might even feel a sense of community by speaking up, right here, right now. Stranger things have happened.

Merry Xmas! Now, go wrap those gifts.

Ho ho ho

Merry Xmas and all that.

Writing for ten bucks

If you've got an iPad and you're a writer, you're in luck. There are three apps that are very useful for wordsmiths -- and the total cost of buying them is, you guessed it, ten bucks.

One is free. I confess I avoided SimpleNote for months because it's, well, simple. Turns out, that's a good thing. It's an app for jotting down notes (which you can dictate on your iPad, if you'd rather). The app is simple beyond belief. When you first open it, it's just a white screen with a plus sign. Click the plus sign to add a note. Then add an appropriate tag, and the tagging process instantly creates an organized system (like the one you see at left). After a time, the tags become your "file system". You call up notes by clicking on the appropriate tag. And when you're done, you synch with the SimpleNote web site. Nothing could be, you know, simpler. And there's a desktop app too, so you'll always be able to access a perfectly synched version of your notes on your desktop, your iPad or your iPhone.

I've already raved about another app, Carbon Fin Outliner. You can read my post about it here. It's terrific for keeping track of your writing tasks, and again, is very easy to sync. (I really can't decide if the word is sync or synch. In my book, it's a toss-up.) Back to Outliner: You can create a header and put sub-headers under it, and put sub-headers under those, ad infinitum. Instant organization. I love it and it only costs $5. And as with SimpleNote, you can access a synched version of your outlines on the internet, in this case, at the Outliner Online web site. So again, it's synched on your desktop, iPad and iPhone.

The third app is called Index Card. It's just that: a set of virtual index cards. You create a project with one click and then add cards to it. A nice touch is that you can color-code the cards to provide another level of information. (e.g., yellow means a certain character is in the scene, pink means draft text, etc.) And though it doesn't allow you to create sub-groups, that's not a deal killer for me. Somehow, just seeing your info displayed on nice, orderly cards is helpful.

One of the things I like about Index Card is that you enter a title for the card, and then a synopsis (a summary of whatever you want to record). Both remain on the face of the card -- but you can write much more than can fit in the displayed space. In other words, you'll see the card with text cut off at the end, if you add a ton of words. But all you have to do is click the card to see the whole note. Better yet, if you've enabled "long-form" in the preference pane for the project, once you click on the card you'll see not only the header and synopsis, but a long-form space below this where you can type or paste any amount of info. So each card is really a deep well. (There's even a way to enter "secret" info on the back of a card. When you print the cards out, what's on the back won't be included. That's just for you to see.)

Beyond this, you can sync each project with DropBox, which is a simple thing to arrange. If you've got an account, you just click sync and it's done. Sync the project the next day, after you've edited the content, and DropBox will ask if you want to overwrite what's there. Say yes, and it backs up the new info and deletes the old version. Easy. This one is also only $5. And you can export data in a range of formats, including RTF (rich text file).

As a special bonus, I discovered that Index Card is perfect for creating timelines. One of the things that's tricky when you're writing a novel is keeping track of the dates within the story. I set up a timeline project in Index Card. Each card has the date (as the header), the event (as the synopsis), and in the longform space I can put whatever additional information I want.

Now, here comes the great part: one of the ways you can view your index cards is as columns. (I tried, but cannot find a screenshot of this.) When you choose column view, it makes the cards thin (from left to right), and the display now moves from left to right, rather than top to bottom. In other words, it's like a long stretch of timeline that you can flip through to see events in the order that they occurred. This is a huge plus for me.

With these three apps, your writing process becomes more manageable. They've certainly enhanced my writerly existence. I was able to put all my notes for the new novel into these programs. And now that it's all there, it's a snap to find any relevant part of my research or view my timeline. Very cool. I recommend all three highly. 

Catholic "angelologist" talks wings

You almost wonder if it's a joke. Sadly, it's not.

Angels exist but do not have wings and are more like shards of light, at least according to a top Catholic Church “angelologist” who says the heavenly beings are now back in vogue thanks to New Age religions.

“I think there is a re-discovery of angels in Christianity,” Father Renzo Lavatori told AFP on the sidelines of a conference on angels in a lavishly-frescoed Renaissance palace in Rome.

“You do not see angels so much as feel their presence,” said Lavatori, adding: “They are a bit like sunlight that refracts on you through a crystal vase.”

Ah, now it all makes sense to me. And it turns out this guy walks both sides of the street. He's versatile.

The widely-published Catholic clergyman is also a “demonologist” and says angels are more needed than ever because increasing secularisation and materialism in society have left an “open door” for the devil.

“There is a lot more interference from diabolical forces. That is why you see queues of people outside the exorcists’ offices in churches,” he said.

So that's the reason for those long lines. I often see long, winding lines outside the exorcist offices in my local area. I always wondered why. But now, thanks to Father Lavatory, I understand. Praise jeebus!

Wow, just wow!

I got an email from Kindle Publishing, telling me that I've sold my first book in Japan. $2.00 is screaming its way through the world financial system, heading directly for my bank account.  

Ka-Ching!

Pussy Riot runs free

This is wonderful news, even if it's just a PR stunt by Putin (which is exactly what it is). He's trying to save his precious anti-gay Olympics. Whatever, they're out!

"Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova, 24, and Maria Alekhina, 25, were released from prison, three months before their scheduled release..."

You may cheer now. And now here's Putin's pathetic remark:

In a news conference, President Vladimir Putin expressed no regret for the Pussy Riot members. "I was not sorry that they ended up behind bars," he said. "I was sorry that they were engaged in such disgraceful behaviour, which in my view was degrading to the dignity of women."

Yeah, right. Stay classy, Vladdy, but it won't work. You joined forces with a filthy, authoritarian Christian sect and invented a "religious crime" to punish these women. But really, you punished them because they were protesting against you. Religion, my ass.

It's particularly disgusting that when talking about imprisoning these young women, one of whom has young children, you used the phrase "dignity of women". Puti, you lost the right to talk like that a long time ago. You're a lowlife pig who knows nothing of dignity.

Can't wait to see what you do at the Olympics. Dance, Vladdy. Amuse us. This is going to be fun.

My counter to all the damn cat posts

The finest dog of all!

Let us forget our troubles for a moment and revisit the Heroic Paradogs of WWII.

Brian was a tough paratrooper. He trained hard for his deployment with the British Army during . During his training, he learned how to identify minefields. Then, on the battlefield, he protected his comrades-in-arms -- though not all of them made it back. On D-Day, he parachuted under heavy anti-aircraft fire onto the Continent. He was there when the Allies liberated Normandy. A few months before the war's end, he parachuted into western Germany, from where he marched to the Baltic Sea.

Less than two years after the war, Brian was given an award to recognize his "conspicuous gallantry." But the bronze medal was not the only thing that distinguished this special soldier from the majority of his comrades: Brian, the tough paratrooper, was a dog, a young Alsatian-Collie mix.

Good doggie! You can always count on a dog. Cats, not so much. PS: If you don't want to read the story, you can still view the photos of these daring canines here.

Rightwing loons shoot, misfire

Read the words in this image (which I stole from Joe Jervis' site). Note what it says above the Duck-head:

"Gave a personal opinion about a personal belief that affects no one."

Ahem. We gay people are not "no one". We're here, we're queer and we're never ever going away.

A "famous" person who gives voice to an anti-gay opinion hurts every GLBT person out there. Bigotry doesn't exist in a vacuum. It spreads throughout the culture.

Speaking of diseases spreading, the image got 300,000 "likes" about two seconds after it appeared on Facebook. Here's my shout-out to everyone who "liked" the image -- you are pigs -- all 300,000 of you.

PS: Note that they think he was fired, too.

Duck guy fired

I think you already know that A&E fired the Duck Dynasty guy after he said anti-gay stuff to GQ. Stuff like this:

"It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man's anus, that's just me," the reality star said.

Seems like a real intellectual, which is what you usually get when you watch reality TV. Anyway, I thought I'd post the link since I mentioned this turd yesterday. And speaking of turds...

[Sarah] Palin came to Robertson's defense Wednesday, posting a photo of herself with the 'Duck Dynasty' crew on Facebook.

"Free speech is an endangered species," Palin captioned the picture. "Those 'intolerants' hatin’ and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us."

I'm sure she meant to say "for voicin' his personal opinion". She just slipped out of character for a moment and forgot to axe the final g. Sarah, you gotta watch that stuff. Tch.

BTW, this article says he was "suspended" rather than fired. Yesterday, I read he was fired. So...what? He'll be back in two weeks? Justice is so ephemeral.

The cursed torch of the Sochi Olympics

Someone is sending Russia a message.

It was bad enough when the Olympic flame went out and had to be relit with a disposable lighter rather than the official backup flame, and even worse when a torchbearer managed somehow to set himself on fire in the Siberian city of Abakan.

But perhaps the low point in what has seemed less like an Olympic torch relay than an exercise in ineptitude and misfortune came earlier this week when one of the runners carrying the torch to the Sochi Games had a fatal heart attack while attempting to walk his allotted distance, about 218 yards.

OMD. A higher power seems to be sending Russia a stern message. It must be the Russian Orthodox Christian god, that Jeebus fellow. But, but...I thought Jeebus loved the Russian pogrom against gay people. Jeez!

Oh, the schadenfreude. It tickles.

Disgusting creature says vile things

Some guy I don't know, who's somebody-or-other from a trashy reality show that I wouldn't watch under penalty of death, felt he had to say vicious things about gay people. Because Jeebus.

"Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson told GQ, unsurprisingly, that he doesn't get the whole gay thing.

"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men," Robertson told GQ's Drew Magary in the magazine's Janurary issue.

He then went on to describe, in detail, why he, a self-proclaimed vagina-loving man, doesn't understand the attaction [sic].

So there's that. Oh, and also, he explained why blacks were happy during the Jim Crow days in Louisiana.

"Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," Robertson said. "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, 'I tell you what: These doggone white people'—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues."

As I said: vile creature spews hatred. Details at 11. Oh, yeah: the jeebus bit. Here it is:

"I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."

Indeed. And isn't it odd that all these people who are filled with hate say they're pals with Jesus? Funny, that. But remember, he'd "never treat anyone with disrespect just because they're different from [him]." Uh-huh.

Piggy religious people say opposite things without ever noticing the contradictions. Because jeebus. I guess the lesson they're modeling is: watch out for that jeebus fellow. Never let him get his hands on you. Or you'll end up like this evil twit.

Light pillars over Finland

This photo looks kind of Xmassy to me. I found it at NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site. (Click the image for a larger version.) Here's NASA's description of the photo:

What's happening behind those houses? Pictured above are not aurora but nearby light pillars, a local phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. While going out to buy cat food, a quick thinking photographer captured the above light pillars extending up from bright parking lot lights in Oulu, Finland.

Pope says another good thing

Just bumped into this.

“It is an ugly thing,” he said, according to Vatican Radio, “when you see a Christian who doesn’t want to humble himself, who doesn’t want to serve, a Christian who struts about everywhere: it’s ugly, eh? That is not a Christian: that’s a pagan!”

He's a good guy in many ways. But he still hasn't noticed that women are, you know, people. Until then, he's just waving magic sticks in the air. And he certainly needs to evolve about gay marriage. Just making nice isn't enough. Still, you have to like the guy. In many ways, he's a progressive.

BTW, it was ridiculous for The Advocate to name him their person of the year. He hasn't actually done anything yet. This is like Obama's Nobel. For what?

David Brooks, user of words

Today, a post at Pharyngula (called "David Brooks Still Has a Job?") led me to "Was it something I said?" by Charles P. Pierce. If you detest David Brooks, you'll enjoy reading this one. It's snark city, and well deserved.

As an aside, earlier today I noticed that Brooks' column was #7 on the "Most Emailed" list at the Times. Even then, before I'd heard about the intense stupidity of his latest column, I imagined that people must be sending it around to friends, with notes like "What a jerk!" and "Bobo strikes again!". No one is more out of it than David Brooks. I think anti-fans, who read him just to laugh at his words, account for much of his "popularity". He's like a freak show.

And he doesn't seem to know it. That is so weird.

Keep Christ out of Xmas

I cede the stage to John.

Fukushima's sting: cancer diagnoses among US sailors

Remember how our valiant Navy seamen took part in the Fukushima rescue mission after the tsunami caused a nuclear disaster? (You may have forgotten; the American news media did.)

The sailors were stationed aboard the USS Ronald Reagan as they performed their rescue duties. Now, many are being diagnosed with various forms of cancer. (Bolding ahead is mine.)

Crew members, many of whom are in their 20s, have been diagnosed with conditions including thyroid cancer, testicular cancer and leukemia. The Department of Defense says the Navy took "proactive measures" in order to "mitigate the levels of Fukushima-related contamination on U.S. Navy ships and aircraft” and that crew members were not exposed to dangerous radiation levels.

Charles Bonner, attorney for the sailors, says the radiation the USS Ronald Reagan crew was exposed to extended beyond the tasks of Operation Tomodachi. Deployed ships desalinate their own water, so crew members were unknowingly drinking, cooking with, and bathing in contaminated water due to the ship's close proximity to the disaster site, according to Bonner. The USS Reagan was ultimately informed of the contamination after a month of living approximately 10 miles offshore from the affected region.

I had to find out about this through Al Jazeera because the American media are beholden to industries that make zillions of dollars from nuclear energy. Therefore, one mustn't say anything bad about nuclear energy -- even after a disaster like Fukushima. It would be a mortal sin to talk about it. Shhhhhhh.

Odd op-ed almost seems fake

I wasn't expecting it. "A Transgender Volunteer for the Salvation Army" is the name of an op-ed in the NYT by Jennifer Finny Boylan. Here's a bit:

Then, one day, I saw someone ringing a Salvation Army bell outside a Walmart. I thought, hey, I could do that. And so I signed up, hoping it might help dispel the blues. I wasn’t sure how the charity would react to the fact that one of their volunteers was a 6-foot-tall trans woman, though. 

Hmmm. We never learn the answer to that because Boylan keeps the focus of the story on ringing that bell and gathering money for people who need it at Christmas -- which is the point of the whole thing (the op-ed and the holiday).

Apparently, she didn't know a thing about the Salvation Army's secondary mission: being evil to GLBT folks. It's hard to believe a transgender woman could have missed the memo about anti-gay bigotry by the Salvation Army. It's legendary. But whatever.

I thought this small paragraph was rather odd: 

Whether I was ministering, as a Salvation Army volunteer, or whether I was being ministered unto, however, remained to be seen. 

Uh, what? But the op-ed's thrust seems to be about helping people and I can't knock that. After she heard about the, you know, gay-hating, she stopped volunteering for the Evil Army. But she says she still tosses a dollar in their buckets now and then. However, she volunteers only for gay-friendly organizations these days. Nonetheless, she can't quite kick the Salvation Army habit:

Still, when I’m walking through the mall and I hear those ringing bells, I don’t think of politics, but of something simpler: the ways in which acts of charity help to get us outside ourselves. I had volunteered in hopes of helping the needy. Looking back, I realize I was also helping myself.

I'm not sure how she was helping herself when volunteering for the bigots. Whatever. She was spreading Xmas cheer, I guess. And I'm all in with that. 

Xmas is for everyone, kids. So enjoy it like there's no tomorrow -- and be kind to everyone you meet. That's the point. 

(Speaking of which, if I hear one more brain-dead Christian on TV, telling us about the "true meaning" of Xmas -- i.e., Jeebus' birthday -- I'm going to throw up. Xmas is whatever you think it is. It's what you grew up with, or wish you grew up with, and what you want the holiday to be. Xmas doesn't discriminate. The Salvation Army and the Catholic church are in charge of that.)

Imagine being outside in this cold

It's freezing here today, and it's been this way for several days. Fine for us, warm and cozy inside our houses. But some guys don't have houses.

I've been taking care of two ill geese. That's a photo of them on the left, sitting at the foot of my stairs. It's sad. The one on the right I've mentioned before on the blog. It's been thriving for over a year despite the fact that it has only one workable leg. Well, that leg finally gave out (on its own or helped by coyotes; we hear a pack of them at night lately). So now all it can do is sit. It can fly for very short distances, but not very high. It's truly screwed.

The one on the left is a huge friend of mine. For whatever reason, this goose thinks I'm its daddy. When I go outside, it follows me around. It even lets me pet it! Anyway, something happened to it, too. It can fly short distances and sometimes it can stand, but not always. I also see that there's something wrong with the feathers on its right side. Not sure if that's the main problem.

Whatever the cause of their ills, these two sought me out when they had nowhere to turn. They were outside my front door, calling to me. Awwww! I hopped to, of course, and tried to help them. They have nothing to eat because the grass is covered with snow and ice. (Dog only knows what they eat down there, but they've always got their faces in the grass. A country friend told me they eat "the seed". Whatever.) So I've been feeding them.

Problem is, only one of them showed up today. I think they've been spending their nights swimming in a tiny area of the pond that wasn't frozen over. However, that little bit of heaven froze last night -- so they had nowhere to go. At least, I'm assuming this is what happened. The one who thinks I'm his daddy may have been able to fly out of harm's way. The other one wasn't so lucky. I don't see it anywhere today.

This is the way of nature: stuff's always getting killed. This tells you clearly that there is no god -- at least, not a nice one. I'll continue to feed all the creatures out there for as long as I have the money to buy food. Poor little guys. They need our help.

Go outside and feed something today. It'll do you (and the somethings) good. Remember, Xmas isn't just for people. It's a time when we're kind to all creatures. At least, that's the way I play it.

Gender and the Holy Ghost

My secret contact within the Holy See -- who must, perforce, remain anonymous -- informs me that the Holy Ghost follows my blog religiously. Apparently, ze's a huge fan.

Regular readers of this blog are of course aware that "ze" is the pronoun used for those who see themselves as neither male or female. They simply do not have a gender, or choose not to recognize it. To each, zis own. I state this for the benefit of poor, benighted readers who might not be familiar with the term.

I think it's appropriate to use the pronoun "ze" for the Holy Ghost. I mean, how could a ghost possibly have a set and unchanging gender? A male Holy Ghost? A female Holy Ghost? It just doesn't work. Clearly, ze is the way to go.

This reminds me of a term I heard a football announcer use yesterday. He said of a player, "he has his physicality going for him." Indeed. As if the rest of us don't have physicality. I suspect each of us has a physical body...except the Holy Ghost...oh, and the Cheshire Cat! Ahem...please note that both characters are fictional.

Anyway, ze's a big fan of the blog. I think that's so nice.

Roman Catholic church continues to demonize gays

Liberal Catholics adore Pope Francis. In their view, he is bringing long-needed change to the Roman Catholic church. But this view is based on impressions rather than real, doctrinal change. Perhaps their mushiest belief about Pope Francis is that, with a few simple words, he eradicated the church's horrifying stance on gays. Not so fast, says Frank Bruni.

Here's a bit of his opinion piece, but go read the whole thing if you have time:

The church’s treatment of gays and lesbians is especially rife with mixed messages and hypocrisy. In schools and congregations, many priests, nuns and other Catholics state or quietly signal that they see nothing sinful in the loving relationships of gay couples, only to have more hidebound Catholics swoop in to sweep such couples away. For a gay person who doesn’t want to be exiled, secrecy is smarter than honesty, which is supposedly a virtue. 

The weirdest thing, of course, is that kind Catholics disapprove of the church's continuing pogrom against gays. But it's hard to wipe away centuries (milleniums?) of anti-gay bigotry by the church. Let's hope the laggards catch up, and soon. It's time to accept gays and move on. And it's way past time for the church in all its forms to stop firing people for being gay.

God of love, my ass.

It's time for Father Tiger

Ho, ho, ho.

Competition is exactly what NASA needs

Today there are two space-mission stories in the news. And here's the twist: neither involves the good old US of A.

Iran sent a monkey into space today and China successfully "soft-landed" a probe on the moon. Mind you, Iran's achievement is minor (and suspect). But China did something important -- and they plan to follow up the mission by putting a man on the moon. I think both these reports are good for the US.

I say this because Congress has such limited vision. They've been cutting NASA's funding mercilessly for some time. Perhaps the idea of China getting a foothold on the moon will wake them up. The US must continue it's extra-Earth activities in full force -- or another country will take the lead.

Congress always fears these races. The USSR's Sputnik moment pushed the US into a fierce space competition with the Soviets. That was a very good thing for the US. Fear hones the minds of congress-critters. And I suspect (and hope) that these two missions (okay, China's mission) will get them off their asses to write NASA a huge check.

NASA has been trying to keep its mojo during these lean times. In fact, they executed the most amazing space feat of all time by landing the Curiosity rover on Mars this year. But you can only do so much when your bank account is depleted.

Let's hope this opens the coffers for NASA. Space exploration is the thing Americans do best. We mustn't lose our edge at this stage of the game.

Besides which, China truly is a threat. I'm sure their plan includes setting up a base so they can aim weapons at the US and thereby achieve world dominance. That's how China rolls: by pushing everyone around. And they are a very paranoid nation.

Let's hope our cartoon Congress gets all riled up over this. If they can stop preening in front of their Tea Party mirrors long enough to write a check, NASA will be back on its feet in no time.

More on the strange Johnny Weir

This fellow, Johnny Weir, is a real piece of work. Rather than rehash the story, I'll cede the floor to John Aravosis. G'wan over there and read his piece. And remember, Johnny Weir is going to be one of NBC's commentators at the Sochi Olympics. Ugh.

Weir is an odd combination of things: he's a mash-up of out-gay and closet-case. He tries to live the life of the former, while acting like the latter.

We need allies, not frenemies. I wish he'd get lost.

Another Catholic travesty

You've probably heard about the teacher who was fired from a Catholic school because they learned he was going to marry his lover. This occurred despite the fact that the relationship was well known to school administrators. Living with a guy and having, you know, gay sex with him was apparently okay until the sacred, supernatural and godly word "marriage" entered the tale. You can't mess around with marriage, no siree. It's holy, doncha know. But lo and behold, many Catholics in the area are not supportive of the school's anti-gay bigotry. Surprise, surprise. (My paragraphing ahead.)

PHILADELPHIA — Administrators at a Roman Catholic high school suffered a sharp and swift backlash this week after firing a well-liked teacher who sought to marry his same-sex partner. 

After his termination Dec. 6, the criticism came fast and furious. One protest letter lambasted the school for "this apparent assault on diversity, this closed-mindedness and this devotion to doctrine when change is happening all around you." 

Educators said they had no choice, but thousands have protested the move through Facebook groups and petitions demanding that Michael Griffin be rehired at Holy Ghost Preparatory School. Some alumni have pledged to withhold financial support.

"Griffin deserves to be congratulated on his upcoming nuptials, not banished for making the news public," said the letter, signed by nearly 100 alums, parents and former staff members. 

Catholics aren't going to stand for this type of thing much longer. Does the church not know that most Catholics in the US approve of gay marriage? Do they not care? Are they stormtroopers?

And of course, they haul out the same old nonsense:

School officials portray the firing as a purely contractual issue that, if not addressed, could lead to a slippery slope.

Uh, which slippery slope might that be? Will straight teachers at the school be hounded by "gay thoughts"? Will the students start "gay-marrying" each other? Will there be man-on-man sex in the hallways? Will the school eventually be renamed the Holy Ghost Gay Sex Academy? Horrors!

Seriously, they have nothing but bile. There is no rationale behind the animus, other than the fact that they hate gay people. Hey, Holy Ghost Preparatory School, maybe you should move to Russia. You'd find like-minded "souls" there. Heck, you could even start kidnapping gay people and torturing them on video. I'll bet you'd love that. Slippery slope indeed. That is your slippery slope. Your hatred leads to only one place: pogroms, vilification, physical abuse and finally, murder. 

Apparently this is what they think their god wants. What an evil god these people have. Best to avoid him entirely. Without attention, maybe he'll go away. That would be the best outcome -- for everyone.

The wondrous Milo

This is a photo of Milo, the finest goose in the world. (He's the one in the foreground.) Milo and I are huge friends. I was worried about him because I saw a dead goose in the road recently. I thought, "Heavens, that can't be Milo, the finest goose in the world, can it?!"

Without movement, I confess I can't tell the geese apart. It's how Milo reacts to me and to his flock that tips me off to his identity. He's just so fine. I always recognize him. In any case, Milo is hale and healthy -- just look at him. This is good news for both his flock and me.

You must always remember Milo, the finest goose in the world. Thinking about him is much better than praying, BTW. So skip church this Sunday and come look at Milo instead. It'll do ya good.

Is Bryan Fischer the stupidest wingnut?

Bryan Fischer is the vile spokesman for the American Family Association (a hate group). Worse, his big mouth has a radio show and it's strictly for wingnuts. I mean, this guy is way off the beam.

Today, DailyKOS focused on something he said on his show. It is the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. Here you go:

On his radio broadcast yesterday, Bryan Fischer spent two segments laying out his argument that, when the founders of this nation used the word "religion," what they really meant was "Christianity." [...] 

"If by 'religion,'" Fischer said, "the founders, and the founders of the state of Oklahoma, meant Christianity, then you can ban a monument to Satan because that's not Christianity ... You can say 'no, we're not going to let you do it. Our Constitution protects the free exercise of the Christian religion; yours is not a Christian expression, we're not going to have that monument.' If we don't understand the word 'religion' to mean Christianity as the founders intended it, then we have no way to stop Islam, we have no way to stop Satanism, we have no way to stop any other sort of sinister religion practice that might creep onto the fruited plains"

You laughed a lot, right? C'mon, kids. Let's all go out tonight and "creep onto the fruited plains", just for fun. I'll see you there!

But seriously, how do these people manage to dress themselves in the morning? Oh, that's right. Someone does it for them because they have lots of money from their never-ending, hate-filled scams. For a moment, I forgot.

Mets fans thrilled

I was excited yesterday when I heard the news. The Mets signed Bartolo Colon to a two-year deal! That's great. I always liked Colon. He's one of those guys who looks like he couldn't do anything athletic -- but he can. In fact, he's one of the best, sneakiest pitchers ever.

This comes on the heels of the Mets obtaining Curtis Granderson from the Yankees. Things are definitely looking up for my Mets. Who knows? They might actually accomplish a thing or two this year. That would be great for long-suffering Mets fans.

As Curtis noted recently, real New Yorkers are Mets fans. We hate the Yankees. So every real New Yorker is thrilled by these moves.

Jeez, the Mets could actually compete this year. I can't get over it. That would be so amazing.

Dep't of Just Saying

It would have been much funnier if Time named Francis "Pope of the Year". You know, to distinguish him from the other pope.

Ideally, they could have included a small picture of Ratzinger at the bottom of the page, with a big X over it. (Or maybe just a photo of the red shoes with an X over it -- you know, to remain tasteful.)

Missed opportunities. And you never get another shot.

CarbonFin Outliner

I broke up with my last list-writing app, ListMaster. (Lots of L's in that sentence.) Although I recently said nice things about ListMaster on this blog, I added a negative postscript to that post. It's not a reliable app.

When you're writing a novel, you need tools that always work, like Scrivener, the god of writing software. But I still wanted something for my iPad: an app where I could store the ideas for upcoming scenes. Seems like it would be easy to find such an app, but there's a lot of junk out there.

However, through the grace of Dog's guidance, I finally landed on CarbonFin's digital doorstep. It's a great $5 app that backs up to CarbonFin's web site, so you can access the ideas on your desktop with ease. And not only that -- you can import the outlines into Scrivener! It's wonderful (at least, so far).

I'd tell you all about CarbonFin's virtues but I couldn't do it as well as Mathew Mitchell, who wrote this excellent post about the app. (I also stole his screenshot for this post. Something tells me he wouldn't mind.)

If you need a reliable iPad app to store your words and ideas, CarbonFin might be a very good choice. It was for me.

I don't quite get it

Updated below.

You know that couple who took four kids outside to "play in the snow" and then were reported missing for days in sub-zero temperatures? They're okay, in case you didn't hear about it. But part of their survival story isn't clear to me.

The couple, who were without extra blankets, started a fire outside after the Jeep overturned. They heated rocks and placed them in the spare tire to keep the children, ages 3 to 10, warm at night.

What does that mean, exactly? They heated rocks in the fire, somehow slipped them inside the tire...and then what? Went back into the car and brought the tire in with them? And wouldn't that make a horrible rubber stink that fouled the air? I don't get it.

If you can envision how they did this, clue me in. I'm really glad they're alive, though. When I hear about one of these incidents, I always become furious with the adults. But in this case, they did well.

---------
An article I just read seems to provide a better description of how they stayed warm:

With the engine of Jeep disabled, Glanton removed the spare tire and used it as a fire ring to burn wood and brush to keep the adults and children warm, Pershing County Sheriff Richard Machado said. 

"They placed rocks inside the tire and used the rocks to keep the children warm at night," he said. 

Ah, I see!