Shotgun

Yes, I agree... I don't believe in God myself, but I do think that where religion is a part of our history, it should be taught that way. Removing historical facts just because they pertain to God is ridiculous.

I'm glad to hear it worked for you, and I'm sure it works for a lot of other people too... But for me it has never worked. I think it just makes up such a large part of a person's personality and influences so many of their other beliefs, that I find there to be a certain mental level that we simply can't relate on. Also, I tend to censor (not be so blunt about) my thoughts about God and religion when I am in public or around people who are religious - out of respect for their beliefs, but I do not want to feel like I have to do that when I am alone with my S/O. With my S/O, I want to be able to be myself 100%, which means that I will speak bluntly on my thoughts about religion... and I have found that the Christians I have dated tend to be offended by this (and understandably so)... but I can't change who I am just to be in a relationship with someone, nor would I expect them to change for me. Plus, it would be kinda weird to be married to someone who believed that I would be going to Hell when I die... And if they truly believed in God and that I would be going to Hell, and if they truly loved me, then it seems that they should be trying really hard to convert me to their religion so that we could go to Heaven together... But if they did try really hard to convert me, then of course it would bother me and I would end the relationship... but if they didn't do that then I would have to assume that they didn't care that I would be going to Hell, and it would be hard to think that they really loved me if they didn't care about such a thing... So that seems to create a "no-win" situation. (And I hope that this post does not offend anyone, as that is definitely not my intention.)

Being an atheist, I have found it to be pretty much impossible to have a relationship with anyone who is not an atheist too. I've tried, but it just doesn't work for me. I have plenty of friends who are not atheists, and that has never been a problem... but in a serious relationship, it seems to be a big issue (in my experience).

Plagiarism is basically theft, so I guess it is a sin according to the ten commandments. (Not that it really matters on dz.com, but it is not very cool to post something to look like your own writing when it is pretty much word for word from someone else's article. ) As to the original article, I think that Christians who view homosexuality as a sin would embrace someone who is gay as long as they repent their "sin" of being gay. To allow a same-sex couple to marry in their church would be to endorse the sin of homosexuality. To allow a thief to marry in their church does not endorse the sin of theft, so that comparison really doesn't work. The Church doesn't just embrace sinners for who they are; they embrace sinners who they think they can "save" and change for the better. I don't think they are judging homosexuals any more than they judge other sinners, but (like any other sinner) they do want to help them to stop their sins ("cure" them of their homosexuality). And why would anyone who is gay want to go to a church that believes homosexuality is a sin anyway? Wouldn't it be better to find a church that fits their beliefs a little better?

I originally wanted to get a tattoo to cover the scars on my shoulder (from a car accident)... but when I told the tattoo artist what I wanted, he said it wouldn't work to put it over my scars (though I believe that was only because they are keloid scars)... so I just said screw it, put it on the other shoulder... and now I have scars on one shoulder and a damselfly tattoo on the other. That was about ten years ago, and I've been trying to come up with an idea for another tattoo since then... but no luck... That sounds nice... Don't think I've ever seen that, but it sounds interesting...

Ah, you just explained why I turned out to be such a psycho... the one thing I never thought of - Pacman! Damn that little yellow dude! Actually, this subject is something I've been thinking about lately - the effect of violence in the media on children. I have a psychology paper to write, and one of the subjects is whether I think violence in the media causes children to act more aggressively, whether the media should be censored for violence, and if so by whose standards... So I have been reading a lot of research studies, and I have come to the conclusion that yes it does encourage aggressive behavior in children (of course, more so in kids who are predisposed to violence)... Now I do not like the idea of the government censoring anything really, so I think it is the responsibility of the parents... But in reality I know that a large number of parents do no accept such responsibility, so that really does nothing to fix the problem... So I am pretty much stumped on the answer to that question...

So that you could be out in space?

I remember getting Baptized as a little girl... It was the day I learned that wearing wet pantyhose feels kinda gross. Oh, and sorry but I have no advice for dealing with the Baptism pressure... Good luck!

I personally don't make such decisions based on what the general population's "standard" is.... And I wouldn't marry anyone who did. (Rich would never tell me the children were getting his last name because that was the "standard" - well, not unless he was making a joke anyway.) But of course it makes no difference to me if other people want to follow such standards or traditions...

Ah, that explains it!

Thanks... I was already feeling nauseous... and reading this really helped: http://www.cookingwithcum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=75 And Fisty's response: Yeah, I'm gonna go barf now....

YES! ...and that toilet bowl tripping scene... Yep, nothing like watching some dude swim around in poo while I eat my yummy stew.... Hey, that rhymes! (and it's a good thing I don't have a weak tummy for that sort of thing!) Rich had to close his eyes during that part... That movie is somewhat depressing, but it's really well-done... and I love the soundtrack. "Oh, it's such a perfect day....."

I did the smart thing and sent Rich to the liquor store while I was taking my test. Of course, the test might have been more fun if I had downed a few shots before taking it. Mmm... I just had some yummy hot stew, sitting in front of the fire... And now I'm having a cocktail and watching "Trainspotting"...

Hummm... Perfect day to stay in and having an absinthe binging party! Sounds like a good idea, but I have no alcohol in the house. Well, except for that nasty Absente -and I just get the feeling that stuff would give me one serious hangover. Oh well, I'm about to take an algebra test anyway (while sitting here in my PJ's )... Maybe after I am done with that then I will see if I am brave enough to drive to the liquor store.

No, actually I haven't... I only recently bought myself a rain jacket... I'm usually one of the idiots just walking around getting soaking wet when it rains.

Ha ha... I was thinking of you after I saw the snow this morning. I figured I had jinxed myself for making fun of you stuck in the cold weather while I'm in "sunny" SoCal. Oh, and no way am I driving in this stuff. Most people out here don't seem to know how to drive in the rain, so I can only imagine what they're like trying to drive in ice!

Wow, you got a lot more snow than we did... Yours actually looks like proper snow! It's disappearing pretty quickly here because of the heavy rain... and I haven't been able to take pictures outside because of the rain too. Too bad, it would be nice to get a pano shot outside with snow on the ground...

Thanks... It looks like most of it will be ok except for my big sword fern - that poor guy looks pretty toasted. Actually I don't have very much in my garden right now anyway... because I haven't had time for gardening in the last few months! Oh well, now I have an excuse - I can just say that the ice and snow killed everything.

Yeah, it's been pouring down rain all night so I'll bet Perris is pretty wet and soggy too. I have no idea when the snow arrived, but I was up most of the night because the rain and thunder kept waking me up. I just got an email from a friend who lives a few miles from the dz - she sent pictures of all the snow on the ground at her house too. Pretty freaky! Must go make a snowman before it disappears!

Wow, this is what I saw out my window when I woke up this morning: http://crayfish.nu/keely/images/misc/nov21_001.jpg I live about 20 minutes south of the Perris dz, in what is mostly a desert... Never would have expected to see snow here!

Oh, and I think "Further Down the Spiral" is a better cd for doing the dirty to. "The Art of Self Destruction, Part One" is a particularly sexy song on that album...

tucked inside the heart of every nice girl...

When I first started dating Rich, I would randomly send him "suggestive" photos while he was at work... I think he liked that. Hmm, now that we've been married for almost three years... perhaps I should still be doing that... (I do have a digital camera after all.)

A little white cotton nightie.

I have that CD, but I never knew it was Trent Reznor doing the backup vocals... So I just listened to it again... Very nice.