As I got up this morning and pulled on my brown and orange striped shirt, then pulled my skull tree t-shirt over that, I remembered why I like this day. It’s joyous and sad, all at once. Today is a celebration of those who have gone before and those yet to come. Today is a celebration of the quiet in our souls and the work of our bodies. It’s a harvest festival. It’s a cup of hot tea. It’s a slice of pizza with friends. It’s a howl at the moon, sometime just after midnight.

From Wikipedia.org 
Samhain (pronounced sow-un, commonly) is the word for November in the Irish language. The Scottish Gaelic spelling is Samhuinn. The same word was used for a month in the Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of this month, with the festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest. A modernized version of this festival continues today in some of the traditions of the Christian All Souls’ Day, the secular Halloween, and in folk practices of Samhain itself in the Celtic Nations and the Irish and Scottish diasporas. The name is also used for one of the sabbat feasts in the Wiccan wheel of the year.

The rest of the article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

So, today, when you all don your costumes, eat a ton of candy and/or get really trashed, think of the time to come. Think of the quiet in your soul and mind. Take that hang-over or belly-ache tomorrow as a sign that its time to chill out for a couple months. Besides, we all gotta stay warm, yes?

He’s figuring it out
   –slowly
   –piece by piece
But he’s looked in the mirror.

Everything is okay;
   things are as they should be.

So he’s figuring it out.
Our little boy is growing up.

I danced alone
   but spirits bounded ’round me!
Both my own and those otherwise,
   those that like dancing.

And sweet sounds filled the air,
   and candles lit the space.
And sweat dripped from my brow
   and my heart kept pace.

I panted, using the air,
   offering it still to those
   who need it not
And I romped and rustled
   and the flames flickered
   and the breeze swirled.

All in my little dorm room.
All in my temple.

Today, I have been discovering something that I didn’t think I would ever develop: my inner writer. I’ve been scrambling all day today to get an idea out in words, one that has had a beginning, middle and end, and one that is coming along quite nicely. Granted, I’m not doing this because the story is in my head, and it needs out. I’m doing it to see my name on a website, and to know that lots of people are going to hear it. I want it known that I am a writer. Roar.

However, this story is making me sad, and hopefully in the next few days, you’ll know why. I intend to drop it here for everyone to read. I hope you like it when its done.

And by “you,” I mean the 15 people who poked around here yesterday and today, and the 42 people who dropped by on the 25th. I like you, and I don’t even know you!

Don’t be a stranger!

religion

theism

atheism

No results found for non-theism

non-
Function: prefix
: not : other than : reverse of : absence of

This is the first of a couple dilemnae that I’ve come across this evening. Oh, how my mind reels. I want to point out that a friend of mine, who is very intelligent and well-educated, has described herself as a non-theist, and not an athesit. I don’t know why, because they don’t seem to be any different to me.

Then I found these articles:
http://evangelicalatheist.com/2005/11/16/science-and-magick/
http://the-goddess.org/blog/2005/11/evangelical-atheist-science-and-magick.html
http://www.the-brights.net/

Part 2:
After reading these, I got sorta confused, and had to do some thinking, and i came to some conclusions, and came back to read some more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement
http://www.barbelith.com/topic.php?id=11947

I was not able to finish the second link because it has two pages, and about 4 peer-reviewed-like responses on it, and it made my brain a little too squishy for one sitting.

Anyway, the more I read, the more I might have found something to support something about magick. More to come.

Meanwhile, read the funny version of everything above:
http://dresdencodak.com/

As addressed in a previous blog, please note the NaBloPoMo sticker on the sidebar. This means I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna blog every single day between November 1st and November 30th. Even if it kills me. This means some sort of dedication for sure, since Thanksgiving is right smack in the middle, and I’ll have to deal with Popa’s slow-ass dial-up.

I was going to do NaNoWriMo, which means writing a 50,000 word novel. If you do the math, that’s some 1,600 words a day, and that’s scary. I tried it get started on something not too long ago, and I made it to about 2,000 words. The next try was 1,300 words, then 800, then 600. Poo. Maybe next year, when I have both time and energy to not get discouraged.

I got the idea for this from IndecisivePeach (see blogroll). She’s a very good friend, and I’m glad we have this in common. I say I blame her, but this blog has been a place for me to organize my thoughts a bit.

Since we’ve got all this blogging about to happen, I’m gonna do my best to keep things short until then, which is only a few days away, so I can do my big exposes then.

In the works:
Why magick is good…
How magick and science correlate…
What science can’t give us…
What magick can’t give us…
What a college education has taught me…
What I’ve learned despite college…

 Stay tuned folks! An action packed month this way comes!

Yesterday, I taught my little saxophone sectional. Every Wednesday since August, I’ve been showing up and helping out the Randall High School band. The kids are pretty good, and there is enough actual desire to learn that it’s exciting.  One of the kids likes to make excuses for everything, but I know she has the ability to do some of these things.

For those interested, we are working on Ferling etudes No. 18, 19, and 30. Go Texas all-state!

I got an interesting question from Ryan. He wanted to know when to stop a trill, on the written note, or the trilled note. It took some thinking, because I’d never thought of it that way. Luckily, every trill in this set of etudes is followed by a two grace notes that lead into the next passage. It really helped sort that out, but I’m sure it will come up again. I’ll have to think about this stuff.

This has carried over into my own private lessons, as Lefevre had me think about which notes I was putting vibrato on. Not something I usually think about, which was good. He’s excited for me, and I’m excited for me. I don’t know what it was, but my stuff just clicked a little bit better today. Even when I was rushing the Ibert over 15 bpm. Scary! I didn’t think I could do that that fast.

Just having taught these few lessons, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself, and its a little frightening. When I’m running around the marching field clapping and counting, trying to get kids in step, trying to get postures good, I realize that maybe I’m a bit too intense. But they (the education systems) encourage intensity in the classroom, so maybe it’s not so bad. And I’ve learned that my sarcasm needs to lighten a little, and I could stand to work on the stuff the kids are learning. I am having a good, harrowing time.

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” –Some person.
“Those who miss a test in history are doomed to repeat it.” –Me.

This is what looms over me today. Here at I sat, at work, doing my history homework, as usual on Wednesdays, and I decided to check the mail for the course. This class is online, which is good because it cuts down on the actual classwork you do, but all puts the burden on the student more to do their stuff. This is what I have trouble with. Not that I am really all that lazy, but I am forgetful, and I do prioritize things a little backwards.

Anyway, I check the mail, I check the posts, and I notice that I missed the second of four exams by a day. A day. One day. Not even a full day. Suck.

So I email the prof in a mild frenzy, hoping to get something out of him in way of sympathy. No reply yet, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Toes too. The problem is that, withouth this test, I will need to make at least 80s on the remaining tests in order to get a C. Not that have to have a C, but it would be nice to.  I’ve lost some points in my GPA since I took that shitty reading class over the summer (It’s a requirement for my major, don’t ask).  Now, if all I want is a D, then I can make a 22 on both tests, and still be okay. However, I don’t want to suck, so I hope that I can do well on these other tests.

More so, I hope the prof gets back in touch with me, and feels bad for me. Boo hoo, D’s a loser.

While we are on the subject of potential failure, let’s talk about the things I am not failing in:

Recital music: I think I’m doing dandy, even if I do get a little down about things. Keep truckin’!
English: Oh no, that B I got on the midterm was horrible! Blah! Me write good. Me get A.
Blogging: I never thought I would ever write this much. When I had this thing over on Myspace.com (evil) I would only blog when I felt shitty. Now I blog daily. Note the NaBloPoMo sticker–>
Money: I spent a lot, but I’m not broke. Go me!
Sectionals: I am really enjoying teaching those kids, and I’m looking forward to student teaching in the spring.

I am currently listening to, at the very moment, Regina Spektor’s “Us.” I am in love with her. Her music reminds me of Tori Amos + Ani Difranco, without so much bitchiness or political ranting. Though I might be missing the point. Anyway, her music is delightful, and it makes me happy hearing it. I think she has a video on MTV for “Fidelity,” which is a good song also.

I first learned of her when singing with my friend Gina and Adam in the car. It was bliss. I love singing with them. Also with Josh. We were singing to the Lion King soundtrack later that day, and we had some good three-part harmony going on, which was wonderful.

If you don’t sing much, start. If you do sing, sing with friends. If you do that, do it more often. It is highly recommended, and probably condoned by the Surgeon General. Or the Dali Lhama.

 By the way, that is what Regina Spektor looks like. Listen to her. Love her.

Earth exodus. Malfunction. Time to think.