Last night a bunch of friends came over to help me celebrate the winter holiday. Since toob was in Arkansas visiting family, it was the perfect time to throw a wild and raucous party while the parents were out. :D

There was food and wine and Love Actually, which is a movie that just gets me almost every time in a completely different way. Liam Neeson carrying his wife's coffin out of the church to the tune of the Bay City Rollers choked me up a bit. It was absurd and funny, but the look of bewildered grief on his face... And when Colin Firth proposes to his Portugese maid in broken grade-school language-tape speak just made me so happy. It is a movie that shamelessly uses every rom-com cliche in the book, but its joy is infectious and it just sweeps you up. I'm definitely making this a Christmas tradition.

toob hid presents all over the house for me to find on Christmas before he left, but I couldn't wait and everyone helped me with the scavenger hunt. They were rhyming clues that were fun and a little tricky; we ended up needing to use a thesaurus for the first one ("It could mean to steal or it could mean your face, but in this case it's something of Mat's that can easily break!"), and andreal helped out with the last one. My dragon should really do more puzzles for people; he has a really great knack for it. Clever, tricksy dragon.

I got precisely what I asked for: clothes, books and a DS game. They were all really, really neat. My personal favorites are a purple flannel shirt, a Ravens Flacco jersey(!!!) and a signed first edition of Harlan Ellison's Deathbird Stories(!!!!!!! :D :D <3). I'm getting a decent, small collection of special edition books and it just makes me wiggle with glee!

Merry Christmas, everyone. Also, Happy Yule, Solid Kwanzaa, OK Festivus and Happy Chanukah. No matter what you're doing today (even if it's not something you would have preferred), please remember the loved ones in your life and the great things you have going for you. It's still not too late to have a good holiday. :)

The True Story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

A guy named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night. His 4-year-old daughter, Barbara, sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dads eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob. Being small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. ( Read more... )

Winter Solstice:
A Time of the Shaman's Gift Bringing

Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, the longest night. In the northern hemisphere this occurs December 20, 21, 22 or even the 23rd, varying from year to year, dependent upon the elliptical path of the Earth around our Sun. Throughout the cultures of the northern world the Winter Solstice is recognized as a powerful time, a time that commands the respect of acknowledgment and celebration. Christmas is, of course, one such holiday. Yule and Saturnalia provide historic origins for the motifs integrated in the celebration of the season in the form of the Yule Log and decking the halls with boughs of holly, feasting and family gatherings. Mithraic rites of the birth of the Year-God recognize December 25th as the holy day of renewal. It is also the birthday of Osiris, Dionysus and Horus.

( Read more... )

The ceremonies performed at the Winter Solstice are powerful in their transformative effect. They are empowering of each participant in the awakening of each to their own inherent spiritual gifts. They are ceremonies of compassion and liberation, ceremonies of blessing, well-being and abundance in the year to come.

Jade Wah'oo Grigori
Winter Solstice

And (one of) today's story is him back in a full courtroom (he had been in a series of empty courtrooms with no other cases than his just so the transcripts could be censored more easily (his ex-common law wife was friends with all of the clerks, so this was easy for them to do) and every time he would start his testimony he would state that the courtroom was empty and thus the transcript was not to be relied on without witnesses, that showed them and he got moved back in with other cases).

State's Attorney: I don't think Mr. Zombie believes in the law.

Mr. Zombie: Aren't you supposed to be asking me questions?

SA: [pause] Mr. Zombie, do you believe in the law?

Mr. Zombie: Absolutely. For example, I believe in Murphy's Law which states that anything that can be screwed will be. As you are currently demonstrating.

Other than the prosecutor and the judge he said everyone including all the other attorneys burst out laughing, but that that was what cost him that case since the judge lost control of his courtroom. But it didn't matter, they were all out to get him and they would've found a some other way.

The forecast is for a big noreaster, and, indeed, the air smells of snow. I've seen the pictures from Virginia and Baltimore and Philadelphia (from friends who have power, cameras, and Flickr accounts!). But it's not snowing here.

Because of the forecast, I'm reluctant to go out, which doesn't make any sense at all. Sure, it's cold. But it's not snowing. And the forecast could be wrong. And, even if it's right, the snow isn't supposed to be heavy until this evening.

I have a cup of tea, the early sections of the Sunday Times, and plenty of knitting. So, I shall drink tea and knit and wait for the snow to start.

Winter Solstice Ritual

Event Details: Winter Solstice is the time of the longest night. It is a time of great introspection as we assess the path we have traversed in the year past. And it is a time of great celebration, as from this day forward, the days get longer and the light gets stronger.

Come join us as we contemplate our lives and open to the return of the great unconquered sun.

This ritual is open to the pagan-friendly public.

Event Location: N. 77th St and McDowell Rd in Scottsdale
Event TIME Details: 5:00 pm

Directions: Take 101 to McDowell Rd. Go west on McDowell, past Hayden, to 77th St. Go north on 77th St until you get to the last parking lot before Oak Street. We will be meeting at the Northeast Pavilion or in the area.

Phone: (602) 722-2562

Website: http://www.earthlove.org

...a female has deliberately hit me.

#1: A first grader at TOCKITEW's school Christmas party. I was running the dreidel game (not too bad after I implemented my own rake, and since the house = me, the entire cut was MINE) and while asking each player's name I got to the girl who normally sits next to TOCKITEW and thus I had seen her name plate.

jrh: And your name is Ralph, right?

Ralph: No. Why ever would you say that?

jrh: Aren't you named after Ralph Lauren?

Lauren: [hits jrh]

They were playing for M&Ms, though they were to return all of them at the end of the game. Unsurprisingly there were complaints over this so I always told them they could have one or two but they /had/ to keep that quiet. And for the (if non-annoying) bigger complainers even allowed THREE, but they really had to be /silent/ about THAT. Ralph held her take (about 10 or so) out in her outstretched hand then stuffed them all in her mouth at once and smiled an M&M-eating grin until finished. Then walked off to the next table.

#2: Even though I was working from home I had to run into town this afternoon after The Counter-Culture Intransigent was claiming far more ignorance on the phone than I thought she had and in the process of fixing her machine she hit me! Out of the blue. But, she gave me festively-boxed home-baked holiday cookies, which was the real reason for the seeming ignorance. But that doesn't make up for the extreme physical workplace violence.

So, the just-shows-up-out-of-the-blue-when-he-needs-money-as-he-has-no-regular-job-and-does-a-great-job-on-absolute-shit-work-or-whatever worker that I really like just 'cause and he gets annoying things done and he seems to like me, I'm guessing largely because I overpay him (on the scale of what others pay, he'll literally take any amount I suggest... he always wears a t-shirt that says I'VE DONE WITH SO LITTLE FOR SO LONG I NO LONGER NEED ANYTHING), showed up this morning and it was wonderful. He's a Constitutional Scholar! So he sets the judge on edge every time he's in court because he immediately warns the judge he knows about the "legal canyons" the judge is bound by and that really sets them off because now the court can't just push him around. Also, the legal system is as illegal as the post office, both private institutions setup solely to rob money from everyone since the country has been in Chapter 11 since Eisenhower was in his wheelchair. "Roosevelt?" "Yeah, that one."

Oh, and all city ordinances are unconstitutional, just never plead guilty or you'll set a legal precedent screwing all your neighbors as it is now LAW. Watch those precedents! Your driver's licenses are also unconstitutional but you signed your rights away getting your learner's permit in driver's ed because you're too young to know better. That's how they get you.

And legal marriage licenses were only created to prevent interracial marriages. Before that, they were only an "in the eyes of God thing".

He is self-admittedly "too smart for [his] own good" but an unexpectedly fun hour long conversation in the driveway when I really needed some absurd fun.

That was never a consistently good set of links, used to be maybe one good one a day (historic note: I got the FSM dildo cozy and Space Invaders cutting board off ebay links from there). Now they're down to about one good one a week (maybe). The rest is completely summarized by this excellent example from today:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/15/principles-of-postma.html

Yeah.

I eat a lot of yoghurt. But I'm picky about my yoghurt. Essentially, the only commercial yoghurt I like is Stonyfield Farms Whole Milk Plain yoghurt (also sold by Trader Joes, with their own label). A 32 oz tub of SF tends to cost $4+. The Trader Joes yoghurt is only $3 per tub, but it's a 30 mile round trip to the nearest store, so it's not so easy to just run out for more yoghurt.

Meanwhile, various friends of mine have posted and blogged about making their own yoghurt, using some commercial, live-culture yoghurt as a starter. So, Thursday night, I gave it a whirl. I started with a quart of whole milk ($1.19 at the supermarket) and the last 1/4 cup of commercial yoghurt. The various web sites that I read made heating the milk seem like a big production, which put me off for a bit, until I realized that nobody has double-boilers anymore. Except me. So, I put the milk in the top part of my double-boiler, heated it to 180°F, let it cool to 110°F, put it in a larger bowl, and mixed in the starter. I had already preheated the oven to 110° and turned it off. So, I put the bowl of yoghurt in the oven, turned on the oven light, and left it to sit overnight.

And, in the morning I had yoghurt. I brought a little cup of yoghurt in to work for my afternoon snack. By mid-afternoon, it had firmed up nicely. And it was delicious.

Our marketing guru, Gail Keith of Gail Keith Marketing managed to send a press release to the right person at AZ Family, and we were invited to be on tomorrow morning's show. This is so exciting!

It's only a 4 minute segment, but hey, every little bit helps! And I am pretty sure that the segment will be available online after it airs.

Andy is going to be the spokesperson for the group. We'll all be there, but not sure yet if we will actually be on TV.

I am really happy about this.