Xenotrope’s Neighborhood

I finished Just After Sunset by Stephen King.  I read it as part of the Genre Challenge (for horror fiction).  It's short stories, but I think it still counts, especially as most of the stories were very creepy.

I am not a huge fan of short stories, but these were really, really good.  (And creepy and, in one case, disgusting.)  I'm not getting more specific, because I think I enjoyed the stories more since I didn't know anything about any of them. 

I hope he has another novel coming out next year. :)  Stephen King is my favorite.

Parties, dinners, pageants and more. How does technology help you survive the hustle and bustle of the holidays?
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Because if I can text message Jen, I can stay sane.  A "deck the halls" text sent or received will cheer me up.

Carroll “Poke” Runyon is the Archimage of Ordo Templi Astartes, the longest running, continuously operating magical lodge in the U.S.A. He and his order have published a remarkable series of books and videos detailing their Workings in Solomonic Magick, scrying, and seasonal rites.

Our conversation begins as Poke describes his early life and how he became interested in esoteric ideas and practices, primarily for health reasons. We discuss the various aspects and practices that encourage personal unfoldment, including certain yogic disciplines, universal archetypes and symbolism, and relating scientific concepts to more ancient Hermetic ideas. Poke then gets into discussing using self-hypnosis as part of the scrying process and how he discovered this important ingredient. From there we get into talking about Phoenician Canaanite religion and mythology as well as the seasonal rites that celebrate them.

Phoenician Canaanite religion is directly related to the concept of the Temple of Solomon and builder Chiram Abiff. Next, we discuss the the Lost Word of Freemasonry. Poke explains how the legend relates the concept that, “Only the Kings still understand that the Lost Word is Light within us all.” Poke tells us how, historically, Freemasonry has always provided a common ground for men of different faiths and creeds to come together as equals. He also discusses the more modern transformations that have occurred, specifically with regard to the 28th degree of the Scottish Rite - The Knight of the Sun or Prince Adept.

Ugh.

I'm occasionally lactose intolerant. 
Weird, I know. 
I don't really get it.  Sometimes dairy gets to me, other times I'm fine.
Today, it's killin' me.

In good news, there is a possibility that some/all of the parts for my computer* will be here tomorrow!!

* The Terrorist is building me a new computer.  YAY!!

Does anyone know of any Baltimore/Towson restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving?  Bonus points if they serve turkey.

If there isn't a Thanksgiving dinner here, that means I have to head back home just to eat restaurant turkey there.  And frankly, I do not have the energy to travel.  (It would be nice to see the entire family, yes, but it would be nicer just to see my mom and Jack.  Sam would also prefer not to be in a car for 2.5 hours two days in a row.)

clipped from www.freemasons-freemasonry.com SOLVE et COAGULA: ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLISM of the DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE One of the most prevalent emblems of the Scottish Rite is that of the Double-Headed Eagle.  Mentioned briefly in comparison to the white-lambskin apron of the Craft Lodge, the symbol of the double-headed eagle is perhaps one of the most ancient emblems in Scottish Rite, having been represented for thousands of years in many of the worlds cultures. Albert Pike believed that the emblem of the double-headed eagle ultimately derived from alchemy. Pike cited several of these works as evidence for the true meaning and significance of the double-headed eagle, which he equated with the alchemical Stone of the Philosophers. In Lambsprinks’s there is an image of an alchemist in the garb of an Imperial messenger. Upon his chest is a double-headed eagle of white and black, showing the union of opposites in one being and the noble ascent to the heavens in the guise of the proud bird of eternity.

I don't know if I'll get to write another entry today, so I thought I'd do this early and get it out of the way just in case.

So anyway, this week I've broken up with three TV shows. With all the reading I'm doing and all the reading I will be doing next year, I needed the time, so I got rid of three shows that I've been kind of eh on watching lately.

Goodbye 90210 (although I did get a twinge when I read that Brenda will be coming back again), Californication (last season was so good; this season is just awkward for me) and How I Met Your Mother (which is the hardest of the three because I really like Barney, but the other four are varying degrees of annoying for me).  I may keep purging, but we're now on shows that I have invested years in and that I do still enjoy, so probably not.

If I do, though, Nip/Tuck will be the first to go.  And 24 is on notice after last season.

I'm off tomorrow and then I work Wednesday and Thursday and off Friday.  Then back to normal, I hope.

I'm also hoping they post the Thanksgiving schedule today. (That will let me know if my schedule next week will be normal--off Thursday and Friday--or if it will be weird like this week.)

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and surprisingly the subject of religion came up.  I don't generally discuss faith with people, primarily because these days, I don't have much (if any).

He is a pastor's son, but after coming out, has pretty much left organized religion.  He's currently spiritual more than religious. 

I didn't grow up in a religious household but went to church camp with Jen when I was in high school, got saved and insisted my mom and I start going to church.  Then my dad died and God and I stopped speaking. 

I was telling this to Josh, and I said, "After he died, people kept saying that God had a plan and this was part of it.  If that's true, it was a stupid, jackass plan and I cannot believe in a God that has stupid, jackass plans."

And he said that he was talking to his dad--this is the same friend that's going through the awful breakup, by the way--and his dad said that he thinks that it's a common fallacy to believe that our entire lives are destined from the moment we're born until the moment we die.  He said that the breakup may not have been part of God's plan, but that God will work around it, and that maybe God is working around this, too.

And then I remember that I only started looking for my birth family after my dad died, because I started worrying that they would die before I could find them.  And they're amazing, wonderful people and I'm happy and lucky that they're in my life.

And THEN I feel guilty, because my dad had to die for me to get them.

I don't know what I believe.  On good days, I don't know what I believe.  Sometimes I think that there has to be something.  And sometimes--usually, if I'm being honest--I think that this is all there is.

I just signed up for another.  I know--time to stop, right?  But this is another one of those where there are no specific requirements.  It's the "read your own books" challenge and, like the "read 100 + books challenge," I'm counting the books for all other challenges (well, that I read next year, anyway) for the challenges.  So, here are the challenges I'm participating in next year:

1)  The Genre Challenge (10 books from 10 genres).  It's currently in progress, and I hope to read several more before the year starts.

2)  The Rescue Challenge (3-6 books you have had for over three years).  Currently in progress, and I hope to read some before the year starts.

3)  Just4TheHelluvIt (read whatever).  It's in progress and I joined this because it was too late to add Lindsey's book to any other challenges.  I'm not sure what else I will be reading for this challenge, but I'm sure it won't consist solely of Honest Conversations (now available for sale on CafePress!).

4)  TBR Reading Challenge (9 books in 9 categories).  Starts in late December, but since it starts on the 27th, I probably won't finish anything before 2009 starts.

5)  The Pub (9 books first published in 2009; YA novels do not count).  I'm excited for this as my favorite authors are releasing books next year (Elizabeth Berg, Harlan Coben, Faye Kellerman, Laura Lippman, Megan McCafferty, Sara Paretsky and Jodi Picoult.  I have two James Pattersons in there now as place holders, but if Stephen King and Michael Connelly release books next year, the Pattersons are getting kicked out.)

6)  Casual Classics Challenge (read four classics).  I'm doing Lolita, 1984, Catcher in the Rye and East of Eden.

7)  A-Z Challenge (read one book per letter for author and title).  Fortunately, there's some leeway, which is how I have an author and book for X.  (X is hard!)

8)  Celebrate the Author (read one book per month based on author's birthday).

9)  What's in a Name?  (Read six books based on their title--one book has to have a profession, another a time of day, the third a relative, the fourth a part of the body, the fifth a place and the sixth a medical condition.)  Because I bet that doesn't make sense, my picks are: The Bookseller of Kabul (profession), The Night Country (time of day), Things I Want My Daughters to Know (relative), Soldier's Heart (part of the body), Ape House (place) and Blinded By the Right (medical condition).

10)  New Author Challenge.  Pick authors that are new to you.  If I run into problems with getting my challenges done, this and the Just4TheHellUvIt are the two that are getting shortened.  Right now, I have 29 new-to-me authors and while I'm excited to read all of them, they're the ones that are getting lost first. :)

11)  Read 100+ Books (self-explanatory).

12)  Read Your Own Books (self-explanatory).

Mello did a post yesterday about putting music on her mp3 player and so I thought I'd share a lot of my current favorite songs--at least the ones I can find videos for.

 

 

 

I prefer the Patty Griffin version, but this is the one that YouTube had.