What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
It's the day after Christmas and all through the house... there are probably bags and bags of trash filled with wrapping paper and impossible boxes everything comes in these days (especially if you have young ones in the family) plus the seemingly endless garbage that is generated from all the food that was created from the appetizers, the turkey, ham meal, or other tradition your family has for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. If all went well, the top button on your pants is fitting a bit tighter than the day before and you have a warm glow filling your heart as your have had much more fun giving than receiving - a true sign of adulthood.
In our family we finally went to drawing names among the adults (the 3 children get an abundant of gifts to fill two trees!) as for years we all guessed at what each other wanted and it seemed a waste of each other's money since we all were partial to the giving process and none of us were very good at asking for things we wanted. We all are pretty fortunate people and have few wants and certainly don't feel comfortable asking each other for things. So, it seemed a great idea to pick names (spouses could not pick each other as they would most likely buy for each other anyway) thus increasing the likelihood each of us would ask for one gift if that was the only gift we would receive for the year. The limit was set at around $100 give or take and this year I must say I raked in on the receive portion of that limit!!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sappho Speaks: Twas The Night Before Christmas
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
So... here it is, Christmastime 2009, just one week before the eve of the new decade. It is hard to believe it has been ten years since we were all dancing about singing “Two Thousand Zero Zero Party’s Over with Out Of Time... Cause Tonight We’re Going to Party Like It’s 1999”.
I was talking to a woman in the doctor’s office who knew Christmas Eve was on a Thursday but asked what day New Year’s fell on. Now I don’t know if she is an exception to the rule but let me just put it out there for everyone. No matter what year it is, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on the same day and the Eve’s fall on the same day as well – in case you really never noticed. It’s not something that is advertised so I can see how you might overlook this little tidbit, but now you can put your mind at ease and always be secure in the fact of when one day is if you know the other.
Back to this year and the spirit of Christmas. Once again, Texas weather has thrown a wrench in our ability to really fall full on into the spirit of the holiday season with muggy, warmer, rainy days taken up most of the week. We had that one beautiful day of snow but it doesn’t look like that will be repeated anytime again in the near or distant future for that matter and the atmosphere around us will have to be ignored when designing Christmas in your mind.
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
So... here it is, Christmastime 2009, just one week before the eve of the new decade. It is hard to believe it has been ten years since we were all dancing about singing “Two Thousand Zero Zero Party’s Over with Out Of Time... Cause Tonight We’re Going to Party Like It’s 1999”.
I was talking to a woman in the doctor’s office who knew Christmas Eve was on a Thursday but asked what day New Year’s fell on. Now I don’t know if she is an exception to the rule but let me just put it out there for everyone. No matter what year it is, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on the same day and the Eve’s fall on the same day as well – in case you really never noticed. It’s not something that is advertised so I can see how you might overlook this little tidbit, but now you can put your mind at ease and always be secure in the fact of when one day is if you know the other.
Back to this year and the spirit of Christmas. Once again, Texas weather has thrown a wrench in our ability to really fall full on into the spirit of the holiday season with muggy, warmer, rainy days taken up most of the week. We had that one beautiful day of snow but it doesn’t look like that will be repeated anytime again in the near or distant future for that matter and the atmosphere around us will have to be ignored when designing Christmas in your mind.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sappho Speaks: “The Real History of Marriage – Where is the Sanctity? - Part Three”
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among all my cousins and second cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long. See Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
PART THREE: The Early 1900’s to Today
We all know the cry of our opponents. GAY MARRIAGE will destroy the very fabric of American society. The problem is, this cry has been used many times in the past an America has grown and become a better, more diverse, evolved nation because of the changes we have endured at the cries of stupidity from an unenlightened chorus who is part of “ who those neglect to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it” which is why every 40 years or so they brush off their posters and with the same old and tiered excuses for trying to stop progress. All we have to do is look across the pond to our older brothers and sisters in England and France, Italy and even Spain to know where our future humanity lies. Acceptance is the answer and no fabric was torn from anyone’s fabulous Bagly Mischka or Donna Karan outfit and our AIDS Quilt will never be broken. It stands as a testament of what we are made of. Throw a horrible virus at us and we come together like no group has ever seen to take care of our own, recruit help from anyone, be silent no more (Silent=Death), and make it through as we still fight for every person gay or straight stricken with this horrible disease we call AIDS. SO, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR TELLS OF THE DEMISE OF CIVILIZATION IN JUST THE LAST 80 YEARS!!!!!
In the 1930’s, one of the first public cries began for the destruction of the family and the end of family values as we know it, much in the same manner as public leaders are pleading the case against gay marriage today. The BIG OFFENSE of the day – THE INVENTION AND MASS MARKETING OF THE CAR. It gave the young people of the day the opportunity to begin going on dates out of view of their parents, no longer chaperoned. Soon after the US Supreme Court would knock down the last law banning the use of contraception thus making it legal in all 50 states turning the tide on marrying to start to family immediately or even the idea of GOD FORBID premarital sex. The end of the ban on contraception may not seem important to the American public but to the gay community it marks the second and last hurdle to the definition marriage that had previously excluded them – marriage exists for the purpose of procreation. This definition no longer applied. In addition, the Protestant Church revised its ideas on divorce. Previously divorce could only occur if infidelity or attempted murder had occurred. After the 1930’s, marriage was defined as being in love and if you were no longer in love then you were granted a divorce. This more liberal policy should have helped the cause of gay marriage since most heterosexual couples had no longer attached the holy sacrament of forever (except the Catholic Church) to marital unions.
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among all my cousins and second cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long. See Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
PART THREE: The Early 1900’s to Today
We all know the cry of our opponents. GAY MARRIAGE will destroy the very fabric of American society. The problem is, this cry has been used many times in the past an America has grown and become a better, more diverse, evolved nation because of the changes we have endured at the cries of stupidity from an unenlightened chorus who is part of “ who those neglect to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it” which is why every 40 years or so they brush off their posters and with the same old and tiered excuses for trying to stop progress. All we have to do is look across the pond to our older brothers and sisters in England and France, Italy and even Spain to know where our future humanity lies. Acceptance is the answer and no fabric was torn from anyone’s fabulous Bagly Mischka or Donna Karan outfit and our AIDS Quilt will never be broken. It stands as a testament of what we are made of. Throw a horrible virus at us and we come together like no group has ever seen to take care of our own, recruit help from anyone, be silent no more (Silent=Death), and make it through as we still fight for every person gay or straight stricken with this horrible disease we call AIDS. SO, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR TELLS OF THE DEMISE OF CIVILIZATION IN JUST THE LAST 80 YEARS!!!!!
In the 1930’s, one of the first public cries began for the destruction of the family and the end of family values as we know it, much in the same manner as public leaders are pleading the case against gay marriage today. The BIG OFFENSE of the day – THE INVENTION AND MASS MARKETING OF THE CAR. It gave the young people of the day the opportunity to begin going on dates out of view of their parents, no longer chaperoned. Soon after the US Supreme Court would knock down the last law banning the use of contraception thus making it legal in all 50 states turning the tide on marrying to start to family immediately or even the idea of GOD FORBID premarital sex. The end of the ban on contraception may not seem important to the American public but to the gay community it marks the second and last hurdle to the definition marriage that had previously excluded them – marriage exists for the purpose of procreation. This definition no longer applied. In addition, the Protestant Church revised its ideas on divorce. Previously divorce could only occur if infidelity or attempted murder had occurred. After the 1930’s, marriage was defined as being in love and if you were no longer in love then you were granted a divorce. This more liberal policy should have helped the cause of gay marriage since most heterosexual couples had no longer attached the holy sacrament of forever (except the Catholic Church) to marital unions.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sappho Speaks: “The Real History of Marriage – Where is the Sanctity? - Part Two”
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among all my cousins and second cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long. See Part One.
PART TWO: The Early Christian Era Through the Industrial Revolution
From the early Christian era (1st through 4th century) marriage was thought of as primarily a private matter still enacted for political and social status with child bearing the ultimate purpose of a woman. A contract was all that was needed as no religious or pagan ceremony was required or attempted. As marriage evolved and our ultimate culture here in America migrated to Europe in 6th century, the insitution had been characterized as political polygamy. For example, the Germanic warlord Clothar, despite being a baptized Christian, eventually acquired four wives for strategic reasons, including his dead brother's wife, her sister and the daughter of a captured foreign king. This practiced polygamy is not uncommon among “Christian” men.
In the 11th century the Catholic Church finally turns marriage into a Holy Sacrament with Impediments in place to change marriage into a serious act before God. The Impediments were: Consanguinity (can’t marry a relative closer than a 1st cousin); Affinity (relationship with someone in the direct line, ie brother-in-law); prior bond to someone else; Holy Orders; perpetual vows of chastity in a religious institute; Disparity of cult (one party not baptized); Crimen (one party conspiring to marry another upon death of a spouse while still married, called “conjugicide”); non-age (16 for boys, 14 for girls); and finally abduction. The only reason I included these were I thought they were interesting to a non-Catholic - the keys to the proverbial kingdom of marital heaven. Of course, an annulment can be bought. Yes, I mean bought. I know of marriages that produce offspring and last 10 to 15 years and are granted special dispensation from the Pope for an annulment so they may marry again. It takes money, connections, repentance, circumstances I am sure, and lots of patience, but it can be done and another Catholic wedding can be performed and sanctioned by the Church. Maybe you should take a break now, STRETCH YOUR LEGS. WE”RE AT ABOUT THE HALFWAY POINT. DON’T FORGET. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!!
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among all my cousins and second cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long. See Part One.
PART TWO: The Early Christian Era Through the Industrial Revolution
From the early Christian era (1st through 4th century) marriage was thought of as primarily a private matter still enacted for political and social status with child bearing the ultimate purpose of a woman. A contract was all that was needed as no religious or pagan ceremony was required or attempted. As marriage evolved and our ultimate culture here in America migrated to Europe in 6th century, the insitution had been characterized as political polygamy. For example, the Germanic warlord Clothar, despite being a baptized Christian, eventually acquired four wives for strategic reasons, including his dead brother's wife, her sister and the daughter of a captured foreign king. This practiced polygamy is not uncommon among “Christian” men.
In the 11th century the Catholic Church finally turns marriage into a Holy Sacrament with Impediments in place to change marriage into a serious act before God. The Impediments were: Consanguinity (can’t marry a relative closer than a 1st cousin); Affinity (relationship with someone in the direct line, ie brother-in-law); prior bond to someone else; Holy Orders; perpetual vows of chastity in a religious institute; Disparity of cult (one party not baptized); Crimen (one party conspiring to marry another upon death of a spouse while still married, called “conjugicide”); non-age (16 for boys, 14 for girls); and finally abduction. The only reason I included these were I thought they were interesting to a non-Catholic - the keys to the proverbial kingdom of marital heaven. Of course, an annulment can be bought. Yes, I mean bought. I know of marriages that produce offspring and last 10 to 15 years and are granted special dispensation from the Pope for an annulment so they may marry again. It takes money, connections, repentance, circumstances I am sure, and lots of patience, but it can be done and another Catholic wedding can be performed and sanctioned by the Church. Maybe you should take a break now, STRETCH YOUR LEGS. WE”RE AT ABOUT THE HALFWAY POINT. DON’T FORGET. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sappho Speaks: "The Real History of Marriage – Where is the Sanctity? - Part One"
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among my immediate family, all my cousins and second cousins, aunts and uncles and that is at least 100 people. Did I mention they are all they embodiment of love? Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long.
PART ONE
I hate to get into this so soon but the political side in me is just dying to get out and I just want to set the record straight for all those Christian Conservatives that won’t be reading my blog but you guys might run into from time to time. So let’s take a look at the perpetuated lie the GAY MARRIAGE will ruin the sanctity of marriage that has been going on for at least the last 2009 years since the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior. I’ll take our little lesson for today back a little bit further just to really make the messages about the origins of marriage in civilized society perfectly clear. I guarantee the length of this blog will be well worth the read as you will have facts to throw at your anti-marriage family, friends and acquaintances that will tear their arguments to shreds!!!! SO I BEG YOU TO STAY WITH MY HISTORY LESSON AND PASS IT ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS (as I hope you do all my blogs). KNOWLEDGE IS POWER MY SAPPHIC SISTERS AND WELCOME READERS.
We’ll start first with the Religious Right’s core belief that came to fruition under George W. under the guise of DOMA – the Defense of Marriage Act. The law denies federal recognition of same-sex "marriage" and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Obama has pledged to work to repeal the law. Their righteousness for fighting for this law was that by allowing gays and lesbians equal rights of married individuals under the law would destroy the very fabric of the sanctity of marriage which has been based on a one man, one woman policy for the means or procreation in God’s image as He intended things to be. Since homosexuals could not procreate and certainly were not included in this holy sacrament bestowed by the church, they were simply out to kill 3000 years of marital law and the bond that held the family unit together.
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
Before you read this know I am a great supporter of the institution of marriage as I grew up in a family of only a few divorces (I can count on one hand) among my immediate family, all my cousins and second cousins, aunts and uncles and that is at least 100 people. Did I mention they are all they embodiment of love? Oh, and this will be a three part-er so as not to be overwhelmingly long.
PART ONE
I hate to get into this so soon but the political side in me is just dying to get out and I just want to set the record straight for all those Christian Conservatives that won’t be reading my blog but you guys might run into from time to time. So let’s take a look at the perpetuated lie the GAY MARRIAGE will ruin the sanctity of marriage that has been going on for at least the last 2009 years since the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior. I’ll take our little lesson for today back a little bit further just to really make the messages about the origins of marriage in civilized society perfectly clear. I guarantee the length of this blog will be well worth the read as you will have facts to throw at your anti-marriage family, friends and acquaintances that will tear their arguments to shreds!!!! SO I BEG YOU TO STAY WITH MY HISTORY LESSON AND PASS IT ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS (as I hope you do all my blogs). KNOWLEDGE IS POWER MY SAPPHIC SISTERS AND WELCOME READERS.
We’ll start first with the Religious Right’s core belief that came to fruition under George W. under the guise of DOMA – the Defense of Marriage Act. The law denies federal recognition of same-sex "marriage" and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Obama has pledged to work to repeal the law. Their righteousness for fighting for this law was that by allowing gays and lesbians equal rights of married individuals under the law would destroy the very fabric of the sanctity of marriage which has been based on a one man, one woman policy for the means or procreation in God’s image as He intended things to be. Since homosexuals could not procreate and certainly were not included in this holy sacrament bestowed by the church, they were simply out to kill 3000 years of marital law and the bond that held the family unit together.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sappho Speaks: "Sorry My Friends!!"
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
If you just received many emails with all of my previous blogs with new titles I am deeply sorry. I tried to turn the blog off while I re-edited the titles (I am trying to up my google ranking so I can attract more readers) and don't know if it worked. So, if it didn't, please forgive the error as it is a one time thing and will not happen again. I hope you enjoy the quiz below meant for today and as this week is Christmas I will only be posting Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Tomorrow starts a three part series on the history of marriage through time that I hope you will enjoy. It is quite a different tale than that we hear from our foes on the religious right.
Much Love.
Inspired by Sappho's Muse
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
If you just received many emails with all of my previous blogs with new titles I am deeply sorry. I tried to turn the blog off while I re-edited the titles (I am trying to up my google ranking so I can attract more readers) and don't know if it worked. So, if it didn't, please forgive the error as it is a one time thing and will not happen again. I hope you enjoy the quiz below meant for today and as this week is Christmas I will only be posting Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Tomorrow starts a three part series on the history of marriage through time that I hope you will enjoy. It is quite a different tale than that we hear from our foes on the religious right.
Much Love.
Inspired by Sappho's Muse
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sappho Speaks: "The 5-Minute Test: An Online Dating Weed Out Exam"
What Would Sappho Say?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
For those of you out in the online dating world, I have come up with a little test to weed a bit of the undesirables from the beginning. Now, if you can’t pass the quiz, Houston, I’m afraid we might have a problem. So here it is for you to peruse.
I have devised a new quiz that may weed out some of the crazies, losers, and overall intellectually inferior women to society-at-large from those who can maintain a sane front for the initial interactions during Internet dating:
1. Name all the presidents from now to the assassination of JFK.
This answer will tell you whether the person listened during high school and/or has listened to the news on and off ever since. It will also betray the age gap between you and your paramour. If she has no recollection of the Bush I years as well as did not hear about them in high school, she is most likely too young!!!!!
ANSWER: LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush II, Obama
2. Can she name at least 10 state capitals not including the great state of Texas? Just another question to make sure your not dating someone that could end up on the news representing the decline of America's educational system.
3. Does she know what a DSM-IV is?
Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)
For those of you out in the online dating world, I have come up with a little test to weed a bit of the undesirables from the beginning. Now, if you can’t pass the quiz, Houston, I’m afraid we might have a problem. So here it is for you to peruse.
I have devised a new quiz that may weed out some of the crazies, losers, and overall intellectually inferior women to society-at-large from those who can maintain a sane front for the initial interactions during Internet dating:
1. Name all the presidents from now to the assassination of JFK.
This answer will tell you whether the person listened during high school and/or has listened to the news on and off ever since. It will also betray the age gap between you and your paramour. If she has no recollection of the Bush I years as well as did not hear about them in high school, she is most likely too young!!!!!
ANSWER: LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush II, Obama
2. Can she name at least 10 state capitals not including the great state of Texas? Just another question to make sure your not dating someone that could end up on the news representing the decline of America's educational system.
3. Does she know what a DSM-IV is?
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