September 23, 2011 
Facebook’s new Timeline thing is AHH-MAZING! Apparently I joined Facebook back in 2006, senior year. All of these pictures from way back when are just blowing my mind. I miss these people, these places, these times! Warning, this is going to be ridiculously long.
2006
For some reason during this time I was obsessed with resizing and putting a 1px #fff, 1px #000 border on all of my images. My apologies.
In high school I volunteered at a haunted house, we worked all summer to build the maze and rooms (the really old house we worked in had all but the load bearing walls knocked out so we could redesign every year) and then worked all October “scaring the yell out of you”! Proceeds went to local volunteer fire and EMS and playgrounds and keeping the streetlights on in the small town of Greenspring, where the house was located. I miss those days, here I am dressed as an angry teacher, I was more funny than scary in my role for this year.
Ramblings
September 20, 2011
Fall has fallen! I’m so stoked. I was a little embarrassed when I discovered last Friday that I had no cooler weather clothes for Claire and Logan. In my defense the cold front came on us kind of sudden. Thursday was bright, sunny skies and ~80°, Friday was overcast and I don’t think it got above 60°. It was relatively cool for the entire weekend, which we spent up in northern Virginia.
Andrew turned 27 on Friday, we pawned the childrens off on my aunt and went out for a night of booze and hibachi at Otani. It was delicious, even though Andrew laughed at me because I had to scoot my chair way back when the chef did the big flames. I wasn’t scared (even though I had just plucked my eyebrows so I kind of wanted them to stick around after all of that effort), I just don’t like that much heat in my face. Andrew made some nonsensical dirty joke about that. I won’t repeat it because it was stupid. Also I wouldn’t want to offend my readers’ delicate sensibilities. If you people have any. I’ve read some of your blogs…
My little beefcake.
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Life
September 10, 2011
With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 coming on Sunday it’s no surprise people’s minds are on terrorism, Muslims and New York. I was recently conversing with a friend when our conversation turned to the “mosque near Ground Zero” debate. As I listened to this person I have known for years and care deeply about spew nonsense about Muslims building mosques on conquered lands and how Muslims are savage terrorists I wanted nothing more than to put my fist in her face.
How does this happen? How do we as people allow ourselves to become so clearly and shamelessly bigoted? 9/11 was a horrifying experience, I remember sitting with my classmates and crying as we watched the horror unfold on live television. Something I will never forget are the images of people jumping or falling from the towers as they burned and crumbled. I still feel for the people who lost their lives, their loved ones, their sense of safety in their own neighborhood, but hatred and vitriol will not right those wrongs. Blaming an entire religion for the acts of a few is not acceptable.
When you think of Christians do you think of radical, white-supremacists who advocate for the violent overthrow of our government?
Eric Robert Rudolph, the Olympic Park Bomber worked on behalf of the Army of God. He killed two people an injured 150 in a series of bombings targeting abortion clinics, gay and lesbian nightclubs and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord; The Order; The Mountain Church; even the Klu Klux Klan has Christian notions and has been supported by the formerly listed organizations. These are Christians who have taken the words of Christ and twisted them into something hateful that I’m sure would be utterly unrecognizable to Christ himself. We all know this, we know not all Christians hate gays and condemn you for getting an abortion and want to kill and maim and terrorize. It’s a select few, radicalists who don’t know the truth of the words they say support their ridiculous intentions.
Why can’t we see that truth about Muslim terrorists?
I’m very openminded and I don’t feel it’s my place to tell people what they feel or think is wrong, but when it comes to such blatant discrimination I just have to say shut up. Shut up and stop regurgitating everything you’ve seen on TV and start thinking for yourself.
Muslims do not build mosques at the site of victories. They have built mosques in lands they’ve moved into, and even repurposed churches as mosques, but nearly all army forces have brought their religions with them. One of the most common arguments I have heard for this is that the Muslims tore down the Temple Mount after the conquering of Jerusalem to build a mosque. Though a mosque was built on the site, to commemorate where Muslims believe Mohammad ascended to heaven, Persians had occupied Jerusalem almost right after the Muslims and it’s unable to determine who actually destroyed the original temple.
The “mosque” is not even really a mosque, it’s a community center that has a place to worship. It is also going to have a basketball court, 500-seat auditorium and pool and it’s open to all. It’s aim is to provide a community space for everyone, much like the YMCA and the Manhattan Jewish Community Center. Those aren’t called a church or a synagogue.
When the Pentagon – another target during 9/11 – rebuilt, they opened a nondenominational chapel that offers weekly prayer services for Muslims.
There are already mosques near the Ground Zero site. And it’s not a damn mosque!
As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, all I ask is that everyone stop wasting time and energy and breath on hatred and condemnation, and remember that 2,977 people from 115 different countries were lost that day. It was a grievous wound to all people who love freedom and peace and the perpetrators do not represent the mindset of the second-largest religion in the world.
