Pluto...I hardly knew thee

We lost a planet. So sad. I hardly even knew Pluto. Best darn ball-of-ice-immitating-a-planet I ever hardly knew. Well, if it makes you any happier Pluto, I hear tell our planet is a little more pear-shaped even though it tells everyone it's round; so we ain't all perfect.

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We decided/ I decided/ You decided

The "Morning After Pill" was passed by the FDA as an over-the-counter drug this week.

Abortion opponents threatened political retribution, however, and were displeased when President Bush backed the agency’s decision.

“Let there be no mistake about it,” said the Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, an anti-abortion group based in Virginia. “Today’s decision lies at the feet of President Bush and has created a lasting rift with the Catholic faithful who comprise a large part of his support base.”

I am always a bit torn between feeling that some people are extremists and trying to decide where the line is that determines if my own beliefs are extreme.

While I generally look at the hardcore “right to lifers” and wonder how it is that they can feel capable of making decisions in the lives of thousands of strangers they’ve never met. Although I believe in life beginning at conception, I have never been in the situation and hope to never be in the situation of having an unplanned pregnancy. I do not even guess at the immensity of that position and the consequences it entails. I would not ever choose to make a decision for someone else regarding the propriety of their decision one way or another. I consequently think of myself as someone who can hold a set of beliefs and values and standards for myself without feeling that I am judging others by those standards, much less forcing them to adhere to them. Just like in the matter of gay marriage and abortion, I feel there is a HUGE difference between disagreeing with a belief or a choice and creating a LAW to prohibit others from exercising that choice.


Then I progress on to the thought of government interference in our lives and think with some distaste of the thoughts of a certain friend of mine who believes government has no right to pull the “in the public’s best interest” card in ANY circumstance-- be it road construction, smoking bans, environmental regulations, or public health crisis and believes that supply and demand, public support/action, and individual choice will make these things work themselves out without government interference. I feel strongly that government SHOULD be involved in things that promote the health and safety of the public, the environment, and the individuals within the population it looks after. I am FOR seatbelt and helmet laws, gun control, environmental accountability, and drug control. No matter how much they may hinder an individual, I put the public well-being above that and believe that many times people will make bad decisions when it comes to money, power, and pleasure and that by making those decisions harder or impossible to make we are protecting people from themselves and paths that will make them a burden on others.

So what’s the difference between these two? How can I say that I am NOT expecting to live by my beliefs and standards and then say (in essence) “EXCEPT for”…wearing your seatbelt/helmet, using drugs, buying guns, when you intend to pollute, or otherwise put yourself or others in what I consider to be a bad position? aren't I just "creating a LAW to prohibit others from exercising that choice."

hmm...

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Jon's Wedding

Was spectacular... and it was wonderful to see so many old friends....and their children.

There were 3 children there (Michelle & Hooman's, Jessica Rezin's, and Mercy's) that were all within 3 months of the same age, and all of them of interracial background they were all beautiful children. I played more with them than with their parents I think. I also played with Renee's daughter and Rebecca's son (who were within a year or so of the other children's ages.) It was SO much fun. I forgot how much I love children. When do I get mine?

It was also great to bring out old photos and have everyone go through them, laughing, talking, remembering, and updating everyone else on people's whereabouts. My dad sent me home with a scanner, so as soon as I get a new monitor (mine died on Thursday last) I will be spending all my freetime scanning old photos and uploading them to Flickr. I have negatives on a lot of them and I'm thinking of checking out costs and sending in the negatives to have CDs made.

Nostalgia is so much more satisfying in person.

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"Reading"

So I realize that it has been a while since I've posted and if anyone actually checks this blog, I apologize for the long absence of fresh content but since this blog was started as a way to put out random thoughts sporadic posting may actually be more appropriate. This post has actually been sitting waiting to be finished since the beginning of August.

I haven't been busy per se, but I have been using my computer for things other than surfing, chatting, writing, reading, and researching. What's left then? Games...no, I haven't been playing games... I've been enjoying downloading and listening to audiobooks of famous dead authors. Famous, Dead, Female authors primarily.

I went through Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin), Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austin), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), and Anthem (Ayn Rand) in the same week and a half that I finished up The Odyssey (Homer) and a Business Law: Contracts (A college course with a Univ. of Austin Professor, and yes I'm a nerd) on tapes in my car.

I always have a hard time finding books that I really enjoy and so oftentimes when I find an author I like I will read all I can of their stuff. But with modern authors I've found that often their style varies too much and is inconsistent from one book to the next and I'm often dissatisfied with my choices; but with older novelists this doesn't seem to be a problem. Also I've found that the things I seem to enjoy most in novels: character developments, a dialogue-based movement through the plot and an emotional bond to the characters is much more common in older novels. It seems that a lot of newer novelists are either abandoning character development or abandoning plot and purpose all together.

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