Every so often, people tell me that Of Course the Christian god loves gay people.
Of Course Christians don't hate us.
Of Course gays can be Christian.
They're horrified by my belief that their god does not love everyone, that he picks and chooses who are his people and that we queer folk are definitely not on the list.
Where do I get the idea? Aside from my own pastor in my teens, who said from the pulpit what Westboro Baptist said from the street corners, have a round up.
The god may or may not hate us. But many of his worshipers do, which is pretty much the same thing.
Christian "love".
Pastor Curtis Knapp of KS says it's the governments JOB to kill all gay people.
Pastor Charles Worley NC preaches all gay people should be put in concentration camps to die.
Pastor Kevin Swanson says all gay people must be exterminated.
Pastor Dave Buehner says treat gay people like cannibals, child molesters, rapists and murderers.
Pastor Steven L. Anderson- Preaches KILL the gays.
Pastor Sean Harris- beat your 4 year old son if he shows signs of being gay.
Pastor Andy Gipson, Mississippi GOP Lawmaker, Cites Bible Passage Calling For Their Death.
Pastor David Dykes want to kill all gay people.
Pastor Scott Lively( currently on trial for crimes against humanity) in Uganda helped write the KILL the GAYS bill.
Pastor Dennis Leatherman wants to kill all gay, says it excites his flesh him to think about it.
Pastor Ariel Torres Ortega says gays must die at National Organization for Marriage rally.
Pastor Roger Jimenez praised the killing of gay people in Orlando says all need to be put to death.
No Westboro church needed to know how christians want LGBT lives to end.
This is why, when I write theocracies, gay people are executed right after the murderers. This is why in my Dark Future, there is a three story cairn of rocks at the corner of Cooper-Young in Memphis (the heart of the Arts district), where they rounded up all of the community, down to single-digit children, and poured dump trucks full of rocks on us.
Because the only thing keeping people like this from throwing us off the roofs is their own squeamishness and fear of the law.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
A Friday the Thirteenth Mixed Grill (Transition, writing)
It's a bit of a milestone for me today.
I needed new underwear. Mine had become more holes than cloth. Since I was fifteen and got my first yeast infection, I've worn nothing but white cotton panties, hip huggers or briefs as they were available.
Today I bought a package of boxer briefs. My first male underwear.
I like to think of myself as a boxer guy, but I don't see that happening. Five pregnancies--one of which was just getting out of the "I cuddle your bladder like a fluffy pillow" stage when I lost it--playing kickball with my bladder have left me prolapsed. I wear a maxi pad every day to guard against accidents. Boxer briefs are the compromise solution that let me stay dry and feel manly.
I'm watching horror movies like popcorn. The Dark Half is an underrated film. Timothy Hutton is freaking amazing. Cabin in the Woods is still awesome.
I haven't gotten much done this fall break. But some. I plan to hit my bedroom in a bit.
There are a couple of older collections at Patreon at the $1 level, a special treat for today.
https://www.patreon.com/NickRowan
Lately the Death card has been coming up in every reading for me. I am looking for a major change coming soon.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Thinking about Playboy
Hugh Hefner died at the age of 90-something. He was many things, many of them terrible. But I'm not talking about him, rather about the magazine he created.
I've heard people say Playboy went where liberal politicians of the era did not. It took enlightenment principles and applied them to sex. In court case after court case, sex was brought out of the taboo and made just another part of life.
In 1990 and 91, we had a Playboy subscription. I don't remember why. I found it interesting. The centerfolds and pictorals were the least interesting part of the magazine. The fiction was all right, but nothing stuck. The only article I remember all these years later was Christopher Durang's screed about Disneyland.
What interested me was the idea that an urbane man knew things.
He knew the difference between an Italian and an English suit. He knew why handmade loafers were better than Payless. He could groom himself, in an era when scruff and schlub seemed to have taken over, and he looked good. He knew which tie knot was appropriate to which suit, occasion and face size. Looking good, smelling nice, it was all part of the gig.
He was just as good at home. He decorated sparsely, but with nice clean lines. And if it wasn't new, it wasn't curb picked and ratty with an endtable made of porno vids. He picked up after himself (nobody wants to bring a pretty girl home to a dump). He could cook at least one half-way impressive meal, the better to seduce you, my dear. He knew wines and scotch and could mix a mean martini or cosmo, whichever the lady liked.
He drove a nice car, not a beater with beer cans in the back. He could talk about books and movies and art and music, politics and current events. He had interests other than sports and video games, because he knew women would want to talk about these things and not listen to a play-by-play recap of the last Superbowl. He could dance, and give a good lead to his partner. He was good in bed, lasting as long as she needed him to.
Everything was geared to the lifestyle, living the good life, and women were one more accessory, like the Hugo Boss suit, the Tag Heuer watch, the Grey Goose vodka.
Objectifying as hell to the women involved, true, being just lifestyle accouterments, as interchangeable as the Bill Blass ties.
But it made us want to be that guy, to learn to dance, to cook, to shave and do our hair. It encouraged us to learn to wear shirts and ties as opposed to t-shirts and jeans, to learn to coordinate our wardrobe and look good. It made us want to be interesting, and good looking.
Most of us would never have the money to go whole hog, but we could at least know not to sew buttons onto our secondhand French cuffs, but to buy cufflinks as well.
It said being sophisticated wasn't just for gay guys, a stereotype Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would later exploit.
Our fathers grew up, learning to dress and dance and drink properly. My generation absorbed some of it. My sons and those in their thirties are acquiring their pictures of naked ladies online, without the accompanying lifestyle stuff, and they're not learning that you have to do stuff to make women interested in you. We're trying to teach that at home. (One son has a lady and I suspect the other may be asexual)
There are many ways to be classy and sophisticated. The best to be that way yourself, and not just as a way to impress women. But Playboy offered a roadmap for 50 years, for young men starting out into uncharted territory of adulthood, who needed to know things their fathers thought they should have gotten by osmosis.
I've heard people say Playboy went where liberal politicians of the era did not. It took enlightenment principles and applied them to sex. In court case after court case, sex was brought out of the taboo and made just another part of life.
In 1990 and 91, we had a Playboy subscription. I don't remember why. I found it interesting. The centerfolds and pictorals were the least interesting part of the magazine. The fiction was all right, but nothing stuck. The only article I remember all these years later was Christopher Durang's screed about Disneyland.
What interested me was the idea that an urbane man knew things.
He knew the difference between an Italian and an English suit. He knew why handmade loafers were better than Payless. He could groom himself, in an era when scruff and schlub seemed to have taken over, and he looked good. He knew which tie knot was appropriate to which suit, occasion and face size. Looking good, smelling nice, it was all part of the gig.
He was just as good at home. He decorated sparsely, but with nice clean lines. And if it wasn't new, it wasn't curb picked and ratty with an endtable made of porno vids. He picked up after himself (nobody wants to bring a pretty girl home to a dump). He could cook at least one half-way impressive meal, the better to seduce you, my dear. He knew wines and scotch and could mix a mean martini or cosmo, whichever the lady liked.
He drove a nice car, not a beater with beer cans in the back. He could talk about books and movies and art and music, politics and current events. He had interests other than sports and video games, because he knew women would want to talk about these things and not listen to a play-by-play recap of the last Superbowl. He could dance, and give a good lead to his partner. He was good in bed, lasting as long as she needed him to.
Everything was geared to the lifestyle, living the good life, and women were one more accessory, like the Hugo Boss suit, the Tag Heuer watch, the Grey Goose vodka.
Objectifying as hell to the women involved, true, being just lifestyle accouterments, as interchangeable as the Bill Blass ties.
But it made us want to be that guy, to learn to dance, to cook, to shave and do our hair. It encouraged us to learn to wear shirts and ties as opposed to t-shirts and jeans, to learn to coordinate our wardrobe and look good. It made us want to be interesting, and good looking.
Most of us would never have the money to go whole hog, but we could at least know not to sew buttons onto our secondhand French cuffs, but to buy cufflinks as well.
It said being sophisticated wasn't just for gay guys, a stereotype Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would later exploit.
Our fathers grew up, learning to dress and dance and drink properly. My generation absorbed some of it. My sons and those in their thirties are acquiring their pictures of naked ladies online, without the accompanying lifestyle stuff, and they're not learning that you have to do stuff to make women interested in you. We're trying to teach that at home. (One son has a lady and I suspect the other may be asexual)
There are many ways to be classy and sophisticated. The best to be that way yourself, and not just as a way to impress women. But Playboy offered a roadmap for 50 years, for young men starting out into uncharted territory of adulthood, who needed to know things their fathers thought they should have gotten by osmosis.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Interview, money troubles and miscellaneous
1) My first interview as Nick is out. I talk about writing, my family and inspiration.
2) We're having more money troubles than usual. Any help would be much appreciated.
We took out a small home equity line of credit to do home repairs. Unfortunately, car repairs (new Prius battery) ended up eating the money for the kitchen and bathroom. I'm not begging. I do offer items for the money, and the holidays are coming soon.
Tarot for home repair is now open.
$1 for a 1 card pull
$5 for a 5 card reading
$10 for a basic Celtic Cross 10 card reading
$15 for a 16 card What You Need To Know reading.
$25 for a wheel of the year reading
PayPal Is valarltd @yahoo.com
I will email you the photos and write-up
All ebooks on my back list $2 (list at http://brooksandsparrow.com)
PayPal the money with the titles
Etsy is open, but not taking custom orders. I have a huge commitment already
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCarpentersWyfe
Patreon Is open with 4 short stories for October at the $1 level. $5 gets a novel and if I get a patron for more than that, I will host a Halloween hangout wearing a witch hat. (and you get access to all previous content)
http://www.patreon.com/NickRowan
3) Halloween is in full swing on my tumblr, and also Google+ and Facebook. If you prefer to Twitter, https://twitter.com/NickRowan16
2) We're having more money troubles than usual. Any help would be much appreciated.
We took out a small home equity line of credit to do home repairs. Unfortunately, car repairs (new Prius battery) ended up eating the money for the kitchen and bathroom. I'm not begging. I do offer items for the money, and the holidays are coming soon.
Tarot for home repair is now open.
$1 for a 1 card pull
$5 for a 5 card reading
$10 for a basic Celtic Cross 10 card reading
$15 for a 16 card What You Need To Know reading.
$25 for a wheel of the year reading
PayPal Is valarltd @yahoo.com
I will email you the photos and write-up
All ebooks on my back list $2 (list at http://brooksandsparrow.com)
PayPal the money with the titles
Etsy is open, but not taking custom orders. I have a huge commitment already
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCarpentersWyfe
Patreon Is open with 4 short stories for October at the $1 level. $5 gets a novel and if I get a patron for more than that, I will host a Halloween hangout wearing a witch hat. (and you get access to all previous content)
http://www.patreon.com/NickRowan
3) Halloween is in full swing on my tumblr, and also Google+ and Facebook. If you prefer to Twitter, https://twitter.com/NickRowan16
Monday, October 2, 2017
Witch School: Shielding, warding and beginning divination
We talked about shields and wards, and explained why we were starting the divination unit with them. Given what the kids brought in last time, they agreed.
A shield is an energy barrier between you and the world. It protects you from harm, provides a safe place to retreat when psychic noise gets too loud and can help when you're around incompatible people.
A ward is the same sort of energy barrier, but it is fixed in place, anchored to a location or an object. (I used to ward my truck and still ward my bus)
The simplest form of shield is to take the energy you centered in the last exercise and push it outward to make a small forcefield around your body. I tend to envision it as a light blue glow about half an inch from my skin. (I shield so forcefully that I fry electronics. I can't wear digital watches. When I worked for RGIS, on one memorable occasion, I went through three fully charged batteries in my handheld scanner, before my co workers needed a single replacement. Hearing aid and phone batteries don't last either.) My mental shield is a smooth, royal blue dome that encircles and protects me. I've known more than one psychic vampire, and can pull that particular trick myself. When Lydia and I go out to eat, we have to specify whether we're eating AT McDonalds or eating A McDonalds.
Wards come in several forms.
Gabriel's particular favorite is to start at the East and envision drawing a circle (or draw it with wand or athame). This is a shield. Then one is drawn one each of the quarters. And one above. Energy is sent into them and they join in a circle around the area and spread up into a dome to enclose the top.
I favor pillar, fence and dome wards.
Pillar wards: Envision a column of light at each corner of the room. Draw it up from the ground, starting at the East or South-East corner. Imagine these holding up the roof. They can spread and form walls as well, if you like. This is good for warding a single room.
Fence wards are often done around property. These are what I use on my bus. Starting in the East, draw a pentacle in the air, envisioning it as glowing, drawing on the energy of the land you are warding, with its lower points on the ground (for fixed locations). Next to it, draw another, its leftmost point touching the first's right point. Continue around the thing being warded. Close the circle of pentacles, and charge them, drawing up energy from the Earth, channeling it into the wards until they glow as brightly as you want.
I do a Dome ward as a pentacle as well. The point faces North. Draw it in the air over the item being warded with the points touching the Earth. Charge it the same way.
Now that we know how to stay safe from hitchhikers, who like our dimension because it is (psychically speaking) on the bus routes and closer to the shops [h/t Terry Prachett], we can begin divination.
Practically speaking, the cards, the runes, the bones, the tea leaves, the stars aren't going to tell the future. They tell you what you already know. They just give you a frame to hang it on for new insight.
We started with Tarot, since we all read the cards.
There are many different decks, and although they are mass produced pasteboard and really shouldn't, they all have different personalities. My Celtic deck is subtle and runs a little obscure. Robin Wood never lies, but unlike Gabriel's Tarot of the Witches, he doesn't slap you upside the head either. (We call Gabriel's deck the FU deck for a reason)
Every tarot deck has Major and Minor Arcana. The Minor have four suits, just as ordinary cards do, but 14 cards in a suit: the ace through ten, the page, knight, queen and king. The Major Arcana have 22 cards, each with a number and archetype.
The suits:
Swords (spades) are the cards of conflict, of intellect. They correspond to the element of Air. A reading full of swords show a person in trouble.
Wands (clubs) are the cards of passion, drive and inspiration, of spirituality. They correspond to the element of Fire. A reading with many wands is about creativity and spirituality.
Cups (hearts) are the cards of the heart and emotion. They are ruled by Water and a reading full of them is a barometer of the querent's emotional state.
Pentacles (diamonds) also called coins or discs are the cards of work and wealth. They are the Earth cards and generally good, although they may indicate materialism as well as benefits.
There are many good sites and books that cover card meanings. My favorite is Biddy Tarot.
We talked about some of our favorite spreads. I have a whole Pinterest Board devoted to this. If you are interested in how the pictured spreads are read, they are linked.
Gabriel demonstrated the Celtic Cross tarot spread
And the Two Path Spread.
A single card is set out, for the querent, and it is crossed with the second, the question
Three are dealt in a line to the left and three in a line to the right.
The first of each of these lines is the option
The second is the influences
The third is the outcome.
This is good for someone with an either/or question.
I use three
1) The Five card spread, good for a very specific question
2) The 16 card spread, for a life overview. We call this the "What You Need to Know" spre
Five sets of three cards are laid out, one set to each side, one top and one bottom and one in the middle. A 16th card is place at the upper right corner.
The set on the left is The Situation as it Stands. This is a summary of the present.
The top is What You Need to Know about the Situation. These are influences that you may not see.
The right is What You Can Control. This reassures the questioner of things they can do
The bottom is What You Can't Control (or Obstacles or Ways Your Brain Will Lie to You). This is the troublesome sector, because these are things opposing the querstioner that they cannot fix
The Middle is the Outcome. This is how it all comes out.
The lone card is the overall tone. It tells what is influencing all the cards.
3) The Wheel of the Year. This lays out sets of three cards, either in a circle of eight sets (for Sabbats) or 12 sets (for months) with an extra set in the middle. The Months are obvious. This is straight-up stuff to look for in that month. The three extra are the general things of the coming year.
Sabbats are as follows:
Yule: What is being born into your life
Imbolc: What is germinating, incubating, but not yet ready
Ostara: What you are planting in this year
Beltane: What you are creating for this year
Litha: What is growing in your life
Lughnasadh: What you are beginning to harvest
Mabon: What has come to full fruition
Samhain: What needs to die in your life.
Overall: The general tone of the year.
This is a complex and introspective spread
The kids' assignment (and yours if you like) was to do a One Card draw each day and meditate on the card.
A shield is an energy barrier between you and the world. It protects you from harm, provides a safe place to retreat when psychic noise gets too loud and can help when you're around incompatible people.
A ward is the same sort of energy barrier, but it is fixed in place, anchored to a location or an object. (I used to ward my truck and still ward my bus)
The simplest form of shield is to take the energy you centered in the last exercise and push it outward to make a small forcefield around your body. I tend to envision it as a light blue glow about half an inch from my skin. (I shield so forcefully that I fry electronics. I can't wear digital watches. When I worked for RGIS, on one memorable occasion, I went through three fully charged batteries in my handheld scanner, before my co workers needed a single replacement. Hearing aid and phone batteries don't last either.) My mental shield is a smooth, royal blue dome that encircles and protects me. I've known more than one psychic vampire, and can pull that particular trick myself. When Lydia and I go out to eat, we have to specify whether we're eating AT McDonalds or eating A McDonalds.
Wards come in several forms.
Gabriel's particular favorite is to start at the East and envision drawing a circle (or draw it with wand or athame). This is a shield. Then one is drawn one each of the quarters. And one above. Energy is sent into them and they join in a circle around the area and spread up into a dome to enclose the top.
I favor pillar, fence and dome wards.
Pillar wards: Envision a column of light at each corner of the room. Draw it up from the ground, starting at the East or South-East corner. Imagine these holding up the roof. They can spread and form walls as well, if you like. This is good for warding a single room.
Fence wards are often done around property. These are what I use on my bus. Starting in the East, draw a pentacle in the air, envisioning it as glowing, drawing on the energy of the land you are warding, with its lower points on the ground (for fixed locations). Next to it, draw another, its leftmost point touching the first's right point. Continue around the thing being warded. Close the circle of pentacles, and charge them, drawing up energy from the Earth, channeling it into the wards until they glow as brightly as you want.
I do a Dome ward as a pentacle as well. The point faces North. Draw it in the air over the item being warded with the points touching the Earth. Charge it the same way.
Now that we know how to stay safe from hitchhikers, who like our dimension because it is (psychically speaking) on the bus routes and closer to the shops [h/t Terry Prachett], we can begin divination.
Practically speaking, the cards, the runes, the bones, the tea leaves, the stars aren't going to tell the future. They tell you what you already know. They just give you a frame to hang it on for new insight.
We started with Tarot, since we all read the cards.
There are many different decks, and although they are mass produced pasteboard and really shouldn't, they all have different personalities. My Celtic deck is subtle and runs a little obscure. Robin Wood never lies, but unlike Gabriel's Tarot of the Witches, he doesn't slap you upside the head either. (We call Gabriel's deck the FU deck for a reason)
Every tarot deck has Major and Minor Arcana. The Minor have four suits, just as ordinary cards do, but 14 cards in a suit: the ace through ten, the page, knight, queen and king. The Major Arcana have 22 cards, each with a number and archetype.
The suits:
Swords (spades) are the cards of conflict, of intellect. They correspond to the element of Air. A reading full of swords show a person in trouble.
Wands (clubs) are the cards of passion, drive and inspiration, of spirituality. They correspond to the element of Fire. A reading with many wands is about creativity and spirituality.
Cups (hearts) are the cards of the heart and emotion. They are ruled by Water and a reading full of them is a barometer of the querent's emotional state.
Pentacles (diamonds) also called coins or discs are the cards of work and wealth. They are the Earth cards and generally good, although they may indicate materialism as well as benefits.
There are many good sites and books that cover card meanings. My favorite is Biddy Tarot.
We talked about some of our favorite spreads. I have a whole Pinterest Board devoted to this. If you are interested in how the pictured spreads are read, they are linked.
Gabriel demonstrated the Celtic Cross tarot spread
And the Two Path Spread.
A single card is set out, for the querent, and it is crossed with the second, the question
Three are dealt in a line to the left and three in a line to the right.
The first of each of these lines is the option
The second is the influences
The third is the outcome.
This is good for someone with an either/or question.
I use three
1) The Five card spread, good for a very specific question
2) The 16 card spread, for a life overview. We call this the "What You Need to Know" spre
Five sets of three cards are laid out, one set to each side, one top and one bottom and one in the middle. A 16th card is place at the upper right corner.
The set on the left is The Situation as it Stands. This is a summary of the present.
The top is What You Need to Know about the Situation. These are influences that you may not see.
The right is What You Can Control. This reassures the questioner of things they can do
The bottom is What You Can't Control (or Obstacles or Ways Your Brain Will Lie to You). This is the troublesome sector, because these are things opposing the querstioner that they cannot fix
The Middle is the Outcome. This is how it all comes out.
The lone card is the overall tone. It tells what is influencing all the cards.
3) The Wheel of the Year. This lays out sets of three cards, either in a circle of eight sets (for Sabbats) or 12 sets (for months) with an extra set in the middle. The Months are obvious. This is straight-up stuff to look for in that month. The three extra are the general things of the coming year.
Sabbats are as follows:
Yule: What is being born into your life
Imbolc: What is germinating, incubating, but not yet ready
Ostara: What you are planting in this year
Beltane: What you are creating for this year
Litha: What is growing in your life
Lughnasadh: What you are beginning to harvest
Mabon: What has come to full fruition
Samhain: What needs to die in your life.
Overall: The general tone of the year.
This is a complex and introspective spread
The kids' assignment (and yours if you like) was to do a One Card draw each day and meditate on the card.
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