My Summer of Fantasy

I've always been an avid reader of science fiction but never really got into fantasy. In an attempt to expand my horizons - and after watching the incredibly cheezy but enjoyable (in a Xena kind of way) "Legend of the Seeker" - I recently picked Terry Goodkind's "Wizards' First Rule." I was trying to decided whether I should start the rest of the books after reading some mixed reviews online claiming the series gets pretty unbearable towards the end. (Critics in a nutshell - little character development, bad writing, Objectivist rants.) Anyways, Since I know lots of my facebook friends are super-geeks (like me), I asked their advice. While I'll probably hold off on reading more Goodkind for now, here's the list of recommended books that I compiled from the ensuing discussion.

Piers Anthony - A Spell for Chameleon (Zac)
Robert Aspirin - "Another Fine Myth" (Zac - humor fantasy)
Patricia Briggs - Moon Called (Chris W.)
Terry Brooks - Running with the Demon (Jason)
Terry Brooks - Magic Kingdom For Sale--SOLD (Zac)
Molly Cochran & Warren Murphy - The Forever King (Zac - Arthurian spin on its head)
Rick Cook - Wizards Bane (Zac - a universe where computer programming languages can be used to make magic)
Diane Duane - So You Want To Be a Wizard"(Zac - YA with female lead)
Steven Erikson - Malazan Book of the Fallen (Kelly)
Barbara Hambley - The Ladies of Mandrigyn (Zac - best female lead written in fantasy)
Robin Hobbs - Assassin trilogy (Dave R.)
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time series (Jason)
Mercedes Lackey - Winds of Fate (Zac)
Ursala LeGuin - Earthsea series (Mary, Zac)
Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind (Zac)
Maria Doria Russell - The Sparrow, Children of God (Max)
Mary Steward - The Crystal Cave & the rest of her Arthurian series (Zac, my mom)

I'm also looking into feminist-friendly fantasy books currently, and will post a list of what I find. Let's see if there's anything out there that doesn't use the damsel-in-distress and violence-against-women-as-plot-motivaters tropes in excess. (For many examples of the latter in comics, check out the excellent Women in Refrigerators website.)

Looks like my summer reading list is getting full! Thanks to all for the great suggestions!

Pouring money down the drain

After months ... no, make that years of putting it off, I finally cleaned out my storage unit the other day. I had to dig up the original contract the find my unit number and gate code. It had been that long since I'd been inside.

I only had a vague idea of what was in there, but I assumed it must be important since I took the time to rent the unit and haul a bunch of stuff into it. (I rented it when I moved from a townhouse in upper NW with a basement to an apartment in Dupont with no stoarge space.) So I rolled up my sleeves and started sorting. First, I have never seen so many dead bugs in my life. Gross! Second, 75% of the stuff in it was junk. Absolutely worthless. There were some gems - old debate medals, science fiction paperbacks, letters and cards from college. I'll be sorting through this stuff at home. (And scanning what I can.) But I was able to fit everything I wanted to keep in one medium-sized load in my car. The rest - total crap!

Being the masochist that I am, I wanted to figure out how much money I have wasted on storing my junk. The contract listed that I originally rented the storage unit in April 2003. Damn. I've been paying rent on it for seven years. That's 84 months of making a payment of $100-120. (The rental fee went upgradually over those seven years.) So I figure I have spend $9000-10,000 on this storage unit.

Let me repeat that - NINE TO TEN FRAKKING THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!! To store mostly crap. Think of all the things I could have done with that much money.

I vow to never, ever rent a storage unit again ... Unless, of course, I really need it to house all my valuable future sutff :)

Long time no see ....

Me: Oh, hello blog. It's been a while.

Blog: No shit! What happened? I thought you fell off the face of the planet!

Me: I've just been so busy that I haven't had time to visit.

Blog: Not even time for a letter? Or a short text?

Me: I know. I'm a bad blogger. I promise it will never happen again.

Blog: Whatevs. I'm already so over it.

(Not so) Awesome 80s

I just found an old cassette mix that I recorded off the radio in 1985. I was in 5th or 6th grade at the time. It's so awesome in it's badness.

Before I throw it away I must have a record of the track list for posterity:

1) Boys of Summer - Don Henley
2) Material Girl - Madonna
3) Against All Odds - Phil Collins
4) Baby Come to Me - Patti Austin and James Ingram
5) Easy Lover - Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
6) Raspberry Beret - Prince
7) All I Need - Jack Wagner
8) Like a Surgeon - Weird All Yankovic
9) Susssudio - Phil Collins
10) Hot Blooded - Foreigner
11) View to a Kill - Duran Duran
12) Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
13) The Search is Over - Survivor
14) Heaven - Bryan Adams
15) Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer
16) Mislead - Kool & the Gang

Just one question - why three Phil Collins songs?

Monday Mission

When the door bell rang this afternoon, I thought maybe the some workers had locked themselves out again. But instead, two nice, clean-cut young men in navy slacks and white, short-sleeved collard shirts with name tags and a book in their hand were at my door. Here's how the exchange went:

Nice Young Man: Hello ma'am. I'm XXX and this is XXX. What a lovely house you have? Have you lived here long? It looks like you're just moving in.

Me: We moved in a couple months ago but we're still finishing some renovations.

NYM: We're new to the area as well.

Me: So you guys are on your mission in DC.

NYM: (Looking a little surprised). Why, yes.

Me: I've had Morman friends before so I know a bit about your faith.

NYM: Well we're out here today to spread the message about Jesus Christ. Do you have a few minutes to talk.

Me: Thanks but I'm actually not religious, so I'm probably going to be a tough sell for you guys. But there are lots of nice people in this neighborhood who you might find to talk to.

NYM: So do you mean that you don't believe in god at all or you just don't belong to a particular church?

Me: I'm an atheist. But I'm glad we live in a county where we both can believe whatever we want and still all get along.

NYM: Well take this card in case you ever have any questions about the meaning and purpose of live.

Me: Thanks. Good luck and have a nice day.

NYM: You too!

It was actually a very pleasant exchange with lots of smiles. Even though I clearly don't agree with their beliefs, I can appreciate that it must be hard for barely adult Mormons to go door to door trying to talk about their religion with strangers. I'm sure they get lots of rude responses and doors slammed in their face (even from other Christians). And regardless one's own views, I think you should always be cordial and polite.

I also hope they walked away with a better opinion about atheists. How ironic if one of the friendliest faces they encountered today was someone who doesn't even believe in god?

Two of my favorite things together!

Earlier this month, Joss Whedon was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy. As most people reading this will know, I am an enormous fan of Joss Whedon and all his work on television and other media, including Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible. I actually did not know that he was a secular humanist until I saw this clip. The Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy is a

It's a great clip that touches on, among other things, the importance of free-thinking and education. My favorite, though, is the end, when Joss says:

"The enemy of humanism is not faith. The enemy of humanism is hate, is fear, is ignorance, is the darker part of man that is in every humanist, every person in the world. That is the thing we have to fight. Faith is something we have to embrace. Faith in God is believing, absolutely, in something with no proof whatsoever. Faith in humanity means believing absolutely in something with a huge amount of proof to the contrary. We are the true believers."

Watch the whole thing. It's a great speech that touches on things that many people, both believers and non-believers, will agree with. Go Joss!

Technophobia, evolution, race, and religion: thoughts on the Battlestar Galactica finale

Me – Anders is the worse hybrid ever. He needs to be saying more cryptic things and helping put out all the fires on the Galactica.

David – He must be a Ford Hybrid.

After four seasons of some of the best television currently on, Battlestar Galactica came to an end last Friday night. I was bracing for an apocalyptic “everybody-dies” kind of ending, so while the finale was certainly not touchy-feely happy-ending-y, it was a lot less dismal than I was expecting. I was thoroughly enjoying it until about 2/3 of the way through, when the writers decided to totally frak everything up, IMHO.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

I cannot emphasize how much I hated the anti-technology ending. This is such a cliché of mainstream scifi. The idea that humans don’t have the moral capacity to deal with the power of modern technological advances, and that the people would be happier in some pastoral utopia is a way overused theme. If the theme was ever delved into or discussed with any great care in the show, maybe it would make sense. But I felt like the “let’s all become noble savages” theme came out of left field. (As symbolized by Baltar, Caprica’s greatest scientists, returning to his agricultural roots.) So we just give up medicine? And what about all the people who had been injured in the battle against the cylon colony? We just leave them to suffer and die from easily treatable infections and conditions?

Okay, granted technological advances allowed humans to create cylons, and cylons are what almost destroyed humanity, but technology is also what allowed the BSG humans to survive. Being able to live in spaceships and wander the galaxy for years, medicine to cure sickness, weapons to shoot at the cylons, and Hera, the supposed key for the survival of both cylons and humans, are all a result of technology. To me, BSG has always been an allegory about racism, prejudice and xenophobia, and not about the dangers of technology.

My understanding is that the reasons the Centurions rebelled is because of humanity’s treatment of them as basically slaves rather than equal sentient being. We also know that the holocaust that occurred on the 13th tribe Earth was caused by the Centurions. Perhaps the original humaniod Cylons didn’t treat the Centurions any better than humans. To me this is a more a metaphor for the dehumanization of groups of people, usually along racial/ethnic, religious, gender, class, etc. lines, in order to subjugate them, that has persisted through our human history. In order to enslave, abuse, rape, kill we often have to see these humans as objects, as less than human, as somehow lesser than “our” kind.

Pegasus’ Lt. Thorne’s use of rape as a method of interrogation of GinaSix and Athena is a good example of this kind of dehumanization. The constant referral to cylons as toasters and machines, as unfeeling and incapable of emotion, and therefore, by implication, not deserving of the same rights and treatment of “real” humans, is another example of how humans justify their attitudes towards (and sometimes torture, abuse, and rape of) cylons. This is even more pronounced in regards to the Centurions, who lack biologically constructed bodies and therefore don’t “look like us”. (And it’s interesting to note that the Centurions seriously desired biological bodies. Perhaps they had internalized some of the messages of their human masters.)

The point here is that it was not technology itself that caused the near annihilation of humanity. It was their lack of ethical development; their inability to recognize intelligent beings who were not human as deserving of the same rights and respect that they gave other humans. This is why the key to both human and cylon survival was cooperation and acceptance of one another as equal beings. This acceptance was critical to stopping the cycle of mutual violence and genocide.

The BSG humans and cylons who settled on our Earth maybe finally accept one another as equal. They also recognized the independence of the Centurions by giving them leave to go off to pursue their own destiny. But clearly getting rid of technology doesn’t solve the problem of dehumanizing the “other.” We only just construct different “others.” We have thousands of years of our human history to say otherwise. If anything, modern technology can help provide empirical support against certain kinds of constructed racial distinctions that have justified centuries of dehumanizing and othering. The fact that all of modern humanity shares a common ancestor of Hera/Eve could only be discerned by modern scientific methods.

Speaking of human origins, the finale made me even more confused about where humans come from in the BSG world. Kobol is origin planet of BSG humans in their mythology. So what are the odds that evolution would happen in exactly the same way on both Kobol and our Earth to produce humans that can interbreed? Basically zero if just natural forces are at work. So maybe the humans on our Earth were descendants of the Kobol humans that somehow lost technology. Of course, let’s not forget that the twelve human colonies from Kobol were named after the 12 signs of the zodiac. On Kobol they discover a replica of the night sky as seen from Earth with the 12 zodiac constellations in the location you would see them from our Earth (i.e. the Earth from the final episode, not the 13th colony post-apocalypse Earth that the final five come from). So what the frak does that mean?

Maybe our Earth was actually the origin planet of humans. They developed into a space-faring civilization, colonized Kobol, forgot about our Earth, and the Earth inhabitants somehow lost their civilization, language capacity, etc. (And then how does the Zodiac enter into our Earth’s history tens of thousands of years later? And what about all the Greek mythological names of BSG characters?!? And the fact that the names of the Lords of Kobol were all gods from Greek mythology? Never explained, but more on that later.)

Of course, the easy answer is what the BSG writers are implying - that evolution on our Earth (and maybe Kobol) was guided by a divine hand. Great. Go intelligent design. Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with the spiritual overtones of the show. I think it made for some interesting plot points and moral discussions, especially the whole Cylon monotheism v. human polytheism. But sweeping away all these unanswered questions about the origins of humanity in the BSG universe with a last minute default to “a higher power did it” seems like a big cop out to me. It’s like the writers didn’t want to wade through the thick history and mythology they created to sort it out. Better to wave the “god did it” wand and make all the questions go away. This also applies to the question of what were HeadSix, Head Baltar, and back-from-dead Kara. Easier to say they were Angels than to actually delve into the metaphysics of their existences. (More on this later.)

One final thing that really struck me was the neo-colonial overtones of the BGS humans’ colonization of our Earth. I know this was probably not intentional, but the image of a bunch of white people (and a few Asians) checking out the “primitive” Africans, and commenting on how they could teach them language and agriculture was a little off putting. So the white people bring the Africans knowledge and technology (well, not too much technology since we swore that off as bad), and their descendants are able to be civilized. That’s not playing on any racists tropes . . .

Of course, maybe that’s exactly what the Lords of Kobol did to humanity that evolved on Kobol. Oh wait! An idea is forming.

Okay, so here’s my theory. The BSG human mythology said that humans evolved on Kobol in harmony with the Lords of Kobol (their gods) for thousands of years until about 2,000 prior to the show. At this point, for some unexplained reason, gods and humans departed (which is why Athena’s mythological namesake committed suicide), and the humans settled into the 12 colonies, with the humanoid cylons going to fake Earth. So who were these Lords of Kobol? As I mentioned before, they have the same names as Greek gods – Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, etc. Maybe they were actually some super-advanced alien civilization that gave humans technology (think Prometheus myth) and maybe even guided human evolution (think Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001 series). Then some cataclysmic event occurred that ruptured this peace. Maybe the humans and humanoid cylons were warring.

In any case, the Kobol lords got the heck out of Dodge and perhaps ascended to some higher plane of being (or maybe they were already there). They basically left humanity alone until they saw the human/cylon warring cycle about to start all over again. So they manifest themselves in the form of HeadBaltar and HeadSix to start setting things right. They also directed humanity and humanoid cylons towards both fakeEarth and, finally, our Earth, in effort to make sure we could just all get along. Resurrected Kara was also part of that plan. While humans and cylons might use the terms “god,” “gods,” “angels,” we’re really just talking about incredibly advanced technology. (As Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So see! Technology saves the day again. Ha!) And maybe they appear to the Greeks as some point to influence the development of human civilization, which is why Earth Greek mythology and the zodiac are so similar to the Kobol myths of the BSG humans.

But, of course, my theory would actually have made the finale make sense. And we can’t have that, now can we?

Some unanswered questions:

- If BSG humans arrived 150,000 years ago in Africa, then why didn’t Earth humans develop language until and agriculture until much later? Current scholarship places the development of language in humans at around 50,000 years ago and the invention of agriculture at around 10,000 years ago.

- Where do all the Greek mythology references fit into this? It would have made much more sense for the BGS humans to arrive on Earth right before the rise of classical Greek civilization.

- Why do they final five, Starbuck, and Hera hear “All Along the Watchtower”? Does this mean Bob Dylan is a Lord of Kobol?

- Is the dying leader that will lead them to Earth Kara and not Roslin?

- What happened to Michael, the humanoid cylon model 7? Ellen says Cavel kills him out of jealousy, but there were some hints that he was Kara’s father. Was he?

- Can the humanoid cylons die of old age? And if not, barring accidental death or murder, does this mean the Chief, Ellen, Tigh, and all the Twos, Sixes, Eights, could possibly still be living? I have this vision of the Chief being the inspiration for some Celtic god in ancient Scotland.

- Is anyone still reading this post at this point? If so, you’re more of a geek than even I am :)

If I were 16 I'd love this music . . .

One of my favorite bloggers (and friends), SingleGirl, posts a monthly music mix. Since she's taking a hiatus from blogging, I thought I would post my own for the month of March.

The following are songs that wanna-be hipster 16-year-olds across the country are probably listening to. And you know what? I love all this stuff too. It's like the good part of 80s music mixed with modern sensibilities. Like if The Killers and New Order has a bastard child. Some of this is more than a year old, some of it more recent. But all these songs make me smile.



Here's the track listning:

1)"Dawn of the Dead" by Does It Offend You, Yeah?
2) "Dead Disco" by Metric
3) "Munich" by Editors
4) "Kim & Jesse" by M83
5) "Night on Fire" by VHS or Beta
6) "After Hours" by We Are Scientists
7) "Creeper" by Islands
8) "Goodnight Goodnight" by Hot Hot Heat
9) "Tessellate" By Tokyo Polics Club
10) "Come Saturday" by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
11) "Daylight" by Matt & Kim
12) "Drugs in my Body" by Thieves Like Us
13) "Destroy Everything you Touch" by Ladytron
14) "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event


So what do you think? And am I too old to be listening to this?

Mocking women-targeted media

I have a new internet crush. Her name is Sarah Haskins and she does an awesome segment on Current TV called "Target Women." The feminist blogging community caught on to her a while back, so I'm a little late in the game. However, I'd though I'd spread the word to the 5 people who read my blog and might not have heard about her yet. She's a former Second City comedian who offers witty, hilarious, feminist commentary on the way women are targeted by the media and advertisers for a variety of products and such as household cleaners, birth control, vampires, skin care, Disney princesses, and, my personal favorite, products that help you go poo.

Here's the segment that started the internet buzz - yogurt.

Best line? "It's that 'I have a master's but then I got married' look!"



I also love her take on feminism as a female comedian, which she described in an interview with a Chicago comedy blog:

Yes, I’m a feminist. It is an extension of my lifelong war against pantyhose.

To me it means that as women we are individuals before we are gendered people and that we’re not defined by our gender except in the ways we chose to appropriate that definition.

We’re in a weird generation, right? Our Moms were forced to grapple with that definition more immediately, and I think it’s changed as we’ve grown up. The core issue "how do I fight bias against me because of my gender" is still there but has gotten more complicated and wrapped into all kinds of identity issues about how you present yourself as a woman and I pretty much think it's your choice and fuck pantyhose. So, hence my answer above.

Jezebel also did an interview with her where she expressed her love for both Gossip Girl and Joan Didion. *Sigh* Why can't she live in DC and by my friend?

Get this woman on the daily show, stat!

Recognizing White Privilege

Anyone who knows me well is aware of the fact I think a lot about issues of race and racism in contemporary American society. Given that I am white, educated, high socio-economic status individual - an incredibly privileged position in our society - I often wonder what I can do to actually make a difference. With all this talk now that we live in a post-racial society with the election of Obama (an idea I find ridiculous; of course race is still important in this country and of course racism still exists!) I think this is especially important for all Americans, especially white Americans, to critically think about racial privilege.

Therefore, from Peggy McIntosh's excellent essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", I give you:

Daily Effects of White Privilege

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.

12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.

28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.

29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.

30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.

31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.

32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.

33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.

46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.

47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.

49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.

50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

"Please save my McMansion US Government!"

David and I were amused this morning by an article in the Wall Street Journal about people who think it's unfair that their house loans are too big to qualify for government bailout money.

First we get the sad story of Pete, whom the Journal describes as "the kind of affluent customer that banks once coveted." (Read: white, upper middle class, willing to buy more house that he can afford.)

The 35-year-old technology executive -- who says he has a spotless credit record and at least 20% equity in his home -- has come up empty-handed in his search for a jumbo mortgage of more than $1 million for his recently built five-bedroom home in Alamo, Calif., near San Francisco.

Awhhhh! Poor baby. You can't get government money for your million dollar house. I feel so sorry for you . . .

David's comment: "Anyone who identifies themselves as a 'technology executive' is a douche."

We are also introduced to Brandon:

. . . a vice president of marketing for a food-products company, who was approved by his credit union for a $990,000 loan last year to buy a home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles. He had hoped to move his growing family out of the single-family house he has rented for the past four years and into a larger one. Those plans fell through when his credit union told him in December that they were getting out of jumbo lending.

You know what? There's no shame in renting in this economy. It's actually a pretty smart move. But unfortunately Brandon and his wife don't see it that way.

. . . he and his wife have high incomes and a solid credit rating, but that the money he had planned on using to make a larger down payment was lost in the stock market. He says his only option now is to wait for home prices to fall another 20% or to save an additional $100,000.

I love the line "lost in the stock market." Like the these people are in no way culpable for their own investment decisions, but it simply was stolen by no fault of their own. And they certainly can't wait it out a little longer in the single family home they've been in for four year. That would be unthinkable in our culture of immediate gratification and entitlement. (Of course, this couple may not have to wait long for housing prices to fall 20% more!)

But my favorite is the image that accompanies the story.


Is this the whitest guy ever? Khakis, blue shirt, standing in front of a totally generic McMansion on a barren landscape. (This picture also demonstrates one of my pet-peeves about McMansions - Home Depot sized windows on a house way too big for them.) This is Neil, who thinks that the government should subsidize his ability to have a long commute into Boulder, CO because houses are more expensive in his area. I hope that slight smirk on his face means he recognizes the ridiculousness of his claim.

David's remarks are spot on: "Everything about that guy, especially his khakis, I hate. And he's wearing them with black shoes and a black belt. Blech."

Not that you should ever judge people in their clothes.

But seriously, let's think about this article a little more critically. Who is the target audience of the Wall Street Journal? Probably a lot of people who are in the same position as the individuals highlighted in the article. Upper middle class to upper class, white, professionals who are starting to feel the effects of the economic crisis. These are also the people who probably bought McMansions beyond their means in the past 5 years when credit was cheap and their stock market-based investments were giving them high returns. Now their having to scale back their spending, rethink their investments, and cannot afford the houses they should never have bought in the first place. I know the Journal is trying to write this objectively, but to me it seems like an attempt to drum up sympathy and get support for increasing the mortgage loan limit for government bail-out money. Look at your affluent, suburban, white brethren, dear readers. This could be you!

Making me laugh over 15 years after the fact

So I was packing up my office today and I came across my old high school yearbooks. (As many of you know, my husband and I are moving to our new house in McLean, VA next week.) I've looked through them a number of times over the years. However, it's been a while since I perused them. So I took a little packing break and cracked them open. I wanted to present some of the highlights from my senior year (1993).

A few things to keep in mind. I was heavily involved in debate and other speech activities in high school. I also had a reputation among my friends as being a little absent-minded. Book-smart and a good arguer, but a bit of an airhead. And back then I still was really into politics. Many of you won't get all the comments, but those who remember will hopefully chuckle a little.

Matt W. starts the first page of my yearbook out with a nice one.

"Even if you don't always get what's going on, I sure have enjoyed having you around . . . Don't become too emeshed in politics . . . although you could get really good at making excuses!"

JP W. follows up with equally amusing observations.

"You have been the butt of many jokes . . . However, I don't ever want you to believe that the people of this squad dislike you. You are a pillar of this squad and have been an inspiration to . . . well . . . err . . . somebody.

Another person, Sam M., thinks I'll become a politician.

"I can't wait until you are some corrupt, slimey politician. That will be so cool! Maybe I'll be your bodyguard . . . "

At least my airheadedness made some people, such as Rebecca B., laugh.

"You always made me laugh, whether intentional or not. That counts for something!"

Rebecca I. recognized my foibles but still likes me anyways. Then Corey L. recognizes he's even more guilty of said foibles than I am.

"You really are spacey, but we love you anyway."

"Most people say you're spacey. Even more people say I'm spacey."

A nice sentiment from the Bagel (Jeff S.) after all the playful teasing from others.

"You are a really neat person, even though people don't give you very much credit sometimes"

Shelly refers to something that I can't remember but I hope is a joke (or at least we made some money off of)

"I am so glad we combined creative forces to form the forensics sex line (ext 666)."

Like Suji J., I do look back and think that. And I also remember what fun we had :)

"I can't forget those numerous 90210 parties when we religiously watched it every Thursday last year. I know we'll look back at that and think 'what the hell was wrong with us ?!?'"

Ann M. remembers those 90210 nights fondly as well.

"We'll cruise around town (I'll drive, of course), then go eat pasta at your house and watch 90210. Did you know Brenda has a big butt?

I had a reputation for skipping class (to work on debate, mind you.) Mr. Becker recognizes this with his dry sense of humor.

"You are the best correspondence student I have ever had in class."

This entry from Aaron C. is amusing considering he was the man of honor at my wedding over 10 years after this was written.

"I'm glad we can at least talk to each other without wanting to throttle the other person."

I don't remember Nick W. being at my house, but I guess he was at least in my fridge!

"You wouldn't believe how much beer we stole from your dad!"

It took a few years for Michelle M.'s prediction to come true, but it was worth the wait.

"Someday we'll find men who are mature enough to handle us."

Erin S.'s observation still holds true after all these years.

"Even though it takes you nine hours to get ready if you have to curl your hair . . . it's been a lot of fun."

Heather C.'s prediction eerily came true more than once.

"You'll drive some poor man wild and he'll offer you the world but you'll say 'I'm sorry, I'm just not sexually attracted to you.'"

Missy B. was so wrong . . . oh so wrong . . .

"We have to watch Sgt. Peppers Loney Hearts Club Band because I know what a BIG fan you are!"

The most hysterical is when Laurell mocks me by using her entire entry to repeat dumb stuff I had said.

"Shut up! Are you making fun of me . . . huh? What are you talking about? Stop it, guys! Was it good for you too ?!? Where's that? Isn't it neat how they placed the roads through the rocks? I smile because I don't know what's going on. Am I your slave? You better be nice to me at Nationals Laurell. I feel so used. Do you like her, or do you like her like her? That guy has a bad butt. Is that guy NAKED?!? What? I am sorry I am late guys. I didn't spill it. Scared of Heitz. Airhead? Am I blond or am I blond? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! Trolling, trolling, trolling. And on . . . and on . . . and on . . . Love ya, K. Condensation Baby!"

And the sweetest entry is Jenn S's She was right. The future held as many, if not more, good times for our friendship as well as other high school friendships.

"The past holds a lot of good times for us. Let's hope the future holds just as many."

Ah memories! I'm so glad I'm still in touch with so many of these people. I love you all!

25 random things about me

This is a meme going around facebook. I was tagged by a few people so here is mine.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.


25 random things about me:

1. I played the baritone in 5thand 6th grade band. It was almost as big as me. I would get this huge ring around my lips from the mouthpiece that would last for hours. I switched to the saxophone for 7th and 8th grade band.

2. I have a tattoo. It’s the Eye of Horus, an Egyptian symbol for wisdom and protection. It’s located above my left breast. I got it my first semester of college as a sign of rebellion. Wow I was soooo cool. Not! But now I think of it as a permanent reminder of who I was back then.

3. I have a condition called vassal vagal syncope that basically means I pass out when certain things occur with my body. It’s usually when I experience sharp sudden paint, get back stomach cramps, get overheated, have low blood sugar, or some combination of those. I think of it as my body’s reset button

4. I passed out in the White House when I was 12. We were on a tour during the summer. The air conditioning wasn’t on (who decided to keep the air off in the summer in DC?!?), I hadn’t eaten, and I started feeling woozy. We were in the Green Room, and the tour guide moved a divider so I could sit down. I passed on an antique Duncan Fife sofa. A secret service officer then escorted me and my parents outside. I wonder what the tour groups we walked by were thinking I had done!

5. My hair has been various shades of brown, red and blond throughout my life. Dirty blond naturally when I was young, slowly turning brown during my pre-teen years. Then I died it blond before I started high school, but let it go back to brown after my freshman year. In college I kept it various shades of red, including manic panic tangerine, with blonde again right at the end of college. My final foray into blonde with a home highlights kits was a disaster, so I had to dye it dark brown to cover up the mess. That was 1998. I’ve been a brunette ever since then.

6. I had plastic surgery when I was a kid. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I was born with really stick-out ears. Think Will Smith. When I was 10 I had to get my tonsils out and the doctor said he could easily lay my ears back while I was under. My parents said okay so I did it.

7. After said ear laying-back surgery, I developed a condition known as Keloids behind my right ear. Basically a small build-up of scar tissue that was only visible if you were looking directly into the back of my ear. Therefore, I didn’t wear a ponytail in public from the time I was 10 until I got them removed at 20. Now I love wearing ponytails!

8. I buy waaaay to many books. Amazon’s used book buying option has ruined me. I calculated how much I spent on books last year and was shocked. I don’t think I will ever read them all completely.

9. I also buy waaaay to many shoes. I had to count them recently (for the closet built-ins for our new place) and I stopped at 100. David started calling me Imelda.

10. I have dated guys from four countries outside of the US - Ireland, Germany, Belgium, and Sweden.

11. My ears are currently pierced 10 times (7 on the left, 3 on the right), although I only got them pierced for the first time my senior year of high school.

12. I still haven’t found an activity, job, cause, etc. that has inspired me to work my ass off as much as I did in high school debate.

13. Speaking of debate, my senior year of high school I was fifth speaker at the NFL debate national tournament. (No relation to the football league for you non-debate types).

14. When I was growing up, my dad would ask me “how was law school today” when I got home from school. I think this is what caused me to never consider law school after undergrad. Too bad because I think I would have made an excellent lawyer.

15. I am one of the worst procrastinators on the face of the planet.

16. I have always loved science fiction – books, television, movies, you name it. My mom introduced me to the original Star Trek when I was young and I’ve been hooked ever since.

17. I am a whore for anything Joss Whedon has done. Buffy and Angel are my two all-time favorite TV shows. I could watch them over and over and never get tired of them.

18. I would jump at the chance to live forever. Therefore, I will be the first in line to cryogenically freeze my body, upload my consciousness onto the internet, or get bitten by a vampire.

19. I am a skeptic towards all things paranormal, pseudoscientific , religious, and the like. I have never personally seen evidence to convince me any of the above are real. However, I try to keep a cautiously open mind about others’ experiences.

20. Even though I don’t believe in any of the above things, I kind of wish some of them were real. (Hence my interest in science fiction.)

21. My husband is the shortest guy I’ve ever dated. I used to have a thing for tall brunettes. Of course I would marry a 5’7” blonde!

22. When I grow up I want to be a college professor. However, while I love the teaching part, I don’t like the research part as much.

23. Because of the above, it’s taking me way too long to write my dissertation. I need to be finished!

24. If I were to do college and grad school all over again, I would ditch the political science, international relations and economics, and instead focus on philosophy, cultural anthropology, and history. If I could start my Ph.D. over again, I would do it in either Cultural Studies or American Studies.

25. I have explored a number of religions throughout my life. I was raised Catholic, but left that when I was about 14. My freshman year of high school I went to Baptist youth group a few times with a friend. Another acquaintance took me to an evangelical meeting once the same year, but it kind of scared me. During later high school I would have considered myself a liberal Christian (probably would have liked some of the Episcopalians or the Unitarians). By college I had abandoned Christianity and read up on Buddhism and Wiccan. I adopted a kind of vague spiritualism, the whole “no one religion is right; they all have good and bad parts and all have been corrupted by humans” kind of thing. By grad school I was agnostic and a few years ago I embraced my growing skepticism and finally atheism. Philosophically, I now consider myself a secular humanist.

Obama Inauguration Report 2009 - I was there!

My husband, David, and I had the pleasure of witnessing the inauguration of Barak Obama last week. I can't tell you what an incredible day it was. Just as emotional as the Election but in a completely different way. (You can read my reactions to the election here.) With so many people in the city (1.8 million on the mall on Tuesday is what I heard), it could have been crazy. But every single person I walked by was happy, excited, polite, friendly and gracious. I wish DC could be like that all the time!

I was actually able to score two seats in the yellow ticketed area. (Thanks you KS Republican connections. I knew you would come in handy for something eventually.) We live in Foggy Bottom at about 25th and F. Our security checkpoint was around 1st and Constitution. Because of the security perimeter, we had to walk a little out of our way. I think we ended walking about 3 miles each way. So we got up at 6am and headed out at 7am. Certainly a lot easier of a time getting to the ceremony than anyone who had to metro!

Along the way we met lots of out-of-towners. We tried to give them directions when we could, which basically amounted to "follow the crowd." We heard the mall was already filling up, so many people were heading to get seats to the parade. After about an hour of walking we arrived at our security checkpoint. Of course, I assumed that because we had seats we'd get in quickly. I was definitely wrong! We walked up to the yellow security gate to find a line snaking around blocks and blocks. It seemed to never end. Finally found the back and stood in line for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Again, talked to some great people who had come to DC from all over. The only negative experience I had all day was some people cutting in line at the last minute. It didn't help my judging them that they all had floor length mink coats on and talked in those fakey pseudo-British east coast upper class accents. I guess they figured they didn't need to stand in line as long as the plebes had to. But other than that, I have nothing but positive things to say about how everyone in our line comported themselves.

We finally got to our seats around 10:30am. Having seats was awesome. We were sitting on the lawn of the capitol, and could see the entire stage area where all the action took place. We were far enough away, though, that we really couldn’t distinguish individuals people on the stage. Fortunately, there was a giant jumbotron in front of us. So we could see on the screen who was arriving and then squint at the stage and sort of make them out. I believe there were about 100,000 seats, so it was a big crowd sitting down. We did engage in some celebrity spotting. (They had to walk through our section to get to the famous people seating section.) David and I walked by Beyonce and Jay-Z when we were first coming through security. And later when I was walking around to gain some feeling back in my toes, I passed by Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. w00t!

They started showing important people coming in on the jumbotron around 10:45. Some people in the crowd booed when they showed Lieberman. I guess in the seats we were in the middle big group of democrat party faithful, but I still thought it was tacky. Colin Powell got a big cheer, as did Gore and the Clintons. All the living former Presidents, Veeps and their spouses were there. Boy did Bush I look old, but the Carter's were as spry as ever. What is there secret? I want to drink some of that Kool-Aide! Then Cheney comes out in his wheelchair. He kinds of looks like the other, old Jeff Lebowski in "The Big Lebowski." (Little Cheney's Urban Achievers. Ha!) David's theory is that he didn't really hurt his back moving boxes. It's all a big ruse so he doesn't have to stand up when they say "President Obama."

I have to admit, when W. came out I felt sorry for him. There were clearly audible boo's and some people starting singing "na na na na hey hey hey goodbye." So unclassy guys! I mean, I fundamentally disagree with the guy on almost everything and think he lead our country into a big pile o' shit, but I still am respectful of him. Then I quickly forget about all this as Obama comes out, and the cheer of the crowd is almost deafening.

The ceremony itself was amazing. While just being there is something I will remember forever, there are some moments that stand out. My muscles involuntarily started clenching up when Rick Warren began delivering the invocation. However, my rational brain told my emotional brain to stay calm. This was all part of the new Obama era. Must be nice to everyone, especially ones that a large chunk of the American population revere. And to be honest, he is not as bad as some of the fundies. I think there are whole swaths of policy eras like poverty, global human rights, development assistance, etc. that liberals and Rick Warren-type evangelicals can agree on. And his speech wasn't as bad as I was expected. However, I did think it was a little tacky to say the "Our Father" at the end. First off, you're totally alienating anyone who isn't Christian. And second, different denominations of Christians say the Our Father differently, so you're favoring one version. Oh well. As I said, it could have been much worse.

The anticipation kept building as Aretha sang, Biden took his oath of office, and the quartet of famous musicians played a John Williams song (which we found out a couple days later was pre-recorded. Makes perfect sense given how cold it was.) Finally Obama's oath of office! And then the speech. I have to admit, I had to wipe my eyes on multiple times. Man that guy can give a speech. I wonder if the speechwriter kid who's picture was on facebook right after the election behaving inappropriately with a cardboard cutout of Hillary wrote this one? He gets a free pass for future shenanigans if he did. So many memorable lines. My favorite parts so far are "your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy" and "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." I also wanted to cheer when we talked about restoring science to its rightful place. And, of course, as an secular humanist, skeptic, and atheist, I was pleasantly surprised by his recognition of us with the line "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers." (A far cry from previous presidents'. The best we could do was being ignored. The worst was open hostility (like when Bush Sr. said "I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God." Bigot.)

After the incredible speech, David and I decided to start heading towards the exit. As we were walking out we caught the poem, another prayer, and then the national anthem. I'm sure Elizabeth Alexander is a great poet on paper, but she is definitely not a good reader of her own poems. The woman should have taken a speech class in high school! Since we were on our way out, I didn't pay much attention to Lowery's benediction. However, a did giggle at the end when he said "when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right." For some reason, it sounded like it could be a Paul Simon song to me.

The hour walk back home was cold, but I could barely feel through my elation of witnessing what I just saw. We met up with friends for a late lunch in Foggy Bottom. David's sister, Laura, and our friend Barbara, had stayed with us the night before so they wouldn't have to get into the city from the suburbs. They joined us along with my friend Anna and her husband PT, along with my friend Tom and a couple of his friends visiting for the inauguration. Tom is Irish and his friends British, so it was nice to get a non-American perspective on the day. One of them said "welcome back to the civilized world." How true, I thought. How true.

David and I skipped the balls that night and just hung out with my friends Dawn and Megan. I was way too exhausted to party and didn't think I'd be in the mood to walk an hour in an ball gown. So a quiet end to a spectacular day. One that I will remember forever and can tell my kids and grandkids about. I have always loved this country but Tuesday I felt as proud to be an American as I ever had. But now it's time to stop celebrating and get to work!

The sound of X-Files fangirls squeeing

Some interesting dailies from the X-Files have recently leaked onto the interwebs. There's a scene in 1998 X-Files movie "Fight the Future" where Mulder and Scully almost kiss. Right as their lips are about to meet, Scully is stung by a bee carrying a designer mutated alien virus (don't ask if you never watched the show) and passes out. Mulder/Scully shippers would have to wait another year and a half for an actually kiss between these two. (It finally happened on New Years' Eve 1999 in the episode "Millennium.")

In any case, it turns out that they shot alternate takes of the almost-kiss scene in the movie where Mulder and Scully do in fact kiss . . . and quite passionately. Putting this in the movie would have changed the entire dynamic of the TV show afterwards. Whether it would have been for better or worse will be the source of much fandom debate. However, I post this "what if" for the viewing pleasures of you X-Philes out there.

Deserted Island Music

"If you were stranded on a deserted island . . ."

I’m sure that phrase has been the beginning to many an interesting conversation. It is also an incredibly overused cliché that can sometime lead to eye-rolling. I’m hoping this entry will be in the former category.

This past weekend, I was catching up with some episodes of my not-nearly-as-good-as-the-original Dawson’s Creek replacement One Tree Hill. I was super excited to see one my favorite cult TV actors and music genius John Doe on the show as a special guest star (appropriately playing a not-as-well-known-as-he-should be music almost-legend). I’ll save the googling for some of you and say that he was in the (in)famous 80s LA punk band X and was on the TV show Roswell. He and his fictitious maybe/maybe-not daughter, Peyton, – an independent record label owner – were having a conversation that revolved around the question:

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 5 albums would you want with you?

They both had some good choices: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, U2’s The Joshua Tree, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True. Hopefully the episode motivated some teeny-boppers to check out some of these amazing albums.

However, this inspired me to come up with my own deserted island album list. Of course, nowadays we could change the phrase to “If you were stranded in space billions of miles from human civilization . . . or “if you were the lone survivor of the zombie apocalypse . . .” The point is that these are albums you could listen to over and over and continue to enjoy them (or get sick of them more slowly than other albums). Therefore, this list is not necessarily what I currently listen to most frequently, or even what I have listened to the most over my lifetime. Is it the music that would keep my sane and connected to humankind if I isolated and alone.

Unfortunately, I could not just limit it to 5. So in no particular order, here are the 10 albums I would want with me if I were stranded on a deserted island/lost in space/zombie apocalypse survivor:

1) David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
2) Pixies, Doolittle
3) The Beatles, St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4) The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow
5) The Who, Who’s Next
6) R.E.M., Life’s Rich Pageant
7) Weezer, The Blue Album
8) Ben Folds Five, Underground
9) New Order, Low-life
10) Death Cab for Cutie, Transaltanticism

Honorable mentions (i.e. these could rotate in and out of the list depending on my mood that day):
11) The Clash, London Calling
12) Led Zeppelin, IV
13) Nick Drake, Bryter Layter
14) R.E.M., Murmur
15) R.E.M., Document
16) The Beatles, The White Album
17) The Cure, Boys Don’t Cry
18) Belle and Sebastian, Dear Catastrophe Waitress
19) The Lemonheads, It’s a Shame about Ray
20) The Police, Synchronicity

Comments? Questions? Glaring omissions? Rants about my musical taste? I’d love to hear it. And, by the way, what are your top 10 deserted island albums?

Secular Humanism 101

I just came across this post that Paul Kurtz recently wrote for the Washington Post's On Faith section. Kurtz is the chairperson of the Council for Secular Humanism and an emeritus professor of philosophy. The following is a fantastic and short piece which nicely sums up the views of Secular Humanism, an ethical movement I strongly identify with. For those of you curious about my moral views as an atheist, this is definitely worth a read.

Belief in God Essential for Moral Virtue?

A growing sector of world civilization is secular; that is, it emphasizes worldly rather than religious values. This is especially true of Europe, which is widely considered post-religious and post-Christian (with a small Islamic minority). Secularist winds are also blowing strong in Asia, notably in Japan and China. The United States has been an anomaly in this regard, for it has suffered a long dark night in which evangelical fundamentalism has overshadowed the public square, with its insistence that belief in God is essential for moral virtue. This is now changing and secularism is gaining ground.

The “new atheists” have attempted to balance the scales, for religious dissent until now has been largely muffled. They have appealed to science to criticize the unexamined claims of religion. This has shocked conservative religionists, who respond that atheists are “too negative.” Perhaps, but this overlooks the fact that there are varieties of unbelief and that secular humanists (the bete noire of fundamentalists during the Reagan years) define their outlook affirmatively in the light of positive ethical values, not by what they are against but what they are for.

Secular humanists are generally nonreligious, yet they are also good citizens, loving parents and decent people. They look to science, the secular arts and literature for their inspiration, not religion. They point out that religious belief is no guarantee of moral probity, that horrendous crimes have been committed in the name of God, and that religionists often disagree vehemently about concrete moral judgments (such as euthanasia, the rights of women, abortion, homosexuality, war and peace).

The ethics of secular humanism traces its roots back to the beginnings of Western civilization in Greece and Rome, through the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the scientific and democratic revolutions of the modern world. Secular humanists today affirm that every person should be considered equal in dignity and value and that human freedom is precious. The civic virtues of democracy are essentially humanist, for they emphasize tolerance of the wide diversity of beliefs and lifestyles, and they are committed to defending human rights.

But, “how can you be ethical if you do not believe in God?” protests the believer. Perhaps such a person should enroll in an elementary course in ethics, where there is a rich philosophical literature dealing with this question. The good is usually defined as “happiness” though there are differences between the eudemonistic, emphasizing enriched self-development, and the hedonistic, particularly American, brand of intemperate consumption. Perhaps a harmonious integration of the two theories can be achieved. I would call it rational exuberance. Philosophers have emphasized the importance of self-restraint, temperance, rational prudence, a life in which satisfaction, excellence, and the creative fulfillment of a person’s talents is achieved. It does not mean that “anything goes.” Humanist ethics focuses on the good life here and now.

Secularists recognize the centrality of self-interest. Every individual needs to be concerned with his or her own health, well-being, and career. But self-interest can be enlightened. This involves recognition that we have responsibilities to others. There are principles of right and wrong that we should live by. No doubt there are differences about many moral issues. Often there may be difficulties in achieving a consensus. Negotiation and compromise are essential in a pluralistic society.

However, there is now substantial evidence drawn from evolutionary biology that humans possess a moral sense (see Marc Hauser, Steven Pinker, and David Sloan Wilson). Morality has its roots in group survival; the moral practices that evolved enabled tribes or clans to survive and function. This means that human beings are potentially moral. Whether or not this moral sense develops depends on social and environmental conditions. Some individuals may never fully develop morally–they may be morally handicapped, even sociopaths. That is one reason why society needs to enact laws to protect itself.

There is also of course cultural relativity, but there are, I submit, also a set of common moral decencies that cut across cultures–such as being truthful, honest, keeping promises, being dependable and responsible, avoiding cruelty, etc., and these in time become widely recognized as binding. Herein lie the roots of empathy and caring for other human and sentient beings. Such behavior needs to be nourished in the young by means of moral education. In any case, human beings are capable of both self-interested and altruistic behavior in varying degrees.

Secular humanists wish to test ethical principles in the light of their consequences, and they advise the use of rational inquiry to frame moral judgments. They also appreciate the fact that some principles are so important that they should not be easily sacrificed to achieve one’s ends.

To say that a person is moral only if he or she obeys God’s commandments–out of fear or love or God or a desire for salvation–is hardly adequate. Ethical principles need to be internalized, rooted in reason and compassion. The ethics of secularism is autonomous, in the sense that it need not be derived from theological grounds. Secular humanists are interested in enhancing the good life both for the individual and society.

Today, a new imperative has emerged: an awareness that our ethical concerns should extend to all members of the global community. This points to a new planetary ethics transcending the ancient religious, ethnic, racial, and national enmities of the past. It is an ethic that recognizes our common interests and needs as part of an interdependent world.

For more information about secular humanism, check out the Council for Secular Humanism, the American Humanist Association, or wisdom from the moths of babes in this post from one of my favorite blogs "Parenting Beyond Belief."

My new news crush

I know I'm pretty late to the game in my new-found devotion to Keith Olbermann. However, I mostly get my news from reading the Washington Post on my iphone in the mornings and checking news online. I just don't watch news on TV anymore . . . until now. Last week I started TiVoing Countdown on MSNBC after seeing the following two videos online. Keith Olbermann, you're my new crush :)

One of the best commentaries on Proposition 8 I've seen. Watch him almost tear up towards the end:





What many of us wanted to say in response to the "pro-American and anti-America" line of Michelle Bachman, Palin's "real Virginia" line, and other similar ignorant comments a few weeks ago:




Now I just want to doodle kArA-N-kEiTh 4EVA on my spiral notebook. New(s) crush!

You may say I'm a dreamer . . .

I woke up this morning and felt tears coming to my eyes. I cried all last night as I was watching the election returns. I cried during our next president's speech. I was crying tears as I feel asleep. Tears of hope, joy, optimistic, and most of all, pride in my country. As I opened my eyes, I turned my head away from my husband and dried my tears on the pillow. I wouldn't want him to think I was silly and emotional. I just need a minute to collect myself, I thought.

The weather report online said it was raining in DC but I stepped out on my balcony and it was not. A little gray and overcast, but a perfect temperature for a my morning walk with the dog along the Potomac to Starbucks. A good portent for the day ahead. While my route was was the same as always, everything looked a little different. The Kennedy Center, Roosevelt Island, the Georgetown Waterfront, the Key Bridge were all a bit more radiant, even under the cloudy sky. While these DC landmarks reminded me of the importance of where I was living, it was the people along my walk I noticed. The people that kept making tears well up in my eyes again and again.

As a was walking through the hallways of my condo building, I pass by a young El Salvadorian woman who is part of the cleaning crew. I wonder what she is thinking. Can she vote? Does she wish she could have? Does she feel proud to live in America today? What did she endure during the El Salvadorian civil war? What price did she pay to be able to live in this country and clean apartments? Does today make her feel like her sacrifices were worth it? She gives me a gigantic smile and says "hello." I do the same. The tears start to come back.

The Saudia Arabian embassy appears across my field of vision as I step onto the sidewalk. It's quiet and austere as always. I wonder if Muslim and Arab Americans feel a little more welcomed, a little more secure in their own country today? And how do people in the Middle East feel about the fact that the next American president's middle name is Hussein? Will that change anything at all for them?

I round a corner and see three city workers who are African American men in the distance. As they are about the start trimming the grass along Rock Creek Parkway, one of them shouts a big "good morning" to me. I give them a double thumbs up and say "what a GREAT morning!" They all get smiles on their faces, nod their heads, and offer affirmations back at me. I turned my head away and started quietly crying again.

I dry my tears in time to say hello to an elderly white women walking her dog whom I often cross paths with. She was still wearing her "I Voted" sticker from yesterday. She was smiling and happy, as she always is in the morning. I wondered whether she shares in the elation over the Obama win with so many of her fellow DC residents. Was she able to overcome the prejudices of her generation and vote for a man of color? And even if she didn't vote for him, was it purely because of policy differences and not because of the ethnic origin his father? I couldn't answer those questions but I imagined how a day like today would have been unimaginable when she was my age. I think how far we have come as a country and how far we have to go to overcome discrimination and racism. I hope some of the optimism of today affects her no matter what her opinions or prejudices. The tears start coming again as I walk away from her.

As I get close to my destination at the Georgetown Waterfront, I group of people get off a commuter bus. They are mostly young professionals all dressed the same in suits and collared shirts. They are black, white, latino, asian, and many other identities. Since this is DC, I assume many of them are politically active. However, I think of all the young Americans previously ambivalent about politics who voted for the first time ever yesterday. I think of a young generation finally energized to political awareness and action. I hope that momentum continues.

I enter my regular Starbucks and note, like I have many times in the past, that all the employees are African-American. A certain positive spirit affects the mood of the entire store. Patrons seems more awake than usual, chattier, friendlier. The woman whom I place my order with almost every morning forgets to give me enough change. I gently mention this, and add "we're all a little out of it today." She gives me a big smile and I smile back. I leave all my change as tip. Even the older barrista who looks perpetually tired and overworked, like life has worked him too hard is beaming today. Even he smiled at me when I verfied my Americano was decaf. And he never smiles. I wonder if he is now able to tell his children and grandchildren that they too can be president one day. I think of all he has endured and wonder if he ever thought he could honestly say that to his younger generations. I walk out of the coffee shop with the tears starting to return.

I notice all the Latino and African-American workers on the street, heading to their construction jobs in the condo buildings on my block. Do they see this country any differently today? Do they feel a small part of their burden has been lifted?

As I return home, I think of the elderly Indian gentleman with a Ph.D. who sometimes works behind the front desk at my building, who came to the U.S. on a scientific research fellowship decades ago but now hands white people their mail because it pays better. Does he feel like he wasted his education and his intelligent mind for all these years working a menial job? Does today make him feel like it worth it? Does he see an even brighter future for his family in an American that can elect a man of color as president?

As I sit down to sip my coffee and read the news online, I think about the someone close to me who said hurtful and prejudice things about Obama voters on the phone last night. Someone who I normally consider fair and open-minded. I know he, like some Americans today, is disappointed and frustrated over the way the vote turned out. I wonder if these people, too, can feel the optimism and exhilaration in the air today. I hope they can put aside their policy differences and their perceived personal economic self-interest to feel a small bit of what so many Americans feel today. The sense of community and connectedness, the weight of history being lifted, and enormous swelling of pride in our country. I wonder if they could see the faces I saw today and hear their stories if they would still be so hurt.

Today I feel for the first time that we are all truly Americans. A feeling of unity that has been elusive for so long that it is worth almost any price. The tears are coming back. I think they will be flowing for a while.

Running from hell

As a teenager in Topeka, KS, I personally witnessed the evolution of the Westboro Baptist Church from a loony primitive Baptist congregation to one of the most vicious hate groups in America. One of the Phelps cult escapee children, Nathan, is now living in Canada and recently did this interview with a local paper. It really doesn't tell us anything new about the Fred and his posse. it just verifies that they are a bunch of hate-filled filth-spewers and that Fred Sr. was a severe abuser who should be locked up in jail.

However, Nathan's story of his path away from religion and the torment he still deals with everyday is quite compelling. I hope he is able to find the peace that he so desperately deserves.