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Archive for December, 2007

Silver Bells, Silver Bells…

Posted in Christmas on December 16, 2007| 2 Comments »

My grandfather always called hershey kisses Silver Bells, which is what I always think of when I hear that song.  Chocolate.  Yum. 

So, I cut my hair last week, to my chin.  It was long enough to be cut off in a pony tail and donated to Locks of Love, which made me happy.  I have a lot of hair and love the idea of it helping a child with cancer.  What that meant for me is that over ten inches of my hair was chopped off in the first two minutes of my hair cut.  Which was somewhat traumatic.  But I love my new cute bob, and I’m relearning how to dry my hair.  I look shockingly different, I think you could walk by me and not recognize me.  I’m such an attention whore. 

Last week it was 80 degrees every day.  Very not christmas.  Yesterday it rained and rained and rained, and then after it finished raining the temperature dropped dramatically and the wind started blowing and when I woke up this morning everything was bright and clean and pretty and FREEZING.  And feels more Christmas. 

So I’m making beef vegetable soup tonight (my grandmother’s recipe) and snuggling under a blanket and addressing Christmas cards.  I bought the cards forever ago and if I can’t get it together enough to write addresses on them and put them on the mail (I’ve even already bought the stamps) then I need to make some serious changes in my life.  And I like my life and don’t really love change. 

If you wish me to send you a Christmas card – email me your address – charlsiekate@gmail.com. 

Happy Christmas!  I love you all!

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Mixing Things Up

Posted in Beauty on December 12, 2007| 1 Comment »

I work in the Courthouse.  And the Marshals who guard the courthouse doors are my friends. 

They always notice if I change my appearance, like if I wear my glasses instead of my contacts, or if after wearing my glasses for a while I switch back to my contacts. 

They also notice if I wear my hair down instead of up.  I almost always wear it UP (this is a correction from earlier), and apparently I look quite different with it down (first year of law school I wore my hair down to a party at the end of first semester and bunch of people in my section wouldn’t talk to me because they didn’t recognize me.  My hair was really long at the time.)

Well, I’m cutting my hair short tomorrow.  And I’m thinking about getting lasiks.  What do y’all think?

I’m a little worried the marshals won’t know who I am. 

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The Golden Compass

Posted in Books, Current Affairs, Film, Religion, ridiculousness on December 7, 2007| 4 Comments »

(I’m laying on the couch, reading, Britt walks in)

Britt:  WHOA!  That is a huge book!

Me:  Yep, I like big books.  This is a children’s novel.

Britt:  What is it?

Me:  His Dark Materials, you know, the Golden Compass. 

Britt:  Wait, I think I read something in a church bulletin that said you shouldn’t read that book or let your kids go see the movie.  Something about it being satanic.  Is it satanic?

Me:  That’s what I’m trying to figure out.  As far as I can tell, it is a children’s novel set in a fictional world, where an entity similarly structured as the church is evil.  Personally, I would compare it to 1984, where the government is evil.  I mean, it was written by an atheist.  But there seem to be some good moral themes.  It obviously is going to come down to good vs. evil.  We’ll see. 

____

Dan over at the Pasty Quail has been covering the Golden Compass debate, and I think it is really interesting.  I really like what he has to say here.  I strongly disagree with any organization that wants to tell me what I can and can’t read, or what I should and shouldn’t watch.  Why don’t churches worry about movies full of violence and hate and the kind of evilness that really and truly does exist in this world, instead of waging war against a STORY about an IMAGINARY place?

I haven’t read the whole thing.  So maybe I’ll feel differently about it when I get finished.  But I somehow doubt that a lot of people who are against this book and movie have read it.  I personally have more faith in my own faith than to be threatened by a novel.  Especially not a novel who heroes and heroines refuse to break their sworn promises, and who fight for the innocent, and whose actions are compassionate and heartfelt.  Because that is what I have gotten out of the book so far. 

But, you know, maybe it becomes satanic later on.  I would like to be a part of a church that encouraged children to read the book, or see the movie, and then initiate a discussion about how the "church" or the "god" in the book is different from the Church and the God that we believe in.  My mom said that some people don’t like the idea that people can be moralistic even if they aren’t religious.  But that is just a fact of life, right? 

I’m not sure why this whole thing bothers me so much, but I really don’t like the whole controversy.  I think part of it stems from the fact that it irritates me when people talk about Harry Potter being evil, and even some people think Lord of the Rings is negative, which is really amazing to me. 

There are over 500 facebook groups about the Golden Compass as of today.  Most of them are titled – DO NOT GO SEE THE GOLDEN COMPASS, or BOYCOTT THE GOLDEN COMPASS or THE GOLDEN COMPASS AND IT’S ATTACK ON CHRISTIANITY (wtf?) 

I particularly like – BOYCOTT THE GOLDEN COMPASS AND IT’S ATHEIST MESSAGE.  Really, I would say there appears to be more hate in these groups than in the book that I’ve been reading. 

I want to join the group – YOU KNOW WHAT YOU RELIGIOUS BIGOTS?  I JUST MIGHT GO SEE THE GOLDEN COMPASS.   or maybe – READING THE GOLDEN COMPASS DID NOT MAKE ME AN ATHEIST.

Really, I could spend hours going through these facebook groups.  But I don’t have time.  I need to go finish my novel.  I’m intrigued, and entertained, and challenged by it. 

 

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Puppies and Rainbows

Posted in Thoughts on December 6, 2007| 1 Comment »

I’m sitting on my couch.  I still have on my long coat.  I need to get up, change clothes, wash my dirtball dog, wash about ten loads of laundry, change the sheets on my bed, unload the dishwasher, brush my hair, put lights on the christmas tree, write some checks, turn the heat on, clean my room, take the trash out, and when it comes down to it, wash my car and clean my bathroom. 

But all I really want to do is go drink beer and eat cheese dip somewhere.   

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Advent

Posted in Christmas on December 5, 2007| Leave a Comment »

I like Christmas decorations.  I love the way a fresh cut Christmas tree smells, and I love twinkly lights on trees (especially the ones in downtown athens) and I love all things that sparkle. 

It makes me happy and gets me thinking about the weeks to come, and helps me to mentally prepare for everything that Christmas involves. 

I spent some time last week helping my mom get our tree decorated, mostly I laid on the floor with the dog and watched her decorate, but I was there for moral support. 

Britt and Ross got a tree for our little house this weekend, and it now has three ornaments on it, with dreams of much, much more. 

I bought some candy canes at the grocery store.  I love candy canes.  As a child I used to like to make spears by creating a point on the end on the candy cane.  A shiv if you will. 

Briscoe likes Christmas too.  I’m going to get her a santa hat.  Or maybe an elf hat.  I think she might like being an elf. 

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