Just submitted my Initiate Intention Letter to the Clergy Council Chief. Keep your fingers crossed, y'all.

Also, I got Burn Notice Season One on DVD today. That = Awesomeness Squared.

So, I'm back with the parents. I still have to move some dishes, shelves, and food, along with with cleaning up the apartment; but beyond that, I'm moved back in. I might start looking at apartments here in Clintonville or in Westerville sometime in the spring, but right now I'm pegging myself to be here for a year or so while I save up money and make a dent in my student loans.

In other news, I got Heaven, Heroes, and Happiness in the mail over the weekend and have been reading it mostly at work on breaks and in between calls since then. I have to say...I'm disappointed. Shan M. M. Winn, the author, starts off pretty just pimping the Gimbutas theory of "Kurgans" sweeping into Europe from Central Asia and displacing/overrunning the peaceful, matrilineal, agrarian Goddess-worshipping native inhabitants. I'm sorry, but....no. I know the book is from the early Nineties, but still...the GImbutas theory has little to no evidence supporting it other than: A) there were agriculturalists living in Europe prior to the migrations of the Indo-Europeans; B) there are the famous feminine idols found throughout Europe of a pregnant woman with large, pendulous breasts and no head; and C) the Indo-Europeans eventually swept in took over. All those are very broad, and couple that with the fact that pretty much every shred of anthropological and archaeological evidence indicates that even in agricultural societies that may have reckoned descent via the mother's side of the family (i.e. matrilineal), males were dominant; simply because in societies centered around intensive agriculture males are the only ones physiologically capable of using the necessary technology (plows, etc.) and therefore controlled the most power (the old "I bring home the bacon, I make the final decision" argument that had its swan song in the 1950s).

But, that's not my biggest complaint, that was just the tip of the iceberg. It really started getting bad around page sixty-four where Winn (I'm still not sure if the author's a male or a female, but my own biases based on their hard-on for Gimbutas' feminist fantasy wants to say that Winn is a female; and just to be clear, I consider myself a feminist - chicks rock, after all - so I'm not using the term in derogatory manner) claims that the Vanir of the Norse pantheon were obviously the goddess-centered deities of the non-IE natives that were suppressed by the Indo-Europeans when they moved in. Now, except for the "goddess-centered" part, I wouldn't have a problem with that assertion. Given the evidence, it's definitely possible. But then Winn goes on to claim that Norse myth denigrates the Vanir especially by having them lose the war that occured between them and the Aesir, that the references to incest between Freyr and Freyja were a patriarchal society's misunderstanding of the important role played by a woman's brother in matrilineal societies, and that Othinn stole the mead of inspiration from the Vanir as a further pissing on them to show they were incompetents.

Okay. Number one: Othinn stole the mead from the giants, not the Vanir. Any elementary school reader on Norse mythology gets that shit right, much less something that supposed to be a scholary work used in college classrooms. Plus, read any of the Norse lore and one can immediately see the importance of a "mother's brother" in Scandinavian and Germanic society all the way up until the Christian era, at the very least. And the Vanir weren't disparaged or denigrated by the Norse: Freyr was one of the most important gods among them (hell, the Swedish Ynglingas counted him as the founder of their royal line) and many of the other Vanir were some of the most popularly worshipped deities among the Norse.

It just seemes like Winn is really playing the whole "these naughty, patriarchical Kurgans came in and roughed up the nice, matriarchical goddess-worshippers in Europe" card a lot, which kind of annoys the piss out of me. Mainly because that slant on the evidence has no empirical support. But, worse than that, Winn is either indulging in sloppy research or consciously bending IE mythology to fit his/her message (i.e. "phallic Indo-Europeans are bad"), and because I can spot the places where he/she obviously drops the ball concerning Norse myth (not that I'm an expert myself, but I've read up on it a smidge) it makes me very unsure about other IE cultures he/she covers and question the veracity of his/her arguments. It also makes me slightly disappointed that ADF held this up as suggested material for its study programs. I realize that the market may not be flooded with great, scholarly works focused on Indo-European studies, but....really? This is one of the better ones we could find? Granted, I just finished the chapter discussing the various "Armageddon" myths through IE cultures and didn't find it too bad, but it still doesn't make up for the misgivings that have already been laid down.

Anywho, I was going to mention how I'm looking forward to Summerlands next week, but it's late I need sleepies.

Sometimes I get the urge to pack a knapsack and wander the world like Kwai Chang Caine.

An oldie, and despite the fact I'm nursing a killer hang-over (gonna be calling off my shift here in a few), definitely a goodie.

The world is awesome.

Though it happened a few weeks ago now, I recently officially completed the ADF Dedicant Program. As I've stated before, it's taken me close to four years to finally finish it (laziness is a bitch, folks) but I was proud and jubilant to do so.

Plus, I unexpectedly got a shiny lapel pin (see above). I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to get a certificate showing that I completed the program, too, but the pin is more than enough.

I've already set my sights on my next goals within ADF: the Initiate's Path. But, because I'm a masochist who likes to bite off more than he can chew, I'm also planning on tackling the Generalist, Magician's Guild, and Liturgist's study programs. I took an afternoon a few weeks back comparing the curricula of the four programs and arranged a distilled curriculum to complete them as efficiently as possible by knocking out requirements that cross-over between the different programs simultaneously (i.e. - Indo-European Studies 1 is a requirement for all three, as is Indo-European Language 1 and Liturgy 1). Hopefully, it won't take me four years - not having to worry about completing work for class should definitely help - but even if it does, it's still within the time-table I've set for myself.

You see, I've been thinking about it for a while now, especially since I completed the DP, and I'm seriously considering entering the Clergy Training Program once I'm done with the Generalist SP and the Initiate's Path. If I do choose to become clergy, my plan is that after I complete the first circle of training, I'm going to try an enroll in grad school (most likely at some place like Ohio Dominican) with the aim of getting my Master's in Theology. Just having the Master's would be a good thing, in my estimation, but the plan is that once I have it, I'm going to look into the Chaplain Corps. Now, a big hurdle there would be getting ADF recognized by the D.O.D. as a "legititmate" religious organization, but that shouldn't be too much trouble nowadays (not that I'm assuming that it'll be a cake-walk, either), and I think it'd definitely be worth it. I've seen varying statistics on the numbers of Wiccan/pagan members of the armed forces and I think they definitely deserve to have their own clergy.

And I would think that a polytheistic priest would have an easier time with the chaplaincy's attitude of stressing pluralism than some of the monotheistic clergy do.

I'm shooting for a ten-year time-table on this one. The upper limit age-wise for entering the chaplain corps I believe is forty-two or so, so thirty-five shouldn't be a big deal. Plus, it gives me the time to fulfill some of the corps other requirements (like two years of ministry work, etc.) before getting in there, as well as accomplishing other things (like getting some books published - I've already gotten off my ass and started in on one *smile*! - maybe getting married, etc.).

And if I don't get into the chaplain corps...*shrug* oh well. At least, I'd have a Master's in Theology, which I think would help strengthen ADF's image in the mainstream (you know, since the stereotypical, "legititimate" clergy-person or reverend has one).

Right now, though, I'm happy with my pin.  : )

long title: "It's an amazing time of day; the light is great for photography."

yep, chronarchy's got me hooked on xkcd. damn you.

The Thunderer's wrestling sky-wyrms right now...
It's a little pant-shit-inducing at moments with the cracks of lightning and thunder right next to you and the whole "being fried to a crisp" thing...

Yesterday was a good day for the following reasons:

• Misty got married (yay!)
• I successfully completed my Dedicant's Oath (third time's a charm, folks) and now just need to e/mail the documentation into the Preceptor.
• I got to hang out with some of my old buddies from CCP at an after-hours party (didn't get home until about 6 am and woke up around noon still feeling slightly drunk, so today at work will be interesting...)
• Got my new shiny:   That's 42" of LCD-goodness. If anyone's looking for a used, 30-someodd inch regular TV, I got one that I'm looking to sell for about $200 or so. I'm willing to go lower for friends, but if no one pipes up around here, I'm gonna put it up on craigslist or something.
  

LOL

Short and sweet, and less funny if you aren't a huge Conan-fan like myself (case in point: been playing Age of Conan online for the past several weeks and been slowly upgrading my desktop so that it alone will run better)

So, I found out today that my high school girlfriend is engaged, and this got me thinking about where I am, relationship-wise, in life.

You see, thus far, she has been my only actual girlfriend. Sure, I've dated other girls since her and "Biblically known" other girls since her, but I haven't had a girlfriend since her. And I started thinking about why that is.

The normal stories of being "unlucky in love" or falling into the well-populated category of "chasing what I can't have" or my age-old excuse of "not understanding women/flirting/etc." popped up in response. I realized that they were bullshit. Okay...maybe not out-and-out bullshit, there's probably some truth to each of those. But, in the bigger picture, they're bullshit.

Take last spring, for example. I had a very good opportunity and I blew it because I freaked out over some trivial stuff (all on my end) and ended it. This past fall I had another good opportunity that pretty much metaphorically clubbed me over the head, but I declined because I was still beating myself up and feeling guilty about the way I handled the situation in the spring (thanks Catholicism! *wink*) and was afraid of repeating the scenario again, because my feelings toward this person in the past had been fickle and gone back and forth and I didn't want to risk hurting someone else, again. And looking back now, it seems obvious that most of the time when I have plucked up the courage to give it a go, it's usually been with the wrong kind of girl (side note: as I've mentioned to tesinth, Teacher Lady has never gotten back to me about going out, despite my having asked her on several different occasions and each time received a "that sounds great!", leading me to believe that she's not interested like she claimed and just didn't have the cajones to tell me to my face).

I've come to no real resolution on these ponderings just, yet, just waxing philosophic about my romantic track-record. I'll keep trying, but I've made an unofficial vow to myself that if I'm not married or in a committed relationship a decade from now, and the ADF monastery is up and running, that's where I'll definitely be heading.

After all, getting burned by the stove a couple of dozen times seems like a nice round number before learning the lesson that's being taught.

I joined ADF in 2005, with the intent of finishing the Dedicant's Path within a year.

Well, it's three years later now and I've just finished my final essay for the DP. All that's left now is my Dedicant's Oath (which will be the third time I've done it, as the first two received omens that were..."not so good" to put it delicately), which I plan on doing on Sunday the 22nd of this month on my own (I'll be working that night, and unfortunately will miss the Grove ritual that day); but chronarchy recently suggested that I do it at the ComFest Solstice rite that 3CG will be doing the following Sunday, so I'll probably do a simple one for show during that.

It's nice to know that this Sword of Damocles (or, really, Spear of Odhinn might be more apt) is no longer hanging over my head. Now I can move on to the First Circles of the Magicians' and Warriors' Guild study programs. Perhaps even the Initiate's Study Program while I still decide if I want to embark upon the Everest that is the Clergy Training Program (side note: I've felt a pull toward the "vocational" ever since I was in about First or Second Grade when I saw flyers in the hallway of my Catholic Grade School announcing the possibilities of being a monk, nun, or priest; I kind of knew I wanted to be a priest, but also wanted to have a wife and family...one of the several reasons I left Christianity). But that'll be a litte farther down the road, for sure.

Anywho, off to relax with a book or a video game. : )

 

Both my kids are doing what they can to beat the heat. As can be seen, I have a fan blowing full strength, and they're both taking advantage of that.

Oh, and for those unaware, I've recently taken in my brother's cat, Lord.
Yes, my cat's are Lord and Freyja. Those familiar with Norse myth will find the joke in that a lot easier than most.

Reply and I will:
A) tell you why I friended you,
B) associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, etc.,
C) tell you something I like about you,
D) tell you a memory I have of you,
E) ask something I've always wanted to know about you,
F) tell you my favorite user pic of yours,
G) in return, you must post this in your LJ.

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Yeah, yeah...I know: "Insert Spear Here."

And here's a little palate cleanser after all that deep thinking:


more cat pictures

 

 

So, lately I've been working on finishing up my Dedicant's Path essays sometime in the next century. Today I finished re-writing my essay on the Nine Virtues and so far I'm pretty happy with it. It's still just a first draft, but I thought I'd post it up here and see what y'all thought and if you had any comments on how to tighten it up or make it better in a general way.

*- And yes, I made stupid philosophy joke (re: Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics) that maybe only one or two people got and refused to laugh at. Thankyouverymuch.

Unfortunately, LJ won't let me post it as one-piece because it's "too large" (side note: LJ, you're a pussy), so I'll have to do it in sections.