M. Uli Kustever: The only people I've met who claimed they were witches seemed to be out more for shock value and attention than practicing a religion, while what few Wiccans I've met seemed pretty okay people. I'd doubt anybody would object to having them in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, lots and lots of people don't care about the distinction. Witch or Wiccan, you're going to hell, and/or are brainwashed, and/or are dangerous, and Something Should Be Done. Sigh.
OG: I'd really like to know the songs you're thinking of. I've found that the one thing I can't seem to move past is the panic attacks associated with the music.
I have to breathe slowly and put my back against something when I think about those songs. I don't know any of the titles, and I don't know that I ever did. The one that sticks out most (probably because it creeped me out so much even then) is the one that went, in part, "No, you can't get to heaven in an electric chair/'Cause the Lord don't want no french fries there/All my sins are washed away/I've been redeemed/I've been redeemed in the blood of the Lamb/Safe from sin, and I know I am/All my sins are washed away/ I've been redeemed." All accompanied by cheerful hand clapping.
OG: For me, the point of cult identification has always been the attempt to restrict members from interacting with non-members. The Southern Baptist Convention distributed some rather blatant materials, aimed at the youth Sunday School classes, to that end in the early/mid-70s.
Back around that time, before my mother converted to Catholicism, she sent us kids to the Sunday School of some church that came around one afternoon and talked her into letting them pick us up in a bus. I still don't know what denomination it was, but remembering some of the lyrics to the songs they had us sing on the bus makes my hair on end. Anyway, the Sunday School teacher once asked the class, "Should you ever marry someone outside the faith?" and called on me to answer. I started to say, "Well, if you love someone, what does something like that matter?" I only got as far as "Well, if you love someone--" when she cut me off with, "Oh, you must never marry hoping they'll convert--because what if they don't?!"
This affected my view of Christianity for a long time.
By the above rule, can certain congregations of a church be a cult? I've been to a couple of Catholic churches (using the word here to mean the building) the congregants of which would happily have beaten me senseless for making jokes about The Church (the institution). This is not the attitude held by the majority of Catholics I've known, but it was the dominant attitude in those churches.
Tiellan: This seems like a good rule of thumb but there are always going to be people in any church or organization who can't stand to poke fun at themselves.
Of course. That's why the rule doesn't require that everyone in the group approve; only that the jokes don't meet with "stifling social disapproval."
Beth:
...turning the perfectly enormous manure pile and dreaming of Travis...
Beth: *gasp* Oh, do you mean it? Do you really mean it? Because *sniffle* of course I will! Yes, yes, I will! You've made me so happy! *sniffle* *sniffle*
Logistics may be tricky, of course, given that my husband reminded me that we'll need to find a town in the state of Connecticut that has a relaxed attitude towards multiple marriage partners. But we shall overcome!
*sniffle* I'm so happy.
OMG!!!! i heard u guys were talking about Travis Tea and ATALANTA NITES and i wanted to say that i heard that TRAVIS TEA IS JOS WEATON!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! But UPn wont let him say so because they own the rites to his name but i love jos so i will tell every body for him! I LUV U JOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
julia: Yes, the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund.
Ray Radlein, thank you.
Er...not sure what went wrong there, but the review is everything between "Dislike the principle!" and "IT SHOWS!"
Ms Dell said:The first comment on the book's page at Lulu says the writers are "sic [sic] and bored" asks "Is this sic [sic] humor?"
It's no longer the first review from the top. Here it is, in all its glory (well, minus the three thumbs-down icons, because I couldn't cut and paste them), and note that it actually appears to have been edited since the first time I read it, since I can understand it now:
Dislike the principle! by Bobby
Fri 28 Jan 2:46 pm EST 2005
Truly, WELL PROVEN WRITERS HAVE SHOWN THEY ARE ( SIC ) AND BORED. Many new writers use Lulu to start a possible writing carrier. Your thrust at PA shows your uncare as to writers trying to come through by using Lulu. Yes, thank you Lulu for being here.
But, this comical sad offering HIGHLIGHTS THE BOREDOM OF KNOW CREATIVE WRITERS. Is this sic humor? A joke created from over drinking and boredom?
It certainly gets my 3 thumbs down.
You are using Lulu as a joke also...IT SHOWS!
Wow! Your first negative review, folks! How does it feel?
Metafilter picked up the PA sting story yesterday: http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/39054
Regarding plastic bags: Taking your own cloth bags to stores means that you don't have to throw away or recycle plastic ones. Plus you don't get purple fingers or cuts on your hands from the narrow plastic straps, and the bottoms don't tear and spill your groceries. Nor do the cloth bags fall apart in rain or snow, as paper bags do.
Tim Walters: When the field hands pick the cotton" is OK, but very bland.
How about "When the hands are pickin' cotton"? There's a bit of wordplay in that, as in the original.
FWIW, I'm in the Upper South, and the cotton here was harvested in mid-December.
Terry Karney, you may want to e-mail Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors and ask if they can tell you anything.
Ms. Kemnitzer said: If they then say send along the ms, you do. But now the ms has to have a new name, doesn't it? It's name can't be "unsolicited" now, because someone has agreed in principle to read it eventually -- but you're saying it's name is not "solicited" either.
Perhaps "requested" is the word we're looking for here?
Mr. Bilek: The people who most need flu vaccine... the elderly or those with compromised immune systems... are at risk of becoming ill from live virus vaccines
An entirely justified nitpick.
I hope you will allow me one of my own: Injected flu vaccine, the kind we had a shortage of, is a dead virus vaccine. It is perfectly safe for everyone.
That is, the dead virus part of it is. The medium (at least, the last one I checked) can cause problems for people who have reactions to albumin.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 23 |
| 2004 | 50 |
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