triangle party

one hundred

OneHundred This is post number one hundred at chamblee54.
There are also 44 posts at my alternative blog.This makes for a total of 144, which is a gross. Or is gross, depending on your outlook.
There were some hippies at my high school who thought 44 was a magic number. It was Henry Aaron's number, and does have certain qualities. 2x2x11. Eleven is two ones, which adds up to two. Don't mess with my tutu. Two bee, or not two bee.






Inthebeginning I had been interested in the concept of blogging for a while. Then, on September 21, 2005, I saw a post at FIDE-O called "stuck on stupid". I felt obliged to comment. To make the comment I needed to set up an account with blogger, and in effect I had a blog.
The comment was:

chamblee54 said...
The first commandment says " Thou shall have no other gods before me". This would seem to prohibit worshipping a text as " The word of god".

Now, this point seems pretty obvious to me. It also is apparent that the first commandment has some implications about jesus...after all, it does say "no other gods" This would seem to include the so called son of god, regardless of his ability to roll boulders away from a cave while he is deceased.
Well, the fideoites had a spirited defense of the divinity of the magic book, and a good time was had by all. Then, someone saw a picture at another blog of mine that they didn't like. I was banned from Fide-O. They win the honor of the first jesus worship blog to ban me. There have been four, of which one has allowed me back inside. The Fide-O part of the story is documented here and here




Pyromaniaburned The Falcons are playing the Baltimore Ravens as I type this. What is so scary about a bird that says "nevermore"?
Back to the first commandment. But first, another aside. If you want a coherent train of thought, go elsewhere. Of course, on the internet, you may be looking for a while.
There is a certain phrase, "Back to the Bible", that is popular in the jesus worship community. It seems to me that you can read the magic book a lot better if you are facing it, rather than having it behind your back. If you put a microphone behind your back, you might hear what other jw's are saying about you. But, if you want to read a book, you need to face it.
One of the flashier jesus worship blogs is Pyromaniacs They recently banned me, after I said "Good Grief. Soon it will be time to talk about Santa Claus. Ho Ho Ho."
There is a lively debate there now.
It is over the arcane subject of " Is Jesus Lord?". There is lots of speculation about life after death and reading between the lines of the bible. Pretty standard stuff.
Now, the big dog blogger there had said that he would cut off comments after 400. (There used to be a group in Ancient New York called the 400. It was the elite of society. It was called the 400 because that was the number of people who could fit in some society poobah's ballroom)





FourHundred While writing this piece, I opened that post to get the link, and I noticed that they were on comment 398. I hit refresh and it went to 399. Then I went to the comment box, and entered comment 400:

If you are curious as to whether Jesus is God, check the First Commandment..." Thou shall have no other God Before you" This should answer your questions, as well as any concerns about Catholic texts being "The word of God".

ThreeHundred Some day I will have 400 posts at Chamblee54. There is talk of extending the Chamblee Georgia boundaries, which currently stop at the back of my back yard. This is the same fence I leaned over when I took the picture of my "better side" that got me banned at Fide-O.
The 54 refers to the year I was born. 1954 baby boys were too young for the Vietnam Draft, which I think is great.
Ron Howard was born in 1954. When you see Opie in Mayberry, that is what I looked like.
Roger Bannister ran the first sub four minute mile on the day I was born. At 4:44 am. Daddy called the church choir director at 6am to reserve a spot in the cherub choir.
This was at Georgia Baptist Hospital. It is down the street from the City Zoo and the Federal Prison. It is on Boulevard. Monroe Drive turns into Boulevard at Ponce de Leon Avenue, because that was the line between where the white and black people lived.
I never went to Studio54, although I would have liked to





Laterintheday The thread on the "lordship" debate is up to 410 comments. Comment 400 was deleted without comment. The big dog blogger is acting like it never happened.
This is always a good strategy to use. If someone raises an issue you don't want to deal with, just ignore it.




StatusQuoAnteBellum I was alienated from jesus when I started blogging. I came by that opinion honestly, and sincerely think that God is not going to send me to hell because I lived with a bunch of hateful jesus worshipping loudmouths. My mind has not been changed by exposure to jesus worship bloggers.
Meanwhile, I have been bingeing on photoshop to illustrate this edition, and see everything as though it was highlighted and tweaked. Maybe it is time to get some dinner, post the pictures and text, and get ready for work tomorrow. That is one problem that will not go away if you ignore it...unless you really ignore it, in which case you are looking for another job.




Therestofthestory There is so much more to life than religion. When I started this blog, I made a list of possible post subjects, and was dismayed to see that a majority was about religion. While this is not completely negative...I have definite ideas, and don't really worry about all the naysaying jesus worshippers. In fact, when you realize that God is in everything and about everything, then anything in life is religion.
I have developed a style to my blog. I like to include pictures, and the pictures don't always have anything to do with the text. I like to watch TV/videos while I am downloading images. Now it is "60 Minutes", which I haven't seen in ages. One of the features was about illegal immigration, and it is sure to be discussed on the radio talk shows tomorrow. It will be interesting to know a bit about what they are talking about. It is ironic. These radio talkers call themselves conservative, and say they are opposed to government regulation. Of course, when it comes to illegal immigration, they are demanding more government regulation. This is much like the way they want a smaller government, but support occupation army eight time zones away in Babylon.


BroadwayJoe The last segment of "60 Minutes" was about Joe Namath. He has a book coming out, and he was baring his soul to the reporter.
I saw "Broadway Joe" in person once. When the super bowl was in Atlanta in 1994, Macy's downtown had some former players make an appearance. Joe was one, along with Gale Sayers ( who looked high), Ray Nitzche ( still bald and difficult to spell) and Fred Biletnikoff . I saw Joe walking into the room...he didn't walk too well. After all those knee injuries, it is a marvel he could walk at all. It is a devils bargain...play for the glory and the money, but pay with pain in your body the rest of your life. Sort of like telling your "sad" tale in exchange for a book plug.
Joe Namath was a bad example for youth when I was a kid. For that, I will always be grateful.

Belief O Matic

Justthefacts.
Belief-o-matic is not a joke about Irish people. It is an online quiz. As the blurb goes.

Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-Matic™ knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.

Howdotheydoit-There are 20 questions, multiple choice. Here is a sample.
1.What is the number and nature of the deity (God, gods, higher power)? Choose one.

-Only one God--a corporeal spirit (has a body), supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator
-Only one God--an incorporeal (no body) spirit, supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator
-Multiple personal gods (or goddesses) regarded as facets of one God, and/or as separate gods.
-The supreme force is the impersonal Ultimate Reality (or life force, ultimate truth, cosmic order, absolute bliss, universal soul), which resides within and/or beyond all.
-The supreme existence is both the eternal, impersonal, formless Ultimate Reality, and personal God (or gods).
-No God or supreme force. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.
After each question, you are asked :
What priority do you place on this selection?
High---Medium---Low
The questions are about the usual religious topics...the nature of God, the orgin of the universe, "why is there suffering", abortion, homosexuality, and , that perenial crowd pleaser, life after death. The nature of the questions leads me to suspect that this is a Judeo-Christian based quiz. Maybe a Hindu/Buddhist based quiz would have different issues.

Andthewinneris. I did the questions. Here are the results:
The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.

Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.



1. Neo-Pagan (100%) 2. Liberal Quakers (96%) 3. New Age (90%) 4. Unitarian Universalism (89%) 5. Reform Judaism (85%) 6. Mahayana Buddhism (83%) 7. Bahá'í Faith (78%) 8. Jainism (76%) 9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (72%) 10. Taoism (70%) 11. Scientology (69%) 12. Sikhism (68%) 13. New Thought (65%) 14. Secular Humanism (65%) 15. Theravada Buddhism (64%) 16. Orthodox Quaker (63%) 17. Hinduism (60%) 18. Islam (58%) 19. Orthodox Judaism (58%) 20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (47%) 21. Nontheist (37%) 22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (30%) 23. Seventh Day Adventist (30%) 24. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (28%) 25. Eastern Orthodox (26%) 26. Roman Catholic (26%) 27. Jehovah's Witness (16%)
I had taken this survey a few years ago, shortly after I heard about it. The results were a bit different. I was best suited to be a Liberal Quaker ( and eat lots of oatmeal). The least suited religion for me the last time was Islam, which was in the middle this time, between Hinduism and Orthodox Judaism. The Hindus would have the best food of those three.

shakinghats.When I visited Belief Net to take this quiz, there was an ad for a company offering mortgages at a reduced rate. The ad featured animated line dancing cowboys. No indication was religion was practiced by the cowboys.

The Tower of Destruction

Buyavowel.Tarot cards have long intrigued me. When I was 17, these folks moved in next door, and I spent a few afternoons listening to the lady of the house run her mouth about different things. She was a Jane of all trades, and could expound on music, drugs, politics, alcoholism, and the occult. One day, she produced a set of Tarot cards and asked if I would like a reading. I cut the deck in half (I think that is how it worked, this was 34 years ago) She picked up the cards, and started to lay them out. She had asked me to think of a question, but did not say whether she would ask me what the question was. I thought of a question, but I tried to think of another one in case she asked me, so my concentration was not the best.
She looked at the cards one by one, and said different things about what they meant. Then she picked up a card and freaked out. She said I was heading for disaster, and that she didn’t want to continue with the reading.
.


Tarology.I haven't really thought much about Tarot in the intervening years. Like the book of changes and astronomy, I neither believe nor disbelieve. I did buy a deck of cards once, the "Tarot of Marseilles". I also know the difference between Tarot and Tara. Tomorrow is another day.
So tonight, I saw this website. The idea of "what tarot card am I" was too good to pass up. As you may suspect, I was "The Tower".

Pledgedrive.As for the neighbor...she moved on, and I moved on. I was answering the phones at a public television fundraiser in 1998 when I talked to her. She had a third baby, to go with the two she had when she was next door. Her husband had departed for parts unknown. She was driving a Mercedes, and was surprised to hear that my mother and brother were still next door. We did not discuss tarot cards.

You are The Tower

Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.

The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.

The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Haggard

Butmamatried.When I first heard about the scandal, all I heard was "Haggard". I thought it was Merle Haggard Soon enough the denials started to come in, and Mr. Haggard said he bought the speed out of curiosity, but threw it away. That tells me it is a different Haggard.

Entrepreneur.Here is the site of the accuser He is 49 years old. At least Mr. Haggard is not chasing jailbait.

WhatyousayaboutothersHere is a thing I found about the affair. It seems as though Mr. Haggard is quite the promoter of anti gay electoral referenda. And now he is caught doing what he condemns.
What you thrash others, you often are talking about yourself. And when you trash others in the name of Jesus, it reflects poorly on the chrome fish guy.

amphetimite. Doesn't he look like a speed freak?

esoteric

Obviously,there is something to be said for wanting to speak up, but not having anything to say. To prove that, I am going to talk about a word...esoteric.
According to Wiktionary , esoteric is :
1. Having to do with concepts that are highly theoretical and without obvious practical application.
2. Understood only by a chosen few or an inner circle.
3. Confidential; private.
The "E word" plays a role in a story from 10th grade English. We were discussing a story, "The Rocking Horse Winner", by D.H. Lawrence. The story was , well, boring and obscure, just like most of what I have seen my Mr. Lawrence.
The summer after 10th grade I worked in a movie theatre, in the days when ushers wore ghastly yellow uniforms and stood in the back of the theatre watching the movies over and over. When I started, the Lenox Square 2 theatre was showing "Women in Love", based on a novel my D.H. Lawrence. Glenda Jackson copped an oscar for her portrayal of Gudren, and a young Larry Kramer was one of the screenwriters. It did not improve my opinion of D.H.Lawrence. If the censors had not made a big deal out of "Lady Chatterly's Lover" he would be forgotten today.
Back to 10th grade english. We were discussing this putrescent story, when a girl raised her hand and asked why any author would write something so esoteric. The teacher had never heard of this word before, and was amazed to hear it.
The Lenox Square 2 theatre was a long, slender thing with a small screen. This was in 1970, when the concept of the multiplex had not evolved yet. LS2 was under a grocery store, and when the automatic door openers performed their duty, you could hear the motors in the theatre below.
The movies there the rest of the summer were Fellini Satyricon, The Christine Jorgenson Story, and The Landlord.
Back to esoteric...or did I ever go away? Before you can understand esoteric, you must plumb the depths of pedantic...
1. Like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
2. Being showy of one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner.
3. Often used to describe a person who emphasizes his/her knowledge through the use of vocabulary; ostentatious in one’s learning.
4. Being finicky or picky with language.
Pedantic is an adjective that describes itself.