The mystery of Ireland's worst driver

Please read the full article HERE

This is HYSTERICAL!! Haha!

The mystery of Ireland's worst driver

Details of how police in the Irish Republic finally caught up with the country's most reckless driver have emerged, the Irish Times reports.

He had been wanted from counties Cork to Cavan after racking up scores of speeding tickets and parking fines.

However, each time the serial offender was stopped he managed to evade justice by giving a different address.

But then his cover was blown.

It was discovered that the man every member of the Irish police's rank and file had been looking for - a Mr Prawo Jazdy - wasn't exactly the sort of prized villain whose apprehension leads to an officer winning an award.

In fact he wasn't even human.

"Prawo Jazdy is actually the Polish for driving licence and not the first and surname on the licence," read a letter from June 2007 from an officer working within the Garda's traffic division.

"Having noticed this, I decided to check and see how many times officers have made this mistake.

"It is quite embarrassing to see that the system has created Prawo Jazdy as a person with over 50 identities."

CONTINUED...

"Gray Rape" : A New Form of Date Rape

Please read the full article HERE


October 15, 2007, 4:00 pm

‘Gray Rape’: A New Form of Date Rape?

By Sewell Chan

When Robert D. Laurino, chief assistant prosecutor for Essex County in New Jersey, told a friend that he was speaking on a panel about the topic of “gray rape,” the friend was confused. “Are you talking about the rape of the elderly?” the friend asked.

An article in the September issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, “A New Kind of Date Rape,” defined “gray rape” as “sex that falls somewhere between consent and denial and is even more confusing than date rape because often both parties are unsure of who wanted what.”

A standing-room-only audience packed the lobby of the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice this morning to listen to a vigorous panel discussion on the idea of “gray rape” — and whether the term is even meaningful, helpful or harmful. Not too many events in the intellectual life of New York City bring together Jeremy Travis, the legal expert and former city police official who is the president of John Jay, and Kate White, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, which sponsored the event.

The panel had four women and three men and was moderated by Ashleigh Banfield, the Court TV anchor. Ms. White promised a “very scintillating discussion.”

Laura Sessions Stepp, a Washington Post journalist, wrote the September article on “gray rape.” It has stirred considerable discussion on blogs and discussion boards. (Ms. Stepp’s latest book, “Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both,” about how smart, ambitious young women do emotional damage to themselves by getting physical with men they are not dating or may have met for the first time, also raised some controversy.)

In this morning’s discussion, Ms. Stepp said she did not embark on the story believing that there was such a thing as “gray rape.” She said, “For me, rape is rape. I really didn’t know what that term meant.”

But in the course of her reporting, Ms. Stepp said, she came across descriptions of “sexual encounters where usually both parties were very drunk and really didn’t know what they had said to each other the next morning.” In such cases, consent is uncertain. Such cases are more likely to emerge today, Ms. Stepp argued in the article, in an era when sexual boundaries and rules for women have loosened and when it has become socially acceptable for women to pursue casual sex.

“Girls go after guys just as often as guys go after girls these days,” Ms. Stepp said at the panel. In her article, she wrote, “The odd thing about the current equal-opportunity hookup culture is that a lot of guys may feel as uncomfortable and confused as their dates do when things end up in bed.”

Ms. Stepp’s article and her comments generated a wide range of reactions from the other panelists. Some panelists, in particular, were concerned that the concept of “gray rape” could be used to exonerate men from their culpability in violent sexual crimes.

“Rape is still rape,” said Neil Irvin, director of community education at Men Can Stop Rape, saying it almost “seems cliché” at this point to have to remind people that no means no.

Ms. Banfield pressed the issue. “Is it possible that you could acquiesce at the beginning of the evening and by the time you’re too drunk to be heard or understood, it would be unfair for men to try to decipher when the no ends up actually arriving?” she asked.

Joseph Samalin, who as a student at State University of New York at New Paltz and at Columbia University was active in groups that oppose women’s violence, did not buy that premise. “There were a lot of things in the article that concerned and frustrated me,” he said. He said that intentionally or not, the article might have the effect of suggesting that “you can be a woman in charge of your own sexuality … but not too much because these are the consequences that will happen to you.”

Mr. Samalin added: “We still need to hold a lot more men accountable for their actions, their behaviors and the violence they commit. I’d rather be at a panel here on that.”

Ms. Banfield maintained that gray areas remained one of the most fraught areas in discussions of sexual violence, especially on college campuses. She cited the case of Adam Lack, a Brown University student who in 1996 was accused by a fellow student of sexual misconduct. The accuser said she could not remember the events of the evening but said she was too intoxicated to be able to consciously consent to sex. Mr. Lack maintained that the student had initiated the sexual encounter and that he was not aware she was drunk. No criminal charges were brought, but Mr. Lack was subjected to academic discipline.

Chitra Raghavan, a John Jay psychologist who conducts research on intimate-partner violence and rape, said she did not accept the article’s argument that it has become socially acceptable for women to pursue casual sex.

“I would respectfully disagree that women have been sexually empowered to hook up,” Dr. Raghavan said. “What’s happened is that women are not legislated anymore. There’s a huge difference for it to be legal for women to pursue sex and for it to be socially acceptable for women to pursue sex.”

Many studies have shown that rapes often do not involve physical violence or coercion, because the mere threat or potential for physical harm is enough to make victims submit, she said. Dr. Raghavan also said that studies have shown that women’s sexual interactions do not change appreciably if they have been drinking and that serial rapists maintain (inaccurately, of course) that their victims did not resist and in fact wanted to be raped. She said that the discussion of alcohol “is endemic of how we blame women,” saying that such blame could lead to a viewpoint like: “Women hook up, get drunk and then say they don’t want sex. Tell them to cross their legs and put on a chastity belt!”

Twilight Madness, PART THREE...DEAR GODS! THERE'S MORE!!

*laughing hysterically*

SO...I bought myself my first ever issue of BITCH Magazine. I read it almost cover to cover in about two hours. It was amazing and wonderful and kit expanded my mind as well as my feminist sensibilities. I recommend it to all my friends! Anyways...back on topic...TWILIGHT! There's ACTUALLY a three page, well written article on this disgrace of a book and movie(after reading this review, yes I WILL be politically incorrect and say it's HORRIBLE...I don't have to see it to know!), and about how damaging and scary this story really is. Especially once you get to the fourth book or the little known "alternate" version of Twilight that S. Meyer is writing. Just think, Twilight told from the point of view of Edward, with his describing his fantasies about HOW he would kill her! CREEPY!! Or how when Edward and Bella FINALLY have sex, after 3 WAY too long books chock full of what is being called "abstinence porn"(my new favourite word!), Edward essentially rapes her and she's HAPPY and TURNED ON by this! Now, there's nothing wrong with a good spanking here and there things that I won't mention here(*blush*), but it should be between consenting adults! NOT A NAIVE AND MANIPULATED 19 YEAR OLD AND HER "OLDER" LOVER!! There's talk of Bella covered in bruises form their "love making" that she tries to hide "so he wont feel bad".
WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE??? Pardon my foul language but that's just INSANITY!!
AH! MUST STAY ON TOPIC!
SO to get to my point! PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE HERE! Or buy the wonderful magazine!! Enjoy!

Bite Me! (Or Don't)

Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-infested Twilight series has created a new YA genre: abstinence porn

Article by Christine Seifert, published in 2008; filed under Books; tagged abstinence, fan fiction, objectification, porn, sex, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, vampires, YA fiction.

Abstinence has never been sexier than it is in Stephenie Meyer’s young adult four-book Twilight series. Fans are super hot for Edward, a century-old vampire in a 17-year-old body, who sweeps teenaged Bella, your average human girl, off her feet in a thrilling love story that spans more than 2,000 pages. Fans are enthralled by their tale, which begins when Edward becomes intoxicated by Bella’s sweet-smelling blood. By the middle of the first book, Edward and Bella are deeply in love and working hard to keep their pants on, a story line that has captured the attention of a devoted group of fans who obsess over the relationship and delight in Edward’s superhuman strength to just say no.

The Twilight series has created a surprising new sub-genre of teen romance: It’s abstinence porn, sensational, erotic, and titillating. And in light of all the recent real-world attention on abstinence-only education, it’s surprising how successful this new genre is. Twilight actually convinces us that self-denial is hot. Fan reaction suggests that in the beginning, Edward and Bella’s chaste but sexually charged relationship was steamy precisely because it was unconsummated—kind of like Cheers, but with fangs. Despite all the hot “virtue,” however, we feminist readers have to ask ourselves if abstinence porn is as uplifting as some of its proponents seem to believe.

Twilight Madness, PART TWO...or "HI THERE CREEPY AUTHOR WANTING TO BONE YOUR PROPHET"

*trying not to pee myself I'm laughing so hard*

Now THIS is priceless!! Haha! You MUST read this! Originally found on HELLO BEAUTIFUL(You can find the link down there in the "comments" section too!*points down to the bottom of the page*). This is a synopses that someone did of the Twilight series. One of the funniest bloody(no pun intended*snort*) things I have EVER read!!

LDS Sparkledammerung IS HERE!
The Secrets of the Sparkle a.k.a. TWILIGHT: STONIFIED (Image heavy)
ETA Due To Heavy Traffic This was written to amuse my buds and me. I am not claiming to be the Mormon Vampire Authority, even though let's face it: I am the leading Mormon Vampire Authority. (Nutshell: laugh, or turn back now. This was meant for joking and is filled with dirty words.)

So here's the thing. I was going to be all whipping out the smart essay, pointing out all the subconscious LDS meta that SMeyers jammed in these books, showing how I thought she didn't even realize what she was borrowing (because honestly, I just don't think she's smart enough to lay it out there, you know?) But here's the thing:

THE BOOKS ARE REALLY REALLY DUMB. Like, "Strategery" dumb. (That's a Dubya quote.) So I'm giving back at the same reading-comprehension level if you will. And you will. There's so much dumb, in fact, that it will take a few posts to get it all out there. So here's the first book and change.



Hold on, hold on, I need to keep setting the tone:

"Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful, beautiful sunset? And he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet. And also, you're drunk." ~Jack Handy.

There is heavy word abuse in the book, so I'm trying to spare you that. They are "beautiful," "perfect," "chagrin," and the one I wanted to scream every time I read it, "UGH." Because cop fathers would clearly say repeatedly, "Ugh." On with the show!

Stephenie Meyers (who claims that her name is spelled weird. [ETA: *I* spelled it wrong, but my point stands. One letter don't make it weird in that neck of the woods. Carry on! *G*] Um, only in Utah, lady. Which, here is an example of some typical Mormon/Utah names, all people that I KNOW:

• Jannilyn
• Randilynn (guess what her dad's name is?)
• Faunette
• LaVonne
• Mohonri Morianchimer
• Aereign <-- good fucking hell.)

Smeyers grew up in Phoenix and you know this because she likes to mention how awesomely huge it is. She likes it so much that her protagonist, Isabella Swan aka Bella, is from there and constantly reminds her father, Charlie, that Phoenix is waaaaaay bigger than Provo. I mean, Forks, Washington, where the story is set.


PLEASE READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

This article is GREAT!!!

Finding Wicca
Author: Kamrusepas
Posted: February 8th. 2009
Times Viewed: 598

For most of my life I have been pagan- I just never really realized it. I have always believed in magick (Or magic, pick whichever you like) and I have always believed in fairies.

When I was younger I tried so hard to be Christian. I was still somehow in that stage where, because you don’t know any others, you think it’s the only religion out there. Then I got into history, the ancient Greeks to be exact. I learnt so much about the beautiful mythology of their civilization; I could see Athena, Artemis, Hekate, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Apollo, Zeus and Gaia. I could feel them.

I was still only about six.

I went to a Church of England school. My first proper RE lesson was ‘draw a picture of Jesus’. Up until year six all RE lessons were Christianity based and every Wednesday we’d go to church. So I got back into Christianity. I dismissed the myths and stories as just that, stories. I dismissed what I’d felt as my imagination (I had quite a lot of it!) Yet somehow I still couldn’t fit into Christianity.

We went to church each Sunday and I’d be bored. I read a children’s Bible and found it too contradictory. An eye for an eye? Hurt no one? Which one was right?

My mum is a Christian, and I respect that. She tried very hard to bring me up as a Christian; at Halloween we wouldn’t go trick or treating- she actually once told me it was too pagan! But the problem was, I couldn’t fit into it.

They got me a book of British history- I was still into history- and I read it. It went from the Bronze Age to World War II.

I read the sections on druids. Still thinking, Oh no, they’re pagans. That’s bad. I read about Cernunnos, how Christians identified him with the devil. Now I know that was just cause they wanted less pagans but I took it to heart.

I read books with magick in them like ’The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe’. I believed that Lilith was, you guessed it, evil. I was so gullible. I thought I was a bad person because I didn’t believe in God. I hoped that maybe if I were a good person, maybe I wouldn’t then go to hell. I longed to be a witch. Just to know that magick was, for certain, real. Just to feel like I belonged in a belief.

I went to these groups with our local priest, preparing us for confirmation. My mum made me go. I questioned. I refused to get confirmed. I told my mum I did not want to restrict myself. I was twelve, too young, I thought, to say that this was my religion. But I also couldn’t agree with it. It wasn’t what I believed.

My thoughts on pagans changed when I read a magazine article with a girl who was Wiccan. She went to circles and cast spells. I felt like this was me, this was what I wanted. I know now that I did not understand fully what Wicca truly was. But still I dismissed it, fearing my mum’s ’wrath’. I carried on with my life forgetting religion, just being a person who felt agnostic at that point in my life.

Then Wicca and I crossed paths once more, two years later on Christmas Eve. It felt relevant to me as I had learned a lot more about religions than my primary school ever taught me. I saw the flaws in Christianity as well as the good things. In the morning I would go to church as we always did on Christmas day.

But I decided to research Wicca. I wanted to know more about it, to see whether it was right or not for me.

It was so right.

You will hear many people say that finding the right religion feels like coming home- and it is. It was. I looked at it, learning about the threefold law, the Lady and Lord, everything. Well, except one thing. Somehow I still didn’t get how profound it was. I hadn’t truly felt the Goddess or God. It hadn’t truly touched my heart yet.

I decided to take a breather. I read something decidedly non- Wiccan (cowan, if you like) . I read ‘Does My Head Look Big In This?’ by Randa Abdel Fattah. (Which by the way is an amazing book, so read it!) Yes, it’s a book about a Muslim girl putting on the veil. Yes, it’s not the average thing that will make people feel the Goddess for the first time, but that’s what happened. I felt so overwhelmed by this girl’s faith in her God. The way she carried on through the racism and the bullying just because this was her faith.

I thought about the discrimination that many witches around the world face. In so many ways, Muslims will have to face it too- every person, every religion may have to.

And I felt the Goddess. I felt her amazing never-ending love for the first time. It was amazing. It was nothing like God spoken of in churches, it was so magickal. So, well, beautiful (If it could be described like that) . She felt so motherly and loving and wise. And I loved her back.

So if you’ve managed to stay awake through my actually quite long story (Hopefully not too boring...) I hope you get my slightly abstract lesson (or moral) :

Sometimes to truly know your own religion you have to understand others. Which may sound strange, but really, if you can understand what other cultures feel for their god (s) then maybe you’ll know more about your own.

I still read the Bible occasionally. There are so many lessons in there which Wiccans could adopt as well. My parents know about my beliefs; my Mum’s ok with it. It took a bit of persuasion, but I proved to her that Wicca is truly a beautiful and peaceful religion. I don’t think she completely understands but at least she won’t burn me. My friends know too. One of them actually collects pagan stuff but she doesn’t practice paganism.

So, that was my journey into paganism and Wicca. I hope that on some level you learnt something.

Blessed be.

---

Footnotes:
does my head look big in this by Randa Abdel Fattah


PLEASE READ ORIGINAL HERE

I find this article a wee bit antagonistic, but I'm always up for lively debate and beleive that just because a subject is uncomfortable, doesn't mean we can't talk about it!


Has Neo Paganism Gone Too Far?
Author: Crick
Posted: February 8th. 2009
Times Viewed: 847

Has Neo Paganism gone too far? Have members of the organized religions diluted the real meaning of paganism to serve their own needs? Do the organized religions inadvertently use neo paganism to rid themselves of their mal-contents?

Prior to the advent of neo paganism in the mid 1950’s, paganism for the most part referred to those folks who believed in and maintained a genuine connection with Mother Nature and all she represents. Generally this referred to those folks who practiced a form of witchcraft, shamanism or druidism.

Neo paganism has taken what used to be and in some cases still is and has re-created it into something beyond recognition by those who practice the Old Ways.

Since many who now call themselves pagans were once and in many ways by way of behavior and thought still are, members of one of the organized religions, paganism is now a role p laying venture for many neo pagans.

Anyone who wants to rebel against his or her primary religious beliefs can now simply call himself or herself pagan. Since there is no litmus test so to speak, every borderline sociopath can pretend to be pagan.

The fact is that the gentleman who started Wicca and thus opened the door to neo paganism, claimed to have doctorate degrees from two different universities. These claims were later proven to be patently false. And so one cannot help but wonder if such dubious beginnings to neo paganism set the stage for the bewildering morass that we have today.

I personally have never had the experience of going from one set of religious/spiritual beliefs to another, having lived my entire life as a witch brought up in an Irish family. And yet the more that I see and experience in the environment called neo paganism makes me even more inclined to shun such a label.

For instance the concept of open acceptance and diversity are nothing more then rehashed ideals from the hippie era of the 1960s. Realistically these concepts were never tenets of paganism during the 10, 000 year or so, tenure of paganism prior to the neo pagan beginnings in the mid 1950s. Pagan gatherings from one area did not necessarily get along with pagan gatherings from another area. Even with folks from the same pagan ethnicity, there were different aspects and/or Deity that was recognized dependent on the geographic area in question.

And while such grand ideas sound appealing, they are far too altruistic to have any meaningful role in any group or community. We have to remember that we are dealing with human beings here. One has to only look at the multitude of pseudo masters, the massive egos and the many elitist groups that have sprung up under the banner of neo paganism to see what effect this has had on what was once and for some still is, a belief system based upon the realities of a mystical life. For those who shun the hype and glamour of “Hollywood” neo paganism, and practice paganism for what it really is, such realities extend far beyond just this realm.

Also, I personally don’t believe that such groups as vampires, werewolves, were-kin and what have you were ever intended to be recognized under the description of paganism. Prior to the advent of neo paganism, such entities were feared and shunned by pagans. Pagan history is full of tales and mentions many charms and talismans to protect against such entities. Do neo pagans pretend to know something that old line pagans don’t know?

It is not my place to say that these groups should not exist within their own particular belief systems, but I do believe that it is an oxymoron to include them under the pagan banner. Though, such a contradiction seems acceptable under the neo pagan banner.

And perhaps this is why there is so much uncertainty, disorganization, in-fighting (witch wars) and controversy within the neo pagan community. Even the title “community” is euphuism for a concept, which has yet to take on any valid substance.

Neo paganism is trying to take concepts, which have been in place for thousands of years and are trying to re-invent them to serve the self-serving society that is in place today. Such an attempt is bound to end in failure as so many other fads before it has done.

This is not to say that there are not those who quietly practice paganism for what it really is. Such folks know the real value of study, discipline, and an unending curiosity. For such folks the spiritual rewards are unending. For the discovery of one life mystery leads to the desire to continue such a trek through life. There is no overwhelming need to be accepted by a hostile society that has been inundated with antipathy over the concepts of religion/spirituality.

We are who we are and that is enough. There is no need to proclaim to the world that we are masters of the arts, for we know in our hearts that we are simply students of something much greater then ourselves. There is no need to accept everything and to be diverse in all things, for such concepts are unrealistic and have been unattainable over the entire course of human history.

Life is not all light and love, for such concepts belie the true nature of polarity. Pagans accept the dark along with the light, as these are the ingredients of life. Why subscribe to a fallacy that is unattainable in reality? Realism is the mark of a pagan as it pertains to real life.

Neo paganism is beginning to look like a stage for role players rather then a continuation of any valid belief system.

I say this because this because society today is rapidly becoming more and more insular. Moving further and further away from the ideals and experiences that Mother Earth once provided and to some, still does provide. And it was these very real experiences that paved the way for paganism. What used to be real life is now an artificial creation brought on by the hand of man.

And yet neo paganism seems to be following the same trend in regards to paganism as society is in regards to life. Simply creating a façade of what used to be to satisfy the desires of a spiritually lackadaisical people.

It takes a real effort to engage in the mystical arts, but such effort is hard to find in modern times. And so at the end of the day perhaps neo paganism does in fact have a “role” to play…

PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

Twilight Madness

SO, granted I have not READ any of the Twilight books, nor have I seen the movie. SO I don't have the most educated opinion on the subject. I must also point out that people can write whatever kind of books they want but some of the "vampire mythology" that S. Meyer has come up with makes me want to vomit, like not having fangs and SPARKLING in sunlight(DEAR GODS!). Keep in mind I am a wee bit a purist when it comes to my vampire myths. I do think that they can come out in sunlight, think Bram Stoker's Dracula, but SPARKLE??? PLEASE!! Anyways, like I said before, no offence to S. Meyer, I congratulate her on having such wild success and wish her all the best.
Anyways, back on topic. I was randomly surfing the Internet this morning(I can't sleep, had surgery yesterday and am in quite a bit of pain and no more hard core painkillers!) and came across some very disturbing news. Apparently the die hard Twilight fans, known affectionately as "Twi-hards" have started ATTACKING people who speak out against the book. Wonder if i should watch my back now huh? I'm nto speaking out against the books or the author, just on the freakin pshycos that are attacking people. Here's a few examples:

I some of these on this list HERE

WISHING A MISCARRIAGE ON SOMEONE(Now THAT'S screwed up!)

FULL ON SLAP IN PUBLIC

A GUY IS ESSENTIALLY MOBBED WHEN HE SAID HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BOOKS

POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT ACTOR FOR "EDWARD" VERBALLY ATTACKED ONLINE

SEXUAL HARRASMENT

GETTING KICKED/PUNCHED IN THE JUNK(There's a few of these)"

ONE

TWO

BROKEN LIMBS(again I say, WTF?? And there's a few of these too.)

BROKEN ARM

BROKEN TOES


I could go ON AND ON!! There are PAGES of these attacks! WTF MAN?? IT'S A MOVIE FOR PETE'S SAKE!! People please!! There is enough hate, fear, crime, murder, etc. in the world, we DO NOT need to attack our fellow human beings JUST because of a stupid book! And for any of you "Twi-hards" out there reading this, do you REALLY think you are making the author HAPPY by doing this to people?? From what I have read about her(Please go HERE for that) she seems like a very nice and wholesome woman who loves her family and doesn't want to hurt anybody(and in my humble opinion seems to be one of the "nice" Christians who actually follows that whole "love thy neighbour" thing). I bet you money that she is HORRIFIED by what the CRAZIES are doing to people out there! So PLEASE! BACK OFF!! The majority of us live in countries where we have freedom of speech and the like so PLEASE let others have their opinions and you can have yours! STOP THE MADNESS!! IT'S JUST A BOOK!!! This goes for all the "Anti-Twilight" people too! Let the "Twi-hards" have their opinions and you can have yours!

Hill of Tara nominated to be world heritage site

Hill of Tara nominated to be world heritage site
By - Charlie Taylor.

THE HILL of Tara is among a number of locations which have been nominated for inclusion on a list of possible UNESCO world heritage sites.

Campaigners against the route of the M3 motorway in Co. Meath have joined heritage groups in submitting proposals to an advisory group, set up by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley, to review the list of Irish sites.

The existing tentative nomination list for world heritage sites dates back to 1992 and includes Killarney National Park, the Burren and Clonmacnoise. Deadlines for submissions for inclusion on the revised list closed yesterday.

Tarawatch and the Campaign to Save Tara group have claimed that the Hill of Tara complex qualifies for world heritage status as a natural and cultural landscape of outstanding universal value, due to its unique cultural significance and the extent of the surviving remains. Campaigners believe that if the site is short listed as a heritage site, then changes would have to be made to the route of the controversial motorway, which runs close to the hill.

"We'd love it if the whole area was chosen to be a world heritage site, but because of the destruction that has been caused by the work on the M3, there is a worry that it might be refused", Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, of the Campaign to Save Tara group, said.

Mr. Gormley has said previously that he supported the plan to have the Hill of Tara considered as a world heritage site as a means of preventing future development in the vicinity of the site.

World heritage sites include the Alhambra in Spain, the Taj Mahal in India and the Acropolis in Greece.

© The Irish Times, 31st. January 2009.


Please visit the home site at http://www.savetara.com/

The Stand

The Fate of Humanity Rests in...COMIC SHOPS!


On March 11, Captain Trips will be unleashed on the world in a new way. The Stand: Captain Trips Premiere Hardcover, collecting the first critically-acclaimed graphic fiction adaptation of Stephen King's seminal novel. This highly anticipated graphic novel will be released exclusively to comic shops nation wide. For more on this, we spoke with David Gabriel, Senior VP, Sales & Circulation

What exactly does this collection contain?

"This hardcover collects the entire The Stand: Captain Trips limited series, an incredible adaptation by the creative team of writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (TV's BIG LOVE), Eisner-nominated artist Mike Perkins, and Eisner-winning colorist Laura Martin, and comes with two different covers. One is by legendary artist Lee Bermejo and the other is a special limited gatefold cover by Mike Perkins. Beautiful stuff!

Sounds great! Where can we get them?

"Both editions are available ONLY in comic shops across the country, and through online comics and collected editions sellers. To celebrate, we're having a special Stand Advance Release Opening on March 11."


PLEASE SEE FULL ADD HERE

Michelle Dumaresq

Just finished watching a documentary called

100% Woman

It's about a woman from my hometown, Vancouver B.C. named Michelle Dumaresq, who started mountain bike racing in the late 90's. That doesn't seem so strange, except for the fact that she used to be a man. It's a beautiful but heartbreaking story. The complete acceptance by her parents was moving and the jeers and protests from the racing community, from some of her own friends, was horrifying. IF medically she is female(hormone levels and all!) I don't see why she can't race as one. Some people say it dpesn't matter because she has to take hormones to keep those levels up. Hell, some women have to be on hormones to keep their levels proper whether they have transitioned or not! She toughed it out though! Wonderfully inspiring!
Go check out the website! Or watch it online somewhere or rent it...or buy it! GREAT and inspiring story!

100% Woman

and the other documentary she wa sin, which I haven't seen

Dirt Diva's

Becoming a Daily Spiritual Practitioner

Becoming a Daily Spiritual Practitioner

Author: Silverwolf Sanctuary [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: February 1st. 2009
Times Viewed: 221

For whatever reason, it appears that the numbers of non-practicing Pagans are growing at an exponential rate. ("Non-practicing Pagan" is defined here as persons that self-identify as Pagan but do not attend or perform rituals and have no regular routine of prayer or rites, be they group, solitary or any combination of the two.) In a recently observed conversation, a woman discovered that an acquaintance regularly panegyrizes the Divine and characterized the practice as surprisingly quaint! As if the idea of actually exercising some sort of Pagan liturgy was both amusingly antiquated and somewhat atypical.

In the matter of the practicing Pagans, very often it seems that we observe ritual a mere 8 times a year. When a Sabbat comes around, candles and incense are lit, circles are cast and chants are mumbled most austerely. The individual occurrence is joyful, devout and filled with compelling intent and mysticism, but once the candles are blown out, the mundane world comes crashing down and the Divine Mysteries are packed away, only to be dusted off again when the next Sabbat rolls around.

A smaller group of practitioners, often those who represent themselves as Wiccan, also turn out for Esbats, eulogizing Full Moons 13 times a year. A seemingly trivial number of frequently considered "die hards" attend/perform ritual on the 13 New Moons as well. This means that a considerable number of people are celebrating the Divine 8 or 21, or at best 34 times a year. At the most, this is less than 3 times a month, 33% less than the standard weekly worship traditional of Christians (not including those Christians who offer nightly prayers and meal rites) . This is absolutely not meant to validate one religious practice over another, but used merely as a numerical comparative.

Considering that the average Pagan in the United States comes originally from some denomination of a Christian home, it leads to logical conclusion that they often decrease their incidence of spiritual practice upon taking up a Pagan mantle. (Please note this is only a quantitative value, not in any way qualitative.)

This sporadic practice conveys an impression of vague inadequacy; it cannot be spiritually fulfilling to connect to the Earth, the God/dess, the Divine, or whatever your preferred nomenclature, only a handful of times a year. Belief dictates that there is Divinity in all things, that the Divine can be encountered every day, not just on Sabbats. It would be reasonable then to say that the quintessential goal is to find a way to commune with our sacred path on a daily basis, thus forging a more intimate and personal relationship with our spiritual beliefs, with Deity and with all the energies that we define as Divine.

There are legions of impediments that interfere with the cultivation of this individual, circadian pattern of sacrosanct observance. How exactly does one go about becoming a daily Pagan practitioner without creating some sort of every day devotional that runs the risk of becoming both routine and mundane?

The conduit to daily spirituality need not be full of complex mantras, smudging and energy intensive circle casting. The idea in and of itself is both daunting and exhausting. When recalling the amount of self, careful thought and deliberate energy that is put into merely preparing for Esbat or Sabbat rituals, it should be easy to recognize that it is preposterous to expect the same for a daily communion. (Not to mention the momentous amount of élan vital required in actually performing said ceremonies!)

Scheduling becomes another stumbling block to the daily practitioner. Modern life is hectic for almost everyone; between family activities, jobs, home and social obligations, squirreling away time to write and perform daily ritual can be nearly impossible. Who has excess hours for writing intricate, meaningful Quarter Calls and Invocations when there are carpools to catch, dinner to plan, laundry to fold and the boss on the answering machine wondering why you are late (again) to the monthly budget meeting?

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Pagan Holidays

Samhain (Oíche Shamhna)

Imbolc (Lá Fhéile Bríde)