Collie's Bestiary

This month's Firestarter is a (badly needed) review and reflection on How Do We Keep Honesty? I figured since February is traditionally a month for love, this time I'd attempt to achieve love of self, and gently engage in some internal reflection — always a scary proposition. :-) Fair warning: this Firestarter will make the [...]

I've come to the conclusion I don't agree with the definition of Gatekeeper. I do agree there's more than just the two extremes — regardless of whether you call them "Warrior" and "Forgiver" or "heavy-handed militarism" and "turn-the-other-cheek pacifism." I suppose Gatekeeper is as good a term as any for that "middle of the road" [...]

Part of a quick "reflection" written for my aikido class.
Huzzah! My aikido class has a list of recommended readings. The first of those books, which I requested at the library, has come in and is now successfully in my hot little hands. I'm the proud new borrower of Richard Strozzi Heckler's "Aikido and the New [...]

or: Why Eartha Kitt is sexier than Madonna & Betty Boop combined! ;)
Originally posted December 2004
Credits: For Bob, who correctly insisted the singer makes a huge difference! -& George, who came up with the subtitle;
– for Eartha Kitt, who first showed me sensuality and sexiness could coincide without degenerating into tawdriness;
– and for holidays and [...]

"When facts fail you, words come in handy."
– Goethe
Frankly, I deplore most of the "talking heads" garbage (yes, I call it that deliberately) I've seen or read recently. Simplistic framing of complex issues into "us vs. them" is damned stupid, and I'm tired of having my intelligence insulted so. It's gotten to the point where [...]

What is the form this mental organization takes? Dr. Lakoff believes our personal morality is framed by our family structure as children. There are two rough types or classes of family: the "strict father" paradigm and the "nurturing parents" paradigm.
The "strict father" is a definite patriarch of his family, in control of his dependents in [...]

Originally posted November 2004
Credits: To Bob, of course, due to his irritating (but this time helpful) habit of always leaving the radio on! ;)
The emotional quality of what we moderns call our thought produces an extreme violence of conviction combined with extreme incoherence in our arguments. – Jacques Ellul
I don't like politics. Specifically, [...]

Understanding ourselves
For completeness, let's look at a dictionary definition for spirituality as well. Doing so helped clarify religiosity; let's see if it helps here too:
Spirituality: concern with things of the spirit, which is defined as: a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character; any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to [...]

Two modern-day examples of the secularity of organized religion: President Bush recently asked the Pope (the leader of another nation) to put pressure on Catholic bishops in the United States to support Bush's presidential campaign by speaking out against same-sex marriage and encouraging a Constitutional amendment on marriage.
Will Bush be asking the leaders of the [...]

(Originally posted October 2004)
First a few quick notes I'm very happy about. This is my One Year Anniversary Firestarter article — yay! I'm very excited about that. Also, October is my birthday month, which is another reason I'm happy, as I really enjoy celebrating birthdays and holidays — wish me a wonderful upcoming year, eh? [...]