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 try not to write "hop on the bandwagon" postings about the current "hot" topic in the news. I like to have a bit of time to consider and reflect on issues and situations. Within that timeframe I frequently find that simply quietly helping however I can is all I wish to say on 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 [...]

There was also a curious song with four female singers titled "Sending You A Little Christmas." I say curious because it was about being far away from the one(s) you love… and it had some war footage playing on the big screens behind the singers! I think it's nice to remember our armed forces out [...]

As a child I adored the holiday season: the wonderful carol singing, the excitement and sharing and happiness that abounded all around us, the excited and carefully considered selection of gifts for friends and family, the decorating of house and tree with family, the thrill of christmas morning, the wonderful smells and tastes and gatherings [...]

One of my housemates is in a world mythology class. I was quite interested to hear this, since I love mythology, and I thought this might be an opportunity for me to increase the number of interests we have in common. I was rather shocked, therefore, to hear some of the on-line questions and discussions [...]

"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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]