The Pew Research Center, a well known nonpartisan thinktank, has recently published a study showing that the more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists.
Among White Evangelicals:
18% say that torture can often be justified, while 44% say that torture can sometimes be justified.
Compared to non affiliated people-15% say that torture can often be justified and 33% say that it can sometimes be justified.
And, among weekly churchgoers: 16% say torture is often justified and 38% say it is often justified
For those who attend services seldom: 12% say torture is often justified and 30% say it is sometimes justified.
Here is a link to the study.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Gray
Just wondering when the sun will come out again. It has been gray, drizzly, and cloudy for the last 4 days.
I would appreciate some sun, thanks.
It is that time of year...the march to the end, the AP tests, the final exams, prom, graduation, college, and preparing for next year.
Always exciting, but kind of stressful, as the kids get antsy...especially the seniors!
6 weeks left...
I would appreciate some sun, thanks.
It is that time of year...the march to the end, the AP tests, the final exams, prom, graduation, college, and preparing for next year.
Always exciting, but kind of stressful, as the kids get antsy...especially the seniors!
6 weeks left...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tragically Unhip?
Yesterday, I discovered that I am tragically unhip.
I realized this as I was perusing music and I discovered a band called The Smiths. Now, I have heard of them throughout the years, but I never pursued listening to them. And of course, once I listened to a song, I was hooked.
So yeah, I was only about 20 years behind the times, as The Smiths are a band that was popular in the 80s. One of the first alternative post punk bands out of Manchester, England.
Aside from that, I have discovered, that for most of my life, I have felt like I am living in the wrong time. I am merely an observer to my modern life. My soul belongs in another era. What era depends on where I am in my life. These days, I feel like I am lurking somewhere in Europe during the first part of the 20th century.
Let me explain: it all started when I began reading the Little House books in 2nd grade. I devoured those books, beginning with Little House in the Big Woods, all the way through The First Four Years. After I read those, I began to imagine that I lived in the mid 19th century. I was a pioneer person. I used to imagine that I was the eldest sister in a large family, and that my parents were often absent or busy. I had to take care of my younger siblings. I had a running narrative in my head of this story. While I was at school, the story was sidelined, but at home, I definitely lived my historical narrative. This period lasted until about 5th grade, culminating in my dressing as Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween. Around this time, I began to discover other historical fiction works, namely the Anne of Green Gables books. My time period shifted to the late 19th century. I imagined myself as a playmate of Anne's and I live in her world. Again, the actual world I lived in was immaterial. I was always a quiet kid, and I spent most of my recesses reading. I had few friends, but it never bothered me. I had enough to be satisfied, while still maintaining my parallel historical existence.
By 7th grade, I discovered the Beatles, and my time period shifted rather drastically to 1960s England. I became obsessed with the Beatles and with 60s music. I only listened to the Oldies station (having not yet discovered Classic Rock) I devoured every Beatles book I could find. I imagined myself an "Apple Scruff" (or, a Beatles groupie-and no, I didn't know what groupie meant.) I developed my first real crush-on George Harrison. I collected images of the Beatles. I felt like a total anachronism, as none of my friends seemed to understand my obsession. I eschewed the popular music of the time, which was mostly Green Day and early alt rock. I had my Beatles.
My Beatles obsession lasted quite a while-until my junior year of high school. Along with the Beatles, my reading tastes veered towards Agatha Christie novels. Some of them took place in the 60s, others took place during the first part of the 20th century. I loved them all, and developed a real obsession with British culture.
I discovered Led Zeppelin when I was 16. My world was once again shifted, this time to the late 60s/early 70s. Now, along with the Beatles, I had Led Zeppelin albums to collect. This phase lasted until probably my sophomore year of college.
Then I briefly discovered some new music. But that phase quickly passed.
Now, I believe my music tastes lie somewhere in the early 80s, as I mentioned earlier.
I'm not sure if it will shift again. It probably will. To some other time period other than the one in which we currently reside.
I have always felt a strong connection to the past. My obsession with history goes back even further than the Little House Books-I believe it started with my grandfather, who was the single most important person in my life. He died when I was 8, but I always loved hearing stories about his youth, about the Depression, about the War. I am lucky that I had a grandfather who lived through all of this and was able to tell me about it. Most people my age have younger grandparents than mine. I am almost a whole generation removed from most of my peers, as my mom was one of the first baby boomers-literally, she was born in 1946.
My mom is the other major influence on my life. She is, of course, my best friend, and my favorite person in the world. And sometimes I think that she and I should have switched places in time! She lived through it all-growing up in the 50s, going to college in the 60s, the liberal 70s, studying in Spain, traveling through Europe, meeting my dad by chance in a park....she has had so many amazing experiences-and that was all well before I was born!
I can't forget my dad though. He grew up in a foreign country, under a fascist dictatorship. How many people can say that about their dads??
My life has been full of an appreciation of the past. I am sure this contributes to my sense of feeling out of place in time. I don't think I'll ever fit in completely.
And I don't think I want to.
So, I will forever be tragically unhip. Listening to music that either a) people no longer listen to or b)very few people have heard of.
Watching movies that are a) really old or b) really odd and 'cult' favorites
Talking about events that happened long ago.
Reading obscure novels, many in translation. For example, Louis Aragon's Paris Peasant.
I don't mean to say that I am unhappy with my existence. I just feel like there are so many layers to life beyond the every day, the mundane.
I guess you could say I enjoy living in the past!
I realized this as I was perusing music and I discovered a band called The Smiths. Now, I have heard of them throughout the years, but I never pursued listening to them. And of course, once I listened to a song, I was hooked.
So yeah, I was only about 20 years behind the times, as The Smiths are a band that was popular in the 80s. One of the first alternative post punk bands out of Manchester, England.
Aside from that, I have discovered, that for most of my life, I have felt like I am living in the wrong time. I am merely an observer to my modern life. My soul belongs in another era. What era depends on where I am in my life. These days, I feel like I am lurking somewhere in Europe during the first part of the 20th century.
Let me explain: it all started when I began reading the Little House books in 2nd grade. I devoured those books, beginning with Little House in the Big Woods, all the way through The First Four Years. After I read those, I began to imagine that I lived in the mid 19th century. I was a pioneer person. I used to imagine that I was the eldest sister in a large family, and that my parents were often absent or busy. I had to take care of my younger siblings. I had a running narrative in my head of this story. While I was at school, the story was sidelined, but at home, I definitely lived my historical narrative. This period lasted until about 5th grade, culminating in my dressing as Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween. Around this time, I began to discover other historical fiction works, namely the Anne of Green Gables books. My time period shifted to the late 19th century. I imagined myself as a playmate of Anne's and I live in her world. Again, the actual world I lived in was immaterial. I was always a quiet kid, and I spent most of my recesses reading. I had few friends, but it never bothered me. I had enough to be satisfied, while still maintaining my parallel historical existence.
By 7th grade, I discovered the Beatles, and my time period shifted rather drastically to 1960s England. I became obsessed with the Beatles and with 60s music. I only listened to the Oldies station (having not yet discovered Classic Rock) I devoured every Beatles book I could find. I imagined myself an "Apple Scruff" (or, a Beatles groupie-and no, I didn't know what groupie meant.) I developed my first real crush-on George Harrison. I collected images of the Beatles. I felt like a total anachronism, as none of my friends seemed to understand my obsession. I eschewed the popular music of the time, which was mostly Green Day and early alt rock. I had my Beatles.
My Beatles obsession lasted quite a while-until my junior year of high school. Along with the Beatles, my reading tastes veered towards Agatha Christie novels. Some of them took place in the 60s, others took place during the first part of the 20th century. I loved them all, and developed a real obsession with British culture.
I discovered Led Zeppelin when I was 16. My world was once again shifted, this time to the late 60s/early 70s. Now, along with the Beatles, I had Led Zeppelin albums to collect. This phase lasted until probably my sophomore year of college.
Then I briefly discovered some new music. But that phase quickly passed.
Now, I believe my music tastes lie somewhere in the early 80s, as I mentioned earlier.
I'm not sure if it will shift again. It probably will. To some other time period other than the one in which we currently reside.
I have always felt a strong connection to the past. My obsession with history goes back even further than the Little House Books-I believe it started with my grandfather, who was the single most important person in my life. He died when I was 8, but I always loved hearing stories about his youth, about the Depression, about the War. I am lucky that I had a grandfather who lived through all of this and was able to tell me about it. Most people my age have younger grandparents than mine. I am almost a whole generation removed from most of my peers, as my mom was one of the first baby boomers-literally, she was born in 1946.
My mom is the other major influence on my life. She is, of course, my best friend, and my favorite person in the world. And sometimes I think that she and I should have switched places in time! She lived through it all-growing up in the 50s, going to college in the 60s, the liberal 70s, studying in Spain, traveling through Europe, meeting my dad by chance in a park....she has had so many amazing experiences-and that was all well before I was born!
I can't forget my dad though. He grew up in a foreign country, under a fascist dictatorship. How many people can say that about their dads??
My life has been full of an appreciation of the past. I am sure this contributes to my sense of feeling out of place in time. I don't think I'll ever fit in completely.
And I don't think I want to.
So, I will forever be tragically unhip. Listening to music that either a) people no longer listen to or b)very few people have heard of.
Watching movies that are a) really old or b) really odd and 'cult' favorites
Talking about events that happened long ago.
Reading obscure novels, many in translation. For example, Louis Aragon's Paris Peasant.
I don't mean to say that I am unhappy with my existence. I just feel like there are so many layers to life beyond the every day, the mundane.
I guess you could say I enjoy living in the past!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Dream
I am usually pretty bad at remembering dreams. However, this past weekend I had a dream that my local Chevy dealership had gone out of business. I was driving by the place, and the whole lot was empty. There was nothing left. The place that I had gone to only last week to get my tires checked was now an empty shell.
This dream scared me because I just got a new car from said dealership. It's a place that I know well. My parents have gotten cars from there.... The place has been around ever since I can remember-probably over 20 years, although it has changed names since I was little.
This dealership does a lot for the community. They always provide the cars for the homecoming parade at our high school. For prom, they actually raffle off a new car for students who attend the post-prom activity. They host car shows on summer evenings with food and entertainment. They also have displays at our local fourth of July celebration.
Anyway, I would be really sad if this place left. And this dream seemed so real. Perhaps it's because the dealership is next to an abandoned K-Mart lot, but it was quite easy to imagine it all disappearing.
I guess I'm fearful for GM?
I really don't want them to go under. I guess we will see what happens March 31. That's when the government is supposed to respond to the bailout requests.
I can't help but worry.
This dream scared me because I just got a new car from said dealership. It's a place that I know well. My parents have gotten cars from there.... The place has been around ever since I can remember-probably over 20 years, although it has changed names since I was little.
This dealership does a lot for the community. They always provide the cars for the homecoming parade at our high school. For prom, they actually raffle off a new car for students who attend the post-prom activity. They host car shows on summer evenings with food and entertainment. They also have displays at our local fourth of July celebration.
Anyway, I would be really sad if this place left. And this dream seemed so real. Perhaps it's because the dealership is next to an abandoned K-Mart lot, but it was quite easy to imagine it all disappearing.
I guess I'm fearful for GM?
I really don't want them to go under. I guess we will see what happens March 31. That's when the government is supposed to respond to the bailout requests.
I can't help but worry.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tag Crowd
The website, http://tagcrowd.com, lets you plug in the text from any source. It then looks at the text and picks out the most common words. You can set the number of words you want it to pull, and it also eliminates common words such as a, the, an, etc. I was playing with it today....I plugged in the text of Shakespeare's sonnets from 51-154 (a lot of text!) and this is what it came up with:
age alone although art away bear beauty best better black bright days dead dear death deeds desire earth eyes face fair false far faults fire found friend full gentle give grace grow happy hate hath heart heaven hold ill knows leave lest lie life live looks lose loss love making mayst mind mine mistress muse name night none nothing others painting poor power praise pride proud prove reason rich roses shadow sight sin soul speak spirit state stay store summer sun sweet therefore thine things think thought thyself till true truth verse whilst whose wilt woe words world worth youth
created at TagCrowd.com
Kinda neat!Monday, February 23, 2009
Sin City...Again!
I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend. I am sure it will be a great time because:
1. We are staying at the Bellagio. Yes, that Bellagio. The one featured in Ocean's 11...perhaps the fanciest hotel on the Strip.
2. Another female will be coming with us, so if I get bored by J. and his brother playing craps all night, I will have someone to shop and/or drink margaritas with. Also, she's very nice and I am sure we would have a great time perusing the Prada, Dior, Armani, Gucci, and Chanel shops. No, I will not buy anything. But it will be fun to look!
3. The weather: currently predicted to be in the 70s throughout the weekend.
4. I might try my hand at Baccarat, the game of Kings. I was reading up on Baccarat the other day, and it is surprisingly easy to learn. Of course, I kind of hate gambling and don't like throwing money away, but I am willing to wager a little bit to test out my skills. I've been practicing online...I probably will be too intimidated and/or chicken to go up to the actual tables, but maybe I'll just hang around them and watch.
1. We are staying at the Bellagio. Yes, that Bellagio. The one featured in Ocean's 11...perhaps the fanciest hotel on the Strip.
2. Another female will be coming with us, so if I get bored by J. and his brother playing craps all night, I will have someone to shop and/or drink margaritas with. Also, she's very nice and I am sure we would have a great time perusing the Prada, Dior, Armani, Gucci, and Chanel shops. No, I will not buy anything. But it will be fun to look!
3. The weather: currently predicted to be in the 70s throughout the weekend.
4. I might try my hand at Baccarat, the game of Kings. I was reading up on Baccarat the other day, and it is surprisingly easy to learn. Of course, I kind of hate gambling and don't like throwing money away, but I am willing to wager a little bit to test out my skills. I've been practicing online...I probably will be too intimidated and/or chicken to go up to the actual tables, but maybe I'll just hang around them and watch.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Note to self:
Do not write about the merits of Amtrak before you actually take the trip. As it turns out, I did not actually take the train to Minnesota. The train was delayed about 25 hours and I waited for 11 of those hours at the train station. I got home at 1 am. My brother then drove down from Minnesota to pick us up and drive us to Minneapolis. Then, on the way home, my train was delayed again. So I took the bus and got home earlier than I would have on the train. The bus also cost only $55, compared to $130 for the train. My mom couldn't take the train back either. Luckily, my brother's friend was visiting and he drove her home.
I will never take Amtrak again. At least we got our refunds.
I will never take Amtrak again. At least we got our refunds.
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