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This is my blogchalk:
United States, Virginia, Vienna, Fairfax, English, Zorak the Mantis, Female, 26-30.

Blogs I Know That Are No Longer In Service
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May 26, 2004

UN troops buy sex from teenage refugees in Congo camp: "Teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their suffering.
The Independent has found that mothers as young as 13 - the victims of multiple rape by militiamen - can only secure enough food to survive in the sprawling refugee camp by routinely sleeping with UN peace-keepers."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 3:21 AM | link |

May 25, 2004

A very addictive web site - Etiquette Hell. Only click if you have some serious time to waste.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:26 PM | link |

This really made me laugh - Summa Mamas: "God's timing being what it is, i.e., perfect, Father C told a story today about a sort of 'Jesus is my homey' priest who went to a high school and said, 'if you want to know about God, forget everything you've ever learned because i can sum everything up in three simple words: God is love.' one of the students raised his hand and inquired, 'do you mean God is eros, philia, or agape?'"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 10:34 AM | link |

May 23, 2004

Summa Contra Mundum: "A cousin of Mrs. Athanasius died suddenly a while back, at the age of 37. She died in the shower, with no cause of death discovered. The body was found by the husband. There are three girls, aged three to nine.

I bring this up because there is a very insidious problem in modern Christianity, something that was apparent at the funeral, and in conversations since the funeral. People will ask "Why did she have to die so young?" "Why would God take her?" "Why would God leave her kids without her?" Some have expressed that it is difficult to keep faith in God when such good people die, for no apparent reason.

Now, these sentiments are understandable. I don't blame anyone who has them. But I think such attitudes are fundamentally incompatible with Christian faith.

See, there is an idea hidden behind these statements: "God won't let bad things happen to her/me/the kids." If I pray and do good things (which is another insidious idea, that there really are good people), shouldn't I be rewarded? Shouln't I be able to die peacefully, full of years, surrounded by children and grandchildren? Shouldn't I just slip into heaven as easily as a hand in a glove, with no intervening discomfort? That's the way things should be, God,and if it doesn't work out that way, I'll be mad at you!

Bunk."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:24 PM | link |

REFLECTIONS ON SSA (elcaminoreal.blog-city.com): "I'm beginning to think that, in the context of day-to-day living, it is a mistake to self-identify as someone with same-sex attractions.
There are two primary reasons for this. First, homosexuality is not something that normal people should be thinking about on a regular basis one way or the other. It is especially not something children should be thinking about. It follows that forcing other people to confront one's personal sexual disorders is probably not the most charitable way of interacting with them. Second, as has been discussed before in these pages, knowledge of homosexual temptations is a serious impediment to same-sex friendships. By self-identifying as someone with SSA, a person is severely limiting prospects for friendship with heterosexuals. Deep and lasting friendships do not require that one ever discuss what is best reserved to the confessional.
It also seems to me that the language of SSA really obscures the essential problem, which is that SSA, insofar as it is a problem at all, is the predisposition to commit a specific grave sin and is therefore a threat to eternal salvation. Everyone has such predispositions to a greater or lesser degree, and there is a reason we don't tend to wear them on our sleeves. We regret them, we wish we didn't have them, and we don't want anyone thinking such things are essentially unchangeable or beyond the reach of grace. Perhaps we will never be completely rid of them in this life, but in the end we must be rid of them, and so they are not truly a part of our identity. "
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:15 PM | link |

Another neat blog - nykola.com
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 12:59 AM | link |

May 22, 2004

New blog by a D.C. man trying to turn away from the gay lifestyle. Go check out Scattered Words.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:07 PM | link |

The Mighty Barrister gets it right on Brown vs Board.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 10:56 PM | link |

Dave tagged me, so I now tag Cacciaguida! You're it!
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 6:56 PM | link |

May 21, 2004

The other night O.O. visited a friend who was tending bar and serving him free drinks. He returned to the hotel at 5:30 am slightly intoxicated, at which time he shared these thoughts with me:

"I'm like a gyroscope. I will not spill the water. I have the charism of (not) spilling."
He also noted that if holding a small child ("womb fruit") requires skills similar to those needed to holding a drink despite being intoxicated, he would be very good at it.

"I'm a whore to the animal aesthetic." This thought preceded a discourse on the glories of teaching a child to slay an animal, and to put his hand into the still-warm guts of the beast.

"Listen to that." (clicks his tongue against his cheek.) "That's my tongue roving through the tongue fields."
He then went on to describe how the new phrase that he had coined, "tongue fields," would help him to make new friends.

On the fact that I would later blog his drunken musings: "My students will read them, and they will say, 'My God, he was drunk, but he still cares about prime matter!'"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 8:32 PM | link |

"The audience laughed and black leaders frowned when Bill Cosby mocked underclass blacks at a D.C. event commemorating the desegregation decision. From the Washington Post:
'Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal,' he declared. 'These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.' . . .
'They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English,' he exclaimed. 'I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you aint,' 'Where you is' . . . And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. . . . Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. . . . You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!'
The Post's Hamil Harris reports that Cosby also turned his wrath to 'the incarcerated,' saying: 'These are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca-Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake and then we run out and we are outraged, [saying] 'The cops shouldn't have shot him.' What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?' "
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 8:11 PM | link |

May 19, 2004

Gone until Friday evening at the earliest, unless I manage to post on the road, which is unlikely. In the meantime, stick it to the Man. No, really. At least a little bit.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 1:44 AM | link |

May 18, 2004

Why Do So Many Students Require Remedial Education? [Mackinac Center for Public Policy]: " I remember one student who called me complaining that she had received an 'F' in a course even though she had attended every day. She didn't understand that she actually had to master the basic course material. That was foreign to her."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 2:23 PM | link |

Civil Rights for the Politically Correct
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 2:08 PM | link |

Yahoo! News - Sodas Raise Cancer Risk, U.S. Study Finds
Yeah. And how much, just for comparison's sake, does regular sodomy increase the risk of colon cancer?

posted by Zorak the Mantis at 10:45 AM | link |

US Catholic News Service Editor Cites Acceptance of Contraception as Leading to Current Gay Unions Situation: "The Church of England burst the dam in 1930 when it became the first major Christian denomination to accept the use of contraceptives. Lawler reveals that a Washington Post editorial at the time warned the 1930 decision 'would sound the death knell of marriage as a holy institution by establishing degrading practices which would encourage indiscriminate immorality.'

Since that time, The Catholic World News head observes, 'We have seen a meteoric rise in abuse, divorce, depression, and dysfunction. Countless thousands of individual marriages have dissolved; now finally the institution of marriage has begun to totter.'

Lawler argues that because of the norm of contracepted sex Massachusetts citizens and others are 'having a difficult time coming up with a persuasive argument why same-sex couples should not be entitled to their own preferred form of sterile sexual expression.'

His suggestion for the long term solution to reversing gay 'marriage' legalization is to 'Go through your medicine cabinets, dressers, and bedside-table drawers. Gather all the contraceptives. Throw them in the trash, where they belong. If you're Catholic, go to Confession. Then, having put our own houses and homes in order, we can begin the long trek toward restoring the true meaning of marriage.'"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 9:10 AM | link |

May 17, 2004

O.O. says: "Do you want some salad?"
Zorak:"Sure."
O.O.: "Do you want to be visited by Eviscerax the Obscenificator? (Pause.) Just making sure you have a high threshold for discernment."

P.S. He corrected my spelling of Eviscerax. He must have strong feelings about this topic.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 6:13 PM | link |

Zorak comes into the bedroom to wake up the Old Oligarch.
O.O.: "Go away! Can't you see I'm molting?"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 6:13 PM | link |

May 16, 2004

Happy Birthday to ME!
I am 28 years old today.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 1:26 PM | link |

Some poor fool came to the Old Oligarch's blog looking for "episcopal advise to newlyweds." Below are some pieces of advice for you:
1. Learn how to spell.
2. Have a male child.
3. Divorce, "marry" someone of the same sex, become a "bishop," and repeatedly compare your self-promoting activities to the agonies of Christ.
4. Have a male child.
5. Remember that while the Episcopal Church has its problems, it's still all-white. And the after-church donuts are just scrumptious!
6. After 500 years, your "leadership" has just discovered that you don't have a Magisterium, and that this is causing some problems. Donate much more money to your church.
7. Bored in the bedroom? Set the mood by reading an essay by the eminent "Bishop" Spong.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 5:54 AM | link |

Spot-on analysis of Abu Ghraib - Meet the 'Jackass' Generation by R. Cort Kirkwood
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 5:17 AM | link |

May 15, 2004

"We're here, we're mildly and tolerantly homophobic, get used to it!"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 7:08 PM | link |

40,000 hits! - On the blog, of course.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:36 PM | link |

More Protpocrisy - The Bible was not divided into chapters until the thirteenth century, and the system for numbering verses was not developed until 1551.
So why do Protestants rely upon this tradition of man, which distorts the perfect Word of God?
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 1:28 PM | link |

May 14, 2004

Outrage as KISS player mouths off on Muslims - Music - www.smh.com.au: KISS bass player Gene Simmons has caused an uproar among Australia's Muslim community by launching an attack on Islamic culture while in Melbourne....
The Israeli-born US musician went on to say Islam was a "vile culture" that treated women worse than dogs.
Muslim women had to walk behind their men and were not allowed to be educated or own houses, he said.
"Your dog, however, can walk side by side, your dog is allowed to have its own dog house... you can send your dog to school to learn tricks, sit, beg, do all that stuff - none of the women have that advantage."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 5:01 PM | link |

Shamed does not like the cicadas. Or, as he calls them, the "al-ciQuaedas."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 3:13 PM | link |

What I learned at Woodrow Wilson's birthplace - I visited Woodrow Wilson's birthplace in western VA two weekends ago. The facility contains a small display on World War I, which given their limited space for it (2 rooms) is good. But HERE'S an interesting fact that I didn't know, and I'll wager you didn't either (except Otto Hiss and Cacciaguida, I bet they know this) - many American citizens of German origin were jailed during the war. Like the internment of the Japanese citizens that we have heard so much about, only worse - presuming that jail is worse than an internment camp, which I cannot say for certain.
This fact really blows a hole in the theory that the internment camps for the Japanese are a product of American racism, hmm? Which is of course why we haven't heard about it.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 10:38 AM | link |

May 12, 2004

Yahoo! News - Echinacea Does Little to Prevent Colds: Report
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 8:58 AM | link |

Anglican Communion News Service: Dr Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all Ireland, says "we hold as a priority the centrality of Holy Scripture to our witness, worship and life. The fact that pilgrims on the journey of the Church can differ on the interpretation of that same Scripture has produced much of our present crisis. So we need guidance on how we interpret Scripture."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 7:12 AM | link |

May 11, 2004

The ostrich eluded capture.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:12 PM | link |

Yahoo! News - Study: Small Doses of Caffeine Best to Stay Awake - finally, news I can use.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:10 PM | link |

I complete online polls for money. Today I am completing one on "beauty." Here is one of the statements that I must agree or disagree with, with options for varying levels of agreement or disagreement: "True hair satisfaction comes from embracing the hair you were born with."
Unfortunately there is no option for expressing my actual reaction to this statement - What the ??? is "true hair satisfaction?"
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 7:45 AM | link |

Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues -- 05/03/2004: 'We have 19 of 23 officers who served with [Kerry]. We have every commanding officer he ever had in Vietnam. They all signed a letter that says he is unfit to be commander-in-chief,' O'Neill said.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 7:05 AM | link |

May 10, 2004

"Gender Study" Victim Boy Raised as a Girl Commits Suicide - How sad. This man had a particularly hard life. Pray for the soul of David Reimer.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:36 PM | link |

Zorak reminds the Old Oligarch that she does not want anything expensive for her birthday.
O.O.: "Uh-oh. I already killed the world's only dancing penguin for us to eat."

O.O., sleep-deprived: "Do you mind if I stare at your pineal gland?"
Zorak: "What does the pineal gland do?"
O.O.: "It connects the soul to the body."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 8:41 PM | link |

Catholic Answers: Karl's E-Letter:
"EVEN YOUR PARISH DOESN'T HAVE IT THIS BAD

Perhaps you hear ill-formed or banal intercessory prayers during Mass at your parish. Many Catholics do. But cheer up--it could be far worse. Your priest could be selecting the prayers from 'Prayers of the Faithful,' edited by Fr. Henry Fehren and published by Liturgical Press.

Fehren is the author of seven books, has appeared in fifteen movies, and has written a regular column for 'U.S. Catholic.' Perhaps his best known book is 'Good News for Alienated Catholics.'

Here are samples of what you have been spared:

1. 'For employers whose primary interest is in efficiency, self-confidence, and good appearance, that they will also hire the ugly ...'

2. 'For a frost that will tarnish the value of gold and put sparkle into the dullness of life ...'

3. 'For a society where we don't have to make a million dollars, run the 100 in ten seconds, invent a laser, or die in order to be believed ...'

4. 'For soldiers who don't get mail, children who flunk, showgirls who grow old ...'

5. For put-down, stepped on, squelched children exiled to live in dark caverns ...'

6. 'For the smell of new rain, for pumpkins and Snoopy, for the aroma of homemade bread, for cotton candy, for funny looking animals like giraffes and koalas and human beings ...'

7. 'For dissenters and the right to dissent ...'"
Via the Curt Jester.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:50 PM | link |

NWA - Nurses with Attitude
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:27 PM | link |

Yahoo! News - U.S. to Reopen Probe of Till Slaying
What a complete waste of money.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:24 PM | link |

Just think how hurt and angry the occupants of hell must be.
"I am a gay man in a committed relationship with another man whom I love, as you should love your spouse," he wrote.
Sand, 43, and Pepera, 49, have been together for five years. Each was married when they "got together," at a Catholic retreat. Both were soon divorced. Pepera has three children, and Sand has two; their children visit them one weekend a month.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 6:39 AM | link |

New Blog! - The Blanchard
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:45 AM | link |

May 9, 2004

Bishop Kevin Farrell rocks! As Old Oligarch noted, we had an opportunity to witness a deaconal ordination at the National Shrine on Saturday. It was the first time I have seen anything like that and I really enjoyed it. Five young men were ordained, 4 from the Dominicans (since Dominican House is right across the street) and one Franciscan. There were at least 40 priests in attendance, plus lots of monks and nuns. But the real treat was Bishop Farrell's homily. He informed the new deacons that they should above all, depend upon frequent reception of the Eucharist to provide them the graces they would need for their vocation. And that they should teach respect for Christ in the Eucharist, whether doing so made them "comfortable or uncomfortable." He spent at least 7 minutes emphasizing this aspect of their ministry. Fairly bold for a man who reports to Cardinal McCarrick.
Other good counsels he offered included frequent reading of the Bible to ensure that their decisions were informed by Christ's mentality rather than their own, and remembering that they are ordained not to be served but to serve.
I have written letters to Bishop Farrell, Bishop Aquila of Fargo, Archbishop Burke of St. Louis, and Archbishop Myers of Newark thanking them for their courage in defending the Eucharist. Hopefully I will need to write more in the coming weeks.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 11:31 PM | link |

Discriminations - interesting site on discrimination in general, often in education.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:29 PM | link |

A warm, warm welcome to the person who came here searching for "hms buttocks."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:27 PM | link |

Swamp City: Canadian Made: "President Bush came under fire this week for touring around Ohio with a bus stating 'Yes, America Can' that was made in Canada. The Kerry campaign jumped on the issue until realizing that their own bus was made in Canada."
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 4:14 PM | link |

May 8, 2004

Wow! I just learned that holy water remits venial sin. Did you know that? I've been a Catholic for 8 years now and never knew that.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 12:41 AM | link |

May 7, 2004

Ad Campaign Questions Cardinal McCarrick's 'Discomfort' With Denying Communion to Pro-Abort Politicians
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 7:04 PM | link |

New York Post Online Edition: Letters to the Editor: "Imagine denying Communion to all the women who take any form of contraception or who support Planned Parenthood."

Aaah. Yes. Wouldn't that be nice?
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 2:52 PM | link |

Seal wears earphones during daily training sessions - I bet my tax dollars are going for this...
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 12:16 AM | link |

Zero the Moose
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 12:07 AM | link |

May 6, 2004

Colleges, Universities Use Innovative Race-Neutral Ways to Achieve Diversity on Campus, Report Says
Just so you know.
posted by Zorak the Mantis at 10:44 AM | link |