Ho Ho… WTF?

So, lots of folks seem to be buzzing about the new Gap commercial that mentions Solstice in the same breath as Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. The general trend that I see breaks down like this:

• Pagans – “Ooh, cool! We’ve arrived!”
• Most other commentators – “It’s the end of civilization!”

Setting aside the fact that the ad is really… freakin’… annoying, I don’t see anything even faintly holiday-oriented about it, despite the “you’re-all-customers-to-us” cross-cultural name-checking. The basic message is “screw everything, just come give us your money”; I’m actually not all that stoked about getting mainstreamed in this context. It puts me in mind of Annyikha’s frightening vision of a commercialized Anthesteria (link is a bit… freewheeling and possibly NSFW, so be warned).

I’m also kind of peeved that, based on the commentary I’m seeing, this is feeding in to the common MSM trope of Pagans as a bunch of hedonistic hippies who don’t believe in anything. Plus, did I mention it’s annoying? :p And Adam Sandler-esque (“Do whatever you wannakah”).

Athens v. Sparta

This is a remarkable recording – in about an hour, Charlie Roadman and friends give a reasonably comprehensive overview of the Peloponnesian War, with a decent soundtrack even. Selected text from Thucydides and Xenophon is narrated, and there are a handful of brief sung lyrics by Roadman that give other perspectives on the action. The whole thing illuminates the ancient war in a unique way, as well as (IMO) providing a certain level of commentary on our own situation today.

You can hear the whole thing at the link, with an option to download or buy a copy – it’s well worth a listen.

Saddened

I’ve been trying to sort through my feelings about the USS New York since I heard about the warship christening last week, and I think that “saddened” about covers it.

More pagan-friendly picture books

This is a belated discovery on my part…

A number of years ago Robert Sabuda, best known for highly intricate pop-up books (including the incredibly gorgeous and nature-awareness-enhancing Winter’s Tale – Druid parents particularly will like this one), wrote a regular picture book called Tutankhamen’s Gift.

Tamao, again

Back in the spring I mentioned this excellent online Shinto-based fantasy novel I’ve been reading. Well, it keeps getting better, and the author is considering offering the option of an on-demand hard copy edition if demand is high enough. I want to see this happen, so I’m encouraging any of you who think you might enjoy such a story to go check it out (you can also read some brief reviews, including mine, at WebFictionGuide.com).

Takin’ it to the streets

As I’ve said here before,  I regard aikido as not just a martial art, but a do, a Way, in the fullest sense of the term – a practice that can provide a meaningful template for the art of living. Eric Holcomb has a very nice post up today that illustrates how one seemingly minor aspect of off-the-mat application can unfold whole dimensions of the art.

ありがとう ございます!

Commonplace book #24

Then out spake brave Horatius, the Captain at the gate;
“To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his Gods…”

- Thomas Macaulay, from Lays of Ancient Rome

My brain, my body and me

So, we had a great Aikido seminar this past weekend, with our now-annual visit from one of the most traveled instructors in the world, Donovan Waite shihan. As always, I was exposed to a lot of new concepts, and – again as always – it will be weeks before any of it actually shows up in my practice.

God vs. Microsoft

NOTE: for “God” in the following, read “God as commonly understood by Christians”. Also note that I  am not comparing the relative merits of their respective products (Windows vs. all of creation), but their customer service models.

Is there a significant difference? Let’s take a look at how each responds to a reported bug (in the case of God, the “bug” is Original Sin; for M$, just pick your favorite).

A very quiet Samhain

Spent time with my family, soloed Stephen Chatman’s “Remember” (from his “Two Rossetti Songs”) at our UU church’s Service of Remembrance… it’s a gorgeous setting of a poem by Christina Rossetti, poem and a link to a choral performance below.