CelestiniosityCelestiniosityExplores a wide range of events and issues in a creative, even-handed, and often quirky manner. Topics range from politics to mythology, from reviews of cheap liquor to the meaning and reason behind modern tragedies. It's about modern culture and o
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Articles
The Bad Guy Epidemic
2008-01-10 22:50:00 There has been a slowly emerging trend in fiction over the last fifteen years or so. Replacing the simple goodness of protagonists such as King Arthur and the simpleminded goodness of heroines such as Snow White, we have a growing contingent of more complicated, morally ambiguous characters taking center stage in our stories. ... More About: Epidemic
The Kali Principle
2007-12-28 22:43:00 Fire DancerA great deal of emphasis is given in our stories to tales of magical creation. Wishes are granted, and the coveted item appears out of thin air. The birth of a child, in many relgions, is the beginning of salvation. The creation of a building, or an artifact, or a concrete ... More About: Kali
The Polar Bear Threat to Organized Religion
2007-12-13 23:39:00 It?s about power, not about God. Photo by MJ Mac. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) Last night, I went with my family to see . It was the Christian efforts, in fact, that first got my attention directed toward the work, and their complaints which made me want to see it. This is ... More About: Religion , Polar Bear , Polar , Threat , Bear
Blueprint for the Disintegration of America
2007-12-10 23:49:00 Recently, there has been an increasing amount of talk centering on the possibility (or even probability) that President Bush and his administration are going to declare martial law and bring around a new fascist state. There has been a lot of predictable nodding and hand-wringing on one side, and just as equally predictable laughter ... More About: America , Blueprint
Should We Freak Out About H.R. 1955?
2007-11-12 23:32:00 One of the more disturbing bits of news to hit headlines today was that back in October, the House of Representatives passed a bit of legislation entitled Violent RadicalizationPhoto by kaerast. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, H.R. 1955. Reading quick synopses and evaluations of this bill, one ... More About: Freak
Why We Need Halloween
2007-10-29 23:54:00 Photo by Matt Reinbold. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) Even outside the church, there are concerns that it promotes unhealthy food choices. It scares the little ones. And to top it all off, it’s dangerous, with its glorification of violence, poisoned and razor-bladed treats, and the way it encourages children to take candy ... More About: Halloween , Allo
Staring Into The Abyss
2007-09-17 18:59:00 The real thing doesn?t photograph well. You will have to go with my symbolic representation. Pic by me. For some people, it is simply a culmination of small things, over the years, and it is impossible to pinpoint the one that tipped us over. However we get there, most people, sooner or later, find themselves ... More About: Staring , Abyss
I Hate Babies
2007-08-06 01:04:00 In case you missed the ?satire? tag?of course I believe everything I said here. Photo by billy verdin. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) I was reading over one of the terribly predictable unbelievably repetitive many debates about the “moral basis” for and against abortion today, when it suddenly hit me: I suppose I should ... More About: Babies , Hate
Eight Things You Just Can?t Say In The U.S.
2007-07-28 00:45:00 In thinking about taboos recently, it occurred to me that while some of them are obvious (no peeing in public, for example), some of the cultural standards with the deepest impact are the ones which are hardest to see: those dealing with ideas. Here in the United States, we champion our freedom, and get ... More About: Things
The Way of Books: An Interview With Brendan Sherar, CEO of Biblio
2007-06-27 01:14:00 The Lord of the Books Seven years later, the company has managed to carve a solid niche for itself in the field and continues to grow and thrive from its base in Asheville, North Carolina. I contacted Biblio’s CEO, Brendan Sherar, for an interview, hoping to get a little insight both into how this ... More About: Interview
Legalize Marijuana or Hand Over Your Guns
2007-06-21 01:17:00 It came up when I searched for ?high?. Photo by Coulsey. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) Let’s take just a moment and consider some fundamental paradoxes within the United States’ legal system. We like to think we are the nation of freedom, the nation of get-ahead, the nation of self-made men and women ... More About: Guns , Marijuana , Hand
A Question of Reality
2007-06-11 15:32:00 We think we know what reality is. Our lives are filled with work, sex, and food that we consider to be real. The processes within your mind, where you categorize the input of your senses and turn it into recognizable patterns, you also consider real. For most of human history, reality has ... More About: Reality , Question , Ality
The Pervasive Idealism
2007-05-29 16:55:00 Of all the labels others have tried to stick to me in my life, there seems to be one that keeps coming around, no matter what face I may choose to wear or what path I am travelling: Idealist. It seems to be the place where my discussions with those who hold fundamentally different belief ... More About: Idealism
The New Battleground: Freedom of Speech
2007-05-11 15:15:00 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” —First Amendment of the Constitution Once upon a time, our civil ... More About: Freedom , Freedom of Speech , Speech
Kids These Days
2007-04-30 18:49:00 Before we go any further, there is something you should know about me. I was one of those kids. The scary, weird kids that you try to keep an eye on, ’cause you know there is something wrong, but you don’t know what to do about it. The kids that you say ... More About: Kids , Days
Poltergeists, Superpowers, and The Tao
2007-04-25 21:11:00 When I was about ten years old, my Mom laid down the law: I was old enough to sleep in my room with the door closed and the light off. I don’t know exactly why she felt compelled to declare such a policy at that time, though it could have had something to do ... More About: Poltergeist
Vampire Mythology and Corporate America
2007-04-19 02:45:00 Tales of vampires have been with us for thousands of years. The Babylonians had Lilith, who reputedly had a thing for sucking the blood of babies. The fiends lurk in the most unimaginable places?The Greeks had the lamaias, also with a penchant for the little ones. The Ashanti had Asabonasam, the Haitians had Loogaroo, India ... More About: America , Mythology , Corporate , Vampire , Corporate America
Considering The Vision: Dennis Kucinich
2007-03-10 05:09:00 Dennis Kucinich ran for President in 2004, and garnered at best 17 percent of the vote in the state primaries. He is back in the running for 2008, but the question remains: what does Kucinich think he has to offer that we haven’t seen before? More About: Vision , Dennis , Erin
Reclaiming Ownership
2007-03-10 05:07:00 It is one of the greatest risks of living in a capitalistic society: where money is the presumed basis for happiness, each person grows up implanted with a susceptibility to marketing. Humans have been trying to sell each other on their ideas since the beginning of time, and we have made an art form of ...
All About Eve
More articles from this author:2007-03-02 16:51:00 I found myself in a church classroom today. How and why I got there is unimportant to this story. The important thing is that I was sitting there in a little kid’s plastic chair, and I looked over at the various propaganda posted on the wall for the children to read, stumbling on the ... 1, 2 |
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