Earlier this week, I ran a 15K. Funny thing about that, my boyfriend didn't tell me it was a 15K until mile 3 of the run. Apparently he was afraid I'd back out. I don't think I would have, though. It would have crossed my mind more, definitely, but I'm all for supporting loved ones. I was very sore afterwards, obviously, but I'm looking forward to a run tonight. Gotta start practicing for next year! I did it in 1:55 and I'd like to do it in maybe...what, an 1:30? Or at least not be as sore next time!
My house is routinely getting broken into, too. Fortunately, the intruder hasn't done anything (not that he would steal anything...). It all started about a month and half ago when my cat went into heat. The male cats outside went into a panic, trying to get to her. It took about 3 weeks but one finally figured something out. He can get in underneath the sink x.x. Fortunately, he can't get into the house house but he does get in under the sink. We barricaded the cabinet but my poor cat is scared to eat because he's always there. And that would be my intruder x.x So folks, lock up your female cats that are unspayed. Or rather, lock your house from other cats.
If you remember the webcomic I was talking about before:
I finally submitted the first chapter to the artist and have the first 5 chapters sketched. They're short chapters but they're not too bad. I await my first official drawing! Yay!!
On a personal artistic note:
I have a deviant art account!http://raincloudt.deviantart.com/
I like to post pictures that I've taken (shocking) since I can't draw. I've been told they're decent pictures :) Quite a few of them were taken at a Chinese dance production in either Shanghai or Beijing. I finally got around to editing those for color quality and stuff so they look beautiful!
And I've spent the morning working on my amv!! I have a problem though. I was using a guide (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/working_with_dvd.pdf) but some of the stuff I need to download doesn't exist anymore. I'm so close but I can't quite get it! If someone could seriously tell me how to rip dvds... And its not illegal! Its the right to parody. I retain it :P I guess I'm going back to struggling with it :( PM/comment if you can help, please!
I just wanted to comment about how wonderful my apartment is. Out one window, I have a view to die for. But that's not the most wonderful part. See, its a one room thats a floor of a house. So if I sit in my bra on the computer (as I'm doing right now, cuz everything else has cat fur on it), everyone walking up and down the stairs can see me if they look. I think I'm back to being the only girl living in the building? /sigh Some guy and his wife used to live below me but they moved.
Oh, also speaking of my apartment, I have a guilty. The girl who used to live here moved home but she left something that I think might be kinda important to her. As far as I know, the only picture of her baby (that died after birth) has been sitting on the floor of my apartment since we moved in x.x I don't know how to get in touch with her and I haven't seen my landlord in months. I could give it to another neighbor but all he'd do to get it back to her would be to give it to her xhusband and I don't really want to do that (considering he was accused of being the cause of the baby's death). So for now I'm just stuck saying "that poor girl." The last time I saw her, she was crying because it was her baby's birthday. He woulda been 1 :(
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Why Pagan in the United States?
I think it is safe to say that the United States, out of all the Christian countries of the world, is home to the greatest number of pagans. On a visit to the Norwegian embassy, I asked the percentage of pagans in the country. The speaker looked at me funny and said “Why, less than 10%, I think. I've certainly met anyone who is pagan.” “Not even Odinists or Asatru?” I pressed. “Odinists, no. Asatru? Now that is an American thing,” he responded.
One would think that, in a country where Asatru originated, there would be a higher percentage that believed in the old religions. Why is there such a high concentration of people in a foreign country that believe in a traditional religion when few of the people in the original country believe in it?
I believe there are two answers. The first is what plagues the United States as a whole; the search for identity. As such a vast country with so many different people, one begins to see (after meeting so many people) that we are all effectively the same. There is a desire in the United States to be something more than an American, to have a unique perspective. Could be developed more. Sometimes this results in Americans calling themselves by other nationalties. It is not uncommon to hear an American in the United States to say “I'm Italian. My great-grandparents are from Italy.” In most other countries, it is sufficient to be simply of that nation but the United States values foreigners so highly, that people want to identify as foreign at any value. Foreign is interesting, mystical, and sexy. American is normal and boring. That is the general view that causes people to identify as a different nationality. Identifying as pagan, or any other religion than Christianity or Judaism (the two mainstream religions), is foreign. It has the mysticism and the appeal that it is different.
The two desires to be different, to be from a different nation and be a different religion coincide here. If someone is Asatru, that generally means that they can trace their roots back to Northern Europe (granted, there are probably some that just believe). Not only is identifying as Asatru different, but it also gives you a link to Europe. Those are two highly valued concepts in the United States.
The second desire also stems from the vastness of the United States. It is the desire to have a mythology and a history. The United States is such a young country, there are few solely American folk traditions. Most of the folk traditions stem from European traditions. There is a movement to rediscover a folk tradition in the United States but its difficult. There can be no creation stories, we know how the United States was created; there can be few stories about geographical phenomena, the United States has always been too science based to accept a fairy tale. Without a folk history of their own, the United States turns to other countries. Part of the attraction of a traditional religion such as Asatru is the folk tradition. There are traditional theories and ways that are attractive. As I'm not Asatru but rather Celtic, I can only speak to the Celtic way. In the Celtic religion, there is a focus on the community and that there is a spirit in everything. The focus on community is important, being that many Americans feel as if they are losing the community to the city. It is the tradition that there is spirit in everything that more pertains to the current topic. Believing that there is life in a living thing may not seem like a unique idea but in a fast-paced America, it is easy to forget. It is too easy to forget the beauty of nature, and that it is entertwined in everyone's life, inextricably. Additionally, there is a movement in the United States to become more green. Being more ecologically friendly is a heavy part of these traditional religions.
If these things are so good, especially the latter, why do the original countries not have a higher amount of people believing in these religions? Very simply, its because they still believe in a way. The folktales still exist in bedtime stories and the tradition of being ecologically friendly is still a part of life. Even the festivals still exist, in some form.
And this last thing is what the Norwegian ambassador's assistant intimated to my class.
One would think that, in a country where Asatru originated, there would be a higher percentage that believed in the old religions. Why is there such a high concentration of people in a foreign country that believe in a traditional religion when few of the people in the original country believe in it?
I believe there are two answers. The first is what plagues the United States as a whole; the search for identity. As such a vast country with so many different people, one begins to see (after meeting so many people) that we are all effectively the same. There is a desire in the United States to be something more than an American, to have a unique perspective. Could be developed more. Sometimes this results in Americans calling themselves by other nationalties. It is not uncommon to hear an American in the United States to say “I'm Italian. My great-grandparents are from Italy.” In most other countries, it is sufficient to be simply of that nation but the United States values foreigners so highly, that people want to identify as foreign at any value. Foreign is interesting, mystical, and sexy. American is normal and boring. That is the general view that causes people to identify as a different nationality. Identifying as pagan, or any other religion than Christianity or Judaism (the two mainstream religions), is foreign. It has the mysticism and the appeal that it is different.
The two desires to be different, to be from a different nation and be a different religion coincide here. If someone is Asatru, that generally means that they can trace their roots back to Northern Europe (granted, there are probably some that just believe). Not only is identifying as Asatru different, but it also gives you a link to Europe. Those are two highly valued concepts in the United States.
The second desire also stems from the vastness of the United States. It is the desire to have a mythology and a history. The United States is such a young country, there are few solely American folk traditions. Most of the folk traditions stem from European traditions. There is a movement to rediscover a folk tradition in the United States but its difficult. There can be no creation stories, we know how the United States was created; there can be few stories about geographical phenomena, the United States has always been too science based to accept a fairy tale. Without a folk history of their own, the United States turns to other countries. Part of the attraction of a traditional religion such as Asatru is the folk tradition. There are traditional theories and ways that are attractive. As I'm not Asatru but rather Celtic, I can only speak to the Celtic way. In the Celtic religion, there is a focus on the community and that there is a spirit in everything. The focus on community is important, being that many Americans feel as if they are losing the community to the city. It is the tradition that there is spirit in everything that more pertains to the current topic. Believing that there is life in a living thing may not seem like a unique idea but in a fast-paced America, it is easy to forget. It is too easy to forget the beauty of nature, and that it is entertwined in everyone's life, inextricably. Additionally, there is a movement in the United States to become more green. Being more ecologically friendly is a heavy part of these traditional religions.
If these things are so good, especially the latter, why do the original countries not have a higher amount of people believing in these religions? Very simply, its because they still believe in a way. The folktales still exist in bedtime stories and the tradition of being ecologically friendly is still a part of life. Even the festivals still exist, in some form.
And this last thing is what the Norwegian ambassador's assistant intimated to my class.
Monday, February 1, 2010
What Happened to the Other Posts??
As if I had any readers... but, assuming I did, I'd explain why half the posts disappeared. An opportunity has presented itself for me to join the Navy after all, I deleted all posts that I would not want the Navy reading. Not that they were bad, just that I would prefer not to have to explain those things to my superior. I'd probably just take the out of "I was a stupid civilian at the time," but still. So I'm going to try to keep anything military out of this blog from now on, except occasional updates on how my quest to join the Navy is going. Here we go *is excited*!
Vague Plot Idea
Dedicated to my junior and senior year history teacher in high school, I came up with this plot on the bus last week. I was reflecting on life and my recent visit home, at which point I visited my old high school. I was walking around, looking for the teachers I knew, when I spotted this guy in Civil War garb. Who in the world would do this but that teacher? When a teacher says "I want history to come alive for my students," they don't do half of what this guy does. Not only does he occasionally teach class in American Revolutionary War/ Civil War garb (as in, the military uniforms) but he shows pictures during the class. Pictures he took while he was in Europe, visiting these places. My freshman year, he led a hike on the AT to raise money for animal shelters; my senior year, he rode his bike across the United States. Unique guy. So, I thought, how funny would it be if a real Civil War soldier would run into him while he was in the middle of one of these classes?
On the day of the South's surrender, there is a reenactment going on in that area. Through a crack in the time-space continuum, some of the soldiers are transported through time. Some of the original Civil War soldiers are transported forward (discovered after the surrender is over and people are counting those left on each side). One unlucky soldier ends up on a prep school campus hundreds of miles south of his cohorts. When he sees another person in Civil War garb, he gets excited, thinking there is someone else there with him. It turns out that its a history teacher who was wearing the garb during a lecture. The poor soldier doesn't get it and the teacher tries to get him back in time.
The teacher is successful in getting the soldier back in time...but he goes back too. He goes back to the revolutionary war. He tries to not let anyone know that he is from the future but, during one of the battles (probably the battle of Bunker Hill), he gets really excited and it slips out, polarizing the battle.
On the day of the English's surrender during the revolutionary war, the teacher is propelled from the battlefield yet again.
“Surrender is almost magical.”
On the day of the South's surrender, there is a reenactment going on in that area. Through a crack in the time-space continuum, some of the soldiers are transported through time. Some of the original Civil War soldiers are transported forward (discovered after the surrender is over and people are counting those left on each side). One unlucky soldier ends up on a prep school campus hundreds of miles south of his cohorts. When he sees another person in Civil War garb, he gets excited, thinking there is someone else there with him. It turns out that its a history teacher who was wearing the garb during a lecture. The poor soldier doesn't get it and the teacher tries to get him back in time.
The teacher is successful in getting the soldier back in time...but he goes back too. He goes back to the revolutionary war. He tries to not let anyone know that he is from the future but, during one of the battles (probably the battle of Bunker Hill), he gets really excited and it slips out, polarizing the battle.
On the day of the English's surrender during the revolutionary war, the teacher is propelled from the battlefield yet again.
“Surrender is almost magical.”
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