Wiccan, Pagan, Texan

Well, crap. I guess I have to actually work today.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitter_facebook_and_livejournal_down_at_the_same.php

"If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice" by Carla O'Dell/C. Jackson Grayson, Jr

Whatever your views on her acting abilities or career, she was a courageous woman who played out a very private battle under a very public microscope. She shared her struggle with cancer in a way that stripped the "blonde beauty icon" label away, and revealed a touching, gritty, determined soul.

RIP, Farrah. May your strength on this journey be the inspiration to others that you hoped it would be.

Found on another forum. Thought it might be of interest for discussion. Post your thoughts in the Comments area.
_______________________

Did the gods create man, or did man create the gods?

If man created the gods, can man also destroy the gods?

If the gods created man, then WHICH gods created man?

If man created the gods, did they grow as men grew?

If the gods created man, have they changed since they created man?

Obviously, I enjoy blogging on LiveJournal. My finger is in the pot of MySpace, Blogger, Twitter and some other social network sites. It's fun and interesting to talk to others about common interests, and get new perspectives.

But there are SO many options out there! I have to wonder; how does anyone find enough hours in the day to do ALL of them? It's exhausting just keeping up with some. I've had to do some self-examination (aka, "step away from the keyboard") to narrow things down to what I would really actually use, vs joining something because it's "in." (Yes, Twitter is still teetering on the edge, but I am loathe to give it up just yet.) However, it seems some folks are literally everywhere.

My Pack Rat Syndrome nature does tend to lend itself to collecting blogs and profiles, partly due to a proprietary bent about my on-line name and partly to being drawn to bright shiny objects. Like the advertisement for "Up," the next Pixar movie. "I am Dug the dog, my master made me this collar to.... SQUIRREL!!" My tendency is, "I am Seshen, I like to talk about Wicca and current events, and..... NEW ONLINE TOY!!!!"

Thankfully I'm not into gaming or virtual communities like Second Life, or this post would be moot.

So, I was curious. What do YOU get out of blogging and social networking? Any of the reasons above, or something else?

I'm getting a bad feeling.

"ABC News has confirmed that two Lufthansa planes flew virtually the same route as that taken by the Air France jet just before and after the missing flight, traveling through any bad weather without incident."

The plane was relatively new (around 4 years), built to withstand direct lightning strikes and violent turbulence, engines able to function without electricity and having several backup systems in place (according to the expert I watched on TV this morning). But debris spotted indicates a likely breakup in the air.

Coupled with the above confirmation, I just don't feel right about it. Obviously, my heart goes out to those poor people and their families. But since it's occurred, please let it be a freak accident and nothing more sinister.

Best wishes to our new San Antonio mayor, Julián Castro, as he enters office today.

I didn't even notice that there is a LOT more than eateries on that list. Check out the whole thing!

Rain, rain, DON'T go away! We've had consistent thunderstorms through last Thursday, with predicted same through at least Wednesday of this week. It's been great for the yard, since we are encouraging the fence ivy to grow and planted a couple of fruit trees last month. My bursitis is not happy, but I can live with that.

Went on a housecleaning spree this 3-day weekend, and our formerly cluttered storage room is now looking fabulous. Boni now has another "man-cave," though it will technically be the common area for art projects. Storage cabinets previously on the patio are now inside the storage room, so our huge patio has returned! I knew there was a nice area underneath all that chaos. The dog is overjoyed, because we leave the patio door open when someone is working in the common area so he can wander in/out freely. The patio is covered, so we are looking at installing a water mister for the summer months (like they have at places like Sea World, on a small scale). It's supposed to drop the enclosed area around 10-20 degrees, which would work out great for the Texas 90-100+ temps.

Alexandria is now pretty much moved into the larger bedroom; she's thrilled with all the extra space. It was supposed to be a summer project, but since we were in the mood, she can soon have friends visit and sleep over during summer vacation rather than having the room in a state of flux. It still needs painting, but now she has time to pick her color out while enjoying the space.

I've taken over her previous bedroom as a personal study area. Eventually it will be repainted as well.

Catherine got her engagement ring back from the jeweler (had her maternal great-Grandmother's diamond put in a new setting), so now she can show off the bling.

Family time: I still win consistently at Scrabble, but Alexandria was only 19 points behind me the last game. She used to get frustrated, but as we told her, the older you get the more words you accumulate.

And that's the 3-day-weekend update.

Mulling over adding a Pagan Clergy section to the S.A. Pagans web site. I have mixed feelings about this. A lot of folks don't know where to look, who to ask, about available priests and priestesses in the local area for pagan marriages (legal or symbolic). It would be a convenience to have a listing. On the other hand, there's always the potential for some "I have no credentials, but I claim clergy status because I'm a Free Spirit/etc and I'll create a big stink if you challenge me on that" drama. I'd hate to have my web site linked to someone unstable and/or woefully unreliable, especially for such an important rite.

So, what do you think about the idea? Pros and cons solicited.