Makeover.

So, what do you think?

Changelog:

- Most of the people that I used to read are gone. Some of them will be missed.

- The big, scarlet, scripty 'A' that's supposed to be the atheist logo is fucking ugly. I took it off.

- I like this new template. It's clean and effective.

- I've changed locations. I live in Bahrain now (by 'now', I mean as of two years ago).

Testing.

Hello? *tap* *tap* Is this thing still on?

I wonder if anyone survived the winter.

Blog Action Day, yet again.

The first Blog Action Day in 2007 was about the environment. (my tiny bit)

In 2008, it was about poverty (my other tiny bit).

This year, the issue at hand is climate change.

If you decide to participate, you'll be doing so with names like Google, Greenpeace, The WWF, Avaaz.org, Amnesty International and Care, to name just a few.

Go on, kick up some dust.

Mangoes & Me

It's 3:00 am.

I woke up suddenly about an hour ago. I had been dreaming. Of what, I cannot be certain. A few, fleeting images come to mind.

A beach, very young children, an airplane.

I don't know what to make of them.

But now, as sleep starts to weigh my eyelids down again, my mind is drifting aimlessly.

I'm thinking of mangoes.

Sweet, succulent mangoes.

Of their comfortably familiar taste and smell.

Of how they make me feel like a child again.

Of my grandmother's mango milkshake.

Of how, during summer, my mother used to leave my sister and me in our underclothes and give us one each, and allow us to make absolute messes of ourselves when we were little.

Of how you once tasted of them when I kissed you.

Of feeding them to you with my fingers.

Of the soft slurping sound you'd make as you sucked them into your mouth.

Of the inevitable trickle of juice down your chin.

Yes, I must remember to pick some mangoes up sometime soon.

10 New Commandments Good Ideas To Live And Raise Your Children By

I remember listening as my mother read me the original, biblical 10 commandments when I was a child. My first thought? I'm screwed. I've lied, I've sworn, I've been a brat with my parents and I've had doubts about the bible stories I was told. At about 8 years old, I found myself frantically wondering if I'd committed adultery yet. I was convinced I was going straight to hell.

Now, consider this:

1. Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do unto you.
2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
3. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
6. Always seek to be learning something new.
7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
10. Question everything.

These were originally put together on the atheist website http://www.ebonmusings.com. Here's the full article.

Richard Dawkins mentions them in his book "The God Delusion", describes them as "endearing" (I agree) and adds that somewhere in there, he'd like to find room for these:

• Enjoy your own sex life (so long as it damages nobody else) and leave others to enjoy theirs in private whatever their inclinations, which are none of your business.
• Do not discriminate or oppress on the basis of sex, race or (as far as possible) species.
• Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.
• Value the future on a timescale longer than your own.

My point? You do not need religion or the fear of God to be a decent human being.

These rules aren't absolute. Nobody is going to smite you down and damn you to an eternity of being barbecued alive by an evil, winged, goat-demon if you don't follow them.

But doesn't just reading them fill you with a sense of well-being?

Isn't *this* the kind of thing you want to be reading to your children at bedtime?

Of A Boy

I <3

... how I didn't see it coming.

... how I somehow knew.

... how much he laughs.

... how much he makes me laugh.

... how he smells, even after two days in the same shirt.

... how he's slightly shy about us.

... how he shudders in my arms...

... how my body reacts to the sound of his voice even.

... how he sniffs my face and neck like a little puppy dog.

... how he gushes first and then rambles when he's very sleepy.

... making him laugh out loud when he's at work.

... how he's the only person I know that's been bitten by a goat and knows what a computer screen tastes like.

... his 'Pervy Man' face.

... when he scares the living daylights out of me with his slightly insane hand-holding-head-turning-mouth-kissing stunt while riding his bike.

... the holiday we spent in his hometown, every second of it,
from the crazy beer games, to making love by the light of a giant fish tank to 2 am bike rides through the mountains.

... making him sammiches for breakfast

... how much Pop Rocks delight him.

... his man-slut best friend.

... his right pinky finger.

... how he's more ticklish than I am.

... how he always has the patience to explain how stuff works.

... the way he answers the phone when I call.

... refering to him as 'my boyfriend' :D

... being 'in tolerance' with him.

... how I don't care that I'm gushing, I'm fucking happy.

An Ode To Lust

The stillness of the spring night is momentarily disturbed by the light breeze. A breeze so gentle, it doesn’t even awaken the sleeping birds whose feathers it quietly ruffles.

 

The moon hides among the clouds, cloaking the temple in velveteen darkness, as if it knows. At this, the most ungodly of hours, you can almost hear the temple breathe.

 

Even the crickets seem reluctant in their night song. Something is different. The air is charged with...expectation.

 

She enters without a sound, treading lighter than a whispered prayer. And as she does, there is a stirring. Something deep within the temple walls flickers to life.

 

Her feet caress the warm marble stairs lovingly with every step and she remembers. She has been away for far too long.

The walls reach out to her and she goes to them. She knowingly runs her soft hand over every crack in every sculpture. She murmurs soothingly to the pillars and they almost whisper back in aching response.

 

She reaches the altar, the sacred inner sanctum, the heart of the temple and lights a candle, revealing her nakedness. The air is suddenly filled with the sweet fragrance of jasmines and she smiles into the night.

 

She dances among the flickering shadows and her ancient song makes the angels watching, smile down at her with warmth.

 

The power she wields here is unmistakable. 

She loves the temple and it loves her back.

She brings it to life by her mere presence.

The temple, it worships her.

 

But she is misunderstood, her strength feared. And she is banished from the place she loves, forced to return only when the time is right, under the cover of darkness.

 

For when the dawn comes, at first light, she must flee. She must disappear into the forest and the temple must remain as it was, before she took hold of it.

Nobody will know she was there, nobody would understand. The walls will fall silent and the marble will turn cold. The eyes of the angels will not twinkle with mischief and their hearts will be pure once more.  And the temple will become a place of prayer and devotion as it was meant to be.

 

But for now, they celebrate the night, the temple and its secret lover.