Chaucer Hath a Blog

My firste blogge poste

My lighte goost ful blisfully is went
Up to the holughnesse of the blogospere,
And now it is hooly in mine entente
To bitche about tonnes of triviale thinges here.
Gentile redere, pray keep my soule from helle
And comment on this poste: R O F L

Quote of the Day

From the VAXJedi:

Everytime a bunch of people take a stand against intolerance of various forms, and call people on intolerance, I hear someone say something like 'aren't you being intolerant of intolerant people?'. When I hear that, I just want to be intolerant of their right to breathe by wrapping my hands around their neck. It annoys me because it's just semantic gymnastics that simply isn't as clever as the person thinks it is.

New Beginnings, for all of us.

Can you do it? Can you walk through this door Cyan has given us, with open heart, open hand, and open mind? Can you start with a blank page, and begin anew?

Who gives a flying squee if such and such a group has a 'hood already? Who cares if so and so has made an avatar? Sure, we can go back to our own little corners and kvetch to ourselves, but are we humble enough to take what Cyan is offering, and make a fresh start of it? Can we let the wounds heal, or will we keep opening them? Can we put away the blame and judgement and rebuild, or, like the D'ni, will our pride keep us down?

What 'they' and 'them' are doing is unimportant. What matters is you. Me. Are we ready for d'mala, and D'mala? I sure the hell am ready to try.

*holds out hand*

Who's coming?

D'mala

How is D'mala that different from UU and the shards we already have?

Several big reasons, most of which can be found on the new UU FAQ:

17) Who are the people in Until Uru who are asking questions and doing surveys?
Employees of Cyan and our licensees will be periodically asking questions and collecting information. Thanks for your input.

19) Does this mean URU Live is coming back?
No, this is just a small step.

20) Will fan Ages be supported?
It is Cyan's goal to allow our fans to begin to write their own Ages. We hope to provide the tools and process in the future. But for now they are not supported.

Contrast this to the original UU FAQ, which made it very clear that we were never to expect new content, that Cyan wan't involved in UU at all, and UU was just something they were allowing.

Now, we have an offical "cannon" shard, where we can anticipate seeing DRC people, there's the potential of Cyan-created storyline, and officially sacntioned content. It fills in the gaps that UU had. And, there was a whole lot of "yet"s in Rand's letter.

I think many of the problems that plagued the community were a symptom of bored people trying to fill the no content void. With the potential of a changing story and enviroment, I think much of that will be eliminated.

And the until in UU is much more than just symbolic, now...

21) Will Until Uru be shut down if Uru Live comes back?
The name "Until Uru" says it all.

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst can be found very cheaply on Amazon. Uru: Complete Chronicles works too, and can be had just as cheaply. Working on getting the tutorial information for the needed dual install.

Conservative or Liberal?

People who self-identify as "conservatives" and have always been considered to be conservatives become liberal heathens the moment they dissent, even on the most non-ideological grounds, from a Bush decree. That’s because "conservatism" is now a term used to describe personal loyalty to the leader (just as "liberal" is used to describe disloyalty to that leader), and no longer refers to a set of beliefs about government.

More at the link.

Convoy!

The itinerary for the Great Mysterium Roadtrip 2006! is up

Quote of the Week

"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers or principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of the flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril, we can never surrender. The future is all around us waiting in moments of transition to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of the future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."

Well, that explains it!

Conversation with a seeekrit Cyantist:

Eleri: Where in the Cyan contract does it say "employees must enjoy the fine art of making the fans sweat." *chuckle*
Unnamed Cyantist: umm in the last paragraph .. Near the line that says we must make comments that seem vague
Eleri: is there a special training for that?
UC: more like watching others..
Eleri: "Enigmatics the RAWA Way", sorta like a spendy weekend seminar
UC: or Enigmatic for Dummies - a cheap book you can buy at Borders
Eleri: heehee

Everybody's a freakin moron

Free speech means you don't get shot and the government doesn't burn your book. It doesn't mean people will take anything you say with a smile. Free speech means people can think you're wrong, and get bloody pissed, and make blog posts from their armchair. Free speech means that the death squads don't come and shoot you for owning a copy of Thomas Payne, it doesn't mean that you can say anything you want without social repercussions. Free speech does not equal acceptance of your opinion as valid.

(more at the link)

Lonely in a crowd

On a good day we can attempt a family outing…on a bad day we stay home and fight over the last two Excedrin at the bottom of the bottle.

That's a quote from another SMS family, but it could just as easily be us. Trying to explain the ups and downs of SMS to 'normal' people often ends up like trying to describe blue to a blind man. Especially when it comes to behavior. Poeople have a hard time beliving that a child can be 'hard wired' to hurt themselves, or that they might really not understand cause and effect. I'm ready to print out little cards that say "No, my child isn't an undiciplined brat, she has a super-rare genetic mutation. Thank you for your compassion." Handing that to someone after they've made a snarky comment may be mean, but it makes me feel better when they eat crow.

Love

RSJM talks alot about how (if I interpret his words correctly) the core of true Christianity is trying to follow Jesus' exmaple of living a life of Love. And while he and I disagree on just what areas of loving one another are OK, the basic message is one I think would make the world a much nicer place if more of us loved. Not just romantic love, or sexual love, or parental/child love, but the idea that everything we do should come from a place of true loving compassion for each other and the space around us. When you talk to someone, when you interact with them, how are you giving them love in that moment? How are you letting your loving self show? Are your actions coming from a point of true compassion and caring, or some other emotion? How would those words and actions, if they were directed at you, impact you?

Autism Fundraiser

If you, or anyone you know, is into comic boocs, or robots, you might be interested in BOTS:

"Inspired by Nic's son Ben, PPS set out to create a project to promote autism awareness and raise money for the Autism Society of America. BOTS is a collection of artwork, donated by many of today's top comic artists. Contributors include Tim Sale, Randy Kintz, Sanford Greene, Lesean Thomas and Craig Rousseau. BOTS is currently in production and will debut at Mega Con in Orlando, FL, February 24th-26th. "

http://projectautism.blogspot.com/
http://www.portalproductionsstudio.4t.com/index.html

Aquila Memorial Auction

Upon the sugestion of several community members, we've put together an auction to help support Aquila's family. Please consider donating or bidding on an item.

Aquila Memorial Auction

Can't Stop The Signal

Firefly: Season 2

hmmm

I find that I'm full of a great deal of anger and pain today. Frustrated at a system that seems to be designed to let parents fail, frustrated at the people who suggest extremes, rather than support smaller actions that'll prevent larger problems.

One of the drawbacks to not being a member of an organised religion is the lack of a built-in support network. And it's not that the desire or the will to help isn't there in most pagan groups, it's that the needed infrastructure dosn't exist. Many churches have resources to draw upon when needed, from social support to financial assistance, and these are often supported by tithes and tax free donations.

I need to take some time today to collect myself.

Honor the Warriors, protest the war

"Talk show hosts like Hannity, O'Reilly and Limbaugh act like they know all about war; then they refuse to give any credence to soldiers like me who have been to war and seen the brutality of war. These guys are nothing but WEAK SPINELESS COWARDS hiding behind microphones while soldiers come home and are losing everything they have."
--Spc. Doug Barber, who took his own life Tuesday, after struggling with PTSD for two years

More backstory here at angry_biscuit's post on the subject.

Look into it yourself. How is the current administration 'supporting our troops' once they come home, unable to serve?

No More Abuse

From my friend John. He is wise.

"What right do you have to be happy?
"You're not good enough, you haven't done enough, and you haven't met my standards. You should feel sad, and anxious and dissatisfied, you should never relax and feel contentment or peace, until you've changed yourself to fit my mold."

Every day people hear those words, or words that mean the same thing. Every day people suffer in silence, wondering if they'll ever measure up. They struggle and carry on, but every time they improve, the standards get stricter, and the criticism harsher.

Does it make matters better if I tell you the abusers are suffering just as much? Or does that give away the punchline?

Shouldn't every victim be allowed to say "Stop! I'm not perfect, but I'm trying! Back off and let me be the best I can! Let me learn who I am, without being picked on and yelled at and scorned and mocked, and once I know who I am, then I can decide if I like it, or figure out what I want to change!"

Would not most victims agree that contempt, mockery, and unbridled criticism are among the worst ways to create positive change?

Ah, but the rules often change... when the victim is one's self.

"it's for your own good"
"the real world is hard, so I have to be hard"
"it's what you need"
"I just want you to live up to your potential"

So harsh and ugly when laid bare, when seen in retrospect, where the full extent of the damage done is visible.

And yet they're done to and by the self with impunity, dozens of times a day, by millions of people across the world... the only time when being a cruel abuser is considered acceptable... or even, sometimes, a virtue!

Crazy world we live in, isn't it?

dreaming

In all my time doing birth related stuff, I've found that one of the biggest challenges has been finding the space to do things. Most of the time we don't need space every day, or even every week, and finding someplace that is cost effective, comfortable, and available is sometimes beyond our ability.

My dream is to have a birth professional's co op, where people can use the space as needed, for teaching classes, or holding workshops, or meetings, or consults with clients. Someplace that parents can call and get hooked up with many different services, and birth pros can call for space, knowing it's going to be a calm, soothing birth-friendly space.

Someday, when I win the lottery ;) Or at least find enough like minded people to start a LLC.

eep

I sent off The Story to be critiqued at a writer's workshop, at the gentle nudging of the organizer, who also happens to be a published author and former Hugo nominee. He seems to think it's good, we'll see if anyone else does.

Also sent it off to a friend of Blade's for an editorial once over, since I know my ability to catch silly spelling and punctuation mistakes is pretty slim.

Resolution for 2006 is to actually submit it to publishers. Heck, I'll even start at the top and send it to Asimov's and F&SF, first. Heh. Maybe.

Great Mysterium Roadtrip 2006

I've started plotting and planning this. The basic idea is for a bunch of us to meet in one place, load people and things into cars, and drive a caravan across to Spokane.

Right now I'm looking at two different routes, from the two big PNW travel hubs, Seattle and Portland. I'm looking at distance, attractions and facilities on the way, and other interesting things along the way. Once I have those mapped out, I'll put up a poll to chose between them.

Some quickie FAQ:

1) This would be a full day trip. Straight driving from either Portland or Seattle runs about 4-5 hours. I dislike driving straight through, and it's impractical with a caravan, so we'd be making regular stops.

2) We'll stay together. If you're the kind of person who doesn't want to be held up by others, or drive only 70, this might not be the adventure for you.

3) There's Stuff to Do along the way, and I want to plan time in for those.

4) There will be some financial outlay. Some of that will depend on what we come up with as far as vehicles, gas, food. No one would be turned away for lack of funds, though! (I might just put them to work...)

5) You will be responsible for getting to the launch pad in Portland or Seattle. I highly reccomend the Amtrak Cascade train for any travel between Vancouver BC and Eugene OR.