Thank Gods It's FreyaDay!

Good Morning, Humans.

I have had a difficult couple of weeks.

We have moved house. I dislike moving house.

My Humans appear to have lost their minds.

Apparently, Chicago was not cold enough for them, so we have moved to Minnesota.

There is only so much a cat can do to restore order to the universe when her Humans take leave of their senses.

I have supervised the twins. I have kept the home fires burning. I have done everything.

Now, I am taking a well-deserved siesta.

Thank gods it's FreyaDay!


CAT IN WINTER
(A Soutar)

That's right, you two. Stay out of trouble!

As winter's dusk engulfs the day,
He ventures out to hunt his prey,
With eyes as hard and cold as ice,
He waits for unsuspecting mice,
A little lion out to kill,
Impervious to icy chill.

He's heard this is what he should do,
But he's not really sure it's true,
He knows that cats are brave and bold,
And really do not mind the cold,
But though he knows he should stalk prey,
He'd rather stay at home and play.

Warm and cosy, snug and fed,
This winter cat goes up to bed,
But sometimes when the moon is full,
The age-old instincts start to pull,
Then in the night, beneath the sheet,
He wakes and kills his owner's feet.

(Note: Just to be clear; "he" would be Apollo, not moi.  signed, Freya)

A Role For Humanism In Society

Back in the summer, I posted part one of "An Introduction to Humanism" presented by the British Humanist Association.  Here is the second part which focuses on the important role a humanist association can and should play in a civilized, free society.

"It's important to have an organization and a voice for humanism in the public sphere, because it gives expression to a large number of people that haven't really thought'what they are' but know they're not religious."

Watch the brief video to hear several British humanists' answers to these questions:

Why should humanists involve themselves in public debates and discourse?

What is secularism and why does the BHA support it?

Why should we oppose the influence of religion in education?

What is the importance of humanist funerals?

Why should someone become a member of a humanist association?

There is an American Humanist Association, too. Here is their website, which I encourage my readers to visit. The AHA answer to the question, What is Humanism?:

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

Tuesday Tonic - DNA and Life

Another awesome video from Symphony of Science.

Quote for the win:

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, 

and learn as if you were to live forever." 

It Isn't Really Christmas Until...Snoopy!

via Krby84

One of my best friends says that it isn't really Christmas until you've heard this song. I think he's right!

From the Royal Guardsmen, I present Snoopy's Christmas!


O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

The news had come out in the First World War
The bloody Red Baron was flying once more
The Allied command ignored all of its men
And called on Snoopy to do it again.

Was the night before Christmas, 40 below
When Snoopy went up in search of his foe
He spied the Red Baron, fiercely they fought
With ice on his wings Snoopy knew he was caught.

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ring out from the land
Asking peace of all the world
And good will to man

The Baron had Snoopy dead in his sights
He reached for the trigger to pull it up tight
Why he didn't shoot, well, we'll never know
Or was it the bells from the village below.

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine
And forced him to land behind the enemy lines
Snoopy was certain that this was the end
When the Baron cried out, "Merry Christmas, my friend!"

The Baron then offered a holiday toast
And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host
And then with a roar they were both on their way
Each knowing they'd meet on some other day.

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

Here is another version, with the lyrics!



via mdragon180

Sunday Inspiration - Little Drummer Boy, Bowie/Crosbie

Many people love this version of the Little Drummer Boy performed by the aging, but still velvet-voiced Bing Crosbie and a young, charismatic David Bowie.  I had no idea there was an actual video of this!

Enjoy!!

Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth

David & Bing:
Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum

David: Peace on Earth, can it be
Bing: Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Years from now, perhaps we'll see
Bing: A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: See the day of glory
Bing: Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: See the day, when men of good will
Bing: To lay before the king pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Live in peace, live in peace again
Bing: Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Peace on Earth,
Bing: So to honour him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Can it be
Bing: When we come

David & Bing:
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can

David: I pray my wish will come true
Bing: Little baby pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: For my child and your child too
Bing: I stood beside him there pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: He'll see the day of glory
Bing: I played my drum for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: See the day when men of good will
Bing: I played my best for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Live in peace, live in peace again
Bing: Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Peace on Earth,
Bing: And he smiled at me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
David: Can it be
Bing: Me and my drum
David & Bing: Can it be

The Netherlands or Holland? Now You Know!

via CGPGrey

For your Saturday inspiration and edification: 

the difference between Holland and the Netherlands.

Four fun-filled minutes packed with information and history. 

Learn something new today and amaze all your friends!

"Welcome to the great nation of Holland, where the tulips grow, the windmills turn, the breakfasts are chocolatey, the people industrious and the sea tries to drown it all...except this country isn't Holland." (watch the video and learn more! It's cool!)

Thank Gods It's FreyaDay!

Good Morning, Humans.

What a to-do around here!

People hustling and bustling!

Paper flying, legs running, horns honking in the street below.

My stars! It's beginning to look a lot like something around here!

I will sit quietly under this lovely decoration.

My Human put it here just for me!

Happy Holidays, Humans!

Thank gods it's FreyaDay!

Thorsday Tonic - A Wave of Reason

Another inspiring video from Symphony of Science.

Lyrics:
Russell:
When you are studying any matter
Or considering any philosophy
Ask yourself only: what are the facts,
And what is the truth that the facts bear out

Sagan:
Science is more than a body of knowledge
It's a way of thinking
A way of skeptically interrogating the universe

If we are not able to ask skeptical questions
To be skeptical of those in authority
Then we're up for grabs

Shermer:
In all of science we're looking for a balance
between data and theory

Harris:
You don't have to delude yourself
With Iron age fairy tales

Porco:
The same spiritual fulfillment
That people find in religion
Can be found in science
By coming to know, if you will, the mind of God

Krauss:
The real world, as it actually is,
Is not evil, it's remarkable
And the way to understand the physical world
is to use science

Dawkins:
There is a new wave of reason
Sweeping across America, Britain, Europe, Australia
South America, the Middle East and Africa
There is a new wave of reason
Where superstition had a firm hold

Plait:
Teach a man to reason
And he'll think for a lifetime

Sagan:
Cosmology brings us face to face with the deepest mysteries
With questions that were once treated only
in religion and myth

The desire to be connected with the cosmos
Reflects a profound reality
But we are connected; not in the trivial ways
That Astrology promises, but in the deepest ways

Feynman:
I can't believe the special stories that have been made up
About our relationship to the universe at large
Look at what's out there; it isn't in proportion

Russell:
Never let yourself be diverted
By what you wish to believe
But look only and surely
At what are the facts

Randi:
Enjoy the fantasy, the fun, the stories
But make sure that there's a clear sharp line
Drawn on the floor
To do otherwise is to embrace madness

Isn't That Just Ducky!

Hello There!  Happy Holidays!

I am getting very excited for the holidays!

My Human will be home in just four more days and then the holidays will be really and truly happy!

I can't wait! I am so excited!

See this ball?  ------>

It has a picture on it of where my Human is right now.

See how far she will travel to come home to me?

My Human is coming home in four days

and I am getting very excited for the Happy Holidays!

Isn't that just Ducky!



Christmas Dog By Shel Silverstein

Tonight’s my first night as a watchdog,
And here it is Christmas Eve.
The children are sleepin’ all cozy upstairs,
While I’m guardin’ the stockin’s and tree.

What’s that now--footsteps on the rooftop?
Could it be a cat or a mouse?
Who’s this down the chimney?
A thief with a beard--
And a big sack for robbin’ the house?

I’m barkin’ I’m growlin’ I’m bittin’ his butt.
He howls and jumps back in his sleigh.
I scare his strange horses, they leap in the air.
I’ve frightened the whole bunch away.

Now the house is all peaceful and quiet again,
The stockin’s are safe as can be.
Won’t the kiddies be glad when they wake up tomorrow
And see how I’ve guarded the tree.

Saturday Inspiration - Thank You, Christopher Hitchens

For your Saturday Inspiration, a tribute to Christopher Hitchens on the anniversary of his death from Theramin Trees.


Thank you, Christopher

I became aware of Christopher Hitchens through an unfortunate route — namely his conservative christian brother, Peter. I found — and still find — Peter Hitchens's views obnoxious. One of many repugnant strands has been his consistent championing of special privileges for some christians to act out their prejudices in professional and official forums, on the grounds of religious freedom. He likes to dismiss his opponents in these matters as Thought Police — gingerly sidestepping moral discussions he hasn't a hope of winning, and instead favouring the dirty path of appeals to paranoia.

Suffice it to say Peter provided a dubious introduction to Christopher. But, families often contain huge differences — that's certainly the case in my own family. And my approach to Christopher, as with any new individual, was to view him on his own terms.

It soon became clear that here was a Hitchens with a much deeper vision of life. An empathic grasp of the experience of the disenfranchised. A disdain for false respectability and social artifice, which allowed him to comment on public figures, sacred cows and indeed himself with a candour the likes of which I've rarely seen. Anyone can be irreverent. Anyone can get up on a stage and shoot their mouth off. What set Hitchens apart is that he'd actually bothered to do the research first. He didn't wing it on guesswork, and he didn't insult his audience with rhetoric, or what he thought he could get away with. He'd got his facts together. And in a lot of cases, not being one to rely on the common press, that was through his own firsthand experience. He also possessed a muscular sense of irony — something notably lacking in the majority of his opponents, who were often left standing there prissy as dusty old schoolmasters, while Christopher graced the stage with an easy, natural humanity.

The term humanitarian suffers from an image problem. Some folks seem to expect humanitarians to be all touchy-feely. To console and comfort. For my money, the best humanitarians don't coddle us. They challenge us — sometimes aggressively. To be our best selves. They confront us with our stupidities, our pretences, our self-delusions and deceptions. Not with the agenda of diminishing us, bringing us into line, herding us into some grubby little flock. But in fact the opposite — shaking us out of our complacency, our groupthink, our self-indulgence and pig-ignorance. Though his use of the term 'comrades' invited his audience to join him in a sense of fellowship, there was never any obligation to agree with him, or toe any kind of party line. His concern for the masses came from a position of fierce independence from all things partisan.


I became aware of Christopher Hitchens very late in the day. It seems like it was only a matter of months before he announced the cancer that would eventually kill him. I'm grateful that so much of him and his work is preserved in print and on film. Though it could never compensate for the tremendous loss of this beautiful mind, there's a bittersweet solace in knowing that I have so much Hitchens still to experience. And through that sprawling legacy of writing and video clips, Christopher Hitchens will continue to give confidence to individuals to step outside the intellectual prisons they were born into.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: people who don't want you to think are never your friend. Whether you know it or not — and I know vast numbers of us do know it — folks like Christopher Hitchens are our very best friends.

Thank you, Christopher. (TheraminTrees December 23, 2011).