The Latest News...
First of all, the biopsy of my neice's tumor has revealed a semi-aggressive cancer, and she'll need 18 weeks of chemo. THis is really as good a piece of news as there could be, so we're all guardedly pleased. She's off of her IVs and will be on solid foods soon (just formula right now).
Ilythia and I were interviewed tangentially today by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter concerning our involvement in a peace movement here. We were there to essentially fill out the picture of the group's "leader" (it's a disorganized group, so leader is a comparative term at best) they're going to put with her interview, and they asked us a couple of questions. The reporter was kind of an ass, and asked aggressive questions, but I think we handled ourselves well. We probably won't be in the article at all, but I found it stressful, because I always think there were better things I could have said than what I did say.
I read an interesting quote about Buddhism in my book today: a Christian minister, after the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, said that the Parliament had proved the superiority of his faith, particularly because it showed that Buddhists had no doctrine of original sin. "It is one of the commonest testimonies of Buddhists who have afterward become Christians, that sin as a personal burden was unknown to them."---Rev. M.L.Gordon. It must have horrified the good reverend, all of those Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and so forth going around not feeling guilty about their sinful, sinful selves! I just think that, as a rebuke of the non-Christian faiths, that may be the worst sales pitch in history. "Join Us: you probably don't feel bad enough about yourself" It's a funny old world.
We also went to a brand-new library today, out near Ilythia's dad's, and it was SO COOL! It has a coffee dispenser, a snack machine, these amazingly comfy chairs, and these sci-fi book scanners where you check out the book just by waving the book at them! I see myself spending a lot of time there after work... I got out a book of traveler's tales about TIbet and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, to tie in with the college course on Victorian Britain I'm listening to on tape. Ilythia got out a book on crochet, with which she is currently assembling a pillow cover.
Tomorrow is the Veggie Fest, hopefully, which was cancelled today due to the threat of rain. It didn't rain today, but there was a threat of it. The rain date is tomorrow. It is scheduled to rain tomorrow. Sigh. I just want to experience a festival where, for the first time in my life, I will be around more than 3 vegetarians other than Ilythia and myself. Is that so wrong? Apparently, Thor says "Yes."
Ilythia and I were interviewed tangentially today by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter concerning our involvement in a peace movement here. We were there to essentially fill out the picture of the group's "leader" (it's a disorganized group, so leader is a comparative term at best) they're going to put with her interview, and they asked us a couple of questions. The reporter was kind of an ass, and asked aggressive questions, but I think we handled ourselves well. We probably won't be in the article at all, but I found it stressful, because I always think there were better things I could have said than what I did say.
I read an interesting quote about Buddhism in my book today: a Christian minister, after the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, said that the Parliament had proved the superiority of his faith, particularly because it showed that Buddhists had no doctrine of original sin. "It is one of the commonest testimonies of Buddhists who have afterward become Christians, that sin as a personal burden was unknown to them."---Rev. M.L.Gordon. It must have horrified the good reverend, all of those Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and so forth going around not feeling guilty about their sinful, sinful selves! I just think that, as a rebuke of the non-Christian faiths, that may be the worst sales pitch in history. "Join Us: you probably don't feel bad enough about yourself" It's a funny old world.
We also went to a brand-new library today, out near Ilythia's dad's, and it was SO COOL! It has a coffee dispenser, a snack machine, these amazingly comfy chairs, and these sci-fi book scanners where you check out the book just by waving the book at them! I see myself spending a lot of time there after work... I got out a book of traveler's tales about TIbet and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, to tie in with the college course on Victorian Britain I'm listening to on tape. Ilythia got out a book on crochet, with which she is currently assembling a pillow cover.
Tomorrow is the Veggie Fest, hopefully, which was cancelled today due to the threat of rain. It didn't rain today, but there was a threat of it. The rain date is tomorrow. It is scheduled to rain tomorrow. Sigh. I just want to experience a festival where, for the first time in my life, I will be around more than 3 vegetarians other than Ilythia and myself. Is that so wrong? Apparently, Thor says "Yes."