i got tired of presidential politics today

but there was nothing to link to that didnt touch on that subject :(

here are some subjects i came up with that i could write about in the future:

my religious history

butch and femme in the gay world

sergius and bachuss

arab christianity

and as i type them out i imagine all of them would be terribly boring to most folks, but to me they are of interest, so write about them i will ----- eventually. interspersed, hopefully, with humour and satire.

m

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The Charter of Privledges, granted by muhammed to the monks of the mount sinai monestery

it dates to 655AD and the monks of the monastery of Saint Catherine maintain that muhammed himself signed the document. if i were working for the American government to win the hearts and minds of muslims in the middle east i would make good use of this document. for full text and intro from wikipedia click below (photo - Orthodox Cleric hanging out with bedouin muslims who protect the monastery):

The Charter of Privileges is a historic document, granted by the Prophet Muhammad to the monks of Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. It was from the year 628CE, and consisted of several clauses covering certain aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians living under Islamic rule, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.

Here is an english translation of the entire text:

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them.

Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion church, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day of the world."

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SNLs take on the second presidential debate.

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Sarah Palin's connection with the Alaska Independence Party, that wants to secede from the United States

the Alaska secessionist party supported Sarah Palin's run for Governor of Alaska, Todd Palin joined the anti-American Alaska Independence Party and Sarah Palin attended the party's convention and made a speech to their convention. Could you imagine how the media would be all over this if someone like, oh i dunno, Obama, had been so cozy with a party whose platform is this explicitly anti-American?

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I had started to wonder who the supporters still sticking with Mccain were - now i know

*update - finally one of them speaks up:

"Mcain snatched the microphone out of the hands of a woman who began her question with, "I'm scared of Barack Obama... he's an Arab terrorist..." "No, no ma'am," he interrupted. "He's a decent family man with whom I happen to have some disagreements."

"I think McCain is down to seeds and stems," - Rick Hertzberg.

meet the seeds and the stems:

supporters at a Palin rally tell us what they think of the "terrorist" running for president.


The Sidewalk to Nowhere, McCain Supporters in Bethlehem, PA


"we aint votin for no fuckin black."


and as a final treat, note the intellectual prowess demonstrated by the spelling on the political sign below:
"If you're drowning and someone throws you a lifeline--you don't care about the color of his skin." Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell

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Mccain makes freudian slip call us "my fellow prisoners"

hopefully we will be liberated some time soon.

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Ever wish songs just sang what was happening in the music video? Well now they do.

Take On Me: Literal Video Version

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the 8 phases of dating

http://divisibleby0.com/dating/

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Handy Latin Phrases

from here.

Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat.
It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!
God, look at the time! My wife will kill me!

Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?
Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?

Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.
The designated hitter rule has got to go.

Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.
I think some people in togas are plotting against me.

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
If Caesar were alive, you'd be chained to an oar.

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

(At a barbeque)
Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?
Ever noticed how wherever you stand, the smoke goes right into your face?

Sona si Latine loqueris.
Honk if you speak Latin.

Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes
If you can read this you're over-educated



Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.
I think some people in togas are plotting against me.

Vidi Vici Veni
I saw, I conquered, I came

Vacca foeda
Stupid cow

Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi.
Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog.

Raptus regaliter
Royally screwed

Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes!
If you can read this sign, you can get a good job in the fast-paced, high-paying world of Latin!

Gramen artificiosum odi.
I hate Astroturf.

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult.

Noli me vocare, ego te vocabo.
Don't call me, I'll call you.

Nullo metro compositum est.
It doesn't rhyme.

Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema.
I don't care. If it doesn't rhyme, it isn't a poem.

Fac ut gaudeam.
Make my day.

Braccae illae virides cum subucula rosea et tunica Caledonia-quam elenganter concinnatur!
Those green pants go so well with that pink shirt and the plaid jacket!

Visne saltare? Viam Latam Fungosam scio.
Do you want to dance? I know the Funky Broadway.

Re vera, potas bene.
Say, you sure are drinking a lot.

Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
May barbarians invade your personal space!

Utinam coniurati te in foro interficiant!
May conspirators assassinate you in the mall!

Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant!
May faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy!

Radix lecti
Couch potato

Quo signo nata es?
What's your sign?

O! Plus! Perge! Aio! Hui! Hem!
Oh! More! Go on! Yes! Ooh! Ummm!

Mellita, domi adsum.
Honey, I'm home.

Tam exanimis quam tunica nehru fio.
I am as dead as the nehru jacket.

Ventis secundis, tene cursum.
Go with the flow.

Totum dependeat.
Let it all hang out.

Te precor dulcissime supplex!
Pretty please with a cherry on top!

Magister Mundi sum!
I am the Master of the Universe!

Fac me cocleario vomere!
Gag me with a spoon!

Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.
I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?
Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?

Prehende uxorem meam, sis!
Take my wife, please!

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Nihil est--in vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui.
That's nothing--in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor.

Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem!
Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.

Vescere bracis meis.
Eat my shorts.

Sic faciunt omnes.
Everyone is doing it.

Fac ut vivas.
Get a life.

Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
Let's all wear mood rings!

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.
I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

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23 Beautiful and Sustainable Natural Swimming Pools

I never really thought there was such a thing

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Look! Pet Height Pictures

Coco said he wants this :)

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Undecided Racists

from Andrew:

Ben Smith gets an e-mail:

An Obama supporter, who canvassed for the candidate in the working-class, white Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown recently, sends over an account that, in various forms, I've heard a lot in recent weeks.

"What's crazy is this," he writes. "I was blown away by the outright racism, but these folks are f***ing undecided. They would call him a n----r and mention how they don't know what to do because of the economy."

Coates said it best yesterday: "Racism is a luxury that, at this point, a lot of white voters can ill-afford. I think a crucial number of them know that."

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how many people has God killed?

i think it's a legitimate question:

here is an estimate from http://dwindlinginunbelief.blogspot.com :

God drowns everyone on earth (except Noah and his family)	Genesis 7:23, BT	30,000,000?	30,000,000
God rains fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, killing everyone.	Gen.19:24, BT	1000?	30,001,000
Lot’s wife for looking back	Gen.19:26, BT	1	30,001,001
Er who was “wicked in the sight of the Lord”	Gen.38:7, BT	1	30,001,002
Onan for spilling his seed	Gen.38:10, BT	1	30,001,003
7th Egyptian Plague: Hail	Exodus 9:25, BT	30,000?	30,031,003
God kills every Egyptian firstborn child.	Ex.12:29-30, BT	500,000?	30,531,003
God drowns Egyptian army	Ex.14:28, BT	1000?	30,532,003
God and Moses help Joshua kill the Amalekites	Ex.17:13, BT	1000?	30,533,003
For dancing naked around Aaron’s golden calf	Ex.32:27-28, 35, BT	3000	30,536,003
Aaron’s sons for offering strange fire before the Lord	Lev.10:1-3, Num.3:4, 26:61, BT	2	30,536,005
A blasphemer	Lev.24:10-23, BT	1	30,536,006
God burned to death an unknown number for complaining	Numbers 11:1, BT	100?	30,536,106
God sent “a very great plague” for complaining about the food.	Num.11:33, BT	10,000?	30,546,106
God killed those who murmured with a plague.	Num.14:35-36, BT	100?	30,546,206
A man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath	Num.15:32-36, BT	1	30,546,207
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (and their families)	Num.16:27, BT	12+	30,546,219
Burned to death for offering incense	Num.16:35, 26:10, BT	250	30,546,469
For complaining	Num.16:49, BT	14,700	30,561,169
Massacre of the Aradites	Num.21:1-3, BT	3000?	30,564,169
For complaining about the lack of food and water, God sent fiery serpents to bite the people, and many of them died.	Num.21:6, BT	100?	30,564,269
God delivers the Bashanites into Moses’ hands and Moses kills everyone “until there was none left alive.”	Num.21:34-35, BT	1000?	30,565,269
For “committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab”	Num.25:9, BT	24,000	30,589,269
Midianite massacre (32,000 virgins were kept alive)	Num.31:1-35, BT	90,000+	30,679,269
The slaughter of the Anakim, the childen of Esau, and the Horim	Deuteronomy 2:21-22	5000?	30,684,269
God hardened the king of Heshbon’s heart so that the Israelites could massacre his people. (included several cities)	Dt.2:33-34, BT	3000?	30,687,269
God delievered the king of Bashan so that the Israelites could massacre his people.	Dt.3:3-6	60,000?	30,747,269
Massacre of Jericho	Joshua 6:21, BT	1000?	30,748,269
God tells Joshua to stoned to death Achan (and his family) for taking the accursed thing.	Joshua 7:10-12, 24-26, BT	5+	30,748,274
God tells Joshua to attack Ai and do what he did to Jericho (kill everyone).	Joshua 8:1-25, BT	12,000	30,760,274
God slaughters the Amorites and even chases them “along the way” as they try to escape.	Joshua 10:10-11, BT	1000?	30,761,274
Joshua kills 5 kings and hangs their dead bodies on trees	Joshua 10:24-26, BT	5	30,761,279
Massacre of 7 cities	Joshua 10:28-42, BT	7000?	30,768,279
God delivers the Hazorites.	Joshua 11:8-12, BT	1000?	30,769,279
Massacre of the Anakim	Joshua 11:20-21, BT	1000?	30,770,279
God delivered Canaanites and Perizzites	Judges 1:4, BT	10,000	30,780,279
Ehud delivers a message from God: a knife into the king’s belly	Jg.3:15-22, BT	1	30,780,280
God delivered Moabites	Jg.3:28-29, BT	10,000	30,790,280
Massacre of the Canaanites	Jg.4:15, BT	1000?	30,791,280
God forces Midianite soldiers to kill each other.	Jg.7:2-22, 8:10, BT	120,000	30,911,280
God delivered the Ammonites to Jephthah to slaughter.	Jg.11:32-33, BT	1000?	30,912,280
The Spirit of the Lord comes on Samson	Jg.14:19, BT	30	30,912,310
The Spirit of the Lord comes mightily on Samson	Jg.15:14-15, BT	1000	30,913,310
Samson’s God-assisted act of terrorism	Jg.16:27-30, BT	3000	30,916,310
“The Lord smote Benjamin”	Jg.20:35-37, BT	25,100	30,941,410
More Benjamites	Jg.20:44-46	25,000	30,966,410
For looking into the ark of the Lord	1 Sam.6:19, BT	50,070	31,016,480
God delivered Philistines	1 Sam.14:12, BT	20	31,016,500
God forces the Philistine soldiers to kill each other.	1 Sam.14:20, BT	1000?	31,017,500
God orders Saul to kill every Amalekite man, women, and child.	1 Sam.15:2-3, BT	1000?	31,018,500
Samuel (at God’s command) hacks Agag to death	1 Sam.15:32-33, BT	1	31,018,501
God delivers the Philistines.	1 Sam.23:2-5	1000?	31,019,501
“The Lord smote Nabal.”	1 Sam.25:38	1	31,019,502
God delivers the Philistines to David (again).	2 Sam.5:19, 25	1000?	31,020,502
Uzzah for trying to keep the ark from falling	2 Sam.6:6-7, 1 Chr.13:9-10	1	31,020,503
David and Bathsheba’s baby boy	2 Samuel 12:14-18	1	31,020,504
God sent a three-year famine because of something Saul did.	2 Sam.21:1	5000?	31,025,504
Seven sons of Saul hung up before the Lord	2 Sam.21:6-9	7	31,025,511
From plague as punishment for David’s census (men only; probably 200,000 if including women and children)	2 Sam.24:13, 1 Chr.21:7	70,000+	31,095,511
A prophet for believing another prophet’s lie	1 Kg.13:1-24	1	31,095,512
Baasha killed everyone in the house of Jeroboam “according to the saying of the Lord.”	1 Kings 15:29	1000?	31,096,512
Zimri killed everyone in the house of Baasha “according to the word of the Lord.”	1 Kg.16:11-12	1000?	31,097,512
God delivers the Syrians into the Israelites’ hands	1 Kg.20:28-29	100,000	31,197,512
God makes a wall fall on Syrian soldiers	1 Kg.20:30	27,000	31,224,512
God sent a lion to eat a man for not killing a prophet	1 Kg.20:35-36	1	31,224,513
Ahaziah is killed for talking to the wrong god.	2 Kings 1:2-4, 17, 2 Chr.22:7-9	1	31,224,514
Burned to death by God	2 Kg.1:9-12	102	31,224,616
God sends two bears to kill children for making fun of Elisha’s bald head	2 Kg.2:23-24	42	31,224,658
Trampled to death for disbelieving Elijah	2 Kg.7:17-20	1	31,224,659
God calls for a seven year famine.	2 Kg.8:1	10,000?	31,234,659
Jezebel	2 Kg.9:33-37	1	31,234,660
God sent lions to kill “some” foreigners	2 Kg.17:25-26	3+	31,234,663
Sleeping Assyrian soldiers	2 Kg.19:35, 2 Chr.32:21, Is.37:36	185,000	31,419,663
Saul	1 Chronicles 10:14	1	31,419,664
God delivers Israel into the hands of Judah	2 Chronicles 13:15-17	500,000	31,919,664
Jeroboam	2 Chr.13:20	1	31,919,665
“The Lord smote the Ethiopians.”	2 Chr.14:9-14	1,000,000	32,919,665
God kills Jehoram by making his bowels fall out	2 Chr.21:14-19	1	32,919,666
God delivered the Israelites into the hand of the Chaldeans.	2 Chr.36:16-17	1000?	32,920,666
Ezekiel’s wife	Ezekiel 24:15-18	1	32,920,667
Ananias and Sapphira	Acts 5:1-10	2	32,920,669
Herod	Acts 12:23, BT	1	32,920,670

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iron penis competitions - it's an asian thing mostly at this point....

nothing i would EVER want to do - doesn't gravity and age take care of that itself?

"On October 29, 2000, an unbelievable qigong stunt caught the world’s attention. Three men dragged a truck loaded with 100 passengers a meter across a Taipei parking lot. While towing a meter isn’t very far (even with a 10-ton load) the size didn’t matter as much as the method. They pulled it with their penises. That’s right - read that again if you must - three men hauled 10 tons of truck and passengers by roping their penises to the truck fender and pulling backwards. These men practice the most forbidden qigong kungfu of all - they train their genitals. "

relevant articles listed below:


http://flux64.wordpress.com/2006/11/16/iron-penis-qigong-training/

http://sacredjournal.atspace.com/video.html

http://sacredjournal.atspace.com/

The International Journal of Sexual Kung-Fu

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home decorating - i know it's - again, a limited interest subject but it's one of my interests....

Zohreh's Anti-Depressant Color

What inspired you to use color? I live in Michigan where it is very dark and dreary for a good portion of the year. How depressing! So I guess you can say that those bright colors are my Prozac. And. . .paint's cheap and I'm not a rich lady!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/fall-colors-2008-midwest/midwest-7-zohrehs-antidepressant-color-065455

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the "Come help a Nigger get elected" post brought a quick comment - this is in response - niggers and faggots and ... poor dorothy, o my!

i thot this comment should get it's own space since it is, in the end a whole new subject:

the comment linked to the below video about African Americans and the "n-word":

(i dont like that the faggot video at the bottom starts automatically and tried to look in the code to see if i could disable that but i didn't see it :( sorry about that - what if every vid on here started automatically?! it would be complete chaos!) so hurry down and push pause on the second video below then watch in the correct order....



first, an African-American take on the N word then second a Gay take on the Faggot-Word.



and that made me think of this video which i have been holding onto wondering when i could post it as well - about homos and the "other f-word":

Gay video from AfterElton.com

matt says : i have heard the word faggot at least once a month from the time i could understand english i'm sure. it totally doesn't bug me and i am one of the momos who have used the word as a "term of endearment" for other momos. i also dont usually blink when i hear it. it's something i hear so very often even now - it's sort of along the lines of the word "retard" - lot's of teens call each other that, as well as call each other fags. i don't think clamming up about will really help either. everyone gets tired really quickly when a group declares a word "of limits". it starts to fall under the heading of "politically correct" and that tends to make the more rebellious folks amongst us want to use it even more - gay or straight. well, i do agree with his end statement - "if you're going to be obscene, at least know what it means" :)

final thot - if you watched both vids... "well, some of us do act like... N at times..." "well, some of us DO act like faggots at times!" another difference is that many (not all) homos can "pass" for straight. some Americans of African descent have also "passed" but it is much more difficult because it does not just involve behavior (which is the number one give-away as to who is a homo) it also comes down to a simple issue of racial features that are easily perceived by the eye no matter how one were to act.

faggot is usually used to disparage any male who acts in a way that society, at this time, demes feminine - and i know we gays often do! and i think what some gay people want to transmit about using the word faggot is - "so - what's wrong with that?"! of course that would bring us into a whole new post about femme and butch gays... but alas that will be for another time. though it has entered onto my list of future posts ;)

and fag-hag, i stopped using because NO fag hag uses it in reference to any other fag-hag, and it is not appreciated by anyone... a lesson hard learned.

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Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

or not!

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT BUSH...10/04/08, 10/05/08

these people ARE STILL OUT THERE!

Pray for President Bush - Day - 2945 Pray for McCain/Palin - Day - 39

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how to effectively handle negative attack ads

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10 Creepiest Old Ads

10 Creepiest Old Ads

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"hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan"

all from here: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/10/today_in_geography.php

Three days after a mostly gaffe-free debate performance, the Alaska governor fumbled during a speech in which she praised U.S. soldiers for “fighting terrorism and protecting us and our democratic values”.

“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan,” she told several hundred supporters at a fundraising event in San Francisco.

There’s some speculation that she meant that Afghanistan neighbors Iraq. But, of course, it doesn’t. Here’s a map to help clear things up:

Here’s a previous map I made about McCain’s belief that Iraq is adjacent to Pakistan.

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The intellectual brilliance and subtle nuance just shines through! "C.H.A.N.G.E. = Come Help A Nigger Get Elected."

While some parents and community activists were outraged by the actions of Greg Howard, Jackson County NAACP officials want to gather more facts before the group considers taking action. But some parents feel Howard should be fired.

Larry Moore, deputy superintendent for the Jackson County School District, said school officials determined Howard wrote an acronym with an explanation on a dry-erase board in his class Sept. 26 at Marianna Middle School.

It said, "C.H.A.N.G.E. — Come Help A Nigger Get Elected."

full article.

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almost an hour of 1970s tv commercials - and yes, the crying indian is in there

70s TV Ads

i started watching this collection of commercials from the 1970s and i actually sort of tranced out on it and watched the whole hour of it!part of it was basic nostalgia i guess since they cover - roughly - my first ten years on earth, but there was a little more. i thought about a few different things while i zombied out on these ads.

while so much of it is sheer cornball, some of the fashions and furniture is surprisingly up to date. i couldn't help noticing that allot of major unthinkably unbreakable "rules" of today are blithely ignored, seat belts, car seats, cigarettes, alcohol, sexism, crazy processed food-stuffs - and everything chugged along with a cheery, upbeat and optimistically mellow soundtrack. amazingly we survived all these nowadays no-nos.

they also made me remember that answering machines, dvds, vhs, cell phones, computers, the internet, cable tv - almost everything i use for entertainment didn't even exist at all. but then on the other hand neither did any of those bills: netflix, comcast cable, comcast internet, att cell. i had also forgotten that tv simply stopped broadcasting during the late night all together.

it was also hard for me to remember the concept of making a phone call without the assumption that it would necessarily go through - either to the person or to their voicemail but that most of the time when you made a call back then it just rang and rang and rang, or else you got the busy signal sometimes for an hour or more. no messages. no phone in your pocket for "emergencies", no coming home to a bunch of messages to sort through and deal with and no being interrupted when you were out and about getting stuff done or spending time with actual real life people. emails and txt goes without saying.

it made me wonder what my day to day life would be like right now and why i can't really remember what it was that we did with all of our time before?

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now i know how palin spent that debate preperation time - watching this - Betty Boop for president

she even gets the wink down right!

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Interesting article on `sworn virgins', a traditional ancient gender alternative in Albania

below an article from: http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/world/2008/10/05/D93KDETG0_eu_albania_sworn_virgins/index.html

(also if u want more info :The social role of the "sworn virgin" in the Balkans from wikipedia)

Oct 5th, 2008 | SHKODRA, Albania -- Drene Markgjoni spent 12 years in a hard-labor camp, punished for her fiance's attempt to flee Albania's regime, then one of the world's most repressive and isolationist. She swore she would never suffer like that for somebody else again.

She pledged to forgo sex and marriage for the rest of her life, and declared herself a man.

That was six decades ago. Now 85, with close-cropped white hair, dressed in a man's blue striped shirt and black trousers, she greets visitors with a manly handshake. The way she walks, her confident gestures, everything about her is masculine.

Only her voice — soft and feminine — reveals her to be one of the last sworn virgins in Albania: Women who dress, act and are treated as men.

"I am happier like this," she says. "I don't regret it at all. Not a hair on my head does."

In this strongly patriarchal society where for centuries women had virtually no standing, sworn virgins enjoyed the same rights and respect as men. They could inherit property, work for a living and sit on the village council, although without the right to vote.

The privileges came at a price. They took an oath of celibacy and could never have sexual relations. And they could never go back to being women.

There are no official figures, but Antonia Young, a research fellow at the University of Bradford in Britain who has studied the practice for more than a decade, estimates that Albania had about 100 sworn virgins in the early 1990s. That number is now almost certainly much lower, as the practice and the women die out.

The reasons for becoming a sworn virgin can be practical — the head of the family dies with no male heir. Or they can be emotional — the woman does not want to marry the man chosen for her.

In Albania, particularly in the impoverished rural north, it was practically inconceivable for a woman to remain single and live alone.

But by becoming a man, Markgjoni was free. She could earn a living and eat and drink with men instead of being restricted to the kitchen. And she could adopt two habits denied to a traditional Albanian woman: smoking and wearing a watch.

She says she has worked in carpentry and farming, and in construction in her youth when, she proudly exclaims, she carried concrete slabs with the strength of two men.

Markgjoni still works, though now her job is less physical: making rosaries for her Catholic church in the northern town of Shkodra.

"I have had much more respect with my people, my family," she says.

The practice of sworn virgins stems from the Kanun, medieval laws handed down orally for generations before being codified in the early 20th century. It transcends religion, with sworn virgins found among Albania's majority Muslim community as well as the minority Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

In Albania's male-dominated society, a woman had virtually no rights: According to the Kanun, "a woman is known as a sack, made to endure as long as she lives in her husband's house." She could not inherit property, and work was limited to child-rearing and household chores.

Anthropologists stress that the tradition of sworn virgins, with its emphasis on celibacy, does not equate with homosexuality, which did not become legal in Albania until the 1990s.

"It's kind of the opposite extreme," says Young. "In one way, sworn virgins support patriarchy, because they support the feeling that you've got to have a man at the head, and this woman can be a man."

On the other hand, Young notes, "this would be a way round for a woman who had homosexual inclinations."

Traditionally the decision to become a sworn virgin turned on social reasons like not having enough men in the family, but recently it has become more a matter of the woman's choice, Young says.

With a deep rumbling voice and a distinctive swagger, Diana Rakipi, a security guard at a clinic in the seaside town of Durres, explains she always had a masculine outlook.

Rakipi, 54, who trades her security guard's cap for a military beret when not in uniform, never felt much like a girl.

"I have never worn a skirt," she says during a break at work. "It was not imposed by anyone for me to do this, nobody made me wear these clothes. I chose it."

Her Christian Orthodox family accepted her decision, and she has enjoyed the respect of her relatives and community ever since, she says, with nobody questioning her right to earn a living as she chooses.

"Nobody dared to ask me why don't I get married," she says. "I am considered No. 1 in my family."

This is the last generation of sworn virgins, according to Aferdita Onuzi, a professor at Tirana's Cultural, Anthropology and Arts Research Institute. In Albania these days, women enter parliament, government ministries, and the police force.

When Qamile Stema was a child, there were two sworn virgins in Barkanesh, a village perched in the hills above the northern town of Kruje. Stema, the youngest of nine girls, decided to stay and take care of her mother when her three surviving elder sisters married and moved away.

Now 88, dressed in baggy pants with a black waistcoat over her shirt and sporting the traditional white woolen cap of northern Albanian Muslim men, Stema is Barkanesh's last sworn virgin. She has lived a freer, if lonelier, life, she says.

"I have talked with other men, traveled with other men, even teased the women," she says. "Even when I went to dances, I danced as a man."

She has the unwavering respect of her family, she says. She has no regrets.

"I decided never to marry and I don't complain for that decision," she says. "Especially nowadays, all the old people are alone. I am alone. I don't complain. Because their children have left, and they are not different from me, the couples."

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