You talking about the live cd (All That Could Have Been), or Still? Still is fucking badass, and is my second fav disc of theirs, behind The Fragile...

Pssh. Newbs. Broken and Fixed beat the hell out of all other Halos (except maybe the Sin single - "Get Down Make Love" just drips sex.)

HA! Hope she gives 'em hell!

Hee! Indeed, that is the plan. I'm packing a backpack full of books and magazines, and the second the judge asks who should be excused, I plan on getting up from the chair in the largest display of "Uncomfy pregnant woman" ever.

I'd also recommend getting the pill-popper device. If you can't get ahold of your vet, call the emergency vet service in your area. What you can do in the interim is crouch over your cat where your body is effectively pinning the cat, open the cat's mouth, pop the pill into its throat, and then hold its mouth closed until you feel it swallow.

If the cat continues to puke up the pill, I'd see if they can give her the laxative in a non-pill format. Maybe if it's soft, it'll piss her off less.

I'm so sorry for you all and the cat.

As someone whose father is a PCA pastor (conservative branch of the Presbyterians), I can tell you quite a bit. Heather is from the liberal, far more reasonable Presbyterian branch

Ecthelion - thank you for the heads up! I'm just familiar with the PCUSA way of doing things. Gah, I'd have a hard time dealing with the straight-up Calvinist doctrine - I'm way too much of an uppity independent thinker.

I can totally get why people raised in such a conservative movement would bail and ne'er go back. Among my friends, I have oodles who were raised Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, or Orthodox Jewish, and almost all of them have left those religions to become atheist or UU. Oh, and my stepmom who left the Catholic church when she was divorced and remarried, so she eased up and became Episcopalian (Catholic lite!).

Now that all of Blue's thinks that I'm a religious nut, I'll have to add the codicil that if'n you all were to meet me IRL, you'd think I was a godless heathen. I prefer to keep my faith to myself, except when I see a direct attack against something I believe to be true.

Wow, Halsy. You make some big assumptions.

Anyway, I mean no offense to those of you who have religious beliefs. I just hope I shed some light upon how I - as an atheist - view the world we live in.

No offense taken whatsoever. A few years ago, I wouldn't have expected that I would be going to church now. I don't disagree with what you are saying whatsoever. I do know that I have this need/calling/inner voice telling me that there is more out there than I can logically explain away through science.

Well, faith is inherently about believing in the absence of (logical) proof, while rational thought is all about logical arguments. To me, that's two completely different things.

To me, faith is a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Personally, I view it as my hypothesis of how the world works. It's not operating in the absence of "logical" proof; it just doesn't require it.

And you know, spontaneous generation had "proof" behind it a few hundred years ago. *ducks*

Ratty,

I agree. We're trying to nail down in one afternoon what people have been killing about for centuries.

"My" Presbyterian faith and flavor is influenced by the local church I go to. The website (PCUSA) represents the largest denomination of Presbyterian churches in the US, with 2.4 million members. (Number of members courtesy of Wikipedia.)

I can understand why you're on the fene between admirable and wimpy in terms of detail decreeing. Personally, I like it. I'm a grown person with a rational brain. I like making the choices that are important.

Presbyterians really don't focus on Hell. Calvinism likes to entertain that more, but that is what the Presbyterians were based on 500 years ago. The religion has changed and grown. As to whether everyone goes to Heaven, I don't know. However, through good actions and trying to live good lives, it would lead to the conclusion that those people who do so would.

(And before anyone asks, my pastor had a nice quote from a sermon last year about religion in the schools. "Let's leave religion in the church, and science in the schools.")

An untestable hypothesis.

Not necessarily. I constantly test my faith based upon the experiences I go through and the things I witness.

(Yeah, I was agnostic for many years. Having a kid changed my world view amazingly.)

(Then again all religion is utterly ridiculous when you look at it under the light of rational thought)

Amen to that, brother!

Hee!

I'm curious - why is there such a dichotomy between faith and rational thought? Faith is just putting a hypothesis out there...

Presbyterians don't condemn people to go to hell. Period. From this article (http://www.pcusa.org/today/archive/believe/wpb0003.htm) "In a 1996 Presbyterian Panel survey only 51 percent of members and 46 percent of pastors said they believed in hell." Since approximately half of Presbyterians don't believe in the existence of hell, it's not really worth it to condemn. I think you are thinking of evangelical religions which are big on the brimstone. We're not fond of hellfire in these parts.

As for whether everyone goes to Heaven or not, I answered it as clearly as Presbyterians can. We believe that God saved us all. He has predestined big stroke plans for all of us, but we have an amazing amount of free will. So if you want to logically suss it out (as a Presbyterian would), since Hell isn't on the table, and God saves us all...where do we go?

Are you familiar with Presbyterian faith and dogma? What is your religious training? Are you confusing us with Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, etc?

Why is anything associated with faith=irrational? Presbyterians and Methodists are amazingly middle of the road.

I can specifically speak to Presbyterianism -
It's based on the tenants of Calvinism. The church believes in doctrine based on the scripture and interpretation by local elders. There's no single authoritarian (unlike Catholics), it doesn't believe that the Bible is straight truth. It's perceived as a set of allergories which have to be examined and interpreted.

Presbyterians express their faith through actions, including education, pursuit of social justice and reform, and giving back to the community. (My church is very active in taking in refugees, building homes in our local town, as well as serving abroad to build hospitals, schools, etc..)

There is no need to confess your sins to a preacher. In church, you take a quiet moment to contemplate your confessions and offer them silently up to God to have them forgiven.

As for whether everyone goes to Heaven or not, God saved us all by the offering up of his only son. (Yes, I'm kidnapping Z and making him go to Heaven with me. )

Baptism isn't done to prevent a child going to hell. It's done to show that God loves us before we can respond and show our love back. It's also a covenant between the members of the church and the baptized child, saying we will all work together to help bring the child up to be a good member of the church.

There's a lot of reading available at pcusa.org if you are so inclined. To sum it all up, this church treats you like a big person. You make your own decisions, you live the best life you can, but you are not bound by evangelical bible readings. There are many open points for discussion, and there is No One Right Truth. We all muddle through it together.

Oh, and...they're reasonable about abortion. Yes, a mainstream religion understands that it's a difficult choice and leaves it to the woman to make the best decision possible. ("We affirm the ability and responsibility of women, guided by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, in the context of their communities of faith, to make good moral choices in regard to problem pregnancies." http://www.pcusa.org/101/101-abortion.htm)

Tivo's are rather cheap nowadays. Plus you can pause live shows when your rampaging children come in to bother you!

Capella,

I'm glad you all had a wonderful anniversary weekend.

Cynips,

Clearly, you all need TiVo.

kanniball said:

Then again, it could have been jealousy that the friend was able to get it on her own while she had to rely on her husband, just like everything else.

I think that's a large part of it. She knows she's completely and totally dependent on Tony, and she'll never be the kind of lady who can completely break away (as evidenced by the fact she relied on her dad, who screwed up on the house, then had to rely on Tony, who screwed up by not calling). She's not in control of her life.
/sst

SST: I think that Carmela wasn't trying to "show off" her Porsche, etc. to the other ladies to be a bitch. I think that's how they honestly communicate with each other. The nature of these mob wives friendships is that they have to talk about acquisitions since they can't talk about what their husbands do at work.

2nd point:
My theory on why her dad used the wrong wood is that he was so old, he was out of touch with current building code. Once he was shown up at the 1st inspection, Carmela had to ask Tony to intercede. As to why Tony didn't, it's a toss-up between he doesn't want her to have success on her own and he just had bigger fish to fry.

3rd point:
I liked the Burroughs voice over. I didn't recognize what work it was from while it was playing, but the voice is memorable. I'd like to go back and see the matchups they did with each soul versus each character (like Memory=Adrianna). It makes me consider how much TV is now made for people who will watch an episode in slow-motion ("Lost") or multiple showings...
/SST

And just who will I procreate with?

I know I am by far the world’s most handsome and sexiest man, but the only woman we have here is Heather, and she is already taken.

Very taken and very pregnant with his spawn.

BTW - I recommend parthogenesis. Sure, it'll take some effort, but you won't dilute your genes!


This comment was edited on Mar 10, 08:25.

Have your mechanic check your "steering stops." My Camry made a similar noise.

Hence one reason I haven't been. I love a good steak, but my wife isn't really a beef eater (prefers chicken or pork, beef upsets her stomach most of the time), so steakhouse visits are very rare.

I'm sorry.

It probably says a lot about us (me and Z) that our first date was at a Brazillian steakhouse/churrascuria in Dallas.


This comment was edited on Mar 8, 17:04.