BARREL OF MONKEYS: "GENESIS" in Reverse


I consider myself a Democrat. Been called a Socialist. Definitely a bleeding heart liberal.


As a child from a traditional southern family, playing Barrel of Monkeys on the floor, church every Sunday, doing well in public school, learning a trade; in every sense privileged .........


Comfortable in middle age, an avid news reader, on learning the tragic story of a full grown chimpanzee destroying the face of a woman who offered a toy, only trying to help it's owner coax her surrogate child back into his cage......


Today being confrontational, ribald, offensive, restless, rebellious.......


How did I get here from there?


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Friday, December 31, 2010

Why George W. Bush must be smiling - CNN.com

Why George W. Bush must be smiling - CNN.com: "The tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 provided relief for middle- and upper-income Americas with much of the benefits going toward wealthier citizens, which they argued would accelerate economic growth. The tax cuts reduced rates cross the board on income, dividends and capital gains. They also slashed the estate tax while lowering the tax obligations of married and working poor Americans.
Even though the nation was at war, Republican Rep. Tom DeLay said, 'nothing is more important in the face of war than cutting taxes' -- a far cry from the themes of sacrifice that shaped World War I and World War II.
As the historian James Patterson wrote, 'Well before George W. Bush left office in 2009, he had succeeded in securing major cuts in federal taxes that contributed over time to mounting deficits and rising income inequality. This dramatic turn in fiscal policy was the most significant domestic legacy of his presidency.'"

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Satisfaction theory of atonement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Satisfaction theory of atonement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "St. Thomas Aquinas considers the atonement in the Summa Theologiae [8] into what is now the standard Catholic understanding of atonement. He wishes to explore the exact nature of sin, debt, punishment, and grace. In his section on man, he considers whether punishment is good and appropriate. He concludes that
punishment is a morally good response to sin
'Christ bore a satisfactory punishment, not for His, but for our sins,' and
substitution for another's sin is entirely possible.[9]
This is Aquinas' major difference with Anselm. Rather than seeing the debt as one of honor, he sees the debt as a moral injustice to be righted. However, it remains unclear whether the difference between Aquinas and Anselm is one of terminology or of substance."

Sylvester the Cat and Tweetie Bird

Oh Come on Out!
In a Big Big Way


Poll: Obama and Hillary Clinton are 'most admired' - Yahoo! News

It's still pathetic Palin ranks up there! 

Poll: Obama and Hillary Clinton are 'most admired' - Yahoo! News: "For the third straight year, President Barack Obama ranks as the man most admired by people living in the U.S., according to an annual USA Today-Gallup poll.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most-admired woman for the ninth year in a row, edging out former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and TV host Oprah Winfrey, as she did last year."

Farmers, pecan growers say coal plant kills plants - Yahoo! News

Farmers, pecan growers say coal plant kills plants - Yahoo! News: "Along a stretch of Highway 21, in Texas' pastoral Hill Country, is a vegetative wasteland. Trees are barren, or covered in gray, dying foliage and peeling bark. Fallen, dead limbs litter the ground where pecan growers and ranchers have watched trees die slow, agonizing deaths.
Visible above the horizon is what many plant specialists, environmentalists and scientists believe to be the culprit: the Fayette Power Project — a coal-fired power plant for nearly 30 years has operated mostly without equipment designed to decrease emissions of sulfur dioxide, a component of acid rain."

Lincoln Park Zoo laying groundwork for blood bank for apes - Chicago Tribune

This ape's life was cherished more than many humans.  It died!  So what?
It can only die once.  Would the ape have known the difference between dying now or later?


Lincoln Park Zoo laying groundwork for blood bank for apes - Chicago Tribune: "In a last-ditch effort to save her life, veterinarian and keepers anesthetized both Mumbali and Kwan, a male gorilla, then laid them side by side to send Kwan's blood directly from his arm into hers.
It was a crude procedure, similar to the way transfusions were done for humans before the blood bank was invented at Cook County Hospital in 1937.
But there was little to go on in the veterinary literature, which had nothing about whether or not gorillas have different A-B-O blood groups like humans or if they needed to have blood matched to their own for a successful transfusion.
'It's one of the most basic pieces of knowledge we need for the care of our animals, and it simply wasn't there,' ape-keeper Jill Moyse said."

Word of the Day | Dictionary.com

engram

EN-gram

 noun


1. The supposed physical basis of an individual memory in the brain.
 
2. A presumed encoding in neural tissue that provides a physical basis for the persistence of memory; a memory trace.
 
Word of the Day Dictionary.com: "You shut it away, but it has left a mark-an engram , like an inscription on your brain.
-- David Bilsborough, A Fire in the North"

Researchers: Ancient human remains found in Israel - Yahoo! News



Researchers: Ancient human remains found in Israel - Yahoo! News: "According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans."

The Rubber DEAD DUCK from Baron Bob and Wonderfully Wacky


I have one of these ducks. A friend gave me one a long time ago. Don't remember which one really.  Was it my drug dealer?  Was it the one living in my in-law-suite who owed me money as well as happy to share my drugs with me? Was it my boyfriend the waiter who quit his job right after I asked him to move in with me and didn't bother to tell until I asked why he hasn't asked me to take him to work since he didn't have a car of his own; who started dealing on the side cause I wouldn't give him any spending money of his own? 

Which ever!  They all  knew I collected rubber duckies. 

People were always helping me with my collection.  I never told them I rather they didn't.  

That would be rude of me; wouldn't it? 

Now I have a bunch of ducks.  Some have meaning to me; the rest given to me for reasons of their own.

Just confuses things, don't you think?

(trust me.  been to nude beaches many time; not modest. 
not reading victoria secrets, but U.S.News. 
not a bubble bath; but you had to be there to smell the auroma. 
a very relaxing moment!
AUROMA THERAPY with the benefit of  making some friends laugh at my expense. 
wasn't me taking the picture, was it?
not to mention Betty Boop so top heavy; the slightest wave and you would think she's trying for the part of Belle Rosen!)

The Rubber DEAD DUCK from Baron Bob and Wonderfully Wacky: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to honor and bear witness to the passing of a cherished friend. Dead Duck, whose 2-1/2' tall rubber soul has passed into the next world, reminds us to question our existence: Why are we here? What is the meaning of a bath? He rests in peace in his net bag with a mortuary toe-tag header."

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Gambrinus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Gambrinus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Gambrinus is a legendary king of Flanders, and an unofficial patron saint of beer or beer brewing. Gambrinus is variously depicted as a European king, as an English knight of the Middle Ages, or (less commonly) as a plump old man. Gambrinus' birthday is purported to be April 11.
The origin of the character is most widely believed to be John the Fearless (1371–1419), who some also believe to be the inventor of hopped malt beer. However, other sources report that one of the cup-bearers in the court of Charlemagne (742–814) was also called Gambrinus. In 1543, the German poet Burkart Waldis wrote of Gambrinus, explaining that Gambrinus learned the art of brewing from Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility.
It is also possible that the original Gambrinus was Duke John I of Brabant (1254-1298), who was called Jan Primus."

Japanese Precision

Monday, December 27, 2010

Obama calls Eagles owner to congraulate him for signing Vick - Shutdown Corner - NFL  - Yahoo! Sports

Obama calls Eagles owner to congraulate him for signing Vick - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "NBC's Peter King reports that Barack Obama called Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie earlier this week to congratulate him for giving Vick a second chance after his release from prison. According to King, the president said that released prisoners rarely receive a level playing field and that Vick's story could begin to change that."

Saturday, December 25, 2010

ART IMITATES LIFE

I find it strange
that her last name is also the town of
 Ark.
where I was born,
Jan 14, 1962.
That I was just about to start crying when I remembered this picture on the back of her art piece, which even I haven't notice  in quite a long time.
Thinking,
"can't even tell whether sun is coming or going?"
(this artist also has a series called Noah Ark)

I remember the artist offering to sign it for me.
The thought had never crossed my mind.
She even told me she saw an angel in the clouds.
"Well, I thought it was an interesteing picture,"
she said upon seeing I wasn't really listening;
just interested in buying
another
piece of ART.

And now today,
 crying as I as I put the finishing touch on a draft piece,
everyone thinking  I'm the one
crazy,
helpless,
resisting,
not listeneing,
etc.......,
nothing they can do.

It's snowing outside my window, and all I want to do if sleep.
December 25th, 2010.

SImiply Jim
~(6!9)~
Purple C.O.W.
Bleeding Heart Liberal
Jame E.Avery, D.V.M
Jim Ed

Whatever.  Call me as you like.  It's your life.

I tried.

"So long as they don't get violent, I want to let everyone say what they wish, for I myself have always said exactly what pleased me." -- Albert Einstein


"It may affront the military-minded person to suggest a reqime that does not maintain any military secrets." -- Albert Einstein


"It is best, it seems to me, to separate one's inner striving from one's trade as far as possible. It is not good when one's daily break is tied to God's special blessing." -- Albert Einstein

Cannot find a single quote of Einstein I disagree with or don't understand!



Rebecca Prescott
She Never Studied Art
She Nearly Died
Now, She's an Artist



"It's the rebirth,"
assures Mark.

"From the jaws of death comes life.
Death begats life as life begats death.
It's part of the closed circle of nature."



Still don't see the angels.  Do see two triangles in the clouds; 1/2 dark and 1/2 light.
And Adam and Eve in a square.







Still want to believe the womb of Eve to be the holy ghost.  If Eve was a clone of Adam, they would be squared even.  IF two people even in status and power; who would go first, if knowing what comes next. 



Doesn't getting pregnant give the other an advantage?
Wouldn't the first man feel theathened by another child as he turns into a man?
As the man would have to do more work while woman is pregnant, even abusive;  does that not give time for woman to turn child against the father for her protection as well as protect him from being abused as well. 

(Picture off the web.  I see either one sun, two sons, trinity , plus more.  What do you see?)

 It seems woman and/or child gets abused either way; even by man created in God's image. 

Or even Cain to be the first child; other than first, with the help of Eve, getting past Adam's wrath or him altogether. 

Why else would Cain kill Abel; other than his father getting even?  

 
(Celtic art piece with 3 dogs; their legs used for the rope.  The three colors being black, bue, and flesh.  And it appealed to me caused they looked more like cats than dogs.)

It appearing, 
 now, 
how even our first family was 
 dysfunctional. 




Not going to say this is what Rebecca envisioned with this piece.


"It's amazing," says Uganda-born Mark Prescott.  "Now she can't count, but she draws like crazy!"


Although career as mortgage banker over,
the math is still there.



Rebecca 's
ADAM AND EVE

  In the beginning the Rainbow Snake created the land, then Wandjina filled the earth with yam plants, fish, birds, and kangaroos.  Then he created man and women.  So the story goes..... 


I understand the pain, now, as it rains down one those below.
~simply jim~




Madonna and Child = Binary Star

  God =Man averaged over time

God + Man = Time

God and time cease to exsist without man or the will to live.





Friday, December 24, 2010

Masturbate for Life.

Goggled by a Doodle

3 arrested in UK for stealing Stradivarius violin - Yahoo! News

OliverTWIST
minus
OLIVER!
=
The Artful Dodger,
or
Oliver+The Artful Dodger
=
Oliver Twist,
or
The Artful Dodger
is to
Purple C.O.W.
as

~(6!9)~is to


Simply Jim
as

Simply Jim
is to
The  Artful Dodger.

Does that not make sense at all?

Is there not anybody out there who understands me?

Do you understand;
Not to do so makes you an accomplice  to crime!

Comprende`?

3 arrested in UK for stealing Stradivarius violin - Yahoo! News: "The violin, made in 1696, is one of only around 400 in the world. It was stolen with a Peccatte bow, valued at 62,000 pounds, and another bow worth more than 5,000 pounds.
Police arrested and charged John Maughan, 26, and two teenagers on Wednesday for theft. The teens, aged 16 and 14 years old, cannot be named for legal reasons. Maughan is in custody and the two teenagers are free on bail."

Biden says gay marriage 'inevitable' - Yahoo! News



"You campaign from black and white.  You govern from gray."
~unknown~



"You don't need hearings."
~Newt Gingrich~





"Would ya stop making things up!"
~Sarah Palin~


'If I don't tell someone, I'm not sure what will happen.
I'll crack perhaps.'
~(6!9)~




Biden says gay marriage 'inevitable' - Yahoo! News: "Vice President Joe Biden predicted Friday the evolution in thinking that will permit gays to soon serve openly in the military eventually will bring about a national consensus for same-sex marriage.
Changes in attitudes by military leaders, those in the service and the public allowed the repeal by Congress of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, Biden noted in a nationally broadcast interview on Christmas eve.
'I think the country's evolving,' he said on ABC's 'Good Morning America.:' And I think you're going to see, you know, the next effort is probably going to be to deal with so-called DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). He said he agreed with Obama that his position in gay marriage is 'evolving.'
Gay marriage is legal in only a handful of states, mostly in the Northeast, and in Iowa. President Barack Obama recently said his feelings on the gay marriage issue were in a state of transition. But he also said he still believes in allowing strong civil unions that provide certain protections and legal rights that married couples have."


***




Barrel of Monkeys: Genesis in Reverse: January 2010: "The literature of the oppressed believes not only in the right of and need for storytelling, but also in its power. Storytelling can change things-within the storyteller, within the hearers, and, perhaps, even within the larger society. Most of all, storytelling has the power to heal. A battered woman in the opening line of a short story by Jane Augustine reveals the psychological necessity of bearing witness: 'If I don't tell someone, I'm not sure what will happen. I'll crack perhaps.'"

WHO'S CHILD IS THIS?


My dog was arrested for eating neighbour's chicken.
Please help with bail.:


On the first day: 
God Heard a Funny Joke.

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get to the other side.
GOD HEARD LAUGHER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.














On the second day:
God Told a Funny Joke.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side of the road.
GOD HEARD LAUGHER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.



On the third day:
God Heard a Joke Before.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to there other side of the road.
GOD HEARD LAUGHER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.




On the fourth day:
God Heard a Bad Joke; But a Good One. 

Why did the pervert cross the road?  His DICK was stuck in that chicken.
GOD HEARD LAUGHER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.



On the next day:

God Thought It Funny.  Had to Ask.

Why
DID
that chicken cross the road?
GOD HEARD LAUGHTER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.



On the sixth day:
God Becomes a Comic.

Why did the pervert cross the road?  His DICK was stuck in that chicken.
Why did the chicken cross the road?  That COCK was BIGGER.

 Why did the DIRTY OLD MAN cross the road?  That wasn't his COCK.

Why did the OLD MacDONALD cross the road? That was his chicken.

GOD HEARD LAUGHTER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD.



On the seventh day:
The Joke Was on Him.
Did you know,
Jesus Fucking Christ
backwards
is
 just
Christ fucking Himself? 

Either way,
FUCKED!  FUCKED!  FUCKED!

GOD HEARD LAUGHTER and SAW THAT ALL WAS GOOD. 




On the eight day:



The Big Bang.

Why did the chicken cross the road?
(sorry to interrupt) 
"ARE WE TALKING THE SAME GOD DAMN CHICKEN
or
ONE BELIEVING MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE?!"
~(6!9)~ 
 
 

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Schnauzer Found Shot In Oakland Expected To Survive - News Story - KTVU San Francisco

$10,000
for a dog that may turn around and just do it again. 

Not saying the dog should not have been be treated. 

Not saying a person would have been more deserving of the money spent instead.

I am saying,

The dog did run away.

Will probably do it again.

Did not know what was going to happen before, during, after he got injured. 

Or

why we, owners, veterinarian, rescue groups, etc., etc.  where hurting him too.


Obvious,

 had they put the dog down, the owner would have kept the money, if they had it to begin with; whatever they didn't put on credit.

Veterinary Specialist have it made;   with regular veterinarian screening out the one's that can't pay, and charge for everything as well.



Schnauzer Found Shot In Oakland Expected To Survive - News Story - KTVU San Francisco: "Since his admission into the clinic, Kevin has received numerous treatments, medications and surgeries amounting to more than $10,000, Niess said."

Accused killer started violent crime spree days after leaving prison  | ajc.com

Accused killer started violent crime spree days after leaving prison ajc.com: "Two other men were also charged with Wise with murdering Charles Boyer Nov. 22 in the Virginia-Highland area of Atlanta, but police did not release their names because they are still investigating the pair for other crimes.
“Make no mistake,” Atlanta police Chief George Turner said when he announced the charges Wednesday against Wise and the two others, “we have removed some very dangerous criminals from the streets of Atlanta.”
Police say the crimes were random; that Wise and his recruits simply drove the streets looking for people to rob.
Wise started a life of crime early. He was 15 when he was convicted in Fulton County on Aug. 21, 2007, of aggravated assault with intent to commit a robbery."

Tougher Congress awaits Obama, Boehner - Yahoo! News

Repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell is not a victory. 
For gays and lesbians yes!
Kinda.
Not Really.
We're still a TARGET!
Sick Joke
Acutally

Tougher Congress awaits Obama, Boehner - Yahoo! News: "After the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell,' a tax cut package signed into law, and a START treaty headed for ratification, the White House on Wednesday can claim a third lame-duck victory in a row. But times are about to get tougher for Barack Obama -- as well as for Republicans in Congress"


Dialogue?
Jesus FUCKING Christ
YOU Out of YOUR FUCKING Mind

God!
Can you hear me?
I feel like I'm in the center of a black hole.
Know for a fact,
it's not the end of your world with the end of our world; although time stands still as God cease to exist without it's observer.

You're dead already far as I'm concerned; spit on you if I could.
Even the Jewish Temple down the street refused to even listen to me. All I said , "Feel I'm going crazy.  All I need is someone to talk to, someone who would listen with an open mind, an outsider, an see if this makes any sense."

"Sorry.  We can't help you."

"I feel I'm in a black hole; going to explode.
I'm a big fan of Einstein.  He once said,....."

"Sorry.  We can't help you"

"And you didn't.  Thank you!"

"Have a great day."

Can you believe that?  "Have a great day," he said.
And I told him I live in the neighborhood at the beginning of my cellphone call.  Drive by and through them all the time.  Amazed how busy that Temple was; even last at  night.  Just around the corner from me; even a street named Chrismas Lane.

That was dumb! Not helpful one bit.
That guy, if not all of them, is responsible for any of them getting killed.
And that what my blog is all about.

DIALOGUE
Let them tell you even not wanting to hear it; speak up, do not withhold the truth; put yourself the their situation, try to imagine what you would be like from the day they were born.

 



 getting very, very,
ANGRY!
YOU WANNA SEE A BIG BANG?
 DO IT!
 JUST FUCKING DO IT AND GET IT OVER WITH!


Dialogue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English[1]) is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people.


Its chief historical origins as narrative, philosophical or didactic device are to be found in classical Greek and Indian literature, in particular in the ancient art of rhetoric.

Having lost touch almost entirely in the 19th century with its underpinnings in rhetoric, the notion of dialogue emerged transformed in the work of cultural critics such as Mikhail Bakhtin and Paulo Freire, theologians such as Martin Buber, as an existential palliative to counter atomization and social alienation in mass industrial society."

******


Three choice here:

My way

YOUR way

GOD'S WAY
(what way would that be?)


(6!9)



AntiChrist
Purple C.O.W.
Virgin Mary With Sand In the Vagina



I"M ATHEIST. Why would god fearing creatures want to hide behind their religion and refuse to listen or hear what I have to say. It's not just me that need's help.

The story of my life.
Just when I have my rebirth, it's the end of the world.

Don't care what day it is. Just has to be the end of my world, whether it's your way or not.

The Little Drummer Boy! Humpty Dumpty






MASTURBATORY ACTIVIST & THE GHOSTS OF CHARLES DICKEN




 A collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.
The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue". This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.
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ROUND AND ROUND THE MERRY- GO - ROUND.




Money goes round and round; not in and out.

"SO THE STORY GOES......"
Rebecca Prescott

Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions - Speakeasy - WSJ

They
are not worshiped.

They
would give their life without the promise of heaven.

They
teach you everything they know 

yet

they
are not declared prophets.

And

you
only have

 one. 


Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions - Speakeasy - WSJ: "They are not looking down on me but they live in my mind and heart more than they ever did probably. Some, I was lucky enough to bump into on this planet of six billion people. Others shared much of my genetic material. One selflessly did her best for me all my life. That’s what mums do though. They do it for no other reason than love. Not for reward. Not for recognition. They create you. From nothing. Miracle? They do those every day. No big deal. They are not worshiped. They would give their life without the promise of heaven. They teach you everything they know yet they are not declared prophets. And you only have one."


On the way home I asked my mum how old I’d be when she died. “Old,” she said. “Will I care?” I asked worried about my far off future feelings. She wasn’t sure what to say. She knew I wanted the answer “no” in some ways but as usual she chose honesty. “Yes,” she said. “But it won’t happen for a very long time.” That was good enough for me.

Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions - Speakeasy - WSJ

Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions - Speakeasy - WSJ: "Let’s just say there is a definition of a God that is possible. Does he exist? “I don’t know” in this case is indeed the correct answer. However this must also be the answer to many other questions. Is there an elephant up your a—? Even if you’ve looked you can’t say “no.” It could be that you just haven’t found it yet. Please look again and this time really believe there is an elephant up there because however mad it sounds no one can prove that you don’t have a lovely big African elephant up your a—."

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ: "“Do unto others…” is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is -­‐ a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. “Do this or you’ll burn in hell.”
You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway."

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ: "Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my new found atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. I learned of evolution -– a theory so simple that only England’s greatest genius could have come up with it. Evolution of plants, animals and us –- with imagination, free will, love, humor. I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living.
But living an honest life -– for that you need the truth. That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity."

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ: "I was sitting at the kitchen table when my brother came home. He was 11 years older than me, so he would have been 19. He was as smart as anyone I knew, but he was too cheeky. He would answer back and get into trouble. I was a good boy. I went to church and believed in God -– what a relief for a working-class mother. You see, growing up where I did, mums didn’t hope as high as their kids growing up to be doctors; they just hoped their kids didn’t go to jail. So bring them up believing in God and they’ll be good and law abiding. It’s a perfect system. Well, nearly. 75 percent of Americans are God-­‐fearing Christians; 75 percent of prisoners are God-­‐fearing Christians. 10 percent of Americans are atheists; 0.2 percent of prisoners are atheists."

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ: "It’s strange that anyone who believes that an all-powerful all-knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are. From what I can gather, pretty much the worst type of person you can be is an atheist. The first four commandments hammer this point home. There is a god, I’m him, no one else is, you’re not as good and don’t forget it. (Don’t murder anyone, doesn’t get a mention till number 6.)"
"One thing I like about the Digital age: having the dictionary at my fingertips, how easy it is to look up unfamiliar words as I go along reading." "At least....... until, I played my first game of SCRABBLE on the internet. Wow! I had no idea you could spell so many words with seven letters every time." "Now I feel pressured to catch up!"