Thoughts, Observation, and Things Left Unsaid

A Rambling Post For a New Month

2009-06-02T02:02:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for it has been some time since I have blogged. This past spring has been unbelievably busy though, so I have rarely had any time to do anything. The bad thing is there are so many things that I really need to work on that I haven't even had time to start. Maybe doing a little blogging will get me motivated to take on my list.

I am not sure how many of you might know this, but I have been accepted into grad school. I'm starting the Master of Arts in Teaching (History Concentration) this month. It's a one year program, but when all is said and done I will have my masters and a masters teaching certification. Maybe after I get out of school this time I will be able to find a decent job. Then again with all the cuts being made in education these days; I don't know.

Speaking of Jobs... I've gotten two leads on part time jobs the past few weeks. One is a grad assistant position at Joyner Library. The pay is great and the position sounds like it would be great fun, but the other position has really caught my attention. The DRE (Director of Religious Education) position at the local Unitarian church (UUCG) has recently opened up.

That's right folks. A job where I can actually use one of my degrees, and get paid for it. I never thought that would happen. Granted it is a part time job, but from what I can tell the pay is pretty decent. One thing is for sure, if I get it the job at Travelodge goes bye bye. I am very qualified for the DRE position and I want it. I will have that position... So Mote It Be!!!!

That thought leads me to my next. I've been Chair of ENCP for almost a year now, and look how little I have been able to accomplish. We've got a meeting on the 27th and I really need to get organized for it. I need to get people there too. I know we need to be planning the Ball, but there are some other things. We need to get the cook book finished. We need to plan some educational events. Then there is the May Fair. I would really like to see the first May Fair come about under my watch. We've all been so busy and life has be rather tumultuous for some of us. I really need to pull us together and move us forward. The term “herding cats” comes to mind. Of course I am just as catty as the rest. (LOL) Hmm, had to check the dictionary to see if I used that term correctly, I think I did. (LOL)

There is one major event happening in the next couple of weeks. The tenth of June will be mine and April's ninth anniversary. I need to get her a decent present this year. What do you give as a present for the ninth anniversary though? I have been given an ultimatum. April has commanded that for our next anniversary she receive something shinny and expensive. What am I suppose to get for our anniversary? I better not ask that question. Honestly, the greatest anniversary present I can ever get is the love of my wife. (and I say that not expecting April to read my blog, she never does.)

Well, I guess that's enough of my rambling for tonight. I'll try not to let so much time pass before my next blog. Good evening, morning, or afternoon to you all.

Beware the Specter of Religious Fanaticism

2009-02-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

It seems that the local newspaper has been posting an unusual amount of right wing fundamentalist related editorials as of late. I’m not sure if this is due to religious conviction on the part of the editorial staff of the Daily Reflector or the idea that having Christian fundamentalist editorials might provide some sort of entertainment value. It could also be that a group of religious fanatics have decided to deluge the local paper with pro-Christian letters in an attempt to bring others to their way of thinking. It is important to remember that the smallest group can make a great deal of noise.

Let me be clear, I am not against using a privately owned newspaper editorial to express one’s views. However, when it comes to religion I have to wonder if there is a conservative bent. I believe that has actually been the trend in recent editorials. This is actually obvious in both religious and political editorials. The ratio seems to be about three to one in favor of the extreme right.

Folks, we have to remember that at this time there is an angry minority out there that is hell bent on revenge for what they see as a rejection of their core values by society. These people politicize their religious and cultural values to a reactionary extreme and they were rejected in the last election. They are angry and they are going to be very vocal over the next few years. They are going to scream that their values are the right one’s and that every problem, disaster, or failure our nation might face is a direct result of our collective rejection of their holy values. They will also scream that those of us who do not share their views are persecuting them at every turn.

Honestly, it is my fear that we may see an up tick in the persecution of those who do not agree with the Christian right. This will be especially true in areas where they are still in control. They will be on guard to “protect the path of the righteous”. This means that those of use who do not follow the same path as the fundamentalist must also be on guard. We will have to watch each other’s back.

I sound paranoid don’t I? Well, I am slightly paranoid because there is no room for negotiation with people who believe that there can be no compromise. As a religious liberal I distrust the right. Then again I distrust anyone who tells me that his or her way is the only way.

Just be careful out their folks. Just because the left won the election or the fact that we live in a blue state now doesn’t mean that the culture war is over. I point to the passage of Prop 8 in very liberal California as an example. Be on guard and speak up when you see the specter of discrimination and find others who are of like mind. Don’t get too complacent.

25 Facts and Random Crap About Richard A. Weir.

2009-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

I have been trying my best to come up with a suitable blog this week. I'm not doing a very good job of it. In fact I have had one of the worst cases of writer's block I have had in some time. Mercury in retrograde or something like that I guess. LOL. Anyway, since I can't think and since this is the first blog of my blog project I decided to steal a little survey thingy from Facebook.

25 Facts and Random Crap About Richard A. Weir.

1. I was born, raised, and have lived in Pitt County 28 out of the last 32 years of my life. (So sad.)

2. I am very introverted... painfully shy.

3. I suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder – the inattentive type.

4. I can name and place almost every nation in the world on a map on demand.

5. I am a very angry and opinionated person. (And I try not to show it too much, damnit)

6. I love and revere the beauty and majesty of nature even though I rarely get out.

7. I am obsessed with time and date. I have at least two clocks and one calendar in every room. It is very common for me to have four different alarm clocks go off at the same time in the morning. April does not appreciate this.

8. I am absolutely fascinated by women with red hair. I think that is why I married one.

9. I once did a commercial for ECU’s student radio station.

10. For the most part, I despise televisions. However, note the next three things.

11. If a television is on near me I will stare at it mindlessly blocking out everything around me. This is the main reason I don’t care for television.

12. I do like watching cartoons… Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Anime, Futurama, and maybe Spongebob.

13. I have an obsession with religion and religious philosophy.

14. I have worn a kilt and liked it.

15. I never feel like I am good enough.

16. I want to be a father and am scared to death I won’t be.

17. I hate mathematics with a passion.

18. I am extremely self conscious about almost every aspect of myself.

19. I still don't absolutely know what I want to do when I grow up (I’ll keep that one from Vicky’s 25 items)

20. I want to see Europe and/or Asia before I die.

21. I want to feel important, but I don’t want it to be obvious.

22. I really enjoy going to school.

23. If I were to try to learn a new language it would be either Scots Gael or Japanese.

24. I know way more than any normal person should about the Star Wars Universe.

25. When it comes to life I really have no clue what I am doing. I’m just winging it.

The Weir Blog Project

2009-01-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

I need to do something to motivate my creative side; since I don’t have my own camera blogging will have to do. I think I will try blogging once a week every week during the course of a year. I will officially start on the first of February and end one year later. Sounds like a good will power project.

What will I write about? That’s something I am not sure about right now. I guess whatever the spirit moves me to write about. I’ll try to keep some substance and some thoughtfulness in what I am writing. Oh, and I promise never to write a blog while I am drunk or on sleep aids; although, a glass of wine or some Irish coffee never hurt the writing process.

The project starts next week.

Gospel of the Actors (Original Post 11/28/07)

2008-09-13T00:22:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a lot of different post on various sites and blogs concerning creation and religion this week, they have been getting serious in some cases. You know, I am sometimes amazed at how passionate people can be over these subjects. Well, after some thought I decided that I would post something on this myself.

I will tell you my creation story. I'll call it…

The Gospel of the Actors
By: R. Allenus Vir

In the beginning there was something, we shall call this something the Unknown Actor. Now, we don't really know who or what this actor was; we just know that this actor acted and that action created an equal and opposite reaction. Now, that equal and opposite reaction that was created by the Unknown Actor, we'll give it a name… How about Atom? Atom is the original Unknown Actor.

Anyway, Atom's action created a reaction and that reaction became an action in and of itself. Well, at this point Atom went to out to take a walk or something, leaving his continuously evolving action to its own designs and processes. Oh, did I mention that each reaction, which is also an action by this point, is almost as much of an actor as Atom was and therefore has their own names and whatnots. Anyway, This process continued for a long time. (Can't say how long because no one gave a damn about the measurement of time at this point in time.)

One day (not to be confused with a "day"), a while after Atom's original action, on a small insignificant spec of dust circling around a slightly larger spec of light that is part of an even larger spot in the ever-expanding product of Atom's original action. We find one of the actions on this little spec has been very busy since it first formed. This action is called Evolution, but we'll call her Eva. She's a strange action, because she is always experimenting with various reactions. She is well known for her dead ends and oddities that almost worked, but she never gets the credit she deserves nowadays.

Anyway, one day Eva started work on a new project. Now, keep in mind that Eva is not the main actor on this world. This world is itself a more influential actor than Eva, in fact Eva is just a reaction to the actions of this world, well call her Tara. I could go on about the various actors that are stronger than Tara, but that would take all night.

Ok, Back to my story…

One day Eva started work on a new project. Tara had made it possible for Eva to fashion a new thingy. There was a certain place in Tara's realm that was just right for a strange looking thingy that could move around on two appendages and even look around while standing on these appendages. Eva worked on this thing for quite some time. Eventually, this thingy became self-aware and began to act on its own. This thingy then became an actor, not as strong as Eva and Tara, and certainly nowhere near as strong as Saul. We haven't talked about Saul, have we? He's the action that created Tara?

Moving right along…

Eva's new creation was very independent. It needs a name too, ah, Manny. Ok, to begin with Manny was just concerned with getting by. He was a very opportunistic fellow. His biggest actions at times was eating a berry or digging the marrow out of the bone of another creature he had found or killed. This did cause some small reactions. One day he actually learned how to control fire, that was pretty impressive and started making Manny a little bit stronger actor. Well, eventually Manny, learned how to control the growth of plants. We call this action "agriculture".

Agriculture was a big thing, because as strange as this sounds it caused Manny to start strongly influencing, or acting, on Tara and Eva's processes. Truth told this really started to upset the balance of things. It isn't because Manny is an evil creature, a little neurotic with an inferiority complex maybe, but he means well, most of the time. He just has never been really good at long-range plans. He is also an action that likes to act on itself. Try figuring out what happens when an action creates an equal and opposite reaction that acts upon itself.

Well, this is pretty much where we are now. What's going to happen next? I don't know. Maybe Atom will get back from his walk and decide to act again. Saul, who Manny is just starting to act on, occasionally throws rocks and stuff at Tara, which could happen. Whatever happens to Tara will definitely have an affect on Eva and Manny. Of course Manny is his own worse enemy, maybe he will figure it out after a while? He's a pretty smart little monkey you know.

Anyway, that's my creation story. I could flesh it out a lot more, but I am really tired right now.

In closing…
We should always remember the forces that act upon us. I think there are many different intelligences in the universe all of them the product of an original unknown action that is probably a reaction of a prior action itself. To be honest we should never assume that we understand it all, but we need to look at it with a little humor and some imagination. Really, it's best to just stand in awe of it all.

The Moral: You never know what the reactions to your actions will really end up being.

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