To the Editor: Instead of trick-or-treating, get your kids to party as biblical figures
By The Post-Standard
October 28, 2009, 6:54AM

To the Editor:

The pagan feast of Halloween is foreign to Christian tradition and has become a superstitious and empty way of imposing mindless triviality.

The day has its origin in the Celtic New Year, which celebrated the return of the spirits of the dead to their homes. Hence, those who observe Halloween, though they are probably ignorant of what they are doing and why they are doing it, are in reality celebrating death, the devil and hell.

The observance of Halloween is mixed with Christian festivities whose meanings are totally contrary to Halloween. On Nov. 1, Christians celebrate belief in the communion of saints. On Nov. 2, we make visits to the cemetery as a religious and profoundly human gesture, inspired by the hope in the resurrection. I encouraged Christians to celebrate the Christians truths of these days with renewed faith as a response to the real concerns of mankind today. Also, as an alternative to Halloween I might suggest that parents not allow their children to go trick-or-treating, but instead attend costume parties where they can dress as biblical figures.

Weekend weather outlook is old-timey with a touch of crazy. But hey, who am I to judge? Let’s see if I can contribute in some way… maybe the following will inspire some costume designs:

Sodom and Gomorrah
Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Altar piece at Brixen, South Tirol
Michael Pacher

Cain and Abel
Il Tintoretto

Garden of Earthly Delight – Hell
Jheronimus Bosch

Move over Hayseed Dixie, via Lost at E Minor it appears you have some stiff competition; Beatallica …And Justice For All My Loving

Cross-posted @ Guys from Area 51

circa November 2000

The purchase of this CD entitled me to entrance at a rave being held in the catacombs of a 500+ year old Gothic church in Amsterdam. While I don’t remember much about that night–besides being introduced to tiger balm–I’ll always remember the cover art, which I found while moving earlier this summer and just had to scan and share.

Jay Reatard – It Ain’t Gonna Save Me

Motorhead -No Voices in the Sky

Nobody gives a damn about anybody else,
Think everyone should feel the way they feel themselves.
Rich men think that happiness is a million dollar bills,
So how come half of them O.D. on sleeping pills?
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, you all know what I mean,
What’s the use of a cry for help, if no one hears the screams,
No one hears the scream…

No voices in the sky,
Confusion blinds the eye,
Can’t take it with you when you die,
No voices in the sky.

The ones who dedicate the flags to make you brave,
They also consecrate the headstone on your grave,
Ritual remembrance,
when no one knows your name,
Don’t help a single widow learn to fight the pain,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, you all know what I mean,
What’s the use of a cry for help, if no one hears the screams,
No one hears the scream…

No voices in the sky,
Confusion blinds the eye,
Can’t take it with you when you die,
No voices in the sky.

Politicians kissing babies for good luck,
T.V. preachers sell salvation for a buck,
You don’t need no golden cross, to tell you wrong from right,
The world’s worst murderers were those who saw the light.
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, you all know what I mean,
What’s the use of a cry for help, if no one hears the screams,
No one hears the scream…

No voices in the sky,
Confusion blinds the eye,
Can’t take it with you when you die,
No voices in the sky.

I’ve watched allot of the bands that I loved that survived the 90’s dance all over the memory of what they were. The Billie Corgan Project is an abject failure, Blind Melon sputtered and stalled, yet here we have Alice in Chains. To put it simply I think they are the one band that can come close to reclaiming some of the glory. The new lead singer has improved a thousand times since the rough youtube videos I first saw of him years ago.

Alice in Chains – A Looking in View Offical Video

Via Blue Gal we find this from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State:

When then-Senator Obama announced his plan for the Faith-Based Initiative last summer, his comments on government-funded religious discrimination were encouraging. When outlining the principles of his plan, Obama clearly stated: “if you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion.”

. . . instead, President Obama has failed to deliver on his campaign statements. When creating his Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Obama failed to adequately prevent harmful discrimination on the basis of religion by government grantees. Although President Obama had originally proposed a new take on the Faith-Based Initiative, one that will not maintain the constitutional and civil rights pitfalls of the Bush Administration, the executive order he signed last week leaves the entire architecture of the Bush Faith-Based Initiative intact – every rule, every regulation, every executive order. And thanks to an aggressive anti-civil rights push from the Department of Justice near the end of the Bush Administration, nearly every social service tax dollar distributed by the government can be used for discriminatory hiring

So ya…Blog Against Theocracy, I’m down.

Cross-posted @ GFA51

It’s a long story, but first:

Posted by danbie on 01/18/09 at 7:46PM

rangerrrrrrr91,

I’m sorry to say you are mistaken sir. This pig did not escape from a game farm. I hunt on the same hill in the Town of Locke where this pig was shot. I have pictures of this pig in the front yard of our farmstead where I hunt. I have pictures of the pig live and dead. The pig escaped several times over the summer from the Howard Booth residence on Harris Hill Road in the Town of Locke. On one occasion, the owners where summoned to retrieve the pig from The Hargett Homestead Farm on Harris Hill Road. The owners came with a rope and a car, tied the rope around the pigs neck, and dragged it a 1/4 mile back to the pen. It escaped again around the first of November and was spotted in the yard of the residence adjacent to Booth’s on Harris Hill Road. The owner of that residence called me and asked what should be done about the pig, and I informed him who the pig belonged to and that it was a domesticated hog, not a wild boar. I informed my friend that the pig should not be shot at that point due to the fact that it was domesticated, unless it was posing a danger to human life or other livestock.

Rangerrrrrrr, would you shoot someone’s horse or cow, or sheep or goat if it got loose?

I am a hunter too, so don’t think I am some kind of tree hugger and get all defensive. I hunt deer, rabbits, turkey, etc. in very close proximity to where this pig was shot. Take my word for it, this is NOT a wild boar as some may suggest. It was a penned up domesticated hog once owned by Howard Booth and was seen in the area all summer rooting in peoples back yards. I think Bossard needs to compensate Booth for 600+ pounds of pork.

Cayuga County 911, the Sheriff’s Department, and the D.E.C. were all called several times regarding this pig and nothing was done.

I also believe the Post Standard should set the facts straight about this nonsense by publishing another article. I wouldn’t recommend interviewing Mr. Booth though, he’s not very friendly.
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Posted by danbie on 01/18/09 at 7:47PM

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Posted by rangerr91 on 01/18/09 at 8:14PM

Think what you want I KNOW the facts, I was there you were not, if you have pics of the HOG post them or shut up already.

So on behalf of “danbie” there you are, “rangerr91″ may know many things…but doesn’t know that facts in this matter. I’ll never forget the day my father and I were working on some shallow well water pumps when this gentile beast lumbered up out of the fog. It hung around some, started rooting around in the trash bags beside the road in front of the house. I threw I chunk of stove wood at it and that seem to change the calculations in his piggy mind. He headed off to the orchard to vacuum up apples off the ground for awhile. It’s definitely the same pig. They don’t grow them that big just everyday.

See also: Sempronius hunter bags huge, wild hog in Locke

AUBURN – Taylor Louise Denson, 12, of 69 N. Fulton St., died Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, in the Upstate Medical Center as a result of injuries sustained in a sledding accident on Wescott Reservoir in Syracuse. She was a life resident of Auburn and a student at East Middle School. She was a member of Trinity Assembly of God Church in Clay, and now a member of the Auburn Assembly of God Church on East Genesee Street Road, where she was active in MPACT Girls Ministry, working with the youth of her church. Taylor enjoyed fun times with her many friends and loved doing arts and crafts. Most of all, her first love was singing and dancing and enjoying her time with her caring family. She is survived by her parents, Timothy and Theresa Wenzel Denson; a sister, Tami; a brother, Trevor; and her paternal grandmother, Patricia Denson. Friends are invited to join the family 11 a.m. Saturday for services that will be conducted in the Auburn Alliance Church, North Seward Avenue, Auburn, with the Rev. Joshua M. Czyz officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery. Calling hours will be held 2 to 5 and 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, at the Cheche Funeral Home Inc., Auburn. This beautiful young lady”s parents and siblings were sure that because Taylor had so much love for life and people, that she would want to give of herself to help anyone. Because of this, in her death, Taylor donated her organs so that others may live. So they ask you now to kindly donate, in memory of Taylor, to Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, Corporate Woods of Brighton, Building 30, Suite 220, Rochester, NY 14623. To send a message to the family, sign our guest book at www.auburnpub.com and click on obituaries.

This sweat young child’s death has been on my mind for days. The last week has been agonizing. I can only imagine how the family feels. My daughter–a classmate–would come down the stairs crying, set off by a text message from one of her friends, saying “they took her off of life support,” and I felt so helpless and unprepared to deal with the situation. I’m mortified, having taken the kids sledding just a few days before, at the nature of Taylor’s death.

What I wont do is blame the city of Syracuse for not doing more than put up no sledding signs in the Wescott Reservoir. In fact there are no legal places to sled in the city of Syracuse. I wont blame the parents as some have done in the comments section of syracuse.com. I think that’s absolutely reprehensible. These things happen and it’s far beyond anyone to pass judgment. What we have to do, all we can do, is live and love.