He prayeth best, who loveth best<br>   All things both great and small;<br>  
For the dear God who loveth us,<br>   He made and loveth all.

The middle of winter has long been a time of
celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of
the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated
light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many
peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the
worst of the winter was behind them and they could look
forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.
<br> In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from
December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In
recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would
bring home large logs, which they would set on fire.
The people would feast until the log burned out,
which could take as many as twelve days. The Norse
believed that each spark from the fire represented a new
pig or calf that would be born during the coming
year. <br><br>The end of December was a perfect time
for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time
of year, most cattle were slaughtered so that they
did not have to be fed during the winter. For many,
it was the only time of year when they had a supply
of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer that
had been made during the year was finally fermented
and ready for drinking. <br><br>In Germany, people
honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday.
Germans were terrified of him as it was well-known that
his nocturnal flights through the sky would help him
decide which of his people would prosper or perish.
Because of his presence, many people chose to say
inside<br><br>In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in
the far north, Saturnalia, a holiday in honor of
Saturn, the god of agriculture, was celebrated. Beginning
in the week leading up to the winter solstice and
continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic
time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal
Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month,
slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of
the city. Business and schools were closed so that
everyone could join in the fun. <br> Also around the time
of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a
feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition,
members of the upper classes often celebrated the
birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on
December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god,
was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's
birthday was the most sacred day of the year. <br><br>In
the early years of Christianity, Easter or
resurrection was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not
celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided
to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday.
Unfortunately, the bible does not mention date for his birth (a
fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the
legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence
suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring
(why would shepherds be herding in the middle of
winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly
believed that the church chose this date in an effort to
adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia
festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the
custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end
of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth
century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the
way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian
orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated on January 6,
which is also referred to as Epiphany or Three Kings
Day. This is the day it is believed that the three
wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

By holding Christmas at the same time as
traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders
increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly
embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was
celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the
most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas,
believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a
drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi
Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned
the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the
part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses
of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If
owners failed to comply, their visitors would most
likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became
the time of year when the upper classes could repay
their real or imagined "debt" to society by
entertaining less fortunate citizens. <br><br>In the early
seventeenth century, a wave of religious reform changed the
way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver
Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645,
they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of
their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand,
Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came
the return of the popular holiday. <br>The pilgrims,
English separatists that came to America in 1620, were
even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than
Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early
America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas
was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting
the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By
contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith
reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed
without incident. <br><br>After the American Revolution,
English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas.
In fact, Congress was in session on December 25,
1789, the first Christmas under America's new
constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until
June 26, 1870. <br><br>It wasn't until the nineteenth
century that Americans began to embrace Christmas.
Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a
raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of
peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked
American interest in the holiday? <br> The early
nineteenth century was a period of class conflict and
turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang
rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during
the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city
council instituted the city's first police force in
response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain
members of the upper classes to begin to change the way
Christmas was celebrated in America. <br><br>In 1819,
best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of
Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the
celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The
sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into
his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems
faced in American society, the two groups mingled
effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful,
warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of
wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants
enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a
Lord of Misrule. Irving's book, however, was not based
on any holiday celebration he had attended-in fact,
many historians say that Irving's account actually
"invented" tradition by implying that it described the true
customs of the season.

Also around this time, English author Charles
Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas
Carol. The story's message-the importance of charity and
good will towards all humankind-- struck a powerful
chord in the United States and England and showed
members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating
the holiday. <br>The family was also becoming less
disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of
children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided
families with a day when they could lavish attention-and
gifts-on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.
<br><br>As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect
family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People
looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and
Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated.
In the next one hundred years, Americans built a
Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of
many other customs, including decorating trees,
sending holiday cards, and gift-giving. Although most
families quickly bought into the idea that they were
celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries,
Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the
cultural needs of a growing nation.

Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights,
starting on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar
(which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar).
In Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah" means "dedication."
<br> The holiday commemorates the rededication of the
holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews¹ 165 B.C.E.
victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek
King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the
Jews to worship Greek gods. <br><br>In 168 B.C.E. the
Jews¹ holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the
worship of Zeus. <br><br>Some Jews were afraid of the
Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most were angry and
decided to fight back. <br><br> The fighting began in
Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem. A Greek officer
and soldiers assembled the villagers, asking them to
bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig, all of
which were forbidden to Jews. The officer asked
Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take part in the
ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward
and offered to do it instead. Mattathias became
outraged, took out his sword, and killed the man, then
killed the officer. His five sons and the other
villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers.
Mattathias¹s family went into hiding in the nearby mountains,
where many other Jews who wanted to fight the Greeks
joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever
possible. <br><br>About a year after the rebellion started,
Mattathias died. Before his death, he put his brave son,
Judah Maccabee in charge of the growing army. After
three years of fighting, the Jews defeated the Greek
army, despite having fewer men and weapons. <br><br>
Judah Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy
Temple, and were saddened that many things were missing
or broken, including the golden menorah. They
cleaned and repaired the Temple, and when they were
finished, they decided to have a big dedication ceremony.
For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light
the menorah. They looked everywhere for oil, and
found a small flask that contained only enough oil to
light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil
lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to
obtain new oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews
celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a
menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day
miracle. <br><br>On each night of Hanukkah, the menorah is
lit to commemorate a miracle which occurred after the
Jews proclaimed victory over the Syrian armies in 165
B.C.E. When Jews came to rededicate the Temple which had
been defiled by the Syrians, they found only one small
flask of oil with which to light the Menorah. This
flask contained enough oil to last for just one day,
yet the lamp burned for eight days (by which time a
fresh supply of oil was obtained). <br><br>On the first
night of Hanukkah, one light is lit and on each
successive night another light is added until the eighth
night when all the lights are lit. The reason for this
procedure is that the additional light recalls the
greatness and growth of the miracle. Candles are placed in
the menorah from right to left, but lit from left to
right. The highest candle, known as the Shamash or
"servant", is used to light the other candles. Blessings are
recited each night before the lights are kindled.
<br><br><br>In ancient times, olive oil was used in hanukkah
menorahs. Over time, colorful candles were substituted.
<br>In Israel, the hanukkah menorah is called the
Hanukiyah <br>Menorahs come in all shapes and sizes. The
only requirement is that the flames are separated
enough so that they will not look too big and resemble a
pagan bonfire. <br>Ancient menorahs were made out of
clay. They consisted of small, pearl shaped vessels,
each with its own wick, which were arranged
side-by-side. <br>Today's menorah which stands on a base from
which the branches sprout, resembles the holy Temple's
menorah and started to appear towards the end of the
Middle Ages.

Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American
holiday which celebrates family, community and culture.
It is celebrated for seven days: December 26 -
January 1. <br><br>Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and
chairman of Black Studies at California State University,
Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966. After the Watts
riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to
bring African Americans together as a community. He
founded US, a cultural organization, and started to
research African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations.
Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest
celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the
Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa. <br><br>The name
Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza"
which means "first fruits" in Swahili. Each family
celebrates Kwanzaa in its own way, but celebrations often
include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling,
poetry reading, and a large traditional meal. On each of
the seven nights, the family gathers and a child
lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder),
then one of the seven principles is discussed. The
principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in
Swahili) are values of African culture which contribute to
building and reinforcing community among African
Americans. Click here for the principles. Kwanzaa also has
seven basic symbols which represent values and concepts
reflective of African culture. Click here for the symbols.
An African feast, called a Karamu, is held on
December 31. <br><br> <br>Video clip courtesy of
kwanzaatv.com <br>The candle lighting ceremony each evening
gives you the chance to gather and discuss the meaning
of Kwanzaa. The first night, the black candle in the
center is lit (and the principle of umoja/unity is
discussed). One candle is lit each evening and the
appropriate principle is discussed.

The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba are a set of
ideals created by Dr. Maulana Karenga. Each day of
Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle. <br>Unity
(Umoja) - (oo-MO-jah) <br>To strive for and maintain
unity in the family, community, nation and race.
<br><br>Self-determination (Kujichagulia) - (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah) <br>To
define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves
and speak for ourselves. <br><br>Collective Work and
Responsibility (Ujima) - (oo-GEE-mah) <br>To build and maintain
our community together and make our brother's and
sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.
<br><br>Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa)- (oo-JAH-mah) <br>To build and
maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and
to profit from them together. <br><br>Purpose (Nia)
- (nee-YAH) <br>To make our collective vocation the
building and developing of our community in order to
restore our people to their traditional greatness.
<br><br>Creativity (Kuumba)- (koo-OOM-bah) <br>To do always as much
as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our
community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited
it. <br><br>Faith (Imani) - (ee-MAH-nee) <br>To
believe with all our heart in our people, our parents,
our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and
victory of our struggle.

Bush is president

The satisfaction of which comes purely from the fact that Gore, well, *isn't*.

I know, was that concession speech a little
"Forest Gump-esque" or was it just me? I just kept
waiting for him to say "Aye Wuz RUnniNG"... Funny how
he's all into "conceding for the good of the country"
now that the damage of this BS has been done; the
stock market has ALREADY taken a dive because, as the
alaysts say: "The market hates uncertainty". Just my
$0.02...

True, enough on both counts. Many, including
myself voted for Bush, as means of voting against
Clinton era Gore. I hope Bush can live up to my
expectations, which are very low, don't be Clinton. Gore speaks
very well, despite his southern twang, and I thought
his speech was honorable. However, he is out of the
picture now, he did drag the country through a lot, and
only gave up when there were no other options left. I
don't think he will be picked in 2004. He lost now,
when all measures said he should have won. He is a
brillant man, but he is also a master lifelong politician,
which makes skeptical of everything he says. Bush won,
I'm pleased. I hope dosent do anything I really
disagree with. It is good to have a change. It is good to
see all the celebrities have to eat thier words about
fleeing the country. Hopefully it will a good 4 years.
Good luck George, God bless America.

Timi Yuro is known primarily as a one-shot artist
for her fantastic version of Hurt in 1961.
<br><br>Timi was born Rosemarie Timothy Aurro Yuro in Chicago
in 1940. She moved with her family to Los Angeles in
1952, where she sang in her family's Italian
restaurant. She had a Mediterranean heritage and was
influenced by some of the great Blues singers, to the extent
that many people mistakenly thought that she was
black. <br><br>Timi signed a contract with Liberty
Records in 1959. She worked with songwriter/producer
Clyde Otis and put 11 songs in the top 100 from 1961 to
1965. The biggest of these was her first, Hurt, which
reached the top ten nationally. Brenda Lee was probably
the hottest female singer at the time, but Timi's
songs had a soul sound to them that were in contrast to
Brenda's recordings. Timi put several such records on the
charts, including What's A Matter Baby [Is It Hurting
You], Gotta Travel On and Make The World Go Away.
<br><br>Her later recordings, such as the ones she made for
Mercury in the mid-60's and for Playboy in 1975, lacked
this soul quality and didn't make the top 100,
although she did have a hit song in Holland in 1980.
Unfortunately for her, Timi lost her voice in 1980 and
underwent three throat operations. She later resumed
singing. <br><br>Rumors began to circulate in early 1999
that Timi had died, but the rumors were false. Timi
Yuro is alive. She has lived in Las Vegas for many
years.

OFT I had heard of Lucy Gray:<br> And, when I
crossed the wild,<br> I chanced to see at break of
day<br> The solitary child.<br><br> No mate, no comrade
Lucy knew;<br> She dwelt on a wide moor,<br> --The
sweetest thing that ever grew<br> Beside a human
door!<br><br> You yet may spy the fawn at play,<br> The hare
upon the green; 10<br> But the sweet face of Lucy
Gray<br> Will never more be seen.<br><br> "To-night will
be a stormy night--<br> You to the town must go;<br>
And take a lantern, Child, to light<br> Your mother
through the snow."<br><br> "That, Father! will I gladly
do:<br> 'Tis scarcely afternoon--<br> The minster-clock
has just struck two,<br> And yonder is the moon!"
20<br><br> At this the Father raised his hook,<br> And
snapped a faggot-band;<br> He plied his work;--and Lucy
took<br> The lantern in her hand.<br><br> Not blither is
the mountain roe:<br> With many a wanton stroke<br>
Her feet disperse the powdery snow,<br> That rises up
like smoke.<br><br> The storm came on before its
time:<br> She wandered up and down; 30<br> And many a hill
did Lucy climb:<br> But never reached the
town.<br><br> The wretched parents all that night<br> Went
shouting far and wide;<br> But there was neither sound nor
sight<br> To serve them for a guide.<br><br> At day-break
on a hill they stood<br> That overlooked the
moor;<br> And thence they saw the bridge of wood,<br> A
furlong from their door. 40<br><br> They wept--and,
turning homeward, cried,<br> "In heaven we all shall
meet;"<br> --When in the snow the mother spied<br> The print
of Lucy's feet.<br><br> Then downwards from the
steep hill's edge<br> They tracked the footmarks
small;<br> And through the broken hawthorn hedge,<br> And by
the long stone-wall;<br><br> And then an open field
they crossed:<br> The marks were still the same;
50<br> They tracked them on, nor ever lost;<br> And to
the bridge they came.<br><br> They followed from the
snowy bank<br> Those footmarks, one by one,<br> Into
the middle of the plank;<br> And further there were
none!<br><br> --Yet some maintain that to this day<br> She is a
living child;<br> That you may see sweet Lucy Gray<br>
Upon the lonesome wild. 60<br><br> O'er rough and
smooth she trips along,<br> And never looks behind;<br>
And sings a solitary song<br> That whistles in the
wind.

To find out more, check out <a href=http://www.clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/morrissey
target=new>http://www.clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/morrissey</a>

Please forgive my sour grapes, but that really
was a rather poor stab at humour. It reminds me of
all those horrible Moz zines that I have read, trying
to crack wit by inserting Morrissey into altogether
random situations, or using him in some non-sequitur-ish
sense. For my 18 seconds of lesser hope, I curse you.

I love you too! I'm always glad to bring a smile in everyone's face
=)<br><br>Me<br><br>P.S. Do I get to pick the curse? Cause if I do, I want to be
a froggy, ribbit!

You folks are going to be hearing more and more
about this fella in the coming months. His name was
Marquis de Sade. A sadistic son of bitch. We get the word
sadistic from him, no joke. He like sex, domination,
orgies, lust, all that horrible, horrible stuff. I quote
him for your info so you can better defend yourself
vs these evils, not to glorify his message. The
message by the way is to be very simple, kind and gentle
and have sex, lots of times if you like, but with as
few people as possible. And never with more than one
person at time. Truly you will be better off if you
leave the candle of mystery and simplicity lite, else
you'll forever live in the dark. <br><br><br><br>The 120
Days of Sodom<br>"If the objects who serve us feel
ecstacy, they are much more often concerned with
themselves than with us, and our own enjoyment is
consequently impaired. The idea of seeing another person
experience the same pleasure reduces one to a kind of
equality which spoils the unutterable charms that come
from despotism."<br><br>"Any enjoyment is weakened
when shared."<br><br>"No kind of sensation is keener
and more active than that of pain; its impressions
are unmistakable."<br><br>"Consider the problem from
the point of view of evil, evil being almost always
pleasure's true and major charm; considered thus, the crime
must appear greater when perpetrated upon a being of
your identical sort than when inflicted upon one which
is not, and this once established, the delight
automatically doubles."<br><br>"If it is the dirty element that
gives pleasure to the act of lust, then the dirtier it
is, the more pleasurable it is bound to
be."<br><br>"The degradation which characterizes the state into
which you plunge him by punishing him pleases, amuses,
and delights him. Deep down he enjoys having gone so
far as to deserve being treated in such a
way."<br><br>"There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege
or the profanation of the objects offered us for
worship."<br><br>"One must do violence to the object of one's desire;
when it surrenders, the pleasure is
greater."<br><br><br>"All universal moral principles are idle
fantasies."<br><br>"Sexual pleasure is, I agree, a passion to which all
others are subordinate but in which they all
unite."<br><br>"It has, moreover, been proven that horror,
nastiness, and the frightful are what give pleasure when one
fornicates. Beauty is a simple thing; ugliness is the
exceptional thing. And firey imaginations, no doubt, always
prefer the extraordinary thing to the simple thing."

What with "Quills" making its release in the theatres, I have little doubt you
are right. Thanks for the edification, though I'm not sure I see the "evils" you
made mention of. What am I missing?

Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.
<br><br>Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own
knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a doornail.
I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a
coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade.
But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and
my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the
Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat,
emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
<br><br>Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it
be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I
don't know how many years. Scrooge was his sole
executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole
residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And
even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad
event, but that he was an excellent man of business on
the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with
an undoubted bargain. <br><br>The mention of
Marley's funeral brings me back to the point I started
from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must
be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can
come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not
perfectly convinced that Hamlet's Father died before the
play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in
his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind,
upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any
other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after
dark in a breezy spot – say Saint Paul's Churchyard
for instance – literally to astonish his son's weak
mind. <br><br>Scrooge never painted out Old Marley's
name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the
warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as
Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business
called Scrooge – Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he
answered to both names. It was all the same to him.
<br><br>Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,
Scrooge. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping,
clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint,
from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire;
secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
The cold within him froze his old features, nipped
his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his
gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke
out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was
on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin.
He carried his own low temperature always about with
him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn't
thaw it one degree at Christmas. <br><br>External heat
and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth
could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that
blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more
intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to
entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. The
heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast
of the advantage over him in only one respect. They
often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did.
<br><br>Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with
gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will
you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to
bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was
o'clock no man or woman ever once in all his life
inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge.
Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and
when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners
into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their
tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better
than an evil eye, dark master!' <br><br>But what did
Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his
way along the crowded paths of life, warning all
human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the
knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge. <br><br>Once upon a
time – of all the good days in the year, on Christmas
Eve – old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house.

Every year, until we find our graves, read this
book. It is about all the things your life should be
about, read it, and live it : <br><br>A Christamas Carol
<br><br><a href=http://www.gouk.com/christmas/A%20Christmas%20Carol.html
target=new>http://www.gouk.com/christmas/A%20Christmas%20Carol.html</a>

I called him evil, because the man was known to
beat and bond women during sex. Often without thier
permission. In fact he was tried and convicted of rape. You
will see with Quills, that someone who was at once a
sexual predator, and schmuck, will through the grace of
Hollywood and modern shor sightedness be romanticed into a
sexual libertien, and a free thinker. In fact he was
anything but. <br><br>The perversion that he preached and
practiced and which has been unfortunately followed but oh
so many, I think are examples of brutal base
behavior rooted in mental disorders and or weakness.
Nowdays any subversive behavior, especially those caused
by mental diease, seem to be a held up as a sure way
to live a fullfilling life. Thus don't be suprised
if "Quills" spurs a further revival of Sadism and
Maochism.(sic) <br><br> I do believe we have destroyed so many
taboos and traditions, there is very little meaning left
in sex. To paraprhase the well deserving exhalted
one A Moore, "We see all the flesh and it does
nothing to us." It stirs nothing in our souls or minds,
we are slaves to our loins. Nothing more. The
proverbial pussy dance which for the last 50 years we have
all been practicing and watching, has let an
important measure of ourselves slip by unoticed. We are
have no, extremes left untouched, nothing untamed,
nothing unsavored, we have become numb to ourselves. Sex
and it obviously applies to more than just sex, but
as an example, is now just a physical reaction
caused by friction.<br><br> We have seen to much,
rewinded, recorded, watched and now with DVD zoomed in, to
every manner of perversion and all manner of
explotation. We were fed every thing we wondered about, every
hunger, was filled. And now, now obese our lives and
minds, are only filled with the images and ideas of
everything undone.<br><br> And what now is there to do? What
is there to cherish? To honor? To pray to? To
protect? I think we have gained knowledge but lost much of
ourselves, much of our identity. <br><br>I think the Marquis
de Sade and his preachings of selfishness and desire
to use no restraint leads us further down the path
of what in possible, but away from ourselves and
away from our idols. Such a world, saddens me, I am
sorry that so many willing leave themselves behind, all
for the glitter and experience. So much is better
left, unsee, untouched and undone.

Guevara, Ernesto <br><br>Pronunciation: [Arnes´tO
gAvä´rä] <br><br>1928–67, Cuban revolutionary and
political leader, b. Argentina. Originally trained as a
physician at the Univ. of Buenos Aires, he took part (1952)
in riots against the dictator Juan Perón in
Argentina, joined agitators in Bolivia, and worked in a
leper colony. <br><br>In 1953 he went to Guatemala,
joined the pro-Communist regime of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán,
and when Arbenz was overthrown (1954) fled to Mexico,
where he met Fidel Castro and other Cuban rebels.
<br><br>“Che” Guevara became Castro's chief lieutenant soon
after the rebel invasion of Cuba in 1956. He proved to
be a resourceful guerrilla leader and was soon one
of Castro's closest and most trusted friends. As
president of the national bank after the fall (Jan., 1959)
of Fulgencio Batista he was instrumental in cutting
Cuba's traditional economic ties with the United States
and in directing the flow of trade to the Communist
bloc. He served (1961–65) as minister of industry.
<br><br>At heart a revolutionary rather than an
administrator, he left Cuba in 1965 to foster revolutionary
activity in other countries. In 1967, while directing a
guerrilla movement in Bolivia, he was wounded in a clash
with government troops, captured, and executed.
<br><br>He wrote Guerrilla Warfare (1961), Man and Socialism
in Cuba (1967), and Reminiscences of the Cuban
Revolutionary War (1968). <br><br><br>Pronunciation: [Arnes´tO
gAvä´rä] <br><br>1928–67, Cuban revolutionary and
political leader, b. Argentina. Originally trained as a
physician at the Univ. of Buenos Aires, he took part (1952)
in riots against the dictator Juan Perón in
Argentina, joined agitators in Bolivia, and worked in a
leper colony. <br><br>In 1953 he went to Guatemala,
joined the pro-Communist regime of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán,
and when Arbenz was overthrown (1954) fled to Mexico,
where he met Fidel Castro and other Cuban rebels.
<br><br>“Che” Guevara became Castro's chief lieutenant soon
after the rebel invasion of Cuba in 1956. He proved to
be a resourceful guerrilla leader and was soon one
of Castro's closest and most trusted friends. As
president of the national bank after the fall (Jan., 1959)
of Fulgencio Batista he was instrumental in cutting
Cuba's traditional economic ties with the United States
and in directing the flow of trade to the Communist
bloc. He served (1961–65) as minister of industry.
<br><br>At heart a revolutionary rather than an
administrator, he left Cuba in 1965 to foster revolutionary
activity in other countries. In 1967, while directing a
guerrilla movement in Bolivia, he was wounded in a clash
with government troops, captured, and executed.
<br><br>He wrote Guerrilla Warfare (1961), Man and Socialism
in Cuba (1967), and Reminiscences of the Cuban
Revolutionary War (1968).

Hilaire Belloc<br><br>The Death and Last
Confession of Wandering Peter<br><br>When Peter Wanderwide
was young<br>He wandered everywhere he would:<br>All
that he approved was sung,<br>And most of what he saw
was good.<br><br>When Peter Wanderwide was
thrown<br>By Death himself beyond Auxerre,<br>He chanted in
heroic tone<br>To priests and people gathered
there:<br><br>"If all that I have loved and seen<br>Be with me on
the Judgment Day,<br>I shall be saved the crowd
between<br>From Satan and his foul array.<br><br>"Almighty God
will surely cry,<br>'St. Michael! Who is this that
stands<br>With Ireland in his dubious eye,<br>And Perigord
between his hands,<br><br>"'And on his arm the
stirrup-thongs,<br>And in his gait the narrow seas,<br>And in his mouth
Burgundian songs,<br>But in his heart the
Pyrenees?'<br><br>"St. Michael then will answer right<br>(And not
without angelic shame),<br>'I seem to know his face by
sight:<br>I cannot recollect his name . . . . ?'<br><br>"St.
Peter will befriend me then,<br>Because my name is
Peter too:<br>'I know him for the best of men<br>That
ever walloped barley brew.<br><br>"'And though I did
not know him well<br>And though his soul were clogged
with sin,<br>I hold the keys of Heaven and Hell.<br>Be
welcome, noble Peterkin.'<br><br>"Then shall I spread my
native wings<br>And tread secure the heavenly
floor,<br>And tell the blessed doubtful things<br>Of Val d'Aran
and Perigord."<br><br>This was the last and solemn
jest<br>Of weary Peter Wanderwide.<br>He spoke it with a
failing zest,<br>And having spoken it, he died.

Although I question the existence of "evil" in
the true sense of the word, we are of a relative mind
on the criminal behaviour committed by de Sade.
However, I must respectfully disagree in toto with your
position on the exploration of sexuality. You seem, in a
manner, to lament the loss of sexual innocence, and decry
the pursuits of those to whom experience is the coin
of the wise. This is an easy tack to take when one
is infused with a deistic spiritualism, wherein the
moral control is externalized. However, when one
accepts that possibility that there is neither deity nor
orchestrated reason for existance, little else save for
experience, of whatever stripe, gives content to one's life.
Indeed, it does onesself a grave disservice to leave so
vast a territory untouched by justifying your decision
with some puritan outrage. Explore if you wish it,
decline if that is your informed choice, but be not
blinded to what it is, and be honest with yourself. If
there is reason for existance, it is this: to breed.
And the mechanisms which drive us to this end are at
present near-unfathomable in their complexity. Don't
cloud this over with some foggy sentimentality.

I'd argue that since there no clear reason for
existence, and no guiding gods, is all the more reason to
use use restraint. We, who act like Gods in so many
other respects, should do so in the most important
arena, that of the meaning of existence. Collectively we
must define, for ourselves, since it appears, God if
there is or ever was, has taken leave of us. We must
write our own morality, or purpose for life. We are
social animals, always influenced more by the heard than
our own beliefs, so I believe to say each individual
lives thier own life, is not really true in practice.
All beliefs are collective. <br><br> <br> To say the
meaning of a very finite life is to simply have sex with
as many people as possible in as many different and
unexplored ways as possible, I think is simplistic. To say
this is even a piece of what we should spend our life
pursuing I think is fool hardy. To say a life, or
individual is, a series of experiences, connected only by
thier uniqueness and not binded by any code or
moreways, only leads to a meaningless existence. If only
because it is an infinite solution to finite life.
Knowing or beliving there is no greater good (GOD) or
moral code, is nothing compared to living that way.
That type of thinking leads to the value less
existence that has permanated so many. With out morals, who
are we? We have no bearings we are adrift on an open
infinite sea, with no compass, lost. I do believe, not for
dogma sake but for our own, we need beliefs. We need to
believe in others and ourselves and know that we are
governed but a common law. Otherwise we are all very
alone, each onto ourselves, marooned on our private
island. <br>Now who makes the common law. <br>To breed, I
don't think this alone is very fullfilling reason for
all the faculties we have. I honestly hope, my eulogy
omits any mention of breeding habits, I like as much as
the next in line, but it isnt my rasion d'etre. I
hope no one thing can fill the order of my eulogy.
Rather, and I imagine others would agree, it should be
more philsophical, my a way of life, not nessasarily
an act, or thing. <br><br>You might suggest,
experience everything, live casually. Thats not so much a
belief in anything as an inclusion of everything. I
think I pointed out the dangers in this life. We must
give purpose into our lives, the wisest men and women
for that matter without beliefs. are as lost as the
next man or woman. We live in an infinite world, and
while we understand much of the world, we do not
understand from science or universal truth, ourselves. We
must do this for ourselves, for science will never
teach you how to live a fullfilling life. They will
tell you that you can comprehend the eons of the
universe, paint the Sistine Chapel, write Hamlet, etc, yet
the whole point of your life, is all so you can
fertalize eggs and multiply. I there something more, and
barring nether world intervention, we must define it
ourselves. I think restraint is a good place to start.
Famine gives us purpose, and as I said constant feasting
leaves us tired and bloated. I must run , but you get my
drift and I yours, best wishes.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy
Evening<br><br>Robert Frost<br><br>Whose woods these are I think I
know.<br>His house is in the village, though;<br>He will not
see me stopping here<br>To watch his woods fill up
with snow.<br>My little horse must think it
queer<br>To stop without a farmhouse near<br>Between the
woods and frozen lake<br>The darkest evening of the
year.<br><br>He gives his harness bells a shake<br>To ask if
there is some mistake.<br>The only other sound's the
sweep<br>Of easy wind and downy flake.<br><br>The woods are
lovely, dark, and deep,<br>But I have promises to
keep,<br>And miles to go before I sleep,<br>And miles to go
before I sleep.
<br><br><br><br><br>------------------------------------------------------------\
--------------------

To live for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain<br>that
sustain life, not the top. -Robert M. Pirsig, author [Zen and the <br>Art<br>of
Motorcycle Maintenance]

Will someone please post something, anything, prefrably not a curse aimed at me,
or a link to another morrissey club.  Thanks

Every year we go through the same thing..
December 31, we make hopeless promises to ourselves to
become a better person, that we know we're not going to
keep. Well, this year I'm taking a different route...
my new year's resolution is not to be a better
person but worse... as terrible as possible... that way
if I fail my promises to myself I won't feel that
badly.

Of course, that isn't really true... I just thought we needed a post about the
new year... It was awful I had to be at work at 9am yesterday!!