we do but turn...
another page...
I don't know if I shall have the chance to post anytime again before the turn of the new year, so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish a happy new year to all the wonderful souls who visit here from time to time. There are many of you that have been long time visitors and some who just drop in once in a while, but I appreciate every visit. And, in turn, to those of you who have blogs of your own that I read on a regular basis, thanks for letting me enjoy your lives and experiences, they are all so wonderful and interesting. To those of you who visit and don't have a blog, why not make starting one of your own something to do in honor of the new year? I know a lot of you personally and you are all deep and intelligent souls who, I think, would offer a lot to the blogsphere. It's free and it's easy. All it takes is some time.
I wish all of you a new year of peace and hope, and freedom from need. Take a few minutes every day to take stock of all the good things in your life and spread good will where you can. Life is short and time passes before you know it, so don't squander it on trivial endeavors, make each moment count, even if just for yourself. It's not a wrong thing to put yourself first once in a while, nor is it wrong to give up something of yourself for someone else.
Watch the sun rise and set once in a while, enjoy the glory of the moon and the stars and the other wonders of the night, and, above all, love all things, for we are all made of the same stuff and we are inseparable from all around us.
Find your place in the universe around you and you will live in peace.
On that note, I bid you my best and most heartfelt wishes.
Gregor

pearls before swine...

piss and corruption...
it's the day after the day after Christmas and, while I have the day off, I don't feel like doing anything more constructive than playing at blog writing. My fucking teeth are killing me, I should have had the work needed completed before Christmas, rather than putting it off until after, and I'm paying for that decision now. I think I must chew too much around Christmas, which is understandable, since you can't go anywhere without having something wonderful to eat thrust in your general direction by good and merry souls. My teeth are also prey to abrupt changes in temperature, so going outside and taking a good breath of cold air has about the same effect as chewing on thumbtacks or shoving toothpicks into open wounds, as does drinking anything too warm or too cold, which is playing havoc with my need for alternating doses of hot, black coffee and cold beer/martinis/scotch on the rocks/Tom Collins'/bourbon and soda and any other of the usual "hey it's the holidays, I don't need an excuse to drink!" drinks... I have to drink most things through a straw to help the liquid bypass the blasted molars that are giving me the business - lower right first molar, upper left second from the last molar. Chewing anything with a consistancy any harder than over cooked pasta is not fun. I've been living on chunks of bagels dipped in lukewarm coffee for breakfast and sucking on pieces of cheese and such at other times of the day. Also taking half doses of prescription pain killers on a regular basis allows me to be somewhat numb and still function, if you could describe what I do during most waking hours of my life as functioning... I have an appointment scheduled with the dentist this Friday at noon, so maybe I'll have some relief for New Years Eve, even if he goes ahead with the planned extraction of the upper left one. I'd rather spend New Year's Eve stoned on pain killers and not able to drink or eat, knowing that I'll be better in a few days than not being able to enjoy myself because of pain. This part of my life sucks.

On a lighter note, we saw "A Series of Unfortunate Events" as our Christmas Eve movie. I was afraid that it was going to be the usual Jim Carey playing Jim Carey playing Jerry Lewis playing Jim Carey, but he suprised me, he was most entertaining and subdued. Maybe it was the makeup, which disguised all but his eyes, or maybe it was the story, which is quite dark and foreboding, but he pulled it off quite well. The movie itself was great, very dark and goth, the kids were all wonderful actors, including the little girl who played the baby sister. I can't imagine how they found a kid that age who could be so facially expressive and interested in what she was doing, what with all the goings on around her. Sets were wonderful, costumes were fantastic (very gothy, in an Addams Family way), the score was great, effects were just right. Go see it.

My, I do ramble on when medicated, don't I? Sorry. I think I'll go sit by the fire and listen to some music and read a book I downloaded from the Guttenburg Project site last night, "Three Men on The Bummel", by Jerome K. Jerome. I shall return...

pearls before swine...

Merry Christmas...
to one and all. I hope Father Christmas brings everything you wished for and I hope he has a some much needed peace in his sack for us all.
Make Merry, stay safe and, if you can't be with those you love, love those you're with. And remember to think of those far away, who risk it all to keep us safe and free.
I bid thee peace and joy.
Gregor

pearls before swine...

gothie shoppie...
alright, we all know that we of the goth ilk always put off everything as long as possible, so here are some last minute shopping suggestions for the special goth kidz in your life.

Just the thing for covering up the odor of clove smoke that probably permeates everything...
also good for driving relatives out of your place after they've overstayed their welcome...
(as if getting cat hair all over their holiday outfits wouldn't do it, huh?)
and, for that baby bat the just can't seem to quite get it right...

an instant goth kit... get 'em started off right. Contains almost everything you need, all you need to supply is a Bauhaus CD
and something to piss and moan about...
As for me, I hope ol' Father Christmas brings me some shame, as I have none... I shamelessly lifted these from SomethingAwful.com.

pearls before swine...

a Happy Solstice...
to one and all. This is a time of renewal and rebirth, join in celebration with the Goddess and the newly reborn God to be reborn within yourself.
May peace and goodness abound in your life, and surround those you love.

pearls before swine...

We are all part...
of the great machine that churns silently around us and within us. We are but a small part of a greater working, as might be a tiny gear or spring in a great watch, we are all a functioning part of the whole. The great machine cannot work without us, yet we sometimes don't see how important a part we play in it's progress, nor do we sometimes realize how important the great machine is to us, as we go about our lives. Sometimes a part of the machine breaks, and, for a moment, we realize how fragile a part we are, yet how wonderful. Each tiny part is sacred in it's own way and of itself, in relation to all the other parts and as a whole, the great machine is the most sacred and profound of all things.
The great machine is all around us, it is so large and it's workings so vast that we at times fail to see it's wonder, we do not hear the meshing of it's gears, the whirling of it's counterweights, but it works on, none the less. Take a moment to listen to it's work, pause in your tasks to feel it's vibrations, close your eyes and feel the breeze of it's progress on your face as you work within it's wondrous invention.
The great machine moves on, as do we. It is not a hard task master, it does not force you to do your work as a part, but to those who realize their place in it's almost holy intricacy, it invites you to wonder in it's complexity and revel in the beauty of it's product, which is infinite and all.
Embrace yourself, embrace all around you, all within you, and each other.
Embrace the great machine.

pearls before swine...

decking the halls...
well, I've spent the past two days decorating Stately Sad Old Goth Manor for the holidays. the garland is hung in the parlor and dining hall, the wreaths are hung on the doors and the porch posts, the candles are in the windows and the upstairs hallway bannister is decorated with garland and old fashioned bubble lights. Pinecones are the theme this year, they are hanging from all the garland, set all about the place and a pinecone wreath is hanging on the pump room door in the kitchen. All that's left is to get a tree and decorate it. All my shopping is done, except for stocking stuff and a new bed for Sheba the Hound from Heck.
Don't forget about the Geminid meteor showers over the next few nights, best time is around midnight local time, and make sure you go where it's reasonably dark and you might see as many as forty an hour!
time for dinner and a few Dewar's on the rocks.
later.
pearls before swine...

what is wrong with me..?
I almost let this slip by... I'm ashamed.
On this day in 1941, almost three thousand Americans lost their lives to the attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the United State's entry into World War Two. Resolve, dedication and support for our fighting men and women got us through that terrible time, just as our fighting men and women are in harm's way today, trying to get us through this terrible time. Don't forget the sacrifice of those who served before them and don't forget they who serve now. Go here and let them know that, in spite of your personal opinions, you care and are thinking of them.
Also, visit Matthew's blog by clicking on his name in the sidebar under "An American Soldier" and drop him a line of support. The Holidays are coming, and it's a terrible time to be away from home, so suck it up and let them know that you appreciate what they are giving up so you can be safe and sound at home with those you love.
It isn't asking much...

pearls before swine...

Facts don’t lie…

There seems to be quite an uproar in New Jersey about the recent allocation of funds by the Department of Homeland Security. The ultra-left media around here is perverting the news, as usual, by making it seem that New Jersey has had it’s funding slashed. Not quite the case, as you can see below:

Overall Allocations for Fiscal Years 2003, 2004 and 2005.

New Jersey:
2003: $51,893,000.000
2004: $55,424,000.000 (+3,531,000.000)
2005: $60,811,154.000 (+5,387,154.000)
Net increase in overall funding since 2003: +$8.918,254.000

The distribution of this funding has been revised, per DHS mandate, slashing the funding from the cities of Newark and Jersey City, two cities rife with corruption and fiscal mismanagement and reallocated funding to more programs on the local level. This redistribution of local level funding will help to increase the operating budgets of emergency response teams and citizen groups statewide.

As far as the misinformation about NJ getting the short end of the stick and how lowly North Dakota was given a whopping increase in funding, I offer this:

North Dakota:
2003: $18,183,000.000
2004: $19,421,000.000 (+1,238,000.000)
2005: $14,376,200.000 (-$5,044,800.000)
Net decrease in overall funding since 2003: -$3,806,800.000

I’m not quite sure I like the idea of the state with the one of the largest unprotected borders with Canada having their funding slashed, especially with Canada’s "open arms" policy when it comes to allowing any terrorist scum to set up shop with impunity.

So, that’s all I have to say about that. You can find out more about how your tax dollars are being spent to keep your asses all safe and snug by visiting the Department of Homeland Security on-line.


pearls before swine...