The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Trevor and I went to see Jenny Owen Youngs this evening. It was just about the most glorious rock concert I’ve been to in years. I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “But, Bil, Jenny’s brand of rock isn’t exactly what you’d call ‘glorious.’” Or perhaps you’re thinking, “But, Bil, that doesn’t count, because you hadn’t even been to an actual rock concert in years.” And you’d be right in thinking those thoughts. But I have ways around them both. First of all, the word “glorious” is as vague and re-definable as the word “fuck.” It can mean anything I want it to mean. If I say so, it can include the words “mellow” and “hipsterrific” in the definition. Second of all, I’ve been to so many events that have included rockin’ out that I can add them all together and easily make the claim that my life is practically an ongoing series of rock concerts. (This claim is especially easy to make when you count going to a bar with a decent jukebox as an “event” – and when you realize that the word “practically” is as vague and re-definable as the word “glorious.”)

It was a new experience for me, however, when the headliner came up first and at the end of her set encouraged us to hang around afterward and listen to the opening act. I was expecting it to go the other way around. In fact, I had been told that it would be the other way around. But hey, I can respect that you have to keep an audience on its toes.
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Filed by Bil at 1:56 am under Shameless Plugs, Social Issues, Pop Culture, The Arts
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“We ought always to deal justly, not only with those who are just to us, but likewise to those who endeavor to injure us; and this, for fear lest by rendering them evil for evil, we should fall into the same vice.” — Hierocles

As winter sets in, I swear I slip further into darkness than I intend. I’ve been dreading the decreased sunlight and loss of Daylight Savings even as I look forward to the radiant colors of the leaves turning, nature’s last flare-out before it settles in for a long, dark, respite.

This, of course, gives me time to reflect on some of the darker topics, more specifically the problem of evil. Now, not to dwell too hard on what evil is, or what people consider evil, it’s important to note that this is one of the few concepts that is purely human, involves humans, and can only be perpetrated by them. I’m fairly certain that Mother Nature’s meddling in our lives is simply mindless destruction, whereas Uncle Sam’s meddling in our finances is pure, unadulterated, evil.
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Filed by Stephen at 8:42 pm under Religion, UU
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“I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own — a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty.” — Albert Einstein

I grew up thinking everyone needed to go to church. Not just for community, not just for spiritual nourishment, but mainly to keep one from going to hell. Believe it or not, this was a viewpoint I held at least in some form until a little over a year ago — maybe even less. At that time, I was driving 110 miles round-trip to attend a Unitarian Universalist church in Orange County, dogged by the irrational fear that we were all headed straight for hell due to our collective non-belief. But I still went, perhaps out of some greater motivation to find just where all of this was leading, but more for the growing hope that I had been seriously misinformed. And soon, the vestiges of my rotted Christian outer layers fell like so many skin cells sloughed off our bodies. I finally began asking questions, getting into heated discussions, connecting the dots into my own original ideas; in short, I stopped accepting religious ideas wholesale. I had a wonderful place to belong, to give of myself — hence why leaving was so difficult for me.
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Filed by Trevor at 1:57 am under Religion, Atheism, UU
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