..."Now that's Love."

Last night, Anna and I went with Violetta to see her husband, Brannon (aka Leroy, aka Something) perform his poetry. Unbeknowst to us, it was pretty much all Christian art. Now, in general, this is no problem, and for the most part, I put aside the religious overtones and just enjoyed the music and the talent. A couple of times I was a bit put off by what was said, but honestly, this is me we're talking about. It isn't that surprising. In any case, Christianity aside, Brannon fucking rocked the place. The man is awesome! I'm a total spoken word geek and will watch Def Poetry over and over, and I'm telling you, he's great. (The title of this blog is from the best one he did.)

There is a point to this, and I swear I'm getting to it. They had an open mike section, and I had a notebook in my purse with a few of my okay poems. However, given the crowd, I didn't think it would be such a great idea. The one that would have been the closest to usable was one about Kali, and I'm not sure they sould have appreciated the skirt of arms and garland of heads imagery. I wish I could have though. I've never performed any of my poems, despite the fact that most of them would work better as spoken word than on paper. I've never really had an opportunity. Of course, I also haven't written in a bit, and I worry that I can't anymore. Sometimes I can scribble something passable out, but most of the time I'm wrapped up in papers and thesis stuff and nothing truly creative happens. I used to be a creative writing major for crying out loud! Wtf happened?

The other point I was mulling over last night is divinity and divine experiences. Especially in the music and Brannon's poems, I could feel their passion and love for their version of the divine. For little Pagan me, it served as a worship time, even though the deities I was thinking of were decidedly different from the ones that they were talking about. It was pretty cool. But then I got to thinking that were most of the people in the room to attend the annual Samhain labyrinth or even the Mabon ritual this weekend, they would not have the same experience at all. Some of them might, but...Being Pagan has allowed me to become much more open to experiencing the divine in all its manifestations and wonder. I'm definitely grateful for that...Blessed Be...

Christian Psychotics, Episode 3: ...and they just keep coming:

The Duggars announce their 19th child!

Okay, most everyone knows that I am studying the Quiverfull people for my honors thesis. The Duggars on TLC, though they never use the word, are a perfect example of this movement: complete rejection of all birth control (so they say, but I'll get to that in a minute), strict gender roles, the whole nine yards...As of now, they have 18 kids, hence the name of their show (18 kids and counting), but Michelle and Jim Bob have just announced the impending arrival (doom?) of their 19th child. This one is due in March, just five months after their first grandchild is supposed to arrive. According to their book, while the Duggars eschew any conventional form of birth control, they do follow Hebrew Bible injunctions about abstinence after birth--40 days after the birth of a boy and 80 days after the birth of a girl. In the loosest of math, she could be pregnant even using their own system, but my question is SHOULD she be?

I am a card-carrying feminist and a firm believer in the power of choice, even if it is not a choice I would make for myself. However, it is worth wondering whether this is a true choice, especially for the girls raised (brainwashed?) in this movement...