Ten things I have done that you probably haven’t

OK I am modifying this meme. Vive la revolution!

Ten things I haven’t done, but I know someone who has!
1. Hosted a meeting of the local chapter of Hell’s Angels, invited them to stay for cake and tea afterwards, and they very kindly did the washing up in return. (but arkady has)
2. Got told to turn back from my walk on a Romanian beach by a Russian soldier with a Kalashnikov rifle. (but helenschappell has)
3. Won the state level Parliamentary Procedures competition in the FFA. (but agrimony has)
4. Had dinner with Levar Burton. (but tyee has)
5. Left a drive-in showing of The Blue Lagoon because of a sandstorm. In Detroit. (but firecat has)
6. Peed on Robert F. Kennedy (but mactavish has)
7. Was an assistant to an events coordinator at the animation Oscars (Annies) and therefore got to boss around such presenters as Mark Hamill and other voice actors. (but creentmerveille has)
8. Been advised to get a hysterectomy by Harlan Ellison. (but colubra has)
9. Ate lunch with Henry Winkler (but da_zhuang has)
10. Saw Ronald Reagan speak on the campaign trail before he was President (but tersa has)

I posted the following as a comment in wildpaletz journal, but I wanted to post it in my own as well. Readers of bradhicks will find much of this familiar…

I have pondered much on the issue of “moral values™” and have been troubled by it. By “moral values™”, I mean “the selected moral questions which happen to strengthen the bond between religious conservatives and fiscal/social conservatives”. These are the “hot button” issues that Christian fundamentalists are passionate about, but that if they took a moment to think about what’s really important, which they would find are not pillars of their faith.

The marriage of “faith” and “right-wing politics” is a relatively recent thing (since the 1970s). Some Republican leaders have managed to convince some Christian leaders that their goals are compatible, starting with getting rid of communism, but that has been replaced by new “moral values™” that have taken center stage, mostly abortion and gay marriage.

The irony of this alliance, of course, is that Republican politics is the politics of greedy, rich white men. When you ask Christians about the core of their beliefs, they will probably agree that doing good works for others, and helping others in need, is a big part of it. But their 30-year alliance with Republicans has made them sort of forget that “faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is charity” bit.

So, probably one thing I would probably ask an anti-abortion activist is, “Have you given more to pro-life organizations than you have given to feed the hungry, care for the sick, etc?” To me that would indicate whether his faith is a way of walking, or just a way of talking.

If there is a positive note, it is that the alliance of Christians and Right-Wing politics is not guaranteed. The tide has also turned the other way… in the 50s and 60s it was civil rights that became a rallying cry to Christians to go and vote their conscience, and carry the fight to Washington.

I went to Blue Chalk last night to meet a bunch of other former AV people. Unfortunately, the effort to include Ops wasn’t serious or well-executed… I think that’s in part because the party was organized by Andreas and Jonathan who were marketing types and didn’t really deal with Ops much, so we didn’t have much reason to stay connected. I heard about the gathering like 1 day ahead, and forwarded the notice to a bunch of people who had been left out, but I didn’t really expect to see much of Ops due to the late notice.

I was pleased to see Greg S, Matt, Manny, Linda, David (who arrived late, of course), Edgar, David Henke, Cameron, Bret and Shawn, Kerry, Peter C, Mark and Gene. I saw a bunch of other people too (and was pleased to see most or all of them :) but don’t remember everyone. I told everyone that I was still gainfully employed in IT, and that I was “no longer allowed to kill spammers with a claw hammer, as a condition of my parole, so I just starve them to death”. I also told people that those who had been on my team seemed to be gainfully employed or hied off to school.

Now I’m feeling like I want to have an AV Ops reunion. And I will make every effort to see that Marketing folks are invited, though it may be at the last minute :)

If you read ghastly’s ghastly comic, I have added it to the list of syndicated feeds: ghastly_feed.

It also appears that the LJ user ghastlycomic is written by the author, though it doesn’t seem to be updated often.

If you don’t already read ghastly’s ghastly comic, now is not a good time to start. Unless you’re like, perverted, and even other perverts tell you that you have a perverted sense of humor. If you are, then by all means, start reading!

Happy birthday 9thmoon!