Why the hate?

Congratulations to all of the newlyweds in New York today!  I have been reading the articles today describing love stories and festivities all over the state.  Yet some of the comments made by readers for those articles just drive me batty...  This started out as a short Facebook rant, but I decided to post it here instead.

To all of the gay bashers and homophobes out there - quoting your select portions of the Bible, calling people sinners, and getting all dramatic over it... You always forget some of the fundamental tenets of Christianity.  "Love thy neighbor", "Thou shalt not judge", etc.

You ask that their beliefs and lifestyle choices not be shoved in your face or forced upon you, yet you do the same with your beliefs.  You call them sinners, yet you sin yourselves when you wish ill upon them and fear-monger, spreading false information.

And if we are to be following every rule and suggestion in a 3,000 year old collection of stories, then I guess we had better *really* start following every rule.  No more lobster or shellfish for you when you go out to eat.  Burn all of your clothes that have a combination of fabrics.  Getting your hair cut or shaving? Forget it.  Cheat on your wife/husband and you both must die.  If you are blind, lame, or even have a "flat nose", no more going to church for you.

These all come from the book of Leviticus.  Yet, this is the same book that you quote when saying that people of the gay community are going against the laws of God.  Shouldn't we follow all of your rules?  Oh, we need to make exceptions?  Hmm...

If we look at the book of Deuteronomy, we get into laws about religions.  Such as killing anyone with a different religion.  Yep.  It's in the Bible.  And it's been followed in the past.  Still think the Muslims are all awful?  But that's a different subject for a different day.

For now... I wonder why people cannot live peacefully and respect others' beliefs, lifestyles, and decisions.  You would think that that would be the "true Christian" way of going about it.  You don't have to agree - by all means you are entitled to your *own* beliefs, lifestyles, and decisions.  But don't rub it in people's faces or force it upon others...  And be kind to your fellow man.

Congratulations, again, to all of the happy newlyweds and completed families in New York. :)

Bye-bye Books?

If you haven't heard yet, all Borders stores are closing and they are liquidating their stock.  This started yesterday. This makes me a sad panda, as Borders was the one book store that I actually enjoyed going to.  There have been plenty of good finds - and even memories - made at Borders stores in the past.  Not to mention that there is probably some connection I feel with the fact that I used to frequent their "home" store in Ann Arbor.

Borders started as a used book store in Ann Arbor about 40 years ago.  And now people are so into television or movies that they don't read books as much anymore.  And if they do, they pull out their handy-dandy e-reader, yet another screen to stare at.  I, myself, will never get an e-reader.  I spend enough time on the computer as it is, which wreaks havoc on my eyes.  (Yet I'm not wearing my glasses at the moment...  Bad Ryan!)

I can only hope that this isn't the beginning of the end for books.  What kind of person who enjoys reading would *not* be excited to come across a stack of old books?  Worn bindings, dog-eared pages, yellowed edges...  The smell of old leather, the beauty of a decorative cover...  Pages to turn, a physical object to cling to...  Pages to cry on when the story is sad or happy...  You can't cry on an e-reader.  Nor can you take it to the beach.  :p

In my heart, books are here to stay.  I only hope that this remains the case for other people as well...

Summer's Over!

The hot days stuck around for a while, in what was called "Indian Summer", but I think it was just an extension of "regular summer".  (Do 100 degree days count as Indian Summer?)  But now, they have disappeared and the cooler weather is here - especially cooler nights.  It will dip down to 39 degrees tonight.

With the temperature changes (and a drought) come the leaf changes!  I haven't gotten a picture of my own yet this year, so we've got a stock image for this post.  But fear not!  I'll have one as soon as things start looking prettier. :)

Right now, the leaves have just started changing and falling.  But, because of the drought, they're going straight to brown.  Which is pretty normal for Memphis, I've noticed.  It makes me miss home and the beautiful colors we get up north.  Sure, you'll find some pretty patches here and there, but we really really need some rain around here...

Next on the agenda is to start thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving!  We can also get our garden work done outside since it's not "unsafe" to be out in the sun anymore. ;)