arin's attic | www.arinsattic.com | Posts from January 2009

Posts from January 2009

what i’ve been reading…

okay, i read this awhile back, but it was absolutely a wonderful story - 1970’s small town life with a murder trial thrown into the middle of it. i think i enjoyed it more for the story about the town and its people (those odd times between the old and new south, just on the cusp of segregation) than i did for its trial. i’ve always loved john grisham’s books and this was probably one of my favorites.

i happened to catch only about an hour of the movie “conrack”, which is based on this book, and had to read the story. young enthusiastic teacher takes a job on an impoverished gullah island off the coast of south carolina, where the kids don’t know the most basic of things: reading, writing, etc. he attempts to make their world just a bit bigger, in the hopes that it will improve their future. wonderful story. (pat conroy also wrote the great santini - got that for christmas - and the prince of tides).

i keep reading william gibson because the stories, themselves, are good, but… i’m always left with a “i don’t know if i liked that or not” feeling once i’ve finished a book of his. same holds true with this particular book. great story, but he and i just don’t “click”.

Blogged, Just for Fun, books, Comments (2)
Tagged as: books January 04, 2009 @ 10:39 pm

stories that make you go… O.O

sometimes, the only reaction you can have to the news is…

Fla. woman claims ‘Merry Christmas’ got her fired:

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Christian woman claims she was fired from her job because she greeted callers with “Merry Christmas,” but the vacation rental company says it’s no Scrooge and the woman is just a disgruntled employee.

Tonia Thomas, 35, said she refused to say “Happy Holidays” and was fired, even after offering to use the company’s non-holiday greeting. The Panama City woman filed a federal complaint that accuses the company of religious discrimination. She is seeking compensation for lost wages.

“I hold my core Christian values to a high standard and I absolutely refuse to give in on the basis of values. All I wanted was to be able to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or to acknowledge no holidays,” she said Tuesday. “As a Christian, I don’t recognize any other holidays.”

Thomas said she is Baptist.

exactly what christian “values” require the use of the words “merry christmas”, rather than “happy holidays”? “have a merry christmas and a happy new year” is ok, but “happy holidays” is not? is her god REALLY that shallow?

“as a christian, i don’t recognize any other holidays.” well, guess what, ms. thomas, regardless of whether you “recognize” them or not, they exist. they don’t cease to exist by sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling “lalala, i can’t hear you”. acknowledging reality doesn’t require that you participate in those holidays.

but guess what? there’s a whole “12 days of christmas”, which apparently some ~~“christians”~~ idiots have forgotten. it’s more than just a song! the 12 days count from december 25th clear on through january 6th, the epiphany, which is a ~christian~ holiday, so even if lil ms. thomas’ god is really that shallow, even he should be happy that people would recognize the entire season of holidays.

so can we all get over this “war on christmas” bullshit already? happy fucking holidays >:|

Blogged, Current Events, Politics, election2008, Comments (2)
Tagged as: holidays,religion,politics,news,elections2008,racism,christmas,democrats January 03, 2009 @ 04:30 am