Maebius Musing

Inspired by a light-hearted post from the Bored Gods, she was giving away some trinket to a random person who commented on her blog.  The only caveat was to be creative in your comment.  The actual description was below:

Here’s how it works: All you need to do is leave a comment, begging for the unique item. Pull out all the stops, spare no compliment, because if you are the most eloquent petitioner, you will win this coveted prize! 

This inspired me to try creating a meme of my own, to flex our inspired creativity, and have a little wild-abandon fun with words.   Taking something of relatively lesser value you see, and gifting it with epic energies and praise.   It’ll be fun.

My Ode to a “Yankee Candle Porcelain Snowman Ornament with fragranced oil“. is as follows.

From the halcyon days of Yore, when innocent hearts embraced the winter chill with merriment and joy, comes, as you described, that most archetypal icon of the yuletide season.
Snowmen, while being full of whimsy and wonder, are sadly a transient work of Art, too quickly torn asunder by unenlightened bullying, or the harsh Oak King’s rays as the Wheel turns.
Yet I read here of hope, for such a hero of the winter fests. A snowman of our own, immune to both outdoor agents and the warmth of spring. Still further, harnessing that most ancient and primitive sensory power to scent our lives and homes.
Such a thing, while likely humble in stature, would assuredly fine a place of honor among the altar of winter. Such a thing would be Blessed.
Such a thing should be mine.

The meme rules are as follows.

1)  Find some random object near you.  Could be on your desk, in your pocket, or on the shelf over there.  Best to use an everyday or otherwise nondescript object that doesn’t hold a place of importance in your life.

2)  Post a creative and overly epic Ode to that object on your blog (or in the comments on one if you have no blog).

3)  Link back to the person you were tagged by.

4)  Tag whomever you want, or not.  It’s all good fun anyway.

There you go!

See how much fun (and subtle happy-Karma) can come from uplifting the mundane in your life.   It may be silly on the surface, but such an act is powerful magic.

Happy Holidays!

I’ll tag, Nettle, Wren, Meme, The Bored Gods, the Magic Hills, the Celestial Enchantris, Mahud, and anyone else reading this blog.

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Warning, this post is more a thought-experiment, and you may not necessarily agree with the view in this post.   Musings here are not always “right/wrong”, but can inspire some self-reflective thoughts. Debate and commentary quite welcome here, regardless of your stance.

I found this article from the LA Times, regarding Ahmed Ressam, the “millennium bomber” convicted of plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport.  I’m not sure which angle to view the subject from, as explained below.

On one hand, as stated on FARK, the story could be summed up as follows:
1) Arrest terrorist,
2) Give terrorist light sentence in exchange for cooperation,
3) Spend years interrogating and isolating terrorist to the point where he can no longer cooperate
4) Increase sentence because he is no longer cooperative

We may have him in custody, and as a result are a bit safer than if he was out plotting more bombs, but I don’t see us having the upper hand.

However, without defending the actions of terrorist activity, I can see this as a moral win for Ahmed.  He had been convicted of unlawful activity, and offered to cooperate, but now, withdraws that cooperation and is quoted as saying:  “Sentence me to life in prison, or anything you wish,” he told the judge. “I will have no objection to your sentence.”

As a result of this recanting of prior testimony, a few other individuals who were to be tried for criminal activity may just be released. One attorney was also quoted as saying “Ressam has provided no indication that he has repudiated the goals of terrorists to inflict harm on the United States. His decision to end cooperation raises the specter that he continues to pose a real and serious threat to the United States,“.

What struck me immediately, was how this situation seems unable to be defused or resolved without the cooperation of “the terrorist”.  For all our judicial authority and efforts to keep our contry safe, it all crumbles to bits if those in custody simply say “Oops, my bad, I’m not talking anymore.”

If jail is, at it’s heart, meant to reform criminals as supposed, (it does NOT, in this country, I feel), what defense does it have when the ‘reformed’ refuse to conform?  Waterboarding, naked pyramids, and solitary harassment aside, is there any way to both protect the security of our citizens by both isolating them from society, and trying to coerce cooperation?

In this particular case, I see Admed Ressam as defiantly standing “in the lions den” and allowing himself to be a martyr for his cause.  In his mind, with this action, he wins.
I may not agree with the results or reason for his stance, but I can respect the dedication to his ideals.

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***UPDATED with wife/kid ideas below…

Get stuff for my kid, add my name to the card, and I’d be more than satisfied!

What, you want actual Maebius-related ideas?   well, alright….

I’m a purveyor of all things tea-related, as many know.   Any sort of tea is good.  I have a plethora of strainers and such so loose-tea is always welcome, and less packaging than pre-bagged ones.  The differenter the better!
For those alcohol-friendly folks, I  am championing the cause of single-malt Scotch in the world.  Nay, I daresay I become unto a true connoisseur of Scotch.  I’ve tried the old Spayside-region standbys  like The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and kin, but have heard rather interesting things about Islay Isle scotches, particularly Laphroaig ,or the somewhat rarer Lowlands.  A gift of Scotch is one to be shared, as well, which adds a special treat to any such gifts I receive. /wink

Also, anything Dr Horrible inspired would net you Muse-points from this blog. As a fellow Nathan, and occasional Corporate Tool, a t-shirt would be wondrous, though the DVD is also a happy-making thing.

World of Warcraft game-cards are always welcome. I plan on having an account there until the servers die, or the internet is taken from me. Plus, gift-cards can be re-gifted to folks I know in-game affected negatively by the economy, yet derive more than just “entertainment value” from the community on-line.

Of course, any sort of random strange and unique stuff would find a place in my home (or as pants), as some of you folks know. I like surprises, and if it comes from someone I know (even virtually), or Local to the area, so much the better!

Heck, this year, a hand-painted card with watercolours or crayons on a scrap of junk-mail envelope would make me happy.  I don’t need “stuff”  as much as I enjoy surprises.

This year, I have also felt a rather huge pull to be more charitable, perhaps as some esoteric spiritual buffering of the consumer-driven economy lately. As such, I think (hopefully without ‘selfish selflessness‘) that I would love to support these types of things in leu of proper gifts. I personally know some folks who have recently gotten put out on the street or otherwise very much in need of outside support, and it’s hard knowing that while we help as we can, it is not feasible to take them into our own home or finance their grocery/medical bills. Knowing this, I am drawn to help official charities be supported so those established organizations can do what they do better than our small household could ourselves.

http://www.foundationhoc.org/CF/HTML/TheaBowmanHouse.html
http://www.stevens-swan.org/
http:/www.childsplaycharity.org/index.php
http://www.kidsoneida.org/kids-oneida-home.cfm

Blessed Holidays to you all!

UPDATE: Ok,  here’s a random wishlist for the rest of the family…. I’ve included two or three things that are already sent by Santa (and others) just so you can see what sorts of things were in mind by these two…

Sprogling: (as mentioned by him)

• small sand-timer like comes in board games. (30 Seconds = for brushing teeth the appropriate time)

• stuffed boxer dog (santa already has)

• Boom Blox (Wii game)

• Topple board game.  (or Jenga, anything tactile like that)

http://www.etoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/3373679/ctid/17?ci_sku=197853&ci_src=14110944

•   Drumsticks (already gotten)

• 100 trees (to plant in the backyard and build a fort in)

• Any kind of Craft things.  (he loves paints, and pipe-cleaners)

• Paintable figures or stuff. (we have the dragons below, but he wants “a hundred million hundred thousand hundred of them because they are so cool and can defeat anything!”)

http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Toys-games/Paint-Your-Own-Bowls/e/31412642007/?cds2Pid=17921
http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Toys-games/Dragons-Paint-and-Play-Set/e/9780641760648/?cds2Pid=17921

Mrs Maebius

• UGGs style boots (sheepskin lined boots, size womans 9, short, not knee length)

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2792101/0~2376780~6009391~6012477~6012480~6012745?origin=category&pbo=2792101

• Tales of Beedle the Bard (harry potter book)

• Heavy thick comfy socks. (be creative)

• Set of drill bits (different sizes, since we only have 2 bits right now for our drill.  “Thick”  or “pilot hole”)

• This ring-holder necklace. http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/whatonearth/Item_Heart-Shaped-Hinged-Ring-Pendant_CB0672_ps_srm.html

• Fleecy warm blanket (amish blanket, that gamer-sleeved blanket, etc)

• White-noise generator for sound sleeping (without running the dryer or a fan.)

• The grabber tool to get canning jars out of a water bath without burning yourself.

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I’m on night-shift this week, which means my schedule is all wacky and I tend to either be At Work, or sleeping, or eating, (then sleeping some more).    I used to be able to do the whole opposite-shift in a heartbeat, easily switching from a regular 8am-5pm  to the midnight-8am shift whenever necessary.   Lately, as a sign of (shudder) Getting Old, I seem to totally crash the second day and want to sleep 24 hours.

(actually, yesterday, other than going to see a movie with the family, I DID sleep from 10am-5:30pm, then back to sleep from 8pm-2am.  I’m STILL tired here at work. Forgive the rambling-ness of this posting.)

…zzZZzz..zzZZZzz… Wha?   Oh right.  blog post.

Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving holiday, which will have it’s own blog-post this weekend once my brain is on a proper “Musing about Thankfullness” wave.  For now, know that I’m thankfull for a heck of a lot.  My life is pretty good comparatively speaking, and I do acknowledge that.   Might not make it totally into blog-form coherently.  *grin*

As for actual Content today, I bring you a Music Meme, discovered over here in the Magical Hills.  Rules:- Choose a singer/band/group.

Answer the following using ONLY titles of songs by that singer/band/group/Band/Artist

I choose the group that’s been rattling in my head lately, regardless of how many OTHER songs I try to put in front of them.   Heck, I’ve dreamed about going to see them in concert last weekend.  Obsessed a bit?!?!: Gaia Consort

1. Are you male or female? Cooling His Fire
2. Describe yourself. Three (or The Web)
3. What do people feel when they’re around you? No Shadows
4. How would you describe your previous relationship? Blood
5. Describe your current relationship.Every Sacred Thing
6. Where would you want to be now? Evolve
7. How do you feel about love? Just Because
8. What’s your life like? Move to the Country
9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish?  Peace Now
10. Say something wise. Cry Freedom

This was actually kinda hard, because on one level, the song titles kinda fit the question, but on the other hand there is a whole sub-text of connotation with actually knowing the songs.    I wanted to almost put “Just Because” as an answer to question#5, if only for the song content itself, not the title, since using just the title sounded rather flippant and dismissive of the relationship with my wife.   But the song itself is a nice love-song, in some sense.    Also, #2, with an answer of “Three” is meant as a title-only to refer to my current family of Wife, Child, and Kid….  I love my family lots, and is a huge part of who I am.    Yet, the song itself is about Polyamory, which isn’t really me at all.  *shrug*

There’s no tagging rules posted for the meme, but feel free, if you are reading this, to reply with your own answers!  Curious Maebius is curious.  (and still sleepy).

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Ok, so it’s not quite Thursday, and is actually Friday afternoon.  Close enough, as these thoughts happened yesterday. 

One of my recent birthday presents from my wife was a page of 200 tiny glow-in-the-dark star stickers (with a few comets and ringed planetoids).    The family had lots of fun all evening sticking them all across the ceiling and walls of our bedroom.   Of course, the kid couldn’t quite reach above him, so most of his adventure was perched atop my shoulders and carried around following his directions.   Left,  Stop, Backwards, Ok, UP!

After we were finished with this, we turned out the lights.

There is no other way to describe the reaction than a totally awe-inspired “Coooool!”

Since each individual sticker was about the size of a paper-punch hole, the effect was striking.  Perspective seemed skewed, and the 8ft ceilings felt at once closer, and much more distant, resulting in an amazing effect.

Due to some issues at work, I had to stay late and only got home after 8pm, so my planned sit outside Solstice ritual was cancelled in place of kid-star-fun.  but things worked out in the end after all, must more impressively.

I lay there in the bed, feeling 12 years old again for a moment.   I remembered camping with my uncle, and running outside in my grandfather’s yard on crisp autumn nights.   It was simple, powerful, and totally unexpected, being transported into a completely enveloping nostalgia.  I forgot my kid, I forgot my wife, and for a moment, time stopped.

On this evening, the solstice turns the Wheel into winter seasons, and ushers in a time of introspection.   It’s pure magic that now, regardless of the weather outside,  we can lay under the stars, snuggle under the blankets, and set ourselves in the larger universe.

Magic indeed!

P.S. - I’d have a photo of the room, but it’s too dark and faint to capture properly, even under ISO configuration for the camera.  However, all visitors will be required to lay down at night in this room and spend 5 minutes enjoying themselves.

P.P.S. -  This weekend we’ve already planned to get a tiny pot of flourescent paint, an old toothbrush, and create a spatter-misty Milky Way, a few nebulae, and minor touches to really bring the sky to life.

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