“Anger ventilated often hurries toward forgiveness; and concealed often hardens into revenge.” -Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

On March 26, 2006 I wrote the first entry on this site. As I have said before, we started this site to put a light on issues that we cared about, to focus on things that went unnoticed by major news outlets, and as a sounding board for our hopes and fears. We also started this site as a way to stay close to one another. I think we succeeded in all of those things. Maybe, it wasn’t to the degree that we initially wanted, but it was still a success.

The last entry I wrote was on January 17, 2009. I just stopped writing. I was burnt out. Burnt out on stories that focused on the right or the left; stories that focused on this group of people versus that group of people. I was completely and totally apathetic. I no longer cared about my pet causes. I could read horrific article after horrific article; it wouldn’t even awake an inkling or sympathy. This site quit giving me the things I needed so I repaid it in kind. And, I stepped away.

And, now? Now I’m angry. I’m angry at the way my life is going, and myself. I’m angry at the people saying I have no right to be angry. Because, I’m so angry at personal stuff with no outlet… that is making me angry at everyone and everything else. I’ve also used the word angry too many times in this paragraph, maybe I should move on. So now, I need the site again. I need a place to voice this before I turn into an ugly person.

The best way to start this (in my opinion) is to dive right back in. Now it is no secret how I feel about Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, but just in case you are new here… you can read my previous article HERE. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Everyone caught up? Good. So the WBC had announced their plans to protest at a local funeral of a young service man. Naturally outrage kicked in. “Who the hell is this church”, “Just what do they think they are doing.”, and “Let’s show them what a protest really is”, were common comments. I mean, fine whatever, outrage is actually a good thing here. Somewhere along the way it turned into a circus. One person I used to consider a friend even made signs to sell for the day. But, in all that time people forgot what this really should have been about. It should have been about that kid, his grieving family, and support for them. I won’t even get into how many people didn’t know he had died before this; nor, will I talk about how many had no idea who the WBC was.

In the end, the WBC didn’t show. Last night and today people were congratulating themselves on a job well done. They convinced each other that they had scared them off and that the church didn’t have the balls to come to “our” town. Are you fucking kidding me? This is the church that protested funerals for the victims in the Twin Towers. This pissy ass small town isn’t even a 16th of the numbers they’ve seen before. They have death threats sent to them daily, and they revel in it. No, what really happened is that they gave the “church” exactly what it wanted. Why breed chaos when this town did it for them? You didn’t come together as a community. You got off on the controversy and wanted to see it first hand.

You know what pisses me off most about this, though? Not a god damned thing will change. Everyone will forget about this church again. The next funeral WBC protests elsewhere… they won’t hear about. They won’t offer “support” again. It will be a story they tell around a drunken bonfire. They will keep deluding themselves into thinking they made a difference.

Until next time, I’m still pissed off.
autumn

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Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” ~Anne Lamott

So I disappeared for awhile. My computer died hardcore, life was crazy around the holidays, and then… well, I just wasn’t feeling it. Although, I had to crawl out of my hermit hole tonight and write an inauguration post. They would take away my writers card if I didn’t.

Congratulations, President Obama. Enjoy the parade, the concerts, and the balls. You deserve them. There was a lot of hard work put into the campaign and transition, and you have a shit ton more to do. I sincerely hope that you enjoy the day. That way you can get the fuck to work and help us out of this gods-forsaken mess.

For the rest of you, I have some inauguration trivia:
The first Inaugural Ball was held for James Madison.
The parade for Woodrow Wilson was the first to include women.
Harry Truman’s inauguration was the first televised.
Robert Frost was the first poet involved in an inauguration.
Lyndon Johnson is the only president sworn in by a woman.
Theodore Roosevelt’s 1901 inauguration was the only one that didn’t use a bible during the oath.

Until next time, I’m still clinging to hope.
autumn

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“Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.”- Astrid Alauda

I know things are sucking for a lot of people lately. Stress is running rampant. Things are ugly and you feel beyond tired. I understand, and I really feel for you. So that’s why I’m giving you permission to take a break.

No, seriously. Just put everything down and walk a way for a bit. Take any kind of break you need; be it mental, emotional, social, or physical. Sadly, the cause of your stress isn’t going to magically go away. (I’m not that talented.) But, despite your fears it isn’t going to get worse either unless you ignore it for an extended period of time.

What are you waiting on? Oh, maybe you don’t know how to de-stress. I don’t know what exactly will work for you, but I’ll share some of my stress busters.

Music is probably my most used one. I’ll put on a specific playlist and sing till my throat hurts. I focus solely on the music and lyrics. Everything else slides away and I relax.

Watching a movie or reading a book is also a good way to relax. I do think that it should be something you haven’t seen or read before. Because, if you have the stress will creep back in during a boring part.

Sex is often another recommended way to deal with stress. Let’s face it sometimes that just isn’t feasible. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to find a fuck buddy when you are stressed. I mean come on, everyone knows that is for extreme cases of boredom or drunkenness*. But, hell if you have access, ya might as well take advantage of it.

Finally, my second best way to deal with stress is to meditate and go to your happy place. Everyone should have a happy place, and they should make it super fucking slamming.

Until next time, “Oh but it’s okay to breathe your worries away when everything and everyone tries to lead you astray. Hold your own, hold your ground, hold to light when you’re down and always believe that there’s a way back home.”**
autumn

*- Please note, Autumn does not condone casual sex in the cases of boredom or drunkenness. After all her father reads this blog.

**- The until next time is lyrics from Hold by Axium.

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“We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today.  I don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great.  If you’re hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time.”- Art Buchwald

So stories are pouring in at Join the Impact, and once they have final counts and everything I will share with you the outcome. The cities that have posted their totals so far are impressive. Seattle alone had an estimation of between five and six thousand. I hope that people look at that to see how united we are over this topic.

Meanwhile, I started learning to play the guitar today and have a new found appreciation for even the crappy music. I mean really, I can’t even get the damned thing tuned properly so far. I’m heading off to try again. Wish me luck.

Until next time, see you thought I was kidding about the dying cat sounds coming from my house.
autumn

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“Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law.”- Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524

I was really trying to keep you all updated with everything concerning Prop 8. It turns out that everything is a hell of a lot. I just can’t keep up with it all. I think I’m just going to have to admit defeat with my “l33t” blog reading skills. But, what I can do is point you in the direction of a constant source of information. I seriously recommend Towleroad. I have decided that the writer is a cyborg, or a clone. It’s the only way he can post so much.

There is one specific thing that I wanted to share with you. It’s a great idea. Tomorrow there will be a Nationwide protest. All of the protests are starting at the same time. I’m assuming this is to show unity. You can read all about it, find locations, and any local relevant information at Join the Impact.

I hope everyone who can will participate. Sadly there isn’t one in my city and I won’t be able to make it to the closest one. So I will be lighting my candle, and sending positive thoughts.

Until next time, eventually love will be enough.
autumn

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“Music is the only thing in this world, with the exception of sneezing and looking at the sunset, that takes you to a place that’s above the mundane. Everything else is just bullshit.”- Stephan Jenkins

I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Jenkins on that statement. There are several things that can elevate a person. Although, music is definitely on the top of the list for me. It is occasionally the only thing that works.

I haven’t been this excited about music in a while. There are tons of upcoming albums, that I can’t wait to hear. My first musical obsession, Third Eye Blind is releasing an EP next Tuesday and is following that up with a full length next year. AFI is currently in the studio recording and they hope to have that album out relatively soon. December is going to bring us new All-American Rejects and Fall out Boy.

Oh and next week, will rock my face off. Nickleback is releasing Dark Horse, Dido gives us safe trip home, and *Squee* David Cook releases his self-titled. If you go to David Cook’s website you can listen to it before it is released Tuesday. Like I have a million times, I’m just saying. There was also something about another David, having released something Tuesday, but I didn’t really pay attention. You’ll have to ask Ethan about that. I distinctly remember something about Idol loser…

Finally if you hear the sounds of cats dying painful deaths next week, don’t be alarmed. I’m just learning to play the guitar.

Until next time, yaaaay new music.
autumn

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