And the holiday season commences.

This Sunday night, I'll be flying to Orlando to hang out with my friends and celebrate Samhain with my home coven on Tuesday, then blow back into town on Wednesday afternoon. I know there are groups up here, but I just don't feel right about any I've encountered yet. I'm far from the only one who wants to go back home, though. All five of us who left due to moving, including my friend and sister New Yorker Yemaya O'Reilly, are coming back. We get to see how Vivian's doing with her new kidney, though (by all reports, well), and I get to see my brother, so it's cool.

I have already shared this elsewhere, but I have to share it in my blogs as well. Yesterday, I submitted an article to Talk2Action about this year's "War on Christmas." It's called "Playing the Victim and Other Cherished Holiday Traditions, and has already gotten some great response. (Thank you, Ninure.)

Speaking of Christmas, the Dorkfish and my SIL celebrate even though they are "apatheists" (a term we all invented, we think.) They're moving in January, and my brother said he had enough "stuff." So I asked him, quite innocently, if he wanted to adopt a panda or rhino or some other creature he liked. Wow, you would have thought I suggested getting him something really offensive! I told him I was joking, even though I wasn't. After all, I'm always getting pandas or manatees or other creatures adopted for me for Solstice or Christmas, and I appreciate it. (Everyone thinks it's cute that I like animals, apparently.) So I'm gonna have to get him a gift card. He was quite certain about wanting cards or cash, the greedy Dorkfish.

There's soooo much cuteness! Atlanta's panda cub (who we're calling "Cubcake" at Pandas Unlimited) is 50 days old, halfway to getting an official name, and she's teething, pushing up, healthy, and cranky. You can watch the darling little girl's Thursday examination here.
Also, I still love penguins--all black and white creatures, really--and Happy Feet is coming out soon! They have a MySpace where you can get all kinds of cute downloads. I've got Mumble the Baby Penguin dancing on top of my profile. Oh, I can't wait for that movie!

I'm also using my MySpace profile to promote another movie coming out soon: Shut Up and Sing, the Dixie Chicks documentary. I kinda wish Sinead had fought this hard back in the day. I love the Chicks for not backing down, and I've always loved their music. I intend to see it this weekend.

There's some so-so news: I'm sure y'all know by now that the New Jersey Supreme Court passed the buck to the state legislature.

And some good news: Focus on the Family's "Stand for the Family" events are bombing. Bad.

Some baby bears went dumpster-diving.

Now that Anne Heche has a TV show, her mother is exploiting her for profit from Christian Nationalists again.

Finally, find out which Tudor Queen you're most like! I'm half Elizabeth I and half Anne Boleyn.