Nothin' to do but read.

I've been bored this week. I got through the flu that has been going around a couple weeks ago, pretty quickly for me. L'Ailee says, "I don't *get* sick," and it's true, so far she hasn't, knock on wood. (She laughs at my superstition--I immediately knock on wood for real when she says things like that.) But other people aren't early-adopters like I am, and they've gotten sick, probably because of me. So, no interior-decorating classes this week, a couple meetings I had to assist with cancelled, a belly-dance class cancelled, and people who usually keep me hopping absent from work. It's amazing how that kind of stuff can add up!

Yet I didn't want to update my blog. Isn't that stupid? But there it is. I was so proud of my Blog Against Theocracy post, not because it's so technically beautiful (it really isn't), but because I'd managed to express big concepts that I often have a difficult time sharing, at least without anger. It came from deep places in my mind, but it was leavened with humor and affection. I thought of people who I love dearly as I wrote it. Sometimes I get a bit embarrassed when someone's introduction to my blog is the day that I chose to do a quickie post on pandas or talk about something weird that happened while L'Ailee and I were doing it--something that is, you know, frivolous.

But the thing is, that's me, too. And sometimes frivolous things lead to serious things, as did the "pit bulls go to hell" discussion. And sometimes you've seen stuff in your online travels, both serious and frivolous, that you'd just plain very much like to share. That's what made me decide to finally update.

Stuff like...

Llewellyn publishes most Witches' first-ever books about Wicca, magick, the occult, etc. Unfortunately, their selection tends towards the shallow waters, so (like me), Witches end up going to specialized sources. I have continued my Witchy education with history books, books of mythology, etc. Sometimes I have even found cookbooks and books on interior decorating more helpful than Llewellyn's selections. (Good for herbology and color magick, respectively.) Well, the owner, Carl Llewellyn Weschke, wants to do something about that, and is asking Witches what we want for advanced books. He's being thoughtful, not confrontational, so he deserves thoughtful responses in return.

A Harlem schoolteacher is going on an expedition to Antarctica for herself and her students. The National Science Foundation is trying to attract more racial minorities to the earth sciences field and show racial-minority children that science and exploration aren't just white things. Actually, I'm jealous of her--Antarctica's a dream of mine!

I discovered two new (to me) blogs this week. House of Turquoise combines two favorite obsessions of mine--home decorating and the color turquoise! It's full of inspirational pictures, and I learned about it from the Washington Post's home decor e-mail this week. Good As You is a terrific blog that focuses on LGBT civil rights, both the triumphs and the outrages. I'm ashamed to say that I learned about it from a 'phobe, Peter LaBarbera, whose whole life revolves around making LGBT people look as terrible as possible while spending an awful lot of time in leather bars and looking at gay porno. People like him are the reason I like to be surrounded by soothing colors, like turquoise.

As we read and hear about the Tibetans who have just plain had enough of being under China's thumb, let us appreciate something that brings members of China's various ethnic groups together. That's right--pandas! I don't entirely agree with his assessment of zoo pandas, but I smiled and cried at his account of his trip to the Wolong Reserve (a/k/a Panda Paradise.) It was published in December, but I only found out about it yesterday, which makes the "agitprop" statue at the Reserve seem especially poignant.

And because pandas are such wonderful creatures, it's worth trying anything to get more made, isn't it? The Chengdu Center has tried "panda porno" and is now bribing them with apples to do "sexercise".

If you think this winter was freaky, well, it was. All over the world. But global warming probably wasn't a factor.

Dancer Risks Everything. Will look familiar to children of the 1980s and younger! :-D

Want an iPod? Really bad? That underfunded, hard-working, non-profit organization Focus on the Family is giving them away! Trouble is, if you're a member, you're discouraged from putting anything any good on it...

Are cultural libertarians becoming a force in American politics, and if so, how should we be reached? Very interesting article here. If a politician actually took up all their talking points, and wasn't also a racist like Ron Paul, I would not only work for them, but have to be restrained from having sex with them.

Finally, tomorrow is Earth Hour. It was created by the World Wildlife Fund last year. It's real simple--turn off your lights from 8 to 9 pm, your time. Betcha you can think of something to do in the dark--I sure can!