Where’s The Macy’s Day Parade?

Nov25

NBC, CBS Where’s the parade? They’ve turned a national institution into nothing more than a variety show! Kids from around the country spend months preparing to march in the parade. People spend months preparing floats and learning to hold the balloons. But do we see any of that? No! It’s one big commercial for the net…work & Broadway shows. I HATE IT! WHERE’S THE PARADE?!

I think it’s time to start a movement for TNT or better yet, TCM to show the parade like it used to be! The Classic Macy’s Day Parade, where you can see the bands, the floats and balloons as if you were actually there. Screw the dance numbers on the stage, the musicals on the roof tops! How is that a PARADE!

WE WANT THE REAL, LIVE PARADE BACK!

The AC360 1940’s Doll Test Revisited

Aug12

Earlier this year, AC360°, with the help of a seasoned team of researchers, conducted a pilot study based on the 1940’s doll test. In this pilot study, more than 130 kids were asked a series of questions about five cartoon dolls with varying skin tones. Half of the children were African-American and half were white, half were in the north and half in the south. [More @ AC360]

I was concerned when I asked my 7 year old son the same question and gave the same answer as the children in the AC360 test. The darkest child is the bad child. This perception isn’t something he gets from us at home. So where did he get it from? When I asked him why, he first said he didn’t know. It wasn’t until he looked at the picture and associated the “color” with a “person” that he said “Because he’s African-American”. It was that delay in his searching for a reason that caused me to realize it’s the test that implies racism and not anything he’s gotten from home, school or even the media. It was the test itself.

The method of these tests are flawed for a number of reasons. Continue reading →

Spring’s Big News

Apr13

Spring (aka Lady SpringWolf) is an author and deeply respected teacher of Pagan Metaphysics, Spiritual Enlightenment and personal development. For over twenty-five years, she has been committed to making esoteric material comprehensible and practical for everyone. Spring’s many gifts include clairvoyance, aura interpretation, past-life analysis, dream interpretation, numerology, Tarot, Reiki healing and Spiritual Psychology. Spring has facilitated thousands of individuals in developing greater awareness, balance and wholeness in their lives through her classes, workshops and lectures. She provides classes and services at her Spring’s Haven Spiritual Center in Virginia.

Spring has written many articles for magazines around the world concerning Metaphysical principles and pagan practices. Now she is sharing her knowledge through the book series Pagan Metaphysics – Guides To Spiritual Enlightenment scheduled for release in the fall of 2011 from Schiffer Publishing.
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Spring Receives Her Ph.D.

Dec13

Big News This Week:
My final Dissertation for my Doctor of Philosophy in Pastoral Psychology passed review and approval on Dec. 2nd, 2009. Woohoo. I’m so excited and proud. It has been a long year of writing and researching. And now it’s finally done and approved. The Doctorate degree will be officially awarded in January 2010. I can’t wait.

The Dissertation is posted on Spring’s Haven @ http://springshaven.com/articles/index.shtml

HBO’s True Blood

Nov18

We’ve been watching HBO’s “True Blood” from Netflix. While I’ve seen a few of the episodes over it’s current seasons, I’ve missed a lot of them. SirEvil has never seen them so we decided to add the show to our Netflix list and start from scratch. One of the first things we decided is watching this show is like watching “baptist” porn. While the concept of sexual interaction is very much in tune with the historical mythology of Vampires, the show takes it to the very edge of what we’re used to seeing on American television, or even cable. Now for us, this isn’t a big deal; we’re hardly puritans. But it certainly surprises me that one of our dear friends (a very devout Christian) is totally enthralled with this show, with all it’s immoral concepts. For some reason I find that funny and interesting at the same time.

So after watching a few of the first episodes we find ourselves wishing Netflix would hurry up and send the next DVD. We’re ready for the next episode as soon as the previous one ends. A good sign for a show that it’s good. And this one, certainly is! If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth putting on your Netflix list.

Planet Nibiru Will Hit Earth in 2012. Everyone Duck!

Nov16

I have been receiving a good deal of emails from people who are seriously worried and scared about the end of the world as foretold by the Mayans and the Mayan Calendar. Probably because of the new movie that is about to be released “2012” from Centropolis Entertainment and starring John Cusack.

There is of course a ton of information about the Mayan’s and their Calendar out there on the web. The trick is trying to separate the BS from some of the good academic research.

Continue reading →

2009 Vote

Nov3

Here in Virginia they’re making a big deal about our Gubernatorial election. I’ve heard several times today from News prognosticators that the Virginia election will be a referendum on Pres. Obama’s popularity and his policies. I don’t think so Virginians are that shallow. And I find the comment some what insulting.

I’ve lived in Virginia for most of my life. We moved here when I was 3. While the state has been some what conservative and republican for a majority of it’s history. It’s also an intelligent and contemporary place as well. We can give credit for that to Northern Virginia and the influx of people from around the world who come there to work in and around Washington DC. But don’t discount the high education and engaging people around our Universities as well. Virginia Tech, Univ. of Va, George Mason and James Madison are all highly respected colleges that turn out some very smart people who can actually thing for themselves.

We have the ability to look at issues affecting our state separate from those affecting a Presidential or national stage. We understand the affect of decisions in DC upon our State. But we also take accountability for our own government and how it approaches the real problems that all Virginians face around the state.

So to those prognosticators I say, shut up and sit down. Your 10 minutes are up. Not everything that happens in politics is based on the popularity of someone, or the popularity of their policies. Virginians are smart, educated and quite capable of deciding our elections based on issues and not on the popularity of which parties lapel pin you’re wearing.

News – Lady SpringWolf On The Radio:

Oct31

Lady Spring will be appearing on The Late Show on LinkFM 92.2 in the UK on Thursday November 5, 2009. The show is hosted by Jason McCrossan on Thursdays from 9pm -12am GMT. That’s 4pm – 7pm Eastern. You can listen online @ www.linkfm.net

We will be providing a copy of the transcript when it becomes available.

Men are from Mars and We Really Don’t Know Where Women Are From

Sep19

We apparently are born that way too. A couple days ago I witnessed something bizarre and enlightening. Last year, the Prince was in kindergarten where he met a cute little princess named Abbie. He clearly really liked her, she was the first person who’s name he could remember after school. I met the Princess during Daddy Doughnut Day, when I got to sit in on the class during the morning. The adjectives “firey Irish redhead” just come to you when you meet her.

When it was time to go, the kids all lined up to go to PE, and the Princess and Prince lined up next to each other. I was watching them and for a moment I thought they were going to kiss, which was freaky enough, but instead they touched noses. I also noticed that the Prince’s affinity for girls hasn’t faded. There were several other girls lined up to get close to him as well.

A little later in the school year the Prince decided he didn’t like Abbie, which didn’t mean that he didn’t like her, he just would rather play with the other boys like all boys do. I suspect this is some sort of instinctive survival method. The Princess on the other hand still liked him, which was obvious when we had lunch at the school on his birthday. She pushed another kid down the bench so she could sit beside me and proceed to give me the entire story of the Prince at school as she saw it.

Now, at the beginning of the year, the Prince was apprehensive about going alone to his class. The ever protective Queen talked to the school counselor and the counselor arranged for a 5th grade girl to walk him to class. This girl had a sister in kindergarten, Princess Madison we’ll call her, and the adjectives that describe her are “dignified, demure and reserved.” From the first day, Princess Madison and the Prince held hands as they walked to their classes. And most every day that year they did.

At the beginning of this year, the Prince and Princess Madison decided that they would walk together still. Quote the Prince, “No, I can walk by myself, but I like walking with her.” So off they go hand in hand every day as last year.

A couple of days ago, as the Prince and Princess Madison headed off to class, they passed by Princess Abbie who was on her way to breakfast. Abbie turns and watches them walk a little ways and then turns back to me and says, “Why are they holding hands?? Do they like each other?” She had her hands on her hips and looked pretty mad.

I was dumbfounded and had no idea what to say to her, “I don’t know, they do that every day.”

Her eyes narrowed and she looked like she was doing some kind of scary mental calculation as she turned back toward the cafeteria. I fear for the Prince and his court.

E.W.

I said enlightening before, but I doubt it. Interaction with our women is why I’m sure that if we ever meet an alien intelligence we’ll never figure out their language. Men can’t figure out women’s language within the species…

I HATE Comcast! – Continuing Saga

May16

Continuing Comcast Saga

So we have a new neighbor who moved in across the street. Quiet guy for the most part. Until he cut down ALL the tree on his 1+acre lot. All those beautiful trees gone. Not much we can do about it; but it did give me an idea. Perhaps now we can get DirectTV. We’re not cutting down our trees and there hasn’t been a place on our lot that has a line of sight to the satellite. But without the trees across the street, perhaps we can put a dish at the top of our driveway.

All excited I contacted DirectTV and a guy came out to check our availability. He was a new guy, been on the job for about 1 month. Sadly he said we still don’t have a line of sight. I was truly sad and upset. I’m SO sick of Comcast.

I’m sick of being promised digital service and still not having it. We were told that they would be laying down new fiber through our neighborhood in 2005. Here in the middle of 2009, it’s still not available. All I wanna do is watch SpeedTV, F/X and NASA. I don’t care about premium channels. We have NetFlicks, it’s much better. But I do so want to watch our Nascar boys. And I would have loved to see NASA capture the Hubble and replace the camera this week. I love that stuff.

This weekend though is especially irritating. Our boys are in Charlotte competing in the Nascar All-Star race. And where is it being broadcast? SpeedTV. <sigh> At least thanks to the reporters who use Twitter, I found out about Tony’s mess up in his qualifying pitstop. And his funny comment about messing it up.

Which brings up the next irritating thing about Comcast. I made a comment in the Twitter #Nascar topic that we don’t get SpeedTV and I hate Comcast. Within 2 minutes I get a direct Tweet from Comcast. Huh?! WTF? The tweet asks “Can I Help?”? Sure, put fiber in my neighborhood. Of course there was no response.

Yesterday during the qualifying for the All-Star race, I’m back on Twitter keeping up the best I can with what’s going on at the track. Folk start talking about Tony and what he said. What?! What did he say?!!! Well of course I don’t know, because we have Comcast! Once again, I make a comment on Twitter that Comcast sucks! And within 2/3 minutes I get a direct tweet by Comcast again. Here’s the basic conversation:

Me: #NASCAR I wish I could watch the race tonight. COMCAST won’t provide SpeedTV to analog customers; and won’t update us to digital. Help?
Fri 15 May 18:14

Me: I truly truly HATE COMCAST!! (note I didn’t say this in the #Nascar topic)
Fri 15 May 18:14

Comcast: what’s wrong?
Fri 15 May 18:49 (30 minutes later)

Me: Comcast sucks. Next question
Fri 15 May 18:51

Me: We were told we’d have fiber in 2005. It’s 2009; we have no fiber. You wont provide Speed for analog customers. We’re stuck.
Fri 15 May 18:53

Me: If I didn’t have to cut down my trees to gt Direct TV, Comcast would have been fired years ago
Fri 15 May 18:53

Me: Yeah – I didn’t think you’d have a response. Another reason Comcast sucks!
Fri 15 May 19:10

Comcast: I’m at my little sister’s high school watching her look pretty and making me feel old. I’ll be back in a bit! Promise 🙂
Fri 15 May 19:26

Comcast: back now 🙂 can you DM the phone# we have on file for you?
Fri 15 May 20:24

Yeah – I don’t spend my life on-line or on Twitter. And right, I’m going to give someone my phone number, or some account number online. I don’t think so.

And what is “ComcastB” gonna do for me anyway? She gonna come out here and dig in the fiber? I doubt it. Considering the entire community has complained about this, sent in petitions and raised cane about it with the local government.

So what’s she gonna do? Make the exec’s change their programming and carry these channels I want on basic analog cable? I doubt it. If it were that easy, they would have done that by now. Just what do they think they’re going to accomplish by annoying people on Twitter? Make it “seem” like they’re providing good customer service? Bull shit. I’m being spammed in Twitter by a company I can’t stand to begin with and if I had my choice wouldn’t do business with at all!

To top it off, I get up this morning and find out that “ComcastB” is now following me on Twitter.Uh..I don’t think so! How creepy is that?!