When We Find Ourselves in the Place Just Right

The inaugural ceremonies were running a bit behind today. What was so carefully orchestrated to have president Barack Obama take the oath exactly at noon, when he officially became president, instead had him become our first black president as a quartet of the most talented musicians in the world played an air based on this Shaker hymn:

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

One day after we celebrate Dr. King's achievements, less than 50 years after we received his call to join his dream, just over a hundred since Lincoln freed the slaves, we've come 'round right.

How CAN'T You Be a Hero With a Name Like "Sully"?

Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!"

The Doctor, Doctor Who "The Doctor Dances".

I grinned like an idiot the whole time I watched this on the news.

Rites of Passage

In Promiscuities, Naomi Wolf talks about the lack of rites of passage in Western culture between childhood and womanhood. I think she has a valid point about the place they fill. It also made me realize that, as atheists, MS will raise our children with even fewer mile markers than the already depleted stock of options we have in America: no baptism, no confirmation, no bat mitzvah, nada.

In my head, I've devised all manner of interesting things that could be placeholders, but I'm curious about others' perspectives. I know there's a part of infant baptism that I love that comes from its basis in pagan naming rituals: right before the baby's name is announced, the preacher asks "Who will stand up with this child?" Then, people chosen by the parents OR (and I like this one) anyone willing to take a stake in it, stands up with the family and vows to help teach the child to be a good person and to be there for them and to be a positive role model. Then, you drop some water on the kids and tell everyone their name.

Similarly, some tribal cultures re-name a child with a name they choose themselves at some coming of age point. I like that, too, and I see a variation of that a lot--not a full scale name change, but at a certain age, many kids with diminutives ask to be know by their full names or a more adult nickname (Pams become Pamelas, Jackies become Jaclyns, Wills become Williams, Dannys become Daniels; even I lobbied at about age 13 to change my diminutive name to the original name it was supposed to be but that was vetoed by my dad for being to masculine. I was supposed to be a Holland). I think it would be cool to have some kind of announcement in a rite of passage ceremony. But that's just me.

So tell me--what rites of passage have you seen that touched you in some way? How does one who bases life on logic navigate the spirit world of growing up? What was your moment?

Shut Up, Oprah

Dear Oprah,

You have spent the last of my good will. When you were howling and gnashing your teeth because you'd gained weight, I felt sorry for you for being so sad about yourself. Then it started to get old. Then, today, you kept saying you "fell off the wagon" and accused others of "falling off the wagon" and you used that phrase over and over and over.

A little riddle for you--
Q: How is being kind of fat like relapsing into drug and alcohol addiction?
A: IT'S NOT!

I've learned an awful lot about addiction and what it does to people over the last few months. Let me tell you something. It takes some real gall to compare your inability starve yourself into some ridiculous cultural beauty ideal to the hell that is addiction. Last time I checked, you getting fat effected, uh, let's see...there's you. Then there's you. Oh! And of course, you. I think that about covers it. Meanwhile, alcoholics and drug addicts can cause their families to become homeless, force their children into foster care, commit crimes to feed the addiction and even mutate or kill their fetuses! When you relapse, you have to go to Macy's and buy some new pants. You do not have to get lost and abused by the justice system, beg for the right to even visit your family, or lose everything you have.

It really sucks that society has the kind of pressure on you that you must discount all your myriad accomplishments based solely on a number on a scale. I mean, it really sucks. But trust me, it doesn't crystal-meth-habit suck, ok?

So please, before you start really hurting people, shut up, Oprah.
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