Aya

Updates to playlist: Ear Candy

Aya — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:23:20 -0000

Updates to playlist: ZZ Top

Aya — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:58:20 -0000

Updates to playlist: Queer As Folk

Aya — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:58:49 -0000

Updates to playlist: Hal Sparks

Aya — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:27:30 -0000

Updates to playlist: The Classics

Aya — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:25:44 -0000

Soft Language in America

Aya — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:20:38 -0000

George Carlin is a stand-up comedian who has spoken out and questioned actions of the government since the 1970s. During one of his shows in 1999, Carlin questions and speaks out against language that "the system has actually convinced people to use." George Carlin states that the government census attempts and succeeds in changing words and phrases around in order to please Americans psychologically. I agree with about 75% of his opinions, but I don't think it's the government alone that makes these changes. The video below is a snippit of his stand-up on "soft language."
George Carlin - Soft Language Link

No-Name Calling Week

Aya — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:19:01 -0000

In New York City, thousands of schools are doing what is now called, "No Name-Calling Week," which gives educators a chance to speak out and lecture against homosexual discrimination and homophobia. Between Jan. 21 through 25, No Name-Calling Week is sponsored to help reach out to students in 5th through 8th grade, to teach respect and methods of eliminating harassment via child bullies.
Dr. Eliza Byard, spokesperson for the GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said, "Unfortunately, far too many students experience the negative impact of name-calling, bullying and harassment. Through proactive educational interventions like No Name-Calling Week, schools can make a difference in the safety of all of their students."
Despite their efforts, last year only a small percentage of students claimed to feel safe at school. Over 60 percent of students reported that bullying still continued.

I think this article really says something about our progression as a country. We have the technology to fly to the moon and back, we have the means to make better fuel efficient cars that pollute less, and we understand that we are but a tiny speck in the universe, yet we still have homophobes? I'm glad to see that there are people who are determined enough to try and bring something as small as the sexual orientation of strangers/neighbors/family to a halt and maybe start zeroing in on real issues.

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Freedom of Voice

Aya — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:05:21 -0000

Although many citizens complain about American laws and policies, the fact that we are able to complain at all shows how much freedom we have. For example, the National Geographic magazine posted a story in August, 1999 which shows the true power of voicing ones opinions:

Chinese state security officers arrested Wei Jingsheng, an electrician, on March 29, 1979. Among his major crimes: writing essays arguing for democracy. Wei, who would spend 18 years in jail and become a prominent symbol of the power of the written word, was placed in the Beijing detention center. Chinese authorities feared Wei, recognizing that writing has an almost magical power: Words on paper, created by ordinary citizens, have overthrown governments and changed the course of history. So powerful is writing that the beginnings of civilization and history are most often defined as the moment cultures develop it.

Wei was beaten, starved, left in a room four and a half feet by nine feet, and kept on constant observation to make sure he never wrote another word. After 18 years, Wei was finally released and brought to America - his body hardly anything but bones, his teeth rotting - where his words and letters he was able to smuggle were made into a book. Can you imagine something like this happening in America? Or what it would be like to live in China, where the idea of democracy would have you thrown in jail for years?

The Power of Writing
By Joel L. Swerdlow

Why Can't I Own A Canadian?

Aya — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:25:39 -0000

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify?
Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

You cannot pick and choose what is right in the bible and dismiss the others. Yes, the bible may offer some advice, however, you cannot use the bible in such a way that it only pleases yourself. News flash to those who want to point at one and only one thing in the bible and avoid the others because it is also an inconvenience to themselves. We have the intelligence to understand the evolution of man from a single atom created by star dust into what we are today. We have the intelligence to understand we are but a tiny speck in the universe, and we have the understanding to realize that the bible was created thousands of years ago. If it took us all these years to evolve our understanding of the universe, why are we still looking to something created when we believed the Earth was flat, and the center of the universe?

Hana no Na by Bump of Chicken

Aya — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:02:18 -0000