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December 31, 2005
Goodbye 2005!
So Mason and I had a little shindig at the house last night, kind of a post-holiday/pre-New Year's party. It went really well...over 50 people showed up and we got to catch up with old friends and welcome people into our home. It was really nice to see everyone laughing, talking and getting to know each other. Co-workers, family and neighbors mingled with friends, A-Gay's (blech...I didn't invite them) and newcomers. It was a really nice time and I forgot how much I love to entertain...but what I don't like is the clean up afterwords. Needless to say we have enough booze and munchies to last us at least till St. Patrick's Day. We finally got to bed at 1:30 after the last guest left and we cleaned up, so I a bit pooped today.
So Mason and I are taking it easy this weekend. He owes me a quiet New Year's this year due to what happened last year. Overall, while I have enjoyed 2005 I am ready to see it go. There has been too much violence, destruction and war this year - and those never make me happy. It was a year of personal pitfalls (work) and set-backs (not hearing from CIC) for me as well and I look forward to 2006 with optimism and hope. Besides the even-numbered years seem to treat me better :-)
Happy New Year's to all of LWB's readers out there...may your new year be blessed with peace, happiness and wealth!
Posted by Nikolas at 11:59 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBackDecember 28, 2005
Disappointing To See This Happening....
Deep sigh...
Toronto Has Record Surge of Gun Violence
Believe me, it's much, much better than here in the United States, but it gets so discouraging the amount of discord and violence that is creeping into this world - in areas that were mostly untouched or at least rejected it. Unfortunately, the US leads in that area in my humble opinion - breeding hostility and tension as a world bully. By all means, I'm not putting all the blame on my country, but as the right-wing and ultra conservatives continue their "my way or the highway" and selfish and false ego-and-testosterone-driven ways, society as a whole will continue to slide.
(MASON POST, BTW)
Posted by Mason at 01:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBackDecember 25, 2005
Contentment
It's been a wonderful morning. Spending it with my honey eating a home-cooked breakfast and talking about the past year. Giving the dogs their stocking gifts and watching them devour their cookies and play with their new toys. Talking with friends across the distances and telling them that you hope to see them soon. While presents and gifts are nice, it's the friendships that I have made in the past year and the ones that I hold closest to my heart that make me feel truly blessed. Our last phone call this morning was from C and J - they have successfully moved back from Austria and are now living in Upstate New York...only a few hours to Toronto by car and ferry. We can't wait to see them again - as we enter 2006 Mason and I are ever more thankful for our friends here and far away, and hopeful that maybe one day soon (very soon) we will here from Canada and they will welcome us with open arms.
Now it's time to shower, and grab our friend Scott to go grab a quick bite and then go see Brokeback Mountain at The Mayan Theater.
Ho, Ho, Ho :-)
Posted by Nikolas at 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackDecember 24, 2005
...and to all a good night!
December 22, 2005
Somebody finally snapped...
I borrowed the following post from a website I found through Democratic Underground (one of my more favorite political stomping grounds.) I think it really reflects what I have been feeling this week as I hear those around me whine and moan about Christ being taken out of Christmas. Enjoy...
All week long - at work and to a lesser extent at home - I've been spammed relentlessly -- by well-meaning family & friends -- with a slew of "Hey kids, let's get together and SAVE Christmas!" chain emails. I've deleted them without comment -- except the occasional eye-roll to the other non-Christians (I know who they are -- the forwarders apparently do not.......or maybe they do) who appeared in the list of forwardees............but one from today finally made me snap.
It started out with a picture of decorated tree, and beneath it said:
"It's a CHRISTmas tree -- get it you morons? CHRISTmas, CHRISTmas, CHRISTmas! And we're not going to let the filthy pagans destroy it!"
The person who sent it to me added her own commentary -- "I LOVE this! Pass it on to everyone you know!"
Ok, being a Pagan myself, this was the last straw. Nobody calls me - or any of the many lovely Pagans (truly among the very best people I know) of my acquaintance - filthy and gets a pass.
My response (done as a "reply all" to everyone she'd sent it to):
Dear Friends:
Greetings to all of you in this most festive of multi-holiday seasons.
So much has been written - and said - lately about protecting the symbols of Christmas -- this email being a perfect example -- that I thought we should discuss for a moment what those symbols are, and what they really mean.
Let's start with the "Christmas" tree. Many of you may not be aware that the tradition of placing decorated greenery (trees, boughs, etc.) at the hearth is actually a Pagan tradition which pre-dates the birth of Jesus by centuries. Since evergreens - unlike other trees - maintain their greenery year round, Pagans revered them as symbolic of the immortal nature of the Gods. Pagans would bring evergreens (either whole trees or just boughs depending on their local tradition) into the home during the winter solstice festival and decorate them with the symbols (coins, fruits, flowers, etc.) of the prosperity they hoped would visit their family in the coming year. Even the later tradition of decorating greenery with lights (the first being candles) has it's roots in Pagan traditions.
Yule logs........well, they are exactly what their name implies. In celebration of Yule, a special log would be brought to the hearth, wished upon and then lit from the remains of the preceding year's log (and kept burning until morning to ensure good luck in the coming year).
Holly, ivy and mistletoe -- yep, all Pagan, and symbolic of fertility and everlasting life.
Caroling -- you got it, Pagan as well. Celtic Pagans would travel from door-to-door with their "wassail" bowl (wassail being derived from the Anglo-Saxon term "Waes hael", meaning - literally - "be whole" - a blessing for good health and prosperity. The drink itself was a potent combination of spirits, spices, sugar and eggs -- somewhat similar to our current "eggnog"), gifting their neighbors with songs in exchange for a refilling of their wassail bowl and "snacks" (cakes and candies)..............and there you have not only the origin of the gift-giving tradition, but the reason why we leave snacks for Santa as well.
Last but not least, let's look at the day itself.........December 25th. Biblical scholars disagree as to when Jesus was actually born, with most of them leaning more towards early spring (mostly due to the account of shepards having "watched their flocks by night" - a practice they perform during lambing season in the spring), so why was December 25th chosen as the date to celebrate Jesus' birth? There was much debate in the early days of Christianty as to when - exactly - Jesus' birth should be celebrated. We have the Romans to thank for the date we currently observe.
In 270 ce, the Roman emperor Aurelian - recognizing the existence of many different Pagan - as well as Christian - sects within the empire sought to blend all the differing solstice celebrations into a single festival - Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun - on December 25th. This date was later adopted by the Catholic Fathers in Rome -- circa 320 ce -- in an attempt to co-opt the existing Pagan celebrations........their hope being that this would aid in their push to convert the remaining Pagan religions to Christianity - especially, Catholicism........and it worked.
So, my friends, there you have it. Most of the "traditional" symbols of "Christmas" are actually traditions which were stolen from the Pagans. If you want to preserve the "symbols of Christmas", then you might want to come up with some.....you know, of your own.
Oh, and since you're being such jerks about it.........and I think I can speak on behalf of all FILTHY Pagans everywhere.............these symbols belong to US, and you can't have them anymore. You've done enough damage with them - and to them - already, so we're taking them back.
Your Friend,
The Filthy Pagan
ps.........we'll leave you the nativity. That one you can have.
Posted by Nikolas at 08:53 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBackDecember 21, 2005
Joyous Yule
For everyone else, Happy Winter Solstice...no more long dark nights...yeah!
December 20, 2005
Introducing...Liberty Bacon!
So I am doing my daily check of the Canadian News when I come across this little gem on CTV's website. While I have always thought CTV was like the Fox News of the North (conservative and unbalanced) I'm glad they ran this article just to show people how fucked up (some) American's really are when it comes to our place in the world. As I read the article I started to angrier and angrier...here are a few nuggets for you all...
[snip]
Prime Minister Paul Martin may have been chastised for his blunt talk on U.S. relations, but his comments have sparked a spate of anti-Canada rhetoric south of the border.
Last week, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson told his audience Canada "is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving. He's nice, but you don't take him seriously. Anybody with any ambition at all, or intelligence, has left Canada and is now living in New York," he told his audience, insisting it was pointless to tell Canada not to criticize the United States.
"It only eggs them on. Canada is essentially a stalker, stalking the United States, right? Canada has little pictures of us in its bedroom, right? It's unrequited love between Canada and the United States. We, meanwhile, don't even know Canada's name. We pay no attention at all," he said.
[end snip]
Oh...it gets better
[snip]
"So have the Canadians gotten a little too big for their britches?" Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked his viewers last week.
[end snip]
and better...
[snip]
"Can Canada really be considered our friend anymore?" he wrote. "What other question can be asked when the Canadian government not only willingly allows Islamic terrorists into their country but does nothing to stop them from entering our nation?"
[end snip]
How American to think that no other country in the world enjoys a high standard of living, has a prosperous economy and better civil rights then we do. Some people with "ambition and intelligence" also choose to move to Toronto, Mr. Carlson (i.e. Mason and I.)
Well, at least it looks like France is off the hook...for now. My new homeland looks like it's going to be on the receiving end of an American backlash for a while. Maybe they'll change it from Canadian Bacon (Back Bacon) to Liberty Bacon and start dumping bottles of maple syrup into the sewers.
Sigh...
December 14, 2005
What's a Dollar?
This weekend Mason and I were sitting in the living room - in our flannels and hoodies being in "lazy mode." We ended up deciding to order a pizza.
I ordered the pizza on-line with my credit card, but it didn't add a tip. Of course, we realized at that point that we only had a $20-dollar bill. Then I remembered the dollar coins I got as change from the post office machine the previous morning when I bought some holiday stamps. I ran upstairs and grabbed the coins and then when I got back down this is when the discussion started...
Basically, why is it that US citizens must apologize to a clerk, a waiter or a pizza delivery person for that matter for giving them dollar-coins? In the US everyone treats dollar coins as something bad - but why? It's the same value - it's more convenient in all reality and it's kind of cool in a way. However, here's what you end up saying:
"I'm sorry - these are all we have."
"Be careful - these are doooollllleeerrrrs" dragging out the word.
Now when we were in Canada (or Europe) we got really use to using the Loonie and the Twonie...and it actually made sense and you never felt the need to explain your money. It's one of those things that makes sense, saves printing costs and is helpful in a busy world like ours.
Soooooo, we debated how we could stop perpetuating the hostility of US dollar coins. The key is to not say "I'm sorry" or "Just so you know, these are doooollllleeerrrrs" dragging out the word. Mason thought we should tell our hapless Pizza Delivery Guinea Pig: "Thanks bud - oh, and a 'heads up' these are dollars" just because you really do have to acknowledge them.
So we were prepared, practiced and ready when the doorbell rang. I shuffled up to the door, grabbed the pizza and breadsticks and then handed the coins to the delivery guy and said:
"I'm sorry man, we don't have any singles, but these are doooollllleeerrrrs" dragging out the word.
D'oh!
December 12, 2005
It's Mason Again
So Nick and I were hanging out this weekend and he asked me why I wasn't posting much here on our website. I mentioned to him that I thought it was mainly just for use to share our thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc. about the pending move to Canada so that's why I haven't been posting much except when thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc. come up in relation to Canada.
I'll do my best to post more about everything, general stuff in the future.
Posted by Mason at 05:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBackDecember 11, 2005
Do I Know Who I Am?
A while back a friend of mine in Canada sent some DNA into the Genographic Project at National Geographic, to participate in a study to trace your deep ancestry. It is a really cool idea and allows you a look into your past...bloodlines, Ancestors, the stories that might have happened. I decided to sign up for the project and donate a little DNA myself to try and confirm what I have known to be true for a long time - that my family comes from Greece - through and through, probably to the age of Aristotle and beyond.
The way they do the testing with men is by following the Y chromosome (think back to biology folks) they get from their own fathers. So given the fact that my Dad's Dad's Dad (my great-grandfather) was from the Greek Colony Smyrna in now modern Izmir, Turkey...I assumed that I would end up with middle-eastern or that area's DNA.
Um...apparently not.
"The members of R1b (M343) are believed to be the descendants of the first modern humans who entered Europe about 35,000-40,000 years ago. Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup in Western European populations today. It is believed to have originated in the peoples who took refuge in Spain/France during the last ice-age. At the end of the ice-age (10-12K years ago) humans from this region migrated up the Western coast of Europe and partly into central Europe. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype (AMH).Those R1b forebearers were the people who painted the beautiful art in the caves in Spain and France. They were the contemporaries (and perhaps exterminators) of the European Neanderthals."
However, before my hopes were dashed I read small paragraph that stated that they haven't yet broken down the main European R1b into smaller groups which would help narrow the paths down a bit. Some studies being done state that genes that end up being on DYS393 ( have no idea, but it's like a neighborhood on the chromosome) translates into their heritage coming West from Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran and Turkey before eventually settling in Greece. These R1b's with a DYS393 marker is only found in Turkey and Iraq and suggests that may have spent the Last Ice Age in Asia Minor instead of Spain.
So go me, I guess I'm still Greek, but now when people say I look Middle-Eastern (which unfortunately has happened at one too many airports)...I can tell them it's in my genetics.
Posted by Nikolas at 12:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackDecember 08, 2005
Dear Santa
I've spent the majority of the evening finishing up the Holiday Cards, listening to carols and drinking Hot Cocoa with Franagelico. Hey, I needed something to take the nasty taste of envelope paste off of my tongue! I don't know why but I am looking forward to the holiday season this year - something got me in the mood really early this year and I don't know why. I started listening to 101.1 in the car - they've been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving. We decorated the office amongst all our different (non)-religions, and Mason and I put the tree up the first weekend of the month this December. Yule is not going to be very big on the gifts this year (that's never the point anyway), but Mason and I both decided that more then anything we want our debt gone so that when the time comes to move, we can go to Canada with no baggage - figuratively not literally :-)
On Saturday we have our annual party for the kids at the Department and help them decorate crafts, receive a gift and enjoy the holiday season as children and not foster kids. More then anything, even though this day is tiring, exhausting and comes on a Saturday when I should be home relaxing it brings a smile to my face and makes me remember why I chose Social Work as my given profession. Then the following week is our office holiday party/retreat.
I think more the anything I am happy, thankful and truly blessed for the way my life has turned out and for those people (past, present and future) that have come into my life. That's it. Thanks.
/ sappiness
Posted by Nikolas at 09:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackDecember 06, 2005
ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ
ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ (May you have Many Years) is what you say to other people in Greek when it comes to special occasions - Christmas, New Year's, Birthdays and of course Namedays. Namedays are big in Greece and in the Orthodox faith, but it's hard to separate the two when they grow up side-by-side in that sun-dappled Mediterranean country...where the state religion is Greek Orthodox.
Anyway, to my point...today is the Nameday of St. Nicholas. It was on this date in some god-forsaken ancient year that he died. So all the Nicholas', Nikki's, Nick's, Niko's and Dominick's of the world celebrate the day as a second little birthday. In the past I would look forward to the day because it meant the start of the holiday season. My parents would put the tree up AFTER my Nameday, we would go out to a fancy dinner and I would get calls from Uncles and Aunts as far away as Greece wishing me "ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ!"
However, as time has passed, and I came out and ruined my mother's chances for grandchildren and basically am the bane of her existence the phone calls have stopped. 2000 miles away from any family has taken its toll, and the fact that they can't accept me for who I am has been a loss to me as well. No Aunts, Cousins or anyone who has any remote connection to my family has called me, and my assimilation into American culture is nearly complete. Not that I am a big follower of Greek Orthodox tradition, but it is a tradition I grew up with. It's not a pity party, just a realization that my life is evolving into a different direction.
Regardless, a very hearty ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ to my fellow Nicholas/Nicoles around the world - I hope it was a good one :-)
December 05, 2005
The Perfect Canadian Day
So last night the hubby and I went to the Colorado Avalanche game - they were playing the Buffalo Sabres. I really didn't care what team they were playing I was just so happy to be back in a hockey arena to watch the game. It had been well over two years since the last time we went to a game at the Pepsi Center. Even though they lost it was still nice to watch them play, feel the frigid air of the arena and hoot and holler when one of the boys got into a fight in front of us.
Today it has been really cold in Denver. Our first real taste of winter and it didn't get much higher then 32*F (0*C) but with the gusts it felt much colder. So today I got my first chance to wear my toque that I bought in Toronto last winter. It has a little maple leaf on it and says "Roots." I was so happy today with the weather and my toque on that it didn't even faze me that I had to wait three hours this morning for a 5-minute Court hearing. Had lunch with the hubby, and finished up the day by driving by to pick up some dog food at the pet supply store near the house. As I was in the store checking out the lady saw my hat and said:
Her: "Are you from Canada?"
Me: "No, but hopefully I'm moving there soon!"
Her: "Really? That's great - I drove through British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska this summer. Beautiful country and really nice people. I enjoyed it much better then Alaska...I envy you."
Me: *Big Smile*
Sometimes the Universe gives you just enough to make it through the day :-)
Posted by Nikolas at 04:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackDecember 02, 2005
Ho, Ho, Fuck!
It has been a festive end to a horrible week. It seemed that whatever I touched at work this week turned to shit, but the weekend is here, the Yule Tree is up and I'm finally relaxing...
Funny that the holidays should be the focus of this journal entry - it seemed to be a recurring theme today. It started out this morning with an argument with a cubicle-farmed social work clone newbie. My Unit decided that it was time to decorate for our area for the holidays. Mind you our unit consists for two atheists, an agnostic, two pagans, a Roman Catholic, A Mormon, a Unitarian, a New Age Mutt and a twink - yet we all want to be festive and decorate.
"The girls" who sit next to me were very interested in learning about Yule, so I mentioned to them some of the aspects of the holiday, when lo and behold the cubicle-farmed social work clone newbie on the other side of my wall starts harrumphing...When I finally asked if there was a problem, she politely stated that ONLY Christians put up a tree, and that we are copying Christians. It was at that point that I started having a bad day as I snarkily reminded her that Christ was born sometime in August and that Pagans/Heathens were putting up trees way before Christ was born.
She wasn't happy...
The rest of the day was filled with the usual social work explosions that only I can enjoy and despise at the same time...
Fast-Forward a few hours later and I am in Target getting decorations for our Foster Care Holiday Craft Party and I am searching for a Menorah. One Menorah....we want to be inclusive for our diverse foster kids and are getting a Yule Log, Kwanzaa Candle set and Ramadan tapestries. Back to my Quest for the Menorah...surely there must be one in the gigantic Superstore I am standing in. It's even next to the Jewish Neighborhood in Denver...
Me: "Excuse me Ma'am?"
Her: "Yes Sir?"
Me: "Can you tell me where I can find a Menorah?"
Her: "A what sir?"
Me: "A Menorah?"
Her: "What's that?"
Me: "The Jewish Candelabra you light for Hannukkah?"
Her: *Snorts* "Never heard of it...Our Jewish section is over there." *points*
Me: "Um...thanks."
I go over to the "Jewish" section and discover it is a single row of greeting cards for Hannukkah. Sigh. Glad I didn't ask her for a Yule Log. It seems more and more America is turning into a Theocracy, opposed to any type of inclusion or diversity.
I'm just happy I'm home now with my man, my dogs and my very pretty, lit-up tree :-)
December 01, 2005
World AIDS Day
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Posted by Nikolas at 05:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
