Thanks!

Some things I'm thankful for:

We have made some fine friends during our time in Kannapolis.

We have a roomy yet cozy house with a loverly backyard. A fruitful garden, a thicket bursting with life, towering trees. Every back yard should be like this.

Our cat survived his near-death experience and seems more connected to us now.

Marat/Sade allowed me to do the kind of theatre I've always wanted to do, to meet dozens of wonderful folks, and to let all my craziness out. The toungue-clicking I developed for my character won't leave my mouth now.

My family reads my blog and yet hasn't disowned me.

I got a library card.

Now I have a part time job. Better than nothing.

I'll be attending UPTA auditions in February.

I'm married to Laurie. Every day I'm learning more about how to love and be loved in return.

Repositioning Slaughter

A friend recently passed along this article about a forthcoming Nepalese festival involving mass animal sacrifice (every five years, for a goddess, etc.) My friend, who is vegetarian with vegan leanings, was of the opinion that this is an outrage. I see his point, and having recently nursed a sick kitty back to health, I'm more in touch than usual with the importance of life, including animal life, but...

I'm a meat-muncher, and a Unitarianish type who is leery of changing others' faith practices. If you're worshiping a Goddess of Power, doesn't it make sense to spill a lot of blood? And they eat the meat, so it's not going to waste...

I believe in the value of all life, but not in the sanctity of any life. Life is an accidental byproduct of impersonal cosmic forces (a splendid byproduct, but still...) and so the destruction of it isn't inherently wrong.

And yet. I'm generally against killing humans, I don't believe humans are meaningfully more important than other animals, I'm against cruelty and confinement, and animal sacrifice is as stoopid as any religious practice could be. I'm still trying to find a balance between the part of myself that is drawn to Vegan values and the part that intends to keep eating animal flesh. This festival is a troublesome issue for me precisely because I don't know quite where I stand or why I stand there.

Literalistic religion is one cause of this problem. A symbolic sacrifice can be just as powerful as actual animal slaughter; that's part of what makes The Crucifixion resonate so strongly with so many people. Animal rights activists in Nepal are trying to persuade folks to sacrifice plants instead, but plants don't make the noises and smells of animal sacrifice and so may be a less pleasing odor in The Divine's nostrils... but sometimes The Divine needs to tighten Her belt, just like the rest of us.

Another possible compromise... abortion sacrifices. They should have doctors at the festival, ready and willing to perform abortions for all pregnant comers. That's almost like a human sacrifice, right? Powerful juju. And they got overpopulation issues around that region, right? I think I've just solved this problem. Another controversy ended.

So What's Up?

Marat/Sade ends this week; no more madness. No more letting my tics and twitches out. No more terrorizing the audience. No more dressing-room esprit de corps. Soon I'll have to find something else to do, like get a job. I'm working on it, like everybody else. I even got a typewriter so I can fill out applications without revealing my hillbilly scrawl.

Our cat is basically an indoor cat now, having twice returned from his outdoor jaunts with injuries, but we let him out last Saturday and he came running back, scared of something... and then was lethargic. Wouldn't eat or drink. Sat by his water bowl staring, not drinking. We took him to the vet, got him some anti-nausea drugs, and he's in good shape now. For a while I assumed that he'd been poisoned (we'd been warned that some country folks think nothing of poisoning cats) and I was close to exploding with rage, but Laurie pointed out that the cat came running back in a frenzy, as if he'd been shooed away from something, so possibly the only human involvement was beneficial rather than malicious. At first I wanted to assume a villain so there'd be someone to punish, but now I'd rather assume that there was no malice behind whatever threw him off balance. Of course it might be human negligence to blame; leaving rat poison or something out where other critters might get it.

So I've learned a bit about how much the cat means to me (I was pretty frantic for several days) and about how quickly my big dumb urges to wrath and revenge come bubbling up, non-violent milquetoaste that I am.

Speaking of which, I have started watching an old show called The Sopranos. It's pretty good and you should check it out. You heard it here first.

Also, I'm reading a book titled Pride and Prejudice. It to is worth a look. Keep reading my blog and I'll keep pointing out such overlooked gems for your consideration.

Mor for Ya'll

More music. My last batch for a while.

BTW Laurie and I are thinking about moving to Vancouver or someplace like that. Lots of biotech, lots of acting work, lots of health care.

Say "Cred!" and Pro-Fayne

Some songs I like.

Viva Vivian!

A new link: Vivian Maier. Her work achieves the pellucid clarity I want for my life and work.