Pandora's Bazaar

For months, I've been going back and forth, back and forth about whether to keep my blog here on AOL Journals or move it. I have finally decided to move it. Those of you who know me know that this has not been an easy decision. I love AOL, but it's time to move on.

I've always been a big defender or AOL, but I have to admit (even though I hate it) that AOL is a kind of a playground. We're the little kids and our babysitters keep us entertained while our parents work in the ivory towers, trying to figure out how to make more money while providing less customer service.

I hate these ads; I hate the censorship; I hate that you must have an AOL screen name to leave comments here. The folks here are great and I'll still visit their AOL journals, but it's time for me to graduate to something else. Besides, now that I have DSL, there's no reason to pay for AOL. There's nothing it provides that I can't get elsewhere (and without ads).

I'll be keeping this place up a little longer, moving some of my favorite entries to my new home at Blogger. I'll hope you visit me there.

http://pandorasbazaar.blogspot.com/

pandorasbazaar at 1:07:24 AM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

Julie of Julie's World and Paul at Aurora Walking Vacation inspired me to go out and capture a ghost on film. My house isn't haunted, but, eh, whatever.

I grabbed my digital camera and started snapping around the house, in the dark. It was disappointing at first because there was just nothing. Then, as I passed the hall bathroom, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I immediately snapped a picture and looked up. It turned out to be my mother's T-shirt on a hanger on the bathroom curtain rod. I thought the jig was up, but imagine my surprise when I looked at my camera's monitor.

You see it right? The orb and the half of a sort of skull-like face right in the middle of my mom's T-shirt, with its eye staring and its mouth hanging open, about to devour? Wow! Creepy!

I'll have you know that this light did not come from my camera's flash; I didn't use it. (I used a flashlight.)

So do you have any ghost pictures? I'd love to see 'em.

pandorasbazaar at 12:27:27 AM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 3 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I feel like I'm really settling back into the swing of blogging here. It was a little weird during the AOL Exodus. I too looked at other blog services, but got tired of wandering around in the desert so I came back. I was pleased to learn that I actually have regular readers who were happy to see me blog again.

So thanks to everyone who encourages me to blog and for reading and leaving your comments. And a big huzzah to my sister who's always saying, "You have got to blog about this" after an evening with the dysfunctional family.

I've added some new links the Other Journals section here so be sure to check those out.

pandorasbazaar at 3:09:30 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I went to see Juan Gabriel in concert earlier. I thought Isabel Pantoja was going to be his opening act, but they alternated and both performed from beginning to end. They sang two duets, one towards the beginning and one for the finale. She was good, but I feel a little shortchanged only because it's just not what I was expecting.

Juan Gabriel is one of the most important figures in contemporary Mexican music. He's composed thousands of songs that are poetic and full of so much emotion that he actually moves his fans to tears. He's won million of fans all over the world. His most beloved songs are his oldest, written probably about 20 years ago. These are the songs fans want to hear and sing along at concerts. Most of his songs are ballads, but he also sings rancheras, a genre of traditional Mexican music. My favorite part is always when the mariachi group comes out.

Isabel Pantoja is a Spaniard. Like JuanGa, her most beloved songs are some of her oldest. I like some of her songs, but I'm not as familiar with her materialas much. What I enjoyed most about her performance is that dramatic style unique to the Spanish.

She wore three different dresses throughout the concert, all in more or less traditional Spanish flamenco style, long with tight bodices, flaring at the feet with ruffles and a train, complete with matching shawls. She looked and sounded great and she danced beautifully. She's well known for her distinctive Andalusian sound and style. As an aside, she was married to a famous Spanish bullfighter who died in 1984 at the horns of a bull.

The only thing that was disappointing about the concert was the audience. Let's go over some ultra annoying concert-going types of people.

1. The late-comers. And I don't mean minutes late. I'm talking about those people who arrive an hour and half into the show, when the lights have long been turned off, and wander about trying to figure out where their seats are, obstructing the view to the stage. Naturally, these people have tickets in the middle of the aisle. So everyone has to get up to let them in as they balance their plastic cups of beer.

2. The cell phone addicts. Who are these people talking to in the middleof a inner-ear damaging concert? How can they even hear what's coming through?

3. The angry drunk that wants to fight. Need I explain? He's not so bad though because his more sensible friend will often calm him down.

4. The bores. I think these are the worst ones. These folks just sit there, usually with arms crossed. They don't get up, they don't cheer, and they definitely don't dance. They barely crack a smile. You'd think they're at a tax audit. It really sucks when you're surrounded by these because then, of course, you look like a complete idiot if you do actually sing along, dance, and cheer for the performer. And this is an integral component of the Juan Gabriel concert. He has great energy. He's moving around, jumping, dancing. Plus his once powerful voice is waning with age so the audience usually sings along and sometimes for him. But not this year. The audience was BORING.

My mother, a HUGE JuanGa fan and the reason we go see him in concert every single year, explained that the audience was so dull because they're all a bunch of old fuddy duddies. You should note that most of these people are in her age bracket. They certainly didn't stop her though. She has no qualms about singing along rather loudly and letting out appreciative shouts of "ole" and "ajua".

pandorasbazaar at 2:25:34 AM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Wow. I can't believe I haven't blogged since Tuesday. How time flies.

The week was pretty quiet. Sandpiper Circle met on Wednesday and we wrapped up our exploration of the elements with water. Zoila really went out and brought all this stuff. She bought and gave everyone a pretty gel candle that has sand at the bottom, with seashells and a starfish. Very nice. We had a new guy, but it turned out he was just doing research for a school paper. That was cool with us and he was nice so it'd be alright if he came back. We missed Pepito, but I haven't seen much of him lately. There's a lot going on in his life right now, all great things.

I'm super tired. I've been going to bed too late and waking up too early. I've been working on the website and planning my trip to England. I slept in a bit today, but I'm still sleepy. There will be no afternoon nap for me today, however. I'm going to a concert tonight. I better start getting ready.


pandorasbazaar at 5:48:06 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 3 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Weekend Assignment #102: Do you honestly think there is life out there in the universe? And if so, what kind of life do you think it is?

I believe there's life out there. In our solar system, it's probably no more than microbes and simple organisms; none of our celestial bodies seem to be able to support anything else. They're too cold, too hot, they lack surface or gravity, and so on.

Although sometimes it seems tough to find intelligent life in this planet, yeah, I do think there's intelligent life out there, somewhere, beyond our solar system. The universe is so vast that it's hard for me to believe there's nothing else. Will we meet them? I don't think so. At least, not if it depends on us. We're not exactly ready for interstellar travel.

If aliens have the technology to quickly travel trillions of miles to visit us here on Earth, I suspect they'll be fascinated in that same way we're interested in cave people, "Oh, look! They have those big, clunky vehicles with tires that roll on the ground! Like the kind our ancestors had three millennia ago! Amazing!"

Extra Credit: Name your favorite (fictional) alien creature.

Superman.

pandorasbazaar at 3:40:00 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 4 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Because I can't keep my big mouth shut, I wrote to the VA:

I would like to suggest that the VA examine the issue of emblems of belief that are available for placement on the headstones and markers of America's fallen soldiers. There are nearly 40 emblems available yet the Wiccan pentacle is not.

Wiccans serve the U.S. military and are currently among those being deployed. Like their Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu brothers and sisters, Wiccans serving in the military need and deserve the spiritual support of their communities at home and should have the option to have an emblem of their religion on their headstones just as those of other religions do.

Sgt. Patrick Stewart gave his life for his country in Afghanistan last year. He was Wiccan. Honor his memory and those of all our deceased veterans. Accept the pentacle as a religious emblem.

And the VA responded:

Dear Ms. (me),

I am responding to your inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regarding the recent requests for approval of the Pentacle emblem of belief for use on Government-furnished headstones and markers.

All requests for approval of any new emblem of belief will be evaluated in accordance with VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA) policy. Requests for the Pentacle emblem are currently going through the decision-making process.

Thank you for your interest in NCA and the memorial benefits we provide for our Nation’s veterans.

(name witheld by blogger)
Memorial Programs Service

Hmmm. I'm probably being watched more closely now.

If you've no idea what I'm talking about, check out these previous entries:
http://journals.aol.com/pandorasbazaar/PandorasJournal/entries/554
http://journals.aol.com/pandorasbazaar/PandorasJournal/entries/555


pandorasbazaar at 11:28:26 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

Your Monday Photo Assignment: Show us what's in your bookshelf right now.

I have two bookshelves facing one another in a small niche under the stairs. The black bookshelf holds fiction. I've read all these books and keep them because I adore them all. On the top shelf, you'll find some wonderful Latin fiction like 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Aura by Carlos Fuentes as well as some American classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scarlet Letter. Among the contemporary stuff you'll find Jasper Fforde and Memoirs of a Geisha. My European classics include Flaubert's A Sentimental Education, Anna Karenina, and Hugo's Les Miserables. The second shelf holds primarily poetry and medieval romances, mostly Arthurian lit. The lower shelves, which can't be seen in the photo, has The Riverside Shakespeare, art books, and some travel books.

The brown bookshelf holds the nonfiction, mostly titles on feminism and religion with some reference books on the bottom. I haven't read all of these, but I have read most and am slowly working my way through the others. However, there are really two other things that have my attention right now.

One is that box of magazines, a gift from one of my coven mates. They're all Pagan periodicals and there is some really cool stuff in there. The other are travel guides since I'm planning a trip to England.

pandorasbazaar at 9:57:20 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 3 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

The weekend's been pleasant. I slept in for the first time in weeks. One of my coven mates is getting married next weekend so we threw her a little party Saturday night. It was mellow, the usual...smart, fun people, good food, belly dancing, lots of laughter.

I spent most of Sunday working on the Pandora's Bazaar website. Some pages hadn't been updated since August and there's a lot of work that still needs to be done. Shipping costs have gone up. Sorry folks, but that's not my fault. The United States Postal Service raised all its rates this past January. Just to be clear, I don't profit off shipping costs. In fact, I usually come up short in that area. Estimating shipping rates is tough because it depends on weight, where the package is going, and how valuable it is. It's all too variable.

Something I'll be working on are links and banners. For those of you that have sent me link requests, don't despair. I'm not ignoring you nor have I forgotten you. I have every single relevant request and I will be getting to those this week.

On a personal note, I'm going to England! Yeah, for a week on my vacation in April. I've got my plane ticket and my hotel and I'm not putting together my itinerary. This weekend, I bought a ticket to see Romeo and Juliet in Stratford performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. How cool is that?! I'm a big fan of the Bard and I LOVE Romeo and Juliet. So if you've been to England, feel free to leave your tips.

pandorasbazaar at 1:17:30 AM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

Things are looking up for our Wiccan vets. Support appears to be growing for the pentacle to be approved and added to the list of emblems of belief that can be inscribed on headstones of deceased veterans.

A follow up article appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal online.

Mar. 03, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wiccan request gains support
Commander jopes VA allows symbol

By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The battalion commander in charge of the Nevada National Guard unit that lost Sgt. Patrick Stewart in Afghanistan in September said Thursday that he believes the Department of Veterans Affairs will act favorably on a request to allow a Wiccan religious symbol to be used for Stewart's memorial at the Fernley veterans cemetery.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Robert Harington also said he supports the efforts of Roberta Stewart, the widow of Patrick Stewart, to win approval to use the Wiccan symbol of a pentacle on her husband's memorial plaque.

"The system reacts slowly to change," Harington said. "I think Roberta has the right attitude. They will take care of it. They just need to grind it through the system."

Harington said he does not object to the use of the symbol -- a five-pointed star with one point facing up enclosed in a circle -- in a veterans cemetery.

"I don't think any American soldier would object," he said. "We have a mixing ground of American society in the armed forces. We have soldiers from every walk of life and every faith. We are all accepted in our community."

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said he would like to see the application acted on quickly.

"Obviously, it was disheartening to read about a brave soldier's widow unable to honor her husband at the memorial site in Fernley," Gibbons said in a statement. "It is my hope that the VA will act expeditiously to resolve this matter."

Roberta Stewart made her concerns known publicly because it had been five months since her husband died and the spot for his memorial plaque remained blank.

Stewart said Wednesday she wants the marker placed in the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery so the family can put her husband to rest and move on.

"The reaction has been pretty large and favorable, mostly from the military community," she said Thursday. "I'm just trying to keep a positive attitude and hope the government will see the error of this and push it through to make it a recognized emblem for all Wiccans and pagans."

Some Wiccans are private about their religion because of the concern their practices and beliefs might be misunderstood, she said. But Roberta Stewart said she and her husband let their beliefs be known in the community.

Wiccans, also known as neopagans, are a loosely confederated group of religious practitioners who are also referred to as nature religious practitioners. Their beliefs date back to before Christianity and focus on the natural world. Many of their observances fall around specific times of the year, such as the summer and winter solstice.

Wiccans may write rituals for themselves or their coven to recognize life passages, such as the onset of puberty, graduation or marriage.

Wiccans can refer to themselves as "white," or good, witches. But Stewart said the term is usually avoided in public because a primary tenet of the religion is "do no harm."

The Rev. Selene Fox, senior minister of a Wiccan group called Circle Sanctuary that filed an application for the use of the emblem in veterans cemeteries with the Veterans Administration in January, said Thursday it would be nice if the agency could act by the time Stewart's fellow National Guard members come home from Afghanistan later this month.

More than 30 emblems are allowed now, including the Christian cross and those for Buddhists and others.

"I think it would be a really good thing if they could make a decision before their return," she said.

VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda said the application is in progress but that there was nothing new to report.

Harington said the 98 members of Company D, 113th Aviation, are expected back in Nevada by March 15.

The Chinook helicopters used by the company are coming back with their crews aboard a C17 transport, which can hold only one of the aircraft, he said. The Guard members will first arrive in Fort Lewis, Wash., where they will put the partially disassembled helicopters back together, Harington said.

They will then fly by charter aircraft to Reno and have a coming home celebration at Stead, north of Reno, where the unit is located.

Harington said the return of the unit, which began its tour in Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2005, will be bittersweet.

Two members of the unit, Stewart and his friend Chief Warrant Officer John Flynn, of Sparks, died Sept. 25 along with two Guard members from Oregon and an Arizona soldier, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade while returning to base for refueling. They had just finished dropping off troops.

It's not too late to voice your opinions. See the links at then end of yesterday's entry.

pandorasbazaar at 8:46:32 PM EST Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own