Icarus's blog: "Somantics"

Well I do... but have you heard the speakers on a PSP?

Kinda tinny.

... ah yes...thank you auto double-spacing from VISTA/IE. Thank you... thank you. God I hate this fucking laptop. Anyhow. ... and you'll notice that my overuse of spacing and paragraph breaks has taken a brief repose

To my dear, loyal readers;

Vegas was fun. Could've been a touch more interesting with legalized prostitution and a fully nude strip club with loose interpretations of what exactly is permissable in the "VIP room", but... hey, I had fun and I got to see my brother. Then my sister in law's grandfather died midtrip.

COBRA is pretty much out of the question since I didn't get back by the thirtieth and I certainly had no opportunity to get my mail, fill out the paperwork and send it back.

Yes... yes, I just immediately told you how someone else's death effected me instead of himself or the family.

Well... for the most part my sister in law's family is... twatty. Ultrafundy religious nuts, and her mother, and her grandfather were neither of these things, but for whatever reason, the twatty bible thumper power of attorney aunt decides to cunt up every FUCKING gathering as an opportunity to recruit for the ever gorged army of christ.

I almost hit her at the last funeral of their's I went to. And I was in a fucking arm harness and down about 20% of my body weight.

I'd still regret not knocking that bitch and her crusading bitch of a martyr preacher out that day. I think I'll tell that story to my kids...

No really... using a non-religious FAMILY MEMBER'S DEATH as an opportunity to fire/brimstone their friends and family is in poor taste and extremely counter intuitive to your agenda and doesn't help with that whole... "I'm cuckoo for christ" image "don't call me a biggotted fundy" thing you've got going for you.

But I keep forgetting where I came from. Granted, my family are what I would consider "liberal/tolerant/bi-curious (religion not sex)" types, and my parents regularly acknowledge that most religious tomes were written by men with agendas with barely any grasp of science, human rights or politics and very rightly just wanted to perpetuate the system they dedicated their life to (for the right or wrong reasons), and in this environment, I would like to consider myself tolerant of all aspects of religion

except exclusivity, hatred, and intolerance.

Wouldn't you know- those were the themewords for that particular service.

"Grampa didn't believe in christ- but he wants you to, and he wants you to go to heaven."

I was livid.

And not just on behalf of my sister in law, reasonable people EVERYWHERE, my parents' religion being misrepresented, but also for the fact that

I actually liked this guy. He laughed at my jokes, liked to cook, never wore a shirt, and was a very quiet and gentle kinda guy.

I sort of looked up to him. Hardworking type, definitely a family guy, always had an open home.

Except for the quiet part- pretty much my polar opposite. And I liked him.

I don't like anyone.

I gave his widow a hug, put my head down and got through the rest of that day without strangling any holy men or unsubtly cunty psychos that entire day.

Then me and my brother played magic, and we all had funnel cake.

Oh... and we visited my sister in law's mother's grave.

I liked her too.

She gave me fried chicken.

I wish I had something more specifically eloquent on that subject, but this had more to do grampa. It was his day after all.