It was about this time last year that I sat out on my front porch watching a young family move into the house across the street from me. It was a hot and muggy day, much like today, and I watched with fascination as the house came to life. It would be several more weeks till they actually began living there and I would get the chance to meet them. The young man was cutting the grass and his wife was scooping up the massive grass clippings by hand. I took them my rake and introduced myself to Chris and Meghan.
They moved back out this weekend and tonight the house sits lonely and sad, empty once again. I've tried not to look at it but for some reason, I can't not look. I did not know it this time last year, but that young family (2 year old daughter and two awesome dogs) would become a very important part of my life. Helping them move these past few days was pretty tough. I was glad to help them as I have done many times, but I also hated to see them go. They are back where they came from, the Lexington area, but only for a few brief months. Chris will be going into the Army come February and they will once again move, this time further away.
I'm sad tonight as I miss my friends, these very special people that oh so quickly came into my life and disappeared just as quickly. I know that what they have done is for the best but I can't help but be upset that I have lost two people who just seemed to mean more to me than any I had met in years and years. We'll stay in touch and watch our lives change via facebook but from now on, I won't be able to just walk across the street and feel like I am home.
Coming Out, Sort Of
More and more, I've found myself thinking about religion and what it all means for the way the World works. I often wonder who the first human being was that looked around and decided that the only way things could be explained was by making up some story about a higher being. History is full of human beings living their lives according to one faith or another. I have no idea how many religions there really are, but I suspect it's in the thousands. Each is a little bit different, some more crazy than the others, but when you get right down to it, it all seems pretty silly.
Nearly every single setback in human history has been the result of one religion or another, often times all of them. The Catholics hated the Protestants, the Jews hate the Muslims, the American Christian Taliban hates the Muslim Taliban and nearly everyone hates the Scientologist. Wars have been fought over which religion was right and who's God was more holy. Millions and millions have been killed all in the name of God. We've destroyed the planet because the Bible tells us to have dominion over the planet.
Imagine where we would be were it not for the Dark Ages, that time of anti-science thinking that set humanity back hundreds and hundreds of years. We might be exploring other stars and planets by now instead of being happy with a space station in low Earth orbit. We probably could have cured cancer, stopped heart disease and made contact with some other civilization. But we will never know because the church held us back and it's taken centuries to recover.
Now, as is pretty evident by just opening your eyes, the worst elements of religion seem to be taking over once again. One need look no further than Sarah "Fucking Idiot" Palin to grasp how scary this is. She is adored by the most religious people in this country and is seen as some sort of savior, here to bring God back into our schools, our homes, our communities and our laws. It doesn't matter that our Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson, had absolutely no use for religion.
If you are on Facebook you probably know what I'm talking about. I can't tell you how many messages I get from otherwise sane people asking me to pray for this or that. When someone tells me that they are praying for me, I want to tell them "thanks for doing nothing". I don't say anything of course but if I were to comment on the offending post I would be branded a heretic and told that I was going straight to hell. Heck of a religion you guys have there, one that wants to damn people to an eternity of misery.
So, today I am taking the plunge and officially announcing that I am an Atheist. I do not believe in God, none of them, but that doesn't make me an evil person. When is the last time you read about an atheist going on a shooting spree because voices told him to? Anyways, coming out as an Atheist is not an easy thing to do in this country. If I were living in France or the Netherlands, people would react with a yawn and say "what took you so long." In America, it will get you uninvited from "Good Company".
Nearly every single setback in human history has been the result of one religion or another, often times all of them. The Catholics hated the Protestants, the Jews hate the Muslims, the American Christian Taliban hates the Muslim Taliban and nearly everyone hates the Scientologist. Wars have been fought over which religion was right and who's God was more holy. Millions and millions have been killed all in the name of God. We've destroyed the planet because the Bible tells us to have dominion over the planet.
Imagine where we would be were it not for the Dark Ages, that time of anti-science thinking that set humanity back hundreds and hundreds of years. We might be exploring other stars and planets by now instead of being happy with a space station in low Earth orbit. We probably could have cured cancer, stopped heart disease and made contact with some other civilization. But we will never know because the church held us back and it's taken centuries to recover.
Now, as is pretty evident by just opening your eyes, the worst elements of religion seem to be taking over once again. One need look no further than Sarah "Fucking Idiot" Palin to grasp how scary this is. She is adored by the most religious people in this country and is seen as some sort of savior, here to bring God back into our schools, our homes, our communities and our laws. It doesn't matter that our Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson, had absolutely no use for religion.
If you are on Facebook you probably know what I'm talking about. I can't tell you how many messages I get from otherwise sane people asking me to pray for this or that. When someone tells me that they are praying for me, I want to tell them "thanks for doing nothing". I don't say anything of course but if I were to comment on the offending post I would be branded a heretic and told that I was going straight to hell. Heck of a religion you guys have there, one that wants to damn people to an eternity of misery.
So, today I am taking the plunge and officially announcing that I am an Atheist. I do not believe in God, none of them, but that doesn't make me an evil person. When is the last time you read about an atheist going on a shooting spree because voices told him to? Anyways, coming out as an Atheist is not an easy thing to do in this country. If I were living in France or the Netherlands, people would react with a yawn and say "what took you so long." In America, it will get you uninvited from "Good Company".
Listen Up
One of the great medical inventions of recent years is the Cochlear Implant, a device which helps most totally deaf people hear. I've had several students who use them and I can honestly say that they do work, though results certainly do vary from person to person. Anyways, watch these two short videos of Jonathon, an 8 month old deaf child who has recently been given the implants. In these videos, the device is turned on for the first time and the expression on this boys face when he hears his Mother's voice for the first time (the second video shows his left ear being activated and it works much better) just brings a tear to your face...
And here is another video of a different child having his activated...
And here is another video of a different child having his activated...
Still Here
I'm still here, just feeling a bit down lately and no one needs to read that crap. It's been so freaking hot and humid and I just can't stand to even be outside. When that happens, well, it's not good. Hopefully these next few days, in which I have lots to do, will help change my mood.
Facebook Faithful
Facebook is full of religious fanatics who think nothing of putting up the latest Bible verse or asking the rest of us to pray for something. Now were I to put up a post about
atheism or or something negative about religion in general, I'd probably catch all kinds of hell. Alas, I'm okay with that and feeling up to the challenge. Anyways, here are a few cute cartoons for your pleasure...
atheism or or something negative about religion in general, I'd probably catch all kinds of hell. Alas, I'm okay with that and feeling up to the challenge. Anyways, here are a few cute cartoons for your pleasure...
I've Done My Part
My DNA ends with me and of that I am very happy. All of the problems that we are facing today, from a crashing economy to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, are the result of having 6.5 billion people on this planet. In short, that's about 6.5 billion too many and if there is any hope for the rest of what lives on this planet, we must go quietly into the night...
Me
I did something similar to this on my old blog and since I never got around to moving all that stuff over here, I have an excuse to do an all about me post...
Birthdate: January 2, 1970
Place of Birth: Hunter Air Base Army Hospital, Savannah, Georgia
Given Name: Gregory William Armstrong (Mom and Dad liked the name Greg and William was my Dad's middle name)
Current Name: Kelly Joann Armstrong (That was the name that Mom and Dad had picked out along with the given one. Mom and Dad liked the name Kelly and Joann was my aunts middle name. Taking it was the least I could do.)
High School: Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida. Class of 1988.
College: University of Kentucky in Lexington. Class of 1992 with a degree in History.
Graduate School: University of Louisville in Louisville. Class or 2003 with a Masters Degree in Special Education, Moderate and Severe Disabilities with a Rank I in Autism and Assistive Technology. Graduated first in my class.
Career: Special Education Teacher in a Functional Mental Disabilities Class. Next year will be my 10th year of teaching.
Places I've Lived: Savannah, Manhattan Kansas, Petersburg Virginia, Anchorage Alaska, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Louisville Kentucky, Clearwater Florida, Lexington Kentucky, Louisville again, Snowshoe West Virginia and Louisville again.
Best Place I've Ever Lived: Snowshoe, West Virginia. Located 4848 feet on top of Cheat Mountain, I worked at The Red Fox, one of the nations finest restaurants. I averaged about 100 days a winter on the slopes. As much as I loved the skiing and winter, summer was in many ways the best part of living there. The crowds were gone and the weather was always nice and cool.
States I've Been To: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Alaska.
Five States I'd Most Like To Visit That I Haven't: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Montana and California
International Places I've Been: London and other parts of England, Toronto, Windsor Canada, Calgary and Banff.
Five International Cities I'd Like To Visit That I Haven't: Melbourne, Hong Kong, Moscow, Tokyo and Vancouver
Airports I've Flown In or Out Of: Louisville, Lexington, Atlanta, St. Pete/Clearwater, Tampa, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham, Washington Dulles, New York Laguardia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, St. Louis, Seattle, Anchorage, Calgary, Toronto and London Gatwick.
Subways/Metros I've Been On: New York, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago and London.
Mountains or Beaches: Mountains
East Coast or West Coast: East Coast of course.
Winter or Summer: Winter
Snow or Sun: Snow
Five Ski Resorts I Most Want To Ski: Mad River Glen in Vermont, Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Crested Butte in Colorado and Big Sky in Montana.
Five Quirks I Have: I always sleep with one leg out from under the cover, I always shave my right leg first and my left underarm first, I put my right shoe on first but tie my left shoe first, I put mascara on my left eyelash first and I always taste my side dishes before the entree.
PC or Mac: Mac of course.
Favorite Television Show: Now that Lost is finished, I'd have to say that my new favorite is The Big Bang Theory.
Favorite Radio Station: 91.9 WFPK, one of the three public radio stations in town.
Favorite Book: 1984 by George Orwell. It's truly frightening.
Favorite Movie: Impossible to pick just one but any top five list, no matter the day I'm doing it, would include Blade Runner.
Religious: Ah, No, not in the least.
Favorite Thing in Life: Dogs of course. No truer love exists than that of the dog for it's owner.
Craziest Thing I've Ever Done: On a whim, I quit my job, put just about everything I owned in storage, loaded up my car and moved to the mountains.
Strange Fact: I once had a one night fling with a girl who was a week away from her wedding. At the time, I didn't know she was getting married in a week, but it wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't the one cheating.
Strange Fact 2: I wasn't able to quit sucking my thumb till my mid 30's.
Strange Fact 3: While living in West Virginia, I came face to face with black bears, bobcats and coyotes and was never scared. A mouse runs in front of me and I scream like a teenage girl out of fear.
Greatest Fear: The very real possibility that I will one day be the last living member of my family and thus be all alone.
Greatest Hope: That when I die, someone will say that I did good, that the world is a better place because I was once here.
Final Resting Place: I've let it be known that when I die, I want to be cremated and have my ashes mixed with those of my three beloved dogs (Sammy, River and Shadow) where we will be scattered at Dolly Sods, West Virginia atop Cabin Mountain.
Birthdate: January 2, 1970
Place of Birth: Hunter Air Base Army Hospital, Savannah, Georgia
Given Name: Gregory William Armstrong (Mom and Dad liked the name Greg and William was my Dad's middle name)
Current Name: Kelly Joann Armstrong (That was the name that Mom and Dad had picked out along with the given one. Mom and Dad liked the name Kelly and Joann was my aunts middle name. Taking it was the least I could do.)
High School: Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida. Class of 1988.
College: University of Kentucky in Lexington. Class of 1992 with a degree in History.
Graduate School: University of Louisville in Louisville. Class or 2003 with a Masters Degree in Special Education, Moderate and Severe Disabilities with a Rank I in Autism and Assistive Technology. Graduated first in my class.
Career: Special Education Teacher in a Functional Mental Disabilities Class. Next year will be my 10th year of teaching.
Places I've Lived: Savannah, Manhattan Kansas, Petersburg Virginia, Anchorage Alaska, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Louisville Kentucky, Clearwater Florida, Lexington Kentucky, Louisville again, Snowshoe West Virginia and Louisville again.
Best Place I've Ever Lived: Snowshoe, West Virginia. Located 4848 feet on top of Cheat Mountain, I worked at The Red Fox, one of the nations finest restaurants. I averaged about 100 days a winter on the slopes. As much as I loved the skiing and winter, summer was in many ways the best part of living there. The crowds were gone and the weather was always nice and cool.
States I've Been To: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Alaska.
Five States I'd Most Like To Visit That I Haven't: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Montana and California
International Places I've Been: London and other parts of England, Toronto, Windsor Canada, Calgary and Banff.
Five International Cities I'd Like To Visit That I Haven't: Melbourne, Hong Kong, Moscow, Tokyo and Vancouver
Airports I've Flown In or Out Of: Louisville, Lexington, Atlanta, St. Pete/Clearwater, Tampa, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham, Washington Dulles, New York Laguardia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, St. Louis, Seattle, Anchorage, Calgary, Toronto and London Gatwick.
Subways/Metros I've Been On: New York, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago and London.
Mountains or Beaches: Mountains
East Coast or West Coast: East Coast of course.
Winter or Summer: Winter
Snow or Sun: Snow
Five Ski Resorts I Most Want To Ski: Mad River Glen in Vermont, Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Crested Butte in Colorado and Big Sky in Montana.
Five Quirks I Have: I always sleep with one leg out from under the cover, I always shave my right leg first and my left underarm first, I put my right shoe on first but tie my left shoe first, I put mascara on my left eyelash first and I always taste my side dishes before the entree.
PC or Mac: Mac of course.
Favorite Television Show: Now that Lost is finished, I'd have to say that my new favorite is The Big Bang Theory.
Favorite Radio Station: 91.9 WFPK, one of the three public radio stations in town.
Favorite Book: 1984 by George Orwell. It's truly frightening.
Favorite Movie: Impossible to pick just one but any top five list, no matter the day I'm doing it, would include Blade Runner.
Religious: Ah, No, not in the least.
Favorite Thing in Life: Dogs of course. No truer love exists than that of the dog for it's owner.
Craziest Thing I've Ever Done: On a whim, I quit my job, put just about everything I owned in storage, loaded up my car and moved to the mountains.
Strange Fact: I once had a one night fling with a girl who was a week away from her wedding. At the time, I didn't know she was getting married in a week, but it wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't the one cheating.
Strange Fact 2: I wasn't able to quit sucking my thumb till my mid 30's.
Strange Fact 3: While living in West Virginia, I came face to face with black bears, bobcats and coyotes and was never scared. A mouse runs in front of me and I scream like a teenage girl out of fear.
Greatest Fear: The very real possibility that I will one day be the last living member of my family and thus be all alone.
Greatest Hope: That when I die, someone will say that I did good, that the world is a better place because I was once here.
Final Resting Place: I've let it be known that when I die, I want to be cremated and have my ashes mixed with those of my three beloved dogs (Sammy, River and Shadow) where we will be scattered at Dolly Sods, West Virginia atop Cabin Mountain.
I Miss The 80's- Well, Maybe Not The Fashion
I guess we thought we were cool but looking back, a lot of it was pretty horrible though not nearly as bad as things were for us in the 70's. I give you some of the best of the 80's...
I suppose that every single teenager during the 80's wore acid washed jeans. They were quite popular but it still doesn't make it right...
Of course they weren't nearly as bad as Parachute Pants. I'm ashamed to admit that yes, I did have a pair. I remember the first day I wore them to school (7th grade) it was snowing something fierce and the school bus I was on slid off the road into someones front yard. I never did make it to school that day and it was a cold walk back home wearing those parachute pants...
Okay, guilty on the Members Only jacket as well...
Okay, guilty on another travesty, the friendship pins. For those who weren't around back then, you took these pins with the little beads and put them on your shoelaces...
Oh my, guilty again on the jeans rolled up as tight as you could get them...
Okay, this one I'm kind of proud of as I still think they are kind of cool. I probably had about a dozen different Swatch watches, sometimes wearing more than one at once...
I don't know what's worse, that I used to wear these (in my boy days) or that I still see them from time to time today...the knit tie...
Okay, now we get into the clothes I always wished I was wearing and that starts with the stirrup pants...
Followed closely with the oversized shirt made famous by Jennifer Beals in Flashdance...
I was always jealous of the girls who got to wear the Add a Bead necklaces. Mom had one and I would try it on when no one was home...
Just about every girl that I knew wore Ankle Socks at one time or another. Alas, I didn't get to...
When Madonna first burst onto the scene, teen girls everywhere tried hard to copy her look...
I suppose that every single teenager during the 80's wore acid washed jeans. They were quite popular but it still doesn't make it right...
Of course they weren't nearly as bad as Parachute Pants. I'm ashamed to admit that yes, I did have a pair. I remember the first day I wore them to school (7th grade) it was snowing something fierce and the school bus I was on slid off the road into someones front yard. I never did make it to school that day and it was a cold walk back home wearing those parachute pants...
Okay, guilty on the Members Only jacket as well...
Okay, guilty on another travesty, the friendship pins. For those who weren't around back then, you took these pins with the little beads and put them on your shoelaces...
Oh my, guilty again on the jeans rolled up as tight as you could get them...
Okay, this one I'm kind of proud of as I still think they are kind of cool. I probably had about a dozen different Swatch watches, sometimes wearing more than one at once...
I don't know what's worse, that I used to wear these (in my boy days) or that I still see them from time to time today...the knit tie...
Okay, now we get into the clothes I always wished I was wearing and that starts with the stirrup pants...
Followed closely with the oversized shirt made famous by Jennifer Beals in Flashdance...
I was always jealous of the girls who got to wear the Add a Bead necklaces. Mom had one and I would try it on when no one was home...
Just about every girl that I knew wore Ankle Socks at one time or another. Alas, I didn't get to...
When Madonna first burst onto the scene, teen girls everywhere tried hard to copy her look...
I Miss The 80's The Movie Edition
Some clips from movies that stood out to me...
Who can possibly forget Long Duck Dong in 16 Candles...The Donger need food...
One of the two or three best war movies ever, Full Metal Jacket...
One Crazy Summer...
Who knew that Sean Penn would become someone other than Spicoli...
I love the ending to Full Metal Jacket...
Until I saw The Hangover last year, I had never laughed so hard in a theater as I did during this scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles...
Who didn't want to have a friend like Ferris Bueller...
Love the guys at the bar in Weird Science...
Heather's was one of the most biting movie of the decade...
Less Than Zero
Back To School...
Pump Up The Volume...
If you were alive during the 80's, you remember the constant threat of nuclear war. We all knew it was possible and actually quite likely but thankfully it never came. This scene from War Games is pretty intense...
Who can possibly forget Long Duck Dong in 16 Candles...The Donger need food...
One of the two or three best war movies ever, Full Metal Jacket...
One Crazy Summer...
Who knew that Sean Penn would become someone other than Spicoli...
I love the ending to Full Metal Jacket...
Until I saw The Hangover last year, I had never laughed so hard in a theater as I did during this scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles...
Who didn't want to have a friend like Ferris Bueller...
Love the guys at the bar in Weird Science...
Heather's was one of the most biting movie of the decade...
Less Than Zero
Back To School...
Pump Up The Volume...
If you were alive during the 80's, you remember the constant threat of nuclear war. We all knew it was possible and actually quite likely but thankfully it never came. This scene from War Games is pretty intense...
I Miss The 80's The Music Edition
I'm a product of the 80's, having come of age during that incredibly whacked out decade. I graduated high school in 1988 and can vividly remember the big hair, awesome clothes, great movies and most of all, the music. I remember the first time I saw the video for Kids In America by Kim Wilde. I so totally wanted to be her in every way possible. I knew every word from the song and knew exactly how to pout like she did. Here are some of my favorites...
Kim Wilde's Kids in America (this was my all time favorite from the 80's)
The Go Go's We Got The Beat
Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party
Bananarama's Cruel Summer (Totally love the hair and clothes)
Wall of Voodoo's Mexican Radio
Blondie's Call on Me
Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl
The Beastie Boy's Brass Monkey
Pet Shop Boy's It's A Sin
Kim Wilde's Kids in America (this was my all time favorite from the 80's)
The Go Go's We Got The Beat
Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party
Bananarama's Cruel Summer (Totally love the hair and clothes)
Wall of Voodoo's Mexican Radio
Blondie's Call on Me
Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl
The Beastie Boy's Brass Monkey
Pet Shop Boy's It's A Sin
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