Another step towards Enlightenment

The Church of the Seven Day Recreationalist is as you know by now, not exactly politically correct about anything and in fact our members enjoy this one attribute so much that all sorts of amusing tidbits that fail the "PC" exam have been brought to our attention. The blog cakewrecks.com springs immediately to mind.

This day, dear friends and faithful followers Alex and Miguel clued the Founding Father and his beloved TLL into another such non-PC organization. A religious order in actual fact that shares many tenets with the CSDR and in fact may predate our creation. (Holy scholars are looking into this possibility to discover whether or not the CSDR is in fact an unknown sect of this other faith.)

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, (or simply FSM), is without a doubt one of the most non-PC organizations we have come across. Not only that but they are damned funny! Simply Google the word "this" and you will discover the gateway to a new and exciting faith. Imagine our surprise when we discovered the scientific proof that Global Warming is directly related to the global reduction in Pirates! Arrgh, what a shame!

While this does nothing to affect our own faith, becoming a Pastafarian was a no-brainer for us. After all, who couldn't love a god that is the High Noodly One, Pasta be His Name! All Hail The Flying Spaghetti Monster! we're going to have fun with this!

My goodness, I thought salvation would be tougher than this...

I was searching for something online today when I mistakenly came across a website for a church. The kind of church you might call a "real" church. And it just so happened that it was the very church in Texas that turned yours truly solidly away from organized religion for ever. That's right, Cavalry Cathedral in Ft. Worth Texas. Weird huh?

Well out of some sense of nostalgia or blatant curiosity I began poking around and came across a page titled "Salvation". Well I thought, "Oh yes? This might be good..." so I opened it and nearly choked! Not only was the path to everlasting salvation spelled out here in less that three paragraphs, (who knew that it was so simple?), but they spell out exactly what you must do.

"If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and would like to receive the gift that God has for you today," (but wait, NOW how much would you pay?! Well don't answer yet...) "then pray the following prayer from your heart and out loud with your lips:" (Ah, I wanted to use my neighbor's lips, they're so much fuller than mine...)

That's right, they have printed a specific prayer that guarantees your salvation! Wow! Can you imagine?! A whole paragraph that will guarantee your trip to heaven that you must recite, never mind letting your emotions just come from inside you or your belief to dictate how to proceed, we know the exact words that God wants to hear you parrot back. That's right, set aside your free will folks and come to Jesus, we'll tell you everything you need to know. So just sit back and be saved...

It goes on to say "If you have prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of God. All your sins are forgiven." Wow, just like that, poof!

And people wonder why I think religions are bogus.

Memorial Day

It is the third largest holiday for the consumption of alcohol, behind New Years and St. Patrick's Day. School is out and people are enjoying the warm weather and the freedom to do what they choose to do. All fine traditions indeed!

But it's called Memorial Day for a reason. This is the day our nation sets aside to honour the men and women who have lost their lives in the service of our country. This is an important tradition, a touchstone that should never be put away or trivialized. So I would like to propose a new tradition, I would like you all to consider adding this to your personal pantheon of traditions and to keep it each year. Pass it along so your children keep the tradition as well.

This Memorial Day, before the BBQs and the boating, the picnics and the baseball and yes even the racing, take a moment to consider what this day represents. Not a moment of silence while you consider your to-do list, but true reflection on the meaning of the word Memorial. It is a time when we should take a few moments and remember those Americans that have paid the price for our freedom to grill and boat and play baseball and go racing. Because freedom must be bought over and over again with blood and sweat and tears otherwise it will vanish, like a summer shower.

So this Memorial Day, play and have fun and enjoy your freedoms. But remember those that have provided them for you and perhaps say a prayer or lift an ale for those that are out there defending them even now!

All Souls Day...

..Was an anti-climax. We received even fewer trick-or-treaters than last year. "Hang on Michael," you say "didn't you say you only got one last year?"

Well, yes I did so less than one is, you guessed it, a big goose egg! Not a single one. I swear, it was down right depressing.

TLL did not carve any scary vegitation this year, but we did have all of our luminaria out and some creepy lighting. These oddly glowing designs are cut out of black paper sacks that TLL found somewhere and then an orange paper sack is inside to act as a light diffusser. They came out really cool, we made a whole mess of them. TLL did the spider and the cat, the tree is mine. The spider is my favorite one though.

But alas, no little gobblins came to be frightened. (Sniff)

The cats did end up with costumes though (evil snicker) and were oh so thrilled to be dressed up for the occation! Well, ok perhaps they were a bit put out. Enzo looks like he's going to kill the first person to get too close to him! Neither of them liked the hat much, but the wings were tolerated alright. At one point Nicholas was just wandering around in them and every step he'd take they would sort of flap making us both think of the Monkey Bats in The Wizard of Oz. Nicholas would walk by and both of us would start humming that music...

Enzo was dealing with his wings just fine for a while and was even up and running about.

The HAT however was the last straw for the little pudgy boy! Feeling his dignity maligned he chose to show us his best impersonation of Satan's cat...

Also Enzo was, while wearing the wings, doing the math to jump into the tube on their cat tree. Both of us were secretly hoping he would actually attempt this since the tube and Enzo are roughly the same size and the wings added about 7 inches on each side! It would have been a good laugh, but unfortunately Enzo is very good at math and he figured he would never fit and stalked off to pout.

Nicholas was, if it were at all possible, even less impressed with the hat than Enzo was, fixing the camera with a look that could kill at 20 paces. I must have laughed for 10 minutes! And that is something that Nicholas definately does not like, being laughed at! But what else could I do, I ask you.

As I said, Nick tolerated the wings a bit better than Enzo did. You see him here up and moving about, not lying on his belly like you tied a 50 pound weight to him! But you can see from that face that he is far from pleased. (Que maniacal laughter...)

(Oh, in that last picture, behind Nicholas is "The Tube", and yes that is the hole that Enzo was performing his calculations on entering. He regularly gets stuck in this hole due to his very round belly, the wings would have just added to the comedy. Shame he wised up to it.)

So, the CSDR sat about, Frankenstien head at the ready, and never gave out a single tidbit of candy. Since I am still on these stupid antibiotics I could not partake of the holy beverage, so we watched movies and drank juice on All Hallows Eve! Sigh. These pictures however attest to the fact that we still had a laugh or two. (Or maybe three) We hope yours was fun as well.

Woe and Dispair, Joy and Glee

The Church of the Seven Day Recreationalists dearly loves to celebrate! Any excuse will do really;

"Hey, I got an A on my paper!"

"Great! Let's celebrate!"

"Hey, it's Tuesday!"

"Great! Let's..." Well, you get the picture.

Basically we are people that enjoy life, enjoy each other, and enjoy enjoying! (I tried it the other way and that just sucks!) So actual holidays that are nothing but pure fun are right up our alley. Halloween is our favorite of them all.

Whether it is Samhain, All Hallows Eve, or just Halloween you must admit that this is an evening just made for having fun. I mean come on, costumes, food, candy, corn mazes, (would that be a Maize Maze?) scary movies, haunted houses, parties, little kids (and some big kids too) out laughing and having fun. Trying to scare your friends into dropping something. Stand outside of any haunted house anywhere and watch the people in the line to get in. There is laughter and joy in the crowd. It's pure fun.

But alas, we at the CSDR must bend this year to the pressures of the economic woes foisted upon us by our "wise" leaders in Washington and else where. So despite the good intentions, there shall be no giant spider or fog machine at the temple of the faith. Sigh. No stringy spider webs or gruesome severed hands, and no inflatable entry arch in the shape of a gargoyle. Heavy Sigh.

And perhaps most significantly of all, no scary TLL vegetation! Nooooooooooooooo!

We will have dry ice however, that's always fun! And stacks of custom made luminaria that TLL and I made a few years ago. And a really cool florescent black light bulb for our front door. So we won't be completely without toys! And of course I was planning on removing my mask...

I am just bummed that we can't go crazy like we want to.

We miss you Miguel!

(He is always good at going crazy this time of year!)

So here's to your Harvest Festival, Samhain, All Hallows Eve, and a Happy Halloween! Witches brew is always better when you're wearing a costume, don't you think?

And remember to recreate responsibly, he who imbibes does not drive! Ever! Be sure you live through the night so you can come and celebrate with us again next year!

Slainte!

Ah, The end of summer...

**Drawing a deep breath**

Ah, the end of summer, Samhain is upon us at last and we can finally look forward to the coming of winter. (Unless of course you live here where it is STILL in the middle 90s every day!) My brother is receiving temps of 44 degrees, during the day! It's just not fair sometimes.

But as I was saying, Samhain is this Friday and for those of you unfamiliar with this festival let me share some details with you very quickly. Samhain, or in Gaelic; Oíche Shamhna (Literally "Night of Samhain") is one of the most import festivals of the entire Irish year. It marks the end of summer, the collection of the final harvest, and in many cases the first frost.

It is also said to be the one night upon which the boundry between our world and that of the dead is thinnest.

It is a night of bonfires, food, libation, and reverence for loved ones who have left this world behind. The table will be set with an empty place for the departed loved one to join the party, and all of their favorite foods are served. It is a time to remember those we have lost, and to be thankful for what we have.

In this time of war, many have lost much. In this time of financial crisis, many have little. Couldn't we all benefit from a day set aside to honour those who are gone and to be grateful that while we all have less, we still have some?

So this Friday, light a bonfire (or a candle would probably be safer), leave a place at the table, and have a libation in honour and in thanks. Take stock of what you have and be glad of it, many have much less than you.

Always remember and never forget, those that imbibe DON'T drive! The Church of the Seven Day Recreationalists thanks you all, Huzzah!

Slainte!

Egads, Samhain already?!

I can scarcely believe that it is the time of Samhain again, so soon. 'Tis no small wonder I never feel like I accomplish anything if time itself can just slide by un-noticed. Yesterday I was contemplating faire and all that that entails and suddenly 'tis summer's end. What happened to everything after March I wonder?

Our more or less official celebrations shall be approved by the Church of the Seven Day Recreationalist in full measure. There will be lamb and other tasty morsels as well as some wonderful seasonal ale. TLL has something up her sleeve I can tell but she has spilled no info as of this date.

This year's Samhain celebration will have a theme, that being "Enough already!" No better way to ruin a wonderous end of summer than with politics, and dates being what they are Samhain falls just days before the U.S. Presidential elections. Well I have decided that NO politics shall interfere with our merry making and so our theme will help us to ignore the brow beating that will be going on on every television and radio channel in the known universe. It's movies and racing for the CSDR!

After all, what would I rather see? An old fart and an egomaniac slinging insults, or the final Formula One race of 2008? Hmmm, let me think about that a minute...

Of course Samhain is not the ONLY holiday the last weekend of this month is it? No indeed.

So here we are approaching All Hallows Eve also totally unprepared, no fog machine, no scary monsters, and only 15 days to ready our selves. I hate to admit it but last year we had a grand total of one Trick or Treater. That's all, one. TLL had carved lovely Frank-o-lanterns for the wall, we had dry ice for the candy bowl, spooky purple lights for the porch, and I of course had my monster head on. (No comments from the peanut gallery please.) And we got one.

Oh well, the kid had a cool costume and he got a LOT of candy... =o)

We almost bought costumes for the cats just to break up the bordom that is sure to be in store for us... But only Almost! Can you just imagine???