Amanda Talks about Religion

My poor neglected blog, I haven't had much time for it since I'm working again. But I wanted to link to this very good post at Pandagon
and quote Mireille's comment:

As far as I’m concerned, atheists are the only people that can take full ersponsibility for their actions. If I were a christian, and I killed someone for no reason, they would be “martyred” and go to “heaven”. But since I believe that this life is the only life any of us have, I would know that by murdering someone, I am taking EVERYTHING I could possibly take from someone… So I better think about that.

Weekend Critter Blogging

I was looking at pictures I took in San Francisco last fall, and found this one of Angry Salt Guy. Not sure what he's angry about - Happy Pepper Guy was abandoned in favor of the pepper mill you can just see peeking out from behind the ivy, whose name I've forgotten.

Weekend Critter Blogging

Les animaux du Paris, courtesy of jet-set friends J & S. Pigeon eating dinner, rabbits waiting to become dinner.

Feminism, Environment

A posting at Feministing brought up the topic of reusable menstrual products.

One of my pleas for the environment is for women to reduce the amount of disposables they use. Even if menstrual cups or flannel pads aren't for you, choose products that use the least toxic, polluting, or non-biodegradable components as possible. Especially don't use plastic applicator tampons - cardboard or manual insert only. You don't need pads individually wrapped in plastic - to carry supplies with you, keep a few pads or tampons in a clean zippered bag that gets reused and can be washed.

Plastic is forever. Once a plastic product is made, it persists in the environment forever as trash. Plastic items accumulate in areas of the open ocean where currents create eddies, creating an ugly soup. Beaches on remote islands have pill bottles and tampon applicators wash up on them. Plastics don't "biodegrade" but they do leach chemicals into the water and soil. Some of these chemicals are suspected of being endocrine disruptors. See Science Blogs and Deep Sea News for more particulars.

Weekend Critter Blogging

A butterfly from the botanic garden at Golden Gate Park.

Weekend Critter Blogging

More pictures from California - I remembered mostly taking pictures of plants, but there's quite a few critters in there, too. These are sea anenomes, of a beautiful seagreen color. Don't know the species. I want to take a course in marine invertebrates! I need a course in Marine Invertebrates!

Weekend Critter Blogging

Haven't been taking many pictures lately - busy with gardening and a new job - so here's another picture from California, taken last fall. These are the famous sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf. They're like big fat cats, stretching and snoozing in the sun.