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Picture yourself spending some time with congenial friends, sharing your lives and pictures from your cell phones." They're curious about that cool game, song, movie, camping trip, art show, or other event that fascinated you. You talk about all kinds of stuff, poetry, styles, personal achievements, relationships, and bad days. You can share your inner child, and laugh together. They sympathetically listen to your feelings about serious topics like politics or climate change, even when they don't agree.

Personal validation comes from paying attention to one another, giving more than you get. Everyone respects you and themselves, despite our amazing range of personal tastes and interests. They'll tell you they don't agree with an idea or behavior without implying you're a bad person or somehow deficient. It's an "I'm OK, You're OK" kind of fellowship, where nobody tries to make himself look better by picking on somebody else.

Nobody here is into mind games. A discussion started with a loaded guilt-throwing question will be deleted.

This group is not intended to compete with other groups on topics they cover but to "fill in the cracks." Whenever a discussion dwells at length on a topic for which there's an existing group, we urge you to provide members a link to that group to continue along their tangent.

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Tags: Aldrich Lloyd Talonding, child singing sensation

Carved shell jewelry

Started by Ruth Anthony-Gardner. Last reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on Tuesday. 3 Replies 0 Likes

Browsing carved shell jewelry by Shinji Nakaba, I came upon this ring.LOL, "Kiss the ring" has a new meaning. They show how it's made.…Continue

Tags: carved shell rings

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Comment by Alan Michael Wilt on January 22, 2013 at 1:45pm: I'm always of two minds when it comes to politicians, particularly those on the left, and god-talk. I think that if President Obama had left out, or even minimized, mentions of god, that would have been all anyone would talk about regarding the speech. And I'd rather the substance of the speech get the attention it deserves. At the same time, I thought he overdid it by a hair or two in this inaugural.

Worse, though, and by a lot, was the closing benediction. I don't know anything about the minister who gave it, but even if he's the most lefty of lefties his rhetoric was all about without god we can't even recognize our own goodness, dignity, worthy neighbors, etc. Hearing that just flat burned my toast. I couldn't turn the damn TV off fast enough.

Comment by Grinning Cat on January 22, 2013 at 12:35pm: I too was pleased and disappointed by different aspects of President Obama's inaugural address.

Lots of good, positive, progressive points: acknowledging climate change as a threat that must be responded to, validated by the "overwhelming judgment of science", and that "our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity." Also that equality "guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall", explicitly mentioning goals of equal pay for women and legal equality for "our gay brothers and sisters". Affirming the social safety net, "the commitments we make to each other". And more.

Not good: the theism sk8eycat and others of us complained about: "freedom is a gift from God", "our planet, commanded to our care by God", "an oath to God" and country... Whether intentional or not, it helps perpetuate the misconception that a deity is needed for morality.

(A good YouTube video on that point: "What if God Disappeared?" by Edward Current.)

The offending portions of the speech could have easily remained secular, and (even more) powerful:

"For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that freedom must be secured by people here on Earth."

"We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal."

"The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. [...] That is how we will preserve our planet. That's what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared."

"My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today [...] was an oath to our country, not party or faction [...]"

(Though leaving out the "God bless" closing would have drawn unfavorable attention!)

Comment by Grinning Cat on January 22, 2013 at 12:11pm: Joan, I took the original "Rechargeable Cat" and made several frames of an animated GIF. It's easy in Photoshop, but other tools such as The GIMP let you create animated GIFs too.

(Unfortunately I have no idea who took the original picture! It's posted on Flickr by a few different people as if it's their own work, and of course it's on other websites too.)

Comment by sk8eycat on January 22, 2013 at 12:31am: Re: Inaugural Speech...I was appalled bythe number of times Obama said the un-word, "god," in his speech. Particularly,

"My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country..."

********************

I have had more than enough of political undergodding....

[bangs head on desk]

Comment by Lillie on January 21, 2013 at 10:39pm: Ruth, I know you were gratified by President Obama's mention of Climate issues in his inaugural speech today. I certainly was.

Comment by Steph S. on January 21, 2013 at 9:35pm: Patricia thanks for the video - I just got to see it.

Thanks everyone for your wonderful posts and pictures.

Comment by Steph S. on January 21, 2013 at 9:34pm

Comment by Joan Denoo on January 21, 2013 at 8:41pm: Oh, boy, my son just served dinner and I am most content. He is a great cook, especially his pork chops.

Steph, that cat on the door is a familiar sight.

Grinning Cat, how did you get those eyes to change brightness? I know it is not a fake cat ...

booklover, looks like those cats know where to go for a nice home.