GATC

floating in nutrient broth,
cloudy amino soup:
a flesh tennisball
studded with pearl teeth
slowly erupting, waiting for harvesting and implantation;
soon we will do this right in YOUR mouth, but we don't have the necessary trials yet:
interested? just sign this...
it's a brave new world, baby
with corneas and ears growing on the
backs of norwegian blacks, just
flip a few genetic switches and we're
tapping the power of organic architecture
in a lexan vat;
all patents pending.

©jrs

Anglo-Saxon Poetry

The Ruin

supposition

supposition


New Years' Eve party, fumbling to get her blouse off, hot breath and thundering hearts.

a pregnancy test drying in the bathroom garbage, thick cake-icing snow falling on the windowsill.

warm september afternoon, lying in a hospital bed, a baby whisked down a white hallway.

29 with a husband and a seven year old; more than enough to deal with,

breathing deeply and moving on

wondering who he'll look like.




©jrs


see also: quaeris

american attitude

1991 Time Magazine Article on Scientology

Operation Clambake presents: Time Cover Article in 1991

via

I was curious about Scientology, and so I did some poking around. I knew a lot of this stuff before, but this Time article really put everything into perspective for me.

The real question I had was "why do some of these celebrities join the CoS, and what are they getting out of it, why the pseudo-evangelical attitude towards the CoS?"

Evidently, the CoS maintains special "Celebrity Centers" (I don't know if this is what they call it, but everyone else seems to agree that's what they are), where the celebs are treated to privacy and personal sessions with auditors, &c.

So the celebs are exposed to only one small part of the whole scene. Which would make sense. The Church gets good publicity, and the clebs get a personalized spa-type experience that leaves them feeling happier, more well-adjusted, and less stressed.

I'm not saying that Scientology is completely bad- I mean, I have no personal experience with the religion, but I can see some worth in the basic ideas behind it. It's just that L. Ron was definitely a wackadoo, and while some of the concepts may have pragmatic merit, the way in which they are framed is just nutty.

Like most religions.

Read the article. It's really interesting.

I EAT TAPES- Blog Archive-New server?

interesting things going on over in #mefi-land

even the thought of any discontinuity or loss of this venue fills me with dread and makes me sweat and shake. I love chatting with this crowd.

Seraph

Seraph: Online Etymology Dictionary

1667, first used by Milton (probably on analogy of cherub/cherubim), singular back-formation from O.E. seraphim (pl.), from L.L. seraphim, from Gk. seraphim, from Heb. seraphim (only in Isa. vi), pl. of *saraph (which does not occur in the Bible), probably lit. "the burning one," from saraph "it burned." Seraphs were traditionally regarded as burning or flaming angels, though the word seems to have some etymological sense of "flying," perhaps from confusion with the root of Ar. sharafa "be lofty." Some scholars identify it with a word found in other passages interpreted as "fiery flying serpent."

I didn't know Milton was the first one to use this word in print. I love the imagery of a smoking or flaming angel- the smoke obscuring and trailing off, Lucifer falling from heaven like a meteor, shining and burning like a falling star.

Beautiful and terrible.