To the Land of the Dead and Back Again

Halloween in Salem. Were we mad? Possibly, but a little madness can get you by when the traffic is backed up like the worst toilet in all of Scotland. Cris and I sat and sat, serenaded by Leonard Cohen, until we ninjaed around the traffic and made it to Mvoid's condo. Costumey goodness abounded. There was more an emphasis on character emulation than most costume parties I've seen in the past. People emulating characters from the screen, mythology, and the past, as opposed to professions (cops, pimps, doctors). The punch was killer, and it fueled many a twisting turning conversation and some dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday was a long day of lifting heavy things, admiring interesting buildings, fighting exhaustion in a car, and more lifting down in Providence. Heatray is living next to the coolest tree house I've seen in a while. I watched the kids across the street, playing and laughing, while a near dozen black clad twentysomethings smoked and drank and played with knives. There goes the neighborhood, I thought to myself. Then I rested my head back against the soft, comforting rock...

I didn't last long in the zombie fight night events. But they were fun to watch. Everything is cooler when done under black light.

Somehow, after all that time, I still had the energy to attend another Halloween party. This was one of those Mixed Friends parties, with lots of different groups that don't know each other. I did my best to mix and mingle with Tegin's friends, and was moderately successful in doing so. Movies are the great equalizer for finding common ground. But when the movies ended, Queen filled one room and hip hop filled the kitchen, so back to Tegin's room I went for quieter music, interesting conversation, and meeting new people after all. Besides, Battle Royale was playing.

Sunday was slothed off, a little laundry, some D&D. I lost another character, but I lasted longer than silentq, who died before we even found out her character's name! It was a blessing, really.

Is that an Asian in your trunk, or are you just happy to see me?

Spriggan reminded what a great group of friends I had, which is always something to be thankful for, but so often gets lost when your thoughts turn blue and leaden and you pine for things you don't have. You quickly forget what you do have, and how fulfilling that can be.

Take Saturday night. Having a balloon battle in Tegin's room. Or driving a bunch of people home, and a certain someone decides they want to ride in the trunk. Sure it sounds like a good idea, at the time, but it gets a trifle more uncomfortable when you hit pot holes. Still no permanent damage was done, and we all had a good laugh, especially Mishak.

My point is, it's good to remember the zany capers and magical little moments in your life. In fact, it's a moral imperative.

His fabulousness the Bishop

Some of you may not be aware, but the Episcopal Church consecrated Rev. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican community. There was some protest, even during the ceremony itself, but it's a done deal.

I'm a little fuzzy on why people are protesting so vehemently at this. If they don't like his being a bishop, why are they okay with his being a minister? Perhaps he wasn't out at the time, but the fact is the Church let him remain. If you're in the Church, you might just be called to be a higher rank someday.

I think it's a tricky situation to be in for a minister. Do you ignore the parts of the Bible that talk about homosexuality, or try to invalidate them? If you do that, can't you invalidate other parts of the Bible as well? Not that the Bible isn't filled with contradictory statements anyhow.

Anyhow, this is a momentous occasion for not only that Church, but all other churches.