THE DEVIL IN MR. POTTER

I first became aware of the attitude of American Christian fundamentalists towards Harry Potter when I watched Jesus Camp. There is a scene in the film, in which the woman who runs the camp gives a sermon about how Harry Potter is witchcraft and sorcery, and therefore Satanic. It turns out that Fundamentalists are really concerned about Harry, and Chick Publications, the publishers who put out those little booklets with cartoons about lost souls burning in hell, went so far as to issue a little book entitled Nervous Witch, in which two young girls plunge into demonic possession by reading Harry Potter books.

I have selected three blogs for this installment of Blogomania:

The first blog is called Timothy’s Blog. Although Timothy is a Christian, he feels that the Harry Potter books are okay to read. In this particular installment, he refutes the argument, which another person makes on his sister’s blog regarding the satanic nature of Harry:

“The witches in Wicca [a false religion] believe they can obtain powers through some “greater power” found in nature. This power they say can be obtained through the mind (much like Harry Potter is learning to be a sorcerer in school). The fact is when these witches do cast spells and they do work it is not through there (sic) mind or some greater power but rather through the works of demons and other principalities not of God.”

The statements in the above paragraph are true. The people who practice witchcraft and wizardry do so only through the power of Satan and his demons. However, the Harry Potter books are by no means a textbook of some of the concepts they contain (such as witchcraft and wizardry). The reader himself is not taught the use of spells and other magic.

http://231blogalley.wordpress.com/2007/03/09/is-it-ok-to-read-harry-potter/


STR, The Freedom Blog has a totally different take on Harry. They do believe that Potter is from the devil.

Here’s an excerpt from this blog, under the heading of “Hogwarts Express” to Hell

"For those of you who have never had the misfortune of reading this series, allow me to present a brief synopsis:

Harry, the title-character is a trainee wizard at a British school of the occult called “Hogwarts”. Harry is a disobedient, insolent orphan who is disliked by his teachers and frequently gets in to trouble.

In each episode of the series, Harry must use his magical powers to defeat “Lord Voldermort”, an evil sorcerer who wishes to take over the whole of England by his use of the dark arts.

When faced with this powerful Evil, Harry does not pray for God’s help; In fact there is not one mention of God or Jesus Christ in the entire series of books. Instead, Harry and his magical acolytes rely on disobedience and witchcraft to defeat all of Voldermort’s plots.

In addition, as the main character grows older, the plotlines of the recent books have begun to include more sexually suggestive plots; The author wishes her readers to conclude that sexual gratification can only come through the mastery of the occult.

It’s hardly surprising that CAP Alert, the highly regarded Christian movie review site gave this movie version of one of these books the worst possible scores, and this scathing summary:

“Morally speaking, The Prisoner of Azkaban is cut with the nearly the same cookie cutter as the previous two Harry Potter films… All three are, of course, the bottom of the scoring in Offense to God. All three violate Isa 5:20 which warns of calling evil good.”

http://www.shelleytherepublican.com/2006/04/27/harry-potter-the-hogwarts-express-to-hell.aspx

What is most interesting about this blog is that it galvanizes the two main groups of opposition to Harry Potter: Political conservatives and Christian fundamentalists.

But what about the Atheist Angle? The Film Atheist begins its review of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone with the following statement:

"There are no witches. Let's say that all together now. THERE ARE NO WITCHES! Magic, spelled with a "c" or a "k" doesn't exist except as an act. And the Harry Potter books are works of fiction. Of course, that means the film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is also fiction. It is a story in a world invented by J.K. Rowling."

http://www.filmatheist.com/reviews/harrypotter1.htm

When we factor the religion angle out of the equation, the whole thing becomes a moot point. But the occult, the devil and Christianity have always been reluctant bedfellows.

Finally, the blog Menagerie of The Mysterious in it’s segment entitled Morality in SciFi and Fantasy, makes a case for Harry Potter being a secular work, which uses wizardry and magic as a mere literary convention, much like The Lord Of The Rings, or The Wizard of Oz. The blog quotes an article from the Christian Standard entitled Thank God for Harry Potter :

“In the 2,500-plus pages of the first five novels in the series, there is not one mention of Satan or demons or anything the slightest bit occult. In fact, the books are utterly secular in their orientation.”

http://muire.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/morality-in-scifi-and-fantasy/

Matters are further complicated by the fact that the creator of the series, J.K. Rowling, is a confirmed Christian. Thank God for Harry indeed.

IDEAL WORLDS

This month’s Bloggomania feature is called “Ideal Worlds”

We feature the blogs of Werner Uetz from Germany, Azania Lies Burning from Canada, and Bowiechick from the U.S.A.

These blogs are by people who couldn’t be more different from Each other.
Yet they share a similar concern: creating and inhabiting an ideal world.

WERNER UETZ’S P*A*R*T*Y!!! BLOG

http://werner-uetz.livejournal.com

Werner Uetz is a thirty-two year old man from Germany living in Spain. He has long hair and loves heavy metal music. His motto is P*A*R*T*Y*N*O*N*S*T*O*P!!!
His sole aim in life is to meet girls, and have a real good time. Werner lives in a sort of narcissistic self-delusional reality. He is a member of an online group called male auction, in which men post nude photos and auction themselves off to the highest bidder. Werner’s favorite bands are glam metal bands like White Lion, White Snake and the Christian metal band Stryper.
Werner is obsessed with his long hair. He even has a personal hair stylist who makes house calls and keeps his blond mane in good shape. Werner is depressed occasionally, when the “real” world interferes with his carefully constructed, P*A*R*R*T*Y!!! universe. Here’s an example from one of his blog entries:

11:58 pm
Today a very frightening thing has happened to me! I went to visit the Zoo and I went into the part of the Zoo where they have some animals like some deers and goats and chickens and small animals like you would find in farms. In this part of the Zoo they let you feed the animals. I bought a bag of foods for the animals and I was feeding some nice goats and then all the animals start to be crowding around me! Then too many animals! I started to be nervous. Then I try to back away saying to the animals to stay. They would not. I was backing away more when I slipped on something ( I think maybe some animal poo ) and I fall down. Then the animals all start trying to eat me!!! They were eating at my hair because I had some of their food fell into it. The goats and deer were pulling at my hair and I lose some. Very painful! Ouch! I yelled but nobody helped. Some teenagers were standing laughing at me. My hair was being eaten! This is not to be laughing about! Finally some Zoo guards come and pull the animals from off of me and I left very quickly. I was very covered in mud and some of my hair was pulled out. When I get home I realize that it is not too much but I need to ask Senora Inez to come over again to fix my hair. This is a very bad bad day for me. I will never go to Zoo visit again!!!

current mood: distressed



AZANIA LIES BURNING

http://azanialiesburning.blogspot.com

This is a blog belonging to a group called Azania. The group is a commune composed of four “wimmin”, one man, and a four- year- old child. Located on Woodbine, in the East end of Toronto, the Azania commune is rife with dissention, infighting, passive aggressiveness and hostility. But what really makes this “community” stand out is the fact that they take out their frustrations with each other through their blog! Azania Lies Burning (the name “Azania” was the ancient name for West Africa, and it was the name that South African rebels wanted to give to the post-Apartheid South Africa) is a sounding board for the complaints from group members, ranging from some members not doing the dishes, to others leaving the commune without paying rent or giving notice after living rent-free for a year.

Darkdaughta, who acts as a matriarch to the group, created the commune as a way of living in an ideal world, divorced from white male corporate oppression. As the matriarch figure, she bears the brunt of the drama that takes place in the commune. The Azania household appears to be constantly on the verge of disintegration. Yet, despite all, they manage to keep things rolling. Kudos to them for that!
Here’s an excerpt from one of their communal blog entries, which describes the current situation at the time, in male heterosexual terms for the sake of those not familiar with Azania’s family structure:

Think of it this way: How would you feel if you met a scroungy boy/man, took him into your life and home...

You thought he had some skills, but he presented as a whiny snot-nosed kid while in relationship with you. So, you, in good faith, taught him all you knew, gave him all you had, believing that he would take this stuff and put it in his relationship with you.

So as the months went on, he collected books, language, witty jokes, ways of being, cooking skills, basic life skills, all while you worked hard to ensure that he had all that he needed to develop a powerful self to offer the two of you in your relationship. A year passed, and finally, he'd started to take showers and put together okay outfits.

He finally got a job, and appeared to be more willing to give back something to you. But by the time all that happened, you were worn down ragged, and he found you uninteresting and a bother to be around, because you were constantly 'blaming him for things' and 'angry and grumpy' and 'judgemental' and he'd rather hang out with his new work buddies, some of which were bouncy cute anorexic girls who really
dug his style. He on the other hand felt free and energized, full of energy and verve and zest and drive for life.. there was something in the air.. a good mood, a bounce in his step.. it just felt sooo refreshing to be out! alive! confident!

His new peeps found him so cool and sexy and intelligent, and wanted to hang out with him. He told you that he tried really really hard to be 'honest' with them by telling them that they were actually encountering the work of his partner who was at home. And the more 'earnest' he was about that, the more they found him so interesting and honest, and wanted to hang with him. But you, his partner weren't speaking so much to him, because you were hurt and tired and drained.

So he decided that since things weren't working out, he'd leave you, and live on his own, to get his life together, and ground, and be with other people because obviously the relationship with you wasn't working well for you... and for him. He just needed a break, a retreat. So he decided that he'd move far away from you, but would give you a lifetime supply of St. John's Wort and some Q-tips to help you deal with your depression, and that just because he's been having secret relationships that you know about, and he hasn't told you about, and just because he's moving halfway across the city, and told you about this decision the same week that he got a way better paying job, that doesn't mean that he's leaving you high and dry... Besides, he'd use 6% of his income from the job that you bathed, fed, clothed, him to get to look into supporting you to have a break because you were looking a little run down these days... He'd give you the proceeds from selling some old DVDs so that you could get some supplies that you needed but couldn't afford because you spent it all on him.



BOWIECHICK

http://www.bowiechick.com

Bowiechick’s name is Melody Oliveira. She is “17 years old, and still a child when I want to be”. She also characterizes herself as being “Christian AND a Bowie fan”.
I first came in contact with Bowiechick through her videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught my attention. In it, she talks about how her boyfriend left her because she lied about going to her girlfriend’s house. She wears dark rimmed glasses, and then shakes her hand and the glasses disappear. She then proceeds to do a number of tricks with her web cam. This video went “Viral”, causing the sales of Logitech webcams to double. The CBS Evening News even did a story on her, and they shot the whole thing in her bedroom!
I love Bowiechick’s blog, because in it she talks about what concerns her as a teenager. Things like “What happened to the original mother on ‘Family Matters’” and being a huge Bowie fan. Bowiechick’s world is creative, sweet and unafraid of being heartfelt. I am always fascinated by the fact that all her videos are shot in her room, a middle class white teenage girl’s room covered in Bowie posters. Yet the videos manage to be fresh and poignant and beautiful every single time. I also love the fact that Bowiechick continues to do her thing despite the barrage of “hate” comments that she gets from other users. Here’s an excerpt from one of her entries, regarding the show “Family Matters” and Bowiechick’sreaction at seeing one of her older videos:



What happened to the original mother on Family Matters? I love that show, but most of the seasons had this one lady playing Harriette Winslow, but in about the last year, there was ANOTHER lady! She looked nothing like the first one, she didn’t even act the same. Yet she was supposed to still be Harriette. Uh, ok…

Also, in one of my favorite shows, That’s So Raven (shhh!), there is a mother in the first few seasons. Suddenly… she was gone. GONE! What happened to her?

Speaking of Raven…

If you watch Disney channel, you would know about the Disney movie(s) The Cheetah Girls. 2 of those girls are from this group called 3LW (3 Little Women). Man, when they first came out back around 2000… I loved them! It’s crazy how much my music taste changes.

Celsie and I watched a movie thing called “Laura” that we made back in about 2001, which also had some 3LW music in the background, and it was sad. We are so young too! Crazy! But it was supposed to be a horror movie. It was the most pathetic thing ever about a girl named Laura singing Ring Around the Rosie and haunting Celsie (Riley). In part 2, my friend Jamie joins in (Chloe) and is “sleeping over” in the movie. What makes it so funny is they say it’s getting dark and it’s time for bed, yet the sun is blaring in. We had commercials (most of which were commercials for Mary Kate and Ashley books/movies), and then we MADE UP bloopers! They weren’t even real! We just faked them at the end! Wow, but we got quite a laugh out of that.

IDEAL WORLDS

This month’s Bloggorama feature is called “Ideal Worlds”

We feature the blogs of Werner Uetz from Germany, Azania Lies Burning from Canada, and Bowiechick from the U.S.A.

These blogs are by people who couldn’t be more different from Each other.
Yet they share a similar concern: creating and inhabiting an ideal world.

WERNER UETZ’S P*A*R*T*Y!!! BLOG

http://werner-uetz.livejournal.com

Werner Uetz is a thirty-two year old man from Germany living in Spain. He has long hair and loves heavy metal music. His motto is P*A*R*T*Y*N*O*N*S*T*O*P!!!
His sole aim in life is to meet girls, and have a real good time. Werner lives in a sort of narcissistic self-delusional reality. He is a member of an online group called male auction, in which men post nude photos and auction themselves off to the highest bidder. Werner’s favorite bands are glam metal bands like White Lion, White Snake and the Christian metal band Stryper.
Werner is obsessed with his long hair. He even has a personal hair stylist who makes house calls and keeps his blond mane in good shape. Werner is depressed occasionally, when the “real” world interferes with his carefully constructed, P*A*R*R*T*Y!!! universe. Here’s an example from one of his blog entries:

11:58 pm
Today a very frightening thing has happened to me! I went to visit the Zoo and I went into the part of the Zoo where they have some animals like some deers and goats and chickens and small animals like you would find in farms. In this part of the Zoo they let you feed the animals. I bought a bag of foods for the animals and I was feeding some nice goats and then all the animals start to be crowding around me! Then too many animals! I started to be nervous. Then I try to back away saying to the animals to stay. They would not. I was backing away more when I slipped on something ( I think maybe some animal poo ) and I fall down. Then the animals all start trying to eat me!!! They were eating at my hair because I had some of their food fell into it. The goats and deer were pulling at my hair and I lose some. Very painful! Ouch! I yelled but nobody helped. Some teenagers were standing laughing at me. My hair was being eaten! This is not to be laughing about! Finally some Zoo guards come and pull the animals from off of me and I left very quickly. I was very covered in mud and some of my hair was pulled out. When I get home I realize that it is not too much but I need to ask Senora Inez to come over again to fix my hair. This is a very bad bad day for me. I will never go to Zoo visit again!!!

current mood: distressed



AZANIA LIES BURNING

http://azanialiesburning.blogspot.com

This is a blog belonging to a group called Azania. The group is a commune composed of four “wimmin”, one man, and a four- year- old child. Located on Woodbine, in the East end of Toronto, the Azania commune is rife with dissention, infighting, passive aggressiveness and hostility. But what really makes this “community” stand out is the fact that they take out their frustrations with each other through their blog! Azania Lies Burning (the name “Azania” was the ancient name for West Africa, and it was the name that South African rebels wanted to give to the post-Apartheid South Africa) is a sounding board for the complaints from group members, ranging from some members not doing the dishes, to others leaving the commune without paying rent or giving notice after living rent-free for a year.

Darkdaughta, who acts as a matriarch to the group, created the commune as a way of living in an ideal world, divorced from white male corporate oppression. As the matriarch figure, she bears the brunt of the drama that takes place in the commune. The Azania household appears to be constantly on the verge of disintegration. Yet, despite all, they manage to keep things rolling. Kudos to them for that!
Here’s an excerpt from one of their communal blog entries, which describes the current situation at the time, in male heterosexual terms for the sake of those not familiar with Azania’s family structure:

Think of it this way: How would you feel if you met a scroungy boy/man, took him into your life and home...

You thought he had some skills, but he presented as a whiny snot-nosed kid while in relationship with you. So, you, in good faith, taught him all you knew, gave him all you had, believing that he would take this stuff and put it in his relationship with you.

So as the months went on, he collected books, language, witty jokes, ways of being, cooking skills, basic life skills, all while you worked hard to ensure that he had all that he needed to develop a powerful self to offer the two of you in your relationship. A year passed, and finally, he'd started to take showers and put together okay outfits.

He finally got a job, and appeared to be more willing to give back something to you. But by the time all that happened, you were worn down ragged, and he found you uninteresting and a bother to be around, because you were constantly 'blaming him for things' and 'angry and grumpy' and 'judgemental' and he'd rather hang out with his new work buddies, some of which were bouncy cute anorexic girls who really
dug his style. He on the other hand felt free and energized, full of energy and verve and zest and drive for life.. there was something in the air.. a good mood, a bounce in his step.. it just felt sooo refreshing to be out! alive! confident!

His new peeps found him so cool and sexy and intelligent, and wanted to hang out with him. He told you that he tried really really hard to be 'honest' with them by telling them that they were actually encountering the work of his partner who was at home. And the more 'earnest' he was about that, the more they found him so interesting and honest, and wanted to hang with him. But you, his partner weren't speaking so much to him, because you were hurt and tired and drained.

So he decided that since things weren't working out, he'd leave you, and live on his own, to get his life together, and ground, and be with other people because obviously the relationship with you wasn't working well for you... and for him. He just needed a break, a retreat. So he decided that he'd move far away from you, but would give you a lifetime supply of St. John's Wort and some Q-tips to help you deal with your depression, and that just because he's been having secret relationships that you know about, and he hasn't told you about, and just because he's moving halfway across the city, and told you about this decision the same week that he got a way better paying job, that doesn't mean that he's leaving you high and dry... Besides, he'd use 6% of his income from the job that you bathed, fed, clothed, him to get to look into supporting you to have a break because you were looking a little run down these days... He'd give you the proceeds from selling some old DVDs so that you could get some supplies that you needed but couldn't afford because you spent it all on him.



BOWIECHICK

http://www.bowiechick.com

Bowiechick’s name is Melody Oliveira. She is “17 years old, and still a child when I want to be”. She also characterizes herself as being “Christian AND a Bowie fan”.
I first came in contact with Bowiechick through her videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught my attention. In it, she talks about how her boyfriend left her because she lied about going to her girlfriend’s house. She wears dark rimmed glasses, and then shakes her hand and the glasses disappear. She then proceeds to do a number of tricks with her web cam. This video went “Viral”, causing the sales of Logitech webcams to double. The CBS Evening News even did a story on her, and they shot the whole thing in her bedroom!
I love Bowiechick’s blog, because in it she talks about what concerns her as a teenager. Things like “What happened to the original mother on ‘Family Matters’” and being a huge Bowie fan. Bowiechick’s world is creative, sweet and unafraid of being heartfelt. I am always fascinated by the fact that all her videos are shot in her room, a middle class white teenage girl’s room covered in Bowie posters. Yet the videos manage to be fresh and poignant and beautiful every single time. I also love the fact that Bowiechick continues to do her thing despite the barrage of “hate” comments that she gets from other users. Here’s an excerpt from one of her entries, regarding the show “Family Matters” and Bowiechick’sreaction at seeing one of her older videos:



What happened to the original mother on Family Matters? I love that show, but most of the seasons had this one lady playing Harriette Winslow, but in about the last year, there was ANOTHER lady! She looked nothing like the first one, she didn’t even act the same. Yet she was supposed to still be Harriette. Uh, ok…

Also, in one of my favorite shows, That’s So Raven (shhh!), there is a mother in the first few seasons. Suddenly… she was gone. GONE! What happened to her?

Speaking of Raven…

If you watch Disney channel, you would know about the Disney movie(s) The Cheetah Girls. 2 of those girls are from this group called 3LW (3 Little Women). Man, when they first came out back around 2000… I loved them! It’s crazy how much my music taste changes.

Celsie and I watched a movie thing called “Laura” that we made back in about 2001, which also had some 3LW music in the background, and it was sad. We are so young too! Crazy! But it was supposed to be a horror movie. It was the most pathetic thing ever about a girl named Laura singing Ring Around the Rosie and haunting Celsie (Riley). In part 2, my friend Jamie joins in (Chloe) and is “sleeping over” in the movie. What makes it so funny is they say it’s getting dark and it’s time for bed, yet the sun is blaring in. We had commercials (most of which were commercials for Mary Kate and Ashley books/movies), and then we MADE UP bloopers! They weren’t even real! We just faked them at the end! Wow, but we got quite a laugh out of that.

IDEAL WORLDS

This month’s Bloggorama feature is called “Ideal Worlds”

We feature the blogs of Werner Uetz from Germany, Azania Lies Burning from Canada, and Bowiechick from the U.S.A.

These blogs are by people who couldn’t be more different from Each other.
Yet they share a similar concern: creating and inhabiting an ideal world.

WERNER UETZ’S P*A*R*T*Y!!! BLOG

http://werner-uetz.livejournal.com

Werner Uetz is a thirty-two year old man from Germany living in Spain. He has long hair and loves heavy metal music. His motto is P*A*R*T*Y*N*O*N*S*T*O*P!!!
His sole aim in life is to meet girls, and have a real good time. Werner lives in a sort of narcissistic self-delusional reality. He is a member of an online group called male auction, in which men post nude photos and auction themselves off to the highest bidder. Werner’s favorite bands are glam metal bands like White Lion, White Snake and the Christian metal band Stryper.
Werner is obsessed with his long hair. He even has a personal hair stylist who makes house calls and keeps his blond mane in good shape. Werner is depressed occasionally, when the “real” world interferes with his carefully constructed, P*A*R*R*T*Y!!! universe. Here’s an example from one of his blog entries:

11:58 pm
Today a very frightening thing has happened to me! I went to visit the Zoo and I went into the part of the Zoo where they have some animals like some deers and goats and chickens and small animals like you would find in farms. In this part of the Zoo they let you feed the animals. I bought a bag of foods for the animals and I was feeding some nice goats and then all the animals start to be crowding around me! Then too many animals! I started to be nervous. Then I try to back away saying to the animals to stay. They would not. I was backing away more when I slipped on something ( I think maybe some animal poo ) and I fall down. Then the animals all start trying to eat me!!! They were eating at my hair because I had some of their food fell into it. The goats and deer were pulling at my hair and I lose some. Very painful! Ouch! I yelled but nobody helped. Some teenagers were standing laughing at me. My hair was being eaten! This is not to be laughing about! Finally some Zoo guards come and pull the animals from off of me and I left very quickly. I was very covered in mud and some of my hair was pulled out. When I get home I realize that it is not too much but I need to ask Senora Inez to come over again to fix my hair. This is a very bad bad day for me. I will never go to Zoo visit again!!!

current mood: distressed



AZANIA LIES BURNING

http://azanialiesburning.blogspot.com

This is a blog belonging to a group called Azania. The group is a commune composed of four “wimmin”, one man, and a four- year- old child. Located on Woodbine, in the East end of Toronto, the Azania commune is rife with dissention, infighting, passive aggressiveness and hostility. But what really makes this “community” stand out is the fact that they take out their frustrations with each other through their blog! Azania Lies Burning (the name “Azania” was the ancient name for West Africa, and it was the name that South African rebels wanted to give to the post-Apartheid South Africa) is a sounding board for the complaints from group members, ranging from some members not doing the dishes, to others leaving the commune without paying rent or giving notice after living rent-free for a year.

Darkdaughta, who acts as a matriarch to the group, created the commune as a way of living in an ideal world, divorced from white male corporate oppression. As the matriarch figure, she bears the brunt of the drama that takes place in the commune. The Azania household appears to be constantly on the verge of disintegration. Yet, despite all, they manage to keep things rolling. Kudos to them for that!
Here’s an excerpt from one of their communal blog entries, which describes the current situation at the time, in male heterosexual terms for the sake of those not familiar with Azania’s family structure:

Think of it this way: How would you feel if you met a scroungy boy/man, took him into your life and home...

You thought he had some skills, but he presented as a whiny snot-nosed kid while in relationship with you. So, you, in good faith, taught him all you knew, gave him all you had, believing that he would take this stuff and put it in his relationship with you.

So as the months went on, he collected books, language, witty jokes, ways of being, cooking skills, basic life skills, all while you worked hard to ensure that he had all that he needed to develop a powerful self to offer the two of you in your relationship. A year passed, and finally, he'd started to take showers and put together okay outfits.

He finally got a job, and appeared to be more willing to give back something to you. But by the time all that happened, you were worn down ragged, and he found you uninteresting and a bother to be around, because you were constantly 'blaming him for things' and 'angry and grumpy' and 'judgemental' and he'd rather hang out with his new work buddies, some of which were bouncy cute anorexic girls who really
dug his style. He on the other hand felt free and energized, full of energy and verve and zest and drive for life.. there was something in the air.. a good mood, a bounce in his step.. it just felt sooo refreshing to be out! alive! confident!

His new peeps found him so cool and sexy and intelligent, and wanted to hang out with him. He told you that he tried really really hard to be 'honest' with them by telling them that they were actually encountering the work of his partner who was at home. And the more 'earnest' he was about that, the more they found him so interesting and honest, and wanted to hang with him. But you, his partner weren't speaking so much to him, because you were hurt and tired and drained.

So he decided that since things weren't working out, he'd leave you, and live on his own, to get his life together, and ground, and be with other people because obviously the relationship with you wasn't working well for you... and for him. He just needed a break, a retreat. So he decided that he'd move far away from you, but would give you a lifetime supply of St. John's Wort and some Q-tips to help you deal with your depression, and that just because he's been having secret relationships that you know about, and he hasn't told you about, and just because he's moving halfway across the city, and told you about this decision the same week that he got a way better paying job, that doesn't mean that he's leaving you high and dry... Besides, he'd use 6% of his income from the job that you bathed, fed, clothed, him to get to look into supporting you to have a break because you were looking a little run down these days... He'd give you the proceeds from selling some old DVDs so that you could get some supplies that you needed but couldn't afford because you spent it all on him.



BOWIECHICK

http://www.bowiechick.com

Bowiechick’s name is Melody Oliveira. She is “17 years old, and still a child when I want to be”. She also characterizes herself as being “Christian AND a Bowie fan”.
I first came in contact with Bowiechick through her videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught my attention. In it, she talks about how her boyfriend left her because she lied about going to her girlfriend’s house. She wears dark rimmed glasses, and then shakes her hand and the glasses disappear. She then proceeds to do a number of tricks with her web cam. This video went “Viral”, causing the sales of Logitech webcams to double. The CBS Evening News even did a story on her, and they shot the whole thing in her bedroom!
I love Bowiechick’s blog, because in it she talks about what concerns her as a teenager. Things like “What happened to the original mother on ‘Family Matters’” and being a huge Bowie fan. Bowiechick’s world is creative, sweet and unafraid of being heartfelt. I am always fascinated by the fact that all her videos are shot in her room, a middle class white teenage girl’s room covered in Bowie posters. Yet the videos manage to be fresh and poignant and beautiful every single time. I also love the fact that Bowiechick continues to do her thing despite the barrage of “hate” comments that she gets from other users. Here’s an excerpt from one of her entries, regarding the show “Family Matters” and Bowiechick’sreaction at seeing one of her older videos:



What happened to the original mother on Family Matters? I love that show, but most of the seasons had this one lady playing Harriette Winslow, but in about the last year, there was ANOTHER lady! She looked nothing like the first one, she didn’t even act the same. Yet she was supposed to still be Harriette. Uh, ok…

Also, in one of my favorite shows, That’s So Raven (shhh!), there is a mother in the first few seasons. Suddenly… she was gone. GONE! What happened to her?

Speaking of Raven…

If you watch Disney channel, you would know about the Disney movie(s) The Cheetah Girls. 2 of those girls are from this group called 3LW (3 Little Women). Man, when they first came out back around 2000… I loved them! It’s crazy how much my music taste changes.

Celsie and I watched a movie thing called “Laura” that we made back in about 2001, which also had some 3LW music in the background, and it was sad. We are so young too! Crazy! But it was supposed to be a horror movie. It was the most pathetic thing ever about a girl named Laura singing Ring Around the Rosie and haunting Celsie (Riley). In part 2, my friend Jamie joins in (Chloe) and is “sleeping over” in the movie. What makes it so funny is they say it’s getting dark and it’s time for bed, yet the sun is blaring in. We had commercials (most of which were commercials for Mary Kate and Ashley books/movies), and then we MADE UP bloopers! They weren’t even real! We just faked them at the end! Wow, but we got quite a laugh out of that.

IDEAL WORLDS

This month’s Bloggorama feature is called “Ideal Worlds”

We feature the blogs of Werner Uetz from Germany, Azania Lies Burning from Canada, and Bowiechick from the U.S.A.

These blogs are by people who couldn’t be more different from Each other.
Yet they share a similar concern: creating and inhabiting an ideal world.

WERNER UETZ’S P*A*R*T*Y!!! BLOG

http://werner-uetz.livejournal.com

Werner Uetz is a thirty-two year old man from Germany living in Spain. He has long hair and loves heavy metal music. His motto is P*A*R*T*Y*N*O*N*S*T*O*P!!!
His sole aim in life is to meet girls, and have a real good time. Werner lives in a sort of narcissistic self-delusional reality. He is a member of an online group called male auction, in which men post nude photos and auction themselves off to the highest bidder. Werner’s favorite bands are glam metal bands like White Lion, White Snake and the Christian metal band Stryper.
Werner is obsessed with his long hair. He even has a personal hair stylist who makes house calls and keeps his blond mane in good shape. Werner is depressed occasionally, when the “real” world interferes with his carefully constructed, P*A*R*R*T*Y!!! universe. Here’s an example from one of his blog entries:

11:58 pm
Today a very frightening thing has happened to me! I went to visit the Zoo and I went into the part of the Zoo where they have some animals like some deers and goats and chickens and small animals like you would find in farms. In this part of the Zoo they let you feed the animals. I bought a bag of foods for the animals and I was feeding some nice goats and then all the animals start to be crowding around me! Then too many animals! I started to be nervous. Then I try to back away saying to the animals to stay. They would not. I was backing away more when I slipped on something ( I think maybe some animal poo ) and I fall down. Then the animals all start trying to eat me!!! They were eating at my hair because I had some of their food fell into it. The goats and deer were pulling at my hair and I lose some. Very painful! Ouch! I yelled but nobody helped. Some teenagers were standing laughing at me. My hair was being eaten! This is not to be laughing about! Finally some Zoo guards come and pull the animals from off of me and I left very quickly. I was very covered in mud and some of my hair was pulled out. When I get home I realize that it is not too much but I need to ask Senora Inez to come over again to fix my hair. This is a very bad bad day for me. I will never go to Zoo visit again!!!

current mood: distressed



AZANIA LIES BURNING

http://azanialiesburning.blogspot.com

This is a blog belonging to a group called Azania. The group is a commune composed of four “wimmin”, one man, and a four- year- old child. Located on Woodbine, in the East end of Toronto, the Azania commune is rife with dissention, infighting, passive aggressiveness and hostility. But what really makes this “community” stand out is the fact that they take out their frustrations with each other through their blog! Azania Lies Burning (the name “Azania” was the ancient name for West Africa, and it was the name that South African rebels wanted to give to the post-Apartheid South Africa) is a sounding board for the complaints from group members, ranging from some members not doing the dishes, to others leaving the commune without paying rent or giving notice after living rent-free for a year.

Darkdaughta, who acts as a matriarch to the group, created the commune as a way of living in an ideal world, divorced from white male corporate oppression. As the matriarch figure, she bears the brunt of the drama that takes place in the commune. The Azania household appears to be constantly on the verge of disintegration. Yet, despite all, they manage to keep things rolling. Kudos to them for that!
Here’s an excerpt from one of their communal blog entries, which describes the current situation at the time, in male heterosexual terms for the sake of those not familiar with Azania’s family structure:

Think of it this way: How would you feel if you met a scroungy boy/man, took him into your life and home...

You thought he had some skills, but he presented as a whiny snot-nosed kid while in relationship with you. So, you, in good faith, taught him all you knew, gave him all you had, believing that he would take this stuff and put it in his relationship with you.

So as the months went on, he collected books, language, witty jokes, ways of being, cooking skills, basic life skills, all while you worked hard to ensure that he had all that he needed to develop a powerful self to offer the two of you in your relationship. A year passed, and finally, he'd started to take showers and put together okay outfits.

He finally got a job, and appeared to be more willing to give back something to you. But by the time all that happened, you were worn down ragged, and he found you uninteresting and a bother to be around, because you were constantly 'blaming him for things' and 'angry and grumpy' and 'judgemental' and he'd rather hang out with his new work buddies, some of which were bouncy cute anorexic girls who really
dug his style. He on the other hand felt free and energized, full of energy and verve and zest and drive for life.. there was something in the air.. a good mood, a bounce in his step.. it just felt sooo refreshing to be out! alive! confident!

His new peeps found him so cool and sexy and intelligent, and wanted to hang out with him. He told you that he tried really really hard to be 'honest' with them by telling them that they were actually encountering the work of his partner who was at home. And the more 'earnest' he was about that, the more they found him so interesting and honest, and wanted to hang with him. But you, his partner weren't speaking so much to him, because you were hurt and tired and drained.

So he decided that since things weren't working out, he'd leave you, and live on his own, to get his life together, and ground, and be with other people because obviously the relationship with you wasn't working well for you... and for him. He just needed a break, a retreat. So he decided that he'd move far away from you, but would give you a lifetime supply of St. John's Wort and some Q-tips to help you deal with your depression, and that just because he's been having secret relationships that you know about, and he hasn't told you about, and just because he's moving halfway across the city, and told you about this decision the same week that he got a way better paying job, that doesn't mean that he's leaving you high and dry... Besides, he'd use 6% of his income from the job that you bathed, fed, clothed, him to get to look into supporting you to have a break because you were looking a little run down these days... He'd give you the proceeds from selling some old DVDs so that you could get some supplies that you needed but couldn't afford because you spent it all on him.



BOWIECHICK

http://www.bowiechick.com

Bowiechick’s name is Melody Oliveira. She is “17 years old, and still a child when I want to be”. She also characterizes herself as being “Christian AND a Bowie fan”.
I first came in contact with Bowiechick through her videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught my attention. In it, she talks about how her boyfriend left her because she lied about going to her girlfriend’s house. She wears dark rimmed glasses, and then shakes her hand and the glasses disappear. She then proceeds to do a number of tricks with her web cam. This video went “Viral”, causing the sales of Logitech webcams to double. The CBS Evening News even did a story on her, and they shot the whole thing in her bedroom!
I love Bowiechick’s blog, because in it she talks about what concerns her as a teenager. Things like “What happened to the original mother on ‘Family Matters’” and being a huge Bowie fan. Bowiechick’s world is creative, sweet and unafraid of being heartfelt. I am always fascinated by the fact that all her videos are shot in her room, a middle class white teenage girl’s room covered in Bowie posters. Yet the videos manage to be fresh and poignant and beautiful every single time. I also love the fact that Bowiechick continues to do her thing despite the barrage of “hate” comments that she gets from other users. Here’s an excerpt from one of her entries, regarding the show “Family Matters” and Bowiechick’sreaction at seeing one of her older videos:



What happened to the original mother on Family Matters? I love that show, but most of the seasons had this one lady playing Harriette Winslow, but in about the last year, there was ANOTHER lady! She looked nothing like the first one, she didn’t even act the same. Yet she was supposed to still be Harriette. Uh, ok…

Also, in one of my favorite shows, That’s So Raven (shhh!), there is a mother in the first few seasons. Suddenly… she was gone. GONE! What happened to her?

Speaking of Raven…

If you watch Disney channel, you would know about the Disney movie(s) The Cheetah Girls. 2 of those girls are from this group called 3LW (3 Little Women). Man, when they first came out back around 2000… I loved them! It’s crazy how much my music taste changes.

Celsie and I watched a movie thing called “Laura” that we made back in about 2001, which also had some 3LW music in the background, and it was sad. We are so young too! Crazy! But it was supposed to be a horror movie. It was the most pathetic thing ever about a girl named Laura singing Ring Around the Rosie and haunting Celsie (Riley). In part 2, my friend Jamie joins in (Chloe) and is “sleeping over” in the movie. What makes it so funny is they say it’s getting dark and it’s time for bed, yet the sun is blaring in. We had commercials (most of which were commercials for Mary Kate and Ashley books/movies), and then we MADE UP bloopers! They weren’t even real! We just faked them at the end! Wow, but we got quite a laugh out of that.