I Used to Be Mad

I used to be mad
Oh I used to be mad
They put me in the house upon the hill
I used to be mad
But now I'm not so mad
Just as long as I keep taking my pills...
--I Used to be Mad, Nigel Burch and his Flea Pit Orchestra



Bonjourno, Good Gobbers!

Happy Easter, a day late!

So yesterday we went to church (beautiful service--great sermon and hymns), then out to lunch with my parents' old friends from college, or before college, I can't remember (I said they were old...). They're my godparents, anyway. We had lunch at Ella's (see... um... a previous post). Fun. And beneficial for my wallet (They're always generous contributors to the Give Ethan Money Fund). They're quite fun to talk to. My dad and Uncle Kevin (godparent, not real uncle) and I were kind of ranting about this "new" Gospel of Judas BS... (For those who don't know, there's a new book out by an author who "discovered" the Gospel of Judas, a 2nd or 3rd Century Gnostic writing that has Judas as a good guy, and our current form of Christianity is based on one of many splinter groups and it won a power struggle and some other crap...):

UK: So did you read the Gospel of Judas?

Dad: (Laugh) No. Maybe one day when I'm really bored I'll try it.

UK: (shakes head) Well, the media...

Dad: I know!

Me: Katie Couric's our new spiritual expert, I guess.

UK: Well they treat it like it's an "earth shattering revelation." [Quotes indicate sarcastic tone.-E] It's gonna "Shake people's faith." I mean, it's been around for eighteen hundred years!

(Laugh)

Me: And apparently the water changed to ice, and that's how Jesus walked on it.

(General laugh.)

UK: It's not even a Christian writing. It never pretended to be a Christian writing.

Dad: If Christians knew their doctrine better...

In Other News...

Here's some headlines to enjoy (they're all real):

Woman Ticketed For Crossing Street Too Slowly

Check it out.

Woman Bit By Snake At Home Depot

Wow.

Geologists Find Ancient Worm Feces

Seriously.

More (tho not always clean) can be found at
Dave Barry's Blog

...

So a friend of mine got back from France today... Actually yesterday, but I saw him today. Lucky bugger. He was told not to go into Paris on Monday or Teusday (due to riots), so, of course since he was staying with French girls (twins, and French-- enough said), they went to discotheques Monday and Teusday night.

Currently reading a book called The Peshawar Lancers, alternate history. The idea is that in the 1870s a series of comets hit Earth, dismantling much of civilization, forcing the British Empire to relocate to India, etc. The story takes place a century and a half later, with conflict between the British and the (Devil-worshipping) Russians. Lots of action, intrigue, mystery... And the world-building is excellent. The style is almost painfully detailed in places, but it works for the type of story. The research is incredible.

Having finished writing a Sons of Adam story, I am now working on the "Mustard Museum Mystery," a local writing contest with a reward of... I forgot the amount. Lots of money. They wrote the first chapter of a mystery novel, and you write the second chapter and an outline of the rest of the novel, and they select the winner.

If you want to see what I'm working with, click here.

For those who don't know, my town has the world's only Mustard Museum, which is exactly what it sounds like. They have all types of mustard, stuff about the history of mustard, the making of mustard, blah blah blah. And a curious ketchup prejiduce.

Well. That about does it for now.

Slainte'bah!

Ethan
(Exit, pursued by the Easter Bunny's angry cousins)