Maxine’s Comments (group member since Apr 02, 2011)

Maxine’s comments from the Terminalcoffee group.

Scout wrote: "No response? No one can defend her point by point without deflecting?"

Not defending, not even American, think there is no lesser evil in your election & both will be bad for my country but, in the interest of objectivity, your argument about Hillary's comment needs context, something I have rarely seen in American political discussions. I'm a firm believer that, before media reports are taken on blind faith, a little research is a good thing so here's a little context:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-met...

And just a real question from a non-American: why does there seem like there's so much less concerns for all the previous attacks on American Consulates? Were they less important? Surely you can answer without deflecting.

When my husband of thirty years died last year, there wasn't one single thing that helped, but listening to music and reading fantasy literature made it easier to get through each day. I knew that the pain was letting up when I found myself reading other books and listening to the CBQ instead of The Ramones.

Wasn't the point of the group in the Memorial Day march vid, Atheists in Foxholes, to counteract the statement, "There are no atheists in foxholes"? Clearly, there are.

As to whether there are, or are not, atheists on the Supreme Court or in the White House, hmmm, isn't the separation of state and religion specifically spelled out in your constitution? So I'm with Phil, shouldn't religious affiliation, or lack thereof, be irrelevant?

And regarding the 'frustration' and animosity expressed towards atheists, perhaps it is true that if we (and I include myself here since I have been a 'born again' atheist since I was fifteen) kept our godless mouths shut, we would be treated just hunky dory. However, much of the frustration and animosity expressed by atheists is in response to the rise of the Religious right and its influence on science and education with ideas such as 'intelligent design'. It is no surprise that so many scientists like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking are coming out of the atheist closet - I have often wondered where we would be if religion didn't interfere with science.

I am not sure that people are any ruder than they were 40 years ago - with the rise of the internet and Fox News, people are just rude in a more public arena.

The Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed You Black Emperor

Well, you all know us flighty weaker vessels, so easily influenced by fiction - reality, pish tosh - why should we let a little reality stop us in our hunt for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome and, if he just happens to have a mad wife in the attic - score!

If the statistics are correct, then, yes, a university degree is worth it since university grads have the lowest unemployment rates. The reality is that $100,000 isn't a lot to start up a business and most businesses fail in the first five years. I think it is very telling that the guy handing out the money has a degree as do most of the big names in the industry.

Personally, I have never regretted getting a degree even though it didn't help me find a job. For me, education was an end in itself and I worked my way through school so I never had a huge debt. My son chose not to pursue higher learning and, now , in his thirties, he is going back to college because there are no decent paying jobs left for people without degrees, at least in the area in which we live.

However, I do find that the cost of education is getting ridiculously high, making it harder for any but the richest to attend. That doesn't take away from its value; it just means that fewer people are able to compete in the job market.

I lied about reading 1984 in university (for Theology no less). I was supposed to write an essay on it so I just skimmed the last few pages and got an A. I did read it later.

A few years ago, a coworker loaned me The Mermaid Chair. I read a few pages, hated it, told her I liked it, and, then, lost it. I had to buy her a new copy which cost me $40 and, given the plot, a fitting punishment for lying to a priest back in university. Ah, the wages of sin are heavy.

RandomAnthony wrote: "I think I like it. I definitely like it more than diet coke. I think.

I had a couple headache waves although I had a couple cups of coffee today. I'm slightly irritable, too, which I'm trying t..."

It could be the aspartame.

I'm a ferret person but, if I had to choose a dog or cat, I'd take the cat, mainly 'cause I'm allergic to dogs. I watched an interesting documentary recently that suggested that dogs were originally parasites and cats were working animals. The premise was that dogs became domesticated when they approached man because they were hungry and that all that good doggy lovin' is just a way to get fed. Cats, on the other hand, were found in grain bins and when it was discovered that they were killing the rats and mice that were infesting the bins, people began to, not only keep them as pets, but to worship them. There is also a belief that, had they not killed so many cats as witches' familiars during plague years, the death toll would have been considerably lower and would have changed the course of history. So, yay kitties.

Hmm, does this mean I have to buy a PC or install Windows on my Mac? Damn, you just can't get away from that guy no matter how fast you run.

No, not really. I was being a bit cynical. In a country where 14 women can be gunned down for wanting to become engineers and men cheered and a judge let the rapist of a 3-year-old off because 'she led him on', I long ago lost all faith in Canada's legal system where women are concerned.

I find it amazing that a police officer believes that rape has anything to do with how a woman dresses.

Staring at the Sun - Angry Samoans

I named my son Dylan after Dylan Thomas, my favourite poet at the time (30 some years ago). It wasn't as common then as it became a few years later. For some reason, all my friends thought I named him after Bob Dylan which struck me as odd since I wasn't naming him Robert or Bob. I also found out, years later, that I was pronouncing it wrong and that it should be pronounced Di-lan. Oh well, Dylan it remained.

Anyway, a few literary suggestions:

Ariel
Arianna
Siobhan (pronounced Shivon)
Bronwen
Evalina

For boys:

Sebastian
Nicholas

Barb wrote: "Helena wrote: "I’m about the same as Barb around $5.15/gallon. I pay close attention to gas prices as I have a fairly lengthy commute to work.

My husband (from NY state and still works there) ..."

If it wasn't for the huge increase in gas prices in the summer, I wouldn't know that the season lasted longer than one Wednesday in July.

What, The Detroit Cobras (love them by the way) but no Fleshtones, Joy Division and Gang of Four but not the Pixies, CCR but hate Dylan, the Ventures but not Link Wray,and, really, Cinderella - you were just being ironic, right?!? This has got to be the most eclectic combination of musical genres I have ever seen - you, sir, are a strange and wonderful dude!

By the way, by the time I saw the Yardbirds, only two of the originals were still with them. They were still great. I have seen Jeff Beck solo and Eric Clapton with Derek and the Dominos, both in Detroit - nothing like the Motor City for great music. Never seen Jimmy Paige but I hate Led Zeppelin so no big loss.

Where I live in northern Ontario, it's 1.399 per litre which is about $5.30 a gal I think.

Personally, I like Canada - it's a nice compromise between the two of them and I get to love/hate them both equally.

My only excuse is that my spelling is so often corrected by my American spellcheck that I have a tendency to ignore it. Anyway apocrhyphal, apocrypha (or, as I like to say, apocrypa), potatoe, potato, spurious, Christian, it's all Greek to me.