Taggage

And because I have no life, I've just gone and updated the tags from my last year's worth or so of entries. Every post now has at least one tag.

"Random Trivia" is just what it sounds like, a catch-all for updates, anecdotes, and so forth.

"Life" tends to include posts that are a little more introspective.

Posts relating to a certain person are now tagged with the inital letter of that certain person's name. (It falls somewhere between "F" and "H" in the alphabet.)

Current events (international and domestic) are under "World", except for Iran which gets its own tag. Jewish-related stuff is under "Hebraica". Obituaries and memorials are under "STGM" ... if you're a Latin geek you can probably figure out the abbreviation.

"Friends" refers to friends in general, LJ and non-LJ alike. "In Pro Per" (more Latin!) is for those all-too-rare occasions when I get to meet LJ friends in person. And TNG ... well, TNG needs no introduction.

I've also modified the visibility on a few old posts, generally in the direction of more openness. As you know from my userinfo, I like to write open posts as much as possible and I'll only friendslock when the stuff is unusually personal, or when another person's privacy is involved.

Celtic Pagans Evade Arrest

Followers of earth-based religions strive to abide by the laws of the lands in which they dwell, but inevitably misunderstandings arise. A few years ago, a group of Celtic Pagans - Druids, in fact - participated in a ritual in a rural area outside of Glastonbury, England, which attracted some unwanted attention from the neighbors. Detials of the incident are sketchy, but there were rumors of skyclad ceremonies and the partaking of certain questionable substances. At any rate, the local constabulary were called, and the long arm of the law was put forth to apprehend the malefactors.

It was an extraordinarily thorough operation - an all-points bulletin was issued throughout Somerset, and roadblocks were even set up along the major roads leading out of Glastonbury. Sure enough, the dragnet yielded results: within a couple of hours, a suspicious sedan festooned with "Honour Mother Earth" bumper stickers was spotted by a local police officer. It seemed a likely getaway car for the magickal miscreants. The policeman directed the driver to pull over.

Indeed, it could not have been more obvious: the occupants of the car were garbed in hooded cowls, and the driver had a long wooden staff propped against his seat; the interior of the car was littered with greenery, chalices, athalmes, and other ritual paraphernalia. Surely an arrest was imminent.

But these Celtic Pagans were masters of the Craft, and highly skilled in the arts of persuasion and suggestion. So, as the policeman approached the car, the driver simply rolled the window down, looked the officer in the eye, and said calmly,





"These are not the Druids you're looking for."

Birthdays!

Happy birthday, star_holder!

And in case I'm AFK for the next couple of days, an early happy birthday to melograna. Hope the kitty gets over that hangover!

Bucking the Trend

There's a great coffee shop on the corner of Burnside and Trinity. It's locally owned and operated, the folks there are waaay cool and they know everything there is to know about coffee, and they make the best damn shot of espresso in Portland.

Here's a couple of pictures from the inside:





A couple of months ago, a Starbucks opened up across the street. Here's the Starbucks, same afternoon:




I've never been inside, but that Starbucks looks like a great place to go ... if you're looking for a little peace and quiet.

Michael's going to Iraq again ...

... and this time he's going to hit Baghdad as well as Kurdistan.
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001393.html

I’ll be spending some quality time in Iraq over the next two and a half months doing consulting work, journalism, and video – first in the northern Kurdistan region and then in Baghdad and the heart of the Sunni Triangle.

My first job starts two weeks from now and will be another private consulting gig in Kurdistan with my business partner Patrick Lasswell. This will be my fourth trip to the region, which is becoming a regular beat for me now. I’m more comfortable there than I was when I first visited. The people, the terrain, the logistics, and the job are all familiar. The learning curve has flattened out, which means I can multitask now. ...

I’ll be there for a month or so, then will come home for a short break. Then I’m off to Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle for two weeks with the American military.

I’ve been coordinating a trip to Baghdad with the Department of Defense for months now. If the original plan worked out I would have been home from Baghdad already. But DoD is a bureaucracy at the end of the day. The troop surge means I'm even lower on their priority list -- which is, of course, understandable. My schedule keeps getting pushed back, but they promise to fly me there and provide me with as much access as possible. Theoretically now I’m going at the end of April.

Patrick's site is here:
http://pslasswell.blogspot.com/

It's weird to think that I went out drinking with these guys just a week ago.