Breathlessnesses

[kiya]

tnh at makinglight has a note about groups putting together resources for the tsunami victims. I make meaningful gestures and blither a bit.



Notes to me: add to quickie travel ritual set matches. There exist people who don't have them around, weirdly and mindbogglingly enough.

Also, remember to write the journal thing about polyvalent logic, chaos magic, and Sri Syadasti and the other journal thing about models of energy, self, and the water pumps and reservoirs.

In other news, I'm really quite fond of oneironaut.

In general crankiness, "Happy Solstice" as a nasty-intentioned comeback to "Merry Christmas" irritates me even more when people continue doing it well after the astronomical use-by date. I want to strap these people to an orrery and spin them around until they suffer from an understanding of astronomical geometry.

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

The polite thing is to wish people a happy whatever-holiday-they-celebrate - thus it's proper to say "Happy Yule!" to Pagans, and since Christmas is also called Yule, it's proper to say it to Christians too. If you don't want to be too specific, you can say "Happy Yuletide", meaning "this general holiday-season", all the way up to the week after New Year if you want.

For Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist people, atheists, practicioners of minority and/or Native religions, etcetera, it gets to be more difficult, because unless you know what holiday (if any) they're celebrating around the Winter Solstice, you're never gonna guess right. So "happy holidays" is probably safest, but it does sound pretty wimpy and boring.

I tend to think "Happy Yule" is generic enough - if people don't like it, they can tell me what they want to be wished instead, and I will gladly wish them that. However, if someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, I say it back to them, on the assumption that it's the thought that counts.

Yeah, "happy Solstice" is a silly greeting even on the actual day of the solstice, let alone any other time, but... whatever, y'know?

"I want to strap these people to an orrery and spin them around until they suffer from an understanding of astronomical geometry."

LOL, actually, that sounds like it would utterly be a blast; I'd wait in line to ride that ride. Aughra's orrery in the movie The Dark Crystal, remember that? it wasn't this solar system, but it was cool as can be, and I definitely wanted one.

[kiya]

*grin* I had a lengthy conversation with oneironaut after I posted that, trying to pique gtst memory of that orrery.

And Aughra! That's her name! I couldn't remember it, but I did manage to google up an image searching on 'Dark Crystal'.