I apologize for all of the mess that you might have saw this morning (and the mess that my fanlistings are still in). My site was hacked because I had a Coppermine installation that I had not used in over a year and had completely forgotten about - until I saw the mess this morning, looked in my raw access logs and tracked down the culprit… Please let this be a reminder to everyone: delete any scripts that you do not use, update any scripts that you do use with the latest updates, and update any plugins you use. Because I forgot to delete that crappy Coppermine installation, I now have to look through every single PHP file and delete a section of code that the hacker appended to every single PHP file. I have at least 10 PHP files for each of my 52 fanlistings on top of all of the Wordpress files I’ve already updated that I still need to fix.

I’m going to use my handy ReminderFox Firefox addon to remind me to check things for updates once a month or so. I would advise everyone to do the same.

[Edit 1:52AM Sunday, April 20] I’ve managed to clean up everything, I think, from this site to all of my fanlistings, my Q*bee quilt, and my portfolio. If you see any weird things going on please let me know. [/Edit]

I got up around 10 a.m. so that I could get some homework done (and that I did - around 50 pages of Archaeology and two chapters of Psychology), and then I made some macaroni and cheese for lunch. I sat down at my computer to see what was in the news, and lo and behold, I find this: Obama’s Religious Rhetoric Puts Faith in Spotlight.

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So I was surfing the Web today and I came across an article over the so-called “dangers of Harry Potter”. They say that it promotes the occult and desensitizes children to witchcraft. So I’m a little bit confused… does that mean that these people really, honestly believe that magic is real? I love the series and understand that the book is planted firmly in fantasy, in fiction, in the realm of “not real”. In order to be really offended by Harry Potter in the way that these people are you’d have to believe that witchcraft is real. Come on… can anyone really believe that someone can wave a stick around, even a “magical” stick with special ingredients in it’s core, while saying the right weird phrases and honestly expect that something “magical” will happen? If you’re going to tell me that exposing children to Harry Potter is bad because it’s exposing your children to witchcraft, that’s akin to saying that maybe children shouldn’t be exposed to Santa Claus because - come on - there’s no way he could have a flying sleigh with flying reindeer (one with a red, glowing nose) that go around the world in supersonic speed delivering presents to homes through tiny chimneys without magic.

I’m sure at this point I could mention the tragedy that was the Salem Witch Trials. None of those people were actually practicing witches. It was a hysteria that made people point the ugly finger of witchcraft at other people to avoid getting it cast upon themselves. For one thing, magic violates the second law of thermodynamics (gasp!).

Okay, so maybe magic is condemned in the bible. However, if we accept that magic isn’t real - and if you believe that it is real, you need a brain check - it’s condemning something that isn’t there, isn’t tangible, isn’t really even able to be condemned. It’s like condemning unicorns. You could plaster posters every where saying anyone caught with a unicorn should be put to death and anyone caught promoting Unicorn Propaganda be put in jail. All that would be in futility, however, because unicorns aren’t real and neither is witchcraft.

So, really, what does it matter? Even if it is “exposing children to the dangers of witchcraft”, it’s just like “exposing them to unicorns” - none of it matters because none of it is real. I’m not sure who it’s really hurting if some kid really thinks magic is real and runs around in his backyard with a stick trying to make his toys turn colors. At some point, all kids realize Santa isn’t real and sooner or later he’d realize that magic isn’t real, either. It’s all incredibly stupid.

Of course, besides the fact that it’s bluntly, garishly stupid - these people have no right to try to get the books banned from the rest of the public. It’s just a book. If you don’t want to read it and if you don’t want your kids reading it, then don’t read it and don’t let your kids read it. Case closed.

(I realize that there are many other reasons people don’t like Harry Potter, one being that it just simply isn’t their cup of tea. I respect that because I get many strange looks when I tell people that I simply can’t stand the Lord of the Rings trilogy…)

I’ve recently caught wind of a new movie coming out soon entitled The Golden Compass. As it hasn’t been out yet, I have yet to see it, and therefore I cannot draw any assumptions about the film itself. It appears, however, that the film has garnered some attention from those who feel that the books it is based upon, and by consequence the movie, will “denigrate Christianity, thrash the Catholic Church and sell the virtues of atheism” (Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League). Excusing the fact that this is all coming from a television station who seems to be a one-track-minded beast, I am still deeply offended by the overall tone of the article by Fox News and many other groups who I’ve come across while Googling the film.

First of all, just because a film has the “virtues of atheism” does not mean it is a bad film. In fact, the virtues of atheism are very similar to those of Christians and other religions. I am sick and tired of seeing, hearing and reading propaganda being peddled all around me that says that just because something is “atheist” that it is bad. It is not bad and I don’t feel that it is any different than if someone were to say that because someone is Jewish that therefore they are bad, or because someone is Buddhist they are bad, etcetera.

I feel this country is sorely lacking in acceptance of other faiths, or people who lack faith. I’m an agnostic atheist but I practice acceptance every day of my life. It’s too bad that’s an “atheist virtue” and not something Fox News practices.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Filthy :: Blanket.
2. Therapist :: Couches.
3. Duck :: Hunter.
4. Slant :: Hill.
5. Artist :: Candace.
6. Lease :: House.
7. Wish :: List.
8. Doormat :: Door.
9. Global :: Warming.
10. Apartment :: Independence.