Welcome to my cosy little attic. I hope you feel at home. Feel free to navigate. I hope my insanity is catching. Comments are more than welcome.
What's Up (so don't ask)
30/10/04 The Dude left us - RIP
15/03/05 I turn 18... start counting my grey hairs
16/05/05 Last Exam. Forever, I hope.
21/05/05 Jack Johnson Concert - KickAss
25/05/05 I graduate... maybe
07/06/05 Kaz turns 18. About time bro.
We haven't met. I'm older and wiser Geert. Just kidding. I only age, I don't mature.
I celebrated my birthday in Holland, and then I celebrated again at home with friends, made dinner (I prepared the carrots and beans all by myself) and the next morning, the friends who remained got to enjoy Eggs á lá Geert. They've been very well received, getting a 8/10 and 7.5/10. I can't divulge the recipe of course, it's as secret and valuable as Coke's secret ingredient (sugar).
So, that's the dillyo on my birthday. However, it's been a busy month, because a week later I went back to Holland for my Grandfathers funeral, which was actually quite nice as funerals go. I met a lot of family that I hadn't seen since the week before and Tim, my eldest brother, was there. Hadn't seen him in 3 months.
However, most of my posts have topics, and most cause slight insult to those who care. This post has a topic, and here it is.
Pope's Popped Last night, at around 9.30 (Vatican time) John Paul II (the II stand for George and Ringo) died. Now, for those who get insulted when people don't respect figures who should be respected by all, well, stop reading now. 70,000 people were in the Vatican Square when JP2 died, and began mourning right away. I didn't mourn. I went to Coconuts.
When I'd found out about what had happened, I changed my msn nickname to Pope's Popped, and when I got home from my night out, I saw some outrage that I could be so disrespectful. How can I respect someone who's willing to allow the relentless spread of HIV/AIDS (and many, many other STDs and STIs, including pregnancy) through Sub-Saharan Africa (and many other places) rather than accept the easy and cheap way of halting this deadly epidemic. I won't get into the whole abortion debacle, because I don't even know where I stand on it. However, should we be allowed to wear a rubber, abortion wouldn't be an issue.
I mean, the whole 'Every Sperm is Sacred' thing is based on a book 2000 years old. No, scratch that, check the first page, it's King James' version. That makes it roughly 600 years old. I don't like the idea that there can be versions of the truth... But hey, believe what you want. If we ignore the fact that the Bible was rewritten a half century ago, it's still just a version of the truth. Jesus didn't write anything. It wouldn't hold up in court.
I'm not anti-religious. I think it's great when people have faith, and I'm sure it's useful, but what I can't stand is the imposition of faith on others, which is very apparent in countries where separation of church and state was just a drunken joke. What the Pope says, the law makes. It's even true here in Portugal. Church has a huge influence.
It sucks.
But the Pope was a human being, and it's not nice when they die. If only he knew that and stopped fretting the details.
Now, the necessary Disclaimer The opinions held herein represent the views and thoughts of Geert Sillevis. They are not intended as personal insults and should not be regarded as such. Although the facts within are based on real events, certain portions were exaggerated for dramatic effect. All names and places are fictional, and any similarity to persons living or dead is purely a coincidence.
Don't sue me if you love the Pope. This is called Freedom of Speech, something I'm sure Jesus would be in favour of, considering his type of life.
Well, I guess that if you respect all human life, you should respect the Pope's life too, regardless of religion or whatever. The way I see it is, everyone has their own convictions, and everyone makes mistakes. I don't think that such a flippant attitude, quasi-anger at him when you think of all the good things he did. I'm not saying you should mourn him. I didn't :p I didn't even cry or feel sad... I mean, the man was old and sick. He'd done his job. Heck, I'm against organized religion and the general bullshit of the church and all that. It's a creepy cult I dislike, but if it serves as encouragment for others to do good things - why complain? Live and let live. Or let die. What do you think?
what good things did he do that other popes before never did?
I do respect life, as I respect the millions who have died of AIDS just because their religion prohibits them from wearing a condom. That religion is Catholicism. That is the Pope's doing.
I suppose you're right. However, the main issue regarding HIV/AIDS I believe, is the fact that the contraception; A. Isn't readily available. B. When it is, it isn't cheap. C. Regardless of the pope, it simply isn't being accepted well. If all religious people followed everything that the Pope preaches, they probably wouldn't do half the things they do. So you can't blame him for *everything* - just a lot.
This summerizes the Pope pretty well;
"He defined Catholic teachings on human life by opposing abortion, contraception, capital punishment, stem-cell research, human cloning, euthanasia and war. He also defended traditional teachings on marriage, sexuality, and gender roles by opposing divorce, same-sex unions and ordination of women. He opposed the full separation of church and state by calling upon Catholics to vote according to their religion."
And that, as I'm sure you'll agree, sucks.
But then again he also "spoke out against communism, imperialism, materialism, Nazism, racism, oppression, secularism, feminism, poverty, and unrestrained capitalism" and he travelled and strived for peace. So as I said, there are two sides to every coin.
