Yeah, predestination always seemed iffy, because when folks say "Well, I'm going to heaven anyway, so why shouldn't I misbehave?", clerics say, "Because God could change his mind if you're too evil." Or, "I'm already going to hell, so, etc.", and clerics say, "Ah, but you don't know you're going to hell, and if you're too bad, etc." It makes little sense.

The way the puritans solved this conundrum was by being insanely status conscious. So you had an incentive to be "good" in order to demonstrate to all your neighbors that you were one of the chose.

Timelies!

Nice weather here today. My onerous task has been making more radio tracking calls/emails. All bad news so far but that's pretty much what I expected. I have to give myself credit for being persistent nonetheless.

Tomorrow I'm meeting the boyfriend of someone who gave me a YouTube shoutout. Sounds odd, eh? Well, he plays guitar and might be interested in working with me, which would mean I could freakin' perform again. Not a lot of market for solo acapella singers.

Speaking of which, I'm happy The Sing-Off is back. Very unhappy Nicole Scherzinger is back as a judge, though.

ETA: My "tv" is Netflix Instant, Hulu and network websites. I once tried "ahem"ing stuff and got a cease and desist notice. When it's just my ISP, I suppose I can chance it, but I'm using my parents' bandwidth now.

This guy says death doesn't exist: [link]

I read that article quite a while ago, and it really put me off. I still find it hard to explain exactly why.

For all my deep metaphysical issues, the first place I always turn to is HuffPo.

I'd rather find them there, than from the Scientologists.

I'm oddly OK with the idea that I won't be here one day. Maybe it's because I believe I'll be somewhere else. Not a fluffy heaven, but somewhere.

I'm sorta' OK with, you know, ceasing to exist some day. I mean, there'll come a time when I cease to be conscious and then never be conscious again.

I'm completely OK with dying...which came in pretty handy in the middle of the night a couple of months ago...mostly because I am satisfied with my life. I swing wildly between thinking there might be something else and being fairly certain there isn't.

Whichever, it should be fun...or, you know...not.

This guy says death doesn't exist:

I was sort of hoping it would be the Time Cube guy.

Spidra, I'm loving this year's Sing Off. The competition is much, much steeper than last year. In fact, after the eliminations from last night, I'm already white knuckling the next one.

If I had to pick a winner right now, it would be Committed...just for pure talent.

My attitude toward death is friendly. It's always been there for me when things get rough, and I know I can count on it.

I think I have a fairly healthy ego and sense of self. I certainly own my opinions and perspectives, am eager to learn and shift those perspectives with the integration of new information. I think I'm a fairly strong individual. But at the same time, I have an awareness of how infinitesimal the collection of sparking atoms that make up "me" is in relation to the total mass of life on this planet--including history and future with present day. It doesn't matter to me if I'm remembered when I'm gone.

Since I've been a semi-responsible adult, my self-assigned job has been to lighten whatever burdens I can, to bring light of hope and reassurance into whatever darknesses I can reach, and above all, to avoid adding to the pain in the world, either carelessly or by intent, and if possible, to brighten someone's day with a joke, a smile, a compliment. There's enough pain, don't let my careless comment add to it. That's the plan. Not always perfectly executed.

My overarching belief is taken from Sagan: We are all made of star-stuff. And in we all I include animals, rocks, plants, seas, atmosphere. Earth, and possibly the universe, is a sea of life--the same life, just portioned out in differently-sized containers. I don't believe in an afterlife, but my portion of "life" will return to the great stock pot, to be blended with others and ladled into new containers.

So I'm okay with death.