What Pride Means To Me

Day 231: I celebrate Pride not because I'm gay (I'm not...not that it's any of your business what goes on in my bedroom), but because I have friends who are gay. They are not gay "by choice." They are gay because their biology draws them to same-sex companions. The idea of this being somehow "sinful" was instituted by organized religion and its lust for power over individuals. Religions thrive on control, demanding certain diets, certain behaviours, modes of dress, etc. Any action deviating from that which is approved is seen as an offense against God. But religion is a construct, and varies from culture to culture. It is largely in those societies where the Christian influence is felt that homosexuality is viewed as "unnatural." In the US today, the number of Christians who are strongly homophobic is growing and becoming more vitriolic with every passing day. The hate is almost palpable. It strikes me that this is rather opposite to the purported teachings of Christ and indeed looks more to me like the Devil's work in light of the fact that these peoples' very Christianity is being used to promulgate hatred. Isn't that how Satan is said to work? But then, who am I, godless heathen, to suggest that maybe we should all respect each other for who we are rather than trying to remake others into something they are not.

Last Towel

Day 260: Inspired by a project from the Weaving Works, I decided that I should weave a Pride Month towel as the last one in a series using a traditional bird's-eye draft. When I finished it up and advanced the warp, I discovered that there was enough remaining to make a place-mat or possibly even another towel. I'm usually rather generous when I measure warp because "too much" is decidedly preferable to "too little" at the end of a project. In this case, I'd kept the spacing between towels fairly close, gaining an inch or two between each pair. Coupled with the extra warp length, this gave me more than I usually leave for the sample I keep in my weaving file. I decided to use the same rainbow design for the last one. Next up will be a much more complicated "Summer and Winter" lap throw. The warp is already measured and ready to go on the loom.

Arcyria Celebrates Pride

Day 254: Deep in our Pacific Northwest forests, our sight is overwhelmed by greens and browns. Subtle colour are subsumed, lost in the confusion of verdant hues and shadows. The environment here is painted with a broad brush, one shade blending into another as it translates from the eye to the brain. Unless an object is vivid or obviously out of place, it does not register as distinct from the palette even at close range. The camera is not so easily fooled, and although while I was kneeling beside this bit of rotten wood, I would have described it as a generic "brown," the wide-open lens registered a pastel rainbow surrounding the slime mold which was the focus of my attention: Arcyria obvelata celebrating Pride Month with its own microcosmic parade.