Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Feb 5, 2012, 12:27 pm
For some time now, I’ve been playing with news and opinion items, and using Facebook posts more than I’ve been creating my own work. I haven’t even bothered to add my own comments to what I post – only quoting some pithy bit and hoping that others might glean something from it. While a vecto...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 25, 2012, 10:18 pm
The blog should be fine now. The hackers added a php file to a static directory, and a couple of forced includes in template files. The result was a generated list of linked keywords displaying on every page of the site, including the administrative dashboard. It was very obvious, and most probably ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 24, 2012, 2:25 pm
Friends, it appears that my site has been hacked. I have changed all passwords and am working to clean the site. Please do not click on any links here untul I post that the matter is resolved. On some pages there are obvious keyword links to sites that attempt to download malware. This may be as a r...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 30, 2011, 12:25 pm
This is the single best essay that I’ve read on the subject of Christmas “wars.” Whatever your views on “the reason for the season,” whatever prejudices you harbor, whatever hatemongers have influenced your thinking, whether you call yourself a christian or not (and whether or not you ev...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 27, 2011, 4:33 pm
A snapshot of recent bits: Be thankful for government US Senate To Vote On Bill That Will Allow The Military To Arrest Americans On American Soil And Hold Them Indefinitely Seymour Hersh: Propaganda Used Ahead of Iraq War Is Now Being Reused Over Iran’s Nuke Program Giant Nasa rover launches to M...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Oct 16, 2011, 2:06 pm
“The temptation of knowledge is despair.” ~ Me Lead me not into this temptation. Related Posts: 2007/05/28 -- We saw Spiderman 3 (2)2007/05/20 -- Strange Apples (0)2006/02/22 -- Leonardo Da Vinci (0)
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Oct 15, 2011, 9:53 am
Why call upon the anecdotes of men, living or dead, as appeals to authority on the status of God? Why continue arguing these dogmas? There are sacred texts all around the world and across time and languages and cultures. To think that you can dictate to others what their relationship is to God is ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Sep 30, 2011, 11:29 pm
“Where words fail, music speaks.” ~ Hans Christian Anderson Those of you who know me or have followed this blog at all know that singing is a great love of mine. I sing out on the deck, sometimes softly and sometimes quite loudly. I beg forgiveness of my neighbors, but it’s necessary for my s...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Sep 25, 2011, 3:23 pm
If you are against the corruption, profit motives and loss of rights that go hand-in-hand with handing over core public services to private interests, please sign my White House petition: http://wh.gov/4rb I didn’t see anything on this topic, so I created it. Please sign and spread the word! We ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Aug 22, 2011, 3:30 pm
I might be alone in my interpretation of the unforgivable sin, the sin against the spirit. I’ve always taken it to mean something like invoking God/spirit to authenticate and make authoritative a view or action that directly expresses everything of its opposite. My journey is still very much in pr...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jul 23, 2011, 6:57 pm
Still thinking about empathy, and the lack of it. Empathy is not just fellow-feeling. It’s an art. The lack of empathy is almost synonymous with cruelty and violence. Those without empathy can only see it as sentimentality, rather than as an art of appreciation and participation. Sometimes underst...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jul 16, 2011, 9:25 pm
Ohhhhhhhh, Severus Snape…. Random Posts 2006/03/05 -- JW Background History Video (0)2005/03/14 -- Fallujah Shock and Awe (0)2005/01/08 -- Ask a Former JW: Quest for Meaning, Former Wife Still JW (0)2005/07/04 -- Art is not dead (0)2007/05/30 -- DeLay Listening to Someone? (6)2007/11/28 -- Girl S...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jul 10, 2011, 12:12 am
Once in a while, I let it go. I have to, or my thoughts would consume me. Instead, I unhitch a million threads, and float… and drift. Before too long, a path waves toward me, but I prefer to explore. For that you need a dose of the random. Open possibility is too vertiginous, but play is a vect...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jul 2, 2011, 11:03 am
I’ve been thinking a lot about human evil lately, watching some of the strands of contemporary ideology in America, and one of the themes that keeps re-appearing is the dehumanization of other human beings. Once you believe that another human being isn’t fully human, it seems that you somehow fe...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jun 22, 2011, 11:38 pm
I’m in regular contact with a number of other former Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world. Now that an entire community has built up, there is a lot of support at peer level. If you’re looking for feedback and stories from others there are a lot more resources now than the ones on my original ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jun 4, 2011, 1:35 pm
Chastain Park in Atlanta is a perfect venue to see any concert, and I’ve never had a bad experience there. Of course, the concert experience is almost unrecognizable from my early years. On the positive side, it’s a scene that engenders no hesitation whatsoever about allowing children to partici...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - May 15, 2011, 11:01 pm
Darling Sweetheart, You are my avid fellow feeling. My affection curiously clings to your passionate wish. My liking yearns to your heart. You are my wistful sympathy: my tender liking. Yours beautifully, M.U.C.* Even with such a designer as Turing, it takes more than imitation-games of conscio...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - May 12, 2011, 10:14 pm
This one’s for Debbie, and you know why: Little Boxes, by Malvina Reynolds Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same. There’s a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one, And they’re all made ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - May 7, 2011, 3:29 pm
I miss my friend Lee. Although I continue to grieve, the worst of it has passed and I think it’s time to write for him. I hope that someday his daughter might find this post, and find some comfort here. This is a difficult post to write for a number of reasons, but the trickiest part is to walk a...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Apr 30, 2011, 3:16 am
I wonder how – and why – it is that Love can also include endless longing, hopeless tears, suffering, grief… Love is not just joy and peace and comfort, but also a broken soul’s plea, a heartsong to the stars. The heart yearns, and reaches out with all its might, to cross a chasm that is a...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Apr 6, 2011, 6:22 pm
I’m not yet ready to write about the loss of my old friend Lee, but I will soon. Learning that he died from complications of a hospital staph infection has brought back thoughts about the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in which we both grew up – or… er… started to grow up. As much as ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 31, 2011, 11:58 pm
Wow, what a day. I only worked a half-day, but it was incredibly productive. I was on a roll – emails, writing, a tutorial, boom boom boom. I left with a sense of accomplishment and confidence. Even knowing that I was headed into three hours at the dentist didn’t seem so bad. Bright White Clea...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 27, 2011, 10:21 pm
SING it, honey! Click to view video “Big Wheel” Tori Amos I’ve been on the other side got my lips smacked now they’re dry then you call me call me in You think I am your possession – You’re messing with a Southern girl But my recipe is on With your stale bread Yeah it’s hot...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 23, 2011, 11:52 am
D.H. Lawrence is most well-known for his loverly novels, but I am most fond of his book “Apocalypse.” I picked it up again when it caught my eye, patiently waiting, wedged between Bataille and Baudrillard – out of order, why? I opened it up to a random page, and found this passage. I loved it ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 19, 2011, 5:08 pm
Hands speak… Hand Hand in Hand I wished for nothing beyond her smile, and to walk with her thus, hand in hand, along a sun-warmed, flower-bordered path. ~ André Gide Freedom goes hand-in-hand with mutual respect. ~ Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 18, 2011, 12:37 am
I recently said goodbye to someone I had considered a friend since we were children. This endpoint of a friendship had been building for a couple of months as I found myself less and less able to stomach some of the opinions that were being offered, and especially the derisive tone in which they w...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Mar 6, 2011, 2:58 pm
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you. ~ Oscar Wilde More than half of U.S. population still doesn’t get it, George. Thanks for trying, dear “court” jester. We miss you – rest in peace. Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnig...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Feb 27, 2011, 12:20 pm
No disguise can long conceal love where it is, nor feign it where it is not. ~ François de La Rochefoucauld I’m passionate about certain topics. Some themes in politics and religion and life in general are not matters of disinterested observation but of deep commitment. In the last year, I’ve...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Feb 11, 2011, 9:22 pm
You are an inspiration to the world!
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Feb 2, 2011, 6:50 am
Nine years ago today, I kissed Death. Death let me go. Ectopic Pregnancy Loss and Musings on Mythology John and I were expecting our second child to be born on September 11, 2002. Since my first pregnancy had been normal, I was not scheduled to go to my first appointment until I was more than 8 we...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 30, 2011, 5:21 pm
I’ve sometimes been accused of letting the left-wing off the hook in my criticism. Well, today you are in for a treat. I’ve found a pocket of hate and ignorance among some people who label themselves left-wing. I had a little back and forth on Facebook today, and was appalled to see this. Are yo...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 12, 2011, 9:32 pm
I am comforted and guided and inspired by the memorial service in Tucson. This changes things for me. Thank you, Tucson. Thank you, University of Arizona. Thank you, Mr. President. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virushead.net%2Fvhrandom%2F2011%2F01%2F12%2Fe-plurib us-unum'; addthis_tit...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 12, 2011, 4:20 pm
“Our democracy is a light, a beacon really, around the world because we affect change at the ballot box and not because of these outbursts of violence.” ~ U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, March 25, 2010 I’ve reached the end of mourning, the occasion marked as I was watching Sarah Palin say she�...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 6, 2011, 6:49 pm
Can anyone tell me what is really going on with all these mass deaths of fish and birds and so on? It’s being mapped on Google Maps, with links to news reports. View Mass Animal Deaths in a larger map (Thanks to Phillip for the link) I haven’t seen a single theory that makes any sense at all...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Jan 6, 2011, 2:07 pm
This is an example of how misunderstanding is cultivated by Fox News. A Neo-Nazi group has reportedly taken over an East German village. This is the link to the story: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/05/neo-nazis-east-german-village/ #content Look how they decided to link it. Neo-Nazi links ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 28, 2010, 8:16 pm
My Dad has been gone for seven years today. It doesn’t seem possible. There is at once too much and too little to express. I’ve been thinking of him a lot today, turning over what I know, what I surmise, what was always hidden. It’s been a fairly good day, but melancholy. I just miss him, and ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 25, 2010, 2:13 pm
Feliz Navidad! Brush up on your Spanish and dust off your sombrero, JibJab has gotten a hold of José Feliciano’s classic Christmas track “Feliz Navidad”! Click here! Loading too slow? Try it at the JibJab site. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virushead.net%2Fvhrandom%2F2010%2F12%2F25...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 25, 2010, 9:03 am
Ben and I awoke well before dawn. Was it 5? 6? We had some hot chocolate Ovaltine and waited just as long as we could before attacking John. “It’s Christmas! Get up!” Hug attack! Tree at about 6 am Santa only gave me one present? Worried. Ben's Flipcam from Santa Webkinz from Santa, Mommy,...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 24, 2010, 10:48 pm
Ahhhhhh….. We grooved to some music, and sang, and opened one present each, and took a walk out in the night. All the presents are wrapped and under the tree. Everything is set for the morning. The magical lighting that makes everything wonderful doesn’t come across in flash photos – but it�...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 24, 2010, 11:19 am
This song about Persephone is haunting me, seeping into the interstices between all my favorite Christmas music. I think I’ll have to add it to the list. “Persephone” by Kula Shaker Deep below the world Persephone Sings of love forgotten Calling out across the river – Persephone Deep be...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 21, 2010, 11:12 am
The grey herons like the grounds of where I work. This one has a million little feathers dripping down its long neck. What an amazing bird. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virushead.net%2Fvhrandom%2F2010%2F12%2F21%2Fgrey-her on'; addthis_title = 'Grey+Heron'; addthis_pub = '';
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 20, 2010, 9:16 pm
For historical purposes, here are my current 50 most-played songs on the iPod. A Thousand Years Sting 5:58 All I Have to Do Is Dream The Everly Brothers 2:25 All I Really Want Alanis Morissette 5:25 All This Beauty The Weepies 3:20 Big Wheel Tori Amos 3:18 Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) Concrete ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Dec 5, 2010, 6:17 pm
This weekend, I sheparded my ten-year-old son through part of a school project. As the 3-d portion of the display, he wanted to make a Japanese dragon. Not easy! First, we had to talk about the materials. He didn’t like the idea of paper maché or plaster of paris. He wanted real clay, and not p...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 26, 2010, 5:10 pm
I messed up my homey little Thanksgiving but not paying attention to how much red wine I was drinking while watching “Eat Pray Love.” Must have hit a little too close. Being hungover on top of still recovering from sickness was not a nice combination. I’m such a total idiot sometimes. I’v...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 25, 2010, 5:12 pm
We pray for those who are sick, lonely, afraid, or in in need – that you may send them strength and comfort. We humbly ask that you provide what we need for our souls and bodies and minds to grow and be well. Help us to attune to that sweet spot of thriving as we navigate our world. Help our le...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 25, 2010, 12:14 pm
The bittersweet wistfulness of late fall is a good time to reflect, appreciate, and be grateful. It is connected with the traditions of harvest, the feel and smell of autumn, the awareness that cold winter is approaching. All the senses come alive with foggy mornings, trees baring their arms, the la...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 23, 2010, 10:26 pm
Facebook friend Stephen Kitchen is on a roll, posting lots of different versions of “Across the Universe” (by The Beatles, of course). I’m still very ill, and so also unfocused and suggestible. In that state, music and words and images are more free-floating. I had always thought that this ...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 21, 2010, 12:51 pm
I started blogging as VirusHead on 11-21-2003 – seven years ago! It’s a fun opportunity to get a flavor of typical November posts… Posts from November 2003 The Problem with Fundamentalists Huggy Jesus Reading Michael Jackson Practical Feminism Terrorism and the Preemptive Strike Posts fro...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 21, 2010, 10:09 am
“It seemed like this was one big Prozac nation, one big mess of malaise. Perhaps the next time half a million people gather for a protest march on the White House green it will not be for abortion rights or gay liberation, but because we’re all so bummed out.” ~ Elizabeth Wurtzel This has bee...
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Heidi N. posted an article on VirusHead - Nov 16, 2010, 5:16 am
For a number of reasons, I haven’t posted anything about Jehovah’s Witnesses for a while. There have been some horrible events in the news, and all sorts of doctrinal and organizational changes, but I find myself more interested these days in some of the larger questions. I’ve been trying to w...
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