Joan of Arc



Real female hero

Blowing a family member's trumpet here-- but -- as one who can barely draw with the old-fashioned materials I found this fascinating



Bag's Art Blog

This may bore you but I have to vent!!

I am currently in dispute with a guy on EBay from whom I bought a DVD for my son- I ordered in good faith a DVD of Resident Evil Extinction - listed as the Limited Edition Hologramme cover design.

1. I paid by Paypal- and the guy sent me a note saying I hadn't payed him- and would I pay - so I sent him details of my payment- including numbers and dates

2. I then received -two weeks later- a DVD titled 'Carmen Electra: The Lap Dance Hip Hop' which although it may have been of interest to some adolescent boys was not actually what my son wanted.

3. I sent the guy an e-mail saying he had sent the wrong DVD would he send the correct one please- he said he had- I said he hadn't and sent him details- he eventually admitted it- and

4. Arriving on my doorstep by recorded delivery- a Resident Evil Extinction DVD - not the correct one, not limited edition hologramme cover- but an ordinary cover- that is also - I suspect- a copy- as the cover is very badly printed.

5. I sent him e-mails saying he had sent the wrong one again- no answer at all for weeks-so I take it to dispute through PayPal - that was on 5th April

6. He sends a message back through Paypal saying I must send both DVD back to him for a refund- I say i don't trust him any more so can he send the correct dvd and send me compensation for the time and petrol and postage sending the damn things back is costing me - still no reply

7. no reply

8.no reply

9. I leave feedback on Ebay saying he has sent the wrong dvd TWICE - he replies to my feedback in a very rude manner and accuses me of lying - so I have now reported him to EBay and also escalated the dispute through PayPal - who tell me I have to send the dvds back to get a refund- which will only cover the cost of the original DVD!

Here is the feedback in which he accuses me of lying and wanting a refund for free:

Wrong DVD sent and wrong replacement DVD sent - still in dispute! Bad seller! Buyer:
culpepperpersuader ( 95 [Feedback score is 50 to 99] )
13-Apr-08 19:01


*
Reply by rareverryrare (14-Apr-08 12:53):
Correct item sent via Recorded delivery Watched DVD wants refund for free. BADDD
o
Follow-up by culpepperpersuader (20-Apr-08 10:52):
lying about me is wrong- I have contacted Ebay and escalated further

and some of the other info:

I tend to pay straight away with Paypal so was disconcerted to find that he hadn't even noticed I had paid- this should have been an indication I think:

Below is the invoice sent when he obviously hadn't even checked that I had already paid- I publish his address because I think he deserves to get lots of spam from anyone who reads this blog!

Greetings from the RareVeryRare Sales Team.

You are the winning buyer for the RESIDENT EVIL PART 3 DVD EXTINCTION LTD
ED HOLOGRAMMIC . Thank you for your business.

Your payment for this item hasn't been received yet. If you haven't sent
payment, please follow the instructions below.

Item title: RESIDENT EVIL PART 3 DVD EXTINCTION LTD ED HOLOGRAMMIC
Web Address: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350036162255
Item number: 350036162255
Buyer User ID: culpepperpersuader
Seller User ID: rareverryrare

Your total is: {TOTAL$

Please send me your postal address and payment. The following payment methods
are accepted: PayPal, Money Order/Banker's Draft, Personal Cheque, Other
Credit Card Services, Other

If you want to mail your payment, please send it and include a copy of this
page to:

R Lopez
16 Acklam Avenue

Sunderland, Tyne and Wear sr2 9sq

Again, thank you for your business.


Have a great day.

Regards and best wishes

RareVeryRare Team

this was my answer:

I made a payment the instant I purchased the item- through paypal - of £17.94 (inc post&pack) to
Unique Transaction ID #5LG64986JC2260301
To S Lopez
I can send more details if necessary.

this is when things really started to go wrong- I am still polite at this stage:

Dear rareverryrare,

Hi, you have sent me the wrong DVD- I paid for Resident Evil and got a Carmen Electra one instead
can you please send me the correct DVD and I will send this one back to you as soon as I receive it- I expect a refund for the postage I will use sending it back to you

- culpepperpersuader

and this was his reply- what else was there to explain?

Dear culpepperpersuader,

i dont know what you are saying. Can you please explain properly.

- rareverryrare

and my barely polite reply- just before I escalated it to dispute:

Dear rareverryrare,

everything was explained properly- you sent the wrong dvd- twice- I would like the right dvd

- culpepperpersuader

and having no reply to that I sent this:

Dear rareverryrare,

ok- you sent me A resident evil dvd- but not the right one!
I ordered the resident evil limited edition hologram dvd- and received an ordinary one- shall I now take this to dispute as I have had no contact from you other than to send me two incorrect dvd

- culpepperpersuader

and still no reply ended up with this:

Dear rareverryrare,

I haven't had an answer yet to my previous message- I received the wrong dvd and would like the right one- can you please answer me before I have to take it to dispute?

- culpepperpersuader

and then this- when there was still no reply:

Dear rareverryrare,

I still haven't received a reply to my two messages-
you sent me the wrong dvd and I would like to get the right dvd please - I paid for Resident Evil Limited edition and received some crap to do with lap-dancing.
I would have thought it a priority to answer me straight away and sort out this business before it has to go to dispute?

- culpepperpersuader

Now- my question is- how is this fair? I have spent time, money and effort in trying to sort this out - yet I will be the one who is out of pocket - and the seller just blithely goes along selling the wriong and copied dvds without sanction?


So- if you have a chance- make this guy's name public- and say something about the unjust way disputes are settled on EBay and PayPal

he is called on EBay 'Rareverryrare' - DO NOT BUY FROM HIM

well it has been a while hasn't it? - not up to my usual verbose self-and why?

the bedroom is sort of finished- I'll take some pictures soon- and I'm still moving things around and sorting out clothes etc. My leg / hip started hurting again despite the injection- and I appear to have caught a cold and become easily tired- so i have bene faling asleep most evenings- when I'm suppsed to be reading up on psychology stuff! I've also bene spending what little free time I have at the moment- writing up my application for my MSc in Child mental Health- and talking to the prospective tutor and my academic referees- so a little bit busy- I may find some time in the next week or so to blog a bit- so much has been happening both in the UK and with FLDS compound in Texas that my fingers were itching to blog about but I have to prioritise health and education at the moment :)

As a rather large man once said 'I'll be back!'

Not been posting very regularly for a little while- and may not in the near future as I am studying at the moment - as well as busy doing the bedroom :)

also- had an injection in my leg the other day- hurt like hell but it is gradually getting better now - hopefully I will be able to go out for walks again soon :)

anyway- I may actually post something this weekend :)

Sorry for the boring post but this has to be done :)

Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled ExpelledExpelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled ExpelledExpelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled ExpelledExpelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled ExpelledExpelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled Expelled
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The New Humanist Blog has a wonderful piece on it today that to all intents and purposes is real- but look closely :)

In passing byelaw 08/04 (section 01), the borough council has made it mandatory for Catholic priests to forewarn their congregations that transubstantiation – the idea that at communion the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ – remains unsupported by solid empirical evidence.

I only wish it were true - I would love for the catholic priests to have to do this :)

And then there's this - from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster :)

EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED
EXPELLED

:) That was fun :)

why don't you all join in :)

there are loads- so be patient- or if you get bored- switch it off- bear in mind it pissed down most days and we got wet and cold but had fun anyway :)
The big red house was where we stayed- up on the top floor at the left of the picture.
The rooftops are an obsession of mine- I love taking pictures of rooftops :)
The rest are from the walks we did and the chocolate museum we found - mmmmmm

If you need to see them bigger- here is a link



Devon

The reason for the season?
Leaving aside my usual 'Silent Sunday'It may seem a bit ridiculous wishing you a Happy Equinox? Well, no more ridiculous than believing a middle-eastern man of around 30 was crucified, died for three days and rose up just to remind us all of what 'sinners' we are.

When I first started looking into religion as a way of fighting against the never-ending propaganda in the schools I attended I began to read about ancient beliefs and practices. I have now ammassed a library of books and articles on ancient and obscure religions and beliefs and looking at 'Easter' for the first time in many years makes me realise again that the Christian celebration is no different from those of a number of myths and stories used by primitive people in an effort to try and understand and control their world.




The Christian Easter story, when researched properly, is just a rehash of many, many celebrations of the Spring Equinox that have occurred for millenia around the world.

For example:

Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection."

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

Source- ReligiousTolerance.org

The Christian Bible contains no mention of easter and indeed the Last Supper and celebrations mentioned at the time of the death of their god/king appear to be largely Jewish: From Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edit., Vol. 8, p. 828:

“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers…The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals [God’s festivals of Leviticus 23], though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb…continued to be observed.”

Many cultures have a tradition of a king-god who is sacrificed at Spring Equinox to ensure the fertitlity of the soil at planting time (in the north) and growing time (in the middle east):





Ostara, the Germanic fertility Goddess was associated with human and crop fertility. On the spring equinox, she mated with the solar god and conceived a child that would be born 9 months later on DEC-21:Yule


The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. Their magnificent buildings are often aligned to catch the sun as it rises during the Equinox.





Babylonians honored the resurrection of their god, Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother/wife, Ishtar at the time of the Spring Equinox.



In Britain the God/King Cernunnos gave his life for the fertility of the fields and became in early British Christian eyes the 'devil' with horns and hoof

Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara. She gave her name to the Christian Easter and to the female hormone estrogen. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west.

Various ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, Elam) circa 3000 to 2000 BCE celebrated the New Year at the time of the spring equinox.




It has been celebrated in the area of modern-day Iran since the Achaemenian (Hakhamaneshi) period over 2500 years ago. It survived because of Zoroastrianism which was the religion of Ancient Persia before the advent of Islam about 14 centuries ago.






Many religious historians trace the Judeo-Christian concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, the arrival of the Messiah, and the last judgment to Zoroastrianism.




Zoroastrians believe that the Lord of Wisdom "created all that was good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), residing in the eternal darkness created all that was bad and became the Hostile Spirit." Similar to the dualistic God/Satan aspects of Christianity

Source: ReligiousTolerance.org










In Britain the Venerable Bede notes how the Christians arriving in the country at the time absorbed many 'Pagan' practices in order to make the new foreign, middle eastern religion more acceptable to the British peoples:

"In olden time the English people – for it did not seem fitting to me that I should speak of other nations' observance of the year and yet be silent about my own nation's – calculated their months according to the course of the moon. Hence after the manner of the Hebrews and the Greeks, [the months] take their name from the moon, for the moon is called mona and the month monath.

Eostur-monath has a name which is now translated Paschal month, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance"

Finally we have James George Frazer:

“Now the death and resurrection of Attis were officially celebrated at Rome on the 24th and 25th of March, the latter being regarded as the spring equinox, and…according to an ancient and widespread tradition Christ suffered on the 25th of March…the tradition which placed the death of Christ on the 25th of March…is all the more remarkable because astronomical considerations prove that it can have had no historical foundation…When we remember that the festival of St. George in April has replaced the ancient pagan festival of the Parilia; that the festival of St. John the Baptist in June has succeeded to a heathen Midsummer festival of water; that the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin in August has ousted the festival of Diana; that the feast of All Souls [following Halloween] in November is a continuation of an old heathen feast of the dead; and that the Nativity of Christ himself was assigned to the winter solstice in December because that day was deemed the Nativity of the Sun; we can hardly be thought to be rash or unreasonable in conjecturing that the other cardinal festival of the Christian church—the solemnization of Easter—may have been in like manner, and from like motives of edification, adapted to a similar celebration of the Phyrigian god Attis at the vernal equinox…It is a remarkable coincidence…that the Christian and the heathen festivals of the divine death and resurrection should have been solemnized at the same season…It is difficult to regard the coincidence as purely accidental”

(The Golden Bough, Vol. I, pp. 306-309).


I'll leave you with Dr Robert Price again - thanks to Sean for the video

'Good' Friday

Friday -good we're told
A man died, they say
Rituals, myths wash around
Sleep is good- not Days

Oh- and it's my 28th wedding anniversary today :)

End of another week of news:




The Catholic Bishops are at it again over here- putting pressure on Catholic MPs to vote against the Human Fertilsation and Embryology Bill- The best comment I have seen so far is from Terry Sanderson- President of The National Secular Society, of which I am a member:

“Mr Hoon says that the Catholic Church has a ‘role’ in this decision. Why does it? Readers may wish to ask themselves whether they believe the Church is deliberately misrepresenting it in order to frighten people into opposing it. Before dismissing this possibility, let us not forget the Church’s intransigent contention that condoms are no barrier to Aids in the face of repeated denials by the World Health Organisation. The Catholic Church should have no role other than that of campaigning, in the same way that we all can. Applying emotional and religious pressure to MPs goes beyond ordinary lobbying and becomes an abuse of the democratic process. The chief whip should reinstate the three line whip, and if these MPs consider the Vatican’s dishonest line to be more important than their jobs, then he should not hesitate to sack them. And when these MPs come up for election, we challenge them to make clear to their electorates that they will vote in a accordance with the behest of Cardinal O’Connor (or his successor) regardless of any other considerations, including the wishes of the majority of their constituents.”

Another Bishop has 'berated' gay people and appears to think there is a conspiracy of Gays to undermine - well - the whole world by the sound of it- could these Bishops get more irrelevant?

There is a nice answer to the Bishop's speech in The Scotsman newspaper


'Faith' schools have been in the news again, with an enquiry by the Government revealing that admissions procedures are at best 'flawed' and at worst almost criminal in their selections based on wealth and intelligence rather than religious affiliation- which inevitably has skewed the league table results to make it look as if 'faith' schools are the best option for a good education.

Another piece in The Scotsman tells us that Britain is losing it's religion


Rightly, in my view, the Government is reviewing it's earlier decision to deport a young Iranian Gay man.


And there has been an outcry in the media about the number of girls (and some boys) going missing from schools, who are later found to have been forced into marriage. At the risk of repeating myself this tends to be ignored when it is girls doesn't it? In the name of 'culture' the treatment if these young people has been accepted as 'normal' - it disgusts me.




And lastly, UNESCO withdrew its patronage for the online 'Free Expression Day' supported by Reporters Without Borders.




( a useful download available from the RWB site is the 'Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber Dissidents' available on the linked page. You need PDF to download it but its not large.

OH! and This- a great poem by The Digital Cuttlefish in response to the post by Pharyngula 'Hide the women and children!'

I wish!


Taken from ScaryIdeas.com - a most wonderful website full of delights and discovered thanks to Blurp.

I am going back there now to keep rummaging for delights :)

And an update on the new 'sins' comes from Jesus and Mo

Oh- and I may be moving to Wordpress over the weekend :) I'll let you know :)