Blogasbord

Well! I haven't done this in a while! Here are a few links that have been lingering on my computer:
Homeschooling can be better for your high schooler -- I like this article because it's the first time I've heard someone clearly state why good homeschooling will better prepare your child for college. We homeschoolers are usually so much on the defensive that we forget to tout our methods as socially and academically preferable! This article answers a lot of questions well. Homeschooling still isn't for those who aren't qualified or inclined to teach. It's not for everyone. And if you're going to do it haphazardly or indifferently, don't do it at all! But it can be done well, and when it is?  Your child gets huge advantages.


I Know Why the Fat Lady Sings -- Wow - what an interesting read! This article deals with the type of over-eating that is really an addiction, and fleshes out how society reacts to this addiction. While I'm heavy, I don't identify with this kind of eating at all, but it certainly made me more sympathetic toward those who suffer with it.

"Just Eat Stuff That Dies" -- This is a fabulous post by Nick, over at Macheesmo. I've heard this for years, regarding cheese.  The French are appalled that we put our cheeses in the frig. Cheese is alive, and you only put dead things in a frig. (Think: mortuary) Nick posits that if we only eat food that decays, we're eating real food, good food. Food designed to sit on a shelf for a year and look/taste the same, is terrible for you. Good eating rule!

Baby Hatches -- Click through to watch this brief BBC video of a growing trend in Europe -- baby drop-boxes, a Medieval custom allowing women to place their babies in safe places (rather than on cold, dangerous doorsteps where a kind person may -- or may not! -- check for a baby). Interesting.

Now, I'm going to wax political, so some of you may prefer to click away.

I have friends all over the political sphere. It's important, as a voter, to be informed about your candidate. Most people feel informed about Obama, because hey, we've known him for over 4 years now! I have many Republican friends who feel they must vote for Mitt Romney, even though they're not very excited about him. Any warm body, they think, is preferable to Obama.

I loathe that mentality. I patently refuse for my vote to be coerced by a political party, based on guilt. ("If I don't vote for him, I'm voting for Obama! Oh, the shame!" -- bleh)

If you're excited about Romney, that's great! Go vote for him with a full and happy heart. Likewise, if you adore Obama. We each are entitled to our preferences about candidates! But if, like me, you have a sick feeling in your stomach, as a Christian, about voting for Romney, then educate yourself! Are your fears unfounded? Is his Mormonism really no big deal? Or is it something worth worrying about. In that light, here are a couple of links for your perusal:


Do Mormons Believe that Jesus and Satan Are Brothers? -- Mormons have been back-peddling on this question recently, so it's helpful to read their documents to discern this issue. This is just one page, but go to Google and search it out yourself. Compare what they used to teach openly, to what they're saying now. Why would they "repackage" their words on this theology so much? Could it be for political reasons?

Gathering in Utah -- This is an article about the big gathering of Republican big-wigs (Karl Rove, Condie Rice, etc.) and Romney's biggest donors and deepest pockets. What I find fascinating is that it's held in Utah. He's drawing the Republican base over to his own religious roots. I truly believe that the Mormon Cult will use Romney's political success as a fast-track to getting Mormonism accepted by Evangelical Christians as a "type" of valid Christian faith. That's been their goal for a while. I've heard my Christian friends express this very thing. Glenn Beck started them on the path, and Romney will finish it up.