The raven was sacred to Apollo and was symbolic of poetic revelation. The dove is valued because of it's purity, but it's only recently (theologically) that purity has been valued at the expense of all else. The raven fed Elijah in his sojourn in the desert, so they can also be perceived as messengers of God. Maybe if…

This lady is wearing a vagina on her chest. The clitoris is directly above her heart.

This sounds like one of those situations where the mother has fixated on a guy, and the guy will only give her attention in exchange for sex with the daughter. That is what the fact that the mother was in the next room indicates to me. Of course, this is based on nothing but instinct, but if that was the case it would…

I love my pretty chestnut ringlets...

'Because what better way to confront someone who is doing something you disagree with than to make horrible comments about their religion.'

Nope, sorry. Check out this article. I am afraid that you have been misinformed. Also, bodybuilding is generally considered to be very unhealthy. The life expectancy for male body builders is very, very low. Weight lifting, on the other hand, is not at all dependent on maintaining a low body weight - as you can see in…

Did I say anything at all about starving? No. No I did not.

Well, I am a 5'8 woman married to a 5'5 man, what do you think? It is an artificial social ideal (great article about it Here, by the way) that we enforce in our own pairings. I think that there are certain strengths that are more emphasized according to gender, but over-all I think that any difference is a…

I posted a similar response when this story ran on gawker (and got the usual flood of misogynist BS for my efforts) but here it goes again:

This is BS. I am a female. I do three sets of 73 pull-ups a week. I have (unofficially, for fun) passed the entrance requirements for the SEALS the Marines, and the UK SAS under…

Nope. I'm in the UK, I don't own a radio, I don't watch TV, and in order for videos to work you have to hit the 'play' button. Am I allowed to be smug? No, I don't think that there is ever an excuse for smugness, but I am happy.

I have not listened to any of these songs! I beat the internet!

Also, for a homophobe, he spends an awful lot of time thinking about other men's rectums. My grandfather is the same way. He will go on long rants describing what (he imagines) gay men do and why it is a sin. His descriptions ALWAYS involve hamsters. I tell him, repeatedly, that 1) his information is inaccurate and 2)…

I know that this is probably going to get me a lot of flack (and I should say that while I am a practicing Christian, I only take the words that are actually attributed to Christ as 'Gospel' and leaven the rest with a good dose of salt - politics and privilege have always existed! So have editors!) but you can always…

As a species, we look much better with eyelids.

This wasn't from this year, but when I was 19 all I wanted was a copy of Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf (I was an odd teenager that has flowered into a frankly bizarre adult). Growing up, we had very little money (I caught or salvaged most of our food, we were nutritionally insecure) but by that time my father…

Heh, yes. I use my own real name for everything as a means of keeping myself honest and making sure that I treat people nicely. What does it say about myself that other people can be lovely with a nom de plum and I cant trust myself with one?

Ha! I think so, too. I am serious about the books. The one dealing specifically with my parents/the orphanage is called Crown of Thorns and is available here: http://www.paraphiliamagazine.com/oneirosbooks/c…

Yes. But I did move 5k miles away first. We have a relationship, on my terms, and they get to star in a few critically acclaimed books.

My parents 'surprised' me for my 16th Birthday by inviting all of their friends to a party (they were kind enough to include two suitors, that they had picked for me). After supper, they stood me up in front of everyone, told them that I had pledged my virginity to God, and gave me an engagement ring. Yes. This…

I dont know if it is tragic, or incredibly appropriate, that his songs were the soundtrack for my rape.