vermont means elm-shaded towns, quiet country, hiking or skiing

12 comments:

Jed Alexander said...

Seems like you could jazz this one up a little.

James Robert Smith said...

Is that Gay Marriage lurking by the lake?

Mark Martin said...

Jed - I agree, but this is after all a sketchbook. I'm trying to discipline myself not to get too bogged down in each page. The next one, Rhode Island, is also quite sparse. But I kinda like the spectre hanging over the otherwise normal resort.

Hman - I know you are just making an off-hand joke about VT's proximity to Mass and NH - but elsewhere, why does that topic resonate so passionately with people who really have no "skin in the game" as our fearless leader says? You'd think it was the most important issue of the day the way everybody is all passioned up about it.

Mark Martin said...

Oh wait, correction - the spectre is looming over billionaire residences, not a resort. I like that even better!

eeTeeD said...

the mormon church spent over 25 million dollars running ads in california to get people to vote no on gay marriage.

25 million dollars that could have been spent on...

feeding the hungry
providing shelter for the homeless
caring for the ill and infirm
aiding the poor in these difficult economic times

you'd think the members of the church would have said, "WHAT? you wasted 25 million dollars of our donations on THAT?!!!", but no. they continue to donate 9 million dollars per day to this blessed church.

point being, how can you win? we are all doomed.

people suffer and struggle to make money, and then hand it over to their church in hopes that it will be used to end suffering and make the world a better place. then the church just throws it all away on self-serving nonsense.

the people see this, and just continue the process.

there's no hope.

Jed Alexander said...

I can't speak for anyone else, but the regional aspect of the issue doesn't really change my concern about it, since the issue resonates nationally and every State decision is a step further towards Federal legislation. If it were just about something like state parks, or traffic violations, then I wouldn't care so much, but this is a national civil rights issue. The civil right repercussions stretch widely, whether you're gay or straight. Marriage at this point is a legal institution and not a religious one--the religious aspect is ceremonial only, especially considering the varied and continually changing interpretations of the tradition. This issue is clearly one of separation of Church and State. As far as I'm concerned it is, in fact, one of the most important issues of the day.

Mark Martin said...

eeT! Cheer up! I'm sure there are groups spending just as much money promoting it! It's okay! It's not the most important issue of the day.

Jed Alexander said...

But no single organization on the left IS spending this kind of money to support the cause. The Mormons have the power and the capitol to cause some serious damage, and the right does happen to be winning.

You tell me, Mark, why this is so unimportant. I've already made my argument.

Mark Martin said...

Oh come on, Jed. All of a sudden (relatively) this is the cause celeb? I just think there are things that are far far more urgent. If I'm going to stress out about something, it's not going to be about expanding the definition of marriage. If gays want to marry I say fine. If some people disagree with that I say "eh, whatever". I just don't have any fire in the belly about it. And I don't really see it as a Big Bad Oppression to just leave things the way they have always been.

If I was gay, I wouldn't really give a rat's ass if I could get a piece of paper saying I love somebody. I'm straight and I don't really care about it. If I couldn't marry, but I wanted my lover to be able to make pull-the-plug decisions or whatever legal decisions are granted a married couple, I'd just get some kind of power of attorney document. I think the whole institution of marriage and all of its legal trappings are bullshit anyway. I married very young, and don't regret it, but I probably wouldn't marry again. I am WGC's third arm and she is mine and that's really all -

I'm going off on a rant now. See what you did! Don't take this as argument or brow-beating. I respect your feelings and everybody else's feelings about the whole issue. It just wouldn't be on the top of my list if God elected me to fix everything asap. I'd probably do away with marriage entirely if God put me in charge.

Besides, all this uproar about it is upsetting eeTeeD!

eeTeeD said...

here’s my rant:

there’s a group of people over in ireland that made a beautiful feature length theatrical release movie for a budget of only 6 million dollars. you can see it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTPAvY4y0pY

for 25 million dollars the mormon church could have made 4 beautiful feature length animated cartoons.

those cartoons could have been released in theaters and turned a profit.

further profit from dvd sales.

further product from licensing.

if they came up with a hit character like shrek, there would have been decades of profit.

jobs for animators.

a chance for the church to create something that shares its viewpoint and values.

it’s a prudent practical logical use of the money.

i’m sure many of reading of this could come up with an even better way to use the money.

the members of the mormon church suffered and struggled and scraped together 25 million dollars of their hard earned money.

they gave it to the leaders of their church and said to them, “please use this money to help... to help end suffering. to help end struggling. to help make the world a better place.”

and what did the church leaders do? they threw it away on a one shot cause. a stupid worthless hopeless cause.

that money could have done good. so much good. instead it was wasted. spent on nothing.

Jed Alexander said...

I just spent an hour and a half writing a virtual essay about this subject and I couldn't get it to post and now it's gone.

It probably wouldn't have made any difference anyway.

I feel utterly defeated. You win Mark.

James Robert Smith said...

I agree with Mark...do the stuff that's going to take you that long on some text program. Then cut and paste here. If it gets lost in the ether, cut and paste again until this system gets it right.

I'm sorry I mentioned the gay marriage thing. I only did so because some right wing acquaintances of ours are boycotting Vermont because they approved "gay marriage". Now I guess they're going to have to avoid all of New England.