Well, I guess the post-election stock market jolt fed an art auction frenzy yesterday? A painting by Milton Avery's wife, Sarah -- her work is like Avery's, really almost indistinguishable from what I've seen, and some claim he stole everything from her -- or at least is she a new E de K? -- sold for $7000. more than estimate at the Bonham's & Butterfield's LA auction.

So did a painting I actually bid on, in a feeble attempt to get my husband something he wanted for Christmas. But now I am (or think I am -- I guess I need a registrastion number) qualified to internet absentee bid.

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Ah, but is pregnancy and childbirth not only the curse on Eve but punishment for sexual activity, even in the face of (fairly rudimentary) technology, i.e. birth control? Actually, all this talk about sin and women and sex has led me back to this rather grim thought. For it is clear that it is women who are "immoral" in the case of fertility, sex, etc., as it is in many theocracies still.

I wrote a paper for Religion and Gender East and West in college -- my paper defense was scheduled opposite my honors poetry reading -- I was a top grads in poetry -- and the advisor, who was the sabbatical replacement of my Religion major thesis advisor (he didn't approve my thesis as she had, and so I lost the major) wouldn't move the paper defense! So I got a C. In a term when I got all other As. My R&G E&W paper was about birth control in 13th Century Islamic cultures.

As you will recall, the 13th Century was a blossoming period for Islamic culture, and there were many female poets writing in Arabic during this time. I have some poems based on their writings -- mostly I took bits from several poems to make very short single poems.

And it is mostly women who suffer from inadequate healthcare in the U.S., too.

Was reading something someplace -- a reminder that most pro-lifers, including those in my childhood religion classes (I begged out of the abortion movies pleading squeamishness -- note, I am not very squeamish) will admit abortion in the case of endangering the mother's life (although not when the mother's health problem will impact the health of the fetus -- or even make it eventually nonviable), but not in the case of rape or incest. Yup, "something good from something bad." Now, Kerry *almost* got to that in a debate.

I had three "lost" papers in college. One was about the evolution of meditation practices and mystical experiences and how they are communicated (you know, many "believe" these pracices experiences don't "evolve" since the experiences are of "god" and that's "unchanging" and that the writing is always referring to the same experience) ; another, a system analysis of a school of Tibetan Buddhism which incorporates nothingness at its center; and the third was -- I don't know. I remember my meetings with the religion department (to declare a major, you had to have an interview with every member of the religion department -- it was a small and easy major other than that) were all about how the study of religion I was interested in could be seen as the study of a single nexus / idea -- in the full variety of cultures and approaches -- whereas undergrad philosophy was a survey.

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