Natural Marriage Vs Same-Sex Marriage

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

In case you’ve missed the news, on June 26th, 2015 the Supreme Court of the United States voted to legalize same-sex marriages. What this means is simple, State and City governments must recognize same-sex marriages in the same way they recognize opposite-sex marriages. The Canadian government started recognizing same-sex marriage in 2005.

Some people seem to think that this is a terrible thing and that it means the government is meddling in people’s personal lives. This ruling actually does the opposite, telling the government to get out of deciding who people can marry.

Natural Marriage

A family member posted a video on facebook that argues that the only form of Marriage should be Natural Marriage. This seems to be a bastardization of Roman Catholic Canon Law which says Natural Marriage, “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, […]” Source – Vatican Website

The video makes no references to Roman Catholic laws but uses this definition. The video is here but I’ll summarize:

Marriage is for the perpetuation and stabilization of our society.

It argues that the government has three roles when it comes to behaviour; Promote Permit or Prohibit. In this argument they say that the government is now promoting same-sex marriage, which is a detriment to society. It also states that these are facts based off of nature and society not biology.

It says that Natural Marriage:

  1. “Creates Children;
  2. Best Raises Children;
  3. Protects Women;
  4. Civilizes Men;
  5. Lowers crime, poverty and welfare – which reduces the government spending and deficits, still for crime defense check over here to find legal resources for this.
  6. Marriage is rooted in the biological facts of nature.”

It then goes on to say that everyone, even those that don’t get married, benefit from Natural Marriage because it stabilizes society.

This is should seem antiquated to you if not offensive. Number one is so ridiculous that even the above stated canon law makes exceptions for those that are sterile. It does however have clauses about consummation (AKA you have to try to get pregnant even if you can’t AKA SEX). They say later in the video that sterile marriage is ok because it’s the exception.

The next one is stupid plenty of well-respected and good people have been raised by same-sex couples, single parents, orphanage, foster parents, Etc. (As a certified Bastard raised by a single mother, I take offence at this one.)

Three, Four, and Five boil down to, “Boys will be boys. Best make sure you have one to protect you.” Assuming that the base instincts of man are to rape, pillage, slaughter, and cause mayhem; effectively gives men permission to do it. It’s an attitude that needs to change if we’re ever going to live in a society that isn’t dominated with fear.

It then states that Same-Sex marriage doesn’t have any benefits and that it’s detrimental to society because unlike Natural Marriage it concentrates on validating a relationship instead of bringing children to be law abiding citizens. According to them Natural Marriage “provides the best possible family for children and if we alter the definition of marriage the losers with be the children”. Blarg… Bullshit total bullshit. As long as a child is raised by at least one loving parental figure they’re fine. Statistically their chances of a good life are more affected by money than anything else.

How Same-Sex Marriage is Promoted

“Schools subject your children to mandatory curricula.” Duh and good. Ignoring something won’t make it go away. Let’s give our children all the information they need for life. I don’t see how this can be bad.

“Your business and taxes fund homosexual relationships.” Yup, they’ll get the same tax breaks you do. Meaning they’ll want to stay in your country and spend that money to stimulate your economy.

“Your freedom of speech is gagged.” BULLSHIT! You have the right to say whatever the hell you want but you do not have the freedom to avoid the consequences of your speech. Freedom of Speech means the government cannot prosecute you for saying something. (Threats of violence and true hate speech are not covered.)

That means I can go up to the owner of a local coffee shop and tell them they are a bIHnuch devoid of all honour, but it doesn’t mean they have to listen to me. They can throw me out on my ass. The same goes for your bosses. Being fired, kicked out, shamed, or slapped for saying something doesn’t impinge on your Freedom of Speech.

“Your religious freedom is overruled.” You have the right to practise your religion if it doesn’t harm others. That’s all that Religious Freedom means. It doesn’t mean you have to right to tell people what to do. NO ONE is asking religious institutions to marry same-sex couples. This argument is like saying you have the right to walk on the sidewalk and then getting angry when someone else wants to walk on it.

Both the US and Canada have a separation of church and state which means that Religious Freedoms applies to everyone. If the Jewish faith started trying to pass laws against pork products because people eating them impinges on their religious freedoms, wouldn’t everyone think that was silly?

“The government has no compelling interest in legally promoting same-sex marriage.” The government’s number one priority should be the benefit of its people; not certain people, ALL it’s people. If you want to pander to the, “Think about the children!” mentality, then consider that on average Same-Sex couples adopt. Which means all those kids without parents can be paired with all those couples without. That seems like a pretty compelling reason. Also, in the US, same-sex couples are better educated and make more money.

The video goes on to say that it isn’t being biased against homosexuals and that by not allowing same-sex marriage they’re not discriminating against homosexuals but homosexual behaviour. Sounds kinda like what they said to Allan Turing.

They end with the lovely tagline of, “That’s not Bigotry, that’s biology.”

So if you haven’t guessed I think this video is full of shit. It shows no real reason to be against Same-Sex Marriage other than the usual fear and bigotry disguised as pseudo-science and sociology.

If you truly believe that Same-Sex Marriage hurts you personally than maybe you should look to your faith for an answer. Almost every faith has a version of the Golden Rule here are a few:

“Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Mattew 7:12, New Testament

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.” Shabbath foli: 31a, Babylonian Talmud

“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith 13 (p. 56)[63]

“Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.” Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, c. 623 – c. 543 BC)

“Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to you or a stranger, be he friend or foe.” `Abdu’l-Bahá[43]

I hope you have a Love filled day,

Éric

The 16th of September, 2039

Hello,

I have skills, but sometimes I feel utterly useless when it comes to the working world. There aren’t a lot of full time jobs for Layout Artists, which means there’s little to no advancement. I have a good job and I’m good at it, but both the public service and private industry are moving away from print layouts and going straight to website. It’ll take a while before I’m completely obsolete, but it is inevitable.

I got my Pension Statement today. I can retire in 2039 with penalties or 2044 without penalties. I’m lucky that I was hired before they bumped the retirement age by 5 years. So in theory, I’ll be able to retire between 56-61 years of age. Those numbers are scary for me; both my parents died before 60. My plan is to live until 90 so I can yell at kids to get off my space lawn, see the 200th anniversary of confederation, and the 100th anniversary Doctor Who special.

My dream is to make enough money from writing and freelance work to never need to retire. I want to love my work so much that I’ll gladly keep going until I can’t anymore. I’ve been at this seriously for just over 5 years now. It’s a slow business but I’ve:

  • written 5.5 novels,  four of them that I’m proud of;
  • updated my blog regularly for 2 years.;
  • written dozens of stories;
  • designed two role playing games;
  • received rejections from 8 book agents, 3 book publishers, and a dozen magazines or anthologies
  • received one conditional acceptance from a book publisher;
  • made lots of friends that understand (and some that don’t);
  • and drank enough coffee to fill several Olympic pools.

I have a lot going for me, but sometimes it’s important to list the things I’ve done, if only to prove to myself that I haven’t been idle or wasteful.

One of the issues with writing, or any other creative calling, is the constant fear that you’re wasting your time. Even when you succeed it’s not perfect.

It’s not always easy to have faith, especially when the odds always seem against you. I know I’m a good writer and I know my stories are fun. All I can do it keep working and hope for the best.

I’ll get there! (Hopefully before 2039)

Thank you, my imaginary and not so imaginary friends, for everything, but mostly thank you for listening.

 

In what dramatic way would you quit your job if you could?

Éric

Coffee Rebranding

Hello,
About a year ago I decided to research how to roast and flavour my own coffee. So far it’s been an awesome and fun road. I think it might be time to give it an official name and rebrand it to make it a little more distinct from the other Products in JenEric Designs.

For this I need your help. Please answer the following three questions:

What should be the name of our Coffee sub-business

  • JenEric Geeky Gourmet Coffee (38%, 8 Votes)
  • Gourmet Coffee by JenEric (24%, 5 Votes)
  • JenEric Gourmet Coffee (19%, 4 Votes)
  • JenEric Geeky Coffee (19%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 21

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What colours should represent the brand?

  • JenEric Blue and Chocolate Brown (56%, 10 Votes)
  • Bright Yellow and Chocolate Brown (17%, 3 Votes)
  • Dark Brown and Light Brown (11%, 2 Votes)
  • Retro Orange and Light brown (11%, 2 Votes)
  • Chocolate Brown and Light Pink (6%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 18

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What do you think of the current branding of the flavours

  • Geeky Names are great. Don't change them! (89%, 17 Votes)
  • Geeky names are ok but maybe have a few regular for non-geeks (11%, 2 Votes)
  • I really don't care (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Geeky names are stupid and I'd rather have normal names (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 19

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All this will lead to us actually selling the coffee beans on the website (eventually) and maybe at more events.

It’s been a great ride and I’m looking forward to what happens next.
Éric

Resolutions Mid-Year Review

Hello,

A few changes have been happening in my life. I’ve started a new freelance position as a Layout Artist and my day job has just changed offices. This has made me introspective.

My Original Resolutions

I will Write 500+ words a day and complete 1 novel

I’ll be honest that I’m a little behind on this one. I’ve had a bunch of issues that have slowed my writing down but I’m trying my best to get back into the writing habit. I’m at 40,000 words (or 40%) in Everdome and I’m hoping to be done by the end of August. So on track ish…

I will continue to read regularly and attempt to read 30 or so books

According to GoodReads I’m 6 books ahead on this resolution. YAY! Six of those are Graphic novels that are much shorter than the rest but I’m definitely on track.

I will submit Parasomnia to at least 3 publishers and 3 agents

Currently Parasomnia is with Beta-Reader 2, who’s being extremely thorough and giving me great praise. I look forward to seeing what he sends back. Once I get through his changes I’ll find a third beta-reader and hopefully have something to pitch at Can-Con. I’d say I’m on track but everything is slow in publishing.

I will start a web-show and update regularly

Yeah… Sorry. This one has totally fallen by the wayside. I think I might have lapped it a few times…

I’m not sure what I’m going to do about this one. It’s been on my resolution list for two years now. I’ll get back to you. Maybe.

I will write a serialized story that I will update every month (Wattpad maybe?)

Although I haven’t signed up for Wattpad yet I have been writing and putting up a Serial story every month. I may break this one at some point and write 2 in a month.

If you haven’t had the chance to read last year’s, time traveling adventure check out The Ridiculous Adventures of Felix Felicis. It’s 10 parts and reads quickly.

This year’s story is a Supernatural Romance / College story, go read the first two parts of Only Human.

Mid-Year Resolutions

I’m going to keep all the previous resolutions and add a few.

Re-Submit A Study in Aether

I’m going to try and re-submit A Study in Aether to the publisher that has shown interest. It’s currently with a beta-reader and will hopefully be back soon. Then one more and it should be ready for a re-read from the Weditor.

Re-Design and keep updating Website

I think the colour scheme for JenEric Designs is getting a little dated and I’d like to update it to something a little more modern.

I also want to add Buttons and Coffee to our products pages and allow people to order them online. I’ll also be adding a section on Fandom Travel.

Short Stories

I want to write the third story in the Hal universe, it’s called “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to my Funeral.” Find the first two are here: Hal the Sun Speaker and The Assassin.

I also have a few other short stories that I’d like to write hopefully I’ll get the chance.

Versus

Before the year is through, if I’ve managed to finish Everdome, I’d like to do an extensive plotting of a new novel.

I want to write a Disaster novel following several groups of characters trying to survive during a super villain attack on their city. I’d treat the heroes and villains more like forces of nature and concentrate on the poor normal people who have to try to survive the devastation of their conflict. I’d like to mix a glib tone that makes fun of super hero tropes and the terror/horror of a natural disaster.

 

How are your resolutions holding up? Did you add any along the way?

Éric

Thank You for a Great Weekend

Hello my imaginary friends,

I hope you’re having a great week. Mine’s been awesome!

ComicCon

This past weekend was Ottawa ComicCon. Roughly 40,000 people crammed into the convention centre and enjoyed all things geeky. It was amazing.

Jen and I had a booth. This meant that the past month has been spent preparing and stressing. Our house looks like a mini Godzilla has passed through and deposited yarn, button pieces, and coffee all over the place.

All our preparation was well worth it. I nearly sold out of coffee and Jen’s stock was at least halved. (She hasn’t been this low since we started selling.) We did really well, yay!

We also met all kinds of awesome people. Thank you for stopping by and talking with us, it was great to share my passion for coffee with so many others.

Important links

We talked about a lot of things. If you’re trying to find something specific, check here:

Awesome Kickstarter

A Match Made in Austen is a new Kickstarter for a card game based off the world of Jane Austen’s novels. If you’ve always wanted to see how Darcy and Emma would get along (probably terribly), this is the game for you.

The base game is $25 and you get a free ebook with it. You can’t beat that price.

Go check out the Kickstarter.

A Match Made in Austin

My Reading Quest

I’ve been going through my extensive library and reading the first in a bunch of series. The goal is to find out what I am keeping and what I’m getting rid of.

I read Tempest by Julie Cross and loved it. Here’s my review:

A rare book that doesn’t spend to much time on the mechanics of time travel. I love that the author is able to show us the same person in different stages of their lives and makes it believable. I look forward to reading the sequels.

I give it a 75%

 

What are you excited for right now?

Éric

Ottawa COMICCON 2015

Hey my imaginary friends,

Ottawa ComicCon

I’ve spent the last month completely revamping JenEric Designs booth set up for ComicCon and prepping stock.

This will be the first time we sell at a Con this big. We’ve done PopExpo, Geek Market, and Creative Ottawa Nerds Craft Fair, but they’re tiny in comparison to the amount of people that go to ComicCon.

I’ve been up late every day this week working on something and I’ll be staying up late tonight to roast more coffee for free samples. I’ll have brewed coffee for free (Crazy?)

I’m not going to lie, it’s stressful. I look forward to relaxing on Monday. I’m also ridiculously excited. So come see us at booth 2203!

ComicCon2015

Throwback Thursday

This picture is of me and two of my good friends from way back in 2001. We were volunteering with the 2001 Francophonie Games in Ottawa. The games are like the Commonwealth games but for French speaking nations. It’s was a great time.

JF 2001

I’m the dorky one on the left. I think I still have that hat somewhere…

 

See you tomorrow.

Éric

7 Days Until Ottawa Comiccon

Hello,

It’s only a week before Ottawa Comiccon and I’m panicking a little. (It’s actually a lot AHHHHHHHHH!)

JenEric Designs will be selling this year for the first time and I can’t wait to see everyone. (And hide behind the table when the crowds get crazy.)

You can find us at table 2203. It’ll be awesome

ComicCon2015

Coffee

I may have gone overboard with coffee this year. I will have 7 different flavours available in two different sizes. (100g for $10, and 33g for 3$ or buy two for $5)

The flavours are:

  • Chocolate: Davroast; (Now Nut Free)
  • Key Lime: Key Lime PI; (New)
  • Banana Cream and Peanut Butter: Elvis;
  • Banana Cream: Minion;
  • Cinnamon: Raktajino;
  • Peanut Butter: Jabba the Peanut;
  • Raspberry: Morpheus’s The Red Pill;

I look forward to see you all there.

 

What, or who, are you most excited for, for this Comiccon?

Éric

Recommendation Monday – Gloomies the Webcomic

My wife came back from Fan Expo last year with a fridge magnet of this comic:

This comic speaks to me
This comic speaks to me

I then searched out the comic and started devouring the archives whenever I’ve felt stressed. onpupose

They’re a lot of fun and very colourful. If you’re having a hard day go read some Gloomies and it’ll make you smile.

 

Enjoy!

Eric

Good News and New Serial Story

Hello,

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. I spent a lot of time with family and had lot of turkey so it was AWESOME!

Good News

After being on a waiting list, JenEric Designs will be at Ottawa Comic Con 2015 in May. YAY!

That means a new flavour of Coffee and more hearing about me trying to roast it in odd ways. Next try is the BBQ.

I hope you’ll all come by and visit us on May 8th to 10th. Tickets are still available!

New Serial Story

I’ve been writing different beginnings for serial stories and now it’s your chance to decide what you’ll get to read.

I will write at least 1 part to this story every month.

Here are your choices:

Faeries Vs Robots Vs Aliens

An Urban Fantasy / Science Fiction, following a faery woman who must do one last job for her robot overlords before they let her go free. Can she stop the aliens from invading or would they be better than the robots?

Read the First Part

Only Human

A Supernatural Action/Romance, following a human girl who’s enrolled in Monster University in order to avenge her parents. Can she slay her new friends, keep up with classes, and avoid the cute demi-god that likes her?

Read the First Part

The Cosmic Cuckoos

A Science Fiction adventure, following a girl who is trying to save her friend from becoming just another clone warrior. Can a normal human girl really save her friend from the most powerful empire in the galaxy?

Read the First Part

What serial story should I continue this year?

  • Only Human (56%, 5 Votes)
  • The Cosmic Cuckoos (33%, 3 Votes)
  • Faeries Vs Robots Vs Aliens (11%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 9

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Please vote and see you at Comic Con!

Éric