From: nikki<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

I would just like to say...Kev, Candyman, Madison (these names come to mind because I just read their new subs) Gala, Dee, Misti & Chris, Terry, Megs, and all the rest of you guys that write such deeply moving pieces...I think you are all wonderful.  I write, and I am aware of my talent (not trying to be conceited) but the way you guys write is so different from my own style.  I'm glad to have found this site, and I'm glad to have been able to experience your poetry. <BR>
<BR>
Thanks, all of you...<BR>
<BR>
in a mushy and somewhat somber mood.....n
<HR>
From: Crystevin<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Evolution, Spiritualism, whew! My brain is not ready to think so hard this morning.  However, My sis is currently taking a course in college with some sort of vague sexual awareness background.  One of her books is called, "why sex is fun" and i looked at it and said to myself, "cool, this ought to be interesting".  Imagine my surprise when the author tricks us into picking up that book and it is really just filled with the place sex plays in the evolution theory.  Needless to say, i bothered to skim through it quickly and one thing kept coming to mind.  BULLSHIT!  Sex and love is not evolutionary.  Perhaps attitudes and understanding of sex throughout the ages has "evolved"  but human evolution is STILL just a theory and when you base a THEORY on a theory, well...that's just a plain weak argument.  I guess i'd follow the psychological/spiritual paradigms in regard to human behavior before i'd believe that we are "evolving" into our sexual roles because of our place in the food chain.
<HR>
From: Misti<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Terry~ thanks for signin' the other guestbook! I'm likin' you more and more!<BR>
Candyman~ you are a man of mystery! I love your poems and I appreciate the compliment!<BR>
...Let me prove the holy guacamole Delightful Guppy of Unabashed Swimminess absolutely right in saying that we are all idiots by adding my cheap two cents to this whole evolution/love debate. First and foremost, I gave up on trying to figure out matters of the heart a loooong ass time ago. I've tried to use astrology as a formula. I've lost count of all the planets I've charted and all the synastry I've tried to figure out for some kind of cosmic insurance. I'm an Aquarius. I lost my virginity to an Aries. My ex is a Taurus. I've burned my leg on a Gemini dude's Harley. I dated a Cancer in college. I "married" a Leo in Las Vegas. I had a crush on River Phoenix, who was a Virgo. I'm IN LOVE with a Libra, who I truly believe is my soul mate. Leonardo DiCaprio is a Scorpio. I appreciate his aesthetic attributes. Sagittarius men are delightful. The first man I ever French kissed was/is a Capricorn. I think Mark McGrath is a Pisces. He's hot. I dig his goatee and tattoos and abs.<BR>
  It's all so random, really. What if I hadn't...but I did. What if HE didn't....but he did. Thank God. Or Goddess. Or Darwin. Or DGOUS. Whoever, whatever...hot damn I'm happy.<BR>
(sorry for not havin' any answers!)<BR>
***oh, and Dee...just sent ya an e-mail, chica!
<HR>
From: Misti<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

(p.s.)<BR>
Terry~ yes, "she" DOES melt! like a grilled cheese sandwich, I tell ya, and at least once a day!<BR>
Nikki~ thanks, chica! I've enjoyed reading your poetry, too, and I love your beautiful website! I printed out the picture of the full moon over the water and used it on one of my collages. I'll never sell it. I just make collages for fun! Did I tell you that I have a Virgo moon and ascendant? Yep. I do.<BR>

<HR>
From: Kirk, Blender-Keeper<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Crystevin: Evolution may be "just a theory" but it's one of the most widely accepted theories ever, that has survived over a century of conflict with smart people who can't accept some of its implications. (And basing a theory on a hugely accepted, as close as science comes to knowledge theory is not a neccesarily a weak argument.) Evolution is based on the best of science, where ideas are put into the arena, tested, rejected, improved, and it's never assumed that *anyone* has "special knowledge": a scientist's flash of insight is not accepted as belief until it is tested, unlike other belief system's "divine personal revelation", which is generally completely untestable.<BR>
<BR>
Daniel Dennett has also has a book on evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea".  It's brilliant. And what people don't get is how much more beautiful evolution can be than its "competitors".  Dennett talks about cranes (the construction kind), the cranes that life gradually builds itself up with, getting more and more complex as succesful "experiements" in design are kept and less succesful designs get pushed out, as opposed to the "skyhooks", these cranes "attached to the sky", attached to some mystical outside unknown and unknownable force, that either built life in one swell foop or is somehow responsible for what we see in life today. And I think that neoclassical Darwinism is beautiful because it's true, and beautiful because of the idea that life is its own constructor, that all the potential we have is found within life itself, as we know it, not in some external force.  <BR>
<BR>
Sex and love are tools of evolution.  Sex is an amazing way of speeding genetic variation without relying only on risky mutation, our feelings about sex are a way of making what would be a basically unpleasant chore (one what one Greek/Roman philosopher described as something like "the expulsion and sharing of mucus via lubricated rubbing") into something we find transcendent, and our ancestors, the ones that beat out all their competitors in the environment, were the ones that were the maestros of love, and got all the benefits love gives us, the ability to form rewarding relationships and have a loyalty that goes beyond the logistics of the moment as we see them.<BR>
<BR>
There's nothing in human relationships-- hell, nothing dealing with current life at all-- that you can really understand without knowing evolution.
<HR>
From: kevin urenda<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Kirk-<BR>
Actually, the way you responded to what I said only tells me I needed better syntax!  Yikes!  I painted with too broad a brush, I am afraid!  I DO agree with what you said - it is PRECISELY the chemistry and physiology that we CAN grasp of love - YES, these are what give some sense of order to such odd behaviors as the ones we are compelled to when in love.  <BR>
I totally agree that an inner beauty inheres from elegantly designed scientific methods.  And I truly believe that scientists can be INSPIRED just as artists (and, ahem, poets) are.  That IS one place where art and science intersect.  But not the only one...  I for one think the forest is quite lovely, and each tree is as well...<BR>
<BR>
Gup-<BR>
You are the MAN!  My dad used to say that mathematics was the ONLY pure science.  I always admired it, but always performed miserably AT it...  I do confess that I sometimes try to take things apart to understand their inner workings better (but when I put them back together there are often  extra parts!  NOT a good thing!)...  Seriously, your point about always questioning is well-taken.<BR>
Come down here where Taco Bell is NOT the only answer and the truth of red hot (or green hotter) chile shall set you free!  Navajo tacos are way better than mexican pizza, btw...<BR>
<BR>
Crys-<BR>
Sex and love are REVOLUTIONARY, not evolutionary!<BR>
Our roles are what we make them into as individuals, not because of what they've evolved into (I agree!)...<BR>
<BR>
Which takes me into the ramble o' the month...<BR>
<BR>
It is dead-on in terms of describing what 'works' for men relating to the single most significant woman in their lives.  (I can say this because I have been married for 'a while.')  It is about being friends as well as lovers.  You MUST enjoy each other's company, for true intimacy is built outside the bedroom.  And intimicay IS what it is all about...  Each couple 'works' a little bit differently, but the bottom line for all is that it IS often WORK.  As long as two people are committed to one another, though, intimacy will most likely deepen...  Well-done piece...<BR>
<BR>
And with that, I've said my peace...<BR>
<BR>
k<BR>

<HR>
From: smoldering<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Hey Gup:<BR>
<BR>
I have many thoughts on evolution, love, stupid things we do when we're on the mend.  These are very deep thoughts, and alas, you've heard most of them, so no use being repititious on the blah blah.  But, of PRIME importance, and basically the thing that I feel boils down to question  very heart of the universal being is this...  <BR>
Taco Bell = dumb-waiter?<BR>
<BR>
I feel your pain.<BR>
<BR>
Gala,<BR>
<BR>
I don't have enough ability to express the admiriation and the enjoyment I have reading your work.  The passion and the descriptiveness of your verse is amazing, powerful, and inspiring.  Your words move.  Thank you.<BR>
<BR>
smoldering
<HR>
From: Kirk, Blender-Keeper<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

I feel I need to weigh in here:<BR>
I am a fairly big fan of Taco Bell (though lately I've been getting more into the goodness of a local Boca Grande "Grilled Chicken Burrito Grande w/ Sour Cream") and have never had a problem with the staff that I can recall.  They tend to get my order right.  <BR>
<BR>
Of course, it's getting harder and harder to find a "pure" tacobell-- they're all being merged with KFCs and Pizza Huts-- damn you PepsiCo!<BR>
<BR>
Veronika, the lovely german I went out with in high school, loved taco bell- you can't get junk mexican in Germany. In fact, when Mo and I go to visit her this October we might try to bring some over- though maybe it would be better if we just stuck with the peanut butter candy (like Reese's Cups) which are also a bit of a rarity there.
<HR>
From: smoldering<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

TO Kirk<BR>
<BR>
Your pain is also felt.  Hybrid Taco Bells are becoming commonplace.  Action must be taken.  Soon Taco Bell (via Pepsico) and Disney will own the whole world.  We will be left with nothing more than a taco eating mouse.  Think of the implications of that!  If though, you can smuggle Taco Bell across several countries, a rather large body of water, and through German customs, and still have an edible item (not entirely out of the question given the shady nature of Taco Bell ingridents) I will be truly impressed! I hear those Germans don't take well to cheap mexican food infiltrating their borders.<BR>
<BR>
Good luck, 00Bell
<HR>
From: Galadrial<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Men!<BR>
<BR>
     Okay guys---sexuality and evolution? PULLEAZE....<BR>
My take---Sex is a wonderful toy---which works without commitment, attachment, sentiment, or love to power the engine.<BR>
<BR>
     However.<BR>
<BR>
     It works better in my humble opinion with generous does of the above. And it simply defies logic to me that we evolved to the point of caring about a partners needs and wants...while other species depend upon "mating heat" to do the trick. Humans are different---and if that difference is divine spark---or divine comedy depends on which point in my day you ask.<BR>
<BR>
    I don't doubt evolution. Science doesn't explain everything---and will never explain love. Sexuality is so unique---what works, or doesn't work is so individual---and even trying to create a case and effect is absurd to me. Sorry Gentlemen---I don't care why the sky is blue---it's restful to my eyes. I may understand intellectually that clouds are not in fact fluff---or cotton candy---but that's what they FEEL like to me.<BR>
<BR>
    I know that the experience of a soul touching your own is uniquely human. I have borne a child---but the bearing did not make me a mother---the raising of her does. Physical---metaphysical...guys, it's all semantics. Evolution?  A process. Sexuality? The neatest bonus we could get for not being single cell creatures.<BR>
<BR>
    Sex feels wonderful. Sex with love feels better. But Love Making---oh baby---that the ice cream, the topping, the cherry and all!<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
                                 So Says Gala
<HR>
From: kevin urenda<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Chalk one up for Gala...<BR>
<BR>
THIS is actually a post-script to my previous post (Kirk had NOT made his post on the evolution business before I began typing my comment that appears adjacent to it)...<BR>
<BR>
BOTTOM LINE:<BR>
<BR>
What IS important is that LOVE, no matter what substructure your belief system is built upon, makes this earthly existence easier to take than the absence of it...  Agreed?<BR>
<BR>
k
<HR>
From: Kirk, Blender-Keeper<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Kevin- yeah, more love definately makes life more interesting and fun than less love. It's a crucial part of being human.<BR>
<BR>
Gala- some other species *do* have behaviors that seem to correspond to our sense of love and commitment, not just mating heat-- we're not unique in that sense.  What makes us different is the way we can think about it, model it in our heads. And we do that automatically-- Dennett had a great observation about the way we develop our own conciousness as we grow from infancy, the way we're preprogrammed to build our own minds the same way a spider is preprogrammed to build a web (while not having any kind of knowledge of engineering in the way we think of it) and the way beavers are preprogrammed to build dams. And, with the possible exception of creatures like Dolphins and a few of the higher primates, we're the only creature who engages in that mind building behavior, and it explains our success as a species. Our concepts of love and relationships are rooted in our ability to think about our behaviors in those terms.
<HR>
From: Jenna Holland ([email-masked])<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

I just wanted to congratulate those that made front page picks!  All were VERY deserving!<BR>
<BR>
-Jenna-
<HR>
From: the guppy<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

ok...<BR>
<BR>
some thoughts to toss out there...<BR>
<BR>
do animals "love"?...there are many species of macrovertebrates which mate for life...many are physically and behaviorially affected by the loss of either a mate, sibling, parent, offspring, pack member, etc...why?...why does your dog whine when you get into the car even though he has a full dish of food and water and a nice warm cozy place to sleep?...animals feel...beyond things like just pain and hunger and fear...they feel jealousy...they need attention...things like that...mothers protect their young...and many species sacrifice their own lives in doing so...is it a spiritual thing?...are our behaviors which are similar to theirs really based on entirely different reasons?...<BR>
<BR>
the reason there is sex is to further the species...the pleasure of sex is the finger pushing the domino over...the ones having sex are the ones producing the future generations...if human sexual behavior is sparked with divinity, then it's probably also divine when a dog humps your leg...ha...or is it just divine when another person humps your leg?...ha...and what of atheists?...are their intimate relationships with their loved ones less valid, or less human, because they do not believe in the divine?...does their love mean less?...<BR>
<BR>
easy questions are a waste of time...ha<BR>
<BR>
later,<BR>
gup
<HR>
From: deevaa ([email-masked])<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

&lt;deep breath&gt;  gosh where to start!!<BR>
<BR>
Sexuality vs evolution <BR>
&lt;whooooosh&gt;  right on over my head -- the French fry debate is much closer to my level -- only here in NZ we call the chips... as in "I'm going to the 'fish 'n' chip shop to get takeaways for dinner.."<BR>
<BR>
(and if you ask Shady (MIA girl) or guppy they'll probably tell you that we kiwis don't even call them chips, rather 'chups' -- however that is just not true.)<BR>
<BR>
I am with Paul, I like the fatter chips... although straight cut is my choice, I like them crispy and salty on the outside and smushy and hot on the inside.  If I have to choose a chain brand, well I guess its KFC all the way ba-bbeeee.  <BR>
<BR>
(saying that you have to take into account we don't have some of the choices you guys do, no Taco Bell, and Misti -- over here Wendy's only do soft serve ice-cream... they do Bacon burgers too? Wow!<BR>
<BR>
Nikki - hey girl I work best while stressed out, so hate mail is always accepted! &lt;grin&gt;<BR>
<BR>
Megs - I did TRY to forget you but you and your freaking LONG legs stalked back into my head before I could do a damn thing about it... (BTW -- Gala who you calling shorty? hmmmmm?)<BR>
<BR>
Sarah -- &lt;blushin'&gt; will you hush?<BR>
I liked Velvet nights so much I went back and read all your others 'Magenta' rocks also.<BR>
<BR>
P -- 'What she did for me' ... birth? or am I reading it wrong? I found the rhythm kinda forced but still...<BR>
<BR>
Jenna -- your inspiration is sleeping so that it has the energy to attack at the most inappropriate moment, for example, 3am when you have to be up at 6 for something important... you'll get some phrase jumping through your head that you just HAVE to put on paper.<BR>
<BR>
(gosh I'm really going for gold, this has to be the longest ramble I've had all year...)<BR>
<BR>
For the new folk who are interested -- my website is: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~deevaa/  I'm interested in some critique on a which direction I should go with my paintings... so Sarah, Nikki, Terry, and anyone else... check it out and let me know.<BR>
<BR>
Kirk -- I find the American obsession with peanut butter and chocolate very very disturbing... Reeses cups... bluuuurgh! &lt;shiver&gt; its NOT the done thing here in NZ, and as for peanut butter and jam (you guys call that jelly) ewww..... ewww..... ewwwwwwwwwww.<BR>
<BR>
Kev and Crys -- have I mentioned I love you guys?<BR>
<BR>
Heartsong and Angel -- heya, welcome back... missed ya'll!<BR>
<BR>
hmmm... I think I'm done. (I hear that sigh of relief!)<BR>
<BR>
dee<BR>
<BR>
PS: the paintings go in tomorrow... I'm internalising my fear.... if I act cool calm and collected it'll be fine... yeah? fear is for scaredy cats.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Meow....<BR>

<HR>
From: the guppy<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

kev...i used to hate math because i was never all that good at it...now, it seems like i enjoy the challenge...but am limited by iq...ha<BR>
<BR>
"i don't need to be good at arithmetic, i'm a mathematician"---strangest thing i've heard my math prof say...that cracked me up<BR>
<BR>
gup
<HR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

i think from reading poems that all of us at some point have written in our lives, we ALL have had problems with sex and the place and role it has in our lives as individuals.  Because if it was as simple as many of us would like to think it is, there would not be the aftermath that so often lies in its wake.  <BR>
<BR>
sex in the most primal form is hormones driven out of control to mate, to do the most basic deed that our bodies know how to do even if we have never done it before.  I can see how scientists and believe it or not creationists do as well, fit it into the grand scheme of our worlds goal to procreate.  Creation even believes that sex was just made fun so we can have kids. there goes my joy......<BR>
<BR>
but sex is seperate entity entirely from what love is.  if sex was love, hell this would be a perfect world.  <BR>
<BR>
if sex were love......we wouldn't have alot of the fabulous material on here we do now would we.  sex is wonderful....but hell i'd go celibate for a hell of a long time in order to find love for once.
<HR>
From: sarah [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

oopsie forgot to sign my name<BR>
<BR>
me bad
<HR>
From: nikki, lost and running<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

ok....i'll come back to all the debates later.  They totally went over my head, and I have no nicotine in my system, so I am already wigging.<BR>
<BR>
Misti-that's really great that you took the full moon pic.  Ironically, that is the pic that the momentary love of my life sent to me.  That is why I used it.  (and I only say momentary because I have psychological issues with long term, not because I wish to get rid of him.)<BR>
<BR>
And Misti-thanks for the nice things you said about my site and my poetry.  I actually needed that today.  :)<BR>
<BR>
off in search of instant gratification...nik
<HR>
From: Angel<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

Hmmmm? *Giggle* what shall I say..??? And about which topic??? SEX? LOVE? FRENCH FRIES? or REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS???  I LOVE'M ALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! *SMILE*<BR>
PS: But I disagree with the BK French fry thing,Kirk...I make better fries then them (REAL Russet potatoes, shoestringed and soaked in ice water a few minutes before deep pat frying, then lightly seasoned with a seasoning salt or just salt and paprika) YUmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Or my eggplant version (thinly sliced, floured and fried) mmmmmmmmmm.<BR>
<BR>
And congratulations to all front page picks:)
<HR>
From: Megs<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

I am FURIOUS!!! I hate politics...I hate the world.  I hate stupidity and corruption...grrrrrrr...not that that means anything to the Love Blender...quite the antithesis actually...all this hate here.  <BR>
<BR>
*Down in the lowest of dumps*<BR>

<HR>
From: michael [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 9 May 2000<P>

for meghan<BR>
i saw a girl I knew walk out the library door<BR>
her hair shone gold autum wheat<BR>
her eyes burned brown the heat<BR>
of day took her in,<BR>
i wondered how long i'd loved her<BR>
and how words slipped away as i tried to speak<BR>
I wish i met her sooner, the blooming leaves<BR>
shade my doubts, her smile radiates<BR>
i'll follow, i'll love, i'll cry at the thought of never having her- june 6, 1998
<HR>