User:WaitingforGodot/bio

Name: Tanya. My friends often call me "kip", a corruption of a Lakota nick name.

Location: Denver Metro Area. (summers) 20e Paris - a cote d'pere lachaise

Studies & Interests: I got my undergraduate degree in linguistics and religious philosophy. My graduate degrees are in Native American (specifically Lakota) religion, focusing on the effects of Christianity on traditional and modern Lakota religion. While its not actually a theology degree, most of my course work was in theology or linguistics. I used to teach this stuff... but was really tired of the academic world, and left around 2000.

Religion: I've been an atheist since I was born, I guess. But certainly as early as I had any real skill to think about the world around me, and what it meant to me. As easily as I brushed off Santa as "sillyness", I dismissed any notion of god or Jesus. But the character Jesus still intrigued me. I wanted to understand him, and people's fascination with him, and their fascination with believing in stories as irrational as the Greek Myths and tales of fairies which everyone agreed were irrational. So I read, I studied, I took a 1 year diversion in Galveston to think i was going to be a marine biologist, then came back to the world of religion. I still have none of the answers for why people put their trust into something arguably so obviously false. I've just got better questions.

Atheist: I am an atheist. That's the easiest way to say it. But if you want to get really nit picky with me, and want to play creationist/Christian games about "you really are making a claim of faith", I'm ****actually**** an agnostic. If god walked up and said "boo", I'd say "oh, shit guess you're real". If science proves that behind the big bang lies an eye, staring at all of us, laughing at all of us, I'll say "well, ok then". But as that's not happened, and not likely to ever happen, it's easiest to say "eh, I don't believe in Leprachauns, alien visits, Thor, or God. Unlike Lennon, however, I do believe in Jesus!"

Languages: I could study them every second of the day. Why we speak; how we speak; when did we start to speak; when do little kids start to speak - the more I find out, the more fascinated I become. In my own life, I'm proficient in English and French and though it's been a long long long time, Lakota. I'm becoming proficient in ASL, and I play around with Japanese, russian and Egyptian cause the writing styles are a blast. I can manage things like "Me hunger, please to eat" in all three... but that's about it. If i had to do it all over, screw the religion and jump right into the linguistics world!

Recently - no idea why... maybe I'm just a masochist - I've decided to study Cognitive Linguistics. but I'm not stupid enough to go back to school, I'm just doing it on my own. Any suggestions on what to read, what not to read, who to study, etc., are always appreciated.

Films & TV- Ok, I'll admit it. I watch Glee. I'm out of the closet! Also lawyer shows. they are the funniest thing on tv. I don't watch many films, though. And almost anything BBC Docu. From science to nature to math! My two favorite actors are Alan Rickman and Daniel Auteuil.

Music: I like to belly dance, though being 40 and fat, you don't ever want to ask to see it or you'll cry! so I like lots of north african and middle eastern music. Also "French Jazz" and "gypsee Jazz", specifically django reinhardt just gives me the shudders. But the hard reality is that I"m a child of the 80s and 80s pop makes up the vast majority of my music. Duran Duran, Police and Sting from the UK; Bon Jovi, extreme, Eagles, Neil Diamond, Queensryche from the US; Renaud, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Mauranne, Obispo from France.  All very expected and pop. Got 2 cats, 1 husband and lots of chocolate!

Around the wiki: I do think this wiki lacks female presence. On the day I wrote this, there were 3 or 4 other female voices, two active, and two others that might comment now and then. So, while I'll generally edit just about anything that pops up and screams out "do research, fix me!", I do get rather protective of the abortion articles, spinning them stronger towards the arguments that I think women are making, vs., those being made by the male political elite on either side. I'm also pretty protective about the religion articles. I don't think there is a God, I have no interest in furthering the power in religion's hands, but at the same time, I don't like generalized "bashing" or playing fast and loose with facts that are inconvenient for an argument that "atheists rule and religion drools"

Smilies: I use old fashioned, in the text typed out smilies - probably far too often. But if you do ever meet me, you'll understand why. Yes I'm an adult, but I just like playing a lot, smiling a lot, and generally enjoying life. :-) See what I did there?  a smilie!  :-) Job: Elections coordinator for Local Governments; expert witness on NAGPRA cases; research for NAGPRA cases