I know, I know, I'm supposed to be off to Amsterdam for a whirlwind birthday weekend. But I just wanted everybody to know that there's a white stag in the Highlands! Apparently there is always a small handfull living in Britain, but because there are approximately 5 people living in rural areas in this country (Edinburgh is considered a small town, anything smaller is just disregarded as some kind of malfunction in the dampening field around the warp coil), nobody ever sees them. But someone from Reuters got a shot of one, and they're keeping the location secret because, just like hicks in Montana with a white buffalo, someone would shoot it and stick it on his wall.

Which would be a shame, because such an animal has spiritual significance for many of the Scottish people, rather, all Celtic peoples in general, in much the same way white buffalo in the States have for many Native American groups. Some people think the best way to honor something is to stuff it and put it on display. Yuck. Anyway, the stag is white, not albino, and seeing as the British managed to kill of all their large predators, could likely survive for quite a while. I would bet, though I do not know for certain, that many myths surrounding it are similar to myths found all over the world about rare animals. Many have probably been incorporated into Christian mythology. Despite being Christianized, old religions still persist quite well in the nooks and crannies of society, sometimes so intermixed with mainstream religions (Christianity and Islam, most notably) that not even bishops and imams can tell the difference.

And next time people point out how "tribal" the Middle East is, I will just have to point out how tribal modern Scotlanders are. It's not a negative thing (or shouldn't be, at least), but both Arabs and Scots have heavy family ties that go back generations and centuries; loyalties are still demostrated on a daily basis here. Even if in slight jest, there is a lot of seriousness surrounding the MacGregors and the MacDonalds and all that. Tribalism is the oldest (and perhaps best) form of knowing who your friends are.

Anyway, back to the stag. How cool is that? Soooo.... off to Amsterdam for the LONG weekend!